12000 !GCAT !GSPO  George Graham returned from disgrace and a 19-month exile from soccer on Tuesday to take over at Leeds United, resuming his career as one of the most successful modern managers in Britain.   The 51-year-old Scot, banned from the sport last year for 12 months for accepting illegal payments over transfer deals, was named by Leeds as manager 24 hours after the sacking of Howard Wilkinson.   Graham, whose new team lost 4-0 at home to Manchester United on Saturday, precipitating Wilkinson's departure after eight years in charge, showed he had big ambitions for the north England team.   "I think we can join the giants of football today," he told a news conference.   "I have a chance to stamp my ideas on the club and the players and bring in new blood.   Sometimes that is what it takes to change things round.   "The one guarantee I can give people is that we aim to be challenging at the top of the table and going for trophies.   "I had some success at my previous club and while I never promised we would win things.   I did guarantee we would be trying."   Graham won six trophies in his reign as manager of Arsenal between 1986 and 1995 -- the championship and league cup twice and the FA Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup once each.   Arsenal sacked him in February last year for accepting illegal payments from an agent in two transfer deals and he was later banned from soccer for a year by the Football Association.   On the face of it, Graham looks ideally suited to Leeds, a club which has never rid itself of a 30-year-old image for seeking success through ruthless efficiency rather than by spectacular play or inspiration.   Graham's trophy-winning sides alway carried the same reputation and the "Boring Arsenal" jibes were not levelled at them just by fans of arch-rivals in north London Tottenham Hotspur.   Graham has long been something of a soccer contradiction.   As an elegant but somewhat languid attacking midfield player, he won the nickname Stroller, which has always stuck with him.   But he was an integral part of the Arsenal side which won the league and Cup double in 1971 and was good enough to win 12 caps for Scotland.   He may have detested training as a player but as a manager he rapidly became known as a strict disciplinarian who insisted on the qualities of running and hard work above all else.   Graham turned down the chance to resurrect first division Manchester City last month after they parted company with Alan Ball and has made it clear he has accepted Leeds because they have money he can use to rebuild the team. 
12001 !GCAT !GSPO  The Italians warned the rest of Europe they mean business in the UEFA Cup again this season, chalking up a string of impressive results in Tuesday's first round first leg ties.   Twice UEFA Cup winners Internazionale went to French newcomers Guingamp and came away with an emphatic 3-0 win and Lazio enjoyed a similarly fruitful trip across the western Alps, beating Lens 1-0.   Back home, Roma came through a potentially difficult home tie against Dynamo Moscow with a 3-0 advantage, while Parma beat Vitoria Guimares of Portugal 2-1.   Players were sent off in all four matches but even here the Italians come through with an advantage of three to one.   Lazio finished their match a man short but in the three other games it was the Italians' opponents who saw red.   Internazionale lived up to their name in Brittany against Guingamp, scoring through an Italian, a Frenchman and a Swiss to all but guarantee a second round berth.   Maurizio Ganz put Roy Hodgson's side 1-0 up after 25 minutes, France's Youri Djorkaeff added a second from the penalty spot after halftime and Ciriaco Sforza completed the win with a late third strike.   A frustrated Guingamp had Polish international defender Marek Jozwiak sent off for a second bookable offence, a late tackle on Chile striker Ivan Zamorano, and now need a miracle in Milan if they are to survive the first round.   Lazio had defender Giuseppe Favalli sent off on the half-hour after two yellow card fouls in less than five minutes but did not let that get in their way against Lens.   The French side dominated much of the game but missed a number of inviting chances in both halves.   Then, with only six minutes left to play, Argentine international defender Jose Chamot rose to meet a Giuseppe Signori free-kick and headed the ball crisply down and past goalkeeper Jean-Claude Nadon.    Two goals from Uruguay's Daniel Fonseca helped Roma crush Russian visitors Dynamo Moscow, for whom Sergei Shtanyuk was sent off, also for a second bookable offence.   All three Roma goals came in the first half, Damiano Tommasi opening the scoring before Fonseca took over the show.   Guimaraes's Toninho was the man in the referee's bad books at Parma, where the 1995 UEFA Cup champions gave themselves a one-goal cushion to take to Portugal.   Toninho was sent off in the final minute for dragging down Dino Baggio just as the Italian was on the verge of breaking free into the penalty area.   In an ill-tempered game, six Guimaraes players were booked and Parma's Italian international Antonio Benarrivo suffered a suspected broken shoulder.   The night's results will have done much to satisfy Italy's demanding soccer fans, who saw their national side fail to make the later stages of both the European championship and the Olympics in the last few months.   Clubs from arguably the strongest league in the world won the UEFA Cup six times in the eight years until last season, when not a single Italian side reached the semifinals. 
12002 !GCAT !GSPO  Result of a Scottish premier   division soccer match on Tuesday:    Dunfermline 2 Hearts 1   Standings (tabulated under played, won, drawn, lost, goals   for, against, points):    Rangers 4 4 0 0 8 2 12    Celtic 4 3 1 0 14 4 10    Aberdeen 4 2 2 0 12 5 8    Hearts 4 2 0 2 5 8 6    Motherwell 4 1 2 1 6 4 5    Dunfermline  4 1 2 1 6 8 5    Kilmarnock 4 1 1 2 7 9 4    Hibernian 4 1 1 2 2 7 4    Dundee United  4 0 1 3 1 4 1    Raith 4 0 0 4 2 12 0 
12003 !GCAT !GSPO  Arsenal, who have contested two European soccer finals in the last three years, face failure at the first hurdle in the UEFA Cup after losing their first round first leg tie 3-2 against Borussia Moenchengladbach on Tuesday.   Arsenal struggled after Dennis Bergkamp was forced off injured in the 18th minute.   The Dutchman pulled up clutching his thigh and had to be replaced by compatriot Glenn Helder.   Ian Wright's last-minute goal gave the English side a slim hope, but they have a mountain to climb in the second leg in two weeks' time with three crucial away goals against them.   The Arsenal defence crumbled alarmingly against brilliant counter-attacking by the Germans, UEFA Cup winners in 1979.   Strikes by Poland's Andrzej Juskowiak (36th minute) and impressive skipper Stefan Effenberg (46th) put Moenchengladbach in the drving seat.   Paul Merson's 54th minute goal promised a typical Arsenal revival, but Stefan Passlack's free header following a free-kick by Christian Hochstatter restored the two goal difference.   Arsenal's never-say-die spirit prevailed sufficiently for Wright to make another reply in the last minute and for John Hartson and Merson to have goalworthy attempts superbly saved by keeper Uwe Kamps in stoppage time.    Borussia took the lead when Effenberg, said to be wanted by Arsenal's manager-in-waiting Arsene Wenger, started a flowing move which Peter Nielsen carried on with a perfect through pass that kept Juskowiak narrowly onside to slip the ball home.   Arsenal looked finished just 53 seconds into the second-half when a blunder by centre-back Andy Linighan let in Effenberg.   But another Arsenal fightback appeared to be on the cards when Merson played a sweet one-two with Wright before drilling home a fierce shot from 20 metres.   Ten minutes from time, Borussia won a dubious free kick out on the left which Hochstatter curled over for the unmarked Passlack to head in.   In a frenzied finish, Wright scored at the second attempt from Merson's cross for his 14th Arsenal goal in European competition over three years. 
12004 !GCAT !GSPO  English league soccer standings   after Tuesday's matches (tabulated under played, won, drawn,   lost, goals for, against, points):   Division one    Barnsley 5 5 0 0 13 3 15    Bolton 6 4 1 1 15 9 13    Tranmere 6 4 1 1 8 4 13    Norwich 5 4 0 1 7 3 12    Stoke 6 3 2 1 9 9 11    Wolverhampton  6 3 2 1 7 4 11    Manchester City  6 3 0 3 7 6 9    West Bromwich  5 2 2 1 7 5 8    Sheffield United  4 2 1 1 9 5 7    Reading 6 2 1 3 9 13 7    Huddersfield  5 2 1 2 7 6 7    Crystal Palace  6 1 4 1 6 5 7    Swindon 5 2 1 2 6 6 7    Queens Park Rangers 5 2 1 2 6 7 7    Portsmouth 5 2 1 2 5 6 7    Ipswich 6 1 3 2 10 10 6    Port Vale 6 1 3 2 5 7 6    Bradford 6 2 0 4 4 8 6    Birmingham 4 1 2 1 5 5 5    Oxford 6 1 1 4 7 8 4    Southend 6 1 1 4 7 14 4    Grimsby 6 1 1 4 7 15 4    Charlton 5 1 1 3 4 6 4    Oldham 6 0 2 4 5 11 2   Division two    Brentford 6 5 1 0 14 5 16    Bury 6 4 1 1 11 5 13    Watford 6 4 0 2 8 7 12    Chesterfield  6 4 0 2 5 4 12    Millwall 6 3 2 1 12 8 11    Plymouth 6 3 2 1 12 9 11    Shrewsbury 6 3 2 1 7 6 11    Crewe 6 3 1 2 7 6 10    Blackpool 6 3 1 2 5 5 10    Burnley 6 3 0 3 8 8 9    Luton 6 3 0 3 7 11 9    Bristol Rovers  5 2 2 1 5 5 8    Preston 6 2 1 3 6 7 7    York 6 2 1 3 6 7 7    Gillingham 6 2 1 3 6 8 7    Bristol City  6 2 0 4 9 10 6    Wrexham 4 1 3 0 8 6 6    Peterborough  5 1 3 1 8 8 6    Bournemouth  6 2 0 4 7 9 6    Notts County  5 1 2 2 4 5 5    Wycombe 6 0 4 2 4 6 4    Walsall 5 0 2 3 5 8 2    Stockport 6 0 2 4 1 6 2    Rotherham 6 0 1 5 4 10 1   Division three    Fulham 6 5 0 1 9 4 15    Wigan 6 4 1 1 13 7 13    Carlisle 6 4 1 1 8 3 13    Hull 6 3 3 0 6 3 12    Chester 6 3 1 2 11 8 10    Torquay 6 3 1 2 8 5 10    Hartlepool 6 3 1 2 8 7 10    Scunthorpe 6 3 1 2 6 8 10    Cardiff 6 3 1 2 5 5 10    Scarborough  6 2 3 1 9 7 9    Darlington 6 2 2 2 12 9 8    Cambridge 6 2 2 2 7 8 8    Leyton Orient  6 2 2 2 4 3 8    Brighton 6 2 1 3 6 10 7    Barnet 6 1 4 1 5 3 7    Swansea 6 2 0 4 9 13 6    Northampton  6 1 3 2 7 6 6    Colchester 6 1 3 2 5 7 6    Lincoln 6 1 2 3 6 10 5    Doncaster 6 1 2 3 5 7 5    Exeter 6 1 2 3 5 8 5    Mansfield 6 0 4 2 2 6 4    Hereford 6 1 1 4 2 8 4    Rochdale 6 0 3 3 3 6 3 
12005 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of English league soccer   matches on Tuesday:   Division one    Barnsley 3 Stoke 0    Birmingham 0 Oldham 0    Bolton 6 Grimsby 1    Charlton 2 Southend 0    Crystal Palace  0 Ipswich 0    Huddersfield  0 Tranmere 1    Oxford 1 Wolverhampton  1    Port Vale 0 Manchester City  2    Sheffield United  3 Bradford 0    West Bromwich  3 Reading 2   Division two    Brentford 3 Plymouth 2    Bristol Rovers  3 Bournemouth  2    Burnley 2 Blackpool 0    Crewe 2 Bury 0    Luton 2 Gillingham 1    Notts County  2 Watford 3    Peterborough  3 Millwall 3    Preston 1 York 0    Rotherham 0 Chesterfield  1    Shrewsbury 1 Bristol City  0    Stockport 0 Wrexham 2    Walsall 2 Wycombe 2   Division three    Colchester 2 Brighton 0    Darlington 3 Wigan 1    Exeter 0 Fulham 1    Hartlepool 1 Carlisle 2    Lincoln 0 Hull 1    Mansfield 0 Barnet 0    Northampton  0 Leyton Orient  1    Rochdale 0 Chester 1    Scarborough  2 Doncaster 1    Scunthorpe 3 Cambridge 2    Swansea 4 Hereford 0    Torquay 2 Cardiff 0 
12006 !GCAT !GSPO  Scottish soccer is reeling from a week of managerial upheaval capped by the arrival of Tommy McLean at Dundee United -- a week after he took over at premier division rivals Raith Rovers.   Three Scottish managers parted company with their clubs on Tuesday, hours after Alex Smith resigned as boss of second division Clyde on Monday night.   McLean moved to Dundee after they sacked Billy Kirkwood -- the man who led them back to the top flight last season.   "The opportunity came out of the blue and no one could have foreseen the timing," McLean said.   "When someone gives me the opportunity to be manager of this club (Dundee) the answer must be yes."   But the decision left bottom-club Raith, who have lost all four matches this season, shell-shocked and in search of their fourth manager in less than a year.   "A week ago Mr McLean said he would give 100% to the club," Raith chairman Alex Penman said ruefully.   McLean signed a three-year contract with Raith last Tuesday, taking over from Jimmy Thomson, who had held the post for just six months.   Meanwhile, first division St. Mirren have appointed Iain Munro, who recently resigned as manager of Hamilton, as successor to Jimmy Bone, who stepped down two weeks ago.   Munro's former job at Hamilton goes to Sandy Clark, a former manager at Hearts. 
12007 !GCAT !GSPO  Highlights of matches played in the UEFA Cup first round first leg on Tuesday:   Germany's Schalke made a spirited return to European football after a 19-year absence, trouncing last season's Dutch championship runners-up Roda JC Kerkrade 3-0 before 50,000 fans.   Belgian international striker Marc Wilmots, declared fit only a hour before the game, gave Schalke the perfect start with an eighth-minute headed goal, then set up the second for Dutch international Youri Mulder six minutes later.   Schalke lost momentum when Mulder had to go off in the 34th minute with a gash in his knee.   But midfielder Ingo Anderbruegge sealed a deserved win in the 73rd minute when his drive from 25 metres took a deflection past Kerkrade goalkeeper Ruud Hesp.   "If anything happens to us in the second leg now, we'll have only ourselves to blame," Schalke coach Joerg Berger said.    Feyenoord's midfield signing Kees van Wonderen brought the Dutch side belated joy after a scrappy game against CSKA Moscow.   Latching on to a through-ball from Swedish international Henke Larsson which caught the Russian defence cold in the 83rd minute, he slotted home confidently from the edge of the area to ensure a 1-0 lead going into the home leg in Rotterdam.   On a bad night for the Russian capital, the rain helped Dynamo Tbilisi sink Torpedo Moscow.   There was little power in Gocha Dzhamarauli 37th-minute free-kick but Torpedo keeper Vladimir Pchelnikov let the wet ball slither under his body to give Georgia's 1981 Cup Winners' Cup champions a 1-0 away win.   There was better news for Russians in the Caucasus, where league leaders Alania Vladikavkaz put last month's 7-0 European Cup thrashing by Glasgow Rangers behind them and beat Anderlecht 2-1 after recovering from a fifth-minute strike by Par Zetterberg.   - - - -    Belgians Ekeren scored three times after the break to secure a 3-1 first-leg cushion against Austrians Casino Graz, who were reduced to 10 shortly after the break.   Graz opened the scoring after eight minutes through Strafner and kept Ekeren in check until the Austrians' Serb Dimitrovic was sent off in the 49th minute.   The home team equalised seven minutes later through Tomasz Radzinski and Belgian international goalkeeper Philippe Vande Walle made it 2-0 from the penalty spot in the 58th before veteran striker Alex Czerniatynski netted the third six minutes from time.   - - - -    Belgian champions Club Brugge left the pitch to jeers and whistles after a colourless performance against Denmark's Lyngby which ended in a 1-1 draw.   Brugge fans further humiliated their side by giving the unfancied visitors a standing ovation.   Club Brugge, playing in the UEFA Cup after losing to Romanians Steaua Bucharest in the qualifying round of the European Cup last month, took the lead in the second minute through midfielder Lorenzo Staelens but Anders Bjerre equalised from a free kick in the 35th.    Tirol Innsbruck dominated their match against Metz of France but most scoring chances landed in the safe arms of Metz goalkeeper Lionel Letizi.   Letizi foiled an effort by Innsbruck's Christian Mayrleb in the 22nd minute, gathering a shot from the edge of the box.   Two minutes later, Letizi did well to tip a header from Michael Baur over the bar.   Despite increased pressure in the second half, the Austrians could not finish and in the 52nd minute Richard Kitzbichler successfully dribbled past the French defence but his thundering shot soared high.    Karsten Baron and substitute Markus Schupp scored for Hamburg to give the Germans a 2-0 advantage to take home for the second leg of their clash with Scotland's Glasgow Celtic.   Bernd Hollerbach swung over a cross from the left to pick out the unmarked Baron at the back post in the third minute and Baron powered a header past Gordon Marshall.   Hamburg replaced Valdas Ivanauskas in the 65th minute with Schupp and six minutes later the substitute delivered a hammer blow to Celtic.   He looked well offside but calmly strode on to loft the ball over Marshall.   - - - -   Swedish part-timers Helsingborg secured a fine 1-1 draw against England's Aston Villa with a shock equaliser 10 minutes from time.   Peter Wibran silenced the 25,000 crowd with a close-range effort after Helsingborg had been content to soak up almost constant Villa pressure.   Tommy Johnson celebrated his recall to the Villa starting line-up by scoring the home side's goal in the 14th minute.   Villa lacked the imagination to break down Helsingborg, who made life difficult for the former European Cup champions by often placing 10 players behind the ball and relying on the odd counter-attack.    Manager Kevin Keegan's decision to draft in Faustino Asprilla and play with just three at the back paid off handsomely as England's Newcastle beat Swedish part-timers Halmstads 4-0.   French winger David Ginola tormented the Halmstads defenders, making three of the goals.   Once Les Ferdinand had shown the way to goal after just six minutes, it was always plain sailing, with Asprilla blasting home the goal of the night before the interval.   Two more strikes followed at the start of the second half, one from Philippe Albert and the other from Peter Beardsley who showed his impish genius with the deftest of chips.   Alan Shearer, who hit the post and had two close offside decisions go against him, was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet.    Two goals from Uruguay's Daniel Fonseca helped Roma compile a commanding 3-0 first leg lead over Russian visitors Dynamo Moscow, who ended the game with 10 men.   All three Roma goals came in a dominating first half performance and Dynamo's miserable evening was compounded early in the second half when player Sergei Shtanyuk was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 53rd minute.   Damiano Tommasi gave Roma to their first goal in the seventh minute when a miscued kick by Damiano Tommasi from well outside the area curved over stranded keeper Andrei Smetanin into the far corner of the net.   Uruguayan Daniel Fonseca added two more, the second from the penalty spot.   - - - -   Enrico Chiesa scored twice to give Italians Parma a 2-1 edge over Portugal's Vitoria Guimaraes in an ill-tempered encounter in which six Guimaraes players were booked and one sent off.   Parma, 1995 UEFA Cup champions, broke the deadlock in the 40th minute thanks to a powerful Chiesa shot from outside the area.   Guimaraes struck back in the 77th minute with a header from Gilmar but Chiesa scored his second five minutes later with a replica of the first.   In the final minute, Guimaraes's Toninho was sent off for dragging down Dino Baggio just as the Italian was on the verge of breaking free into area.   Italian international Antonio Benarrivo suffered a suspected broken shoulder when he was fouled early in the first half. 
12008 !GCAT !GSPO  Twice UEFA Cup winners Internazionale beat raw French Intertoto Cup qualifiers Guingamp 3-0 away in the first leg of their first round tie on Tuesday.   Italian Maurizio Ganz, France's Youri Djorkaeff and Ciriaco Sforza of Switzerland scored against the Brittany side who were down to 10 men from the 73rd minute -- one minute after Djorkaeff had put Inter two up from the penalty spot.   Polish international defender Marek Jozwiak was sent off for a second bookable offence, a late tackle on Chile striker Ivan Zamorano.   Ganz put the Milan side ahead in the 25th minute, shooting between goalkeeper Angelo Hugues' legs after beating his marker to a long ball out of defence.   Hugues was deemed to have brought down Zamorano for the penalty, which was hotly disputed by the Guingamp players.   The ball took a slight deflection off a Guingamp defender when Sforza beat Hugues for the third goal with a dipping shot from the edge of the box.   Guingamp need a miracle in Milan in they are to survive the first round and go on to emulate fellow Frenchmen Bordeaux, who reached the final last season after qualifying from the Intertoto Cup.   Guingamp created numerous chances but were denied a goal by some poor finishing and Inter 'keeper Gianluce Pagliuca, who made last ditch saves with his feet from Stephane Carnot and Christopher Wreh.   Carnot also hit a post.    Teams:   Guingamp - 1-Angelo Hugues; 2-Jerome Foulon, 3-Vincent Candela (12-Jean-Marc Moulin 77th), 4 - Marek Jozwiak, 5-Gheorghe Mihali, 6-Claude Michel (Jean-Luc Vannuchi 80th), 7-Richard Lecomte, 8 - Yannick Baret, 9-Lionel Rouxel, 10-Stephane Carnot, 11-Chris Wreh (14-Daniel Moreira 73rd)   Internazionale - 1 - Gianluca Pagliuca; 20-Jocelyn Angloma, 7-Salvatore Fresi, 13-Gianluca Festa (13-Alessandro Pistone 89th); 4-Javier Zanetti, 19-Massimo Paganin, 6-Youri Djorkaeff (12-Benito Carbone 79th), 8 - Paul Ince, 21-Ciriaco Sforza; 9-Ivan Zamorano (18-Nicola Berti 89th), 23-Maurizio Ganz. 
12009 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of Sunday League (40   overs) cricket matches played on Tuesday:   At Old Trafford: Lancashire beat Middlesex by 6 wickets.   Middlesex 165-7 in 40 overs (M.Ramprakash 74).   Lancashire 166-4   in 37.5 overs (G.Lloyd 58).   At Edgbaston: Warwickshire beat Essex by 6 wickets.   Essex   138-7 in 40 overs.   Warwickshire 142-4 in 34.2 overs.   Warwickshire 4 points.   Standings (tabulated under played, won, lost, tied, no   result, points, run rate):    Surrey 16 11 4 0 1 46 16.10    Nottinghamshire  16 11 4 0 1 46 9.09    Yorkshire 16 11 5 0 0 44 12.87    Warwickshire 16 10 5 0 1 42 6.53    Somerset 16 10 5 0 1 42 1.43    Northamptonshire  16 10 5 0 1 42 0.78    Middlesex 16 8 7 0 1 34 -1.35    Worcestershire 16 7 6 0 3 34 1.74    Lancashire 16 8 8 0 0 32 -0.53    Glamorgan 16 7 7 0 2 32 4.05    Kent 16 7 8 1 0 30 -8.33    Derbyshire 16 6 7 1 2 30 3.07    Leicestershire 16 6 7 0 3 30 -4.20    Sussex 16 6 8 0 2 28 -10.00    Hampshire 16 4 9 0 3 22 -6.73    Gloucestershire  16 4 9 0 3 22 -8.46    Essex 16 3 12 0 1 14 -5.63    Durham 16 1 14 0 1 6 -12.54 
12010 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of UEFA Cup first round,   first leg matches on Tuesday:   In Odessa: Chornomorets Odessa (Ukraine) 0 National   Bucharest (Romania) 0   Attendance: 12,000   In Moscow: Torpedo Moscow (Russia) 0 Dynamo Tbilisi   (Georgia) 1 (halftime 0-1)   Scorer: Gocha Dzhamarauli (37th minute)   In Kiev: Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine) 0 Neuchatel Xamax   (Switzerland) 0   Attendence: 50,000   In Gelsenkirchen: Schalke (Germany) 3 Roda JC Kerkrade   (Netherlands) 0 (2-0)   Scorers: Marc Wilmots (8th), Youri Mulder (14th), Ingo   Anderbruegge (73rd)   Attendance: 50,000   In Vladikavkaz: Alania Vladikavkaz (Russia) 2 Anderlecht   (Belgium) 1 (1-1)   Scorers:   Vladikavkaz - Yanovski (22nd), Shella (48th)   Anderlecht - Par Zetterberg (5th)   Attendance: 28,000   In Guingamp: Guingamp (France) 0 Internazionale (Italy) 3   (0-1)   Scorers: Maurizio Ganz (25th), Youri Djorkaeff (72nd,   penalty), Ciriaco Sforza (86th)   Attendance: 7,500   In Ekeren: Ekeren (Belgium) 3 Casino Graz (Austria) 1   (halftime 0-1)   Scorers:   Ekeren - Tomasz Radzinski (56th), Philippe Vande Walle   (58th, penalty), Alex Czerniatynski (84th)   Graz - Strafner (8th)   Attendance: 2,800   In Malmo: Malmo (Sweden) 1 Slavia Prague (Czech Republic) 2   (0-0)   Scorers:   Malmo - Anders Andersson (83rd)   Slavia Prague - Sladan Asanin (70th), Robert Wagner (86th)   Attendance: 3,961   In Moscow: CSKA Moscow (Russia) 0 Feyenoord (Netherlands) 1   (0-0)   Scorer: Kees van Wonderen (83rd)   Attendence: 51,000   In Bodoe: Bodoe-Glimt (Norway) 1 Trabzonspor (Turkey) 2   (1-1)   Scorers:   Bodoe - Runar Berg (32nd).   Trabzonspor - Sota Arvecadze (3rd), Unal Karaman (74th).   Attendance: 1,955   In Odense: Odense (Denmark) 2 Boavista (Portugal) 3 (2-0)   Scorers:   Odense - Michael Hemmingsen (43rd), Per Pedersen (44th)   Boavista - Sasa Simic (53rd), Nuno Gomez (75th), Jose   Tavares (82nd)   Attendance: 3,789   In Glasgow: Glasgow Celtic (Scotland) 0 SV Hamburg (Germany)   2 (0-1)   Scorers: Karsten Baron (3rd), Markus Schupp (71st)   Attendance: 45,412   In Bruges: Club Brugge (Belgium) 1 Lyngby (Denmark) 1 (1-1)   Scorers:   Club Brugge - Lorenzo Staelens (2nd)   Lyngby - Anders Bjerre (35th)   Attendance: 6,000   In Montpellier: Montpellier (France) 1 Sporting Lisbon   (Portugal) 1 (1-0)   Scorers:   Montpellier - Kader Ferhaoui (8th)   Sporting - Mustapha Hadji (63rd)   Attendance: 13,000   In Copenhagen: Brondby (Denmark) 5 Aarau (Switzerland) 0   (1-0)   Scorers: Kim Vilfort (21st), Ole Bjur (56th), Peter Moeller   (56th, 89th and 89th)   Attendance: 8,976   In Nicosia : Apoel Nicosia (Cyprus) 2 Espanyol (Spain) 2   (1-2)   Scorers:   Apoel - Alexis Alexandrou (26th), Andros Sotiriou (55th)   Espanyol - Miguel Benitez Pavon (30th), Nicolas Ouedec   (45th)   Attendance: 12,000   In London: Arsenal (England) 2 Borussia Moenchengladbach   (Germany) 3 (0-1)   Scorers:   Arsenal - Paul Merson (54th), Ian Wright (89th)   Borussia - Andrzej Juskowiak (36th), Steffan Effenberg   (46th), Steffan Passlack (80th)   Attendance: 36,894   In Lens: Lens (France) 0 Lazio (Italy) 1 (0-0)   Scorer: Jose Chamot (84th)   Attendance: 25,000   In Budapest: Ferencvaros (Hungary) 3 Olympiakos Pireus   (Greece) 1 (2-1)   Scorers:   Ferencvaros - Gabor Zavadszky (11th), Mirza Varesanovic   (35th, own goal), Laszlo Arany (52nd)   Olimpiakos Pireus - Ilija Ivic (30th)   Attendance: 7,000   In Birmingham: Aston Villa (England) 1 Helsingborgs (Sweden)   1 (1-0)   Scorers:   Aston Villa - Tommy Johnson (14th)   Helsingborgs - Peter Wibran (81st)   Attendance: 25,818   In Innsbruck: Tirol Innsbruck (Austria) 0 Metz (France) 0   Attendance: 5,000   In Brussels: Molenbeek (Belgium) 0 Besiktas (Turkey) 0   Attendance: 9,000   In Rome: Roma (Italy) 3 Dynamo Moscow (Russia) 0 (3-0)   Scorers: Damiano Tommasi (7th), Daniel Fonseca (18th, 41st   penalty)   In Parma: Parma (Italy) 2 Vitoria Guimaraes (Portugal) 1   (1-0)   Scorers:   Parma - Enrico Chiesa (40th and 82nd)   Vitoria Guimaraes - Gilmar (77th)   Attendance: 5,863   In Aberdeen: Aberdeen (Scotland) 3 Barry Town (Wales) 1   (1-1)   Scorers:   Aberdeen - Dean Windass (7th), Stephen Glass (57th), Darren   Young (65th)   Barry Town - Richard Jones (13th)   Attendance: 13,400   In Newcastle: Newcastle (England) 4 Halmstads (Sweden) 0   (2-0)   Scorers: Les Ferdinand (6th), Faustino Asprilla (26th),   Philippe Albert (51st), Peter Beardsley (54th)   Add Newcastle v Halmstads details:   Attendance: 28,124   In Santa Cruz: Tenerife (Spain) 3 Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel)   2 (0-0)   Scorers:   Tenerife - Angel Vivar (46th), Meho Kodro (56th), Antonio   Pinilla (66th)   Maccabi Tel Aviv - Mizrahi (60th), Nimny (87th, penalty)   Attendance: 18,000.   In Valencia, Valencia (Spain) 3 Bayern Munich (Germany) 0   (halftime 2-0)   Scorers: Vicente Engonga (19th, penalty), Claudio Lopez   (25th), Gabriel Moya (46th).   Attendance: 42,000. 
12011 !GCAT !GSPO  Four Home Unions Tour Committee chairman Ray Williams contradicted on Tuesday an Australian announcement that the Wallabies would play England at Twickenham in December.   Williams said he was "surprised and concerned" at the Australian statement and said no fixture against England had been arranged.   Earlier Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O'Neill said the Wallabies would meet England on December 7 as a replacement for a match against the Barbarians in their first grand slam tour since 1984.   Australia have already confirmed fixtures against Wales, Ireland and Scotland during their eight-week tour, which also includes a one-off test against Italy.   "A proposal was put to a recent meeting of the committee that Australia play England rather than the Barbarians on December 7," Williams said.   "But the Barbarians' match against the touring team is a very special fixture, involving all four unions.   It was agreed that it was not possible to change the international calendar at such short notice.   "In collaboration with the Rugby Football Union we did, however, look very hard at a number of alternative ways in which a grand slam fixture might be accommodated, but the difficulties were insurmountable.   "Over 30,000 tickets have already been sold for the Barbarians' match at Twickenham and, all in all, we consider that it is in the best interests of all four home unions that the present arrangements stand."   In a statement, O'Neill said the Wallabies would embark on a grand slam tour of Britain and Ireland every four years, with another visit scheduled for 2000. 
12012 !GCAT !GSPO  Former Arsenal boss George Graham was named on Tuesday as the new manager of English premier league club Leeds United, 24 hours after the sacking of Howard Wilkinson.   Graham has been out of soccer management for 19 months since being fired by Arsenal and subsequently banned for a year by the Football Association for accepting illegal payments from an agent in two transfer deals.    Graham's appointment was announced at a news conference called by the club.   The 51-year-old, who won six trophies during almost nine years as Arsenal boss, last month turned down an offer to take over first division Manchester City.   Graham, a Scot who played in the Arsenal team who won the league and cup double in 1971, has a reputation for producing successful teams despite unspectacular play.   Wilkinson was fired by Leeds after eight years in charge following Saturday's humiliating 4-0 home defeat by Manchester United. 
12013 !GCAT !GSPO  Middlesex left-arm spinner Phil Tufnell was given a final chance to re-establish his England career on Tuesday when he was named in the 15-man England squad to tour Zimbabwe and New Zealand.   Tufnell, 30, who played the last of his 22 Tests against Australia at Adelaide in January last year, has been left out of the England team since for disciplinary reasons.   Still widely regarded as the best spinner in the country, he was selected for The Oval Test against West Indies last summer but omitted from the final line-up.   This season Tufnell has responded by taking 74 wickets, more than any other English spinner, and claimed a career-best 13 for 123 against Lancashire, including the wicket of England captain Mike Atherton at Old Trafford last week.   Yorkshire fast bowler Chris Silverwood, 21, wins selection ahead of Peter Martin and Dean Headley and will join Darren Gough, New Zealand-born Andy Caddick, Dominic Cork and Alan Mullally in the England pace attack.   Ronnie Irani has been given the all-rounder's role ahead of Adam Hollioake, who will captain the A team in Australia.   Glamorgan off-spinner Robert Croft is also included after impressing against Pakistan in the third test at The Oval and subsequently during the one-day series.   England: Mike Atherton (captain), Nasser Hussain, Alec Stewart, Graham Thorpe, John Crawley, Nick Knight, Ronnie Irani, Jack Russell, Robert Croft, Dominic Cork, Darren Gough, Andy Caddick, Chris Silverwood, Phil Tufnell, Alan Mullally. 
12014 !GCAT !GSPO  Analysis of key elements in Wednesday's European Cup Champions' League matches:   Group A   Auxerre (France) v Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands)   Auxerre have lost several key players since they won the French league for the first time last season, including libero Laurent Blanc and striker Christophe Cocard.   They will be without defender and captain Franck Silvestre, out for two months with a shoulder injury.   Auxerre are fifth in the table.   Ajax, winners in 1995 and beaten finalists last season, seek a boost to morale after a wretched start to their Dutch league campaign.   Top players Michael Reiziger, Finidi George, Edgar Davids and Nwankwo Kanu have been transferred since last season and the problems have been compounded by injuries to key men, such as experienced defender Danny Blind and striker Patrick Kluivert.   Their European ambitions are afflicted by the absence through suspension of Blind, Richard Witschge, Nordin Wooter and Dani.   Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland) v Glasgow Rangers (Scotland)   Grasshopper have been hit by injuries, notably to Euro 96 marksman Kubilay Turkyilmaz who turned in a lacklustre performance on his return against Lugano, and fellow striker Nestor Subiaz, a likely absentee.   Defender Boris Smiljanic and midfielder Alexander Comisetti are out because of bookings.   Bernt Haas is likely to come in for Smiljanic but trainer Christian Gross has yet to decide who will replace Camisetti.   Scottish premier league leaders Rangers have one injury doubt, with right back Alex Cleland needing continued treatment on a shin problem.   Derek McInnes, who played in Saturday's 1-0 win at Motherwell, will be in contention for a midfield place alongside the likes of England's Paul Gascoigne and Dane Brian Laudrup.   Scotland's Ally McCoist and Dutchman Peter van Vossen, on the substitutes' bench on Saturday, will be pushing for starting roles up front.   Group B   Atletico Madrid (Spain) v Steaua Bucharest (Romania)   Atletico's first game at the Vicente Calderon stadium since an invasion of worms at the ground in August but the pitch will not be Atletico's only problem.   Influential playmaker Jose Luis Caminero and fellow midfielder Juan Vizcaino, whose absence was felt in Saturday's 3-1 loss at Compostela, are almost certainly out through injury.   Czech midfielder Radek Bejbl and Argentine striker Juan Eduardo Esnaider were the only major close-season signings but on Saturday Esnaider was substituted after showing signs of losing his volatile temper and Bejbl was sent off.   Steaua Bucharest will be without three key players.   Top scorer Adrian Ilie is banned for three games after being sent off in the preliminary round against Belgium's Club Brugge.   Midfielder Iulian Filipescu is also suspended after receiving two bookings in previous matches and striker Marius Lacatus has a severe muscle strain and will be out for at least two weeks.   Borussia Dortmund (Germany) v Widzew Lodz (Poland)   Borussia Dortmund have lost Ghanaian striker Ibrahim Tanko, who tore a hamstring in Saturday's 1-0 win over Hansa Rostock.   Fellow striker Karlheinz Riedle has a neck injury, leaving trainer Ottmar Hitzfeld little choice but to field out-of-form Swiss Stephane Chapuisat up front alongside Heiko Herrlich, who is still finding his form after returning this season from a long-term ankle injury.   Hitzfeld may decide to give U.S. international striker Jovan Kirovski his debut.   The defence is back to full strength after libero Matthias Sammer made a convincing return from injury against Rostock.   Brazilian defender Julio Cesar suffered a knock on the knee but should play.   Widzew Lodz are looking to the quick reflexes and experience of goalkeeper Maciej Szczesny, who last season helped Legia Warsaw reach the European Cup quarter-finals.   Widzew team manager Tadeusz Gapinski said the club had acquired Szczesny to bolster their defence for this European campaign.   Widzew's attack, among the most potent in the Polish league, has lost Marek Koniarek, who now plays in the Austrian second division after finishing last season as top marksman in the Polish first division with 29 goals.   Group C   Rapid Vienna (Austria) v Fenerbahce (Turkey)   Rapid Vienna, beaten finalists in last season's European Cup Winners' Cup, boosted their confidence at the weekend with their first league victory of the season, an impressive 2-0 win over leaders Salzburg.   They will be without Polish midfielder Krzysztof Ratajczyk, who fractured his ankle last Wednesday in a league match against Ried.   But Bulgarian World Cup defender Trifon Ivanov will be available despite an eight-match suspension in the Austrian league.   Fenerbahce are on form and upbeat after beating bitter Istanbul rivals Galatasaray 4-0 in a weekend derby, Galatasaray's first defeat on home turf in four years.   Fenerbahce are without Bulgarian striker Emil Kostadinov, out for the second match of a three-match suspension after being sent off against Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv last month.   International striker Saffet Sancakli, newly bought from Kocaelispor, will also be absent because he had not joined the club in time to be registered for the European competition.   Juventus (Italy) v Manchester United (England)   Juventus, reigning European Cup holders, were held 1-1 at Reggiana in their opening league game of the season on Sunday.   They will be without defender Moreno Torricelli and Serb midfielder Vladmir Jugovic, both suspended.   Experienced midfielder Antonio Conte, who missed Sunday's game through suspension, will probably replace Jugovic alongside Frenchmen Zinedine Zidane and Didier Dechamps.   Sergio Porrini could replace Torricelli in defence.   Croat Alen Boksic, Christian Vieri and Alessandro Del Piero are expected to form a three-pronged attack.   Manchester United hope England central defender Gary Pallister will be fit.   Pallister twisted his knee at Derby last week and missed Saturday's 4-0 win over Leeds.   His presence will be crucial if manager Alex Ferguson decides to play a three-man back line.   Dutch forward Jordi Cruyff, Czech midfielder Karel Poborsky and Norwegian defender Ronny Johnsen have all joined United since the end of last season to give an already cosmopolitan side wider European experience.   Group D   Gothenburg (Sweden) v Rosenborg (Norway)   Swedish league leaders Gothenburg, who beat Degerfors 2-0 on Saturday, will be without midfielder Stefan Pettersson, who has a torn thigh muscle.   International defender Teddy Lucic, out for two weeks with a buttock muscle injury, is also uncertain.   Jesper Blomqvist, Pontus Erlingmark and Stefan Lindqvist have each received bookings.   One more would rule them out of Gothenburg's next Champions' League match against Porto.   Rosenborg full-back Jon Olav Hjelde is injured.   Midfielder Karl Oskar Fjoertoft could return but Rosenborg might well stick with the line-up which beat Start 2-1 at home on Saturday to clinch the Norwegian league title.   AC Milan (Italy) v Porto (Portugal)   AC Milan finished strongly to notch a 4-1 win over Verona in the first match of their Italian league title defence on Sunday.   Their new Uruguayan coach Oscar Washington Tabarez faces a hard choice in attack, with Montenegrin Dejan Savicevic, Roberto Baggio, Marco Simone and Liberian George Weah in contention for three places.   Savicevic, suspended for Sunday's game, may return at the expense of Baggio as Tabarez will be reluctant to drop in-form strikers Weah and Simone.   With captain Franco Baresi out for at least a month with an ankle injury, Filippo Galli and Alessandro Costacurta will play in central defence.   Frenchman Marcel Desailly, Croat Zvonimir Boban and Demetrio Albertini are the likely midfield line-up.   Porto will be without Austrian midfielder Arnold Wetl, a close-season signing from Sturm Graz who was not registered in time and cannot take part in European competition before January.   Otherwise they are expected to field the side which brought the club their first win of the season, a 3-0 away win at Leiria on Saturday.   But the Portuguese champions will need to improve on that performance, having taken the lead against lowly Leiria only after the home side were reduced to 10 men. 
12015 !GCAT !GSPO  The Toronto Raptors signed former UMass star centre Marcus Camby, the second overall pick in the National Basketball Association draft, to a three-year deal on Tuesday, the club announced.   "I'm relieved to get it over with," said Camby after signing the $8.4 million contract, the maximum allowed under the NBA's new rookie salary cap.   "It's been a dream come true of mine.   Now I'm officially in the NBA and I just can't wait for the season to start," added the 6-11 (2.1 meter) 220-pound (100 kg) Camby, who is expected to play power forward for Toronto.   Camby averaged 20.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game last season for top-ranked Massachusetts.   He swept all the National Player of the Year awards as a junior after leading UMass to a 35-2 record and the school's first-ever trip to the NCAA Final Four.   "With the signing of Marcus, we have solidified another cornerstone in our building process," said former NBA star Isiah Thomas, executive vice president of the second-year Raptors.   "We expect him to be a major part of our franchise for years to come," Thomas said.   "We want to create a winning atmosphere here and with players like Marcus and Damon Stoudamire I believe we can achieve that goal."   Stoudamire, the Raptors top draft pick in their inaugural season, became an immediate sensation in Toronto and was named the 1995-96 NBA Rookie of the Year.   "I'm just going to try to come in and contribute," Camby said.   "I'm not going to come here and say, 'I'm the rookie of the year' and put added pressure on myself.   Just go out there and try to help this club achieve more wins than it did last year."   The Raptors went 21-61 in their first NBA season, with wins over the Chicago Bulls, Seattle SuperSonics and Orlando Magic -- the top three teams in the league. 
12016 !GCAT !GSPO  A South African player has been suspended for the maximum period of two years after failing a drugs test, the South African Rugby Football Union (SARFU) said on Tuesday.   Western Transvaal prop Rocco Pedder was banned from playing rugby at all levels until September 3 1998.   SARFU declined to name the banned substance involved but said Pedder's suspension illustrated the union's "determination to rid South African rugby from the use of prohibited substances".   At the same hearing, Free State forward Jaco Coetzee had a 21-day ban for stamping increased to 51 days because he already had a 30-day suspended sentence for the same offence. 
12017 !GCAT !GSPO  Results from the first round of the Open Romania mens clay court tennis tournament on Tuesday (prefix number denotes seeding):   4-Alberto Berasategui (Spain) beat Kris Goosens (Belgium) 4-0 (abandoned due to Goosens injury).   Thomas Johansson (Sweden) beat Gabriel Trifu (Romania) 6-4 6-2   Christian Ruud (Norway) beat 1-Boris Becker (Germany) 5-3 (abandoned due to Becker injury)   Richard Fromberg (Australia) beat Filip De Wulf (Belgium) 7-5 5-7 7-6   5-Francisco Clavet (Spain) beat Karin Alami (Morocco) 6-4 6-3   8-Jiri Novak (Czech Republic) beat Thomas Carbonell (Spain) 5-7 6-3 7-6   Sebastian Prieto (Argentina) beat Sandor Noszaly (Hungary) 4-6 6-3 6-3   Lionel Roux (France) beat Andrei Merinov (Russia) 7-5 0-6 6-1   Johan Van Herck (Belgium) beat Joszef Kroscko (Hungary) 6-3 6-0   Andres Zingman (Argentina) beat Hachim Arazi (Morocco) 6-2 4-6 6-1   Dinu Pescariu (Romania) beat Jordi Burillo (Spain) 6-2 6-2    Mens doubles, first round:   Ciprian Porumb and Gabriel Trifu (Romania) beat Goran Ivanisevici and Sasha Hirszon (Croatia) 6-4 6-2 
12018 !GCAT !GSPO  Hungary's top swimming official resigned following allegations that half the country's team went to Atlanta based on a qualifier that didn't take place, an athletics official said on Tuesday.   "Tamas Gyarfas, the head of the Hungarian Swimming Federation, who has since resigned, did not know about the fraud before it appeared in the press," Lajos Babati, secretary of the Hungarian Olympic Committee (HOC), told Reuters.   He added that the discovery of the fraud would not affect the Olympics results of the Hungarian team who were the country's most successful team in Atlanta, taking three golds, one silver and two bronze medals.   According to reports in national daily newspaper Napszava, the results of a swimming contest that supposedly took place between June 6 to June 8 but never happened, were submitted by Jozsef Ruza, general secretary of the Swimmers Association.   Ruza, although taking full responsibility for the fake, did not resign.   He told Hungarian radio that this is an international practice and the Swimmers International Association (FINA) knew about the "pious fraud" before the Olympics.   However, N.J. Thierry, an official of the Swimmers International Association statistics office, was quoted by Nepszava as saying said he did not know about the fraud, and had even found some swimmers' results suspiciously good.   The HOC said only swmming and athletics results are susceptible to fraud and they will only consider supervision of further swimming results if the federations themselves do not take care of the issue.   "I think that this scandal will probably prompt the two international federations to opt for international qualifying events.   If this does not happen, we will have to tighten control as well," Babati said. 
12019 !GCAT !GSPO  Boris Becker's comeback from injury flopped on Tuesday when he quit the first round of the Romania Tennis Open with a recurrence of the wrist problem that put him out of Wimbledon.   Becker, ranked sixth in the ATP, retired in the ninth game of the first set when he was trailing 5-3 to unseeded Christian Ruud of Norway.   "I'm extremely frustrated and disappointed," said Becker.   "I felt a strong pull in that particular tendon that I broke at Wimbledon and I couldn't continue."   The German tennis star refused to suggest a date when he might return to competition.   Winning the tour points he needs to qualify to defend his 1995 World Championship title at Hanover in November was not his main concern, he said.   "Right now I'd like to finish one tennis match healthy," he said.   Becker has missed much of this season with injury after winning the Australian Open and returning to take the Queen's Club Wimbledon warm-up competition.   The 46-career title winner said he did not fear the injury ending his playing days.   His 10-week break since Wimbledon has been the longest injury lay-off he has suffered.   "I'm strongly convinced I will overcome the injury as I have overcome many other injuries in my career.   Its just the most serious I've had in my career, but I'm 28 years old and when you get old your bones normally still heal."   Top seed Becker's withdrawal was a blow to the Open Romania clay court tournament.   The competition, which awards $500,000 prize money, has struggled to attract top names after financial scandals in recent years and has been hit by other injury pull-outs.   World number four Goran Ivanisevic, the second seed, now becomes tournament favourite.   His first round match against Romanian Andrei Pavel has been put back to Wednesday to allow him to recover from his losing semi-final clash with Pete Sampras at the U.S. Open last weekend.   The Open Romania tournament final is on Sunday. 
12020 !GCAT !GSPO  Ferencvaros of Hungary beat Olympiakos Pireus of Greece 3-1 (2-1) in the UEFA Cup first round, first leg played on Tuesday.   Scorers:   Ferencvaros: Gabor Zavadszky (11th); Mirza Varesanovic   (o.g. 35th); Laszlo Arany (52nd)   Olimpiakos Pireus:   Ilija Ivic (30th)   Attendance:7,000 
12021 !GCAT !GSPO  Brazilian Carlos Eduardo Castro de Souza has become the first foreign player to sign for an Albanian soccer team, officials at his new club said on Tuesday.   Kostandin Grillo, manager of first division Lushnja, said the 23-year-old midfielder, known as Edu, will earn $50,000 a year under his new contract -- the most lucrative ever signed in Albanian football.   "Lushnja president Bujar Xhaferri's aim is to lead the club and Albania into European soccer competitions," Grillo said.   The club has spent around $200,000 on new players this season and will be looking for a new centre-forward in December.   Edu, who played for Flamengo in Brazil before moving to clubs in Cyprus and Greece, has started training in Lushnja, 80 km south of the capital Tirana.   He made 36 appearances for Brazil at junior level. 
12022 !GCAT !GSPO  German tennis star Boris Becker pulled out of his first match in the Romanian open tennis tournament on Tuesday (Corrects from Monday), complaining to the umpire that he was in pain.   Becker, ranked sixth in the ATP, retired in the ninth game of the first set when he was trailing 5-3 to unseeded Christian Ruud of Norway.    It was not immediately apparent if the problem Becker was having was in his right wrist, which he injured during a match at Wimbledon in June and which forced his withdrawal from that event.   The Australian Open champion has not played a tournament since then, also missing the U.S. Open over the last two weeks.   Becker was the top seed of the Romanian clay court event, which awards $500,000 in prize money and which was badly hit by the withdrawal of top players.   The second seed is world number four Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia, who plays his first match against Romanian Andrei Pavel on Wednesday. 
12023 !GCAT !GSPO  Australia will play England at   Twickenham on December 7 at the end of their European tour to   complete a grand slam of matches against the four home   countries, a senior official said on Tuesday.   Australia have already confirmed fixtures against Wales,   Ireland and Scotland during their eight-week tour, which also   includes a one-off test against Italy.   In a statement, Australian Rugby Union chief executive John   O'Neill said the Wallabies would embark on a grand slam tour of   Britain and Ireland every four years, with another visit   scheduled for 2000.   "We are delighted by this outcome," O'Neill said.   "It is the   first time since 1984 that the Wallabies will embark on a grand   slam tour."   Australia won all four tests 12 years ago.   Australia were originally scheduled to play the Barbarians   at Twickenham on December 7 before the switch of opponents.   "Negotiations are continuing with the Barbarian Football   Club with the distinct desire for the Wallabies to play the   Barbarians mid-week on either 4 or 11 December," O'Neill said.   "It is expected that this date should be agreed shortly."   Australia, who finished last behind New Zealand and South   Africa in the inaugural Tri-Nations series this year, will play   Italy on October 23.   The test against Scotland is set down for Murrayfield on   November 9, followed by tests against Ireland on November 23 and   Wales on December 1. 
12024 !GCAT !GSPO  Regional powerhouse   Thailand booked their place in the last four of the Tiger Cup   with a 1-0 victory over hosts Singapore on Tuesday.    A Natipong Sritong-in goal in the 68th minute put the Thais   through as the winners of Group B with 10 points from four   games.    Singapore, needing to win to progress to the knock-out   stage, looked unlikely to achieve the victory they required in   front of a 42,000 crowd at the National Stadium.    Thailand join Indonesia and Malaysia in the semifinals.   Malaysia qualified thanks to a 6-0 win over Brunei in which   substitutes Anuar Abu Bakar and M Chandran both scored twice.    K Sanbagamaran, joint top scorer with Natipong on five   goals, opened the scoring in the third minute with Samsurin Abd   Rahman netting the other.    The final place in the semifinals will be decided on   Wednesday when Vietnam meet Indonesia and Laos play Burma.   Indonesia have already qualified but their game against Vietnam   will decide which team top Group A. Thailand, as winners of   Group B, are due to play the runners-up of the other group. 
12025 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of Tiger Cup soccer   tournament group B matches played on Tuesday:   In Singapore:    Brunei 0 Malaysia 6    Scorers - K.Sanbagamaran (3rd minute), Samsurin Abd Rahman   (37th), Anuar Abu Bakar (47th, 60th), M.Chandran (82nd, 89th)   Attendance: 20,000     Singapore 0 Thailand 1   Scorer - Natipong Sritong-in (68th)   Attendance: 42,000    Final group B standings (tabulated - played, won, drawn,   lost, goals for, goals against, points):    Thailand 4 3 1 0 13 1 10     Malaysia 4 2 2 0 15 2 8     Singapore 4 2 1 1 7 2 7    Brunei  4 1 0 3 1 15 3    Philippines 4 0 0 4 0 16 0   Thailand qualify for semifinals. 
12026 !GCAT !GSPO  Former Monaco coach Arsene Wenger is still negotiating a date for his departure from Japanese club Nagoya Grampus Eight, a spokesman for the club said on Tuesday.   "Talks between him and the team have been going on," Grampus spokesman Masaharu Teshima said.   "We are in final stages of negotiations.   The biggest question now is when he leaves the team."   He said Grampus, which plays in Japan's J-league, wanted the 47-year-old Frenchman to complete his two-year contract which expires next January.   British media has been heavily tipped in the British media to take over as manager of English premier league club Arsenal, which sacked Bruce Rioch as manager last month.   "We will have problems if he leaves the team early," Teshima said.   "Who will replace Wenger?   When we can have a new coach?   These are the problems which need to be cleared," he added.   Wenger played 11 professional matches at Strasbourg before launching a highly successful career in soccer management, first with the northeastern French club, then at nearby Nancy.   He was appointed chief coach at Monaco in 1987, guiding them to the French league title after signing current England manager Glenn Hoddle and former England striker Mark Hateley. 
12027 !GCAT !GSPO  Lance Johnson had three hits to become the first National Leaguer in seven years to reach 200 hits in a season as the New York Mets roughed up Kevin Brown in a 6-1 victory over the Florida Marlins Monday.   Johnson is the first N.L. player to reach 200 hits since San Diego's Tony Gwynn did it in 1989.   He led the American League in hits while playing for the Chicago White Sox last season and is bidding to become the first player in major-league history to lead both leagues in hits in consecutive seasons.   "I felt like I did the same thing last year when I lead the American League," said Johnson.   "I had 186 and missed 15.   This time I got to keep the ball.   It's not like I'm going to bat looking for 200 hits, I'm just looking to get hits.   Johnson had two singles and his league-leading 19th triple, the most in the N.L. since Ryne Sandberg and Juan Samuel reached that total in 1984.   Willie Mays is the last National League player to have 20 triples in a season.   "Things naturally happen for me.   I'd rather be going to the playoffs but it didn't work out this year."   Rookie Jason Hardtke drove in three runs and Rey Ordonez added a pair of RBI for New York, which has won two straight after losing four of five.   Brown (15-11), who leads the majors in ERA, was tagged for four runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings.   "I made a couple of bad pitches, I just felt like crap, physically blah," said Brown.   "It was hot out there."   In Los Angeles, Raul Mondesi had three hits and drove in three runs and Todd Hollandsworth added three hits and three runs to lift the Dodgers past the Cincinnati Reds, 7-2.   The Dodgers, who remained tied with San Diego for the lead in the N.L. West, scored five runs in the fifth.   Ramon Martinez (12-6) allowed two runs and seven hits through six innings for his fourth straight win.   Kevin Jarvis (7-8) was reached for five runs and five hits in 4 1/3 innings as the Reds had their three-game winning streak stopped.   In San Diego, Steve Finley hit a solo home run and Greg Vaughn a three-run shot in the bottom of the eighth as the Padres rallied for a 6-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.   Dustin Hermanson (1-0) gave up one run in the eighth for the victory and Trevor Hoffman worked a perfect ninth for his 36th save.   Marc Wilkins (3-3) took the loss.   The Padres posted back-to-back wins.   Orlando Merced drove in four runs for the Pirates, who have lost eight of 11.   In San Francisco, Andy Benes pitched six innings of four-hit ball to become the National League's second 17-game winner and Ron Gant and Luis Alicea each homered as the St Louis Cardinals beat the Giants 6-2   Benes (17-9) gave up two runs, four hits, walked five and fanned four to notch his fifth consecutive win and go 14-1 in his last 17 starts.   He also added a run-scoring sacrifice fly in sixth for his sixth RBI of the season.   Five relievers limited the Giants to two hits over the final three innings.   The win, combined with Houston's loss, gave the Cardinals a 2 1/2 game lead over the Astros in the N.L. Central.   San Francisco has lost four straight and nine of 11.   In Houston, Quinton McCracken's two-run triple triggered a three-run seventh inning that lifted the Colorado Rockies to a 4-2 victory over the Astros.   Capping the inning, Dante Bichette, who had an RBI single in the sixth, scored McCracken when he beat out a bunt for his third hit of the game.   The Rockies won for just the fourth time in their last 12 road games.   They are a league-worst 26-49 away from home.   The rally made a winner of Kevin Ritz (15-10), who allowed two runs and eight hits in six innings.   Bruce Ruffin struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 20th save.   In Chicago, Kevin Foster fired a six-hitter for his first career complete game and Ryne Sandberg belted a two-run double in the eighth inning as the Cubs beat the Montreal Expos 3-1.   Foster (7-3) struck out two and did not walk a batter as he won for the fourth time in five starts.   He went 0-for-3 at the plate, dropping his average from .333 to .286.   Since his recall from the minors on August 20, the right-hander has won four games and has allowed six runs and 17 hits with 15 strikeouts over 30 innings.   He also has driven in five runs.   David Segui homered for Montreal, which dropped one game behind San Diego for the wild card berth. 
12028 !GCAT !GSPO  Major League Baseball   standings after games played on Monday (tabulate under won,   lost, winning percentage and games behind):    AMERICAN LEAGUE    EASTERN DIVISION    W L PCT GB    NEW YORK  79 63 .556 -    BALTIMORE  77 66 .538 2 1/2    BOSTON  73 71 .507 7    TORONTO  66 78 .458 14    DETROIT  51 93 .354 29    CENTRAL DIVISION    CLEVELAND  84 58 .592 -    CHICAGO  78 66 .542 7    MINNESOTA  72 71 .503 12 1/2    MILWAUKEE  69 76 .476 16 1/2    KANSAS CITY  65 79 .451 20    WESTERN DIVISION    TEXAS 82 61 .573 -    SEATTLE  73 68 .518 8    OAKLAND  70 75 .483 13    CALIFORNIA  65 79 .451 17 1/2   TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 SCHEDULE   MILWAUKEE AT BOSTON     CALIFORNIA AT CLEVELAND     NEW YORK AT DETROIT     CHICAGO AT BALTIMORE     TEXAS AT TORONTO    SEATTLE AT KANSAS CITY     OAKLAND AT MINNESOTA      NATIONAL LEAGUE    EASTERN DIVISION    W L PCT GB    ATLANTA  86 56 .606 -    MONTREAL  78 65 .545 8 1/2    FLORIDA  70 75 .483 17 1/2    NEW YORK  64 80 .444 23    PHILADELPHIA 58 86 .403 29    CENTRAL DIVISION    ST LOUIS  78 66 .542 -    HOUSTON  76 69 .524 2 1/2    CINCINNATI  73 71 .507 5    CHICAGO  72 71 .503 5 1/2    PITTSBURGH  59 83 .415 18    WESTERN DIVISION    SAN DIEGO  80 65 .552 -    LOS ANGELES  79 64 .552 -    COLORADO  73 71 .507 6 1/2    SAN FRANCISCO 59 83 .415 19 1/2   TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 SCHEDULE   ST LOUIS AT SAN FRANCISCO    FLORIDA AT NEW YORK     MONTREAL AT CHICAGO     PHILADELPHIA AT HOUSTON     ATLANTA AT COLORADO     CINCINNATI AT LOS ANGELES    PITTSBURGH AT SAN DIEGO 
12029 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of Major League   Baseball games played on Monday (home team in CAPS):     American League    Milwaukee  6 BOSTON  0    CLEVELAND  4 California  3    BALTIMORE  5 Detroit  4    Texas 4 TORONTO  3     National League    NEW YORK  6 Florida  1    CHICAGO  3 Montreal  1    Colorado  4 HOUSTON  2    LOS ANGELES  7 Cincinnati  2    SAN DIEGO  6 Pittsburgh  5    St Louis  6 SAN FRANCISCO 2 
12030 !GCAT !GSPO  Todd Zeile hit a three-run homer as the Baltimore Orioles continued their playoff surge with a 5-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers Monday, gaining ground on the idle Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees.   Cal Ripken's RBI double tied the game and Chris Hoiles' sacrifice fly drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning as the Orioles moved within one-half game of Chicago for the American League wild card berth and within 2 1/2 games of New York for the Eastern Division lead.   Baltimore hosts the White Sox in a three-game series beginning Tuesday.   New York visits Detroit.   The Orioles, who trailed 4-0 after two innings, rallied behind Zeile's home run in the third inning.   It was Zeile's fourth in 10 games since being acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies.   "There is something to play for here," said Zeile.   "The club and fans have been great.   There is no bad place to hit in this lineup.   Wherever they want me, second spot or third, it doesn't matter."   In the sixth, the Orioles rallied against starter Omar Olivares (7-11).   Rafael Palmeiro singled and Bobby Bonilla walked.   Ripken, who had driven in just one run in his last 15 games, doubled into the left-field corner to tie the score.   Richie Lewis replaced Olivares and intentionally walked Eddie Murray to load the bases before striking out Pete Incaviglia.   Hoiles hit for Mark Parent and lifted a fly to shallow left, but Curtis Pride made a bad throw to the plate, allowing Bonilla to score the go-ahead run.   Olivares surrendered five runs and five hits over five innings, walking four and striking out two.   Baltimore starter Scott Erickson (11-11) allowed four runs and seven hits in 7 1/3 innings.   He allowed only one baserunner after the third inning -- and he was erased on a double play.   Erickson has won his last three starts.   Randy Myers tossed a perfect ninth, striking out the final two batters for his 28th save.   Pride led off the game with a homer for Detroit.   In Boston, Scott Karl tossed a six-hitter for his first major-league shutout and Matt Mieske and John Jaha hit eighth-inning homers as the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Red Sox 6-0 to snap a four-game losing streak.   Karl (12-7) walked one and struck out five as he posted his second straight complete game and third this season.   Tom Gordon (10-8) took the loss, lasting seven innings and giving up three runs and eight hits.   He walked three and struck out eight.   The Red Sox were shut out for the ninth time this season.   They lost for just the 11th time in 34 games but fell seven games behind first-place New York in the A.L East.   In Cleveland, Albert Belle's sacrifice fly plated Jose Vizcaino and second baseman Robert Eenhoorn's throwing error allowed Kenny Lofton to come home as the Indians scored three times in the eighth inning to beat the California Angels 4-3.   The first-place Indians moved seven games ahead of the White Sox in the American League Central.   Paul Shuey (5-2) allowed one hit and recorded the last two outs in the eighth for the win.   Jose Mesa allowed one hit and struck out three in the ninth for his 32nd save.   Mike Holtz (3-3) took the loss.   The Angels have lost 10 of their last 14 games.   In Toronto, Mickey Tettleton's run-scoring double snapped a sixth-inning tie and three relievers combined to pitch 4 1/3 scoreless innings as the Texas Rangers won their fifth straight, 4-3 over the Blue Jays.   Texas starter Roger Pavlik allowed three runs and eight hits over 4 2/3 innings before leaving with the bases loaded and two out in the fifth.   Kevin Gross (11-8) struck out Alex Gonzalez, who had homered in the second, to end the threat.   Gross held the Jays scoreless over the next two innings.   Mike Stanton tossed a perfect eighth and Mike Henneman struck out two in the ninth for his 29th save.   Pat Hentgen (17-9) took the loss but recorded his major league-leading 10th complete game, giving up four runs and seven hits with a season-high 10 strikeouts.   He has lost his last two starts after winning his previous four but has five complete games in his last six starts. 
12031 !GCAT !GSPO  Result of National Football   League game on Monday (home team in CAPS):    GREEN BAY  39 Philadelphia 13 
12032 !GCAT !GSPO  The younger brother of Michael Schumacher is set to join the world motor racing champion on the Formula One grid next season, the German daily Bild reported on Tuesday.   Bild said 21-year-old Ralf Schumacher, currently leading the Formula 3000 standings, would sign for the Jordan team before the Portuguese Grand Prix in Estoril on September 22.   It quoted the Schumachers' manager Willi Weber as saying: "We will announce a deal at the race in Estoril next week."   The McLaren team, powered by German Mercedes engines, have also shown interest in the younger Schumacher, who has test-driven for the team.   But Bild said McLaren boss Ron Dennis felt Ralf Schumacher was still too inexperienced to get a driver's contract.    In England, Jordan team spokeswoman Louise Goodman said: "It is just speculation.   We have spoken with Schumacher's management, but have also talked to a number of other people.   "No decisions have yet been reached about next year and the situation is still open." 
12033 !GCAT !GSPO  German Bundesliga side 1860 Munich signed Ghanaian striker Abedi Pele on a free transfer from Torino on Tuesday in an attempt to solve a crisis up front.   Pele, 33, a member of Olympique Marseille's 1993 European Cup winning team, is intended to replace 1860's top striker Olaf Bodden, sidelined with a viral infection.   "We want him to do what he does best.   He can dribble, stay on the ball, he's quick, he has a good eye and he can pass.   He can set up goals and he can score them," said 1860 trainer Werner Lorant. 
12034 !GCAT !GSPO  FIFA president Joao Havelange says he is unhappy with the place given to soccer at the last two Olympics and wants the sport to make more money from the Games.   "The Games are in one city and the stadiums are 400 kilometres away.   Something isn't working," Havelange said in an interview published on Tuesday by the Spanish sports daily Marca.   "The Federations pay to take their players and put on a party for somebody else.   Football alone had more spectators than the rest of the sports but we don't receive anything in exchange."   Asked if soccer should be taken out of the Olympics, Havelange said this was a matter for the FIFA executive.   Havelange was also on the offensive against the European Community, whose ruling in favour of Jean-Marc Bosman has meant the emigration of large numbers of players.   Speculating that the ruling could create a Spanish national side composed entirely of Germans, Havelange said that controversies over the game were used to divert attention from other problems.   "There are 15 million unemployed.   That's why they talk about football," Havelange said.   He said soccer moved $250 billion a year and employed 200 million people worldwide.   Havelange made clear he supported national teams against clubs in conflicts over availability created by the cross-border transfers.   "If clubs don't want to let players join their national sides then they shouldn't sign them," Havelange said.   "We are studying the creation of a single (international) calendar."   Havelange said that, given "health and intellectual condition", he might seek to continue when his mandate as FIFA president expired in 1998.   And for Diego Maradona, one of his fiercest critics during 22 years in the post, Havelange had conciliatory words.   "I've never done anything but help him," he said. 
12035 !GCAT !GSPO  Spain's Deportivo Coruna have beaten Real Madrid in a battle to sign Brazilian Olympic midfielder Flavio Conceicao from Palmeiras.   Deportivo club president Augusto Lendoiro said on Tuesday the deal would not cost more than $6.5 million despite a late offer from Real worth $7.0 million.   The 22-year-old is expected to sign on Wednesday, joining compatriots Mauro Silva and Rivaldo and Brazilian-born Donato -- now a naturalised Spaniard -- at the Galician club.   Deportivo has become a favourite destination for Brazilian players because of similarities between the regional Galician language and Portuguese. 
12036 !GCAT !GSPO  World Cup champions Sri Lanka seek to transfer their one-day prowess to the five-day game when they meet Zimbabwe in the first test starting on Wednesday.   Sri Lanka had an ideal warm-up for the two-test series by beating Australia to win the Singer World Series final with their leading batsman Aravinda de Silva scoring 334 runs in the series without being dismissed once in four innings.   "I am absolutely confident of beating Zimbabwe because we are playing well at the moment," said coach Dav Whatmore.   "We don't have a problem with losing.   We have a problem with how you win and how you lose.   "If the players direct all their energies into every game and do their best then we believe the opposition has to do better to beat you."   Paceman Ravindra Pushpakumara is expected to take the new ball with Chaminda Vaas with the remaining place to be decided between off-spinner Kumara Dharmensa and left-arm spinner Jayantha Silva.   Zimbabwe, who drew all three tests against the Sri Lankans in the only series between the two countries two years ago, look vulnerable in their batting with the experience David Houghton unavailable because of coaching commitments with his English county Worcestershire.   "Houghton is our Aravinda de Silva," said Zimabawe team manager Dennis Streak.   "We will miss him definitely.   However we are grooming Craig Wishart to take his place."   Bad weather, which has affected the Zimbabweans' preparation, is forecast for the match with rain accompanied by thunderstorms expected over the next few days.   Teams (from):   Sri Lanka - Arjuna Ranatunga (captain), Roshan Mahanama, Sanath Jayasuriya, Asanka Gurusinha, Aravinda de Silva, Hashan Tillekeratne, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Chaminda Vaas, Ravindra Pushpakumara, Muthiah Muralitharan, Kumara Dharmasena, Jayantha Silva.   Zimbabwe - Alistair Campbell (captain), Grant Flower, Mark Dekker, Guy Whittall, Craig Wishart, Andy Flower, Craig Evans, Heath Streak, Paul Strang, Bryan Strang, Andrew Whittall, Henry Olonga, Wayne James, Eddo Brandes, Ali Shah. 
12037 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Former military dictator Oupa Gqozo, whose South African homeland army massacred 29 people during a 1992 protest march, on Tuesday failed to appear before South Africa's "truth commission".   The former prison warder who seized control of the apartheid homeland of Ciskei in a coup sent a lawyer to tell Archbishop Desmond Tutu's panel he was ill with depression.   "The brigadier is now a person who is not the person who people saw him as in the past," lawyer Sally Collett said.   Tutu's Truth and Reconciliation Commission is holding three days of hearings on the massacre of 28 protestors and a soldier accidentally killed by his colleagues during an anti-apartheid march on the Ciskei homeland capital of Bisho four years ago.   Gqozo had been scheduled to give evidence about the circumstances in which his troops opened fire on unarmed protestors who rushed through a hole in a border fence.   African National Congress secretary general Cyril Ramaphosa charged on Monday that the dead and wounded were victims of a deliberate ambush created by Gqozo and then president F.W. de Klerk's government.   Collett said she had visited Gqozo on Monday and found him restless and unable to concentrate.   She said he was under psychiatric care and showed "classic symptoms of a depressive episode."   "It was abundantly apparent that he was not in a fit condition to make a contribution to the commission.... He suffered from a lack of concentration and coherence and from extreme fatigue," she said.   Gqozo has been stripped of farms and houses he acquired during the final years of apartheid, which ended in 1994, and was last week fined 10,000 rand ($2,225) for his part in an illegal diamond deal.   Collett said a state psychiatrist had prescribed medication and that Gqozo might be able to testify in about a month.   Spectators in the packed university hall just 100 metres (yards) from the scene of the massacre murmured angrily when it became clear that Gqozo would not arrive.   The crowd included several people still in wheelchairs or otherwise handicapped as a result of the shooting.   Collett said Gqozo appeared to fear he would be killed and a police officer who asked not to be identified told reporters two death threats had been made against him on Tuesday.   Commission member Bongani Finca said Gqozo's evidence would be vital to the examination of the event, one of the bloodiest clashes in the final years of white rule.   Officials said the commission, which is authorised to pardon politically motivated human rights crimes of the apartheid era, could decide to call for evidence from a psychiatrist or to subpoena Gqozo to appear. 
12038 !GCAT  These are the main stories in the Angolan press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   JORNAL DE ANGOLA   - Five Unita generals, including military chief Arlindo Chenda Ben Ben arrived in the Angolan capital for integration into the Angolan Armed Forces.   - Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos met Paul Hare, a special U.S. envoy sent to Luanda by U.S. President Bill Clinton, to discuss delays in Angola's peace process.   - The vice governor for defence in Angola's northern Cabinda enclave, Henrique Futi, said the military situation in the region remained stable after a ceasefire between the Angolan government and separatist guerrillas. 
12039 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in Zimbabwe's state-owned Herald newspaper on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   - About 100 delegates from 76 states and 22 organisations will attend the World Solar Summit in Harare on September 16 and 17, Zimbabwean vice president Simon Muzenda said on Monday.   - Foreign missions in Zimbabwe on Monday donated more than Z$3.6 million while local companies contributed over Z$200,000 towards the hosting of the World Solar Summit by the southern African state.   - Trade between Zimbabwe and Iran is set to take an aggressive stance when the two countries sign a formal and affirmative trade agreement during Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's two-day state visit starting on Wednesday.   ---Harare Newsroom: +263-4 72 52 28/9--- 
12040 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the South African press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   - - - -   BUSINESS DAY   - First National Bank managing director Barry Swart resigned on Monday, saying his censure by the FNB board could hurt the bank, its staff and shareholders.   - Producer inflation rose to 6.6 percent in July from 6.1 percent in June -- reflecting a jump in local producer costs while imported prices remained steady.   - De Beers' Central Selling Organisation appeared close to a new deal on Monday to market Russian diamonds, with Russian diamond officials reported as saying the text of an agreement was due to be completed this week.   - The Chamber of Mines has tabled a final wage offer ranging between six percent and 10 percent for gold mines and between 8.5 and 13 percent for colliers during tough negotiations with the National Union of Mineworkers.   - The South African Broadcasting Corporation has clinched a 500 million rand deal with an international company for encryption technology for its fledgling satellite television service, AstraSat.   - Former president FW de Klerk and deposed Ciskei military ruler Oupa Gqozo must be held responsible for the September 7 1992 Bisho massacre, ANC secretary-general Cyril Ramaphosa told the truth commission.    - - - -   BUSINESS REPORT   - Barry Swart, the managing director of First National Bank who was censured by the bank three weeks ago for awarding a multimillion rand bank decorating contract to his daughter, announced yesterday he would take immediate retirement.   - Almost one billion rand was wiped off the market capitalisation of MIH Holdings on Tuesday as the share price shed 390 cents to close 22.30 rand on the JSE in the wake of the deal announced at the weekend between Nethold and Canal Plus .   - A large jump in the prices of locally produced commodities pushed year-on-year producer, or wholesale, inflation from 6.1 percent in June to 6.6 percent in July.   - After the recent high-stakes race by international investment houses to advise the government on privatisation, South Africa's main labour federations introduced an element on modesty to the process on Monday by naming a team of largely unknown consultants to advise them on the restructuring of state assets.   - Khayalethu Home Loans, the country's leading financier of low-cost homes, signed a landmark deal with the South African National Civics Organisation to end a four year bond boycott which has cost the company about 500 million rand.    - - - -   THE STAR   - Big business in Johannesburg's CBD has renewed a call to local authorities to rid the city of crime and grime, as updated figures reveal a continuing exodus to safer and cleaner suburbs.   -- Johannesburg newsroom +27 11 482 1003 
12041 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  South Africa's Chamber of Mines employer body has tabled a final wage increase offer of between six and 10 percent for gold mines and 8.5 and 13 percent for coal mines, according to the Business Day newspaper.   The offer has been presented to the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and feedback from NUM members is due to be completed on Tuesday, the paper said.   The offer was tabled during week-long talks monitored by the Independent Mediation Services of South Africa, following an earlier deadlock.   The NUM has been seeking an average 25 percent wage increase.   The 1996/7 wages and working conditions negotiations began on June 14.   Last year the NUM - representing 350,000 mineworkers - won an average 10.5 percent increase in basic wages in gold mines and 11.5 percent in coal mines.   -- Johannesburg newsroom +27 11 482-1003 
12042 !GCAT  IZVESTIA   - Russian military aircraft design bureau Sukhoi claws its way out of recession and hopes for a better future.   - Russia plans to urgently build a rail by-pass around Chechnya, which may mean important political decisions on the future status of the rebel republic are in the offing.   - American air strikes against Iraq could be an act of retaliation for a failed anti-Saddam coup plotted by the CIA, says the paper, quoting a publication in the U.S.   SEVODNYA   - There was no change in Russia's position of principle regarding NATO expansion to the East at the weekend meeting between President Boris Yeltsin and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.   - The surgeon to operate Boris Yeltsin will be named at the end of September.   - Belorussian President Alexander Lukashenko's lightning visit to Russia over the weekend was shrouded in secrecy and followed by confusing reports on who he actually met in Moscow.   NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA   - The withdrawl by President Yeltsin of his decree to improve tax collection could prompt retaliatory measures from the IMF.   ROSSIISKAYA GAZETA   - President Boris Yeltsin corrects his own mistake and withdraws the controversial decree on new taxation.   MOSKOVSKY KOMSOMOLETS   - 54 people were injured, 36 of them seriously, when a drunk bus driver skidded off the road and into a ditch near the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals.   --Andrei Shukshin, Moscow Newsroom, +7095 941 8520 
12043 !GCAT  PRAVO - Finance Minister Ivan Kocarnik expects an increase in heating prices of 35 percent next year.   - Consumer prices rose by only 0.2 percent in August over July.   This marks a 9.6 percent increase over August 1995.   - Finland supports efforts by the Czech Republic to join the European Union and NATO according to Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, who came to Prague yesterday on a three-day official visit.   - Germany's Deutsche Bank is issuing bonds in Czech crowns.   The issue has a value of one billion crowns.   Bayerische Vereinsbank issued a two-billion crown bond in Czech crowns last week.   - Industrial production increased by 15.6 percent as compared to July 1995.   In the first seven months of 1996 industrial production increased by 9.1 percent.   - PPF will request the approval of the Ceska Pojistovna (CP) supervisory council for the transfer of 16 percent of Ceska Pojistovna shares from Investicni a Postovni Banka after PPF has come to an agreement with the National Property Fund that they will not oppose the transfer, according to the chairman of PPF's board of directors, Petr Kellner.   - Czechinvest, which is involved in drawing direct investment to the Czech Republic, opened its first branch office in the United States in Chicago on Monday.   Czechinvest is the second company of its type from Central Europe which has begun operating in the USA.   - After an agreement with union leaders, Skoda Liaz has decided to lay off 170 of its 3000 employees.   The reason for the layoff was the decrease in the production of lorries and spare parts.   - The State Market Regulation Fund will likely not purchase the amount of wheat it previously intended.   The fund has currently purchased 40,000 tonnes though it originally intended to purchase 460,000 tonnes.   - Inekon Group expects to post a gross profit of 300 million crowns for 1996.   HOSPODARSKE NOVINY - According to Interior Minister Jan Ruml, a parliamentary commission to investigate the bankruptcy of Kreditni Banka is unnecessary.   - Ceska Rafinerske, which has a monopoly on fuel production in the Czech Republic, would face a decrease in profits in the event of a devaluation of the Czech crown.   - Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus yesterday signed contracts to support and protect investment with his Malaysian counterpart in Kuala Lampur on Monday.   -- Prague Newsdesk - 42-2-2324-0003 
12044 !GCAT  Radio Romania news headlines:   * Government hosts third international conference on ethnic minorities rights.   * Signing of Romanian-Hungarian treaty means Romania has committed itself to observe ethnic minority rights, said Prime Minister Nicolae Vacaroiu.   * Irrespective of results in Romania's general elections the country will not change its policies on ethnic minorities, said government official Viorel Hrebenciuc.   * Trading on OTC electronic securities market to start on September 27, Economic Reform Minister Mircea Cosea said.   Some 11 million shareholder certificates had been printed so far.   * Romanian state bank Banca Comerciala Romana SA signed a letter of agreement with Merrill Lynch International to raise up to $100 million in Eurobonds on the international capital markets early next year.   * Council of Europe's official Jean Trestour met Ghiorghi Prisecaru, head of government's European integration department to make an overall evaluation of Romania's relations with EU.   * Senate voted bill on turning Romania's five Private Ownership Funds into investment companies to deal with shares derived from country's mass privatisation programme.   Shares in these new investment companies can be traded on OTC electronic securities market.   * Lower Chamber of Deputies continued debates on the penal code bill.   * Ruling Party of Social Democracy to conclude draft of its electoral programme and list of candidates by end-week, its executive president Adrian Nastase said.   * Confederation of revolutionaries in 1989 anti-communist uprising pledged to support President Ion Iliescu in the November polls.   * Some 16 new viral meningitis cases were registered over the past 24 hours and the overall death toll rose to 21, from 396 pacients, a Health Ministry statement said.   -- Bucharest Newsroom 40-1 3120264 
12045 !GCAT  These are the main headlines on Hungary's Kossuth Radio midday news.   Reuters cannot vouch for their accuracy:   - Prime Minister Gyula Horn will meet the Slovak Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar at the CEFTA summit in Slovakia but for the time being one cannot know if this will replace the talks that Meciar cancelled in August   - The Prime minister's Office will decide this week on the tender to buy two billion forints' worth of cars for government ministries over the next three years.   - The screening of Parliamentary members will start again in October although some misgivings have been referred to the Constitutional Court.   - The local council of the Budapest district of Angyalfold denied it had received prior warnings about an illegally built wall which collapsed and killed two small girls on Sunday.   -- Budapest newsroom +36 1 327 4040 
12046 !GCAT !GENT !GPRO  The horror of Vietnam is nothing new to the Sheen family.   Martin Sheen began the acting family's morbid fascination with the unpopular war as the tormented officer in "Apocalypse Now" and his son Charlie Sheen followed as the green infantryman in "Platoon."   Now Martin Sheen's son Emilio Estevez, who uses the original family name, keeps up the tradition with "The War At Home," which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival this week.   In the film, which he also directed, Estevez stars as young Vietnam veteran Jeremy Collier, haunted by his bizarre experiences of death and killing and unable to fit into the niceties of everyday life.   For Estevez it is a chance to turn to serious filmaking after directorial work in lighter movies like "Men At Work," in which he also starred alongside his brother.   It is also a departure from his roles in such films as the ice hockey epic "The Mighty Ducks."   "It goes much deeper than I have, maybe ever as an actor and as a director for sure," Estevez told Reuters.   He said his father gave him a play by James Duff named "Homefront" about four years ago and he latched onto it.   But no film studio would gamble on making it into a movie until Estevez told Disney he would make "Mighty Ducks III" for nothing if Disney would finance "The War At Home."   "Last summer the Disney Company came to me and said we want to make Mighty Ducks III and I said, 'Okay, great, I'll do it for free, but in exchange I want you guys to finance my film,'" Estevez said.   Disney came up with three-fourths of the financing.   The rest he raised through MCA, shooting the film in Austin, Texas, for a rock bottom budget of $4.2 million.   Estevez and his father admit they fought bitterly over the movie, which stars Sheen senior as Jeremy's father, Bob Collier.   "Bob is really a metaphor for how we treated the vets when they came home," Estevez said.   "They wanted to be hugged and Americans just said no."   Sheen, who suffered a heart attack and near breakdown while filming the 1979 war epic "Apocalypse Now," said he fought with Estevez over his son's insistence on plumbing the darker depths of Sheen's character both as a real and on-screen father.   "This is the first time that he had directed me," Sheen said.   "I didn't want to expose parts of myself which were dark and unchallenged and he led me to areas that were honest and free."   Estevez said he realized that it will be tough to sell this movie to a public that has grown to expect laughs, gun battles and steamy love scenes from the star of such films as "Young Guns" and "Stakeout."   "I think once people get into this movie and they see it they connect to it, but I think It's going to be a task getting them in because it doesn't have car chases," he said. 
12047 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  Inco Ltd said on Tuesday that an explosion at one of three electric furnaces at 59 percent-owned P.T. International Nickel Indonesia killed one person.   The furnace, which accounts for roughly one-third of P.T. Inco's annual production of 100 million pounds of nickel in matte, would likely be out of service for about eight weeks, Inco said.    Inco said the cause of the explosion and the full extent of the damage were being investigated.   The company, however, said the incident was not expected to affect the schedule of the project to expand P.T. Inco's productive capacity by 50 percent.   -- Reuters Toronto bureau 416-941-8100 
12048 !C41 !C411 !CCAT !GCAT !GOBIT !GPRO  Gray Communications Systems Inc said on Tuesday that its board of directors had named Mack Robinson as interim president and chief executive officer following the death of Ralph Gabbard, who had filled those posts.    The company said Gabbard died while on a business trip to Boston on Monday.   The company, which operates television stations affiliated to NBC, said Gabbard's death would not affect plans to issue shares and senior subordinated notes later this month.   It said it was holding investor meetings in advance of the public offerings of $150 million worth of notes due 2006 and 3.5 million shares of its Class B common stock.   Robinson was chairman and director of Bull Run Corp, it added.   A company spokeswoman said it had signed a $185-million agreement with John H Phipps Inc of Tallahasse, Fla to repurchase WCTV-TV, the CBS affiliate in Tallahasse Fla and Thomasville, Ga; WKXT-TV, the CBS affiliate in Knoxville, Tenn; Satellite Production Services, a satellite and production business in Tallahasse, Fla; and PortaPhone Paging, a communications and paging business.   She said the deal was expected to close by the end of September. 
12049 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The General Accounting Office said Tuesday that the Internal Revenue Service's Tax System Modernization (TSM) program still had serious problems relating to it management and oversight.   In testimony prepared for the Senate's Committee on Governmental Affairs, GAO's chief computer scientist, Rona Stillman, recommended that Congress limit TSM spending to only cost-effective modernization efforts.   Stillman said the IRS lacked effective information management practices, did not have a mature and disciplined software development process and systems architecture was not detailed enough to guide systems development.   Nor did it have a schedule to accomplish these things. 
12050 !C22 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  Arterial Vascular Engineering Inc said it released a new coronary stent system in Germany and the U.K.   It also plans an October 1 release in four other countries in Europe.   It said the new stent is designed to optimize flexibility and features a smooth edge design that allows access to curved vessels.   Stents are metal prostheses inserted into arteries after balloon angioplasty to prevent blockages. 
12051 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Hurricane warnings and hurricane watches extended westward into Haiti and northward into the Bahamas Tuesday as Hurricane Hortense swirled northwestward, the National Hurricane Center said.   At 5 p.m.   EDT (2100 GMT), Hortense's center was near latitude 19.3 north and longitude 68.8 west, or about 20 miles (30 km) east of Cabo Samana on the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic and moving northwest near 12 mph (19 kph), motion expected to continue for the next 24 hours, taking the storm along or near the northeastern Dominican coast.   Maximum sustained winds were near 75 mph (120 kph), barely hurricane strength, but Hortense's greatest threat was its very heavy rainfall.   As much as 18 inches (45 cm) of rain was reported in Puerto Rico and as much as 10 inches (25 cm) more rain was expected to fall on the U.S. territory.   Up to 12 inches (30 cm) of rain was possible over parts of the Dominican Republic.   At 5 p.m.   EDT (2100 GMT), the Dominican government extended the hurricane warnings to cover the nation's entire north coast and the south coast east of Bahia de Calderas.   A hurricane warning remained in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands and the islands of the southeastern Bahamas.   At 5 p.m.   EDT (2100 GMT), a tropical storm warning and hurricane watch were issued for the north coast of Haiti from St. Nicolas east to the Dominican border, and the government of the Bahamas issued a hurricane watch for the central Bahamas. 
12052 !C13 !CCAT !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole supports tax breaks for U.S. domestic oil producers, an energy advisor to the Dole-Kemp campaign said on Tuesday.   "You have to fuel economic growth with a healthy and strong domestic energy industry," said William Scherman, a partner at law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.   Dole would seek to encourage domestic production on federal lands, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and remove unnecessary regulatory burdens, Scherman told the National Energy Resources Organization (NERO).    A Dole administration "would give serious consideration" to repealing the alternative minimum tax, seek to increase intangible drilling cost deductions and allow geological and geophysical costs to be be treated as a tax-deductible expense, he said.   Similar tax proposals by the Clinton administration and lawmakers have failed to advance over the last two years because the White House and Congress were unable to find ways to offset the potential revenue loss.   Scherman said Dole was in favor of developing alternative energy sources.    However, he said the campaign was still trying to come up with a specific plan on how a Dole administration would be able to support energy research while also seeking to trim $32 billion in spending by the Energy Department, as proposed by Dole as part of his tax cut plan.   To meet the $32 billion target over six years, the government would have to eliminate all of the Energy Department's non-defense spending, including selling off the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the Petroleum Marketing Administrations, Energy Department officials have said.    Dole backed restructuring of the electricity industry, Scherman said, adding: "We cannot ignore key reliability issues as we move towards greater competition."   The Clinton administration plans to present its own package of power market reforms to the new Congress next year, assistant energy secretary Dirk Forrister told NERO. 
12053 !C21 !C23 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  High blood pressure patients treated with a short-acting calcium channel blocker were more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke than those treated with a diuretic, according to a report published on Tuesday.   However, there were conflicting interpretations of the significance of the study.   Researchers made the finding while comparing the two therapies for treating carotid artery disease in high blood pressure patients, according to the report in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.   Calcium channel blockers prevent the movement of calcium across the membrane that lines muscle cells, allowing muscles to relax and dilate, easing the work of the heart and thus reducing blood pressure.   Diuretics reduce the amount of water in circulation in the body, lowering blood pressure in the process.   In the study published on Tuesday, researchers at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, looked at 883 patients from nine medical centers who were given twice daily doses of either isradipine, a calcium channel blocker, or the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide.   They found a higher incidence of strokes, congestive heart failure and angina in isradipine patients (25, or 5.65 percent), when compared with hydrochlorothiazide patients (14, or 3.17 percent).   "These findings cause concern even though the numbers of events were small and despite the fact that the study was not designed to detect a difference in clinical events between the two treatment groups," the researchers wrote.   Aram Chobanian of the Boston University School of Medicine, in an editorial commenting on the study published in the same journal, said the findings indicate that "short-acting dihydropyridine derivatives (i.e. isradipine) clearly should be avoided in the vast majority of patients with cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension."   He said it would appear prudent to prescribe longer-acting calcium blockers or other drugs such as diuretics.   Longer-acting drugs require fewer daily doses.   Helen Torley, medical director for Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corp., which makes isradipine and which funded much of the study, warned against overinterpreting the results.   She said the patient population studied and the lack of a placebo-tested group meant that "no firm conclusion can be drawn from this type of analysis."   She said isradipine is approved as a twice-a-day hypertension treatment but is a relatively minor player in the field, accounting for less than two percent in dollar terms of calcium channel blocker sales in the United States. 
12054 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corp said Tuesday that recent media advisories inaccurately linked its calcium channel blocker, isradipine, with increased risks for myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, stroke and sudden death.    "Comments from organizations that were carried on major wire agencies were inaccurate," said a company spokesman, explaining how they were made before the results of a recent study were to be made public.   The results of the study on the effects of the blocker are to be published in Journal of American Medical Association on September 11, the company said.   Sandoz said the study showed that there was "no statistically significant differences" between patients treated with isradipine or another treatment called diuretic with regards to stroke, heart failure and other cardiovascular problems.   The study was designed to learn more about the potential applications of isradipine for the treatment of hypertension, it added.   Sandoz is an affiliate of pharmaceutical and nutrition company Sandoz Ltd of Basel, Switzerland. 
12055 !GCAT !GWEA !M14 !M143 !MCAT  Hurricane Hortense, moving in an increasingly northerly direction, appears to be fading as a threat to oil supplies, forecasters and traders said.   The storm did shut two small refineries on Puerto Rico owned by Sun Co and Phillips Petroleum Co, but did not significantly affect operations at Amerada Hess Corp's huge refinery on St Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.   "Hortense is decreasing as a potential oil supply factor," said one trader in Houston.   "It appears unlikely to enter the Gulf of Mexico," he said.   "Forecasters seem to feel it way well...stay at sea."    Traders noted that the fate of Hess's huge gasoline-rich plant was foremost on their minds, and that the Puerto Rican much less significant to the extent they are small and produce largely for the market on the island.   Forecasters indeed said the trajectory of the storm looks likely to be increasingly northerly due to a trough that will develop over the eastern portion of the U.S.   "This (trough) in effect will completely minimize any chance of Hortense moving into the Gulf of Mexico," north," said Basilio Lopez, a forecaster at Smith Barney in Chicago.   "Right now indications are that this trough will swing Hortense out to sea as it reaches the central and northern Bahamas," Lopez said in a daily report.   But Lopez said the storm threatens to move much closer to the Florida or Geogia coastline on the U.S. East Coast if the trough fails to set up as quickly as is now expected.   The storm, which killed at least five people in Puerto Rico on Tuesday, was centered just northeast of the Dominican Republic, moving west-northwest at 12 miles per hour (19 kph) and blowing at 75 mph (120 kph) -- barely hurricane force.   -- Oliver Ludwig, New York Energy Desk +1 212 859 1620 
12056 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  The New York Daily News has agreed to settle federal and individual lawsuits alleging it violated fair housing laws by running real estate rental advertisements stating "no kids," "single male" or "working couple."   Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Zachary Carter said the tabloid newspaper agreed to settle the cases without admitting or denying guilt.   Carter said the cases were filed on Monday, the same day that the settlement agreement was announced.   The accord still requires a federal judge's approval.   The individual case was brought by Long Island Housing Services and Open Housing Center Inc., two of the principal not-for-profit fair housing organizations in the New York metropolitan area.   The two agencies had alerted the Justice Department to the newspaper's advertising practices.   Carter said the federal suit alleged the paper engaged in a pattern of discrimination in publishing classified advertisements for residential areas.   He said the ads violated the Fair Housing Act of 1968 by stating that the owners preferred childless tenants or those of a specific gender or family status.   Under the settlement, the Daily News will implement a three-year training and monitoring program for all of its employees who take or solicit ads.   It will also subsidize more than $150,000 of the costs of disseminating information about fair housing laws and enforcement.   The newspaper will also pay $16,500 in damages and fees to the Open Housing Center and the Long Island Housing Services. 
12057 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  The remnants of former Typhoon Sally will continue to produce heavy rains and possible flooding and mudslides over northern Indochina and far southwestern China for the next few hours.    Hurricane Hortense remains as a strong risk to shipping this period as it moves from between Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic to the southeast Bahamas islands during today and Wednesday.   Top winds near the center of Hortense continue at about 80 mph during this time.   Shipping is at risk due to strong winds and rough seas.   Very heavy rains causes flooding and mudslides in Puerto Rico.   Winds diminish later today as the system moves away.   Damage due to floods, mudslides and strong winds may become severe in some areas.   Dominican Republic should also heavy flooding and mudslides caused by heavy rains.   Strong winds also are forecast in the east and northeast. 
12058 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Pillar Point Partners said on Tuesday it filed two patent infringement lawsuits to protect its patent rights relating to use of ultraviolet lasers which correct vision problems.   One lawsuit was filed against Arizona-based Barnet Dulaney Eye Center, which performed laser eye surgery without a license from Pillar Point, the company said in a statement.   The other lawsuit was filed in Washington against William D. Appler for aiding and encouraging others to infringe the patented technology, Pillar Point said.    The technology was developed by VISX Inc and Summit Technology Inc, Pillar Point said.   Pillar Point Partners was formed to provide a patent environment in the United States in which laser vision correction could be successfully commercialized and to make the use of the patented technology available to others in the United States.   -- New York newsdesk 859 1610 
12059 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GHEA  New Jersey sued the tobacco industry Tuesday to recoup the health-care costs of smokers, a spokesman for the attorney general said.   This is the 15th suit by a state attorney general aimed at obtaining reimbursement from cigarette companies for Medicaid costs.   The Lieutenant Govennor of Alabama filed a similar case.   Tobacco companies sued New Jersey several weeks ago in an effort to block the suit.   The industry alleged in its challenge that state law does not allow the attorney general to use outside law firms on a contingency fee basis.    Gov. Christie Whitman announced April 11 that New Jersey would sue the tobacco industry.   She said the state was taking the action "on behalf of New Jersey taxpayers who have been forced to foot the bill for treating tobacco-related illnesses.   The tobacco industry must be held accountable for allowing the public to consume a product it has known to be hazardous and addictive."   Several other states are also considering suits against the industry.   Among those, Utah and Hawaii were also sued by tobacco companies ahead of any legal action.    New Jersey's action is part of mounting legal attacks against the tobacco industry, including the White House's approval last month of Food and Drug Administration regulation of cigarettes.   The number of lawsuits filed by states and individuals increased rapidly throughout the summer, with more than 200 cases pending in Florida alone.   Norwood Wilner, the lawyer handling most of the Florida cases, filed a separate class action Aug 30 on behalf of 390 smokers.   There are also two other class actions pending in Florida.    Among charges contained in the suit is that the industry violated the New Jersey Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act.   It alleges that under New Jersey law the industry constitutes an enterprise "the purpose of which is to maximize sales through misleading and deceptive claims."   The state is seeking a number of remedies from the court, including ordering the manufactuers to turn over to the state profits from cigarette sales in New Jersey and ordering them to fund public education and smoking cessation programs. 
12060 !C15 !C152 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Ford Motor Co Chief Financial Officer John Devine said he expects the automaker's second-half loss in Latin America to be roughly twice as large as its first-half loss of about $130 million in the region.   In a telephone interview with Reuters, Devine also said he expects Ford to reach a tentative labor contract settlement that benefits both it and the United Auto Workers union by a September 14 deadline.    "I see a very positive tone on both sides," Devine said of the UAW talks, but added that "the issues are still tough and large and a lot of things have to be discussed yet."   The union last week decided to focus its major high-level bargaining efforts at Ford but has not broken off lower-level talks with General Motors Corp and Chrysler Corp.   Ford is aiming to tailor the pact to its needs while addressing the UAW's concerns -- but not necessarily those of GM and Chrysler.   "Our first priority is Ford Motor Co.   Make something that works for Ford Motor Co and works for the UAW.   That's our clear number-one focus," he said.    Asked if the resulting pact also would likely benefit GM and Chrysler, he said, "They're going to have to worry about that."   Devine declined to comment about specific issues being discussed in the negotiations.   People familiar with the talks have said the UAW has asked for a base wage increase of two percent per year over the life of the contract, guarantees of specific employment levels and elimination of a lower starting wage rate for new hires.   Regarding Latin America, Devine said more than half of the second-half loss is expected to come in the third quarter.    The losses will include some restructuring and severance charges for the company's Brazilian operations, but Devine declined to discuss specific actions.   "We'll contain it in the numbers that we've put on the table," he said.   He said the problems in Brazil and Argentina are due largely to the slower- and costlier-than-expected launch of new small-car production following the breakup of the Autolatina joint venture with Volkswagen AG in 1995.   "Effectively, we've had to re-launch the company in Brazil and Argentina," Devine said.   It's going to take us longer and it's tougher, but that's the car business these days."   He also said the losses are compounded by a shift away from trucks, where Ford has stronger entries, to small cars, where Ford was caught without an entry.   In addition, the market has become much more competitive in the past year, with more new vehicle entries and increased incentives.   He said Ford hopes to turn the Brazilian operation around within the next year.   "We're not going to fix it overnight.   It's going to take longer than that," he said.   Devine said Ford's new product launches, including the Expedition full-size sport/utility vehicle, the Ka minicar in Europe and Jaguar's XK8 coupe and convertible in Britain, are meeting the company's objectives. 
12061 !C12 !C33 !C331 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  The U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday that Hughes Aircraft Co, a unit of General Motors Corp., agreed to pay $4,050,000 to settle claims it failed to perform certain tests on parts for military aircraft radar units, missile guidance units and tracking equipment.   The department said the agreement settled a civil fraud suit brought in 1990 in federal court in Los Angeles by two private citizens and by a group called Taxpayers Against Fraud.   The Justice Department later took over the case.    The department charged that Hughes from early 1985 until January 1987 failed to perform certain environmental screening tests on electronic components made at its Microelectronic Circuits Division in Newport Beach, California.   The lawsuit alleged that Hughes supervisors instructed employees in the environmental test area to omit tests, to shorten required procedures, to approve parts that had failed particular tests and to falsify documents to show that the tests had been properly done.   The two private citizens who brought the lawsuit formerly worked in the environmental test area at the facility.   The Justice Department said about 75 government programs were affected, including the Navy's F-14, F-18 and A6E aircraft, the Air Force's F-15 aircraft, the AAMRAM and Phoenix missile programs and the Army's M-1 tank. 
12062 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  A U.S. Defense official denied a report that Iraq was massing troops near its southern border.   "We have no indication of any such build-up," said the official, who asked not to be identifed, when asked about a report from Dubai quoting claims by Shiite muslim groups that Iraq was building forces in the south, including around Basrah, Amarah and one other province. 
12063 !C24 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Fidelity Investments said Tuesday it will lease 575,000 square feet of new space in office buildings in downtown Boston and Marlborough, Mass., to provide room for 2,200 jobs.   David Weinstein, senior vice president for administration at Fidelity, said about half the jobs will be new and the rest will be existing employees.   The lease comes a month after the state legislature passed a bill giving Fidelity and other mutual fund companies a tax break in exchange for a promise to create jobs.    Weinstein said the leases, which include 135,000 square feet in Marlborough and $440,000 square feet in Boston, demonstrates Fidelity's long-term commitment to the cities and the state.   "Our real estate commitment today is a direct consequence of that law," Weinstein told reporters in a office floor in Boston still under construction.   Weinstein said the leases are long-term, up to 10 years.   However, Fidelity is still exploring the possibility of building an office tower across from the World Trade Center in Boston.   Weinstein said Fidelity has created 1,400 new jobs so far this year and currently has another 1,500 job openings across the country, half of those in Massachusetts.   With the new leases, Fidelity will lease a total of three million square feet of office space in Massachusetts, including about 830,000 in Marlborough.   --Michael Ellis, Boston Bureau, 617-367-4176 
12064 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  The remnants of former Typhoon Sally will continue to produce heavy rains and possible flooding and mudslides over northern Indochina and far southwestern China for the next few hours.    Hurricane Hortense, with 80 mph winds, is about 40 miles south-southeast of Ponce Puerto Rico in the eastern Caribbean.   Shipping in the region will be at risk for at least the next 24-36 hours.   Hortense is expected to track northwest this period and move into Hispanola within 24 hours.   Flooding rains and strong winds would cause damage through the island during this time, especially along the south coast.   Hortense will also be fairly close to Puerto Rico for another 12 hours.   This means that the island can expect heavy or very heavy rains.   This should causing flooding and possible mudslides this period.   A strong coastal storm surge along the southern coast could cause coastal flooding and beach erosion.    Tropical cyclone 03s become a decreasing risk to shipping as it dissipates in the south Indian Ocean.   Total dissipation is expected by 12 hours.   Tropical depression 24w may threaten Luzon Philippines this period with moderate to heavy rains and gusty winds.   The system then crosses into the Sea of China and further intensifies. 
12065 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  Irish Prime Minister John Bruton said on Tuesday that he was hopeful that the Irish Republican Army would restore the 17-month ceasefire that it ended in February with a bomb blast in London.   Speaking to a correspondent in Washington, Bruton said: "The conditions may exists in which a ceasefire might be called."   The Irish leader, who is on a trip to Washington, made it clear that he had no specific information but he said that without a ceasefire there would be a defensiveness and an unwillingness to compromise.   He told the BBC that he believed there should have been a ceasefire before the summer but the time had come when the IRA leadership might be ready to make a decision to restore the ceasefire.   The BBC correspondent said Bruton was speaking about his feelings and not because he had received any specific information.   He was working on the basis of his political judgement, he added.   His comments came as Northern Ireland peace talks resumed in Belfast after a summer break.   Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA, has been barred from the all-party talks because the IRA has refused to renew the truce in its 25-year war against British rule in Northern Ireland.   Bruton said bilateral talks in Northern Ireland between the the Ulster Unionists, the chief voice of majority pro-British Protestants, and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), the main moderate nationalist party of the Catholic minority who want a United Ireland through peaceful means, could create the conditions for a new ceasefire.   Up until now the IRA has shown no signs of agreeing to a new ceasefire.   Since it broke the truce with a huge bomb in London's Docklands financial district in which two people were killed it has issued a series of statements accusing Britain of raising last-minute preconditions to Sinn Fein participation in the talks, sponsored by Britain and Ireland.   Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams has said he wants to see the cessation restored but the IRA leadership has been reluctant to once again lay down its arms. 
12066 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Protestant politicians linked to pro-British "Loyalist" guerrillas predicted on Tuesday that they would survive a bid to expel them from crucial Northern Ireland peace talks.   Official sources close to Britain and Ireland, joint sponsors of the talks, said they would announce a decision on Wednesday on a demand by the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) for the ousting of two smaller parties because of their links with extremists.   But politicians in the parties - called Loyalist because of their allegiance to British rule - were optimistic that they had succeeded in fending off the DUP's challenge.   "I have no doubt whatsoever that our inclusion in negotiations will continue," Gary McMichael of the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) told reporters.   "I think the decision will be that they will keep us in," Billy Hutchinson of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) said.   For a second day the wrangle had dominated talks that have made sluggish progress since June when they were launched amid high hopes of resolving decades of strife between pro-British majority Protestants and a pro-Irish Catholic minority.   During a three-hour session, UDP and PUP leaders defended themselves against DUP charges they had breached the talks' guiding principles by refusing to condemn a death threat by Protestant guerrillas to a high-profile dissident Loyalist.   "We re-affirm now our absolute and total commitment to the principles of democracy today.   We resolutely oppose the use or threat of violence from whatever sources," the UDP and PUP said in a joint statement.   But they failed to mollify DUP fears that their presence would pave the way for the Irish Republican Army (IRA) guerrillas, which opposes British rule, to be given a voice.   Britain and Ireland have barred the IRA's Sinn Fein political arm from the talks which are chaired by former U.S. senator George Mitchell, because the republican guerrillas relaunched a war against British rule in February after a 17-month truce.   "We have recognised that the British government will go to any lengths to keep them (PUP/UDP) in there so that they (Britain and Ireland) can hold out the cherry to the IRA that pretty soon the door will be open to them to come in," Ian Paisley junior, son of the DUP's firebrand leader told reporters.   The PUP and UDP are the political wings of the banned Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Ulster Defence Association which killed hundreds of Catholics over 25 years in a bid to strengthen British rule and thwart IRA hostilities.   London and Dublin see the parties as crucial to the maintenance of a shaky Protestant guerrilla truce that has survived since October 1994 despite internal Protestant wrangling and demands to strike back at resurgent republicans. 
12067 !GCAT !GPRO !GREL  Britain's Princess Diana has accused the former head of the Church of England of "treachery" after he described her as an actress and schemer, a newspaper said on Wednesday.   The Daily Mirror, a popular tabloid, said the princess vented her anger against former Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie at a private party.   "I'm appalled.   I'll never forgive him for this.   It's particularly upsetting because I've always held him in the greatest esteem.   I thought he was a supporter of my position in my divorce and a personal friend.   It's treachery," she reportedly told friends.   In a series of taped interviews that formed a biography released on Monday, Runcie, who married Prince Charles and Princess Diana at St. Paul's Cathedral in 1981, said he saw early cracks in the marriage long before they became public.   Diana also claimed that Runcie had doublecrossed her before by leaking details of a personal meeting she and her ex-husband had with him before they were married.   "Charles was absolutely furious.   He said he felt we had been betrayed.   I was very upset myself," the newspaper quoted her as saying.   In the interviews which were taped three years ago, Runcie also spoke about Diana's grandmother Lady Ruth Fermoy.   "Ruth was very distressed with Diana's behaviour...She (Ruth) was totally and wholly a Charles person...and regarded Diana as an actress, a schemer -- all of which is true, of course," he said.   "I don't know what will become of her.   Sad really, and I feel a desire to suppport her," Runcie added.   The biography, published less than a month after the couple's divorced, has caused a sensation.   In the book Runcie said he thought the royal marriage had been arranged.   "We thought it was an arranged marriage but my view was, "They're a nice couple and she'll grow into it'," said Runcie.   Runcie also said he knew about Charles's relationship with old flame Camilla Parker Bowles, adding; "That was what worried Ruth Fermoy, about his needing a women to love and be cared for by.   And also that Diana would never be under control until she fell in love with someone."   The man who led the Church of England for 11 years, from 1980 to 1991, has expressed unhappiness about what he says were private comments finding their way into the biography called "The Reluctant Archbishop". 
12068 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  As Northern Ireland peace talks resumed after a summer break, Irish Prime Minister John Bruton offered some fresh hope for peace saying he believed the time may be right for the IRA to renew its ceasefire.   The Irish leader told the BBC on Tuesday that he was hopeful that the Irish Republican Army would once again lay down its arms and restore the 17-month truce that was shattered with a bomb in London's Docklands financial district in February.   Speaking to a BBC correspondent in Washington, Bruton said: "The conditions may exists in which a ceasefire might be called."   Bruton, who will address the U.S. Congress during his trip to Washington, made it clear that he had no specific information.   He told the BBC that he believed there should have been a ceasefire before the summer but the time had come when the IRA leadership may be ready to make a decision.   But Sinn Fein, the political arm of the IRA, was downbeat about Bruton's comments.   A source in Belfast told Reuters that Britain must remove preconditions which at present block the party from the peace negotiations.   "At this stage I see no evidence to suggest that there is an imminent IRA cessation.   There is a huge gap of distrust between the IRA and the British which only the British can close," the Sinn Fein source said.   "In order to create conditions in which that might be possible we need a process of negotation that is credible and that doesn't exit..."   Bruton comments came as Northern Ireland peace talks resumed in Belfast after a summer break.   Sinn Fein has been barred from the all-party talks because of the IRA's refusal to renew the truce in its 25-year war against British rule in Northern Ireland.   Bruton told the BBC that bilateral talks in Belfast between the Ulster Unionists, the chief voice of majority pro-British Protestants, and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), the main moderate nationalist party of the Catholic minority who want a United Ireland through peaceful means, could create the conditions for a new ceasefire.   The BBC correspondent said Bruton made it clear that he was speaking about his feelings and not because he had received any specific information.   He was working on the basis of his political judgement, he added.   Up until now the IRA has shown no signs of agreeing to a new ceasefire.   Since it broke the truce it has issued statements accusing Britain of raising a last-minute preconditions to Sinn Fein participation in the Anglo-Irish talks.   Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams has said he wants to see the cessation restored but the IRA leadership has been reluctant to make any moves.   Since the peace talks resumed on Monday they have been dominated by a wrangle between pro-British parties.   The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has called for two smaller parties, the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) and the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), to be ousted because of their links with so-called extremist guerrillas loyal to Britain.   Both parties said they were confident they would remain in the talks. 
12069 !GCAT  Following are some of the major events which occurred on September 17 in history.   879 - Charles III of France born.   Also called Charles the Simple, he added Lorraine to his kingdom.   1552 - Pope Paul V born as Camillo Borghese in Rome.   He became a cardinal in 1596 and Vicar of Rome in 1603, and was Pope from 1605 until his death in 1621.   1580 - Francisco Gomez de Quevedo y Villegas, satirist, novelist and prolific author of Spain's Golden Age of Literature, born.   1631 - In the Thirty Years War in Europe, the Battle of Breitenfeld took place.   Fought near Leipzig it resulted in victory for Swedish and Protestant German forces under Gustav Adolphus over Catholic troops led by the Count of Tilly.   1665 - Philip IV of Spain died and was succeeded by Charles II.   1787 - The Constitution of the United States was signed.   1809 - The Treaty of Fredrikshamm ended the Russo-Swedish war, ceding Finland to Russia.   1826 - Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann was born.   German mathematician, one of the most influential of the 19th century, he had numerous methods, theorems and concepts named after him.   1854 - David Dunbar Buick was born.   He was a pioneer U.S automobile builder who developed the Buick car.   1857 - Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky, Soviet physicist was born.   He pioneered development of Soviet rockets, space science and aeronautical research.   1862 - In the U.S. Civil War, the Battle of Antietam halted the Confederates advance into the North in one of the bloodiest fights of the war.   1871 - The Mont Cenis Tunnel, the first of the great tunnels through the Alps to be completed, was opened.   It runs for eight miles (13 km) from Modane, France, to Bardonecchia, Italy.   1877 - William Henry Fox Talbot, British pioneer of photography, died in Wiltshire.   1901 - Sir Francis Chichester, English yachtsman and aviator, was born.   1906 - Junius Richard Jayewardene, president of Sri Lanka from 1978-1989, born.   1918 - Chaim Herzog, Israeli ambassador to the United Nations 1975-78 and president of Israel 1983-1993, born.   1931 - Anne Bancroft, U.S. actress, was born.   She won an Oscar for the film version of "The Miracle Worker".   1931 - The first long-playing record to rotate at 33-1/3 rpm was demonstrated by the RCA Victor company at the Savoy Plaza Hotel, New York.   1935 - Manuel Quezon y Molina was elected first president of the Philippine Commonwealth, established under U.S. tutelage.   1939 - Russia invaded Poland, meeting little resistance and taking 217,000 Poles prisoner.   1944 - The failed "Operation Market Garden" began with British airborne troops being dropped at Arnhem.   The aim was to capture bridges over Dutch rivers, outflanking the German defensive line.   1948 - Count Folke Bernadotte of Sweden, United Nations mediator between Israel and the Arabs, was killed near Jerusalem while on a fact-finding mission.   1961 - Former Turkish prime minister Adnan Menderes, overthrown in a coup in 1960, was hanged by the new military rulers.   1978 - The Camp David summit between Jimmy Carter, Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Menachem Begin of Israel ended with a framework for a peace treaty.   1980 - General Anastasio Somoza Debayle, former president of Nicaragua, was assassinated in Paraguay where he was in exile.   1991 - The General Assembly admitted North and South Korea, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as members of the U.N.   1994 - Sir Karl Popper, one of the 20th century's most respected philosophers, died aged 92.   1995 - Gunmen killed Abdelhafid Benhadid, a candidate for Algeria's presidential election, outside his home near Algiers. 
12070 !C13 !C34 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  A decision by the Communication Workers Union (CWU) to call two more postal strikes this month may result in a three-month suspension of the Royal Mail's monopoly on delivering letters, a government official said.   The union announced the strikes, on September 20 and 22, after deciding not to ballot members on a proposed pay deal.   The CWU also warned that more stoppages were possible in an effort to bring an end to the dispute over pay and working conditions which has already resulted in eight strikes during the summer.   "Mr (Ian) Lang said in a statement last week that any further strikes causing disruption taking place...could mean a suspension for three months," a spokeman for the Department of Trade and Industry said.   Trade President Lang issued the warning on September 5 after Britons had already endured eight strikes during the summer.   The DTI spokesman said an order would be neccessary and would follow consultations with the Royal Mail.   Meanwhile, the Rail Maritime and Transport union said planned strikes on three railways on Wednesday had been called off after management and workers reached a pay deal on the Merseyrail, CrossCountry and North London Railways.   Stoppages on four other railways, Regional Railways North East, North West Regional Railways, ScotRail and South Wales and West Railway, will go ahead. 
12071 !GCAT !GSCI  British scientists said on Tuesday they were starting experiments that could help doctors communicate with people in comas.   Steve Roberts and colleagues at London's Imperial College of Science and Technology said he hoped to use a "hairnet" of electrodes, connected to a computer, to "read" an unconscious person's thoughts.   "There are a lot of people who have had severe injury, come out of coma and tell of a nightmare situation of being conscious of their surroundings but utterly unable to communicate in any way," Roberts told a news conference.   "It is hoped in a lot of these cases patients will be able to respond to this analysis and we would be able to assist their rehabilitation out of coma.   There's even a glimmer of hope that we might be able to say "there's someone in there,' which will be of some comfort to the patient."   Roberts, speaking at the British Association for the Advancement of Science annual festival in Birmingham, said he had already done tests on conscious volunteers in which the computer predicted, with 80 percent accuracy, when they were about to move their fingers.   Roberts said he could ask the coma patients to think about moving a finger.   If they could hear, they could think and the computer could pick this up.   It could be used to set up a simple "yes or no" type of communication system, he said.   Earlier studies have already shown that the brain "rehearses" movement and the same part of the brain is activated whether a person actually moves or just thinks about it.   Roberts said he now planned to test comatose patients, if he could get permission from hospitals and families.   The technology could also be used to create futuristic controls for a jetfighter, already imagined by the writers of adventure films.   The pilot could just think about making a move and the aircraft would instantly respond.   "One life-preserving aid could be a way of enabling, say, a fighter pilot who physically can't move to operate his ejector seat.   Clearly being able to think about ejecting, and enable it to happen, would help a pilot in a high-G spin."   Roberts' work is being funded by Britain's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. 
12072 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  Britain's Labour Party on Tuesday tried to soothe union fears it was planning to restrict the right to strike if it formed the next government, but a top union leader said it had merely muddied the waters.   The annual conference of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) this week has been overshadowed by suggestions from both the government and the opposition Labour Party -- traditionally closely linked to the unions -- that strikes in public services should be curbed.   Labour leader Tony Blair denied he was intent on "union- bashing" when he arrived in this northern seaside town for a traditional conference dinner with union leaders.   Repeating a call for partnership in industry, Blair said: "What is important is for us all to find new ways forward in a completely different labour market."   Labour employment spokesman David Blunkett came to a fringe meeting to reassure the unionists he was not contemplating any system of compulsory arbitration in work disputes.   "It wouldn't be compulsory because that would be imposed from outside, a denial of the right to take action," he said.   However, he said it made sense to "facilitate ballots in prolonged disputes" when there was a "final impasse" in talks, although the system had to be a voluntary one, agreed by unions and managers.   TUC General Secretary John Monks, a union moderate respected by Labour leaders, was unimpressed.   "Labour has some positive and clear proposals on fairness at work, but today's confused statements on the serious issue of avoiding and resolving industrial disputes take us backwards not forwards," he said.   The fact that the unions -- who helped found Labour and still provide almost half of its income -- believe Labour is prepared to ban strikes shows the suspicion felt in some union quarters at Labour's swing to the right.   Under Blair, Labour has jettisoned most of its socialist policies and is now 20 points ahead of the ruling Conservatives in the polls, well set to win the next election due by May 1997.   Blunkett made no concessions to activists at the meeting who called for a blanket repeal of all the reviled "anti-union" laws brought in by the Conservative government since 1979.   Labour plans to give workers and unions more rights in the workplace, but will leave the bulk of those laws in place.   In a newspaper article published ahead of his fringe appearance, Blunkett also warned that the type of industrial disruption that soured the final years of the last Labour government in the late 1970s would not be tolerated again.   "An incoming Labour government is not going to tolerate the activities of armchair revolutionaries whose only interest is disruption and who see disputes as an opportunity for mischief-making," he wrote in London's Evening Standard.   The government said on Monday it was considering ways of curbing strikes in the public services after a wave of unrest over the summer that has resulted in a series of stoppages on the London underground and at the Royal Mail postal service.   Undaunted, the postal workers' union announced two more stoppages on Tuesday in their dispute over work arrangements. 
12073 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Britons will have to face two more postal strikes in September after union leaders decided on Tuesday not to ballot members on a proposed pay deal.   The Communication Workers Union said sorting and delivery workers will strike on September 20 and 22.   The union also warned that more stoppages were possible in an effort to bring an end to the dispute over pay and working conditions.   Meanwhile, the Rail Maritime and Transport union said planned strikes on three railways on Wednesday had been called off after after management and workers reached a pay deal on the Merseyrail, CrossCountry and North London Railways.   Stoppages on four other railways, Regional Railways North East, North West Regional Railways, ScotRail and South Wales and West Railway, will go ahead. 
12074 !GCAT !GSCI  Comets or meteorites may have triggered off two plagues that swept Europe, but not by carrying killer microbes from space, a British archaeologist said on Tuesday.   There was evidence that a collision with Earth could have kicked up enough dust to create conditions that led to plague, Mike Baillie of Queen's University in Belfast said.   But science was not yet advanced enough to tell for sure, Baillie told a lecture audience at the British Association for the Advancement of Science's annual festival in Birmingham.   The Justinian plague in AD 542 and the Black Death in 1347 are estimated to have killed off a third of Europe's population.   The cause itself is well-known -- plague is carried by fleas that jump from rats to people, and it still kills today.   Baillie was examining theories that a comet or a meteorite could have carried the deadly bacteria from outer space.   British astronomers Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wikramasinghe created a huge debate 20 years ago with such a theory.   Baillie said he doubted this -- but there was evidence that dust in the atmosphere created poor environmental conditions that gave rise to the plague's spread.   "When we look at European oak growth in the sixth and 14th centuries we see clear evidence for environmental effects in trees at about the times when the plague was affecting human populations," Baillie said.   "Specifically, the oaks show notably reduced growth implying poor growth conditions."   There are also historical records of a "dry fog" in the year 536 and records of famines at that time.   There were similar records in the 14th century, he said.   Maybe there were crop failures which led to famines, he said.   "Perhaps the famines could have caused population movements in areas where plague was endemic; movements in such areas could have caused plague to break out and affect populations with no natural immunity." 
12075 !GCAT !GCRIM !GODD  Bungling British thieves stole aircraft engine parts worth 4.5 million pounds ($7 million) and turned them into scrap which they sold for just 1,000 pounds ($1,500), a court heard on Tuesday.   The gang unwittingly carried out the biggest ever raid in the southern county of Hampshire when they stole high-tech gas turbine components from a Portsmouth factory.   But they blew any chance of making a fortune by melting down their haul.   Gang member Thomas Hodgkins, 20, was sent to a young offenders' institution for 15 months but his three accomplices remain at large.   "Hodgkins was looking for scrap.   He had the fright of his life when he found out the real value.   If he had known he would not have taken part.   He was out of his league," his lawyer said. 
12076 !GCAT !GSCI  You are sleeping peacefully but wake up to hear someone enter your bedroom.   To your horror, you can neither open your eyes nor make a sound even if the intruder goes on to attack you.   Relax, advises Susan Blackmore of the University of the West of England in Bristol.   You are probably experiencing sleep paralysis or a false awakening, which can affect up to 40 percent of people.   Some cultures have explained the phenomenon in terms of ghosts, she told the British Association for the Advancement of Science's annual festival of science in Birmingham.   "Nowadays people are more likely to report that a four-foot high alien with big slanty black eyes came and took them from their room at night and whisked them off to a space ship."   She said the body freezes the muscles during sleep so that people don't physically act out their dreams.   But sometimes the mechanism does not work so that people are partly conscious.   Some continue to dream although they think they are awake.   Blackmore, who says her team is doing some of the first research on such experiences, advises sufferers to relax.   "Of all the people who have told us how they stopped being afraid, the majority have said that it helps to relax, forget about it and wait until it has gone away.   Fighting the paralysis just makes it seem worse," she said.   Those who can seize control of the situation can have what are known as lucid dreams, which many psychologists use as a tool, she added.   "Some people absolutely love the experience and try to induce it on purpose," she said.   "This can lead to out-of-body sensations, floating, flying and other pleasurable experiences.   So if you want to explore your own inner worlds this is a drug-free, painless and fascinating way to do it." 
12077 !C23 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  British doctors are more wary than their American counterparts of new AIDS drugs credited with knocking out the HIV virus and will use the protease inhibitors more cautiously, an expert said on Tuesday.   Dr Ian Weller of University College London said the long-term effects of protease inhibitors were not known and he would be conservative about prescribing them.   Protease inhibitors are a new class of drugs that stop the HIV virus at one point in its replicative cycle.   Other drugs, such as the commonly-used AZT, hit the virus at a different stage.   Drugs such as 3TC often prescribed in combination with AZT target yet another stage.   Researchers have reported remarkable results with combination or cocktail therapy, with some studies showing marked increases in how long AIDS victims live.   Triple therapy, using the protease inhibitors, shows even stronger results with researchers at the Aaron Diamond AIDS research centre in New York saying they had obliterated all traces of the virus from volunteers.   This finding caused some scientists to whisper the word "cure" at the International Conference on AIDS in Vancouver last July.   But Weller says this is premature.   "You are actually committing people to many, many years of treatment with combination drugs and you don't know what the long-term effects are," he told a news conference.   "The danger in starting early...is that you will run out of drugs later, when you really need them."   Aaron Diamond researchers have advocated doses of three different types of drugs early on in HIV infection, to hit the virus early and hard while the sufferer's immune system is strongest.   Weller also disputed their findings that the virus had been knocked back to low or undetectable levels.   Scientists did not know where the virus might reside in the body, he said.   "The virus could be sitting in another compartment we are not looking in, actually smiling," he said.   Doctors know HIV infects immune system cells known as CD4 cells and some studies indicate it resides in the lymph glands as well as in blood serum.   Last week British researchers reported they had also found HIV in another class of immune cells, the CD8 cells, which scientists had thought were immune from infection.   Several protease inhibitors are licensed in the United States but European regulators have just approved the first one -- Abbott Laboratories Inc's Norvir -- for use in Europe.   AIDS groups praised the move and called for more drugs to be available. 
12078 !C23 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  Prospects for a vaccine which could change the lives of millions who suffer from life-threatening allergies to insect stings and foods were boosted by a British government grant to Peptide Therapeutics Plc on Tuesday.   The 450,000 pound grant, from the Department of Trade and Industry, is intended to help scientists at the fledgling biotechnology company in Cambridge to develop a unique innoculation which may prevent fatal reactions to some foods and insect stings.   Peptide said its active allergy vaccine has already proved successful in small-scale trials on patients with serious food allergies, which can kill victims within 30 minutes.   Some estimates indicate around 7.5 million people in Europe, the USA and Japan are vulnerable to severe allergic reactions, and there are signs that the incidence of attacks is rising.   Peptide's finance director John Brown told Reuters the vaccine works by stopping the release of histamine, the key agent in allergic reactions, and its unique structure means "it could be active in a whole range of allergies."   "In experiments so far on serious food allergies, all the patients had allergies to different foods and it worked in all of them," Brown said.   Peptide believes the vaccine, which is based on work carried out at Birmingham University, may also help tackle allergic forms of asthma and eczema as well as adverse reaction to drugs.   Brown said Peptide, which intends to license out its discoveries to other companies rather than go it alone, is "in negotiations with several companies" over the allergy vaccine, which could be available to doctors by the end of 1998.   Peptide said on Tuesday its first-half pretax loss widened slightly to 1.78 million pounds from 1.65 million a year earlier.   Its shares closed down one pence at 204-1/2p.   --Jonathan Birt London Newsroom +44 171 542 7717 
12079 !GCAT !GPRO  Queen Elizabeth will convene a "royal summit" this month of senior family members and palace officials to chart the future of Britain's crisis-hit monarchy, the domestic Press Association news agency said on Tuesday.   The meeting was expected to consider far-reaching changes to the 1,000-year-old monarchy, which has been hit by a damaging series of scandals and setbacks in recent years, culminating in last month's divorce of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.   The agency said the meeting of the so-called "Way Ahead Group" would be held at the queen's Scottish estate, Balmoral, where she is currently on holiday.   It would be headed by the queen and attended by her husband the Duke of Edinburgh and children, the Prince of Wales, Princess Anne, the Duke of York and Prince Edward, together with senior courtiers.   A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman declined to give details, saying only: "Discussions of strategic issues go on all the time, as in other organisations.   When decisions are reached, they are announced."   The agenda is expected to include ending the monarch's role as head of the Church of England, allowing heirs to the throne to marry Catholics and streamlining the royal family to comprise only the monarch, consort, their children and those grandchildren who are direct heirs to the throne.   There is little or no possibility of adopting these measures during the 70-year-old queen's lifetime and, contrary to some reports, the group is not discussing scrapping the Civil List -- money paid by the state to cover royal expenses -- in return for income from the Crown Estates, currently government property.   The group is also expected to discuss what has become known as the "Camilla problem".   Divorcee Camilla Parker Bowles, Prince Charles' long-time intimate companion, has been quoted as saying she will not marry him as this could wreck his chances of becoming king.   The couple intend to continue their 20-year romance and the royal family wants to persuade Britons to accept this.   Prime Minister John Major and his wife Norma will make their annual visit to the queen at Balmoral this weekend.   Newspapers have speculated that Major will spell out to the queen disquiet among the public and in the upper reaches of the church at any prospect of a Queen Camilla. 
12080 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !GJOB  Britain's trade unions on Tuesday backed British membership of a single European currency, but the country's biggest union refused its support, saying the present plan could kill jobs.   The unions' umbrella body, the Trades Union Congress, believes that Britain would be better off joining economic and monetary union (EMU) if it goes ahead in 1999, although it wants the European Union to give employment equal priority.   John Edmonds, leader of the big general union, the GMB, admitted at the TUC's annual conference that tough criteria on debt, inflation and public deficits which EU countries wishing to join a single currency must meet were deflationary.   "Taken alone and applied rigidly, these criteria could drive Europe back into recession and force unemployment levels upward again to yet more unacceptable levels," he said.   But he said staying out of EMU would leave Britain isolated in Europe yet again, and its partners could well impose trade and other sanctions if sterling were allowed to depreciate to obtain a competitive advantage.   "We had best take the tough option and go in, without enthusiasm," Edmonds said.   This line was backed by a large majority, but the 1.3- million-strong public sector union, Unison, abstained.   Unison delegate Rita Donaghy said her union could see no evidence that European governments were prepared to slow down the timetable or add employment and growth criteria to the membership terms, something TUC leaders thought possible.   "I do not believe workers will accept a single currency if it means a single hospital closure," she said.   The biggest blue collar union, the 900,000-strong Transport and General, said there should be a referendum before Britain opted for any single currency.   However, TUC leader John Monks said the public was ill- informed about EMU and the press hostile.   "We need to be cautious about this," he said.   Emilio Gabaglio, general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, told the conference it would be unwise to seek a delay in the timetable for EMU, arguing that would bring currency upheaval and endanger the whole European Union. 
12081 !GCAT !GODD !GSCI  Bone flutes and wooden pipes found by archaeologists show ancient musicians deliberately played slightly off-pitch or "blue" notes like modern jazz and blues musicians, a scientist said on Tuesday.   First results from a study of how ancient instruments were actually used show the prehistoric players used techniques like sliding fingers over flute holes to "bend" notes.   Some flutes, made from bird and sheep bones as well as wood, were also carefully tuned to make these evocative sounds.   "They were playing "blue' notes in the jazz sense, notes which are slightly off line," Doctor Graeme Lawson of the University of Cambridge, head of the study, told reporters at Britain's main science festival.   The research, which is currently concentrating on mediaeval and Roman era flutes, could eventually yield details of ancient musicians' favourite harmonies, said Lawson, trained as both an archaeologist and a musician.   Studying the instruments alongside 12th century music notations from, for example, the troubadours in France could eventually even give clues to prehistoric melodies.   "That is work for the future, but it does seem that some of the rather archaic melodies within those repertories lie comfortably within the compass of some of these simple instruments,"said Lawson.   The breakthrough came when researchers realised that some of the flutes they were looking at had been discarded by their makers because they could not be tuned correctly.   Working out which instruments were tuned to their maker's satisfaction meant researchers were able to study microscopic signs of wear on flutes that were actually played to show where and how fingers were placed.   The researchers used carefully crafted replicas to test the sounds made by flutes, prototypes of the modern-day recorder.   Lawson's team hopes eventually to work out how bone pipes from the old stone age more than 20,000 years ago were played.   But Lawson said he believed that even stone age musicians were playing "blue" notes. 
12082 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  Concessions the opposition Labour Party plans to make to the trade unions if it wins power would be "dangerous for business and dangerous for Britain", Prime Minister John Major said on Tuesday.   In a statement issued as Labour leader Tony Blair arrived at the annual conference of the Trades Union Congress, Major also denounced strikes in public services as unacceptable and said the government was looking at ways to tackle the problem.   He said workers in these areas knew customers would return when strikes were settled.   "Those strikes can cause considerable chaos and confusion, as we have seen this summer.   They are strikes against the taxpayer, who pays for public services.   That is unacceptable.   So we are looking at ways to redress this balance".   In the statement, issued to the Press Association news agency, Major said Labour had offered certain favours to the unions in return for them bankrolling the party.   In addition to promises to introduce a minimum wage and sign the EU social chapter, various Labour leaders had promised to force employers to recognise unions and had spoken in favour of changing the law on secondary picketing and protecting strikers' employment contracts, he said.   -- London Newsroom +44 171 542 7717 
12083 !C13 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT  Major cocoa growers may send a delegation to a United Nations (UN) meeting in Switzerland later this month to lobby against the use of vegetable fats in chocolate.   Delegates to the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) meeting said Codex Alimentarius, a body which harmonises food standards, was due to meet from September 30 to October 2 to consider standards for chocolate and chocolate products.   Codex Alimentarius Commission is a part of the joint food standards programme of the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Health Organisation.   "We as producers are hoping to be present at that meeting to voice our opinions," said a Cameroon delegate.   "If they (the Codex) were to approve that chocolate could contain substances other than cocoa butter, it would not only be in line with the proposed EU directive in Europe but would also have worldwide implications," the delegate said.   The European Union (EU) earlier this year proposed to allow a five-percent vegetable fat content in chocolate, a move producers say could harm cocoa demand.   The EU directive to member states is pending approval by the EU Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.   "We are saying for Europe alone, if the directive goes through, it would take out about 200,000 tonnes of cocoa beans from the market," one producer source said.   "A lot of producers will suffer if, through Codex, this becomes worldwide," the source said.   Exporter members of the ICCO have said they might seek legal advice to challenge the possible EU directive, saying that it could contradict with the letter of the cocoa pact which requires members to promote use of cocoa.   The EU is one of the signatories of the 1993 cocoa agreement.   -- Jalil Hamid, London newsroom +44 171 542 4985 
12084 !GCAT !GODD !GSCI  Mental telepathy, ghosts and telekinesis are probably figments of the imagination, but people still firmly believe in them so there is a chance they could be real, psychologists said on Tuesday.   People probably couldn't really bend spoons with their minds, but there were still things that could not be explained, experts from British universities told the British Association for the Advancement of Science's annual festival in Birmingham.   "There is no doubt that if psi (extra-sensory perception or psychokinesis) is real, many aspects of our current scientific world-view will need to be radically overhauled," said Dr Christopher French of Goldsmith's College in London.   Deborah Delanoy of the University of Edinburgh said Ganzfeld experiments, in which people tried to get information psychically about a remote target, had mystified her.   In the experiments, people are asked to describe a building or scenery at a place identified only by a code and which they had never seen before.   Delanoy said experimenters sometimes got a 33 percent success rate, when mere chance should only get 25 percent.   Susan Blackmore of the University of the West of England in Bristol spent years investigating people who claimed to be able to find water underground with a stick, and looking for ghosts, but had never found any genuine paranormal phenomena.   Most belief in the paranormal stems from an ignorance of science or statistics, the experts said.   Caroline Watt of the University of Edinburgh described the media coverage of a woman who won the New Jersey lottery twice in a short time.   "The New York Times claimed that the odds of one person winning the top prize twice were about one in 17 trillion.   That looks like an amazing coincidence."   But so many people played the lottery, and played it regularly, that "someone, somewhere, someday is almost certain to win twice".   One study found a 50-50 chance of a double winner in a seven-year period and a one in 30 chance over four months.   Dr Richard Wiseman, a former magician and professor of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, said scientific tests easily debunked frauds.   "The media often report that "psychics' have helped solve serious crimes," he said.   But an experiment he did in 1994 showed that student volunteers were better at linking objects to crimes, and guessing about the crime, than three well-known "psychic detectives'. 
12085 !GCAT  (Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors)   THE AUSTRALIAN   After yesterday winning the AFL's rookie of the year award, the Norwich Rising Star, West Coast's Ben Cousins declared he wanted to play with the Eagles for the rest of his career.   Cousins was chosen for the award above 21 other players and received an investment portfolio worth A$10,000.   Page 22.   --   Following the suspension of forward Danny Lee, veteran prop Gavin Jones has been called into the Cronulla squad to take on Brisbane in Saturday's elimination rugby league final at Sydney Football Stadium.   With Martin Lang also out injured, Jones has been able to reclaim his spot after a stint in the reserves.   Page 22.   --   After being told they will receive only two-thirds of their pay for this season and that the rugby league club will operate under a scant A$1.5 million salary cap next year, South Queensland players have instructed the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance union to ask the Australian Rugby League to cover their lost pay for 1996.   Page 22.   --   THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD   Broncos prop Glen Lazarus has until Friday to prove his fitness for the elimination final against Cronulla.   Lazarus missed Brisbane's first final loss against Norths because of a groin strain, but is keen to make this weekend's side and the grand final.   Page 47.   --   Australia's "Woodies" have 39 doubles tennis titles to their credit, recently won their seventh grand slam championship at the U.S. Open and feature in the top 10 of the ATP prize-money list.   Todd Woodbridge is ranked eighth on the prize-money list for 1996 on $1.156 million and Mark Woodforde comes in ninth on $1.098 million.   Page 48.   --   The Wallabies will embark on their first rugby union grand slam tour since 1984 after England agreed to play a Test against Australia at Twickenham on December 7.   The International Rugby Board has also agreed to a grand slam tour every four seasons, with the Aussies set to face Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England at the end of this season.   Page 48.   --   THE AGE   Melbourne Tigers coach Lindsay Gaze says centre Mark Bradtke will stay on their list even if he plays for the Philadelphia 76ers in the next NBA season.   Being sought by Philadelphia for a one-year contract, Bradtke would be finished his American basketbal season by April, according to Gaze, and could be available on his return to Australia.   Page C15.   --   Following Saturday's incident involving Peter Dean and Tim Gepp, Melbourne coach Neil Balme has called for a clampdown on runners who infringe on play.   West Coast runner Gepp says he was hit in the mouth by Carlton defender Dean during the match at Subiaco Oval and ordered to leave the field by the umpire, after an incident earlier in the match when some players felt he interfered in a passage of play.   Page C16.   --   Hawthorn coach Ken Judge and three of the AFL club's most senior players, Jason Dunstall, John Platten and Shane Crawford, have voiced their support for the club's proposed merger with Melbourne.   Judge said the Hawthorn board had looked at the problem closely and he was satisfied that a merger was the only available option.   Page C16.   --   HERALD SUN   Kestrels coach Lisa Alexander says the results of the national netball league player recruitment process should please everyone if Melbourne Phoenix recruit Melbourne players and Kestrels pick up the remaining State players.   Alexander says Netball Austraia would not allow Phoenix to recruit too many State players as it would leave Kestrels as a second-rate side.   Page 70.   --   With three rounds to go and Melbourne Magic running second at 15-7, coach Brian Goorijan has cut practice time in half to help his team's run to the 1996 National Basketball League play-offs.   Page 71.   --   In a bid to revitalise local competition, the International Marketing Group, which has just taken a major stake in touring car racing through a joint venture with the touring car owners' group, TEGA, has released a plan which involves Australian V8 touring cars racing in Asia, New Zealand and eventually South Africa.   Page 73.   --   THE DAILY TELEGRAPH   The Canberra Kookaburras have called in Tongan rugby union centre Eli Vunipola to play against Randwick in Friday night's AAMI Cup sudden-death playoff at Sydney Football Stadium.   Page 73.   --   St George has installed Nick Zisti as winger for Sunday's elimination final against Sydney City and relegated veteran Ricky Walford to the reserves bench.   Troy Stone is also back in the starting line-up, with injured prop Jason Stevens out for the rest of the season.   Page 76.   --   The Jockey Tapes scandal, New South Wales Government changes to racing administration and speculation about the TAB's future tarnished the state racing industry's image and affected off-course betting revenue last financial year, according to TAB chairman Ross Cribb, but New South Wales punters still splurged a record A$3.59 billion through the NSW TAB.   Page 78.   -- Reuters Sydney Newsroom 61-2 373-1800 
12086 !GCAT !GSPO  Four Home Unions Tour Committee chairman Ray Williams contradicted on Tuesday an Australian announcement that the Wallabies would play England at Twickenham in December.   Williams said he was "surprised and concerned" at the Australian statement and said no fixture against England had been arranged.   Earlier Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O'Neill said the Wallabies would meet England on December 7 as a replacement for a match against the Barbarians in their first grand slam tour since 1984.   Australia have already confirmed fixtures against Wales, Ireland and Scotland during their eight-week tour, which also includes a one-off test against Italy.   "A proposal was put to a recent meeting of the committee that Australia play England rather than the Barbarians on December 7," Williams said.   "But the Barbarians' match against the touring team is a very special fixture, involving all four unions.   It was agreed that it was not possible to change the international calendar at such short notice.   "In collaboration with the Rugby Football Union we did, however, look very hard at a number of alternative ways in which a grand slam fixture might be accommodated, but the difficulties were insurmountable.   "Over 30,000 tickets have already been sold for the Barbarians' match at Twickenham and, all in all, we consider that it is in the best interests of all four home unions that the present arrangements stand."   In a statement, O'Neill said the Wallabies would embark on a grand slam tour of Britain and Ireland every four years, with another visit scheduled for 2000. 
12087 !GCAT !GSPO  U.S. Open finalists Pete Sampras and Michael Chang will spearhead a strong field for the Colonial Classic exhibition tournament in January, tournament officials announced on Tuesday.   Sampras beat Chang in straight sets on Sunday to win his fourth U.S. Open crown.   The two Americans are ranked one and two in the world respectively.   World number five and French Open champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia is the next highest ranked player in the tournament, which takes place at Kooyong from January 8-11 in the lead-up to the Australian Open the following week.   Also included in the field are former number ones Andre Agassi and Jim Courier and 14th-ranked Thomas Enqvist of Sweden.   Tournament organisers said in a statement they had offered world number six Boris Becker of Germany, current Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek and Wayne Ferreira of South Africa the chance to take up one of the remaining two places in the eight-man field.   The last available place will be decided between Australians Jason Stoltenberg, Mark Woodforde and Patrick Rafter, officials said.   -- Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 
12088 !GCAT !GSPO  HAMILTON, Sept 11 - Leah Gordon accepts her husband has a new love.   But she draws the line at sharing her king-size bed with Steve Gordon's new passion, NZPA reports.   Gordon, who led the Waikato rugby team to their victorious Ranfurly Shield rugby challenge against Taranaki last Sunday, wanted to bring the shield to bed on Monday night.   It's all part of tradition.   On the shield's first night back in the province, the captain normally sleeps with it.   But Mrs Gordon was having none of that.    "I said to him 'Darling, I'm not sleeping with that shield'.   We've got a king-size bed but my priorities for it are a little different."   Instead Gordon put the shield at the foot of the bed, which kept his wife happy.   First port of call yesterday for the shield was St Andrews Middle School in Hamilton where Mrs Gordon teaches.   There she was happy to share her husband and the shield with her enthusiastic pupils. 
12089 !GCAT !GSPO  WELLINGTON, Sept 11 - King Country could be without up to four of their regular forward pack for Saturday's NPC first division rugby match against Otago in Dunedin, according to coach Stan Meads.   Prop Phil Coffin, flanker Dean Anglesey and locks Glenn Stanton and Dion Waller are all in doubt for the match.   Stanton is due to appear before the New Zealand Rugby Football Union judiciary tonight after being cited for punching All Blacks halfback Justin Marshall in the first half of last Friday's 27-38 loss to Canterbury at Lancaster Park.    Marshall required medical treatment after the incident, which went undetected by match officials.   Meads said he had no idea how Stanton would fare at the judiciary but he rated All Blacks front rower Coffin, who has an infected ear, as a likely starter on Saturday.   However Anglesey, who turned an ankle during training before last Friday's match, was only a 50-50 chance while lock Waller, who has been suffering migraine headaches, was uncertain.   "We just have to leave things as long as possible to see who's available," said Meads, whose side is under pressure after four straight losses in the NPC.    "We're flying down to Dunedin on Friday morning but we're training on Thursday night so we'll sort things out there.   "I think Phil Coffin will be okay but it's just too hard with the others."   At this stage, Meads has bracketed loose forward Richard Coventry with Stanton at lock, bringing in Romana Graham from the reserves bench at the back of the scrum, but has chosen to name his three injured forwards in the starting 15.    However, he said Selevi Tiatia would replace Anglesey on the side of the scrum while Coventry was a definite starter for the match and would probably play as blindside flanker if Stanton was cleared to play.   On top of the injuries, Meads has also brought in Regan Sue at second five-eighths in place of Eric Henare and replaced hooker Cameron Herbert with Paul Mitchell.   King Country (likely): Phillipe Rayasi, Guy Curtis, Eddie Robinson, Dion Mathews, Regan Sue, Michael Blank, Chris Wills, Romana Graham, Dean Anglesey/Selevi Tiatia, Glenn Stanton/Richard Coventry, Dion Waller, Glenn Corbett/Coventry,    Joe Veitayaki, Paul Mitchell, Phil Coffin.   Reserves: Lee Peina, Eric Henare, Fen Davis, Chris Vogl, Glen Mulgrew, Cameron Herbert. 
12090 !GCAT !GSPO  The Kosevo Stadium in Sarajevo, which at times during the Bosnian War was only 100 metres from one of the fiercest frontlines, is now good enough to host major athletics events, a senior sports official said on Tuesday.   Helmut Diegl, president of the German athletic federation and an International Amateur Athletic Federation council member, said on returning to Milan after two days in the Bosnian capital for the Solidarity meeting: "Of course it may take a few years, but there is no reason why the stadium could not now stage a meeting like the World junior championships or the European Cup."    The stadium, still showing signs of war damage with a burnt-out electronic scoreboard and the 1984 Winter Olympic cauldron still blackened by artillery fire, has been rebuilt with the help of $1.5 million in funds donated by the IAAF and the International Olympic Committee.   A capacity crowd of 50,000 were granted free admission for the event and the stadium looked superb with brand new seating, a newly turfed infield which will be used for soccer and a new Mondo running track.    Diegl, the senior technical delegate, praised the work done by the local organising committee and other volunteers who helped organise the biggest international event staged in Bosnia since the end of hostilities between the warring factions in the former Yugoslavia.   "It really is true that the athletics results in Sarajevo were relatively unimportant for once," said Diegl, a sociology professor.   "The meeting was not a success because of the times the athletes ran or how high and long they jumped, it was a success because they were running and jumping there at all.    "For once in Sarajevo we saw the true function of sport which is to bring people of different cultures and beliefs together and to enjoy themselves at the same time.   I must say this has been one of the most fulfilling experiences I have ever had in my long career in sports."   Often an articulate and sometimes lone voice against IAAF president Primo Nebiolo, Diegl also criticised the IAAF for not making the meeting even better.    "I must say I am disappointed the IAAF were not able to bring more of the top names to Sarajevo for the meeting.   But I know that some of them only found out about it when they arrived in Milan last week for the Grand Prix final.   "If the IAAF had organised themselves better, it would have been an even greater occasion for the people of Sarajevo."   The one note of non-solidarity in Sarejevo was struck when Nebiolo publicly contradicted Diegl during a pre-meet press conference.    Nebiolo said he had written to the sport's top names a month ago asking them to appear in the meeting and restated his claim that athletes did not come because they were not brave enough.   On his return to Milan, Diegl said: "The president has his version and I have a copy of his letter to the athletes dated September 2.   But anyway, it was all about the people of Bosnia, not Primo Nebiolo."   High jumper Charles Austin, one of only three Americans in the field and the only American Olympic champion to compete, said he would not have missed the experience for anything.    "I was just happy I could bring a smile to the faces of ordinary people who have not had too much to smile about recently.   It was one of the greatest experiences of my life."   Austin collected the signature on a meet poster of almost all of the official party of around 500 athletes, officials, managers and journalists who spent a total of 19 hours making the short 500-mile journey from Milan and back, a trip that should take no more than 90 minutes by plane.   "My Atlanta gold medal is one thing," he said, "but I wanted a souvenir of this meet just as badly and this is the ideal one," he said. 
12091 !GCAT !GPOL  COLOMBIA GOVERNMENT LIST (960910)    President (Sworn in 7 Aug 94).....Ernesto SAMPER Pizano (LIB)    Vice-President...................Humberto DE LA CALLE** (LIB)    (**Resigned 10 Sept 96)    - - - - - - -   GOVERNMENT (Formed 7 Aug 94; reshuffled 21 Dec 95):   MINISTERS:    Agriculture.......................Cecilia LOPEZ Montano (LIB)    Communications..........................  .  Saulo ARBOLEDA (LIB)    Defence............................Juan Carlos ESGUERRA (LIB)    Economic Development...................Orlando CABRALES (CON)    Education..........................  Olga DUQUE de Ospina (CON)    Environment.......................Jose Vicente MOGOLLON (LIB)    Finance.............................Jose Antonio OCAMPO (LIB)    Foreign...............................  .  Maria Emma MEJIA (LIB)    Foreign Trade...............................  Morris HARF (LIB)    Government (Interior)...............Horacio SERPA Uribe (LIB)    Health..............................Maria Teresa Forero (LIB)    Justice.........................Carlos MEDELLIN Becerra (LIB)    Labour..................................Orlando OBREGON (CON)    Mines & Energy.......................Rodrigo VILLAMIZAR (LIB)    Transport..........................  .  Carlos Hernan LOPEZ (CON)    - - - - - - -    Central Bank Director..........................  Miguel URRUTIA    - - - - - - -   PARTY AFFILIATIONS:   LIB -- Liberal Party   CON -- Conservative Party    - - - - - - -     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) 
12092 !C12 !C13 !C31 !C311 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  U.S.-based Ethyl Corp. said on Tuesday it planned to launch a $201 million suit against the Canadian government to try to halt legislation to ban imports of the gasoline additive MMT.   Richmond, Va.-based Ethyl said the suit, filed under provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), would seek damages for its Canadian subsidiary, Ethyl Canada, which imports and distributes MMT in Canada.   Ottawa has introduced a bill to ban the import and interprovincial trade of MMT.   The bill is awaiting a final hearing and vote in Canada's House of Commons.   "We believe this bill is aimed directly at Ethyl Corp. and Ethyl Canada and as such is in direct breach of the Canadian government's obligations under the North American Free Trade Agreement," Ethyl Corp.   Vice President Christopher Hicks told reporters at a news conference.   Ethyl Canada, the sole distributor of MMT in Canada, imports concentrated MMT from the United States and distributes it in final form to Canadian refineries.   The filing of notice of intent will begin a 90-day consultation process between Ottawa and Ethyl, but company officials said they had no indication whether such consultations would actually take place.   MMT, methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl, is a fuel octane enhancer.   It has been used as a replacement for lead in gasoline in Canada since 1977.   Ethyl's lawyer, Barry Appleton, said the company was claiming damages that have already been incurred by Ethyl Canada as a result of government statements that have harmed the company's reputation.   Hicks declined to comment on whether the company will press ahead with the claim if Ottawa drops the bill.   Ethyl Canada President David Wilson declined to say what its revenues from the sales of MMT are, but said they represent a "significant share" of total revenues.   Hicks said the office of acting U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky was notified of Ethyl's action Tuesday, but that there was no Washington involvement in the case.   Canada Environment Minister Sergio Marchi's office was not immediately available for comment.   Marchi reintroduced the bill last spring after it had been laid aside at the end of parliment's session in February.   It was first introduced in May 1995 by then-Environment Minister Sheila Copps.   Marchi echoed the views of Canadian car makers, who say MMT clogs automotive emission diagnostic systems.   In April he said the possible interference with the emission control systems could pose a health hazard for Canadians.   Canada's Motor Vehicle Manufacturers' Association, which supports the bill, said Ethyl's claim was unfounded, calling it an attempt to dictate Canadian policy.   The Toronto-based association includes units of Chrysler, Ford, General Motors and Volvo.   The Canadian Petroleum Products Institute, a group representing refineries, said Ethyl's action was "growing evidence of the political escalation of the MMT issue."   The refiners' group said it stood by its earlier proposal to conduct an independent evaluation of MMT and its effect, as well as its offer to reduce the legal limit for MMT use in Canadian gasoline.   The use of MMT in the United States has been permitted since late 1995 after a U.S. Court of Appeals overruled Environmental Protection Agency objections to the additive. 
12093 !C21 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA  Alberta's harvest was held at 15 percent combined due to cooler, wetter weather in the past week, Alberta Agriculture said in its crop report for the week ended September 9.   Patches of frost were reported across Alberta last Thursday and Friday mornings but damage appeared minimal.   Southern Alberta's harvest was delayed by showers but combining should resume within one or two days.   Taber and Cardston were most advanced with 80 to 90 percent of cereals and oilseeds combined.   High River and Vulcan reported frost.   Central Alberta's harvest was delayed by rain.   The region saw light frost late last week.   Only swathing occured between scattered showers.   Northeast Alberta's harvest was delayed by wet weather.   Light frost occured late in the week but damage was minimal.   Northwest Alberta's harvest was halted by excessive rain.   One more week of warm, sunny weather was needed to allow crops to escape potential frost damage.   Peace River Valley's harvest was delayed by rain.   Farmers worried that frosts will hit before they can swath crops.   -- Gilbert Le Gras 204 947 3548 
12094 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  A judge in Argentina has confirmed the boundaries of an Argentine property claimed by Mansfield Minerals Inc and Teck Corp, the companies said on Tuesday.   The decision of the mining judge confirms that the Cerro Samenta property as originally applied for by Mansfield covers the area Mansfield intends to stake, the companies said in a statement.   The mining judge ordered claim maps for the area to be revised to reflect the true location of Cerro Samenta.   The ruling means two large geophysical anomalies in the area are wholly within the Mansfield property borders, Mansfield said.   The decision will shift the position of other claims in the area, including land recently acquired by Corriente Resources Inc.   A boundary dispute between Corriente and Mansfield led to the judge's ruling.   -- Reuters Toronto Bureau 416 941-8100 
12095 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA !M14 !M141 !MCAT  Canada's central Prairie grainbelt was forecast to see a slight to high risk of frost Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, Environment Canada said.   South and central Alberta and western Saskatchewan face a slight risk of frost Tuesday night, Environment Canada's 10-day frost outlook said.   Eastern Saskatchewan and western Manitoba face a moderate risk of frost Tuesday night while northeastern Saskatchewan faces a high risk of frost.   All of Manitoba's grainbelt faces a slight risk of frost Wednesday night into Thursday morning.   The east faces a slight risk Thursday night.   A slight risk of frost was forecast for Alberta's Peace River Valley and the extreme western end of Alberta's central grainbelt Saturday night.   The Prairie's northwest grainbelt faces a slight to moderate risk of frost Sept 16 to 19.   -- Gilbert Le Gras 204 947 3548 
12096 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Canadian author Heather Robertson said she launched a C$100 million class action suit against the Thomson Corp and its affiliates, including the U.S. based Information Access Company.   Robertson said she had made a statement of claim on behalf of Canadian freelance writers and other copyright owners who own works originally published in print media in Canada and later placed into electronic databases.   "The usual practice is that a freelancer who sells an article to a magazine or newspaper sells the right to publish the article once only," Robertson said.    Robertson said on Tuesday in a statement that recently Thomson's Globe and Mail newspaper began "pressing freelance writers to sign agreements giving away the electronic rights without compensation."   It became clear the publishers were already selling electronic compies of previous articles on their databases.   "They don't have the right to do that without permission," she said.   -- Reuters Toronto Bureau (416) 941-8100 
12097 !GCAT !GREL !GVIO  Hutu rebels have murdered the Roman Catholic archbishop of Burundi and three other people in an ambush on his car, the army said on Tuesday citing witnesses who saw his body burning and retrieved the body of a dead nun.   An army spokesman said Archbishop Joachim Ruhuna, Burundi's most senior Catholic cleric and a member of the Tutsi minority, was ambushed on the way to the central town of Gitega on Monday.   A Burundian nun from Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity religious order and two other people, so far not identified, were also killed in the attack.   Three other people travelling in the car were missing.   "He is definitely dead.   A deacon saw his body burning in the car," spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Longin Minani told Reuters.   The archbishop, two nuns, two schoolgirls, an accountant and a driver were travelling in the car when it was ambushed at Murongwe, five km (three miles) north of Bugendana village, in an area described by aid workers as a Hutu rebel stronghold.   Minani said a Catholic deacon and others heard the attack on the car and managed to drag the corpse of one of the two nuns out of the vehicle and hide it in a building.   Minani said the burning body of the archbishop was too heavy to lift, and when they returned to the ambush site it was gone.   "The rebels probably threw it in the river.   That's where they (soldiers) are searching now," Minani said.   The 62-year-old archbishop was booed at a funeral for 304 Tutsi massacre victims in Bugendana on July 23, when he said there were extremists among both the Tutsi minority and the Hutu majority in the ethnically-split country.   "There are no names for this.   I have seen it many times but I condemn violence on both sides," the archbishop said.   Angry Tutsi mourners also pelted President Sylvestre Ntibantunganya with rocks and cow dung, forcing the head of state to flee the funeral by helicopter.   Two days later the Hutu president was toppled in a coup by the Tutsi-dominated army under retired major Pierre Buyoya.   A Roman Catholic peace group, the Rome-based Sant'Egidio Community, expressed horror at Ruhuna's reported murder.   It said Ruhuna had been a man of peace who had "never stopped preaching moderation and seeking dialogue" despite the killing of several members of his own family in 1993.   His assassination was "a personalised horror that adds itself to the horror of the massacres and the tragedy of a Burundi that finds no peace," the group said in a statement.   Sant'Egidio, which has mounted peace efforts in many of the world's troublespots, has received several key figures in the Burundi conflict, including Hutu rebel leader Leonard Nyangoma.   "In the light of this episode, the Sant'Egidio community ...reaffirms the need to reach a negotiated solution to the conflict as soon as possible so as to interrupt the terrible spiral of violence and vendettas," the group said.   "It feels even more committed to finding ways to (secure) the necessary dialogue."   More than 150,000 people have been killed in three years of massacres and civil war between the army and rebels in Burundi, the southern neighbour of Rwanda where one million people, mostly Tutsis, were slaughtered in ethnic bloodshed in 1994.   The army spokesman and witnesses said another two people were killed in ambushes near the northern town of Bugerama on Tuesday after four people died in a similar attack in the south on Monday. 
12098 !GCAT !GPOL  Zambian President Frederick Chiluba said late on Tuesday he would not reverse constitutional reforms which effectively bar his main opponent Kenneth Kaunda from standing for election in this year's presidential polls.   "The position is that the Constitution of Zambia Amendment Act 1996 has already been enacted and is now the supreme law of the land," he said in a radio and television broadcast.   "The (new) provisions of the constitution are the expression of the people's long-standing submissions in all the post-constitutional review commissions," Chiluba said.   The president had held talks with Kaunda, his predecessor, last month over the controversial new laws.   But another meeting scheduled for Monday, September 9, collapsed when Kaunda refused to attend the talks, saying it would be futile as the president was not being sincere in discussions with the opposition.   The constitutional changes have been widely condemned by the international community as an attempt by Chiluba to prolong his own term in office.   Western governments led by the United States have threatened to cut or freeze aid to Zambia unless the changes are reversed.   Kaunda, leader of the 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 rules him out of the race because his parents were not Zambian, but Malawian, and because he has ruled for more than two terms already.   Another clause banning traditional leaders from engaging in active politics bars Kaunda's deputy, Chief Inyambo Yeta, from standing in his stead.   Six leaders of the UNIP party including Yeta 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 fabricating the charges in an effort to discredit his party.   Chiluba did not announce a date for the presidential and parliamentary polls, which must be held before the end of October this year. 
12099 !GCAT !GCRIM  South African police said on Tuesday detectives from its Child Protection Unit (CPU) were investigating reports that an international crime syndicate was abducting and selling children.   "I can confirm this, that definitely there are indications of an international syndicate operating in this country concerning the trafficking of children and drugs," police CPU Superintendent Sharon Schutte told national television.   A young woman, who first told police one year ago that she had belonged to a syndicate trading in children, was rushed into a police witness protection programme this week.   The woman, whose identity was shielded, told the South African Broadcasting Corporation that she was initiated into a satanists' ring at the age of 10 and was forced into the syndicate two years later, in 1989.   She said she knew of 36 children who were sold abroad for sexual exploitation and alleged that notorious South African paedophile Gert van Rooyen was a member of her satanists' cell.   Pretoria police said last month they were probing a link between the child sex scandal rocking Belgium and the disappearance of five girls in South Africa up to eight years ago.   Van Rooyen and his lover Joey Haarhof were linked by police to the disappearance of the girls, aged 11 to 13.   Van Rooyen shot Haarhof and himself in 1990 during a car chase as police closed in on them.   The girls were never traced. 
12100 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  Four workers were killed and three injured at the Kloof Gold Mining Co Ltd's Leeudoorn division during an underground inspection on Monday night, a mine official said on Tuesday.   Mine manager Willem Delport told reporters a commission of inquiry would be held into the cause of the accident after an initial examination yielded no clues.   "We actually couldn't find out at this stage what caused the accident," Delport said.   The workers, who were employed by a company contracted by the mine, were about 2,700 metres underground inspecting damages to an ore tunnel when a steel rope broke and a platform plunged down the shaft.   Leeudoorn produced 1,544 kg of gold in the quarter to end June.   -- Johannesburg newsroom, +27-11 482 1003 
12101 !GCAT !GDIP  Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi arrived in Maputo on Tuesday for the start of a three-day state visit to Mozambique.   Accompanied by his Foreign Minister Kalonzo Musyonda and by Industry and Trade Minister Kirugi M'mkindia, Moi was greeted at Maputo airport by his Mozambican counterpart Joaquim Chissano.   Private talks between Moi and Chissano were held on Tuesday afternoon, followed by official discussions between Mozambican and Kenyan delegations.   According to a brief Mozambican government statement, the purpose of the visit is "to strengthen relations of friendship and cooperation".   This is Moi's first visit to Mozambique since 1994 general elections, won by Chissano and his Frelimo Party.   Prior to the elections relations between Maputo and Nairobi were cool because of the Kenyan government's alleged links with the former rebel movement Renamo.   But after Tuesday's talks Chissano praised Moi's role as a mediator in the negotiations which ended Mozambique's 16-year civil war.   "He was patient," Chissano told reporters.   On Wednesday the Kenyan president is scheduled to visit the Mabor tyre factory on the outskirts of Maputo, and the Pequenos Libombos dam on the Umbeluzi river, about 40 km west of the capital.   He will also meet Mozambican business leaders. 
12102 !GCAT !GDEF !GPOL  The Central African Republic has wrapped up a national conference to heal the wounds of a bloody army revolt in May, with scores of recommendations including restructuring the army and improving the lot of soldiers.   "It is imperative to restore security in the country.   This role falls naturally and as a priority to the Central African armed forces," President Ange-Felix Patasse said on Monday in a closing speech to the assembly.   The recommendations from the assembly, which began its work on August 19 and brought together representatives of the army and society in general, called for an increase in pay for soldiers and in their age of retirement and improvements in management of the armed forces.   It is now up to Patasse and the government to act on them.   The Central African Republic, a poor but diamond-rich former French colony, was rocked by two army pay revolts this year -- in April and May.   France, which has troops stationed here, intervened in May to maintain Patasse in power.   Fighting and looting wrecked the centre of the capital Bangui and 43 people were killed.   The Central African Republic hit the headlines in the 1970s during the rule and excesses of self-style emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa.   It embarked on a transition to democracy under military ruler Andre Kolingba in the 1990s.   Patasse won a presidential election in 1993, leaving Kolingba, who ran the country from 1981 until he bowed to pressure for democratic reform, trailing in the first round. 
12103 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Gabon's national electoral commission has again put back local elections, this time to October 20 from September 28, blaming problems drawing up lists of candidates for each district.   The elections, whose postponement was announced by commission president Gilbert Ngoulakia on Monday, have already been postponed twice, the last time because of delays in establishing new constituency boundaries.   Paul Mba Abessole, leader of the main opposition National Movement of Woodcutters, has registered as a candidate in Libreville's third district.   Abessole, a Catholic priest, lost disputed 1993 presidential elections to President Omar Bongo, who polled just over 51 percent of votes cast.   The election triggered opposition protests in which five people died. 
12104 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  Spanish boat owners have asked Sierra Leone authorities to act against a growing menace from pirates attacking trawlers off the West African country.   A boat owners association in Spain and the Canary Islands complained in a letter to the Ministry of Marine Resources in Freetown that the pirates were heavily armed, systematically organised and carried out their attacks at regular intervals.   A senior official of the ministry told Reuters his department received the letter last week.   The government was investigating and would take action, he said.   "Reports of pirates attacking fishing boats in our coastal waters can seriously damage the fishing industry as many fishing boats will keep away," added the official who asked not to be named.   Last month a sub-regional fishing committee comprising Senegal, Gambia, Mauritania, Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone agreed to the Freetown government's request to use a committee plane to survey the coastal waters.   The first surveillance flights operated two weeks ago but it was not clear if they were continuing.   Sierra Leone's rich coastal waters attract many foreign trawlers, notably to its sardines-rich continental shelf.   But the country's five-year-old civil war also hit the fishing industry.   The annual catch has fallen sharply since 1993 when it was at 62,046 tonnes, according to figures from the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organisation.   Piracy appears to have intensified as civil war recedes with a ceasefire between the army and rebels largely effective since last March.   Local fishing boats have also been hit.   "Just last week pirates attacked one of our boats," said an official of the Okekey Fishing Company, one of the biggest local trawling firms.   "They tied up the captain and the crew in one of the cold rooms and then looted 180 crates of shrimps and destroyed navigation equipment on board." 
12105 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Treason charges against two Zambian opposition leaders accused of links to the shadowy "Black Mamba" guerrilla group were dropped by the prosecution in Lusaka's Hugh Court on Tuesday.   The court ordered the discharge of former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda's press aide, Muhabi Lungu, and former minister Rabbison Chongo after a request by Public Prosecutions Director Gregory Phiri, who did not give any reasons for the move.   The men are members of Kaunda's United National Independence Party (UNIP).   Six other UNIP leaders, including Kaunda's deputy Inyambo Yeta, still face charges of treason and murder for allegedly plotting to overthrow President Frederick Chiluba's government and masterminding a series of bomb blasts.   Initially, the state had alleged all eight were behind the Black Mamba, in whose name bombs have been planted in several parts of Zambia to protest at laws barring Kaunda from running in presidential polls in October.   The bombs exploded at the presidential residence, Lusaka's international airport -- killing a policeman -- and at offices of a state-run newspaper.   Kaunda, who led the country from independence in 1964 up to 1991, has accused Chiluba's government of manufacturing charges against UNIP officials in an effort to discredit the opposition.   Kaunda wanted to challenge Chiluba for the presidency in the polls later this year but the amended constitution bars him, and possibly other candidates, 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 already ruled for more than two terms. 
12106 !GCAT !GDIS  At least six people were killed and 30 injured on Tuesday when a freight train on the Djiboutian-Ethiopian railroad crashed in southern Djibouti, state radio said.   Radio Djibouti said the initial toll was six dead but many more were feared killed when several wagons broke loose from the train 10 km (six miles) from the southern town of Ali Sabieh.   It said French and Djibouti troops had mounted a joint rescue operation and were evacuating casualties by helicopter.   There were no more details of the crash but the railway running from the Red Sea state of Djibouti to landlocked Ethiopia marks its 100th anniversary next year and much of its rolling stock and rails are old and in very poor condition.   People frequently climb on to the roofs of freight trains or hang from wagons to Ethiopia to escape paying passenger fares.   Djibouti is France's largest military base in Africa with 3,500 servicemen and women. 
12107 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Military chiefs of the former rival Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) and UNITA movement embraced before talks on Tuesday on the integration of nine UNITA generals into a new single army.   FAA chief General Joao de Martos and UNITA's General Arlindo Chenda Ben-Ben last met in the government-controlled capital of Luanda in 1995 during military discussions to end Angola's 20-year civil war.   Under the Lusaka peace accord, Ben-Ben is to assume the position of deputy commander of the national army after integration.   Ben-Ben and four other generals arrived in Luanda on Monday night from UNITA's central highlands stronghold of Bailundo.   Another four top UNITA generals are due in the capital later this week.   "They hugged and laughed and General de Martos welcomed the generals with warm words," a witness told Reuters.   De Martos told reporters a formal integration ceremony would be held for the generals early next week.   "It was a good meeting.   I believe we have started to discuss some postitive aspects with respect to the conclusion of the Angolan Armed Forces," de Martos said.   "I believe we are on a good path, let us wait...If everything goes well at the start of next week there will be the first act of incorporation of generals into FAA."   The general added the meeting was to explain to the UNITA generals the steps that should be followed for the integration.   UNITA's chief negotiator in Luanda, Isaias Samakuva, told Reuters the generals still in Bailundo were travelling to the 14 assembly camps where UNITA fighters have been disarming in terms of the peace process.   "They are travelling to all the quartering sites to drum up enthusiasm so that we can incorporate 26,000 soldiers into the FAA," he said.   Observers said the arrival of the generals in Luanda would boost the confidence of soldiers in the camps.   Until now only 3,000 of 50,000 UNITA troops have volunteered for the national army.   The low figure showed a lack of confidence in peace, the observers said. 
12108 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  South Africa's parliament on Tuesday launched a tough programme to rush six new anti-crime bills into law, spurred on by a rise in violence and Moslem vigilante movements targeting drug-dealers and gangsterism.   Faced with a growing wave of crime, parliament's committee on justice began a special series of meetings to test stringent new anti-crime proposals against the constitution and party policies.   Committee chairman Johnny de Lange said parliament had given the group permission to work into the night during a spring recess later this month and during times usually reserved for constituency work and National Assembly sittings.   "The country expects no less from us.   We have to hurry these matters through," he said.   The bills under discussion include measures to promote cooperation with foreign governments in tracing criminals, simplification of extradition procedures, streamlining court procedures, seizure of assets acquired through crime and limited recourse to entrapment.   Rapidly escalating crime -- ranging from car hijacking to white collar fraud -- is one of the main obstacles cited by the business community to rapid post-apartheid economic growth.   High-profile crimes reported this year have included the murders of a senior executive of a German company, a prominent Chinese medical specialist and the father of a soccer star.   Corruption is perceived to be increasing with senior police officers implicated in bank robberies and car-theft syndicates, and officials of a state-run utility accused of using corporate credit cards for private travel, shopping and entertainment.   An outcry against the crime wave forced Justice Minister Dullah Omar to promise recently that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) would rethink its opposition to capital punishment. 
12109 !C21 !C24 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Copper and lead production at Gold Fields Namibia Ltd's Tsumeb operation remained crippled by strike action on Tuesday as the firm sought further redress in the Namibian courts, a spokesman said.   The group's Tsumeb Corp Ltd (TCL) mines and its copper smelter have been shut down since August 23 when Mineworkers' Union of Namibia members took control of key areas.   The lead smelter, which was shut down before the strike, also remains out of commission.   The strike is costing TCL some 80 tonnes a day in lost copper production and a similar amount in lost lead.   "All our mines are still out of operation...as are the smelters," spokesman Dermot Whyte told Reuters by telephone from Namibia.   An earlier court interdict declaring the strike unlawful was not being complied with and Gold Fields was now in the process of applying for a contempt of court order against certain individuals, he added.   The company said earlier that the copper smelter had been extensively damaged and Whyte said latest estimates suggested it would take six to eight weeks and between eight and 10 million rands to repair.   "The whole copper smelter is going to have to be dug out...We are going to have to rebuild it, so we are going to have a six to eight week delay from when we start," he said.   The lead smelter did not appear to be damaged but would still take two to three weeks to restart when the strike ended, he added.   TCL produced just under 30,000 tonnes of blister copper last year and 27,000 tonnes of lead.   Most of the lead was produced from bought-in material while copper output was from TCL mines.   -- Ben Hirschler, Johannesburg newsroom +27 11 482 1003 
12110 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  The prosecution in the first trial of an apartheid-era minister for a violent campaign to maintain white rule asked on Tuesday for his conviction for 13 murders.   Saying the massacre nine years ago had to be considered in relation to the political turbulence of the 1980s, Attorney- General Tim McNally argued former South African defence minister Magnus Malan and his 16 co-defendants should be held liable for the hitsquad attack on a black family.   "The serenity and dignity, one might say sterility, of a Durban Supreme Court is a far cry from the terror of one January night in 1987 in the crowded rooms of house 1866 KwaMakutha," he told the packed east coast courtroom in his case summary.   McNally said the period 1986 to 1989, which is covered by the indictment, was characterised by the fear generated by the white National Party government against the black liberation movements in order to perpetuate its power base.   "The image the court has of 17 well-suited gentlemen sitting before it in dummy armchairs, must yield to the reality of their being role players in the drama brought back into focus by the evidence.   "The evidence provides a scenario of deception and violence," McNally told the judge and two assessors who are expected to pass judgment early next month.   Malan is on trial with three generals, a vice-admiral, a senior policeman, four military officers, six black policemen and an official of Zulu chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi's Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).   They are accused of sending a 10-member hit squad from the paramilitary group set up to help Buthelezi to attack an African National Congress supporter's home near Durban in January 1987.   Thirteen people, including five children aged from four to 10, were killed in the pre-dawn massacre.   The training and deployment of the paramilitary group, under a project codenamed Operation Marion, was funded by Military Intelligence.   "Those behind Operation Marion foresaw that the training in the use of offensive force by a group of men from one side in a violent political conflict, would be used to launch attacks on their opponents resulting in deaths and injuries," McNally said.   He conceded however that the prosecution had been unable to prove the charges against Commandant Jan van der Merwe, a former Counter Intelligence officer, and asked for his acquittal.   McNally also asked for the acquittal on the murder and attempted murder charges for two of the six black policemen accused of carrying out the attack.   But he said the charge of conspiracy to kill should remain.   Three accused were discharged at the end of the state's case in May for lack of evidence.   The seven defence teams are to begin their summaries before Judge Jan Hugo next week.   Malan, 66, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and has said he has nothing to hide. 
12111 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  The leader of the main Sudanese opposition alliance dismissed on Tuesday as "superficial" a pact between Sudan and Uganda to resume diplomatic relations and clamp down on rebels.   Mubarak al-Mahdi, secretary-general of the Asmara-based National Democratic Alliance (NDA), said he had no faith an Iranian-mediated agreement between Kampala and Khartoum would work.   "This deal is part of the deception and camouflage tactics used by the NIF (Sudan's National Islamic Front) regime.   It is a change of tactics, not a change of strategy", he told Reuters.   Asked if the agreement would undermine the opposition front, he said: "I don't think so.   It is a superficial agreement.   What is important here is confidence.   And it does not exist in this deal.   "The Khartoum regime is not to be trusted," said Mahdi, adding he believed it would keep supplying arms to rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) fighting in northern Uganda despite the pact.   Asked whether the pact between Kampala and Khartoum would harm the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), the largest southern Sudanese rebel force, Mahdi said ties between the two governments had never before interfered with SPLA activities.   The SPLA has been fighting for greater autonomy or the independence of the mainly Christian and animist south from the Moslem, Arabised north since 1983.   Uganda broke relations with Sudan in April last year.   In Khartoum, official Sudanese sources said that as part of Monday's deal to restore diplomatic relations Uganda and Sudan agreed to clamp down on rebel activity along their common border and to set up a monitoring team of foreign observers.   Under security clauses of the pact, the SPLA and LRA rebels would no longer be able to take refuge across the frontier in northern Uganda and southern Sudan respectively, they said.   Mahdi said SPLA leader John Garang and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, a former Ugandan rebel, had good relations.   "It is no secret that Kampala has supported SPLA morally and diplomatically.   That does not automatically mean supplying arms.   Uganda is very clear about its preference for peace," he said. 
12112 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Mauritania, sympathetic to Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War but less so since, has expressed concern about a Turkish plan to set up a security zone in Iraqi Kurdistan.   The Mauritanian Foreign Ministry, in a statement issued late on Monday, highlighted what it called a flagrant contradiction between the plan and earlier stands by countries in the region supporting the territorial unity and integrity of Iraq.   "Mauritania, while questioning the real motives of such a project, expresses its opposition and rejection of any action threatening Iraq's territorial integrity and unity," the statement said.   Turkey has announced plans for a temporary buffer zone up to 10 km (six miles) deep in northern Iraq to prevent infiltration by Turkish Kurd guerrillas fighting for self rule in southeast Turkey.   Iraq and Arab countries have condemned the idea.   Denounced by the West and oil-rich former friends in the Gulf for its earlier sympathy for Iraq, Mauritania has since distanced itself from Baghdad.   Ties with Kuwait and other Gulf countries have improved.   In October 1995, Mauritania declared Iraq's ambassador persona non-grata, linking him to an alleged plot by supporters of the pan-Arab Baathist movement in Mauritania. 
12113 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Rwanda's president said on Tuesday nearly all the 1.1 million Rwandan refugees in Zaire would return home voluntarily if hardliners intimidating them were removed from their camps.   "The real problem of the refugees is they are being held captive by persons who committed genocide," said President Pasteur Bizimungu, referring to so-called "intimidators" who scare fellow refugees from going home with tales of terror at the hands of Rwanda's Tutsi-led army.   "Let the international community remove this factor and 95 percent of people would return...The philosophy of genocide is still rampant in the refugee camps," the Hutu president added.   The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has long called for Rwandan Hutu hardliners intimidating refugees and implicated in Rwanda's genocide in 1994 to be removed from the camps.   Zaire expelled 43 alleged intimidators to Rwanda in August and has said it would move against others as part of a campaign to end the Rwandan refugee presence in camps in eastern Zaire.   Bizimungu was opening a three-day conference in Kigali to evaluate emergency assistance to Rwanda since the genocide in 1994 when up to one million people were killed by Hutu mobs, troops and militiamen.   Many of the estimated 1.1 million Rwandan refugees in Zaire and the nearly 600,000 in Tanzania refuse to go home because of fears -- spread by intimidators -- of attacks in reprisal for the genocide.   Bizimungu said the Rwandan parliament recently passed a bill on genocide which still had to be ratified by him.   Rwanda's overcrowded prisons hold nearly 80,000 people -- most of them Hutus -- accused of involvement in the genocide.   "The Rwandan government derives no pleasure from crowded prisons.   There is a need for accountability for those involved in genocide.   This law will speed up the process of trials," Bizimungu said.   He said between May and December 1994 the international community spent more than $3.05 billion on Rwandan problems outside the country and only $27.3 million on problems inside the central African nation. 
12114 !GCAT !GHEA !GVIO  Relief workers in Liberia launched a food shuttle to several thousand starving civilians on Tuesday and pressed ahead with efforts to find other starving people cut off by faction rivalry and civil war.   Tarek Elguindi, Liberia director of the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP), said eight trucks had left in pouring rain on Tuesday for the western jungle town of Tubmanburg, which until the weekend had been cut off since February.   Relief workers who visited the town on Monday, quoted by a WFP statement issued in Rome, spoke of "starving people everywhere", some dying before their eyes and children with swollen bellies, hands and feet.   "For the coming three days we will be hooked into Tubmanburg," Elguindi told Reuters.   "We are hoping to reach 10,000 people.   We have had heavy rain here in Monrovia and on the road and I hope it will not affect our operation."   He said assessment teams would visit Cape Mount, a south western area cut off by faction fighting where relief workers expect to find further pockets of hunger but he predicted that the problems there might be less critical than in Tubmanburg.   "The people there had some relative movement," he said.   Relief workers took advantage of peace moves among rival factions in Liberia to negotiate safe passage to Tubmanburg, a town of 30,000 to 35,000 people just 70 km (45 miles) from the capital Monrovia.   An assessment team discovered several thousand starving children and elderly adults trapped in the town on Saturday and provided emergency aid.   Medecins Sans Frontieres and other agencies rushed in more emergency food and medicine on Monday.   The town is under control of the ethnic Krahn ULIMO-J faction loyal to Roosevelt Johnson.   More than six years of civil war have killed well over 150,000 people in Liberia, which was founded by freed American slaves in 1847.   Fighting flared in the capital Monrovia in April and May and later in isolated corners of the country.   West African leaders, frustrated by the collapse of a dozen peace deals, brokered a fresh agreement in August and threatened individual sanctions against any faction leader who derails it.   It envisages disarmament of the estimated 60,000 fighters by January and presidential and parliamentary elections by May.   Faction leader Alhaji Kromah handed heavy weapons to West African peacekeepers in his Voinjama stronghold near the border with Guinea at the weekend and pledged to continue the process.   Charles Taylor, who launched the war in 1989 and has the largest force, has pledged to start disarming and demobilising his fighters this month.   Both men, vice-chairman on the interim ruling State Council, plan to run for president.   Sometime rivals, they fought together against Johnson and a Krahn alliance in Monrovia in April and May.   Hundreds died in the fighting and associated looting. 
12115 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  The Zaire army has moved quickly to quash fears of a coup following prostate surgery in Europe on veteran President Mobutu Sese Seko.   "The military high command rejoices at the success of the surgery on the supreme commander of the Zairean armed forces and congratulates him on his good convalescence," said a military statement read on state radio on Monday night.   "The military high command affirms its support for the electoral calendar for free and transparent elections and asks foreign countries to assist Zaire in organising the elections in peace and transparency," it said.   "The high command declares to (public) opinion its attachment to democracy," it added.   With preparations for promised elections by July mired in confusion, the health of Mobutu, 65, has raised fear that the army could step in to fill a power vacuum.   The military have played a pivotal role in Zaire's history since Mobutu, then a colonel, seized power in the vast Central African country in 1965.   A series of army revolts and army-led looting, notably in September 1991, wrecked commercial life in the capital Kinshasa and precipitated Zaire's descent into political chaos.   Soldiers have occasionally appeared to threaten Zaire's transition to democracy begun more than five years ago.   Troops once evicted lawmakers from parliament and sealed off the interim assembly.   "Will the army take over power?   That is the great fear that has gripped Zaireans since the head of state's illness," wrote Kinshasa's leading private newspaper Le Soft.   "Coup rumours have been fuelled by hardly reassurimg news about the health of the head of state broadcast by fringe radio and television stations," the paper said.   Anxiety persisted even when Mobutu said he was resting in Switzerland after the operation and would return soon.   Speaking from Lausanne, he told state television on Friday he was no longer under medical supervision.   Mobutu ruled the sprawling equatorial heart of Africa virtually unchallenged until 1990 when opposition protests and pressure from Zaire's foreign partners forced him along the path of democratic reform.   The three foreign powers with the most influence in Zaire -- Belgium, France and the United States -- froze aid and top-level relations with Zaire over democracy and human rights.   All three have moved to restore ties with the promise of elections.   Some commentators say without Mobutu, the country of about 40 million people, with several regions pratically cut off from the capital for lack of roads, would become another Somalia or Liberia, where rival warlords hold sway.   "Zaire is a powderkeg," Le Palmares, a daily newspaper close to the opposition, said in an editorial last week.   "If the international community was shocked by the horror of what happened in Rwanda after the death of (President Juvenal) Habyarimana, in Zaire the slaughter threatens to be worse."   If Mobutu dies, the 1992 transitional constitution states the president of the transitional parliament, where Mobutu supporters have a majority, should take over.   Since parliament sacked Archbishop Laurent Monsengwo last year, it has no president.   Two vice-presidents -- one a Mobutu loyalist, one from the opposition -- run the assembly. 
12116 !GCAT !GREL !GVIO  Hutu rebels dragged the Tutsi archbishop of the Roman Catholic church in Burundi from his car on Monday and apparently murdered him in the central Gitega region, the army said on Tuesday.   "We have just had a report that Monsignor Joachim Ruhuna, the archbishop of Gitega, was assassinated by armed bands (rebels)," army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Isaie Nibizi told Reuters, adding he could not yet confirm the cleric was dead.   "They found his burned-out car this morning on the road... but they haven't found his body yet," he said.   Aid workers said the area was a stronghold of Hutu rebels.   Nibizi said a nun and the archbishop's driver who were travelling with him were were also missing and presumed dead.   Priests said the archbishop's car was found with some burned clothes inside about five km (three miles) north of Bugendana village in Gitega.   The archbishop was booed at a funeral for Tutsi massacre victims in Bugendana on July 23, when he said there were extremists among both the Tutsi minority and the Hutu majority in the ethnically-split country.   "There are no names for this.   I have seen it many times but I condemn violence on both sides," he said at the chaotic mass funeral for 304 Tutsi massacre victims.   Angry Tutsi mourners also pelted Hutu President Sylvestre Ntibantunganya with rocks and cow dung, forcing the head of state to flee the funeral by helicopter.   Later the same day Ntibantunganya took refuge in the U.S. ambassador's residence in Bujumbura, two days before he was toppled in a coup by the Tutsi-dominated army under retired major Pierre Buyoya.   The burial ceremony was supposed to be a rare moment of public unity for an ethnically-divided government but instead, any semblence of co-existence was shattered by the shower of rocks and manure.   President Buyoya's spokesman Jean-Luc Ndizeye said Ruhuna had received many death threats from the rebel Forces for the Defence of Democracy after delivering the homily.   He said a search and investigation were underway.   Priests said the car carrying the archbishop was last seen in the late afternoon on Monday.   "He was a Tutsi but he was someone who loved all of humanity," a Catholic friend of Ruhuna's said.   More than 150,000 people have been killed in three years of massacres and civil war between the army and rebels in Burundi, fuelling fears of bloodshed on a scale similar to neighbouring Rwanda's genocide of up to an estimated one million in 1994.   The human rights group Amnesty International said in August the army had killed 4,050 people in Giheta district, Gitega province, in the first three weeks after the coup.   Buyoya denied the report.   His military-appointed foreign minister said on Tuesday a decision last Friday by a group of African states to ease sanctions against Burundi after the coup was a first step towards their being scrapped. 
12117 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  A court in Benin has jailed four people for up to five years for a rocket attack on the conference centre that hosted the 1995 Francophone summit.   A fifth defendant was jailed for 15 years in absentia.   Officials said the court jailed the four -- two of them soldiers -- on Monday night.   The attack, which slightly damaged the roof of the sea-front building, took place on November 14, two weeks before the summit opened.   The court sentenced Sergeant Wassou Abdou, Corporal N'Tcha Sanga Clement and student Ahmadou Moustapha to five years in jail with hard labour for "damaging a public building".   Businessman Lolo Chidiac was jailed for one year for complicity.   A fifth defendant, Lafia Gayo, was sentenced in absentia to 15 years hard labour.   Three other accused were found not guilty and acquitted.   Francophone summits brings together France, its former colonies and other countries promoting the use of the French language every two years.   President Jacques Chirac attended the Benin summit with the leaders of Canada and a host of Francophone African countries.   The 1997 summit will be in Vietnam. 
12118 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Burundi's military regime has seized on the slight easing of crippling sanctions as a breakthrough after six weeks of near-total isolation.   "It's a good thing that the regional states have decided to relax sanctions.   It's the first sign that soon they will do away with sanctions completely," Foreign Minister Luc Rukingama told Reuters on Tuesday.   This upbeat analysis makes sense from a regime whose July 25 coup was internationally condemned and whose army is fighting a growing threat from Hutu rebels.   Good news is in short supply in the landlocked country and its capital, Bujumbura, where African economic and transport sanctions imposed six days after the coup are biting hard.   But last Friday's decision by regional states to exempt some humanitarian aid from sanctions may not signal any weakening at all in the campaign by neighbouring states to squeeze Major Pierre Buyoya into submission.   The same meeting which allowed United Nations agencies to import baby food and other essentials said the rest of the sanctions, such as blocking coffee exports and oil imports, would be "strictly maintained".   "It is the hope of Burundi's neighbours that it will not be long before the military junta of major Pierre Buyoya realises that the time for military dictatorships in Africa is over," Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa said recently.   The sanctions were master-minded by Tanzania's founding father, Julius Nyerere, who as the international mediator on Burundi is trying to end of a cycle of ethnic killings which have cost some 150,000 lives since 1993.   The conflict is between minority Tutsis who have always ruled the roost in Burundi, and who fear genocide by Hutus similar to that in neighbouring Rwanda in 1994, and majority Hutus who won free elections in 1993 and then watched the Tutsi army gradually claw back power.   When they imposed sanctions regional states told Buyoya and the Tutsi-run army to enter unconditional talks with all parties, including the Hutu rebels, to restore parliament and to unban political parties.   None of the conditions has been met although Rukingama said the last two would be achieved "in just a few days".   Burundi analysts say the restoration of the National Assembly and the unbanning of parties would be symbolic moves at present since prominent Hutu politicans are all in exile and would not be safe in Bujumbura, an almost exclusively Tutsi town.   The crunch issue for Buyoya is the order to open a dialogue with Leonard Nyangoma, the Hutu leader whose Forces for the Defence of Democracy (FDD) rebels are striking at the army and Tutsi civilians in many parts of the country.   Last week they took the fight to the outskirts of the capital.   Nyangoma, a former interior minister, was further bolstered this month when most leaders of the mainstream Hutu party, Frodebu, said they backed his armed struggle.   Even if Buyoya wanted to talk to Nyangoma there is no guarantee his senior officers would allow it.   For decades the ethnic Tutsi Ba-Hima clan, of which Buyoya is a member, has dominated the army and the political system.   "The real power in Burundi is in the army and in a certain clan within the army.   Nyerere knows that.   The rebels know that and Buyoya knows that too," said one veteran foreign observer.   "It is difficult to know what is happening in the army.   But I am sure the army is divided on the question of talks," professor Jean-Claude Willame, acting director of the Africa Institute in Brussels, said.   So far Buyoya has said he is ready to talk to rebels on condition they first lay down their arms and renounce violence, a formula which leading Hutus reject.   "We are going to talk to armed groups, but we ask our partners not to dictate to us how to do it or when to do it," Buyoya told reporters at the weekend.   Buyoya, president before the 1993 elections, has sought to convince the outside world that in Burundi's desperate crisis he represents the least bad option on offer.   He came to power promising to end killings and save Burundi from collapse while opening a dialogue with moderate Hutus.   Six weeks later sanctions are hurting, he has found no-one to talk to and no foreign government has recognised his regime. 
12119 !GCAT  These are significant stories in the Ivorian press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   FRATERNITE MATIN - Ivory Coast's security minister, Marcel Dibonan Kone, stresses need to strengthen border posts as part of fight against violent crime and smuggling of drugs and weapons.   - Storm and flood damage to roads in commercial capital Abidjan will cost 425 million CFA francs to repair, far in excess of the amount set aside each year for such repairs; economic infrastructure minister Ezan Akele presses ahead with repairs and also orders work to repair holes on inland highways LA VOIE - Three La Voie journalists jailed for two years for insulting President Henri Konan Bedie denied parole.   - Eight opposition activists detained during political protests during last October's turbulent presidential election campaign, are now free; some were given the benefit of the doubt, others have been released after purging jail terms LE JOUR - Workers in agro-industrial giant Palmindustrie, which is in the throes of privatisation, stage strike over non-payment of traditional loans to cover school fees.   Strike began Septembeer 2.   - Workers in fuel distribution industry suspend plans for one-day strike on Wednesday, pending further talks on pay, working conditions and union rights - Experts from 17 francophone African countries examine ways of boosting their fishing industries.   Workshop ends September 27.   ($1=512 CFA francs) -- Abidjan newsroom +225 21 90 90 
12120 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  South Africa urged blacks on Tuesday to kick the anti-apartheid habit of withholding local taxes which has now spread for the first time to rich whites.   Government leaders officially relaunched a two-year-old campaign to convince people they should pay their rates now that hated apartheid-era councils had been replaced by democratically elected bodies.   The campaign has had little success and defaulting has now even spread to affluent white home owners and big business.   They have begun an unprecedented local tax boycott in Sandton, a Johannesburg suburb and one of the richest neighbourhoods in Africa, to protest at rates that have tripled overnight.   A delegation met local officials on Tuesday.   "Most people living in Sandton now have to find an average of 1,000 rand ($222) a month more to pay for additional rates and services, and for salaried people this is near impossible," said Sandton Federation of Ratepayers spokesman Frank Coswell.   After the all-race municipal elections in November last year, taxes from leafy white suburbs were for the first time used to subsidise impoverished black townships.   When Nelson Mandela's African National Congress swept to power in April 1994, it tried to break the black non-payment culture with the Masakhane, or "let's build together" campaign, a roadshow spreading the "pay-up" message in townships. 
12121 !GCAT  These are significant stories in the Nigerian press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   DAILY TIMES   - Commonwealth officials arrive in Abuja.   - Army spokesman denies there have been mass arrests and retirements of senior officers, as reported in a Lagos magazine.   - New applicants for telephone lines in the Ikeja and Apapa districts of Lagos, where exchanges were destroyed in separate fires, will have to wait until old lines have been restored.   Ikeja and Apapa are the main industrial districts of Lagos.   THE GUARDIAN   - Stock exchange may appraise salvage options for 100 distressed stockbroking companies.   THISDAY   - Luxury Bus Owners Association has decided to rehabilitate the road between Onitsha and Owerri, two commercial centres in eastern Nigeria.   --Lagos newsroom +234 1 2631943 
12122 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  A Commonwealth delegation said on Tuesday talks to persuade Nigeria to allow a human rights investigation were going well, but it was unclear if the team would meet Foreign Minister Tom Ikimi.   Diplomats say it is important for the Commonwealth team to meet the military government at a higher level than the ministry officials they have met so far if it is to reach a deal.   "The talks have been useful and positive so far," Deputy Secretary-General K. Srinavasan, a former Indian deputy foreign minister and leader of the four-man team, told Reuters.   "We bumped into the foreign minister at the airport.   But we have requested an official meeting with him and have so far not received a response."   Ikimi has said he has no plans to meet the delegation.   "It is not a ministerial level meeting.   They are here to arrange the modalities and dates of our continuing dialogue with Commonwealth ministers," he told Reuters on Monday.   Nigeria is at odds with the Commonwealth over whether the 53-nation organisation of Britain and its former colonies should be allowed to send a mission to investigate alleged human rights abuses, and the government's plan to restore democracy.   Nigeria was suspended from the Commonwealth last November after it executed author Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other minority activists for murder despite numerous appeals for clemency.   A Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) turned down an invitation to a meeting in Abuja last month, when it became clear it would be allowed to meet only with representatives of the government.   Srinavasan's delegation, which is due to leave on Wednesday, was sent to Nigeria to bring negotiations back on track and press for CMAG to be allowed to visit opposition figures and political prisoners.   But Nigeria says its suspension was unfair and that until that issue is settled there can be no progress on other matters.   "Our position on the mandate of the Commonwealth remains clear and has not changed," Ikimi said.   The Commonwealth says military ruler General Sani Abacha's timetable to hand over to an elected government by October 1998 takes too long.   Abacha came to power in a coup in the chaos which followed the annulment of 1993 presidential elections by a previous military government.   In May CMAG agreed on sanctions to push Nigeria toward democracy more quickly, including a ban on sporting links and arms sales, but postponed them in June to allow further talks.   A meeting in New York later this month is set to discuss whether the dialogue with Nigeria has brought results or if the sanctions should be applied. 
12123 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Sudan and Uganda, as part of a deal to restore diplomatic relations, have agreed to clamp down on rebel activity on the border and set up a monitoring team of foreign observers, official Sudanese sources said on Tuesday.   Under the security clauses of the agreement the rebels, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in southern Sudan and the Lord's Resistance Army in northern Uganda, will no longer be able to take refuge on the other side of the border, they said.   The activities of the rebels had been a major irritant between Khartoum and Kampala and contributed to Uganda's decision to break relations with Sudan in April last year.   Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani persuaded Uganda to resume relations and the foreign ministers of the three countries signed an agreement in Khartoum on Monday.   The officials said that, under the agreement, each of the two states undertook:   -- to stop immediately official propaganda campaigns against the other party   -- to prevent any elements hostile to the other party from using its territory against the other   -- to end direct or indirect assistance to hostile elements   -- to destroy positions and centres of supplies for elements opposed to the other country   -- to move all refugees and all elements hostile to the other party from the border to an area not less than 100 km (60 miles) inside the border   -- to encourage voluntary repatriation of refugees from the two countries   Sudan's state television said on Monday night that there would also be a "a control team" composed of representatives from the two countries, Iran, Libya and Malawi.   If one party claimed the other had violated the agreement, the control team would investigate and report to a ministerial committee for action.   The three foreign ministers agreed to meet again during the U.N. General Assembly session on New York to see how the agreement is working, it added.   The three countries, Sudan, Uganda and Iran, will also hold meetings every six months, alternating between the three capitals, to follow up the agreement, it said.   They will meet in Uganda in December to decide the terms of reference and the rights of the control team, it added. 
12124 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Kenyan press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   DAILY NATION   - Police display ammunition they said were recovered from the two men who last Saturday confessed before President Daniel arap Moi at a public rally that they had recruited a group and trained them as guerillas.   - President Moi is accused of overstepping his powers in pardoning two men who confessed to being part of a guerilla movement before they are charged in court.   - Labour Minister Philip Masinde accusses Roman Catholic bishops of inciting the public to violence instead of seeking dialogue with the government.   EAST AFRICAN STANDARD   - Two people are hacked to death and another two left for dead after heavily armed gangsters raid a market centre in Kiambu district near Nairobi.   - Civic leaders in Garissa district (of northern Kenya) claim the Garissa District Registrar of Persons office was registering aliens for the new generation identification cards and ignoring Kenyans.   - Two district officers are among five people charged with stealing famine relief food in Kitui district.   KENYA TIMES   - Vice-President and Minister for Planning and National Development Professor George Saitoti says the government has transformed trade and investment through economic reforms and establishment of a market-oriented economy.   - Assistant Minister for Lands and Settlement Elijah Sumbeywo petitions Kenya Wildlife Service to restrain rampaging elephants which have destroyed crops in Rimoi and Songeto areas of Keiyo district (of the Rift Valley province), leaving the local people without food.   ($1 = 56 shillings) 
12125 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Doctors working in a bombed-out Bosnian factory converted into a makeshift morgue on Tuesday identified the remains of 17 women and an old man said to have been executed by separatist Serbs in 1992.   The victims were exhumed last weekend from several common graves on a wooded slope near the eastern town of Gorazde, on territory returned by the Serbs to the Bosnian government under the 1995 Dayton peace treaty.   Twenty-two disintegrating corpses were laid out on a dank floor in a devastated factory in the village of Ustikolina and Bosnian government forensic scientists had identified 18 with the help of relatives by late Tuesday.   Each body was inspected on a table consisting of two large barrels with an old door laid across them.   Sunlight filtered through a huge window from which the glass was smashed out long ago.   "I have found bullet holes in the skulls of two sisters, six and nine years old, and similar wounds on a 16-month-old baby found buried with her mother," pathologist Zdenko Cihlarz told Reuters Television.   He spoke wearily after identifying an 81-year-old man, Muradif Subasic, with the assistance of his 46-year-old son Hakija, who stood at the doctor's side.   Hakija could not speak after Cihlarz found a familiar wristwatch in the rotting trouser pocket of his father.   Eight female bodies were stretched out nearby on plastic sheeting, most covered by blankets in which they had been hastily buried and which had since fused to their decaying skin.   Women's skirts and scarves were still evident on the four-year-old corpses, both children and adults.   The factory is close to a former front line between the Serbs and mostly Moslem Bosnian government army.   A sign warning of land mines stands on the approach to the factory.   Investigators were led to the grave sites last week by an elderly Moslem man who said he had secretly dug one of them for his wife, daughter and granddaughter after they were shot in a wartime massacre by Serb paramilitaries.   The man told Reuters he had risked his life crossing front lines during the war to find the bodies strewn in a wood and buried them as a minimally dignified farewell.   The victims were among a group of Moslem women and children villagers caught hiding in the forest by Serb forces on May 9, 1992 as they were marching menfolk away from a captured hamlet.   Government investigators said 28 grave sites containing executed women and children are believed to be scattered along the ravine.   Moslems who have resettled in the area said they were all burned out of their homes by Serbs in May 1992.   The International Criminal Tribunal on former Yugoslavia, based in The Hague, has indicted 75 people for atrocities against civilians and prisoners in Bosnia and Croatia in 1991- 95.   The majority of indictees are Serbs.   Tribunal investigators recently excavated several mass graves of Moslems slaughtered by the Serb conquerors of the eastern town of Srebrenica in mid-1995. 
12126 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP !GVIO  U.N. war crimes experts started excavating a suspected mass grave in Serb-held northeast Bosnia on Tuesday, believed to contain bodies of Moslem men executed by Serb forces last year.   The International Criminal Tribunal on former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is trying determine the full extent of Europe's worst war atrocity since 1945, committed when Serbs overran the Moslem enclave of Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia in July last year.   The ICTY team, working with international forensic experts, unearthed a human thigh bone in a vast cornfield surrounding a remote farm near the village of Pilica, about 150 km (100 miles) north of Srebrenica.   The team visited Pilica earlier this year, following survivors' testimonies and spy plane photography which the United States handed to the U.N. Security Council.   "From the initial assessments here in spring it appears it could very well be the site of a mass grave," team member John Gernes told reporters before white U.N. bulldozers started removing soil.   "At that time we did find human remains in close proximity to this one, which we believe to be the grave," he said.   The team had already completed excavations on several other sites, finding dozens of decayed bodies, before moving on to Pilica.   As many as 8,000 Moslem men from Srebrenica are still unaccounted for.   Many are feared to have been killed in Serb ambushes while attempting to break through to Bosnian government territory over wooded hills.   After clearing overgrown corn and tall weeds from the field in Pilica, the workers marked the area with wooden stakes and rope and photographed it, under constant supervision of Russian peacekeepers guarding the site.   The bone, several smaller pieces of fractured bones and other small items were put in plastic bags for forensic examination.   Gernes said he could not speculate on the number of bodies the grave might contain until "we open up a section to find out the depth of the grave and establish the perimeter to determine its size".   The team planned to continue excavations in the next few days.   A Bosnian Croat who served in the Bosnian Serb army, Drazen Erdemovic, pleaded guilty at the Hague U.N. war crimes tribunal in May to taking part in the massacre of an estimated 1,200 Bosnian Moslems from Srebrenica in July 1995 at a farm on the outskirts of Pilica.   He said buses carrying Moslem men started arriving at the farm in the morning and kept coming until the late afternoon and the passengers were systematically disembarked and shot. 
12127 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Russia expressed interest on Tuesday in attending a summit of NATO and East European states next year.   Moscow may take up a suggestion by French President Jacques Chirac to join the gathering, a foreign ministry spokesman said, according to Itar-Tass news agency.   Spokesman Gennady Tarasov said the Paris initiative "aroused interest in Moscow and we are closely studying its possibilities".   He added that Moscow welcomed efforts to make the Western defence alliance a stabilising factor in Europe.   Russia would carefully consider any formal invitation to an alliance meeting, Tarasov said.   "A positive answer to such an invitation might be given,"   President Boris Yeltsin, who faces heart surgery later this month, and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl agreed at informal talks near Moscow on Saturday to try to resolve by next year a dispute over NATO's plans to admit former Soviet-bloc states in Central and Eastern Europe.   Moscow opposes the plans.   Chirac proposed in an August 29 speech in Paris that the 16 NATO members, the central and east European states which are candidates for membership and all other countries, including Russia, which have links with NATO should meet next year.   The summit, which French officials have said could take place early in 1997, would mark the reform of NATO, the emergence of a European defence identity within the Atlantic Alliance and the launch of a new pan-European security set-up.   U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher said in the German city of Stuttgart on Friday that NATO leaders would meet next spring or early summer to decide on new members and approve a charter defining the alliance's relationship with Russia.   A Russian foreign ministry source told Interfax news agency a "new European security architecture" was discussed on Monday and Tuesday in Moscow by several Russian deputy ministers and visiting French foreign ministry official Jacques Blot.   French Foreign Minister Herve de Charette is due to visit Russia on October 8, Interfax said. 
12128 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO !GVOTE  Bosnian police said on Tuesday they had banned an election rally planned by the rebel Moslem leader Fikret Abdic, describing him as a war criminal.   Abdic, who led a revolt against the forces of the Moslem-led Bosnian government during the four-year Bosnian war, had planned to hold the rally in the northwest town of Velika Kladusa, near Bihac, on Thursday to promote his candidacy in Saturday's elections.   But local police in Velika Kladusa said in a statement they were banning the gathering organised by Abdic's Democratic People's Union (DNZ).   Abdic had "committed war crimes against the people in Bihac region in the past war" and local police would not be able to guarantee security at this rally, their statement said.   A court in Bihac is currently trying the rebel leader in absentia for allegedly detaining civilians, blocking relief aid and shelling the town's mostly Moslem population from 1993-1995.   Abdic, a businessman-turned-politician and an arch rival of Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic, declared the Bihac enclave "an autonomous region" in 1993.   He armed his troops by reaching deals with Croat and Serb armies fighting the government.   Sarajevo's forces recaptured the enclave in 1995 and Abdic fled with his followers to Croatia.   Many of them have since returned to the region and observers have reported numerous cases of harassment by pro-government supporters who still view them as traitors.   Since registering the DNZ in the southwest Bosnian town of Mostar, Abdic has held no campaign rallies and not shown up once in Moslem-controlled areas, where he could be arrested.   The Organisation for Cooperation and Security in Europe, which is in charge of organising the election, has allowed the DNZ to compete and Abdic to run for president.   His supporters who have lived in refugee camps in Croatia since they were driven out of the Bihac pocket by government forces in summer 1995, were supposed to come with him on buses to Thursday's rally.   In Bosnia's last election Abdic ran against Izetbegovic and won most of the votes, but never took up the post.   The International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia has not put him on their list of war criminals.   Abdic is now believed to be living in the Adriatic sea resort of Opatija in Croatia.   Abdic has not yet made clear whether he will respect the ban but has said he will hold a press conference in a Zagreb hotel on Wednesday. 
12129 !GCAT !GPOL  Russian President Boris Yeltsin, preparing for heart bypass surgery, has handed his prime minister partial control of several top ministries but kept the nuclear "red button", the Kremlin said on Tuesday.   Yeltsin's order appeared designed partly to curb the ambitions of Alexander Lebed, his national security adviser, who had sought overall charge of key "power ministries".   Presidential press secretary Sergei Yastrzhembsky said defence, interior and other ministers who usually report directly to the president, would coordinate their activities with Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin while Yeltsin is on holiday.   He told Russian news agencies that Chernomyrdin would be able, if necessary, to summon the newly formed Defence Council which comprises top ministers and security supremo Lebed.   Yeltsin, 65, announced in a television interview last week that he would undergo heart surgery at the end of the month.   Speculation was rife on whether he would pass authority to Chernomyrdin, his constitutional deputy.   Yeltsin has officially been on holiday since August 26 and the Kremlin has not announced when his vacation will end.   "President Boris Yeltsin, for the duration of his holiday, has ordered the heads of the power ministries to coordinate with Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin all questions that require a decision by the head of state," Itar-Tass news agency quoted Yastrzhembsky as saying.   They should also keep Yeltsin regularly informed on the matters in their ministries, Yastrzhembsky said.   Interfax news agency quoted him as saying the nuclear "red button" would stay under the control of the Russian leader.   It could be activated only by a joint action of the president, the defence minister and the chief-of-staff of the army.   Last year, when Yeltsin was in hospital after a heart attack, Chernomyrdin said he was in control of the power ministries but was later forced to tone down his remarks.   This time he appeared to be taking no chances, playing down his extra responsibilities in comments to Tass and Interfax.   Saying Yeltsin, 65, had shown "complete trust" in announcing to the country and his colleagues his plan to have surgery, Chernomyrdin said he was entitled to good faith in return.   "For me," he said, "that means the president remains president even during his operation and during the whole course of his treatment.   So I see no necessity to discuss the question of the transfer of power, nor for exercises in constructing all sorts of mechanisms to this effect."   The prime minister, who also said he had sufficient authority of his own to maintain political stability and carry out the president's reform policies, criticised what he called the "scheming fuss" of speculation of the handover of power.   The deputy head of the Kremlin medical team, Yuri Perov, told Interfax the precise date of Yeltsin's operation would be fixed "within just a very few days" by the doctors treating him.   He denied suggestions that the operation, intended to relieve the clogged cardiac arteries which put the president in hospital twice last year, might be postponed to the beginning of October.   It was still "on schedule" for the end of this month.   Yeltsin's illness has prompted speculation of a power struggle in the Kremlin and has worried Western leaders, who see Yeltsin as the guarantor of Russia's fledgling democracy.   On Tuesday, U.S. President Bill Clinton telephoned German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who met Yeltsin near Moscow on Saturday.   White House Spokesman Mike McCurry said Clinton quizzed Kohl about Yeltsin.   "The chancellor said Yeltsin was very engaged," he said.   "Obviously (Yeltsin is) concerned about his upcoming medical procedure but looking forward to having it over with."   Lebed said on Friday the time had come to name Chernomyrdin to rule temporarily.   But Kremlin chief of staff Anatoly Chubais, who with Lebed and Chernomyrdin completes a trio of jostling Kremlin rivals, said there was no need to hand over power yet. 
12130 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO !GVOTE  The commander of 60,000 NATO troops in Bosnia said on Tuesday they were ready to prevent violence threatening Saturday's election and would use force if necessary.   But he stressed the ultimate responsibility for maintaining a secure environment for the vote, during which thousands of refugees are expected to cross former front-lines to cast their ballots, lay with local authorities of all three ethnic groups.   "We'll do...as we would on any normal day.   We'll react to incidents no matter where they are.   There are areas which may or may not have more potential for difficulties because of location but in any case we'll be everywhere," U.S. Admiral Joseph Lopez told reporters after visiting a U.S. field base in northern Bosnia.   "We are soldiers.   We are not peace officers or police.   Our response to incidents could be warning shots.   It could be lethal force.   Our troops...must protect themselves and must prevent criminal violence.   That's our intent."   Lopez said his troops felt very comfortable in their rules of engagement but hoped for help from local leaders.   "To prevent violence it requires cooperation of all.   We have asked the heads of every faction, the military, the governments and particularly the local officials, to ensure they are there with us," he said.   "It is recognised as their responsibility...to maintain the security of the environment on a local level."   Warring Serbs, Moslems and Croats signed a comprehensive peace treaty last December which called for civilian freedom of movement and the return of all people displaced by fighting, none of which has happened so far.   Camp Lisa, where Lopez touched down in a black U.S. UH-60 helicopter, is only a few miles away from Serb-held Vlasenica, where hundreds of Moslems are believed to have been killed and thousands expelled by Serb militia in 1992.   Under a special rule thousands of voters will be allowed to cross ethnic boundary lines and vote in their pre-war homes, now ruled by former foes.   NATO has pinpointed several areas where the return of a large number of former residents could prompt violent reactions from new occupants.   Lopez said NATO would not increase its presence in the hotspots but would be ready to handle violence. 
12131 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Representatives of more than 20 Chechen political and public groups met in the capital Grozny on Tuesday to work out a power set-up in the region and backed a peace deal signed last month with Moscow.   Separatist chief-of-staff Aslan Maskhadov, who signed the agreement with Russian envoy Alexander Lebed on August 31, co-chaired the congress to which members of the pro-Moscow administration of Doku Zavgayev said they had not been invited.   Interfax news agency said the more than 300 delegates adopted a resolution approving the peace plan and proposals to create a coalition government.   They also backed the Russian troop withdrawal scheduled under the deal.   Maskhadov told delegates there had been no victors in the conflict with Moscow which began 21 months ago and praised Lebed, who has been accused by critics in Moscow of signing a deal which amounts to Russia's capitulation.   "I believe in the sincerity of Lebed's intentions and attempts to solve the conflict peacefully and to stop the war," Itar-Tass news agency quoted Maskhadov as saying.   "No one can be a victor (in the conflict)," he said.   The deal between Maskhadov and Lebed provides for the troop withdrawal in exchange for a deferral of the decision on the key problem of the conflict -- the region's future status.   The congress began in Grozny soon after most troops and rebels left Grozny under the peace deal.   The city is now guarded by joint Russian-rebel patrols.   The meeting was also attended by Tim Guldimann, the head of the regional mission of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).   Russian news agencies gave no indication that the delegates had reached a final agreement on how to form a new government.   Lebed issued a statement on the eve of the meeting urging the participants to take a measured approach and stressing that all groups should be represented in a future government.   "It is essential to bring all political, social and religious forces and movements into the process of internal dialogue, including the members of the current cabinet," said the statement, quoted by Russian news agencies.   Lebed said he hoped the rebels would guarantee the safety of anyone trying to take part in talks on Chechnya's political future, following reports, denied by the rebels, of attacks on pro-Moscow politicians.   The congress organisers have said the separatist leadership will offer other political parties, including Zavgayev's, up to 14 seats in the government which could be formed this autumn.   Russian military officials, stung by the prospect of a humiliating withdrawal after an inconclusive campaign which has killed tens of thousands of people, have accused the rebels of using the deal to take over.   President Boris Yeltsin said last week the troops, which he dispatched in December 1994, should not pull out too quickly.   Zavgayev, who has support in the north and some parts of central Chechnya, has accused Lebed of staging a coup d'etat and surrendering the North Caucasus region to the separatists.   He has rebuffed suggestions that he step down and said his cabinet, forced out of Grozny by a rebel assault last month, will not stop functioning from its new headquarters of Urus Martan in central Chechnya. 
12132 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO !GVOTE  Tens of thousands of victims of Bosnia's ethnic cleansing will have the chance to return home this week, but only for a few hours at the most.   Under a deal agreed between Moslems, Croats and Serbs, the refugees will be bussed in to vote in countrywide elections this Saturday in districts from which they were driven out during the 3-1/2 year war.   But far from showing how the wounds of war are slowly healing, the plan -- backed by an uneasy international community worried about its segregationist overtones -- has highlighted how deeply split the country still remains.   Those taking up the offer will not be allowed to take any possessions with them.   Most will not even get a glimpse of their old homes.   In a joint statement, the interior ministers of the Bosnian Serb Republic and Moslem-Croat Federation said on Monday they had agreed to 19 "voters' routes" across ethnic boundary lines on which full security would be ensured.   Critics say the deal shows how little freedom of movement, a key element of the Dayton peace accords, really exists and underlines their argument that the poll will feed desires to make existing divisions permanent.   NATO, the United Nations, and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) which is supervising the September 14 poll were at pains on Tuesday to stress the deal did not conflict with Dayton.   Spokesmen insisted other routes across inter-ethnic boundary lines would remain open and people would be free to use them with their own vehicles if they wished, but admitted security could not then be guaranteed.   "We are clear that the normal rules of the road would apply along the whole length of inter-ethnic boundary line on voting day," NATO spokesman Major Simon Haselock told reporters.   "It (the plan) did not close any roads, it simply designated 19 roads as recommended for use by voters and it spelled out the most efficient way to use them.   Their plan is an attempt to help voters vote," he added.   Up to 100,000 Moslems may return to Serb-held Bosnia.   Far fewer Serbs are expected to come into the territory of the Moslem-Croat Federation.   Even if they do, they will have little to vote for as the Bosnian Serbs are running candidates only in their own areas -- further underlining the country's ethnic split.   Bosnian Serb Interior Minister Dragan Kijac told journalists the intention of the deal was to allow people to go and vote.   He said they should come straight back to allow another group of people to use the same bus.   "Any operation does require certain prohibitions from a football match to Olympic games.   Citizens can not do what they want, their rights are being limited," Kijac said.   The United Nations distanced itself from that remark, saying no pressure would be put on people who after voting decided to go and look at their old homes, even if this meant "missing the bus back".   "The U.N. is not going to prevent anyone going to see their house," Alex Ivanko, spokesman for the International Police Task Force, said on Tuesday.   Privately, however, representatives of the international community say this is most unlikely.   "Polling stations are in the district, but not necessarily near their homes.   Those taking up the offer will be those who want to make a point by voting in their old areas," said one official.   "Missing the bus is a hell of an incentive to leave."   OSCE supervisors also back the deal despite worries over party control of the buses.   They fear widespread unrest in an an unsupervised mass movement of voters could wreck the polls. 
12133 !GCAT !GPOL  Representatives of more than 20 Chechen political and public groups met in the capital Grozny on Tuesday to work out a power set-up in the region after last month's peace deal with Moscow, Itar-Tass news agency said.   It said separatist chief-of-staff Aslan Maskhadov, who signed a deal with Russian envoy Alexander Lebed last month, co-chaired the congress to which members of the pro-Moscow administration of Doku Zavgayev said they had not been invited.   Tass said the head of the regional mission of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Tim Guldimann, attended the congress which met soon after most troops and rebels left Grozny under the peace deal.   The city is now guarded by joint Russian-rebel patrols.   The deal between Maskhadov and Lebed, conditionally backed by President Boris Yeltsin, provides for a troop withdrawal from Chechnya in exchange for a deferral of the decision on the key problem of the conflict -- the region's future status.   Lebed issued a statement on the eve of the meeting urging the participants to take a measured approach and stressing that all groups should be represented in a future government.   "It is essential to bring all political, social and religious forces and movements into the process of internal dialogue, including the members of the current cabinet," said the statement, quoted by Russian news agencies.   Lebed said he hoped the rebels would guarantee the safety of anyone trying to take part in talks on Chechnya's political future, following reports, denied by the rebels, of attacks on pro-Moscow politicians.   The congress organisers have said the separatist leadership would offer other political parties, including Zavgayev's, up to 14 seats in the government which could be formed this autumn.   Russian troops have already begun withdrawing from Chechnya under the peace deal.   But Russian military officials, stung by the prospect of a humiliating withdrawal after an inconclusive campaign which has killed tens of thousands, have warned the rebels -- who declared Chechnya independent in 1991 -- are using the deal to take over.   Yeltsin said last week the troops, which he sent there in December 1994, should not pull out too quickly.   Zavgayev, who has support in the north and some parts of central Chechnya, has accused Lebed of staging a coup d'etat and surrendering the North Caucasus region to the separatists.   He has rebuffed suggestions that he step down and said his cabinet, forced out of Grozny by a rebel assault last month, would not stop functioning from its new headquarters of Urus Martan in central Chechnya.   While Zavgayev remained in Moscow, officials from the two sides came together in Urus Martan on Monday to pave the way for future cooperation.   Akhmed Zakayev, security adviser to the rebel leader, said early contacts with the pro-Moscow administration had gone well.   "All the cries or announcements from the Kremlin that there will be military activity or civil war are groundless," he said.   But the rebels, far stronger militarily, have made clear that they plan to dominate the government-forming process, saying they will reserve seats for some members of Zavgayev's government. 
12134 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  With hope and firewood in short supply, Bosnia's elections raise scant excitement among the Serb refugees settled in the ruins of this town they seized from Moslems amid a massacre.   "We all know what the results will be.   This election is already decided," said Goran Radanovic, a Serb refugee who has resettled in Srebrenica.   "I expected that there would be some sort of euphoria with this election but it feels like something one has to do, sort of like going to the dentist."   Like most Bosnians, he believes Serb, Croat and Moslem nationalist parties will win this Saturday and that he has no choice but to support the party in power on his territory.   "Nobody expects this election to change anything."   Radanovic, 34, runs a small shop in Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia, selling eggs and bread to Serb refugees who were sent to the town to ensure it remains in Serb hands.   After the Bosnian Serb army conquered the enclave last July, Moslem women and children were expelled on buses and thousands of their men remain missing, believed executed or gunned down as they tried to escape through the woods.   The 16,000 Serb refugees who moved there prefer not to think about its association with what war crimes investigators call Europe's worst atrocity since World War Two.   Bosnian Serb authorities have made sure to register the new residents and plan to bus in thousands of refugees from neighbouring Serbia on election day.   Whatever the election outcome, the winter will be difficult.   Most people are trying to find enough money to pay for firewood before the first snowfall only a few weeks away.   Like many Bosnians, Radanovic finds himself caught in a circle of expulsions and conquest beyond this control.   He and his family are living in a flat once inhabited by a Moslem.   He has given up hope of returning to his own home on the other side of Bosnia in Glamoc.   A Croat, also a refugee, has taken his property there.   Radanovic believes the vicious cycle of expulsions is senseless, but he says it is too soon to force Moslems, Roman Catholic Croats and Orthodox Christian Serbs to live together after 3-1/2 years of war.   "My sister married a Moslem.   He's a good man.   But Moslems and Serbs with an upper case M and S can no longer live together.   Too much has happened."   Many Serbs are disturbed by the possibility of Moslems trying to return to Srebrenica to vote on election day.   "If they come back, I will go up in the hills to fight and they will be stuck down here and we will be right back where we were," said one elderly man in Radanovic's shop.   But Radanovic, more moderate than most of his neighoburs, says he would be willing to accept at least a number of Moslems moving back -- eventually.   "It's like a divorce.   You need a period of time before you can see the other person," he said.   "Some Moslems could move back here but it could not get to the point where their numbers would jeopardise our position."   For a rally of the ruling Serb Democratic Party (SDS) on Tuesday, workers were sweeping up debris from the streets where thousands of besieged Moslems once lived in misery, surviving on boxes of food dropped from U.S. aircraft.   If Moslem refugees made it to Srebrenica, they would see buildings plastered with posters of Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb president indicted for orchestrating the slaughter of the enclave's Moslem men.   Although he bowed to international pressure and stepped down in July, the party he helped found is expected to emerge victorious in Bosnia's Serb republic, which covers half the country.   In Srebrenica, the SDS has made sure to make an example of those who are to step out of line and support the other Serb parties.   Town authorities recently sacked a prominent teacher because he belonged to the opposition Socialist party.   Radanovic says he tries to avoid contemplating politics or his future, which he believes will be decided by the same men who started the war.   The presidents of Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia have carved up the country, Radanovic says, and the elections will simply ratify their deal.   "You can't play chess without pawns." 
12135 !GCAT !GPOL  President Boris Yeltsin, preparing for heart surgery, has given Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin partial control of several key ministries but is keeping the nuclear "red button" under his control, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.   Yeltsin's press secretary Sergei Yastrzhembsky told Russian news agencies that key ministers, who usually report directly to the president, would coordinate their activities with Chernomydrin while the Kremlin leader is on holiday.   Yeltsin announced in a television interview last week that he would undergo heart surgery.   Speculation has been rife as to whether he would pass authority to Chernomyrdin, who is constitutionally number two.   "President Boris Yeltsin, for the duration of his holiday, has ordered the heads of power ministries to coordinate with Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin all questions that require a decision by the head of state," Itar-Tass news agency quoted Yastrzhembsky as saying.   Interfax news agency quoted him as saying the nuclear "red button" would stay under the control of the 65-year-old Russian leader.   Under Russian law, several senior ministers, including those in charge of defence, interior, foreign affairs, counter-intelligence and federal security, report directly to the president rather than to the prime minister.   Experts say Yeltsin is likely to have a by-pass operation, routine for those suffering from the ischaemic disease which put Yeltsin in hospital twice last year.   His illness has prompted speculation of a power struggle in the Kremlin and has worried Western leaders, who see Yeltsin as the guarantor of stability for Russia's fledgling democracy.   German Chancellor Helmut Kohl visited Yeltsin on Saturday and said the Russian president had seemed in full control.   Kohl said they had discussed who would control Russia's nuclear arsenal while he undergoing surgery but would not reveal what Yeltsin had said.   Kremlin security chief Alexander Lebed said on Friday the time had come to name Chernomyrdin to rule temporarily.   The communist speaker of the State Duma (lower house of parliament), Gennady Seleznyov, also called for Chernomyrdin to step in.   Kremlin chief of staff Anatoly Chubais, who with Lebed and Chernomyrdin completes a trio of jostling Kremlin rivals, said there was no need to hand over power yet.   Interfax quoted Chubais as saying that if Yeltsin did hand over power, it would be for a short time.   "It would be for a matter of hours, days, a couple of days," Chubais said. 
12136 !GCAT  Here are highlights from Polish newspapers this morning.   RZECZPOSPOLITA   - Privatisations of Polish firms in 1997 should bring 2.5 billion zlotys in revenues and another three billion zlotys should come from privatisations of financial institutions, deputy privatisation minister Jan Czekaj said.   - The Anti-monopoly Office has launched proceedings against Poland's telecommunications company TPSA, relating to its service pricing dispute with the Centertel analogue cellular phone company, the Office spokesman said on Monday.   - Poland's electric energy suppliers will have to pay 250 million zlotys to coal producers for coal already delivered.   The industry ministry has called a committee which will work out a new system of coal prices by September-end.   - The listed Mostostal Warszawa construction company will build a multi-level parking complex in Wroclaw worth 20 million zlotys and will tender for similar construction contracts in Warsaw, Mostostal Warszawa president Karol Heidrich said.   - Poland's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth will drop to to five percent this year and inflation will exceed 18 percent, a Polish Chamber of Commerce research institute forecast said.   - In agreement with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regulations, Poland will subsidise the export of 122,900 tonnes of sugar this year and 118,300 tonnes in 1997, KERM, the cabinet body grouping economic ministers decided.   NOWA EUROPA   - Germany's Bosch-Siemens Heusgeraete GmbH will invest up to 35 million marks in a Lodz-based washing-machine plant which will start operations in April 1997 and eventually make 400,000 machines a year, its deputy president Ronald Kuhlein said.   - Gdansk Shipyard's Solidarity trade union accused the receiver company "Wardynski i Spolka" of ineffectiveness.   According to receiver Michal Lachert, Polish banks do not want to grant credits to the bankrupt shipyard but a Polish company and a Norwegian investor are ready to invest $200 million in restructuring it.   GAZETA WYBORCZA   - The listed Novita carpet maker's poor 1995 and first half 1996 financial results made shares drop to a record low level.   "Novita invested 25 million zlotys in new technologies and it is sure to recover very soon", Novita president Marek Gorny said.   - NatWest Markets, the British National Westminster Bank's investment branch, will extend its presence in Poland.   NatWest has hired Polish stock market analysts who produced an August 16 report which recommended buying Zywiec brewery's shares.   - Agros Milejow, controlled by the listed Agros-Holding, has paid 1.75 million zlotys for property of the liquidated ZPOW Milejow fruit and vegetable processing plant.   - Mostostal Warszawa construction firm will build a factory hall worth 1.7 million zlotys for the Ozarow-based FK cable maker.   ZYCIE WARSZAWY   - Over 17.7 million National Investment Fund (NFI) privatisation certificates have been collected by citizens since the NFI programme began.   Around 10 million certificates are still waiting to be collected.   - From July 1995 to August 1996, Polish Visa credit card holders' transaction turnover totalled $163 million.   PARKIET   - The Choiny housing cooperative will have to pay Ocean Company 3.7 million zlotys for the debt Ocean has bought from PKO BP bank, a Lublin court ruled.   - The management of the Lubawa technical clothing maker has fixed its C-series share price at 17 zlotys.   Demand for Lubawa shares exceeded supply by 30 percent, offcial sources said.   - The listed ZM Kety aluminium maker share price will probably reach 200 zlotys, Bank Handlowy Capital Operations Centre analysts said.   - Lucent Technologies (LT) will carry out telecommunications network modernisation works for TPSA in Krakow and Wroclaw provinces worth $13 million, LT spokesperson Dorota Niemczynowicz said.   -- Warsaw Newsroom +48 22 653 9700 
12137 !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 may not import the contracted 100,000 tonnes of wheat under the U.S. GSM-102 programme after the U.S. sellers unexpectedly hiked the price to $230 per tonne from $207, Bulgaria's Agriculture Ministry officials said.   -- Privatisation receipts in Bulgaria might be used to stabilise ailing local commercial banks, Deputy Prime Minister Roumen Gechev said after talks with central bank officials.    -- South Korea's industrial giant Daewoo has expressed interest in buying the Vratsa-based chemical fertiliser plant Himko in a letter to Bulgaria's Privatisation Agency, the newspaper said without naming sources.   The cabinet however has not decided yet whether the plant would be offered for sale, Industrial Ministry officials said.   -- Bulgaria's passenger and cargo air traffic has not been affected by local air traffic controllers' protests and flying is safe, Transport Ministry officials told the president of the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers Federation (IFATCA) Preden Lauridsen.    STANDART   -- Eleven voucher privatisation funds have not raised the minimum required capital of 70 million levs and will not be eligible for participation in Bulgaria's mass sell-off programme, Mass Privatisation Centre officials said.   -- The Bulgarian-Russian gas company Topenergy shareholders' meeting, scheduled for September 20 in Moscow, might be postponed over the lack of a precise business plan, the company's executive director Sasho Donchev said.   PARI    -- Bulgaria's monthly consumer price inflation slowed to 17.1 percent in August from 23.3 percent in July and cumulative inflation for the first eight months rose to 113.0 percent, the National Statistics Institute said.   -- Bulgaria's State Fund for Reconstruction and Development (SFRD) has guaranteed a $20 million credit to the National Electricity Company for purchases of Russian nuclear fuel by the end of the year, SFRD officials said.   TRUD    -- Bulgaria's railway passenger fares will rise by 20 percent from September 20 due to high inflation and the electricity and fuel price hikes in the past months, a Transport Ministry official said.   -- Bulgaria's deepening economic cirsis and the worsening standard of living in Bulgaria might deter Bulgarians to vote in the presidential elections due in October, main opposition Union of Democratic Forces leader Ivan Kostov said after talks with President Zhelyu Zhelev.   -- Sofia Newsroom, (++359-2) 981 8569 
12138 !GCAT  DELO   - About 500 of the 1,400-strong workforce of machine producer LItostroj went on strike on Monday, protesting that they had not received any salaries since June.   - Slovenian and Italian defence ministers Jelko Kacin and Beniamino Andreatta signed an agreement in Bologna, Italy, on Monday to carry out joint military exercises.   - A Development Fund tender to sell stakes in 162 companies was met by a joint offer of 23 Slovenian investment companies.   - The Slovenian parliament, which starts its first session after the summer break on Tuesday, is expected to debate the replacement of general public prosecutor Anton Drobnic soon.   The replacement was demanded by the United List of Social Democrats which claimed the prosecutor was politically biased.   - The health minister said big hospitals had problems reducing the number of night duty hours because of the large amount of work.   The government demanded that hospitals reduce duty hours to cut costs.   - The Ljubljana city council pushed for an extra session where it would discuss possible irregularities in the city's final accounts for 1995.   DNEVNIK   - Advertising agencies said this year's pre-election campaign could be less lively than four years ago as political parties say they lack funds for large campaigns.   - Repair works in the border tunnel between Austria and Slovenia have not yet begun.   The tunnel has been closed since Friday when a part of the roof collapsed on the Slovenian side.   REPUBLIKA   - German President Roman Herzog, who starts a two-day official visit to Slovenia on Wednesday, is expected to meet Slovenian President Milan Kucan, Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek and Archbishop Alojzij Sustar. 
12139 !GCAT  NARODNA OBRODA - Economics Minister Karol Cesnek said he expected the trade deficit to grow further by the end of this year.   This could seriously threathen Slovakia's balance of payments.   - Cesnek said the most disquieting aspect of the country's foreign trade was a 29 billion crown deficit with Russia.   - Parliament will discuss a draft law which could allow the state to purchase property, mainly buildings, from cities and villages for a symbolic 10 crowns.   SME - President Michal Kovac plans to address parliament with a report on the state of the Republic in October.   - The National Property Fund (NPF), the state privatisation agency, will debate privatisation of an unspecified number of state firms on Thursday.   NPF President Stefan Gavornik said the NPF is not expected to discus privatisation of the four largest financial institutions.   HOSPODARSKE NOVINY - Heavy engineering company ZTS TEES Martin plans to increase production of tractors to between 3,500 and 4,000 units a year, from the current annual production of 774 units.   - Some 152 state agricultural firms, worth around 54.3 billion crowns, remain to be privatised in the second privatisation wave.   - The F. D. Roosvelt Hospital in Banska Bystrica is the most indebted medical institution in Slovakia with debts totalling 322 million crowns.   -- Bratislava Newsroom, 42-7-210-3687 
12140 !GCAT !GDIP  King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia of Spain arrived in Hungary on Tuesday for the start of a three-day official visit.   The King and Queen were met at Budapest's international airport by Zoltan Gal, the speaker of the parliament, the Hungarian news agency MTI said.   During the visit, his second to Hungary, the King will meet Hungarian President Arpad Goncz, preside over a Spanish- Hungarian business forum and visit the famous Babolna horse stables in western Hungary.   The Hungarian government sees the visit as having important symbolic value in Hungary's efforts to join both NATO and the European Union.   "Spain is a large and decisive member of both the EU and NATO and its sustained support for Hungary's integration afforts is esential," foreign ministry spokesman Gabor Szentivanyi told Reuters, adding he hoped trade would be boosted by the trip.   King Juan Carlos was one of the few Western monarchs to visit Hungary under the communist system when, accompanied by Queen Sofia, he paid a state visit the country in 1987. 
12141 !GCAT !GENT !GPRO  Michael Jackson performed for more than two hours to a less-than-full house in Hungary on Tuesday, but fans said the singer had put on a good show.   Tickets were being sold up to the last minute in Budapest for the second stop on Jackson's "HIStory World Tour", the biggest effort yet to get the American singer's career back on track after a scandal over child-sex abuse allegations.   Police estimated the crowd at 45,000 to 50,000 in the Nepstadion, which has seats for 60,000 and standing room for 10,000.   Concert organisers could not be reached for comment.   "I thought there would be more people but I think the ticket price is high for Hungarians," said Andras Danos of Budapest, who was in the standing-room area near the stage.   The cheapest tickets for standing room or seats high in the stadium cost 4,900 forints (almost $33) in a country where the average wage is under $400 a month, while the top price was 15,000 forints ($100).   Fans enjoyed the spectacle of the elaborate Jackson show, however, which began with the singer being launched onstage from a space capsule and included lavish use of fireworks, lasers and pyrotechnics.   "The show is perfectly organised," said Balasz Vertes, attending with his friend Anita Sand.   "I expected more people to be here," Vertes added, "but we are having a great time."   Morton Finnemann, 30, of Copenhagen, and his sister Lene, 26, said they had flown from Denmark for the show on a three-day package for $500 apiece.   "It's the music I'm just crazy about," said Finnemann.   The three-month tour is Jackson's biggest since the scandal which came to light in 1993 when a 13-year-old boy accused the singer of molesting him.   Jackson denied wrongdoing but reached a multi-million dollar out of court settlement. 
12142 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  Croatia has drafted a new amnesty law for Serbs living in eastern Slavonia, the last Serb-held area in Croatia, Croatian radio quoted a U.N. official as saying on Tuesday.   Croatia is under pressure from the West to pardon minority Serbs who rebelled against Croatia's bid for independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.   "(Croatia provided us with) a new bill on amnesty which will be soon discussed in the Croatian parliament," the radio quoted Jacques Klein, head of the U.N. Transitional Administration in eastern Slavonia (UNTAES), as saying.   Croatia passed an amnesty in May applying to Serbs living in the enclave but UNTAES criticised it as "too vague" and "insufficient to create confidence among the local Serb population".   UNTAES took over eastern Slavonia in January with a mandate to gradually reintegrate it into Croatia by 1997.   Croatian forces crushed a four-year Serb rebellion in two other separatist enclaves in blitz offensives in 1995, leading to a mass exodus of almost the entire Serb population in the country.   Last month the United Nations urged Croatia to pass a "comprehensive amnesty law" covering everyone who served civil or military Serb authorities in all former Serb-held areas, either voluntarily or by coercion, except for war criminals.   UNTAES spokesman Phil Arnold said he could not comment on the new amnesty bill at this stage.   "All we can say now is that we are pleased that the Croatian government is taking the issue seriously," he said.   "But we have no opinion (on it) yet as we first have to understand it."   U.N. experts would now make a legal analysis, he added.   Government spokeswoman Darija Bartulin said parliament would discuss the bill at its first autumn session on September 18.   But she said the government had not yet made the content of the bill public and could not provide any details.   UNTAES fears tens of thousands of Serbs may flee eastern Slavonia when it is reintegrated into Croatia, unless they feel safe from persecution. 
12143 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO !GVOTE  Haris Silajdzic, Bosnia's mercurial former prime minister, made an impassioned plea on Tuesday for a united, multi-ethnic Bosnia.   "Bosnia is an historic community of three peoples (Serbs, Moslems, and Croats) and there is no Bosnia without one of those peoples," he told a final election rally of his newly-formed Party for Bosnia-Herzegovina.   Silajdzic, who rebelled against the discipline of the ruling Party of Democratic Action (SDA) last year, appealed to some 3,000 enthusiastic supporters to try to put the war and suffering behind them.   "Sometime ago we were all Bosnians," he told the rally at a war-scarred sports hall in central Sarajevo decked out in posters proclaiming: "In front of the law, we are all equal" and "Bosnia-Herzegovina, a legitimate state".   To loud applause he said the international community which had failed to allow the Bosnian state to defend itself during the 1992-95 war would provide help and funds to help build a flourishing economy of a democratic European-style state.   "People know where they go, only if they know where they come from," said the 50-year-old politician who travelled foreign capitals pleading his country's case during the 3-1/2 year war.   Silajdzic, who backs free enterprise and privatisation, said priority must be given to finding jobs, particularly for young people.   Calling for a coalition of national unity, he said he would prefer the elections were not taking place as several parties wished to use them to cement the existing ethnic divide.   Silajdzic, easily the most popular Moslem politician after President Alija Izetbegovic, is the best-known leading figure standing on a clear anti-nationalist ticket.   He has accused the SDA of growing intolerance and flirting with Moslem fundamentalism.   Sarajevo, a central European melting pot of converging cultures, is his powerbase.   Unopposed, Izetbegovic would be virtually certain of winning most votes for a three-man collective national presidency to include one Serb, one Moslem and one Croat.   But Silajdzic could split the Moslem vote allowing a Serb to take most votes and thereby become the first chairman of the rotating presidency. 
12144 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO !GVOTE  International organisers of Bosnia's pending elections have fined the hard-line nationalist party ruling the Serb sector $50,000 for campaigning in favour of secession and union with Serbia, officials said on Tuesday.   Nationalist Serbs ended the 1992-95 war in control of half of Bosnia and are treating the September 14 elections as a referendum on autonomy rather than the basis for reunifying Bosnia under a joint government.   The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), overseeing the elections, said it had fined the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) for campaign rhetoric against the state integrity of Bosnia, whose other half is governed by a Moslem-Croat federation.   The OSCE said its election appeals board reviewed videotapes of SDS rallies where acting Bosnian Serb president Biljana Plavsic and parliament speaker Momcilo Krajisnik "threatened, denied or sought to undermine the sovereignty of Bosnia".   "(They also called) for independence of the Serb Republic and union with Serbia.   (We) directed the SDS to pay a civil penalty of $50,000 and warned that any candidate who continues to make such statements will have his or her candidacy terminated," an OSCE statement said.   The OSCE has previously reprimanded the SDS for publicly denigrating the idea of a renewed multi-ethnic Bosnia prescribed by the 1995 Dayton peace treaty which was signed by Serbs, Moslems and Croats.   But it has shied away from disqualifying offending candidates or the entire party, as it is empowered to do, for fear of exposing the elections to sabotage by the SDS, which controls police and media on Serb territory.   It would be difficult in any case for the OSCE to disbar candidates now, as ballot forms bearing their names are already en route to polling stations and cannot be changed.   In fact the OSCE -- keen to bring off the elections at almost any cost -- has donated far more money to the SDS and other Serb parties than it has fined them for similar infringements of Dayton provisions in the past, so $50,000 amounted to little more than a slap on the wrist, analysts said.   The SDS has also escaped serious punishment for its defiant glorification of former party and republic president Radovan Karadzic, an indicted war criminal forced to quit public office in July to enable his party to run in the elections.   Karadzic posters have been a common sight at SDS rallies and he is still referred to as "president" by Plavsic, Krajisnik and other former deputies who still take their cues from him behind the scenes.   The OSCE on Tuesday condemned continued displays of Karadzic placards and said the SDS, at its insistence, had aired a prime-time statement on Bosnian Serb television warning that Karadzic imagery was violating the Dayton treaty.   OSCE spokeswoman Agota Kuperman touted the statement as a breakthrough because, unlike previous ones, it was made without "disclaimers or slogans" intended to weaken its effect.   She said the message would be carried in Serb media for three consecutive days.   OSCE pressure on the SDS had already led to a radical reduction of Karadzic posters in public, Kuperman maintained.   Analysts believe the elections will reinforce partition in Bosnia, not foster reunification, because of the distaste of all three factions for democratic power-sharing which led to war in the first place. 
12145 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Croatia's foreign minister on Tuesday backed calls for international peacekeeping troops to remain in Bosnia beyond December, suggesting a two-year prolongation of their mandate to consolidate the country.   Mate Granic also told reporters at the end of a two-day visit to Ukraine that Croatian control over its Serb-held region of Eastern Slavonia should be restored without delay next April.   U.N. troops, he said, should be withdrawn no more than two months later.   "The forthcoming election in Bosnia (on September 14) should create a central administration," Granic told a news conference alongside his Ukrainian opposite number Hennady Udovenko.   "But for the formation of Bosnia-Herzegovina as a state international forces should stay for two more years.   Perhaps in a reduced way but they should definitely remain."   Udovenko also called for the IFOR mission to remain in the region beyond the December deadline.   Ukraine maintains 500 troops in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo and a further 350 in Eastern Slavonia.   About 50,000 troops from 34 countries under American leadership are deployed in Bosnia to help implement the Dayton peace accord which ended 43 months of war last December.   IFOR's mandate runs out in December but plans are already under way to begin pulling out after Bosnian elections and there is speculation over whether some form of security force should remain after the official IFOR pull-out.   German Defence Minister Volker Ruehe said in an interview published on Tuesday that IFOR should remain in former Yugoslavia until October 1997 and could have a German chief-of-staff.   Ruehe, who has spoken several times about extending an IFOR mandate, ruled out a stay of more than another year.   Other NATO members have kept quiet on the subject and Washington has refused to comment until after U.S. presidential elections on November 5.   Western allies have privately accepted the need for a continued military presence in Bosnia.   Granic said that the restoration of diplomatic ties on Monday between Croatia and Yugoslavia should bring a formal end to all conflict between them and facilitate the withdrawal from Eastern Slavonia.   "We hope that the mandate of these troops will expire on April 15," he said.   "Troops will be withdrawn within two months."   Croatia has stepped up pressure to regain the region.   President Franjo Tudjman said on Monday he intended to visit the devastated Serb-held town of Vukovar next April. 
12146 !GCAT !GDIP  Russia expressed interest on Tuesday in attending a summit of NATO and East European states next year.   Moscow may take up a suggestion by French President Jacques Chirac to join the gathering, a foreign ministry spokesman said, Itar-Tass news agency reported.   Spokesman Gennady Tarasov said the Paris initiative "aroused interest in Moscow and we are closely studying its possibilities".   He added that Moscow welcomed efforts to make the Western defence alliance a stabilising factor in Europe.   Russia would carefully consider any formal invitation to an alliance meeting, Tarasov said.   "A positive answer to such an invitation might be given,"   President Boris Yeltsin, who faces heart surgery later this month, and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl agreed at informal talks near Moscow on Saturday to try to resolve by next year a dispute over NATO's plans to admit former Soviet-bloc states in Central and Eastern Europe.   Moscow opposes the plans.   Chirac proposed in an August 29 speech in Paris that the 16 NATO members, the central and east European states which are candidates for membership and all other countries, including Russia, which have links with NATO should meet next year.   The summit, which French officials have said could take place early in 1997, would mark the reform of NATO, the emergence of a European defence identity within the Atlantic Alliance and the launch of a new pan-European security set-up.   U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher said in the German city of Stuttgart on Friday that NATO leaders would meet next spring or early summer to decide on new members and approve a charter defining the alliance's relationship with Russia. 
12147 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO  President Boris Yeltsin's heart bypass operation is still on schedule for the end of this month and the exact date will be fixed very soon, the deputy head of the Kremlin medical team was quoted as saying on Tuesday.   In an interview with Interfax news agency, Yuri Perov denied suggestions that the surgery might be postponed to the beginning of October.   Announcing the operation last week, Yeltsin said he had opted for surgery at the end of this month.   "Within just a very few days", Perov said, a council of the Russian leader's doctors would meet to determine the precise date of the surgery.   He also dismissed speculation that German and not Russian doctors would operate on the 65-year-old Kremlin leader.   But he could not confirm reports that the operation would be performed by surgeon Renat Akchurin at Moscow's Cardiological Centre.   Yeltsin indicated he would go that clinic but there are at least three others in Moscow capable of this type of operation.   The head of the Cardiological Centre, Yevgeny Chazov, said on Monday the decision on where to operate would be taken by the doctors' council at the end of the month.   According to Russian media reports, Akchurin performed a similar bypass operation on Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, to whom Yeltsin on Tuesday handed partial control of several key ministries which normally report directly to the president. 
12148 !GCAT !GPOL  The Romanian parliament, defying pleas from European human rights bodies, on Tuesday confirmed homosexuality as a crime punishable by jail.   Parliament's lower house ruled that homosexual relations could be punishable by up to three years jail, with a five-year penalty if such relations took place in public.   The 174-39 vote, which followed a heated debate, toughened draft legislation adopted last March by parliament's upper house which said homosexuality should be deemed a crime only if it "causes public scandal."   Scrapping anti-homosexual laws was among conditions the Council of Europe set for Romania's admission to the club of Western parliamentary democracies three years ago.   But government and opposition politicians, strongly backed by Romanian orthodox church leaders, remain in favour of maintaining the ban imposed by executed communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.   Deputies from both houses will meet to harmonise their texts and put it to a final vote, with the upper house expected to toughen its stance.   The law will take effect only after signing by President Ion Iliescu.   Homosexuality remains one of the strongest taboos in the macho Balkan country, six years after the end of communist rule.   "We voted jail terms against homosexual relations, because they breach the morality of Romanians and affect the demographic growth of the country, which has seen a fall in its population," said Rasvan Dobrescu, of the opposition National Peasant Party, said.   The London-based human rights group Amnesty International has called Romania's treatment of gays one of the major unsolved human rights problems in the ex-communist country.   Amnesty surveys showed that 57 Romanians were serving terms in the country's jails last year for homosexual offences. 
12149 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic is giving only half-hearted support to efforts to oust hard-line Bosnian Serb leaders in elections because he wants them to take the blame for difficult times ahead, diplomats say.   Milosevic, the powerful patron of Serb leader Radovan Karadzic until relations between them deteriorated sharply in 1993, is ostensibly backing opposition parties campaigning against the ruling Serbian Democratic Party (SDS).   But diplomats feel Milosevic's support is only half-hearted, and that he would actually prefer to see the hard-line SDS win.   "Paradoxical as it might seem, Milosevic wants his rivals from the SDS to win and form a government this time round.   At the next elections in two year's time it will be a different story," a senior Western diplomat said.   The international community forced Karadzic, who as an indicted war criminal is barred from running for office, to step down this summer, a move it hoped would take the bite out of the SDS leadership.   But international monitors warn that Karadzic is still sitting in his office, still being addressed as President by his followers and still effectively wields the same influence over the separatist Bosnian Serb republic as before.   "It is Karadzic and no one else who is masterminding the SDS election campaign," opposition leader Mladen Ivanic said.   Two main opposition blocs are opposing the SDS in Saturday's elections -- the Alliance for Peace and Progress (SMP) led by the Bosnian branch of Serbia's ruling Socialist Party and the Democratic Patriotic Bloc (DPB) led by the charismatic mayor of Banja Luka, Predrag Radic.   Both opposition blocs, who are likely to get up to 45 percent of the 80-seat future Bosnian Serb parliament, are just as nationalist as the SDS, but more pragmatic and keen to establish relations with the West and former foes.   On the surface, Milosevic appears to be helping out his proteges -- he has sent three of his senior party officials to attend various SMP rallies and Serbian state television gives time for the SMP and the DPB.   The SDS is hardly ever mentioned.   But diplomats say this support is too little, too late.   An independent television station and a relay of Serbian television, both designed to compete with the SDS-controlled official channel, started broadcasting only last weekend.   "Who in their right mind can believe that this independent television can make people change their minds just one week before the polls?"   Ivanic said.   Opposition leaders say their rallies have been disrupted by SDS followers, and the SMP has compiled a long list of physical intimidation, including bombings and arson against its supporters, which some opposition leaders feel Milosevic could have ended with a single telephone call.   Diplomats say Milosevic would like to see the SDS win only a small majority in the parliament, just enough to saddle it with the blame for any mistakes it is likely to make in troubled times ahead.   "Nothing in Bosnia has been solved yet and the country is partitioned as ever despite the Dayton peace accord," the Western diplomat said.   "It is a mess and it's going to be a mess until the next elections at least, and Milosevic does not want to be held accountable any longer for that mess," he added.   Milosevic has recently acted to stabilise the situation in the Balkans, to the chagrin of nationalists, normalising relations with arch-rival Croatia and moving to establish economic ties with the Moslem-led government in Sarajevo.   "Milosevic wants to enter the club of internationally respected politicians, and in that context Bosnia is like a stone around his neck," the diplomat said.   "He wants to be able to tell us -- you wanted these elections, you engineered them and now the people have voted these thugs into the office.   I have no influence over them, they are not mine so don't hold me responsible," he added. 
12150 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  A team of three Albanian observers will help to monitor this week's elections in Bosnia, the Albanian news agency ATA said on Tuesday.   The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has asked three experts, led by Pellumb Cela, deputy chairman of Albania's electoral central commission, to monitor Saturday's polls, ATA said.   "This is the first time observers will represent Albania in another country in the context of the OSCE.   It is important for Albania to be presented with dignity and to gain this type of experience," Cela said.   The OSCE has criticised Albania's third multi-party polls on May 26 and June 2 as failing to to meet all the criteria for a democratic election.   The ruling Democrats of President Sali Berisha won 122 seats in Albania's 140-member assembly.   Nearly all opposition parties boycotted the poll, which they said was rigged, and refused to take up the few seats they won. 
12151 !GCAT !GPOL  Top members of parliament in Belarus on Tuesday gave hardline President Alexander Lukashenko five days to rescind a string of decrees struck down by the courts or face impeachment.   "If by September 15 he does not abolish his anti-constitutional decrees, we will start impeachment proceedings," Vasily Novikov, first deputy chairman of parliament, told a news conference.   Lukashenko is locked in a battle with parliament over changes to the former Soviet republic's constitution.   The president proposes a new constitution broadening his powers while the assembly's version does away with the post of president altogether.   Both sides have called referendums on a series of issues -- Lukashenko for November 7, anniversary of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, the parliament for November 24.   Lukashenko became Belarus's first post-Soviet president two years ago on a platform of fighting corruption and pressing for a union of some sort with neighbouring Russia.   His rule has become increasingly authoritarian.   Some 200 people were given brief jail terms for taking part in protests against a pact he signed creating a "community" with Russia.   Seven extreme nationalists from neighbouring Ukraine were given longer sentences for more serious public order offences.   The country's supreme court has struck down a series of presidential decrees as unconstitutional, including the suspension of trade unions, extension of his control over electronic media and dissolution of local councils.   Lukashenko has poured scorn on the court and ignored its rulings.   Under his proposed version of the constitution, he has called for the power to appoint some of its judges as well as one-third of the members of a new upper house of parliament.   Lukashenko's draft also allows the president to be elected for two five-year terms.   He has told parliament he wants to rule for 10 more years, an indication he intended to start a full new mandate if the proposal wins approval.   "In Belarus there is no force of law but only the right to use force," said Sergei Kalyakin, leader of the Communist faction.   "With the presidential draft of the Constitution there would be a police, fascist state in Belarus."   Kalyakin dismissed Lukashenko's recent allegation that deputies were trying to gather arms for armed rebellion.   "We will not take or buy automatic guns.   The constitution and laws are our main weapons," Kalyakin said.   "Our referendum is an attempt to give people a chance to choose."   Lukashenko has proposed referendum questions upholding capital punishment, banning private land ownership and changing the national holiday.   Deputies want plebiscites on making local government directly elected and more accountable. 
12152 !GCAT !GVIO  The peace deal struck by Moscow envoy Alexander Lebed with separatist rebels in Chechnya has halted fighting, but the ex-paratroop general's critics say that politically it has taken Moscow back to square one.   The deal signed on August 31 allows for a withdrawal of most Russian troops, leaving in place the separatists they were sent to crush 21 months ago.   "I view these documents as an act of capitulation before, let's put it this way, armed bandits," Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov said after Lebed announced details of the agreement which he signed with rebel chief-of-staff Aslan Maskhadov.   Under the deal, the troops sent to the southern region in December 1994 are to withdraw in exchange for a five-year deferral of a decision on the most difficult issue of the conflict -- Chechnya's future political status.   The rebels want complete independence from Russia but Moscow has ruled this out.   "The fighting has stopped, documents have been signed," said Lebed, who was handed the task of restoring peace by President Boris Yeltsin.   "Let anyone come and say that this was wrong or illegal."   Lebed's mission has created hope for a lasting peace after the deaths of tens of thousands of people.   The Russian public has cheered him as the first top official to say publicly that Moscow could not defeat the rebels militarily.   But despite the thunder of applause, there is a bitter aftertaste and many questions remain unanswered.   Under rebel pressure, a clause in the deal making the Russian constitution the basis for talks on Chechnya's future was replaced by mention of "international law and respect for people's right for self-determination".   For the first time, the rebel leadership is referred to in the deal as "the government of the Chechen Republic", a title reserved earlier for the Moscow-installed regional authority of Doku Zavgayev.   The latter is not mentioned at all.   Opponents say these changes pave the way for Chechen independence and Zavgayev has accused Lebed of surrendering the region to the rebels.   Critics have reacted angrily to steps taken by the separatists to toughen their grip on Chechnya as the Russian troops and civil administration starts withdrawing.   Rebels are displacing local administrations loyal to Moscow and introducing the Islamic laws of Shariat.   They make no secret of their continued desire to break away from Russia.   Rebel Leader Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev said in a newspaper interview at the weekend that he saw the five-year deferral on a political solution as a time-out for Russia to find a face-saving way to let Chechnya go.   Russian leaders, including Yeltsin, have kept a distance from Lebed, saying the political price must still be weighed up.   The ex-general has shrugged off the criticism and the rebels' victory cries.   He says the rebels will in time be happy to have the status of a Russian region enjoying strong autonomy and will not want to face the inevitable uncertainties of being a separate small state sandwiched between a hostile Russia and Georgia.   Tatarstan, another Russian region, solved a similar dilemma peacefully in 1995 by opting to stay in Russia with strong autonomy.   Its independent-minded leader, Mintimer Shaimiyev, is now among staunch supporters of Russian federalism.   Lebed says northern Chehcnya and some central areas where Zavgayev is strong have never been under separatist control and that Yandarbiyev will have to make a deal with the pro-Moscow north to maintain peace.   Whatever lies ahead, the current power setup in Chechnya resembles the one in December 1994 when Yeltsin sent troops in.   "When they sent us here, they said we have to free Chechnya of the separatists who defy Moscow's orders and whom many people in the region detest," an angry paratroop officer told Russian Television.   "We are leaving behind the same separatists who defy Moscow and who, they say, are detested by many here," he added.   "I only ask why were we here, why have tens of thousands of people died?" 
12153 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  A prosecutor on Tuesday asked a Tirana court to jail four Albanians for up to three years for founding a communist party in the former Stalinist country and conspiring to overthrow the government.   He asked for a three-year jail term for Timoshenko Pekmezi, 54, and Sami Meta, 62, and 18 months and one year respectively for Tare Isufi, 73, and Kristaq Mosko, 45.   "They should be sentenced not for their communist convictions and ideas but for propagating them -- something which is anti-constitutional," prosecutor Kadri Skeraj said.   The four are charged with "creating anti-constitutional parties and associations in collaboration" in a case brought by the country's secret police, SHIK.   After the demise of Albania's hardline dictatorship in 1990, the country introduced a series of laws to punish former leaders and prevent a resurgence of communism.   Parliament outlawed all communist organisations in July 1992. 
12154 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA  Ukraine's Borispol International Airport in Kiev may close on Saturday due to forecasts of heavy rains, the weather service said on Tuesday.   --Moscow Newsroom +7095 941 8520 
12155 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Representatives of more than 20 political and public groups met in the Chechen capital Grozny on Tuesday for talks on a future government in the region.   Itar-Tass news agency said that rebel chief of staff Aslan Maskhadov, who signed a peace deal with Russian envoy Alexander Lebed last month, co-chaired the congress.   The congress met in Grozny after most troops and rebels left it under the latest peace deal.   The city is now guarded by joint Russian-rebel patrols.   Tass said the head of the regional mission of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Tim Guldimann, also attended the congress of some 20 mainly pro-independence groups.   It said that representatives of the pro-Moscow regional administration headed by Doku Zavgayev had not been invited.   The congress organisers have said the separatist leadership would offer other political parties, including Zavgayev's, up to 14 seats in a future government.   Maskhadov and Russian envoy Alexander Lebed signed a peace deal on August 31.   Under the pact most Russian troops would leave Chechnya and a decision on the region's future status would be deferred for five years.   Tens of thousands of people have died since Russia moved troops in December 1994 to quell Chechnya's independence bid. 
12156 !E41 !E411 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Romania's unemployment rate fell to 6.2 percent in August from 6.6 percent the previous month, the Labour Ministry said on Tuesday.   It said the jobless rate continued to drop due to seasonal work in agriculture and construction and the growth of the private sector, which absorbed some of the unemployed.    AUGUST  JULY AUGUST 1995    Number unemployed  692,561 736,351 1,061,000    Pct of workforce  6.2  6.6  9.5   NOTE -- Romania has a workforce of 11.235 million.   The jobless rate is expected to drop to 8.3 percent this year from 8.9 percent in 1995.   -- Bucharest Newsroom 40-1 3120264 
12157 !GCAT !GPOL  President Boris Yeltsin has ordered his ministers of defence, interior and other "power ministries" to coordinate their activities with Prime Minister Viktor Chernomydrin while the Kremlin leader is on holiday, his press secretary said on Tuesday.   Interfax news agency quoted Sergei Yastrzhembsky as saying the nuclear "red button" would stay with the 65-year-old Russian leader, who is preparing to undergo heart surgery.    "President Boris Yeltsin, for the duration of his holiday, has ordered the heads of power ministries to coordinate with Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdinall questions that require a decision by the head of state," Itar-Tass news agency quoted Yastrzhembsky as saying.   Yastrzhembsky said the order did not cover "the problem of the so-called nuclear button".   Under Russian law, several top ministers, including those in charge of defence, interior, foreign affairs, counter- intelligence and federal security, report directly to the president rather than to the prime minister.   Last Thursday Yeltsin announced in a television interview he had decided to undergo a heart operation.   Speculation has been rife as to whether he would pass authority to Chernomyrdin, who is constitutionally number two. 
12158 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Sarajevo press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   OSLOBODJENJE   - Bosnian Central governement agreed in principle to a 20-million Deutsche Mark "Siemens" credit for purchasing equipment for health institutions.   - "Only a strongly-built Moslem-Croat Federation can lead to reintegration with the Republic of Srpska", Bosnian Prime Minister Hasan Muratovic said in an interview with Oslobodjenje.   - The fifteenth mass grave in Bosnia has been discovered in the area of Sanski Most.   -DNEVNI AVAZ   - An independent broadcasting network TV-IN just opened in Sarajevo stops broadcasting following reports it does not meet basic professional journalistic standards.   - A new system of accounting between the Croat-Moslem Federation and Serb Republic was set up on Monday.   --Sarajevo newsroom, +387-71-663-864. 
12159 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Bosnia stumbles towards elections on Saturday still riven along ethnic lines, leaving a house of cards for Western peacemakers to transform somehow into a stable democracy.   Critics say the elections, called under a 1995 peace treaty engineered by U.S. diplomacy, are too soon for Serbs, Moslems and Croats to discover a spirit of power-sharing and tolerance.   The post-election period could see challenges to the validity of the vote, even boycotts of unfavourable outcomes, by ethnic oligarchies loath to see the profitable fiefdoms they carved out in war fade away in peace.   There is a danger also of government paralysis, starting with a collective presidency of one Serb, one Moslem and one Croat who will have tribal allegiances but may set policy only by "unanimity".   Voters will be choosing a presidency, a Bosnia-wide House of Representatives, assemblies in semi-autonomous Serb Republic (RS) and Moslem-Croat Federation entities, an RS president, and cantonal councils in both entities.   The elections, designed to make Dayton's vision of reconciliation and reunification a reality, have been dubbed the most fraught and complex in history.   International peace coordinator Carl Bildt speaks of the need for an "historic compromise" among Moslems, Serbs and Croats to prevent the Dayton peace accords unravelling.   "Everything we have been doing so far in Bosnia has been comparatively easy," he said on Monday, referring to NATO's separation and demobilisation of the ethnic armies.   "Now comes the hard part.   What is necessary to make peace really work is to have effective and true power-sharing.   If that doesn't work, peace will not last," Bildt warned.   Whether the dominant Moslem, Serb and Croat nationalist parties poised to win the elections have the will to bridge their differences for peace is a big question, analysts say.   For the Serb Democratic Party (SDS), ruling one half of Bosnia conquered and "cleansed" of Moslems and Croats in war, the elections are merely an easy referendum for "independence" and union with "Mother Serbia".   SDS campaigners have openly repudiated power-sharing.   The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, nominally allied with Moslems in a Federation covering the other half of Bosnia, pays lip service to power-sharing to avoid Western sanctions.   But the Herzegovina Croats who rule much of western Bosnia really hanker for integration with Croatia next door.   The Party of Democratic Action (SDA), led by Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic and ruling Sarajevo and central Bosnia, has disillusioned Western backers by veering from multi- ethnic principle towards a narrow Moslem nationalism.   SDA rallies have been awash in Islamic rites and flags.   A key SDA slogan is: "In Our Own Religion, in Our Own Country".   Tens of thousands of war refugees will be able to vote in their former towns, taken by bus over entity boundaries on 19 special routes guarded by NATO, U.N. and local police forces.   But refugees are barred from regaining their homes.   And Serb and Croat authorities have refused to arrest, and sometimes even glorify, indicted war criminals in their camps, pouring salt into the wounds of war in the eyes of Moslems.   The elections will not be "free and fair" either.   Izetbegovic's party has adopted the authoritarian tactics of the SDS and HDZ.   SDA undercover "enforcers" have stifled the campaigns of pro-unity, Moslem-led opposition parties with selective bombings, beatings and evictions.   Major news media and the police are in the grip of the three main parties, curbing free speech, assembly and movement.   All these violations of Dayton's letter and spirit bolsters suspicions that elections which were supposed to jump-start a process of reunification may wind up slapping an official seal on division, analysts say.   Bildt insists a package of tough international sanctions will be held in reserve to win over the parties to power-sharing if need be.   He has drafted a tight autumn timetable in hopes of building up momentum.   Barring boycotts, the presidency is to convene four days and the new all-Bosnia parliament 10 days after election returns are certified, expected by September 24.   The parliament is to enact legislation basic to a functioning state, including a 1997 budget, by November.   International peace implementation agencies will meet in London on December 4-5 to chart a course of reconstruction for 1997, likely to include an extended NATO presence to deter any backsliding into war if power-sharing efforts bog down. 
12160 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Skopje press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   NOVA MAKEDONIJA   - Macedonia celebrates the fifth anniversary of its indepence.   "It is possible to reach independence and sovereignty without bloodshed," said Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov at the celebration on Sunday in Skopje.   - German President Roman Herzog arrived on his first two-day visit to Macedonia on Monday.   "Germany supports independent Macedonia" he told reporters.   DNEVNIK   - In a telegram on occasion of Macedonia's independence day, Greek President Konstantinos Stefanopulos expressed hope the two neighbouring countries would resolve their differences.   - Albania rejected Macedonian government's claims of interfering in its internal affairs.   "Albania will continue to demand more human and civil rights for Albanians in Macedonia" the Albanian foreign ministry said.   - Representatives of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Albanians and the Popular Democratic Party complained to the European parliament about the difficult position of ethnic-Albanians in Macedonia.   "We abandoned the Macedonian parliament because of the Macedonian government's nationalist policy".   -- Skopje newsroom +389 91 201 196 
12161 !GCAT  Here are highlights of stories in Romania's press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy:   Business:   ROMANIA LIBERA   - U.S. real estate company CEENIS Realty Management Inc opens office in Bucharest.   ADEVARUL   - President of Merrill Lynch International Winthrop Smith who is visiting Romania is due to meet National Bank governor Mugur Isarescu on Tuesday.   - Bucharest commodities exchange holds tender on Sept 25 to sell 25,000 tonnes of scrap iron.   Starting price is $95 per tonne.   - Companies in Romania's oil and gas sector founded national oil and gas company Petrogaz SA to secure domestic and imported oil, oil products and gas needed by local consumer.   - Government expressed concern over delayed autumn farming works and recommended stepped-up sowing of wheat and barley.   AZI   - Banca Comerciala Romana will launch Eurobonds in international capital market with assistance from Merrill Lynch.   ZIUA   - European Bank for Reconstruction and Development gave $500,000 loan to city hall of one of Bucharest's districts to upgrade marketplace.   LIBERTATEA   - Romania expects over-the-counter market to become operational this month.   General:   ROMANIAN LIBERA   - Romania's climate becomes a continental one, with shorter springs and autumns.   - Opposition Democratic Convention's (CDR) leader Emil Constantinescu registered its candidacy for presidential polls with the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC).   - Human rights defence group LADO filed 100 more complaints with BEC to contest President Ion Iliescu's right to run for a new term.   - New national territory planning has provisions for seven new bridges on the Danube, five on the Romanian-Bulgarian border and five on the river Prut, on Romania's border with Moldova.   - Ruling Party of Social Democracy senator Dumitru Mocanu resigned over alleged nepotism inside the party.   ADEVARUL   - NATO is expected to revise and strengthen Partnership for Peace as a consolation for Eastern European countries which will not be admitted as full members of the alliance.   - Three agriculture ministry directors demanded that their 3.0 million lei monthly salaries be cut to avoid job cuts.   - New Prosecutor General pledged he would seek more respect for the law.   - Twenty died from an overall of 380 patients affected by viral meningitis outbreak.   EVENIMENTUL ZILEI   - The state television is openly campaigning in favour of President Iliescu, political leaders say.   - Iliescu is preparing a huge electoral fraud with the help of the state television, newspaper editor-in-chief Ion Cristoiu says in editorial.   - Political leaders say Constitutional Court's decision to validate Iliescu's candidacy in November 3 polls is not objective.   CURIERUL NATIONAL   - Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic are the first countries to join NATO, Hungarian Defence Minister Gyorgy Kelety said.   ZIUA   - Exchange bureau clerk in eastern town of Galati was shot dead by two men who broke into the shop and stole thousands in hard currency and millions of lei.   LIBERTATEA   - Doctors have failed to identify the virus which caused a 50-day long meningitis outbreeak.   JURNALUL NATIONAL   - Bucharest's full police guard will be in the streets during Michael Jackson's visit.   -- Bucharest Newsroom 40-1 3120264 
12162 !GCAT  These are the main stories in Latvian newspapers on Tuesday.   Prepared for Reuters by the Co-operation Fund.   Reuters has not verified these reports and does not vouch for their accuracy.   ALL NEWSPAPERS   - The Latvian and Lithuanian prime ministers failed to reach a concrete agreement over a maritime border dispute during a Monday meeting at the small Latvian town of Nica.   - The government's largest factions are strongly opposed to the idea of imposing income tax on pensions and allowances, a proposal put forward by Finance Minister Aivars Kreituss.   - The faction of the Democratic Party Saimnieks has voted to merge into a political block with the Latvian Unity Party.   DIENA   - Minister of Environment Protection and Regional Development Anatolijs Gorbunovs is concerned with the Latvian railroad company's plan to close some lines in northern Latvia.   NEATKARIGA RITA AVIZE   - Foreign Minister Valdis Birkavs is on an official visit to Denmark to meet his Danish counterpart Niels Helveg Petersen.   BIZNES & BALTIYA   - Latvia's immigration service has refused an entry visa for Viktor Anpilov, the leader of the Movement Trudovaya Rossiya.   - Latvian Development Agency is working on several projects to attract $125 million in investments.   -- Riga newsroom +371 7226693 
12163 !GCAT  Following are the reports carried by Estonia's newspapers on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these reports and does not vouch for their accuracy.   ALL NEWSPAPERS   - The Estonian confectionery group Kalev has bought 25 percent of the shares in its Lithuanian counterpart.   - Trade unions are demanding a 1200 kroon minimum wage.   SONUMILEHT   - Twenty-three MPs say a debate between the presidential candidates should take place before the September 20 electoral college poll.   - A total of 45,000 firearms were owned privately in Estonia as of September 1 this year.   - Chairman of the Future Estonia Party Jaanus Raidal calls for cooperation with non-citizens in Estonia to speed up their integration into society.   EESTI PAEVALEHT   - Two high-ranking officials in the U.S. administration, Daniel Fried and Marshall Adair, will visit Estonia on September 10-11.   ARIPAEV   - The Europena Bank for Reconstruction and Development has agreed to invest 32 million kroons in the Estonian Rural Bank.   -- Riga newsroom +371 7226693 
12164 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Belgrade press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified them and does not vouch for their accuracy.   POLITIKA   - Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic meets IFOR chief Admiral Joseph Lopez.   Talks focus on implementation of the Bosnia peace agreement.   - Belgrade and Zagreb exchange notes establishing full diplomatic relations.   - Yugoslav Finance Minister Tomica Raicevic describes talks with IMF and U.S. officials in Washington as very successful.   - Living costs in Belgrade up by 2.1 percent in August in relation to July, according to the city Prices Office.   - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Slobodan Radulovic says there will be no regular increase of electricity prices for winter, despite an annoucement by the Serbian Power company saying prices would go up by 50 percent from October 1.   NASA BORBA   - Workers of Zastava arms in Kragujevac continue their protest.   - Metal workers' Trade Union Nezavisnost preparing strike for September 19 of which it had informed the government, chamber of commerce and responsible ministry.   - Electronics industry EI Nis has registered a negative balance in the half-year period, says director Radisav Paunovic.   - Workers of the Belgrade department store Beogradjanka announce strike for September 23.   - Yugoslav authorities blocked Vladimir Zhirinovsky, leader of Russia's Liberal Democratic Party, from entering Bosnian Serb republic.   VECERNJE NOVOSTI   - Bosnian Refugees in Yugoslavia can vote by absentee ballot for the Bosnia elections until September 14.   - Yugoslav United Left, JUL, decides to participate in federal and local elections on November 3.   - Yugoslav deputy trade minister Predrag Maksimovic says 674 mixed firms and 305 foreign firms had opened in Yugoslavia from the beginning of the year.   POLITKA EKSPRES   - All ethnic Albanians of age who are Yugoslav citizens have the right to vote and be electged at the forthcoming federal and local elections, says Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Ratko Markovic.   -- Belgrade newsroom +381 11 2224305 
12165 !GCAT  Following are the main stories in Croatian newspapers on Tuesday.   VJESNIK   - Croatia and Yugoslavia establish full diplomatic relations.   - I have saved the state and family budgets, says in an interview the Education and Sports minister, Ljilja Vokic commenting on the fact that books are now free for all primary school pupils.   - We would like to see a third of the positions awarded to us apart from religious and cultural rights, says Jozo Leutar, heading the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia-Herzegovina (HDZ BiH) party slate.   - Will AID, the Bosnian Moslem secret police endanger the integration of Bosnia?   A commentary by Alenko Zornija.   VECERNJI LIST   - Government changes terms of loans for winter sowings, estimated to require some 800 million kuna.   Farmers already wondering what the purchase price of next year's wheat crop will be.   - PM Zlatko Matesa says current Finance and Economy Ministers not leaving office, although there may be a slight cabinet reshuffle by year end.   - Croatian cars crossing the Serbian border will have to pay 90 German marks insurance and leave their license plates behind.   - Agriculture Minister warns cattle breeders to ensure enough fodder so as to prevent a rise in meat prices.   Croatia to ban maize exports.   SLOBODNA DALMACIJA   - Pensions are to rise, said the Finance Minister Bozo Prka at yesterday's regular government's press conference.   -- Zagreb Newsroom, 385-1-4557075 
12166 !GCAT  The following are the main stories from Tuesday morning's Albanian newspapers.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   KOHA JONE   - President Sali Berisha's attacks on communism and his attempts to revive public fear of it are proving ineffective and are backfiring on him, a commentary said.   - The health of about 2,000 villagers is in danger from an acid cloud released from a factory that melts down car batteries for lead.   - The speaker of parliament, Pjeter Arbnori of the ruling Democratic Party, declared that local elections on October 20 would be free and fair and in line with international standards.   - An Albanian peacekeeping unit of 33 soldiers left for Zadar in Croatia to join NATO troops monitoring the implementation of the Dayton peace deal.   - The Tirana district court will rule tomorrow on the cases of two Albanians who have pleaded guilty to raping minors, and on the Briton who denies he befriended two minors to have sex with them.   - The independent trade unions have threatened to stage a general strike on September 16 unless the government grants them total compensation following the liberalisation of bread, kerosene, liquid gas and services.   GAZETA SHQIPTARE   - Four soldiers have been taken to hospital with polio following an outbreak that has afflicted more than 30 people.   - Ex-communist officials on trial for ordering the deportation of dissidents opposing the former communist dictatorship say they were carrying out the laws of the time.   RILINDJA DEMOKRATIKE   - Jean Michel Severino, director of the World Bank, assures President Berisha the bank will support Albania with whatever it needs to become a political and economic success over the next few years. 
12167 !GCAT  Lithuanian newspapers carried the following reports on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   LIETUVOS RYTAS   - Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Stankevicius and his Latvian counterpart Andris Shkele agreed that Lithuania should have access to Sweden's economic zone during negotiations over a disputed maritime zone.   Both countries will adhere to the International Marine Law Convention of 1982.   - The hard currency reserves in the Bank of Lithuania reached the record level of $825.5 million at the end of August.   RESPUBLIKA   - The last regular session of the Lithuanian parliament starts on Tuesday.   - The ruling Lithuanian Democratic Labour Party intends to initiate a referendum to be held in conjunction with the October 20 parliamentary elections.   Questions to be put to the electorate include fixing a regular date for parliamentary elections, reducing the number of MPs in parliament to 111 from 141, and a guarantee that no less than 50 percent of the national budget should be allocated for "social needs".   LIETUVOS AIDAS   - A supermarket in the provinical town of Alytus was devastated by an explosion on Sunday night.   VERSLO ZINIOS   - Petroleum and diesel fuel prices in Lithuania were affected by U.S. attacks against Iraq.   - The Lithuanian parliament is expected to ratify a $10 million World Bank credit for an energy conservation programme.   - Vilnius municipality will consider forming a joint venture with the French 'Lyonnaise des Eaux' company to reconstruct the capital's water supply system.   - A three day international exhibition Baltic Textile and Leather begins in Vilnius today.   -- Riga newsroom +371 7226693 
12168 !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, representing the Hungarian Socialist Party as its president, told his audience at the ongoing 20th Socialist International Congress in New York that it is in the vital interest of advanced states to involve those catching up with them in progress.   - The first group of 40 overhauled T-72 tanks purchased from Belarus is due to arrive in Hungary on September 20, announced Defence Minister Gyorgy Keleti.   - The balance of payments showed a $29 million deficit in July, well down from $196 million the previous month, according the latest figures from the central bank.   @   - A survey by DRI/McGraw-Hill, a division of the credit rating agency Standard & Poor's, found that Hungary is one of the world's safest countries to invest in.   The Economist Intelligence Unit have modified the credit risk of East European countries, Hungary received 45 points and grade C.   - On Friday, the State Banking Supervision denied its blessing of the sale of Polgari Bank to a consortium of several Hungarian investors.   - Leaders of the Magyar Kulkereskedelmi Bank announced bold plans to increase market share and profits as well as an expansion in East Europe.   @   - Creditanstalt Devizakotveny Alap, the first Hungarian fund investing in Western (OECD) state bonds, will open next Monday.   - The refrigeration company Goldsun Rt.   is preparing for another capital increase, although the Court of Registration has not yet registered the previous one.   - Hungarian Swimming Federation president Tamas Gyarfas announced his resignation after a daily reported that the federation falsified records to allow some swimmers to qualify for the Atlanta Olympics, adding if he has the confidence, he is ready to continue as president.   @   NEPSZABADSAG   - Matyas Eorsi, chairman of Parliament's foreign affairs committee said the Alliance of Free Democrats support the basic treaty with Romania but does not agree that it should be signed in Timisoara.   - Firefighters will hold a protest rally outside Parliament at 11 a.m. today to press home their wage demands.   - The 4th International Hungarian Studies conference on issues linking Hungarian cultural history to western Christian culture opened in Rome on Monday.   NAPI GAZDASAG @   - A new Deutsche Bank report forecasts 5-6 per cent annual GDP growth from next year on, accompanied by increases in real wages, and concludes that Hungary may expect to be a country recommended to investors by international credit rating agencies.   MAGYAR HIRLAP   - In the first seven months of 1996, over 20 million visitors entered Hungary.   @   - The investment bank Nomura has downgraded the shares of the Hungarian Oil and Gas Co. and now recommends that shareholders sell MOL stock because their price is likely to drop in the near future.   - Fans broke the windows of a downtown record store in Budapest Monday afternoon as Michael Jackson was trying to buy CDs.    -- Budapest newsroom (36-1) 266 2410 
12169 !GCAT !GDIS !GENV  An earthquake shook Croatia on Tuesday, the second to hit the country in a week, the Croatian Institute of Seismology reported.   The tremor measured 4.5 on the Richter scale and had an epicentre 50 km (30 miles) south of the capital Zagreb, Davorka Herak, a seismologist at the institute, told Reuters.   Croatian Radio quoted the institute as saying there could have been damage to property but it was likely to be only slight.   The quake hit at 7.09 a.m. (0509 GMT) and was felt throughout the country and in neighbouring Slovenia.   Last Thursday a quake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale hit the area around the Adriatic town of Ston and one person was slightly injured.   Aftershocks have shaken the area since then.   Foreign Minister Mate Granic asked the European Union on Monday for urgent help for the Ston area, saying the quake had undone all the work to repair severe damage suffered in the Croatian-Serb war of 1991. 
12170 !GCAT !GDIS !GENV  Hurricane Hortense soaked Puerto Rico on Tuesday with torrential rains that unleashed deadly floods and mudslides, paralysing the U.S. territory and leaving at least eight dead.   Police Superintendent Pedro Toledo said at least another eight or nine people were reported missing, in addition to the eight confirmed dead by late afternoon on Tuesday, as heavy rain left in Hortense's wake added to the island's misery.   Among the dead were a 63-year-old woman who died of a heart attack and a two-year-old boy killed in a mudslide in the south coast city of Guayama, near where Hortense made landfall.   There also were three suicides, Toledo said.   "This could continue to climb but we hope not," Toledo said.   "There are a lot of curious people out on the street, and it's making our job a lot more difficult.   Practically the entire northeast portion of Puerto Rico is flooded."   A wobble in Hortense's westward track late on Monday sent its 80 mph (129 kph) winds and very heavy rains from the edges of the Virgin Islands across Puerto Rico and northwest over the Dominican Republic, making Hortense the first hurricane to strike that nation in almost 20 years.   The change in course prompted hurricane warnings in the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos Islands and increased the likelihood Hortense could be on Florida's doorstep by week's end, the National Hurricane Centre said.   At 5 p.m. less-urgent hurricane watches were posted for the central Bahamas and parts of Haiti, which lies west of the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola.   Rivers in Puerto Rico flooded their banks, and 95 percent of homes were without power.   Bridges were swept away and major roads were blocked with flood water and debris.   In some areas, most streets seemed covered with two or three feet (60-90 cm) of water, and worse was feared as rains continued into Tuesday night.   "This has completely covered our town.   Our whole infrastructure has been severely affected.   The whole place is under water.   This is a total disaster," said Jesus Colon, the mayor of Comerio, in the island's north-central mountains.   Thousands of people slept in shelters, including at least 500 evacuated in Ponce, Puerto Rico's second-largest city, as Hortense whipped up heavy surf.   Ponce officials reported that more than 200 homes were destroyed and many others damaged.   An extreme concern was the La Plata Reservoir, near Comerio, west of San Juan, which was filled to historically high levels by early afternoon.   Without power to close the gates in case of an overflow, emergency workers warned nearby residents to prepare to leave their homes.   Government officials said very preliminary estimates were that 75 percent of the plantain crop, 30 percent of coffee and 50 percent of the island's citrus crop had been damaged.   "This is so sad.   We have millions and millions of dollars in losses.   Agriculture has suffered a mortal blow in the mountains of Puerto Rico," said Adrian Heriberto Acevedo, the mayor of Las Marias, a town in the west-central mountains of Puerto Rico, the heart of its coffee country.   U.S. Coast Guard crews were busy as high winds made seas treacherous.   The Desert Wind, a sailboat with one man aboard, reported a broken mast and low power supply south of Ponce, and a helicopter sent to help was forced to turn back by the weather, the Coast Guard said.   At 5 p.m.   EDT (2100 GMT), Hortense's centre was 20 miles (30 km) east of Cabo Samana on the northwest coast of the Dominican Republic, at latitude 19.3 north and longitude 68.8 west, moving northwest near 12 mph (19 kph).   Its winds were measured at 75 mph (120 kph), barely hurricane strength.   Hortense was expected to continue along the same track, bringing it along or near the northeastern Dominican coast through Tuesday night and threatening that nation with coastal storm surge flooding and dangerous mudslides, as in Puerto Rico.   In 1994 Tropical Storm Gordon killed about 2,000 people in mudslides and flooding in Haiti.   In the U.S. Virgin Islands, doused by more than 10 inches (25 cm) of rain as Hortense moved past, primary elections that had been scheduled for Tuesday were postponed.   In North Carolina and Virginia on the U.S. mainland, the cleanup continued from Hurricane Fran, the last hurricane to make U.S. landfall.   Officials said the death toll from Fran had risen to 36 and lingering flooding from the storm remained a serious problem. 
12171 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  South Korean President Kim Young-sam visited Brazil on Tuesday, hoping to pave the way for Korean businesses to expand into Latin America's largest economy after years of neglect.   On the first-ever Latin American tour by a Korean head of state, Kim and a 42-strong delegation of high-powered Korean businessmen aimed to forge contacts and strike deals to boost trade and investment, officials said.   "My greatest desire is for more cooperation between Korea and the region in various sectors," Kim said in a speech after meeting Sao Paulo state Gov. Mario Covas.   With few natural resources of its own, Seoul was particularly eyeing Brazil's great mineral wealth, said councillor Jaebum Kim of the Korean embassy in Brasilia.   "There are many Korean firms interested in investing in Brazil.   The government's intention is to show those companies and others there is a new potential here, not just in Brazil but in Latin America," he told Reuters.   Kim's visit follows a tour of the region by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto of Japan, another Asian economic power that has renewed its interest in Latin America after the chilly years of debt crisis and hyperinflation.   The Korean leader met representatives of the country's 40,000 Korean immigrants in Brazil's industrial heartland Sao Paulo and also paid a visit to the city's Fiesp Industry Federation.   Most of the entrepreneurs travelling with the president will stay in Sao Paulo, meeting prospective business partners, when he travels on to Brasilia Tuesday night.   In Brasilia, Kim was scheduled to hold talks with President Fernando Henrique Cardoso on Wednesday.   Vera Machado, head of the Foreign Ministry's Asia and Oceania department, said bilateral trade issues and greater cooperation on the multilateral front would top the agenda.   Machado added the Koreans were likely to broach the issue of the Mercosur trade bloc, grouping Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, with a view to eventually initiating greater dialogue.   Brazil and Korea have long had friendly relations.   Brazil was the first Latin American country to recognise South Korea after the Korean war, establishing diplomatic relations in 1959, but investment and trade lagged during the 1980s with Korean businesses concentrating on their own backyard in Asia.   Prodded by the recent success of Latin American nations in taming hyperinflation, investment has since resumed.   Covas noted that trade between the two countries had grown to $2.9 billion in 1995 from a mere $700 million in 1990.   Korean giant Samsung has a plant in Brazil's Amazonian capital Manaus churning out 300,000 television sets and 100,000 video recorders a year.   South Korea's top industrial conglomerate Hyundai has announced plans to invest $3.38 billion in Brazil, Chile and Peru.   Kim has already visited Guatemala, Chile and Argentina.   He heads for Peru on Thursday. 
12172 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Hurricane Hortense battered Puerto Rico on Tuesday with torrential rains that unleashed deadly floods and mudslides, paralysing the U.S. territory and leaving at least five dead.   Gov. Pedro Rosello told a news conference five people were confirmed dead and 18 were missing.   Among those confirmed dead were a 63-year-old woman who died of a heart attack and a two-year-old boy who died in a mudslide in the south coast city of Guayama, near where Hortense made landfall.   Also among the dead and missing were six people swept away by floodwaters.   The bodies of two had been found and four others were listed among the missing.   A wobble in Hortense's westward track late on Monday had sent its 80 mph (129 kph) winds and very heavy rains from the edges of the Virgin Islands across Puerto Rico and northwest over the Dominican Republic.   The change in course prompted hurricane warnings in the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos Islands and increased the likelihood Hortense could be on Florida's doorstep by week's end, the National Hurricane Centre said.   Rivers in Puerto Rico flooded their banks and 90 percent of homes were without power.   Major roads were under water and telephone service was interrupted, with worse feared as forecasters said torrential rain would continue long after Hortense's centre moved on.   "This has completely covered our town.   Our whole infrastructure has been severely affected.   The whole place is under water.   This is a total disaster," said Jesus Colon, the mayor of Comerio, in the island's north-central mountains.   Thousands of people slept in shelters, including at least 500 evacuated from a coastal neighbourhood in Ponce, Puerto Rico's second-largest city, as Hortense whipped up heavy surf.   An extreme concern was the La Plata Reservoir, near Comerio, west of San Juan, which was filled to historically high levels by early afternoon.   Without power to close the gates in case of an overflow, emergency workers warned nearby residents to prepare to leave their homes.   Government officials said very preliminary estimates were that 75 percent of the plaintain crop, 30 percent of coffee and 50 percent of the island's citrus crop had been damaged.   U.S. Coast Guard crews were busy as high winds made seas treacherous.   Petty Officer Brandon Brewer said a sailboat had reported a broken mast and low power supply about five miles (8 km) south of Ponce and a helicopter sent to help had been forced to turn back by the weather.   At 2 p.m.   EDT (1800 GMT), Hortense's centre was just off the northeastern coast of the Dominican Republic, at latitude 18.9 north and longitude 68.4 west, moving west-northwest near 12 mph (19 kph).   Its winds were 75 mph (120 kph), barely hurricane strength.   That track was expected to continue, bringing Hortense along or near the northeastern Dominican coast through Tuesday night and threatening that nation with coastal storm surge flooding and dangerous mudslides as in Puerto Rico.   In 1994 Tropical Storm Gordon killed some 2,000 people in mudslides and flooding in Haiti, just west of the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola.   In the U.S. Virgin Islands, doused by more than 10 inches (25 cm) of rain as Hortense moved past, primary elections that had been scheduled for Tuesday were postponed.   Gov. Roy Schneider closed public schools and non-essential government offices on Tuesday as damage from the heavy rains was assessed.   "For life and safety reasons, everyone should stay at home," he told the territory in a radio broadcast.   In North Carolina and Virginia on the U.S. mainland, the cleanup continued from Hurricane Fran, the last hurricane to make U.S. landfall.   Officials said the death toll from Fran had risen to 36 and lingering flooding from the storm remained a serious problem. 
12173 !GCAT !GPOL  Colombia's vice president resigned on Tuesday, saying President Ernesto Samper's alleged ties to drug barons had undermined the government's credibility and were tearing the country apart.   Humberto de la Calle, who declared open rebellion against Samper by demanding his resignation last week, announced his departure from the vice presidency in a letter to Senate President Luis Fernando Londono that he made public at a packed news conference in Bogota's Tequendama hotel.   The letter, dated Sept. 8, warned that Colombia "appears to be falling to pieces" in the face of a sharp economic slowdown and unprecedented surge in leftist guerrilla activity that a weak central government seemed barely able to contain.   "The crisis situation the country is living through is unusually grave.   The backdrop, the principal cause ... is the lack of credibility affecting the president for reasons that are known to everyone," his letter said.   "The deteriorating national situation leads one to think that what is at stake here is the social and democratic viability of the nation."   De la Calle urged Senate leader to consider his call for a government of "national unity" to lead Colombia out of its deepening crisis.   But he conceded that Samper "has decided that he should continue (in power) despite the serious ills that Colombia is suffering."   In an interview with the RCN radio network, before making his formal resignation announcement, De la Calle urged the embattled Samper to follow in his footsteps for the good of the nation.   "I'm sacrificing myself and hope the president will do the same," he said.   He said the government's loss of credibility because of charges that Samper used millions of dollars in drug money to finance his 1994 election campaign was irrevocable and he was "personally disgusted" by what happened during the campaign.   "What sort of morale can we ask of the security forces when there's a credibility crisis at the top of the executive branch?"   De la Calle asked.   One of the most powerful offensives by leftist rebels in decades has humiliated Colombia's military in the last two weeks and sparked widespread concerns that insurgents are gaining the upper hand after more than 30 years of war.   In his letter to the Senate, De la Calle said: "Guerrilla groups have become a force that in the short term it doesn't seem realistic to even think about defeating."   He said the government seemed barely able to contain the rebel advance.   De la Calle, a political ally of former President Cesar Gaviria, has been unscathed by the campaign finance scandal.   He became Samper's running mate after losing to him in a primary but has never been considered close to Samper and had little to do with his campaign.   He was appointed Colombia's ambassador to Spain soon after the election -- a job that he held concurrently with the largely ceremonial post of vice president -- but resigned in July and returned home last week after a Florida vacation.   Samper, who has resisted repeated calls for his resignation, has appeared unfazed by De la Calle's public break with him so far.   He huddled with leaders of the ruling Liberal Party shortly after De la Calle resigned and aides said he would move quickly to name a replacement. 
12174 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Hurricane Hortense battered Puerto Rico on Tuesday with torrential rains that flooded low-lying areas and unleashed mudslides as early reports blamed the storm for at least one death.   Puerto Rico radio reported that a two-year-old boy was killed in a mudslide and an 84-year-old man had disappeared in a town badly hit by flooding.   But civil defence officials could not immediately confirm the reports.   A slight wobble in Hortense's track late on Monday sent its 80 mph (129 kph) winds and very heavy rains from the edges of the Virgin Islands, across Puerto Rico and toward the Dominican Republic and Haiti.   The northwestern jag prompted hurricane warnings in the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos Islands and increased the likelihood Hortense could be on Florida's doorstep by week's end, the National Hurricane Centre said.   Rivers in Puerto Rico flooded their banks and 90 percent of homes in some areas were without power.   Several major roads were under water and telephone service was interrupted.   "This has completely covered our town.   Our whole infrastructure has been severely affected.   The whole place is under water.   This is a total disaster," said Jesus Colon, the mayor of Comerio, in the island's north-central mountains.   Thousands of people spent the night in shelters including at least 500 evacuated from a coastal neighbourhood in Ponce, Puerto Rico's second-largest city, as Hortense whipped up heavy surf.   U.S. Coast Guard crews were busy as high winds and seas made boating treacherous.   Petty Officer Brandon Brewer said a sailboat had reported a broken mast and low power supply about five miles (8 km) south of Ponce, and a helicopter sent to help had been forced to turn back by the weather.   "We're just waiting for the winds to let up so we can launch our helicopters again.   They're sitting in hangars," Brewer said.   He also said the crew of a coastal freighter named "Dixie" had told the Grenada Coast Guard on Monday night they were abandoning ship north of Grenada.   At 11:00 a.m.   EDT (1500 GMT), Hortense's centre was over the eastern Dominican Republic, near latitude 18.4 north and longitude 68.2 west.   The Dominican Republic posted a hurricane warning for its eastern coastline.   Schools and many government offices were closed and emergency workers were put on alert.   In 1994 Tropical Storm Gordon killed an estimated 2,000 people in mudslides and flooding in Haiti, which is west of the Dominican Republic on the island Hispaniola.   The poorly defined storm was moving west-northwest at 12 mph (19 kph) and was expected to continue to move in a west-northwest to northwest direction on Tuesday, bearing winds of 75 mph (120 kph), barely hurricane strength.   But very heavy rains of 12 inches (30 cm) or more were expected to continue, bringing with them the threat of deadly mudslides and flash floods.   Forecasters also warned that isolated tornadoes might strike Puerto Rico.   In the U.S. Virgin Islands, doused by more than 10 inches (25 cm) of rain as Hortense moved past, primary elections that had been scheduled for Tuesday were postponed.   Gov. Roy Schneider closed public schools and non-essential government offices on Tuesday as damage from the heavy rains were assessed.   "For life and safety reasons, everyone should stay at home," he told the territory in a radio broadcast.   The worst flooding was reported on St. Croix, where Fredericksted, home of the island's cruise ship port, was flooded and at least 12 roads were out. 
12175 !GCAT !GPOL  Colombian Vice President Humberto de la Calle said he was resigning on Tuesday and urged embattled President Ernesto Samper to follow in his footsteps for the good of the nation.   "I'm sacrificing myself and hope the president will do the same," he said.   "I have the profound conviction, and it's a legitimate one in a democracy, that Colombia needs a new government.   What I'm trying to to do today is to contribute a grain of sand by taking the first step in that direction."   De la Calle, who urged Samper to step down in an open letter last week, spoke in an interview with the RCN radio network in which he called for the formation of a "government of national unity" to lead Colombia out of what he described as "the tempest" buffeting it for the past year.   He said he would formalise his resignation in a note to the Senate on Tuesday, citing the political crisis stemming from charges that Samper used millions of dollars in drug money to finance his 1994 election campaign.   "I'm personally disgusted by what happened there," he said of the campaign and what he referred to as irrefutable evidence that "dirty money" helped Samper win election.   He said the scandal had stripped Samper of the moral authority and credibility needed to lead a nation torn by seemingly uncontrolled violence and an escalating guerrilla war.   "What sort of morale can we ask of the security forces when there's a credibility crisis at the top of the executive branch?"   asked De la Calle, a political ally of former President Cesar Gaviria who has been unscathed by the campaign finance scandal.   He became Samper's running mate after losing to him in a primary but has never been considered close to Samper and had little to do with his campaign.   He was appointed Colombia's ambassador to Spain soon after the election, a job that he held concurrently with the largely ceremonial post of vice president, but he resigned in July and returned home just last week after a Florida vacation.   In his letter declaring an open rebellion against Samper last week, he said a dangerous power vacuum had led to a situation in which Colombia was literally "falling to pieces."   "The government you preside over is at its worst hour in terms of credibility, legitimacy and capacity to act," he said.   Samper, who has resisted repeated calls for his resignation, has appeared unfazed by De la Calle's public break with him so far and said he has no intention of leaving the presidency.   He urged De la Calle to step down last week, saying it would be "acceptable to no one" if he remained in the government and continued to criticise it from inside.   On RCN, De la Calle conceded that he could not stay as vice president and serve as an opposition leader at the same time.   "It's legitimate in a democracy to oppose the government but not to do so from the vice presidency," he said. 
12176 !GCAT !GCRIM  A Cuban court has jailed a Russian woman for 10 years for trying to smuggle 4.4 pounds (2 kg) of cocaine through Havana airport during a stopover on a journey from Caracas to Europe, Cuban radio said on Tuesday.   Galia Auteinoba Gelsine was arrested after customs officials at Havana's Jose Marti international airport became suspcious about the size of large wooden plates she was carrying in her luggage.   The plates were found to be hollow and contained the cocaine wrapped in plastic.   Cuban authorities have launched a crackdown against international drug traffickers who try to use the communist-ruled island as a transit point to smuggle cocaine, marijuana and heroin to the United State and Europe.   More than 40 people, nearly half of them Colombians, have been arrested this year in more than 20 operations against drug traffickers caught in Cuban territory or waters.   Last month two Colombians were sentenced by a Cuban court to nine years in prison for trying to smuggle cocaine through Havana on a flight from Bogota to a third country. 
12177 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Hurricane Hortense battered Puerto Rico early on Tuesday with torrential rain that flooded low-lying neighbourhoods on the southern coast and raised fears of dangerous mudslides in the mountains.   A slight wobble in the storm's eye late Monday lessened the chances that it would hit the neighbouring Dominican Republic, but increased the likelihood that Hortense could be on Florida's doorstep by the end of the week, forecasters at the National Hurricane Centre said.   "It's been moving more northwest than what we anticipated, and it's expected to have a greater impact on Puerto Rico," said forecaster James Lewis.   The storm moved across the island through the night, packing winds of 80 mph (125 km).   At 5 a.m.   EDT (0900 GMT) on Tuesday, Hortense's centre was 20 miles (32 km) west of Mayaguez, a Puerto Rican city on the extreme western portion of the island.   The eye of the hurricane was near latitude 18.2 north and longitude 67.5 west and the storm was moving northwest at 12 miles (19 km) ph, the National Hurricane Centre in Miami said.   The storm was heading slightly north of the Dominican Republic.   By late Thursday, Hortense could be 280 miles (450 km) due east of Fort Lauderdale if the storm continued on its current track, forcasters said.   Electricity to many communities throughout Puerto Rico was cut off by late Monday evening and flash flooding was reported in the neighbouring island of St. Croix.   The government of the Dominican Republic posted a hurricane watch for most of its coastline extending to the Haiti border.   A watch was also in effect for the Bahamas.   In Puerto Rico, the first strong winds hit the islands of Culebra and Vieques, off the island's eastern end, on Monday evening.   At least 500 people were evacuated from a coastal neighbourhood in Ponce, Puerto Rico's second-largest city, as Hortense whipped up heavy surf, local television stations reported.   Ponce is a major port and known for its Victorian-era mansions built by wealthy sugar and coffee growers.   The island's southern coast is relatively arid and floods easily because of poor drainage.   Mudslides were of particular concern to emergency workers, who said the expected 12 inches (30 cm) of rain would unleash dangerous conditions in island mountains of up to 4,000 feet (1,200 metres).   Some 2,000 people were killed by mudslides and flooding in Haiti, west of the Dominican Republic on Hispaniola island, when Tropical Storm Gordon struck in 1994.   The Puerto Rico Civil Defence opened more than 90 Red Cross shelters, police leave was cancelled and the entire force was put on 24-hour alert.   Gov. Pedro Rossello banned the sale of alcohol, ordered public schools closed and gave most government workers the day off.   Grocery stores hung big sheets of plastic over refrigerated coolers to keep milk, cheese and butter chilled if the power went out.   Hortense's maximum sustained winds had risen to near 80 mph (130 kph) by midday, making the storm a relatively low Category 1 hurricane.   "It had started dying out yesterday morning, and then all of a sudden it started back up again," said National Hurricane Centre meteorologist Trisha Wallace.   Hurricane-force winds extended up to 60 miles (95 km) from Hortense's centre and tropical storm force winds spread 175 miles (280 km).   Earlier on Monday, tropical storm force winds battered the Virgin Islands, and mariners were urged to stay in port as seas rose.   Shelters were opened and power flashed on and off in Charlotte Amalie, the territory's capital.   Several cruise ships were rerouted to avoid Hortense, leaving the island's cruise docks empty.   Airports on the three islands were closed.   It was not certain whether the territory's primary election, set for Tuesday, in which all 15 seats in its senate and its delegate to the U.S. Congress were at stake, would be held as scheduled.   Hurricane Bertha threatened Puerto Rico in early July but passed by, causing at least one drowning death but little damage before heading north toward the U.S. East Coast and making landfall in North Carolina. 
12178 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  Interior Minister Horacio Serpa said on Tuesday that the government had hammered out a preliminary accord that should halt protests by thousands of coca growers in Colombia's southern Caqueta province.   "It's likely that very soon, I hope as early as tomorrow, that the agreement will be signed," Serpa told reporters.   "This is a very concrete agreement."   Serpa spoke after meeting behind closed-doors in his Bogota office with Caqueta's governor, Roman Catholic church delegates and two lawmakers from the impoverished province, which has been rocked by protests since late July against the aerial spraying of coca crops with the herbicide glyphosate.   Serpa did not elaborate on terms of the agreement, but he said it included government pledges of increased aid for crop substitution and infrastructure projects throughout Caqueta.   The government, under heavy pressure from Washington to wipe out vast tracts of coca leaf and opium poppy this year, has insisted that it will continue spraying them with herbicide.   Colombia is the world's largest exporter of cocaine, which is produced by refining ground coca leaves in a chemical process in clandestine drug laboratories.   In a report issued by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration last week, Colombia was also described for the first time as a leading supplier of heroin to the United States. 
12179 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Mexican Foreign Minister Jose Angel Gurria confirmed on Tuesday that the government was considering buying an unspecified number of military helicopters from Russia.   "With regard to American helicopters or Russian helicopters ... Mexico will continue to acquire equipment from where it seems most suitable," Gurria said in testimony to the Mexican Congress.   He was responding to a question about a report in the Reforma newspaper saying Mexico would buy about a dozen Russian MI-8 troop transport helicopters.   Gurria did not say how many craft Mexico was thinking of buying or what they would cost, although he said they were being sold at a good price.   Reforma said the helicopters cost up to $1.4 million each if bought unarmed and Mexico already had 12 of them.   A Foreign Ministry source, who asked not to be named, later said Mexico was also looking at the possibility of buying military helicopters from Belgium and France.   Gurria said Mexico needed the helicopters for the army's operations against drug traffickers, including eradicating opium poppy and marijuana plantations.   He made no mention of any possible role for the craft in counterinsurgency operations.   In early 1994 the Mexican government used helicopters supplied by the United States, earmarked for anti-narcotics operations, in military roles against Zapatista rebels, bringing protests from U.S. officials.   The Zapatista rebels in the southern state of Chiapas recently suspended peace talks with the government, while a new group called the Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR) has carried out attacks on police and military targets in several states.   Gurria said about 20 additional old-model U.S. helicopters could be donated to the Mexican government for anti-narcotics operations.   He said Mexico had rejected conditions for their use that U.S. Senator Jesse Helms had sought to impose but gave no details of the suggested conditions. 
12180 !GCAT !GCRIM  A Salvadoran business group said on Tuesday it planned to launch a "goods for guns" programme later this month aimed at collecting some of the thousands of weapons left over from the country's civil war.   David Gutierrez, coordinator of the group called Patriotic Movement Against Crime, told a news conference that the aim of the plan, to be launched Sept. 21, would be to "collect as many weapons as possible" by exchanging them for coupons redeemable at stores.   Authorities calculate that about 300,000 military weapons ended up in civilian hands at the end of El Salvador's 1979-1992 civil war, of which about 140,000 were handed in or seized.   Gutierrez said weapons would be collected in churches in the capital San Salvador and in the cities of Santa Ana and San Miguel in the west and east of the country.   He said coupons worth about $172 would be handed out for each pistol given up while rifles or shotguns could be surrendered in return for a coupon worth about $345. 
12181 !E12 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  Senators from Argentina's ruling Peronist Party on Tuesday asked President Carlos Menem to consider a series of measures designed to help the jobless and avert further austerity moves.   Among the suggestions, the senators proposed an unemployment fund financed by employer contributions or a new "tax mechanism."   They also proposed that the government and businesses sign an accord committing employers to hire workers once the government's planned relaxation of the country's labor laws takes effect.    "Labor flexibility should be supported by some type of commitment that assures an increase in employment in a determined time frame," Augusto Alasino, head of the ruling party in Senate, told reporters.   Senator Jose Manuel De la Sota said the group was seeking ways to guarantee Argentines "that we won't be going from adjustment to adjustment, continuously collecting more taxes.   "We are looking for a law that puts a limit on public indebtedness and public spending, and establishes a relation between the deficit and gross domestic product," De la Sota said.   In response to the proposals, Menem invited the senators to a cabinet meeting next Tuesday to share their concerns with ministers.   -- Gary Regenstreif, Buenos Aires Newsroom, 541 318-0618 
12182 !E12 !E21 !E212 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The Brazilian Senate gave priority status to a bill authorizing the Central Bank to buy back Brady bonds and swap them for other sovereign debt, an official said.   A vote on the bill on the full Senate floor was now expected to take place on Thursday.   Earlier Tuesday, the draft bill, which places no limits on Brady buybacks and debt swaps but sets strict Senate oversight conditions, was approved by the Senate Economic Affairs Committee.   -- Michael Christie, Brasilia newsroom 55 61 2230358 
12183 !E21 !E211 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The Brazilian Senate voted to give priority to a bill exempting exports and goods and energy used in the manufacturing process from a so-called ICMS tax, an official said.   The Senate voted 46 for, seven against and with one abstention to put the bill on the fast track, meaning it will now be voted on Thursday, the official said.   The government believes the bill could have an impact on exports equivalent to a seven percent devaluation of the real currency.   It is also seen as a big step towards reducing the cost of doing business in Brazil.    Tuesday's vote came after Planning Minister Antonio Kandir agreed to drop from the bill measures preventing state governments from offering tax breaks to major investors.   Several of Brazil's poorer states had complained the bill would deny them their only means of competing against more advanced regions for new factories.   -- Michael Christie, Brasilia newsroom 55 61 2230358 
12184 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  Former President Daniel Ortega on Tuesday said if his right-wing rival Arnoldo Aleman wins the Oct. 20 presidential elections he would use Nicaragua as a base for anti-Cuban operations.   Ortega, presidential candidate for the left-wing Sandinista Front, said Aleman recently met anti-Castro Cuban exiles living in Miami and promised them "heaven and earth" in exchange for their support.   "He promised to convert Nicaragua into a base for anti-Cuba subversion, promoting the war against Cuba," Ortega told a press conference.   Aleman denied the charges at a news conference, calling them "Sandinista slander" and saying the army would not allow Nicaraguan territory to be used for such operations.   The Sandinistas had close ties to Cuba and the former Soviet Union during their government from 1979 to 1990, but other, more mainstream politicians in Nicaragua have also raised fears that Aleman would use Nicaragua has an anti-Cuban base.   Aleman said that as president he would maintain diplomatic relations with Cuba but would criticise Cuban President Fidel Castro, whom he called "America's last dinosaur."   Ortega is trailing Aleman of the conservative Liberal Alliance by a nose in the polls leading up to Nicaragua's landmark presidential elections, which will mark the first time an elected, civilian government peacefully hands over power to another in this country's history.   The Sandinista's campaign strategy has been to argue an Aleman victory would mean a return to the right-wing dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza, who the Sandinistas toppled in a 1979 revolution.   Somoza allowed Nicaraguan territory to be used as a base to launch the failed Bay of Bigs invasion against Cuba.   Ortega said Aleman has offered posts in the Nicaraguan army and police to former members of Somoza's National Guard living in Miami.   "Ortega is desperate and is looking for the shadow of Somoza.   But I have not offered anything to the former National Guard," Aleman said. 
12185 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The Chilean Senate approved Chile's free trade agreement with the four-nation Mercosur customs union.   With voting continuing, 24 senators had voted to ratify the agreement, giving it a clear majority in the 47-member body.   The agreement will phase out trade barriers between Chile and the Mercosur group over the next 18 years.    Chilean President Eduardo Frei signed the agreement in Argentina in June with the leaders of the four full Mercosur members -- Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay -- and sent the agreement to Congress for ratification.   The vote's outcome was never in serious doubt, although lawmakers from many farm districts opposed the treaty because they fear it will leave Chile open to cheap Brazilian and Argentine grain.   The agreement does not make Chile a full member of Mercosur, but harmonizes its tariff policies with the group by phasing out mutual trade barriers over the next eight years.   --Roger Atwood, Santiago newsroom +56-2-699-5595 x211 
12186 !GCAT !GPRO !GWELF  Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel on Tuesday joined the cause of Brazil's millions of landless, lashing out at "neo-liberal" economic policies he said were increasing the number of Latin America's poor.   On a visit to Brasilia, the human rights activist vigorously defended a wave of invasions of large estates by peasant groups, which have pitted the Brazilian government against the church and the landless.   "Who bought the land from God?   God gave the land to all of us, not to the monopolists," said Perez Esquivel, who won the Nobel prize in 1980 for his fight for human rights during Argentina's last military dictatorship.   Perez Esquivel was visiting Brazil as president of Catholic human rights group Service for Peace and Justice.   In Brasilia, he met with leaders of the country's militant Landless Movement (MST), which claims to represent 4.8 million homeless families and which recently stepped up the pressure on the government to speed the process of agrarian reform.   Brazil has one of the world's least equal distributions of wealth, a fact reflected in the ownership of land.   The Catholic Church, which regularly criticises the government's social policies, says 80 percent of arable land is in the hands of 10 percent of landowners.   A recent acceleration in MST land invasions has led to angry exchanges with the government and also increased tension in the countryside, where so-called "Colonels" who rule like feudal barons frequently react by sending in their hired guns.   Thirty-six people have died so far in such conflicts, including 19 landless peasants massacred by police in April in the northern state of Para.   Perez Esquivel took a swipe at President Fernando Henrique Cardoso's government and other "neo-liberal" Latin American administrations which are seeking prosperity and solutions to their social problems through free-market economics.   "Neo-liberal politics are increasing marginalization, poverty, the ranks of the excluded, the lack of money to fund a dignified life," he told cheering MST members at a squatter camp on the Brazilian capital's ministerial boulevard.   Perez Esquivel exhorted Latin American landless movements to pool their resources and group together. 
12187 !C18 !C183 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  Wrangling in Congress will not hold up privatization of Guatemala's state-owned telecommunications industry and electricity production and distribution planned for next year, Economy Minister Juan Mauricio Wurmser said on Tuesday in an interview.   "We will open the bidding process and private national and foreign investors will be in the process," Wurmser told Reuters.    He expressed confidence that Congress would pass a series of laws necessary to privatize the industries, although an electricity bill that was supposed to fly through Congress with multi-party backing got held up last week with multi-party bickering over details.   "That's politics," said Wurmser.   Because the bills include establishment of autonomous regulatory commissions, a two-thirds vote is required to pass the new telecommunications and electricity laws that would free up government control of those industries, Wurmser said.    The administration of President Alvaro Arzu and his National Advancement Party is under pressure to pass the bills soon because the government plans to finance 10 percent of the 1997 general budget with sales of private stock in telephone and electricity companies.   Wurmser said the free-market views of the opposition Guatemalan Republican Front party make it a natural supporter of the bills.   Wurmser said all telecommunications companies active in Latin America are interested in a piece of the telecommunications business in Guatemala.   "We know that AT&T and Motorola are interested.   We know that BellSouth is interested and Millicom, which is already participating in the cellular phone business here," he said.   -- Fiona Ortiz, Guatemala City bureau 5022 
12188 !E14 !ECAT !GCAT !GWELF  The balance of accounts in the Retirement Savings System (SAR) was 67 billion pesos as of the end of August, the Mexican Association of Insurance Institutions (AMIS) said on Tuesday .   "Up to May the balance of the individual accounts in the SAR reached 63.909 billion pesos and (in August) the balance was 30 billion pesos for retirement and 37 billion pesos for housing," said AMIS advisor Recaredo Arias.   The government-run SAR, he said, accounts for Mexico's main source of domestic savings and its accounts are deposited in private banks.   With the opening up of the pension system in 1997, individual pension accounts will be administered by privately-run fund management firms known as Afores.   --Claudia Villegas, Mexico City newsroom +525 728-9549 
12189 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Brazil's lower house of Congress will vote Wednesday on the regulatory details of the so-called CPMF cheque tax, an official said.   The Chamber of Deputies voted Tuesday to give the bill priority status, he said.   The tax, which was approved in principle by the lower house having previously cleared the Senate, would levy a 0.2 percent charge on financial transactions over a year to raise an estimated $400 million a month for the ailing health budget.   Pensioners and earners of less than three minimum salaries would be compensated for losses incurred by the CPMF tax.   Government institutions and financial institutions handling the transactions of third parties, such as brokers, would be exempted.   -- William Schomberg, Brasilia newsroom 5561 2230358 
12190 !C13 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV  President Eduardo Frei threw his support on Tuesday behind a U.S. forestry company's plans to cut down rare beech woods on Tierra del Fuego, saying the project would bring jobs and development.   Frei said the plan by Trillium Corp. of Bellingham, Washington, to harvest some of Chile's last large tracts of untouched forest met Chilean environmental rules and "we'll support it with all our forces."   The Trillium project has been attacked by local and foreign ecologists, who charge that it will destroy the forest and that local environmental laws are too weak and not vigorously enforced.   "The project enjoys the government's full support.   It meets all environmental rules and norms ... and it's going to mean jobs and development for Tierra del Fuego," Frei, an engineer by profession, told supporters in the southern city of Punta Arenas.   Trillium has said it would harvest the forest in an environmentally sustainable way by culling only mature trees, without the clear-cutting that has denuded hillsides and caused severe erosion elsewhere.   Chile's National Environmental Commission, the equivalent of the U.S. EPA, approved the project last month but with restrictions on how much Trillium may cut.   The project stirred bitter controversy in Chile, where the growing green movement has strived to preserve rare temperate rain forests against encroachment by timber interests and farming.   Opponents of the project, on the southern slopes of the island of Tierra del Fuego near the Argentine border, admit their only hope for stopping it is a new court appeal.   Earlier challenges failed. 
12191 !GCAT !GCRIM !GODD  A group of Argentine high school students reported their literature teacher after they found a pistol in her handbag, local media reported on Tuesday.   Police in the city of La Plata said they would press charges of illegal possession of a weapon against the 41-year-old woman, who said she carried the gun because she was worried about crime.   The reports did not say why the students were looking through their teacher's handbag. 
12192 !GCAT !GPOL  The first mayor of Mexico's main conservative opposition party to step down over corruption allegations said on Tuesday he would not return to the job this week, and officials said he was unlikely to return at all.   "Although my most heartfelt desire is to serve the common good from the post to which the people of Zapopan elected me, this is not the time to do so as present conditions do not permit," Daniel Ituarte Reynaud said in an open letter published by a local newspaper.   Zapopan is one of the most important cities in the western state of Jalisco and one of Mexico's leading centres of farm produce.   Ituarte is the first elected official from the conservative National Action Party to step down over a corruption scandal, following accusations of irregularities in the city hall's accounts.   He officially extended his leave of absence from his post for another two months.   Local officials said that was tantamount to stepping down for good while his interim successor, also from the National Action Party, formally takes over the job.   The party, aided by a protest vote against the government since the 1994 peso crisis and ensuing recession, has managed to wrest government of some cities and states away from the traditional dominance of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which has held power since 1929.   Ituarte was found guilty of "negligence for not strictly adhering to presribed administrative standards" by the city's municipal commission, commission spokesman Carlos Chavez said.   He had originally requested leave for 45 days while the commission investigated the charges against him.   That first leave of absence expired on Monday.   The centre-left Democratic Revolution Party had accused Ituarte of awarding city contracts to firms owned by his relatives and of using city funds for "uses other than those agreed," among other irregularities. 
12193 !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Economist Guillermo Calvo, who quit Economy Minister Roque Fernandez's team last week, said Tuesday Argentina's credibility hinges on fiscal reforms getting a quick passage through Congress.   If they do not, Calvo told local radio, "our relationship with the International Monetary Fund would become complicated, since it is conditional on what happens in Congress.   It could be seen by the rest of the world as a sign (Fernandez's) team doesn't have the strength and won't be able to govern."    The Chamber of Deputies debates Wednesday Fernandez's package of fiscal measures with which he hopes to narrow a budget deficit he warned could reach $6.6 billion by year-end.   The package was designed to save $1.6 billion this year, but has been delayed, changed and watered down by the deputies.   Calvo, a professor at the University of Maryland, is known here for having predicted the Tequila Effect of Mexican devaluation that plunged Argentina into recession last year.    Argentina is renegotiating its budget deficit targets with the IMF after hitting its 1996 deficit goal -- $2.5 billion -- by mid-year.   IMF chief Michel Camdessus said here Sunday he has confidence in Argentina, would give his blessing to its targets and had reached tentative agreement on a three-year Extended Fund Facility loan.   Camdessus gave his personal backing to Fernandez, who has had a rough ride since taking over from Domingo Cavallo in July.   Calvo said he detected some doubts abroad over whether Fernandez's team had Cavallo's ability to manage the "political wing" of government -- a euphemism for elements of the ruling Peronist Party who blocked some Cavallo reforms.   "That is still on the line," said Calvo, speaking from the United States where he has returned to his academic post.   -- Stephen Brown, Buenos Aires Newsroom +541 318-0695 
12194 !GCAT !GPOL  Nicaragua's left-wing Sandinista Front has joined the Socialist International, which groups the world's democratic, socialist political parties, Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega said on Tuesday.   The Sandinistas are running a close second to right-wing candidate Arnoldo Aleman in Nicaragua's Oct. 20 presidential election and are trying to moderate their image as firebrand Marxists.   "The Sandinista Front's incorporation into Socialist International as a full member has now been approved by the appropriate commission of this group," Ortega told a news conference.   After toppling former dictator Anastasio Somoza in a 1979 revolution, the Sandinistas governed Nicaragua until Ortega's surprise election loss in 1990 to President Violeta Chamorro.   The Sandinistas had been invited to Socialist International congresses since 1978, but were not granted full membership because of their dubious democratic record, which included not holding completely free elections until 1990.   In 1993, they were granted observer status, and have now been welcomed "into the bosom of international socialism as full members," said Ortega. 
12195 !GCAT !GCRIM  Judges suspended the executions of two convicted child murderers at the last minute on Tuesday morning after international human rights lawyers questioned the legal system that found the men guilty.   Roberto Giron and Pedro Castillo Mendoza were scheduled to die at 6 a.m. for the 1993 rape and murder of a 4-year-old girl.   But, with 90 minutes to spare, three supreme court magistrates ordered a stay of execution, saying that the condemned men had not been properly advised of a high court denial of the last two of their five appeals.   "The execution did not happen," said Victor Rivera, secretary of the supreme court.   The supreme court intervention followed complaints from human rights groups about the verdicts on the two men.   "There was a lack of due process.   They had no lawyers during the first two weeks after they were arrested, when they supposedly made their confessions," said Helen Duffy, an lawyer with the Human Rights Legal Action Centre.   Duffy said the Interamerican Human Rights Commission, an arm of the Organisation of American States, considered a report from her group and asked the government not to carry out the execution.   Guatemala, the last country in Central America with a death penalty, has not carried out a court-ordered execution for 13 years.   Tuesday's stay of execution appparently took the country's press by surprise.   All four Guatemala City daily newspapers carried pre-prepared large headlines Tuesday morning announcing the executions. 
12196 !GCAT !GODD  Bogota's eccentric mayor, best known for having bared his backside in public and getting married in the tiger's cage of a circus, was at it again.   In his seemingly never-ending quest for publicity, Mayor Antanas Mockus stripped off his business suit on a Bogota street corner.   His latest striptease was shown on the Noticiero de las Siete news programme on Monday night.   Viewers were spared another baring of the flesh, however, since Mockus, the son of Lithuanian immigrants, was wearing a screaming yellow and red Superman outfit emblazoned with the letter "C" under his normally staid business suit.   He explained that the "C" stood for "Mr. Supercivic" and said his stunt was part of a campaign aimed at boosting public-spiritedness and getting people to respect city ordinances.   A former university professor with a passion for mathematics and metaphysics, Mockus shot to fame four years when he was fired as rector of the National University in Bogota after dropping his pants and mooning his students during a debate. 
12197 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  A proposal to rewrite Brazil's constitution and give President Fernando Henrique Cardoso the chance of a second term should begin its journey through Congress soon, a deputy who wrote the bill said.   Dep.   Jose Mendonca Filho also said he expected the bill to clear the Chamber of Deputies by February 1997, when the presidency of the lower house is due to change.    "There can be no economic stability without political stability," the deputy told Reuters in an interview.   His bill would allow Cardoso, state governors and mayors to stand for a maximum of two terms.   Brazil's constitution, written in 1988 during a backlash against the authoritarian 1964-85 military dicatorship, limits them to one term.   Mendonca Filho has also drawn up two other constitutional amendments to reform the Brazilian electoral system, principally to cut the number of parties in Congress and slow the constant flow of congressmen from one party to another.    There are 16 parties currently represented in the lower house and since February 1995, when the current Congress first sat, deputies have changed parties roughly 120 times.   "Brazilian democracy leaves observers with no clear idea of the power the government has over parliament and that hurts investment, makes stock exchanges volatile and threatens our development," Mendonca Filho said.   The reelection ban was also negative because it discouraged presidents, governors and mayors from taking unpopular measures which might only prove effective once their terms were over.    Mendonca de Filho said he expected the government to create a special committee in the lower house soon, perhaps after the first round of municipal elections on October 3.   He also predicted the bill would clear the lower house before the end of February when its president Dep.   Luis Eduardo Magalhaes, considered the ringmaster of the government's reform program, is due to be replaced.   The deputy said he was not discouraged by a recent poll showing only 38 percent of deputies and 44 percent of senators backed the idea of allowing Cardoso to stand in the 1998 presidential race.    A constitutional amendment requires two 60 percent majorities in each house.   The same poll showed that more than a quarter of members of both houses backed the principle of reelection for future presidents, governors and mayors with a further 11 percent of deputies and 19 percent of senators as yet undecided.   Those numbers gave government whips ample room for negotiations to get the bill through Congress, he said.   A widely expected cabinet shuffle, seen happening some time after the elections and benefitting the backers of reelection, was another factor in the bill's favor, the deputy said.   -- Brasilia newsroom 5561 2230358 
12198 !GCAT !GVIO  Mexico's Zapatista rebels said on Tuesday that government troops were encroaching on their jungle territory and declared themselves "ready to fight" if necessary.   In the latest increase in tension in the troubled southeastern state, Zapatista leader Subcommander Marcos accused the government of President Ernesto Zedillo of seeking to provoke a military clash to "justify a military offensive" against the rebels.   "Our advance positions have made visual contact with federal columns (of troops) when they have entered, without knowing, pathways with defensive ambushes," Marcos said in a statement published by Mexican newspapers on Tuesday.   "The situation in the Lacandon Jungle is getting tenser every day ... there will be no withdrawal.   We are ready to fight in the mountains," he said.   Zapatista fighters had instructions not to attack but to defend themselves if attacked by the army, Marcos said.   Zedillo's government has said it will take no military action against the Zapatistas and wants a negotiated solution to the uprising, launched on New Year's Day 1994.   The Zapatistas suspended long-running talks with the government earlier this month, demanding the release of Zapatista prisoners and the replacement of the government negotiating team before they return.   The government, in a statement released on Monday, responded by asking Marcos to honour his commitment to dialogue and against violence.   It addressed the statement to Rafael Sebastian Guillen Vicente, a 39-year-old former university graphic design teacher from the northeastern port of Tampico who it says is Marcos' real identity.   In a separate statement, the masked, pipe-smoking rebel leader responded with one word: "Ha!"   A survey published on Tuesday by the non-government polling group Civic Alliance found that most Mexicans support a negotiated solution to the Chiapas uprising.   The poll found that 86 percent of those asked in 16 of the country's 31 states considered the Chiapas talks to be "important for the future of Mexico," and 96 percent thought the rebels' demands for "land, justice and respect for indigenous rights" should be answered.   It found that 72 percent agreed with the Zapatistas' avowed aim of becoming an unarmed, grassroots nationwide opposition movement. 
12199 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Monterrey city hall announced Tuesday it had fined telecommunications company Avantel 250,000 pesos for damage to road surfaces.   "When the work was finished we noticed the road surface was damaged and for that reason we kept the deposit," city public works secretary Francisco de la Garza Villarreal told reporters.   City hall retained a deposit whereby Avantel guaranteed payment for any damages incurred while Avantel was laying fiber optic transmission cables.   Avantel was fined 200,000 pesos about three months ago by city hall in Monterrey, Mexico's third city, for failing to complete road work and damaging water mains.   The telecommunications firm is the result of an alliance between major Mexican bank Banamex and U.S. telecommunications firm MCI Communications Corp, to prepare for Mexico's long-distance telephone market being opened to competition on January 1, 1997.   -- Debora Montesinos, Monterrey newsroom, +528 345-7677 
12200 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  Two police were wounded during an ambush by suspected rebels in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, authorities said on Tuesday.   Mexico's Interior Ministry said unidentified gunmen attacked police in the municipality of Santa Lucia del Camino, some 13 miles (20 km) southeast of the state capital Oaxaca.   It did not say when the attack took place.   The ministry said it was investigating whether the attack was linked to a new guerrilla group, the Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR).   It said pro-EPR and anti-government graffitti were seen in the area before the attack.   It said it was also investigating reports that residents of a town in southern Chiapas state saw suspected guerrillas in that area. 
12201 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  South Korean President Kim Young-sam was due to arrive in Brazil on Tuesday, hoping to pave the way for Korean businesses to expand into Latin America's largest economy after years of neglect.   On the first Latin American tour by a Korean head of state, Kim and a 42 Korean businessmen accompanying him will be particularly interested in Brazil's mineral riches, officials said.   Kim's visit follows a tour of the region by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto of Japan.   Asian investors have become interested in Latin America again after years of debt crisis and hyperinflation.   Kim was due to start his visit to Brazil in its industrial heartland of Sao Paulo, where he will meet representatives of the country's 40,000 Korean immigrants.   Most of the Korean businessmen travelling with Kim were expected to stay in Sao Paulo, holding talks with prospective business partners, when Kim travels on to the capital Brasilia on Tuesday evening.   Kim has already visited Guatemala, Chile and Argentina.   After Brazil, he heads for Peru. 
12202 !GCAT  These are the highlights of the main Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro newspapers this morning.   GAZETA MERCANTIL   -- ORDERS GROW TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR   Brazilian retail trade is placing more orders with factories in expectation of rising sales towards the end of the year.   -- BRAZIL BECOMES MEMBER OF BIS   Brazil's Central Bank, as well as eight other central banks including Mexico's, are becoming members of the Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements (BIS), which acts as the central bank for central banks.   -- BRAZIL GOVT DENIES MULLING FOREX TAX   Brazil's Finance Minister Pedro Malan has denied intentions of introducing a 25 percent tax on all foreign exchange transactions except those relating to the export or import of goods and services.   O GLOBO   -- BRAZIL POLICE CHASES 20 DRUG TRAFFICKERS IN SHANTYTOWN   Brazilian military police entered Rio de Janeiro's Pavao-Pavaozinho shantytown again yesterday to chase away 20 remainining drug traffickers who invaded the shantytown last week.   -- RIO'S PRICES FALL FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE REAL PLAN   Rio de Janeiro's retail prices fell 0.04 percent in August, the first decrease in prices since Brazil introduced its Real economic stabilization plan in July 1994.   -- GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE SAYS CORRUPTION DECLINING   The president of Brazil's General Accounting Office compared statements presented to the office over the past few years and came to the conclusion that fraudulent management and corruption in public administration are declining.   FOLHA DE SAO PAULO   -- ACCIDENT INVOLVING TRUCK AND BUS KILLS NINE   At least nine people were killed and 38 injured when a bus and a truck crashed on a highway in Minas Gerais state late on Sunday.   -- SAO PAULO INDUSTRY RECORDS LARGEST JOB LOSSES THIS YEAR   Industrial employment in Sao Paulo fell 1.45 percent in August, the largest decline in jobs since September last year, according to figures by Sao Paulo's industry federation.   Reuters has not verified the stories and cannot vouch for their accuracy.   -- Simona de Logu, Rio de Janeiro newsroom, 5521 507 4151 
12203 !GCAT !GVIO  Authorities in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca said on Monday they had captured a leftist guerrilla suspected of participating in a bloody attack on a Navy barrack, the state news agency Notimex reported.   The arrest would be the seventh in impoverished Oaxaca, one of six Mexican states where the Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR) struck in sneak attacks on August 28, Notimex said, citing the state attorney general in a news conference.   Oaxaca Attorney General Roberto Martinez Ortiz identified the rebel suspect as Regulo Ramirez Matias, who was linked the the attack that left nine people dead at a Navy base near Huatulco on the Pacific Coast.   On August 28 and 29, the EPR, in its first major military action, launched coordinated operations in six states that left 16 dead and 22 injured, according to the government.   The official casualty count from EPR clashes since the group unveiled itself in June is 16 dead and 28 wounded, although several unconfirmed reports would raise those figures considerably.   Ramirez, the suspected guerrilla, was arrested with a .22 calibre pistol near Huatulco and transferred to the state capital of Oaxaca, Notimex said. 
12204 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDEF  A judge ordered the arrest on Monday of a Colombian Army commander for refusing to lift military barricades preventing free transit along roads in southern Caqueta province, Colombian television said.   The 24 Horas TV news programme said an arrest order had been issued for Gen. Harold Bedoya, as well as Gen. Nestor Ramirez, commander of the Caqueta-based 12th Army Brigade.   The orders stem from Bedoya's defiance of a recent court order demanding that army and police roadblocks preventing free access to Florencia, the state capital of Caqueta, be cleared away, the news programme said.   Florencia was cordoned off by government troops last month to prevent thousands of peasant coca farmers protesting against the government's drug crop eradication programme from entering the city.   A judge in Albania, a small town outside Florencia, issued Monday's arrest warrants after ruling that the barricading of Florencia and military takeover of its surrounding roads represented a violation of individual liberties.   Bedoya, who was huddling with President Ernesto Samper and other military commanders on Monday night to discuss the government's reponse to a recent surge in leftist rebel activity, had no immediate comment on the arrest order. 
12205 !GCAT !GENV  As plants go, it doesn't look like anything special -- droopy, elongated leaves and tiny yellow-white flowers.   What makes Dendroseris neriifolia so unusual and the object of so much study is that there is only one known specimen living in the wild.   It is the world's rarest plant and, like scores of other species on rugged Robinson Crusoe island, it somehow survives literally on the precipice of extinction on this speck of land lost in the South Pacific.   Known to a few travel connoisseurs as the place where the real-life Robinson Crusoe was marooned in the 18th century, the island attracts naturalists who come to study what is believed to be the world's largest number of endemic plant species per square mile (kilometre).   There are 124 unique plant species -- occurring nowhere else on earth -- on an island of a mere 36 square miles (93 sq km).   For the people who run the national park covering the island, it is a daily struggle to defend the plants against scourges like rabbits and goats brought centuries ago by Spanish sailors and foreign plants ranging from blackberry bushes to eucalyptus trees that crowd out native vegetation.   "The ecology here is in constant crisis," national park administrator Ivan Leiva said.   "People who lived here over the years had no concept of the idea of ecological balance.   So we have all these plagues that alter the balance radically."   Leiva tends a few saplings of Dendroseris neriifolia in his garden in the island's only village, San Juan Bautista, as part of a last-ditch effort to save the tree from extinction.   Its only known wild specimen grows in a remote ravine on the island's eastern end, an area almost inaccessible due to its sheer cliffs.   A few others have not been so lucky.   At least two unique plant species are known to have gone extinct, including an aromatic sandalwood last seen in the 1930s, and 61 are listed as "in imminent danger of extinction."   "There may be other unique species living on the island that we don't even know about.   Parts of it are so rugged and so isolated that we cannot reach them," Leiva said.   Some plants were thought to be extinct for years only to be rediscovered on some remote cliffside or mountaintop, while others probably went extinct before anyone discovered them.   Except for a few plentiful native species, any of the island's plants could be eaten into extinction at any time by the rabbits and wild goats that infest the place.   "Some of these plants have only three or four specimens left.   Suppose some goat eats them before we can collect some seeds.   The plant is finished, extinct, gone forever," said Guillermo Araya, a forest ranger and island native.   A Dutch-financed conservation programme is helping, but park officials say their struggle against extinction is stalled by a lack of support from Chilean authorities in the capital, Santiago.   They point to Ecuador's Galapagos Islands as an example of the sort of aggressive, government-led conservation drive they would like to see for their island.   The problem is rare plants do not attract international donors the way whales and giant tortoises do in the Galapagos, and anyway the island is always overshadowed by a much more famous Chilean islet, Easter Island, about 3,000 miles (4,800 km) away.   "The base of any environment is the plants.   But let's face it, you can get money for saving bears or whales or birds, not for saving plants," Leiva said.   "Look at what they've done in the Galapagos.   The people living there became aware of the need to conserve the environment thanks to the government's efforts."   The island also has two unique hummingbird species and a unique seal, the Juan Fernandez seal, which resurged from near-extinction in the 19th century and now breeds by the thousands in the island's rocky coves and a few nearby islets.   The island's main claim to fame continues to be Robinson Crusoe -- or rather, Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish sailor who asked to be left on the then-uninhabited island when his ship called in 1704.   After four years surviving on wild goats, he was rescued by a passing ship and found his way home to Scotland where he became a celebrity.   Daniel Defoe heard about his story and fictionalized it in the novel "Robinson Crusoe," which Defoe set in the Caribbean.   About 500 people live on the island now, all in San Juan Bautista, and Leiva says he would like to turn every one of them into a conservationist.   He has put a bounty on rabbits, with special prizes for people who catch more than 100, and works to convince villagers that rabbit stew is quite tasty.   "But it's very difficult," he said.   "People just aren't used to thinking of rabbits and goats as a plague." 
12206 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Business leaders in Mexico's richest northern state, in a tax showdown with the government, on Monday added their weight to a growing movement to break away from the rest of Mexico.   "We've got to do something extreme and it would be worthwhile to make a big effort to make (the state of) Nuevo Leon independent from the rest of the country," Luis Enrique Grajeda Alvarado, head of the Nuevo Leon Employers Centre, told a news conference.   The threat, which adds to an almost unprecedented clamour in Nuevo Leon for separation, is very unlikely to happen, government officials say.   However, the sabre-rattling has clearly made them nervous in a country that prides itself on a deep sense of unity.   Nuevo Leon houses Mexico's second-largest city of Monterrey.   With its giant cattle ranches and dollar-earning export giants it often seems more akin to neighbouring Texas than to its struggling sister states in southern Mexico.   The controversy heated up last week when the Finance Ministry let slip that the funds it distributes to the state fell 13.5 percent in the first half of 1996, even though Nuevo Leon is one of the government's most important tax bases.   The cash crunch prompted the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) state government to declare itself on the verge of bankruptcy.   State Finance Secretary Xavier Doria Gonzalez was quoted as saying it had 45 days left of solvency.   The government "is punishing productive states like Nuevo Leon ... we have liquidity problems," said Gerardo Gamez Valdez, director of the Monterrey branch of the National Chamber of Commerce.   "The idea of breaking out of federal coordination is one of the ways out" for us.   According to the National Statistics Institute, Nuevo Leon produces about 6.5 percent of the nation's gross domestic product and about 9.5 percent of its manufacturing output.   Businessmen complain its taxes are siphoned off to poor states such as southern Chiapas, where an indigenous rebel force known as the Zapatista National Liberation Army took up arms in January 1994.   A separate rebellion in southern Mexico launched in June has added weight to the view that Mexico is a country divided into a wealthy U.S.-looking north and a backward south closer in spirit to conflictive Central America.   "It's not fair that the federal government takes away funds from Nuevo Leon to grant them to states like Chiapas," Grajeda Alvarado said.   In the local state Congress, deputees have appeared sympathetic to the "separatist" movement, but PRI Governor Benjamin Clariond ruled out any breakaway. 
12207 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  With a peace accord pending between the government and rebel forces, leftist guerrilla fighters are still taking over villages.   But instead of charging war taxes, recruiting fighters or haranguing villagers, this week they've been playing ball.   "They've taken over some farms outside of town and I understand that they've played soccer and basketball," Obdulio Chavez Garcia, mayor of El Quetzal, a western Guatemala town 150 miles (250 km) from the capital, said on Monday.   "Instead of threatening people with bazookas and that whole thing, it's better to play ball, I think," said Chavez.   The mayor said he didn't think the games were accompanied by propagandizing but the daily newspaper Prensa Libre reported the ball-playing guerrillas were handing out fliers asking for the abolition of elite military forces, civilian military patrols and military police.   Guerrilla forces of the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unit and government peace negotiators are close to signing a final peace agreement to end 36 years of civil war in Guatemala.   More than 100,000 people have died and an estimated 40,000 more have disappeared in the conflict.   In Mexico City, Guatemalan officials and rebel negotiators extended their talks by two days on Monday, contradicting comments by President Alvaro Arzu that a preliminary agreement had already been reached.   In a statement, U.N. peace moderator Jean Arnault said that both sides had agreed on a recess of two days for "consultations" before renewing talks.   It was not clear what caused the last minute hitch. 
12208 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  The presidents of Mexico and Guatemala signed five bilateral agreements on Monday including a programme for economic development in impoverished border regions.   The accords were signed during a 12-hour working visit by Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo.   Guatemala's President Alvaro Arzu said the border plan was aimed at boosting productivity along the border between the two countries.   The programme will affect 1.5 million people in 39 towns and cities on both sides of the border, Guatemalan Planning Secretary Mariano Rayo said.   The presidents also signed agreements regarding health along the border, cooperation between border towns, border geography and immigration statistics and visas.   Under the plan, residents in the mostly rural border areas will be able to move back and forth on business between Mexico and Guatemala under a simplified visa system.   The frontier between Mexico and Guatemala has been a troubled region for decades.   During the past 36 years of civil war in Guatemala, leftist rebels operated in the mountains and jungles of the region.   In the 1980s tens of thousands of Guatemalan refugees fled to refugee camps in Mexico, escaping violent army attacks on remote Indian villages.   Contraband drugs and hardwood also regularly cross the border.   Mexican Zapatista rebels rose up in arms in the border state of Chiapas in 1994, though the rebels are now in long-running peace talks with the government. 
12209 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Australia on Wednesday hailed the success of its landmark United Nations nuclear test ban push as an important move towards ridding the world of nuclear weapons.   Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the United Nations General Assembly's 158-3 vote for Canberra's resolution to open the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) for signature had salvaged the pact from failure.   "We regard the passing of this resolution overnight as an enormously important development in the international disarmament and non-proliferation regime," Downer said in a radio interview.   "What we've been able to do is salvage this treaty from certain death in the Conference on Disarmament, which depended on a consensus and a consensus couldn't be reached."   The treaty banning nuclear test blasts foundered at the 61-nation Conference on Disarmament in Geneva last month, after three years of negotiations, when India refused to consent.   The resolution passed on Tuesday approves the treaty and asks that it be open for signature as soon as possible.   But the U.N. General Assembly's action was not enough to implement the treaty because India, whose signature is necessary, has vowed to block its ratification.   The CTBT's backers believe nations which sign will abide by the treaty's provisions anyway and that an isolated India over the next few years might change its mind.   India voted against the resolution, along with Bhutan and Libya.   Cuba, Lebanon, Mauritius, Syria and Tanzania abstained.   All five declared nuclear powers -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- support the document, but the treaty does not come into force until 44 states with a nuclear potential sign it. 
12210 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP !GPOL  Australia on Wednesday hailed the success of its landmark United Nations nuclear test ban push as an important move towards ridding the world of nuclear weapons.   Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the United Nations General Assembly's 158-3 vote for Canberra's resolution to open the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) for signature had salvaged the pact from failure.   "We regard the passing of this resolution overnight as an enormously important development in the international disarmament and non-proliferation regime," Downer said in a radio interview.   "What we've been able to do is salvage this treaty from certain death in the Conference on Disarmament, which depended on a consensus and a consensus couldn't be reached."   The treaty banning nuclear test blasts foundered at the 61-nation Conference on Disarmament in Geneva last month, after three years of negotiations, when India refused to consent.   Canberra's resolution passed on Tuesday approves the treaty and asks it be open for signature as soon as possible.   But the U.N. General Assembly's action was not enough to implement the treaty because India, whose signature is necessary, has vowed to block its ratification.   The CTBT's backers believe nations which sign will abide by the treaty's provisions anyway and that an isolated India over the next few years might change its mind.   India voted against the resolution, along with Bhutan and Libya.   Cuba, Lebanon, Mauritius, Syria and Tanzania abstained.   All five declared nuclear powers -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- support the document, but the treaty does not come into force until 44 states with a nuclear potential sign it.   -- Canberra Bureau 61-6 273-2730 
12211 !GCAT  (Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors)   THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW   After receiving A$26.5 billion worth of applications for its infrastructure bond tax concession, the Government has closed off the tax for the rest of the financial year.   The treasury has imposed a strict cap on the fund for 1996-97, forcing the Developmet Allowance Authority to consider the rejection of up to A$20 billion worth of projects already proposed.   Page 1.   --    The NAB has put forward a radical proposal to the Wallis inquiry into the financial system that may revolutionise financial regulation.   The proposal would throw open the industry to all entrants under the umbrella of a single "mega-regulator", ending banks' current privileged position.   Page 1.   --   The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has proposed to a federal parliamentary inquiry into fair trading that a new provision in the Trade Practices Act be installed that enforces business compliance with a disclosure code of conduct.   Page 3.    --   Lending amongst banks has increased in the mortgage area, pushing the number of new loans approved up by 16 per cent in July.   The cause seems to be heightened competition among banks and other lenders and is the second largest monthly leap in seasonally ajusted lending on record.   Page 5.   --   Davids Ltd yesterday promised that it would increase the growth in sales by another 20 per cent, lifting gross revenue to almost A$5.2 billion for this financial year.   Joint managing directors John Patten and Jeff David stated that    the growth would come wthout further acquisitions and would keep earnings in a similar fashion to the 1995-96 year.   Page 21.   --   BHP Steel has announced plans to shut its stainless-steel operations at Unanderra near Port Kembla due to its loss making record.   The move may indicate the beginning of a BHP restructuring program, but the plant will be closed mainly because of an internaional market glut.   Page 21.   --   THE AUSTRALIAN    In a submission to the Wallis inquiry into the financial system yesterday, the National Australia Bank proposed a radical restructuring of the financial system centred on the establishment of a mega-regulator, a move which puts the nation's biggest bank i direct conflict with the Reserve Bank of Australia.   Page 35.   --   BHP chief John Prescott yesterday blamed the fact that Australia was ranked thirteenth among OECD countries in terms of productivity growth in the 1980s on the poor quality of the nation's management.   He called for a national productivity    vision to improve Australia's international competitiveness.   Page 35.   --   First State Fund Managers, the A$2.5 billion investment management subsidiary of the State Bank of NSW, yesterday launched a bid for control of Sydney-based investment guru Ian Huntley's listed funds management group, Huntley Investment Co Ltd.   First Stte is proposing Huntley, who has been a leading figure in financial planning since the 1980s, be removed from office as director of HIC along with Glenn Tetley.   Page 35.   --    Due largely to a loss on its motor vehicle insurance portfolio and diminishing investment returns, Australia's largest listed insurer, GIO Australia Holdings Ltd, posted a virtually steady annual net profit of A$150.2 million, which, before A$8 million intransfers were made to the disaster reserve, comes close to analysts' median earnings forecasts.   Page 35.   --    The Victorian Supreme Court yesterday denied an application by subsidiaries of Plutonic Resources Ltd and Resolute Resources Ltd to have a trial which involves CRA defending a A$169 million action over the Kelian gold mine - delivering CRA an important, tough procedural, victory.   Page 37.   --   The ANZ Banking Group Ltd, under chief executive officer Don Mercer, has warned that bank mergers do not always achieve savings and has recommended a partial restructure of the financial system and the dumping of the six pillars policy.   Page 37.    --   THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD   Federal Treasurer Peter Costello last night announced the Government would not accept any applications for tax concessions using infrastructure bonds for the current financial year after 5pm yesterday - a move which throws the fate of dozens of projects reliant on the bonds for funding into jeopardy.   Page 29.   --    In a result GIO managing director Bill Jocelyn described as "mixed", the insurance giant lifted net profit from its operations marginally - by 1.13 per cent - in the year to June 30 from A$140.6 million to A$142.2 million, largely due to a drop in operatig profit, higher tax liability and lower investment income.   Page 29.   --   National Australia Bank yesterday claimed it could slash 35 per cent from the cost of any big bank it was permitted to acquire, hinting that the big savings would not come from branch closures, but from centralised functions like cheque processing,    computr systems and other support areas.   Page 29.   --   The Australian Consumers Association yesterday hit back at ANZ recommendations to the Wallis inquiry into the financial system that Governments at all levels relax controls on the prices banks charge for financial products.   The ACA argued that existing cotrols are insufficient and it would be hard to relax restraints, when so few areas are rigorously controlled.  .   Page 29.   --    Institutional investors said yesterday Independent Senator Brian Harradine's proposal of issuing redeemable preference shares in Telstra only added to the Budget deficit and did little to improve efficiencies in the national telecommunications carrier.   Fund managers contacted by The Sydney Morning Herald said redeemable preference stock would be consumed easily by the market.   Page 31.   --    After posting an 11.9 per cent increase in net profit yesterday to A$51.8 million and a 24.9 per cent jump in gross sales to A$6.4 billion, independent wholesaler Davids expects to increase both sales and net profit by 20 per cent next year due to growth nd benefits from a number of successful acquisitions this year.   Page 31.   --   THE AGE    Because of interest rate cuts by the major banks and a fall in mortgage rates, there are signs the housing industry is emerging from a 15-month slump.   Housing approvals rose in July by 16 per cent seasonally adjusted, the second largest monthly rise on reord.   Page C1.   --   Following the announcement from Invest Australia, formerly the Development Allowance Authority, that a legislated cap of A$150 million for the year in the Commonwealth's forgone taxation revenue would most likely be exceeded as applications were assessed,Federal Treasurer Peter Costello last night acted    to close off infrastructure bond tax breaks.   Page C1.   --   Although Australian exports of beef to Taiwan fell from A$142 million in 1992 to A$111 million last year, future deals are a prospect for the future as Taiwan presses for support for its proposed entry into the World Trade Organisation.   Page C1.   --   Australia, like many other nations, is suffering losses in Japan's imported beef market.   Australia's sales are down 35 per cent after Japan's worst bout of food poisoning in a decade, cutting A$1.5 billion from Australia's once strong export    industry.   Pag C1.   --   Henley Arch has won this year's Age/Dun & Bradstreet Business Award in the building and allied industries category.   The company, known as its trading entity, Henley Properties, recorded a Dynamic Risk Score of 83 against an industry average of 56, givingit a top 10 per cent ranking in its business type.   Page C3.   --    One of the first of BHP's new strategic moves will be the closing of its stainless steel products plant at Unanderra in New South Wales next May, after existing customer contracts are completed.   BHP Steel's profits plunged in the year to 31 May from A$669million to A$375 million.   Page C3.   -- Reuters Sydney Newsroom 61-2 373-1800 
12212 !GCAT  (Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors)   THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW   Independent Senator Brian Harradine announced yesterday he would initially vote against the Telstra sale bill and urged the government to reconsider his alternative sale plan, which involves the issuing of redeemable preference shares in the telecommunications carrier.   Page 1.   --   The Victorian Government is set to introduce new shop trading laws which make it possible for shops to legally trade 24 hours a day, seven days a week.   However, bans will be placed on shop trading on Good Friday, Christmas Day and Anzac Day before 1pm an the existing exemption which allows small shops to open on these days will continue.   Page 3.   --   The New South Wales Government has agreed to consider the idea of a very fast train between Sydney and Canberra as long as there is no net cost to New South Wales taxpayers, studies show it is viable and the private sector proves it can successfully manag the project.   However, under a plan by Speedrail, either the federal or state government would need to borrow the A$100 million needed to acquire the necessary rural corridor for the project.   Page 3.   --   Releasing a report into the Federal Government's assistance scheme for the pharmaceutical industry yesterday, the Productivity Commission called for a fundamental review of the A$2.7 billion Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, which subsidises the cost to conumers of prescription drugs, describing it as poorly designed and administered.   Page 5.   --   THE AUSTRALIAN   In a move which could see insurance bills boosted by up to A$16 a month in some states, Medibank Private is preparing to apply for premium increases of more than 10 percent, which would wipe out virtually all the government's tax rebate for many other contributors with top cover.   Page 1.   --   The risk that the federal government's proposed legislation to sell one third of Telstra will remain in limbo intensified yesterday when Independent Senator Brian Harradine announced he will vote against the legislation in the first instance.   The Teltra sale bill is now likely to be rejected in the Senate in the first vote.   Page 1.   --   In a move which removes one of the most controversial provisions that would have given the Howard Government power to appoint an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission administrator, the government backed down yesterday on key amendments to the ATSIC legislation as part of an agreement with the Labor Party to allow the bill through the Senate.   Page 1.   --   Scientists at the Children's Cancer Institute of Australia are developing a treatment that could render obsolete existing regimes with traumatic side-effects such as chemotherapy.   They have distinguished an enzyme that plays a key role as executioner in the natural destruction of cells that occurs as cells are replaced.   Page 3.   --   THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD   The alliance between the vice-chancellors and 25,000-strong National Tertiary Education Union was in tatters yesterday after the Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee, which represents the heads of Australia's 37 publicly funded universities, decided to publicly support the federal government's industrial relations reforms, which may end guaranteed jobs for life.   Page 1.   --   Garry Sturgess, who was forced to resign from the New South Wales Police Board after other members refused to deal with him, says Police Minister Paul Whelan offered him a A$300,000 salary to head a revamped board, to be known as the Police Commission, less than a year ago.   Page 1.   --   Shortly after Bondi patrol commander, Chief Inspector Dick Baker, appealed for more information on the death of British tourist Brian Hagland, a 22-year-old man from Rushcutters Bay, accompanied by his solicitor Leigh Johnston, voluntarily walked into Bondi police station to assist police with their inquiries.   Page 1.   --   Controversial Independent MP Pauline Hanson, the member for the formerly safe Labor seat of Oxley, told the House of Representatives last night she believed Australia should abolish the policy of multiculturalism as she believes "we are in danger of being swamped with Asians".   She also called for Australia to withdraw from the United Nations, abandon all foreign aid and reintroduce national service.   Page 3.   --   THE AGE   Following the Victorian Government's decision to overhaul trading laws, legislation liberalising the laws will be introduced in Parliament tomorrow.   The state can expect seven-days-a-week, 24-hour trading before Christmas.   The new laws will see general sop trading banned only on Good Friday, Christmas Day and before 1pm on Anzac Day.   Page A1.   --   Eye surgeons yesterday warned people to keep clear of bird-nesting areas during the spring breeding season after two children underwent eye surgery following attacks by magpies in two separate incidents.   A Brisbane survey shows that children, particularly on bicycles, are targets for magpie attacks, usually in built-up areas.   Page A1.   --   In what is believed to be an Australian first, south-east Melbourne electricity company United Energy has struck an agreement to resell the phone services of Australia's largest telecommunications reseller, AAP Telecommunications.   The deal will mean half million Melbourne households and businesses should be able to pay their power and telephone charges on one bill by the end of next year.   Page A1.   --   Following Victoria's flood of one-off electricity company sales, the state is expected to record Australia's largest state surplus - more than A$5 billion - when the final 1995/96 budget is handed down today.   Following last month's A$2.35 billion sale of Hazelwood power station, the budget for the coming year will also start well over A$1 billion in surplus.   Page A1.   -- Reuters Sydney Newsroom 61-2 373-1800 
12213 !GCAT  **BIRTHDAYS**   The Scottish poet JAMES THOMPSON, who wrote "Rule Britannia", was born in 1700.   American short-story writer O. HENRY, who wrote "Cabbages and Kings", was born in 1862.   British novelist D.H. LAWRENCE was born in 1885.   In his work he explored human sexuality and social conditions in industrial society in "Sons and Lovers" and "Women in Love".   His "Lady Chatterley's Lover" was banned when its first appeared.   Filipino president FERDINAND MARCOS, whose corrupt rule came to an end when he was deposed by CORY AQUINO, was born in 1917.   British motor cycling champion BARRY SHEENE was born in 1950.   Drummer with Culture Club JON MOSS was born in 1957.   UK pianist and songwriter MICK TALBOT, who formed the Style Council with PAUL WELLER in 1982, was born in 1958.    **EVENTS**    1649 : OLIVER CROMWELL, the leader of the victorious   parliamentarians in the English Civil War, besieged Drogheda in Ireland and massacred most of the inhabitants.    1841 : The Brighton-London commuter express train began a   regular service, the first taking just 105 minutes.    1855 : The Siege of Sevastopol, the major operation of   the Crimean War, ended when British, French and Peidmontese troops finally captured the main naval base of the Russian Black Sea fleet.    1915 : The first British Women's Institute was opened   in Anglesey in Wales.    1936 : The Australian Cricket Board of Control adopted a   policy to ban barracking at all future international matches.   The Board asked police to remove all offenders from the cricket grounds.   The new policy was in response to the hostility of Australian crowds to the English team during the bodyline war of the 1932-33 Test series.    1941 : After German U-boats attacked three U.S. ships,   President FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT ordered the U.S. Navy to shoot on sight in American defensive waters.    1944 : As Nazis retreated the first Allies entered   Germany, when the US army crossed the German border.   German soldiers were fleeing en masse with large numbers surrendering and reports of widespread desertion.    1968 : A major breakthrough was announced in pain relief   during childbirth.   The new method, called the epidural technique, was said to ease the pain to such an extent that women could read a paper while having a baby and using a mirror to watch the birth.   The epidural involves the injection of anaesthetic into the space outside the membrane surrounding the spinal cord through a small tube inserted into the lower back.   In trials the procedure had met with a favourable response from women.    1971 : Former Soviet premier NIKITA KRUSHCHEV died in   obscurity.    1973 : President SALVADOR ALLENDE of Chile died during a   military coup led by General AUGUSTO PINOCHET which overthrew his government.    1984 : The Royal Commission on British atomic tests was   told that British servicemen were deliberately exposed to radiation at Maralinga.   The Commission heard that Prime Minister ROBERT MENZIES said after the second Monte Bello test: "What the bloody hell is going on, the cloud is drifting over the mainland."   The Commission brought down its findings fifteen months later condemning Britain for breaching safety standards.   The Commission recommended the payment of compensation.    1987 : Four men were arrested and charged with intending   to steal a $46,000 dolphin from the Marineland Oceanarium in Lancashire.    1991 : The US Federal Reserve seized the assets of a   Saudi Arabian financier and fined him $37 million.   GHAITH PHARAON was the front man for the Bank of Credit and Commerce International.   (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 
12214 !GCAT  DOMINION   Front page -Barlow's legal aid for double-murder trials   cost NZ$509,400   Computer whiz, 23, set to reap millions   Warders' absence cuts tensions -- prisoners   Editorial - Cheaper fares Kiwi's legacy   Business - NZ headed for slump says bank   TransAlta lifts profit forecast on lower cost expectations   IRD loses tax avoidance case   Final bids for Feltex Carpets close soon   New Westpac board named    Sport - No decision likely on transfers   Preston expected to stay at halfback for future games   Unchanged Waikato to defend shield   England recall Tufnell   CHRISTCHURCH PRESS   Front page - State house sale nets tenant $100,000   Red face over drink driving   Police speaking to man over Bondi bashing   Business - PDL directors in bullish mood   Whale flights inspire former diver   Feltex likely to be sold by November    Sport - Mehrtens out for Auck game   Drafting a blow to triathlete's hopes   Greenhalgh called into NZ cup team   Canty golf team named   NEW ZEALAND HERALD   Front page - Fears over red light roulette   China puts heat on PM to snub Dalai Lama   Jail sentries in land of nod   Minister admits tenant house sale scheme exploited   Software whiz-kid making millions   Editorials - Costly place in the sun    Sport - Coach points to Taranaki factor   Albany in spotlight to house Chiefs   Top Warrior reward for Kearney   Business - Mercury alone in claim: Utilicorp   Sale, upgrade for Meadowbank centre   Signs point to slump: Citibank   Tenders success boost to money market   Fletcher warning on flight   Hetherington disputes lawsuit's dismissal   TransAlta pledges to freeze charges   FCL Paper rethinks    Vietnam's reality hits NZ business   Container freight merger promises heavy savings   Asia Pacific grabs tourism highlight   Tight oil supply spurs Opec production   German carmaker buries Trabant image   Overseas buyers push up trade   Thomas on track for $11.5 share float   Olivetti drama rings warning bells   Cadbury-Scweppes posts healthy profit 
12215 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GWELF  Finance Minister Bill Birch said on Wednesday that many eligible New Zealanders were not yet accessing the Independent Family Tax Credit, a component of the government's tax cut package.   The IFTC provides a tax reduction equivalent to $15 per child for dependent children of working families.   It is available to working families with incomes up to $20,000 per year, and is then gradually reduced for those on higher incomes.   Birch said only 28,400 people, or 19 percent of those estimated to be eligible, had so far applied for the credit.    He said he had asked the Employers Federation to draw the issue to members' attention and Inland Revenue would also be putting out more publicity material.   -- Wellington newsroom 64 4 473-4746 
12216 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  New Zealand political leaders clashed over the health system and the state of the economy in the first televised debate of the campaign for next month's general election, the first under proportional representation.   Opposition New Zealand First Party leader Winston Peters said the "myopic" operation of central bank monetary policy had forced up the New Zealand dollar by more than 20 percent over three years.   "Interest rates are five times the inflation rate and no one can understand why.   So we're going to have to address those issues first of all," Peters said.   Underlying inflation was 2.3 percent in the year to June, while floating mortgage rates are around 11.5 percent.   Prime Minister Jim Bolger, defending the conservative National Party's six years in office, said the economy had grown by 25 percent and rising budget surpluses had allowed the government to deliver tax cuts.   "The good news is, the best is yet to come," he said, pledging continued investment in health and education and repayment of debt as the country prepared to support growing numbers of pensioners in the 21st century.   "We have to have a very strong economy with no debt, or virtually no debt, by the time we get to 2015," he said.   Labour leader Helen Clark and left-wing Alliance leader Jim Anderton heavily emphasised the need for higher spending on health and education.   Clark reiterated a pledge to keep running budget surpluses, though more modest than projected by National.   The opposition leaders accused Bolger of presiding over a country with deepening social divisions.   "I really fear for a country which lets an underclass develop and get entrenched," Clark said.   Anderton said the incidence of diseases such as meningitis and rheumatic fever was evidence of real poverty in New Zealand.   "There's deep inequality in this country," he said.   New Zealanders vote on October 12 in their first election under proportional representation, which looks certain to produce a minority or coalition government.   National leads in opinion polls with 35-40 percent support, but the three main opposition parties look set to win just over half the seats in parliament.   Bolger said he had "ruled nobody in and nobody out" with regard to potential coalition partners.   Labour's Clark ruled out a coalition with National but she and New Zealand First's Peters left other coalition options open.   Anderton said he was still ready to talk to the other leaders about a pre-election agreement, a possibility they have previously turned down.   -- Wellington Newsrooom 
12217 !GCAT !GPOL  Tonga's King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV has rejected the idea of appointing cabinet ministers from elected representatives in the Tongan parliament, according to an interview published on Tuesday.   The 78 year-old king, who has ruled Tonga's 100,000 people for 30 years, said in Matangi Tonga magazine that he was concerned that an electoral process could not find good and honest people to fill ministerial positions,   The head of the tiny South Pacific kingdom said leaders should be well educated with good manners.   He added that he preferred to select his own ministers from the best in the community because, he said, they were professional people who would never run for election.   "If you look at Britain, which has a well established democratic system, the people who are elected to their parliament are the pillars of their society, they are natural leaders," he was quoted as saying.   "(But) the people who are elected in Tonga are those who cannot be used for anything else.   They have been sacked from their jobs and they are going into the House in order to make a living." 
12218 !GCAT !GCRIM  Investigations into the murder of a British tourist at popular Bondi Beach took a dramatic turn on Tuesday when a man, accompanied by his lawyer, arrived at Bondi police station to talk with detectives.   The unidentified 22-year-old man, from a nearby suburb, talked with police for about 30 minutes and then left.   "We are just helping police with their inquiries at this point," said his lawyer.   Police declined comment on the man, but had said earlier in the day that they were no closer to arresting the murderers of Briton Brian Hagland.   Hagland, 28, was beaten and kicked to death by two men as he and his girlfriend Connie Casey, 25, walked home along a well-lit street near the beach early on Saturday.   Casey said she had tried desperately to protect her finance.   Hagland died from head and internal injuries in hospital shortly after the attack.   "We have had a number of sightings from people who have viewed our face images (of the attackers)," police inspector Dick Baker told reporters at the press conference.   "However, nothing has come of it that would suppoprt us at this stage," Baker said.   New South Wales Police Commisioner Peter Ryan said on Tuesday that more officers had been posted at Bondi Beach as a result of the brutal murder.   But he added that Hagland's murder may not have been preventable even if more police had been in the area on Saturday.   "It's one of those extremely unfortunate incidents...we could have 100 police officers in the next row and unless they actually heard or saw it happening they couldn't have prevented it," Ryan said.   The mayor of Australia's most famous strip of sand on Tuesday called for government funding to upgrade security at Bondi Bondi.   Barabra Armitage said the massive number of tourists, locals and alcohol at Bondi Beach was creating a volatile situation.   "We desperately need foot patrols in the area and the police station, which is only 100 metres (300 feet) or so from where Mr Hagland was murdered, is totally unacceptable," Armitage said.   "We are looking at improving visibility, making the strip better lit up at night and also opening up Bondi Park and making the whole area less secretive and susceptible to attracting people with crime on their minds," Armitage said. 
12219 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer on Tuesday welcomed the initial strong international support for Canberra's ambitious United Nations campaign to introduce the nuclear test ban treaty.   Australia, trying to override an Indian veto and backed by 126 states, asked the U.N. General Assembly on Monday to approve the test ban treaty and open it for signing.   "I am very confident the Australian resolution will be supported and we will have, as a result of that, made a very substantial contribution to the process of nuclear non-proliferation," Downer told parliament on Tuesday.   Downer said he expected a vote within 24 hours.   The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) would then be open for signature when world leaders travel to the United Nations later this month.   Australia's resolution and the treaty are supported by all declared nuclear powers -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.   "Obviously, I am very confident that we will be successful in salvaging the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty," Downer said.   After three years of negotiations, the 61-nation Conference on Disarmament was unable last month to approve the treaty because India refused to give its consent.   Under that conference's rules, decisions must be by consensus, in contrast to the U.N. General Assembly which can vote by a two-thirds majority or a simple majority.   To circumvent the conference, Australia asked the United Nations to approve the treaty in a legal manoeuvre never tried before.   The treaty would not come into force until 44 states with a nuclear potential signed and ratified it.   These states include India, which exploded a device in 1974.   But most diplomats believe that once a country signs and ratifies the accord, it must abide by it.   "We took the judgment that we shouldn't allow two-and-a-half years of work and overwhelming international support for the text, that was negotiated in the conference on disarmament, simply to be wasted," Downer said.   India has said since the mid-1960s that it would not give up its nuclear option until the nuclear powers adopted a timetable for eliminating their existing arsenals.   India's U.N. ambassador, Prakash Shah, last week gave notice that his country would block the treaty from coming into force by refusing to sign it.   "The question of being isolated does not bother us at all.   We will not sign it," he said.   China's delegate, Sha Zukang, told the United Nations assembly that the test ban should not be an ultimate objective.   "It is one step forward to the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons," he said.   The future of the treaty also depends on a quick signature from U.S. President Bill Clinton, who is expected to visit the United Nations later this month, and Senate ratification.   The platform adopted by the U.S. Republican party last month at its convention says the United States needs "development of nuclear weapons and their periodic testing" for its security.   Since the United States exploded the world's first atomic bomb on July 16, 1945, in the New Mexico desert, there have been 2,045 known nuclear tests, 1,030 of them American and 715 in the former Soviet Union. 
12220 !GCAT  NIHON KEIZAI SHIMBUN   Hitachi Ltd and Heibonsha Ltd, a leading publisher, plans to set up a joint venture in October to create computer versions of reference works and information from other publishers on computer networks.   The new company will be owned 51 percent by Hitachi and 49 percent by Heibonsha, which plans to target annual sales of 10 billion yen over three years.   ----   Twelve companies, including Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp and Daiichikosho Ltd, plans to set up a new company which will offer music on the Internet.   It hopes to start service next spring, and target more than two billion yen in sales and 120,000 members in the year 2000.   ----   Dai Nippon Printing Co Ltd plans to start manufacturing electrode materials used in lithium ion storage cells to meet growing demand.   It will start supplying battery makers next spring.   It also will target monthly output of four million units of batteries by next autumn, and eight billion yen sales in the business year starting April 1, 1997. 
12221 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  President Fidel Ramos, determined to make the peace pact with Moslem rebels stick, on Tuesday ordered the armed forces and police to disarm Christian vigilantes in the south who have vowed to fight the deal.   Ramos said "more forceful measures" must be applied if the group resisted government attempts to persuade them to give up their weapons, a Presidential Palace statement said.   Ramos gave the directive as election officials prepared to proclaim Moslem rebel chieftain Nur Misuari governor of a semi-autonomous area in the southern Mindanao region.   Ramos' order was the first official admission that the group, which calls itself the Mindanao Christians Unified Command, posed a possible security problem for the government.   The military had earlier dismissed the group as insignificant.   But Ramos explicitly stated that guerrillas who were due to be integrated into the regular army under the peace accord should not take part in the disarming operation, apparently to avoid further fuelling Christian anger.   The president was concerned about the effects that the vigilantes' activities might have on Manila's efforts to lure foreign investors into Mindanao to boost the region's development, the palace said.   "Remove the threat, preserve peace and order," Ramos said in a handwritten note.   About 35 vigilantes showed reporters an array of weaponry, ranging from assault rifles to machine guns and grenade launchers, during a clandestine interview outside southern Zamboanga city last week.   Local officials said the group had about 3,000 armed members but newspaper reports, quoting some of the group's "commanders," said they numbered about 10,000 and included former soldiers and ex-policemen.   The group exploded five harmless home-made bombs in a remote southern town last week to dramatise its opposition to the peace deal ending a 24-year civil war that killed over 120,000 people.   An army spokesman earlier downplayed reports about the group, saying the military could easily neutralise them.   Some Mindanao Christians have fiercely opposed the peace accord between the government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), and have accused Manila of a sell-out.   The deal calls for the establishment of an administrative council to be led by Misuari to supervise development in 14 southern provinces, most of them dominated by Christians.   The council is to be the precursor to a regional autonomous government to be composed of the 14 provinces that would vote in a plebiscite to join it.   Although the country's five million Moslem minority regard the area as their ancestral homeland, they are outnumbered 3-to-1 in the area by Christians.   Part of the peace deal calls for Misuari to head a semi-autonomous region comprising four Moslem provinces.   The former university professor was the lone candidate in Monday's elections for governor of the semi-autonomous area.   Unofficial, partial results showed him winning about 90 percent of the more than 200,000 votes so far counted.   Misuari was expected to be named governor of the semi-autonomous area on Wednesday. 
12222 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  A festering dispute over the huge U.S. military presence on the Japanese island of Okinawa remains unsolved, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto said on Tuesday after meeting with Okinawa Governor Masahide Ota.   But Hashimoto's offer of substantial development funds and redoubled efforts to transfer bases to other parts of Japan in his talks with Ota, who has called for a total U.S. pullout, improved the prospects of solving the bitter row, both politicians said.   "I believe we have secured reliable relations with the Okinawa prefecture," Hashimoto told a news conference.   But asked whether the apparent easing of a year-long standoff with Okinawa cleared the way for early general elections as predicted by many observers, he added: "The Okinawa issues have not ended yet."   "Everyone must understand just how critical the Okinawa question is," said Hashimoto.   The prime minister need not call polls until mid-1997, but is expected to hold elections as early as next month.   Ota told a separate news conference that his encounter with Hashimoto "offers extremely bright prospects" for Okinawa, which had long chafed under the heavy U.S. military presence.   "Compared to last year, I believe the government has become more serious about our requests to trim bases and to deal with Okinawa's unemployment and development problems," Ota said.   Hashimoto announced at the meeting that the central government would pump five billion yen ($46 million) into the Okinawan economy, the poorest region of Japan with average income half the level of Tokyo's.   He also said a special government commission would be appointed to work on reducing the scale of the forces and developing long-term development schemes for the island.   Hashimoto offered no new initiatives on consolidating the bases, which became a target of Okinawan protest after the rape of an Okinawan schoolgirl by U.S. servicemen last September.   He instead reiterated his commitment to a plan announced in April to placate the Okinawans without risking strains with the United States, which sees Okinawa as a strategic location in a region fraught with potential conflicts.   "I frankly told governor Ota that the government will do all it can to resolve the Okinawa issues," Hashimoto said.   The closely watched talks came two days after residents of Okinawa voted overwhelmingly in a referendum for a reduction in the U.S. presence.   Okinawa is home to three-quarters of the U.S. military facilities in Japan and hosts about half of the 47,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in the country, although it constitutes less than one percent of Japan's total land area.   Okinawans have long resented the noise, aircraft accidents and crime associated with the heavy U.S. presence.   Ota told reporters that he needed more time to consider a response to a central government request that he force local landowners to renew leases for land used by the U.S. military.   A ruling by Japan's Supreme Court on August 28 that rejected Ota's appeal against the government's policy of expropriating private land in Okinawa for use by the U.S. military was expected to put pressure on Ota to compromise.   Washington on Monday responded to the Sunday vote, in which 90 percent said they favoured a reduction in U.S. forces, saying it would cooperate with Japan in reducing the impact of the military there.   "We seek to reduce the impact of the American military presence in Okinawa consistent with our responsibilities under the mutual security treaty that we have in place with the Japanese," said State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns. 
12223 !GCAT !GDIS !GENV !GWEA  Typhoon Sally killed at least 114 people and left 110 missing, many of them fishermen caught at sea, when it slammed into southern China this week, officials said on Tuesday.   The typhoon sliced across the province of Guangdong on Monday, killing at least 79 people in worst-hit Zhanjiang city, leaving more than 60 missing and injuring 2,300, local officials told Reuters by telephone.   People's Liberation Army soldiers and People's Armed Police had been deployed to help with rescue work in Zhanjiang, where almost all trees in the city and its suburbs had been uprooted by the storm's high winds, officials said.   In Maoming city, at least 33 people were killed and more than 50 were reported missing, the officials said.   "Economic losses (in Zhanjiang) were the worst since 1954," one official said.   Losses in the two cities were estimated at 12.8 billion yuan ($1.5 billion).   The Maoming Petrochemical Corp was forced to halt production after the typhoon cut off power to the giant oil processing plant, an official said.   Production was cut on Monday for five hours, and the plant had since resumed partial processing, the official said.   "The losses are very big," he said, but declined to give further details.   Fierce winds had caused a total of 215,951 houses to collapse in Zhanjiang, an official of the Anti-Flood Headquarters said.   The storm moved into Vietnam but weakened as it hit the country's northern provinces, meteorological officials said.   About 700 fishing boats were damaged around Zhanjiang alone, officials said, adding that more than 60 sank around Maoming.   "We are still not sure of the final death toll and missing because many of our boats have yet to return," said the Zhanjiang official.   Rail and highway traffic have been suspended.   Water supply and electricity have been cut off, officials said.   Officials in Yangjiang reported at least two dead and losses of 177 million yuan, and said sea dykes had been smashed in more than 70 places by raging waters.   More than 15 local fishing boats had been sunk and all fishing farms had been wiped out.   "The tide rose by 2.3 metres (7.6 ft), its second highest level since (the communist takeover in) 1949," one official said.   A warehouse of Chinese carmaker Three Stars in Maoming city collapsed.   A furniture market in Maoming covering an area of 40,000 square metres (430,000 sq ft) was destroyed.   The typhoon follows in the wake of devastating floods that swept across central and southern China in July, killing at least 2,700 people and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless, according to the latest official figures.   Vietnamese meteorological officials said the typhoon had turned into a tropical depression, which brought moderate rains and wind.   The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said last week that almost 400 people had died in tropical storms and flooding in northern Vietnam since the beginning of July. 
12224 !GCAT !GDIP  Beijing lodged a strong protest with Tokyo on Tuesday and warned of serious damage to ties if Japanese right-wingers were allowed to set foot on the disputed Diaoyu islands.   China said that Japan must also dismantle structures built by the rightists on the islands.   "The Japanese government must take action to stop these activities...(and) must not let right-wingers set foot on these islands," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang told a news briefing.   "These illegal facilities should not continue to exist," he said, referring to a lighthouse and a war memorial built on the Diaoyus, a group of small uninhabited islands in the East China Sea claimed by Beijing, Tokyo and Taipei.   Hours later, Japan's Foreign Ministry announced that Chinese Vice Premier Li Lanqing had postponed a visit to Japan that was tentatively planned for next month due to domestic commitments.   There was no explicit reference to the islands row.   China's Shen said Beijing was indignant and warned of "serious damage" to Sino-Japanese relations if Tokyo allowed "provocative actions" by the Japanese right-wing groups to continue unchecked.   He declined to say if China would send troops to patrol the islands.   China had lodged a strong protest with Tokyo, he said.   "The Japanese government has an unshirkable responsibility there," Shen said.   "Any compromise is impossible."   The Japanese charge d'affaires was called to the Foreign Ministry to receive the protest on Tuesday afternoon, an embassy spokesman said.   The islands, known in Japanese as the Senkakus, lie east of China's southeastern Fujian coast, west of Japan's Okinawa island and northeast of Taiwan.   Disputes over the islands resurfaced recently after Japanese rightists built a lighthouse and a war memorial on the islands, sparking a wave of Chinese protests across the region.   Japanese rightists said on Tuesday that they had rebuilt the makeshift aluminium lighthouse on the islands after it was damaged by a typhoon last month.   Six members of the Tokyo-based Nihon Seinen-sha (Japan Youth Federation) sailed to islands on Monday and repaired an aluminium lighthouse there.   Tokyo has effectively supported the group's moves to bolster Japan's claim to the islands, mobilising patrol boats to repel private Taiwan vessels that have tried to reach the islands in recent days.   Japan's persistent moves to assert sovereignty over the islands have angered Chinese in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, uniting the regions despite political differences.   University students in Beijing have applied to police to stage a demonstration, but authorities were reluctant to approve their application and were trying to placate the students, a Chinese source said.   "The government is afraid the nationalist sentiment of the students will get out of control," said the source, who asked not to be identified.   In Hong Kong, a British colony that reverts to Chinese rule in mid-1997, protests have been held for more than a week, urging Beijing to take tougher action to protect its territory.   A group of Hong Kong activists said on Tuesday that they would go to China to urge Beijing to send warships and troops to wrest the Diaoyu Islands from Japan's control. 
12225 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Indonesian opposition figurehead Megawati Sukarnoputri emerged on Tuesday evening after day-long questioning in connection with July riots that rocked the city.   Witnesses said she left the office of the attorney-general at 7:50 p.m. (1250 GMT) and refused to answer questions from reporters.   "I am too tired," she said, after spending more than 10 hours being questioned in connection with the July 27 riots, the worst in more than two decades. 
12226 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Indonesian opposition figurehead Megawati Sukarnoputri was questioned for nearly 11 hours on Tuesday at the attorney-general's office in connection with riots that rocked the city in July.   She emerged shortly before 8 p.m. (1300 GMT) after entering the offices in central Jakarta at 9:15 a.m. (0215 GMT).   She had already been questioned twice before by police over the riots.   "I thank the Attorney-General's office.   They treated me very well," she said as she left the building.   She refused to answer questions, saying: "I am too tired."   Official sources said she had been questioned as a witness in a subversion case against independent union leader Muchtar Pakpahan and Budiman Sudjatmiko, leader of the left-wing People's Democratic Party (PRD).   The authorities have accused Sudjatmiko of being a ringleader in the July 27 riots, the worst in more than two decades, in which at least five people died and a number of buildings and vehicles were set ablaze.   The riots broke out after police raided the headquarters of the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) to evict supporters of Megawati, daughter of Indonesia's late founding president Sukarno, who was deposed as PDI leader by government-backed party rebels in June.   About 50 supporters were in the street outside the attorney-general's office chanting "Mega, Mega, Mega" as she emerged on Tuesday.   There was a strong security presence and no trouble was reported.   The government has said it is holding more than 120 people in custody in connection with the riots and that at least nine have been charged with subversion, which is punishable by death.   The others are yet to be charged.   Political analysts have said the government wanted Megawati ousted as PDI leader over her potential vote-drawing power in general elections next year.   There were also fears she might run against President Suharto in the 1998 presidential poll.   Suharto, who replaced Sukarno in the mid-1960s, has been elected president six times unopposed. 
12227 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Beijing warned Tokyo on Tuesday of serious damage to bilateral ties if Japanese rightists set foot on a group of disputed islands, and angry Taiwanese lawmakers urged Tapei to send military forces to the area.   The Chinese government lodged a strong prostest with Tokyo and said Japan must also dismantle any structures built by the rightists on the East China Sea islands, called the Senkakus in Japan and Diaoyus in China.   The rebuilding this week of a makeshift lighthouse on the islands at the centre of the sovereignty dispute among Tokyo, Beijing and Taipei provoked a storm of Chinese protests around the region.   "The Japanese government must take action to stop these activities...(and) must not let right-wingers set foot on these islands," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang told a news briefing in Beijing.   "These illegal facilities should not continue to exist," he said, referring to the lighthouse and a war memorial built on the small, uninhabited islands.   A spokesman for the Tokyo-based Nihon Seinen-sha (Japan Youth Federation) said six of its members sailed to the islands and repaired an aluminium lighthouse on Monday.   "It's not a new one.   The lighthouse we built in July was damaged by a typhoon last month," the spokesman told Reuters.   The Japanese coast guard dispatched a helicopter to the island earlier on Tuesday and spotted the lighthouse.   "We confirmed that the lighthouse was standing," a spokesman for the Maritime Safety Agency said.   But Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hiroshi Hashimoto said on Tuesday that the Tokyo government did not support the group's reconstruction of the lighthouse.   "The Japanese government does not support the activities, and we sincerely hope that both the Japanese and Chinese people will deal with the Senkaku island issue calmly so it won't affect the friendly relations between Japan and China," Hashimoto told a regular news conference.   Japan's Foreign Ministry said Chinese Vice Premier Li Lanqing had postponed a visit to Japan that was tentatively planned for next month due to domestic commitments.   There was no explicit reference to the islands row.   China's Shen said Beijing had warned of "serious damage" to Sino-Japanese relations if Tokyo allowed "provocative actions" by the Japanese rightist groups went unchecked.   He declined to say if China would send troops to patrol the islands.   China had lodged a strong protest with Tokyo, he said.   "The Japanese government has an unshirkable responsibility there," Shen said.   "Any compromise is impossible."   The Japanese charge d'affaires was called to the Foreign Ministry to receive the protest on Tuesday afternoon, an embassy spokesman said.   Angry Taiwanese lawmakers urged Taiwan's government to deploy military forces to assert its claim to the islands.   The lawmakers said Taiwan must act to protect its rights after Tokyo mobilised patrol boats to repel private Taiwan vessels that have tried to reach the islands in recent days.   They denounced the government for taking too soft a stance.   The disputed islands are 300 km (190 miles) west of Okinawa island and 200 km (125 miles) east of Taiwan.   Protesters in Hong Kong kept the pressure on Japan to abandon the island group, and condemned the United States for letting Tokyo have the archipelago after World War Two.   Tokyo's claim dates from 1895, when Japan defeated China and seized Taiwan and other territories.   China has claimed sovereignty over the islands for centuries.   A poll published on Monday showed that 69 percent of 982 Taiwanese interviewed by the mass-circulation United Daily News said they wanted Taipei to send vessels to protect the islands.   Taiwan has no diplomatic ties with Japan, which recognises only Beijing's communist government. 
12228 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Indonesian opposition figurehead Megawati Sukarnoputri emerged on Tuesday evening after day-long questioning in connection with July riots that rocked the city.   Witnesses said she left the office of the attorney-general at 7:50 p.m. (1250 GMT) and refused to answer questions from reporters.   "I am too tired," she said, after spending more than 10 hours being questioned in connection with the July 27 riots, the worst in more than two decades. 
12229 !GCAT !GDIP  Singapore Foreign Minister S. Jayakumar said on Tuesday that the issue of reunification with Malaysia raised by some Singapore leaders was not meant to belittle or offend Kuala Lumpur.   Jayakumar told reporters that Singapore leaders wanted to educate the youth of the country on the history of relations between the neighbouring nations, including the circumstances that led to their separation in 1965.   Malaysian Foreign Minister Abdullah Badawi summoned Singapore High Commissioner Low Choon Ming to his office on Monday, and later spoke with Jayakumar, to complain that Kuala Lumpur was offended over the issue.   "This (the re-merger debate) is not meant to comment on or criticise policies pursued by Malaysia after separation in 1965, when both countries agreed to go their separate ways," Jayakumar said.   "It is in the interest of both countries to maintain good relations.   When Minister Badawi and I spoke on the phone, we both agreed that bilateral relations were good, and this latest episode should not be allowed to harm these relations," he added.   Singapore's Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew touched off the debate about the possibility of Singapore again becoming a part of Malaysia, as it was from 1963 to 1965, during a speech in June.   Lee said that Singapore may rejoin Malaysia if its economy faltered and if Malaysia ended its policy of giving special rights to indigenous races and pursued meritocracy.   Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Saturday accused Singaporean leaders of being insincere over the matter.   "They are using us as the bogeyman to scare Singaporeans," he said at a meeting of his United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party.   Singapore Prime Minister Go Chok Tong, who is expected to call a general election here soon, said there was no need to use Malaysia to scare Singaporeans into supporting the ruling People's Action Party.   Many Singaporeans have said they oppose reunification, a recent public opinion poll by the Singapore Strait Times newspaper said. 
12230 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  President Fidel Ramos, determined to make the peace pact with Moslem rebels stick, on Tuesday ordered the armed forces and police to disarm Christian vigilantes in the south who have vowed to fight the deal.   Ramos said "more forceful measures" must be applied if the group resisted government attempts to persuade them to give up their weapons, a Presidential Palace statement said.   Ramos gave the directive as election officials prepared to proclaim Moslem rebel chieftain Nur Misuari governor of a semi-autonomous area in the southern Mindanao region.   Ramos' order was the first official admission that the group, which calls itself the Mindanao Christians Unified Command, posed a possible security problem for the government.   The military had earlier dismissed the group as insignificant.   But Ramos explicitly stated that guerrillas who were due to be integrated into the regular army under the peace accord should not take part in the disarming operation, apparently to avoid further fuelling Christian anger.   The president was concerned about the effects that the vigilantes' activities might have on Manila's efforts to lure foreign investors into Mindanao to boost the region's development, the palace said.   "Remove the threat, preserve peace and order," Ramos said in a handwritten note.   About 35 vigilantes showed reporters an array of weaponry, ranging from assault rifles to machine guns and grenade launchers, during a clandestine interview outside southern Zamboanga city last week.   Local officials said the group had about 3,000 armed members but newspaper reports, quoting some of the group's "commanders," said they numbered about 10,000 and included former soldiers and ex-policemen.   The group exploded five harmless home-made bombs in a remote southern town last week to dramatise its opposition to the peace deal ending a 24-year civil war that killed over 120,000 people.   An army spokesman earlier downplayed reports about the group, saying the military could easily neutralise them.   Some Mindanao Christians have fiercely opposed the peace accord between the government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), and have accused Manila of a sell-out.   The deal calls for the establishment of an administrative council to be led by Misuari to supervise development in 14 southern provinces, most of them dominated by Christians.   The council is to be the precursor to a regional autonomous government to be composed of the 14 provinces that would vote in a plebiscite to join it.   Although the country's five million Moslem minority regard the area as their ancestral homeland, they are outnumbered 3-to-1 in the area by Christians.   Part of the peace deal calls for Misuari to head a semi-autonomous region comprising four Moslem provinces.   The former university professor was the lone candidate in Monday's elections for governor of the semi-autonomous area.   Unofficial, partial results showed him winning about 90 percent of the more than 200,000 votes so far counted.   Misuari was expected to be named governor of the semi-autonomous area on Wednesday. 
12231 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Indonesian authorities were questioning opposition figurehead Megawati Sukarnoputri on Tuesday in connection with riots in July in a session that had already lasted 10 hours, witnesses said.   They said Megawati, the daughter of late founding president Sukarno, entered the office of the attorney-general at 9:15 a.m. (0215 GMT) and had still not emerged at 7:15 p.m. (1215 GMT).   She had been summonsed to answer questions in connection with riots in Jakarta on July 27.   The riots erupted after police raided the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) and evicted supporters of Megawati who had taken over the building in protest against her removal as the party chief.   At least five people died and scores of buildings and vehicles were set ablaze in the violence, the worst in the city for over two decades.   Megawati has undergone two previous sessions of questioning by the Jakarta police.   She was ousted from the PDI leadership in June by a government-backed faction but has said the move was illegal and that she continues to head the party.   The government has said it is holding more than 120 people in custody in connection with the riots and that at least nine have been charged with subversion, which is punishable by death.   The others are yet to be charged. 
12232 !GCAT !GDEF  Chinese soldiers posted to the remote and restive region of Tibet are to be rewarded more handsomely for their pains, the Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday.   After several years of research, Beijing had decided to grant a bigger subsidy to officers and troops sent to the Himalayan region, regarded as a hardship post for Chinese sent there, Xinhua said.   "The (Communist) Party Central Committee, the State Council and the Central Military Commission are extremely concerned about units posted in Tibet...and so have set forth a policy to improve welfare benefits for troops," the agency said.   The new subsidy would take effect from October 1 and would raise salaries and benefits of soldiers in Tibet to about 3.5 times higher than those of soldiers elsewhere, it said but gave no further details.   Chinese troops have occupied Tibet since 1950 and are frequently used in quelling anti-Chinese protests and in ensuring the loyalty of the deeply Buddhist populace to Beijing.   China is believed to deploy a large military force in Tibet, which is a strategic area on the border with India, Nepal, Bhutan and Burma. 
12233 !C41 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  Hong Kong's brain drain, linked to fears about life after China takes back the territory in mid-1997, has slowed down.   But with less than a year to go, the exodus could start again, researchers said on Tuesday.   "It's very difficult to predict what will happen," said Sara Tang, research director for the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management, which has tracked the exodus of talent.   "We shouldn't be optimistic that emigration will continue to slow over this year and next year because when we asked people why they decided to leave Hong Kong, most said they were worried about the uncertainty after 1997.   "It's a major factor, and those who are still worried will probably decide this year or next whether to stay.   For that reason, we shouldn't be so optimistic."   The insititute's latest survey showed only 0.7 percent of the workforce emigrated last year, a 26 percent drop on 1994.   Tang said it was hoped that any growth in emigration around the time Britain hands the colony over to China in 294 days' time would be offset by larger numbers of emigrants coming back.   The survey of more than 300 companies showed the number of returnees rejoining the work force had more than doubled from 28 percent in 1994 to 60 percent in 1995.   Most who emigrated from Hong Kong were from the financial sector, and were aged between 30 and 39.   Most were men, and were married with children, it showed.   Sixty-five percent were from professional, supervisory, or managerial positions.   The survey said most -- 64 percent -- emigrated to Canada, 11 percent to Australia, and 10 percent to the United States.   Another study, tracking attitudes of Hong Kong people towards the handover, has shown that more than 12 percent of those who left in the past decade have returned -- but usually only after acquiring a foreign passport as a hedge against 1997.   Tens of thousands of Hong Kong Chinese fled abroad after China's bloody 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on the democracy movement blighted their faith in living under Beijing's rule.   Tang said that in recent years, the brain drain had not greatly effected the economy.   "Only 32 percent of companies said they had increased their training and development budgets to cope with the loss, and 26 percent said they had been forced to promote others more quickly than otherwise because of shortages," she said. 
12234 !C22 !C31 !C311 !CCAT !GCAT !GDEF  Taiwan will begin mass-producing a new generation of domestically developed anti-aircraft missiles by July 1997, the state-run Taiwan Television reported on Tuesday.   The Sky Bow II, a medium-range air-to-air missile under development since 1994, would be carried by the 150 F-16 fighter planes and 60 Mirage fighter planes that Taiwan has purchased from the U.S. and France, the channel reported.   The report did not say how many Sky Bow II missiles Taiwan plans to produce.   Defence ministry officials could not be reached immediately for confirmation.   Delivery for the U.S. and French planes is scheduled to begin in 1996.   Taiwan's government has repeatedly stressed its need to upgrade the island's defensive capability amid icy relations with its giant rival, China. 
12235 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Protesters in Hong Kong kept the pressure on Japan on Tuesday to abandon a disputed island group in the East China Sea, and condemned the United States for letting Tokyo have the archipelago after World War Two.   The demonstrations were small-scale but they were the latest in a wave of now daily protests in Hong Kong sparked by Japan's sovereignty claim over the islands, called the Senkakus in Japan and the Diaoyus in China.   Protesters from the pro-Taiwan 123 Democratic Alliance, a political party, shouted "Down with Japanese militarism" and "Get out of the Diaoyu Islands" outside the U.S. and Japanese consulates in Hong Kong's Central business district.   The group urged Japan in a letter to Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto to demolish the lighthouse and war memorial recently erected by a Japanese rightist group on one of the islands.   They left a petition with 6,000 signatures for Consul Hideaki Ueda.   One protester sneaked into the consulate and refused to leave unless the envoy came and received the letter.   But the demonstrator left after learning Ueda was not there.   The 123 Democratic Alliance also delivered a letter to the U.S. Consulate addressed to U.S. President Bill Clinton.   The letter accused the U.S. of sowing the seeds of the dispute by turning a blind eye to history and international law when U.S. occupation forces handed the isles to Tokyo in 1970 as part of Japan's Okinawa Islands.   Group spokesman Lawrence Yum told reporters that the U.S. had a moral responsibility to return the isles to China.   The disputed islands are 300 km (190 miles) west of Okinawa island and 200 km (125 miles) east of Taiwan.   They are subject to rival claims by China, Taiwan and Japan. 
12236 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  A group of pro-independence activists on Tuesday unveiled the platform for a planned political party, vowing to cut ties with China and establish the island as the Republic of Taiwan.   The move further deepened a rift between the group and the biggest opposition movement, the Democratic Progressive Party, which also advocates independence for Taiwan.   "We are totally independent.   China is another country," said Lee Yung-chih, spokesman for the Taiwan Independence Party, which is due to be formally established on December 12.   "The Democratic Progressive Party did not execute the idea of Taiwan independence and has tried to make the idea vague," Lee told Reuters by telephone.   The Democratic Progressive Party has softened its stance to say that independence would only be declared after a referendum.   The move followed recent polls that showed most Taiwanese preferred the status-quo to independence or reunification.   Taiwan, which calls itself the Republic of China, and China have been separated since the end of a civil war in 1949.   Both sides say they want reunification, but under different terms.   "We have never betrayed our goal of seeking for an independent country," said Julian Kuo, spokesman for the Democratic Progressive Party.   "We are only using a different and practical approach to realise our goal, which can not be reached just through radical words," Kuo said by telephone.   The Taiwan Independence Party will hold a series of seminars around Taiwan to attract new members, and Kuo said his party would also hold meetings to deflect accusations from the group.   "The party's highest goal is to build a new and independent Republic of Taiwan and maintain democracy, freedom, safety and fairness for Taiwan people and their future generations," the new group's platform said.   The Democratic Progressive Party, which was formed in 1986 and became legal only after Taiwan lifted martial law in 1987, is now the island's second biggest political party.   "We can foresee that the Taiwan Independence Party will take away votes from the Democratic Progressive Party in future elections, which will lower our party's proportional representation," Kuo warned.   "We will let people know that the nature of the Taiwan independence we are seeking is the same," he said.   China has threatened to recover the island by force if it tries to become independent.   Taiwan maintains an official policy of anti-independence, but says it is an "independent political entity" like the government in Beijing. 
12237 !GCAT !GDIP  China said on Tuesday it had asked Malaysia to clarify whether the foreign minister of its rival Taiwan had visited the southeast Asian nation.   "The Chinese side has formally asked the Malaysian side to clarify wire agency reports," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang told a news briefing in reference to a secret visit by Taiwan's Foreign Minister John Chang to Malaysia last week.   Chang left Taiwan for Malaysia quietly last Friday, one day after he returned from a surprise visit to Jakarta where he met his Indonesian counterpart, Ali Alatas.   China had made serious representations with Indonesia for allowing a visit by Chang, a grandson of the late Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek.   Taiwan has sought in recent years to break out of diplomatic isolation imposed on it by China.   Beijing has regarded Taiwan as a rebel province since Chiang Kai-shek lost the Chinese civil war to the communists and fled into exile in Taiwan in 1949.   Shen said the secrecy surrounding Chang's trip showed that Taiwan "had a guilty conscience and was in the wrong".   He said Beijing was the sole, legitimate representative of all China and that Taipei's attempt to raise its international profile was "unpopular and doomed to fail". 
12238 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Chinese Vice Premier Li Lanqing has postponed a visit to Japan that was tentatively planned for next month due to domestic commitments, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said on Tuesday.   Li had tentatively planned to visit Japan to meet Japanese officials and attend a World Trade Organisation (WTO) seminar scheduled in Tokyo on October 24 and 25, the official said.   Japanese Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda had proposed that Li visit Japan when he met his Chinese counterpart Qian Qichen in Jakarta in July, he said.   "Since then the two sides have been arranging for a visit (by Li) which could coincide with a WTO seminar," the official said.   But China recently informed Tokyo that Li would not be able to make the visit then "due to a purely domestic situation", he said.   Japan and China are currently at odds over disputed islands in the East China Sea. 
12239 !GCAT !GCRIM  Crime in tightly-controlled Singapore rose in the first half of 1996 after seven years of steady decline, police said on Tuesday.   A police statement said the number of recorded cases rose by one percent between January and June compared to the first half of 1995.   Rape increased by the biggest percentage, although the murder rate fell, the police statement said.   It said there were 45 rapes in the country of three million people between January and June, an increase of 26.7 percent.   There was also a major increase -- 25.2 percent -- in the number of foreigners arrested for overstaying their visas, mostly because of increased police raids in search of illegal foreign workers, the statement said.   Immigration offences were up to 3,119 from 2,492.   But it said the number of murders was almost halved to 15 from 29 in the first half of 1995.   Six of the victims were foreigners, down from 15.   Snatch thefts fell by nearly 36 percent to 155 from 241.   Singapore imposes severe penalties like hanging for murder and drug trafficking and caning for many lesser offences.   The statistics did not include drug offences, which are handled separately by the Central Narcotics Bureau. 
12240 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  China and Britain will hold talks in Beijing next week on arrangements for Hong Kong's 1997 reversion to Chinese sovereignty, the Hong Kong government said on Tuesday.   The Sino-British Joint Liaison Group (JLG), which is hammering out details of the handover, will meet on September 17 to 19 in its 37th round of talks.   The British team will be led by senior diplomat Hugh Davies.   With fewer than 300 days left before the change in sovereignty, the JLG is expected to discuss plans for the handover ceremony and endorse a long-delayed plan to expand Hong Kong's container port.   -- Hong Kong Newsroom (852) 2843-6441 
12241 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  The huge U.S. military presence on the Japanese island of Okinawa remains a problem, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto said on Tuesday after a meeting with the governor of the island, who wants a total U.S. pullout.   The session between Hashimoto and Okinawa Governor Masahide Ota was considered a key indicator on whether Hashimoto will call early general elections.   It came two days after residents of the island province called overwhelmingly in a referendum for a reduction in the U.S. presence.   Hashimoto must try to placate the Okinawans while not risking strains with the United States, which sees Okinawa as a critical spot for its forces.   "I believe we have secured reliable relations with the Okinawa prefecture," Hashimoto told a news conference.   But he added, "The Okinawa issues have not ended yet."   He announced that the central government would pump five billion yen ($46 million) into the Okinawan economy, the poorest region of Japan with average income half the level of Tokyo's.   He also said a special government commission would be appointed to work on reducing the scale of the forces.   Okinawa is home to three-quarters of U.S. military facilities in Japan and hosts about half of the 47,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in the country, although it constitutes less than one percent of Japan's total land area.   Okinawa Governor Ota has been leading the campaign to cut back or eliminate the U.S. bases.   "I frankly told governor Ota that the government will do all it can to resolve the Okinawa issues," Hashimoto said.   The latest debate was sparked by the rape of an Okinawan schoolgirl by U.S. servicemen last September.   He told Hashimoto he needed more time to consider a response to a central government request that he force local landowners to renew leases for land used by the U.S. military.   A ruling by Japan's Supreme Court on August 28 which rejected Ota's appeal against the government's policy of expropriating private land in Okinawa for use by the U.S. military was expected to put pressure on Ota to compromise.   Okinawans have long resented the noise, aircraft accidents and crime associated with the heavy U.S. military presence, which they say has kept Okinawa from prospering.   Prior to Tuesday's meeting, Hashimoto's cabinet had begun discussing ways to prepare the ground for a deal between Okinawa and the central government.   In a trade-off that analysts expect to unfold in the coming weeks, Tokyo would win Okinawa's blessing for a continued U.S. military presence on the strategically located island and Ota would obtain some face-saving base cuts and a plan to strengthen the island economy.   Officials have floated plans to turn the island prefecture into a free-trade zone and cut the high airfares from mainland Japan, which make many overseas destinations cheaper to reach than subtropical Okinawa, located 1,600 km (1,000 miles) southwest of Tokyo.   Washington on Monday responded to the Sunday vote, in which 90 percent said they favoured a reduction in U.S. forces, saying it would cooperate with Japan in reducing the impact of the military there.   "We seek to reduce the impact of the American military presence in Okinawa consistent with our responsibilities under the mutual security treaty that we have in place with the Japanese," said State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns. 
12242 !GCAT !GVIO  President Fidel Ramos on Tuesday ordered the armed forces and police to disarm Christian vigilantes in the southern Philippines who have vowed to fight a peace deal between Manila and Moslem rebels.   Ramos said in a directive that "more forceful measures" must be applied if the group resisted government attempts to persuade them to give up their weapons, a Presidential Palace statement said.   "Remove the threat, preserve peace and order," Ramos said in a handwritten note to the military and the police.   Ramos's order was the first official admission that the group, which the military earlier dismissed as an insignificant force, posed a possible security problem for the government.   About 35 vigilantes showed reporters an array of weaponry, ranging from assault rifles to machine guns and grenade launchers, during a clandestine interview outside Zamboanga city in the southern Mindanao region last week.   Local officials said the group, which calls itself the Mindanao Christian Unified Command, had an armed following of about 3,000 men.   Newspaper reports, quoting some of the group's "commanders," said they numbered about 10,000 and included former soldiers and ex-policemen.   An army spokesman earlier downplayed reports about the group, saying the military could easily neutralise them.   Mindanao Christians have fiercely opposed the peace accord between the govenrment and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), and have accused Manila of a sell-out.   The deal, signed in Manila last week, calls for the establishment of an administrative council to be led by MNLF chief Nur Misuari to supervise development in 14 southern provinces, most of them dominated by Christians.   The council is to be the precursor to a regional autonomous government to be composed of the 14 provinces that would vote in a plebiscite to join it.   Although the country's five million Moslem minority regard the area as their ancestral homeland, they are outnumbered 3-to-1 in the area by Christian settlers.   Part of the peace deal calls for Misuari to head a semi-autonomous region comprising four Moslem provinces.   Misuari, a former university professor, was the lone candidate in Monday's elections for the regional governor of the semi-autonomous area, and was expected to be proclaimed the winner on Wednesday, election officials said. 
12243 !C13 !C31 !C311 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  More than 5,000 South Korean farmers and students staged a rally in Seoul on Tuesday to protest against rice imports, witnesses said.   Riot police fired tear gas as several hundred demonstrators surged towards the National Assembly.   Elsewhere in the capital, dozens of protesters were detained as they prepared to march on the presidential Blue House.   Farmers argue that the government broke its promise to import rice only for use in processed foods.   South Korea must import 64,134 tonnes of rice this year under the World Trade Organisation's Minimum Market Access Agreement.   Seoul has imported Japonica-type rice from China, which farmers say is ending up in the nation's rice bowls.   Protesters wearing head bands and waving pickets shouted slogans such as, "The Government Must Apologise to the People" and "Ensure No More Imports of Rice as Food." 
12244 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  Thousands of Kurds fled towards Iran on Tuesday -- although others decided to head back to their homes in northern Iraq -- while the United States warned Baghdad not to repair air defence sites hit by U.S. missiles last week.   Underlining President Saddam Hussein's renewed influence in the north where an allied Kurdish faction has taken control, the Iraqi government declared an amnesty for Kurds who had lived under Western protection since Baghdad lost its grip over northern Iraq in 1991.   A television announcement also said Saddam had ordered the resumption of movement of people and goods with the region, ending Baghdad's blockade of the north imposed in 1991.   The United States said Iraq had repaired at least four of the air defence sites in southern Iraq that Washington hit last week in reprisal for Iraqi forces fighting alongside their Kurdish allies.   The United States sharply warned Iraq not to rebuild them.   "We have made it very clear to Saddam that if he rebuilds air defences and threatens our missions over the no-fly zone ... that we will take action," Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said.   In Baghdad, meanwhile, the Iraqi News Agency quoted a military spokesman as saying that three surface-to-air missiles had been fired at U.S. aircraft policing a no-fly zone over southern Iraq and chased them away.   "We have absolutely no indication of that," responded Air Force Col. Doug Kennett, a Defence Department spokesman in Washington.   Washington had warned Baghdad and Tehran on Monday against joining the fighting in the north.   But the contest was already over when the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) lost its stronghold of Sulaimaniya to the Iraqi-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) on Monday, triggering a flood of refugees towards nearby Iran.   The United Nations said it was preparing for up to 75,000 Kurds headed for the border.   Iranian officials, saying the potential number was 200,000, appealed for international aid.   But witnesses later said hundreds of vehicles carrying Kurds were returning to Sulaimaniya, apparently reassured that Iraqi troops were not moving in.   A senior U.N. official said: "If the border remains closed, if the city remains quiet, then they'll come flocking back."   Refugees had streamed to Sairan Ban, one of at least four border points.   With the crossing closed, thousands of people were backed up, hanging out of cars on the hot, dusty road.   Tractors pulled wagons piled with belongings.   They were joined by hundreds of armed PUK guerrillas on the run.   Saddam used poison gas against Kurdish villagers in 1988.   Iraq again crushed rebellious Kurds in 1991 after its defeat in the Gulf War, prompting the United States and its allies to establish the safe haven in northern Iraq.   "We're afraid.   We don't trust the government of Saddam Hussein," said a headmaster among those who had fled Sulaimaniya, a city of up to one million people.   A U.N. official in Tehran said some of the refugees began crossing into Iran on Tuesday.   "Some of the Kurdish refugees are being allowed to enter Iran and this flow has continued since this morning," Laurens Jolles, an official of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Tehran, told Reuters.   "But I cannot give any figures because the situation is confused and we are getting widely different numbers," he said.   Tehran radio said "tens of thousands" refugees in dire need of food and medicine were waiting at the border east of the Iraqi city of Sulaimaniya to be allowed in.   Iranian authorities were providing relief, taking injured refugees to hospitals inside Iran, but were overwhelmed by the size of the exodus.   In an apparent attempt to calm Kurds, Iraq's Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf announced an amnesty for all Kurds except "those who have committed rape, killed state employees and plundered state property".   "We have decided to pardon our sons, citizens of the autonomous region under a general and comprehensive amnesty (protecting them) against legal prosecution..."   The Iraqi government was in a celebratory mood after its Kurdish allies stormed to victory despite the U.S. raids last week following the joint Iraqi-KDP capture of the key Kurdish city of Arbil.   "Today, the Iraqi flag flies high and the U.S. flag is only at half mast," the government newspaper al-Jumhouriya said, describing President Bill Clinton as "a caged hyena, rushing around in search of a way out".   "America is preparing squadrons of helicopters...to evacuate its fleeing agents, exactly as it did in 1975 in southern Vietnam when it suddenly decided to escape from that country in humiliation," the Iraqi newspaper said.   Clinton said on Monday Washington was doing its best to help anyone who cooperated with the United States in the Kurdish region to leave. 
12245 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Some of the thousands of refugees fleeing an onslaught by a Baghdad-backed Kurdish group in northern Iraq began crossing into Iran on Tuesday, a U.N. official said.   Tehran warned the exodus could turn into a humanitarian tragedy and appealed for international aid.   "Some of the Kurdish refugees are being allowed to enter Iran and this flow has continued since this morning," Laurens Jolles, an official of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Tehran, told Reuters.   "But I cannot give any figures because the situation is confused and we are getting widely different numbers," he said.   Tehran radio said "tens of thousands" refugees in dire need of food and medicine were waiting at the border east of the Iraqi city of Sulaimaniya to be allowed in.   Iranian authorities were providing relief, taking injured refugees to hospitals inside Iran, but were overwhelmed by the size of the exodus.   Refugees streamed toward the Iranian border to escape the advancing Iraqi-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) after its forces on Monday took Sulaimaniya, Iraq's biggest Kurdish city, from their rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).   Iran appealed for international aid for nearly 200,000 Iraqi Kurdish refugees it said were massing near its borders.   "Our hands are empty as far as providing food to the refugees is concerned," Ahmad Hosseini, Iran's top official in charge of refugees, told a news conference.   "We can set up camps for about 10,000 but we have no cash, flour, rice, cooking oil, grains, clothing, fuel and medicine.   "We have asked for immediate aid from UNHCR if they want to avoid a human tragedy and they have responded positively," Hosseini said.   He said it was Iran's policy not to admit any more refugees into the country "unless in an emergency".   Tehran would offer relief with the help of international organisations in camps to be set up on the Iraqi side of the border, he added.   "We have provided and will continue to offer medical services to the needy in our border cities.   But if refugees are safe at the border, they shall receive help there," Hosseini said.   Witnesses in Sulaimaniya said hundreds of the Kurds were returning home from the border on Tuesday, after the KDP offered its rivals an amnesty.   Senior U.N. officials said refugees headed for home after finding Iran's border closed.   Iran already has more than 2 million refugees, including 1.5 million Afghans, making it the country sheltering the largest number of refugees in the world.   UNHCR head Sadako Ogata has had "positive talks" with senior Iranian diplomats in Geneva who said that "if people really need to cross they could", according to a spokesman there.   UNHCR officials in Geneva said up to 75,000 people were on the move.   Tehran has expressed concern over a repeat of a 1991 exodus in which more than one million Iraqis, most of them Kurds, fled to Iran when Baghdad crushed Kurdish and Shi'ite Moslem uprisings which erupted after Iraq's defeat in the Gulf War.   Most of the Kurds have since returned to northern Iraq.   Iran has said that it was spending $2 million a day on refugees and repeatedly complained of insufficient funds for the refugees channelled through the United Nations. 
12246 !GCAT !GVIO  Iraq said on Tuesday its air defence units fired three missiles at U.S. planes policing the no-fly zone in southern Iraq and said the attack had forced the planes to leave Iraqi airspace .   "At 1712 hours (1312 GMT) our air defence units fired three surface-to-air missiles against three hostile targets causing them to flee," said an Iraqi military spokesman, quoted by the official Iraqi News Agency (INA).   The spokesman said: "The American enemy planes violated Iraq's air space using their bases in Turkey and Saudi Arabia flying a total of 88 sorties."   "At 1170, 1125, and 1140 hours (local time) Iraqi air defences in the north have confronted several hostile targets with its weapons causing them to flee," the spokesman said.   Iraqi President Saddam Hussein vowed to ignore air exclusion zones declared by the United States, Britain and France over northern and southern Iraq in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War.   He also said Iraq would ignore the extension of the southern zone.   The United States fired cruise missiles at air defence targets in southern Iraq on September 3 and 4 after Baghdad's troops helped a Kurdish group seize the northern town of Arbil from a rival faction on August 31.   Washington and London extended the southern no-fly-zone taking its northern limit to the 33rd parallel, 50 km (30 miles) south of Baghdad.   A U.S. military official in the Gulf said on Friday allied planes had increased sorties over the extended no-fly-zone in southern Iraq and had encountered limited Iraqi ground radar activity. 
12247 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Turkey's foreign minister told an Iraqi delegation in Ankara on Tuesday that Turkey was determined to secure its borders with northern Iraq from separatist Kurdish rebels using bases there.   "We explained to the Iraqis that the need for defence has stemmed from the kind of vacuum that has been established in northern Iraq," Tansu Ciller told reporters after meeting Iraqi presidential adviser Hamed Youssef Hummadi.   "We clearly told the Iraqi delegation of our determination to secure Turkey's borders," she said.   Ciller did not elaborate on what Turkey intended to do.   Turkish officials have said that Ankara wants to establish a buffer zone up to 10 km (six miles) deep inside Iraq, a plan that has been rejected by Iraq and most other Arab countries but cautiously embraced by the United States on a "temporary" basis.   Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf said in Baghdad earlier on Tuesday that the plan was inspired by Turkey's NATO ally Washington.   "The Turkish provocative behaviour to set up a so-called security zone is not a unilateral (initiative), rather it is clearly backed by the United States of America," he said in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.   The Iraqi News Agency (INA) described the meeting between Hummadi and Ciller as "useful" and "frank" and said it covered bilateral ties.   It did not elaborate.   INA also said Hummadi was expcted to meet Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan and Ciller again.   It did not say when.   Turkey often strikes across the border at separatist rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) but a six-week drive into Iraq last year involving 30,000 Turkish troops failed to dislodge the PKK.   The PKK has been fighting for self rule in southeast Turkey since 1984.   More than 20,000 people have died.   Western diplomats say the proposed cordon was likely to be a free-fire zone where Turkish troops based on their own side of the border would cross in and out in search of the guerrillas.   Northern Iraq has been held by Iraqi Kurdish groups since the end of the 1991 Gulf War.   Turkey accuses the Iraqi Kurds of being unable or unwilling to stamp out the PKK presence on their territory.   A Baghdad-backed Iraqi faction, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), said on Monday it was in control of the whole of the region after capturing northern Iraq's biggest city from its rivals, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).   The KDP heartland lies along the 330-km (200-mile) border with Turkey.   Egypt said it had Turkish guarantees that no Turkish troops would enter Iraqi territory to set up the zone.   Egyptian presidential adviser Osama el-Baz told reporters: "Turkey has told Egypt that it will absolutely not go into Iraqi territory... Any Turkish measures to protect its borders will be taken inside the Turkish border, whether they take the form of an early warning system or any other security system."   Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak discussed the plan with Turkish President Suleyman Demirel by phone on Monday. 
12248 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Thousands of Kurds in northern Iraq fled for Iran's border on Tuesday for fear that President Saddam Hussein would regain control of their embattled region, witnesses said.   But hundreds later returned after finding the border closed and apparently having been reassured Saddam's forces were not moving in.   Refugees streamed to Sairan Ban, one of at least four border crossings where United Nations officials expected up to 75,000 Kurds to gather following the takeover of northern Iraq by a Kurdish militia aligned with Saddam.   "We're afraid.   We don't trust the government of Saddam Hussein," said a headmaster from the city of Sulaimaniya, which the Baghdad-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) captured from the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) on Monday.   It was unknown what Saddam expected from the KDP in return for his support.   Some Kurds, remembering the poison gas Saddam used on Kurdish villagers in 1988, took no chances and fled.   At least 10,000 Kurdish refugees were seen fleeing for the border, although Iran appealed for world aid for nearly 200,000 refugees.   Sairan Ban crossing was closed, so thousands of people were backed up, hanging from cars that jammed a hot, dusty road from Penjwin, 30 km (18 miles) away.   Tractors pulled wagons piled with belongings.   They were joined by hundreds of armed PUK guerrillas on the run.   It was unclear whether refugees crossed anywhere.   However, later Saddam and the KDP, led by Massoud Barzani, both offered amnesty.   The KDP appealed to Kurds to stay: "Strict instructions are laid down to prevent revenge killing and respect human rights and people's property."   With the initial shock over, witnesses said hundreds of Kurds had returned.   A senior U.N. official said: "If the border remains closed, if the city remains quiet, then they'll come flocking back."   Stafford Clarry, head of the U.N. relief effort in Sulaimaniya, said: "There are hundreds of vehicles and perhaps thousands of people" returning from the Iranian border.   Abdullah Mohammed, 45, returned with his wife and seven children on Tuesday: "I left because of Saddam, but Saddam is not there.   Just Mr Barzani.   He is Kurdish, it's no problem, I'll go home."   "If we are sure there are no government troops in Sulaimaniya, we are going back," said aid worker Fuad Zangani after turning around to head back.   "If Saddam Hussein were there and caught us, he would kill us."   Life in Sulaimaniya began returning to normal.   Civilians walked the streets and some shops reopened.   Groups of KDP peshmerga guerrillas still toured the streets, celebrating their victory.   The KDP, backed by Saddam, completed their 10-day assault on Monday by taking Sulaimaniya, last bastion of the PUK in northern Iraq.   The campaign began on August 31 with the taking of the Iraqi Kurdish capital, Arbil.   More than a million Iraqis, most of them Kurds, fled to Iran when Baghdad crushed Kurdish and Shi'ite Moslem uprisings after Iraq's defeat in the 1991 Gulf War.   Most of the Kurds returned to northern Iraq after the Western allies set up a safe haven and began regular air patrols to shield civilians from any attack by Baghdad. 
12249 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP !GVIO  A United States official on Tuesday said there were signs Iraq was repairing some air defence sites hit by U.S. cruise missile strikes last week but would not say whether this violated an allied "no-fly zone".   "There are indications that Iraq is repairing or reconstituting some sites that were hit," the official who requested anonymity told Reuters.   When asked what he meant by reconstituting, the official said: "Reconstituting means they can take surface-to-air missiles from other sites, or from storage, and put them up at a site that was hit."   "Iraq has lots of surface-to-air missiles that can be put up," he added, without giving further details.   U.S. Defence Secretary William Perry told CNN last week that U.S. forces reserved the right to strike again if Iraq tried to rebuild air defenses disabled by U.S. cruise missiles.   The U.S. official would not say whether the repairs were a violation of the expanded "no-fly zone" over southern Iraq.   Last week, the United States, acting unilaterally, fired 44 cruise missiles at military targets in southern Iraq to punish Saddam Hussein for sending 40,000 troops into the Kurdish "safe haven" at the request of one of the rival factions.   The Iraqi leader has vowed to ignore the exclusion zones in both northern and southern Iraq.   The Pentagon said last week the missile attacks severely damaged Iraqi air defences, destroying or damaging up to 11 of 15 targets.   The satellite-guided missiles were fired from more than 800 km (500 miles) away in two strikes against Iraqi targets.   President Bill Clinton said that the strikes had achieved his goal of forcing Saddam to withdraw from the north.   In addition to the attacks, the United States expanded a no-fly zone over southern Iraq that was imposed after the 1991 Gulf War to protect Shi'ite Moslems from Iraqi forces.   A U.S. military official last week said allied planes had increased sorties over the southern safe haven and had encountered limited Iraqi ground radar activity.   Tensions have continued to flare in the north since the withdrawal of Iraqi troops.   Tens of thousands of Kurds fled towards Iran on Tuesday as Iraq gloated that the victory of its Kurdish militia allies had restored Baghdad's power over the region and humiliated the United States. 
12250 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Turkey and Iraq began talks on Tuesday on a Turkish bid to set up a security zone in northern Iraq that Baghdad slammed as "provocative behaviour" inspired by the United States.   Hamed Youssef Hummadi, an adviser to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, and two other Iraqi officials went into a meeting with a leading Turkish general and foreign ministry officials at the ministry.   Iraq blamed Turkey's NATO ally Washington for the plan to set up a Turkish buffer zone of up to 10 km (six miles) deep in northern Iraq to stem infiltration by Turkish Kurd guerrillas.   "The Turkish provocative behaviour to set up a so-called security zone is not a unilateral (initiative), rather it is clearly backed by the United States of America," Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf said in a letter to U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.   The letter was quoted by the official Iraqi News Agency (INA).   Turkey's plan has drawn fire from much of the Arab world as well as Russia and France but Washington has said it understands Turkey's need for a temporary security zone against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels based in the mountains of north Iraq.   Turkey often strikes across the border at the rebels but a six-week drive into Iraq last year involving 30,000 Turkish troops failed to dislodge the PKK.   Witnesses reported a large buildup of Turkish troops on the 330-km (200-mile) border last week.   "Turkey has deployed large numbers of its armed forces along what it called the temporary buffer zone," al-Sahaf said in his letter.   Western diplomats say the proposed cordon was likely to be a free-fire zone where Turkish troops based on their own side of the border would cross in and out in search of the guerrillas.   Egypt said on Tuesday it had Turkish guarantees that no Turkish troops would enter Iraqi territory to set up the zone.   Egyptian presidential adviser Osama el-Baz told reporters: "Turkey has told Egypt that it will absolutely not go into Iraqi territory... Any Turkish measures to protect its borders will be taken inside the Turkish border, whether they take the form of an early warning system or any other security system."   Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak discussed the plan with Turkish President Suleyman Demirel by phone on Monday.   Northern Iraq has been held by Iraqi Kurdish groups since the end of the 1991 Gulf War.   A Baghdad-backed Iraqi faction, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), said on Monday it was in control of the whole of the region after capturing northern Iraq's biggest city from its rivals, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). 
12251 !GCAT !GCRIM  Moroccan police arrested two Britons and a Frenchman on drugs charges and accused the Britons of being part of an international drug network run from Spain.   Moroccan police said on Tuesday Mark Leslie Darrington, 28, and his companion, Christine Sherman, were arrested after 30 kg (66 lbs) of cannabis resin was found in their English- registered car at Bab Sebta frontier post, on the border with the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on the Mediterranean.   No details were given of their home towns, a diplomatic source said.   Sherman was said to be in her 40s.   The official news agency MAP said that after questioning the pair, police had alleged that they were members of an "international drug trafficking network run from Spain and made up of English nationals and a German (working) with the complicity of Moroccans..."   MAP said police had also arrested a Frenchman, Henri Marcel Thierry, 34, at the same frontier, driving a French-registered car in which they said they had found 21.5 kg (47 lbs) of cannabis resin.   Last week, a Tangier court jailed a British national for four years for attempted drug smuggling.   Morocco has launched a massive crackdown on drug smuggling, notably in the north, and dozens of Spanish, French, Italian, German and Dutch nationals have been held.   Nearly 40 Britons are also serving jail terms for drug offences. 
12252 !GCAT !GDIP  Jordan on Tuesday denied a U.S. newspaper report that it helped an abortive CIA plot which aimed to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.   "Our position is very clear.   We do not interfere and we do not plan to interfere in any attempts to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein," Information Minister Marwan Muasher said.   The Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday that CIA Director John Deutch had pledged that Saddam Hussein would be toppled within a year in a covert operation which the paper said had Jordanian help.   "Our policy is also well known that we are against that regime and we are against the policies of that regime but we in no way will interfere with any attempt to induce any change in Iraq," Muasher said.   "We feel that this is up to the Iraqi people themselves."   Jordan angered the United States and Gulf Arab states during the 1991 Gulf War because of its perceived sympathy for Saddam Hussein.   But since then it has publicly called for change in Baghdad and this year allowed the opposition Iraqi National Accord to set up an office in Amman. 
12253 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Thousands of Kurds fled towards Iran on Tuesday -- although others decided to head back to their homes in northern Iraq -- while the United States warned Baghdad not to repair air defence sites hit by U.S. missiles last week.   Underlining President Saddam Hussein's renewed influence in the north where an allied Kurdish faction has taken control, the Iraqi government declared an amnesty for Kurds who had lived under Western protection since Baghdad lost its grip over northern Iraq in 1991.   A television announcement also said Saddam had ordered the resumption of movement of people and goods with the region, ending Baghdad's blockade of the north imposed in 1991.   The United States said Iraq had repaired at least four of the air defence sites in southern Iraq that Washington hit last week in reprisal for Iraqi forces fighting alongside their Kurdish allies.   The United States sharply warned Iraq not to rebuild them.   "We have made it very clear to Saddam that if he rebuilds air defences and threatens our missions over the no-fly zone ... that we will take action," Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said.   In Baghdad, meanwhile, the Iraqi News Agency quoted a military spokesman as saying that three surface-to-air missiles had been fired at U.S. aircraft policing a no-fly zone over southern Iraq and chased them away.   "We have absolutely no indication of that," responded Air Force Col. Doug Kennett, a Defence Department spokesman in Washington.   Washington had warned Baghdad and Tehran on Monday against joining the fighting in the north.   But the contest was already over when the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) lost its stronghold of Sulaimaniya to the Iraqi-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) on Monday, triggering a flood of refugees towards nearby Iran.   The United Nations said it was preparing for up to 75,000 Kurds headed for the border.   Iranian officials, saying the potential number was 200,000, appealed for international aid.   But witnesses later said hundreds of vehicles carrying Kurds were returning to Sulaimaniya, apparently reassured that Iraqi troops were not moving in.   A senior U.N. official said: "If the border remains closed, if the city remains quiet, then they'll come flocking back."   Refugees had streamed to Sairan Ban, one of at least four border points.   With the crossing closed, thousands of people were backed up, hanging out of cars on the hot, dusty road.   Tractors pulled wagons piled with belongings.   They were joined by hundreds of armed PUK guerrillas on the run.   Saddam used poison gas against Kurdish villagers in 1988.   Iraq again crushed rebellious Kurds in 1991 after its defeat in the Gulf War, prompting the United States and its allies to establish the safe haven in northern Iraq.   "We're afraid.   We don't trust the government of Saddam Hussein," said a headmaster among those who had fled Sulaimaniya, a city of up to one million people.   A U.N. official in Tehran said some of the refugees began crossing into Iran on Tuesday.   "Some of the Kurdish refugees are being allowed to enter Iran and this flow has continued since this morning," Laurens Jolles, an official of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Tehran, told Reuters.   "But I cannot give any figures because the situation is confused and we are getting widely different numbers," he said.   Tehran radio said "tens of thousands" refugees in dire need of food and medicine were waiting at the border east of the Iraqi city of Sulaimaniya to be allowed in.   Iranian authorities were providing relief, taking injured refugees to hospitals inside Iran, but were overwhelmed by the size of the exodus.   In an apparent attempt to calm Kurds, Iraq's Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf announced an amnesty for all Kurds except "those who have committed rape, killed state employees and plundered state property".   "We have decided to pardon our sons, citizens of the autonomous region under a general and comprehensive amnesty (protecting them) against legal prosecution..."   The Iraqi government was in a celebratory mood after its Kurdish allies stormed to victory despite the U.S. raids last week following the joint Iraqi-KDP capture of the key Kurdish city of Arbil.   "Today, the Iraqi flag flies high and the U.S. flag is only at half mast," the government newspaper al-Jumhouriya said, describing President Bill Clinton as "a caged hyena, rushing around in search of a way out".   "America is preparing squadrons of helicopters...to evacuate its fleeing agents, exactly as it did in 1975 in southern Vietnam when it suddenly decided to escape from that country in humiliation," the Iraqi newspaper said.   Clinton said on Monday Washington was doing its best to help anyone who cooperated with the United States in the Kurdish region to leave. 
12254 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  The head of a pro-Iraqi party in Jordan was arrested on Tuesday for alleged involvement in riots that erupted last month after the government increased bread prices, the party said in a statement.   The Jordanian Arab Socialist Baath Party (JASBP) said its secretary-general Tayseer Homsi was being held in jail after "the military prosecutor-general investigated him and levelled several accusations against the background of the recent bread issue."   It gave no further details and called for his release.   Officials were not immediately available for comment.   Jordan said last Thursday it would try 145 men for their alleged role in the two days of riots, which broke out in the southern city of Karak on August 16 and spread to nearby towns before reaching a poor district in the capital Amman.   Information Minister Marwan Muasher told reporters 107 of those facing charges had "participated in damaging public property".   The remaining 38 were members of political parties, mostly from the JASBP, which the government blames for helping stir up Jordan's worst civil disturbances in seven years.   The JASBP has denied involvement in the riots.   Prime Minister Abdul Karim al-Kabariti said last month he had to raise bread prices to close a gaping budget deficit that threatened to undermine an IMF economic reform plan and the vital loans it would bring.   But the bread price hikes had a knock-on effect on at least 50 other food items, economists and traders said.   Bread is a staple for the poor majority of Jordan's 4.2 million population who are facing falling living standards and are still awaiting promised economic dividends from the controversial 1994 peace treaty with Israel. 
12255 !C33 !C331 !CCAT !GCAT !GDEF  Sweden has ordered an Israeli mine-detecting radar system to be used by its troops in Bosnia, Israel's Elta Electronics Industries said on Tuesday.   The ground penetration radar system, mounted on a remote controlled vehicle, can detect plastic and conventional mines buried in a variety of terrain.   Elta Electronics, a subsidiary of state-owned Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd, did not disclose the value of the deal. 
12256 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Egypt said on Tuesday it had Turkish guarantees that no Turkish troops would enter Iraqi territory to set up a proposed buffer zone in the north.   Egyptian presidential adviser Osama el-Baz told reporters: "Turkey has told Egypt that it will absolutely not go into Iraqi territory... Any Turkish measures to protect its borders will be taken inside the Turkish border, whether they take the form of an early warning system or any other security system."   "This is so that Iraqi sovereignty is not violated, which would be a dangerous precedent between any states," he added.   Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak discussed the plan with Turkish President Suleyman Demirel by phone on Monday.   Egypt said on Monday it had Turkish assurances that Turkey would not establish a presence in northern Iraq but it was not clear whether this referred only to a long-term presence.   Egypt and other Arab states had criticised the Turkish buffer zone plan on the grounds that it would violate Iraqi sovereignty and territorial integrity.   The plan was for a security cordon in northern Iraq up to 10 km (six miles) deep to prevent infiltration by Turkey's Kurdish guerrillas fighting for autonomy from Ankara. 
12257 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Iraqi President Saddam Hussein helped his Kurdish allies outmanoeuvre their rivals by deploying tanks that diverted crucial defenders from the path of the main assault.   Ten days ago Saddam's forces kicked off fighting in northern Iraq by helping rebel leader Massoud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) take the Kurdish capital Arbil.   Washington retaliated, firing cruise missiles at military targets in southern Iraq, and warned Iraq not to join in the fighting in an area that had been outside its control since 1991.   But Baghdad did not need to become directly involved again -- it just had to divert Barzani's rival, Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), to clear the way for the KDP kill.   The KDP swept through northern Iraq in nine days, capturing virtually undefended positions all the way to the last PUK stronghold of Sulaimaniya.   It fell on Monday.   Iraq helped by moving tanks towards Chamchamal on the southern route to Sulaimaniya, tricking the PUK into sending men to points along that road.   A handful of Barzani troops meanwhile launched pinprick attacks on PUK troops in Halabja, 10 km (six miles) from the Iranian border and south of Sulaimaniya.   While PUK forces dug in around Chamchamal and sent forces to recapture villages from the KDP near Halabja, the main Barzani forces were building up around the key town of Koi Sanjaq, along a northern route to Sulaimaniya.   The PUK was so confident the main attack would come from elsewhere it agreed to stop fighting on Sunday around the towns of Bestana and Degala -- leading to Koi Sanjaq -- to let U.N. technicians mend a power line.   Talabani understood in part the plan to advance along Koi Sanjaq, but was fooled by the attacks elsewhere into diverting troops.   "They are cooperating and planning to reach Koi Sanjaq," he told Reuters in Sulaimaniya on Thursday in a reference to the combined efforts of Iraq and the PUK.   "And also they are heading for Chamchamal towards Sulaimaniya.   They hit Chamchamal today and yesterday with tanks and cannon," he said.   Talabani's commanders were sure a third front was to be opened from Halabja through a mountain pass and north to Sulaimaniya.   "The Halabja fights are the main signs of this movement," Osman Haji Mahmoud, commander of regional PUK forces in Chamchamal, told Reuters on Friday in his mountain headquarters.   "This is the most important position of our resistance."   Instead, the KDP forces launched a two-day thrust on Sunday along the Koi Sanjaq road where they met only sporadic resistance.   By the time the bulk of Barzani's forces closed the trap, it was too late to move PUK forces north.   To make matters worse, their route was cut off by the steep Heibet Sultan mountains and they were easy prey for shelling.   When PUK forces abandoned Sulaimaniya ahead of the advancing main body of the KDP, other KDP forces moved in from Halabja to take the city.   In the early hours of Monday, bodies lay along the roads around Heibet Sultan.   Cars and buses hit by rocket-propelled grenades could be seen along the road, charred shells with bodies spilling out of broken windows. 
12258 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  President Saddam Hussein on Tuesday issued a broad amnesty to Iraqi Kurds in northern Iraq and lifted Baghdad's embargo on their self-ruled areas, state-run television said.   Saddam's measures came a day after the Baghdad-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of Massoud Barzani declared it controlled northern Iraq following its military defeat of the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).   Iraq's Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf announced the amnesty on television and a broadcaster later read an order from Saddam removing all restrictions on the movement of people and trade to and from Kurdish areas.   The statement was issued following a joint meeting of members of Iraq's ruling Revolutionary Command Council chaired by Saddam.   The television interrupted its programmes to broadcast Kurdish and Arabic songs praising the Iraqi leader.   "We have decided to pardon our sons, citizens of the autonomous region under a general and comprehensive amnesty (protecting them) against legal prosecution...," Sahaf said.   He said the amnesty covers all but "those who have committed rape, killed state employees and plundered state property".   "President Saddam Hussein, may God preserve him, has ordered the lifting of all emergency measures which were necessitated by previous extraordinary conditions on the movement of people to and from the authonomous provinces including the internal trade," the television said.   It said orders were issued to Iraqi ministries and concerned authorities to take necessary steps to "translate the measures into actions".   The Kurds were under twin embargoes -- the U.N. trade sanctions imposed on Iraq for invading Kuwait in 1990 and strict restrictions by Baghdad on movement of people and trade to their areas.   The decision to remove the internal sanctions is expected to bring the Kurds closer to Baghdad.   A U.S.-led airforce in southern Turkey has so far protected them against possible attacks by Iraqi armed forces and helped them run affairs away from Baghdad's authority.   Sahaf said the government hoped the amnesty would be "our path...both Kurds and Arabs...to cure the wounds in a unified and lovely Iraq so that its sons can live equitably under the protection of a national and independent state and system".   The Kurds make up about 16 percent of Iraq's population of 19.5 million. 
12259 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  More than 12 million Moroccans have the chance to vote on Friday in a referendum on constitutional reforms that include splitting the existing 333-seat parliament into two chambers.   King Hassan, 67, who has called for a 'yes' vote, said the constitutional amendment would divide the Majlis Anuwab (Chamber of Representatives) into two to strengthen regional representation.   Local councils, professional bodies and trade unions will be represented in the higher house, to be elected through indirect suffrage, while the lower house will be chosen completely by direct vote.   At present one-third of parliament is appointed by indirect elections.   Despite reservations, the old-guard Istiqlal party and Socialist Union of People's Forces (USFP) -- the country's main opposition -- have backed the king and called on their supporters to vote in favour of the reform.   "Our 'yes' vote will enable the country to get out of the political impasse and the wait and see situation," said Mohamed Guessous, a prominent sociologist and leading figure of the USFP.   He said what was essential in the 108-article draft constitution "is the political will for change and participation of all political forces to find solutions to Morocco's social and economic problems".   King Hassan, who is expected to confer soon with opposition leaders on details of the reform, said the lower house would play a key role in responding to youth demands for jobs.   An estimated 300,000 young Moroccans enter the job market each year but jobs are scarce and wages are low.   Unemployment is officially said to be 16 percent but opposition trade unions estimate it at 23 percent of Morocco's 10 million workforce.   In past referendums on changing the constitution, an average of 98.86 percent voted 'yes' for the amendments and more than 92 percent of eligible voters took part, an official said.   One small leftist group, the Avant-Garde Socialist and Democratic Party, has called for a boycott, while the Democratic and Popular Action Organisation, which has two seats in parliament, has called for a 'no' vote.   According to interior ministry reports, more than 12 million eligible Moroccans were registered on the voting lists, including those in the disputed Western Sahara provinces.   More than 118,000 people are expected to vote in the four Western Sahara provinces under Moroccan administration.   "It should be noted that this is the first time that there is a general consensus and a positive approach on constitutional reforms proposed by the royal palace since 1961," a Moroccan senior official said commenting on the opposition decision to vote 'yes'.   King Hassan came to the throne in 1961 and the first referendum on the constitution took place in 1962.   Moroccans have been asked to vote eight times since then to amend the constitutions.   The last changes were made in 1992. 
12260 !GCAT !GHEA  Teenagers from well-heeled and educated families were less likely to pick up poor health habits like cigarette smoking and sedentary lifestyles, according to a report published on Tuesday.   The National Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion said its 1992-93 study of 6,321 young Americans established a link between risky health behaviours and socioeconomic status.   Researchers found that among adolescents aged 12 to 17, 19.6 percent smoked cigarettes, 35.6 percent were sedentary, 85.4 percent ate too few fruits and vegetables, 33.8 percent gobbled excessive high-fat foods and 15.6 percent occasionally drank heavily.   "Cigarette smoking was most prevalent among adolescents from families in which the responsible adult had completed less than four years of high school and total family income was less than $20,000," the report said.   "It was least prevalent among adolescents from families in which the responsible adult had completed four or more years of college and total family income was $40,000 or more," it added.   In addition, a "couch potato" lifestyle was inversely related to both the educational level of the responsible adult and family income.   The study was published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association. 
12261 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GENT  Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is refusing to sell award-winning rock singer Sheryl Crow's new album because it contains an anti-violence song suggesting the giant retailer sells guns to children, a spokesman said on Tuesday.   "Wal-Mart recognises we'll take a financial hit by doing this, but to do otherwise would not be fair to our employees who work so hard to help children, not harm them," said Dale Ingram, spokesman for the largest U.S. retailer.   Ingram said Wal-Mart has strict policies which prohibit the sale of guns to minors.   "For us to profit from a lyric that says we harm children willingly would be irresponsible and unfair," he said.   The album, entitled "Sheryl Crow," is due for release by A&M Records on Sept. 24.   Crow won three Grammy Awards in 1995 after the release of her best-selling first album "Tuesday Night Music Club."   The chairman of A&M Records, Al Cafaro, criticised Wal-Mart's decision as "defacto censorship" in a statement released Tuesday.   "I believe that Wal-Mart's decision is wrong, very wrong," he said.   He said Crow's song spoke the "truth" about children dying by guns bought legally.   "Wal-Mart has no apparent interest in discussing such things," he said.   "They chose to preempt the dialogue by banning music which may provoke a discussion."   Large retail chains like Wal-Mart regularly ban records with lyrics they say are excessively violent or sexually explicit but Crow's songs fall into neither of those categories.   The offending song on the new Crow album is called "Love Is a Good Thing" and contains the following lyric: "Watch out sister, watch out brother, Watch our children as they kill each other, With a gun they bought at the Wal-Mart discount stores."   Ingram said Wal-Mart did not ask Crow to edit the song but would not sell the album.   However, it will continue to stock her first album.   Wal-Mart, which employs more than 670,000 people, has been hit with at least two lawsuits in recent years from the relatives of people killed with guns bought at its stores.   It has since stopped selling handguns over the counter, making them available only through its catalogues. 
12262 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  Irish Prime Minister John Bruton said on Tuesday that he was hopeful that the Irish Republican Army would restore the 17-month cease-fire that it ended in February with a fatal bomb blast in London.   In interviews with the Cable News Network and a BBC correspondent in Washington, Bruton made it clear he had no specific information, but considered a resumption of the cease-fire likely.   "I believe -- I hope anyway -- that the logic of making the transition from violence to politics is inevitable for them and that they will see that the talks are moving forward," Bruton told CNN.   "And if the IRA don't have a cease-fire, then Sinn Fein won't be able to be part of the agreement and it's desirable that they should be part of the agreement," he said.   Speaking to a BBC correspondent in Washington, Bruton said: "The conditions may exist in which a cease-fire might be called."   The Irish leader, who is on a trip to Washington, said that without a cease-fire there would be a defensiveness and an unwillingness to compromise.   He told the BBC that he believed there should have been a cease-fire before the summer but the time had come when the IRA leadership might be ready to make a decision to restore the cease-fire.   "The only way they can have peace is if they stop killing," Bruton told CNN.   "The logic of this is absolutely inexorable and I believe that they will, on the basis of the logic, in their own time -- and I don't know when it's going to be, I hope it's soon -- have a cease-fire."   Bruton's comments came as Northern Ireland peace talks resumed in Belfast after a summer break.   Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA, has been barred from the all-party talks because the IRA has refused to renew the truce in its 25-year war against British rule in Northern Ireland.   Bruton said bilateral talks in Northern Ireland between the Ulster Unionists, the chief voice of majority pro-British Protestants, and the Social Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP), the main moderate nationalist party of the Catholic minority who want a united Ireland through peaceful means, could create the conditions for a new cease-fire.   The BBC correspondent said Bruton was speaking about his feelings and not because he had received any specific information.   He was working on the basis of his political judgement, he added.   Up until now the IRA has shown no signs of agreeing to a new cease-fire.   Since it broke the truce with a huge bomb in London's Docklands financial district in which two people were killed it has issued a series of statements accusing Britain of raising last-minute preconditions to Sinn Fein participation in the talks, sponsored by Britain and Ireland.   Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams has said he wants to see the cessation restored, but the IRA leadership has been reluctant to lay down its arms once again. 
12263 !C15 !C152 !C31 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Ford Motor Co. warned Tuesday that its losses in Brazil are bigger than expected, but added that it should reach a favourable labour contract deal with the United Auto Workers by a weekend deadline.   Ford Chief Financial Officer John Devine said in an interview that due to a slower and costlier launch of small car production in Brazil, Ford's losses in Latin America during the second half of 1996 will be roughly double the company's first half loss of $130 million in the region.   Following the 1995 breakup of Ford's Autolatina joint venture with Volkswagen AG, the Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker was left without a domestic entry in the critical small car market in Brazil.   It has scrambled to start production of its European-designed Ford Fiesta in Brazil, but the project has run into problems.   On Aug. 27, Ford replaced the head of its Brazilian and Argentinian operations, Gurminder Bedi, with James Padilla, a vehicle line director with a reputation as a problem solver.   Ford plans an unspecified number of job reductions and other restructuring actions within the operations.   "Effectively, we've had to re-launch the company in Brazil and Argentina," Devine said.   "It's going to take us longer and it's tougher and more expensive, but that's the car business these days."   Ford had previously expected Brazil and Argentina to break even in the second half of the year, contributing to a dramatic improvement in earnings for the automaker.   The bigger loss will reduce Ford's third and fourth quarter earnings slightly but is "not a catastrophic event," said Burnham Securities analyst David Healy.   Ford shares closed off 37.5 cents at $31.625 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.   In the United States, Devine said he sees a "positive tone on both sides" of the bargaining table as labour negotiations barrel toward the current UAW contract's Sept. 14 expiration date.   He said he expected a deal by the deadline, but added that "the issues are still tough and large and a lot of things have to be discussed yet."   Ford, which is the lead company in the UAW's triennial negotiations with Detroit's Big Three automakers, is aiming to tailor the labour pact to its needs while addressing the UAW's concerns, Devine said.   But the pact won't necessarily help rivals General Motors Corp. and Chrysler Corp.   "Our first priority is Ford Motor Co.   Make something that works for Ford Motor Co. and works for the UAW.   That's our clear No. 1 focus," he said.   Asked if the resulting pact also would likely benefit GM and Chrysler, he chuckled and said, "They're going to have to worry about that."   Devine declined to comment about specific issues being discussed in the negotiations.   People familiar with the talks have said the UAW is seeking a base wage increase of 2 percent per year over the life of the contract, guarantees of specific employment levels and elimination of a lower starting wage rate for new hires.   The two sides also are discussing a four-year contract -- a year longer than the traditional pact -- which would allow Ford to stabilise its future costs and thereby better evaluate future vehicle programmes and foster labour peace.   High level, "main-table" negotiations, in which final details are worked out, are expected later this week.   Lower-level negotiations are continuing at GM and Chrysler. 
12264 !GCAT !GCRIM !GENT !GPOL !GVOTE  The publisher of the classic 1960s song "Soul Man" has written the campaign of Republican presidential hopeful Bob Dole asking that it stop using the song, an official of the company said on Tuesday.   "He has taken the song 'Soul Man' and, without permission, changed the lyrics to 'Dole Man' and is using it to promote his campaign," Mary Lee Ryan, vice president for business affairs of Rondor Music International, said.   The writers "are not happy with his use of the song," she said.   A No. 2 pop hit in 1967 for the Stax Records act Sam and Dave, "Soul Man" was written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter.   The Dole/Kemp campaign could be liable for statutory damages of $100,000 for each unauthorised use of the composition as well as legal costs.   The song has been used extensively in the campaign, Ryan said.   The Dole campaign shrugged off the letter, proceeding to use the original "Soul Man" recording at a campaign stop Tuesday morning.   In Tennessee Tuesday afternoon, the campaign played the "Dole Man" version and half the duo that popularised the original song, Sam, was on the stage.   "I guess there's got to be something to cover since the O.J. trial is over," said Dole campaign spokesman Nelson Warfield.   "Their lawyer is welcome to talk to our lawyers."   Rondor gave Dole until Friday to resolve the problem, she said.   "I will consider (suing) in the context of what his response is," she said.   "I have to consult with the writers.   It's going to depend on what response, if any, we get."   The letter, dated Aug. 29, said, "We find it particularly shocking that someone who aspires to hold the highest elected office in this country would so flagrantly disregard the exclusive rights granted to authors by the U.S. Constitution."   The letter went on to say, "Your use of our property conveys the false implication that the authors ... endorse your campaign, which gives rise to claims under the Lanham Act."   Congress passed the Lanham Act in 1946 to provide for federal registration of trademarks and their protection against infringement.   Under copyright law, users of derivative works, with the same music as an original but different lyrics, must pay royalties to the original composers.   The letter said the use of the song in a political campaign could have a "devastating impact" on its value. 
12265 !GCAT !GDEF !GPOL  The Senate gave Congress's final approval on Tuesday to a compromise $265.6 billion defence bill that President Bill Clinton has said he will sign even though it is $11 billion more than he requested.   The Senate approved the authorisation bill for U.S. defence programmes next year by a vote of 73-26, clearing it for Clinton to veto or sign into law.   Clinton announced on Saturday he will sign it and made no mention of earlier threats to veto it partly because of the extra $11 billion, much of it for weapons he did not request.   "This bill makes good our pledge to give our armed forces the finest equipment there is so that they have the technological edge to prevail on the battlefields of tomorrow," Clinton said in his weekly radio address.   He said it also included a 3 percent military pay raise and money to improve deteriorating military housing.   To win Clinton's approval, the Republican-led Congress dropped all provisions the White House had threatened to veto except the $11 billion increase and a ban against sale of sex magazines and videotapes in military stores.   The authorisation bill does not require Clinton to spend the extra $11 billion.   A separate defence appropriation bill would require him to spend extra defence money and House-Senate negotiators working on that bill said they understood Clinton would accept an increase of $9 billion over his request.   Congress authorises programmes and then appropriates money for them in separate bills.   Two provisions dropped from the authorisation because of Clinton's veto threat would have nullified his policy allowing gays in the military and required dismissal of military people with the AIDS-causing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).   Another would have prohibited a U.S.-Russia agreement on anti-missile missiles covered by the 1972 U.S.-Soviet Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty from banning any U.S. battlefield anti-missile missiles being developed.   The bill includes a new programme to prepare U.S. cities for terrorist chemical or biological attacks like the sarin attack in Tokyo that its sponsors said were likely in the United States in the next few years.   It would train local authorities to recognise and deal with such attacks and improve border equipment and procedures to detect small nuclear, chemical and biological weaponry.   The $265.6 billion authorisation includes:   -- $350 million more than Clinton asked to speed up research for an anti-missile defence to protect the United States from limited missile attacks.   A separate bill would order construction of the defence by 2003.   -- $234 million Clinton did not seek for six Navy F/A-18C/D fighter bombers built by McDonnell Douglas Corp.; $86 million more for six Air Force F-15E fighters built by McDonnell Douglas rather than Clinton's request for four, and $39 million more for six Air Force F-16s built by Lockheed Martin rather than Clinton's request for four.   -- $950 million more than Clinton requested for military housing and readiness programmes.   -- $780 million more than Clinton requested for better National Guard and reserve artillery and rockets. 
12266 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The United States said on Tuesday that President Saddam Hussein had begun rebuilding Iraq's battered southern air defences and warned that U.S. forces could quickly resume military strikes on Iraq.   "We have made it very clear to Saddam that if he rebuilds air defences and threatens our missions over the no-fly zone ... that we will take action," Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said, raising the specter of new strikes in the wake of U.S. cruise missile raids on southern Iraqi targets last week.   Bacon refused to elaborate, but other defence officials said that Iraq already had "reconstituted" three or four SAM (surface-to-air missiles) sites damaged in the cruise missile attacks despite sharp warnings from the Pentagon.   Asked about Iraq during an election campaign stop in Kansas City, Missouri, President Bill Clinton told reporters: "I will take the position that I have taken from the day I took this office.   We will evaluate them based on what they do, not what they say."   U.S. State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns told reporters the United States was determined to keep Saddam from using "no fly" zones in northern and southern Iraq and to protect Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other U.S. friends to the south.   "It must be incredibly humiliating for Saddam Hussein, especially as an Arab, not to be able to use your military forces -- to have to live in your capital and not to be able to deploy your aircraft either north or south," Burns said.   In Baghdad, the Iraqi News Agency quoted a military spokesman as saying three SAMs were fired at U.S. warplanes policing a no-fly zone over southern Iraq on Tuesday and chased them away.   "We don't have any independent confirmation of their allegations about firing the missiles," Clinton said.   U.S. warships and bombers fired 44 cruise missiles from more than 500 miles (800 km) away at air defence targets in southern Iraq on Tuesday and on Wednesday of last week to punish Saddam for a military drive into a Western-protected safe haven for Kurds in northern Iraq.   The Pentagon said late last week the satellite-guided missiles severely degraded Iraqi anti-aircraft defences, destroying or damaging up to 11 of 15 targets.   Bacon told reporters on Tuesday that Saddam had been warned in diplomatic notes and in statements by U.S. Defence Secretary William Perry and Gen. John Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, not to rebuild air defences or threaten U.S. planes policing the southern no-fly zone.   Bacon hinted strongly that the U.S. military might resume attacks, especially if the Iraqis tried to target U.S. aircraft with radars, saying: "We have warned Saddam Hussein that we retain the right and will, in fact, take actions necessary to protect our pilots.   And we will do that."   Saddam has called on his troops to ignore no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq set up by Western powers to protect Kurds in the north and Shiite Moslems in the south.   Defence officials, who asked not to be identified, said Saddam had ignored U.S. warnings and repaired three or four SAM sites damaged by the cruise missiles.   One official said the sites, which could be reloaded with missiles, had not tried to target U.S. warplanes, but "one must assume that they are operational if they have both radar dishes and missiles."   Bacon and Burns said forces of the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) which aligned itself with Saddam appeared to have taken control of much of northern Iraq from other Kurdish factions there.   But they questioned just how much influence Saddam had gained in the process.   "I would be a little bit cautious in asserting that Saddam controls all of the area," Burns said.   The Baghdad-backed KDP captured the northern city of Sulaimaniya from the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) on Monday and Burns said the United States was watching the situation.   "We certainly would be outraged, as would all the world, if we were to see in Sulaymaniyah, and see on the route to Iran that many of these (Kurdish) refugees are following, some of the acts of political violence, assassination and execution ... that clearly occurred in Arbil after the takeover of Arbil more than a week ago," Burns said. 
12267 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  By Alan Elsner, U.S. Political Correspondent   President Bill Clinton on Tuesday lashed out at Bob Dole in two television commercials, while Texas billionaire Ross Perot was set to introduce a little-known, anti-free trade economist as his running mate.   Campaign sources said Perot had chosen political economist Pat Choate as his vice presidential nominee.   Choate was a fierce opponent of the North American Free Trade Agreement but has no political experience.   With Perot trailing in the polls at around five percent, his failure to persuade a national figure to run with him on his ticket was unlikely to revitalise his prospects.   In other developments, Dole, who is also looking for a shot in the arm, arranged a meeting with Republican members of Congress on Wednesday to steady nerves about his and their election prospects.   The latest CNN/USA tracking poll showed Clinton's lead over Dole unchanged at 21 percentage points.   But Clinton is not sitting on his lead.   He stayed on the offensive with a new advertisement that attacked Dole for opposing the popular Family and Medical Leave Act, which allows employees to take unpaid time off for family emergencies.   "Bob Dole led a six-year fight against Family Leave.   Twelve million have used leave but Dole's still against it," the commercial says.   Dole campaign spokeswoman Christina Martin reacted indignantly, calling the advertisement a "moral outrage ... nasty and spiteful."   A second advertisement decried Dole for raising taxes throughout his career.   "Bob Dole: 35 years in Washington, 35 years of higher taxes," an announcer declares.   Dole last weekend denounced the Family Leave Act as unwarranted government intrusion and said the federal government should leave such matters to states and local communities to regulate.   Campaigning in Kansas City on Tuesday, Clinton rejected Dole's criticism.   "I just respectfully disagree.   I think we were right to do it.   ... It's not a big radical step.   It's pro-family and pro-work," the president said.   Dole's meeting with congressional Republicans was clearly designed to to calm fears that the Nov. 5 election is shaping up as a disaster for the party.   Republican leaders put a positive spin on the meeting.   Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said its purpose was to discuss the legislative agenda and receive a briefing on the presidential campaign.   "I think there's plenty of time for them to get their message of economic growth out to the public .... I think there's a long way between now and the election in November and I'm counting on a very competitive campaign," Lott said.   Perot got 19 percent of the vote in 1992 but is currently trailing with about five percent in the polls, making his participation in upcoming presidential debates open to doubt.   Dole and Clinton campaign officials plan to hold their first negotiating session on Thursday to discuss the rules of the debates, the first of which is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 25 in St Louis, Missouri.   Meanwhile, the independent Commission on Presidential Debates will announce next Monday whether it believes Perot should take part.   Its recommendations, while not binding on the campaigns, will carry substantial weight.   The commission is proposing three presidential debates and one between vice presidential candidates on four successive Wednesdays starting on Sept. 25.   Dole spent the day in Louisiana trying to shore up his southern Republican base.   He pushed his 15 percent income tax cut and blamed Clinton for increased drug use by teenagers.   At a rally in the small Louisiana town of Baker, Dole derided Clinton's claim that another four years of his Democratic administration would be a bridge to a brighter American future.   "Which bridge to the future is right for America?   My opponent would build a bridge of higher taxes and more teenagers using drugs, of a government-run health care system, more liberal judges, an economy producing fewer jobs and more and more and more government," Dole said. 
12268 !E21 !E211 !E212 !ECAT !GCAT  A Georgia referendum allowing school systems to fund construction with sales taxes could prompt some districts to retire outstanding school bonds early, education officials said Tuesday.   If the constitutional amendment is approved statewide on November 5, the one-cent local option tax could be enacted in subsequent local referendums where the ballots list specific projects to be funded.   The tax would expire in about five years and could only be extended with voter approval, said Pat Sandor, liaison for the Georgia Education Department.   Georgia school districts have traditionally financed construction with long-term bond issues backed by mainly property taxes.   The new sales tax revenues could also be used to pay off existing debt, so long as that is spelled out in the local referendum enacting the tax, Sandor said.   "It's my suspicion that if the system were to be allowed, they would jump at the opportunity to retire debt early because of the interest cost of long-term debt," he said.   Richmond County is already structuring a planned $115 million school bond issue with a short call provision, in anticipation that the sales tax referendum will pass.   The general obligation bond issue is also on the November 5 ballot in the county, and would require a property tax increase.   If the sales tax is later adopted, the early call would give the county the option of retiring the debt and rolling back property taxes, school board attorney Pete Fletcher told school officials.   Don Rooks, director of government operations for the Georgia School Boards Association, said polls conducted for the group indicate the measure will pass.   But he predicted the majority of the new sales tax revenues would go toward building and renovation rather than retiring debt.   "There might be some of that, but primarily it would be trying to cope with the growth Georgia's having.   It certainly is an area where the building need is held up because of the impact it has on property taxes," Rooks said.   Enrollment has grown by 30,000 students annually, and is concentrated most in urban areas like Atlanta and Columbus, where property taxes are already high, Rooks said.   It was the burgeoning student population that persuaded the Georgia General Assembly to approve the measure in its spring session after defeating similar proposals several times over the last decade.   Supporters said the proposal would head off unpopular property tax hikes, shifting part of the tax burden onto tourists and other visitors who spend money in Georgia.   Most of Georgia's 180 school districts are countywide, but some cities such as Atlanta and Marietta have independent city school systems, which could complicate tax collections.   "If a city passed it inside a county that didn't, then only the city would receive the funds," Sandor said.   --305-374-5013 
12269 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE !GWELF  President Bill Clinton started a cross-country campaign swing on Tuesday highlighting a hard-edged policy popular with middle-class voters, moving poor people from welfare to work.   In this Midwestern city where in 1994 he formally proposed a plan to overhaul the much-despised U.S. public assistance system -- a plan that went nowhere in Congress -- Clinton held a roundtable discussion with six former welfare mothers, who now hold jobs with private firms, and their employers.   "The welfare system is about to change nationwide ... This new welfare reform law fundamentally changes the bargain," said the Democratic president, who last month signed into law a Republican-sponsored welfare reform plan that ends a 60-year-old guarantee of federal aid to the poor.   He said he was convinced the only way states will be able to move large numbers of people from welfare to work in a short time "is with a partnership with the private sector" -- a plan being tested in Missouri and 11 other states.   Under this plan, funds that used to be spent on public assistance are reallocated to subsidise employers to hire and train welfare recipients.   "We're basically trying to break a mindset and an almost physical isolation from the world of work," Clinton said.   Later, in a speech to a meeting of the Southern Governors' Conference, Clinton said state leaders had demanded welfare reform, and it was up to them to make it work.   "We have now moved welfare beyond the realm of political rhetoric and blame, and it's no longer a question of who to blame, it is entirely a question of what are we going to do," he said.   "We're going to have to move about a million people ... from welfare to work by the year 2000 to come anywhere close to meeting the requirements of the law and to avoid causing either a humanitarian crisis for the states or an enormous drain on your resources," Clinton told the governors.   "You asked for this, and now you've got it."   Leading Republican challenger Bob Dole by a substantial margin in public opinion polls less than eight weeks before the Nov. 5 presidential election, Clinton was clearly determined to maintain his momentum.   In response to a reporter's question, he rejected Dole's criticism of a new federal law that lets workers take time off to care for a new baby or sick family member.   Dole said it was unwarranted government intrusion, but Clinton said: "I just respectfully disagree.   I think we were right to do it.   ... It's not a big radical step.   It's pro-family and pro-work."   But even as his re-election bandwagon rumbled along, two political problems nipped at Clinton's heels -- a sex scandal involving former top campaign aide Dick Morris and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's penchant for mischief in the Gulf.   White House spokesman Mike McCurry told reporters the White House had known since "sometime in 1995" that Morris, the man behind the president's emphasis on "family values," had fathered a child in an extramaritial affair six years ago.   And White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta said the administration was watching Iraqi military activity in southern Iraq.   Military moves in northern Iraq triggered U.S. cruise missile strikes last week.   Morris abruptly quit the Clinton campaign two weeks ago after a supermarket tabloid reported that he shared White House secrets with a $200-an-hour prostitute with whom he had a year-long affair in Washington.   Clinton also planned to highlight his education proposals at a campaign rally in St. Louis on Tuesday and was to focus on crime-stopping and health benefits for the elderly at rallies in Colorado and Arizona on Wednesday.   He was to spend Thursday in California, the biggest prize on Nov. 5, with 54 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the election.   The latest survey by a respected independent pollster put Clinton ahead of Dole by 23 percentage points.   Campaign aides said Clinton also enjoyed a double-digit lead in traditionally Democratic Missouri, a state Clinton carried in 1992, and claimed there were signs Dole, from neighbouring Kansas, might write off its 11 electoral votes.   They said Clinton also led in Colorado, a Rocky Mountain swing state whose eight electoral votes he carried in 1992, and in traditionally Republican Arizona, whose eight electoral votes went to Republican President George Bush in 1992. 
12270 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  The Commission on Presidential Debates said on Tuesday it will decide by Monday whether to invite Reform Party candidate Ross Perot to debates with President Bill Clinton and Republican rival Bob Dole.   Co-chairmen Frank Fahrenkopf and Paul Kirk told a news conference a decision on participation by Perot and other minor party candidates would be made "no later than Monday."   Perot, who failed to win a single state four years ago as an independent candidate, participated in debates in 1992 against Clinton and President George Bush, but this year his chances of election success seem even dimmer and polls show him far behind with about five percent of voter support.   Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Connecticut, Democratic Party general chairman, said he believed Perot would be allowed in the debates.   "It's hard to keep him out," Dodd told reporters.   Presidential debates have proven to be huge drawing cards that have highlighted the campaign season.   The final debate in 1992 pulled in an estimated record 97 million viewers.   The commission, which has been running debates since 1988, is relying on a carefully drawn set of critieria to determine if Perot or others should join Clinton and Dole in the upcoming three debates Kirk called "the Super Bowl" of the 1996 presidential campaign year.   The rules include whether a candidate appears on enough state ballots to muster the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency and whether a candidate has a "realistic, more than theoretical, chance" of winning on Nov. 5.   Perot is on enough ballots theoretically to get the 270 electoral votes, and Farhrenkopf, a former Republican Party chairman, noted at least two other minor party candidates, Harry Browne of the Libertarian Party and John Hagelin of the Natural Law Party, appear to meet that criterion as well.   Other criteria include candidate standings in opinion polls and attention given candidates by the news media.   Kirk, a former Democratic chairman, said debates should not be used as a launching pad for any lesser known candidate.   Last year, the commission decided to hold three presidential debates in 1996 and one between vice presidential candidates on four successive Wednesdays starting on Sept. 25.   Presidential candidates will debate under the present schedule on Sept. 25 in St. Louis, Oct. 9 in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Oct. 16 in San Diego.   The vice presidential debate is scheduled for Oct. 2 in Hartford, Connecticut.   There could be changes in the schedule or format of the debates depending on negotiations between Dole and Clinton.   Clinton aides say the president is due to address the United Nations on Sept. 24 and is considering asking to change the date of the first debate to give him more time to rehearse.   Dole's camp has objected to Perot joining the major party debaters since polls indicate the Texas billionaire may draw more votes away from Dole than Clinton.   If Perot is invited, Dole aides have suggested consumer advocate Ralph Nader running on the Green Party ticket should also be allowed to debate, on the assumption he would draw support from Clinton.   At the news conference, the commission co-chairmen indicated that a date change and other issues would be discussed on Thursday at a meeting between representatives of the Clinton and Dole camps. 
12271 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP !GVIO  The United States said on Tuesday that President Saddam Hussein had begun rebuilding Iraq's battered southern air defences and warned that U.S. forces could quickly resume military strikes on Iraq.   "We have made it very clear to Saddam that if he rebuilds air defences and threatens our missions over the no-fly zone ... that we will take action," Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said, raising the specter of new strikes in the wake of U.S. cruise missile raids on southern Iraqi targets last week.   Bacon refused to elaborate but other defence officials said privately that Iraq already had "reconstituted" three or four SAM (surface-to-air missiles) sites damaged in the cruise missile attacks despite sharp warnings from the Pentagon.   State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns told reporters the United States was determined to keep Saddam from using "no fly" zones in northern and southern Iraq and to protect Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other U.S. friends to the south.   "It must be incredibly humiliating for Saddam Hussein, especially as an Arab, not to be able to use your military forces -- to have to live in your capital and not to be able to deploy your aircraft either north or south," Burns said.   In Baghdad, the Iraqi News Agency quoted a military spokesman as saying three SAMs were fired at U.S. warplanes policing a no-fly zone over southern Iraq on Tuesday and chased them away.   "We have absolutely no indication of that," responded Air Force Col. Doug Kennett, a Defence Department spokesman in Washington.   U.S. warships and bombers fired 44 cruise missiles from more than 500 miles (800 km) away at air defence targets in southern Iraq on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week to punish Saddam for a military drive into a Western-protected safe haven for Kurds in northern Iraq.   The Pentagon said late last week the satellite-guided missiles severely degraded Iraqi anti-aircraft defences, destroying or damaging up to 11 of 15 targets.   Bacon told reporters on Tuesday that Saddam had been warned in diplomatic notes and in statements by Defence Secretary William Perry and Gen. John Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, not to rebuild air defences or threaten U.S. planes policing the southern no-fly zone.   Bacon hinted strongly that the U.S. military might resume attacks, especially if the Iraqis tried to target U.S. aircraft with radars, saying: "We have warned Saddam Hussein that we retain the right and will, in fact, take actions necessary to protect our pilots.   And we will do that."   Saddam has called on his troops to ignore no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq set up by Western powers to protect Kurds in the north and Shiite Moslems in the south.   Defence officials, who asked not to be identified, said Saddam had ignored U.S. warnings and repaired three or four four SAM sites damaged by the cruise missiles.   One official said the sites, which could be reloaded with missiles, had not tried to target U.S. warplanes, but "one must assume that they are operational if they have both radar dishes and missiles."   Bacon and Burns said forces of the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) that aligned itself with Saddam appeared to have taken control of much of northern Iraq from other Kurdish factions there.   But they questioned just how much influence Saddam had gained in the process.   "I would be a little bit cautious in asserting that Saddam controls all of the area," Burns said.   The Baghdad-backed KDP captured the northern city of Sulaimaniya from the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) on Monday and Burns said the United States was watching the situation.   "We certainly would be outraged, as would all the world, if we were to see in Sulaymaniyah, and see on the route to Iran that many of these (Kurdish) refugees are following, some of the acts of political violence, assassination and execution ... that clearly occurred in Arbil after the takeover of Arbil more than a week ago," Burns said. 
12272 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GHEA  New Jersey sued the tobacco industry Tuesday to recoup the health care costs of smokers, a spokesman for the attorney general said.   This is the 15th suit by a state attorney general aimed at obtaining reimbursement from cigarette companies for Medicaid costs.   The Lt. Gov. of Alabama has also filed a similar case.   Tobacco companies had sued the state several weeks ago in an effort to block the suit.   The industry alleged in its challenge that state law does not allow the attorney general to use outside law firms on a contingency fee basis.   N.J. Gov. Christie Whitman announced on April 11 that the state would sue the tobacco industry.   She said the state was taking the action "on behalf of New Jersey taxpayers who have been forced to foot the bill for treating tobacco-related illnesses.   The tobacco industry must be held accountable for allowing the public to consume a product it has known to be hazardous and addictive."   New Jersey's action is part of mounting legal attacks against the industry including the White House's approval last month of Food and Drug Administration regulation of cigarettes.   The number of lawsuits filed by states and individuals has increased rapidly throughout the summer with more than 200 cases pending in Florida alone.   Norwood Wilner, the lawyer handling most of the Florida cases, filed a separate class action on Aug. 30 on behalf of some 390 smokers.   There are also two other class actions pending in Florida.   Wilner, who won a jury award against the industry on Aug. 9, will try his next case on Oct. 14 in Jacksonville.   Several other states are also seriously considering suits against the industry.   Among those, Utah and Hawaii, have also been sued by tobacco companies ahead of any legal action.   In addition to state Medicaid suits, San Francisco has also sued to recoup health care costs of smokers.   On Sept. 6, 11 local governments in California joined San Francisco in its efforts.   The New Jersey suit, filed in the Chancery Division of Middlesex County Superior Court, also seeks to bar manufacturers from marketing and selling their products to minors in New Jersey.   Among charges contained in the suit is that the industry violated the New Jersey Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organisation Act.   It alleges that under New Jersey law the industry constitutes an enterprise "the purpose of which is to maximize sales through misleading and deceptive claims."   The state is seeking a number of remedies from the court, including ordering the manufactuers to turn over to the state profits from cigarette sales in New Jersey and ordering them to fund public education and smoking cessation programmes. 
12273 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  The number of deaths blamed on Hurricane Fran climbed to 36 on Tuesday after North Carolina emergency officials confirmed two more fatalities.   A spokeswoman said the State Emergency Response Team raised the statewide death toll to 17 after receiving reports from counties and newspapers that revealed two additional storm-related deaths.   Hurricane Fran came ashore on Cape Fear in southeastern North Carolina on Thursday with 120 mph (185 kph) winds and continued northwest to ravage the state capital Raleigh.   The chaos left by the storm made exact death figures difficult to confirm.   Emergency officials also reported that the number of residents without power has been steadily decreasing.   They said some 390,000 customers were still without power, down from millions. 
12274 !C42 !CCAT !E21 !E211 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GHEA !GJOB  The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved on Tuesday hundreds of county job reductions at county health facilities to save the county millions of dollars a year, a county spokeswoman said.   The supervisors approved 202 county position reductions at county-USC Medical Center, 74 reductions at Olive View/UCLA Medical Center and over 550 reductions at Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center.   These reductions include permanent and temporary county positions, Toby Staheli, said spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.   The reductions, which are expected to save about $33 million per year when contract labor reductions are included, should become effective in October. 
12275 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP !GVIO  The United States called on China on Tuesday to release a former senior Chinese official who has been held under house arrest since completing a jail term in May.   Bao Tong, 63, was freed from prison on May 27 after a serving a seven-year sentence that grew out of the 1989 pro-democracy protests in China, but he has been held since then at a dormitory of the State Council, or Cabinet, near Beijing.   "We very much have protested the fact that he's been held in detention without recourse to judicial representation, without any access to his family," State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said.   "We've called upon the Chinese government to let him return home so he can seek proper medical care and he can be a free person ... We very much hope that the Chinese government will take action to redress this."   Burns told reporters Washington was "very concerned" about Bao's treatment and had raised the matter at the highest levels of the Chinese government.   Bao, a former aide to former Communist Party chief Zhao Ziyang, was convicted of "counterrevolutionary incitement" and the leaking of state secrets.   Diplomats in Beijing say he is a source of anxiety for China's leaders, who fear he may reveal details of his dealings with the highest party echelons in the weeks before the bloody 1989 crackdown on demonstrators.   It was unclear why the State Department had decided to publicise the matter now. 
12276 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GDEF !GPOL  Top Republicans said Tuesday they will resist cutting the defence budget to pay for President Clinton's new plans to fight terrorism, combat illegal drugs and help natural disaster victims.   Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and House Appropriations Committee chairman Bob Livingston said the White House must come up with a proposal to pay for the $1.1 billion anti-terrorism and airport security measure as well as more than $1 billion in other new spending.   The White House unveiled the counter-terrorism and airport security plan Monday and said a top target for cuts would be the defence budget, which was set by Congress at $11 billion above Clinton's request.   About a third of the $1.1 billion for anti-terrorism would be used to beef up security for U.S. troops abroad.   Republican Sen. Ted Stevens, negotiating a defence budget with the House, commented, "We are going to get hit."   Livingston said he expects to receive a White House request for $250 million in drug enforcement and $500 million to pay for fighting forest fires in Western states.   The cost of recovery in the Southeast from Hurricane Fran has not been estimated but damage could top $1 billion.   Clinton has also said he will insist on more money for education, worker protection and AIDS treatment than Republicans have offered.   "The president wants to spend all this extra money he is promising.   It seems to me he should tell the American people where he plans to get the money and how he plans to balance the budget," said Livingston, a Louisiana Republican.   "I think he has overpromised and I think he is being irresponsible in abandoning his promises for a balanced budget," he added.   Lott, a Mississippi Republican, said he did not see enough extra funding in the defence measure to pay for all of the counter-terrorism initiatives and wanted the White House to come up with spending cuts.   "You can't just add another billion dollars on top of the pie.   It's got to come from somewhere," he said.   White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta told reporters travelling with the president to Missouri that the administration would try to have the terrorism legislation enacted as part of a bill to keep the government funded past the Oct. 1 start of the 1997 financial year.   "I think it is pretty hard to reject a lot of what goes into a terrorism package," Panetta said.   The critical debate over new spending comes as Republicans fear their chances of retaining control of Congress in the Nov. 5 election are evaporating and are eager to hit the campaign trail full time.   But the threat of a budget crisis has put pressure on them to negotiate with Clinton if they are to meet their Sept. 27 date for adjournment.   A Senate subcommittee voted Tuesday to provide $65.7 billion for education, health, labour and related agencies in 1997, $35 million more than the House-passed version.   But Democrats intend to seek to boost federal education spending by $2.2 billion and add about $1 billion for other programmes. 
12277 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Government prosecutors accused Sun-Diamond Growers of California Tuesday of a calculated pattern of plying former Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy with illegal gifts to get special treatment.   But lawyers for the giant fruit cooperative said they would prove that corporate trust in a senior employee and a deep- rooted friendship between that employee and Espy make Sun-Diamond innocent of any wrongdoing.   The trial in "Sun-Diamond Growers of California vs. the United States" began in earnest with opening statements from each side.   The case is the first to be brought to trial as a result of a two-year government probe of the former Clinton Cabinet member led by Independent Counsel Donald Smaltz.   Sun-Diamond, the largest fruit cooperative in the country whose affiliates include Sun Maid raisins, Sunsweet prunes and Diamond Walnut, has been charged with nine criminal counts ranging from illegal gratuities to Espy to illegal campaign contributions to his brother Henry and wire fraud.   "Sun-Diamond is a sophisticated company, and it knew what it was doing when it set out to give illegal gratuities to Secretary Espy," lead prosecutor Theodore Greenberg said.   Greenberg said that acting through its Washington lobbyist Richard Douglas, a close personal friend of Espy's, and with the approval of Sun-Diamond president Larry Busboom, the company used the enticements of expensive gifts and favors to Espy and his girlfriend and campaign contributions to Henry Espy to try to sway Espy on issues important to the concern.   "This was the philosophy of the company," Greenberg said.   "Big business, big gratuities, and they wanted big results."   He said Sun-Diamond used the Douglas-Espy friendship to further its interests.   "This is not a case about friendship," he said.   "This is a case of how the company used friendship."   Not so, said Richard Hibey, lead defense attorney for the agricultural concern.   Painting a more sympathetic picture of the 25-year friendship of Douglas and Espy that began when the two men were students at Howard University, Hibey said their relationship was "not status-driven" but was based on a true closeness and sharing of interests.   Hibey then argued that because of the corporate trust Sun-Diamond president Busboom put in Douglas to do his job "competently and honestly," the company was not aware of all the gifts given to Espy by Douglas, most notably an expensive outing to the U.S. Tennis Open tournament in 1993 for Espy, Douglas and their girlfriends.   "You will not hear one shred of evidence that Larry Busboom instructed Richard Douglas to do anything illegal at any time," Hibey said.   "The company trusted Richard Douglas that he would perform his job according to his mission statement."   Douglas has not been indicted in the investigation, and Douglas's attorney John Dowd, who was attending the trial, said his client had not received a subpoena to testify.   Busboom will be the prosecution's first witness Wednesday.   Another key figure in the Sun-Diamond case is James Lake, a former Sun-Diamond employee and Washington lobbyist who has pleaded guilty to illegal campaign contributions to Henry Espy.   Prosecutors contend that Lake helped Douglas and Sun-Diamond set up a scheme to help pay off Henry Espy's campaign debts.   Hibey discounted the government's charges and said Lake, not Sun-Diamond, should be responsible for the misdeeds.   Lake is scheduled to testify this week. 
12278 !C22 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  A new osteoporosis drug reduces the risk of broken hips by 51 percent among women who already have suffered fractures caused by the debilitating bone disease, researchers said on Tuesday.   In research presented at a medical meeting, Dennis Black of the University of California at San Francisco said results were so promising that the first part of the study was ended early so all the participants could get the drug.   Black said 2,027 women aged 55 to 80 who previously had suffered spinal fractures due to the disease were enrolled in the study, with half of them getting the drug alendronate and half getting a placebo.   Women taking the drug were 51 percent less likely to suffer hip fractures over a three-year period and 55 percent less likely to suffer painful new spinal fractures.   Researchers ended the first phase of the study in October because they felt it would be unethical to continue giving patients the placebo, Black told the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.   The second part of the research, studying the effect of the drug on 4,400 post-menopausal women with osteoporosis who had not suffered previous spinal fractures, will be completed early next year, Black said.   Alendronate, sold under the trade name Fosamax by Merck and Co., was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in October 1995 based on a smaller study that showed it increased bone mass density.   As of July 30 the company had generated $100 million in sales from the drug, a company spokeswoman said.   Merck has its eye on the even more lucrative market for prevention of osteoporosis, which affects an estimated 25 million Americans, the vast majority of them post-menopausal women who suffer bone loss when their bodies stop producing estrogen.   Currently only estrogen-based drugs are approved for prevention of osteoporosis, but Merck filed an application with the FDA in April seeking similar approval for Fosamax, a non-hormonal drug.   Researchers at the meeting were to present evidence on Wednesday that Fosamax stops bone loss and restores bone mass at the spine and hip.   Black noted that hip fractures are among the most debilitating symptoms of osteoporosis, leading to permanent disability in 50 percent of the cases and costing the U.S. economy $5.4 billion annually.   He said the research showed that "even women with advanced osteoporosis can benefit from treatment."   Another researcher at the conference presented a study showing that a class of drugs known as cytokine inhibitors prevents bone loss in laboratory rats, indicating a possible new treatment for osteoporosis. 
12279 !C23 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Company spending on education and training, profit-sharing and research and development can pay off in substantial productivity gains, according to a Labor Department study issued Tuesday.   Raising the average education level of employees by one year increases productivity by 8 percent in factories and can raise it by nearly 13 percent in non-manufacturing businesses, Labor Department Chief Economist Lisa Lynch and Harvard economist Sandra Black found.   "We have found that education and training play an improving role in productivity," said their report, "How to Compete: The Impact of Workplace Practices and Information Technology on Productivity."   "This suggests that government programs that encourage education, computer literacy, employer provided training and employee participation would have a positive effect on productivity growth for the economy as a whole," it concluded.   Despite the productivity payoff, Labor Secretary Robert Reich said American companies were spending no more on employee education and training in inflation-adjusted terms than they did about 12 years ago.   Reich blamed employers' reluctance to increase their training budgets on a "market imperfection," namely that their investment in an employee's training my be quickly lost if the trained employee leaves the company.   "As a result, firms have less incentive than they otherwise would (to spend on training)," he said.   Reich said the report's findings illustrated the need for "non-bureaucratic" government initiatives to supplement spending by individuals and companies.   In particular, he said the findings support the validity of President Clinton's proposals for tax cuts targeted for education and training, which he announced on a campaign swing shortly before he arrived at the Democratic National Convention for his nomination for re-election.   The study, which surveyed employers two years ago about the state of their businesses in 1993 and compared it with data as far back as 1987, also found other employer practices that it said would enhance productivity.   Besides training, the study found that increasing employees' influence on their workplace, either through regular meetings or unionization, "has a significant positive impact on labor productivity."   The study also found that manufacturing plants with profit-sharing plans for non-managerial employees had 7 percent higher labor productivity than their competitors and that those with a research and development facility in their firm had on average 6 percent higher labor productivity. 
12280 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GENT  Home Box Office (HBO) Tuesday was nominated for 111 CableACE Awards, or nearly four times more than any other cable station.   The HBO sitcom "The Larry Sanders Show" took 15 nominations, including best comedy series; three for best actor in a comedy series for Garry Shandling, Jeffrey Tambor and Rip Torn; and two for best actress for Janeane Garofalo and Penny Johnson.   Another HBO comedy series, "Dream On", was the second most nominated show, getting eight nods.   Coming in third was the HBO feature film, "Tuskegee Airmen", about a highly decorated squadron of black fighter pilots in World War II.   After HBO, the next most nominated cable station was ESPN, which took 28, including four for "Sunday Night NFL".   The CableACE Awards, presented by the National Academy of Cable Programming, honour excellence in national, regional and local cable programming.   On Sunday night HBO made a strong showing against the networks at the Emmy Awards.   HBO won 14 Emmys, coming in second only to NBC, and surpassing the more widely viewed ABC and CBS.   It also was cited repeatedly for its quality films that rival those made for the cinema.   Other cable shows getting multiple CableACE nominations Tuesday included Showtime's science fiction series, "The Outer Limits" and HBO's "Truman", both nominated six times.   CableACE winners will be announced at a ceremony November 15, to be televised on TNT (Turner Network Television). 
12281 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  The state Supreme Court Tuesday gave Governor Christie Whitman and the state Legislature a three-month extension to draft a final school funding plan to satisfy its 1994 order to make it more equitable to poor, urban districts.   The order rejected an attempt by lawyers to compel the state to increase funding immediately for the 30 districts identified in that 1994 ruling as having "special needs."   Six justices unanimously took "judicial notice that the Legislature is actively considering legislation to address its obligations." 
12282 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The United States said on Tuesday it was up to the Cambodian government to decide how to deal with Ieng Sary, the Khmer Rouge leader who broke last month with the guerrilla group's hardline leader, Pol Pot.   But U.S. officials said they gave little credence to Ieng Sary's claims of innocence in the Khmer Rouge's killing of more than one milion people during its reign of terror in the 1970s.   Ieng Sary, foreign minister during the Khmer Rouge's rule, is seeking a reconciliation with the Cambodian government, a move which could lead to thousands of rebel guerrillas allied to him returning to normal life.   Cambodia's King Norodom Sihanouk has said he would only consider an amnesty upon receiving written requests from both the country's premiers and two thirds of the 120 members of parliament in the National Assembly.   State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns described the issue at a news briefing as a "very complicated issue."   He said a ceasefire between Ieng Sary's faction and the Cambodian government was a "step in the right direction" and that re-establishment of government control over areas formerly held by the Khmer Rouge would aid stability.   But he said the United States also strongly supported the 1994 Cambodian Genocide Act, aimed at bringing the Khmer Rouge to justice for the atrocities they committed between 1974 and 1979.   "As for Ieng Sary, he was one of the top officials of the Pol Pot regime," Burns said.   The spokesman described Ieng Sary's claim that he played no role in the genocide as "very difficult to believe."   "It's up to the Cambodian government, obviously, to decide what to do with him and what to do with other Khmer Rouge officials who were part of Pol Pot's terror against the Cambodian people," Burns said. 
12283 !GCAT !GCRIM  A seminary student was indicted for trying to board a commercial flight at the Tampa International Airport with guns, ammunition and other weapons stuffed in a carry-on bag, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.   Roman Regman, 21, is a seminary student at St. Tikhon in Pennsylvania, part of the Orthodox Church in America.   "The safety of air travelers is of paramount concern to federal authorities," said U.S. Attorney Charles Wilson.   "This office intends to vigorously prosecute all individuals who jeopardise the safety of citizens at airports through the possession of explosive devices and firearms."   Regman was arrested two weeks ago after Tampa airport security officials searched his backpack and found a rifle, silencer and several dozen rounds of ammunition.   Lawmen then went to his apartment, where they found an AK47 assault rifle, a homemade silencer and other explosive weapons.   If convicted of all six charges against him, Regman could face up to 45 years in prison. 
12284 !GCAT !GCRIM  A federal judge refused to toss out key evidence against alleged Mexican drug kingpin Juan Garcia Abrego on Tuesday, paving the way for his trial on cocaine trafficking and money laundering charges to begin next week.   Capping three days of hearings into disputed evidence in the case, U.S. District Court Judge Ewing Werlein said statements Abrego made to FBI agents in Houston about his involvement in drug trafficking could be used in the trial.   Werlein also said federal prosecutors can introduce documents detailing tens of millions of dollars in money transfers through Swiss and Grand Cayman banks allegedly tied to Garcia Abrego and his Gulf Cartel.   Abrego was on the FBI's 10-most-wanted list when he was captured on Jan. 14 on a ranch outside Monterrey in northern Mexico.   He was flown the next day to Houston from Mexico City to face U.S. drug charges.   As head of the Gulf Cartel drug-smuggling operation, Abrego allegedly was responsible for shipping up to a third of the cocaine consumed in the United States while amassing a fortune estimated at $15 billion, prosecutors said.   Abrego has pleaded not guilty and faces up to life in prison if convicted of drug trafficking, money laundering and bribery charges contained in a 28-count indictment handed up by a federal grand jury.   Federal agents last Tuesday said Abrego admitted his involvement in international cocaine trafficking during an hour-long meeting with FBI and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents after he first arrived in Houston.   The FBI agents said Abrego told them he was not responsible for massive shipments of cocaine and marijuana allegedly smuggled into the United States by the Gulf Cartel, but hinted he could name the traffickers who were.   Defence attorneys had tried to have the incriminating statements thrown out because Abrego was injected with a heavy dose of sedatives while in custody of the Mexican federal judicial police and said he did not recall details of the meeting with FBI agents after landing in Houston.   At one point after his arrest, Abrego assured an FBI special agent travelling with him that there would be no reprisals against his family because of his arrest, and sought assurances his family in Mexico also would not be harmed.   "He guaranteed the safety of myself and my family while I was in Mexico," said FBI special agent Lawrence Hensley, who accompanied Abrego to Mexico City and Houston.   Hensley said Abrego told him similar assurances of the safety of Abrego's family "lifted a heavy weight from his heart now that he was going to jail."   Abrego appeared for the three days of hearings in a Houston courtroom clean shaven and visibly thinner after spending the past nine months in a federal prison awaiting trial. 
12285 !GCAT !GPOL  The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to restrict same-sex marriages, then by the narrowest of margins defeated a measure extending civil rights job protections to gay men and lesbians.   On an 85-14 vote, the Defence of Marriage Act was sent to President Bill Clinton after senators invoked God, the Constitution and the history of civilisation.   Clinton promised to sign it.   "I said back in '92 ... that while I believed that gay partners could have certain contractual rights and other considerations ... that the term marriage should not be applied in law," he told reporters in Kansas City, Missouri.   The act prohibits Social Security, veterans' and other federal benefits for spouses in same-sex marriages, should they become legal in any state.   The bill, which passed the House of Representatives 342-67 in July, also says no state need recognise same-sex marriages held in other states.   The Senate divided almost evenly to defeat the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, 50-49.   Supporters said it would have passed but that David Pryor, an Arkansas Democrat, remained at his son's bedside after 12 hours of cancer surgery.   Vice President Al Gore was ready to fly to Washington to break a tie to win passage, supporters said.   "I'm hopeful this will be one of the first orders of business in the next Congress and I believe we can pass it," declared Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat who was the bill's sponsor.   Clinton also supports that measure, which public opinion polls show is favoured by more than four out of five Americans.   During debate on the Defence of Marriage Act, backers said they were supporting traditional values.   "The Senate bill would reaffirm by federal law what is already understood by everyone," said Sen. Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat who was the prime co-sponsor.   "The permanent relationship between men and women is a keystone to the stability, strength and health of human society."   Byrd called the idea of same-sex marriages "absurd," and read from the Bible to buttress his argument that they flew "in the face of the thousands of years of experience about the societal stability that traditional marriage has afforded human civilisation."   No U.S. state now allows same-sex marriages, but Hawaii may permit them by the end of 1997 because of a pending court case, those on both sides say.   As the Senate debated, two of the women bringing the Hawaii suit, Ninia Baehr and Genora Dancel, stood outside the Capitol and defended their right to marry.   Baehr recalled how the marriage of her sister had been "wonderful, all these family and friends acknowledging and celebrating her marriage.   And I would like the same thing."   Beyond that, Baehr argued that she and Dancel need marriage for its neat package of joint legal privileges for everything from children and health insurance to the rights of next of kin.   Opponents of the Defence of Marriage Act contend it is unconstititional and violates the "full faith and credit" clause requiring states to recognise the acts of other states.   But lawyers at the Lambda Legal Defence and Education Fund, a gay rights group, said they may have to wait to test the law until there is a state-sanctioned marriage.   Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, an Illinois Democrat, suggested that same-sex marriages would eventually be legal.   The only black member of the Senate, she recalled that when she was a girl one of her relatives was married to a white person, which was then an act illegal in 16 states.   "That kind of restriction may seem unbelievable today, but it was a reality of life not too many decades ago," she said, adding such laws were finally overthrown in 1967 by the Supreme Court.   "Here we are faced with the exact same arguments against domestic relations of another order." 
12286 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Texas billionaire Ross Perot has picked little-known economist Pat Choate as his running mate, hoping the move will revive his flagging bid for the White House, a source inside his Reform Party said on Tuesday.   Perot was to formally announce his vice presidential running mate during a half-hour "infomercial" scheduled to air at 8 p.m.   EDT on CBS.   His spokeswoman Sharon Holman refused to confirm or deny television reports that Choate had been chosen but a local party leader in Dallas who asked to remain anonymous said they were correct.   "It's excellent news.   I think he'll be a wonderful candidate," he said.   Choate is an academic and an anti-free trade economist but has no political experience and was not Perot's first choice for a running mate.   Two Congresswomen -- Marcy Kaptur from Oklahoma and Linda Smith from Washington -- were reportedly asked to join Perot but declined.   Former U.S. Sen. David Boren also turned down the job, preferring to stay on as president of the University of Oklahoma.   Choate advised Perot in his 1992 presidential bid when he won 19 percent of the vote.   He helped craft Perot's argument against the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico, which became a key theme of the campaign.   But Perot has failed to caputure the public's imagination with his second presidential campaign and recent polls showed him trailing way behind President Bill Clinton and Republican challenger Bob Dole with around five percent support.   Reform Party officials have said the vice-presidential nomination should help rejuvenate the Perot campaign which, as in 1992, has been based on 30-minute television ads.   In 1992 Perot's running mate was retired Admiral James Stockdale, but he had no political experience and became a handicap, especially after showing poorly against Clinton's running mate Al Gore in a televised debate of the vice-presidential candidates.   The Perot campaign source said on Tuesday that Choate would be well-equipped to face Gore and Dole's running mate Jack Kemp in any debate on economic policy and NAFTA. 
12287 !GCAT !GENT !GPRO  Rock musician Tom Petty's wife has filed for legal separation after 22 years of marriage citing irreconcilable differences, her attorney said on Tuesday.   Jane Petty filed a petition in the Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, and her husband has moved out of the Los Angeles home the couple shared with their 14-year-old daughter, attorney Frederick Glassman told Reuters.   He declined further comment, as did Tom Petty's publicist.   Petty, now 46, married the former Jane Benyo as he was putting together the band that would come to be known as "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers."   The group released their debut album in 1976, which included the songs "Breakdown" and "American Girl."   Dozens of hit songs followed and the band became one of the most popular in America.   Petty has said his domestic life during these heady days often took second place to professional obligations and dedicated partying.   While Petty was making his 1989 solo album "Full Moon Fever," the two separated briefly, and Petty wrote about it in the song "It'll All Work Out," which he has described as one of his favourites.   In 1995 he told Rolling Stone magazine of his marriage "We have taken some shrapnel.   We do walk with a slight limp."   The band's most recent release is the soundtrack to the recent movie "She's The One."   It is currently at 23 on the Billboard album charts. 
12288 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  President Bill Clinton on Tuesday hailed the UN General Assembly approval of a treaty to bar nuclear explosions and said the concerns of India, which says it will block it, could be addressed.   "With this treaty we are on the verge of realizing a decades old dream that no nuclear weapons will be detonated anywhere on the the face of the earth," Clinton said during a stop on his campaign for the Nov. 5 presidential election.    "I believe we can find a way for the Indians to have their security concerns met," Clinton said.   India, whose signature is necessary, has vowed to block the treaty ratification, saying the treaty does not go far enough in spelling out a timetable for global nuclear disarmament.   India also maintains that the treaty would prevent it from responding to threats from neighbouring China and from Pakistan, which may have a covert nuclear and missile program.   The U.N. voted 158-to-3 in favor of the treaty, which bans all nuclear weapons explosions, in the atmosphere or underground, and sets up a monitoring system to verify compliance or spot violations.   "Together the United States and the nations of the world have taken another giant step toward making our world safer," Clinton told reporters. 
12289 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPRO  Rap music star Tupac Shakur remained in critical condition on Tuesday after being gunned down in an ambush and police searching for his attackers said they had no new leads.   Shakur, one of the most notorious performers of hardcore "Gangsta" rap, was wounded several times when the car he was riding in was hit by a hail of bullets fired from a passing white Cadillac in Las Vegas on Saturday night.   The 25-year-old singer and actor remained in the intensive care unit at the University Medical Centre, hospital spokesman Dale Pugh said.   Shakur had his right lung removed during one of two operations on Sunday.   Pugh said Shakur's mother and some other family members were at the hospital.   Police said on Tuesday they had no new leads in their investigation of the brazen shooting near the famed Las Vegas strip, and the motive for the attack remains unknown.   Las Vegas police spokesman Sgt. Greg McCurdy said police wanted to talk with Marion "Suge" Knight, who was driving the car when the attack happened.   Knight, 31, co-founder of the controversial music label Death Row Records, suffered a minor gunshot wound to the head.   McCurdy said investigators were trying to reach Knight through his attorney.   He said police were also trying to confirm whether there was an incident at the MGM Grand Hotel before the boxing match.   He said there had been rumours of an altercation between Shakur and another person, but they had not been confirmed.   Shakur and his group were in a convoy of about 10 cars when the attack happened.   The Cadillac pulled up alongside the car Shakur was in at a traffic light and a gunman fired at least nine bullets.   The Cadillac, which police say was occupied by two to four men, then sped away.   Shakur is no stranger to trouble.   He has spent much of the last 2-1/2 years in court, prison or hospitals.   In November 1994, he was shot five times while being robbed of $40,000 in jewels in the lobby of a Manhattan recording studio.   In February 1995, he was sentenced to prison for involvement in a sexual attack on a 21-year-old woman in a New York hotel room.   He spent eight months behind bars until he was released pending his appeal.   Shakur is best known for raw lyrics laced with violence, sex and profanity describing life in the black ghetto.   His latest album, "All Eyez on Me," released this year, celebrates his own outlaw image and has sold several million copies. 
12290 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, one-time nemesis of the "Freedom to Farm" law, said Tuesday he would oppose cuts in its annual payments to farmers.   While acknowledging skepticism about parts of the plan, Glickman said, "We intend to honor the congressional mandates of the 1996 Farm Act.   "So we opposed efforts to cut at those payments and would continue to do that kind of thing," he told reporters.   "We're going to watch it.   But we're not out next year to cut the program just for budget reasons."   Glickman elaborated on his stance following a speech to the Washington Agricultural Roundtable in which he said the tax cut plan proposed by Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole might imperil funding for Freedom to Farm.   "Where will the money come from," he asked before suggesting that agricultural programs, "particularly (Freedom to Farm) contract payments, will be in jeopardy."   A House Appropriations subcommittee tried to pare the payments this summer but the idea was quickly killed. 
12291 !GCAT !GHEA !GSPO  A study of more than 2,800 Little League baseball players has found the sport is safe -- if you keep your eye on the ball.   The study from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry found that most of the injuries happened among defensive players in the field, most often when they were hit by a ball.   "Little League baseball is a safe activity with a low injury rate and a particularly low rate of severe injury," said the report published in the September issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.   Being hit by a ball causes more than half of all acute injuries, and safety steps "should be directed towards decreasing these injuries, especially on defence," it said.   The study covered 2,861 players at two leagues in suburban Rochester, New York. 
12292 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  President Bill Clinton's campaign on Tuesday attacked Bob Dole's criticism of a law that allows workers to take unpaid leaves for family medical reasons -- in an advertisement that Republicans called so "nasty and spiteful" that an apology was due.   The Clinton campaign said it was buying "substantial" television time to air a new ad saying the Republican presidential candidate had fought the Family and Medical Leave Act in Congress and is "still against it."   Dole, a former senator and earlier a U.S. representative from Kansas, had long opposed the proposal, and on Saturday he struck out at the 1993 law, which Clinton has called one of his proudest achievements.   During a campaign trip in Pennsylvania, Dole said: "My view is why should the federal government be getting into family leave?   It ought to be left to the employees or the state or the county and the federal government ought to be out of it."   The family leave law allows most workers 12 weeks of unpaid leave a year to attend to a family illness, adoption or childbirth.   The new Democratic television ad shows a Texas couple, Rose Marie and Kenny Weaver, who lost a child to cancer.   In the ad, they say Clinton signed the law "so parents can be with a newborn or sick child and not lose their jobs."   It goes on to say "Bob Dole led a six-year fight against Family Leave -- 12 million have used leave, but Dole's still against it."   A Dole campaign statement said the former Senate majority leader had "always fought for families" and the defenceless.   "To imply that Bob Dole would let a child die without her parents at her side shows a moral hysteria so outrageous, so grossly offensive that it defies description," the statement said.   "An apology might not make up for an ad this nasty and spiteful, but it would be a good first step in moving our political dialogue onto a higher level," it said. 
12293 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  The U.S. House completed debate Tuesday on a bill to authorize $29.5 billion for federal aviation programs over the next three years, including $7 billion in grants to the nation's 700 main airports to beef up infrastructure, security and air traffic control systems.   The House is scheduled to vote on Wednesday on the measure, the Federal Aviation Authorization Act of 1996, which is sponsored by Rep. Bud Shuster, R-Pa., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.   The bill is similar to legislation by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee in June.    The House bill would authorize $7.039 billion over the next three years for airport improvement grants, including $2.28 billion in fiscal year 1997, $2.347 in FY'98 and $2.412 billion in FY'99.   A House Transportation panel aide noted, however, that actual congressional appropriations for the grants historically fall short of authorizations.   For example, the FY'96 appropriation was only $1.45 billion, instead of the $2.14 billion authorized that year, the aide said.    The House bill includes a number of provisions of interest to the municipal bond market.   It would, for instance, authorize funds for completion of a sixth runway for Denver International Airport.   But it would drop a provision in an earlier version of the bill designed to help clear the way for debt issuance by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority's congressional review board.   Debt issuance was stalled by rulings in recent years by the U.S. Supreme Court, which found the makeup of the 11-member authority panel to be unconstitutional.    In the Senate, airport authorization bill sponsors hope to announce a date for action by the full Senate shortly, a Senate Commerce panel spokesman said.   "We're working on a time agreement and hope to get it on the floor as soon as that is reached," he said.   --Vicky Stamas, 202-898-8314 
12294 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP !GENV  The Clinton administration "is likely" on Wednesday to end its three-year scrutiny of Taiwan for its role in the illegal trade in endangered tiger and rhinoceros parts, an Interior Department spokeswoman said (on) Tuesday.   Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt is set to announce his findings on the impact of U.S. trade sanctions on Taiwan, imposed in April 1994 and lifted in August 1995.   Washington kept Taiwan under watch after lifting the sanctions, in line with a wildlife protection law, and Babbitt "will probably" announce the end of the watch on Wednesday, the department spokeswoman said.   Ginette Hemley, director of international wildlife policy for World Wildlife Fund, said Taiwan will be delisted in recognition of its successful effort to clamp down on the illegal trade of rhino and tiger products, which are highly valued in traditional Chinese medicine.   The sanctions that Washington lifted last year banned $25 million worth of imports of fish and wildlife products from Taiwan -- the only country Washington has ever punished under the wildlife conservation law. 
12295 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  By Gail Appleson, U.S. Law Correspondent   A federal appeals court has upheld most of a record $19 million damage award to the wife of a British Petroleum executive who was killed in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerie, Scotland.   The $19,059,040 award was believed to be the largest financial award to an individual in the history of commercial airline disasters.   Michael Pescatore, a 33-year-old Cleveland man, was vice president of British Petroleum Chemicals of America.   The Second Circuit Court of Appeals, in a ruling dated on Monday, denied Pan Am's arguments that the bulk of the award was excessive, and refused its request for a new trial on those damages.   The appeals court upheld $14,014,000 of the award covering loss of financial support, society, companionship and love.   It did order the lower court to hear arguments about $5 million of the award covering prejudgment interest.   "Large as they are, we do not believe that the district court abused its discretion in refusing to reduce or vacate the awards for loss of society and loss of support in light of the evidence," the court said.   Aaron Broder, the plaintiff's lawyer in the case, said the next largest jury award to an individual in an airline disaster case was $9 million.   "This is good news for everyone because the airlines will know it's cheaper to provide security," Broder said.   He also said the ruling showed a greater value for love and companionship because the court upheld $5 million of the award that was designated for the loss of affection.   "Love used to take a backseat.   Now love and companionship are front and centre," he said.   On Dec. 21, 1988, a bomb exploded in a suitcase aboard Pan Am flight 103 killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew members.   Families of many of the victims sued Pan Am and the cases were consolidated in the Eastern District of New York.   Although an international treaty known as the Warsaw Convention generally limits awards to $75,000 per passenger, the ceiling can be lifted if injury or death is caused by a carrier's wilful misconduct.   In the Pan Am case, a federal jury in Brooklyn found the airline liable for wilful misconduct because it had allowed the suitcase to be placed on the flight.   Faith Pescatore was one of the plaintiffs who established liability for wilful misconduct.   During an April 1995 trial to determine damages, a labour economist estimated she had lost financial support at from $25.5 to $73.8 million in 1988 dollars.   Pan Am's expert valued the loss of financial support at about $2.4 million.   Broder said there are about 50 more damage trials to be held which were delayed until the appeals court ruled in the Pescatore case. 
12296 !GCAT !GDIP  The United States was urging Turkey to help save thousands of Iraqis who worked with the Western allies in northern Iraq and are now endangered by a Baghdad-backed takeover of the region, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.   "We continue to talk to the Turkish government about this problem," U.S. State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said.   Other officials said Washington had not yet received a satisfactory response from Ankara on the issue.   The people concerned have been stranded since the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), one of the two main Kurdish factions in the area, seized control of most of northern Iraq in recent days with backing from the Baghdad government.   President Bill Clinton said on Monday that the United States was helping "those who have worked with us" to flee Iraq.   He was answering a question about some 200 Iraqi Arabs said to have had links with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.   But State Department officials said the true figure ran into thousands.   The officials did not deny that some may have had an intelligence role, but they said the majority worked on humanitarian aid programmes in what for the last five years has effectively been a Western-protected Kurdish autonomous area.   "Most of these people are average people who live in northern Iraq.   They're Kurds, they are Iraqi citizens, they're Turkmens," Burns said.   "They are all sorts of people who have been engaged for the last couple of years in providing medical and food relief to suffering people.   "It's those people that we wish to help.   We have a moral obligation to them and we will meet that obligation," he said.   "There's no question that Turkey has a responsibility to help the Kurds who are fleeing," Burns added.   A senior U.S. official said the issue involved "several thousand people and their families who worked for us, and the Turks and the British and the French in the last couple of years."   The official, who asked not to be identified, said many were peasants or were refugees from various cities in Iraq who left home after Iraqi President Saddam Hussein followed up his 1991 Gulf War defeat with a crackdown on dissidents.   "We put them to work and they worked very faithfully for us ... they're just the kind of people that Saddam would love to get his hands on," the official said.   He said Washington was asking Turkey to "help us provide a place for them to seek temporary refuge so that we can help them in the long term."   U.S. officials did not say what objections Turkey was raising to taking in the refugees.   But Ankara was known to be concerned about infiltration by the PKK, a separatist Turkish Kurdish guerrilla group with bases in northern Iraq.   Despite some human rights concerns, the United States has broadly backed Turkey's controversial war against the PKK.   But U.S. officials said the refugees they were talking about had no connection with the guerrilla group. 
12297 !GCAT !GENT !GPOL !GVOTE  The publisher of the classic 1960s song "Soul Man" has written the campaign of Republican presidential hopeful Bob Dole asking that it stop using the song, an official of the company said on Tuesday.   "He has taken the song 'Soul Man' and, without permission, changed the lyrics to 'Dole Man' and is using it to promote his campaign," Mary Lee Ryan, vice president for business affairs of Rondor Music International, said.   The writers "are not happy with his use of the song," she said.   A No. 2 pop hit in 1967 for the Stax Records act Sam and Dave, "Soul Man" was written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter.   The Dole/Kemp campaign could be liable for statutory damages of $100,000 for each unauthorised use of the composition as well as legal costs.   The song has been used extensively in the campaign, Ryan said.   Rondor gave Dole until Friday to resolve the problem, she said.   "I will consider (suing) in the context of what his response is," she said.   "I have to consult with the writers.   It's going to depend on what response, if any, we get."   The letter, dated Aug. 29, said, "We find it particularly shocking that someone who aspires to hold the highest elected office in this country would so flagrantly disregard the exclusive rights granted to authors by the U.S. Constitution."   The letter went on to say, "Your use of our property conveys the false implication that the authors ... endorse your campaign, which gives rise to claims under the Lanham Act."   Congress passed the Lanham Act in 1946 to provide for federal registration of trademarks and their protection against infringement.   Under copyright law, users of derivative works, with the same music as an original but different lyrics, must pay royalties to the original composers.   The letter said the use of the song in a political campaign could have a "devastating impact" on its value.   The Dole/Kemp campaign has not yet responded, Ryan said. 
12298 !C31 !C312 !CCAT !E51 !E512 !ECAT !G15 !G153 !G158 !GCAT  Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman warned the European Union on Tuesday that it could expect a U.S. response if it widens its use of farm export subsidies.   "It's too early yet" to revive U.S. export subsidies, Glickman told reporters, because the EU has subsidised a wheat sale at relatively minimal levels.   But he said that a broad-scale subsidy programme would not go unchallenged.   "If they expand it significantly, they do so at their peril because we will use the (Export Enhancement) Programme."   Created in 1985, EEP has been the major U.S. export subsidy programme.   The Agriculture Department suspended use of it in July 1995 at about the same time the EU dropped its use of export subsidies.   Grain prices were so high and global supplies so limited that sales subsidies were not needed.   In late August, the EU subsidised a wheat sale to African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.   The sale prompted questions of a possible U.S. response.   "We reserve the right (to use EEP) but we don't have plans right now to start it up again.   We're going to watch to see (what happens)," Glickman said.   There was little expectation among grain exporters of a revival of EEP, said one person familiar with the industry.   The official, who asked not to be named, said U.S. conditions of high prices and small stockpiles offered little justification to subsidise sales.   Congress limited EEP to $100 million this fiscal year, far less than was alloted in past years, in the belief little spending would be needed.   An Agriculture Department official, who asked not to be named, said last week that the EU sale was "not anything of significance" and was directed to nations that were longtime EU customers and frequently got a discount on grain. 
12299 !GCAT !GCRIM  A Texas teenager was killed earlier this month by an overdose of a "date rape" drug slipped into her drink at a local dance club, police in this refinery town near Houston said on Tuesday.   Local police have opened a homicide investigation into the death of 17-year-old Hillory Janean Farias after medical examiners discovered traces of the synthetic weight-loss drug gamma hydroxybutyrate, or GHB, in the high-school senior's body.   "To our knowledge, she's the first fatality in the United States and hopefully the last from this stuff," said La Porte police chief Bobby Powell.   A depressant, GHB is one of the so-called date rape drugs, substances which cause euphoria, memory lapses or unconciousness in their victims and have been tied to a series of rapes in the United States, particularly in Florida.   Abuse of Rohypnol, the best known of the date rape drugs, has led to calls in Congress for stiffer penalties to halt increased smuggling of the drug into the United States, where it has not been approved for use as a sedative.   Police said there were no traces of alcohol or other drugs in the body of the Texas teenager, a varsity volleyball player and model student who died two weeks before the start of her senior year at La Porte High School.   "When this young lady passed away, the medical examiner found no medical reason.   The toxicology exam found no narcotics, no alcohol, nothing," Powell said.   Farias had left the dance club early Saturday night, Aug. 4, complaining of a severe headache.   She died the next day in a local hospital after her grandmother, who was raising her, found her lying unconscious in her bed and not breathing.   Police first suspected GHB may have been involved in her death after receiving a report from a regional crime task force of a new date rape drug showing up at area clubs, Powell said.   Police Tuesday were tracking down the girl's friends and other teens to determine who may have slipped the drug into Farias' drink at the club, which police declined to name.   "There were two or three hundred in that club that night, and some of them are already talking to us," Powell said. 
12300 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDEF  The Justice Department said Tuesday the all-male Virginia Military Institute should comply with a historic Supreme Court ruling and accept applications from women.   In legal papers filed with a federal appeals court, the department said the state-supported school should be required to craft a remedy to end its practice of denying equal educational opportunities to women.   The Supreme Court in a landmark sex-discrimination ruling in June said VMI must open its doors to females.   VMI plans to announce a decision about its future on Sept. 21, Justice Department officials said.   "Even though VMI now accepts applications from men for next year's freshman class, it will not even mail applications out to women requesting them.   That's wrong," Assistant Attorney General Deval Patrick said in a statement.   "Right now, women in their last year of high school are making decisions about where to go to college.   They deserve the same chance as men to at least apply for the unique educational opportunities that VMI offers," he said.   The Justice Department asked the appeals court to send the case back to a federal judge in Virginia for an order barring VMI from continuing its exclusionary practices.   It said the school must take no steps to impede women from applying.   VMI is now the only state-supported college in the country that has yet to admit women.   The Citadel in South Carolina admitted females this month after the high court's ruling in the VMI case.   The Justice Department said it went to court against VMI after informal efforts to resolve the case were unsuccessful. 
12301 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  U.S. envoy John Kornblum will head to the former Yugoslavia this week to tour Bosnia and Herzegovina in the run-up to Saturday's scheduled elections, the State Department said on Tuesday.   Kornblum, who is assistant secretary of state for European and Canadian affairs, will be certified as an observer to the Bosnian elections and will make several unannounced visits to polling places on election day, State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said at a briefing.   The tour begins in Sarajevo on Thursday and continues through Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday and Saturday "in order to witness preparations for the elections and then the actual voting," Burns said.   After the elections, Kornblum will travel to Belgrade on Sunday for a meeting with Serb President Slobodan Milosevic before moving on to Paris for a NATO meeting on Monday, according to Burns. 
12302 !GCAT !GHEA !GSCI  Scientists from the U.S. Centres for Disease Control were expected to arrive in Rhode Island late Tuesday to help state officials combat mosquitoes carrying a rare and potentially deadly virus.   Tests on mosquitoes found in three coastal towns showed some of the insects were carrying the Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus, which produces strong flu-like symptoms and is fatal to about half of the humans who contract it, state officials said.   "It's a pretty nasty bug," said CDC spokesman Tom Skinner.   "It's pretty rare.   Since the early '60s, there have been only 152 cases reported nationwide."   Gov. Lincoln Almond declared a state of emergency for the town of Westerly and closed several camp grounds near the affected communities of Charlestown, Tiverton and Little Compton.   The state Department of Environmental Management hoped to begin spraying the Westerly area with an insecticide to erradicate the pest, but bad weather has delayed the operation, the governor's spokesman said. 
12303 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  The suspect in the 1993 killing of two people outside CIA headquarters apparently acted alone, without state sponsorship, former CIA director James Woolsey said on Tuesday.   The State Department is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to Mir Aimal Kansi, the Pakistani national charged with killing two people and wounding three outside the spy agency's Langley, Virginia, campus on Jan. 25, 1993.   "Everything we knew as of the time I left the agency was that Kansi was a sole operator," Woolsey told Reuters after a luncheon speech that focused on Iran's alleged role in international terrorism.   He said the spy agency could only be about 80 percent sure of such a conclusion, "but the circumstances, the way he got away -- all of that -- has generally suggested to people, as well as what they learned thereafter, that he was acting on his own."   His comment was significant because it tended to clear Iran of blame in the attack.   The United States has branded Iran the biggest sponsor of international terrorism and the executive director of a House of Representatives task force on terrorism wrote a book charging that Iran was behind Kansi.   Kansi, who is on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List, boarded a plane for Pakistan after spraying automatic weapons fire from an AK-47-type rifle at cars stopped at a red light during morning rush hour outside the Central Intelligence Agency.   Killed were Lansing Bennett, 66, a physician and intelligence analyst, and Frank Darling, 28, a covert operations officer.   In his comments to Reuters, Woolsey, CIA director from Feb. 5, 1993, until the end of 1994, said he would not rule out entirely possible Iranian or Iraqi involvement in the affair.   "He could conceivably have had some help from somebody -- ... (I) don't know if it's Iraqi, Iranian," Woolsey said.   But pressed on whether he was aware of any evidence linking the attack to Iran, he said, "As of a year and a half ago, no."   The CIA declined comment on Woolsey's account, saying it was a law enforcement matter in the hands of the FBI.   In a 1993 book, "Target America & The West: Terrorism Today," Yossef Bodansky, executive director of the House Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare, said Kansi was an Iranian agent "infiltrated into the Washington area and activated for the CIA killings."   Woolsey, in his speech to the Cato Institute, a libertarian research group, portrayed Iran's Islamic fundamentalist authorities as involved in wide-ranging plots to assassinate perceived political enemies, notably Iranian dissidents abroad. 
12304 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  The Senate Tuesday narrowly defeated a bill that would have protected people from being fired because of their sexual orientation, 50-49.   Sen. David Pryor, an Arkansas Democrat, was out of town and did not vote.    The close vote was mostly along party lines but the outcome was unclear until the last few votes were cast.   The bill would have prohibited taking sexual orientation into account for decisions on hiring, firing, promotion and pay.   The bill excepted the military, small businesses with 15 or fewer employees and religious groups.   "It would validate a life style that is unacceptable in many areas (of the country) and that is at the heart of the matter," said Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, a Mississippi Republican.   "It would treat sexual orientation like race."   But Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota disagreed, saying: "An employee should be judged by the work he can do."   Daschle said no one should be denied a job or promotion because of sexual orientation.   Nine states already have similar statutes and President Clinton had said he would sign it if the bill reached his desk. 
12305 !GCAT !GDEF !GHEA !GPOL !GWELF  President Clinton Tuesday announced a pilot programme in which the Medicare health care programme for the elderly could pay for retired veterans who enroll in a military managed care plan.   In a statement released in Kansas City, Missouri, where Clinton is beginning a three-day campaign trip, the president said he would soon propose legislation to enact the pilot programme, which would apply to five communities.   Under the programme, retirees could enroll in the Defence Department Tricare Prime managed health care programme, with Medicare reimbursing the department at rates lower than it usually pays for such care.   The statement said that the pilot programme was designed to test whether such "Medicare subvention" proposals would provide a cost-effective alternative for eligible veterans. 
12306 !GCAT !GODD !GPRO  Divine Brown, the Hollywood hooker made famous after she was arrested engaging in a sex act with British actor Hugh Grant, has been arrested again on prostitution charges, Las Vegas police said on Tuesday.   Brown was arrested on Sunday night at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in a "sting" operation by vice squad officers, police said.   She was charged with loitering for the purpose of prostitution, aiding and abetting prostitution and resisting arrest.   Brown gained notoriety last year when she and Grant were arrested after vice squad officers spotted them engaging in a sex act in Grant's car near Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.   Grant, star of such films as "Four Weddings and a Funeral," publicly apologised for the scandal that for a time seemed to threaten his career as well as his relationship with his girlfriend, model Liz Hurley.   Brown, 23, was arrested on Sunday night after she had a conversation with undercover vice officers, Las Vegas police spokesman Sgt. Greg McCurdy said.   "It was an extensive conversation.   She didn't know she was talking to police officers," he said.   McCurdy said Brown -- whose real name is Estella Maria Thompson -- was released from jail on bail on Monday, but he did not know the amount of bail.   She was scheduled to appear in court for arraignment on Sept. 30.   McCurdy said that, if found guilty, Brown could face a sentence of up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $500 for each of the three misdemeanor counts against her.   Brown was one of 43 people arrested in Las Vegas over the weekend on vice-related charges in a police crackdown timed to coincide with the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon heavyweight boxing title fight held in the city on Saturday, police said.   Following his arrest last year, Grant was fined $1,800 and ordered to take a course on the danger of AIDS.   Brown's brief interlude with the star cost her $1,350 and a jail term of 180 days.   After the Grant episode, Brown used her new-found fame to build a career as the star of sexually explicit films. 
12307 !GCAT !GODD  The U.S. Coast Guard responded with its typical speed when the call came that a "killer whale" was stuck on a Key West beach, sending a crew aboard an inflatable boat to search for the stranded mammal.   Crewmen aboard the 21-foot (7-metre) raft scanned the waters with binoculars and spotted a small, whale-shaped object floundering in shallow waters four miles (six km) northwest of Key West on Sunday afternoon, Coast Guard spokesman Lieut.   J.G. Rich Condit said on Tuesday.   But as the boat drew closer it became obvious that there would be no rescue, just the recovery of a four foot-long (1.2-metre) plastic whale with the word "SHAMU" written on its side.   Shamu is a the name of a killer whale that stars at a popular ocean-themed park.   "Obviously, if we had seen that through the binoculars we would have known what it was," Condit said.   He said Coast Guard officials were not sure whether they were the victims of a practical joke or whether the inflated whale had drifted away from its owner accidentally. 
12308 !E13 !E131 !E14 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Companies churned out goods more cheaply and efficiently during the second quarter than first thought, the government said Tuesday, so that wage costs were not rising as rapidly as estimated.   But a Federal Reserve policymaker warned the economy has entered a danger zone, noting labour markets were tight and there was risk of rising inflation.   Financial markets turned down sharply for fear the central bank may boost interest rates in two weeks to quell inflation risks.   The Labour Department said productivity outside the agricultural sector rose at a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent annual rate in the second quarter instead of falling 0.1 percent.   That was still well below the 1.8 percent pace set in the first quarter.   Production was higher than originally estimated and employees worked longer hours.   Most importantly, unit labour costs that account for two-thirds of businesses' production costs went up at a lower 3.2 percent rate instead of 3.8 percent.   In an interview, Fed Gov. Janet Yellen said wages and salaries were picking up but that overall compensation, which includes benfit costs, so far were rising moderately.   "We're beginning to see a little bit of an increase in the growth of compensation," Yellen said, though it was unclear how much growth will slow in the second half and how that might restrain inflation pressure.   But, she warned, "There's definitely a chance inflation will rise."   Stock and bond prices were sharply lower.   The Dow Jones industrial index dropped about 9 points in late trading.   The 30-year Treasury bond fell more than half a point, sending its yield, which moves in the opposite direction from the price, to 7.13 percent from Monday's close of 7.07 percent.   With the Fed's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee set to meet on Sept. 24 to decide interest-rate strategy, many private economists have been warning that strong growth was causing wage-driven inflation risks to heat up.   "The August canvass suggests that tight labour markets are gradually escalating wage pressures, and that the economy remains on a solid, indeed unsustainably strong growth track," economist Dick Berner of Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh said in a commentary.   Unemployment dropped to 5.1 percent in August as 250,000 new jobs were created, the Labour Department said last Friday.   Yellen noted that labour markets were "quite tight" because employers were anxious to hire as manufacturing picks up.   Economist Sung Won Sohn of Norwest Corp. in Minneapolis said the economy's sustained vigour was making it hard to keep a lid on labour costs.   "Due to labour shortages, it's not clear how many more people we can find to employ and for how many more hours," he noted.   "There is not an unlimited supply of labour."   Sohn said Fed policymakers cannot wait until inflationary wage and price rises actually occur, because then it is too late to control them, so the chances for an interest-rate rise on Sept. 24 have jumped accordingly.   Separately on Tuesday, the Commerce Department said business sales at the wholesale level jumped at the strongest rate in nearly two years during July.   That left only a small addition to inventories and created more room to boost output in the face of strong demand.   Stocks of unsold goods on wholesalers' shelves edged up just 0.1 percent in July to a seasonally adjusted $259.5 billion after a 0.2 percent gain in June.   Sales by wholesalers soared 2.4 percent to $203.2 billion in July, the strongest monthly gain since a 2.7 percent jump in August 1994, after a slight 0.1 percent June gain.   The economy is generally expected to lose some steam in coming months after expanding at a 4.8 percent annual rate in the second quarter, which was its most vigorous quarterly growth in two years.   But the timing and extent of the slowdown is uncertain.   A third report on Tuesday, issued by the Commerce Department, suggested some drag on the economy from a weaker foreign trade performance in the second quarter.   In the three-months from April through June, the current account deficit widened to $38.78 billion from $34.87 billion in the first quarter.   The main reason was that the overall deficit on goods and services increased to $27.9 billion in the second quarter from $24.2 billion in the first quarter.   The current account is the broadest measure of trade and includes, in addition to hard goods and services, items like investment flows between countries and U.S. aid and grants.   During the second quarter, investments shifted to a deficit of $1.6 billion from a small surplus of $300 million in the first quarter, as more money flowed out to foreign investors than returned to Americans in the form of profits and dividends from overseas investments. 
12309 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  President Clinton said Tuesday he had signed into law a bill providing $719 million in federal funding for the District of Columbia.   According to a statement released by the White House in Kansas City, where Clinton was on a campaign trip, the largest part of the funds is $660 million for the federal goverment's general payment to the District.   The money, which will come from the federal government's fiscal 1997 budget, also includes $52 million for retirement funds, $5.7 million for presidential inaugural expenses and $1 million for the area's drinking water problems. 
12310 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Voters went to the polls in eight U.S. states on Tuesday, the largest one-day total of primary elections this year, to choose candidates in some pivotal Senate and House of Representatives races in November.   Several incumbents in both political parties faced stiff challenges in the House.   The outcome in the three states with senatorial primaries seemed more predictable, with the real suspense reserved for the general election eight weeks away.   New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Minnesota held Senate and House primaries.   Five other states -- Arizona, Connecticut, New York, Vermont and Wisconsin -- held House primaries.   But the most competitive election was not a congressional contest but the governor's race in New Hampshire, where popular Republican Gov. Stephen Merrill's surprise decision not to run again launched a mad race to replace him.   Five Republicans were fighting for their party's nomination, with polls saying the main battle was between Representative William Zeliff and state Board of Education Chairman Ovide Lamontagne.   On the Democratic side, Jeanne Shaheen faced only token opposition.   Democrats also hoped to mount a strong challenge to the state's incumbent Republican Sen. Bob Smith, a former real estate agent who was elected in 1990 and already has one of the most conservative voting records in the Senate.   "Smith is definitely one of the top four or five Republicans that we are targeting, and we believe he is vulnerable," said Stephanie Cohen, spokeswoman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in Washington.   Democrats John Rauh and former Representative Dick Swett have fought a bitter primary battle to oppose Smith.   Polls predict a Swett victory in the primary and say he has a chance to defeat Smith in November.   In Rhode Island, where the stakes are high as retiring Democratic Sen. Claiborne Pell's seat is up for grabs, officials reported a light voter turnout.   Jack Reed, one of the state's two congressmen, was expected to defeat his opponent Don Gil for the Democratic nomination.   State Treasurer Nancy Mayer was expected to defeat Theodore Leonard and Thomas Post Jr. to win the Republican nomination.   Both Reed and Mayer have been advertising heavily on television and Reed last month accused the Republican National Committee of already having spent $700,000 on the race.   Republicans said that figure was too high but conceded they were working hard for the seat, which would be a big boon to their efforts to keep their 53-47 majority in the Senate.   Initial turnout was also reported light in Minnesota where officials doubted more than about eight percent of the eligible voters would go to the polls -- a record low -- to set the stage for a rematch between Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone, a liberal who recently voted against a welfare reform bill in Washington, and the man he ousted from office in 1990, former Sen. Rudy Boschwitz.   Wellstone was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Boschwitz had token opposition.   The November contest will be a three-way race with Dean Barkley, founder of the states' new Independence Party, who had no primary opposition.   In New York, freshman Republican Representative Sue Kelly faces primary opposition again from former Representative Joseph DioGuardi, whom she beat two years ago by three percentage points.   The race drew some national attention when DioGuardi picked up the endorsement of arch-conservative Representative Robert Dornan, a California Republican.   Dornan says the endorsement got him in trouble with House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who removed him from negotiations on a defence authorisation bill.   Farther up the Hudson River, Democratic Representative Mike McNulty was being challenged by Lee Wasserman, a former environmental lobbyist who faulted McNulty for voting for most provisions of the Republican "Contract with America."   Congressional primaries were also being held in Vermont -- home of the only socialist in Congress, Representative Bernard Sanders. 
12311 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Like so many others in eastern North Carolina, Tim Pace was left to scramble after Hurricane Fran tore through and devastated his livelihood.   Tobacco that was still in Pace's field suffered extensive damage from the hurricane's fierce winds and relentless rains while his picked tobacco was left to rot in barns after a subsequent power outage halted the curing process.   "I've got to get generators.   I have to try and salvage it," Pace said in a telephone interview from his farm in Wendell, N.C.   Officials from the power companies that serve the state said Tuesday there were 400,00 homes and busineses still without power.   Tobacco is cured by a constant flow of heat, often from gas or oil, blown evenly throughout the barn.   Without power, all 39,000 pounds of Pace's tobacco, which is sitting in a total of 13 barns, is in jeopardy.   "Basically what it's going to amount to is, I've worked all year for nothing.   My best case scenario is that I'll break even," the 35-year-old farmer said, projecting that up to one-third of his crop was ruined.   Generators will provide electricity to 10 of the barns and he said he must decide whether to rotate the power to include the other three, or sacrifice them to save the others.   "This is a crisis.   This is probably one of the very worst things that can happen to a tobacco farmer this time of year.   It just can't get much worse than this," Pace said.   North Carolina leads the nation in tobacco production, growing more than a $1 billion of the crop a year.   Though it will take a while yet to get firm damage estimates, the farmers themselves are projecting a substantial loss.   "We will do well to produce 80 percent of the North Carolina quota -- about 600 million pounds," said Charles Harvey, executive vice president of the Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina.   He sees a shortage of some 70 million pounds.   "We will simply not be able to satisfy all the orders for tobacco this year," Harvey added.   That bleak outlook may be shared by other farmers in the state's $3.2-billion agriculture industry.   While much of tobacco had been harvested, crops such as corn, soybeans and cotton are still in the ground and already bruised by Hurricane Bertha's lashing in July, which caused roughly $179 million in agricultural damage.   "Our biggest concern now is cotton, because it's approaching maturity and the bolls are beginning to open, and a combination of a lot of wet weather and high winds could wreak major havoc," said Jim Knight of the state agriculture department.   North Carolina produced $314 million in cotton last year along with $179 million in corn, and $186 million in soybeans.   But it is tobacco that yields the most per acre, thus the severe damage threatens the livelihood of thousands of family farmers who are already on edge with the success of a recent lawsuit against the industry, as well government intervention.   Farmers felt the hurricane's power all the more when even the cured tobacco in warehouses awaiting a buyer was damaged.   Carlton Burton, a worker at the Bright Leaf Tobacco Warehouse in Clarkton, N.C. was in the warehouse when the storm came through.   "I heard a noise over my head and when I looked up the roof was peeling back like a sardine can, and the rain started pouring in," he said.   Burton estimated that 80 percent of the tobacco in the warehouse was damaged by water.   Even if the leaves dried out, they would sell for a much lower price, or may not sell at all if mould set in, he said.   The farmers tend to insure their cost.   After such a vast and devasting storm they will be fortunate just to pay off bills.   "That doesn't leave you anything to live on," Pace said.   "As soon as I get through harvesting my tobacco I will have to look for a job." 
12312 !C13 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  Immunex Corp will probably sail through the Food and Drug Administration's advisory panel review Wednesday of its Novantrone chemotherapy agent for advanced prostate cancer, analysts said.   But they still expect a positive outcome to boost the company's stock price as the prospect for increased sales of Novantrone become more real.   Novantrone is already marketed as a leukemia treatment.   "We're pretty confident it will get a positive review," said Mehta and Isaly analyst Edmund Debler.   "We didn't even bother to go down (to Washington, DC) for the meeting." 
12313 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO  Former Sen. Barry Goldwater, the dean of conservative Republicans, has suffered a stroke and was in the hospital for neurological tests, his office said on Tuesday.   Spokeswoman Doris Berry said that Goldwater's stroke on Monday was "minor."   "The Lord blessed us," she said.   Goldwater was admitted to the Barrows Neurological Institute of St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Centre in Phoenix, where he was undergoing tests, Berry said.   She quoted the former Arizona senator's wife Susan as saying he was "resting comfortably."   A hospital spokeswoman said Goldwater was in good condition and seemed to be in good spirits.   Goldwater failed in his bid for the White House against Lyndon Johnson in 1964, but he is credited with drawing Ronald Reagan into national politics and reviving the right-wing of the Republican party.   His most memorable -- and perhaps controversial -- quote came in his 1964 presidential nomination acceptance speech when he thundered: "Extremism in the defence of liberty is no vice!   Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!"   President Johnson and his aides seized on that and other seemingly bellicose Goldwater words to portray him as a wild-eyed zealot who might plunge the world into nuclear war.   Although Goldwater was thrashed in the general election by Johnson, his campaign launched Reagan's political career and laid the foundation for conservatives to seize the party, and the White House, under Reagan in 1980.   The senator, by then established in public affections as a witty bellwether of right-wing principle, was at the peak of his power on Capitol Hill and on hand to help Reagan launch his "conservative revolution" of tax-cuts and reordered priorities including a vast military buildup. 
12314 !C12 !C41 !C411 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Astra USA said Tuesday it named Ivan Rowley as president and chief executive officer, replacing Jan Larsson, who had served as head of the pharmaceutical company since April 29.   Astra USA, a unit of Swedish pharmaceutical giant Astra AB, fired Chief Executive Lars Bildman in late April, accusing him of "improper behaviour" after several former employees alleged in lawsuits he engaged in sexual harassment.   Bildman has denied any wrong-doing.   Rowley, who assumes his new responsibilities immediately, has held a variety of sales and marketing positions with the company, and most recently as vice president of managed care unit Health Alliance.   Larsson will concentrate full-time on his responsibilities as executive vice-president of Astra AB responsible for manufacturing and logistics and as a member of the group executive committee. 
12315 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Torrential rains continued over Puerto Rico and began to hit the Dominican Republic Tuesday as Hurricane Hortense moved west-northwest off the northeastern Dominican Republic, the National Hurricane Center said.   At 1400 EDT/1800 GMT, Hortense's center was located near latitude 18.9 north and longitude 68.4 west, or just offshore from El Macao on the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic.   It was moving west-northwest near 12 mph (19 kph), a track expected to continue through Tuesday night, taking Hortense along or near the Dominican Republic's northeast coast.    Maximum sustained winds were near 75 mph (120 kph), barely hurricane strength, in a small area near Hortense's center, with fluctuations expected as the storm stayed near the coast.   Hortense's greatest threat was its rains, with as much as 18 inches (29 cm) reported from Puerto Rico.   Ten inches (25 cm) or more rain was still forecast to fall, mostly east of the center.   The hurricane warning was lifted for Puerto Rico as of 1400/1800.   A hurricane warning was in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas and the Dominican Republic east of Bahia de Calderas on the south coast and east of Cabrera on the north coast.   Forecasters said warnings could be extended westward later Tuesday. 
12316 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO  U.S. Congressional investigators have asked President Bill Clinton's former adviser Dick Morris to back up his denial that he made a damaging allegation about Hillary Rodham Clinton in chit-chat with a prostitute, a congressman said on Tuesday.   Representative William Clinger, R-Pennsylvania, chairman of a House of Representatives committe on government reform, said his panel expected Morris to produce campaign polling data and other documents to support his sworn statement that he had never told prostitute Sherry Rowlands it was Mrs. Clinton who ordered up the White House procurement of FBI personnel files in 1993.   "We asked Mr. Morris to provide us with any documentation that would substantiate his side of the story.   We would anticipate certainly getting copies of the polling material that he did," Clinger, whose committee was investigating the FBI files affair, said in an interview with CNN.   "We've asked him for is anything that would bear out or verify what he says was his conversaton with Miss Rowlands.   He has said that he's going to provide them to us ... We will give him probably a couple of days," Clinger said.   He said his committee would decide whether to subpoena Morris and Rowlands for testimony after it had reviewed whatever Morris produces.   Morris abruptly resigned as top strategist in President Bill Clinton's re-election campaign two weeks ago when Rowlands, a $200-an-hour Washington call-girl, said in an interview with the Star, a supermarket tabloid, that she had had a year-long affair with him.   She said his pillow talk had included plenty of inside White House gossip.   She rekindled the controversy by asserting, in a diary excerpt published in the Star, that Morris had told her it was Hillary Clinton who ordered White House aides to obtain hundreds of confidential FBI personnel files on former staffers, most of them Republicans.   She quoted Morris as calling Mrs. Clinton "a paranoid lady."   The White House has denied Mrs. Clinton played any such role in the 1993 episode, which it describes as an innocent if misguided effort to update White House access passes.   Republicans accuse the White House of trying to use the FBI to dig for political dirt on opponents.   At Clinger's insistence, Morris produced a sworn statement on Monday rejecting Rowland's account and saying that he had merely cited the results of a poll he had conducted to learn who the public suspected in the files affair.   "I have no personal knowledge, or information from any source whatsoever as to who was responsible for ordering the FBI files, or the use to which such files were put on receipt by White House personnel," Morris said in the affidavit.   Clinger told CNN: "We have a conflict there (in stories) and I would hope that we can resolve it."   He denied White House claims his investigation was purely election-year politics, saying it had been prolonged only by Clinton staff "stalling" in providing subpoenaed documents.   He said the committee hoped to produce a final report on its inquiry before Election Day on Nov. 5, "if only because the American people really have a right to know." 
12317 !C13 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL !GSCI  The problem of computers recognizing dates beginning in the year 2000 is easier to solve for personal computers than mainframes, an expert told a House committee hearing Tuesday.   Many computers are programmed to read only the last two digits of a year and will recognize dates beginning January 1, 2000, as January 1, 1900.    "(The) basic distinction between the rapid turnover in the PC industry and the long life of larger systems is why the challenge in the mainframe world may be so much larger and more difficult," said Harris Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of America.   Miller told the House Science Committee that newer personal computers and software would be able to read dates from the year 2000 and beyond.    Sally Katzen of the White House Office of Management and Budget told the committee that senior managers of federal agencies were being made aware of the problem and were taking steps to correct it.   She said it was too soon to say if estimates of $30 billion or more to make corrections were accurate.   Katzen, administrator of OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, said the problem was potentially very serious because computers use dates to maintain inventories, sort items for filing, check entries for errors, compute benefits, determine program eligibility and calculate expiration dates.    "For instance, standard newer Intel products will handle the transition to the year 2000.   Similarly, all new models of IBM PCs announced in 1996 will automatically address the update of the year 2000," Miller said.   He said users of older personal computers might have to reset dates manually.   "For those of you familiar with Windows, the adjustment can be made with a few simple mouse clicks in the control panel," he said.   "The situation is no more serious than if a power failure forced you to reprogram the clock on your VCR." 
12318 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The United States on Tuesday sharply warned Iraq not to rebuild damaged anti-aircraft defenses, but officials denied reports from Baghdad that Iraq had fired missiles at U.S. warplanes.   "We have made it very clear to (Iraqi President) Saddam (Hussein) that if he rebuilds air defenses and threatens our missions over the no-fly zone ... that we will take action," Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said.    Other defense officials said privately that Iraq had "reconstituted" three or four missile sites destroyed in U.S. cruise missile attacks last week.   In Baghdad, meanwhile, the Iraqi News Agency quoted a military spokesman as saying that three surface-to-air missiles had been fired at U.S. aircraft policing a no-fly zone over southern Iraq and chased them away.   "We have absolutely no indication of that," responded Air Force Col. Doug Kennett, a Defense Department spokesman in Washington.   Bacon told reporters at the daily Pentagon briefing that Saddam had been warned by the United States in both written diplomatic notes and via public statements by Defense Secretary William Perry and others that he should not rebuild air defenses in southern Iraq struck by U.S. air- and sea-launched cruise missiles last week.   Bacon hinted strongly that the U.S. military might resume attacks, especially if the Iraqis tried to target U.S. aircraft with radars, saying: "We have warned Saddam Hussein that we retain the right and will, in fact, take actions necessary to protect our pilots.   And we will do that." 
12319 !GCAT !GPOL !GWELF  President Bill Clinton started a cross-country campaign swing on Tuesday highlighting a hard-edged policy popular with middle-class voters, moving poor people from welfare to work.   In this Midwestern city where in 1994 he formally proposed a plan to overhaul the much-despised U.S. public assistance system -- a plan that went nowhere in Congress -- Clinton held a roundtable discussion with six former welfare mothers, who now hold jobs with private firms, and their employers.   "The welfare system is about to change nationwide ... This new welfare reform law fundamentally changes the bargain," said the Democratic president, who last month signed into law a Republican-sponsored welfare reform plan that ends a 60-year-old guarantee of federal aid to the poor.   He said he was convinced the only way states will be able to move large numbers of people from welfare to work in a short time "is with a partnership with the private sector" modelled on a plan being tested in Missouri and 11 other states.   Under the plan, funds that used to be spent on public assistance are reallocated to subsidise employers to hire and train welfare recipients.   "We're basically trying to break a mindset and an almost physical isolation from the world of work," Clinton said.   Later, in a speech to a meeting of the Southern Governors' Conference, Clinton said state leaders had demanded welfare reform, and it was up to them to make it work.   "We have now moved welfare beyond the realm of political rhetoric and blame, and it's no longer a question of who to blame, it is entirely a question of what are we going to do," he said.   Leading Republican challenger Bob Dole by a substantial margin in the public opinion polls less than eight weeks before the Nov. 5 presidential election, Clinton was clearly determined to maintain his momentum.   In response to a reporter's question, he rejected Dole's criticism of a new federal law that lets workers take time off to care for a new baby or sick family member.   Dole said it was unwarranted government intrusion.   "I just respectfully disagree.   I think we were right to do it.   ... It's not a big radical step.   It's pro-family and pro-work," Clinton said.   But even as his re-election bandwagon rumbled along, two political problems nipped at Clinton's heels -- a sex scandal involving former top campaign aide Dick Morris and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's penchant for mischief in the Gulf.   White House spokesman Mike McCurry told reporters the White House had known since "sometime in 1995" that Morris, the man behind the president's emphasis on "family values," had fathered a child in an extramaritial affair six years ago.   And White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta said the administration was watching Iraqi military activity in southern Iraq.   Military moves in northern Iraq triggered U.S. cruise missile strikes last week.   Morris abruptly quit the Clinton campaign two weeks ago after a supermarket tabloid reported that he shared White House secrets with a $200-an-hour prostitute with whom he had a year-long affair in Washington.   Clinton also planned to highlight his education proposals at a campaign rally in St. Louis on Tuesday and was to focus on crime-stopping and health benefits for the elderly at rallies in Colorado and Arizona on Wednesday.   He was to spend Thursday in California, the biggest prize on Nov. 5, with 54 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the election.   The latest survey by a respected independent pollster put Clinton ahead of Dole by 23 percentage points.   Campaign aides said Clinton also enjoyed a double-digit lead in traditionally Democratic Missouri, a state Clinton carried in 1992, and claimed there were signs Dole, from neighbouring Kansas, might write off its 11 electoral votes.   They said Clinton also led in Colorado, a Rocky Mountain swing state whose eight electoral votes he carried in 1992, and in traditionally Republican Arizona, whose eight electoral votes went to Republican President George Bush in 1992. 
12320 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  Clinton Administration officials on Tuesday defended next Saturday's elections in Bosnia to senators sceptical about whether they will bring stability to the divided country.   "Looking at the situation from here, I am doubtful whether we will be able to justify stamping our seal of approval on any part of the election," Sen. Russ Feingold said at a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing.   The Wisconsin Democrat said he feared the elections "will bring us back to where we started -- a region full of hostile, ethnically divided factions, facing off at tenuous borders, under unstable military, economic and social conditions."   Chairman Richard Lugar, an Indiana Republican, cited "worrisome trends" in carrying out the goals of the Dayton accords between the warring Bosnian factions.   Sen. Rod Grams, a Minnesota Republican, chided the administration for giving mixed signals about how long American troops will be in Bosnia and charged that a one-year deadline given by officials was driving U.S. policy there.   The Human Rights Watch group said the elections "are about creating an illusion so that an American presidential election can go smoothly, so the dificult situation in Bosnia can be glossed over and American troops can start coming home."   Assistant Secretary of State John Kornblum acknowledged that there coud be problems, including possible cases of voter intimidation and fraud.   "The elections will not be perfect.   There will be problems and some of them may be serious," he told the panel.   But he also said the elections were Bosnia's first tentative step towards a democratic society and as the benefits of peace continued to become apparent war would be increasingly unthinkable in the country.   "This process will continue and grow as elected officials begin to work with each other to form and run a common government," he said.   Deputy Assistant Defence Secretary Thomas Longstreth said defence chiefs judged that the U.S. military deployment could be finished in about a year as President Bill Clinton promised.   He said a fairly rapid drawdown of troops would start in December but not all troops would exit immediately and the question of a later security presence in Bosnia would be a subject of consultations with the allies and with Congress. 
12321 !C21 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  Manitoba Hydro has restored a portion of electricity transmission lost in a storm in the Canadian province of Manitoba last week and resumed power exports to the U.S. Tuesday morning, a company spokesman said.   "We have a temporary line up and running, we are supplying our domestic needs and this allows us some exports," spokesman Glenn Schneider said Tuesday.   Schneider said about 1,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity was now being exported to markets in Minnesota and North Dakota.   The company normally exports about 1,500 MW of power to the two states at this time of year.   Manitoba has been importing power since last Thursday, when a storm knocked out two key transmission lines with a total capacity of about 3,500 MW bringing power from hydroelectric facitlities in the north to more populated regions in the province's south.   A temporary line from the hydroelectric facilities was activated early Tuesday, and is expected to be capable of moving about 2,700 MW of power, Schneider said.   The two damaged lines are not expected to be permanently restored until mid-October, the spokesman said.   Storm winds knocked over a total of 19 metal towers supporting the two transmission lines northwest of the provincial capital of Winnipeg.   Spot electricity prices in the U.S. Mid-West surged last week and remained high Monday with the news Manitoba had reversed exports and had begun importing electricity to meet domestic needs.   -- Chris Reese, New York Power Desk 212-859-1627 
12322 !C13 !C17 !C24 !CCAT !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GENV  New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said he and Gov. George Pataki, and state and federal environmental officials, Tuesday agreed on a final pact to protect the city's water supply.   The mayor said the city will invest a total of $260 million to buy more watershed lands and conservation easements to provide a buffer around reservoirs, streams and wetlands.   The plan also includes about $82 million to start upgrading the last three of the city's nine wastewater treatment plants in the watershed.    Further, Giuliani said the city will "commit to fund" about $334 million in new protection and partnership programs with local communities over the next decade.   --Joan Gralla, 212-859-1654 
12323 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP !GVIO  Iraq has ignored U.S. warnings and repaired as many as four anti-aircraft missile sites damaged by U.S. cruise missile attacks in southern Iraq last week, a defence official said on Tuesday.   The official, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters radars at "three or four" now-usable missile sites have not tried to target U.S. warplanes but "one must assume that they are operational if they have both radar dishes and missiles."   Defence Secretary William Perry and Army Gen. John Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have warned Iraq's President Saddam Hussein against repairing the damage from raids on Sept. 3 and 4 or threatening U.S. and allied warplanes policing a no-fly zone in southern Iraq.   The Pentagon has said warplanes will attack any missile site that tries to attack patrolling aircraft.   "Three or four SAM (surface-to-air-missile) sites that were hit last week have been repaired south of the 33rd parallel," the U.S. defence official said of intelligence reports.   But the official stressed that Iraq's air defence network was still "extensively damaged and degraded in the south" despite the repairs.   The 44 cruise missiles were fired by U.S. warships and bombers from more than 500 miles (800 km) away to punish Saddam for a military drive into a Western-protected safe haven for Kurds in northern Iraq.   In Dubai on Tuesday, a U.S. official said there were signs that Iraq was "reconstituting" some air defence sites hit by cruise missiles last week but would not say whether this violated the allied no-fly zone.   That official, who also requested anonymity, told Reuters "Reconstituting means they can take surface-to-air missiles from other sites, or from storage, and put them up at a site that was hit."   The Pentagon said on Friday the satellite-guided cruise missiles severely degraded Iraqi anti-aircraft defences, destroying or damaging up to 11 of 15 targets.   Stressing that the damage assessment was not complete, it said the Tomahawk ship-launched missiles and cruise missiles fired by B-52 bombers were aimed at eight surface-to-air missile sites and seven air defence command and control facilities.   It said U.S. intelligence had not determined final results of the strikes but the missiles, designed to land within a 12-yard (metre) radius from well over 500 miles (800 km) away at least half of the time, had apparently performed well. 
12324 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Hurricane Hortense failed to inflict widespread damage on of St Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands as it doused the Caribbean island with more water than wind, a safety official on the island told Reuters Tuesday.   "To the best of my knowledge the hurricane has caused no widespread damage or destruction," said Ralph Johnson, an emergency planner at the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency (VITEMA) on St Croix.   He also said VITEMA had not heard of any extraordinary problems at Amerada Hess Corp huge oil refinery on St Croix aside from normal pre-hurricane preparations.   "We have heard nothing from them," Johnson said referring to the Hess refinery.   "I'm assuming they are operational."   Traders familiar with the refinery's operation echoed Johnson, saying the refinery was up and running normally after Hortense's passage.   The hurricane, packing relatively light hurricane-force winds of 80 miles per hour (129 kilometres per hour) brought very heavy rains to the edges of the Virgin Islands and to Puerto Rico.   The storm looked likely to lash the Dominican Republic and Haiti and could be at Florida's doorstep by the week's end as it tracks west-northwestward at 12 mph (19 kph).   -- Oliver Ludwig, New York Energy Desk +1 212 859 1620 
12325 !C13 !C17 !C31 !C312 !CCAT !E51 !E512 !ECAT !G15 !G153 !G158 !GCAT  The United States will not resume use of farm export subsidies despite European Union's use of its own export subsidies, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said Tuesday.   Glickman said the U.S. reserved the right to subsidize its exports, but "it's too early yet" to respond to the EU.    USDA suspended use of the Export Enhancement Program more than a year ago due to high grain prices and an EU decision to stop using its own subsidy programs.   The EU recently subsidized a small volume of wheat sales.   Glickman said the subsidy levels, about $6 per tonne, were too low to trigger a U.S. reaction.   "We reserve the right, but we don't have plans right now to start it (EEP) up again.   We're going to watch to see (what happens)," he said.    Glickman warned the U.S. would respond if an export trade war developed.   "If they expand it significantly, they do so at their peril because we will use the program," he said.   Congress limited EEP to $100 million this fiscal year, far less than was alloted in past years, in the belief tight global supplies would make grain export subsidies unnecessary.   USDA officials have said additional funds could be found if they were needed. 
12326 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GENT  Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is refusing to sell award-winning rock singer Sheryl Crow's new album because it contains an anti-violence song suggesting the giant retailer sells guns to children, a spokesman said on Tuesday.   "Wal-Mart recognises we'll take a financial hit by doing this, but to do otherwise would not be fair to our employees who work so hard to help children, not harm them," said Dale Ingram, spokesman for the largest U.S. retailer.   Ingram said Wal-Mart has strict policies which prohibit the sale of guns to minors.   "For us to profit from a lyric that says we harm children willingly would be irresponsible and unfair," he said.   The album, entitled "Sheryl Crow," is due for release by A&M Records on Sept. 24.   Crow won three Grammy Awards in 1995 after the release of her best-selling first album "Tuesday Night Music Club."   Large retail chains like Wal-Mart regularly ban records with lyrics they say are excessively violent or sexually explicit but Crow's songs fall into neither of those categories.   The offending song on the new Crow album is called "Love Is a Good Thing" and contains the following lyric: "Watch out sister, watch out brother, Watch our children as they kill each other, With a gun they bought at the Wal-Mart discount stores."   Ingram said Wal-Mart did not ask Crow to edit the song but would not sell the album.   However, it will continue to stock her first album.   Wal-Mart, which employs more than 670,000 people, has been hit with at least two lawsuits in recent years from the relatives of people killed with guns bought at its stores. 
12327 !GCAT !GPOL !GREL  Senators on Tuesday invoked God, the Constitution and the history of civilisation as they debated two bills on homosexuals, one extending workplace rights and the other restricting marriage.   Both measures, set for votes later in the day, have the support of President Bill Clinton.   The Employment Non-Discrimination Act would extend civil rights laws to protect people from being fired because of their sexual orientation.   The Defence of Marriage Act would prohibit federal Social Security and veterans benefits for spouses in same-sex marriages, should they become legal in any state.   The bill, which passed the House of Representatives 342-67 in July, also says no state need recognise same-sex marriages that occurred in other states.   "The Senate bill would reaffirm by federal law what is already understood by everyone," said Sen. Robert Byrd, D-West Virginia, who is the prime co-sponsor of the "Defense of Marriage Act."   "The permanent relationship between men and women is a keystone to the stability, strength and health of human society."   Byrd called the idea of same-sex marriages "absurd," and read from the Bible to buttress his argument that they flew "in the face of the thousands of years of experience about the societal stability that traditional marriage has afforded human civilisation."   No U.S. state now allows same-sex marriages but Hawaii may permit them by the end of 1997 because of a pending court case, those on both sides say.   As the Senate debated, two of the women bringing the Hawaii suit, Ninia Baehr and Genora Dancel, stood outside the Capitol and defended their right to marry.   Baehr recalled the marriage of her sister had been "wonderful, all these family and friends acknowledging and celebrating her marriage.   And I would like the same thing."   Beyond that, Baehr argued that she and Dancel need marriage for its neat package of joint legal privileges for everything from children and health insurance to the rights of next of kin.   Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, D-Illinois, the only black member of the Senate, recalled that when she was a girl one of her relatives was married to a white person, an act illegal in 16 states.   "That kind of restriction may seem unbelievable today but it was a reality of life not too many decades ago," she said, adding such laws were finally overthrown in 1967 by the Supreme Court.   "Here we are faced with the exact same arguments against domestic relations of another order."   The other bill adds sexual orientation to the list of attributes -- including race, gender, religion, physical disability and age -- that may not be considered in hiring and firing. 
12328 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP !GVIO  Extradition proceedings have been stopped against a man wanted in Peru for allegedly being a member of the Shining Path leftist guerrilla group, federal prosecutors said on Tuesday.   Julian Salazar Calero's extradition case ended because Peru failed to supply the U.S. government with sufficient evidence, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office said.   The case can be reopened if Peru sends adequate information.   In an Aug. 23 letter to U.S. Magistrate Judge Sharon Grubin, prosecutors said Peru had filed formal extradition and supplemental papers with the State Department.   But, they said, "after reviewing the papers filed, this office has determined that the papers as they now stand are insufficient to proceed with the extradition of Julian Salazar Calero to Peru."   Prosecutors requested that the case against Salazar be dismissed but asked to retain the right to reopen it "should we receive from the Government of Peru papers which set forth sufficient probable cause to support the extradition."   Salazar was being held in a Manhattan federal prison on a separate deportation complaint brought by the Immigration and Naturalisation Service when he was arrested on June 3 on the federal criminal complaint based on a Peruvian arrest warrant.   Federal prosecutors said Salazar had been indicted on "terrorism" charges in Peru and there were five outstanding warrants for his arrest there.   They said Peru alleged that he was a member of the Shining Path group that planned and executed numerous attacks in Peru, resulting in the deaths of police officers and civilians.   Peruvian officials alleged that Salazar participated with Shining Path members in the 1991 ambush of a police patrol that killed six police officers.   It was also alleged that he usd his Lima home as a "support house" where Felipe Tenorio Barbaran, a Shining Path leader, could hide out. 
12329 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO  Former Sen. Barry Goldwater, who ran for president against Lyndon Johnson in 1964, has suffered a stroke and is undergoing tests in a hospital neurological center, his office said on Tuesday.   His spokeswoman Doris Berry said Goldwater, 87, suffered a minor stroke on Monday and quoted his wife Susan as saying he was "resting comfortably."    Goldwater was admitted to the Barrows Neurological Institute of St. Jospeph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, where he was undergoing tests, Berry said.   Goldwater, the dean of American conservatives, is credited with drawing Ronald Reagan into national politics.   He made his name with a rousing presidential campaign whose slogan was "Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice!"   The emergence of Goldwater, then a senator from Arizona, as the Republican presidential nominee in 1964 gave conservatives a heady taste of power after years of eclipse.   But the right-wing renaissance proved premature as Goldwater was thrashed in the general election by Johnson. 
12330 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GENT  Twentieth Century Fox studios Tuesday said it plans to release its popular summer film "Independence Day" on videotape on November 22, just in time for the holidays.   In a statement, the News Corp unit said the video, which smashed box office records this summer, will sell for $22.98 in the United States and $24.98 in Canada.   The alien adventure film has already grossed more than $268 million at the box office.   Fox said it plans to launch the video with an extensive marketing campaign. 
12331 !GCAT !GCRIM !GREL  A predominantly black Dallas church was burned down in an arson attack on Tuesday but fire officials said it was not clear if the blaze was racially motivated.   A vandal apparently broke into the Church of the Living God in south Dallas shortly after midnight and set the blaze which wrecked much of the building, causing over $100,000 of damage.   Dick Langran, arson chief at the city's fire department, said the evidence pointed to arson and that agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) were investigating.   He said there were no obvious signs of a racist attack.   "There was no graffiti, no signs or symbols leading me to believe that," Langran said.   "But it can't be discounted.   That will be looked at during the investigation."   The FBI and the ATF have investigated dozens of fires at U.S. churches since the beginning of 1995, many of them at black churches across the South.   Investigators believe some were racially motivated.   On Sunday night, the mainly black New Home Missionary Baptist church in Sacramento, Calif. was destroyed by fire. 
12332 !C12 !C34 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  United Parcel Service of America Inc said on Tuesday that a federal court dismissed an antitrust lawsuit brought by General Parcel Service Inc.   "UPS applauds the decision of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia which dismisses in its entirety the antitrust lawsuit," the privately held parcel delivery company said in a statement.   In the lawsuit, General Parcel had complained that UPS business practices, including its volume-based national discounts, were anti-competitive.    UPS said the court ordered that General Parcel "take nothing, that the action be dismissed, and that the defendants recover from the plaintiff their costs of this action."   Atlanta Bureau -- (404) 870-7340 
12333 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Cirrus Logic Inc Tuesday, responding to news reports on Monday about a lawsuit filed recently against the company, said the action was the same lawsuit that was filed last February.   In a statement, Cirrus said the only new developments in the case have been favorable to the company.   On August 22, the company said the court dismissed half of the plaintiffs' case with prejudice including all of the plaintiffs' claims under the California securities laws and the plaintiffs' claims for breach of fiduciary duty.   On August 30, the company said the court stayed all proceedings pending its determination as to whether plaintiffs and their lawyers were adequate to represent a class.   Neither plaintiffs nor their law firms have been appointed to represent a class in this lawsuit, the company said.   Cirrus Logic is a leading manufacturer of advanced integrated circuits for the desktop and portable computing, telecommunications, and consumer electronics markets. 
12334 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP !GPOL !GWELF  California Gov. Pete Wilson announced Tuesday that he will ask a federal court to reconsider its decision striking down much of the state's Proposition 187 law barring benefits to illegal aliens.   U.S. District Court Judge Mariana Pfaelzer ruled last November that only the federal government can report the presence of illegal immigrants and deny benefits to them.   Wilson said he will ask for a reversal because the new federal welfare reform law requires states both to report the presence of illegal aliens and to deny them benefits.   "Clearly under the action taken by the Congress and signed into law by the president as the welfare reform bill, the basis for her invalidation no longer exists," he said.   Wilson spoke to reporters after a meeting with Speaker Newt Gingrich and other House members on an immigration bill being considered by Congress.   He urged Congress to approve an amendment to the bill by Representative Elton Gallegly, R-California, that would allow states to deny public education benefits to illegal aliens.   Wilson said education accounts for $2 billion of the $3 billion California spends on benefits to illegal aliens.   Gallegly said his amendment would not deny such education benefits but rather would allow states to take that action.   He said it had been modified to require the federal government to force states to continue to educate all children from kindergarten through the 12th grade "provided they do not leave the school district." 
12335 !GCAT !GDIP  President Bill Clinton spoke with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl by telephone on Tuesday, chiefly about Kohl's weekend meeting with ailing Russian President Boris Yeltsin, the White House said.   Spokesman Mike McCurry told reporters Clinton talked with Kohl for about 20 minutes from Air Force One shortly before landing in Kansas City, his first stop on a three-day campaign trip ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election.   "The chancellor said Yeltsin was very engaged.   Obviously (Yeltsin is) concerned about his upcoming medical procedure but looking forward to having it over with," McCurry said.   On Saturday Kohl told reporters after meeting Yeltsin, who is to undergo heart surgery this month, that the Russian leader was "fully active" and "very optimistic."   McCurry said Clinton and Kohl also discussed NATO expansion but he gave no details.   U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher said on a visit to Stuttgart, Germany last week that NATO leaders should approve a charter defining the alliance's relations with Russia at a summit next year on the admission of new members. 
12336 !GCAT !GPOL  Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole will meet with Republican congressional leaders, aides said on Tuesday, amid growing signs of concern his flagging campaign could damage party prospects in November.   Aides said Dole and vice presidential running mate Jack Kemp would meet with House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and other Republicans on Wednesday morning in the Capitol.   "It's the last opportunity to brief the troops," said Dole press secretary Nelson Warfield.   The meeting comes eight weeks before Election Day with Dole trailing President Bill Clinton 15 percentage points or more in recent opinion polls and with no sign of Dole beginning to catch up.   Alarmed that Dole is heading for defeat on Nov. 5, some Republican congressional candidates have quietly begun to distance themselves from his campaign.   Republicans won control of the House and Senate from Democrats in 1994 for the first time in 40 years.   Democrats believe a big Clinton victory could propel them back to control of Congress.   Texas Representative Tom Delay, Republican whip in the House of Representatives, was quoted in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday as saying: "If we have a (Dole) meltdown, then I'm going to get worried" about keeping Republican control of Congress.   Some Republican candidates have stopped attacking Clinton and are now boasting of their ability to work harmoniously with the Democratic incumbent.   Two respected congressional election analysts, Charles Cook and Stuart Rothenberg, both believe the Republicans should hang on to control of Congress, though with slimmer majorities.   The party has a 20-seat edge in the 435-member House of Representatives.   Cook and Rothenberg, both of whom publish their own political newsletters, believe that could be chopped to a thin majority of five to eight seats.   In the Senate, dramatic movement is less likely since the Democrats are defending a number of seats in unfriendly Southern states.   Republicans currently hold a 53-47 edge in the Senate.   Polls show Democrats have a single-digit advantage when voters are asked who they will vote for in their congressional district with some public sentiment in favour of divided government, with Clinton in the White House and Republicans controlling Congress.   During a two-day campaign swing through the South Dole has been trying to shore up his Republican base.   At every stop Dole has pushed his 15 percent income tax cut and blamed Clinton for increased drug use among teenagers.   At a rally in the small Louisiana town of Baker, Dole derided Clinton's claim that another four years of his Democratic administration would be a bridge to a brighter American future.   "Which bridge to the future is right for America?   My opponent would build a bridge of higher taxes and more teenagers using drugs, of a government-run health care system, more liberal judges, an economy producing fewer jobs and more and more and more government," Dole said.   "I want to build a bridge to lower taxes and less regulation," he said.   To help make the case that Clinton does not have the character to be president, Dole has been travelling with former White House drug czar William Bennett, who has harshly attacked the president.   Bennett told reporters that Clinton "is one of the most unprincipled major figures in recent history." 
12337 !E41 !E411 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Virginia's unemployment rate edged down to 4.5 percent in July from 4.8 percent in June, the Virginia Employment Commission said Tuesday.   The rate was unchanged from July of last year and represents 159,140 unemployed residents out of a civilian workforce of 3.56 million.   The city of Fairfax had the state's lowest unemployment rate, 1.5 percent, and Dickenson County had the higest, 19.2 percent.   --Jane Sutton, 305-374-5013 
12338 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Negotiators for McDonnell Douglas Corp and the striking International Association of Machinists met Tuesday for final talks before the union votes Wednesday on the company's contract offer.   Federal mediator Richard Horn said the two sides would not bargain on Tuesday.   "We are here to make sure all the questions are answered on the package," Horn said.   Company executives and union officials hammered out a tentative agreement last week that could end the strike, which has affected 6,700 workers.   The machinists struck June 5.   The main issue is job security.   The machinists are set to vote on the contract proposal at 1300 CDT/1800 GMT on Wednesday.   Union officials said they would not recommend a vote either for or against the proposal, leaving members to decide for themselves.   -- Chicago newsdesk 312 408-8787 
12339 !C17 !C24 !CCAT !E21 !E212 !ECAT !GCAT !GSPO  The San Francisco 49ers football team wants the city to cover up to half the cost of a new stadium, team officials said on Tuesday.   The 49ers, whose lease at 3Com Park, formerly Candlestick, expires in 2006, have been in talks with San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown about building a replacement facility.   Its price has been estimated at $250 million.   Monday, the San Francisco Giants baseball team said Chase Securities Inc would arrange $140 million in financing for the construction of a $255 million ballpark for that team.   Chase Securities, a subsidiary of Chase Manhattan Corp, will structure and arrange $140 million in syndicated bank credit facilities.   The $140 million bank facility would later be replaced by a permanent financing, using the private placement of long-term securities. 
12340 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told New York business leaders on Tuesday that he was more optimistic about reaching an accord with the Palestinians than achieving peace with Syria.   "Syria essentially wants ... to resume negotiations by saying to us, 'We need to negotiate the future of the Golan Heights, therefore, you (must) accept our demand to cede the Golan Heights,'" Netanyahu told a breakfast meeting of the Association for a Better New York.   "At a certain point we   will discover whether Syria is interested in peace.   I'm more sanguine about the Palestinian plan ... both sides have a vested interest," he added.   His comments came at the start of a busy day in New York.   He was to visit the grave of Rabbi Menchem Schnerson, leader of the world-wide Lubavitch Hasidic movement, and address a dinner of U.S. Jewish leaders along with Vice President Al Gore and Republican vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp.   Netanyahu met President Bill Clinton in Washington on Monday and afterwards urged Syria to resume peace negotiations without conditions.   U.S. officials said they were trying to find a way to bring the two sides together.   After an hour-long working visit with Clinton, Netanyahu told reporters there was "a wide area for negotiations between us and Syria."   He also pledged to pursue peace negotiations with the Palestinians and Clinton expressed confidence that some progress was being made in the Middle East.   Israeli officials said Netanyahu rejected calls by the Clinton administration to pull Israeli troops out of Arab-populated areas of the West Bank town of Hebron, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.   The Post said Netanyahu argued that such a step could create an "explosive" situation in Hebron and damage the overall peace process.   Israeli troops were supposed to have pulled back from the Arab population centres in Hebron by the end of last March, guarding only the 440 or so Jews in the town.   The Post quoted State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns as saying Washington expected Israel to live up to commitments made by the previous Labour government but would not hold the new Likud government to any "fixed timetable."   REUTER 
12341 !GCAT !GWEA  Temperatures were expected to drop to below normal across much of the U.S. Midwest this week as a slow-moving cold front pushes across the region, meteorologists said.   "It will start to show up in the western corn belt on Thursday with low temperatures in the 40s (degrees Farenheit) in northern Iowa and southern Minnesota Thursday morning," said Mike Palmerino, meteorologist with Weather Services Corp.   "I think you're just going to see that cooler weather work its way across the corn belt over the weekend," he added.   No freezing temperatures were forecast for this week.    "All this warm summer weather we're seeing in the Midwest is going to come crashing to a halt," Palmerino said.   "Thursday, Friday, and into the weekend, temperatures are really going to drop off."   The system was expected to bring light showers to Minnesota and Wisconsin on Tuesday, Palmerino said.   Rainfall amounts should be below 0.25 inch with about 50 percent coverage, he said.   By Thursday, rains should move into the eastern corn belt with 0.30 to 1.50 inches likely and coverage closer to 60 percent, said Basilio Lopez, meteorologist for Smith Barney.    "Most of the moisture will still miss the driest pockets of the Midwest," Lopez said.   "This system will move slowly to the east by early next week and until it does, cool Canadian air will be the rule across the region."   High temperatures were expected to be in the 60s F across most of the region through the weekend with some 70s F possible, meteorologists agreed.   The eastern corn belt can expect clouds and drizzle during that period while the west could see some clear skies.   "Conditions will not clear out in the east until the middle of next week," Lopez said.   "The north and west sections of the belt should have cool but generally clear days through the period."   --Emily Kaiser 312-408-8749 
12342 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  After 40 years of debate, the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved and opened for signature a landmark treaty that would ban nuclear explosions from the world forever.   But the assembly's action was not sufficient to implement the treaty because India, whose signature is necessary, has vowed to block its ratification.   "I would like to declare on the floor of this august assembly that India will never sign this unequal treaty, not now, nor later," said India's delegate, Arundhati Ghose.   The vote was a lopsided 158-to-3 with India, Bhutan and Libya voting against.   Abstaining were Cuba, Lebanon, Mauritius, Syria and Tanzania.   All five declared nuclear powers -- the United States, Russia, France, Britain and China -- support the document, but the treaty does not come into force until 44 states with a nuclear potential sign it.   This includes India, which exploded a device in 1974.   Tuesday's resolution, drafted by Australia, approves the treaty and asks that it be open for signature as soon as possible.   Its supporters believe that those nations who sign will abide by the treaty's provisions anyway and that, isolated, India over the next few years might change its mind.   "There could be no greater gift to the future and no better start to a new century, than a world in which this treaty is law from pole to pole, in every land, for all time," U.S. Ambassador Madeleine Albright told the assembly.   "An end to nuclear test explosions will create a climate of confidence that will sustain today's trend toward smaller nuclear arsenals," she said.   "It would also reduce subtantially the risk that the number of countries possessing nuclear weapons will grow."   And U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali called for speedy ratification of the treaty "so that our children and grandchildren can grow up without the threat of nuclear weapons proliferation."   The treaty may be open for signature by the time U.S. President Bill Clinton comes to the United Nations on Sept. 24.   Although the United States has long imposed a moratium on testing, the Republican party platform opposes signing the treaty.   India's Ghose particularly objected to her country being included among the 44 countries that must ratify the treaty, saying: "As long as this text contains this article, this treaty will never enter into force."   Diplomats said New Delhi fears that sanctions might be taken against it in the future if it is the only country among the 44 that will not sign the document.   India says the treaty does not go far enough in spelling out a timetable for global nuclear disarmament.   It also maintains that the treaty would prevent it from responding to threats from neighbouring China and from Pakistan, which may have a covert nuclear and missile programme.   Pakistan said it would vote for the resolution endorsing the treaty but would not sign it unless India does so.   Usually a treaty is adopted first by the conference that drafted it and submitted to the U.N. General Assembly for approval.   It is then open for signature, with ratification from a specified number of states required to become international law.   In this case, the resolution before the assembly is an attempt to rescue the treaty from oblivion after India last month vetoed the text at the 61-nation Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.   Conference rules require unanimity, whereas the General Assembly can approve resolutions by a majority vote.   The treaty bans any kind of nuclear weapons explosions, whether in the atmosphere or underground.   It also set up a monitoring system to verify compliance or spot violations.   It would enter into force 180 days after it was signed and ratified by 44 countries that have nuclear reactors of some kind.   If at the end of three years the treaty does not get the required signatures, a conference will be held to evaluate and possibly change the requirements.   Since the United States exploded the world's first atomic bomb on July 16, 1945 in the New Mexico desert there have been 2,045 known nuclear tests, 1,030 of them American and 715 in the former Soviet Union. 
12343 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GVIO  Thousands of navy shipyard workers demonstrated in French ports on Tuesday against plans to axe jobs in sweeping reforms of the French defence and arms industry.   No incidents were reported as protesters marched through Cherbourg on the Channel, the ports of Brest, Lorient and Nantes on the Atlantic and Toulon on the Mediterranean.   Union leaders said more than 15,000 people participated in the protests, called by major trade unions which fear major job cuts seriously hurting the ports.   Unions say the government plans to shed 1,700 of 4,150 jobs at Cherbourg and 2,000 of 6,000 at Brest.   Brest shipyards have no orders for the years 1999 and 2000 after they deliver the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.   In Paris, Defence Minister Charles Millon agreed to meet a delegation of local officials from the port areas and told reporters afterwards that he would try to advance the date for construction of the next nuclear submarine, now slated to begin in Cherbourg in 2000.   Millon said shipyard payrolls would be cut by some 500 workers in 1997, though by erosion rather than lay-offs.   However he added that he could not now say what would happen in 1998.   President Jacques Chirac has announced plans for a major streamlining of defence, aiming to peg spending at an annual 185 billion francs ($37 billion) in 1997-2002, about 20 billion francs ($4 billion) less than in 1994.   The Force Ouvriere (FO) trade union said the reforms, which Chirac says are essential after the end of the Cold War, were decided hastily.   It said the plans would hurt related industries and could turn into a disaster for the ports.   It urged members to join a major protest in Paris on September 21 against unemployment. 
12344 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Former SS major Karl Hass has shed new light on the World War Two theft of 80 tonnes of gold by the Nazis from the Bank of Italy, an Italian military prosecutor said on Tuesday.   Prosecutor Antonino Intelisano said he questioned Hass, currently recovering at a private clinic from a broken pelvis, about the gold theft as well as the Nazi killing of Italian union leader Bruno Buozzi in June 1944.   "We had a good talk about the Buozzi murder, but an especially good talk on the question of the gold," Intelisano told reporters after meeting 84-year-old Hass.   The development in Italy came as Britain revived speculation over the fate of other gold looted by the Nazis by disclosing that Switzerland turned over to Allied powers only a small part of the gold it acknowledged buying in World War Two.   The Foreign Office said in a report the sum of 250 million Swiss francs (about $60 million at 1946 rates, $203.7 million at today's rates) paid in 1946 to settle claims connected with Nazi gold was little more than a tenth of the gold thought to be in Swiss bank vaults at the end of the war.   Hass broke his pelvis when he fell from the first floor balcony of a Rome hotel in July.   He said he had been trying to avoid testifying at the war crimes trial of another SS officer based in Rome during the war, Erich Priebke, who was charged over the killing of 335 Italian men and boys at the Ardeatine Caves near Rome in March 1944.   Priebke was found guilty of involvement in the massacre, but a military court ordered him freed because of a 30-year statute of limitations.   The 83-year old German was re-arrested when Germany said it wanted to extradite him for a war crimes trial.   Germany has also requested the extradition of Hass, who took part in the Ardeatine cave killings alongside Priebke.   Intelisano said Hass had provided new information about the stolen gold and quantities of cash seized by the Germans as they fled Rome in 1944.   "Hass has given us the names of people to talk to and opened useful lines of enquiry," Intelisano said.   Over the years, there has been repeated speculation that retreating German troops buried tonnes of plundered treasures inside a mountain just north of Rome, Monte Soratte.   A search in the 1980s turned up nothing. 
12345 !GCAT !GDIP  France, seeking a bigger role in the Middle East, offered on Tuesday to help Israel revive peace negotiations with Syria after Damascus accused hardline Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of burying hopes for talks.   Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy met French President Jacques Chirac, who is to tour the region next month, and Foreign Minister Herve de Charette to discuss the state of peace efforts following the election in May of an Israeli government opposed to trading any more occupied Arab land for peace.   Afterwards, Levy said he had asked the French to pass a message to Syria and Lebanon, and he was "sure this mission will be carried out with goodwill and great faith, based on Franco-Israeli friendship".   Israeli-Syrian peace talks, centred on Damascus' demand for the return of the Golan Heights captured in the 1967 Middle East war, were suspended before the Israeli general election and have not resumed.   Presidential spokeswoman Catherine Colonna said Chirac had stressed "France's availability to contribute to moving forward the peace process" and insisted the great hopes raised by Arab-Israeli negotiations must not be disappointed.   De Charette told a joint news conference: "France is doing everything so that contacts are resumed.   It is working towards this aim with Israel and the other countries in the region as well as with the United States."   Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara visited Paris last week and Chirac plans to visit both Damascus and Jerusalem, as well as Beirut, Amman and Gaza, on his Middle East trip late next month, officials said.   Levy told reporters Israel was prepared to resume direct negotiations with Syria unconditionally and immediately.   He also said Damascus had misunderstood the new Israeli government's "Lebanon first" proposal in the belief that the Jewish state was seeking to avoid Israeli-Syrian peace talks.   Syria could help guarantee an end to guerrilla attacks that would enable Israel to withdraw completely from southern Lebanon while at the same time pressing ahead with talks on an Israeli-Syrian settlement, the Israeli minister said.   However the official Syrian newspaper al-Baath said Netanyahu was making the resumption of negotiations impossible by ignoring the outcome of nearly five years of bilateral talks.   "Netanyahu struck a new nail in the coffin of the peace process when he put more obstacles and impossible conditions which remove any possibility to resume negotiations," it said.   Levy said the talks which the Labour government of former premier Shimon Peres had held with Syrian negotiators at Wye Plantation, outside Washington, had not reached any understanding binding on the new Israeli administration.   "There is no piece of paper and no Israeli signature.   Instead of playing blind man's buff...we should move towards peace," the foreign minister said.   Both sides stressed the good atmosphere of the talks.   Levy, who spoke fluent, Moroccan-accented French, used the familiar "tu" form of address and called de Charette "Herve".   He said Netanyahu would visit Paris on September 25.   France welcomed the first meeting between Netanyahu and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat last week and urged Israel to stick to the agreements signed by the Labour government.   The foreign ministry said "land for peace" remained one of the basic principles of the peace process, as well as Israel's right to security. 
12346 !GCAT !GCRIM  Investigators probing Belgium's scandal of child kidnapping, sexual abuse and murder questioned several policemen after raids on Tuesday.   Assistant Public Prosecutor Jean-Paul Pavanello said 15 premises searched around the southern city of Charleroi included an office occupied by the city's judicial police.   In a case that has stunned Belgium, police last month rescued two young girls abducted by convicted rapist Marc Dutroux and accomplice Michel Lelievre and unearthed the bodies of four more as well as that of Frenchman Bernard Weinstein.   King Albert made the unprecedented move on Tuesday of stepping into national judicial affairs when he asked Justice Minister Stefaan De Clerck to make sure the scandal was solved.   The Royal couple came in for bitter criticism from the parents of eight-year-olds Julie Lejeune and Melissa Russo -- found dead on August 17 in a property owned by Dutroux -- for not pushing the police to investigate fully the disappearance of their children.   Those questioned on Tuesday included eight members of the judicial police and three gendarmes, along with 12 people close to chief detective Georges Zicot, arrested two weeks ago during investigations into Dutroux' child porn and car theft gang.   Pavanello said the questioning was over car thefts and the murder of Weinstein, an accomplice whom Dutroux admits killing.   He said police were finding growing links between the child sex case and the car thefts.   Since the investigations began on August 9 with the abduction of 14-year-old Laetitia Delhez -- one of the two girls rescued six days later from home-made dungeon in a house owned by Dutroux -- 10 people have been arrested and charged.   Pavanello told Reuters no arrest warrants were issued on Tuesday.   Detective Zicot appeared in court in Liege on Tuesday to appeal against charges of car theft, insurance fraud and forgery.   Insurance fraud investigator Thierry Dehaan, who has also been charged with fraud and forgery, was in court alongside Zicot.   Gerrard Pinon, charged with handling stolen goods, has not appealed and was not in court, Pavanello said.   Belga news agency said a ruling was due Thursday or Friday.   In Neufchateau, nerve centre of the international paedophile pornography ring hunt, charges against Annie Bouty of criminal association were formally confirmed.   Bouty, a disbarred lawyer, is the former companion of Jean-Michel Nihoul a Brussels businessman who has been charged with criminal association relating to the sex abuse and pornorgaphy side of the investigations.   Dutroux, Lelievre and Dutroux' second wife Michelle Martin -- charged as an accomplice -- are due to appear in court on Friday to have the charges against them renewed.   Authorities in Bratislava suspect Dutroux of the murder of a Slovak woman and the planned kidnapping of at least one other.   Belgium went into mourning for the second time in as many weeks at the weekend as Dutroux gang victims Eefje Lambrecks and An Marchal were buried in their home town of Hasselt.   They had been found under a shed on a property formerly occupied by Weinstein.   On August 22 the bodies of Julie Lejeune and Melissa Russo -- who had starved to death in a Dutroux property southwest of Charleroi -- were buried in Liege.   A gendarmerie spokesman said police would end their searches at the property later on Tuesday and move their attention on Wednesday to a house in the Marchienne-au-Pont suburb of Charleroi and another in the Ixelles suburb of Brussels.   At least seven other Belgian youngsters are still missing -- some for several years.   The hunt for missing girls and cars is international.   Investigators have visited Slovakia and the Czech Republic and contacted Police in Austria, Germany and Poland. 
12347 !GCAT !GPOL  PARIS, Sept 10 (reuter) - A leader of France's opposition Socialist party on Tuesday called for the banning of the far-right National Front after its leader Jean-Marie Le Pen said racial inequality was "a fact"   France's Movement against Racism (MRAP) also attacked Le Pen for the statement and said it was taking legal action against him.   The head of the French Jewish community, Henri Hadjenberg, said Le Pen's remarks were "a danger for democracy".   Le Pen told Europe 1 radio on Monday: "To say that the races are unequal is a fact, an unremarkable statement."   He cited as an example an "obvious difference" between white and black athletes at the Olympics.   Socialist leader Henri Emmanuelli said in a statement: "This open racism is incompatible with the fundamental principles of our Constitution and our laws...In the face of such a provocation...banning the National Front becomes a moral and legal imperative."   MRAP Secretary-General Mouloud Aounit said he was taking legal action because the statement was "not a slip of the tongue, but the clear and cold expression of what Le Pen has been thinking for a long time".   "We expected a kind of outcry from the government and public opinion, but I am seeing, sadly, that such statements get no notice," Aounit said in a telephone interview.   "The time has come to call a halt, or else where is this going to end?"   MRAP lawyer Pierre Meyrat, who was drafting the legal action, said Le Pen could face a fine if found guilty of inciting racial hatred, a crime in France.   Le Pen, who won 15 percent of the vote in last year's presidential election, has in the past denied charges of racism and anti-semitism.   He sparked fury with a 1987 remark that the Nazi death camp gas chambers were "a mere detail in the history of the Second World War".   His National Front, whose slogan is "France for the French", has announced a drive to improve its image ahead of the 1998 general election in an effort to broaden its appeal.   But the public relations campaign was set back earlier this year when he charged that many players on the nation's soccer team were foreigners unable to sing the national anthem.   When informed that all on the team were indeed French citizens, he noted that some were of foreign origin and that the team would be better if all players were native Frenchmen. 
12348 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  Unidentified attackers blew up a car belonging to an investigating magistrate in the Corsican town of Bastia early on Tuesday, police said.   There were no injuries and no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.   The home of magistrate Rose-May Spazzola had been bombed last January when suspected separatist guerrillas also targeted the empty home of the president of the local court.   On Saturday Spazzola was required to release on a legal technicality a suspected separatist who was detained again on Sunday on the orders of a Paris prosecutor.   The suspect, Stephane Pierantoni, was tranferred to Paris and remanded on suspicion of possessing weapons and belonging to a guerrilla group.   Police sources said he was suspected of stealing a car that was later used in a car bomb attack which killed a separatist leader in a war between rival guerrilla groups.   The investigation into the bombing was passed on to anti-terrorism magistrates in Paris.   Magistrates in Bastia voted to postpone all court hearings until Monday in protest at the latest attack, save for those involving prisoners.   Presiding judge Pierre Gouzenne read an open letter to be sent to Justice Minister Jacques Toubon which recalled that in 18 months, six bombings had targeted magistrates at the Ajaccio and Bastia law courts.   "(The judges) expect that the determination and support expressed by the Prime Minister (Alain Juppe) during his visit (last month) will bring concrete action," he told a news conference.   Juppe had promised a police crackdown after the French Mediterranean island was hit virtually daily by a series of bombings, part of a campaign by separatist guerrillas seeking greater autonomy from mainland France. 
12349 !GCAT !GPOL  The Spanish government's Basque allies urged Defence Minister Eduardo Serra on Tuesday to quit after he acknowledged making hundreds of calls recommending friends for public contracts and other favours.   Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's administration, elected four months ago on a clean-hands platform, appeared to distance itself from the embattled minister after two days of press accusations of corruption.   And Inaki Anasagasti, of the moderate Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), told reporters: "There's no shortage of would-be defence ministers, especially in the (ruling) Popular Party.   He always looked highly suspicious to us."   Serra, an independent who served as state secretary for defence under the previous Socialist administration, said his post was up to the new conservative government to decide.   "My job, from the first instant, is at the disposal of the prime minister, who must assess the damage to the government," he told a news conference.   Local media say Serra owes his job to King Juan Carlos.   The newspaper El Mundo quoted court documents on Monday as showing Serra was a top executive of major construction company Cubiertas when it paid more than $1 million in bribes in return for contracts from then-Civil Guard chief Luis Roldan.   He denied involvement.   But Serra said he could not rule out having interceded on behalf of a brother-in-law for a contract from the paramilitary Civil Guard, as charged on Tuesday by the daily.   "Frankly, I don't know if I ever made such a request in a telephone call," he told a radio interviewer.   "It's possible."   "As you know, one makes hundreds of calls on behalf of someone else...even if it was true, it would only be a run-of-the-mill recommendation like the ones you do by the hundreds," he added.   Finance Minister Rodrigo Rato, ranked third in the cabinet, withheld absolute support when asked in another radio interview whether he would vouch for Serra.   "I'm sure he will provide clear explanations," Rato said.   Luis Ramallo, a congressman for Aznar's Popular Party, said that Serra would have to go if the accusations were true.   Serra has been in the spotlight for weeks for a reported tug-of-war with Deputy Prime Minister Francisco Alvarez Cascos over control of Spain's intelligence services.   He was also criticised as one of the key movers in the new government's surprise decision to turn down court requests to declassify files on a 1980s "dirty war" on Basque ETA rebels.   Serra said persistent attacks on him by El Mundo might be linked to "something I've done" -- an apparent reference to his role in the cabinet's refusal to declassify the files on the "dirty war" on Basque rebels.   The 1983-87 campaign of bombings, kidnappings, torture and murder killed 27 people, one-third of them by mistake.   Aznar and his centre-right Popular Party took office in May after early elections forced on his Socialist predecessor Felipe Gonzalez by mounting corruption scandals and revelations on the "dirty war" against ETA (Basque Homeland and Freedom) rebels.   Aznar's Popular Party fell short of an absolute majority and relies on Catalan nationalists and on the PNV in order to rule.   Aznar's brother Manuel, a long-serving member of the judiciary, turned down this week a more senior position in order to avoid any suspicion of undue privileges.   "It would be very good if Serra made the same gesture," said the PNV's Anasagasti. 
12350 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT !GCRIM  Luxembourg hit back on Tuesday at suggestions it was the piracy haven of the European music industry, saying its reputation as a conduit for bootleg compact discs was unfounded.   Replying to a complaint by the International Federation for the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the head of intellectual property rights at Luxembourg's economics ministry said laws would be passed this year bringing the Grand Duchy into line with the rest of the European Union.   But the official, while admitting the Grand Duchy had been slow to implement EU intellectual copyright law, nevertheless said the IFPA's complaint was misdirected.   The IFPI said on Tuesday it had asked the European Commission, the EU's executive, to take legal action against Luxembourg, saying between one and two million bootleg CDs entered the EU from the Grand Duchy each year.   Most originated in Israel, the Czech Republic or the Far East, the IFPI said.   Once they entered the customs-free EU, they went on sale chiefly in Germany, Italy and Britain.   IFPI legal adviser Stefan Krawczyk told Reuters that there were two areas where Luxembourg was allowing copyright law to be flouted -- direct "bootlegs" and so-called "back catalogues".   The latter involves manufacturers producing CDs of music first recorded less than 50 years ago.   EU law says the copyright only enters the public domain after half a century, but in Luxembourg the period is 30 years.   This means, the IFPI said, that some of the Sixties greatest hits -- including many by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley -- are being pressed by manufacturers outside the EU and passing through Luxembourg.   Bootleg CDs are copies of current recordings.   The IFPI said international copyright theft cost the music industry some $2.1 billion in lost revenue a year -- 20 percent of it in the EU.   The Luxembourg official said that since January 1995, the IFPI had been invited to inspect every shipment of CDs entering the country, but had only done so eight times.   Two of these inspections had uncovered illegal CDs, he said.   The IFPI, however, said that as Luxembourg only considered a CD to be illegal if it infringed current law, inspecting every shipment was a pointless exercise.   Luxembourg has completed drafting a law which would be put to parliament on October 8.   Once passed, it will bring the country in line with the rest of the EU, the official said.   A spokesman for the Commission confirmed the IFPI complaint had been recieved and would be investigated. 
12351 !C13 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT  The European Court of Justice ruled on Tuesday that Belgium and Britain were breaking an EU law governing the way TV is broadcast across the 15-nation bloc.   The court said Belgium's French- and Dutch-speaking regional governments had violated the EU's "TV without frontiers" directive by restricting programmes from other EU states that are carried on their cable networks.   It said Britain had broken the rules by claiming jurisdiction over broadcasters with a satellite uplink in Britain, even if they had their headquarters in another EU state.   A central principle of the "TV without frontiers" directive is that national governments cannot bar broadcasts that comply with the laws of the EU state that has jurisdiction.   Belgium's French- and Dutch-speaking governments were wrong to require cable distributors to seek prior authorisation to transmit programmes from other EU countries, the court said.   "A prior authorisation or licensing system constitutes a serious obstacle to the free movement of broadcasts within the (EU) as provided for by the directive and has the effect of abolishing freedom to provide services," the court said in a statement.   The ruling does not address problems that specific broadcasters have faced in Belgium.   But the laws it criticised were the same ones that have been used to bar French station TF1 from targeting advertising to the Belgian public and to try to block the VT4 channel from starting operations, a Commission legal source said.   Flemish authorities tried last year to ban VT4, a U.S.-Scandinavian venture based in Britain, on the grounds that only one commercial domestic broadcaster is allowed in the region.   The effort was overturned by a national administrative court.   In Britain's case, the European court said the 1990 Broadcasting Act established the wrong criteria for determining which satellite broadcasters came under British control.   The European Commission initiated the case in 1994, saying that using the satellite uplink criteria could lead to cases of double jurisdiction or of broadcasters escaping regulation.   It complained that Britain had refused, for example, to regulate the controversial Red Hot pornographic station, whose parent company was British, because it was beamed from the continent.   But the ruling is expected to have minimal impact in Britain, British sources said.   "In practice, it affects only half a dozen broadcasters, none of the big ones," one said.   She said Britain was expecting to change its licensing regime anyway since EU states have provisionally agreed to revise the "TV without frontiers" directive where it applies to jurisdiction over broadcasters.   The revision would follow the thinking of the court, she said.   Belgian regional authorities said they expected the offending laws would be changed, although one said it could be difficult politically in the French-speaking parliament. 
12352 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  Defence lawyers for a onetime Bosnian Serb cafe owner, accused of atrocities against Moslem prisoners, called their first witness on Tuesday before the U.N. criminal tribunal for former Yugoslavia.   The four-month-long war crimes trial of Dusan "Dusko" Tadic, a former reserve policeman, resumed after a three-week recess, with testimony from an American academic.   Tadic denies allegations that he moved through Serb-run detention camps in the Prijedor region of northwestern Bosnia in 1992, killing, raping and torturing Moslems.   The trial, which began in early May, adjourned in August as the prosecution wound up its case after calling 75 witnesses.   Robert McBeth Hayden, a professor of anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh, took the stand as a specialist in the politics and constitution of former Yugoslavia.   Hayden testified on the political systems in the country in the 1970s and 1980s, touching on a decline of European socialism and a rise of nationalism among different ethnic groups in the former Yugoslavia.   He was watched from the prosecution bench by Dr James Gow, a London-based academic who had opened the prosecution's case in May with similarly detailed testimony, touching on rising Serb nationalism and its evolution into ethnic cleansing.   The prosecution asserts that Tadic was part of a wider movement aiming to terrorise non-Serbs into leaving their homes in what came to be called ethnic cleansing.   When challenged by one of the judges on the relevance of Hayden's detailed testimony, defending lawyer Alphons Orie replied: "The main conclusion of Dr Gow is that this nationalistic movement mainly arose in Serbia...(we want) to see whether it's also the opinion of Professor Hayden."   Judges earlier on Tuesday heard arguments in a defence motion that the bulk of the charges against Tadic be dropped because evidence was inconsistent and some witnesses were unreliable.   Michail Wladimiroff, a prominent Dutch criminal lawyer co-ordinating Tadic's defence, told the court there had been discrepancies between what some witnesses told investigators in statements and what they said in court under oath.   Responding, Grant Niemann for the prosecution said the judges had enough evidence to continue with the trial whether or not some details of evidence had been unsatisfactory.   Presiding judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald told both sides the three-judge panel would deliver its decision on the motion as soon as possible, possibly by Wednesday or Thursday.   Should the judges support the motion in full, Tadic would still face charges relating to persecution, beatings and the killing of various men in the villages of Jaskici and Sivici.   Some of the more gruesome charges, including one of forcing a prisoner to sexually mutilate another, would be dropped.   Wladimiroff told the court his planned programme for calling alibi witnesses would be disrupted by Bosnia's first postwar elections this weekend, adding that further expert witnesses could be delayed because of other commitments.   The defence expects its first alibi witnesses to leave Bosnia on Sunday, the day after polling.   It plans to call up to 36 witnesses to support Tadic's alibi that at times specified in the indictments he was working 50 km (30 miles) away from the Prijedor region as a traffic policeman in Banja Luka.   Tadic, held at the tribunal's Hague detention centre, is one of seven warcrimes suspects in Tribunal custody.   So far the tribunal has indicted 75 suspects -- 54 Serbs, 18 Croats and three Moslem.   Its most prominent accused, deposed Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic, remain at large. 
12353 !C13 !C17 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !GJOB  French farmers' unions on Tuesday renewed calls for compensation from the European Union for the effects of the mad cow crisis, saying they wanted 1,000 French francs ($195) per breeding cow.   Earlier, farm union leaders representing France's cattle farmers met President Jacques Chirac for the second such meeting in less than two weeks to secure sympathy for their plight.   Few details of the talks emerged.   Chirac in the past has promised to take unspecified steps to help family farms survive.   "We were, I hope, understood," Luc Guyau, head of the FNSEA farmers association, said after the talks on Tuersday.   France's customs service, meanwhile, said it was looking into possible irregularities in 1,262 tonnes of feed shipped to France from Britain between January 1, 1993, and March 31, 1996.   "Additional investigation now is required to determine whether the Agriculture Ministry authorised the shipments, and to determine where the products were shipped.   Only then will we be able to identify possible law violations," the customs service said.   The 1,262 tonnes represented less than one percent of the feed imported by France from the entire European community during that period, the service said in a printed statement.   France has been looking for the past several months into the possible prosecution of British feed makers suspected of knowingly exporting animal feed containing cows' ground-up brains and spinal cords after Britain banned use of such feed at home in 1988.   Disclosure that Britain authorised such exports had provoked outrage in France.   Christine Lambert, head of the young farmers union, said a payout of 1,000 francs for each cow earmarked for calf-bearing would be needed.   It was a question of survival for breeders, she said.   Demonstrations are set for Friday in Paris and in major cattle-rearing regions of France hurt by the scare over mad cow disease, known as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).   EU farm ministers are due to discuss compensation for cattle farmers at a meeting in Brussels on September 16 and 17.   French farm minister Philippe Vasseur, present at Tuesday's talks with Chirac, said he would be on the offensive in Brussels.   "What we're looking for now are decisions and commitments from the European Union," Guyau said.   Joseph Daul, president of the National Beef Federation, said demand for beef had slid by 15 to 20 percent since the start of the scare and would result in a surplus of 1.67 million tonnes of meat by the end of the year.   A one percent increase in demand was worth 80,000 tonnes of meat, he said.   Vasseur said a European Commission proposal to fund compensation by reducing aid to cereal farmers could only be a temporary solution.   ($1=5.129 French Franc) 
12354 !E12 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT  German Finance Minister Theo Waigel, putting his 1997 budget to parliament on Tuesday, said there was no alternative to fiscal austerity to boost growth and allow Germany to qualify for European monetary union (EMU).   Opposition Social Democrats (SPD) and trade unionists hit out at Waigel after an embarrassing overshoot in this year's deficit.   But he countered he was determined to slash borrowing in 1997, when eligibility for joining EMU will be judged.   He said the government would stick to total spending of 440 billion marks ($292.7 billion) next year -- a fall of 11 billion from this year -- and a deficit of 56.5 billion marks.   "We will stick to the 1997 budget figures and we will implement our austerity package," he said.   But he warned that high unemployment posed a risk and further cuts at the Federal Labour Office in charge of unemployment benefits may be needed.   Next year's planned total public deficit, at 2.5 percent of gross domestic product, is well within the Maastricht treaty's three percent borrowing limit.   But it will be hard to achieve after the 1996 deficit hits an expected four percent.   SPD finance spokeswoman Ingrid Matthaeus-Maier said the budget was based on over-optimistic forecasts for spending and revenues, while Germany's DGB trade union federation criticised it as unrealistic and socially unjust.   "The government has also found no effective means of combating unemployment," Matthaeus-Maier said.   "It's not the social welfare state that is a burden on the economy and public finances, it's high unemployment."   Unemployment has surged to post-war highs of nearly four million, or around 10 percent of the workforce, blowing a hole in the state jobless benefit scheme.   The DGB, which mobilised 240,000 protesters last weekend against the cuts, said austerity plans would "demand sacrifices from ordinary people while giving tax cuts to companies and the rich".   It would cost 200,000 jobs in 1997 alone, the DGB said.   Waigel last week said higher unemployment would cost Bonn an additional 12.5 billion marks this year.   Unemployment is now forecast to remain high through next year, making further spending cuts unavoidable if the deficit target is to be hit.   "We will make adjustments to our draft budget -- made necessary by recent economic data -- during the parliamentary budget procedure," he said.   Waigel said that following strong second quarter growth, the German economy was doing better than earlier expected and the business climate was improving.   Real growth this year would exceed government forecasts and an expansion of one percent was "achievable".   Forecasts of two to 2.5 percent growth next year now looked solid, he said.   Waigel's budget is one component in an austerity package called the "Programme for More Jobs and Growth" which aims to slash public spending by 50 billion marks and social security spending by 20 billion next year.   The budget reading will last all week but a vote is not due until November.   Parliament will, however, vote on Friday on other key parts of the austerity package including pension and health reforms and cuts in sick pay.   A majority of states, in which the SPD either rules alone or in a coalition, had already lined up on Tuesday to block the austerity package in the Bundesrat upper house.   That would force Chancellor Helmut Kohl to come up with an absolute majority in the Bundestag of 337 votes to force through the measures.   His coalition of conservatives and Free Democrats has just 341 seats in the Bundestag.   -- Bonn newsroom, 49-228-26097150 ($1=1.5032 Mark) 
12355 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Following is the breakdown of the vote in the 185-member U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday on a resolution adopting a comprehensive nuclear test-ban treaty.   But the treaty must be ratified by 44 nations with a nuclear potential before it can enter into force.   India, which is one of them, has said it would not do so.   The vote was 158 in favour, with three against (Bhutan, India and Libya) and five abstentions (Cuba, Lebanon, Mauritius, Syria and Tanzania).   Absent or not voting (19): Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gambia, Iraq, Lesotho, Mali, Niger, North Korea, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Somalia, Yugoslavia (suspended from U.N. Assembly) and Zambia. 
12356 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday adopted and opened for signature a treaty that would ban nuclear explosions forever.   But the large vote in favor of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty or CTBT was not sufficient to implement the pact because India has vowed to block its ratification.    The vote on the resolution, drafted by Australia, was an overwhelming 158 in favour, three against and five abstentions.   The resolution approves the treaty and asks that it be open for signature as soon as possible.   Its supporters believe that those nations who sign will abide by the treaty's provisions anyway and that India over the next few years will change its mind.   But minutes before the vote, India's ambassador, Arundhati Ghose, said: "I would like to declare on the floor of this august assembly that India will never sign this unequal treaty, not now, nor later."   All five declared nuclear powers -- the United States, Russia, France, Britain and China -- support the document, But the treaty does not come into force until 44 states with a nuclear potential sign it.   This includes India, which exploded a device in 1974. 
12357 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GDIP  The special envoy appointed to seek world support for America's anti-Cuba trade laws said on Tuesday Europe should reciprocate for half a century of U.S. help by adopting Washington's tough line.   President Bill Clinton's envoy Stuart Eizenstat invoked memories of "slaughter" during World War Two to remind democratic countries they have an obligation to speak out against totalitarianism.   "We have worked for 50 years with Europe.   We have always been there when Europe needed us, including this very hour in Bosnia to bring democracy, peace and stability to this continent," Eizenstat told reporters at a news conference.   "It's not asking too much for the kind of modest steps that we are suggesting, our European allies take to promote democracy in the only totalitarian state in the hemisphere we live in."   Eizenstat spoke after meeting Spanish officials during a European tour to urge tougher measures in dealing with Cuba.   He has been frustrated in his mission by EU outrage at American legislation that could ensnare European companies in U.S. law suits.   The Helms-Burton legislation, passed in July, would allow American citizens to sue in U.S. courts foreign companies that have benefited from investments made in property confiscated by Fidel Castro's government since the 1959 revolution.   However the practical implications of this part have been suspended until next year and Eizenstat indicated the suspension could be extended if Europe takes independent action on Cuba.   Europe sees the sanctions as a violation of free trade principles.   Eizenstat said he was very pleased the European Union had delayed any possible appeal to the World Trade Organization.   "The WTO is in our opinion not set up to determine what are essentially political and policy disputes and not traditional trade disputes," Eizenstat said.   Asked by one reporter why the United States was meddling in Cuba's internal affairs, Eizenstat recalled past horrors in Europe.   "We have gone through a very difficult century in which people have been slaughtered during World War II.   I think we've learned that when we talk about internal affairs, that when people's rights are supressed, democratic-loving people...have an obligation to speak up."   He praised Spain's new conservative government, which has taken a harder line on Cuba than its Socialist predecessor. 
12358 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  Romania lost a legal bid to force former King Michael to return 42 paintings, including works by Rembrandt and El Greco, when a Geneva court said on Tuesday it was not competent to rule on the dispute.   The court also said the exiled monarch was the Romanian ruler in 1947, thereby benefiting from immunity when the works were taken out of the country months before he was stripped of his crown by Moscow-backed communists.   Bucharest, which lodged its complaint in May 1993, argued that the paintings, left to the crown by his grandfather King Carol I in 1911, were part of the national heritage.   It has 30 days to appeal the court decision.   There was no immediate comment from King Michael, who resides in Versoix, a suburb of Geneva, with his wife.   The couple have five adult daughters.   In 1992, he made an emotional homecoming to Romania for the first time in 45 years but in 1994 he was barred from entering the country by the leftist government. 
12359 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres said on Tuesday that opposition parties would, if necessary, support Israel's present right-wing government in taking steps towards peace, even if the government lacked a majority in its own party.   "We shall support it, even without joining in the government.   Peace is peace whether we are in government or out of government," he said.   Peres, the leader of Israel's Labour party, who narrowly lost last May's election to Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, was addressing the 20th congress of the Socialist International, held in the U.N. General Assembly hall.   Netanyahu happened to be attending other meetings in New York the same day, after conferring with U.S. President Bill Clinton in Washington on Monday.   Mentioning former coalition colleague Yossi Sarid of the left-wing Mapam party, who was also attending the socialist gathering, Peres said amid applause: "As far as we are concerned, for us the aim is not power, the aim is peace.   "And, if there will be a need for (it), we shall support the government in taking peace measures, even if the government will not have a majority in their own party," he said.   Speaking of last May's vote, he said: "The people who are against peace, the extreme forces, have shown a greater participation in the elections than the liberal forces who support peace.   The extremists showed a participation of maybe 90 to 95 percent, the others 75 percent."   Peres said it was irrreversible that the Palestine Liberation Organisation should be Israel's negotiating partner and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat the counterpart to the Israeli government.   "What again is irreversible is that millions and millions of people in the Arab world, in Jewish life...feel that peace is possible, and not when the Messiah will come but when the politicans will move," he said.   Regarding peace with Syria, about which Netanyahu has expressed doubts, Peres said: "There is no sense to postpone it.   We know that peace has a territorial price and we are ready to pay for it.   "We can postpone it for 10 years.   The price will not go down, but the time will be wasted.   And more people will lose their lives and their opportunities."   Negotiations between the two countries have long been stalled over the issue of the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war.   Peres devoted a large part of his speech to events surrounding the assassination of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by an Israeli extremist as both men were leaving a peace rally in Tel Aviv last November.   Saying peace was "not a happy promenade in a garden of roses," he added: "When you think that you are negotiating with the other party, in fact you are negotiating with your own people .... And it is occasionally more dificult to convince your own people than to convince the other party." 
12360 !GCAT !GDEF  NATO chiefs took a step on Tuesday towards streamlining the military command of the 16-nation group as it seeks to adapt to a post-Cold War world.   The group's military committee, meeting at Estoril, just outside Lisbon, agreed to cut the NATO levels of command to three from the current four, committee chairman General Klaus Naumann said.   "It is a major step forward," Naumann told a news conference at the end of the first stage of a five-day visit to Portugal and Spain.   The military committee, which consists of the chiefs of defence staff of member countries, has been given the task of drawing up plans for revamping the organisation.   It must report back to NATO ministers in December.   Naumann said that the proposed three-tier structure would leave the current division between the Atlantic and European commands at the top, with the reorganisation focusing on the lower echelons.   But he declined to be drawn on whether Lisbon would remain as a regional command centre for the Iberian peninsula and the Atlantic, although he promised that NATO would continue to operate in some form out of Portugal, a founding member of the alliance.   The issue of the regional centre is sensitive locally as Spain, which is now seeking membership of the military command some 10 years after joining NATO, also wants to have the Iberian command.   Naumann said the committee had also discussed Bosnia where elections will be held on September 14 in what the international community hopes will be a step towards a lasting peace.   But he refused to comment on whether IFOR peace-keeping troops would remain beyond the end of December when their mandate expires.   That was a decision for the politicians, he said.   The committee, whose visit forms part of an annual inspection of alliance installations and forces, leaves for Madrid on Wednesday. 
12361 !E12 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT  The European Union's monetary committee of central bank and finance ministry officials agreed a plan on Tuesday for punishing countries which run excessive deficits under a single currency, EU sources said.   Although several details of a budget stability pact remained unresolved, the outline of a system that sanctions countries in a quick and credible fashion was agreed and deemed essential to the success of a monetary union.   "We made progress on the issue of automatic sanctions," said one source familiar with the committee's deliberations.   "It is now up to the ministers to decide."   Finance ministers and central bank governors from the 15-nation bloc will meet in Dublin on September 20 and 21 for informal talks on economic and monetary union (EMU).   Under the emerging scenario, governments, which are deemed to have an excessive deficit of more than three percent of gross national product would have several months -- the exact number is still undefined -- to rectify the problem.   If their plan was deemed insufficient, automatic sanctions would kick in.   Germany, the primary catalyst behind the plan, has argued for a grace period of only six to seven months.   But many others believe that is too short for governments, particulary those in coalition with other parties, to put forward a credible plan.   Also unresolved is under what circumstances a government's deficit is considered to be exceptional, another way of acknowledging the impact a severe economic downturn can have on a country's finances.   Countries would be let off sanctions if there were exceptional reasons.   The exact level of fines offenders would face was also put aside, with the presumption that this would deflect attention from the primary task at hand -- agreement on what automatic sanctions actually mean.   Monetary sources said they believed German officials were pleased with the results of Tuesday's discussion, having achieved most of what they wanted.   In addition to the stability pact, the committee also focused on a post-EMU Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), linking the single currency to those not in the first wave of participants.   Sources said there was agreement that a European Central Bank (ECB) should have the authority to initiate discussions about parity changes for currencies outside of EMU.   However, there appeared to be a desire to avoid specifying the ranges in which perimeter currencies would trade.   There also seems to be an unwillingness to define precisely the extent to which the ECB would intervene in support of a currency under speculative attack.   The lack of such precise limits is being deemed essential to preserve the integrity and credibility of the ECB and is seen in many ways analogous to the present ERM and the role Germany's Bundesbank plays in currency realignments.   Lastly, there was a discussion over the legal framework of the single currency.   In terms of substance, recent proposals put forward by the European Commission, the EU's executive, were seen by many to be on the mark.   Yet how to implement a regulation that lays out the foundations of a legal framework well in advance of EMU, expected in 1999, remains elusive.   Because of the strictures of the Maastricht treaty, it is unclear whether or not such a framework can become part of EU law before 1999, sources added. 
12362 !C31 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G157 !GCAT  Airline owner Richard Branson said on Tuesday that he had written to a European Union offical over what he called unfair action by Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) and would make a formal complaint if neccessary.   Speaking at an airport news conference to launch his Virgin Express airline's Brussels-Copenhagen service he said he had written to European Commision air transport chief Fredrik Sorensen complaining about SAS price cuts on selected Copenhagen-Brussels flights.   "If SAS can afford to reduce their fares suddenly and miraculously...on a particular flight which happens to go quite near the time of our own flight, but not be able to do it on all their other flights, that is the sort of behaviour that we feel is blatantly anti-competitive and we're asking Fredrik Sorensen to look into it," Branson said.   "We feel that it's such a blatantly stupid thing (for SAS) to do that one letter from him hopefully will sort it out, but if not we'll make a formal complaint."   he added.   Virgin started daily flights between Copenhagen and Brussels last Friday at up to 75 percent less than competitors' fares.   SAS earlier said Branson, whose Virgin Atlantic airline broke ground 13 years ago in challenging the transatlantic dominance of major carriers, was trying to stop the Scandinavian firm competing with Brussels-based Virgin Express.   "They are an airline which wants competition and then when they get it, they complain about it," Hans Ollongren, SAS director of European affairs, told Reuters.   Branson said his low cost, no-frills short-haul flights were not neccessarily a threat to SAS and, by bringing to Copenhagen passengers who might not otherwise travel, might actually bring the Scandinavian carrier new long-haul customers.   "By charging these fares we expect to have maybe three times as many people flying as fly today," he said.   "By more people being able to afford to fly short haul, more people will be able to fly long-haul.   If SAS has long-haul flights from here and we bring people in cheaply from other cities they also maybe could sell a ticket on with SAS abroad.   "We needn't take market share from them, well we needn't take much market share from them, and I think there's going to be an awful lot of new business generated."   Virgin Express, launched in April after Branson took over EuroBelgian Airlines SA (EBA), operates 14 Boeing 737 aircraft and expects to double that number by the year 2,000.   It takes delivery of two new Boeing 737-400s early next year, but these will replace existing aircraft.   Chief Executive Jonathan Ornstein said he was talking to several manufacturers.   "Relying on one manufacturer can lead to higher prices so we're talking to Boeing and we're talking to McDonnel Douglas and we're talking to Airbus about possibly a fleet replacement," he said.   --Steve Weizman, Copenhagen newsroom +45 33969650 
12363 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  After 40 years of debate, the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday was expected to approve and open for signature a draft treaty that would ban nuclear explosions from the world forever.   While the outcome of the vote was assured, the assembly's action was not sufficient to implement the treaty because India has vowed to block its ratification.   But 126 nations led by Australia co-sponsored a resolution approving the treaty and asking that it be open for signature as soon as possible in the hopes India will eventually change its mind.   India was nearly isolated in objecting to it.   Supporters argue that without the treaty nuclear proliferation will continue unabated and no country will have an incentive to move towards disarmament.   Australian delegate Richard Butler said a prohibition on testing by all states "would mightily affect whatever plans they might have to develop the quantity and quality of nuclear weapons.   And that's part of what is being sought here."   All five declared nuclear powers -- the United States, Russia, France, Britain and China -- support the document, known as the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).   But the treaty does not come into force until 44 states with a nuclear potential sign it.   This includes India, which exploded a device in 1974 and is considered a non-declared nuclear state along with Pakistan and Israel.   Pakistan said it would vote for the resolution endorsing the treaty but would not sign it unless India, its chief rival, did so.   Israel was among the resolution's sponsors.   So far, India has not budged, insisting it will not sign a treaty unless it is part of a plan for global nuclear disarmament.   It also maintains that the treaty would prevent it from responding to threats from neighbouring China and from Pakistan, which may have a covert nuclear and missile programme.   "The nuclear weapons states have no intention of giving up their dependence on nuclear weapons, nor do they have any intention of letting the CTBT become an impediment in their pursuit of the qualitative improvement of nuclear weapons, " India's Ambassador Prakash Shah told the assembly on Monday.   "Countries around us continue their weapons programmes either openly or in a clandestine manner," he added.   Usually a treaty is adopted first by the conference that drafted it and submitted to the U.N. General Assembly for approval.   It is then open for signature, with ratification from a specified number of states required to become international law.   In this case, the resolution before the assembly is an attempt to rescue the treaty from oblivion after India last month vetoed the text at the 61-nation Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.   Conference rules required unanimity whereas the General Assembly can approve resolutions by a majority vote.   The treaty bans any kind of nuclear weapons explosions, whether in the atmosphere or underground.   It also set up a monitoring system to verify compliance or spot violations.   It would enter into force 180 days after it was signed and ratified by 44 countries that have nuclear reactors of some kind.   If at the end of three years the treaty does not get the required signatures, a conference will be held to evaluate and possibly change the requirements.   Since the United States exploded the world's first atomic bomb on July 16, 1945 in the New Mexico desert there have been 2,045 known nuclear tests, 1,030 of them American and 715 in the former Soviet Union.   Many nations during the assembly debate agreed with India's criticism and said the treaty was too late to prevent proliferation through computer testing and other means.   But almost all said it should be supported. 
12364 !E12 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT  The European Union's monetary committee of central bank and finance ministry officials on Tuesday agreed an outline for punishing countries which run excessive deficits under a single currency, EU sources said.   Several important details of a budget stability pact remained unresolved, but there was a common understanding that governments which failed to present a credible plan for curbing excess deficits should be penalised automatically, they said.   The agreement came after the committee, which seeks to agree EU policy before presenting it to finance ministers, spent two days discussing new currency arrangements to follow the third stage of economic and monetary union (EMU), the single EU currency.   "We made progress on the issue of automatic sanctions," one monetary source said.   "It is now up to the ministers to decide."   EU finance ministers and central bank governors are to meet in informal talks in Dublin on September 20 and 21.   Under the scenario envisaged by the committee, a country that ran a budget deficit in excess of 3 percent of Gross Domestic Product would have to present a plan to its partners for fixing the problem.   If the plan was deemed insufficient, automatic sanctions would kick in. 
12365 !C12 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GJOB  Troubled state-controlled French bank Credit Lyonnais won a court order on Tuesday to eject employees who have staged a sit-in for almost a week at a branch in southwestern France to protest planned job cuts.   The order to expel the workers at the branch in Bayonne was obtained two days before a countrywide strike called for Thursday by the five unions representing employees of the state-controlled bank.   The national strike is aimed at protesting 5,000 job cuts planned by the bank in an effort to improve its profitability.   An official of the bank said it was not known yet whether the demonstrators had quit the Bayonne branch but added that the sit-in had not disrupted client service at the branch.   The strikers have demanded that the state-controlled bank save 85 jobs slated for elimination when their office is merged with one in Bordeaux at the start of next year.   They had refused to leave the premises despite management offers to open talks if the protest ended.   The assistant secretary general of the Federation des Banques, Jean-Pierre Claudel, said the national strike "marks the start of our mobilisation against the loss of 5,000 jobs."   But Credit Lyonnais said the bank did not expect service to be disrupted.   "The participation rates in previous job actions has been very low," a bank spokesman said.   The 5,000 job cuts to be carried out between now and the end of 1998 would lower the bank's payroll in France to 30,000 from 35,000 and are aimed at boosting productivity.   The bank is in negotiations with the state on revising last year's state bailout to prevent the bank from plunging back into the red after it eked out a 13 million French franc ($2.53 million) profit last year.   The bank ran up 21 billion francs of losses between 1992 and 1994 as a result of an ill-judged expansion spree and has been seeking to restructure to restore its profitability.   Reports say that under the new plan, most of the heavy costs imposed on the bank last year to make it bear some of the pain for its reckless past would likely be waived.   -- Paris Newsroom +33 1 4221 5452 ($1=5.129 French Franc) 
12366 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  French civil service unions called on Tuesday for a day of action and strikes in October over pay and government plans to cut state employment levels.   The seven main civil service unions will decide the date for the protests on September 23, union officials said.   One union delegate said the seven labour organisations had agreed to mobilise in mid-October against job losses in defence industries and the public service and to push for upgrading of salaries in the public service.   The demand for immediate opening of wage talks would include 1996 salaries.   The government has frozen pay rises in 1996.    The seven unions will decide the date for the strikes and demonstrations on September 23, union officials said after a meeting, noting that this would allow time to weigh up other protest movements.   "There was today's strike by workers in the defense sector, there'll be another in education September 30 and there are warnings in the financial sector too.   We want to coordinate from there," said Guy Le Neouannic, a union spokesman.    Juppe's budget plans for next year include trimming civil service numbers by 6,500-7,000, mainly by erosion rather than layoffs, but unions fear this is only a start and are also seeking wage increases.   Thousands of navy shipyard workers demonstrated in French ports on Tuesday against plans to axe jobs in sweeping reforms of the French military and the arms industry.   Teachers, faced with the prospect of up to 2,300 jobs going in state education under the 1997 budget, are preparing strike action for the end of the month.   While unions have been warning of trouble as the government prepares to release the few unknown details of its 1997 budget on September 18, most analysts still believe prospects are remote of strikes on the scale of the crippling stoppages that paralyzed much of France last November and December.   About one in five employees in France work in the civil service at national or local levels. 
12367 !GCAT !GREL !GVIO  A Roman Catholic peace group expressed horror on Tuesday at the reported murder of Burundi's leading cleric and said the killing drove home the need for a negotiated end to the conflict in the ethnically-split country.   The Rome-based Sant'Egidio Community said Archbishop Joachim Ruhuna, a minority Tutsi, had been a man of peace who had "never stopped preaching moderation and seeking dialogue" despite the killing of several members of his own family in 1993.   His assassination was "a personalised horror that adds itself to the horror of the massacres and the tragedy of a Burundi that finds no peace," the group said in a statement.   Sant'Egidio, which has mounted peace efforts in many of the world's troublespots, has received several key figures in the Burundi conflict, including Hutu rebel leader Leonard Nyangoma.   "In the light of this episode, the Sant'Egidio community ...reaffirms the need to reach a negotiated solution to the conflict as soon as possible so as to interrupt the terrible spiral of violence and vendettas," the group said.   "It feels even more committed to finding ways to (secure) the necessary dialogue."   More than 150,000 people have been killed in three years of massacres and civil war between the Tutsi-dominated army and Hutu rebels in Burundi, the southern neighbour of Rwanda where one million people, mostly Tutsis, were slaughtered in ethnic bloodshed in 1994.   The army said on Tuesday that Ruhuna, 62, had been murdered with three other people, including a nun, in an ambush on Monday while he was travelling to the central town of Gitega, where he heads the diocese.   A army spokesman blamed rebels for the killings.   Sant'Egidio's sense of horror was echoed by the Italian branch of the Roman Catholic charity Caritas, which called on all sides in Burundi's conflict to respect life.   "In condemning once again all forms of violence, Caritas Italiana expresses profound consternation at this attack on a figure of the Catholic Church who has always shown a tenacious desire for dialogue," the charity said.   Ruhuna was booed at a funeral for Tutsi massacre victims in Bugendana on July 23, when he said there were extremists among both the Tutsi and Hutu communities. 
12368 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  The United Nations Security Council has postponed until Wednesday discussion of an Italian proposal to call on the secretary-general to speed up implementation of Iraq's oil-for-food deal.   According to a British diplomat who attended Tuesday's session, the discussion was put off simply because the council ran out of time.   Separately, a senior United Nations official said that preparations for implementing the deal were proceeding and secretary-general Boutros Boutros-Ghali was monitoring the situation to assess when it is safe to deploy U.N. monitors. 
12369 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  The European Union's monetary committee did not discuss possible Finnish membership of the exchange rate mechanism at a two-day meeting which ended on Tuesday, a monetary source said.   "There was no discussion about ERM.   It is not imminent," the source said.   The Finnish government has repeatedly said it will decide this autumn on whether to link the markka to the ERM as part of its efforts to fulfil the criteria for monetary union, prompting market speculation it may happen any time now.   At its meeting in Brussels, the monetary committee discussed issues related to economic and monetary union (EMU), including a stability pact to ensure fiscal discipline for countries participating in the single currency. 
12370 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GHEA  France's national health insurance fund said on Tuesday that it proposed to save four billion francs a year by cutting the price of some medical procedures and promoting the use of generic medecines.   The Caisse Nationale d'Assurance Maladie des Travailleurs Salaries (CNAMTS) said the plans were put forward by its health insurance commission, which met at the request of Labour Minister Jacques Barrot.   It proposed "measures...which take account of technological changes and favour responsibility on the part of medical professionals and which will have an expected economic impact of about four billion francs in a full year," Jean-Marie Spaeth, new head of the CNAMTS said in a statement.   The statement gave no details of savings.   The CNAMTS also said it would distribute before the end of the year a guide to generic medecines to encourage doctors to prescribe the cheaper medicines.   Spaeth said the new measures would not have an impact on insured people as most of the cost would be borne by medical professionals.   -- Paris Newsroom +331 4221 5071 
12371 !GCAT !GDIP  The U.N. said on Tuesday it will send experts to Hong Kong soon to study how human rights can be ensured when China takes over the territory next year.   The decision comes amid uncertainty about the future of Hong Kong's six million citizens after Britain returns the territory to China at midnight on June 30, ending a century and half of colonial rule.   According to a United Nations spokeswoman, the mission will examine how to maintain internationally-protected civil and political rights when the communist giant rules the small capitalist region.   U.N. Human Rights Committee chairman Francisco Aguilar of Costa Rica and Prasullachandra Bhagwati, a former chief justice of India, will leave for Hong Kong around September 30.   Under next year's transfer Hong Kong becomes a Special Administrative Region of China which has promised to keep the area's capitalist lifestyle and a high degree of autonomy till 2047.   The Committee, composed of 18 independent experts, oversees compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a major international human rights treaty.   Britain has signed the 1976 pact, but China has not -- raising concerns about Hong Kong rights in the future.   Under their Joint Declaration of December 1984, Britain and China, agreed that the treaty's provisions would remain in force in Hong Kong after sovereignty is transferred.   "The mission's object is to prepare the committee's examination here in Geneva of the United Kingdom's report on Hong Kong," U.N. spokeswoman Therese Gastaut told a news briefing in Geneva.   "The human rights committee is preoccupied of course by what will happen regarding the application of the convention in Hong Kong after June 1997," Gastaut said.   "The committee would like Hong Kong's population to be able to have the protection foreseen in the convention.   The committee expects there to be a mechanism which would permit continuing to follow questions of civilian and political rights in Hong Kong after June 1997," she added.   The committee, which meets several times a year, is scheduled to meet in Geneva from October 21-November 8 to consider reports by several state parties to the pact.   China, which did not take part in the review of Britain's previous report on Hong Kong last November, could join the October 23 discussion as an observer, U.N. sources said.   "The committee welcomes the initiatives taken by the government with a view to ensuring the full implementation of the covenant in Hong Kong, in future as well as at present," it said in its concluding observations.   "In that regard, the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the question of Hong Kong appears to provide a sound legal basis for the continued protection of the rights as specified in the covenant," it added. 
12372 !GCAT !GENV  A hole in the earth's protective ozone layer has shifted in the Southern Hemisphere, U.N. experts said on Tuesday, but there was little danger to a sparsely populated region in Argentina.   Ozone levels rose sharply over Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of Argentina at the weekend, up to a month earlier than in past years, they reported.   The U.N.'s World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said the phenomenon was due to a tipping of the vortex of the hole in the earth's ozone layer which forms annually over the Antarctic during the southern spring.   But WMO special adviser Romen Bojkov told Reuters there was no special danger to the remote, lightly-populated region as the sun was not yet high and so ultra-violet radiation blamed for cancers and similar diseases was not strong.   "The low readings were recorded over Tierra del Fuego on September 7 and 8, but the levels are now increasing," Bojkov said.   A WMO report said the levels recorded on those days reached ozone hole values, or a 35 per cent deficiency in normal ozone cover -- a situation observed in the past only in late September or early October.   The report, based on readings provided by satellites and a network of observer stations, said the hole covered the entire continent of Antarctica and a huge area of the adjacent ocean in the direction of the far south of South America.   "It is very big and very deep, but similar to that of last year and not breaking any records," Bojkov said.   The report said the vortex of the hole, in the past centred over the largly uninhabited southern polar region, had become slightly elliptical during the first 10 days of September and stretched westwards.   It indicated this was probably due to unusually cold temperatures -- below minus 75 degrees Celsius -- in the far south of the region.   Cold is a major factor in the ozone destruction. 
12373 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  Spain's Foreign Minister Abel Matutes said on Tuesday that Europe supported all-party dialogue to end Algeria's civil strife, adding stability in the north African state and Spain was linked, official media said.   "I'm interested in the reform process in Algeria and, as you know, the Europeans encourage the policy of dialogue with all political forces and condemn the use of violence and terrorism for political aims," Matutes said after talks with Algerian President Liamine Zeroual.   Speaking in the capital Algiers at the end of a two-day visit to boost bilateral cooperation, Matutes said he had also met with opposition party leaders, Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia and other government officials.   "Matutes affirmed that the stability of the two countries is linked," the offical Algerian news agency APS reported.   Spain and Algeria had about $2 billion of two-way trade in 1995.   Algeria imported products from Spain for $1.0 billion while Madrid bought mainly gas and oil worth $976 million from Algeria, according to official figures.   Trade is expected to increase when a pipeline with an annual capacity of 9.5 billion cubic metres carrying gas from southern Algeria to Spain through Morocco begins commercial operations in November. 
12374 !C13 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT  The European Court of Justice ruled on Tuesday that Belgium and Britain were breaking the European Union's "television without frontiers" directive.   The court said Belgium's French- and Dutch-speaking regional governments had violated Directive 89/552/EEC by restricting programmes from other EU states that are carried on their cable networks.   It said Britain had broken the rules by claiming jurisdiction over broadcasters with a satellite uplink in Britain, even if they had their headquarters in another EU state.   A central principle of the "TV without frontiers" directive is that national governments cannot bar broadcasts that comply with the laws of the EU state that has jurisdiction.   Belgium's French- and Dutch-speaking governments were wrong to require cable distributors to seek prior authorisation to transmit programmes from other EU countries, the court said.   "A prior authorisation or licensing system constitutes a serious obstacle to the free movement of broadcasts within the (EU) as provided for by the directive and has the effect of abolishing freedom to provide services," the court said in a statement.   The ruling does not address problems that specific broadcasters have faced in Belgium.   But the laws it criticised were the same ones that have been used to bar French station TF1 from targeting advertising to the Belgian public and to try to block the VT4 channel from starting operations, a Commission legal source said.   Flemish authorities tried last year to ban VT4, a U.S.-Scandinavian venture based in Britain, on the grounds that only one commercial domestic broadcaster is allowed in the region.   The effort was overturned by a national administrative court.   In Britain's case, the European court said the 1990 Broadcasting Act established the wrong criteria for determining which satellite broadcasters came under British contol.   The European Commission initiated the case in 1994, saying that using the satellite uplink criteria could lead to cases of double jurisdiction or of broadcasters escaping regulation.   It complained that Britain had refused, for example, to regulate the controversial Red Hot pornographic station, whose parent company was British, because it was beamed from the continent.   The ruling, however, is expected to have minimal impact in Britain, British sources said.   "In practice, it affects only half a dozen broadcasters, none of the big ones," one said.   She said Britain was expecting to change its licensing regime anyway since the Culture Council agreed in its common position to revise the "TV without frontiers" directive where it applies to jurisdiction over broadcasters.   The revision would follow the thinking of the court, she said.   Belgian regional authorities said they expected the offending laws would be changed, although one said it could be difficult politically in the French-speaking parliament.   ----   *Case C-222/94 Commission of the European Communities v United Kingdom   *Case C-11/95 Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Belgium 
12375 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Existing forms of electronic money, such as chip cards or cybercash, are largely secure against fraud, but central banks on Tuesday warned that no single measure can provide total security.   Risks like card tampering or money laundering, can most effectively be reduced by a combination of measures that are administered and implemented rigorously, a task force set up by Group of 10 (G10) central bankers concluded.   "Existing security measures to protect electronic money, when implemented correctly, can protect consumers and issuers adequately from fraud," a statement based on a report said.   The central bank experts concluded that an integrated, risk-management approach to security, including independent security assessments, should be an important component of these new products.   The report -- Security of Electronic Money -- forms part of the ongoing efforts of G10 central banks to tackle the implications of electronic money for fraud, and monetary policy.   The task force, which was set up in late 1995, was headed by Israel Sendrovic of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and made up of G10 computer experts.   The task force primarily examined the so-called smart cards where a computer chip on a plastic card stores value.   "Compared with other forms of payment that are paper-based or rely on plastic cards with magnetic stripes, it is widely accepted that microchip cards are much more difficult to counterfit or fraudulentely alter," the task force said.   However, the central bank computer experts also warned that as legitimate types of electronic money become widely available, criminal organisations will continually improve their levels of attack, even if the first attempts fail.   The other main form of electronic money is software-based systems where cryptograpy is used as safeguard to protect data that is transmitted electronically, for example on the internet.   "Cryptographic techniques and chip card technology are constantly evolving.   New means of attack will certainly also be developed and the cost of mounting such attacks will decline as specialised equipment becomes more widely available," it said.   So far central banks have largely taken a wait-and-see approach to electronic money to allow markets to establish which of the new systems that are under development will take hold.   Among the plethora of new types of payment systems that are being launched by banks and other suppliers are Mondex, Proton, Visa Cash, Danmont, Avant and MasterCard Cash.   Based on interviews with suppliers of electronic money systems, the task force said it was impressed with the amount of research and resources suppliers had expended on the security of their systems and many sophisticated measures had been developed that should provide a high degree of security in initial stages.   "Overall the task force's impression was that electronic money systems, particularly those implemented with hardware-based security, can be designed with an adequate level of security relative to other common forms of retail payment," the report said.   However, security risks could arise in the implementation of these measures and each product should therefore be evaluated on its own merits, the report said.   Current pilot projects for electronic cash are largely designed to test consumers' acceptance so central bank computer experts expect there will be considerable changes to the security measures over the next few years as the resources of both the makers of the cards and potential attackers increase.   -- Zurich Editorial +41 1 631 7340 
12376 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Switzerland declined to comment on Tuesday on British allegations it hid Nazi gold from the Allies after World War Two, deferring to a government commission being set up to examine the war-time activities of Swiss banks.   Switzerland's Foreign Ministry noted parlaiment and the government were drafting legislation to create a historical commission, possibly with judicial powers to demand secret bank records.   A ministry spokesman said that in the absence of an expert report on the role of Swiss banks in World War Two, the government could not comment on allegations raised by the British Foreign Ministry and a British member of parliament.   "We have to be very serious and objective and cool about this (issue of Nazi gold)...The Swiss government has nothing to hide," the spokesman told Reuters.   "We cannot comment on these allegations," the spokesman added.   Britain on Tuesday revived speculation over the fate of gold looted by Nazi Germany by alleging that Switzerland turned over to Allied powers only a small part of the gold it acknowledged buying in World War Two.   A Foreign Office report said the sum of 250 million Swiss francs ($203.7 million) paid in 1946 to settle claims connected with Nazi gold was a small portion of the gold thought to be in Swiss bank vaults at the end of the war.   Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind ordered the report following pressure from Member of Parliament Greville Janner.   Janner welcomed the report and called on Switzerland to think about restoring gold reserves to the countries from which they were seized.   The Swiss government, pushed by parliament, is preparing to launch a commission of historians and financial experts to examine the role of Swiss banks and companies in profiting from Nazi wealth from 1933 until just after the war ended in 1945.   The legal committee of parliament's bigger chamber, the National Council, formulated a draft bill on July 1 and it is now before the cabinet, which is expected to make a decision by the end of September.   Advocates of a tough investigation want the final bill to include police powers allowing the commission to subpoena bank records.   The issue has been a sensitive one for Switzerland, home of some of the world's stiffest bank secrecy laws.   Moves for a government probe followed mounting pressure from world Jewish groups on Swiss banks to search for acounts that may have been left by victims of the Holocaust and denied to their heirs for lack of documentation.   Swiss banks this year set up a central office to speed up claims from potential heirs and also set up an independent commission to identify accounts opened just before or during the war.   ($1=1.2273 Swiss Franc) 
12377 !G15 !G152 !G153 !G155 !G158 !GCAT  The European Union's cereals management committee is expected on Thursday to fix the export refunds for malt despite warnings from the industry that they will have to be revised later, an EU official said.   "The European Commission is anxious to fix the 1996/97 export refunds for malt because the gap between European Union prices and world prices is widening," the official said.   The Commission told industry representatives at a meeting on Monday that they intend to fix malt export refunds at Thursday's management committee meeting.   Currently the refund for unroasted malt is 16 ecus per tonne, for roasted 18.5 ecus per tonne and for wheat malt zero ecus per tonne.   New rates will apply after September 30.   "The Commission has kept the refunds going recently because some eastern European countries have been short of malt and the refunds have been helping them to bid for EU stocks, the official added.   The British government say that they would like to see fixing of the refunds postponed beyond next week because the United Kingdom spring harvest is not yet over.   "We cannot assess the crop quality because of the late harvest," an official said.   The malting industry's European federation Euromalt says it is in favour of fixing export refunds on Thursday.   "We want to see a refund fixed and the UK industry fully supports Euromalt on that," the organisation's representative Anna Maria De Smet, told Reuters.   She added that the industry has told the Commission that the refund figures should be open to amendment later according to changes in the market.   "The Commission has three possibilities," she said.   Firstly, it can take account of sales made to China some two months ago which would produce a malting barley premium between zero and five ecus per tonne.   Secondly it can include offers which have not yet been formally contracted giving a figure of between 12 and 13 ecus per tonne.   Thirdly, it can include sales from Canada to central America made very recently which would lead to a premium of about 19 ecus per tonne.   Any figure will be questionable due to the lack of market information and she added that there is not sufficient data available to fix the malting barley premium for 1996/97.   "We have told the Commission that there is not sufficient information and that the industry will make its own judgement.   If the figures are not considered right then very few export licences will be taken out," she added.   Separately, an EU officials said that talks between the European Commission and Canada over blocked increases in durum wheat and processed oats imports under GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs) have failed to solve the dispute.   The cereals management committee has been unable for several months to adopt the amendment required under GATT article 24/6 to take account of enlargement of the EU to include Austria, Finland and Sweden.   The item is listed on the agenda for Thursday but discussion is expected to be postponed, the official said.   "The concession would allow Australia, the United States and Canada to export an additional 50,000 tonnes of durum wheat and 10,000 tonnes of processed oats (July to June) to the EU but has been blocked because Canada wants to narrow the definition of oats to clipped oats only," the official said. 
12378 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !G155 !G157 !GCAT !GPOL  The European Commission is set to begin a politically charged debate on Wednesday over how to guarantee a minimum level of public service in the European Union in an era of privatisation and deregulation.   The Commission, a prime mover in efforts to break up state monopolies in the telecommunications, transport, postal and energy sectors, will try to agree a communication for protecting what it calls "general interest" services.   But although a draft text appears to strengthen the rights of EU citizens -- for example to send and receive mail at a reasonable cost no matter where they live -- it is unclear what effect it could have in opening this and other sectors to competition.   Under a provision agreed by senior Commission aides, an addition to article 3 of the EU treaty would state that the activities of the Union shall include "a contribution to the development of general interest services", a Commission source said.   More liberal Commissioners, worried about successive delays in subjecting state-controlled monopolies to competition, believe the Commission should not go beyond this political and rather non-committal statement.   But there is also some pressure for it to anticipate a more wide-ranging discussion on the issue at the inter-governmental conference (IGC) currently revising the EU's institutions ahead of enlargement to eastern Europe.   Belgium has proposed that the right to basic services of sufficient quality and at a fair cost should be part and parcel of the citizenship of the Union, diplomats said.   The Belgian government has been among the most ardent defenders of keeping public monopolies, particularly in the postal services, the largest employer in the country.   If such a right to general interest services was incorporated in the treaty, possibly in article 2 or article 8, it could open the door for legal challenges in the event the EU's liberalisation move proved harmful to consumers, the Commission source said.   More importantly, it could lead the Commission to re-think its policy of forcing open state-controlled monopolies under Article 90 of the treaty which it has already used to oblige EU capitals to allow telecommunication networks operated by utility companies such as railways to compete with traditional telecoms providers.   The communication on general interest services was drafted under the responsibility of Commission President Jacques Santer himself. 
12379 !E41 !E51 !ECAT !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GCRIM !GJOB !GWELF  The European Court of Justice said on Tuesday that decisions on social security schemes for Turkish migrant workers taken by the Council, Commission, member state and Turkish governments under the Association Council have been binding since September 1980.   The court said "the binding effect of decisions of the Association Council cannot depend on whether implementing measures have in fact been adopted by the Contracting Parties."   In this case, widows of Turkish workers applied for benefits from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.   Germany and Belgium granted the application, but the Netherlands refused on the basis that the workers died in Turkey, at a time when they were no longer entitled to benefits under Dutch law.   A Turkish worker, incapacited while resident in Germany, was also denied.   The court considered whether the Association Council decision gives individuals the right to pursue claims before national courts.   Where a provision between the EU and a non-member country contains a clear and precise obligation which does not require the adoption of subsequent measures before it can be properly implemented, the court said "it has consistently held that a provision of an agreement concluded by the Community with non-member countries must be regarded as generally applicable."   In this case, the court found the Association's decision "is intended to be supplemented and implemented in the Community by a subsequent act of the Association Council" and is "therefore not such as to entitle individuals to rely on the decision before the national courts."   ***   (Court translation into English.   Original language of the case: Dutch)   "EEC-Turkey Association Agreement - Decision of the Association Council - Social Security - Entry into force - Direct effect"   In Case C-277/94   Reference by the Arrondissmentrechtbank, Amsterdam, for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that court between   Z. Taflan-Met,   S. Altun-Baser,   E. Andal-Bugdayci   and   Bestuur van de Sociale Verzekeringsbank   and between   O.Akol   and   Bestuur van de Nieuwe Algemene Bedrijfsvereniging   on the interpretation of articles 12 and 13 of Decision No 3/80 of the Association Council of 19 September 1980 on the application of the social security schemes of the member states of the European Communites to Turkish workers and members of their families (OJ 1983 C 110, p. 60)   ---   THE COURT hereby rules   1.   Decision No 3/80 of the Association Council of 19 September 1980 on the application of the social security schemes of the member states of the European Communites to Turkish workers and members of their families entered into force on the date on which it was adopoted, namely 19 September 1980, and has been binding on the Contracting Parties since then.   2.   So long as the supplementary measures essential for implementing Decision No 3/80 have not been adopted by the Council, articles 12 and 13 of that decision do not have direct effect in the territory of the member states and are therefore not such as to entitle individuals to rely on them beofre the national courts. 
12380 !C31 !C311 !C312 !CCAT !E51 !E512 !ECAT !G15 !G158 !GCAT  Advisers to Caribbean banana-producing countries were on Tuesday barred from a hearing in the World Trade Organisation after the United States protested at their presence, an official said.   Gordon Myers, European representative of the Caribbean Banana Exporters' Association (CBEA), told Reuters he and two legal advisers had to leave a WTO panel session looking into a complaint Washington has brought against the European Union.   The three were officially accredited by St Lucia but are informally representing 12 countries in the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group that currently export bananas to the EU under preferential arrangements.   The United States -- backed by four Latin American countries including Ecuador which is the world's leading banana exporter -- argues that aspects of the arrangements are violations of WTO agreements on open trade.   Myers said U.S. officials argued that only permanent government employees were allowed to sit in on panel hearings.   Edwin Laurent, ambassador of East Caribbean states to Brussels, was allowed to stay.   The Caribbean producers have already complained that they have only been allowed to attend the panel, whose hearings began on Tuesday and are likely to continue for up to six months, as observers although their economies are at stake.   Myers said the action against the lawyers "further diminishes the Caribbean producers' rights to defend themselves when 60 per cent of their export earnings are risk."   One of the lawyers asked to leave, Chris Parlin of a Washington legal firm, said the refusal to allow them to sit in had major implications for developing countries in the WTO and its dispute settlement mechanism.   "Big trade powers like the United States, the European Union and Japan can afford to employ full-time trade lawyers.   Small countries cannot, and this ruling could have a serious effect on their ability to defend themselves in the WTO," he told Reuters.   Parlin himself is a former U.S. trade diplomat who worked in the U.S. Trade Representative's mission to the WTO's predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).   Laurent said it had been essential to have legal advisers because it was not possible for small states like St Vincent and St Lucia and the Grenadines -- to whom the three were also accredited -- "to employ the necessary expertise on a permanent basis.   "This decision would place such countries in a continuing disadvantage in disputes in the WTO," he declared in a formal press statement.   "It also raises questions about the discretion of sovereign states to determine who should represent them at international meetings," Laurent added.   At a news conference on Monday, Laurent and Myers said the fragile economies of the Caribbean banana producing states would be devastated if the panel decision went against Brussels and the EU were forced to drop its preferential treatment.   Caribbean leaders have warned Washington, which says U.S. marketing companies and especially Chiquita are put at a disadvantage by the EU banana import regime, that it could face a flood of economic refugees if the region's banana industry is destroyed. 
12381 !C31 !C311 !CCAT !E51 !E512 !ECAT !G15 !G158 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  The European Commission and Canada have failed to resolve a dispute over blocked increases in durum wheat and processed oats imports under world trade rules, an EU official said.   The EU cereals management committee has been unable for several months to adopt an amendment required under the rules to take account of enlargement of the EU to include Austria, Finland and Sweden.   The item is listed on the agenda for Thursday but discussion is expected to be postponed, the official said.   "The concession would allow Australia, the United States and Canada to export an additional 50,000 tonnes of durum wheat and 10,000 tonnes of processed oats (July to June) to the EU but has been blocked because Canada wants to narrow the definition of oats to clipped oats only," the official said.   --Chris White, Brussels newsroom +322 287 6830 
12382 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  Germany's federal aviation office said on Tuesday it had banned Turkish charter airline Holiday Air from landing in Germany because its aircraft had been found to be unsafe.   A spokesman for the office, the Luftfahrtbundesamt, said Holiday Air had failed to eliminate a number of serious technical defects from its aircraft despite several warnings, and that passengers' safety was not assured.   A Holiday Air spokesman in Duesseldorf said the airline had a fleet of three Airbus A300 aircraft, a Boeing 727 and a Boeing 737, with an average age of between 15 and 16 years.   He said Holiday Air had also leased a Lockheed Tristar but returned it after the federal office complained it was not airworthy.   Germany has tightened its airline safety measures since a Dominican aircraft leased from Turkey's Birgenair and packed with German holidaymakers crashed into the Caribbean in February, killing all 189 people aboard.   Investigations showed the crew failed to react properly to a faulty altimeter reading. 
12383 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  A man believed to be from Ghana died at the weekend of suffocation after he climbed into an unpressurised hold of a Lufthansa aircraft bound for Frankfurt during a stop in Accra, the airline said on Tuesday.   The man, who was blind and believed to be in his 20s, climbed into the landing gear compartment of the Airbus A300-600 on Sunday night during the interim stop of the flight from Lagos, Nigeria to Frankfurt, the airline said.   Airline workers discovered the body during a routine inspection of the aircraft after the flight arrived on Monday morning in Frankfurt.   The flight's pilots told authorities that they had checked the plane during the stop in Accra, the Ghanaian capital, and had not seen the man, leading the airline to suspect the man climbed into the hold shortly before the flight departed.   The Lufthansa spokesman said the man, who was not carrying papers, was not crushed by the aircraft's landing gear but died because the compartment was not pressurised.   The Airbus, which was carrying 198 passengers and crew, was flying at an altitude of about 33,000 feet (10,060 metres), where the outside air temperature would have also fallen steeply. 
12384 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Tremors from the weekend arrest of a former government minister on charges of murder began spreading through the Belgian political system on Tuesday.   Alain Van der Biest, his former private secretary Richard Taxquet and three other men were charged with the murder near Liege on July 18, 1991 of Andre Cools, patriarch of the country's francophone Socialist Party (PS).   Marc Van Peel, president of the flemish Christian Democratic Party (CVP), told La Libre Belgique newspaper he would not tolerate any hint of a cover-up.   The CVP, its francophone sister party the PSC and the PS and its flemish sister the SP form Belgium's coalition government.   Ecolo and Agalev, the francophone and flemish Green Parties, have demanded a parliamentary inquiry, as has the francophone Liberal Party the PRL.   Paul Van Grembergen of the flemish Volksunie went even further and called for the entire Socialist Party structure to be dismantled.   Investigations into the murder of Cools, believed to have been on the verge of blowing the whistle on corruption in the Liege branch of the Socialist Party, have uncovered a trail of bribery and and corruption, and prompted allegations of political intrigue and interference in the judicial system.   La Libre Belgique speculated on Tuesday that the Cools murder was connected to rivalries between different Masonic Lodges within the Socialist Party.   Four Socialist government ministers have been forced to resign, an Air Force general committed suicide and NATO Secretary General Willy Claes was forced to stand down.   The resignations of Claes, Guy Mathot, Guy Spitaels, Guy Coeme and Frank Vandenbroucke were over bribes allegedly paid to the Socialist Parties by Italian firm Agusta in the late 1980s in return for a contract to supply helicopters to the army.   Claes, who was head of the SP at the time, denies any knowledge of the bribes.   So far the political fallout of the Cools murder has stopped short of threatening the incumbent government.   Indeed, in national elections last year the Socialist Party was returned with more seats.   Mathot, Spitaels and Coeme were all comfortably politically rehabilitated by voters.   But what makes the weekend's arrests different is that the climate in the country has been thoroughly soured by separate investigations into the discovery of a child-kidnapping, sexual abuse and murder gang operating in Belgium.   The so-called Dutroux Affair, named after chief suspect Marc Dutroux, has disgusted the nation with its discovery of the corpses of four young girls, the rescue of two others who had been abducted and sexually abused and the hunt for at least seven others.   Distrust of the authorities has been deepened by the trail of police blunders, inefficiency and judicial rivalry that the Dutroux investigations have brought to light.   It has not been helped by the arrest of a chief detective in connection with related investigations into a car theft ring allegedly also operated by Dutroux and his accomplices.   There have been suggestions of, at best, passive police protection.   In the light of all these discoveries, commentators have begun speculating whether the Belgian public will be as forgiving of its politicians in the future as it has been in the past. 
12385 !E12 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT  German Finance Minister Theo Waigel, putting his 1997 budget to parliament on Tuesday, said there was no alternative to fiscal austerity to boost growth and allow Germany to qualify for European monetary union (EMU).   Opposition Social Democrats (SPD) and trade unionists hit out at Waigel after an embarrassing overshoot in this year's deficit.   But he countered he was determined to slash borrowing in 1997, when eligibility for joining EMU will be judged.   He said the government would stick to total spending of 440 billion marks ($292.7 billion) next year -- a fall of 11 billion from this year -- and a deficit of 56.5 billion marks.   "We will stick to the 1997 budget figures and we will implement our austerity package," he said.   But he warned that high unemployment posed a risk and further cuts at the Federal Labour Office in charge of unemployment benefits may be needed.   Next year's planned total public deficit, at 2.5 percent of gross domestic product, is well within the Maastricht treaty's three percent borrowing limit.   But it will be hard to achieve after the 1996 deficit hits an expected four percent.   SPD finance spokeswoman Ingrid Matthaeus-Maier said the budget was based on over-optimistic forecasts for spending and revenues, while Germany's DGB trade union federation criticised it as unrealistic and socially unjust.   "The government has also found no effective means of combating unemployment," Matthaeus-Maier said.   "It's not the social welfare state that is a burden on the economy and public finances, it's high unemployment."   Unemployment has surged to post-war highs of nearly four million, or around 10 percent of the workforce, blowing a hole in the state jobless benefit scheme.   The DGB, which mobilised 240,000 protesters last weekend against the cuts, said austerity plans would "demand sacrifices from ordinary people while giving tax cuts to companies and the rich".   It would cost 200,000 jobs in 1997 alone, the DGB said.   Waigel last week said higher unemployment would cost Bonn an additional 12.5 billion marks this year.   Unemployment is now forecast to remain high through next year, making further spending cuts unavoidable if the deficit target is to be hit.   "We will make adjustments to our draft budget -- made necessary by recent economic data -- during the parliamentary budget procedure," he said.   Waigel said that following strong second quarter growth, the German economy was doing better than earlier expected and the business climate was improving.   Real growth this year would exceed government forecasts and an expansion of one percent was "achievable".   Forecasts of two to 2.5 percent growth next year now looked solid, he said.   Waigel's budget is one component in an austerity package called the "Programme for More Jobs and Growth" which aims to slash public spending by 50 billion marks and social security spending by 20 billion next year.   The budget reading will last all week but a vote is not due until November.   Parliament will, however, vote on Friday on other key parts of the austerity package including pension and health reforms and cuts in sick pay.   A majority of states, in which the SPD either rules alone or in a coalition, had already lined up on Tuesday to block the austerity package in the Bundesrat upper house.   That would force Chancellor Helmut Kohl to come up with an absolute majority in the Bundestag of 337 votes to force through the measures.   His coalition of conservatives and Free Democrats has just 341 seats in the Bundestag.   ($1=1.5032 Mark) 
12386 !C32 !CCAT !GCAT !GENT  The Frankfurt Book Fair, the world's largest annual publishing event, will be bigger and more varied than ever this year with an Irish theme and a strong emphasis on multimedia, organisers said on Tuesday.   An expected 1,500 electronic publishers will be given a prime position at the week-long October fair, where an estimated 80 percent of global book rights deals are struck each year.   Coordinator Peter Weidhaas told a news conference that 9,100 exhibitors from 105 countries will attend the fair, whose 1996 theme is "Ireland and its Diaspora".    German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Irish President Mary Robinson and Nobel prize-winning Irish poet Seamus Heaney are expected to attend the opening ceremony.   Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, well-known for a failed campaign for his country's presidency as well as his novels, will also come to receive the German publishing industry's Peace Prize.   "We are not just facing a bigger fair but also a more complete range of information and events," Weidhaas said.   In a test case for the industry, organisers are offering information on events on their own Internet Home Page, and plan to host the first-ever Internet auction for fiction rights, he said.   To cope with the projected increase and give exhibitors more space, the fair will be spread over 182,000 square metres, 50,000 more than last year, Weidhaas said. 
12387 !C24 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT  Plans to cut the capacity of the European Union fishing fleet by up to 40 percent over the next six years could be made less painful for fishermen, the European Commission said in a report on Tuesday.   The report, which will be discussed by EU fisheries ministers next month, was drafted after consultations with 35 regional fishing organisations on the controversial plans for a multiannual guidance programme (MAGP) from 1997 to 2002.    European fishermen, especially the British and Irish, have fiercely attacked the plans, presented on May 29, describing them as an "unthinking proliferation of regulatory measures" which would drive them off the seas.   "The Commission can probably take on board a large part of what the industry has said, both as regards improving the machinery for managing the MAGPs and...the measures to soften the social impact of restructuring," it said in the report.   It said the programmes could be improved by closer monitoring of cuts and stricter penalties for failing to reach reduction targets.    But it added that the pain of the cuts would be eased by spreading them over the six years, allowing greater freedom for vessels fishing more plentiful stocks and exempting small boats fishing close to shore.   It said EU funds should be used to restructure the industry either by encouraging fishermen to exploit new fisheries or to take advantage of opportunities offered by agreements with non-EU countries, including joint ventures.   Where vessels are laid up, EU funds should be used to retrain fishermen or to finance early retirement schemes.   But the report added that restructuring should only be carried out if all involved were convinced that fishing overcapacity could be solved and a balance achieved between resources and catches. 
12388 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  PARIS, Sept 10 (reuter) - FrAnce's Movement against Racism (MRAP) said on Tuesday it was suing far-right political leader Jean-Marie Le Pen for saying that racial inequality was "a fact".   MRAP Secretary-General Mouloud Aounit said he was taking legal action because the statement was "not a slip of the tongue, but the clear and cold expression of what Le Pen has been thinking for a long time".   Le Pen, leader of the anti-immigrant National Front, told Europe 1 radio on Monday: "To say that the races are unequal is a fact, an unremarkable statement."   He cited as an example an "obvious difference" between white and black athletes at the Olympics.   "We expected a kind of outcry from the government and public opinion, but I am seeing, sadly, that such statements get no notice," Aounit said in a telephone interview.   "The time has come to call a halt, or else where is this going to end?"   he said.   MRAP lawyer Pierre Meyrat, who was drafting the legal action, said Le Pen could face a fine if he were found guilty of inciting racial hatred, a crime in France.   The head of the French Jewish community, Henri Hadjenberg, said Le Pen's remarks were "a danger for democracy".   "We had not heard such things in Europe since 1945," he said.   Le Pen, who won 15 percent of the vote in last year's presidential election, has in the past denied charges of racism and anti-semitism.   He sparked fury with a 1987 remark that the Nazi death camp gas chambers were "a mere detail in the history of the Second World War".   His National Front, whose slogan is "France for the French", has announced a drive to improve its image ahead of the 1998 general election in an effort to broaden its appeal.   But the public relations campaign was set back earlier this year when he charged that many players on the nation's soccer team were foreigners unable to sing the national anthem.   When informed that all on the team were indeed French citizens, he noted that some were of foreign origin and that the team would be better if all players were native Frenchmen. 
12389 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP !GPOL  The head of Sweden's parliamentary intelligence committee resigned on Tuesday after breaking the official silence on a Swede who was thrown out of Russia for alleged spying.   Rolf Dahlberg, conservative MP and head of the defence intelligence parliamentary committee, was travelling in Hong Kong when news broke that Swedish defence engineer Peter Nordstrom had been expelled by Moscow.   Sweden's Foreign Affairs Ministry was refusing to comment on the incident which happened in February but was only revealed in Russian newspapers last week.   But Dahlberg, awoken at his hotel in the middle of the night by Swedish reporters, admitted he had been told about an incident with the person expelled working as a "messenger" for the intelligence service.   "I admit that I made a wrong judgement," Dahlberg told Swedish news agency TT after announcing his resignation.   The defence intelligence parliamentary committee was set up to keep parliamentarians informed about intelligence operations.   Nordstrom, 32, and a senior Swedish diplomat were thrown out of Russia in February amid allegations of spying.   Swedish media said Nordstrom was arrested in St Petersburg as he handed over $2,000 for a wooden doll containing film of secret documents.   The exchange was filmed.   Nordstrom however has consistently denied allegations of spying.   He has told Swedish media that he was giving a friend money to help a sick relative. 
12390 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Chancellor Helmut Kohl's razor-thin majority in the German parliament will be put to a crucial test on Friday when his coalition plans to override objections to his controversial austerity plan.   Kohl's coalition has only four votes above the absolute majority of 337 needed in the lower house of parliament to reverse a negative vote on the plan in the upper house, which is dominated by the opposition Social Democrats (SPD).   The SPD-ruled city-state of Hamburg announced on Tuesday it would vote at an upper house session on Thursday against the cost-cutting plan, assuring the opposition the majority it needed to send it back to the lower house.   Many laws need only a simple majority of deputies present to pass, but a government has to muster an absolute majority in the 672-seat legislature to override objections by the upper house, where the 16 federal states are represented.   Parliamentary whips for Kohl's Christian Democrats (CDU) said they were sure the 341 deputies in the centre-right coalition would turn out to pass the bill, which trims sick pay benefits and makes it easier for firms to sack workers.   The combined opposition has a total of 331 seats.   Agriculture Minister Jochen Borchert, now recuperating from a back operation at the weekend, will most probably take part in the vote, a spokesman said.   The veteran chancellor is so dominant in German politics that his narrow power base in parliament is often overlooked.   Parliament formally re-elected Kohl as chancellor in 1994 with only one vote to spare in a telling show of how fragile that base is.   The opposition embarrassed him last year by pulling together a majority to pass a resolution criticising his policy of maintaining a "critical dialogue" with Iran.   Apart from the political embarrassment, losing a vote in parliament is not a direct challenge to a sitting chancellor.   Under German law, a government cannot be thrown out unless a successor chancellor is voted in at the same time. 
12391 !GCAT !GVIO  Afghanistan's rebel Taleban militia advanced towards the main eastern town of Jalalabad on Tuesday as it captured two districts in Nangarhar province, Taleban and other Afghan sources in Pakistan said.   Pakistani officials said Nangarhar governor Haji Qadeer crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday evening after the Islamic militia said it had captured Khogiani district.   Earlier, an Afghan news service said the militia had taken control of Hisarak district in the west of the province.   Khogniani fell to Taleban after local forces of Qadeer-led shura, or council, surrendered with their weapons, Taleban spokesman Maulvi Ahmad Jan told reporters in Peshawar .   The Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) said the Taleban forces were now heading towards Jalalabad.   AIP said both sides suffered dozens of casualties in Hisarak in western Nangarhar before the district fell to the Islamic militia.   On Monday, Taleban said it had captured Hisarak the previous night, in an apparent drive to control the strategic highway from Kabul to Jalalabad.   But the shura, or council, which rules Nangarhar denied it had fallen.   AIP quoted sources in the area as saying that Hisarak, about 70 km (44 miles) southwest of the provincial capital Jalalabad, fell to Taleban on Tuesday.   Earlier on Tuesday, an Afghan government spokesman in Kabul said heavy fighting was raging in Hisarak and that President Burhanuddin Rabbani's administration had sent troops there from Sarobi to reinforce the defenders.   Government jets bombed Taleban positions in Azra district, in the adjoining Logar province, which Taleban captured from government forces on Friday, AIP said.   The neutral factions have until this week stayed out of the conflict between the Taleban and the government, but the Taleban forced their hand by demanding military use of their territory.   In the Afghan capital Kabul, Prime Minister Hekmatyar met the government's top military commander Ahmad Shah Masood, the official Kabul Radio said.   The Taleban are believed to be eager to attack the town of Sarobi, which straddles the Kabul-Jalalabad highway and is a stronghold of Hekmatyar's Hezb-i-Islami faction.   Witnesses in Kabul said on Monday that dozens of tanks and troop carriers were on the move, apparently ready to be deployed in defence of Sarobi, about 60 km (40 miles) east of Kabul.   A Taleban spokesman, Maulvi Wakil Ahmad, said two Taleban jets had bombed government positions in Sarobi on Monday in retaliation for government air raids on Taleban posts.   He said that if the Nangarhar shura sided with the government, the Taleban would not hesitate to fight it.   He said the Taleban would not hold talks with the government until Rabbani resigned.   The Taleban, besieging Kabul for the past year, have pledged to install a purist Islamic order throughout Afghanistan. 
12392 !GCAT !GVIO  Fourteen people were killed in gunbattles between militants of rival Moslem sects on Tuesday at the northwestern Pakistani town of Parachinar, official sources said.   They said a curfew was imposed in the town near the Afghan border after the fighting between the militants of the majority Sunni and the minority Shi'ite sects.   A large number of shops in the main Parachinar bazaar were set alight, they said.   The town was also hit by mortar bombs fired from nearby hills.   Earlier the sources said three to four people were killed in two hours of gunbattles, which erupted after a clash between the rival student groups at a local school, the sources said.   But later at night, the sources, who did not want to be named, put the death toll at 14.   A government statement said the headmaster of the Government High School in Parachinar was killed in the first clash at his institution while "a few casualties" were reported in the town.   The Shi'ite Imamia Student Organisation issued a statement accusing a Sunni militant group, Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), of starting the clash.   No comment was immediately available from SSP, which has often clashed with Shi'ite militants.   Sunni-Shi'ite disputes over Islamic beliefs have often spilled into violence and Tuesday's clash follows a series of sectarian attacks this year in the central province of Punjab and the southern province of Sindh.   Eighteen people were killed in the year's most serious sectarian clash on August 18, when gunmen attacked a Shi'ite meeting in southern Punjab.   Sunnis dominate Pakistan's population of about 130 million people, of which Shi'ites constitute about 15 percent. 
12393 !GCAT !GVIO  Afghanistan's rebel Taleban militia captured a district in eastern Nangarhar province and was trying to advance further on Tuesday after an attack on previously neutral groups, an Afghan news agency said.   Both sides suffered dozens of casualties in Hisarak in western Nangarhar before the district fell to the Islamic militia, the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported.   On Monday, Taleban said it had captured Hisarak the previous night, in an apparent drive to control the strategic highway from Kabul to Jalalabad.   But the shura, or council, that rule Nangarhar denied it had fallen.   AIP quoted sources in the area as saying that Hisarak, about 70 km (44 miles) southwest of the provincial capital Jalalabad, fell to Taleban on Tuesday.   The Taleban forces were trying to advance towards Jalalabad, but council forces were resisting, it said.   Earlier on Tuesday, an Afghan government spokesman in Kabul said heavy fighting was raging in Hisarak and that President Burhanuddin Rabbani's administration had sent troops there from Sarobi to reinforce the defenders.   Government jets bombed Taleban positions in Azra district, in the adjoining Logar province, which Taleban captured from government forces on Friday, AIP said.   The neutral factions have until this week stayed out of the conflict between the Taleban and the government, but the Taleban forced their hand by demanding military use of their territory.   The Taleban are seen as eager to attack the town of Sarobi, which straddles the Kabul-Jalalabad highway and is a stronghold of Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-i-Islami faction.   Witnesses in Kabul said on Monday that dozens of tanks and troop carriers were on the move, apparently ready to be deployed in defence of Sarobi, about 60 km (40 miles) east of Kabul.   A Taleban spokesman, Maulvi Wakil Ahmad, said two Taleban jets had bombed government positions in Sarobi on Monday in retaliation for government air raids on Taleban posts.   He said that if the Nangarhar shura sided with the government, the Taleban would not hesitate to fight it.   He added that the Taleban would not hold talks with the government until Rabbani resigned.   The Taleban, besieging Kabul for the past year, have pledged to install a purist Islamic order throughout Afghanistan. 
12394 !GCAT !GPOL  Excerpts from "Core Politics on Track Despite Chaotic Party Politics," a political update on India by Caspian Securities explores the progress of the United Front, India's ruling coalition.    -----oOo-----   CORE POLICIES ON TRACK DESPITE CHAOTIC PARTY POLICIES   India's politicians are busy doing what they do best; indulging in political squabbles and party infighting that have little to do with running the country and everything to do with increasing personal prestige and advantage.   Mounting allegations of corruption in the recent Congress Government, mostly involving former prime minister Narasimha Rao, are adding spice (and complications) to the events.   The United Front (UF) government's prime minister, Deve Gowda, spends much of his time putting out fires he and others have accidentally lighted within his 14-party coalition.   Nevertheless, his government is stronger than it looks and it is keeping its core economic and foreign policies on track.   The UF is not doing too badly; but Congress is hit by growing corruption scandals:   ** As parliament resumes this week for the winter session, the political scene is riven with party power battles in the Congress Party and in the main opposition BJP, while Gowda's fractious 14-party coalition is hit by internal squabbles.   ** The most significant dissension is in the Congress Party which is also hit by extensive corruption scandals, the most recent involving telecom contracts.   This could unseat Rao from the party leadership and his departure would cause serious political uncertainty because the UF could be destabilised by Congress MPs, including some leaders, trying to scramble aboard.   ** Also significant is dissension within the BJP in various states, particularly Gujarat where the party runs the state government.   Events like these are losing the BJP its reputation as a disciplined responsible party.   ** Squabbles in the UF are grabbing a lot of headlines and they are diverting Gowda and some other ministers from policy work, but they do not run deep and there is no sign of any significant rift.   State elections in Uttar Pradesh (UP), which are expected in about a month's time, will however strain loyalties.   ** Firm government decisions are being taken and implemented in some areas following last month's budget, especially in the industry and power ministries.   On nuclear disarmament, the foreign minister is adopting a robust approach with the U.S. that indicates a new self confidence in Indian foreign policy.   Despite outward appearances, the Gowda coalition is not doing too badly.   The forecast that it should last for at least a year (made when it came to power) remains unchanged - but that could be affected by events in the Congress Party.    CONGRESS AND CORRUPTION   Congress Needs A New Leader To Replace Rao:   Corrupt and demoralised, Congress is in a mess and needs a new leader - but no one is prepared to force the issue.   If it is to win a future election, the Congress needs to change dramatically, re-identifying its priorities and making policies relate to its traditional poor and low caste constituencies.   Above all, it needs to clean out its organisation.   Many Congress leaders would like to remove Mr Rao, whose reputation has slumped in a morass of corruption scandals, from either or both of his dual roles as president of the party and its parliamentary leader.   But they all have their own agendas and they all fear that a rival might benefit if they wield the knife.   They are now waiting for Mr Rao to be charged and/or be forced to appear in court on one of the scandals, because then he would almost certainly have to resign.   Mr Rao is clinging to office to try to save his skin.   He knows that he will be finished politically if he is ousted and that he will lose much of his behind-the-scenes influence and negotiating power.   So he wants to stay around long enough for the cases to go away (as they tend to do in India).   His alternative is to spend the rest of his life fighting to avoid conviction.    BJP IMAGE SLIPPING   The BJP Has Problems In Gujarat:   The BJP has split in Gujarat, undermining its state government, and it has problems in other states.   This is bad news for the BJP nationally because it needs to nurture its image of a well disciplined, clean, and effective party that can govern at national and state level.   Instead, it is beginning to prove itself little different from other parties, with self-seeking rows and splits.   The battles centre around personal power and prestige, not policy issues.   They stem partly from rivalry between new low (or backward) caste leaders and the BJP's traditional high caste base which is supported by its important extremist wing, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).   The ructions open the way for Congress and United Front parties to undermine the BJP by liaising with the dissidents.   This is happening in Gujarat, where the BJP government is vulnerable, having lost possibly a third of its assembly members and seven ministers to a break-away party.   There are also tensions in Maharashtra between the BJP and its partner in the state government, the Shiv Sena Party.   In UP, there is also dissension ahead of state elections.    COALITION GOVERNMENT TENSIONS   Squabbles Among United Front Parties:   No one expected the 14-party coalition to work well, and in fact it is doing better than expected.   Mr Gowda's problems grab headlines and divert him and some other Ministers from policy work.   There is however no sign of any significant rift, though Mr Gowda's actions have led to accusations that he is favouring his home state of Karnataka and does not yet have national vision.   For example, decisions regarding a dam at Alamatti in southern India, which favour Karnataka rather than the adjacent state of Andhra Pradesh (AP), have led to a coalition crisis with Chandrababhu Naidu, chief minister of AP, threatening to break away from the United Front.   The coming state elections in UP will strain loyalties further.   Some United Front leaders are causing problems.   Indrajit Gupta, the communist Home Minister, has caused mini-crises because of public indescretions, but they soon pass.   Mulayam Singh Yadav, defence minister, is primarily interested in politicking ahead of the UP state elections, and he might fall out with the coalition in due course.   C.M. Ibrahim, the high profile minister of both information and aviation who comes from Karnataka, is becoming controversial because he works primarily as a close aide and emissary for the prime minister.   Laloo Prasad Yadav, chief minister of Bihar and president of Mr Gowda's Janata Party, is showing signs of frustration because he has no significant national role, which could lead to a row.   But Mr Gowda responds by playing politics.   His game plan appears to be to court his main players to keep them happy, while suddenly taking unexpected actions that destabilise his opponents, and sometimes his colleagues.   The best and latest example is a 90-minute meeting he held at a Bombay film star's house last week with Bal Thackeray, leader of the Hindu chauvinist Shiv Sena party that runs the Maharashtra state government in coalition with the BJP.   That may have been aimed at some sort of liaison with the Shiv Sena in the UP elections or elsewhere, but it upset Mr Gowda's secular colleagues and rattled the BJP.    POLICY DEVELOPMENTS   Positive Moves On Most Foreign Investment:   Foreign direct investment (FDI) and power project approvals are being speeded up.   The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has speeded up its approvals procedure and has cleared over 200 foreign investments since mid-July, including a controversial wholly-owned subsidiary for Quaker Oats, and others including Coca-Cola, Carlsberg beer, and BMW.   An increase from 51 to 75 percent in Daewoo's equity holding in a car joint venture with DCM has also been approved.   Power project counter guarantees are being accelerated, with a target of September 30 for all of them to be cleared, and Enron's Dabhol project is about to get under way again.   But blockages remain, especially on media and aviation.   A Financial Times joint venture with Business Standard has been rejected by the cabinet committee on foreign investments, which ordered a policy review of a 1955 ban on foreign investment in newspapers and magazines.   This is a highly controversial issue, and the prime minister has said several times recently that such investment will not be allowed.   The FT and other similar projects seem unlikely therefore to be approved in the foreseeable future.   Mr Ibrahim has also spoken out against foreign investment in his ministerial area of aviation, as well as information.   Foreign companies also seem likely to be banned in a parliamentary bill due later this year from transmitting (or uplinking) satellite TV programmes from India.   The Industry Ministry has not yet finalised its promised FDI guidelines.   These are intended to list industries that are to be freed from industrial licensing, and those that are to be regarded as low priority for foreign investment.   Consumer perishable goods were to be regarded as low priority, but the recent approvals show that the government has softened its line.   Murasoli Maran, industry minister, said last week that he favours such investments if they add value in terms of employment, technology and exports.   On industrial licensing, there are arguments within the coalition about liberalising the sugar industry.   Firm Stand On Nuclear Disarmament:   I.K. Gujral, Foreign Minister, is adopting a robust approach on nuclear issues.   His refusal to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, despite intense pressure from the US and other countries, has clarified India's stand.   As a potential-but-undeclared nuclear state, it refuses to sign a treaty that does not commit nuclear states to eventual nuclear disarmament (it is specially concerned about China).   This indicates a new self-confidence in India foreign policy.   This stand is unlikely to have an economic fallout.   Furious though the US is with India, it is unlikely to try to start economic or other sanctions.   Such a move would be extremely unpopular in the US at a time when India is a primary target for foreign investment, and it would meet with little support from other countries.   (The opinions expressed in this article reflect the views of the author only.   They should not be taken as reflecting the views of Reuters) 
12395 !GCAT  ---   VEERAKESARI   Ruling People's Alliance parliamentarians tell Justice Minister G.L. Peiris to get people's mandate through referendum on government peace plan as opposition United Nation Party has not taken clear stand on issue.   ---   THINAKARAN   Police search Wilpattu jungles for Tamil Tiger rebel suicide squad.   ---   DAILY NEWS   Sri Lanka emerges as world's best tea producer fetching highest price for its tea.   Prices of rubber, coconut and cinnamon also rise.   ---   THE ISLAND   Japanese loans help to avert crisis in railways which were on verge of grinding to a halt.   ---   LANKADEEPA   Police find Tamil Tiger rebel safe house in Ratmalana suburb of Colombo.   ---   DIVAINA   Referendum to decide permenant merger of northern and eastern provinces to be held by October 13.   ---   DINAMINA   Police probe Tamil Tiger rebel intelligence unit operating in Colombo.   --Colombo newsroom tel 941-434319 
12396 !GCAT  Following are some of the main stories in Tuesday's Pakistani newspapers:   THE NEWS   - The Sensitive Price Indicator for the week ended September 2 registered a nominal increase of 0.30 percent over the previous week.   - The government has extended the date for the registration of companies for sales tax.   - Commerce and trade secretaries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) will meet in New Delhi next month to finalise the list of items on which member countries must allow concessions.   THE MUSLIM   - Agriculture Minister Yousaf Talpur said cotton production would surpass this year's target of 10 million 375-lb bales.   - The government rejected an opposition proposal to set up a special judicial commission on the accountability of parliamentarians.   - Sher Afghan, temporarily looking after the Health Ministry, told the National Assembly (lower house) that the government was ready to accept an opposition demand to import medicines from India to keep prices down.   THE NATION   - Former caretaker prime minister Moeen Qureshi expressed concern at Pakistan's balance of payments and inflation.   DAWN   - Imported synthetic machine-made carpets are being sold 15 to 20 percent cheaper than the locally made ones, mainly because of anomalies in the tariff structure.   - Pakistan reiterated that it would not block adoption of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty but said it would only sign the treaty if India did the same.   - The Asian Development Bank has agreed to provide a $200 million loan for the second phase of the Social Action Programme.   BUSINESS RECORDER   - The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry urged the government to make all politicians and bureaucrats accountable for loot and plunder.   - The government met some demands of the stock exchanges but refused to exempt bonus shares from taxation.   - The World Bank has suggested privatisation of the Agriculture Development Bank because of its weakness.   - The government asked for the state-run Karachi Electric Supply Corporation to be restructured before privatisation.   FINANCIAL POST   - The government reduced import duty on ships bought for scrap.   -- Islamabad newsroom 9251-274757 
12397 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the Bangladesh press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   ---   DAILY STAR   Bangladesh Chief Election Commissioner Mohammad Abu Hena refuted opposition's claim that September 5 by-elections were not free and fair.   He said he had taken "all steps" to avert ruling party's influence on the administration during election.   Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said armed forces had no connection with the assassination of her father independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.   She said her party believed that "some miscreants" had been involved in the killing.   ---   THE INDEPENDENT   Bangladesh opposition leader and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia said she feared elections would never be fair under the ruling Awami League government.   ---   BANGLADESH OBSERVER   Dhaka University reopened on Monday after a 15-day closure.   The shutdown followed fierce clashes on the campus between student activists of ruling Awami League and opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party.   ---   FINANCIAL EXPRESS   The government would soon divest a state-run jute mill as a step to reactivate the stalled privatisation programme, Commerce and Industies Minister Tofael Ahmed said.   Ahmed said the government had already identified some state-owned enterprises for disinvestment.   A government committee has started negotiating terms with three private firms, awarded contracts recently to commence cellular telephone operations in Bangladesh.   -- Dhaka Newsroom 880-2-506363 
12398 !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 Tel:3326806, 3326813, 3326849 Fax:+91-11-3351006 E-mail: biznis@giasbm01.  vsnl.  net.  in    ------------oo0oo--------------    TOP STORIES   The Times Of India   APEX COURT DEPLORES SLOW PACE OF PROBE INTO SCAMS   India's Supreme Court upbraided the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for the pace of its probe into various scams.   The apex court said CBI's failure to file chargesheets in time allowed the accused in the sensitive cases go scot free.   Citing an example, the court said CBI's inability to file chargesheets in the 1.33 billion rupee fertiliser scam in the stipulated 90 days led to the accused being released on bail.   Earlier, the Attorney General informed the court that investigations in the St Kitts forgery case had come to a head and some definite action was being taken.   ----   The Hindustan Times   GUJARAT GOVERNMENT SURVIVES AS REBELS GET STICK   The Suresh Mehta led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Gujarat survived a certain threat to its existence.   The state Assembly Speaker has nullified the Deputy Speaker's earlier decision to accord recognition to 46 legislators belonging to the break away faction of BJP.   This means the split in the ruling BJP now lacks legal status.   The Speaker has ruled that the Deputy speaker's decision to recognise the separate group was unconstitutional.   On September 3, the Deputy Speaker had recognised the splinter group under the banner of Maha Gujarat Janata Party and allocated separate seats to them in the state Assembly.   ----   Indian Express   CONGRESS PARTY CHIEF BAITS REBELS WITH PARTY POSTS   Congress party chief P.V. Narasimha Rao has offered to accommodate some of the party's prominent dissident leaders in the party hierarchy in a bid to counter any challenge to his leadership.   Rao's move comes at a time he is faced with a spate of criminal proceedings over his alleged involvement in corruption cases, adverse public opinion and a fresh call for his resignation as the Congress president.   Rao has offered to appoint three vice presidents from the western, eastern and northern zones of the country, said party sources.   Rao has hinted at appointing former Maharashtra chief minister Sharad Pawar (western) and former Union ministers G.N. Azad or Rajesh Pilot (northern) as vice presidents in order to galvanise the party, sources added.   ----   Financial Express   MOVE TO ENLARGE AUTOMATIC FDI APPROVAL LIST   The Union industry ministry may expand the list of items where direct foreign investments may be allowed automatically.   The ministry has drawn up a schedule defining fresh areas where automatic approval could be allowed.   The schedule will be incorporated into the Industrial Policy Act of 1991.   This schedule will be over and above the schedule of 35 industries where automatic approval, for investments which require up to 51 percent foreign equity, is already allowed.   The industry minister has put before the Cabinet two major proposals: industries where automatic approval will be allowed for foreign investments of up to 51 percent and the other for foreign investments up to 74 percent.   ----   EICHER, RENAULT APPLY BRAKES ON HEAVY VEHICLES PROJECT   New Delhi-based Eicher Motors Ltd and Renault Vehicles Industries of France have called off their venture to manufacture heavy commercial vehicles (HCVs) in India.   Eicher sources said the two partners, however, remained committed to the HCV segment and would explore alternatives on their own.   Though no reason has been given for the decision, sources said the two partners could not come to an agreement on the structure of the deal.   ----   The Economic Times   BANKS TOLD TO GARNER FOREIGN EXCHANGE   The Finance Ministry has drawn plans to ease the pressure of external debt repayment which peaks at about $14 billion this financial year.   The ministry is egging on public sector banks such as the State Bank of India to market their existing non resident deposit schemes so that part of the outstanding debt maturing this year can be rolled over.   The ministry is following a similar strategy with regard to the liability relating to India Development Bonds (IDB).   Part of these bonds is being redeemed locally in rupees to prevent an outflow of dollars.   Of $2.2 billion to be repaid under the IDB scheme, the ministry expects to redeem $1 billion in rupees domestically.   ----   MIDDLE LEVEL, WEAK BANKS TO LOWER PRIME LENDING RATE   Middle level and weak banks have followed the State Bank of India (SBI) by reducing their prime lending rates (PLRs) by 0.5 percentage points.   SBI's PLR currently stands at 15.5 percent, whereas PLR of these banks will now stand reduced at 16 percent.   SBI, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank and Corporation Bank reduced their PLR from 16.5 percent to 16 percent in July.   Other banks had refrained from cutting their PLRs.   However, with SBI going in for another 0.5 percentage point cut in PLR this month, the smaller banks were sort of forced to follow suit.   ----    ----   BLOW TO BHARAT GOLD REVIVAL AS AUSTRALIAN FIRM PULLS OUT   Bharat Gold Mines Ltd's proposed joint venture partner, Mining Projects Investors Ltd of Australia, has withdrawn support from a proposal to set up a shallow mines exploration project.   This is second time an ailing public sector company has been left by a partner or proposed partner.   Earlier, Singapore-based Normandy Anglo India Ltd had also signed an memorandum of understanding with the company for the same project and withdrawn support.   DOUGLAS TO SOURCE PARTS FROM TATAS   McDonnell Douglas of the United States plans to source aircraft components from Tata Industries.   The agreement is for the supply of radomes for the MD-80 and the MD-90 aircraft.   In another development, McDonnell Douglas has announced it is offering its 155 seater MD-90 aircraft to the Tatas for their airline joint venture with Singapore Airlines.   CENTRAL BANK JOINS BANK OF INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENT   The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is joining an elite club of central banks.   The RBI is one of nine central banks that will become members of the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), Switzerland.   RBI's formal accession to membership of BIS is likely completion of formalities, such as paying its subscription for its shares.   BIS is expanding its membership for the first time since its inception in 1930.   - - - -   Business Standard   CORPORATE GOVERNANCE CODE PROPOSED   Financial Institutions (FIs), government representatives and corporate houses have agreed to formulate a code of conduct to promote good corporate governance.   The draft code being formulated by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is going to be an Indian version of the well known Cadbury Committee report in Britain, which laid down the principles of good corporate governance.   The CII is discussing the subject and related issues, including the role of FIs in the governance of company, the role of nominee directors, the relationship between bourses and companies.   GOVERNMENT STANDS FIRM ON MINIMUM ALTERNATE TAX   The government has hardened its stand on the minimum alternate tax (MAT) on zero tax companies.   The finance minister told parliament industry's opposition to MAT was unjustified.   The corporate sector paid an average rate of taxation at 19 percent, while a large number of individuals paid an average tax at the rate of 40 percent, the minister said.   He said long-term solutions to tax rationalisation lay in having a uniform tax rate.   The finance minister said a draft bill was likely to be ready by December or January.   ONGC VIDESH, HINDUSTAN PETROLEUM IN OIL HUNT ABROAD   Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) Videsh has joined the Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) to take up exploration and production overseas.   ONGC Videsh's plans abroad include Sudan and Nigeria, as well as the North Sea.   ONGC is reported to be tapping the overseas market for higher returns on investment.   The company plans to pick up 26 percent equity in its proposed consortium with OIL and HPCL.   Holdings of the other companies will not exceed 25 percent.   The overseas exploration arm of ONGC plans to have a multinational as its partner.   - - - -   Observer   TATA STEEL TO RAISE 3.5 BLN RUPEES FROM OVERSEAS MARKET   Tata Iron and Steel Company Ltd (TISCO) plans to raise about 3.5 billion rupees on overseas markets for funding the fourth phase of modernisation and expansion of its Jamshedpur plant.   TISCO plans to mobilise half of the estimated capital expenditure of 10.08 billion rupees on the domestic market through instruments such as bonds.   It has tied up with Deutsche Bank for 650 million rupees.   Another 520 million rupees is being syndicated through State Bank of India Capitals at a floating rate of 70 points above the London Inter-Bank official rate.   TISCO has also applied to the government for clearance to raise another 50 million rupees. 
12399 !GCAT !GVIO  Separatist tribal rebels have shot and wounded two Bengali-speaking settlers and abducted 30 others in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts, triggering ethnic tension across the vast hill and forest region, police said on Tuesday.   They said army troops tightened security after the abductions in Rangamati hill district were reported on Monday night by the two wounded Bengalis who managed to flee from custody of rebel Shanti Bahini forces.   "Soldiers reinforced security as thousands of Bengalis threatened to retaliate," one police officer told reporters.   "Tension is running high."   Local officials said four Shanti Bahini guerrillas surrendered to military authorities in the Hill Tracts earlier on Monday.   The Shantis, mostly members of the Chakma tribe, took up arms in 1973 after Bangladesh rejected their demand for autonomy for the 5,500 sqare-mile (14,200 sq-km) Hill Tracts bordering India and Burma.   Officials say up to 8,000 soldiers, rebels and civilians have been killed in the protracted insurgency, which has also forced thousands of tribal families to flee to northeast India.   Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abdus Samad Azad told reporters on Tuesday that three members of Parliament from the Hill Tracts would visit refugee camps in Tripura soon as part of a government plan to expedite repatriation of the tribals.   He gave no details. 
12400 !GCAT !GVIO  Afghanistan's rebel Taleban Islamic militia said it had captured another district on Tuesday in the eastern province of Jalalabad in its advance towards the provincial capital.   The Khogiani district fell to the militia as the defending forces of the previously neutral council surrendered, a Taleban spokesman in Pakistan told Reuters on Tuesday night.    "Khogiani has come under the control of the Taleban," militia spokesman Maulvi Ahmad said by telephone from the northwestern Pakistani town of Peshawar.   He said people greeted Taleban with white flags of peace.   Earlier, Pakistani official sources in Peshawar said Nangarhar province governor Haji Qadeer had crossed into Pakistan in the evening.   There was no immediate information about the reason for Qadeer's departure from Jalalabad, where he has headed a neutral ruling shura, or council, for the past four years.   Earlier on Tuesday, a Pakistan-based news service said the Taleban had captured the strategic Hisarak district in western Nangarhar but Qadeer's forces were resisting the militia's push towards Jalalabad. 
12401 !GCAT !GVIO  The governor of Afghanistan's Nangarhar province crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday as the rebel Taleban Islamic militia pressed an offensive against his forces, Pakistani official sources said.   Governor Haji Qadeer entered Pakistan through the Khyber Pass border, the sources said in Peshawar, capital of the North West Frontier Province.   There was no immediate information about the reason for Qadeer's departure from the Nangarhar province capital of Jalalabad, where he has headed a neutral ruling shura, or council, for the past four years.   Earlier on Tuesday, a Pakistan-based news service said the Taleban had captured the strategic Hisarak district in western Nangarhar but Qadeer's forces were resisting the militia's effort to push towards Jalalabad. 
12402 !GCAT !GHEA !GODD  Two medical officers found guilty of conducting virginity tests on a nursing student were suspended by the local government in India's southern state of Andhra Pradesh, officials said.   The student was seeking admission to a nursing course at a hospital in the town of Visakhapatnam, officials said.   The health minister in the Andhra Pradesh government ordered an inquiry into the incident after it created an uproar in the local assembly. 
12403 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  India's state-sponsored National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday accused the government in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir of concealing reports of rights abuses there by security forces.   In its annual report to parliament, the NHRC said it was striving to end custodial death, rape and torture in the country.   But it said it was disappointed certain states were not reporting facts as fully as they should.   "In particular, the commission has been disturbed at the lack of reports from Jammu and Kashmir and the chairperson has been constrained to raise this matter formally with the governor of the state," it said.   More than 20,000 people have been killed in Kashmir since simmering discontent against Indian rule in the Himalayan state turned into an armed separatist revolt in 1990.   Kashmir, where dozens of separatist groups are fighting either for independence or merger with neighbouring Pakistan, is holding its first assembly elections in nine years this month.   The London-based human rights group, Amnesty International, has expressed concern at the lack of election observers and raised the possibility of rights abuses there.   It has urged India to take steps to ensure that human rights defenders and journalists can work without fear for their safety and to ensure that no one is coerced in their vote.   It said some Indian states were using third-degree methods in criminal investigations.   India, under pressure from Western nations, created the National Human Rights Commission to address rights violations.   The government has been gradually allowing greater numbers of observers to visit Kashmir to probe the human rights situation. 
12404 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  India would fulfil all commitments including patent obligations made to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), a senior commerce ministry official said on Tuesday.   "India intends to fully comply with all commitments made in the WTO," Tejendra Khanna, the most senior civil servant in the department of commerce, told a business seminar.   "India is fully aware of its international obligations and has no intention of unilaterally derogating from them," Khanna said.   India joined the WTO, which began operations last year, and pledged to bring its patents laws in line with new international requirements.   But opposition parties have held up a government-sponsored bill that would add teeth to India's patents law by extending protection, currently covering only manufacturing processes, to products.   Indian drug firms argue that they would be hurt if patent protection was extended to products, as it would shield many big multinational companies which can afford to invest heavily in research and development.   India was able to meet the WTO's patent requirements when it joined the organisation last year by virtue of a presidential decree which temporarily protected products.   But the decree has expired, and legislation bringing India in line with its WTO commitment died before the upper house of parliament could approve it.   "In the winter session of the parliament we hope approvals will be obtained and commitments will be discharged," Khanna said.   Indian parliament will reconvene for a winter session in November.   The current session of parliament will end on Friday, September 13.   -- Delhi newsroom +91-11-3012024 
12405 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Indian officials said on Tuesday that a proposed nuclear test ban treaty expected to be approved by the U.N. General Assembly this week would be meaningless because the pact was not binding on New Delhi.   "As the CTBT (Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty) text stands, it cannot go into force without India's acceptance," a foreign ministry official told Reuters.   "Sadly, therefore, it will be passed but only to remain a worthless piece of paper," he said.   India, which says it has pursued peaceful nuclear programme since exploding an atomic device in 1974, blocked its adoption at the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament in Geneva last month.   Another country seen as a threshold nuclear power, Pakistan, said that although it would support the treaty it would not ratify it because of India's position.   Meanwhile, Indian Foreign Secretary Salman Haider told a news conference that New Delhi would not give up its nuclear option even if the CTBT was passed.   "I don't see us being pressurised by sheer numbers," Haider said.   "India will cast a negative vote."   The treaty, whose adoption by the current session of the U.N. General Assembly has been proposed by Australia and backed by 126 other countries, seeks to ban future nuclear tests.   Australia, trying to override the Indian veto, asked the U.N. General Assembly on Monday to approve the test ban treaty and open it for signing.   "I am very confident the Australian resolution will be supported and we will have, as a result of that, made a very substantial contribution to the process of nuclear non-proliferation," Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told parliament in Canberra on Tuesday.   Downer said he expected a vote within 24 hours.   The CTBT would then be open for signature when world leaders travel to the United Nations later this month.   India says the Australian move ignored some basic tenets of U.N-backed treaties.   "This procedure erodes the standing of the Conference on Disarmament," Indian envoy Prakash Shah told the U.N. General Assembly.   "Treaties are made through voluntary agreements not by procedural manouevre and political persuasion."   Australia's resolution and the treaty are supported by all declared nuclear powers -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.   Haider said important non-aligned countries including Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam had objected to the Australian move as setting a bad precedence by seeking a pact on which there was no consensus.   After three years of negotiations, the 61-nation Conference on Disarmament was unable last month to approve the treaty because India refused to give its consent.   Under that conference's rules, decisions must be by consensus, in contrast to the U.N. General Assembly which can vote by a two-thirds majority or a simple majority.   To circumvent the conference, Australia asked the United Nations to approve the treaty in a legal manoeuvre never tried before.   The treaty would not come into force until 44 states with a nuclear potential signed and ratified it.   These states include India.   Most diplomats believe that once a country signs and ratifies the accord, it must abide by it.   India has said since the mid-1960s that it would not give up its nuclear option until the nuclear powers adopted a timetable for eliminating their existing arsenals. 
12406 !GCAT !GPOL  Outgoing Bangladesh President Abdur Rahman Biswas, who triggered a controversy by sacking the army chief ahead of the June 12 general election, said his actions were intended to uphold constitutional obligations.   "I have done my best to uphold the constitutional supremacy above all, even in the face of unwanted and intentional criticism," the official BSS news agency quoted a Presidential Palace statement as saying on Tuesday.   "I took a vow to uphold the constitution and I did everthing in accordance with the provisions of the constituion during my tenure," said Biswas, who is retiring next month.   "I am clear to my conscience and fully aware of my constitutional responsibilities," he said.   The President's remarks came amid press speculation that the sacking of Lieutenant-General Abu Saleh Mohammad Nasim in May was not in accordance with his powers, and may land him in trouble once he is out of office.   Biswas fired Nasim, saying the chief of staff had disobeyed his order to fire several senior army officers and was planning a military revolt to oust him.   Nasim left quietly, after what Biswas said was a failed coup bid.   The president has since sacked or transferred a good number of army officers under his temporary powers as defence minister.   Former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia handed the Defence Ministry to Biswas, a role usually handled by the premier, before she quit office in March amidst a stormy opposition campaign.   A non-party, caretaker government succeeded Khaleda until Sheikh Hasina won the general election in June and became prime minister.   But Biswas acted almost independently during the interim rule.   Hasina's Awami League accused Biswas of acting to protect the interests of Khaleda's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), of which he is a member.   "Every work has it's effects, good or bad.   We should strive for the welfare of the people in accordance with the provisions of the constitution, which provides guidelines for our actions," Biswas said on Tuesday.   Biswas was named president by the BNP in 1991.   He will be succeeded by retired chief justice Shahabuddin Ahmed, who was chosen by the Awami League. 
12407 !GCAT !GENT !GVIO  Indian police said on Tuesday that they had briefly detained 21 people in Bangalore after a noisy protest against plans to stage this year's Miss World contest in the southern city.   The protestors shouted anti-government slogans and said they would not allow the contest to go ahead, claiming beauty shows degrade women and insult Indian culture.   The Indian media group Amitabh Bachchan Corp said last month it had clinched the right to stage Miss World contests in November and in 1997 and 1998.   Earlier this month, K.N. Sasikala, president of the all-female Mahila Jagarna (Forum to Awaken Women), announced the formation of a 15-member "suicide squad" to stop the contest.   The group has given no details of its planned tactics.   The right-wing, Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party and the state farmers association also have said they oppose the beauty contest.   But Jayadevappa Patel, chief minister of Karnataka, the home state of Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, has dismissed the protests as propaganda and said the show would go on. 
12408 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  India's lower house of parliament was adjourned on Tuesday until 11 a.m. (0530 gmt) on Wednesday and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram is now expected to present the 1996/97 (April/March) finance bill on Wednesday afternoon, officials said.   "An expected speech by India Finance Minsiter P. Chidambaram to move a bill to give effect to the budget proposals for 1996/97 could not take place on Tuesday as the house was adjourned," a parliamentary official said.    The parliament official said house was adjourned rather than extend after it ran out of time at the scheduled closing hour at 6.00 p.m. (1230 gmt).   A spokeswoman for the minister said Chidambaram was unlikely to open the debate on the finance bill until after lunchtime on Wednesday.   The finance bill has to be approved by the lower house before the current session of parliament which ends on Friday, September 13.   --New Delhi newsroom +91-11-301 2024 
12409 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will visit China from September 12-to-16, her first official trip abroad since taking office in June, Foreign Minister Abdus Samad Azad announced on Tuesday.   Hasina and Chinese Premier Li Peng will discuss a wide range of topics from boosting trade and investment to expanding defence cooperation, Azad told a news conference.   Her itinerary also includes meetings with President Jiang Zemin and Chinese Defence Minister General Chi Haotian.   China is Bangladesh's main supplier of military hardware, defence sources in Dhaka said.   "The major focus of the talks (between the two premiers) will be on economic, investment and trade related issues.   Hasina is expected to urge China to import more from Bangladesh for a better balance of trade," a government news release said.   "She would invite China to invest in Bangladesh and take full advantage of improved investment climate...since the new government came to power," it added.   "The prime minister will also brief Li Peng on her government's efforts to resolve Bangladesh's problems with India, Myanmar (Burma) and Pakistan," the news release said.   Accompanying Hasina will be Azad, Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury, secretaries of three key ministries -- foreign, defence and energy -- and the head of the Investment Board.   Dhaka and Beijing were expected to sign agreements during Hasina's visit on avoidance of double taxation, investment and soft loans from China, the release said.   Hasina will visit Hong Kong on her way home and address a select gathering of leading corporate investors, Foreign Ministry officials said.   Hasina took over as Bangladesh's chief executive on June 23 following a general election that returned her Awami League to power 21 years after it had been ousted in a 1975 military coup. 
12410 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram will present the government's 1996/97 (April-March) Finance Bill to parliament on Tuesday, an aide said. 
12411 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram will present the government's 1996/97 (April-March) Finance Bill to parliament on Tuesday and is expected to make some announcements, an aide said.    Chidambaram was expected to present the Finance Bill to the lower house of parliament after 5 p.m. (1130 GMT).   "He is expected to make some announcements," the aide said without elaborating.   Financial markets had expected Chidambaram to announce exemptions to a proposed minimum alternate tax (MAT).   However, the finance minister launched a stout defence of the MAT on Monday, dampening speculation he would offer exemptions.   The aide to the finance minister said debate over the Finance Bill could last until late on Wednesday or Thursday.   At the end of discussion, Chidambaram will ask for a vote on the legislation.   -- New Delhi newsroom +91-11 301 2024 
12412 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO !GVOTE  Thousands of activists from the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) took to the streets of Dhaka on Tuesday in a violent protest against what they claimed were unfair parliamentary by-elections last week.   Witnesses said riot police came under a barrage of stones as the demonstrators marched on the Election Commission offices, calling for the resignation of the chief election commissioner.   "Abu Hena must resign within next seven days or we will be forced to call for hartals (general strikes) to force him out," one protester yelled.   Nearly 5,000 demonstrators, led by half a dozen former ministers in former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia's government, hurled stones at police barricading roads leading to the commission and attacked reporters and photographers, witnesses said.   "The pressmen literally ran away from the scene for fear of their lives," one reporter said.   The police showed restraint, however, and did not try to disperse the protestors with tear gas or batons, and made no arrests, police and witnesses said.   The BNP claimed the by-elections held in 15 constituencies on September 5 were rigged by the ruling Awami League, which won in eight districts against the BNP's three.   Bangladeshi law allows candidates to run in more than one constituency, but they can retain only one seat.   The vacated seats are then filled through by-elections.   The BNP has called for a re-run in two constituencies in southern Chittagong and Laxmipur districts where they allege Awami activists intimidated voters and stuffed ballot boxes.   The Awami League dismissed the charges as imaginery.   Local and foreign monitors said the by-elections were as free and peaceful as the June 12 general election that returned the Awami League to power.   The Awami League said it would hold a rally in Dhaka on Wednesday to protest against "open threats by BNP leaders and their paid agents" against the life of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.   "Such threats were uttered at a public meeting in Dhaka and at other forums in Chittagong port city following the by-elections," one Awami leader told Reuters on Tuesday.   "We are not taking these lightly," he said without elaborating. 
12413 !GCAT !GPRO  Mother Teresa, looking frail and sitting in a wheelchair, on Tuesday gave her first public address since leaving hospital last week.   Marking the 50th anniversary of her calling to work for the poor, the Nobel Prize laureate urged members of her Missionaries of Charity religious order to continue sacrifices for the poor.   "You have taken the pledge to sacrifice yourselves for the cause of the poor and you have to carry on.   This is the best way to serve God," said the 86-year-old Roman Catholic nun, who also led prayers at the Charity's Mother House headquarters.   Scores of well-wishers were among the estimated 500-strong audience.   Mother Teresa, known as the Saint of the Gutters for her work with the poor, left a Calcutta nursing home on Friday after an 18-day battle against heart problems, malaria and pneumonia.   For much of the time Mother Teresa, who was fitted with a cardiac pacemaker in 1989, was in intensive care, and doctors said she suffered two heart attacks.   September 10, 1946, was Mother Teresa's "Inspiration Day" when, she later said, she received direction from God to work for the poor and destitute while travelling by train between Calcutta and the Indian hill-station of Darjeeling.   "It was the day of decision," she said on Tuesday.   Dr A.K. Bardhan, Mother's Teresa's cardiologist, said she needed complete rest for a couple of months.   "She is still very weak.   Although her condition is stable, she still has cardiac irregularity," he told Reuters.   One nun said: "It is a great day for us.   We have renewed our pledge to sacrifice for the cause of the poorest of poor.   We are thankful to God that the Mother herself led the prayer."   Special prayers and masses were also held in other homes and institutions of the Missionaries of Charity.   The order, founded in 1949, runs some 544 homes for unwanted children and the destitute in more than 80 cities worldwide.   The work includes the care of nearly 7,000 children in 120 homes and arranging 1,500 adoptions each year. 
12414 !GCAT !GVIO  Afghanistan's rebel Islamic Taleban militia launched a fresh attack on previously neutral groups in the eastern province of Nangarhar on Tuesday, an Afghan news agency said.   The Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press said Taleban fighters were locked in battle with the forces of the Nangarhar shura (council) in the Hisarak district, about 70 km (44 miles) southwest of the provincial capital Jalalabad.   It said both sides were using heavy weapons in the fighting near the town of Ghwagazay, but had no word on casualties.   On Monday, the Taleban said it had captured Hisarak, in an apparent drive for control of the strategic highway from Kabul to Jalalabad, but the Nangarhar shura denied it had fallen.   The neutral factions have until this week stayed out of the conflict between the Taleban and the government led by President Burhanuddin Rabbani, but the Taleban have forced their hand by demanding military use of their territory.   The Taleban are keen to attack the town of Sarobi, which straddles the Kabul-Jalalabad highway and is a stronghold of Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-i-Islami faction.   Witnesses in Kabul said on Monday that dozens of tanks and troop carriers were on the move, apparently ready to be deployed in defence of Sarobi, about 60 km (37 miles) east of Kabul.   A Taleban spokesman, Maulvi Wakil Ahmad, said two Taleban jets had bombed government positions in Sarobi on Monday in retaliation for government air raids on Taleban posts.   He said that if the Nangarhar shura sided with the government, the Taleban would not hesitate to fight it.   He added that the Taleban would not hold talks with the government until Rabbani resigned.   The Taleban, besieging Kabul for the past year, have pledged to install a purist Islamic order throughout Afghanistan. 
12415 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT !GCRIM  Luxembourg hit back on Tuesday at suggestions it was the piracy haven of the European music industry, saying its reputation as a conduit for bootleg compact discs was unfounded.   Replying to a complaint by the International Federation for the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the head of intellectual property rights at Luxembourg's economics ministry said laws would be passed this year bringing the Grand Duchy in line with the rest of the European Union.   But the official, while admitting the Grand Duchy had been slow to implement EU intellectual copyright law, nevertheless said the IFPA's complaint was misdirected.   The IFPI said on Tuesday it had asked the European Commission -- the EU's executive -- to take legal action against Luxembourg, saying between one and two million bootleg CDs entered the EU from the Grand Duchy each year.   Most originated in Israel, the Czech Republic or the Far East, the IFPI said, and once they entered the customs-free EU went on sale in markets chiefly in Germany, Italy and Britain.   IFPI legal adviser Stefan Krawczyk told Reuters that there were two areas where Luxembourg was allowing copyright law to be flouted -- direct "bootlegs" and so-called "back catalogues".   The latter involves manufacturers producing CDs of music first recorded less than 50 years ago.   EU law says the copyright only enters the public domain after half a century, but in Luxembourg the period is 30 years.   This means, the IFPI said, that some of the Sixties greatest hits -- including many by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley -- are being pressed by manufacturers outside the EU and passing through Luxembourg.   Bootleg CDs are copies of current recordings.   The IFPI said international copyright theft cost the music industry some $2.1 billion in lost revenue a year -- 20 percent of it in the EU.   The Luxembourg official said that since January 1995, the IFPI had been invited to inspect every shipment of CDs entering the country, but had only done so eight times.   Two of these inspections had uncovered illegal CDs, he said.   The IFPI, however, said that as Luxembourg only considered a CD to be illegal if it infringed current law, inspecting every shipment was a pointless exercise.   The Luxembourg official said the government had completed drafting a law which would be put to parliament on October 8.   Once passed, it will bring the country in line with the rest of the EU.   A spokesman for the Commission confirmed the IFPI complaint had been recieved, adding that it would be investigated. 
12416 !C13 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT !GCRIM  The European Commission has been asked to take legal proceedings against Luxembourg for failing to halt the flow of bootleg compact discs through the Grand Duchy.   The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said Tuesday it had filed a complaint under European Union single market rules, saying Luxembourg has failed to enforce international copyright laws.   The IFPI -- which represents more than 1,200 record producers worldwide -- said in a statement that more than one million bootleg CDs entered the European Union through Luxembourg each year.   This was costing the music industry some $2.1 billion a year -- 20 percent of it in the EU.   The IFPI said most of the illegal CDs originated in Israel, the Czech Republic or the Far East.   Once they had entered the customs-free EU, they were distributed throughout the 15-nation bloc but chiefly in Germany, Italy and Britain.   The complaint by the IFPI, formally lodged at the beginning of September, is the first taken by the recording industry against an EU state. 
12417 !C13 !C21 !C24 !C31 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G157 !GCAT  Airline owner Richard Branson said on Tuesday he had written to a European Union offical over what he said were unfair actions by Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) and would make a formal complaint if neccessary.   Speaking at an airport news conference to launch his Virgin Express airline's Brussels-Copenhagen service he said he had written to European Commision air transport chief Fredrik Sorensen complaining about SAS price cuts on selected Copenhagen-Brussels flights.   "If SAS can afford to reduce their fares suddenly and miraculously...on a particular flight which happens to go quite near the time of our own flight, but not be able to do it on all their other flights, that is the sort of behaviour that we feel is blatantly anti-competitive and we're asking Fredrik Sorensen to look into it," Branson said.   "We feel that it's such a blatantly stupid thing (for SAS) to do that one letter from him hopefully will sort it out, but if not we'll make a formal complaint," he added.   Virgin started daily flights between Copenhagen and Brussels last Friday at up to 75 percent less than competitors' fares.   SAS earlier said that Branson, whose Virgin Atlantic airline broke ground 13 years ago in challenging the transatlantic dominance of major carriers, was trying to stop the Scandinavian firm competing with Brussels-based Virgin Express.   "They are an airline which wants competition and then when they get it, they complain about it," Hans Ollongren, SAS director of European affairs, told Reuters.   Branson said that his low cost, no-frills, short-haul flights were not neccessarily a threat to SAS and, by bringing to Copenhagen passengers who might not otherwise travel, might actually bring the Scandinavian carrier new long-haul customers.   "By charging these fares we expect to have maybe three times as many people flying as fly today," he said.   "By more people being able to afford to fly short haul, more people will be able to fly long haul.   If SAS has long-haul flights from here and we bring people in cheaply from other cities they also maybe could sell a ticket on with SAS abroad."   "We needn't take market share from them, well we needn't take much market share from them, and I think there's going to be an awful lot of new business generated," Branson said.   Virgin Express, launched in April after Branson took over EuroBelgian Airlines SA, operates 14 Boeing 737 aircraft and expects to double that number by the year 2,000.   It takes delivery of two new Boeing 737-400s early next year but these will replace two existing planes.   Chief Executive Jonathan Ornstein said he was talking to several manufacturers.   "Relying on one manufacturer can lead to higher prices so we're talking to Boeing and we're talking to McDonnel Douglas and we're talking to Airbus about possibly a fleet replacement," he said. 
12418 !E12 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT  The European Union's monetary committee of central bank and finance ministry officials agreed a plan on Tuesday for punishing countries which run excessive deficits under a single currency, EU sources said.   Although several details of a budget stability pact remained unresolved, the outline of a system which sanctions countries in a quick and credible fashion was agreed and deemed essential to the success of a monetary union.   "We made progress on the issue of automatic sanctions," said one source familiar with the committee's deliberations.   "It is now up to the ministers to decide."   Finance ministers and central bank governors from teh 15-nation bloc will meet in Dublin on September 20 and 21 for informal talks on economic and monetary union (EMU).   Under the emerging scenario, governments which are deemed to have an excessive deficit of more than 3 percent of Gross National Product would have several months -- the exact number is still undefined -- to rectify the problem.   If their plan was deemed insufficient, automatic sanctions would kick in.   Germany, the primary catalyst behind the plan, has argued for a grace period of only six to seven months.   But many others believe that is too short for governments, particulary those in coalition with other parties, to put forward a credible plan.   Also unresolved is under what circumstances a government's deficit is considered to be exceptional, another way of acknowledging the impact a severe economic downturn can have on a country's finances.   Countries would be let off sanctions if there were exceptional reasons.   The exact level of fines offenders would face was also put aside, with the presumption that this would deflect attention from the primary task at hand -- agreement on what automatic sanctions actually mean.   Monetary sources said they believed German officials were pleased with the results of Tuesday's discussion, having achieved most of what they wanted.   In addition to the stability pact, the committee also focused on a post-EMU Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), linking the single currency to those not in the first wave of participants.   Sources said there was agreement that a European Central Bank (ECB) should have the authority to initiate discussions about parity changes for currencies outside of EMU.   However, there appeared to be a desire to avoid specifying the ranges in which perimeter currencies would trade.   There also seems to be an unwillingness to define precisely the extent to which the ECB would intervene in support of a currency under speculative attack.   The lack of such precise limits is being deemed essential to preserve the integrity and credibility of the ECB, and is seen in many ways analogous to the present ERM and the role Germany's Bundesbank plays in currency realignments.   Lastly, there was a discussion over the legal framework of the single currency.   In terms of substance, recent proposals put forward by the European Commission, the EU's executive, were seen by many to be on the mark.   Yet how to implement a regulation which lays out the foundations of a legal framework well in advance of EMU, expected in 1999, remains elusive.   Because of the strictures of the Maastricht Treaty, it is unclear whether such a framework can become part of EU law before 1999, sources added. 
12419 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GHEA  New Jersey sued the tobacco industry Tuesday to recoup the health care costs of smokers, a spokesman for the attorney general said.   This is the 15th suit by a state attorney general aimed at obtaining reimbursement from cigarette companies for Medicaid costs.   The Lieutenant Gov. of Alabama has also filed a similar case.   Tobacco companies had sued the state several weeks ago in an effort to block the suit.   The industry alleged in its challenge that state law does not allow the attorney general to use outside law firms on a contingency fee basis. 
12420 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO  Russian President Boris Yeltsin, preparing for heart surgery, has handed his prime minister partial control of several top ministries but kept the nuclear "red button", the Kremlin said on Tuesday.   Yeltsin's order appeared designed partly to curb the ambitions of Alexander Lebed, his national security adviser, who had sought overall charge of key "power ministries".   Presidential press secretary Sergei Yastrzhembsky said ministers, including defence and interior, who usually report directly to the president, would coordinate their activities with Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin while Yeltsin is on holiday.   He told Russian news agencies that Chernomyrdin would be able, if necessary, to summon the newly formed Defence Council which comprises top ministers and security supremo Lebed.   Yeltsin, 65, announced in a television interview last week that he would undergo heart surgery at the end of the month.   Speculation has been rife as to whether he would pass authority to Chernomyrdin, who is constitutionally number two and his interim successor.   Yeltsin has officially been on holiday since August 26 and the Kremlin has not announced when his vacation will end.   "President Boris Yeltsin, for the duration of his holiday, has ordered the heads of the power ministries to coordinate with Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin all questions that require a decision by the head of state," Itar-Tass news agency quoted Yastrzhembsky as saying.   They should also keep Yeltsin regularly informed on the matters in their ministries, Yastrzhembsky said.   Interfax news agency quoted him as saying the nuclear "red button" would stay under the control of the Russian leader.   It could be activated only by a joint action of the president, the defence minister and the chief-of-staff of the army.   Last year, when Yeltsin was in hospital after a heart attack, Chernomyrdin said he was in control of the power ministries but was later forced to tone down his remarks.   The deputy head of the Kremlin medical team, Yuri Perov, told Interfax news agency that the precise date of Yeltsin's heart bypass operation would be fixed "within just a very few days" by the council of doctors treating him.   He denied suggestions that the operation, intended to relieve the clogged cardiac arteries which put the president in hospital twice last year, might be postponed to the beginning of October.   It was still "on schedule" for the end of this month.   Yeltsin's illness has prompted speculation of a power struggle in the Kremlin and has worried Western leaders, who see Yeltsin as the guarantor of Russia's fledgling democracy.   On Tuesday, U.S. President Bill Clinton telephoned German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who met Yeltsin near Moscow on Saturday.   White House Spokesman Mike McCurry said Clinton quizzed Kohl about Yeltsin.   The German leader had said on Saturday that the Russian president seemed "fully active" and "very optimistic"   "The chancellor said Yeltsin was very engaged," McCurry said.   "Obviously (Yeltsin is) concerned about his upcoming medical procedure but looking forward to having it over with."   Lebed said on Friday the time had come to name Chernomyrdin to rule temporarily.   The communist Speaker of the State Duma (lower house of parliament), Gennady Seleznyov, also called for Chernomyrdin to step in.   Kremlin chief of staff Anatoly Chubais, who with Lebed and Chernomyrdin completes a trio of jostling Kremlin rivals, said there was no need to hand over power yet.   Interfax quoted Chubais as saying that if Yeltsin did hand over power, it would be for a short time --"a matter of hours, days, a couple of days." 
12421 !C13 !C33 !C331 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  The Justice Department said Tuesday that Hughes Aircraft Co., a unit of General Motors Corp., agreed to pay $4.05 million to settle claims it failed to perform certain tests on parts for military aircraft radar units, missile guidance units and tracking equipment.   The department said the agreement settled a civil fraud suit brought in 1990 in federal court in Los Angeles by two private citizens and by a group called Taxpayers Against Fraud.   The Justice Department later took over the case.   The department charged that Hughes from early 1985 until January 1987 failed to perform certain environmental screening tests on electronic components made at its Microelectronic Circuits Division in Newport Beach, Calif.   The lawsuit alleged that Hughes supervisors instructed employees in the environmental test area to omit tests, to shorten required procedures, to approve parts that had failed particular tests and to falsify documents to show that the tests had been properly done.   The two private citizens who brought the lawsuit formerly worked in the environmental test area at the facility.   The Justice Department said 75 government programmes were affected, including the Navy's F-14, F-18 and A6E aircraft, the Air Force's F-15 aircraft, the AAMRAM and Phoenix missile programmes and the Army's M-1 tank. 
12422 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GHEA !GJOB  Athens and Piraeus hospital doctors got their 35,000 drachma bonus after Finance Minister Alexandros Papadopoulos signed the pertinent decision and called off their strike, their association (EINAP) said in a statement.   --George Georgiopoulos, Athens Newsroom +301 3311812-4 
12423 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Stephanos Manos, Greece's former conservative national economy minister, has never been known for mincing his words.   "Greece's socialists talk a lot, period.   Their action is not related to what they talk about.   This became an art under (the late) Andreas Papandreou," he told Reuters Financial Television.   Manos accuses the ruling socialists of doubling public debt since taking office in 1993 and says his main thrust if returned to office would be privatisation.   But he said that inheriting an inflated public debt problem was not a situation he looked forward to if the conservatives win national elections on September 22.   Asked if he would be the economy minister again, he said: "I don't know.   I left the economy ministry three years ago with a total debt of 19 trillion drachmas and now I would inherit 35 trillion.   I'm not looking forward to this situation."   In what came as a surprise, Militiadis Evert's conservatives are running neck-and-neck with the socialists with just 12 days left until national elections.   When the socialists reversed earlier pledgesw and called a snap election, they seemed to enjoy a clear lead -- at least the financial markets thought so.   Now conservative campaign promises on tax relief and support for farmers and small business, coupled with surprising strength by small leftist parties, are hurting the party of the green sun -- the socialist PASOK party of Prime Minister Costas Simitis.   Manos was warmed by the change of fortunes.   In his view, the dilemma facing voters boils down to either more taxes or more privatisation.   "People are realising what the dilemma is in this election.   They have to choose between more taxes, the Simitis approach, or more privatisation which is what we're going to do," he said.   New Democracy wants to reduce the size of the state, its huge expenditures and debt mainly through privatisation.   But Simitis wants to keep things are more or less as they are and introduce new taxes, Manos said.   "He doesn't say so but it's clear that it's going to happen.   The main thrust once we're in government will be privatisation.   If we move early and decisively there will be no trouble with the labour unions," he said.   Evert, 57, dubbed the "bulldozer", has stated clearly he wants to cut the state sector to 32 percent of the economy.   "I envision the economy will bubbling if this takes place.   Large sectors are controlled monopolistically by the state: power, telecoms, transport, we will break it up," Manos said.   Turning the sleepy campaign into a thriller, recent polls have the socialist camp worried that complacency and letting TV deliver the message has handed the advantage to the opposition.   The socialists under Simitis decided to refrain from old style campaigning but conservatives were quick to hit the campaign trail and press the flesh.   That has raised the chance of an upset, with the socialists also facing a challenge from smaller leftist parties, especially a new party of ex-socialist finance minister Dimitris Tsovolas.   Manos, who fought Greece's double digit inflation, wants to sell more of the state OTE telecoms and to develop private marinas to attract well heeled tourists.   "It's not difficult to cut the budget deficit.   You just need the will to do it," he said.   "That's the difference between us and the socialists.   They want to keep spending by raising taxes.   We say the emphasis should be on reducing the public sector, spending and bringing in competition." 
12424 !E12 !E41 !E411 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Finnish Finance Minister Sauli Niinisto said on Tuesday it might be possible to create new jobs if the terms of employment for new positions were agreed according to a "lighter model".   In a signed column in daily Turun Sanomat, Niinisto said such new jobs would still be governed by the central labour market legislation principles.   He did not elaborate.   It was possible that the model would put employees in different "upstairs, downstairs" categories, Niinisto said, adding, however, that such downstairs workers would still be better off than if they remained unemployed.   "To my mind, any job is better than no job," he said, adding one obstacle was that trade unions tended to oppose new jobs at terms other than those agreed under the collective bargaining system.   Niinisto said his proposal would apply only to new jobs.   Employers would not be able to change the regular terms of existing jobs to the "lighter model" terms.   He did not say how many new jobs could be created by introducing the new model.   -- Helsinki newsroom + 358 - 0 - 680 50 240 
12425 !GCAT  Prepared for Reuters by The Broadcast Monitoring Company   EVENING STANDARD   LABOUR WARNS STRIKERS TOO   Today shadow employment secretary David Blunkett warned that a future Labour government would not tolerate any trouble from unions, proposals to prevent week after week strikes include a series of ballots to ensure unions still have the backing of their members.   --   CASPIAN RAISES 54 MILLION STG TO EXPAND IN ASIA   The investment banking operation Caspian Securities set up last year by Barings Christopher Heath has raised 85mn dollars (54mn stg) from its long awaited rights issue, the group's capital base is now more than 100mn dollars.   --   ABORIGINES "GO AHEAD' FOR RTZ-CRA ZINC MINE   Following reports that aboriginal groups have agreed to the route for a pipeline, RTZ-CRA's planned 1.1 billion Australian dollars (500 million stg) zinc mine in northern Australia may get the green light.   The Century Zinc project has been deadlocked for most of the year since negotiations between RTZ-CRA, the Australian government, the Queensland State government and aborigines broke down.   --   U.S. BATTLE OVER NEW LAW ON STOCK SCAMS   A Californian proposition that would make it easier for the public to sue over alleged securities fraud, Proposition 211 has faced opposition from Silicon Valley, the big six accountancy firms and Wall Street.   The proposal seeks to limit frivolous securities lawsuits but groups of Californian consumers and trial lawyers say the measure strips away public protection against securities scams.   --   AER RIANTA JOINS OZ AIRPORTS RACE   Aer Rianta the Irish airline group has formed a consortium with two of Australia's leading property and industrial services groups called Australian Airport Services, in a race for a share of Australia's two billion Australian dollar (one billion stg) airports privatisation.   -- BMC +44 171 377 1742 
12426 !GCAT !GSCI  Early man walked upright from the time he came down from the trees four million years or more ago, and not in the traditionally accepted semi- crouched posture, a top scientist said on Tuesday.   A three-year study using a new computer simulation has shown that early man could not have walked in the crouched position with bent knees, said Doctor Robin Crompton.   Crompton, head of the University of Liverpool study, told Britain's main science festival that the simulation had been checked by tests on human volunteers asked to walk in a crouch.   "Our research has upset the commonly accepted ideas about the evolution of human walking," Crompton told scientists at at the annual British Association meeting.   Quizzed by reporters after his talk, Crompton said: "We are very, very, very confident about this."   The research used details from the female skeleton of a species of early man, Australopithecus afarensis, which lived in East Africa around 3.6 million years ago.   The skeleton is better known by the nickname Lucy, given to her by scientists who found her after the Beatles song "Lucy in the sky with diamonds" they were listening to at the time.   In the study, scientists built a computer model of the way humans walk now and tested it by measuring its predictions of muscle forces against laboratory tests on people walking.   Then they fed Lucy's proportions into the computer.   When Lucy's computer model was asked to "walk" in a crouch like a chimpanzee, she fell over.   "It is thus impossible that Lucy could have walked like this," said Crompton.   Crompton said anthropologists would now have to look again at when early man started walking.   "It suggests that any transition between quadrupedal and bipedal walking ocurred before our ancestors had left the trees."   Such a revision, he said, could push back the estimate of when early man started walking by anything up to a couple of million years, to between four and six million years. 
12427 !GCAT !GHEA !GSCI  "New" infections that have terrified humanity in recent years such as the Ebola virus, "flesh-eating" bugs and food poisoning are mostly our own fault, British experts said on Tuesday.   Human activities ranging from war to factory farming allow killer microbes to do their deadly work, Alasdair Geddes, an expert in infectious diseases at the University of Birmingham, told the British Association for the Advancement of Science.   Bovine Spongifirm Encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease) was a prime example.   Scientists say an epidemic that is still damaging Britain's herds was caused by feeding cattle the remains of sheep with scrapie, their own version of the disease.   "We were mad to believe that we could grind up sheep and feed it to cattle, whom the good Lord intended to be herbivores, to eat grass, instead of flesh," Geddes said in a lecture.   "This is an example of a world out of balance."   AIDS was sexually transmitted, meaning people are responsible for its spread, said Dr Ian Weller, an AIDS specialist at University College London.   But Weller said he would not be judgmental.   "It is, in my view, a dreadful accident," he said.   Tuberculosis, which kills millions each year, took advantage of the move into cities, said Douglas Young, a expert on TB at Imperial College in London.   "Tuberculosis is an organism that has evolved to adapt to human society," he told reporters.   Outbreaks of food poisoning such as a form of the common bacterium E coli -- which has killed seven people and made 9,000 others ill in Japan, and killed four U.S. children in 1993 -- were a result of mass food processing, Geddes said.   "This hamburger probably contains the meat from 100 cows, all mashed up, minced up," he said, showing a picture of the popular fast-food snack.   "It's something like this that's causing this huge outbreak in Japan."   The most frightening recent outbreak of Ebola terrified out of proportion because mortality was over 50 percent and there was no cure and no vaccine.   But these, too, probably came from human activity, he said.   "People are going farther and farther into remote areas of Africa, upsetting the ecology, with war and insurrection.   Ebola is there just waiting to attack."   Group-A streptococcus, known popularly as the "deadly, flesh-eating bug," had been around for generations, causing a mild sore throat in most victims -- if anything at all.   "Why has it suddenly turned nasty?   Probably because it has mutated."   Scientists blame mutations of bacteria on overuse of antibiotics, which are routinely given to food animals and widely prescribed for mild illnesses. 
12428 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Britain's opposition Labour Party leader Tony Blair favours no increase in the top rate of personal income tax, except perhaps for people on exceptionally high incomes, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.   The newspaper quoted an unnamed political colleague of Blair's as saying the top rate of income tax might be raised to 50 percent from the present 40 percent for those earning 100,000 pounds ($155,400) or more a year.   "Tony's instinct is to say that there should be no new top rate," it quoted the member of parliament as saying.   "However, he may go for upping it for those on 100,000 pounds plus."   A spokesman for Labour's finance spokesman, Gordon Brown, declined to comment on the report.   But tax experts said the report suggested that the Labour leader was trying to reassure middle-class voters without abandoning outright the party's traditional commitment to redistributive tax policies.   "I think this is simply an attempt to set up a tax regime which is completely un-scary to most of the middle class, to say "Vote for us, we don't mean you any harm'," said Richard Jeffrey, group economist at Charterhouse Tilney Securities.   Andrew Dilnott of the Institute for Fiscal Studies said a threshold of 100,000 pounds would affect not much more than 100,000 people.   "Any tax rate on people with incomes over 100,000 pounds is about symbolism and appearances," he said.   "But we are still very much in the realms of speculation.   We simply don't know what Labour would do."   Since Blair took the helm two years ago, Labour has ditched many of its socialist policies and established a strong lead over the ruling Conservatives in opinion polls.   With a general election due by May 1997, it is anxious to persuade middle-class voters that there will be no return to the punitive taxation of past Labour governments.   Labour leaders have declined to specify how they would set taxes, although Blair favours a new low starting rate of 10 percent on income tax to help the poor and he has promised that ordinary people will not face higher taxes.   The Financial Times report suggests current thinking on taxing the rich is radically different from the party's proposals in the 1992 election.   Its plan then to set a top tax rate of 50 percent for people earning 50,000 pounds a year or more was seen as a major reason for the party's defeat by an unpopular Conservative government.   Blair will face opposition to a gentle tax regime for the wealthy from his own vocal left-wingers, who are already angry at the direction in which he has led what used to be the party of the workers.   "This is very clearly an indication of the degree to which Blair has swung to the centre ground," Jeffrey said.   "Whether or not he proves strong enough to take the party with him remains to be seen."   ($1=.6436 Pound) 
12429 !GCAT !GPOL  Italy's Northern League decision to declare an independent "Republic of Padania" is the latest in a line of European regions seeking to split from parent states.   Northern separatist Umberto Bossi intends to proclaim a northern "federal of republic of Padania" in Venice on Sunday.   The breakaway region would include the powerhouse areas of Italy's economy.   Many countries in Europe have at some time had internal problems with separatist movements, or groups which have demanded greater autonomy or wished to unite with neighbouring states.   Following is a breakdown of some of the major ones:   ARMENIA: Azerbaijan has been in conflict with separatist ethnic Armenians in the mountainous enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988, a mountainous stretch of land inside Azerbaijan but populated by ethnic Armenians.   Despite a ceasefire which has held between the two sides for more than two years, no settlement has been reached on the status of the region and Armenian fighters still hold a large buffer zone around Karabakh inside Azerbaijan proper.   BELGIUM: A persistent regional conflict splits the country between the linguistic communities of Wallonia, the French-speaking south, Flanders, the Flemish-speaking north and the bilingual capital, Brussels.   Linguistic rather than political conflicts have led to the fall of governments during the 1980's and 1990's.   The country became a federal state in 1993 when greater powers were given to Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels in a bid to diffuse tensions.   BRITAIN: The problems in Northern Ireland date back centuries.   The Protestant majority wants to remain under British rule while the Catholic minority wants to be part of the Republic of Ireland.   Irish Republican Army guerrillas broke a 17-month ceasefire in February this year with a mainland bombing campaign, while their Protestant paramilitary foes have maintained their truce.   The question of independence or greater autonomy for Scotland and Wales also surfaces regularly.   CZECH REPUBLIC/SLOVAKIA: After 75 years as the unitary state of Czechoslovakia, the western Czechs and eastern Slovaks formed their own republics in January 1993.   FRANCE: Nationalists seeking greater autonomy for Corsica have waged a 25-year bombing campaign.   A truce announced by the separatists in January was called off last month.   GEORGIA: Georgia and its independence-minded Black Sea province of Abkhazia have failed to resolve their nearly four-year-old conflict.   Separatists have run the province as a de facto state since 1993, when they routed government soldiers.   ITALY: Apart from the Northern League's drive for independence under its leader Umberto Bossi, the Alto Adige region in the north, known to Austrians as South Tyrol, was also the target of separatist bombings in the 1960s and 1980s.   ROMANIA AND SLOVAKIA: Large communities of ethnic Hungarians are demanding greater autonomy.   The issue has caused considerable tension between Hungary, Slovakia and Romania.   RUSSIA: In 1991 former Soviet air force general Dzhokhar Dudayev won a regional presidential poll and declared Chechnya independent.   In December 1994 Russia sent troops into Chechnya in a campaign to crush the independence movement, sparking a bitter war that killed tens of thousands, including Dudayev.   In August 1996 Russia's Alexander Lebed and rebel military leader Aslan Maskhadov signed a deal to end the fighting but deferred a decision on Chechnya's status until the end of the year 2001.   SPAIN: For over 35 years the radical nationalist Basque guerrillas of ETA have been fighting for their own independent homeland.   The Basque Country and neighbouring Catalonia -- which has also experienced separatist violence -- have the greatest degree of self-rule among Spain's 17 autonomous regions.   UKRAINE: In March, Ukraine's separatist Crimean peninsula denounced Ukraine's new draft constitution which removes all references to Crimea as a "republic" and replaces its regional constitution with a "charter".   Two-thirds of Crimea's 2.7 million residents are ethnic Russians and the region was run from Moscow from the late 18th century until 1954, when Soviet authorities transferred it from Russian to Ukrainian administration as a "gift".   FORMER YUGOSLAVIA - War broke out after Croatia and Slovenia proclaimed independence in June 1991.   Slovenia quickly won its freedom but the large Serb minority in Croatia refused to accept rule from Zagreb and, backed by Belgrade, rebelled.   Fighting began in Croatia between Croats and local Serbs.   In 1992, the focus of the war switched to Bosnia after the region's Moslems and Croats voted for independence in a referendum in March boycotted by Serbs, who refused to accept rule by Sarajevo's Moslem-led government and set up a rival administration outside the city in the town of Pale.   Under the Dayton peace agreement, signed in December 1995, Bosnia-Herzegovina was preserved as a single state but divided into two entities -- the Bosnia-Croat Federation and the Serb Republic.   Elections are to be held in Bosnia on September 14. 
12430 !G15 !G155 !GCAT !GCRIM  A 12-year-old boy touched off fierce debate in Britain on Tuesday by winning clearance from the European Court of Human Rights to challenge his parents' right to smack him.   The issue of disciplinary child-spanking has divided Britons, often reputed to treat their pet animals better than youngsters.   The unnamed child, described by his mother as "out of control" from the age of two, is mounting an assault on what many Britons see as a bastion of family life.   Worse still, the final blow is being delivered again by "outsiders" in Europe.   Children's rights campaigners greeted Monday's decision by the court in Strasbourg with delight.   Parental beating of children remains widespread in a nation where ill-treatment of a dog or donkey arouses outrage from a variety of animal rights camaigners.   "The logical and morally right response is for the government to declare illegal all forms of punishment which would, if done to an adult, constitute an assault," said John Rea Price, director of the National Children's Bureau.   But government ministers said they would fight any changes to bring Britain in line with European countries such as Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden which ban physical punishment by parents and other carers.   "English law coincides with common sense.   Parents are allowed to use corporal punishment but only to the extent of reasonable chastisement," said Health Secretary Stephen Dorrell.   "The government could not support a blanket ban on parental smacking as most people understand it."   In a country where children as young as seven are sent to boarding school -- not as a punishment but as a privilege of wealth -- hitting your kids is widely regarded as necessary.   A recent Health Department survey showed that almost a quarter of seven-year-olds had experienced "severe punishment" by their mothers and four in 10 youngsters aged four were hit more than once a week.   Dorrell acknowledged "occasionally" smacking his own children.   British ambivalence towards children dates back to 1693 when English Quaker William Penn remarked: "Men are generally more careful of the breed of their horses and dogs than of their children."   In the Victorian 19th century children were meant to be seen and not heard and they are still unwelcome guests in many a British restaurant or hotel.   Caning and other forms of beating were banned in British state schools only 10 years ago.   Punishment which is not "inhuman or degrading" is still permitted in private schools, where generations of boys were routinely flogged as part of their training as "leaders of men".   Anthony Chenevix-Trench, a headmaster in the 1960s of Britain's most elite school Eton, was accused last week of being a sadistic child abuser.   "In any normal circumstances he should have been the subject of a police investigation and criminal charges.   In the world of public schools, he is however a heroic figure," wrote journalist Paul Foot, who was beaten repeatedly by Chenevix-Trench while he was a master at another private school.   The boy who took the case to the European Court of Human Rights had been beaten with a garden cane by his stepfather after he attacked another child with a kitchen knife.   The courts later acquitted the stepfather of assault charges.   Children's rights groups say even a slap across the legs can quickly degenerate into a beating and that violence perpetuates violence.   "If a toddler bashes another toddler and you then go and bash him or her, then you are saying that bashing is okay," said Childline spokeswoman Wendy Toms. 
12431 !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M12 !MCAT  Outperformance of Finnish bonds looks set to continue, analysts said on Tuesday, even though many think optimism about Finland's expected entry into the ERM has already been factored into the market.   Finland could enter the ERM (Exchange Rate Mechanism) at any time in the next few weeks depending on a decision from the European Union's monetary committee, they said.   The committee is meeting for the final day of a two-day session in Brussels.   "Finland has been in the vanguard of major convergence plays over the last 18 months," said David Brown at Bear Stearns here.   "We have seen strong (spread) narrowing over that period but there is still more to go," said Brown, chief international ecomomist at the U.S. bank in London.   The 10-year Finnish bond/Bund yield spread is currently around 69 basis points having squeezed in from more than 300 basis points within the last two years.   "We wouldn't rule out that the spread could go as low as 25 basis points over next couple of months on an ERM play," Brown said.   "It is a small market and is illiquid.   Once there is an announcement that Finland is going into the ERM it's going to be chased after by a whole weight of global funds."   Ian Gunner, international economist at Chase in London, said it might be difficult for the spread to get below 40 basis points initially.   "We need to see a more sustainable low inflation picture in the next six to nine months."   He said the current confidence in Finland was in part because the pickup in the economy meant the government could realistically forecast fiscal consolidation.   "But it's a double-edged sword.   If the economy starts to pick-up severely, it could lead to a rise in expectations of a rate hike in Finland which would not be so helpful to the market," he said.   Brown said given the narrowness of the Finnish bond/Bund spread, there was more relative ground to be made in Italy.   "In terms of relative spreads I wouldn't want to buy Finland against Italy.   Over the medium term Italy and Spain can make a lot more headway but investors have to look at Finland as being a unique short-term ERM play over the next few weeks," he said.   A trader at a Swedish bank in Finland said the Finnish market had lost its status as a high-yeilder.   "It is trading quite far from the others so there is not much comparison at the moment," he said.   "In the long run Danish and Swedish yield development might have some effect but the Finnish market has managed to separate itself from those markets, because of Finnish politics and Finland going strongly into the ERM and EMU."   Economists said Finland is on track to become a founding member of European Monetary Union (EMU) as it looks to meet the Maastricht Treaty criteria on inflation, budget and debt-to-GDP ratios.   The only sticking point is the rule on membership in the ERM, a currency grid which specifies allowed trading bands.   "The way the market is trading at the long end, it's as if the perception of Finland is that it is a hard core, first tier EMU currency already," said Brown.   The Finnish trader said the market was likely to remain strong and to continue to attract foreign investors.   He said foreign participation in Finland's bond market had grown over the last few months.   The Finnish Treasury auction of five- and 10-year government bonds on Thursday was expected to be well received and to be positive for the market.   "No matter how you look at it I fail to see that much negative is happening at the moment," the trader said.   "There are really no internal factors to cause waves.   The ERM might cause some movement but that is also expected to cause a positive rally at the long end," he said.   --International Bonds Unit +44 171 542 4041 
12432 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Britain said on Tuesday Switzerland turned over to Allied powers only a small part of Nazi gold it acknowledged buying in World War Two.   After the war, the neutral Swiss held $2.5 billion worth of German gold at today's prices, much of it believed stolen from Jews, according to newly-revealed documents from U.S. archives.   Speculation has risen on the fate of Nazi gold hidden in Swiss bank vaults.   But a review by the Foreign Office of Britain's official archives said the Allies did their best to recover the total of at least $550 million in gold looted by Germany.   The search cast no light on claims of a secret deal with Switzerland to share out cash raised by selling the booty.   "Far more gold was lost during the war than was available for restitution...   "However, the documents show that the Allies did their best to gather in the maximum amount of Nazi gold, in Germany or abroad, and to make it available to restitution to meet, at least in part, as many claims as they could," the report said.   Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind ordered the report following pressure from Member of Parliament Greville Janner.   Janner, a leading member of the Jewish community and an MP for the main opposition Labour party, wrote to Rifkind in June asking whether British intelligence had any documents about this secret deal.   The Foreign Office report was silent on the claims, noting only that "speculation as to how much (gold) remains undiscovered continues".   Drawing on published diplomatic documents and public archives, the Foreign Office said Switzerland acknowledged buying $415 million in German gold from 1939-45 and $88 million traceable originally to Belgium.   But Switzerland declared itself innocent of accepting tainted gold and refused to concede that this was the amount it should restore to Britain, France and the United States after the war.   Under an agreement signed in 1946, the Allies accepted a Swiss offer of 250 million Swiss francs.   "This sum, far less than the $130 million asked for by the Allied negotiators, was presented by the Swiss delegation as its final offer.   The Swiss maintained consistently that Switzerland could not be held liable to restore the entire amount of looted gold transferred from Germany of Switzerland, some of which was transferred to third countries," the report said.   During the negotiations the Allies were hampered because they had no clear idea of how much Nazi gold was held in Swiss banks.   The U.S. estimate was $200 million, although a Swiss official let slip the figure of $500 million, the report says.   "They did not know exactly how much had moved on to other destinations.   They had suspicions, but no comprehensive proof, and the determined Swiss rebuttal of the charge of knowingly receiving looted gold could not, in the end, be countered conclusively," the Foreign Office said. 
12433 !C11 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT !GJOB  Banking group HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBC) is to sign an agreement to set up a European Works Council on Tuesday, the UK's Banking, Insurance and Finance Union (BIFU) said.   The council will cover around 40,000 workers in Britain plus between 3,000 and 4,000 in Germany, France and Greece and will meet twice a year to discuss the business position of the group, employment matters and general strategy.   The first meeting is likely to take place next March, around the time HSBC releases its annual results.    Under the Social Chapter of the Maastricht Treaty, European companies that employ more than 1,000 people, including more than 150 in each of two European states, must set up councils.   Britain has an opt-out from the Social Chapter, but many UK companies have taken the view -- against the wishes of the government -- that, since they have to set up a council covering their workers in other European countries, they could not justify leaving out their workers at home.   HSBC is the second UK financial institution after National Westminster Bank Plc to set up a council.   BIFU officials said talks with other financial institutions, notably Barclays, were well advanced.   "Most institutions are seeing that it's absurd to exclude UK staff," BIFU assistant secretary Alan Scrimgour told a news conference.   "Clearly, they're making the calculation that within a year or so they'll have to include them anyway."   Scrimgour, speaking on the sidelines of the Trades Union Congress annual conference, said HSBC did not recognise BIFU at group level, and negotations had been further complicated when its Midland unit had derecognised BIFU as the union for 9,000 managers earlier this year.   -- London Newsroom +44 171 542 7717 
12434 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Protestant politicians linked to pro-British "Loyalist" guerrillas sought on Tuesday to fend off a bid to expel them from crucial Northern Ireland peace talks.   The political wings of guerrillas loyal to London declared that they were genuine political organisations committed to democracy and peace.   "Both parties reject the furtherance of political aims through violence," the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) and Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) said in a joint statement given to the talks chairman, former U.S. senator George Mitchell.    "We resolutely oppose the use or threat of violence from whatever source," the statement added.   The expulsion demand by the larger Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which also supports rule from Britain, has stalled long-awaited negotiations on ending decades of strife between majority Protestants and a pro-Irish Catholic minority.   DUP leader Ian Paisley, currently on a visit to Canada, said on Monday that continued participation by the PUP and UDP could pave the way for anti-British Irish Republican Army (IRA) guerrillas to have a voice in the talks.    Paisley said they should be thrown out because they had refused to condemn a death threat by their guerrilla allies to a controversial dissident Loyalist, Billy Wright, who has condemned their participation in the talks.   The row has thrown a new shadow over multi-party talks that have been mired in acrimony since their launch last June.   Britain and Ireland, the talks' sponsors, have barred Sinn Fein, the IRA's political arm, from taking part because last February the guerrillas ended a 17-month truce in a war aimed at ending British sovereignty.    "The whole validity of our (support for) the whole peace process is being challenged.   I think we will overcome that," David Ervine of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) told reporters outside the talks venue.   The PUP and UDP, political wings of the banned Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Ulster Defence Association, published their rebuttal of the the DUP's "notice of indictment" at the start of talks chaired by Mitchell.    Britain and Ireland say they will make a decision on the charge as soon as possible, after it is referred to them by the chairman, but political analysts say that the controversy could drag on for several days.   "The governments have stated that they will deal with the matter expeditiously," junior Irish minister Hugh Coveney said on his way into the talks.   Seamus Mallon, deputy leader of the main Catholic nationalist party, Social Democratic and Labour (SDLP) said:"I hope and expect that they (the loyalist parties) will stay in."   Britain and Ireland see the two loyalist parties as crucial to the maintenance of a shaky Protestant guerrilla truce that has survived since October 1994 despite internal Protestant wrangling and demands to strike back at resurgent republicans. 
12435 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA !M14 !M141 !MCAT  Northwestern Saskatchewan saw a seven-hour killing frost Tuesday morning, Environment Canada meteorologist Mark Melsness told Reuters.   "They had a low of minus four (Celsius) in Spiritwood (Saskatchewan).   It was below zero (freezing) for at least seven hours, maybe eight so that's a killer up there," Melsness said.   Spring wheat harvest in that region ranged from 10 to 15 percent complete, barley was 20 to 30 percent done, canola was 20 to 30 percent complete, Saskatchewan Agriculture said.   Spiritwood is north of North Battleford.    Spiritwood reported 0 C (32 F) at chest level at 2300 CDT and warmed back up to 0 C at 0800 CDT under clear skies, light winds and little humidity, he said.   "The entire northern grainbelt of Saskatchewan should have got patchy frost, the western part would have got a harder frost," Melsness said.   Alberta's Peace River Valley and westcentral grainbelt likely saw a touch of frost, he said.   A moderate risk of frost was forecast Tuesday night into Wednesday morning for all of eastern Saskatchewan and western Manitoba to Portage-la-Prairie. 
12436 !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 quits joint commission that monitors transboundary, water and air pollution: Co-chairwoman resigns over suppression of report on air pollution from U.S. Midwest.   - Inquiry sought in jail death of teen: Lawyers ask why youth was not isolated.   - Hussein reclaims prewar influence: Kurdish allies overrun rivals.   - Quebec to set up own blood system: Decision unlikely to affect ministers' plan for new national agency.   - China marks anniversary of Mao's death: For his last 10 years, the Great Helmsman steered China on a course of endless power struggles.   Report on Business Section:   - Trade row looms over fuel additive MMT: U.S. firm to file action against Ottawa's planned ban on fuel additive, cites discrimination.   - Bell and IBM swapping functions: Exchanging key Canadian units.   - Horsham ponders merger with Trizec: Move is one option Horsham CEO Peter Munk has to boost company's share price.   - VanCity credit union to go national: Creating 'virtual' bank coast to coast.   THE FINANCIAL POST:   - Tax-avoidance plans in danger: Court ruling could put a whole range of income-splitting tax strategies at risk if the Supreme Court does not ride to the rescue.   - Ottawa urges U.S. to back C$1.6 billion Telesat plan.   -- Reuters Toronto Bureau 416 941-8100 
12437 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA !M14 !M141 !MCAT  Alberta's Peace River Valley down to Saskatchewan's Saskatoon region saw 90 to 120 minutes of freezing temperatures Tuesday, Environment Canada said.   "Temperatures were below zero (Celsius - freezing point) for an hour and a half to two hours, there were clear skies and winds were light," meteorologist Henry Rymarczuk said.   Saskatoon and North Battleford, Sask., continued to report -1 Celsius (30 F) at chest level at 0730 CDT/1230 GMT as did Cold Lake, Slave Lake and High Level, Alberta, Rymarczuk said.   Ground temperatures can be 2.0 to 5.0 Celsius lower than chest level depending on wind, sky and moisture conditions.   "The dew points were at the same temperatures as the overnight lows.   They got some frost," Rymarczuk said.   Spring wheat harvest in those regions ranged from 10 to 15 percent, barley was 20 to 30 percent done, canola was 20 to 30 percent complete.   Alberta was forecast to see sunny skies with highs of 18 to 24 Celsius.   Saskatchewan should see sunny skies with highs of 14 to 20 Celsius.   Manitoba was forecast to see variable cloudiness with highs of 13 to 18 Celsius.   --Gilbert Le Gras 204-947-3548 
12438 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  A United States official on Tuesday said there were signs that Iraq was repairing some air defence sites hit by U.S. cruise missile strikes last week.   "There are indications that Iraq is repairing or reconstituting some sites that were hit," the official who requested anonymity told Reuters.   When asked what he meant by reconstituting, the official said: "Reconstituting means they can take surface-to-air missiles from other sites, or from storage, and put them up at a site that was hit."   "Iraq has lots of surface to air missiles that can be put up," he added.   The official would not say whether the moves were a violation of the expanded "no-fly zone" over southern Iraq.   The United States last week fired 44 cruise missiles at air defence sites in southern Iraq in retaliation for Saddam Hussein's sweep into northern Iraq to help a Kurdish faction capture a city from a rival group. 
12439 !GCAT !GVIO  An Iraqi-backed Kurdish militia issued an amnesty on Tuesday for all members of the rival faction it defeated in a nine-day drive through northern Iraq and appealed to residents not to flee.   "KDP leader Massoud Barzani has issued an amnesty to all PUK leaders and members," the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said in a statement.   "The party has called on all those who left the city (of Sulaimaniya) to return to their homes."   Sulaimaniya was the last stronghold of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) conquered on Monday.   "Strict instructions are laid down to prevent revenge killing and respect human rights and people's property," the statement said.   About the same time Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who backed the KDP, issued a general amnesty to Iraqi Kurds in northern Iraq.   The KDP statement accused the PUK, led by Jalal Talabani, of organising an exodus to the Iranian border in what the KDP called a "propaganda" bid to draw world attention.   It said the KDP was not surprised most reports of an exodus had emerged from Iran, which has backed the PUK.   At least 10,000 Kurdish refugees have fled northern Iraq for the Iranian border.   U.N. officials have said they expect 75,000 refugees.   Iran appealed for world aid for nearly 200,000 refugees.   It was too early to assess what price Saddam would extract from the KDP in return for his support.   But many Kurdish residents said they were taking no chances and fleeing.   "A new political order in Iraqi Kurdistan will be established based on tolerance and forgiveness," the KDP said. 
12440 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  President Saddam Hussein issued on Tuesday a general amnesty to Iraqi Kurds in northern Iraq, Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf said on state-run television.   The television said Saddam also removed Baghdad's embargo on the region, allowing movement of people and trade to and from Kurdish areas.   "We have decided to pardon our sons, citizens of the autonomous region under a general and comprehensive amnesty (protecting them) against legal prosecution necessitated by the law of a previous action," Sahaf, reading a statement issued by the ruling Revolutionary Command Council after a meeting chaired by Saddam, said.   The television reported that Saddam "ordered the lifting of all emergency measures which were necessitated by previous extraordinary conditions on the movement of people to and from the authonomous provinces including the internal trade".   Baghdad-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), led by Massoud Barzani, on Monday captured northern Iraq's biggest city of Sulaimaniya, the last stronghold of its Kurdish rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).   Barzani's group, aided by Iraqi troops and tanks in its capture of the PUK-held city of Arbil last month, said it now held the whole of northern Iraq, set up by Western allies in 1991 as safe haven for Kurds from Saddam's forces. 
12441 !GCAT !GVIO  At least 10,000 Kurdish refugees fled northern Iraq for the Iranian border on Tuesday for fear that President Saddam Hussein would regain control of their embattled region, witnesses said.   The refugees streamed to Sairan Ban, one of at least four border crossings where United Nations officials expected up to 75,000 Kurds to gather following the takeover of northern Iraq by a Baghdad-backed Kurdish militia faction.   "We're afraid.   We don't trust the government of Saddam Hussein," said a headmaster from the city of Sulaimaniya, which the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), now aligned with Saddam, captured from the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) on Monday.   It was too early to assess what price Saddam would extract from the KDP in return for his support.   But Kurdish residents were taking no chances.   Many remembered the poison gas Saddam used against Kurdish villagers in 1988.   Sairan Ban crossing was closed, so thousands of people were backed up, hanging out of hundreds of cars that jammed a hot, dusty road from Penjwin, 30 km (18 miles) away.   Tractors pulled wagons piled high with belongings.   They were joined by hundreds of armed PUK guerrillas on the run.   It was unclear whether refugees were allowed to cross anywhere.   U.N. officials in Iraq near the border said they had heard of a queue extending 35 km (21 miles) from Sulaimaniya towards Chamchamal on Sunday.   Iran appealed for world aid for nearly 200,000 refugees.   In Geneva, U.N. officials said they had been assured by Iran that refugees would be allowed to cross if necessary.   Other U.N. officials in Iraq said Iran was willing to create a slender buffer zone.   An estimated two million Kurds poured into Turkey and Iran in 1991 when Saddam crushed Kurdish and Shi'ite Moslem uprisings which erupted after Iraq's defeat at the hands of a Western alliance in the Gulf War.   Most of the Kurds returned to northern Iraq after the Western allies set up a safe haven and began regular air patrols to shield civilians from any attack by Baghdad.   In Sulaimaniya, thousands of KDP guerrillas drove around the city, waving flags.   Patriotic music blared from loudspeakers.   Some buildings were on fire, but there was little sign of heavy fighting.   U.N. officials said they would provide medical supplies to the refugees to fight dysentery, but said they had no intention of providing food or tents that allow the Kurds to settle in for a protracted stay.   KDP guerrillas said they took Sulaimaniya, the last PUK stronghold, on Monday evening after moving in from Halabja to the southeast.   Before the final attack the PUK burned its headquarters, ammunition dumps and its members' homes to deny the KDP the opportunity of looting them, a senior U.N. official said.   "Capturing symbols is what it is all about.   Burning them, looting them and putting them on TV," he said.   Washington launched 44 cruise missiles at southern Iraq after tens of thousands of Iraqi government troops helped the KDP capture the city of Arbil on August 31.   There were reports after the fall of Arbil that Iraqi security forces, helped by the KDP, had rounded up and executed over 100 members of the opposition Iraqi National Congress (INC) in the city.   President Bill Clinton said on Monday the United States was helping "those who have worked with us" to flee the fighting in northern Iraq.   The United States urged Tehran and Baghdad to stop fuelling inter-Kurdish violence in northern Iraq. 
12442 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  At least 10,000 Kurdish refugees, fearing the return of their northern Iraqi rebel region to Baghadad's control, streamed toward the Iranian border from the town of Penjwin on Tuesday, witnesses said.   This was one of at least four major crossing points into Iran, and U.N. refugee officials said up to 75,000 Kurds were believed on the move.   The border crossing was closed, with thousands of people and hundreds of cars tailing back, crushed along the hot, dusty road from the northern Iraqi city of Sulaimaniya.   The city was overrun on Monday by the Baghdad-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).   Tractors pulled wagons piled high with personal belongings.   People, dirty from the journey, were hanging out of the sides of vehicles.   Hundreds of peshmerga guerrillas lined the road.   "We're afraid.   We don't trust the government of Saddam Hussein...," a headmaster from Sulaimaniya told Reuters.   The KDP, aligned with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's forces, captured the biggest Kurdish city of Sulaimaniya on Monday to cap a nine-day campaign establishing control over the three Kurdish provinces of Iraq and ousting a rival faction.   The joint forces captured the Kurdish capital Arbil on August 31 from the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).   The United States responded to Saddam's intervention by launching 44 cruise missiles at Iraqi targets. 
12443 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday told the United States that it rejected any infringement on Iraq's territorial unity, the official WAM news agency said.   It said Foreign Affairs Minister Rashid Abdullah al-Nuaimi told U.S. Ambassador David Litt of the UAE's "desire for Iraq's sovereignty and its rejection of any infringement on Iraq's territorial unity, especially from neighbouring states."   The UAE minister was apparently referring to allegations that Iran was backing a Kurdish group in northern Iraq and Turkey's plans to set up a buffer zone in northern Iraq to stop infiltrations by separatist Turkish Kurdish rebels.   Turkey's plan to set up the buffer zone has brought Arab states together in support of Iraqi sovereignty and territorial integrity.   Even those Arab governments which joined the military bid to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait in 1991, such as the UAE, say they cannot accept a foreign buffer zone in an Arab state.   The agency said the two men also exchanged views on northern Iraq, where thousands of Kurdish refugees are fleeing to the Iranian border for fear that President Saddam Hussein would regain control of their embattled region.   The exodus was triggered by the Baghdad-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party's capture of the city of Sulaimaniya from rival Kurdish group the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan on Monday.   Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar have stressed Iraq's right for sovereignty despite Baghdad's 1990-91 occupation of Kuwait.   The GCC on Sunday issued a statement in support of Iraq's sovereignty and territorial unity in response to events in northern Iraq.   It followed Iraq's sweep into northern Iraq to help Kurdish faction capture a city from a rival group. 
12444 !GCAT !GDEF !GVIO  A United States official on Tuesday said there were signs that Iraq was repairing some air defence sites hit by U.S. cruise missile strikes last week.   "There are indications that Iraq is repairing or reconstituting some sites that were hit," the official who requested anonymity told Reuters. 
12445 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  A Turkish Cypriot soldier shot dead near the U.N.-controlled buffer zone in Cyprus was buried with military honours on Tuesday amid Turkish calls for a negotiated settlement to the island's 22-year-old division.   "Don't destroy and upset the peace.   You will lose as before.   Come to the negotiating table," Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash said in a call to Greek Cypriots during the funeral for sentry Allahverdi Kilic in Nicosia's historic Selimiye mosque.   Denktash has accused Greek Cypriots of a role in the killing of Kilic, 20, who was shot dead on Sunday at his post near the buffer zone.   Another Turkish Cypriot solder was wounded.   The Cypriot government has denied any involvement in the killing, saying there is no proof to implicate any Greek Cypriot in the incident.   "I want to appeal to Mrs (Turkish Foreign Minister Tansu) Ciller and Mr Denktash to avoid acts or statements which would feed tension in Cyprus," government spokesman Yiannakis Cassoulides said.   Around 2,000 mourners lined the narrow streets of Nicosia's Turkish sector to watch Kilic's coffin being taken to the nearby "Martyrs' Cemetery" after the service.   The coffin, wrapped in the red and white flags of both Turkey and the self-proclaimed Turkish Cypriot state, was carried part of the way in a gun carriage.   Protestors carried placards reading "Greece, hands off Cyprus" and "We will protect our borders".   As the funeral took place, Cyprus police beefed up security along the ceasefire line.   "A group of about 50 Turks went to the Ledra Palace and were pushed back by the United Nations," said police spokesman Glafcos Xenos, referring to a U.N. checkpoint.   "We cordoned off some roads which caused problems with traffic."   Cyprus has been divided since Turkey invaded in 1974 in response to a Greek-backed coup attempt in Nicosia.   Tension on the island has risen since two Greek Cypriot protestors were killed by Turks in separate incidents along the buffer zone last month.   At the funeral, Ciller called on U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to bring Denktash and Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides to the table for peace talks.   "We want the U.N. secretary-general to get the two leaders together without any delay because the latest events have made a meeting imperative," she told mourners in the mosque in hushed tones.   Cassoulides said Clerides planned to issue a statement in response to the calls for a meeting.   The Cypriot government has previously refused to engage in direct talks with the Turkish Cypriots before common ground is reached on basic aspects of the Cyprus problem.   Ciller, wearing a headscarf in line with Islamic norms, kissed Kilic's relatives on the cheeks and shook their hands.   She said the killing was linked to Greek Cypriot protests along the buffer zone last month.   "I want to underline that you cannot get anywhere with these attacks," she said.   Only Turkey recognises the Turkish Cypriot state formed in 1983 in the north of the island where some 30,000 Turkish troops are stationed.   The dispute is a constant source of tension between Turkey and Greece, neighbours and NATO allies. 
12446 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Jewish settlers seized two Palestinian-owned stores in the West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday and joined them to their enclave in the mainly Arab populated city, Palestinian witnesses said.   The takeover sparked protests by Palestinians who scuffled with Israeli soldiers before the army closed off the area.   No one was injured in the scuffles and there were no arrests.   "Who am I going to complain to?   They have seized my stores and the army are siding with them," said Mahmoud al-Awaiwi, who owns the two stores.   The Israeli army said it was checking the incident.   Palestinian witnesses said settlers ripped the gate of one of the stores open and replaced it with a brick wall.   Settlers also opened a door linking the two stores to an adjacent building housing Jews.   Settlers working on covering the walls of the stores with plaster sheets refused to tell press photographers what they were doing with the building.   Israel radio said a spokesman for the Hebron settlers claimed the stores were built on land belonging to Jews.   The spokesman could not be reached for immediate comment.   Hebron is a flashpoint of Arab-Jewish violence.   About 400 militant Jewish settlers are scattered in several enclaves in Hebron among more than 100,000 Palestinians.   Settlers have been expanding their enclaves, taking over small adjacent buildings which had been either closed by the Israeli army for security reasons or whose owners had been forced to abandon them because of harassment.   In June, settlers seized a Turkish bath in Hebron's old city and joined it to one of their enclaves despite Palestinian protests.   Israel had committed itself to redeploy its troops from most parts of Hebron under a self-rule deal signed last year with the PLO.   But the redeployment has been held off by the new Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which took office in June.   Netanyahu is still refusing to fix a date for army redeployment in Hebron, insisting on adjusting the redeployment agreement to allow its troops more freedom of movement.   Palestinians refuse to negotiate the redeployment plan, demanding it be implemented immediately and without any changes. 
12447 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  President Saddam Hussein on Tuesday issued a general amnesty to Iraqi Kurds in northern Iraq, Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf said on state-run television.   "We have decided to pardon our sons, citizens of the autonomous region under a general and comprehensive amnesty (protecting them) against legal prosecution necessitated by the law of a previous action," Sahaf, reading a statement issued by the ruling Revolutionary Command Council after a meeting chaired by Saddam, said. 
12448 !GCAT !GPOL  Israel placed three mobile homes at a Jewish settlement in the West Bank on Tuesday under an Israeli plan that has outraged Palestinians, witnesses and an official said.   Akiva Ovitz, the deputy head of Beitar Illit local council south of Jerusalem, said a total of 50 mobile homes would be brought to the settlement by next week to be used as classrooms for children and religious seminary students.   "The 50 mobile homes are hardly enough to accomodate the population here," said Ovitz.   He said hundreds of new housing units had been built in the settlement in recent years and the community was growing.   Defence Minister Yitzhak Mordechai approved a plan last month to place 298 mobile homes in Jewish settlements on occupied lands for public and educational use.   Mordechai's decision was the first move on settlement expansion since the new government of Benjamin Netanyahu lifted on August 2 restrictions on building for Jews in the West Bank and Gaza imposed by the previous government.   Mordechai is responsible for approving settlement plans in occupied lands where around 130,000 Jews live amidst more than two million Palestniians.   Palestinians say settlement expansion violates Israel-PLO peace deals reached during the term of Israel's previous Labour government.   Netanyahu opposed the deals.   Under Labour, settlements around Jerusalem and near the pre-1967 Middle East war border were allowed to expand.   New settlements were barred.   In anther development, the Israeli army announced on Tuesday that it would allow Palestinian labourers from Gaza to use a second crossing point to enter the Jewish state for work as of Wednesday.   Until now, Palestinians have been crossing through the Erez junction.   An Israeli army spokesman said the decision was taken to ease pressure on the Erez crossing point. 
12449 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  An Iraqi delegation arrived in Ankara on Tuesday to discuss Turkish plans to set up a security zone in northern Iraq, foreign ministry officials said.   Iraq has said the three-man delegation, headed by Hamed Youssef Hummadi, an adviser to President Saddam Hussein, would express Baghdad's opposition to the proposed cordon.   Turkey has announced plans for a temporary buffer zone in northern Iraq of up to 10 km (six miles) deep to prevent infiltration by Turkish Kurd guerrillas fighting for self rule in southeast Turkey.   The plan has drawn fire from Iraq and Arab countries.   Turkey often strikes across the mountainous border at Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas based there.   A six-week drive into Iraq last year involving 30,000 Turkish troops failed to dislodge the rebels.   Western diplomats say the proposed cordon was likely to be a free-fire zone where Turkish troops based on their own side of the border would cross in and out in search of the guerrillas.   Northern Iraq has been held by Iraqi Kurdish groups since the end of the 1991 Gulf War.   A Baghdad-backed Iraqi faction, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), said on Monday it was in control of the whole of the region after capturing northern Iraq's biggest city from its rivals, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). 
12450 !GCAT !GVIO  Turkish security forces have killed 23 Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels in clashes in the southeast of the country, the emergency rule governor's office said on Tuesday.   The statement said the clashes took place in Sirnak and Hakkari provinces but did not say when.   One soldier and one member of the state-paid "village guards" were also killed, it said.   More than 20,000 people have been killed in a 12-year battle between security forces and PKK guerrillas fighting for autonomy or independence in southeast Turkey. 
12451 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Iran, warning of a human tragedy, appealed for international aid on Tuesday for nearly 200,000 Iraqi Kurdish refugees it said were massing near its borders with Iraq after an onslaught by a Baghdad-backed Kurdish group.   Tehran radio said thousands of refugee families in dire need of food and medicine were waiting at the border east of the Iraqi city of Sulaimaniya to be allowed in and "tens of thousands" were amassing to the south.   Iranian authorities were providing relief but were overwhelmed by the size of the exodus.   "Our hands are empty as far as providing food to the refugees is concerned," Ahmad Hosseini, Iran's top official in charge of refugees, told a news conference.   "We can set up camps for about 10,000 but we have no cash, flour, rice, cooking oil, grains, clothing, fuel and medicine.   "Along 500 kilometres (300 miles) of our western border there are little less than 200,000 Kurdish refugees," he said.   Refugees streamed toward the Iranian border on Tuesday to escape advancing the Iraqi-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) after its forces took Sulaimaniya, Iraq's biggest Kurdish city, from their rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).   Iran already has more than 2 million refugees, including 1.5 million Afghans, making it the country sheltering the largest number of refugees in the world.   Hosseini said it was Iran's policy not to admit any more refugees into the country "unless in an emergency".   Tehran would offer relief with the help of international organisations in camps to be set up on the Iraqi side of the border, he added.   The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Sadako Ogata, has had "positive talks" with senior Iranian diplomats in Geneva who said that "if people really need to cross they could", according to a spokesman there.   UNHCR officials in Geneva said up to 75,000 people were on the move.   "We have asked for immediate aid from UNHCR if they want to avoid a human tragedy and they have responded positively," Hosseini said.   "We have provided and will continue to offer medical services to the needy in our border cities.   But if refugees are safe at the border, they shall receive help there," he said.   A UNHCR official in Tehran said he had reports an unspecified number of refugees were crossing the border to Iran.   "They are still arriving.   We have reports that some have entered Iran.   We don't know how many," Laurens Jolles, the UNHCR official in Tehran, told Reuters.   Tehran last week expressed concern over a repeat of a 1991 exodus in which more than one million Iraqis, most of them Kurds, fled to Iran when Baghdad crushed Kurdish and Shi'ite Moslem uprisings which erupted after Iraq's defeat in the Gulf War.   Most of the Kurds have since returned to northern Iraq.   Tehran has said that it was spending $2 million a day on refugees and repeatedly complained of insufficient funds for the refugees channelled through the United Nations.   Tehran radio quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Mahmoud Mohammadi as saying: "In accordance to humanitarian principles Iran admitted Kurdish refugees after the 1991 massacres in Iraq and it will again undertake this humanitarian and Islamic task if faced with the same problem". 
12452 !GCAT !GDEF !GVIO  Palestinians have found booby-trapped wiretapping devices in Gaza compounds that Israel handed over to the PLO in 1994, a senior Palestinian security source said on Tuesday.   Searchers have been ploughing around the headquarters of the main Palestinian security forces in Gaza city since a policeman was killed and a telephone maintenance worker was wounded this month by one of the devices.   "Orders have been issued to search all the facilities used by the Israeli occupation before they evacuated them," the source told Reuters.   "Search crews have been warned to be extra cautious because the devices are rigged to self-destruct."   The source said five devices were found two days ago and all exploded, although no one was hurt.   Palestinian President Yasser Arafat accused Israel last week of spying on his self-rule administration.   Israeli security sources refused to make specific comments but one said it is natural for security forces to spy on each other.   Witnesses said police and telephone workers had destroyed the wall around the security forces building, which was the Israeli military headquarters before the Jewish state gave most of Gaza to the PLO in 1994 under a self-rule deal. 
12453 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  At least 10,000 Kurdish refugees, fearing the return of their northern rebel region to Baghadad's control, streamed toward the Iranian border from the town of Penjwin on Tuesday, witnesses said.   This was one of at least four major crossing points into Iran.   U.N. refugee officials said up to 75,000 Kurds were believed on the move.    The border crossing was closed, with thousands of people and hundreds of cars tailing back, crushed along the hot, dusty road from the northern Iraqi city of Sulaimaniya, which was overrun on Monday by a Kurdish faction backed by Baghdad.   Tractors pulled wagons piled high with personal belongings.   People, dirty from the journey, were hanging out of the sides of vehicles.   Hundreds of Kurdish guerrillas lined the road.   "We're afraid.   We don't trust the government of (Iraqi president) Saddam Hussein.   The heart is the heart of the dragon, the heart of the devil," Moyad, a headmaster from Sulaimaniya, told Reuters.   The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), backed by Saddam's forces, captured Sulaimaniya, Iraq's biggest Kurdish city, on Monday to cap a nine-day campaign to establish control over the three Kurdish provinces of Iraq and oust a rival faction. 
12454 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Turkish Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller arrived in northern Cyprus on Tuesday for the funeral later in the day of a Turkish Cypriot soldier shot dead near the U.N.-controlled buffer zone dividing the island.   "I give you my condolences and wish you patience," Ciller told reporters at the small Ercan airport in the island's Turkish Cypriot sector.   Sentry Allahverdi Kilic, 20, was shot dead at his post at the weekend.   Turkish Cypriots say his killers came from the Greek Cypriot side of the island but the Greek Cypriot-led government denies any part in the shooting.   "This incident occurred as a result of the escalated provocative attitude of the Greek side," Ciller said.   Kilic was to be buried in the "Martyrs' Cemetery" in northern Nicosia after noon prayers at the city's historic Selimiye mosque.   Hundreds of mourners gathered in the narrow streets amid tight security ahead of the funeral.   Some protestors carried placards reading "Greece, hands off Cyprus".   Cyprus has been divided since Turkey invaded in 1974 in response to a Greek-backed coup attempt in Nicosia.   Tension on the island has risen since two Greek Cypriot protestors were killed by Turks in separate incidents along the buffer zone last month.   The Turkish Cypriot state in the north is recognised only by Ankara. 
12455 !GCAT !GVIO  An Iraqi Kurdish family caught in the turmoil that is northern Iraq feels it has nowhere to go.   "For us it was a very quick decision," 33-year-old Peris Abdullah Kareem said on Tuesday to explain why he and his two sisters fled for Iran from their home in Sulaimaniya.   United Nations officials braced for a mass exodus of Kurds after Baghdad-backed militiamen of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) completed their takeover of northern Iraq.   In Penjwin, a few hundred refugees in cars, trucks and taxis could be seen making their way to the Iranian border some 10 km (six miles) east.   Some even turned back, underscoring the uncertain future they faced in any direction.   The KDP's stunning sweep of the region climaxed on Monday with the capture of Sulaimaniya, home to a million people and the last stronghold of a rival militia.   Kareem, an International Catholic Relief worker, made his choice the day before the KDP arrived.   He fled.   He reasoned that by staying he and his sisters risked facing the whims of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's men, who were aligned with the KDP.   "We are afraid there is an issue of how the Baathist people would deal with us.   Will they be there?   Will they treat people with the same terrorist actions?"   he asked.   Kareem feared for his life, having sympathised with the KDP's rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).   He said he had already lost a brother to the Iraqis, a student in Baghdad who disappeared in 1992.   They resolved to keep moving.   Even staying put in Penjwin carried certain risks.   The KDP could catch up with them and view them as suspect for having fled in the first place.   Kareem's sister Media, a 32-year-old bacteriologist at the University of Sulaimaniya, likened KDP commander-in-chief Massoud Barzani to Iraq's president.   "He is like him -- like Saddam," she said.   Then too, entering Iran was a prospect fraught with peril, she said.   "We don't like the system there."   She recalled the month she spent in Iran in 1991 when as many as two million Kurds fled northern Iraq for fear Saddam would use poison gas against them as he did in 1988.   "They are worse than the Iraqis," she said. 
12456 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL !GVOTE  An opposition deputy defeated in the latest round of Lebanon's parliamentary elections denounced the vote as a fraud on Tuesday and said he would appeal to the Constitutional Council.   Habib Sadeq, a well-known Marxist, was the sixth candidate to allege the poll was manipulated and say he would appeal.   The council can annul the result and declare the second-strongest candidate winner if it considers the vote seriously flawed.   Official results of Sunday's election in south Lebanon, published on Tuesday, confirmed that a joint ticket of the two main Shi'ite groups -- the secular Amal and the pro-Iranian Hizbollah (Party of God) -- won all 23 seats contested.   The coalition was forged with the mediation of Syria, which supports the Beirut government.   Syria's 35,000 troops in Lebanon give it a powerful say in the country's affairs.   Winning candidates on the list include four government ministers and Bahia al-Hariri, sister of Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.   "The south Lebanon polls are a fraud," Sadeq said in remarks published by Beirut newspapers.   Sadeq alleged Amal supporters had attacked a journalist who complained that officials were systematically invalidating votes cast for him because supporters spelled his name differently on ballot sheets than it was officially registered.   Sadeq also claimed polling stations were moved at the last minute and names were missing from voter lists.   Four other defeated candidates have said they plan to appeal against the results of earlier rounds of voting.   Maronite Christian candidate Nazem Shaheed Khoury told Reuters he had already submitted an appeal.   The Lebanese Association for Democracy of Elections, a private watchdog group, has reported systematic abuses in all four rounds of voting. 
12457 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Morocco has told Turkey it is concerned about Ankara's plan to set up a buffer zone in northern Iraq, saying it threatened Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity.   The Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that it had summoned Turkey's acting charge d'affaires Bakkalbsi Nourikaya on Monday to express its concern.   "Such a project constitutes a serious act likely to undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq to which the kingdom of Morocco remains fundamentally attached," the ministry said in a statement.   Much of the Arab world has condemned Turkey's plan to set up a security zone in northern Iraq up to 10 km (six miles) deep.   Ankara says it needs such a zone, which would be temporary, to prevent separatist Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq infiltrating and carrying out attacks in Turkey. 
12458 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Iraq on Tuesday gloated over the military victory of a Baghdad-backed Kurdish militia, saying its triumph over a rival group was the worst setback for the United States since Vietnam.   It also attacked U.S. President Bill Clinton's policy on Iraq, saying it had brought Washington nothing but "humiliation, shame and disgrace".   A front page editorial in the government newspaper al-Jumhouriya said Clinton was now like "a caged hyena, rushing around in search of a way out".   "Today, the Iraqi flag flies high and the U.S. flag is only at half mast," the paper said.   The Baghdad-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), led by Massoud Barzani, on Monday captured northern Iraq's biggest city Sulaimaniya, the last stronghold of its Kurdish rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).   The successful military drive unleashed a mass exodus of refugees towards Iran.   The PUK's defeat followed a joint Iraqi-KDP attack on the Kurdish administrative capital of Arbil on August 31, which prompted U.S. cruise missile attacks in retaliation.   Al-Jumhouriya said Barzani's victory over the PUK, led by Jalal Talabani, was "a slap to Clinton's face" which put an end to the dreams of "the hashish chewers in the White House" to overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.   On Sunday, the Los Angeles Times said the push by Iraqi troops into Arbil foiled a covert CIA operation to topple Saddam within a year.   Clinton said on Monday Washington was doing its best to help anyone who cooperated with the United States in the Kurdish region to leave the area.   "America is preparing squadrons of helicopters...to evacuate its fleeing agents, exactly as it did in 1975 in southern Vietnam when it suddenly decided to escape from that country in humiliation," the newspaper said.   "America is gripped by hysteria as it searches for a way to evacuate its agents besieged in northern Iraq following the success of the Kurdish national uprising in Iraq against colonialism and (foreign) agents," it said.   The crisis in northern Iraq has also become a focal point of the U.S. presidential campaign, with the Republican candidate Bob Dole and a member of Clinton's staff trading barbs over the effectiveness of last week's cruise missile attacks on Iraq.   Tens of thousands of Kurdish refugees are fleeing from northern Iraq, raising the spectre of a repeat of 1991 refugee exodus when Iraqi forces quashed a post-Gulf War Kurdish rebellion against Saddam.   Al-Jumhouriya also heaped scorn on Talabani for his pleas to the United States for help.   "Like his cursed and barbaric American (masters), he (Talabani) is silly, dirty...crying like a woman...and fleeing like a mangy dog," the paper said.   "Has America ever suffered a more abominable defeat than this one?" 
12459 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  Turkey's Islamist Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, his foreign policy shattered by the Iraq crisis, has disappeared from view, ceding the field to his secularist rivals and alarming his party faithful.   Baghdad's armoured thrust into its Kurdish north has redrawn the political map of Iraq in the space of 10 days, exposing gaping holes in Turkish policy.   The prime minister's silence has been defeaning.   "Erbakan is cornered.   He is not controlling policy.   It is the foreign ministry, the president and the security council shaping it now," said political analyst Bilal Cetin.   "Turkey is the only country in the region that does not have a serious policy on northern Iraq," Cetin told Reuters.   Gone are Erbakan's dreams of a regional entente -- with Iraq, Iran and Syria -- and a quick fillip for his ailing economy from the return of Baghdad's oil riches.   So, too, is his promise that "Islamic fellowship" would defuse Turkey's own Kurdish separatist insurgency, now draining its coffers to the tune of $8 billion a year.   "Where is Erbakan?"   demanded the secularist daily Milliyet in a recent headline.   "The (Islamist) Welfare Party and Erbakan have come to power but are not in power," it said.   Former prime minister Tansu Ciller, U.S.-educated and a staunch secularist, has wasted no time filling the gap.   Ciller, now foreign minister and Erbakan's uneasy coalition partner, has thrown herself into the centre of international attention as Turkey searches for a new approach to its powerful neighbour, once its third largest trading partner.   Comfortable in English, she has given extensive interviews to international television.   Turkish newscasts, meanwhile, feature scenes of the frenetic foreign minister closetted with senior diplomats, security chiefs and the U.S. ambassador.   To date, Ciller's activities have done little to advance Turkish interests in the region.   However, analysts say, she has scored political points at home.   "Ciller and her allies in the armed forces have played their cards well.   The day now belongs to them," said a Western diplomat in the capital Ankara.   "Erbakan seems to be losing his grip."   Grassroots supporters of Erbakan's Islam-based Welfare Party apparently share that sentiment.   Unrest within the party ranks, famous for iron discipline, is on the upsurge.   A recent power struggle for the Ankara provincial leadership, which forced Erbakan to intervene to save his own candidate after a solid defeat by dissidents, rocked the party.   The militant Akit daily urged Erbakan -- known by the faithful as Hoca, or Teacher -- to relax his grip.   "The people have hidden their pain and kept quiet...but seeing this exploitation (of power) has weakened their spiritual ties to their party," it said.   "If the dissidents are shouted down, this will by-and-by turn into a monarchy."   Voters who gave Erbakan a narrow plurality have already watched with alarm as the prime minister, in office little more than two months, abandoned his party's anti-Western themes one by one.   A gas deal with Iran upset Washington but quickly faded from view.   He has pulled back from suggestions of taking Turkey out of NATO, backed the continued presence of a U.S.-led air force on Turkish soil and abandoned any attempt to cancel a military accord with Israel.   Nor has he made any real headway on the domestic front, where he held out promises for a "Just Order" of equal opportunity and an end to endemic corruption.   Now Erbakan and the party leadership have been silent in the face of U.S. cruise missiles attacks on Iraq -- seen as a friend by Welfare -- in retaliation for the return of Baghdad's forces to the Kurdish north of the country.   "Today Welfare is in power, in a position to govern, but is not able to take the political decisions that would feed the spiritual expectations of the masses it represents," wrote columnist Ali Bayramoglu in the daily Yeni Yuzyil. 
12460 !GCAT !GENT  A Hollywood production company is developing a story about Dan Eldon, the 22-year-old Reuters photographer killed by an angry mob in Somalia in 1993, the company said on Monday.   "The Dan Eldon Project" will follow the story of the London-born photographer who by the age of 22 had pictures in such major U.S. magazines as Time and Newsweek.   After documenting wartime atrocities and starvation in Somalia in 1991, he returned to the war-torn country to take more shots, only to be beaten to death by an anti-American mob.   Three other newsmen were also killed in the tragedy.   Eldon had put together a series of photographic and collage-like journals, all of which are being published by Chronicle Press.   Jan Sardi, who wrote "Shine", an Australian movie about pianist David Helfgott, is set to handle the script.   No director has been hired. 
12461 !GCAT  * The National Union Fire Insurance Company has become the first insurance company in the country to cover the cost of hiring a public relations firm when a company needs "crisis management".   * European cities are devising laws prohibiting the construction of shopping malls despite their growing popularity.   * Shares in Broderbund Software Inc fell sharply after the company warned of disappointing earnings ahead.   * Consumer credit continued to grow in July, paced by credit-card borrowing.   * DAKA International stock fell 35 percent after the company released declining earnings and plans to restructure its relationship with Kmart Corp.   * The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges Monday against Jeffrey Weissman, the former chairman of A.R. Baron & Co, a defunt penny-stock firm, alleging the firm manipulated the stock of Health Professionals Inc, the chairman of which was Weissman's father.   - Market Place.   --New York Newsdesk (212) 859-1610 
12462 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  The White House on Monday defended this week's elections in Bosnia, saying that delaying them, as Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole has urged, "would be a mistake."   Last week in a speech in Dayton, Ohio, where the peace accords were hammered out, Dole called for a postponement, saying the elections would be a fraud that would "make a mockery of our principles and commitment to democracy."   Voters in the two Bosnian entities created by the accord -- a Serb republic and a Moslem-Croat federation -- will elect joint institutions for Bosnia on Saturday, including a presidency, legislature, central bank and supreme court.   "The elections are a key next step along the long, difficult path to a lasting peace in Bosnia," White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry said in a statement.   "The administration believes that postponing this week's elections in Bosnia would be a mistake," he said.   "Those who argue for postponement ignore what the people of Bosnia want -- and what Bosnia needs to help its hard won peace endure."   Critics claim the administration wants to go ahead with the vote because postponing it would signal a failure of the Dayton pact less than eight weeks before the Nov. 5 election for the White House.   State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said the elections were never meant to be a "final examination" for last year's U.S.-sponsored Dayton peace accord, which ended four years of fighting between Moslems, Serbs and Croats.   "They were never designed to be the end of the process.   In fact, in a very real sense, they're the beginning of the process," Burns told a news briefing.   "To read some of the criticism of the elections over the weekend and last week, you would think that they were the final step," Burns said.   "I think it's a fundamental truism that there needs to be a first election before there can be a second election," he added.   "The process of peace cannot go forward without these first elections."   His comments appeared clearly designed to head off criticism, almost certain to be heard after the elections, that they were a sham that had the effect only of consolidating the power of nationalist parties bent on partitioning Bosnia.   New York Times commentator Anthony Lewis said on Monday the vote would "legitimize the nationalist fanatics who savaged the country, intensify ethnic cleansing and deprive the international community of crucial leverage to prevent further outrages."   The Washington Post has called for the elections to be postponed.   In a statement issued after the briefing, Burns rejected fears that the elections could lead to the breakup of Bosnia.   "The elections were explicitly designed to protect the continuity of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina," Burns said in the statement.   "The Bosnian Serb entity will not be allowed to secede.   If its newly elected leadership attempts to do so, there will be consequences."   He did not elaborate.   He said all candidates participating in the election had accepted rules obliging them to uphold the Dayton peace accord and the Bosnian Constitution.   Burns conceded, as U.S. officials have done before, that the elections would fall short of Western standards, "given the fact that they do not occur in Charlottesville, Virginia, or ... Manchester, England, they occur in Bosnia, which has seen war and division and economic and social dislocation."   He said he was deliberately avoiding the phrase "free and fair" to describe them, although they could be "effective and democratic." 
12463 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The United States urged Tehran and Baghdad on Monday to stop fueling inter-Kurdish violence in northern Iraq as the crisis began to grab center stage in the U.S. presidential campaign.   Republican candidate Bob Dole and a member of President Bill Clinton's staff traded barbs over the effectiveness of last week's U.S. cruise missile attacks on Iraq.   Dole said unjustified claims of success endangered U.S. credibility.   White House spokesman Mike McCurry accused the Republican of playing politics.   State Department spokesman Nick Burns said the United States was "gravely concerned" about instability in northern Iraq in light of reports that a Kurdish militia allied to Baghdad had taken Iraqi Kurdistan's biggest city, Sulaimaniya.   Washington called on the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of warlord Massoud Barzani and all other parties in northern Iraq to stop fighting, Burns said.   It also urged Iraq and Iran to "desist from activity that would aggravate the current violence and instability," he said.   Barzani's group, aided by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in its capture of the PUK-held city of Arbil last month, said on Monday it now held the whole of northern Iraq, raising fears of a mass refugee exodus into Iran and Turkey.   Dole said since the U.S. response with missile strikes last week, events in northern Iraq had shown that the Clinton administration "should be careful about making claims of success that events on the ground may not substantiate."   "The credibility of the United States is at stake," he added.   It was the first time since the U.S. attacks that Dole had criticized the Clinton administration's handling of the crisis, and the White House was not pleased.   McCurry dismissed Dole's jab, saying: "The former senator is, unfortunately, attempting to make politics out of an international crisis that the president as commander-in-chief is dealing with and dealing with effectively."   Front-page stories about an unsuccessful CIA plot to kill Saddam and its consequences for hundreds of members of the CIA-funded Iraqi National Congress, now at Saddam's mercy in northern Iraq, also made foreign policy a hotter campaign issue.   The Washington Post reported on Monday that 200 members of the Iraqi National Congress were holed up in a mountain hideout in northern Iraq fearing for their lives and hoping for U.S. political asylum.   About 100 of their colleagues were arrested by Iraqi secret police and apparently executed after Arbil was overrun, Iraqi dissidents were quoted as saying.   "We're doing everything we think we can to help anyone who needs to be out of Iraq," Clinton told reporters, apparently referring to those hiding out.   Dole said that since the cruise missile attacks, there had been reports of continued strife and killings in northern Iraq, including executions of U.S.-based Iraqi opposition members.   He said the "apparent entrenchment of Iraqi troops" around Arbil and "the lack of evidence of an Iraqi withdrawal ... raise questions about whether the administration's strategy has advanced U.S. interests in the region."   Clinton received wide support in public opinion polls for twice launching cruise missiles last week against Iraqi military targets in southern Iraq to punish Saddam for sending troops against minority Kurds in northern Iraq.   McCurry said Dole was misreading the situation, because the U.S. attacks were aimed at expanding the no-fly zone in the south.   "The president never suggested that we were directly responding to incursions in the north with action aimed at the north," he told reporters.   The United States has attempted to remain neutral in north Iraq to avoid siding with either the pro-Saddam Kurdish faction or a pro-Iranian faction. 
12464 !GCAT !GDIP  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Syria on Monday to resume peace negotiations without conditions and U.S. officials said they were trying to find a formula to bring the two sides together.   After an hour-long working visit with President Bill Clinton, Netanyahu told reporters that there was "a wide area for negotiations between us and Syria."   During his talks with Clinton and other top U.S. officials, Netanyahu also pledged Israel would pursue peace negotiations with the Palestinians.   Clinton expressed confidence that some progress was being made in the Middle East.   Syria wants Israel to return all the lands it holds on the strategic Golan Heights.   Former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres and his slain predecessor Yitzhak Rabin had expressed willingness for at least a partial Golan withdrawal, a stance Netanyahu has often blasted as compromising Israel's security.   Syrian-Israel peace talks ground to a halt in May.   Netanyahu's subsequent election put the peace process on hold.   Talking to reporters on the White House driveway, Netanyahu said it was crucial now for one side "not to try to nail the other side on fixed positions as conditions for entering the negotiations."   He said Israel was showing good faith and Syria should do so as well.   "If there is this open attitude on the part of Damascus I could see that we could resume these talks," he said.   Dennis Ross, the U.S. Middle East coordinator, would not predict how soon the negotiations between Israel and Syria might resume but said both sides wanted to restart talks and that the United States was playing an intermediary role.   He said Syria wanted some reassurance that the last several years of negotiations with the Peres-Rabin governments "have not just been erased."   The Israelis, he said, "want to know that as they proceed, that they have the opportunity to raise ideas that they think could be productive in terms of negotiations."   "Within those parameters we are going to look for the right kind of formula to make it possible for both sides to proceed," Ross said.   The mood at the White House was more upbeat than when Netanyahu visited in June after Clinton had solidly backed Netanyahu's opponent, Peres, for election.   Clinton thanked Netanyahu for having met Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat last Wednesday -- a meeting Washington had pushed for -- and said the United States "is still committed to peace and security."   "I think we're making some progress in that direction and I'm going to do whatever I can to advance it," he said with Netanyahu seated at his side in the Oval Office.   Netanyahu held separate meetings with Secretary of State Warren Christopher and Defence Secretary William Perry.   At the Pentagon, he referred to last week's U.S. cruise missile strikes at air defences in southern Iraq, prompted by an attack by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's forces against Kurds in the north.   "We are witnessing today the realities of life in the Middle East," Netanyahu said.   "And the United States has taken a bold and responsible action against aggression and one that Israel, of course, fully supports."   Israel was the target of Iraqi Scud missile attacks during the 1991 Gulf War and Israelis flocked to gas mask distribution centres after last week's U.S. attacks on Iraq.   Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole called Netanyahu from his campaign plane in Florida for what Dole's press secretary Nelson Warfield called "a warm chat between old friends."   Netanyahu wished Dole well and the two men agreed to stay in touch, Warfield said.   Netanyahu was headed to New York on Monday evening for talks on Tuesday with U.S. business and Jewish leaders. 
12465 !GCAT !GCRIM !GENT !GPRO  Surgeons have removed the right lung of rap music star Tupac Shakur who was shot three times and critically wounded when the car he was riding in was hit by a hail of gunfire, officials said on Monday.   Police said they had few leads in their investigation of the brazen shooting near the famed Las Vegas strip on Saturday night and appealed to the public for information about Shakur's assailants.   No arrests have been made so far.   Shakur remained in critical condition said Dale Pugh, a spokesman for the University Medical Centre.   Doctors removed his right lung in one of two operations on Sunday because he was so badly injured, Pugh said.   Shakur may need more operations although none was scheduled, Pugh said.   Several of Shakur's relatives, including his mother, an aunt and a brother, had come to the hospital, he said.   The attack occurred while Shakur, one of the most notorious performers of hardcore "Gangsta" rap, was headed for a nightclub with friends in a convoy of 10 cars after watching the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon heavyweight boxing title fight.   Shakur's black BMW stopped at a red traffic light when a white Cadillac pulled up alongside and a gunman inside fired at least nine bullets, several of them striking Shakur who was in the passenger's seat, police said.   The Cadillac, which police say was occupied by two to four men, then sped away.   It was the second time in less than two years that Shakur, a 25-year-old singer-actor with a history of violence and trouble with the law, had been shot.   Marion "Suge" Knight, 31, co-founder of the controversial music label Death Row Records, was driving the car and suffered a minor gunshot wound to the head, police said.   Knight, who produces the work of Shakur and other top rap stars, was treated and released on Sunday.   Sgt. Keven Manning, the detective in charge of the investigation, said police assumed Shakur was the target since the shots were fired at the passenger side.   At a news conference, police appealed to the public for information.   They said the Cadillac was believed to have California or Nevada license plates, but no one had been able to give them any numbers or letters on the plate.   Las Vegas police have been in contact with law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles about the shooting but that has so far turned up no new information, Manning said.   Las Vegas police spokesman Greg McCurdy said investigators had not yet been able to interview Knight but were trying to reach him through his attorney.   McCurdy accused members of Shakur's entourage of being uncooperative with investigators.   The Los Angeles Times cited acquaintances on Monday as saying Knight and his entourage had an altercation earlier in the evening with a local street gang at odds with the Bloods gang that hails from Knight's old neighbourhood in Compton, a poor, mostly black community near downtown Los Angeles.   One executive familiar with the shooting told the newspaper the attack may have stemmed from that confrontation.   But McCurdy described the report as "unsubstantiated rumour."   Shakur is no stranger to trouble.   He has spent much of the last 2-1/2 years in court, prison or hospitals.   In November 1994, he was shot five times while being robbed of $40,000 in jewels in the lobby of a Manhattan recording studio.   In February 1995, he was sentenced to prison for involvement in a sexual attack on a 21-year-old woman in a New York hotel room.   He spent eight months behind bars until he was released pending his appeal.   In 1994 he was also convicted of attacking a music video producer in Hollywood.   Shakur is best known for raw lyrics laced with violence, sex and profanity describing life in the black ghetto.   His latest album, "All Eyez on Me," released this year, celebrates his own outlaw image and has sold several million copies. 
12466 !GCAT !GENT !GOBIT !GPRO  Bill Monroe, whose high, lonesome vocals and fast-paced mandolin forged a new style of American music that came to be called bluegrass, died on Monday at the age of 84.   The Grand Ole Opry said Monroe died in a nursing home where he was being treated for the effects of a stroke suffered in March.   He underwent surgery in April to have a heart pacemaker installed.   "I cried my eyes out," said Hazel Ramsey, president of the Bill Monroe fan club in Ashville, N.C. "His music was just the pretty music there ever was."   Monroe was not just the dominant figure of bluegrass music, he was its original creator.   Perhaps no other popular music owes its form so directly to one musician.   "He was not a trained musician, but God gave him a gift," said Wayne Lewis, a singer and guitarist in Monroe's band in the 1970s and 1980s.   "It was a gift that he could make you cry or make you tap your foot, and he could shut it off and on like a light."   Even the term bluegrass came from the name of Monroe's band of the 1930s, the "Blue Grass Boys," a tribute to his native state Kentucky.   He described the music as having a "hard drive to it like Scotch bagpipes and old-time fiddlin'" which mixed elements of folk, blues, jazz, gospel and the Scottish and Irish ballads of Appalachia.   "It's great to be the Father of Bluegrass Music," Monroe said in a 1994 interview.   "I have my friends and my fans all over the world.   And I want to thank the Lord for being with me all the way."   His songs were often tales of everyday life, loves lost, and other themes readily accessible to the common man.   "He wanted a music that would be for the farm people ... something they could identify with in their everyday life," Lewis said.   His hits included "Blue Moon of Kentucky," "Kentucky Waltz" and "Uncle Pen," a tribute to his uncle.   Monroe came from the 400-person village of Rosine, Ky., the youngest of six boys and two girls who learned music from their fiddle-playing mother and their uncle who introduced Monroe to the mandolin.   In 1929 Monroe joined brothers Charlie and Birch playing across the country with fast up-tempo numbers, high-pitched vocals, solid guitar and slick mandolin technique.   They worked day jobs and played at night, performing on radio stations in small towns and in the Indiana steel belt.   Bill and Charlie Monroe cut their first record in 1936 at Charlotte, N.C., playing their best-selling "What Would You Give in Exchange."   In 1939, he made the first of many appearances at the Opry, the last of which was in March.   A key element of the musical style was born in 1945, when Monroe's band added Earl Scruggs, who made rapid-fire picking of the banjo become an integral part of bluegrass.   "It was an exciting time and I enjoyed working for him," Scrugg told Reuters on Monday night.   His death "is very sad, but he was in poor health and he is now resting better."   In later years when bluegrass festivals exploded in popularity, Monroe and his trademark white cowboy hat was in demand on college campuses.   His band spawned the careers of Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Mac Wiseman, Stringbean, Sonny Osborne and Vassar Clements.   "Bill's ideas really set the pace for a whole lot of people," said Osborne, who played banjo with Monroe in 1952 and '53.   He cited Elvis Presley and the Everly Brothers as among those influenced by his music.   In fact, Presley's first hit was a Monroe song, "Blue Moon of Kentucky."   In 1970 Monroe was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and in 1989 he won the first Grammy ever given for bluegrass music for his album "Southern Flavor."   He also won a Grammy lifetime achievement award in 1993, and was honoured by U.S. presidents and even a 1986 resolution of the Senate.   Hal Durham, president of the Opry, called Monroe "the epitome of the stately, Southern gentleman, a shy and generous man who was justly proud of the acceptance of bluegrass music and of his role as the 'father of bluegrass.'"   Monroe will be buried on Thursday in the town of his birth, Rosine, Ky., after visitation on Wednesday at Ryman Auditorium, home of the original Grand Ole Opry, and on Tuesday in a Nashville funeral home.   A brief tribute is also planned on Saturday at the Grand Old Opry, a spokesman said. 
12467 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO !GVOTE  The United States moved on Monday to forestall criticism of next Saturday's elections in Bosnia, saying they were only a first step on the road to rebuilding the war-torn Balkan republic.   State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said the elections were never meant to be a "final examination" for last year's U.S.-sponsored Dayton peace accord, which ended four years of fighting between Moslems, Serbs and Croats.   "They were never designed to be the end of the process.   In fact, in a very real sense they're the beginning of the process," Burns told a news briefing.   Voters in the two Bosnian entities created by Dayton -- a Serb republic and a Moslem-Croat federation -- will elect joint institutions for Bosnia, including a presidency, legislature, central bank and supreme court.   "To read some of the criticism of the elections over the weekend and last week, you would think that they were the final step," Burns said.   "I think it's a fundamental truism that there needs to be a first election before there can be a second election," he added.   "The process of peace cannot go forward without these first elections."   His comments appeared clearly designed to head off criticism almost certain to be heard after the elections that they were a sham which had the effect only of consolidating in power nationalist parties bent on partitioning Bosnia.   New York Times commentator Anthony Lewis said on Monday the vote would "legitimize the nationalist fanatics who savaged the country, intensify ethnic cleansing and deprive the international community of crucial leverage to prevent further outrages."   The Washington Post has called for it to be postponed.   In a statement issued after the briefing, Burns rejected fears that the elections could lead to the breakup of Bosnia.   "The elections were explicitly designed to protect the continuity of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina," Burns said in the statement.   "The Bosnian Serb entity will not be allowed to secede.   If its newly elected leadership attempts to do so, there will be consequences."   He said all candidates participating in the election had accepted rules obliging them to uphold the Dayton peace accord and the Bosnian Constitution.   He said Washington would work with the international community to ensure that Bosnia remained one state, and to rapidly set up common institutions agreed to at Dayton.   Burns conceded, as U.S. officials have done before, that the elections would fall short of Western standards "given the fact that they do not occur in Charlottesville, Virginia or ... Manchester, England, they occur in Bosnia, which has seen war and division and economic and social dislocation".   He said he was deliberately avoiding the phrase "free and fair" to describe them, although they could be "effective and democratic".   One of the main criticisms levelled against the elections by opposition parties and foreign non-governmental groups is that the dominant parties have blocked refugees from returning to their home towns to vote.   But Burns said: "Our question to those who are calling for the postponement of the elections is the following -- what is your alternative?   When would you propose to have these elections?   Would you propose that they be held next month?   1997?   Three years from now?"   The NATO-led implementation force in Bosnia, IFOR, has promised to provide security for returning refugees, but Burns said not every voter would have an escort.   Critics charge that the U.S. government has gone ahead with the vote because postponing it would signal a failure of the Dayton pact less than eight weeks before U.S. presidential elections and block the return home of U.S. troops in IFOR.   Burns declined to be drawn on a possible follow-on force to IFOR to continue to keep order in Bosnia, beyond saying that "the president's decision to keep American forces in Bosnia for roughly a year has not changed".   That period falls due in December.   Burns said the United States did not believe it possible to have a discussion until after the Bosnian elections about the level of foreign forces needed to be kept there.   "I cannot foresee when a decision is made," he said. 
12468 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  A man convicted of plotting to bomb U.S. passenger jets told FBI agents he also planned to assassinate President Bill Clinton with a missile or a bomb in Manila in 1994, the New York Daily News reported on Tuesday.   The newspaper said it had obtained a secret FBI report on Ramzi Ahmed Yousef's interviews with agents who escorted him to the United States after his capture in Pakistan in February 1995 on the airline bomb plot charges.   Yousef, one of the world's most wanted fugitives until he was arrested, was convicted along with two other radical Moslems in New York last week for plotting to bomb 12 airliners to punish the United States for its support of Israel.   The newspaper said Yousef told agents he halted his plan to kill Clinton because of the high security surrounding the president, who began a five-day Asian tour with a stop in the Philippines in November 1994.   "His first consideration was for an attack on the president's aircraft, either during take-off or landing," the newspaper quoted the secret report as saying.   It said Yousef figured out Clinton's schedule through press reports and travelled to each site to check security.   His first plan was to shoot at the presidential jet with "an improvised ground-to-ground missile (which he claimed to have the knowledge and ability to construct) or with an ordinary machine gun," the paper quoted the report as saying.   His backup plan was to attack the president's motorcade by placing a bomb along the route to disable the lead car.   "The entire motorcade would be brought to a stop, enabling an explosive or poison gas attack on the presidential limousine," according to the report.   "He had considered using the chemical phosgene in the attack on the limousine," it said.   Phosgene is a choking agent.   Yousef was also convicted of placing a bomb on a Philippine Airlines flight in 1994.   The bomb exploded, killing one passenger and injuring 10 others.   He will be tried this year on charges of being the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing, which killed six and injured more than 1,000 people. 
12469 !C42 !CCAT !E12 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  New York Gov. George Pataki Tuesday signed a bill to reform the state workers' compensation program, one of the costliest in the nation, saying the reforms will significantly boost business.   The legislation aims to cut the costs of the program for employers by an average of 25 percent or about $1 billion, partly by protecting them from certain litigation.    The new law repeals Dole v. Dow, a court decision that let New York employers be sued by manufacturers of equipment that has injured workers, unless grave injuries result, including death, amputation, and total blindness or deafness.   Pataki estimated that the Dole v. Dow standard, which was unique to New York, cost employers in the state more than $300 million a year.   A state pilot managed care program will be expanded, and new workplace safety rules will be imposed that give employers "premium credits" for buying new equipment that increases workers' safety.    To fight fraud, a new office of Workers' Compensation Inspector General was created, which will have broad investigative powers and make such frauds a felony.   Benefits will be limited to 100 percent of the wages the workers were paid before they were injured, to prevent "double dipping."   New York's workers' compensation program was the second-most expensive in the nation, Pataki said, noting it cost 57 percent more than the national average, and that employers' costs doubled in less than a decade.   The state's program cost significantly more than those of nearby states, running 53 percent more than Massachusetts, 59 percent higher than Connecticut, and 85 percent more than New Jersey.   "New York's workers compensation system has been broken for years, and its reform is the single most important action we are taking to improve our state's competitiveness and help create jobs," Pataki said, in prepared remarks.   --U.S. Municipal Desk, 212-859-1650 
12470 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Lawyers for Virginia Gov. George Allen told the state Supreme Court that the General Assembly prevented the governor from doing his job by sending him only revised portions of the 1994-96 budget, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported Tuesday.   Catherine Hammond, deputy attorney general, said the legislature not only short-circuited the governor's veto powers but dodged a constitutional responsibility to fully air for taxpayers the contents of the budget.   "The ultimate effect...is to erode the governor's authority," she told the justices in a hearing Monday.   Allen sued the General Assembly in May, alleging it blocked him from fully wielding his veto power by sending him only revised portions of the 1994-96 budget, not the whole thing.   The assembly said it is not legally required to transmit the entire document when adopting amendments to an existing budget.   A ruling is expected Nov 1 and could tip the balance of power between the Democrat-dominated assembly and the Republican governor, the newspaper said.   The assembly's lawyers, including A.E. Dick Howard, principal author of the modern Virginia Constitution, said sending Allen the entire amended budget would shift the state to an annual budget, ending its tradition of setting spending in two-year increments.   Howard said it was up to voters, not the Supreme Court, to expand the governor's veto, referring to Allen's claim that he can strike any written restrictions from the budget.   State Supreme Court rulings in 1940 and 1976 confined such a veto to language directly tied to appropriations.   Justice A. Christian Compton, who aggressively questioned the assembly's lawyers, said the governor can't view amendments separately and must consider their impact on the entire budget.   "How is a chief executive able to act in a meaningful way on an amendment...without the entire document before him?"   he said.   --Jane Sutton, 305-374-5013 
12471 !C13 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  The Swedish Medical Products Agency cleared carvedilol as therapy for congestive heart failure, SmithKline Beecham Plc and Boehringer Mannheim said on Tuesday.   Applications for the drug's use in the heart-failure indication are pending in the United States and other countries, the companies said.   It gained clearance for that indication in Spain last month.   In the United States, where carvedilol has the brand name Coreg, the drug is being jointly developed by SmithKline Beecham and Boehringer Mannheim, Therapeutics Division. 
12472 !GCAT !GCRIM  The judge who will preside over the O.J. Simpson civil trial has a reputation as a tough, no-nonsense jurist who will not tolerate the circus atmosphere that surrounded the former football star's criminal trial.   Simpson was acquitted last October of the June 1994 murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman.   He is being sued by the families of the victims who claim he was responsible for the deaths and should pay damages.   The trial begins next week.   Few attorneys who have entered Superior Court Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki's courtroom have left with anything less than an indelible impression of his judicial skills and demeanor.   "Doesn't suffer fools gladly," said one lawyer.   "Strict but fair," said another.   "Not necessarily likable," said still another.   Soon after he was assigned the wrongful-death lawsuit, the 60-year-old judge last month wasted little time putting his stamp on the case.   After seeing the hordes of reporters, photographers and camera crews outside the Santa Monica courthouse for Simpson hearings, Fujisaki slapped an unusually strict "gag" order on all lawyers, witnesses and parties to the suit, barring them from discussing it in public.   Next, saying he did not want history to repeat itself, he banned cameras, microphones and photographers from the courtroom, imposing a blackout on radio and television coverage of the trial set to get underway on Sept. 17.   In announcing his ruling, Fujisaki said the TV camera in Simpson's criminal trial had "significantly diverted and distracted the participants."   Lawyers and witnesses, he said, had played to the camera, creating a "circus atmosphere."   Fujisaki is also known for moving cases along and does not tolerate attorneys who arrive late, fail to prepare their witnesses or indulge in rambling arguments.   "If you're expecting another 'Trial of the Century,' forget it," said one attorney familiar with Fujisaki's courtroom manner.   Fujisaki, who inherited the civil case after Simpson's lawyers exercised a challenge to have another judge removed from the case, is not expected to be swayed by Simpson's celebrity status.   He has had Hollywood stars in his courtroom before, presiding over cases involving Zsa Zsa Gabor, Elke Sommer, Gary Coleman and Jack Nicholson, among others.   And he takes a sober view of a judge's role.   Asked about his judicial philosophy in a newspaper interview two years ago, Fujisaki turned to a baseball analogy: "I'm just the umpire.   I'm just here to call the balls and the strikes."   There will inevitably be comparisons drawn between Fujisaki and Judge Lance Ito, who some critics say lost control of his courtroom during Simpson's criminal trial.   Both are Japanese-American but the similarities seem to end there.   Ito exhibited a genial nature and even took celebrities into his chambers for private meetings during the trial.   But he showed he was capable of losing his temper with lawyers.   Fujisaki, who has been a judge for 16 years, is all business.   His speech is gruff and terse and in one recent hearing he admonished attorneys not to waste his time.   As a child, Fujisaki spent time in a California internment camp, where tens of thousands of U.S. citizens of Japanese descent were forced to live during the Second World War.   A graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles law school, he worked in the public defender's office, went into private practice and later became a municipal court judge before he was elevated to the superior court in 1980.   Fujisaki has a flair for humour outside the court.   A story is still told of how, a few years back, he roared across the law school campus at UCLA on his motorcycle, decked out in leathers, and screeched to a halt in front of the building where he was to preside over a mock trial.   Taking off his goggles, he told the gaping students, "Gentlemen, the judge has arrived."   Fujisaki still rides his motorcycle to the Santa Monica courthouse, often accompanied by his wife, Misako, a computer analyst.   They have two daughters. 
12473 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  Sun Oil Co said Tuesday its 85,000-barrel-a-day refinery Yabucoa in Puerto Rico remained shut after hurricane Hortense lashed the island.   "As of last night it was in the process of shutting down," said Sun spokesman Bud Davis.   He said the refinery did not yet report on whether it was damaged by the hurricane, nor when it expects to come back up.   The plant supplies mainly lubricants to the Puerto Rican market.   National Hurricane Center said Tuesday morning Hortense appeared destined to hit Florida's coast later in the week after turning away from the island of Hispanola.   The eye of the storm was near latitude 18.2 north and longitude 67.5 west and moving northwest at 12 miles (19 km) an hour at 0500 EDT/0900 GMT Tuesday.   --New York Energy Desk 212-859-1623 
12474 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Hurricane Hortense, about 40 miles south-southeast of Ponce Puerto Rico in the eastern Caribbean and packing 80 mph winds, is a threat to shipping in the region for at least the next 24-36 hours, Weather Services Corp said.   Hortense is expected to track northwest and move into Hispanola within 24 hours.   Flooding rains and strong winds would cause damage through the island during this time, especially along the south coast.   Hortense will also be fairly close to Puerto Rico for another 12 hours and the island can expect heavy or very heavy rains, causing flooding and possible mudslides.   A strong coastal storm surge along the southern coast could cause coastal flooding and beach erosion. 
12475 !GCAT  The New York Times reported the following business stories on Monday:   * Two discount retail chain stores, Phar-Mor Inc and ShopKo Stores Inc said they agreed to merge in a deal valued at $576 million plus the assumption of debt.   * Revco D.S. Inc launched an unsolicited, $330-million bid for Big B Inc, a drug-store chain operating in the southeastern United States.   * Stock prices rallied behind economic data pointing to economic growth and restrained inflation.   * Toshiba Corp plans to announce Tuesday its entry into the personal computer market with its Infinia line of PC's, which it plans to market as a necessary home appliance.   * Eastman Kodak Co and Danka Business Systems Plc said Danka agreed to buy the sales, marketing and equipment-service operations of Kodak's office copier business for $684 million in cash.   * International Business Machines Corp and a group of banks said they formed a venture to offer home banking services through online computer systems. 
12476 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  More than 100 Iraqi military officers and dissidents linked to a CIA-funded bid to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein were arrested in June and executed by Iraqi security forces who penetrated the group and ummasked its activities, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.   The Post quoted an unnamed U.S. government official saying that the Iraqi National Accord, picked by the CIA as the group with the largest potential to unseat Saddam, was targeted in June due to "a failure to maintain operational security."   An editor at the paper said the June executions were in addition to over 100 Iraqis linked to the Iraqi National Congress, a separate CIA-funded group, who were reportedly arrested and apparently executed last month after the capture by an Iraqi-aided Kurdish militia of the city of Arbil.   President Bill Clinton said on Monday the United States was helping "those who have worked with us" flee the fighting.   But the Washington Post quoted U.S. administration officials as saying Clinton was referring only to Iraqi employees of a U.S.-led relief operation and Western government and relief officials.   The Post reported on Monday that 200 members of the Iraqi National Congress were holed up in a mountain hideout in northern Iraq fearing for their lives and hoping for U.S. political asylum.   One administration official defended the decision not to try to rescue the congress members now stranded in the north, saying the CIA had merely funded the group and not directed its activities inside Iraq, the newspaper reported.   A team of CIA officials had warned the group of the pending assault on Arbil, giving them ample time to flee, the newspaper quoted the official as saying.   He emphasized that the CIA had not ben "operating, running or controlling" either the Congress or the National Accord.   The official said "it's a stretch to believe" that because the CIA spent millions of dollars on the groups it "now has some special responsibility" for their welfare, according to the newspaper report.   The Post quoted another senior administration official as saying that Washington had been able to confirm that the Iraqi government had conducted in the summer "widespread executions" of alleged participants in a conspiracy to depose Saddam that was orchestrated by the National Accord.   The arrests were carried out beginning on June 26, three days after the Washington Post reported that the National Accord group, based in Jordan, had received funds from the CIA and was working feverishly to implement a CIA-backed plot to topple Saddam. 
12477 !GCAT  The New York Times reported the following stories on its front page on Monday:   * President Clinton proposed sweeping upgrades to airport security as part of a stronger anti-terrrorism efforts.   * Thousands of residents of Sulaumaniya fled an attack on the city by Iraqi Kurdish militia aligned with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.   * New York City School Chancellor Rudy Crew proposed sending about 1,000 failing public school students to Catholic schools.   * Some cities and towns in New Jersey are paying twice as much in fees to a select group of auditing firms whose familiarity with the state's complicated rules make the firms nearly indespensible.   * Sentencing laws allowing courts to impose harsher punishments after a third infraction, called "three strikes and you're out" laws, are rarely used in courts.   * Japan's welfare system makes public assistance in the United States seem overly generous by obliging applicants to get help from family first and denying help to those in good physical condition.   * The burial ceremony of a four-year-old girl allegedly starved to death by her mother touched a nerve in a community used to hardship.   --New York Newsdesk (212) 859-1610 
12478 !GCAT !GCRIM  Criminals who discuss the details of a murder in the back of a police car have no reasonable expectation of privacy, the Georgia Supreme Court unanimously ruled Monday.   The state's highest court upheld the murder conviction of a woman who discussed alibis and the disposal of murder weapons with her co-defendant boyfriend in the back of a patrol car fitted with a hidden recording device.   Prosecutors were entitled to use the recording as evidence against Melissa Leslie Burgeson, the court said, because the back of a police car is like a jail cell where there can be no reasonable expectation of privacy.   Burgeson was given a life sentence for the Oct. 8, 1992, stabbing and beating death of 17-year-old Keith Patrick Young, whose body was found on a rural road in central Georgia.   Her boyfriend, Timothy Don Carr, is appealing the death penalty he was given in a separate trial.   Police had put Burgeson and Carr, who were both 22 years old at the time, in the back of a police car with a hidden tape recording device and heard Carr admit stabbing and beating Young.   The couple discussed that they should have disposed of the blood-caked knife they used to slash and stab Young and the baseball bat they smashed against his head.   They also discussed telling police the killing occurred because Young had attempted to rape Burgeson. 
12479 !GCAT !GODD !GWEA  Unpack the long underwear and get out the snow shovels, The 1997 Old Farmer's Almanac is predicting a snowy and cold winter.   For doubters of the annual forecasts, the 205th edition of the Almanac has a new weather tool in its arsenal -- AccuWeather, the professional forecasting company.   The familiar yellow-covered classic, in stores on Tuesday, is calling for a mild start to the winter, turning colder than usual in January with above-average snowfall across most of the United States except for the Rocky Mountains and the Northwest.   More predictable than the weather are the articles that each year proudly point out how the Almanac blew its weather forecasts.   This year, the Almanac's secret weather formula, based on the solar observations of the annual's first editor and stored in a black tin box, was helped by the computer-crunching power of AccuWeather, editor Judson Hale said in an interview.   "I'm pretty excited about this year's forecasts," Hale said in his artifact-filled office in the tiny town of Dublin, New Hampshire.   "The black box still remains important because it contains the theories we're still using."   The Almanac's "solar prognosticator," former NASA chief scientist Dr. Richard Head, is calling for another cool summer next year in the Northeast, the central plains and on the Pacific coast.   Head's age-old formulas on sunspot activity combined with with AccuWeather to factor how the thin layer of volcanic dust in the Earth's atmosphere and human factors, such as population shifts and the clear-cutting of rain forests, impact the weather, Hale said.   The 1997 edition of the annual bestseller includes its usual mix of homespun remedies, trivia, planting tables, zodiac secrets and astronomical data, all for $3.95.   Among the useful and useless facts, the Almanac found that fidgety people burn anywhere from 138 to 685 more calories a day than their calm counterparts, the 'khaki family' of neutral colours will be popular in 1997, ice cubes applied to the sides of the neck halts hiccups and 'homemade' items will be big-sellers.   "The trend is sort of back-home nostaglia," said Hale, the 12th editor in the history of the family-owned publication.   "People are making food to look like your Grandma's made it.   Some people are selling milk in glass bottles.   So they're selling nostaglia."   Among Hale's favourite articles is the article on "How to Mend a Broken Heart" which found that country music contributed to higher rates of suicide in 49 metropolitan areas.   Or the article on unanswerable questions such as why "fat chance" and "slim chance" mean the same thing, or why "phonetic" isn't spelled the way it sounds.   "It's sort of amusing to ponder why a nose runs and feet smell?   Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?   Why is it called a TV set when there's only one?"   Hale said. 
12480 !GCAT !GHEA !GSCI  Scientists at the National Insitute of Health announced a major clinical study on Tuesday to see whether insulin capsules can prevent juvenile diabetes.   Juvenile diabetes, also known as Type 1 or insulin- dependent diabetes, strikes 13,000 children, teenagers or young adults in the United States each year.   People with the disease do not produce insulin, a hormone that regulates how cells obtain energy from food.   Unless they take insulin injections every day, they can go into a coma and eventually die.   They can also develop problems with their heart, eyes, kidneys and nerves.   The capsules of insulin crystals are the second phase in the trial, which will also test insulin injections as a preventive treatment.   Doctors know the oral capsules cannot treat Type 1 diabetes, but they want to learn whether they can prevent onset of the disease.   Volunteers for the study must be between the age of 3 and 45 and have a close relative, such as a parent, child or sibling, with Type 1 diabetes.   Study leaders need to screen 60,000 to 80,000 people to come up with the 830 subjects for the five-year study.   People who want to find out if they are eligible can call the NIH trial at 1-800-HALTDM-1 (425-8361). 
12481 !GCAT !GSCI  Scientists from a wide range of fields discussed the search for life elsewhere in the universe on Monday, encouraged by evidence that primitive life may once have existed on Mars.   The first "Astrobiology Workshop," being held at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Ames Research Centre near San Francisco, is intended to "strengthen research associated with life in the universe," said David Morrison, Ames's director of space studies.   Morrison called for scientists to pool their efforts in the new field of astrobiology, which he defined as "the study of the living universe."   Ames has been assigned the lead role within NASA for astrobiology.   The three-day conference, which opened on Monday, drew scientists from fields including biology, astronomy, physics and chemistry.   They were considering questions such as how life originates, where and how other habitable worlds are formed and whether terrestrial life could be sustained beyond our planet.   Speakers shared their research on a variety of subjects from organisms living in Earth's harshest climates to the effects of weightlessness on astronauts.   One of the main themes at the conference was last month's announcement by a team of U.S. scientists that they had discovered evidence of ancient, single-cell life on Mars in remains from a meteorite that plunged to Earth 13,000 years ago.   They said microfossil remains indicated a primitive form of life may have existed on Mars billions of years ago.   Speakers presented two main means for continuing the search for extra-terrestrial life -- sophisticated detection devices that would seek out distant planets conducive to life or missions to Mars to look for remains similar to those discovered in the meteorite on Earth.   Morrison said NASA has planned 10 robotic missions to Mars in the next decade with a mission slated for 2005 which was expected to bring back samples from Mars to Earth for the first time.   But Geoffrey Marcy, an astronomy professor at San Francisco State University, called for development of a space-based device to provide images of distant planets and sense their chemical makeups to evaluate the likelihood that life could exist there.   William Berry, assistant director of Ames, said planetary detectors face a questionable future.   "We are studying basically the technology and the implementation of them.   The agency (NASA) has not committed to building them yet.   We've invested money in the first steps of making that happen," he said. 
12482 !GCAT  The Washington Post carried the following items on the front page of its business section on Sept. 10:   ---   NEW YORK - The stock market shrugged off fears that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates later this month and the Dow Jones industrial average shot up nearly 74 points.   ---   WASHINGTON - Erol's has become the eight-largest firm specializing in Internet access, but its rapid growth has led to occasional problems such as breakdowns during primetime hours and delays in delivery of electronic mail messages.   ---   WASHINGTON - Mobil Corp. has agreed to sell Reston Town Center to a group affiliated with national known real estate investor Sam Zell.   ---   WASHINGTON - Phar-Mor Inc., the discount drugstore chain, has signed a deal to acquire ShopKo Stores Inc. of Milwaukee. 
12483 !GCAT  The Washington Post carried the following stories on its front page on September 10:   ---   DUKAN, IRAQ - Government-backed Kurdish guerrillas overran Sulaimaniya and captured a key hydroelectric dam, sending thousands of defeated Kurds fleeing towards the Iranian border.   ---   WASHINGTON - More than 100 Iraqi dissidents and military officers associated with a CIA-funded effort to topple President Saddam Hussein were arrested and executed this summer by Iraqi security agents who penetrated the group.   ---   LITTLE ROCK - A defiant Susan McDougal reported to jail this morning vowing to keep her silence in the face of prosecutors' questions about the actions of President Clinton and his wife in the Whitewater affair.   ---   WASHINGTON - Floodwaters began to recede in the Washington area after cresting just before the morning rush hour.   ---   NASHVILLE - Bill Munroe, the Father of Bluegrass, died at a hospice in Springfield, Tenn. after a stroke.   ---   CLEVELAND - Cleveland is the first city in the nation to allow children from disadvantaged homes to attend private, religious schools with public money. 
12484 !GCAT !GSCI  A U.S. astronomer announced on Monday that he has discovered a new planet orbiting a distant star.   Geoffrey Marcy, a professor of astronomy at San Francisco State University, said he has found a planet slightly larger than Jupiter orbiting a star about 100 light years away.   Within the past year, Marcy said, he and other scientists had discovered seven new planets outside our solar system.   "We now have eight that are orbiting sun-like stars," he told a news conference at NASA's Ames Research Centre near San Francisco, where he was attending a scientific conference.   Marcy did not say which star the planet is orbiting.   He said he would announce more details in October with Professor Bill Cochran of the University of Texas, who also discovered the new planet.   The two scientists worked independently, but later compared notes and found they had both discovered the same planet, Marcy said.   Until recently, astronomers did not know for sure of any planets orbiting nearby stars.   Last year, a team at the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland discovered the first planet orbiting a normal star outside our solar system.   In January, Marcy and San Francisco State University colleague Paul Butler announced they had discovered two new planets whose environments might be able to support life.   Marcy has played a part in locating several of the other newly-discovered planets.   Marcy, who uses observatories in California and Hawaii, detects planets by looking for distant stars that wobble.   As a planet orbits a star, its gravitational pull causes the star to wobble.   By measuring this movement, Marcy can calculate the size of the planet and its orbit. 
12485 !GCAT !GDIS !GENV  Firefighters gained ground Monday on a major Montana wildfire that has destroyed 34 homes, and residents of one hard-hit subdivision were able to return to their property to assess the damage.   The Shepard Mountain fire, burning in the Custer National Forest of southern Montana, flared up last week, leaving a trail of 34 destroyed summer homes.   The lightning-sparked fire, which was burning about 20 miles west of the town of Red Lodge, had consumed an estimated 12,800 acres, little changed from Sunday.   Fire officials at the scene reported steady progress by crews battling the blaze.   Firefighters said the fire was at least half-contained and was expected to be fully contained by Thursday night.   "Weather conditions are all favourable," fire information officer Ladd Coates said.   About 70 residents of one subdivision ravaged by the blaze were allowed to return to their property earlier Monday to evaluate damage, fire officials said.   Other evacuees have already returned to their property.   In Wyoming, firefighters were battling a 2,880-acre fire in the Big Horn National Forest in the northern part of the state.   The fire was 25 percent contained and was no longer threatening summer cabins in the area.   The National Interagency Fire Centre, based in Boise, Idaho, said that five major fires were still burning in the West.   The fires, in Montana, Oregon and Wyoming, were active on over 45,000 acres, the fire centre said.   Just over 3,250 firefighters were battling the fires.   "While the last few days of slower fire activity has allowed us to rotate and rest many of our firefighters, we continue to maintain a high state of readiness in case new fire outbreaks occur," Les Rosenkrance, director of the fire centre, said.   "Our reports indicate that most parts of the West -- in particular, California, Nevada and much of Oregon -- face a moderate to severe fire threat for the next month," he added.   The Western United States has been experiencing its worst fire season in 30 years, with fires spreading quickly in parched grass, brush and forest.   About 5.8 million acres have burned so far this year, compared with a five-year annual average of 2.1 million acres.   At the peak of the fire season in late August, more than 22,000 people were battling 52 major fires in eight Western states. 
12486 !GCAT !GENT !GPRO  Academy Award-winning actor Anthony Hopkins has had his fill of period pieces and classical English movies so at the age of 59 he has decided to change the course of his illustrious movie career.   "Action, drama, that's what I'm looking for," he said, punching the air for emphasis.   He has also severed his ties with Merchant Ivory Productions, with which he made "Howards End," "Remains of the Day" and the soon-to-be released "Surviving Picasso."   Sitting in his room at a luxury hotel in Hollywood, he told Reuters he was looking forward to the new direction his career is taking.   "This is my third Merchant Ivory production.   God forbid we should be getting like a family.   This was my last venture with them.   I've done it now.   I thought 'Remains of the Day' would be my last one," he said.   "Surviving Picasso" is based on the true story of artist Pablo Picasso's love affair with a young French girl, Francoise Gilot, which started in 1943 when he was in his sixties and she was 23 and ended 10 years later when Gilot walked out -- the only lover ever to leave him.   Hopkins, who plays Picasso, says he enjoyed working with renowned filmmakers James Ivory and Ismail Merchant but had begun to sense it was becoming "too much of a sameness.   It's like De Niro and Scorsese.   It becomes the same old thing -- De Niro, Scorsese, De Niro, Scorsese.   Come on, enough already, I've seen too much of this."   Actor Robert De Niro and director Martin Scorsese worked together on a number of movies, mostly with Italian-American themes, including "Taxi Driver," "Mean Streets," "Raging Bull," "King of Comedy" and "New York, New York."   Asked if he was finished with period pieces forever, Hopkins replied, "I'd like to say yes.   Period pieces are wonderful to make, but I don't want to end up in that sort of British class cubbyhole."   So keen is the Welsh-born Hopkins to remove himself from the English film genre that he and is wife Jenni now make their home in Los Angeles.   "I love it here, it's marvellous."   One thing that does not thrill him, he said, is watching Masterpiece Theatre, the U.S. Public Broadcasting Service network show that often features British period pieces.   "I'm not a fan of Masterpiece Theatre.   I was watching some of it the other day on television here, I don't want to name the series except to say it was British, but I was watching some scene and I thought, God, this is awful.   It's all so self-righteous ... This is unwatchable.   They're so constipated, give them all a laxative."   Despite classical training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, Hopkins, who holds the title Sir Anthony but prefers to be called Tony, now puts stardom above acting.   To this end, he says laughing, he tried to corrupt his young co-star, English screen newcomer Natascha McElhone, who plays Gilot, and who is just two years out of drama school.   "She's 23 and gorgeous, like Audrey Hepburn.   It's her first movie and I'm trying to be a corrupting influence on her," he enthused.   "I keep saying to her, 'Don't go back to the theatre.   Stay in movies.   Become a big star.'   She's unique among British actresses ... but she pretends to be the serious young actress who doesn't think stardom is important.   "I told her, 'Don't you believe it.   What do you mean it's not important?   If you're beautiful and aspire to become a movie star, do it.   Take the opportunities, don't be so puritanical, don't give me all that crap that sitting in a trendy pub in London doing Sartre is going to be more beneficial to you.   This is life, grab it while you've got it."   He is glad, he added, that McElhone appeared to take his advice.   She is currently working on director Alan Pakula's film, "The Devil's Own."   For his part, Hopkins is set to start work on "Bookworm," which he calls "a Deliverance-type movie but set in Alaska," with co-star Alec Baldwin in what he hopes will be the first of a string of action-packed movies.   "I'm looking forward to working with Alec," he said.   "It's a whole new ball game for me, I'm playing my own age, I'm playing myself for the first time, which is nice.   It's a welcome relief to me.   I'm having a pretty good life, I must say." 
12487 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The United States expressed concern on Monday about delays in implementing Angolan peace accords.   At the same time, Washington welcomed the arrival in the Angolan capital of Luanda of generals from the former rebel UNITA movement for integration into a single national army.   "This is an important step toward the full incorporation of UNITA's army into the Angolan armed forces," said White House spokesman Mike McCurry in a written statement.   He said six generals had arrived in Luanda by Monday.   A government of national unity is meant to be part of a peace deal that followed two decades of civil war on independence from Portugal in 1975, but delays in demobilizing former fighters have hampered the peace process.   McCurry said the United States is concerned by the lack of progress.   He said President Bill Clinton has sent a special envoy, Paul Hare, to Angola to meet with Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi.   Hare, he said, will "underscore American commitment to the fuilfillment of the peace accords and concern over continuing delays."   The Angolan government and UNITA agreed to end two decades of civil war after year-long negotiations that led to the signing of the Lusaka Protocol peace pact in November 1994.   "Persistent delays in the implementation of the Lusaka Protocol threaten to undermine the substantial progress achieved toward lasting peace and national reconciliation," McCurry said.   The United States, he said, calls on the signatories of the Lusaka Protocol "to take tangible steps toward achieving full military integration and formation of a national reconciliation in the coming weeks."   He said at this stage it is important that UNITA "surrender its remaining heavy weapons and complete the quartering of its forces."   Hare's trip followed a series of high-level discussions with U.S. Ambassador to Angola Donald Steinberg, who was in Washington last week for consultations. 
12488 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  President Bill Clinton met on Monday with Irish Prime Minister John Bruton and said there was a chance for "some real progress" in the effort to bring peace to Northern Ireland.   Praising the resumption of peace talks in Belfast -- which so far do not include Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, because the IRA has not reinstated its ceasefire -- Clinton offered an upbeat assessment of the chance for peace.   "We'd like to see a ceasefire ... but I think that actually we do have a chance to make some progress in these talks," Clinton said in response to a reporter's question about the likelihood of a breakthrough.   "That's one of the things we're going to talk about here," he said, sitting next to Bruton in the Oval Office.   "We're always better off when they're talking than when they're not."   "I can see circumstances under which we can make some real progress there if we got one or two good breaks," Clinton said.   "So we're going to keep working."   The peace talks sponsored by Britain and Ireland began in June and involve the main Protestant and Catholic parties, except for Sinn Fein.   They resumed on Monday in Belfast after a month-long break.   Britain and Ireland, with the strong backing of the United States, have insisted that the IRA must stop its bombing campaign, aimed at ending British rule, before being allowed to participate.   After his meeting with Clinton, Bruton told reporters, "I asked for his continued, constructive and evenhanded support and for all the behind-the-scenes influence that he can exercise."   Issuing a plea to all the parties involved in the peace efforts, Bruton said, "Political leaders must show that they have the capacity to make compromises that will restore ... calm and a spirit of compromise to the population in Northern Ireland."   A White House official declined to describe the kind of "good breaks" Clinton was hoping for but noted that "obviously nothing is going to get done until the ceasefire is restored."   Clinton, in his exchange with reporters, said "the thing that makes me optimistic is the clear interest that the people, all the people in Northern Ireland, have in a successful resolution of this." 
12489 !GCAT !GCRIM !GENV  Poachers are turning to new ways of slaughtering Indian rhinos, threatening the recent growth of the rhino population, the World Wildlife Fund said on Monday.   While poachers mainly used guns to kill the greater one-horned rhinos, they were also electrocuting the massive animals or trapping them in pits, WWF discovered in a five-year investigation of rhinos in India.   "Indian rhinos have grown in number over the last 30 years, but as soon as we let our guard down we have problems," said Ginette Hemley, WWF's director of international wildlife policy.   Rhinos were found electrocuted in Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary and Kaziranga National Park, where poachers dangled wires attached to a bamboo rod or wire hook connected to high tension power lines in the area.   Fewer than 2,000 greater one-horned rhinos are believed to be left in the world, mainly in seven protected areas in India and two in Nepal.   In the early 1990s, about 200 rhinos were lost, with 100 killed in one park alone -- Manas on the border of Bhutan, Hemley said.   WWF said poachers included people from Assam in eastern India, and the Naga and Bodo ethnic groups.   Traditional trading routes out of India through Calcutta and Burma were being dropped for new routes through Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh, according to the study.   Animal parts were sent from there by air to Southeast Asia, where rhino horn is highly valued in traditional Chinese medicine.   As political unrest in Assam increased, poaching also rose, Hemley said.   WWF called for tighter security in protected areas, removal of all high tension wires within three kilometres of parks, tighter enforcement measures against illegal traders and dealers, special courts to try wildlife cases, and better pay for park staff. 
12490 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  The White House on Monday defended this week's elections in Bosnia, saying a call by Republican rival Bob Dole to delay them "would be a mistake."   Last week, at a speech in Dayton, Ohio where the peace accords were hammered out, Dole called for a postponement saying the elections would be a fraud that would "make a mockery of our principles and commitment to democracy."   Voters in the two Bosnian entities created by the accord -- a Serb republic and a Moslem-Croat federation -- on Saturday will elect joint institutions for Bosnia, including a presidency, legislature, central bank and supreme court.   "The elections are a key next step along the long, difficult path to a lasting peace in Bosnia," White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry said in a statement.   "The administration believes that postponing this week's elections in Bosnia would be a mistake," he said.   "Those who argue for postponement ignore what the people of Bosnia want -- and what Bosnia needs to help its hard won peace endure."   Critics claim the administration wants to go ahead with the vote because postponing it would signal a failure of the Dayton pact less than eight weeks before the Nov. 5 election for the White House. 
12491 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPRO  A key witness who identified the three suspected killers of Oscar-winning actor Haing Ngor recanted his testimony on Monday, saying police told him which of the suspects to identify and what to say.   Earlier in the preliminary hearing, Sarik Vireak had told the judge he was afraid while giving testimony against the three alleged members of the "Oriental Lazy Boys" street gang accused of killing the Cambodian film star.   Speaking through a Cambodian interpreter, Vireak told prosecutors in the morning that he heard what sounded like firecrackers and then saw the three suspects running down an alleyway near where Ngor was shot on Feb. 25.   But under cross-examination in the afternoon, Vireak said that story had been a lie.   Attorney Steven Schoenfield, who represents one of the three accused, confronted Vireak with a statement he made to defence investigators in which he said the police had pressured him to identify the three suspects.   When asked if he had seen the men the night of the murder, or had heard shots, Vireak replied "no."   He said detectives had pointed out the suspects in photographs they wanted him to identify.   "When you pointed out those pictures and put your intitials, you were doing that because the officers told you?"   asked Judge Stephen Marcus.   "Yes," replied Vireak, who was ordered to return to court on Tuesday.   Jason Chan, Indra Lim and Tak Sun Tan have pleaded not guilty to murdering Ngor, who won the Oscar as best supporting actor in the 1984 movie "The Killing Fields."   Ngor was shot twice in the driveway of his home in the Chinatown section of Los Angeles last Feb. 25, during what police believe was a robbery attempt. 
12492 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  STAAR Surgical Co said it settled a patent infringement and licensing lawsuit with Allergan Inc's Allergan Medical Optics and MicroTech Inc.   Allergan and MicroTech had filed suit against Staar over Staar's injector products for the implantation of intraocular lenses.   The global settlement resolves all pending litigation between the parties.   Starr said terms of the settlement are confidential, but it involves a patent cross-license agreement on improvements of injectors among all the parties. 
12493 !C15 !C152 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Genus Inc, citing continued weakeness in the semiconductor industry, said it plans to trim its workforce by 39 people or 11 percent of the company's permanent employees worldwide.   The company said it expects to take a restructuring charge of $3 to $4 million, $0.18 to $0.24 a share after-tax, during the third quarter of 1996 to cover severance costs and other related charges.   In a statement, the maker of advanced thin film deposition used in the fabrication of semiconductor devices said it also plans cuts in discretionary spending and will continue to closely manage other operating expenses to further control costs.   "This workforce reduction helps match company expenses with current economic realities resulting from the semiconductor industry downturn," William Elder, Genus chairman and chief executive said.   "We will continue to aggressively align necessary cost savings programs with the company's long-term business strategy of providing our customers with competitive, cost-effective process simplification technologies."   Genus was off 1/2 to 5-7/8. 
12494 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Phillips Petroleum Co said the passing of Hurricane Hortense resulted in no damage to its 30,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery in Puerto Rico, but operations remained shut down Tuesday morning.   "Operations were shut down as of 8 p.m. last night Puerto Rico time, and we are running on emergency power.   We will commence operations when power is restored," said a Phillips spokesman.   It was not known when power would be restarted, the spokesman noted.   The plant is located near the city of Guyama on the southern coast of the island.   Phllips makes gasoline and naphtha for domestic markets from the plant, and feedstocks for nylon and polyester for international customers.   Heavy rains of up to 12 inches (30 cm) caused flash- flooding and midslides early Tuesday in Puerto Rico, and forecasters warned of possible isolated tornadoes.   Hortense was heading towards the Dominican Republic, the southern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos islands, packing sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kmh) Tuesday morning.   -Patrick Connole, New York Energy Desk, +1 212 859 1828 
12495 !C21 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Carolina Power & Light Co said Tuesday it continues to whittle steadily away at the number of customers still without power after Hurricane Fran last week ripped through the center of its service territory.   "As of this morning, we've got about 153,000 customers still out.   We're close to 80 percent restoration," said company spokesman Mike Hughes.   This compares with 730,000 customers lacking electricity at the peak of the storm and 268,000 early Monday.   Carolina Power's customer base is about 1.1 million.    He said some of the hardest hit areas were around Raleigh, N.C., where the company is headquartered, and Wilmington, N.C., not far from where Fran came ashore late Thursday with winds of up to 120 mph.   Hughes said peak load Monday on the utility's system was 7,900 megawatt hours (MWh) and is expected to hit 8,500 MWh this afternoon as temperatures soar up to the high 80s or low 90s Fahrenheit in much of the company's service area.   "This is not unseasonal.   September can be hot here.   But we don't anticipate any problems meeting demand," he said.    Asked if the company would be buying heavily in the market, Hughes said, "We are certainly buying some," but declined to be more specific.   Electricity traders said Monday that Carolina Power was an active buyer in the spot market as its system comes back up and people start returning to work.   On the generating front, the company's Brunswick 1 nuclear power plant, rated at 767 MW, is currently at 30 percent power, with the neighboring Brunswick 2 unit (754 MW) still scheduled to come back on line later this week, Hughes said.   The Brunswick facility, at Southport, N.C., near Cape Fear, was shut Thursday as a precaution ahead of the hurricane.   The company's Harris nuclear power plant, in New Hill, N.C., came back on line late Monday and is also currently producing at about 30 percent of its 880 MW rated capacity, he said.   Hughes said 7,100 emergency linemen and tree-clearing crew are working to restore the company's crippled system.   About 5,600 of the workers are from utilities and contractors outside the company.   -- New York Power Desk + 1 212 859 1621 
12496 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  The Dominican Republic, the southern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos islands braced for Hurricane Hortense after the storm dumped torrential rains over most of Puerto Rico, the National Hurricane Center said.   At 8 a.m.   EDT (1200 GMT), the center of Hortense was located about 35 miles (55 km) east of Cabo Engano on the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic, or at latitude 18.3 north and longitude 67.9 west.   Hortense was moving northwest at 12 mph (19 kmh), and the center of the storm was expected to pass near the eastern coast of the Dominican Republic on Tuesday morning.   The storm was packing sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kmh) with higher gusts over mountainous areas.   Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 60 miles (95 km) from the center, forecasters said.   Heavy rain of up to 12 inches (30 cm) caused flash-flooding and mudslides early Tuesday in Puerto Rico, and forecasters also warned of the threat of isolated tornadoes. 
12497 !C23 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  Procept Inc said on Tuesday it plans to develop a topical gel which women can use vaginally to help prevent HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases.   It said laboratory studies have shown that its PRO 2000 antiviral compound is active against a wide range of HIV strains from both the developed and developing world.   It said the gel is also active against other sexually transmitted disease pathogens, such as herpes simplex virus type 2.    Procept said it believes the manufacturing of the product is easy and stable, and it will be able to make sufficient quantities of it to meet anticipated worldwide demand. 
12498 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  M-Wave Inc, a manufacturer of printed circuit boards used in wireless communications such as cellular phones and direct broadcast satellite television antennas, said Tuesday it had laid off 36 employees at its Poly Circuits plant here.   The positions, all in manufacturing, represent about 28 percent of the Bensenville work force.   Volumes were affected by the delay of a large potential order from a key customer because of the customer's high inventory levels, said Joe Turek, M-Wave chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement.   The customer was not identified.   "Due to slowness in our business, we made adjustments to keep us healthier," he said.   Turek said M-Wave has laid off employees before and was able to add employees when manufacturing volume increased.   The company maintains a flexible manufacturing structure that enables it to alter the size of its work force with relative ease to match volumes, he said.   M-Wave makes microwave printed circuit boards worldwide through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Poly Circuits and P C Dynamics.   -- Chicago Newsdesk 312 408 8787 
12499 !GCAT  Phar-Mor Inc and ShopKo Stores Inc agreed to merge in a deal valued at about $579.6 million, while Revco D.S. Inc launched a $330 million unsolicited offer for Big B Inc, an Alabama-based drug-store chain, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.   Other top stories included:   * Stock and bond prices rallied amid speculation the Fed will raise interest rates by only one-quarter point, if at all.   * Westcoast Energy Inc and Coastal Corp are nearing a combination of their natural-gas marketing operations.   * America West Airlines Inc issued warnings of weaker earnings ahead as well as flight cancellations.   * The United States and Japan agreed to begin meetings on September 18 to discuss deregulation of Japan's insurance market.   * Executive of Bell Atlantic Corp and NYNEX Corp will be compensated well following the completion of their proposed merger.   * ITT Corp said third-quarter earnings will be lower than expected due to weakness in its gambling segment.   * Broderbund Software Inc said its fourth-quarter results will be disappointing, pointing to concerns about holiday sales of entertainment software.   * Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc said it expects third-quarter results to come in lower than estimates due to higher dairy costs.   * Beer prices have risen nearly three percent this year.   * The vice chairman of Viacom Inc's Paramount Pictures unit, Barry London, said he will resign.   * The former chairman of Ing.   C. Olivetti & C. SpA, Carlo DeBenedetti, is considering the sale of all of his French interests, including Valeo SA.   * Bond prices rose moderately on hopes that the Federal Reserve may not have to boost interest rates as aggressively as the market had feared.   - Credit Markets   * Retired Army Gen. Colin Powell, car-racing magnate Roger Penske and New York art dealer William Acquavella all have something in common.   As Gulfstream Aerospace directors sitting on stock options, they stand to make some nice profits when the corporate-jet maker goes public shortly.   But the company could be offering its shares just as its shining fortunes begin to dull.   - Heard on the Street   --New York Newsdesk (212) 859-1610 
12500 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV  Greenpeace activists launched a small flotilla of inflatable boats in the Bering Sea Monday to protest what the organization terms overfishing of pollock by factory trawlers off Alaska.   The environmental group said it used a larger vessel, the MV Greenpeace, to launch 15 activists in four inflatables that surrounded American Seafoods' Ocean Rover.   "Two small inflatables held out a banner saying 'Stop,'" Dave Batker, captain of the MV Greenpeace, told the Alaska Public Radio Network in an interview conducted by marine telephone.   "This was a protest action against the factory trawlers to stop fishing unsustainably."   Greenpeace has argued that factory trawlers -- large vessels that harvest and process fish at sea -- engage in wasteful practices that net too many untargeted species.   The organization sent its vessel to the Bering Sea to stage a protest during the year's second pollock season, which started Sept. 1.   Last month, Greenpeace activists staged a dockside protest in Seattle, wrapping cables around the propellors of five factory trawlers in the harbor there.   Representatives of the factory trawlers, mostly headquartered in Seattle, defended their industry.   "I don't think we have anything to be ashamed of at all.   We're legitimate players, and we employ a lot of people, and we deliver quality seafood to the world," Paul MacGregor, executive director of the American Factory Trawler Association, said before the Bering Sea protest.   While overfishing has damaged ecosystems in waters elsehere in the world, fisheries off Alaska's shores have been protected by careful management, MacGregor said.   Alaskan pollock harvests dominate the fishing in federal waters off Alaska and account for about 40 percent of the seafood harvested commercially in the United States.   The fish is sold in fillets, in frozen and processed products, and as surimi, a paste used to make imitation crabmeat and other foods. 
12501 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL !M11 !MCAT  A U.S. House-Senate conference committee reached agreement on a crucial issue that had snagged quick passage of a securities deregulation bill, congressional aides said on Monday.   The issue involves whether the Securities and Exchange Commission, the federal government's chief enforcer of securities laws, should reduce fees it collects from companies filing to offer stocks and bonds.   The aides said Virginia Republican Thomas Bliley, chairman of the House Commerce Committee, and Senate conferees led by Senator Fritz Hollings, a South Carolina Democrat, had "had come to terms on an $850 million roll-back in SEC fees for a period of 10 years."    "This removes the biggest stumbling block to the approval of the bill," the aides said.   The Clinton administration, through the Office of Management and Budget, had previously opposed the fee reduction, part of a House-inspired move to allow the SEC to lessen reliance on the fees for its budget.   The White House position was that changing the way the SEC gets its annual budget would mean it would have to compete with other federal agencies for the government's shrinking funding pie.   Currently, the SEC's budget is secured through a "fee-offsetting" mechanism, small congressional appropriations and use of holdover funds.    The House proposal would allow the SEC to go through the normal budget process, eliminating snags that had threatened a hold up approval of its budget in the past several years.   "The OMB is apparently now going to go along with the SEC fee roll-back," said the aide.   The securities bill previouisly approved by both chambers would deregulate the securities industry and give the SEC, instead of state regulators, greater powers to oversee the mutual fund industry.   The bill would maintain the role of state regulators as cops on the beat for securities industry professionals, but eliminate many overlapping functions between them and the SEC.    The securities industry on August 29 called for the passage of the bill in the current congressional term, which adjourns on September 27. 
12502 !GCAT !GCRIM  Police probing Belgium's scandal of child sex abuse, murder and car theft raided homes and offices around Charleroi on Tuesday and questioned 23 people, several of them police.   Assistant Public Prosecutor Jean-Paul Pavanello told Reuters that the 15 premises searched included an office occupied by the city's judicial police.   A total of 23 people questioned included eight members of the judicial police, three gendarmes and 12 people who were close to chief detective Georges Zicot, he said.   Zicot was arrested two weeks ago during investigations into a paedophile porn and car theft gang led by Marc Dutroux.   In a case that has stunned Belgium, police last month rescued two young girls abducted by Dutroux and his accomplice Michel Lelievre and unearthed the bodies of four more as well as that of Frenchman Bernard Weinstein.   Pavanello said the questioning of the 23 was over the car thefts and the murder of Weinstein, an accomplice whom Dutroux admits killing.   He said police were finding increasing links between the child sex case and the car thefts.   He added that no arrest warrants had been issued for any of the 23, and he did not expect any.   Zicot appeared in court in Liege on Tuesday morning to make a formal appeal against charges of car theft, insurance fraud and forgery.   Insurance fraud investigator Thierry Dehaan, who has also been charged with fraud and forgery, was in court alongside Zicot.   Gerrard Pinon, charged with handling stolen goods, has not appealed and was not in court, Pavanello said.   In Neufchateau, nerve centre of the international paedophile pornography hunt, Annie Bouty was to appear in court on charges of criminal association.   Bouty, a disbarred lawyer, is the former companion of Jean-Michel Nihoul a Brussels businessman who has been charged with criminal association relating to the sex abuse and pornorgaphy side of the investigations.   Dutroux, Lelievre and Dutroux' second wife Michelle Martin -- charged as an accomplice -- are due to appear in court on September 13 to have the charges against them renewed. 
12503 !C17 !CCAT !G15 !G157 !GCAT  Lorenzo Robustelli   Italy has agreed that an extension of the terms of a 1993 agreement on reducing industrial holding IRI's debt should be limited, European Competition Commissioner Karel Van Miert said on Tuesday.   He told Reuters after talks with Industry Minister PierLuigi Bersani that the extension was needed because of hitches in Italy's privatisation programme that have delayed the sale of state telecoms holding Stet.   Under the agreement between Italy and the European Commission, IRI must cut its debt to below 5.0 trillion lire ($3.3 billion) by the end of 1996 with the possibility of an extension if justified by the market situation.   IRI's net debt at the end of 1995 was 22.456 trillion lire and it looks highly unlikely to meet the deadline due to hitches in the privatisation programme.   Stet is now slated for sale next February or March.   "It is for sure that Stet cannot be privatised before the end of the year so there has to be a little extension," Van Miert, who was later meeting Prime Minister Romano Prodi, said.   "In this respect I needed to have firm and concrete commitments that the extension should be limited and this has been agreed," he said.   He gave no time frame but said earlier that the extension should be "the shortest possible".   Van Miert, after meeting Treasury Minister Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, told reporters: "The meeting with minister Ciampi has been very satisfying because he showed himself to be very determined to act in a way that respects the accord particularly regarding the privatisations of Stet and Autostrade."   He said Ciampi would put that commitment into writing for the Commission "and in this way I can propose to my colleagues a limited extension of the period".   An Italian Treasury source said Van Miert had been assured of the timetable and ways in which Stet and motorway tolls company Autostrade would be sold off.   Privatisation of Stet, of whose ordinary stock Iri holds 47 percent, is now slated for February or March next year but the government has yet to get legislation establishing a regulator for the telecoms sector through parliament.   Van Miert was in Rome to discuss IRI and the privatisation programme as well as a government rescue package for debt ridden Banco di Napoli.   He said that here too he was very satisfied with the assurances he had been given by Ciampi.   "Certainly, the work is only just starting and ways of sorting out the bank's assets will have to be assessed," he said.   $1=1515 lire 
12504 !GCAT !GVIO  The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Tuesday its search for some 14,000 people missing in the Bosnian war was going slowly and said it hoped its task would be eased after this week's Bosnian polls.   Hundreds of thousands of people were driven out of their homes in ethnic cleansing during Bosnia's 3-1/2 year war.   The Dayton peace accords mandated the ICRC to supervise the release of those detained in the war and to search for missing persons.   "We have submitted some 14,000 requests to which the parties must respond," Christophe Girod, the ICRC's deputy delegate for the area, told a news conference in Paris.   "We have so far obtained 300 definitive answers which have allowed us to tell the families that their loved ones have died," he said.   The list has been distributed across Europe and gives the missing person's name, sex, date of birth and the place where he or she was last sighted.   "The search is not going very fast and we hope it will speed up after this week's (September 14) elections," Girod said.   "We are also appealing for testimony from those who witnessed arrests or violence.   Digging up mass graves and identifying bodies is one possibility but it requires a lot of money and doctors," he said.   Beat Schweitzer, the ICRC's representative in Sarajevo, said in a telephone link-up with Paris that most of the 14,000 were feared dead and many of them were probably in mass graves.   "The hardest thing to bear for the families is the uncertainty.   The wife of a missing person cannot start a new life as long as she has no news.   Even if the news is that he has died, that is psychologically important," he said. 
12505 !C12 !C31 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !G157 !GCAT !GCRIM  The European Court of Justice declared on Tuesday Germany failed to comply with Community law when it set milk prices lower than agreed under the International Dairy Arrangement (IDA).   Germany authorized imports of milk under its inward processing relief arrangements at prices lower than the minimum price set under the IDA.   When the European Commission asked it to stop in 1990, Germany refused.   Germany argued the milk placed under inward processing relief arrangements was not released for free circulation, and the milk was re-exported to non-member countries not party to the IDA.   The court rejected Germany's argument that the goods were not imported or exported for purposes of the IDA and said exceptions to the IDA did not extend to goods entering the EU under inward processing arrangements.   Germany made no application for a derogation of the IDA to the Commission.   "Since the purpose of the IDA is to achieve stability on the world market in dairy products in the mutual interests of exporters and importers, the Community must interpret its terms in such a way as to encourage the attainment of the objective pursued," the court said.   Additionally, the court noted the interests of Community dairy producers would be impaired if certain traders could import milk at prices below the IDA minimum.   ***   (Court translation into English.   Original language of the case: German)   "Failure of a member state to fulfil its obligations - International Dairy Arrangement"   In Case C-61/94   Commission of the European Communities, applicant   v   Federal Republic of Germany, defendant   applicant for a declaration that the Federal Republic of Germany has failed to fulfil its obligations under the EC Treaty by authorizing the importation under inward processing relief arrangements of dairy products whose customs value was lower than the minimum prices set under the International Dairy Arrangement, approved on behalf of the Community by Council decision 80/271/EEC of 10 December 1979 concerning the conclusion of the Multilateral Agreements resulting from the 1973 to 1979 trade negotiations (OJ 1980 L 71, p. 1), and by thus failing to have regard to (1) the duty of cooperation laid down in article 691)(a) of Annex I and in Article 6(a) of Annexes II and II to the Arrangement, (2) the obligation under article 3(1) of each of those Annexes and (3) the economic conditions for the granting of authorization for inward processing releif, laid down by articles 5 to 8 of Council regulation (EEC) No 1999/85 on inward processing relief arrangements (OJ 1985 L 188, p. 1)   ---   THE COURT hereby   1.   Declares that, by authorizing the importation under inward processing relief arrangements of dairy products whose customs value was lower than the minimum prices set under the International Dairy Arrangement, approved on behalf of the Community by Council decision 80/271/EEC of 10 December 1979 concerning the conclusion of the Multilateral Agreements resulting from the 1973 to 1979 trade negotiations, the Federal Republic of Germany has failed to fulfil its obligations under article 6(1)(a) of Annex I and article 6(a) of Annexes II and III to that Arrangement, and under Council regulation (EEC) No 1999/85 of 16 July 1985 on inward processing arrangments;   2.   Dismisses the remainder of the application;   3.   Orders the Federal Republic of Germany to pay the costs. 
12506 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  Former SS major Karl Hass was questioned on Tuesday by an Italian military prosecutor at the clinic outside Rome where he is under house arrest.   Prosecutor Antonino Intelisano, met by television cameras as he entered the clinic, said he planned to ask Hass about the killing of Italian union leader Bruno Buozzi in June 1944 and what he knew about gold taken by the Nazis from the Bank of Italy during World War Two.   "The questioning will focus on Buozzi and the gold," Intelisano told television.   "He's already spoken about the Ardeatine Caves massacre."   Hass, 84, is recovering at the clinic in Grottaferrata from a broken pelvis he suffered when he fell from the first floor balcony of a Rome hotel in July.   Hass, who had been living in Switzerland, said he had been trying to avoid testifying at the war crimes trial of Erich Priebke, another SS officer based in Rome during the war.   A few days after the fall, Hass testified from his hospital bed at Priebke's trial, saying both men had participated in the Nazi massacre of 335 Italian men and boys at the Ardeatine Caves near Rome in March 1944.   A military court ruled on August 1 that Priebke, 83, was guilty of involvement in the massacre but ordered him freed because of a 30-year statute of limitations.   Priebke, however, was re-arrested immediately when Germany indicated it wanted to extradite him for a war crimes trial.   Germany has also sought the extradition of Hass.   Priebke, who was extradited to Rome from Argentina last November, is being held in a Rome jail while Italian courts decide his fate.   Buozzi, a celebrated member of the anti-fascist resistance, was shot dead by the Nazis along with 13 other resistance fighters on June 4, 1944, outside Rome as the Germans were fleeing the city.   He was 63.   Buozzi had been a Socialist member of the Italian parliament and fled to exile in France in 1926 before returning to Italy. 
12507 !C18 !C183 !CCAT !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Former conservative economy minister Stephanos Manos on Tuesday accuses Greece's ruling socialists of doubling the public debt and said privatisation should be a priority if his group wins elections this month.   Asked if he would be a minister again, he told Reuters Financial Television: "I don't know.   I left the economy ministry three years ago with a total debt of 19 trillion drachmas and now I would inherit 35 trillion.   I'm not looking forward to this situation."   In what came as a surprise, the conservative New Democracy party is running neck-and-neck with the socialists with just 12 days left until the vote.   When the socialists called a snap election they seemed to enjoy a clear lead.   Now conservative campaign promises on tax relief and support for farmers and small business, coupled with surprising strength by small leftist parties, are hurting the party of the green sun -- the socialist PASOK of Prime Minister Costas Simitis.   Manos said the dilemma facing voters boiled down to either more taxes or more privatisation.   "People are realising what the dilemma is in this election.   They have to choose between more taxes, the Simitis approach, or more privatisation which is what we're going to do," he said.   New Democracy wants to reduce the the state's role, its huge expenditures and debt mainly through privatisation.   "The main thrust once we're in government will be privatisation.   If we move early and decisively there will be no trouble with the labour unions," he told RFTV.   "I envision the economy will be bubbling if this takes place.   Large sectors are controlled monopolistically by the state: power, telecoms, transport, we will break it up," Manos said.   Manos, who as minister had battled Greece's double digit inflation, wanted to sell more of the state OTE telecoms and to develop private marinas to attract tourists.   "It's not difficult to cut the budget deficit.   You just need the will to do it," he said.   "That's the difference between us and the socialists.   They want to keep spending by raising taxes.   We say the emphasis should be on reducing the public sector, spending and bringing in competition."   Turning the sleepy campaign into a thriller, recent polls showed the socialists lost the initial advantage as both the conservatives and smaller leftist parties gained thanks to robust campaigning. 
12508 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Greece's smaller leftist parties are riding high in opinion polls and hurting the chances of the ruling socialists in this month's national election, political analysts said on Tuesday.   Prime Minister Costas Simitis' socialists are limping in the polls, with just 30 percent.   Traditional left-wing voters appear turned off by Simitis' constant warnings that he plans to impose further economic austerity.   "At the moment the socialists' biggest problem is the DHKKI party of former socialist finance minister Dimitris Tsovolas," said Christina Badouna, head of public opinion polls at the MRB market research company.   Tsovolas, a fiery populist speaker and one of Greece's most liked politicians, has siphoned off 11 percent of the vote which propelled the socialists into power in 1993, Badouna said.   Along with two other leftist parties which are putting up a solid showing -- the Leftist Coalition and the Communist Party -- crucial socialist votes are being bled away.   "The DHKKI party is the big unknown, the big "X" in the equation of this election," said Badouna.   Tsovolas's followers are drawn from grassroot populists who swore unwavering loyalty to late socialist party founder Andreas Papandreou after he set up a pervasive welfare state.   Opinion poll analysts said the question was whether Tsovolas would dig even deeper in to the vote of disgruntled socialists or whether his followers would go home to the socialist camp on voting day.   "For old-guard socialists who are dissatisfied with Simitis's stringent economic measures, Tsovolas is the natural place to go," said a Western diplomat who has been tracking the election.   Tsovolas dazzled many with his televised courtroom antics in 1991 when he was on trial before a special criminal court, along with Papandreou, in a $200-million bank scandal.   He was convicted and had his political rights suspended but his tough exchanges with the austere supreme court judges won him the admiration of many leftists, who saw the case as little more than a political show trial.   His impassioned defence may have also saved Papandreou, who refused to attend the trial but was acquitted in a slim vote.   Opinion polls show the Tsovolas party with as much as six percent of the vote, an exceptionally strong showing for a party formed on a shoe-string budget earlier this year.   Conservative party leader Miltiades Evert has already seized on Tsovolas's popularity, saying he was the real representative of the left and Simitis was little more than a neo-conservative.   Simitis, on the other hand, has tried to demonise Tsovolas and convince socialist voters that backing him or other smaller left-wing parties was in essence a vote for Evert.   "The choice in this election is between the left and the right.   Every vote for Mr Tsovolas helps the right," Simitis said this week, suddenly aware he may be more vulnerable to an attack from the left than the right.   Opinion poll analysts noted neither of the major parties was very popular, together pulling only about 60 percent of the vote in the opinion polls instead of their usual 80 percent.   "The two-party system is being put to the test," Badouna said, noting as many as four smaller parties could be voted into parliament this time.   Despite the sudden popularity of the smaller parties, most analysts said it was unlikely the election would result in a coalition government because Greece's voting law is designed to ensure single-party rule. 
12509 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !G155 !GCAT !GPOL  MEPs from the different EU member states are set to lock horns next week over the controversial subject of excise duties on tobacco, alcohol and fuel oils.   Current rates of duty vary widely between the member states, giving competitive advantages to some but provoking cries of market distortion and fraud from others.   Having failed to get European Union governments to agree to harmonise national excise duties as part of the internal market programme, the European Commission persuaded them to introduce minimum rates of duty on tobacco, alcohol and mineral oils from 1993.   The Commission's report on how the system has worked so far, the problems which have arisen and the broader question of whether excise duties should be brought more closely into line - COM(95)285 - is now before the European Parliament.   But just as the Commission has failed to make concrete proposals for improving the system at this stage, the parliament is having problems agreeing what the EU should now do.   This stems in part from the failure of the member states to agree on a definitive, EU-wide value added tax system.   "Revision of the rates structure is premature because it depends, directly or indirectly, on the establishment of a definitive system of VAT," an official working with the parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee (EMAC) told Reuters.   EMAC intends to quiz Internal Market Commissioner Mario Monti on this subject at a meeting in Strasbourg on Septmber 17.   But the structure of the taxation system itself is also causing MEPs to clash.   Tobacco products are subject to VAT and excise duties.   The latter is composed of an ad valorem element and a fixed element, which must together make up 57 percent minimum of the total tax.   According to a report by EMAC chairman Karl von Wogau, the differences in national VAT rates, currently ranging from 15 to 25 percent, and specific elements, which vary between 5 and 55 percent of total tax, threaten to distort competition.   It also leaves the system vulnerable to fraud and fragments the market, allowing cigarette manufacturers profitably to practice price discrimination, the report says.   MEPs from the southern member states, the EU's tobacco growers, argue that the 57 percent minimum rule has limited market distortion and should be maintained.   Northern deputies disagree and say the Commission should look into changing the system if it discovers there are serious distortions.   Another issue dividing MEPs is the difference in the tax treatment of cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco.   The majority of EMAC members support von Wogau's view that the current system, which benefits countries with low specific costs like the Netherlands, should be left alone.   But a number of Liberal and Green MEPs support high-specific-cost countries like Belgium in urging the Commission to propose increasing excise duties on hand-rolling tobacco to the same level as the duty on cigarettes.   This would have health benefits too, they argue.   The Commission itself has warned that hand-rolling tobacco presents even greater health risks than cigarettes because it is not subject to any tar and nicotine content restrictions and its lower price makes it an attractive alternative for young people.   As for alcoholic drinks, EMAC recognises that the huge differences in national excise duty rates on wine, beer and spirits have clearly distorted the internal market and led to greater smuggling, fraud and illicit production.   But MEPs are deeply divided over what to do.   Among the unresolved questions likely to be raised in next week's debate are whether wine should be treated for tax purposes as an agricultural or an industrial product and whether wine and beer should be taxed, like spirits, according to their percentage content of alcohol, a suggestion rejected by a majority of member states in 1992.   MEPs must also decide whether high excise duties on wine, while useful to combat over-production and alcohol abuse, are appropriate at a time when the sector is particularly exposed.   As a compromise they may recommend, if not convergence then at least an attempt to prevent a widening of the difference in rates on wine, beer and spirits.   The parliament is likely to throw the ball back into the Commission's court when it comes to mineral oils.   EMAC's report highlights three problems with the current wide difference in prices for motor and heating fuel oils.   The absence of taxation on natural gas and coal is distorting the internal market in heating fuel; the low cost of heating gas oil in Luxembourg and Belgium is diverting orders from France and Germany and leading to fraud; and cross-border shopping for low-cost petrol and diesel in Luxembourg is on the increase.   MEPs are likely to follow EMAC's line in not suggesting any solutions but simply urging the Commission to examine ways that excise duties can be used as fiscal intruments to encourage environmental protection, cleaner energy and transport, and a switch away from taxation on labour. 
12510 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  Investigators have not found any technical fault in a Russian passenger plane that crashed on a Norwegian Arctic island killing all 141 people on board, the Norwegian news agency NTB said on Tuesday.   It quoted Jon Pran, Norwegian head of investigation, as saying the human factor or a navigational error could have caused the disaster in which the TU-155 slammed into a mountain on Spitzbergen on August 29.   An initial study in Moscow of the flight and voice recorders showed the aircraft's engines, hulls and wings had functioned properly, he said.   "There was nothing to say about the aircraft," Pran said.   "It means we don't have to carry out a costly investigation of the whole plane."   He cautioned the findings were the result of an initial probe and that it was too early to conclude what caused the crash.   "However, the most probable cause of the accident was either the human factor or some error in the navigational equipment," he said.   "It is clear that the pilots were able to work right up until the moment the accident occurred."   NTB said a Norwegian specialist had returned from Moscow with the results of the examination of the flight recorder, which provides flight data, and the voice recorder, which tapes pilots' communications.   The boxes were found within days of the crash and flown to Moscow.   Norwegian experts, who will be reinforced later in the week by a Russian specialist on Tupolev flight instruments and navigation, will now compare the findings from Moscow with the results of the crash site investigation, NTB said.   The plane was flying miners, some with families, from Moscow to work when it crashed shortly before it was due to land at Norway's Longyear airport.   Norway governs Spitzbergen but shares the island's coal resources with Russia under a treaty dating back to 1925. 
12511 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GREL  Dozens of mostly leftist groups, planning a protest when Pope John Paul visits France this month, accused the Pontiff on Tuesday of moral intolerance and of trampling French laws separating church and state.   The 67 organisations, ranging from feminists to anarchists, aim to stage a rally against the Pope and the centre-right government in Paris on September 22, when the Pontiff will be in Reims in eastern France on the final day of a four-day trip.   "We're united under three causes -- respect for separation of church and state, refusal of public funding for pastoral aspects of the papal trip and rejection of a return to a moral order," Thierry Meyssan, a spokesman for the groups, told a news conference at the French Senate.   The Paris rally is the main protest planned against the Pope amid unprecedented controversy about the visit in France, long a faithful follower of Rome.   The rally, a secular alternative to the Pope sponsored by groups including anti-racism campaigners, feminists, masons and a police union, will mark the anniversary of the proclamation of the First Republic in September 1792.   The same day, the Pope will be in Reims to celebrate the 1,500th anniversary of the baptism of Clovis, the first pagan king in Western Europe to convert to Roman Catholicism and seen by some Roman Catholic traditionalists as the father of France.   The organisations accuse conservative President Jacques Chirac of being in league with the Pope to reassert the primacy of Catholicism, France's religion before the Revolution, in violation of a 1905 law separating church and state.   Mouloud Aounit, of the anti-racism group MRAP, said the government was trying to pander to radical Catholics and voters from the anti-immigrant National Front, which has adopted Clovis as a symbol.   The groups say that an estimated 30 million francs ($6.0 million) spent by the state on the visit would be better invested on jobs.   The Roman Catholic Church says France also paid for non-religious aspects of the Pope's previous four visits.   Leaders of a dozen or so of the 67 groups took turns to berate the Pope for his moral teachings against birth control, abortion and homosexuality.   "The Pope is on a crusade against the rights of women," said Maya Surduts, a spokeswoman for women's groups favouring abortion and contraception.   "This Pope has blood on his hands."   Bechir Chemla of the Gemini group for homosexuals said: "there's no sacrilege in two people loving each other if they are of the same sex."   An 18-year-old Ivorian student, identified as "Clovis" and who is seeking French residence papers, will be appearing on anti-racist posters in France as part of the anti-Pope campaign.   "My name's Clovis.   I'm 18 years old.   French history is also mine," the caption says under a photograph of Clovis Achi, who has lived for 12 years in France. 
12512 !E12 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT  Spain will not need any tax increases to whip its 1997 budget into shape for Europe's single currency, Economy Minister Rodrigo Rato said on Tuesday.   "There are no tax rises planned," Rato said in an interview with a Spanish radio station.   The government would meet its pledge to narrow the deficit and rein in budget expenditure "with good management", he added.   The four-month-old conservative Popular Party administration must present a draft 1997 budget to parliament by month's end and cabinet approval is expected on September 27.   It has pledged to put forward an austere package that will secure Spain's participation in the single currency launch, planned for 1999.   But it has so far given scant detail on how it will accomplish the task.   Like many of its European partners, Spain's toughest hurdle is narrowing its budget deficit to comply with single currency requirements of a three percent ratio to gross domestic product.   The government has pledged to reduce its deficit to the three percent threshhold next year from a projected 4.4 percent this year after around 6.6 percent in 1995.   It is counting on a nominal rise in 1997 tax receipts on the order of six percent with inflation seen at some 2.6 percent.   But even so, the government will need to slash almost 1 trillion pesetas ($7.9 billion) in expenditures to reach its deficit goal.   Rato acknowledged that this stringent budget was far from easy to put together and that discussions would likely continue right up to the deadline.   "(The) process of putting the budget together requires a final decision on measures," Rato said.   The budget process was "complicated", although he said that the ministries were following instructions to cut expenditures.   "Not only are the instructions perfectly clear, but the ministries share (these views)," Rato said.   Far from raising taxes in 1997, Rato said, income taxes would be deflated to take inflation into account.   Corporate tax rates and value-added tax rates will be held steady.   The government is counting on increased tax income principally from economic growth.   It projects, and many economists agree, that Spain will grow around three percent clip next year - outpacing many European partners.   The fight against fraud and improved management of the administration are also expected to help fill coffers.   But talk of various tax rises has leapt to newspaper front pages in recent days, as the public and financial market experts try to puzzle out the government's options.   Earlier this month, Rato denied that the government planned to introduce a motorway tax in the 1997 budget.   But on Tuesday, he refused to rule out the application of a fee on medical prescriptions.   "If a fee is applied, it won't be charged to the chronically ill and pensioners will have some benefits," Rato said.   ($1=126.7 Peseta) 
12513 !C12 !C13 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G157 !GCAT !GCRIM  The European Court of Justice ruled on Tuesday Britain's practice of applying different rules to domestic and non-domestic satellite broadcasters violated the Television without Frontiers directive.   The court found Britain's Broadcasting Act of 1990 (the "Act") incompatible with Community law as it gives Britain control over non-domestic satellite broadcasts which are properly within the jurisdiction of other member states.   Britain's act prohibits television programming in Britain, other than the BBC and the Welsh Authority unless authorized by or under a licence by the Independent Television Commission (ITC).   "A prior authorization or licensing system constitutes a serious obstacle to the free movement of broadcasts within the Community as provided for by the directive and has the effect of abolishing freedom to provide services," the court said.   The court found jurisdiction over broadcasts rests with the member state where the broadcaster is established, not where broadcasts are received.   ***   EXCERPTS FROM THE JUDGMENT   (Original language of the case: English)   10 September 1996   In Case C-222/94   Commission of the European Communities, applicant   supported by   French Republic, intervener   v   United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, defendant   application for a declaration that by failing to implement correctly Council directive 89/552/EEC of 3 October 1989 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulaiton or administrative action in member states concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities (OJ 1989L 298, p. 23), the United Kingdom has failed to fulfil its obligations under article 2(1) and (2) and article 3(2) of that directive   ---   THE COURT hereby   1.   Declares that, by adopting, with respect to satellite broadcasts, the criteria set forth in section 43 of the Broadcasting Act 1990 for the purpose of determining which satellite broadcasters fall under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom and, in the context of that jurisdicition, by applying different regimes to domestic satellite services and non-domestic satellite services, and by exercising control over broadcasts which are transmitted by broadcasters falling under the jurisdcition of other member states when these broadcasts are transmitted by a non-domestic satellite service or conveyed to the public as a licensable programme service, the United KIngdom has failed to fulfil its obligations udner article 2(1) and (2) and article 3(2) of Council directive 89/552/EEC of 3 October 1989 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in member states concerning the pusuit of televions broadcasting activities;   2.   Orders the United Kingdom to pay the costs;   3.   Orders the French Republic to pay its own costs. 
12514 !GCAT !GPOL !GREL  Northern separatist Umberto Bossi snubbed the world's media on Tuesday as the Roman Catholic Church joined a chorus of opposition to his bid to split Italy.   The firebrand leader of the Northern League failed to show up to a scheduled news conference at Rome's foreign press club, where some 200 journalists were expecting him to discuss his planned weekend declaration of independence.   Instead, he sent his chief lieutenant Roberto Maroni, who said Bossi was too busy with organisational matters to attend.   Bossi intends to proclaim a northern "republic of Padania" in Venice on Sunday as the climax to three days of demonstrations along Italy's river Po.   Maroni said the League expected more than 1.5 million people to attend.   The battery of opposition to the campaign was joined by the Roman Catholic Church on Monday night when the Archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, issued a pastoral letter calling for integration, not separation.   Martini, tipped in some religious circles as a possible future Pope, made no direct mention of the League but his intentions were clear.   He urged his flock to pay attention "to genuine historical and traditional values, such as those that gave the Italian nation moral, cultural and religious unity well before political unity was achieved."   Maroni, a former Italian interior minister, said the League would also set up a provisional government and declare a bill of rights for the "Peoples of Padania" on Sunday and expected full independence within a year.   He said the League's self-styled republic, which would cover the powerhouse areas of Italy's economy, was the forerunner of a federated Europe of regions.   "The birth of Padania is the avant garde, the ice-breaker of this process," Maroni said.   "It is irreversible".   He called for a revision of Europe's Maastricht Treaty "on the basis of the need to let regions, and not states, join the European Union".   The Northern League has built its support in the north on frustration with high taxes, central government bureaucracy and the slow pace of reform since the collapse of Italy's old political class in huge corruption scandals.   It won 3.7 million votes in last April's general election, polling 30 percent in some northern strongholds, but failed to secure the balance of power in parliament, a defeat Bossi's critics says explains his recent secessionist agenda.   Italy has been a unitary state only since 1870, until when it was a patchwork of statelets ruled by Popes, princes and foreign powers.   Maroni faced questions at the news conference over requests from the League to media organisations for payment for access to a special floating platform it will set up for television cameras in the Venice lagoon on Sunday.   The platform will offer the best shots of Bossi at his "independence" rally.   Maroni was heckled when he said he saw no reason to grant unpaid access to a "privileged position".   Sunday's demonstrations along the Po will be accompanied by a series of counter-rallies.   The League has said it will remain peaceful and Maroni said "provocateurs" should stay away.   "There will be so many of us that it will be easy to convince people who want to come and make trouble that it's not worth it," Maroni said. 
12515 !C13 !C21 !C31 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !G156 !GCAT !M14 !M143 !MCAT  Europe should adapt smoothly to "green" diesel unless the winter proves to be as harsh as last year, but Portugal and Greece may be relying more heavily on imports than they would like, analysts and traders say.   "The more mild the winter, the easier it'll be on everyone," said Peter Bogin of Cambridge Energy Research Associates, referring to plans for a European Union limit on sulphur in diesel fuel of 0.05 percent from October 1, compared to the current ceiling of 0.20 percent.   In the transition phase, some traders say the price of higher sulphur heating oil may rise on occasion as less will be produced.   Jet fuel, as a low sulphur blending option, has already become more expensive.   The difference between delivered jet fuel and gas oil cargoes in northwest Europe has surpassed $25 a tonne since mid-August, against a differential of $15-$20 last year.   "We have seen a rise in the jet kero price relative to gas oil, especially in the Med where there's less desulphurisation," said Cindy Poynter of oil analysts Bonner and Moore.   However, if the coming winter is as cold and prolonged as last year, price pressure on gas oil and jet fuel, also blended to improve diesel's cold properties, would be acute.   "Assuming normal (winter) weather conditions, it would just tighten the jet market.   Otherwise, it would really push up both jet kerosene and diesel," said Poynter.   Also, while analysts believe northwest European refineries are capable of producing sufficient low sulphur diesel, they have less confidence in refiners in the south, notably in Portugal and Greece.   "Portugal, for one, is a country which could well have a problem due to the fact that refineries are only putting desulphurisation units in now," said an analyst at Wood Mackenzie.   "The other country with a big question mark would be Greece, which had problems when we moved from 0.3 to 0.2 percent (sulphur)."   However, rumours that either Portugal or Greece will seek or be allowed a temporary reprieve seem unlikely to be true.   "The European Union has not received any request for a derogation and it seems there are unlikely to be any permission for a derogation.   The grounds are very clearly limited and based on a disruption of supply," said an EU official.   A recent report from Wood Mackenzie also questions Turkey's capacity to produce low sulphur diesel, not a requirement for its own market, but a necessity for countries still wishing to export finished diesel to the EU.   In northwest Europe at least, desulphurisation units have been in place for some time, in readiness for the switch.   Analysts expect service stations to have sufficient green diesel by the October 1 deadline.   "Our theory is that there's never a shortage of a mandated product," Bogin said.   The industry has had years to adapt and many refiners, most noticeably in Germany, have been producing the lower sulphur diesel a year in advance of EU enforcement.   "One of the fastest growing fuels, perhaps the only one showing real growth, is transport diesel, so refiners had to invest in the market," Bogin said. 
12516 !GCAT !GVIO  More than seven million pupils and students returned on Tuesday to schools in Algeria amid calls for reforms to cut the failure rate and influence of Islamic fundamentalists.   State-run media widely covered the start of the academic year, echoing government officials' comments privately that the numbers of children returning meant most of Algeria's 28 million people were ignoring Moslem guerrilla threats aimed at scaring students away to try to embarrass the authorities.   Dozens of teachers and students have been killed in the past three years by Moslem guerrillas who told them early last year to stay away, saying their schooling under Algeria's moderate secular rulers was an "obstacle in the way of holy war".   More than 850 schools have been destroyed in a Moslem guerrilla sabotage campaign which has cost the Algerian economy more than $2 billion in the past four years, the daily El Watan newspaper said on Tuesday.   Previous official figures had put the figure at 650 schools in a total of more than $2 billion which included factories and power lines.   Thousands of fathers and mothers braved rains and flooded school gates in the western town of Oran to accompany their children, the official Algerian news agency APS reported.   "It is the same ritual.   I made it a duty to come with my children to encourage them and show them that I'm standing by them each year," one man, named only as Mohamed, told APS.   State-radio reported similar scenes from several provinces across the North African country.   Algeria's main newspapers, however, called on the authorities to focus on reforming the education system from which they said as many as 300,000 students dropped out each year, swelling the ranks of the jobless.   More than half of Algeria's 2.1 million unemployed people were aged between 20 and 24 years, according to latest figures from the Algerian National Office of Statistics.   "What must be done when the three academic cycles give a 77.82 percent failure rate, meaning that some 300,000 students are excluded each year," asked the French language daily L'Authentique.   Liberte newspaper said the Algerian schooling system was so bad that it hardly needed a "law to prevent inroads into the classrooms from whatever side" -- a reference to the belief that Moslem militant teachers had infiltrated the schools in the 1980s to spread radical fundamentalist ideas.   Algeria erupted in civil strife in early 1992 when the authorities cancelled a general election in which radical fundamentalists had taken a commanding lead.   An estimated 50,000 people have been killed in Algeria since then in violence pitting government forces against Moslem guerrillas. 
12517 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  The lawyer for former Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti on Tuesday grilled the former Mafia boss who says Andreotti was behind the mob killing of a journalist in 1979.   Attorney Franco Coppi asked some 300 questions during the morning court session of Andreotti's trial when he cross-examined Tommaso Buscetta, Andreotti's main accuser.   Buscetta, the first leading Mafioso to turn state's evidence, testified for the prosecution on Monday.   He repeated allegations that mobsters shot dead a muck-raking journalist, Mino Pecorelli, in 1979 as a favour to Andreotti to halt exposure of damaging details about the leftist guerrilla kidnapping and murder of former premier Aldo Moro.   Andreotti, 77, a seven times prime minister, denies any involvement.   Coppi tried to discredit Buscetta by showing inconsistencies between his testimony on Monday and previous court appearances.   The lawyer also asked Buscetta why he waited until 1993, nine years after turning state's evidence, to accuse Andreotti of having links with the Mafia.   "There was a reason," Buscetta answered.   "I could not have spoken about this aspect then."   Buscetta testified on Monday that he had not revealed what he knew of links between the Mafia and politics until the recent demise of Andreotti's Christian Democrats in Italy's corruption scandals "because it wasn't my impression that the state wanted to fight organised crime".   Andreotti, who is also being tried separately in the Sicilian capital Palermo on charges of collusion with the Mafia, heard Buscetta testify against him in that case last January. 
12518 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  A Berlin court sentenced six former East German army generals to prison on Tuesday for ordering border guards to shoot refugees trying to escape into the West.   They were convicted of aiding murder.   It was the first time a court sent high-ranking East German officials to jail for killings on the Berlin Wall and former German border.   More than 800 people died on these Cold War-era barriers trying to flee the communist East.   The Berlin state court handed the six officers prison terms between three years and three months and more than six years for instructing guards along the Berlin Wall and the German-German border to use their weapons and mines to stop refugees.   Klaus-Dieter Baumgarten, the former East Germany deputy defence minister, received the longest prison sentence of six and a half years because he was directly implicated in the deaths of 11 people trying to escape into the West.   "This is a political verdict," Baumgarten said as he was being led out of the courtroom after the verdict was read.   He and four subordinate generals as well as the general in charge of border security were charged with 19 counts of manslaughter and attempted manslaughter between 1980 and 1989.   The prosecution said Baumgarten and his generals played a key part in securing and reinforcing East Germany's border with mine fields, automatic shooting devices and the shoot-to-kill order.   The defence said the proceedings were a violation of human rights, arguing that East Germany was exercising its right in international law to protect its sovereign borders and could not be accused in retrospect of wrongdoing.   Many other trials against political leaders, from Erich Honecker on down, were stopped or stalled because of defendants' ill-health and protracted legal challenges.   Dozens of low-ranking border guards have already been convicted of murder, but given suspended sentences.   Four of the generals accepted partial responsibility for killings at the Berlin Wall in a letter in 1991 to the Speaker of the German parliament, Rita Suessmuth, and asked for the border guards who fired the fatal shots to be let off.   "Baumgarten and the other defendants did not create or establish the East German border regime," said Judge Friedrich-Karl Foehring in handing out the sentences.   "But they supported the system in which they were very small cogs."   Outside the courtroom, friends and supporters of the generals protested the verdict.   "This was victors' justice," said one elderly Baumgarten supporter, referring to the belief among many old guard communists that the Bonn government is trying to persecute the leaders of East Germany.   They frequently cite remarks from former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who said that Chancellor Helmut Kohl had promised not to prosecute the leaders of East Germany.   "Kohl told Gorbachev that no-one from the east would be condemned," said the man.   "The verdict is a violation of that agreement." 
12519 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GDEF !GJOB !GVIO  Thousands of navy shipyard workers demonstrated in French ports on Tuesday against plans to axe jobs in sweeping reforms of the French defence and the arms industry.   No incidents were reported as protesters marched through Cherbourg on the Channel, the ports of Brest, Lorient and Nantes on the Atlantic and Toulon on the Mediterranean.   The protests were called by all main trade unions who fear major job cuts seriously hurting the ports.   Unions say the government plans to eliminate 1,700 of 4,150 jobs at Cherbourg and 2,000 of 6,000 at Brest.   The Brest shipyards have no orders for the years 1999 and 2000 after they deliver the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.   President Jacques Chirac has announced plans for a major streamlining of defence, aiming to peg spending at an annual 185 billion francs ($37 billion) in 1997-2002, about 20 billion francs ($4 billion) less than in 1994.   The Force Ouvriere (FO) trade union said the reforms, which Chirac says are essential after the end of the Cold War, were decided hastily.   It said the plans would hurt related industries and could turn into a disaster for the ports.   It urged members to join a major protest in Paris on September 21 against unemployment. 
12520 !C13 !C18 !C181 !C183 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G157 !GCAT  The European Commission said on Tuesday it was starting a routine probe into the acquisition of Britain's South Eastern Train Company Ltd by Compagnie Generale d'Entreprises Automobiles (CGEA), the transport subsidiary of France's powerful group Compagnie Generale des Eaux.   It said the operation apparently fell under the merger regulation 4064/89 which bans creation or strengthening of dominant positions.   In May, the Commission cleared under the same rules CGEA's purchase of Network SouthCentral Ltd, another British rail company, in the context of the privatisation of British Rail.   The Commission said at the time the acquisition did not pose any competition concerns because CGEA did not have any passenger transport business in Britain.   It has about a month to clear the second operation or start an in-depth four month probe. 
12521 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The United Nations said on Tuesday it was gearing up for a potential refugee crisis, as up to 75,000 Kurds headed for the Iranian border and an unknown number crossed over.   Iranian officials have assured Sadako Ogata, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, that its borders will stay open to those fleeing factional fighting in northern Iraq, according to UNHCR spokesman Rupert Colville.   But Iran -- already the world's largest refugee host country with more than two million mainly Afghan refugees -- has said it needs international aid to cope with any new Kurdish influx.   "It is a crisis, potentially.   The situation is very volatile," UNHCR spokesman Rupert Colville told Reuters.   Hundreds of thousands of residents of Sulaimaniya fled when Iraq's biggest Kurdish city fell on Monday to the Baghdad-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) guerrillas.   Most of the population, estimated to total between 700,000 and one million, appears to have gone to neighbouring villages or countryside, according to the UNHCR.   Colville told a news briefing after speaking by telephone to a UNHCR official in Sulaimaniya, "He believed that a total of between 70,000 and 75,000 people are heading for the border or are already at the border at Penjwin on the Iraqi side."   Between 10,000 and 20,000 were already in Penjwin, he said, adding: "From our office in Tehran, the first reports are coming of people actually coming into Iran, but we have no news on how many.   We hope to have firm information later today."   "Whether they will cross en masse remains to be seen."   Colville said: "Very large numbers of people have left Sulaimaniya.   Some people are talking about 80 per cent -- that would be several hundred thousand people.   KDP guerrillas sealed their grip on all three Kurdish provinces of Iraq nine days after they took Arbil from the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), in turn supported by Iran.   The Geneva-based UNHCR, which was the main U.N. relief agency during the civil war in Bosnia and is still assisting 1.6 million Rwandans who fled genocide, provides assistance to more than 27 million people worldwide.   Ogata discussed the Kurdish situation on Monday with Bozorgmehr Ziaran, deputy Iranian ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, according to Colville.   In 1991, more than one million Iraqis, most of them Kurds, fled to Iran when Baghdad crushed Kurdish and Shi'ite Moslem uprisings which erupted after Iraq's defeat in the Gulf War.   Most of the Kurds have since returned to northern Iraq.   Iran has said it is spending $2 million a day on refugees and has repeatedly complained of insufficient funds for the refugees channelled through the United Nations.   "Iran is already the world's biggest refugee host country, for which they get not terribly much credit," Colville said.   "In general, they have done a pretty good job." 
12522 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Finance Minister Sigbjoern (Corrects from Sibjoern) Johnsen said on Tuesday it was important for Norway to follow how EMU was developing, but he declined to speculate on any future relationship between the crown and the Euro.   Johnson, speaking to reporters after a meeting with Economic Affairs Commissioner Yves-Thibault de Silguy, said an important question for Norway would be what kind of relationship would be possible between Norway and the single currency.   "But that is a discussion which is at a very early stage," he said.   The issue was not raised during the meeting with de Silguy.   "There is no discussion (on that issue) here between Norway and the EU," Johnsen said.   He did not envisage any major problems for Norway because of monetary union but said a challenge would be how to continue Norway's monetary policy based on a stable crown.   "It is very early in the process but it is important for Norway to follow what happens here," he said.   Norway, which rejected membership of the EU in a 1994 referendum, has a managed float for the crown and seeks to maintain a stable exchange rate against European currencies.   De Silguy and Johnsen discussed the EU's preparations for monetary union, employment and other issues.   -- Brussels newsroom +32 2 287 68 11 
12523 !GCAT !GENV  Asian rhinos, whose horn is widely used in traditional oriental medicines, face extinction from heavily armed poachers who even use high tension power lines to electrocute them, conservationists said on Tuesday.   The Swiss-based World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) said in a new report that only two viable populations survived in India, while in Indonesia there were only between 250 and 450 of the animals left.   "The worse rhino crisis is now in Asia, where all three surviving species are endangered," an introduction to the report by the WWF's Elizabeth Kemf said.   In the past, environmentalists have seen African rhinos as facing the main threat to extinction.   Demand for the rhino's horn in traditional Chinese and Tibetan medicine is the single biggest threat to the beast's survival.   In India, the herd of greater one-horned rhino had been reduced to around 1,500 by an increase in activity by poachers who often kill the animals by electrocution, the report said.   Poachers dangled wires connected to high tension powerlines across rhino paths, but also used pit traps and shooting, the most common method of killing the animals.   At a separate WWF news conference in London, conservationist Vivek Menon said park guards were sent out with rusty old bolt action rifles and a handful of bullets and were no match for the better-equipped poachers.   "Anti-poaching must be a top priority," he told reporters.   "Manas national park has lost nine guards in the past couple of years who have been shot by poachers."   Calling on courts to hand out stiffer penalties to poachers, Menon said: "The arms and drugs mafia control the trade.   Wildlife is now the world's second largest illegal trade after drugs."   Although almost extinct by the turn of the century, rhino numbers had increased due to conservation policies but many had died since the 1980s.   Illegal killing accelerated in the early 1990s, leading to a loss of 14 per cent in the total population between 1990 and 1993.   Another five per cent were estimated to have been lost in 1994/95, according to the report.   In Indonesia, the report said, the Sumatra rhino was declining despite increased protection.   "The Indonesian government itself says illegal killing of the rhino is Sumatra is "uncontrollable' and "overwhelming'," Kemf said. 
12524 !GCAT !GPRO !GREL  The Vatican denied on Tuesday that Pope John Paul was about to enter hospital but did not comment on a French newspaper report suggesting he has Parkinson's disease, a disabling nervous disorder.   The Pope has a trembling left hand which has fuelled speculation that he may have developed the chronic illness.   Now 76, he looked extremely fatigued during his trip to Hungary last weekend, sparking fresh concern for the health of the leader of the world's Roman Catholics.   "There are no plans for the Pope to enter hospital," chief Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said, responding to an Italian report that the Polish-born Pope would have hosspital checks in Rome after a September 19-22 visit to France.   The report was followed by a flood of rumours that the Pope would enter hospital on Tuesday or Wednesday.   The rumours also said the Pope would not hold his weekly general audience.   The Vatican said the audience would go ahead as scheduled on Wednesday and workmen were preparing St Peter's Square for the event, which usually attracts tens of thousands of people.   The Pope also received 10 Indonesian bishops at his summer residence south of Rome on Tuesday, the Vatican said.   Navarro-Valls, himself a trained doctor, told reporters in Hungary on Saturday that the Pope had suffered from an intestinal infection that caused a fever twice this year and which tests so far had failed to pinpoint.   The Pope had major abdominal surgery in 1981 after an assassination attempt and in 1992 to remove a colon tumour.   In both cases surgeons removed tracts of his intestine.   Navarro-Valls said in Hungary there was a possibility that the Pope could eventually undergo a laparoscopy, an examination of the abdominal structure in which an illuminated viewing tube is inserted through a small incision.   The spokesman's unusually frank discussion in Hungary may have signalled a cautious start to an era of openness at the Vatican about what ails the Pontiff.   More often than not, the history-making Pope appears fatigued and sometimes clearly in discomfort during appearances.   The Vatican has never fully explained the violent trembling in the Pope's left hand and a sometimes drooping right eyelid.   In the past, the Vatican has said this was probably caused by nerve damage suffered in the 1981 shooting.   But recently Navarro-Valls has begun suggesting to reporters that one possible explanation of the of Pope's trembling left hand was an "extrapyramidal" disorder.   Extrapyramidal refers to that part of the human central nervous system situated outside the pyramidal tract in the brain stem.   The pyramidal tract is a a bundle of motor nerve fibres.   Doctors says Parkinson's disease -- manifested by trembling and muscle rigidity and which can affect speech and facial expressions -- is one type of an extrapyramidal illness.   Navarro-Valls said in Hungary that while the intestinal problem might recur, it was not degenerative and there were no signs of a return of the intestinal tumour removed in 1992. 
12525 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  The U.N. criminal tribunal for former Yugoslavia on Tuesday resumed the war crimes trial of Bosnian Serb Dusan "Dusko" Tadic after a three-week recess.   Tadic, a former reserve policeman, denies allegations that he went through Serb-run detention camps in northwestern Bosnia in 1992, killing, raping and torturing Moslem prisoners at will.   The trial, which began in early May, adjourned in August as the prosecution wound up its case after calling 75 witnesses.   Judges on Tuesday heard arguments in a defence motion that the bulk of the charges against Tadic be dropped because evidence was inconsistent and some witnesses were unreliable.   Michail Wladimiroff, a leading Dutch criminal lawyer defending Tadic, told the court there had been discrepancies between what some witnesses told investigators in statements and what they told the court under oath.   Responding, Grant Niemann for the prosecution said the judges had enough evidence to continue with the trial whether or not some details of evidence had been unsatisfactory.   Presiding judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald told both sides the three-judge panel would deliver its decision on the motion as soon as possible.   Should the judges support the motion in full, Tadic would still face charges relating to persecution, beatings and the killing of various men in the villages of Jaskici and Sivici.   Some of the more gruesome charges, including one of forcing a prisoner to sexually mutilate another, would be dropped.   Wladimiroff said he would be calling his first defence witness on Tuesday, adding it would be an expert witness.   He told the court his planned programme for calling alibi witnesses would be disrupted by Bosnia's first postwar elections this weekend, adding that further expert witnesses could be delayed because of other commitments.   Tadic, held at the tribunal's Hague detention centre, is one of seven warcrimes suspects in Tribunal custody.   So far the tribunal has indicted 75 suspects -- 54 Serbs, 18 Croats and three Moslems. 
12526 !C18 !C181 !C183 !CCAT !G15 !G157 !GCAT  The European Commission said on Tuesday it was starting a routine probe into the acquisition of Britain's South Eastern Train Company Ltd by Compagnie Generale d'Entreprises Automobiles (CGEA), the transport subsidiary of France's powerful group CGE.   It said the operation apparently fell under the European Union's merger rules which ban creation or strengthening of dominant positions.   In May, the EU cleared under the same rules CGEA's purchase of Network SouthCentral Ltd, another British rail company, in the context of the privatisation of British Rail.   The Commission said at the time the acquisition did not pose any competition concerns because CGEA did not have any passenger transport business in Britain.   It has about a month to clear the second operation or start an in-depth four month probe.   -- Brussels newsroom 322 2876841 
12527 !GCAT !GCRIM  Swiss police are baffled by a sex maniac who cuts the pyjamas and underwear off sleeping girls in a Swiss holiday camp and vanishes without injuring his victims.   The mystery intruder struck again last week for the fifth time in three months at the camp in Fiesch, in the southern canton of Valais.   None of the 10 children involved was hurt or sexually assaulted.   He sneaked into two pavilions at the camp where 13- and 14-year-old Swiss girls were sleeping.   "Preliminary investigations found the perpetrator cut open five children's pyjamas and underwear," a police statement said.   "One girl awoke, at which point the perpetrator was able to flee the room without being identified."   Police said four similar cases involving Belgian schoolgirls occurred at the camp in July and August.   "The investigation has not produced any concrete success," it said. 
12528 !G15 !GCAT  Following are highlights of the midday briefing by the European Commission on Tuesday:   Spokesman Jean Christophe Filori said that following several poisoning cases linked to the Italian cheese mascarpone, Italy had used the EU's rapid alert system to contact all member states.   All suspect mascarpone supplies should by now have been taken out of the market in all member states, he said.   A Commission official has gone to Italy to prepare a report to make sure all the necessary measures have been taken to avoid additional poisonings, Filori added.   He also said there had been four cases from the Court of Justice, including one finding violations by Britain and Belgium of the TV without Frontiers Directive (89/552/EEC), and one concerning Turkish immigrants in the Netherlands.   Spokesman Josep Coll i Carbo said a meeting was taking place at expert level on the protection of culture and patrimony, within the framework of the EU-Mediterranean partnership (MEDA).   Journalists were welcome to meet representatives of member states and third countries at 1700/1500 GMT in the Borschette centre.   Asked about a complaint of alleged copyright pirating in Luxembourg by the music association IFPI, spokeswoman Elisabetta Olivi said it had been filed by the Commission which will examine the issue.   Spokesman Joao Vale de Almeida said he would answer questions on the visit of Swaziland's prime minister from 1500/1300 GMT in his office or by phone.   Vale de Almeida confirmed that a report on public services was on the provisional agenda of Wednesday's Commission meeting.   - - - -   The Commission released the following documents:   - IP/96/825: Exposure to asbestos at work: EU legislation remains adequate.   - Memo/96/84: Euro-Mediterranean partnership: Implementation of the multilateral aspects of the Barcelona Declaration.   - Speech/96/205: Speech by Commissioner Martin Bangemann at the Baltic Sea Conference on "Cooperation of Maritime Industries in the Baltic Sea".   - ME96/10.9: Midday express 
12529 !C17 !CCAT !G15 !G157 !GCAT  Competition Commissioner Karel Van Miert said on Tuesday he would propose an extension of the terms of a 1993 agreement with Italian industrial holding IRI on reducing the holding's debt.   Under a 1993 agreement between Italy and the European Commission, IRI must cut its debt to below 5.0 trillion lire ($3.3 billion) by the end of 1996 with the possibility of an extension if justified by the market situation.   IRI's net debt at the end of 1995 was 22.456 trillion lire ($14.8 billion) and it looks highly unlikely to meet the deadline due to hitches in Italy's privatisation programme, particularly concerning state telecoms holding Stet.   Van Miert, after meeting Treasury Minister Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, told reporters: "The meeting with minister Ciampi has been very satisfying because he showed himself to be very determined to act in a way that respects the accord particularly regarding the privatisations of Stet and Autostrade."   He said Ciampi would put that commitment into writing for the Commission "and in this way I can propose to my colleagues a limited extension of the period."   An Italian Treasury source said Van Miert had been assured of the timetable and ways in which Stet and motorway tolls company Autostrade would be sold off.   Privatisation of Stet, of whose ordinary stock IRI holds 47 percent, is now slated for February or March next year but the government has yet to get legislation establishing a regulator for the telecoms sector through parliament.   Van Miert told reporters in order to assess the length of an extension it was necessary to take account of the government's determination to start Stet's privatisation by March 1997.   But he said any extension must be limited, saying: "We must fix a limit, the shortest possible."   Van Miert was also meeting Industry Minister Pierluigi Bersani on Tuesday and was scheduled to meet Prime Minister Romano Prodi later.   The Commissioner had also discussed a government rescue package for debt ridden Banco di Napoli with Ciampi and said here too he was very satisfied with the assurances he had been given.   "Certainly, the work is only just starting and ways of sorting out the bank's assets will have to be assessed," he said.   $1=1515 lire 
12530 !C12 !C31 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G151 !G157 !GCAT !GCRIM  The European Court of Justice ruled on on Tuesday that Belgium has failed to comply fully with the Television without Frontiers directive.   When Belgium required broadcasters to seek prior authorization before retransmitting cable television broadcasts from other member states to the French and Dutch-speaking areas of Belgium, it failed to ensure the free movement of television broadcasts in the Community, the court said.   The directive requires broadcasters to comply with a harmonised system of protection for minors, sponsorship rules and distribution systems.   "As a result of this harmonisation, all that is needed in order to ensure freedom of reception in any member state's territory is for broadcasts to comply with the law applicable in a single member state," the court said.   The court found the member state with jurisdiction to enforce compliance over broadcasters is the state where the broadcaster is established, not where transmission occurs.   "Monitoring the application of the laws of the originating member state applicable to televison broadcasts and monitoring compliance with the provisions of the directive is a matter only for the member state from which the broadcasts emanate and the receiving member state may not exercise its own control in this regard," the court said.   The court distinguished Community law from the Council of Europe Convention on Transfrontier Television and acknowledged the primacy of Community law.   The Convention places compliance jurisdiction on the place of transmission, not establishment.   ***   EXCERPTS FROM THE JUDGMENT   (Court translation into English.   Original language of the case: French)   10 September 1996   In Case C-11/95   "Directive 89/552/EEC - Transmission of programmes by cable"   Commission of the European Communities, applicant   v   Kingdom of Belgium   application for a declaration that the Kingdom of Belgium has failed to fulfil its obligations under Council directive 89/552/EEC of 3 October 1989 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in member states concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities (OJ 1989 L 298, p. 23), in particular artices 2, 14 and 15 thereof.   THE COURT hereby   1.   Declares that the Kingdom of Belgium has failed to fulfil its obligations under Council directive 89/552/EEC of 3 October 1989 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in member states concerning the pursuit of television braodcasting activities, in particular articles 2, 14 and 15 thereof,   - as regards the French Community, by maintaining, in the French-speaking region, a system of prior authorization for the retransmission by cable of television broadcasts emanating from member states;   - as regards the French Community, by maintaining, in the French-speaking region, a system of express, conditional prior authorization for the retransmission by cable of television broadcasts emanating from other member states which contain commercial advertising or teleshopping programmes especially intended for viewers in the French community;   - as regards the Flemish community, by maintaining, in the Dutch-speaking region,a system of prior authroization for the retransmission by cable of television broadcasts emanating from other member states;   - as regards the bilingual Metropolitan Region of Brussels, by failing to adopt the laws, regulations and administrative measures necessary to comply with article 2(2) of directive 89/552;   - as regards the French Community, by failing to adopt the laws, regulations and administrative measures necessary to comply fuly with articles 14 and 15 of directive 89/552;   2.   Dismisses the remainder of the application;   3.   Orders the Kingdom of Beligum to pay the costs. 
12531 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  France, which walked out of NATO's military wing in 1966, hopes to return to full integration in a reformed Western defence alliance soon, Prime Minister Alain Juppe said on Tuesday.   He set no date but linked Paris's full participation to the implementation of plans to create a European defence identity within the Atlantic Alliance expected to be crowned by a NATO summit early next year.   Speaking to France's Institute for Higher National Defence Studies, Juppe said: "One of our main objectives was to achieve a better sharing of responsibility between Europe and the United States.   "I have high hopes that it will soon be achieved in practice, which would open the way for France to participate fully and completely in the structures of a renewed Alliance."   He said the official recognition of a European defence identity by NATO foreign ministers in Berlin last June would be translated into practice by reforming the alliance's military organisation in the coming months.   "When that becomes a reality, European countries will be in a position to use NATO resources for operations decided by and conducted under the authority of the Western European Union," he said, referring to a 10-nation European defence grouping.   President Jacques Chirac took the first step last year, agreeing to allow France's defence minister and chief of staff to attend NATO meetings for the first time in three decades.   Paris said at the time there was no question of returning to the alliance's U.S.-dominated integrated military command.   However, diplomats say France has since been discreetly negotiating with Washington, Britain and Germany its return to the military structure as part of a fundamental shake-up of NATO's command structure to reflect the end of the Cold War and the change in the nature of the threat.   They said the most contentious issue was the role of the American supreme allied commander in Europe (SACEUR) if European allies conducted their own operations without U.S. troops.   The French want the Europeans to take command of NATO assets such as airlift, airborne surveillance and infrastructure once the North Atlantic Council had approved a mission.   Washington, backed by Germany, argues that SACEUR must retain control, saying Congress would never agree to hand over U.S. military assets that were not under American command. 
12532 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  International peacekeeping troops should remain in former Yugoslavia until October 1997 and could have a German chief-of-staff (corrects from "could be led by a German"), Defence Minister Volker Ruehe said in an interview published on Tuesday.   Ruehe's remarks to the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung were the latest sign he wants Germany to be a full partner in multinational missions after decades of avoiding military involvement abroad.   He said it was possible a German officer would head the commander's staff in the renewed IFOR Bosnia mission after the current mandate expires at the end of this year The chief-of-staff ranks after the mission commander and deputy commander in seniority.   (Corrects to make clear that German officer could be chief-of-staff, not commander of the IFOR mission).   Ruehe said an extended international peacekeeping mandate was essential to establish military equilibrium in the region between former warring factions.   Ruehe, who has spoken several times about extending an IFOR mandate, ruled out a stay of more than another year in the interview conducted on Monday.   Other NATO members have kept quiet on the subject and Washington has refused to comment until after U.S. elections on November 5.   About 50,000 troops from 34 countries under American leadership are deployed in Bosnia to help implement the Dayton peace accord which ended 43 months of war last December.   IFOR's mandate runs out in December but plans are already under way to begin pulling out after Bosnian elections and there is much speculation over whether some form of security force should remain after the official IFOR pull-out.   Last month Ruehe suggested Germany should no longer play a special role to make allowances for its wartime past, but simply take a full part alongside its military partners.   Germany's current participation in the NATO-led IFOR peacekeeping force would itself have been unthinkable before unification, when the country began to shed its post-war qualms about sending troops abroad on any mission.   Now its soldiers provide medical and logistics support for IFOR in an area which was occupied by the Nazis over half a century ago.   But they remain based in Croatia rather than Bosnia to avoid rekindling old enmities with the Serbs. 
12533 !GCAT !GPOL  Spain's embattled Defence Minister Eduardo Serra acknowledged on Tuesday making hundreds of calls recommending acquaintances for public contracts, in a deepening row over graft charges.   The new conservative government sought to distance itself from Serra, defending himself from press accusations of corruption for a second day.   He made the statement in a radio interview.   An independent, he owes his post to King Juan Carlos according to local media.   He was state secretary for defence under the previous Socialist administration.   The newspaper El Mundo on Monday quoted court documents as showing that Serra was a top executive of major construction company Cubiertas when it paid more than $1 million in bribes in return for contracts from then-Civil Guard chief Luis Roldan.   He denied involvement.   Serra said he could not rule out having interceded on behalf of a brother-in-law for a contract from the paramilitary Civil Guard, as charged on Tuesday by the daily.   "Frankly, I don't know if I ever made such a request in a telephone call," Serra said.   "It's possible."   "As you know, one makes hundreds of calls on behalf of someone else...even if it was true, it would only be a run-of-the-mill recommendation like the ones you do by the hundreds," he added.   The government of conservative Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar reacted with cool detachment to the latest accusation.   His administration took office in May on a clean-hands platform after lambasting the Socialists for countless corruption scandals.   Finance Minister Rodrigo Rato, ranked third in the cabinet, withheld absolute support when asked in another radio interview whether he would vouch for Serra.   "I'm sure he will provide clear explanations," Rato said.   Luis Ramallo, a congressman for Aznar's Popular Party, said Serra would have to go if the accusations were true.   Serra has been in the spotlight for weeks for a reported tug-of-war with Deputy Prime Minister Francisco Alvarez Cascos over control of Spain's intelligence services.   He was also criticised as one of the key movers in the new government's surprise decision to turn down court requests to declassify files on a 1980s "dirty war" on Basque ETA rebels.   Serra said persistent attacks on him by El Mundo might be linked to "something I've done" -- an apparent reference to his role in the cabinet's refusal to declassify the files on the "dirty war" on Basque rebels.   The 1983-87 campaign of bombings, kidnappings, torture and murder killed 27 people, one-third of them by mistake.   On Tuesday, El Mundo said that in 1986 Serra telephoned then-Civil Guard director Roldan, now on trial for massive embezzlement, to recommend his ex-brother-in-law for a public works contract.   Serra, who denied on Monday having had any contact with Roldan other than perhaps at official receptions, said on Tuesday that even having made that call would not invalidate his earlier denial of links to Roldan.   "Making a telephone call doesn't count as a relationship anywhere in the world," he said.   Aznar and his centre-right Popular Party took office in May after early elections forced on his Socialist predecessor Felipe Gonzalez by mounting corruption scandals and revelations on the "dirty war" against ETA (Basque Homeland and Freedom) rebels. 
12534 !GCAT  These are leading stories in afternoon daily Le Monde.   FRONT PAGE   -- Conservative senator Philippe Marini calls for a reform of corporate law including a new definition for misuse of corporate funds.   BUSINESS PAGES   -- Prime Minister Alain Juppe favours more flexible approach to private pension funds to allow people to choose to take their money in annuities or in a lump sum.   -- Defense Minister Charles Millon to present new status of arms procurement agency tomorrow.   Agency should operate like a civilian company, seek cost cutting.   -- Biotechnology firm LFB and U.S. Baxter sign agreement to produce therapeutic hemoglobin jointly in France.   -- Paris Newsroom +33 1 42 21 53 81 
12535 !GCAT !GPRO !GREL  The Vatican, responding to a flurry of rumours and reports about Pope John Paul's health, said on Tuesday there were no plans for him to be hospitalised.   "There are no plans for the Pope to enter hospital," chief Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said.   He was responding to an Italian newspaper report that said the 76-year-old Pope would enter hospital in Rome for checks after he returns from a September 19-22 trip to France.   The Polish Pontiff looked extremely fatigued during his trip to Hungary last weekend.   The spokesman was also responding to rumours among reporters that the Pope would enter hospital on Tuesday or Wednesday.   The rumours also said the Pope would not hold his weekly general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday morning.   But the Vatican said it would go ahead as scheduled and workmen were preparing St Peter's Square for the audience, which usually attracts tens of thousands of people.   Navarro-Valls, himself a trained doctor, told reporters in Hungary on Saturday that the Pope had suffered from an intestinal infection that caused a fever twice this year and which tests so far had failed to pinpoint.   He said that, while the problem might recur, it was not degenerative and there were no signs of a return of an intestinal tumour removed in 1992.   Navarro-Valls said one explanation for the infection was that it may be caused by adhesions in the intestine.   Adhesion, or the joining of normally separate tissues, occurs between loops of intestine in people who have undergone abdominal surgery.   The Pope had major abdominal surgery in 1981 after an assassination attempt and in 1992 to remove the colon tumour.   In both cases surgeons removed tracts of his intestine. 
12536 !GCAT !GCRIM  Police ended a series of raids on homes and offices around the city of Charleroi early on Tuesday in connection with investigations into Belgium's scandal of child abductions, sexual abuse, murder and car theft.   Radio said a total of 15 houses and offices were searched over a 12-hour period, including an office occupied by the city's judicial police, and 23 people were questioned.   Eight of these were members of the judicial police, three were gendarmes and six were related to chief detective Georges Zicot who was arrested two weeks ago during investigations into the paedophile porn and car theft gang led by Marc Dutroux.   There was no immediate confirmation because all the main figures in the scandal that has shaken the country to the core and raised serious questions about the judicial system were either out continuing investigations or in court.   Zicot appeared in court in Liege on Tuesday morning to formally appeal against the charges he faces of car theft, insurance fraud and forgery.   Two others, insurance fraud investigator Thierry Dehaan and car lot owner Gerrard Pinon who have also been charged in connection with car theft, were in court alongside Zicot.   Meanwhile in Neufchateau, the nerve centre of the international paedophile porn hunt, Annie Bouty was appearing in court to have the charges against her of criminal association confirmed.   Bouty, a disbarred lawyer, is the former companion of Jean-Michel Nihoul a Brussels businessman who has also been charged with criminal association in relation with the sex abuse and pornorgaphy side of the investigations.   To date police have rescued two young girls kidnapped by Dutroux and his accomplice Michel Lelievre, and unearthed the bodies of four more as well as that of an accomplice, Bernard Weinstein, whom Dutroux admits killing.   Dutroux, Lelievre, Nihoul and Dutroux' second wife Michelle Martin -- charged as an accomplice -- are due to have the charges against them renewed on Friday September 13 -- a formality that has to take place every four weeks. 
12537 !C11 !C24 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Close to a hundred Norwegian savings banks will go out of business by the year 2007 because of tough competition and new technology, the Finansforbundet banking union said in a forecast published on Tuesday.   But commercials banks will probably hold their ground save for minor contractions, according to the report, which was quoted in daily Aftenposten.   New technology such as telephone and personal computer banking services will rationalise the sector and force branches to be shut down, the report said.   "Traditional players will also be facing tough competition from Norwegian and foreign companies," it said.   "The number of independent savings banks will fall from about 130 to below 40."   It predicted staff in savings and commercial banks would be cut to about 16,000 in 2007 from 23,000 today.   Einar Forsbak, managing director of the Sparebankforeningen employers association, told Aftenposten the projected staff cuts appeared to be realistic given current developments.   Norwegian banks, while adjusting to new technology, are feeling the pinch from tight interest margins which are hurting core business.   But Forsbak suggested the forecast drastic reduction in the number of independent savings banks sounded speculative.   "I take note of the fact that the players themselves underline the need to stay independent," he was quoted as saying.   --Rolf Soderlind, Oslo newsroom +47 22 42 50 41 
12538 !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GDIP  French President Jacques Chirac will declare strong support for Poland's top foreign policy goals -- rapid entry into the European Union and NATO -- when he pays a state visit to Warsaw from Wednesday.   On his first trip to one of the former communist countries of central Europe, he will call for Poland to join the 15-nation EU by the year 2000 and to start talks on membership of the Atlantic defence alliance next year, informed sources said.   "Poland is indisputably a quality candidate, given the considerable work that has already been achieved by this country.   One can aim for a horizon of a few years," Chirac's spokeswoman Catherine Colonna told reporters.   During the three-day visit, Chirac will meet President Aleksander Kwasniewski, Prime Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, ex-president Lech Walesa and Roman Catholic primate Cardinal Jozef Glemp as well as visiting the former Nazi extermination camp at Auschwitz with French and Polish high school students.   In a major policy speech to the Polish parliament on Thursday, he will seek to lay to rest the widely-held view of France as reluctant to open the gates of wealthy Western Europe to the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe.   That image was born in 1991 when his Socialist predecessor, Francois Mitterrand, said after the collapse of communism that it would be "decades" before those countries joined the EU.   It has been compounded by France's effort to limit the import of industrial and agricultural goods from the east.   Even enthusiastic Brussels officials say 2002 is the earliest realistic date for the first east Europeans to join, given the time required for negotiation and ratification.   But Chirac aides say there is no reason why Poland cannot join sooner with a long transition before it fully enters the single trade market and the common agricultural policy.   They cite the admission of Spain and Portugal as precedents.   Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Robert Mroziewicz told parliament last week the French approach thus far was "cautious, which does not mean negative".   "We will try to persuade the French that Poland is their most important partner to the east of Germany," he said.   Colonna stressed the importance which Paris attached to Poland, a nation of nearly 40 million with historic ties to the French, overshadowed in recent years by its booming economic relationship with neighbouring giant Germany.   "Democratic Poland, which has chosen the market economy, will be one of the major countries of tomorrow's Europe," she said, summing up the strategic purpose of Chirac's trip.   In a hint that the Poles need close ties with France partly to offset German power, Colonna said the two countries had a deep friendship "undamaged by the accidents of this century", and most recently illustrated by French support for guaranteeing Poland's borders when Germany was unified in 1990.   Chirac is expected to renew a call endorsed by the United States last week for a summit early next year of the 16 NATO nations, central European candidate states and east European partners, including Russia, to provide a pan-European security framework to accompany NATO's enlargement.   Economically, France has been slow to get its foot in the door and Chirac hopes to boost both trade and French investment in Poland's fast growing economy.   Bonn accounts for about 38 percent of Polish trade and France comes a distant fourth behind Germany, Italy, Russia and Britain.   Chirac is taking along half a dozen industrialists including Jean-Luc Lagardere, whose's Matra-Hachette conglomerate is bidding for Poland's state-owned Ruch SA news-stand chain, and Jerome Monod, head of utilities giant Lyonnaise des Eaux, a specialist in public works and privatised municipal services.   He will be accompanied by the French foreign, interior, trade and industry ministers. 
12539 !E21 !E211 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  German Finance Minister Theo Waigel said he was determined to stick to his 1997 budget plans in spite of problems in the labour market.   "We will stick to the key figures of the 1997 budget despite the risks from the labour market," Waigel told parliament.   Waigel plans to reduce federal outlays to 440 billion marks next year from a planned 451 billion this year.   He aims for a federal deficit of 56.5 billion marks.   --Bonn newsroom, 49 228 26097150 
12540 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Madagascar's impeached former president Albert Zafy has said he will run in the forthcoming presidential election.   "I am determined to run, and no-one can prevent me from it," he said in an interview published on Tuesday by the French daily Liberation.   Zafy, 69, was impeached last week for violating the constitution.   He was replaced by interim president Norbert Ratsirahonana until the election due within two months.   Parliament had invoked what it said were Zafy's repeated violations of the constitution and accused him of acting against the interests of the people.   The crisis was a result of growing opposition to Zafy, who won Madagascar's multi-party elections in 1993, defeating former military ruler Didier Ratsiraka after 17 years in power.   Democracy brought no improvement in the material lives of the 14 million islanders, among the poorest people on earth.   Zafy said he expected to go through a first ballot and face Ratsiraka in a run-off.   Zafy said all democrats on the Indian Ocean island opposed a return of Ratsiraka, and he expected most of them would back him.   "The bulk of them will follow me," he said.   Ratsiraka lives in exile in Paris. 
12541 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Up to 75,000 Kurds are believed to be heading for the Iranian border and Tehran has told the U.N. refugee agency that its borders were open to those fleeing factional fighting in northern Iraq, an agency spokesman said.   Rupert Colville, spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told a briefing that 80 per cent of the population of Sulaimaniya, Iraq's biggest Kurdish city, may have left the city which fell to a Baghdad-backed militia on Monday.    Colville, who earlier spoke by telephone with an unnamed UNHCR official in Sulaimaniya, said: "He believed that a total of between 70,000 and 75,000 people are heading for the border or are already at the border at Panjwin, on the Iraqi side.   "Very large numbers have left Sulaimaniya.   Some people are talking about 80 per cent -- that would be several hundred thousand people," the UNHCR spokesman added.   "Whether they will cross en masse remains to be seen," Colville said.   Sadako Ogata, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, has had "positive talks" with senior Iranian diplomats in Geneva who said that "if people really need to cross they could", according to the spokesman.   Similar assurances were given UNHCR by the refugee ministry in Tehran. 
12542 !C13 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !GHEA  European Union veterinary officials started a regular two-day meeting on Tuesday to discuss the latest data on mad cow disease and a long list of animal health issues.   EU officials said that with more than thirty points on the agenda, mad cow disease, known as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), would not be discussed until Wednesday.   "No decisions or conclusions are expected on BSE," a European Commission spokesman said.   The EU's Standing Veterinary Committee was due to discuss a recent British study which found that BSE could be passed to calves and what impact this would have on selective slaughter programmes and the safety of milk.   The study raised the possibility that more animals would have to be slaughtered to stamp out BSE even though it found that only one percent of British cows passed on the disease to their calves.   Independent veterinary scientists, who discussed maternal transmission of BSE on Friday, said they would examine the issues further.   But a Commission spokesman said the general view was that BSE was transmitted through the placenta and milk was safe.   The veterinary officials will also discuss reports on the Commission's latest BSE inspection visits to Britain and Portugal as well as a French plan to eradicate the disease.   Measures to stop the fatal brain wasting disease spreading to sheep will also be considered.   On Friday, veterinary scientists rejected a proposal from Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler for EU-wide action after laboratory tests in Britain and France found that sheep could catch the disease.   Fischler proposed that suspect tissue, such as sheep brains and spinal cords, should be removed from lamb and mutton but countries which had escaped BSE said such costly EU action was unnecessary given the low disease risk. 
12543 !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   - Malta enthusiastic for single European currency.   - Minister rebuts opposition Labour Party claims on commitment to fight drugs.   Home Affaires Minister Tonio Borg says 514 drug-related arrests were made so far this year.   IN-NAZZJON   - Government against legalising drugs.   L-ORIZZONT   - Opposition finance spokesman Lino Spiteri says Labour Party, once elected, will not introduce new taxes to replace VAT. 
12544 !GCAT  Headlines from major national newspapers.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   EL PAIS   - Public prosecutor keeps Garzon from sending General Galindo to prison   - Repsol starts price war by lowering petrol prices by between one to three pesetas   - Vidal-Quadras throws in the towel before PP leaders   EL MUNDO   - The company at which Serra was top official also paid illegal commissions to Urralburu   - Vidal-Quadras hands over his head and Aznar thanks him for his services in Catalonia   - Repsol opens petrol price war by cutting its prices   DIARIO 16   - Repsol starts petrol price war and lowers by two pesetas the litre   LA VANGUARDIA   - Vidal-Quadras throws in the towel   - Camp Nou turf under intensive care   - Repsol takes the price offensive and lowers petrol prices two pesetas   ABC   - Petrol price war begins   CINCO DIAS   - Repsol helps to lower CPI, and Telefonica to cut the deficit   - Astonishment at savings banks over PP-CCOO pact for Caja Madrid   EXPANSION   - Government to reduce staff next year   - Telefonica buys 23.78 percent of its international affiliate   - Repsol starts petrol price war in Spain and cuts by up to two pesetas a litre   GACETA DE LOS NEGOCIOS   - Repsol enters into gas price war   - Terceiro leaves Caja de Madrid today after 1-1/2 years of internal conflict   - The end to the final monopoly 
12545 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GWELF  The Belgian government plans to gradually raise the retirement age for women to 65 years from 60 now, Belgian BRTN radio said on Tuesday.   It said Pensions Minister Marcel Colla had drawn up a draft note proposing the retirement age for women be raised to 65 over a period of nine years to bring it in line with that for men.   Colla declined to comment on the note, but confirmed he was working on a pensions initiative.   "In view of the ageing of the Belgian population and the need for legal equal rights in Europe (for men and women)...we will need to ask women to make an effort," he told BRTN.    The reform of the Belgian pension system is one of the top priorities of Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene's centre-left coalition government.   Cabinet ministers are currently drafting the 1997 budget, which is expected to contain about 100 billion francs worth of austerity measures.   -- Brussels Newsroom +32 2 287 6810, Fax +32 2 230 7710 
12546 !GCAT  The following are some of the leading stories in Finnish papers this morning.   HELSINGIN SANOMAT   - Police may be allowed to create a DNA register to help track criminals if justice ministry working group gets its way.   - Designated chief of IVO power company, Heikki Marttinen, predicts turbulent electricity market -- says prices likely to fluctuate sharply with differences in water levels.   - Pressure on Finland to join military alliance increasing, says Admiral Juhani Kaskeala speaking to Finnish diplomats.   - Finland is the world's most "networked" country, with the most advanced wireless and wired telecommunications, mobile phone use and Internet connections, according to a Silicon Valley on-line newspaper.   - Finnish banks do not expect to suffer further significant credit losses from Eurotunnel.   KAUPPALEHTI   - Tax authorities getting tougher in interpretations of tax evasion, business representatives say.   - Increased supply outstripping demand in hotel and restaurant business.   - Foreign Minister Tarja Halonen, at EU meeting in Ireland, urges EU to respond cautiously to U.S. trade reprisals against Cuba, Iran and Libya.   - Aspo shifting its transit operations from Kotka to Tallinn, as Finnish transit transport increasing heading for south shore of Baltic.   TURUN SANOMAT   - Finance Minister Sauli Niinisto suggests new scheme enabling companies to create new jobs at easier terms.   - State indebtedness expanding faster than the budget allows, with 41 billion markka in additional debt contracted by end August.   - Insurance companies plan to grab one fifth of Finland's 20 billion markka savings market.   AAMULEHTI   - Finnish authorities will not offer protection to paedophiles, says Justice Minister Kari Hakamies: "Of all crimes paedophilia is ... the most awful ever imaginable".   - One third of Finnish primary school pupils and one-fifth of high school students are bullied in school, while a quarter have health problems inhibiting their performance, study shows.   - MyPa's coach Harri Kampman says the club will not be the underdogs when they meet Liverpool in the first round of the cup winners' cup on their home ground on Thursday.   --Helsinki Newsroom, +358-9-680 50 235 
12547 !GCAT  Leading stories in the Greek financial press:   IMERISIA   --Plans in draft 1997 budget to reduce deficit to 4.2 percent of GDP by placing the bulk of loans/subsidies to state utilities (DEKO) as share capital of listed companies.   --Telecoms organisation (OTE)) returns 125 billion dr.   profit in first 7 months.   Plans for another four subsidiaries, involving telecoms leasing, cable TV, Internet services and satellite telephony.   --Commercial Bank to hold 51 percent interest in new Georgian bank.   EBRD to participate with 20 percent and United Georgian - Georgia's largest bank - with 29 per cent.   -- PASOK aims to get back 1993 voters, Simitis tells rallies in Ioannina, Artas.   "A vote for other left parties is a vote for a (conservative) New Democracy government," he says.   EXPRESS   --Money market not expecting any changes in central bank's anti-inflationary exchange and currency policies.   Increased demand for drachma capital yesterday.'  Hard drachma' policy to remain.   --Business markets stick to "no comment" on pre-election pledges by candidates, taking a "wait-and-see" stance.    --Opposition leader Evert: Growth will reduce unemployment.   NAFTEMBORIKI   --Passenger shipping firms want incentives to improve competitiveness.    --New statistical methods will provide more reliable balance of payments in second half '97, central bank says.   --Undecided voters will decide the photo-finish poll on Sept. 22.   FINANCIAL KATHIMERINI   --Greece will join Economic and Monetary Union in 2000, Commissioner Papoutsis says in Thessaloniki.   Criticises government economic and development policies and absorption rate for EU funds.   --Xiosbank drops savings interest rate to 11.50 percent, basic business credit rate stays at 20.25 percent.   --Lavipharm Group shows profits of over 1 billion drachmas in first half '96.   --Vernikos Yachts issue oversubscribed 40-fold.   KERDOS   --Stock Exchange demands one-party/majority government.   Close opinion polls lead to fall in general index.   --Greater deficit in balance of current accounts for first five months of '96, according to reports.    --Drachma stays 'hard': drachma appreciation at 1.84 percent against basket of all currencies (1.4 per cent against basket of European currencies) if it continues at the same average monthly rate for the rest of 1996.   --Evert: Increased investments the antidote to unemployment.   Joblessness to be combatted by revised convergence programme, speedier growth through investments and support for SMES.   --Athens Newsroom +301 3311812-4 
12548 !GCAT  Prepared for Reuters by The Broadcast Monitoring Company   -- BLAIR RULES OUT BIG CHANGES IN INCOME TAX   Labour leader Tony Blair is planning to fight the next general election campaign on a platform of either no increase in the top rate of tax, or a rise from the current 40 per cent to 50 per cent, but only for people earning over 100,000 stg.   The proposal is likely to anger traditionalists in the Labour party, who favour a redistributive tax policy.   -- MGAM AFFAIR SPARKS IMRO FUNDS REVIEW   In the wake of the discovering of irregularities in the running of a number of investment funds at Morgan Grenfell Asset Management the industry regulator Imro is reported to have identified a range of areas in which rules may need to be reformed.   Imro is to examine the way in which such funds are marketed after investors in three funds at MGAM complained that they had been misled.   -- YOUNG ASIANS SET TO SHUN TRADE   The children of Asian immigrants in the UK are likely to shun the traditional small family businesses such as corner shops which have sustained them during their childhoods, and opt instead for a professional career.   Research from the Policy Studies Institute in London found that many Asian parents support the trend away from trade, even though it would see an end to family business dynasties.   -- P&O, NEDLLOYD IN CONTAINER DEAL   British shipping line P&O is to merge its container activities with its Dutch competitor Royal Nedlloyd.   Both companies will take a 50 per cent stake in the new concern, which will be the world's largest container group.   The merged group will shed 1400 of its current 9400 workforce.   -- MILLENNIUM BODY ACCUSED OF 'DELAYS AND INDECISION'   The chairman of one of the largest projects to be backed by National Lottery funds has criticised the Millennium Commission, the body which awarded the 50 million stg grant to the Earth Centre project, for "delays and indecision" which have forced the project to lay off two thirds of its workforce.   James Skinner, chairman of the management committee for the South Yorkshire-based project, claims a failure by the Commission to take a lead in getting the project started has hindered it in attempts to find matching private sector funds.   -- DANKA SET TO TREBLE SALES AFTER KODAK PURCHASE   The acquisition by Danka Business Systems of the distribution unit of Kodak will transform the former into the world's largest independent distributor of photocopiers.   Shares in Danka rose on news of the 438 million stg deal.   Observers have noted that the deal represents good value for Danka, which is expected to see sales rise sharply as a result.   -- INFLATION BOOST FOR GOVERNMENT   Two sets of figures released Monday have given a boost to the government's hopes of approaching the next general election with a buoyant consumer recovery allied to low inflation.   Figures from the Office of National Statistics reveal that the underlying annual inflation rate, which excludes food, drinks, tobacco and petrol, is at its lowest for almost 29 years.   And according to the British Retail Consortium, High Street sales were 6.9 per cent higher last month than in August 1995.   -- BA MAY SELL ENGINEERING UNIT STAKE   British Airways, which has announced plans to make savings of one billion sterling over the next three years, is reported to be considering offering a minority stake in its engineering and maintenance business.   BA is looking to retain control of the business, but may turn it into a separate company in a bid to secure more work from other airlines.   -- BIS EXPANDS MEMBERSHIP TO BOOST MARKET INFLUENCE   The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is to add another nine members to its present 32.   The BIS, established in 1930, is the financial market monitoring body owned by the world's leading central banks.   The expansion, the largest ever by the group, will reflect the changing balance of global economic power.   -- LEGAL GROUPS ASSURED OVER EMU WORRIES   UK legal groups have been reassured by the European Commission that European monetary union (Emu) planned for 1999 will not disrupt legal contracts in the City of London, even if the UK stays outside Emu.   Lawyers in London had been concerned about the implications of a single currency on contracts denominated in European currencies.   -- BMC 44-171-377-1742 
12549 !GCAT  Prepared for Reuters by The Broadcast Monitoring Company.   DAILY TELEGRAPH   -- GO AHEAD SET TO RUN THAMES TRAINS   Britain's fifth-biggest bus operator, Go Ahead Group, made its first foray into rail when Victory Railways, a management buyout company in which it has a 65 per cent stake, was named preferred bidder for Thames Trains.   Thames at present operates trains on 363 route miles from London Paddington to Reading, Oxford, Hereford and Stratford-upon-Avon and from Reading to Newbury, Basingstoke and Gatwick Airport.   -- STUDY SAYS LOTTERY WILL CREATE MORE JOBS   A new report by the Henley Centre, commissioned by National Lottery organiser Camelot, suggests that 110,000 jobs will be "created or secured" as a result of the lottery by the end of the century.   70 per cent are expected to be new jobs.   Camelot says that its backing of the report had not compromised its independence.   The biggest beneficiary in job creation is the construction sector, where lottery grants are expected to lead to the creation of 30,000 jobs by the end of 2000.   -- SHARE DEAL TO NET TURNER $22 MILLION   Ted Turner, the chairman of CNN's parent Turner Broadcasting System, is to receive share options of $22 million once the takeover of his company by Times Warner is completed.   Documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission show that Turner will be awarded an initial 1.3 million options, which compensation consultants calculate could be worth $10 million.   THE TIMES   -- TIME SHORT FOR MORTON TO AGREE EUROTUNNEL DEAL   Co-chairman of Eurotunnel Sir Alistair Morton has said that the company and its 225 banks have not yet reached an agreement on the restructuring of its nine billion stg debt.   He admitted that a deal may not be in place until the end of October, when he is due to leave the company.   The two sides have not agreed on fundamental matters of how the deal is divided between the banks and shareholders.   Morton declined to say whether the banks would eventually own more than half of Eurotunnel's equity, admitting that it is the division of long-term cashflow that counts.   -- SHOPS RING UP HEALTHY SALES AS INFLATION PRESSURES EASE   The British Retail Consortium has said that Britain continues to enjoy improving consumer demand and easing inflation pressure.   The report says that the Hiogh Street enjoyed a buoyant August and there is another very good set of figures on industry's costs and prices.   The Office for National Statistics has reported that producer input prices rose and the continuing fall in input and output prices hint at a good performance ahead for retail prices.   -- NEW RJB MINE BRINGS 500 JOBS   The company which bought most of Britain's coal mines, RJB Mining, is to create more than 500 jobs by developing the first new pit in 15 years.   A spokesman for the group said it would make an announcement on a "major new project" to coincide with the publication of it half-year results.   Analysts believe that the group may also be considering closing some of its other operating but less efficient mines.   THE GUARDIAN   -- SAINSBURY SCRUBS 'GREEN' CLEANERS OFF SHOPPING LIST   In Sainsbury's first environmental report the supermarket giant claims that products from Greencare, a leading producer of "environmentally friendly" cleaning products, are no greener than rivals' lines.   The move follows criticism of suppliers from the National Consumer Council which said shoppers were confused by environmental claims.   Sainsbury has accepted the NCC charges and urged the Government to act on product environmental claims.   -- COMMERZBANK GETS CAUGHT UP IN GERMAN TAX SCANDALS   Following the disclosure that the chairman and three other senior figures of Commerzbank are being investigated for alleged financial misdemeanors, the tax evasion scandals involving Germany's banks and industrialists has reached epidemic proportions.   This follows the biggest tax fraud inquiry so far, which began last week when 600 investigators raided the headquarters of West-LB, the country's third-biggest bank, seeking evidence of its alleged role in aiding and abetting tax evasion by transferring clients' accounts abroad.   -- DANKA DUPLICATES ITSELF WITH KODAK COPIERS PURCHASE   The office equipment supplier Danka Business Systems is to double in size following the announcement that it is buying the photocopying business Eastman Kodak for 436 million stg.   The deal has sent Danka shares soaring and restored the company's reputation for acquisitive growth.   Under the terms of the acquisition, Danka will buy Kodak's sales, marketing and service operations, as well as its facilities management business.   THE INDEPENDENT   -- MORGAN FUNDS MAY NEED MORE DEUTSCHE CASH   The total redemptions since trading resumed on Thursday for Morgan Grenfell has risen to 230 million stg after another 39 million stg was taken out of the group's three funds.   There is concern that this is already close to the 300 million stg cash the funds have as a protection against a run.   If there is further deterioration parent company Deutsche Bank could be forced to pump in more funds on top of the 180 million stg supplied last week.   -- TELEWEST CALLS OFF CHANNEL FIVE TALKS   The UK's largest cable operator Telewest has called off talks with Channel Five Broadcasting aimed at agreeing terms to retune video recorders in Telewest franchise areas.   Backers of the new broadcaster, including Pearson Television and United News and Media, are to spend 100 million stg to visit 9.6 million homes during the campaign.   Negotiations foundered on disagreements over the price and schedule of the returning exercise.   -- JOB CUTS LIKELY AS P&O AND RIVAL MERGE   Shipping operator P&O has announced a merger of its container business with rival Royal Nedlloyd to create one of the world's largest container fleets.   The move could mean the loss of 1,400 jobs worldwide.   The news has been welcomed by analysts who have criticised P&O in the past for the slow progress of its rationalisation.   Tim Harris, chief executive of the combined group, did not discount the prospect of further acquisitions as the worldwide container shipping industry restructures.   --BMC 44-171-377-1742 
12550 !C12 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !GCRIM  Britain said on Tuesday it would fight a multi-million pound compensation claim by Spanish fishermen who were banned from fishing in British waters.   Lawyers for the Spaniards were launching claims for an estimated 80 million pounds ($124 million) compensation in the English High Court on Tuesday following a ruling in their favour by the European Court of Justice.   "We do not see there is any case being made here for damages," Fisheries Minister Tony Baldry told BBC radio.   The European Court ruled in March that British laws which restricted foreign-owned fishing vessels from operating in British waters breached European law.   Baldry said Britain was seeking far-reaching changes to the European Union treaty to end "quota hopping", which enables foreign vessels to register in Britain and take part of the national quota catch.   "What this does demonstrate is the crazy situation that has arisen in relation to quota hoppers, whereby, in effect, Spanish owned, crewed and skippered boats can come and fish as against the UK national fishing quota," Baldry said.   "We cannot have a situation whereby UK fish are being taken by anyone other than UK fishermen.   That's just crazy and the sooner the quota hoppers are eliminated the better," he said.   The activities of the Spanish trawlers have infuriated British fishermen, who have been forced to cut back on their catches because of European Union conservation policies.   Jim Portus, spokesman for the South West Fish Producers Organisation, said fishermen in his area had been losing about 25 million pounds worth of fish a year since the decison by the European Court. 
12551 !C23 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  Drug discovery group Scotia Holdings Plc said on Tuesday that late stage trials show its EF13 pancreatic cancer drug "is at least as good as Marimastat," the ground-breaking compound under development by rival British Biotech Plc. 
12552 !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   - Iranian and Sudanese presidents agree to confront U.S. policies.   - French oil firm Total says ready to buy between 30,000 and 60,000 barrels per day of Iraqi oil once oil-for-food plan takes effect.   - Saudi Consolidated Electric Co to sign a contract with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries on Tuesday for a new power plant.   ASHARQ AL-AWSAT   - Sudan says Port Sudan is calm, sends more forces there.   - Kuwait parliament financial committee's report on budget will be ready on September 18.   - United Arab Emirates to apply stiff new immigration rules on violators from October. 
12553 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  British Labour Party leader Tony Blair was reported to favour a policy of no increase in the top rate of income tax or a rise to 50 percent only for those earning 100,000 pounds or more.   Tuesday's Financial Times quoted an unnamed political colleague of Blair as saying, "Tony's instinct is to say that there should be no new top rate.   However, he may go for upping it for those on 100,000 pounds plus."   Blair has been careful to make no public commitments on income tax for the higher-paid but he said last week Labour would like to see a bottom rate of 10 percent for low earners.    The Financial Times said Blair and Labour's finance spokesman Gordon Brown were debating whether any pledge not to introduce a top rate of tax would be credible to voters.   It said they were expected to make a decision after the budget in November.   Labour has been cautious about its tax plans following the party's defeat at the last general elections in 1992 after it said it would introduce a 50 percent tax rate for people earning 40,000 pounds.   Britain must hold a general election by May 1997.   -- London Newsroom +44 171 542 7717 
12554 !C12 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !GCRIM  The owners of at least 90 Spanish vessels will on Tuesday launch legal claims for compensation following a European Court of Justice ruling that they were unlawfully excluded from fishing in British waters.   The legal action, likely to infuriate British politicians and fishermen, will be heard at the High Court in London, lawyers for the fishermen said.   They estimate that the Spanish fishermen's claims could cost Britain at least 80 million pounds ($120 million).   Stephen Swabey, of London law firm Thomas Cooper and Stibbard which represents many of the Spaniards, said the case followed a judgment by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.   The court held that British laws, which restricted foreign-owned fishing vessels from operating in British waters, breached European law.   In March this year, the court decided to leave it to British courts to decide whether to award damages and, if so, how much.   But it said compensation must be on the same basis as it would be for a breach of domestic laws.   Swabey said the European Court had held out the possibility of exemplary damages.   "On the best figures we have at the moment, my guess is that the claim is for about 80 million, plus interest, against the British government."   The issue of foreign fishing vessels operating in British waters has become highly sensitive in Britain, whose domestic fishing industry has been forced to make drastic cutbacks in recent years, often as a result of European Union policies. 
12555 !GCAT  NEW CONSUL-GENERAL IN NEW YORK   The Federal Government has announced the appointment of Michael Baume as Australia's Consul-General in New York.   Mr Baume, who has been a Senator since 1985, has resigned from the Parliament to take up the appointment.   Foreign Affairs Minister, Alexander Downer, says Mr Baume's background in politics, business, the media and arts brings a wealth of experience to the position.   Mr Baume replaces Jim Humphreys, who's been Consul-General since 1993.   - - - -   UP TO 3000 STRANDED BY KIWI AIR   As many as 3,000 people are believed to have been stranded on both sides of the Tasman following the grounding of Kiwi Air International late yesterday.   New Zealand's Prime Minister, Jim Bolger, says Consular offices in Australia will be able to offer advice and in some cases advance cash to travellers who've been left without a flight home and no money.   However, Mr Bolger says it would be a rare case if the New Zealand taxpayer ends up footing bills for air travel.   Qantas and other airlines are now offering cheap fares to stranded passengers; about 100 have already flown home, with another 60 flying from Sydney to New Zealand this afternoon.   - - - -   CURES FOR REFLUX   A medical academic says 40 per cent of Australians suffer heartburn and many are being treated with drugs that are unnecessarily powerful and expensive.   The University of Adelaide's Professor John Marley says people should use antacids and change their lifestyle to stop gastric reflux.   Professor Marley says simple measures have been proven effective.   ----   GOVERNMENT BACKS DOWN ON ATSIC CHANGES   The Federal Government has backed down on key proposed changes to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission.   The Government has agreed to abandon its plan to be able to appoint a special administrator to replace the ATSIC board.   The Government's also negotiated with the Opposition and Senate minor parties over its proposal to continue appointing the ATSIC chairperson.   Aboriginal Affairs minister John Herron's office has confirmed the Government has agreed to inserting a sunset clause, allowing the Government to appoint the ATSIC chair for one more term.   In 1999, it will become an elected position.   Agreement's also been reached on reducing the size of ATSIC regional councils, with the minister having the discretionary power to increase the council size to ensure fair representation.   - - - -   ON THE TRACK OF TOURIST KILLERS   Police believe a number of anonymous phone calls could help find the two men responsible for the bashing murder of Brian Hagland.   Mr Hagland was bashed to death at Bondi early on Saturday morning.   His girlfriend Connie Casey tried to fend the two men off.   Bondi Chief Inspector Dick Baker says he wants some people who've called before anonymously to call again.   - - - -   NAB's VIEW ON THE FINANCIAL SECTOR   The National Australia Bank has added its voice to the call for the establishment of a single regulatory body to oversee the financial sector.   The NAB is the latest organisation to make a submission to the Wallis Inquiry into the regulation of the financial system.   The Reserve Bank has rejected the mega-regulator suggestion claiming it could pose a danger to the long-term stability of the system.   The National Australia Bank's Alan Oster says the NAB wants a single supervisory board to be chaired by the Reserve Bank governor.   - - - -   HELICOPTER CRASH IN TULLY   At least one person is believed to be dead in a helicopter crash in far north Queensland.   While details are still sketchy it appears the helicopter hit powerlines before crashing in Tully.   Emergency Services including the Fire Brigade, the ambulance service and police are on the scene and there've been reports of power outages in the town of Tully itself.   -- Reuter Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373 1800 
12556 !GCAT  SHEEP SHIP SUNK   It's been confirmed that the crippled sheep carrier, the Uniceb, abandoned last Saturday, has sunk off the African Coast with its cargo of 67-thousand sheep.   The Australian Meat and Livestock Corporation says a small tug sent to search for the vessel has found debris from the ship in the area it was last seen.   - - - -   SENATOR MAY NOT VOTE FOR TELSTRA SALE   The senator whose vote is crucial for the sale of a third of Telstra has indicated he won't support it unless the Government agrees to some changes.   Tasmanian Independent Senator Brian Harradine says he won't vote for the current Government proposal and might not support it at all if the Government doesn't consider his proposals.   Senator Harradine's asked Communications Minister, Richard Alston to consider five issues, including issuing redeemable preference shares as a way to raise money without selling Telstra.   - - - -   HELICOPTER CRASH IN TULLY   At least one person is believed to be dead in a helicopter crash in far north Queensland.   While details are still sketchy it appears the helicopter hit powerlines before crashing in Tully.   Emergency Services including the Fire Brigade, the ambulance service and police are on the scene and there've been reports of power outages in the town of Tully itself.   - - - -   FAST TRAIN LOW PRIORITY FOR NSW   The New South Wales cabinet has decided today that the Sydney to Canberra very fast train project will be a lower priority for the state government than improving rail services in Sydney's west.   Today's cabinet meeting also resolved that the project must not impose a cost on the state's taxpayers and that studies must show it's viable and can be managed successfully by the private sector.   Premier Bob Carr says he'll write to the Prime Minister about the project, which he says might be enhanced if linked with the construction of an international airport at Goulburn.   - - - -   IRC URGED TO BAN BUILDING STRIKES   Building employers' groups have appeared before the Industrial Relations Commission this morning, urging it to fine unions responsible for strikes and work bans on construction sites.   Workers are striking to protest against the refusal by employers to top-up their pay packets to compensate for a taxation office decision to start taxing workers' travel allowances.   Attempts by unions to convince employers to pay the seven dollars a day unions say the decision will cost their members have failed.   Employers want the IRC to place bans clauses in building industry awards to enable unions to be fined five-thousand dollars a day if strikes continue.   Last week, the commission strongly recommended no industrial action be taken by workers.   - - - -   BILL TO OVERRIDE EUTHANASIA SHOULD GO TO A COMMITTEE   Northern Territory Senator, Grant Tambling, says if a bill aimed at overriding the Territory's voluntary euthanasia law reaches the Senate, it should go to a senate committee.   Territory Chief Minister Shane Stone believes the lower house might pass the Private Members' Bill, introduced yesterday, but says its fate will be decided in the upper house.   Senator Tambling says it'll be a month or two before the bill is even debated in the lower house.   - - - -   HIGH COURT HEARING INTO TASSIE LAW   The High Court has been told it doesn't have the jurisdiction to hear a challenge to Tasmania's anti-gay laws.   Two gay activists are claiming the laws are invalid because they are inconsistent with the Commonwealth Act protecting Civil Liberties.   In 1994 Rodney Croome and Nick Toonen went to a Hobart police station and admitted they'd broken the law by having homosexual sex but no action was taken against them.   The State of Tasmania argues this is the crux of the issue.   It's told the High Court in Canberra it's not possible for someone with an interest in a legal matter to ask the court for a ruling if no attempt has been made to administer the law.   - - - -   BONDI MURDER MEANS MORE POLICE   The unprovoked murder of a British tourist at Sydney's Bondi Beach at the weekend has prompted New South Wales Police Commissioner, Peter Ryan, to bring police numbers in the area up to full strength.   The State Government has come under fire since the murder of Bryan Hagland because there are eleven unfilled vacancies at the local station.   Commissioner Ryan says there will be an increase in foot patrols from today to ensure the safety of visitors.   - - - -   CURRENT I.R. DEBATE CRITICISED   The head of the Industry Commission says discussions surrounding the Federal Government's Workplace Relations Bill are concerning.   Bill Scales says discussions have focused on the past and who had control in industrial relations, whereas he believes motivation in the workplace should be the central focus.   The comments from the Industry Commission, an independent body providing the Government with advice on industry and economic matters, follow negotiations between the Democrats and the Federal Government on the Workplace Relations Bill.   - - - -   CROSS MEDIA INQUIRY TO WAIT   Communications Minister, Richard Alston has avoided making an announcement about a cross-media ownership inquiry, saying the part-privatisation of Telstra is his first priority.   The Coalition promised during the election to examine ways of changing existing rules that prevent television station owners holding more than a 15 percent stake in newspapers in the same city.   Senator Alston says the Government will make an announcement about a cross-media ownership inquiry in due course.   -- Reuters Sydney Newsroom 61-2 373-1800 
12557 !GCAT  STAND OFF ENDS AFTER STABBING   Police have taken a 25 year old man into custody ending a two hour seige at St Albans, west of Melbourne, this morning.   A three month old baby held hostage by the man is safe and is undergoing medical checks at the Western Hospital.   The stand off began around four o'clock this morning at a house in Power Street, after the man allegedly stabbed a woman in the throat.   She is in the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a serious but stable condition.   - - - -   AFL BACKS DOWN ON SOCCER BAN   The AFL is to change a rule stopping clubs fielding soccer teams in a national competition.   The move, announced overnight in a statement from the league, has been described as a terrific gesture of goodwill by Soccer Australia's chairman, David Hill.   He says with Collingwood due to field its side when soccer's A-League kicks off next month, the AFL's move is a terrific relief.   Carlton's soccer side is due to join the competition next season.   Both clubs were threatening legal action if the contentious Rule 40 which limits the sports which can be played at AFL clubs' grounds was not amended .   The league has consistently said clubs fielding soccer sides would be in breach of contracts they signed in the 1980s .   Just last Friday, AFL chief executive Ross Oakley said it would be like giving soccer, the league's competitor, a free kick in front of goal.   - - - -   COUNCILS WANT OUT OF COMPULSORY TENDERING   Local councils in New South Wales are defending what they say is their right to ensure local services remain in local hands.    The state's Local Government Association's annual conference has heard that councils should be exempt from compulsory competitive tendering set down in the National Competition Policy.   Councils argue that services should be kept local so that resources remain within local communities rather than being channelled out to contractors from big cities.    - - - -   NSW: CATHOLIC SCHOOLS UNDER PAY FIRE   Catholic schools in New South Wales have been accused of a "breach of faith" after negotiations over a 16 per cent pay deal already granted to public school teachers broke down.    The Independent Education Union says the schools are backing away from a commitment to meet the 16 per cent claim by refusing to specify dates on which increases will be paid.   Further industrial action in the state's Catholic school system looks likely, unless the latest impasse can be broken.   - - - -   YOUNG POLICE CHASE CRASH VICTIM IDENTIFIED   Police have identified a teenager who died when a car being chased by police crashed and burst into flames in Sydney's west early on Monday morning.   A friend of the boy went to police and identified the youth.    Police say the stolen vehicle was being followed when it hit a culvert and overturned at Wetherill Park.   It then hit a power pole and burst into flames.   Unsuccessful attempts were made by police to free the driver.   - - - -   NSW: SEMPLE SACKING TO BE APPROVED   New South Wales cabinet is expected to rubber stamp the proposed sacking of senior bureaucrat Des Semple at its meeting in Goulburn today.   Community Services Minister, Ron Dyer, made the recommendation to sack his departmental head because he says he no longer has any confidence in Mr Semple.   Mr Semple's position remains the subject of an ICAC inquiry.   - - - -   RUGBY LEAGUE: UNLIMITED INTERCHANGE TO STAY   The New South Wales Rugby League Board has decided to keep the unlimited interchange rule in place for the 1997 season.   ARL Chairman, Ken Arthurson, says despite some concerns about the rule, the League feels it can't go back to restrictions which may encourage injured players to be kept on the field.    The Board has also decided to drop its minimum charge for admission to matches next year, instead allowing clubs to set the figures.   - - - -   QUARANTINE CHARGE RISES SHIPPERS IRE   Shipping companies have condemned increases in quarantine charges which they claim have jumped between 100 and 300 per cent.   Liner Shipping Services, which represents 22 shipping companies, says it's hard to believe quarantine inspection charges are rising, when there are complaints about Australian ports being uncompetitive.   The Services' Chief Executive officer, Llew Russell, says the increased charges will cost shippers millions of dollars a year.   Mr Russell says they accept the concept of user pays, but don't understand how shipowners in providing information to AQIS can be considered "users" of quarantine services.   - - - -   RAT EXTINCT FOR 36 YEARS REAPPEARS   The Australian Trust for Nature Conservation says it's excited over the discovery of a native rat in central Australia which was thought to be extinct.   Trust manager, Shona Whitfield, says the last confirmed sighting of the 30 centimetre long Central Rock-rat was in 1960.   Ms Whitfield says a population of the rodent was found in the West MacDonnell National Park in Central Australia.   She says a management plan will be put in place to monitor and protect the population, which is now listed as critically   endangered.    - - - -   REGIONAL WORRIES DOG TELSTRA PARTIAL SALE   The effect of the partial sale of Telstra on rural communities is becoming a key issue in the Government's plans to get its Telstra privatisation bill through the Senate.   The fate of the Government's proposal is in the hands of Independent Senators Brain Harradine and Mal Colston whose votes are needed to guarantee clear passage of the Bill through the Upper House.   Both Senators are studying a Senate Committee report which was highly critical of the plan, and recommended public ownership be retained.   It found phone users in regional areas could be disadvantaged by privatisation, a finding which has concerned both Senators.   But a report by the Committee's Government members says the sale will boost economic activity in regional areas.    Communications Minister Richard Alston says he's keen to hold talks with the Independents on the matter.   - - - -   -- Reuters Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 
12558 !GCAT !GVIO  Rebels on Papua New Guinea's Bougainville Island on Tuesday reported killing 13 soldiers in an attack that Prime Minister Sir Julius Chan said was a setback to peace in the South Pacific's longest armed conflict.   Exact details of Sunday's attack remain unclear.   Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) rebels said they had killed 13 soldiers, captured five and had a further 15 trapped at the government base at Kunga Beach in southern Bougainville.   As word of the attack spread, Australia on Tuesday offered to host new peace talks between Port Morseby and rebels to end the eight-year secessionist conflict.   The National newspaper in Port Moresby on Tuesday reported defence sources as saying 12 soldiers were killed, 12 injured and 18 were still missing after the attack.   "It is the biggest number of casualties suffered by the PNG security forces in any single engagement in the Bougainville rebellion," said The National.   Chan described the attack as "barbaric".   "...it is not only a major setback on progress achieved to date, but also aimed at sabotaging ongoing genuine efforts by both sides resolving the Bougainville issue," he said in statement received here on Tuesday.   "The government has done everything possible to restore normalcy on Bougainville, however, with this kind of treatment by the BRA, our initiatives and commitment for peace are once more being jeopardised," Chan said.   Thousands have died from fighting or disease since the start of the conflict on the resource-rich island, 800 km (500 miles) northeast of the Papua New Guinean capital.   The rebels' Bougainville Interim Government, set up in 1990 in Arawa in the rebel-held central part of the island, said about 100 rebels attacked Kangu on Sunday afternoon.   "Reports just reaching us from Bougainville said there was renewed and very heavy fighting between the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) and the Bougainville Revolutionary Army over the weekend," the interim government said in a statement.   "According to BRA information, five of the PNGDF soldiers surrendered and handed over their arms and ammunition to the BRA," it said.   "The BRA also alleged that 13 of the PNGDF were killed during the fighting," the statement said.   The statement said rebels had surrounded the Kangu camp where 15 soldiers were still alive.   "The remaining PNG soldiers are still surrounded and it is feared that they are now helpless against the BRA soldiers, who have the full command of the area.   Time is now running out for them," the statement said.   The statement named the five soldiers captured and listed their serial numbers.   An interim government spokesman in Sydney, Moses Havini, told Reuters on Tuesday the fighting was still raging.   Defence force officials in the capital Port Moresby would only confirm the attack, but not the casualties.   Australia Foreign Minister Alexander Downer will discuss the offer of hosting fresh peace talks during a routine annual meeting with PNG Deputy Prime Minister Chris Haiveta on Friday, an official said.   Australia sponsored two rounds of fruitless peace talks between Port Moresby and the Bougainville rebels in 1994. 
12559 !GCAT !GVIO  Secessionist rebels on Papua New Guinea's Bougainville island on Tuesday said they killed 13 government troops in heavy fighting, but defence force officials could only confirm the fighting, not the casualties.   The Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) in the capital Port Moresby said rebels attacked the Kangu Beach government base in southern Bougainville on Sunday.   "They did attack Kangu, but we have yet to confirm any figures on the ground," Major Mae Verave told Reuters via telephone from Port Moresby.   The rebel's Bougainville Interim Government, set up in 1990 in Arawa in the rebel-held central part of the island, said about 100 Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) rebels attacked Kangu on Sunday afternoon.   "Reports just reaching us from Bougainville said there was renewed and very heavy figting between the Papua New Guinea Defence Force and the Bougainville Revolutionary Army over the weekend," the interim government said in a statement received here on Tuesday.   "According to BRA information, five of the PNGDF soldiers surrendered and handed over their arms and ammunition to the BRA," it said.   "The BRA also alleged that 13 of the PNGDF were killed during the fighting," the statement said.   The eight-year conflict on the resource rich island, 800 km (500 miles) northeast of the Papua New Guinea capital Port Moresby, is the South Pacific's longest running armed conflict and has seen thousands die from fighting or preventable diseases.   The statement said rebels had surrounded the Kangu camp where 15 soldiers were still alive.   "The remaining PNG soldiers are still surrounded and it is feared that they are now helpless against the BRA soldiers, who have the full command of the area.   Time is now running out for them," the statement said.   The statement named the five soldiers captured and their serial numbers and said rebels had also seized 24 high-powered rifles, ammunition, one mortar grenade launcher and mortars.   It said two defence force patrol boats were destroyed when they tried to rescue the soldiers at Kangu, but that there had been no rebel casualties.   An interim government spokesman, Moses Havini, told Reuters on Tuesday that fighting was still raging on the island.   The fighting comes two months after the PNG defence force ended its High Speed II military offensive which failed to flush out rebel leaders.   -- Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 
12560 !GCAT !GVIO  Secessionist rebels on Papua New Guinea's Bougainville island killed 13 government troops and captured five others in heavy fighting on Saturday, the rebel's interim government said on Tuesday.   The Bougainville Interim Government, set up by the secessionists, said that a government camp on Kangu Beach in southern Bougainville was attacked by Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) rebels on Saturday.   "Reports just reaching us from Bougainville said there was renewed and very heavy fighting between the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) and the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) over the weekend," the interim government said in a statement received here on Tuesday.   "According to BRA information, five of the PNGDF soldiers surrendered and handed over their arms and ammunition to the BRA," it said.   "The BRA also alleged that 13 of the PNGDF were killed during the fighting," the statement said.   The eight-year conflict on the minerals-rich island, 800 km (500 miles) northeast of the Papua New Guinea capital of Port Moresby, is the South Pacific's longest running armed conflict and has seen thousands die from fighting or preventable diseases.   The statement said rebels had surrounded the Kangu camp where 15 soldiers were still alive.   "The remaining PNG soldiers are still surrounded and it is feared that they are now helpless against the BRA soldiers, who have the full command of the area.   Time is now running out for them," the statement said.   The statement named the five soldiers captured and said rebels had also seized 24 high-powered rifles, ammunition, one mortar grenade launcher and mortars.   It said two defence force patrol boats were destroyed when they tried to rescue the soldiers at Kangu, but that there had been no rebel casualties.   An interim government spokesman, Moses Havini, told Reuters on Tuesday that fighting was still raging on the island.   Australian Associated Press in Port Moresby reported the defence force chief confirming the fighting at Kangu Beach, but he did not confirm any deaths or injuries.   The fighting comes two months after the PNG defence force ended its High Speed II military offensive which failed to flush out rebel leaders.   Bougainville Copper Ltd closed its giant Panguna copper mine on Bougainville in May 1989 because of rebel fighting.   The company said in August that it estimated the total cost of returning the mine to full production would be at the upper end of the range of kina 400 million to kina 600 million (US$305 million to $457 million).   Bougainville Copper, which is 53.6 percent owned by RTZ Corp Plc-CRA Ltd and 19.1 percent by the PNG government, has said initial production could start within 18 months of a decision to re-open the mine.   -- Sydney Newsroom 61-2 373-1800 
12561 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  New Zealand First press secretary Rex Widerstrom was reconsidering his future on Tuesday after failing to secure a high ranking on the party list.   Widerstrom, the party's former spokesman on energy, broadcasting and telecommunications, was ranked 28th on the opposition party's list released last night.   On current polling economic nationalist NZ First can expect to win between 20 and 25 seats at the election on October 12.   "When you realise you are not going to have any chance of being a member of parliament, what would anyone in the circumstance do?"   Widerstrom said.    He said on current polling those ranked 24-26 were precarious and beyond there "we are toast".   The list was topped by leader Winston Peters and deputy Tau Henare with MPs Peter McCardle and Jack Elder ranked fourth and seventh.   Widerstrom was dumped as a spokesman when former National MP Michael Laws was appointed special adviser to Peters in June.   "I certainly did not expect to be in the top 10, but I thought I would be positioned at a point where I would likely have a parliamentary career," Widerstrom said.    Albany candidate Terry Heffernan, who lost his spokesman's role at the same time as Widerstrom, has been ranked at 30.   But Heffernan said he was focusing on winning the Albany electorate where his campaign is being managed by former Social Credit leader Gary Knapp.   "I will be entirely happy to be the member for Albany," he said.   A spokesman for Peters said "that's the way democracy works" when asked about the rankings of Widerstrom and Heffernan.    He said more than 80 party officials had ranked the candidates and the counting had been overseen by Auckland lawyer Brian Henry.   -- Wellington newsroom 64 4 4734 746 
12562 !GCAT !GPOL  An independent review of Fiji's racially-biased constitution tabled in parliament on Tuesday called for an end to the political dominance of indigenous Fijians.   The review recommended that ethnic Indians be granted more political power and that the constitution, which guarantees that the prime minister is an ethnic Fijian, be amended.   Fijian President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara on Tuesday called for reconciliation between all ethnic groups after the constitutional review was tabled.   "I am confident if all do their part...people of different races, views and cultures can live and work together for the good of all," Mara told parliament.   The present constitution was introduced after the Indian-dominated government was overthrown in a military coup in 1987.   Indigenous Fijians hold 37 of the 70 seats in parliament, ethnic Indians 27, and the rest are held by smaller ethnic groups or are non-ethnic seats.   The review recommended reducing the number of ethnic seats, with indigenous Fijians holding 12 and ethnic Indians 10.   It also called for the creation of 45 non-ethnic seats in a new 76-seat parliament.   Indians, who comprise 45 percent of the population, were first brought to Fiji last century as indentured cane field labourers.   The review said that while Fiji's president should remain an indigenous Fijian, there was no reason to specify the ethnicity of the prime minister.   Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, who staged the 1987 coup as commander of the armed forces and had argued that indigenous Fijians were losing control of their country, welcomed the review.   Rabuka said the racially-biased constitution he introduced in 1990 had been necessary to return Fiji to a parliamentary democracy but was now outdated.   "We must develop our constitution further if it is to serve as an enduring basis for harmony and national unity," he told parliament.   Opposition leader Jai Ram Reddy welcomed the review, but said that achieving a non-racial constitution would require hard work.   "We are bound to succeed if we keep our minds firmly on our ultimate goal which is to create a united and prosperous Fiji," said Reddy, leader of the main opposition, the National Federation Party.   The constitutional review, prepared by a team headed by former New Zealand governor-general Sir Paul Reeves, will go before a joint parliamentary committee for discussion.   Any constitutional changes must be approved by at least two-thirds of the indigenous Fijian-dominated parliament. 
12563 !C13 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The state government of Victoria announced Tuesday it would introduce new laws largely deregulating retail trading hours throughout the state in a move immediately welcomed by retailing giant Coles Myer Ltd.   "The new shop trading legislation reflects the major lifestyle changes which have occurred in the last decade," industry minister Mark Birrell said in a statement.   The new laws will allow trading throughout the state 24 hours a day, seven days a week, ending curious legal situations such as being allowed to visit a tavern on a Sunday but not a hairdresser and to sell chicken but not red meat.    The only exceptions will be restricted trading on Good Friday as well as Christmas and the ANZAC Day holiday.   "Victorians have shown that they want to shop on Sundays and outside traditional hours.   Now we will be able to give them that opportunity," Coles Myer chief executive officer Peter Bartels said in a statment.   He said the move would create over 850 full time equivalent jobs at Coles and boost Victoria's economy.   Australia's retail sales rose 2.4 percent to A$10.44 billion in July, seasonally adjusted, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said last week.   -- Melbourne Bureau 61-3 9286-1435 
12564 !GCAT !GDIP  Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer confirmed on Tuesday the appointment of Michael Baume as Australian consul-general in New York.   Baume resigned from his position as a Liberal senator for New South Wales earlier on Tuesday in order to take up the posting.   He will replace Jim Humphreys, who has been consul-general since 1993.   -- Canberra Bureau 61-6 273 2730 
12565 !GCAT !GCRIM  Australian homosexual activists launched a legal challenge on Tuesday in the nation's top court against some of the world's toughest anti-gay sex laws, charging they create a climate of fear and discrimination.   The activists are urging Australia's High Court to overturn Tasmania state's laws against gay sex, which have been condemned by the United Nations and the London-based human rights watchdog Amnesty International.   "Until the decision is made to overturn the laws, the Tasmanian government can continue to use them to persecute us," activist Rodney Croome told reporters outside the court.   The laws allow men to be jailed for up to 25 years for having homosexual sex.   Tasmania is the only Australian state that still prohibits sodomy and oral sex.   "The challenged laws create a climate of fear and discrimination," Croome said in an earlier statement.   The national government, moving to honour international human rights obligations, passed a law in 1994 guaranteeing sexual privacy.   Croome and fellow activists are seeking to have the High Court overturn the state law in favour of the national law.   Tasmania is urging the court to reject the challenge because the laws are not being used to charge people.   The last conviction was in 1981 and the offender was fined A$50 (US$39).   The activists have fought for eight years to have the laws overturned.   "We are hoping the High Court decision, if it goes in our favour, will be the final stage in that battle," Croome said in a radio interview.   The activists' case is being backed by the national government and Australia's Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. 
12566 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Finance Minister Bill Birch on Tuesday released his first costings of opposition parties' promises, saying New Zealand "would once again be bankrupt" if they were implemented.   Birch did not use Treasury analysts to cost opposition promises, instead drawing on the resources of his own office.   During the 1993 campaign Treasury costings of Labour's manifesto contained errors and assumptions which Labour finance spokesman Michael Cullen later blamed for Labour narrowly losing the election.   An election is due on October 12.    In a speech to the Estate and Planning Council in Auckland Birch said from this financial year through to 1998/99 the Alliance planned to spend an extra $14.8 billion, Labour an extra $6.5 billion and New Zealand First another $6.9 billion "plus limitless" expenditure on settling Maori land claims.   He said the Alliance planned to increase taxes so "decent working New Zealanders" would be paying $6.6 billion more in three years time.   "We would once again be bankrupt.   Maybe that is what they want for New Zealand.   A country in debt, a country dependent on politicians and bureaucrats again," Birch said.    He said the election was a choice between National and "some mutant hybrid of the Alliance, New Zealand First and Labour."   On current polling the ruling conservative coalition of National and the centrist United Party is drawing around 35 percent support against a combined 52 percent for the three opposition parties identified by Birch.   He said the pre-election economic and fiscal update to be released on September 12 would demonstrate an excellent record and "improving and exciting official forecasts for the future".    He said the budget surplus for the 1995/96 year, to be released with the September 12 update, would be above $3 billion and the forecast track showed surpluses "getting steadily larger".   He said if the current surtax on superannuation was removed, as the three opposition parties were promising, then the country may have to borrow, increase taxes or reduce superannuation payments.    He also flagged the government's interest in "some sort of imputation system" for life offices and superannuation funds which are paying 33 percent tax when many of their contributors paid a 24 percent rate.   "At this stage it is not clear whether there is a workable solution on these lines that does not involve high administration costs," Birch said.   -- Wellington newsroom 64 4 4734 746 
12567 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The state of Queensland will increase tobacco taxes and financial institutions duty charges in order to help offset cuts in federal funding, Treasurer Joan Sheldon said on Tuesday.   Tobacco taxes which were lifted to 100 percent from 75 percent effective Wednesday, were expected to add 80 cents to an average packet of cigarettes and raise A$45 million in 1996/97, Sheldon said in a statement accompanying the budget papers.    "Part of the increase from the tobacco tax will provide assistance to tobacco growers who were unsuccessful in their bids to exit the industry under the 1995 industry restructuring," Sheldon said.   A bank accounts debits tax, applying to accounts with cheque-bearing facilities, had been increased to match levels in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, Sheldon said.   The increases would apply from October 1 and raise A$40 million in 1996/97, Sheldon said.   -- Sydney Newsroom 61-2 373-1800 
12568 !C18 !C183 !CCAT !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Independent senator Brian Harradine seems to have left us with the probability that the Senate will reject the Telstra privatisation bill at least once.   Harradine called a press conference on Tuesday specifically to discuss how he would vote on the Telstra (Dilution of Public Ownership) Bill, the legislation that would authorise the one-third sale of Telstra Corp.   The news conference was a confused affair, with many reporters interrupting Harradine just as he was about to say something.   Harradine himself was not trying very hard to be clear.   But these messages have emerged:   -- Harradine is serious that the government should raise cash from Telstra through redeemable preference shares, instead of by simply selling a third of its ordinary shares.   -- If the government does not accept his plan, he will not vote for the bill on the first occasion in which the Senate deals with it.   -- He may or may not vote for it upon the House of Representatives sending it to the Senate a second time.   Harradine may have a reputation for unpredictability, but note that he is consistently negative on the question of a simple sale.   Don't bet on him suddenly caving in.   "I am against the sale of natural monopolies," he said early in the news conference, and later went on to say Telstra was currently a natural monopoly.   "I am opposed to the total sale of Telstra and to actions which inevitably lead to that," he added.   What might those actions be?   Presumably he is talking about the sale or ordinary equity, which might be part of what Communications Minister called last month the inevitable total sale of the company.   Preference shares, note, do not dilute the real equity in the company and are not a step towards a total sale.   So his opposition to an ordinary sale of equity seems pretty adamant.   His crucial statement came later, after much beating around the bush in which he repeatedly advocated the sale of preference shares instead of ordinary equity.   This would suit the government's core objective of using Telstra to raise cash from the private sector, he said.   (This is a cheeky reminder of the government's definition of promises that it keeps as "core" promises; others are "non-core".)   So would he vote for the bill in its current form, without his proposal for preference shares being incorporated?   he was finally asked.   He answered by again advocating the preference shares.   So another reporter pressed him: Is that a yes or a no?   "Well it's a 'no' in the first instance.   It may be a 'no' in the second."   No-one then asked him what he meant by the first instance and the second instance and he has been unavailable since then.   But it seems fairly clear that he is talking about the Senate's current consideration of the bill and the potential second consideration of it if it is rejected or unacceptably amended.   No other meaning is apparent.   -- Canberra Bureau 61-6 273-2730 
12569 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The Australian state of Queensland announced a three year A$1.6 billion Special Infrastructure Program in its 1996/97 (July/June) budget.   Treasurer Joan Sheldon said the money will be additional to normal capital works, and in 1996/97 will boost overall capital works to more than A$4 billion.   The program will cost A$215 million in 1996/97, "which will be funded from the remaining amounts in the Queensland Infrastructure Financing Fund and proceeds from the sale of the State Gas Pipeline," Sheldon told parliament.    In the following two years, the package will be funded by capital restructuring of government owned corporations, proceeds from the Suncorp/QIDC/Metway merger and other asset sales, such as surplus land, Sheldon said. 
12570 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  The Indian Ocean search for a burning ship carrying almost 70,000 Australian sheep has been abandoned after the discovery of debris, an Australian livestock official said on Tuesday.   "This (the debris) indicates the vessel has sunk," Lloyd Beeby, Australian Meat and Livestock Corp spokesman, told Reuters.   The debris, mainly ship's bric-a-brac, was discovered just before the four-day search for the 14,990 tonne Uniceb was abandoned in the Indian Ocean north of the Seychelles.    The search, by a salvage tug, an empty livestock carrier and at one stage a U.S. airforce aircraft, covered a 200 square nautical mile area.   "The ship's charterers, Wellard Rural Export Pty Ltd (of Western Australia), are now convinced the ship sank soon after the fire began," Beeby said.   Two explosions were heard by crew as they drifted in lifeboats after abandoning the ship and there were no further sightings of the Uniceb even though it was left in a major shipping lane, he said.    The Panamanian-flagged, Swiss-owned Uniceb was travelling from Fremantle, Western Australia, to the Jordanian port of Aqaba when it caught fire a week ago about 400 km (250 miles) east of the Seychelles off the east African coast.   The crew abandoned ship, leaving 67,000 live sheep on the blazing vessel.   The Panamanian Shipping Registry in conjunction with insurance underwriters would meet with the crew when their rescue ship docks in the Suez this week for immediate investigations, Beeby said.    The live sheep cargo was worth at least a couple of million Australian dollars, said Beeby, adding the incident would not impact on the trade at either the buyers' end or exporters.   However, the Australian live sheep export trade had lost a fast ship with a good record in the Uniceb, which may slightly affect the overall situation, he said.   "A fire like that could have occurred in a passenger vessel or any sort of vessel.   They do their damnedest to ensure that these things don't happen and I think safety measures in Australia are as strict as any in the world," Beeby said.    Australia exports 5.54 million head of live sheep a year, mainly to the Middle East.   The Uniceb disaster, Australia's second since 1980 when a ship carrying nearly 41,000 sheep caught fire and sunk off Australia's southern coast, has aroused strong opposition from animal liberationists and unionists.   The Australian government has said it will not halt the live animal export trade, worth about A$500 million (US$395 million) a year.   -- Sydney Newsroom 61-2 373-1800 
12571 !GCAT !GPOL  Australian Liberal senator Michael Baume on Tuesday resigned his place for the state of New South Wales in parliament's upper house, the Senate, to take up a diplomatic post, Senate President Margaret Reid said.   "I have received a letter from senator Michael Baume resigning his place as a Senator for the state of New South Wales," Reid told parliament.    Former New South Wales Liberal Party president Bill Heffernan was preselected on July 27 as Baume's replacement.   He will take his place in the Senate after a joint sitting of both houses of the New South Wales parliament.   Baume is expected to take up a position as Australian Consul-General in New York, but the announcement has not been made officially.   -- Canberra Bureau 61-6 273 2730 
12572 !C18 !C183 !CCAT !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Key Australian Independent senator Brian Harradine said on Tuesday he would not vote for the privatisation of Telstra Corp as the government proposes it, without his proposal to use redeemable preference shares.   "Well its a 'no' in the first instance," Harradine said when asked whether he would.   "It may be a 'no' in the second."   He did not make clear what the second instance might be.   The Senate can vote on a bill twice.   If it rejects a bill once, it can be brought back to the upper house three months later in identical form but backed with the threat of an early election if it is rejected again.    The government's plan to sell a third of Telstra relies on the vote of Harradine and another Independent senator, Mal Colston.   All other non-government senators oppose the plan and the ruling Liberal-National coalition is two votes short of a majority.   Preference shares are an asset part-way between equity and debt.   Instead of dividends, the holder is paid interest.   If the company is wound up, the holder has preference over ordinary shareholders.    Redeemable preference shares can be redeemed for value, under specified conditions.   -- Canberra Bureau 61-6 273-2730 
12573 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Australian Prime Minister John Howard said on Tuesday that riots at parliament house last month had damaged the Labor opposition's political standing.   "He said that we couldn't underestimate the long-term damage to Labor and the union movement by the riot that occurred here in parliament house," a Liberal-National Party spokesman told reporters.   "But he said that we have to always remember that they, that is the Labor Party, can put up a good fight."   Rioters stormed parliament house on August 19, clashing with police during a two hour confrontation over budget cuts and labour market reforms.    The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) had organised large scale protests to take place at parliament, but rejected claims they were responsible for what it called the violent actions of a small minority.   -- Canberra Bureau 61-6 273 2730 
12574 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  WELLINGTON, Sept 10 - New Zealand's first MMP election campaign is under way - but extensive polling shows that 62 percent of voters don't understand the essence of the new proportional system.   That huge block is unaware of the importance of the party vote in deciding the next government.   The lack of understanding is both an indictment of the Electoral Commission, which has spent a small fortune in an advertising campaign, and also of the nomination of the complicated Mixed Member Proportional system by the original 1986 Royal Commission.    And as The Dominion newspaper reported this week, voter ignorance about MMP is emerging as a potential disaster for the two "old" parties National and Labour: electors intending to split their two votes could cast their ballots for a well-liked National or Labour MP in the electorate contest, and then give their party vote to another party on a second-choice basis, without realising that they have essentially voted for the other party, and not for National or Labour at all.    The National Party, which originally planned to campaign on a "two tick for National" slogan, has now switched to a "First tick National" line.   It has twigged to the research that shows a large proportion of the 17 percent who intend to split their votes are not aware of how crucial the party vote is.   There has been evidence coming in, particularly from rural National heartland electorates, that many National voters have been thinking of giving their party votes to rival New Zealand First, led by Winston Peters, because they thought they would be providing a potential coalition partner to National.    Belatedly, National is saying: "Don't waste the first vote.   Splitting the two votes is a recipe for Opposition success".   For National, the Opposition comprises not just Labour, but New Zealand First, which claims to be a centrist party, and the Alliance, which is to the left of Labour.   Political polls shows that Labour and New Zealand First are likely to get a greater share of the party vote in aggregate than National, and even without a clear majority in parliament could govern in coalition, with perhaps occasional help from the Alliance.    If voters generally have still to get to grips with the mechanics of the new voting system, they are also in the dark about prospective coalitions.   Parties are conscious that if they are to gain additional support, they will have to take it off someone else.   So they are attacking each other with the kind of atavistic fervour that is a long distance from the consensual politics MMP was supposed to engender.   Maximising the total party vote is the name of the game.   If that means putting the boot into a potential coalition partner, c'est la vie.    Some commentators suggest that if the trends visible in current opinion polls are correct, then the first MMP election could result in gridlock.   Neither a National-plus-minor-party coalition nor a Labour-New Zealand First combination would get enough support to produce the 61 seats for a bare majority in the new parliament.   However, that does not take into account the possibility that a minority government could take office, relying on the knowledge that no party would want to fight a second election within months of the October 12 poll.    A minority government could get "supply" (that is, secure parliamentary approval to keep the machinery of government ticking over) and by making sure it did not advance anything controversial, hold on for a year or two.   Longtime politicians like Jim Anderton, Richard Prebble, or Winston Peters, leaders respectively of the Alliance, ACT and NZ First, are aware that they are playing not for the immediate prize of a Cabinet post after the election, but for the long-term future of their parties.    They want to be power-brokers like the Free Democrats in Germany, the small party that has held the balance of power between the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats for 30 years.   But they are also aware that only one of their parties will succeed.   (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) 
12575 !C18 !C183 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  New Zealand's left-wing opposition Alliance Party said on Tuesday it had gathered more than 200,000 signatures in its bid to force a referendum on the sale of Forestry Corporation.   The Alliance needs to gather about 240,000 signatures from registered voters to force an indicative referendum on the sale.   Alliance leader Jim Anderton said the petition was on target to reach that number by the date of the general election on October 12.    "If the referendum is successful, an Alliance government will reverse the sale or use its influence in Parliament to demand that a new government buys back the forests," Anderton said.   The government last month sold the corporation to a consortium of Fletcher Forests, Brierley Investments and Chinese government investment arm Citic for a net return of NZ$1.6 billion.   Economic nationalist opposition party New Zealand First has pledged to return the cheque for the forests to the consortium if it wins power at the election.    Together the Alliance and New Zealand First have about 34 percent support in recent opinion polls, while the other two major parties, the governing National Party and the main opposition Labour Party, are committed to the sale.   --Wellington Newsroom (64 4) 4734746 
12576 !C18 !C183 !CCAT !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Key Australian Independent senator Brian Harradine said he backed the government's key objective of raising revenue from the private sector through Telstra but not necessarily by sale.   "I am happy ... to assist the government in achieving its core objective," Harradine told reporters.   "As I understand the core objective of the government is to raise from the private sector A$8 billion, seven of which goes to paying off debt and one of which is going to fall to the area of the Natural Heritage (fund)."    Asked how he might help the government achieve that core objective, Harradine said his proposal was in a letter he had sent to Communications Minister Richard Alston.   "My view is expressed there, and that is: what I proposed is the alternative to the outright sale is for the issue of redeemable preference shares," he said.   "I believe that (a sale) certainly is not necessary to achieve the core objective of the government."    The government's plan to sell a third of Telstra relies on the vote of Harradine and another Independent senator, Mal Colston.   All other non-government senators oppose the plan and the ruling Liberal-National coalition is two votes short of a majority.   The government expects to gain about A$8 billion from the sale.   To draw support for the plan, it promises a boost to environment spending equal to the interest on A$1 billion, which it is calling the Natural Heritage Fund.    Preference shares are an asset part-way between equity and debt.   Instead of dividends, the holder is paid interest.   If the company is wound up, the holder has preference over ordinary shareholders.   Redeemable preference shares can be redeemed for value, under specified conditions.   -- Canberra Bureau 61-6 273-2730 
12577 !C18 !C183 !CCAT !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Australian Opposition Leader Kim Beazley said on Tuesday he did not know which way two key Independent senators would vote on the government's Telstra privatisation bill.   Independents Brian Harradine and Mal Colston hold the key to the passing of the bill because the government needs two extra votes to pass any legislation in the Senate.   All other non-government senators are opposed to the bill.   "I have absolutely no idea which way Mr Harradine will go on this," Beazley told reporters.   "I know which way I think is right and it's a course that I've advocated for a long time."    Asked if he had any assurances that Colston would vote with the Opposition on the bill, Beazley said: "No, we don't have any assurances."   Colston resigned from the Labor Party on August 20 to complete his term, which ends in 1999, as an independent.   Beazley said the Australian telecommunications industry needed competition to drive down prices.   It also needed the industry to support growth and activity in regional areas.   "And you get a good balance when you get a main carrier which is in public ownership, not any burden on the taxpayer, in fact contributing to the budget," he said.    The Australian government planned to raise A$8 billion through the sale of one-third of Telstra with A$1 billion of the proceeds earmarked to set up an environmental protection fund.   A Senate Committee report recommended on Monday against the sale, saying there was no evidence to back up the government's claim that the economy and consumers would benefit from the proposal.   The committee was dominated by non-government parties and its opposition was expected.   -- Canberra Bureau 61-6 273 2730 
12578 !C18 !C181 !C183 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  Australian independent senator Brian Harradine said on Tuesday he was opposed to the sale of natural monopolies and the outright sale of government-owned telecommunications giant Telstra Corp.   "I am against the sale of natural monopolies," Harradine told reporters.   "I am opposed to the total sale of Telstra, the outright sale of Telstra."    Harradine said he believed Telstra currently had a natural monopoly in the telecommunications industry, although this would change when the industry was deregulated in 1997.   "At this time, I would feel that it (Telstra) has such a substantial role in the market that it would probably qualify for that title," he said.   Harradine and fellow Independent senator Mal Colston are crucial to the passing of the Telstra privatisation bill as the government needs two extra votes to pass any legislation in the Senate.   All other non-government senators are opposed to the bill.    The Australian government planned to raise A$8 billion through the sale of one-third of Telstra with A$1 billion of the proceeds earmarked to establish a environmental protection fund.   Harradine was commenting after a Senate Committee report recommended on Monday against the Telstra proposal.   The committee was dominated by non-government parties and its opposition was expected.   -- Canberra Bureau 61-6 273 2730 
12579 !GCAT !GVIO  Secessionist rebels on Papua New Guinea's Bougainville island said on Tuesday they had killed 13 government troops in heavy fighting, but defence force officials could only confirm the fighting, not the casualties.   The Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) in the capital Port Moresby said rebels attacked the Kangu Beach government base in southern Bougainville on Sunday.   "They did attack Kangu, but we have yet to confirm any figures on the ground," Major Mae Verave told Reuters via telephone from Port Moresby.   The rebels' Bougainville Interim Government, set up in 1990 in Arawa in the rebel-held central part of the island, said about 100 Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) rebels attacked Kangu on Sunday afternoon.   "Reports just reaching us from Bougainville said there was renewed and very heavy fighting between the Papua New Guinea Defence Force and the Bougainville Revolutionary Army over the weekend," the interim government said in a statement received here on Tuesday.   "According to BRA information, five of the PNGDF soldiers surrendered and handed over their arms and ammunition to the BRA," it said.   "The BRA also alleged that 13 of the PNGDF were killed during the fighting," the statement said.   The eight-year conflict on the resource rich island, 800 km (500 miles) northeast of Papua New Guinea capital Port Moresby, is the South Pacific's longest running armed conflict and has seen thousands die from fighting or preventable diseases.   The statement said rebels had surrounded the Kangu camp where 15 soldiers were still alive.   "The remaining PNG soldiers are still surrounded and it is feared that they are now helpless against the BRA soldiers, who have the full command of the area.   Time is now running out for them," the statement said.   The statement named the five soldiers captured and listed their serial numbers and said rebels had also seized 24 rifles, ammunition, one mortar grenade launcher and mortars.   It said two defence force patrol boats were destroyed when they tried to rescue the soldiers at Kangu, but that there had been no rebel casualties.   An interim government spokesman, Moses Havini, told Reuters on Tuesday that fighting was still raging on the island.   The fighting comes two months after the PNG defence force ended its High Speed II military offensive which failed to flush out rebel leaders. 
12580 !GCAT  -- SING TAO DAILY - China and Hong Kong has been invited to join the Bank for International Settlements.   Financial Secretary Donald Tsang said the move showed the international financial community supported the "one country, two systems" policy.   -- Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing would clarify rumours about his business relations with billionaire Tung Chee-hwa, the man tipped to lead the territory after the 1997 handover, in an effort to change the perception that Hong Kong should not be ruled by businessmen.   -- HONG KONG ECONOMIC TIMES - Shipping tycoon Tung Chee-wah, touted as frontrunner for the post of Chief Executive after the handover, would publicise previous business deals which might be open to challenge by his political rivals.   -- Lane Crawford decided to shut its Singapore department store next month.   It had lost money for the past few years.   -- TA KUNG PAO - Seven hundred Hong Kong academics led by eight college presidents signed a declaration protesting against Japan's presence in the disputed Diaoyu islands.   -- MING PAO - A fan of the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong had collected about 15,000 Mao badges at a cost of over one million yuan.   He said he had been brought up "under the Communist red flag" and had a deep admiration for Mao.   -- Hong Kong's first Olympic champion Lee Lai-shan had been approached by record companies offering singing contracts.   But she would concentrate on training for the Asian Games next year and would consider the contracts after that.   -- TIN TIN DAILY - Fourteen sons and daughters of a couple married during the Japanese occupation in World War Two took legal action to prove their parents' marriage was legitimate.   -- HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL - The Union Bank in Hong Kong said that after the 1997 handover, the territory's banks might not be restricted by China's requirement of a mimimum asset base of US$20 billion imposed on overseas banks who want to set up branches on the mainland.   -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST - The Chinese leadership had decided to put aside hardline methods in its handling of Hong Kong and Taiwan affairs.   -- One of China's biggest car ventures was facing an indefinite delay because of differences between German giant Daimler-Benz, which would take a 45 per cent stake in the venture, and its two mainland partners.   -- A two year, multi-million dollar legal battle between U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers and mainland oil giant Unipec over disputed derivative deals had been settled out of court.   -- HONG KONG STANDARD - Hong Kong-listed shipping firm Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company would merge its container shipping business with that of Royal Nedlloyd to form a new European company.   -- Hong Kong News Room (852) 2843 6441 
12581 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  China protested strongly to the Japanese government on Tuesday, saying it should allow no right-wingers to set foot on the disputed Diaoyu islands and should dismantle structures on the islands.   "The Japanese government must take action to stop these activities... (and) must not let right-wingers to set foot on these islands," Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang told a news briefing.   "These illegal facilities should not continue to exist," he said, referring to a lighthouse and a war memorial built on the Diaoyus, which lie about 300 km (190 miles) west of Japan's Okinawa island and 200 km (125 miles) east of Taiwan.   The islands, known in Japanese as the Senkakus, are subject to rival claims by China, Japan, and Taiwan.   China's Foreign Ministry had lodged a strong protest with the Japanese government on Tuesday after reports that more Japanese right-wingers had landed on the island, Shen said.   In Tokyo, Japanese rightists said they have rebuilt a makeshift lighthouse on the East China Sea island.   Six members of the Tokyo-based Nihon Seinen-sha (Japan Youth Federation) sailed to the Diaoyu Islands, and repaired an aluminium lighthouse on Monday, a spokesman for the group said.   Tokyo has effectively supported the right-wing group's moves to bolster Japan's claim to the islands, mobilising patrol boats to repel private Taiwan vessels that have tried to reach the islands in recent days.   Japan's persistent moves to assert sovereignty over the islands have angered Chinese in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and on the Chinese mainland, uniting the regions despite their own political differences.   Rivals China and Taiwan, which separately challenge Japan's claim to the islands, have condemned the construction of the lighthouse and demanded its immediate removal.   Tokyo's claim dates to 1895, when Japan defeated China and seized Taiwan and other territories.   China has claimed sovereignty over the islands for centuries.   In Taipei, a poll published on Monday showed that 69 percent of 982 Taiwanese interviewed by the mass-circulation United Daily News said they wanted Taipei to send vessels to protect the islands.   Taiwan has no diplomatic ties with Japan, which recognises only Beijing's communist government.   In Hong Kong, activists said they would go to China to urge Beijing to send warships and troops to wrest the disputed Diaoyu Islands from Japan's control. 
12582 !GCAT !GDIP  Japanese rightists said on Tuesday they have rebuilt a makeshift lighthouse on an East China Sea island at the centre of a sovereignty dispute among Tokyo, Beijing and Taipei.   Six members of the Tokyo-based Nihon Seinen-sha (Japan Youth Federation) sailed to the Senkakus, known in Chinese as the Diaoyu islands, and repaired an aluminium lighthouse on Monday, a spokesman for the group said.   "It's not a new one.   The lighthouse we built in July was damaged by a typhoon last month," the spokesman told Reuters.   "So that was repaired," he said.   Japanese coastguards dispatched a helicopter to the island earlier on Tuesday and spotted the lighthouse.   "We confirmed that the lighthouse was standing," a spokesman for the Maritime Safety Agency said.   Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hiroshi Hashimoto said the Tokyo government did not support the right-wing group's reconstruction of the lighthouse.   "The Japanese government does not support the activities, and we sincerely hope that both the Japanese and Chinese people will deal with the Senkaku island issue calmly so it won't affect the friendly relations between Japan and China," Hashimoto told a regular news conference.   Hashimoto said the islands were private Japanese property, and therefore the Japanese government was in no position to dictate development of the islands.   Meanwhile, China told Tokyo on Tuesday it should not allow right-wing groups to set foot on the disputed Diaoyu islands and lodged a strong protest with the Japanese government.   "The Japanese government must take action to stop these activities...(and) must not let right-wingers set foot on these islands," Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang told a news briefing in Beijing.   Tokyo mobilised patrol boats to repel private Taiwan vessels that have tried to reach the islands in recent days.   The Senkakus, a group of small uninhabited islands, lie in the East China Sea west of Japan's Okinawa island, northeast of Taiwan and east of China's southeastern Fujian coast.   Japan's persistent moves to assert sovereignty over the islands have angered Chinese in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and on the Chinese mainland, uniting the regions despite their own political differences.   Rivals China and Taiwan, which separately challenge Japan's claim to the islands, have condemned the construction of the lighthouse and demanded its immediate removal.   Tokyo's claim dates from 1895, when Japan defeated China and seized Taiwan and other territories.   China has claimed sovereignty over the islands for centuries.   A poll published on Monday showed that 69 percent of 982 Taiwanese interviewed by the mass-circulation United Daily News said they wanted Taipei to send vessels to protect the islands.   Taiwan has no diplomatic ties with Japan, which recognises only Beijing's communist government. 
12583 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Typhoon Sally killed at least 112 people and left 110 missing when it slammed into southern China this week, officials said on Tuesday.   The typhoon sliced across the province of Guangdong on Monday, killing at least 79 in Zhanjiang city, leaving more than 60 missing and injuring 2,300, local officials told Reuters by telephone.   In Maoming city, at least 33 people were killed and more than 50 were reported missing, the officials said.   "Economic losses (in Zhanjiang) were the worst since 1954," one official said.   Losses in the two cities were estimated at 12.8 billion yuan ($1.5 billion).   Fierce winds caused a total of 215,951 houses to collapse, the official said.   The storm moved into Vietnam but weakened as it hit the country's northern provinces, meteorological officials said.   About 700 fishing boats were damaged around Zhanjiang alone, officials said, adding that more than 60 sank around Maoming.   Rail and highway traffic have been suspended.   Water supply and electricity have been cut off, they added.   A warehouse of Chinese carmaker Three Stars in Maoming city collapsed.   It was not immediately known how many cars were damaged.   A furniture market in Maoming covering an area of 40,000 sq metres (430,000 sq ft) was destroyed.   The typhoon follows in the wake of devastating floods which swept across central and southern China in July, killing at least 2,700 people and leaving hundreds of thousand homeless, according to the latest official figures.   Vietnamese meteorological officials said the typhoon had turned into a tropical depression, which brought moderate rains and wind.   "The storm is not as strong as we anticipated," said an official of the anti-flood and natural calamity committee in Quang Ninh province.   He said there had been no flooding in paddy fields, but flash flooding had blocked some roads north to China.   The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said last week that almost 400 people had died in tropical storms and flooding in northern Vietnam since the beginning of July. 
12584 !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 SECURITIES   The China Securities Regulatory Commission has started to handle the listing of 32 companies which were delayed for so-called historical reasons.   A securities watchdog in China's Sichuan province is investigating a company for the unauthorised issue of 14.8 million A shares.   - - - -   FINANCIAL NEWS   The China Securities Regulatory Commission has asked stock and futures exchanges to strengthen checks and supervision to curb irregularities.   The China Construction Bank has signed a long-term cooperation agreement with an electricity transmitting company to handle power generated by the Three Gorges dam.   An editorial says comprehensive opening-up to foreign insurance companies would destroy domestic insurers.   - - - -   ECONOMIC DAILY   The China Daya Bay nuclear plant has been granted certification by the State Nuclear Security Bureau.   A Chinese company is to set up a VSAT network using satellite communications.   - - - -   CHINA DAILY - People's Bank of China Deputy Governor Chen Yuan welcomes the Bank of International Settlements decision to admit China along with central banks and monetary authorities of eight other countries and territories.   He said this will significantly improve the bank's cooperation with the BIS and other member banks.   - - - -   PEOPLE'S DAILY - Chinese President Jiang Zemin meets President Alpha Oumar Konare of Mali. 
12585 !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   Ex-governor of Jakarta Ali Sadikin and the editor of the banned magazine Tempo, Gunawan Mohamad, were called for questioning at the Attorney-General's office in connection with last July's riots.   - - - -   JAKARTA POST   All foreign cargo jets will in the future only be allowed to land on Batam Island in order to protect domestic cargo carriers, the government said.   The government is developing Batam -- 80 km south of Singapore -- as a transport hub for scheduled and chartered passenger and cargo flights.   - - - -   MERDEKA   Chief of the Jakarta regional police Hamami Nata said that his office had not had reports of anyone missing in the wake of riots in July.   This was in response to the official human rights body's estimate last month that 74 people were still missing.   - - - -   BISNIS INDONESIA   Property firm Bhuwanatala Indah Permai denied that businessman Edward Soeryadjaya had put in a bid to buy a 51 percent stake of the company. 
12586 !GCAT  Newspaper headlines   CHINA TIMES - Government will not set limits for Taiwanese investments in Chinese mainland.   Taiwan to hike telephone fees by end of year.   UNITED DAILY NEWS - Economics ministry and Mainland Affairs Council agree to maintain stable economic and trade relation with mainland China.   President Lee Teng-hui urges to resolve dispute over Diaoyu islands through negotiations.   COMMERCIAL TIMES - Wang Yung-ching, chairman of Formosa Group, plans visit to Australia in mid-September to seek possible investment in mining industry.   Cabinet proposes measures to raise Taiwan's banking power.   ECONOMIC DAILY NEWS - Securities and Exchange Commission suspect insider trading in BTR Plc selloff of three Taiwan petrochemical firms to Taiwan's Union Petrochemical and USI Far East.   Taiwan orders further environmental review for Bayer's T$49 billion investment project in central Taichung.   -- Taipei Newsroom (2-5080815) 
12587 !GCAT  Following are the main stories in Tuesday's Malaysian newspapers.   NEW STRAITS TIMES   - Several Malaysian listed companies including tycoon Vincent Tan's Berjaya Group are suing British legal publication "International Commercial Litigation" for alleged defamation in a November 1995 article on Malaysia's record of judicial integrity.   - Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and visiting Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus have agreed to raise awareness of each other's countries by bolstering trade and cultural ties.   - The landslide win of the dominant Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition in the Sarawak state elections was tempered by the opposition Democratic Action Party winning one seat.   STAR   - Ting Pek Khing, chairman of Ekran Bhd, the main developer of the Bakun dam project in eastern Malaysian state of Sarawak, is to jointly set up a pulp and paper mill in the state along with the Sabah state government.   - A logging licence belonging to a company operating in the Selangor state may be revoked if it is deemed to be contravening Malaysian environmental laws.   - Kuala Lumpur newsroom (603-230 8911) 
12588 !GCAT  TOP STORIES   - Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa promises that a proposal to set up a "dream team" of economic experts within the cabinet will become a reality if coalition partners help defeat upcoming censure motion.   (BANGKOK POST)   - Police accuse two senior Democrat party members were accused of being involved in a land reform scandal.   (THE NATION)   - Weather bureau warns Bangkok residents to brace for more rains today as Tropical Storm Sally moves closer to Thailand.   (THE NATION)   - Defence Ministry orders Military Supreme Command to review a plan to buy 225 armoured personnel carriers from France following fears that the purchase could affect a major U.S. auto investment in Thailand.   (THE NATION)     + + + +   BUSINESS   - Deputy Prime Minister Amnuay Viravan to unveil measures aimed at reviving economy during cabinet meeting today.   (KRUNGTHEP THURAKIJ)   - Foreign analysts say Thai bourse to fall further because of political uncertainty and problems with the economy.  (KRUNGTHEP THURAKIJ)   - Petroleum Authority of Thailand wins approval to build eight new pipelines.   (THE NATION)   -- Bangkok newsroom (662) 652-0642 
12589 !GCAT  DAY'S TOP STORIES   - Close to one million people, among them 2,000 Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) members, cast their votes on Monday in the Autonomous Region in Moslem Mindanao in what government officials said was the most peaceful elections ever held in the country.   (THE PHILIPPINE STAR)   - Five foreign consultants of the anti-lahar megadike in Pampanga have been summoned by the Senate to explain allegations of faulty design and non-compliance with structural specifications, Senator Ramon Revilla said.   (THE PHILIPPINE STAR)   - Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien will visit the Philippines from January 15 to 28, 1997.   He will be accompanied by a delegation of business leaders.   (THE PHILIPINE STAR)   - A cholera outbreak in the San Andres and Paco areas seems to have been contained, although two more deaths have been recorded.   (MALAYA)    ++++   BUSINESS   - The National Power Corp is holding the public bidding for the $1.2 billion 1,200 megawatt Ilijan plant on October 7.   (MANILA BULLETIN)   - The Monetary Board, policy-making body of the Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas, has decided to raise interest rates on exporters dollar facility by 0.125 percent to 5.53125 percent annually.   (MANILA BULLETIN)   - The business community wants Malacanang palace to thwart moves in Congress to stall the full deregulation of the downstream oil industry for three years.   (MANILA BULLETIN)   - Royal Port Services Inc, a losing participant in the controversial Subic freeport operations bidding, finally ended its silence on Monday as it claimed it was the rightful winner in the bidding.   (THE BUSINESS DAILY)   - The International Monetary Fund appears to have doubts about the economic figures presented by the Philippine government and has sought a review of these numbers, a source said.   (TODAY, MANILA CHRONICLE, PHILIPPINE STAR)   - The Bases Conversion Development Authority is expected to decide on Tuesday whether to scrap the winning bid tendered by Manuela Land and Houses Corp for the development of Club John Hay.   (THE BUSINESS DAILY)   - Manila newsroom (632) 841 8934 
12590 !GCAT !GVIO  The fate of top dissident Khmer Rouge leader Ieng Sary is key to more progress in Cambodia's national reconciliation process, political analysts and diplomats said on Tuesday.   It would also dictate the way by which thousands of rebel guerrillas allied to him could return to normal life from the depths of their jungle hideouts, they added.   Ieng Sary, foreign minister during the Maoist Khmer Rouge's brutal 1975-79 rule of Cambodia, made his concerns clear on Monday at his first major public appearance in nearly two decades at a news conference in his jungle headquarters.   The dissident leader, sentenced to death in absentia for his role in the Khmer Rouge's killing of more than one million people through executions or other means at labour camps, even brazenly asked the media to help his cause.   Last month, Ieng Sary forced a grave split within the Khmer Rouge when he declared his break with the guerrilla group's hardline supremo, Pol Pot.   The clandestine radio of the hardline Khmer Rouge has charged the French-educated Ieng Sary, the former brother-in-law of Pol Pot and now in his 60's, with embezzlement and called for his execution.   Cambodian co-premiers Prince Norodom Ranariddh and Hun Sen, setting aside personal distaste for the leaders of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, are expected to formally ask King Norodom Sihanouk to pardon Ieng Sary, analysts said.   Sihanouk, believed to personally dislike Ieng Sary for his alliance with the Khmer Rouge in the early 1970s, has said he would only consider an amnesty on receiving written requests from both premiers and two thirds of the 120 members of parliament in the National Assembly.   "We are all awaiting the decision of the National Assembly to see if amnesty will be granted...that is the next step (in the reconciliation process)," one foreign diplomat said.   Ieng Sary said last month he had formed a group called the Democratic National United Movement, and surprised analysts by saying he wanted to work for peace with the Cambodia government.   At his western Phnom Malai base on Monday, Ieng Sary said he had struck a ceasefire with the government and asked it to officially determine his legal status.   "A lack of amnesty could bungle the talks (for national reconciliation)," a Western analyst, who has studied the Khmer Rouge for many years, said on condition of anonymity.   A recent poll by the Solidarity and Community Development Association, a non-governmental organisation with close links to the opposition Khmer Nation Party, said that 53.8 percent of those questioned favoured an amnesty for Ieng Sary.   But many are suspicious of Ieng Sary's motives and angrily dismiss his claims of innocence about the holocaust.   Lao Mong Hay, head of the Khmer Institute of Democracy, said the fate of Ieng Sary was a political, legal and moral issue, and stressed that, "The dead have right to justice."   "On moral grounds, on legal grounds as a Cambodian citizen I'm opposed to even talking to Ieng Sary," he said.   Ieng Sary took pains, both in the statement on Monday and in answering reporters' questions, to distance himself from Pol Pot and the killings of the 1970s.   He said he had no remorse as he had done no wrong and should not be blamed for the genocide.   His aides even handed out a revisionist history of the Khmer Rouge movement prepared by his followers, blaming Pol Pot and his acolytes for all the group's abuses.   Pol Pot was also sentenced to death in absentia for the Cambodian genocide.   The Khmer Rouge signed a peace pact in 1991 only to later renege on the accord, and have been fighting the coalition government that emerged from U.N.-run elections in 1993. 
12591 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL !GVIO  South Korea's High Court will start an appeal hearing on October 7 against sentences imposed on former presidents Chun Doo Hwan and Roh Tae-woo, a court official said on Tuesday.   Chun was sentenced to death and Roh to 22-1/2 years in prison last month on charges of mutiny and treason stemming from a 1979 coup and the massacre of students demonstrating against martial law the following year in Kwangju.   The two were also convicted of taking hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes.   Chun and Roh are appealing for their sentences to be quashed.   State prosecutors are demanding that Roh's sentence be increased to life in jail, which is what they originally demanded.   The first hearing will deal with the mutiny and treason appeals.   A second hearing on October 10 will handle the appeal against the bribery verdicts, the official said.   Several former aides to Chun and Roh will also battle prosecutors trying to increase their sentences, which range from suspended jail terms to 10 years in prison.   Four leading businessmen handed jail terms of between two and 2-1/2 years will also appeal. 
12592 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Angry Taiwanese lawmakers on Tuesday urged Taiwan's government to deploy military forces to assert its claim in an escalating sovereignty dispute with Japan over a chain of East China Sea islands.   Denouncing the government for taking too soft a stance, the lawmakers said Taiwan must act to protect its rights after Japan's coast guard vessels expelled several Taiwanese boats near the uninhabited Diaoyu islands in recent days.   "What is the use of spending so much on defence and preparing the military for so long?   We would rather lose 1,000 soldiers than lose an inch of territory," Chen Ching-pao, a ruling Nationalist Party lawmaker, was quoted as saying by the state-run Central News Agency.   "Taiwan should issue serious protests to Japan... and send coast guard patrols to the Diaoyus to protect our fishermen when necessary," opposition New Party legislator Lee Ching-hua said.   The Diaoyus, known as the Senkakus in Japanese, are about 300 km (190 miles) west of Japan's Okinawa island and 200 km (125 miles) east of Taiwan.   They are subject to rival claims by China, Japan, and Taiwan.   Disputes over the islands resurfaced recently after Japanese right-wingers built a lighthouse and a war memorial on the islands, sparking a wave of Chinese protests across the region.   Japanese rightists said on Tuesday they had rebuilt the makeshift aluminium lighthouse after it was damaged by a typhoon last month.   Tokyo has effectively supported the rightists' moves to bolster Japan's claim to the islands, mobilising coast guard ships to repel private Taiwan vessels that have tried to reach the Diaoyus in recent days.   Japan's moves have angered Chinese in Hong Kong and mainland China as well as in Taiwan, uniting the three regions despite their own political differences.   But Taipei said on Monday it could defend its claim to the islands and would not cooperate with rival claimant China to solve the dispute with Japan.   China, which had remained relatively silent on the dispute, lodged a strong protest on Tuesday with the Japanese government following reports that more Japanese rightists had landed on one of the Diaoyu islands.   Hong Kong activists said on Tuesday they would go to China to urge Beijing to send warships and troops to wrest the Diaoyus from Japanese control.   But Beijing and Taipei, political rivals since a civil war split them in 1949, are believed to be uncomfortable with the rare confluence of their interests. 
12593 !GCAT !GDIP !GENT !GVIO  China's film industry on Tuesday became the latest showcase for a rising tide of nationalism as propaganda chiefs heaped honours on movies depicting resistance to what state media called U.S. and Japanese aggression.   The "July 7 Incident," a film about Japan's invasion of China before and during World War Two, was chosen as a co-winner of the Hundred Flowers film award, an official of the China Film Artists Association said on Monday.   "Contest: a Record of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea," a documentary about the Korean War, was nominated for best documentary at this year's Golden Rooster awards, China's top movie accolades, the official said.   "We'd like to reflect that part of history from a new angle by using a lot of historical documents," the official said.   A panel of 24 prominent Chinese directors, actors and commentators had nominated the film, which was shot by a studio run by the People's Liberation Army, for next month's awards, the official said.   The official Xinhua news agency lauded the film as revealing the expansionist motives of U.S. forces in Korea.   "The film...exposes the aggressive nature of the U.S. imperialists and sings praises of the Chinese people's love for peace," Xinhua quoted a film association spokesman as saying on Monday.   A wave of nationalism has swept China in recent months, with publishers pumping out books and essays slamming perceived Western -- and particularly U.S. -- interference in China's domestic affairs.   Western scholars and analysts have said Beijing is trying to use nationalism to fill an ideological void created by the gradual abandonment of Marxist theory in favour of market-oriented economic reform.   China's film industry has slumped as moviegoers forego domestic fare and flock to hit foreign films such as "Forrest Gump" and "The Bridges of Madison County".   Industry analysts and officials would meet in October to discuss strategies for luring audiences back to Chinese movies, Xinhua said. 
12594 !GCAT !GVIO  President Fidel Ramos on Tuesday ordered the armed forces and police to disarm Christian vigilantes in the southern Philippines who have vowed to fight a peace deal between Manila and Moslem rebels.   Ramos said in a directive that if the vigilantes resisted attempts to persuade them to give up their weapons, "more forceful measures" should be applied.    About 35 vigilantes last weekend came out in public for the first time and showed reporters an array of weaponry from assault rifles to machineguns and grenade launchers during an interview outside Zamboanga city in the southern Mindanao region.   Local officials estimated the group, calling itself the Mindanao Christian Unified Command, had an armed following of about 3,000 men.   The military earlier dismissed them as an insignificant force.   The peace deal signed by the government and rebel chieftain Nur Misuari in Manila last week calls for the establishment of a rebel-led administrative council to supervise development in 14 southern provinces, most of them dominated by Christians. 
12595 !C21 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  China's Maoming Petrochemical Corp in the southern province of Guangdong resumed partial operations on Tuesday after Typhoon Sally forced a shutdown on Monday, officials said.   Officials at the state-run oil processing plant said the plant was was forced to halt production after the typhoon cut off power supplies.   Production was cut on Monday from 10.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. and since then processing output had only resumed partially, one official said.   "The losses are very big," one company official said but declined to give further details.   The refinery, which can process 6.5 million tonnes of crude oil per year, is the second-biggest in China. 
12596 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV  South Korea will more strictly enforce controls on local refiners chartering old tankers to prevent maritime accidents leading to aggravated environmental damage, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry said on Tuesday.   Government reviews in the past have been somewhat lax in terms of environmental considerations, a ministry spokesman said.   "Frankly, the possibility of sea pollution has so far received little attention in reviewing applications for chartering tankers," a ministry spokesman said.   The steps will include more frequent inspections of tankers, he said, and are effective immediately.   But he noted the move does not mean a uniform age limit will be set.   "Technically, setting up such a limit is almost impossible.   We will strengthen the controls on a case-by-case basis." 
12597 !GCAT !GCRIM  Taiwan has arrested a couple on charges of smuggling heroin inside hollowed-out crabs, the Bureau of Investigation said on Tuesday.   Investigators found more than five kgs (11 pounds) of heroin stuffed inside 57 crabs in a 905 kg (1,991 pound) shipment of the frozen crustaceans sent to Taiwan's international airport from Thailand late on Monday, the agency said.   Police arrested the Taiwanese couple when they came to the airport and picked up the crabs.   Drug traffickers can face the death sentence in Taiwan. 
12598 !GCAT !GODD  An Australian tourist snatched a police officer's gun and after a brief pursuit and shot himself dead in front of hundreds of people at the Bangkok international airport on Tuesday, police said.   Police said Gary John Gunning, 30, from New South Wales, arrived at the airport from the southeastern beach resort of Pattaya on Monday night.   He was carrying a confirmed ticket for a flight to Sydney on September 11, they said.   Airport police said Gunning had been acting strangely, and they had asked him to remain in the departure lounge.   But on Tuesday morning, he suddenly walked up behind a police officer who was using a public phone, snatched his handgun and ran off.   Security officials gave chase and when they cornered him at an immigration counter, Gunning put the gun into his mouth and fired, police said.   An Australian Embassy official arrived at the scene after the shooting but declined to comment.   Police said arrangements would be made with the embassy to send Gunning's body back to Australia. 
12599 !GCAT !GDIP  China told Tokyo on Tuesday it should not allow right-wing groups to set foot on the disputed Diaoyu islands and lodged a strong protest with the Japanese government.    "The Japanese government must take action to stop these activities...(and) must not let right-wingers to set foot on these islands," Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang told a news briefing.   "These illegal facilities should not continue to exist," he said, referring to a lighthouse and a war memorial built on the Diaoyus, which lie about 300 km (190 miles) west of Japan's Okinawa island and 200 km (125 miles) east of Taiwan.   The islands are subject to rival claims by China, Japan, and Taiwan.   China's Foreign Ministry had lodged a strong protest with the Japanese government on Tuesday after reports that more Japanese right-wingers had landed on the island, Shen said. 
12600 !C11 !CCAT !GCAT !GENT  Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc said on Tuesday that it would set up a firm on September 20 to operate a theatre for three-dimensional movies in Tokyo.   The new firm, SME Cinequest Inc, will be capitalised at 280 million yen and open a 3-D theatre on October 4 in a new department store to be launched by Takashimaya Co Ltd.   About 650,000 people are expected annually at the 344-seat theatre, Sony Music Entertainment said a statement. 
12601 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Palestinian President Yasser Arafat arrived in Japan, one of his biggest financial backers, on Tuesday seeking more cash and support for the Middle East peace process in the face of a new hard-line Israel.   Arafat's trip comes just a week after his landmark meeting and handshake with new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.   During his four-day stay, Arafat is to meet Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda and business leaders, as well as Emperor Akihito.   He is expected to receive strong support for his efforts to bring peace to the Middle East, Japanese officials said.   "The timing of his visit is good.   It is important for Japan to give political blessings and support for his peace efforts," a Foreign Ministry official said.   Arafat, who in January became the first democratically chosen Palestinian leader, is touring the world appealing for pressure against the new Israeli leader.   The Palestinians want implementation of the 1993 Oslo agreement on an Israeli troop redeployment in Hebron and other areas of the West Bank and the opening of a passage for Palestinians to travel between the West Bank and Gaza.   Israel has stressed that self-rule in the Gaza Strip and West Bank cannot go ahead unless its security needs are satisfied.   The Palestinians have said they will not give in to Israeli demands to modify the Oslo agreement, but will only discuss its implementation.   Hashimoto said last week: "We will discuss various issues.   But most of all, I would like to ask him to promote the peace process in the Middle East."   Apart from political support, Arafat was expected to ask for "substantial" economic aid to the cash-strapped Palestinians, the Foreign Ministry official said.   In 1993, Japan pledged $200 million to assist in Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza for two years and has already disbursed $220 million, more than it promised.   "Japan wants to help promote peace so that Japan's private sector can eventually take part in business activities there," the official said.   Although Tokyo is considering extending fresh economic aid to the Palestinians, it is unlikely to make any specific pledge during Arafat's visit, Japanese officials said.   "It's doubtful that we can make such a quick decision to offer any economic aid during his visit," the Foreign Ministry official said.   Japan has diplomatic relations with Israel but does not officially recognise the Palestine Liberation Organisation, although the government has allowed it to have a representative office in Tokyo.   The PLO closed its Tokyo office in June 1995 because of financial difficulties.   Japan, which relies on the Arab world for 70 percent of its oil, has historically taken a pro-Arab stance. 
12602 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  South Korea will boycott an investment forum in North Korea because Pyongyang broke its promise to accept all those who wanted to attend, the ministry of National Unification said on Tuesday.   North Korea rejected applications from Seoul officials and journalists for the September 13-15 investment forum in the Rajin-Songbong free trade zone.   It invited only 25 South Korean business executives.    North Korea watchers in Seoul believe a boycott will seriously damage fledgling economic ties between North and South Korea, still technically at war following their 1950-53 conflict.   Rajin-Sonbong is the only foreign investment window of its kind in North Korea, and Pyongyang is trying to attract hundreds of millions of dollars to the area near Russia and China.   South Korean investment is key to the development of the capitalist-style enclave.   "We have decided not to send anybody to the investment forum," the unification ministry said in a statement.   "We cannot accept selective invitations and the breach of North Korea's promise".   Seoul applied for 53 invitations.   Pyongyang argued it lacked accomodation, but nevertheless sent invitation letters to officials from China, Japan and the United States. 
12603 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Typhoon Sally killed at least 112 people when it slammed into southern China this week, officials said on Tuesday.   The typhoon sliced across the province of Guangdong on Monday, killing at least 79 in Zhanjiang city and leaving more than 60 missing, local officials told Reuters by telephone.    In Maoming city, at least 33 people were killed and more than 50 were reported missing, officials said.   Economics losses were estimated at 12.8 billion yuan ($1.5 billion), they said.   Fierce winds damaged 113,951 houses and sank more than 60 fishing boats around Maoming alone, the officials said. 
12604 !GCAT !GDIP  Mali's President Alpha Oumar Konare has called on China to play a bigger role on the world stage, the China Daily said on Tuesday.   "We hope China will take up a more important position in the world, playing a more important role in international affairs," the newspaper quoted Konare as saying in a Monday meeting with Chinese President Jiang Zemin.   Konare told Jiang that Mali supported China on the issue of Taiwan and backed Beijing's "One China" stance, the newspaper said.   Beijing has been engaged in a diplomatic tug-of-war with rival Taipei for the friendship of African and Latin American states.   Beijing has regarded Taiwan as a rebel province since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.   Jiang visited Mali in May as part of a six-nation tour in which he signed deals for tens of millions of dollars of soft loans to African nations. 
12605 !GCAT !GDIP  Hong Kong activists said on Tuesday they will go to China to urge Beijing to send warships and troops to wrest the disputed Diaoyu Islands in the east China Sea from Japan's control.   The Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood, a local pro-democracy party, will send eight members to Beijing on Wednesday with a petition signed by 15,000 people urging the government to get tough on Japan's claim to the Diaoyu Islands.   "We strongly believe the Diaoyu islands are sacred territory belonging to the Chinese people," spokesman Law Cheung-kwok said, adding that the party strongly urged the Chinese government to send warships to protect the islands and to station troops there.   The Diaoyus, known as the Senkakus in Japanese, are about 300 km (190 miles) west of Japan's Okinawa island and 200 km (125 miles) east of Taiwan.   They are subject to rival claims by China, Japan, and Taiwan.   Disputes over the islands resurfaced recently after Japanese right-wingers built a lighthouse and a war memorial on the islands, sparking a wave of Chinese protests across the region.   Japanese rightists said on Tuesday they had rebuilt the makeshift aluminium lighthouse after it was damaged by a typhoon last month.   In the British colony of Hong Kong daily protests have been held for more than a week, urging Beijing to take tougher action to protect its territory.   The issue has united Chinese nationalist sentiment in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau and is bringing together groups that are usually at odds with each other.   On Monday 700 Hong Kong academics from eight Hong Kong colleges signed a petition condemning Japan.   Tokyo has effectively supported the right-wing group's moves to bolster Japan's claim to the islands, mobilising patrol boats to repel private Taiwan vessels that have tried to reach the islands in recent days. 
12606 !C12 !C13 !C15 !C152 !C18 !C181 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Taiwan's Securities and Exchange Commission said on Tuesday it would look into possible insider trading in industrial conglomerate BTR Plc's selloff of three major Taiwan petrochemical firms.   A commission official reached by telephone confirmed that the agency was looking into possible insider trading but was reluctant to disclose any details.   "We will look into the case," he said.    Union Petrochemical and USI Far East said on Monday they had agreed to buy BTR's controlling stakes in Taita Chemical, Asia Polymer and China General Plastics.   Of the US$300 million purchase price, the two buyers will pay out T$2.707 billion, or about US$98 million, and raise the remainder through bank loans, USI Far East spokeswoman Chu Shu-yun told Reuters.   Taiwan's Economic Daily News quoted USI Far East's president, Chou Hsin-huai, as saying the confidential deal was leaked before Monday's formal announcement.    The securities watchdog official said the commission would monitor share-price changes in all companies involved before and after the selloff to determine if there was insider trading.   Taiwan and British newspapers had extensive coverage of the deal before the formal announcement.   In London, the Sunday Telegraph said on Sunday that BTR's recently apppointed chief executive officer, Ian Strachan, would announce a selloff of Taiwan assets on Monday in a bid to raise two billion stg before 1998 by selling non-core businesses.   Share prices of Taita, Asia Polymer and China General Plastics jumped sharply during Monday's session.    Taita and China General Plastics both rose the daily seven percent limit on Monday while Asia Polymer gained only 0.93 percent.   At mid-morning on Tuesday, Taita was up 40 cents or 1.29 percent to T$31.4 and Asia Polymer T$1.5 or 2.75 percent to T$56, while General Plastics was off 40 cents or 1.37 percent to T$28.9.   Purchaser Union Petrochemical was down 10 cents or 0.31 percent to T$31.7 and USI Far East lost 40 cents or 1.27 percent to T$31.   BTR had held controlling 51 percent stakes in Taita and Asia Polymer and a 31 percent stake in China General Plastics, though BTR reportedly controlled China General Plastics through stakes held by affiliates.   -- Taipei Newsroom (2-5080815) 
12607 !E51 !E511 !ECAT !GCAT !GTOUR  Singapore said on Tuesday it would launch a campaign to persuade people to smile for tourists and make welcome the tiny country's huge number of visitors.   The Singapore Tourist Promotion Board (STPB) said the campaign would kick off with "Smile, Singapore" television and newspaper advertisements and posters in underground trains and bus shelters.   It said in a statement those would be followed up with exhibitions and seminars to emphasise the importance of the tourist industry to Singapore, which earned almost Singapore $12 billion (US$8.5 billion) from seven million visitors last year.   The STPB said the aim of the campaign was to build up the image of an industry which "does not enjoy the recognition it deserves among the population at large".   Earlier this year, the government, worried by slowing growth in the number of visitors to the country, said it would promote Singapore aggressively as a tourist hub for Southeast Asia.   That would be successful only if "the man in the street understands how tourism impacts on his well-being, and displays a warm and positive attitude towards tourists", the STPB said. 
12608 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GDEF !GPOL  Japan may consider introducing special tax treatment to help southern Okinawa island, but no decision has been reached, Finance Minister Wataru Kubo said on Tuesday.   "I understand there has been strong demand (for the tax breaks) from Okinawa, and the government is considering how to respond on the matter," Kubo told a news conference.   "We have not yet reached any quick conclusion...but this must be an issue to be taken into consideration."   Okinawa Governor Masahide Ota and Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto were to meet later on Tuesday following a nonbinding referendum on Sunday in which Okinawans voted heavily in favour of removing U.S. troops.   Any financial plan to help Okinawa depends on the result of the Ota-Hashimoto meeting, Kubo said.   Okinawa is home to three-quarters of all U.S. military facilities in Japan, although it represents less than one percent of the country's total area.   The referendum did not mean the immediate closure of bases, nor did it settle a year-long confrontation between Okinawa and the central government that was set off by the rape of a schoolgirl by U.S. servicemen last September. 
12609 !GCAT !GDIP  China's leadership has decided to ease its hardline stance towards Hong Kong and Taiwan in a bid to ease tensions, a Hong Kong newspaper said on Tuesday.   The decision to shed leftism, or the ultra-conservative, ideology-driven policies of the late chairman Mao Zedong, was made at a series of meetings last month at the north China resort of Beidaihe, the South China Morning Post said.   "The Politburo and other top cadres reached the consensus that in tackling Hong Kong and Taiwan affairs, they must make full allowances for the capitalist systems and capitalist ways of doing things in these two places," the mainstream daily quoted Chinese sources as saying.   "The leadership stressed the need to stay away from leftist outlooks and policies," it said.   Beijing's often combative approach to Hong Kong affairs has caused jitters in the British colony, which returns to Chinese rule at midnight on June 30 next year.   Anxiety in the territory persists over rights and freedoms under Chinese rule, as well as Beijing's intention to scrap Hong Kong's elected legislature after the handover in retaliation for unilateral democratic reforms by colonial governor Chris Patten.   China has promised Hong Kong "a high degree of autonomy" after the handover.   Relations between China and Taiwan, considered a renegade province by Beijing, have been strained over the question of reunification and Taipei's efforts to expand diplomatic relations with other states.   Taiwan broke away from mainland China in 1949, becoming a powerbase for the vanquished Nationalist government ousted by the Communist forces of Mao Zedong.   Monday marked the 20th anniversary of Mao's death. 
12610 !GCAT !GTOUR  Looking at the map, tropical Indonesia can be as daunting to the tourist as it is alluring.   With more than 14,000 palm-fringed islands dotted with volcanoes, the only problem is chosing a location and figuring out how to get there.   Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago stretching more than 5,000 km (3,000 miles) in an arc between northern Australia and the Southeast Asian mainland, from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific.   Travellers have been lured to its seas for centuries and today the distances which have helped preserve its natural wonders and cultural mystique have also kept most of its picturesque islands from all but the most determined explorers.   But while this sounds good in the travel brochures, limits on accessibility are seen hampering the government's aim of doubling the number of tourists in the next decade.   "The first need of tourism is accessibility.   People now prefer to travel without taking too much time," says Andi Mappisameng, Indonesia's director-general of tourism.   This is particularly relevant because affluent Asians are increasingly looking at their own backyard for vacation spots.   Indonesia's answer is to build better airports and extend visa-free access to more nationalities.   Ten years ago, the airports of the capital Jakarta and the holiday island of Bali were the main entry and exit points.   Now there are 21 designated gateways.   Five years ago, fewer than 20 overseas airlines served this nation of almost 200 million people.   The number has now reached 38 and continues to climb.   Indonesia has also given visa-free access to 46 nations.   "We don't mind as we need people to come to Indonesia and we have to facilitate them," Mappisameng says.   The strategy seems to be working.   Last year, more than 4.3 million people visited Indonesia, 7.8 percent more than in 1994, and spent an estimated $5.2 billion.   Tourist arrivals for the first half of 1996 continued to grow, reaching 1.98 million compared to 1.69 million in the same period last year.   Mappisameng expects arrivals for the full year to reach five million.   The government has set a 10-year target to attract more than 11 million tourists a year by 2005.   By then, Mappisameng says tourism will generate more than $15 billion, part of a strategy to diversify the nation's export base away from finite oil and gas resources.   "In the last 25 years, we are the only country to have had an average annual growth in arrivals of more than 17 percent.   It's incredible," he says.   Success has also caused problems.   New entry points in places such as Padang in West Sumatra, with stunning mountain lakes, or Manado in North Sulawesi with its world-renowned coral reef, are creating new markets rather than redirecting existing traffic that is threatening to swamp Bali.   While some worry about the environmental impact of the growing hordes of visitors, conservationists say greater threats come from over fishing, poaching or commercial exploitation.   Much of the impetus to preserve key natural assets is driven by their worth as tourist assets.   Mappisameng says the government will continue to encourage foreign investors to get involved with the tourism sector.   Between 1988 and 1995, more than $6 billion was estimated to have been spent on improving tourism infrastructure, with three quarters of the total spent on hotels.   Indonesian tourism department officials said earlier this year there were 20,435 rooms in 43 international hotel chains in operation.   Another 13,010 rooms were planned or being built.   National hotel chains have 10,636 rooms in operation, but only another 580 planned or under construction. 
12611 !GCAT !GDIP  Japanese rightists said on Tuesday they have rebuilt a makeshift lighthouse on an East China Sea island at the centre of a sovereignty dispute among Tokyo, Beijing and Taipei.   Six members of the Tokyo-based Nihon Seinen-sha (Japan Youth Federation) sailed to the Senkakus, known in Chinese as the Diaoyu Islands, and repaired an aluminium lighthouse on Monday, a spokesman for the group said.   "It's not a new one.   The lighthouse we built in July was damaged by a typhoon last month," the spokesman told Reuters.   "So that was repaired," he said.   Japanese coastguards dispatched a helicopter to the island earlier on Tuesday and spoted the lighthouse.   "We confirmed that the lighthouse was standing," a spokesman for the Maritime Safety Agency said.   Tokyo has effectively supported the right-wing group's moves to bolster Japan's claim to the islands, mobilising patrol boats to repel private Taiwan vessels that have tried to reach the islands in recent days.   The Senkakus, a group of small uninhabited islands, lie in the East China Sea west of Japan's Okinawa island, northeast of Taiwan and east of China's southeastern Fujian coast.   Japan's persistent moves to assert sovereignty over the islands have angered Chinese in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and on the Chinese mainland, uniting the regions despite their own political differences.   Rivals China and Taiwan, which separately challenge Japan's claim to the islands, have condemned the construction of the lighthouse and demanded its immediate removal.   Tokyo's claim dates to 1895, when Japan defeated China and seized Taiwan and other territories.   China has claimed sovereignty over the islands for centuries.   A poll published on Monday showed that 69 percent of 982 Taiwanese interviewed by the mass-circulation United Daily News said they wanted Taipei to send vessels to protect the islands.   Taiwan has no diplomatic ties with Japan, which recognises only Beijing's communist government. 
12612 !GCAT !GDIP  China has lashed out at Taiwan for efforts to expand diplomatic links with other states, saying the policy will harm ties with Beijing and endanger the island's future.   The campaign for expanded ties had also damaged Taiwan's economic development, the official Xinhua news agency said in a commentary issued late on Monday.   "If the Taiwan authorities promote so-called pragmatic diplomacy it will only do great harm to relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and do no good for the survival and development of Taiwan," Xinhua said.   Promoters of pragmatic diplomacy were trying to split the island from China, it said, adding that this would not succeed.   China and Taiwan have been divided since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist armies fled to the island after their defeat by the communists on the mainland.   Taiwan has angered Beijing by trying to raise its international profile, expanding unofficial ties with a number of states that recognise China.   Beijing views Taiwan as a rebel province that is not entitled to diplomatic links.   Taiwan Foreign Minister John Chang recently made a private visit to Malaysia and Indonesia and Vice-President Lien Chan travelled to Ukraine.   The commentary said that Taiwan's first quarter growth was below the growth in the final quarter of last year, and this was due to its efforts on the diplomatic front.   China conducted unarmed missile tests and military manoeuvres during the first quarter in a move widely seen as aiming to influence voters in Taiwan's first direct presidential election.   The commentary also said that Taiwan was wasting its money by using what it called dollar diplomacy -- loans or grants -- to lure smaller states to recognise it diplomatically.   "Taiwan authorities used so-called dollar diplomacy to seduce a small number of countries in Latin America, South America and Africa to establish diplomatic relations.   "Wouldn't it be better if the Taiwan authorities used the money for Taiwan's economic development?"   it asked.   Zaire's state news agency said on Monday that China was prepared to underwrite investment in Zaire of up to $10 million and has agreed to give the nation $3.6 million more to be spent on a range of projects. 
12613 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the official Vietnamese press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   VIETNAM NEWS   -- Vietnam is making preparations to link up with the Trans-Asia Railway -- connecting Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh and Bangkok -- as part of the government's railway development strategy.   The plans are part of a major revitalisation of the country's southern rail network.   -- Storm-ravaged northern Vietnam is once again bracing for a strong tropical storm, which yesterday afternoon was moving towards the Tonkin Gulf at a speed of 35 km per hour.   Code named Storm Sally, it was expected to hit the northern coast last night and early this morning.   -- Poor families in the Mekong River Delta have received soft loans worth 25 billion dong ($2.27 million) to build new houses or reinforce stilt houses as part of efforts to combat flooding during the coming storm season.   BUSINESS   -- Foreign trade in the first eight months of this year could show a $3.25 billion deficit, according to preliminary statistics.   With this trend, the year's trade balance could be on the negative side by at least $2.5 billion, even if exports surpass targets.   -- Shareholders of the Australian mineral exploration company Anzoil have agreed to raise nearly $25 million in capital to appraise a gas discovery within the Hanoi basin.   -- The Ministry of Trade reported that by August 20 it had granted licences to 1,788 representative offices and 289 representative office branches of foreign enterprises from 58 countries in 11 major cities and provinces.   -- Vietsovpetro, the Vietnam-Russia oil and gas joint venture that launched Vietnam's oil industry, has pumped 40 million tonnes of crude oil from offshore fields, making it the country's leading oil producer.   - - - -   LE COURRIER DU VIETNAM   -- Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet yesterday sent an urgent telegram to officials in northern coastal provinces regarding provisional precautions ahead of the onset of Typhoon Sally.   Typhoons in northern Vietnam in July and August cost more lives than any other natural disaster in the past 10 years.   -- Hanoi's Dong Xuan market, which dates back to the 11th century, will reopen in mid-September.   It has taken two years to rebuild the market since it was gutted by a fire.   -- Two-year Treasury bonds carrying an annual coupon of 12 percent will go on sale to local and foreign individuals in Hanoi from today.   Organisations and companies may not subscribe to the bonds, whose minimum face value will be 100,000 dong ($9.07).   -- The Vietnam General Oil Company's commercial arm has exported 5.5 million tonnes of crude oil from the Bach Ho and Dai Hung wells since the start of this year.   The total, equivalent to full-year 1992's exports, generated turnover of $800 million.   - - - -   NHAN DAN   -- So far this year the Phu Rieng Rubber company (Song Be province) has produced 4,500 tonnes of rubber, up 85 percent from the same period of last year.   -- 1,023 case of smuggling and fraud worth $2.7 million were uncovered by customs offices in August.   -- An auction of 50 billion dong ($4.54 million) worth of one-year Treasury notes aution will be held by the central State Bank of Vietnam on Wednesday.   - - - -   QUAN DOI NHAN DAN   -- The Ministry of Education and Training began a one-week course for officials and teachers on the resolutions of the Eight Communist Party Congress.   -- Military Zone number Seven in the Mekong Delta is taking precautions ahead of the flood and storm season.   - - - -   HA NOI MOI   -- Hanoi's central Hoan Kiem district has launched a new drive against "social evils" in local schools.   -- The Investigation Department of the Hanoi Police Office was granted "The first Distinguished Services Medal" by the goverment for its efforts and achievements over the last 10 years. 
12614 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Finance Minister Wataru Kubo reported to the cabinet on Tuesday that budget requests by government ministries and agencies totalled 81.44 trillion yen for fiscal 1997/98, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said.   The budget requests, submitted last month for the year starting next April 1, were up 8.4 percent from the current year's original allocations of 75.10 billion yen.   The requests will be followed by marathon negotiations between the MOF and other ministries until the end of December, when MOF usually draws up a draft budget for the coming year.   Requests for general account spending, the core of the overall state budget, totalled 44.62 trillion yen, up 3.4 percent from the original 1996/97 budget.   Meanwhile, 1997/98 requests for the core of the government's loans and investment programme -- funded by postal insurance, postal savings and other public funds and not included in the general account budget -- totalled 42.13 trillion yen. 
12615 !GCAT !GDIP  Chinese Defence Minister Chi Haotian told a senior Indonesian military officer on Monday that he hoped Beijing and Jakarta could overcome obstacles to friendly ties, the official Xinhua news agency said.   China treasured friendly relations with Indonesia, Chi told visiting Major-General Prabowo Subianto during a meeting in the Chinese capital.   Chi said he hoped China and Indonesia would do their best to overcome difficulties in their bilateral ties, Xinhua said without giving details.   China last week made serious representations with Indonesia for allowing a visit by the foreign minister of its arch-rival, Taiwan.   Beijing has regarded Taiwan as a rebel province since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949 and has tried to isolate the island diplomatically.   China and Indonesia, which restored diplomatic ties only in 1990 after a hiatus of more than 20 years, also differ over border lines in the South China Sea.   Prabowo, the son-in-law of Indonesia's President Suharto and the army's youngest major-general, told Chi he hoped to boost cooperation with the People's Liberation Army, Xinhua said.   Prabowo, 45, heads the Indonesian army's special forces and is best known abroad for heading the operation that freed Western hostages from four months of captivity by separatist guerrillas in Indonesia's restive Irian Jaya. 
12616 !GCAT  The following are top stories from selected Singapore newspapers.   THE STRAITS TIMES:   - Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew breaks ground for Shanghai's US$300 million Raffles Square commercial centre, being developed by consortium led by Singapore's DBS Land.   - Singapore launches year-long Singapore $2 million "Smile Singapore" drive to raise awareness of tourism's importance and attract workers to the industry.   - Malaysian Foreign Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi informs Singapore that Malaysia's leading party is offended by statements by Singapore's leaders on the issue of a possible re-merger with Malaysia.   - Loss-making Lane Crawford department store in Singapore to close at end of month.   - Belgacom, Belgian telecommunications venture in which Singapore Telecommunications and Singapore Press Holdings have stakes, looks to develop 70 new projects to sharpen its competitive edge.   - An ASEAN economic ministers meeting in Jakarta this week will focus on preparations for the informal ASEAN Leaders' Summit in November.   BUSINESS TIMES:   - Panic selling deepened the crisis in Thailand's stock market on Monday, with brokers warning that capital flight would renew pressure on the beseiged baht.   - The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange asks broking houses in Malaysia for feedback on a plan to shorten the delivery period for shares.   - Private developer Ban Hin Leong offers to buy back units of Falcon Crest, an apartment block it built and sold in the early 1980s and which is now a prime candidate for redevelopment, at almost 10 times their original price.   - Property and hotel tycoon Kwek Leng Beng is a potential buyer of the Metropole hotel chain owned by British conglomerate Lonrho, London reports say.   -- Singapore newsroom 65-8703080 
12617 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  Iran appealed on Monday for aid to assist Iraqi Kurds fleeing fighting in northern Iraq, saying the refugees would have to be housed at border camps.   State-run Tehran radio quoted Ahmad Hosseini, Tehran's top official in charge of refugees, as saying Iran would make it possible for countries and international organisations to provide relief in camps in border areas.   No refugees would be allowed further into the country, he added.   Hosseini said 500,000 Kurds were displaced by inter-Kurdish fighting around the northern Iraqi city of Sulaimaniya and needed food, clothing and heating equipment, the radio reported.   "If world bodies send the needed aid in time we will be able to avoid a human tragedy," Hosseini said, adding that Iran was already providing emergency and medical help.   The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and United Nations sources said KDP forces entered Sulaimaniya, the main stronghold of the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), on Monday after several days of sporadic fighting.   Iran has not reported any refugee arrivals yet and a U.N. official said on Monday he had limited information.   "I was told by our people in Arbil (in northern Iraq) that 2,000 Kurds were already at the border.   But I cannot confirm this because we have not had access to border areas," said Laurens Jolles, an official of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Tehran.   "Iranian officials are very alarmed and envisage hundreds of thousands of refugees pouring in over the border," Jolles told Reuters by telephone.   PUK media reports that the KDP was backed by feared Iraqi armed forces have spurred the Kurds into abandoning their homes.   But an aid worker in Sulaimaniya said it appeared that only Kurds with close links to the PUK or with a history of opposition to the Baghdad government were fleeing the city.   Jolles said Iranian officials had asked international bodies to be ready for a situation "which might be a parallel to 1991."   In 1991, more than one million Iraqis, most of them Kurds, fled to Iran when Baghdad crushed Kurdish and Shi'ite Moslem uprisings which erupted after Iraq's defeat in the Gulf War.   Most of the Kurds have since returned to northern Iraq.   Tehran last week expressed concern that the clashes might bring about a repeat of the 1991 exodus which burdened a country which already has about 1.5 million Afghan refugees.   Iran has said that it was spending $2 million a day on refugees and repeatedly complained of insufficient funds for the refugees channelled through the United Nations.   UNHCR spokesman in Geneva, Rupert Colville, told the U.S. network CNN that the refugee organisation had very good cooperation with the Iranian authorities.   The Tehran daily Kayhan said thousands of Kurds were fleeing towards Iran from Sulaimaniya and Koi Sanjaq, which fell to the KDP on Sunday.   State-run Tehran radio said the KDP and Iraqi forces were acting jointly in the drive towards Sulaimaniya which has a population of around one million.   The KDP, which captured the Kurdish capital Arbil from the PUK on August 31 with Iraqi backing, has denied it was receiving support from Baghdad in the latest round of fighting.   Iran has rejected charges by Iraq and the KDP that it has intervened in northern Iraq by backing the PUK.   Baghdad has said its attack on Arbil, which prompted two waves of punitive U.S. missile strikes on southern Iraq last week, was aimed at backing the KDP against the PUK and Iran. 
12618 !GCAT !GVIO  A senior official in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state on Tuesday rejected Greek Cypriot media allegations that he was among those who shot dead a Greek Cypriot man during a protest on the island last month.   "This is a complete fabrication by the Greek Cypriot press.   I was not even there at the time when the shooting took place," Kenan Akin, agriculture minister in the Turkish Cypriot enclave, told Reuters.   The Greek Cypriot state-run Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) reported on Monday that Akin had shot Greek Cypriot Solomos Solomos on August 14 as he tried to tear down a Turkish flag at the edge of the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone dividing the island.   It showed pictures of a man it said was Akin standing on a balcony near the flagpole and holding a pistol in front of him with both hands.   Senior Cypriot government officials, who refused to be identified, told Reuters on Monday they had information of Akin's involvement in Solomos's killing.   Solomos, 26, was shot dead during demonstrations in the island's buffer zone as he climbed the flagpole by a Turkish sentry position.   CyBC said Akin was one of five people who opened fire on the youth.   The media reports came ahead of a visit by Turkey's Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller to northern Cyprus on Tuesday for the funeral of a Turkish Cypriot soldier killed at the weekend while on guard duty near the U.N. buffer zone.   Turkish Cypriots say Greek Cypriots are responsible for the death of 20-year-old Allahverdi Kilic.   The Cyprus government has denied any involvement in the killing.   Cyprus has been divided since Turkey invaded the northern third of the island in 1974 in the wake of a short-lived coup engineered by the military ruling Greece.   The Turkish Cypriot state in the north is recognised only by Ankara. 
12619 !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   - Opposition party, Parti pour le Progres et le Socialisme (PPS), adopts report calling for yes-vote in Sept 13 referendum on constitutional reform.   L'OPINION   - Appeal court cuts to six months jail sentence imposed on 68-year-old French woman involved in drugs.   AL-MAGHRIB   - United Nations Development Programme puts Morocco at 119th position for illiteracy.   LE QUOTIDIEN DU MAROC   - Survey commissioned by Youth Council and Directorate of Statistics says only few businesses provide staff with training.   AL-ALAM   - Dissident members distance themselves from their party, Organisation pour l'Action Democratique Populaire (OADP), which called for a no-vote in referendum.   ANOUAL   - Moroccan Commission backing Iraqi people condemns American raid on Iraq. 
12620 !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   - Prime Minister Hamed Karoui reports to President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali on his talks with Moroccan officials during his visit to Rabat last week.   - President Ben Ali signs decrees raising the minimum wage.   LE TEMPS   - International Airports Council director Paul Gaines visiting Tunisia for talks with Tunisian officials.   - President Ben Ali names new ambassadors to Canada, Mauritania, Lebanon, Russia and Ukraine. 
12621 !GCAT !GDIP  Syria said on Tuesday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was making the resumption of peace negotiations impossible by ignoring the outcome of nearly five years of bilateral talks.   After talks with U.S. President Bill Clinton in Washington on Monday Netanyahu urged Damascus to resume peace negotiations without conditions, saying there was "a wide area for negotiations between us and Syria".   "Netanyahu stroke a new nail in the coffin of the peace process when he put more obstacles and impossible conditions which remove any possibility to resume the negotiations," the official al-Baath newspaper said.   "Netanyahu renewed his entity's obstinate and provocative stand towards peace by urging Syria to resume the talks without conditions and demanding Arabs to offer what he called tangible concessions," al-Baath said.   The paper said Syria was ready to resume peace talks only on the basis of "Israel's clear recognition that the Golan (Heights) is an occupied Syrian land that should be returned in full to the motherland".   "Any other talk is totally rejected because it will deteriorate the peace process and lead to its total collapse," al-Baath said.   Netanyahu said in Washington that it was crucial now for one side "not to try to nail the other side on fixed positions as conditions for entering the negotiations".   "Mr Netanyahu's latest statements aren't the correct response to the call to resume talks...," the English-language daily Syria Times said.   "Only when he accepts negotiations from the point the talks stopped at, he will have truly made the strategic step to answer the call for peace," Syria Times said.   Syria, which wants Israel to withdraw fully from the Golan Heights, captured in 1967, had strongly condemned Netanyahu's rejection to trade the occupied Arab lands for peace.   Damascus says that some progress had been made in its talks with Israel which started in 1991 regarding the principles of land for peace and the security arrangements.   Former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres and his slain predecessor Yitzhak Rabin had accepted the land-for-peace formula and expressed willingness for at least a partial Golan pullback.   Netanyahu, who defeated Peres in elections last May, had often blasted Labour's stand as compromising Israel's security.   Peres's government broke off the last round of peace talks with Syria in Washington in March after a wave of Islamic suicide bombings killed 59 people in Israel.   Syria Times expressed doubt that the U.S. adminstration would exert any pressure on Netanyahu to change his hard line because of the American presidential elections due in November.   "The Clitnon adminstration with the elections ahead would not risk any single vote.   It is not Mr Netanyahu who is under pressure.   President Clinton is the one who needs support," it said. 
12622 !GCAT !GDIP  Syria said on Tuesday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was making the resumption of peace negotiations impossible by ignoring the outcome of nearly five years of bilateral talks.   "Netanyahu stroke a new nail in the coffin of the peace process when he put more obstacles and impossible conditions which remove any possibility to resume the negotiations," the official daily al-Baath said.   "Netanyahu renewed his entity's obstinate and provocative stand towards peace by urging Syria to resume the talks without conditions and demanding Arabs to offer what he called tangible concessions," al-Baath said.   After talks with U.S. President Bill Clinton in Washington on Monday, the Israeli leader urged Damascus to resume peace talks without conditions, saying there was "a wide area for negotiations between us and Syria".   Netanyahu opposes the land-for-peace formula in negotiations with Arabs, the principle of the Middle East peace process launched in Madrid in 1991. 
12623 !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   - Cabinet reviews Gulf developments and Bahrain's decision to boycott Doha summit of Gulf Cooperation Council in December.   - Bahrain to build a third causeway to link the capital Manama and the new industrial area in Hidd.   AKHBAR AL-KHALEEJ   - Jordan's Crown Prince Hassan says his country's relations with Gulf Arab states are in a new era, says Egypt has a major role in achieving comprehensive peace in the Middle East.   GULF DAILY NEWS   - 400 top international and regional experts for talks on labour at a conference to be held in Bahrain in November.   - Indian minister of state for commerce to lead a high-level delegation to Bahrain in November. 
12624 !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.   AL-RAI   - Crown Prince Hassan tells Daily Telegraph Iraqi people are paying price of warped policies and use of force.   Calls for setting up regional security network that includes Arab countries, Turkey and Iran.   - Prime Minister Abdul-Karim al-Kabariti says we are going ahead with building society of law and justice.   - South African President Nelson Mandela to visit Jordan next month.   AD DUSTOUR   - Prince Hassan says international politics main reason for prolonged suffering of Iraqi people.   - Jordan, Israel issue communique on developing tourism cooperation.   Jordan's Tourism Minister Saleh Irsheidat says Jordan earned $700 million from tourism last year.   Israeli tourism minister says there are some difficulties facing Jordanian tourists.   AL-ASWAQ   - Supply Ministry looks into importing 1,000 tonnes of olive oil.   JORDAN TIMES   - Regent urges rehabilitation of Iraq with a regional security network.   Confusion and placing issue on back burner encourages extremisn and destabilisation, Crown Prince says.   - Jordan regrets Iranian move to stall trade deal, but rejects criticism.   - Kabariti: Jordan is on threshold of new era of progress, achievments. 
12625 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in Kuwait's press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy:   AL-QABAS   - Repatriated capital heats trade at the Kuwait Stock Exchange.   - Kuwaiti-Saudi sea border to be demarcated soon, says Kuwaiti foreign minister.   - Group of banks and Gulf, international firms to finance Equate U.S.-Kuwaiti petrochemical project with $1.2 billion.   AL-WATAN   - Pentagon says no Iraqi troops near Kuwaiti border.   - Kuwait Investment Authority to sell 300 million shares of the state's stake in Securities Group.   AL-SEYASSAH   - Tehran attacks Gulf Arab foreign ministers' statement on a dispute between Iran and the United Arab Emirates over three Gulf islands. 
12626 !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   - President Mubarak repeats to Turkish President Demirel Egypt's insistence on maintaining the unity of Iraq and respecting the sovreignty of its lands.   Demirel says Turkey's military strikes are launched from its own soil.   Sulimaniya falls to Barzani's forces and Iran closes its borders to refugees.   - American economic mission, including representatives from the treasury and state department, lauds Egypt's economic reforms, says Egypt is now a promising market.   - Presidential advisor Osama el-Baz says Egypt is not thinking of cancelling the Middle East Economic Summit due to be held in November but considering postponing it to next spring.   - Public Enterprise Minister Atef Ebeid says state to sell-off shares in 12 companies in the last three months of the year.   Four of these firms will be sold completely, while the state will offer 51 percent of the remaining eight.   AL-AKHBAR   - Minister of State for Economic Affairs Youssef Boutros-Ghali says 50 American companies have asked to invest in Egypt and join in the coming economic summit.   - Son of former president Gamal Abdel Nasser has harrowing escape from car accident.   AL-GOMHURIA   - Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri says government is committed to a minimum price for buying cotton from farmers, regardless of the lower international price.   - Nile level behind the High Dam rose another 10 centimetres to 176.36 cm.   -- Cairo newsroom +20 2 578 3290/1 
12627 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the Iraqi press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   JUMHOURIYA   - Iraq's northern villages and cities warmly receive (Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Massoud) Barzani guerrillas.   - (U.S. President Bill) Clinton's utmost aim is to help his spies and agents flee northern Iraq.   - Northern Iraq is purged of traitors and agents.   - Iraq's flag flies high over Iraqi Kurdistan; America and its allies in the area flee like rats.   - Oil-for-food deal will go into effect and Washington retreats before international pressure.   - French companies are ready to supply Iraq with needs.   - Cypriot vessel, carrying 5,000 tonnes of Vietnamese rice, will reach Iraq soon.   - U.S. allies leave Washington alone.   - Editorial gloats over latest events in Iraqi Kurdistan and heaps scorn on Clinton and the United States.   QADISSIYA   - Surge in world support of Iraq and its territorial integrity.   - Our faithful Kurdish sons enter Sulaimaniya.   - Algeria denounces Turkey's plans to set up a security zone in northern Iraq.   - (Egyptian President Hosni) Mubarak reaffirms stand in support of Iraq.   - China renews condemnation of U.S. attack on Iraq.   - Editorial says events in northern Iraq lead to the collapse of U.S. schemes against Baghdad.   - IRAQ   - American enemy continues violation of Iraqi airspace.   - Agent (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan leader Jalal) Talabani and his clique evacuate Sulaimaniya.   - Demonstration in Tokyo in support of Iraq.   - Editorial says Talabani should have realised the "black fate" awaiting him. 
12628 !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   -Prime Minsiter Hariri to meet U.S. President Clinton at the beginning of October and he will deliver a speech at the United Nations.   -The candidates of the joint Hizbollah-Amal "List of Development and Liberation" sweeps all seats in south Lebanon's vote.   -Marxist MP Sadeq, who lost in the south Lebanon polls, is preparing a file about the violations so he would prepare an appeal to the constitutional court against the general elections.   AS-SAFIR   -Hizbollah candidate Mansour gets more votes than Amal chief, Parliament Speaker Berri.   -Lebanon returns to winter time on midnight of September 28.   -The weekly treasury bill issue posts 435.2 billion Lebanese pounds.   AL-ANWAR   -The joint Hizbollah-Amal list in the Bekka valley round of voting to be announced within 48 hours.   AD-DIYAR   -The high number of votes gained by opposition candidates in the south Lebanon round of voting stresses the popular presence of the opposition.   NIDA'A AL-WATAN   -Two Lebanese men arrrested in Belgium for allegedly killing their wives. 
12629 !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.   HURRIYET   - Iraqi President Saddam Hussein sends leading officials to Ankara to discuss the situation in northern Iraq.   MILLIYET   - Cyprus is once again tense ahead of the burial of a Turkish Cypriot soldier, shot dead at the weekend while on guard at the divided island's border.   - An opposition deputy presents question to parliament on premier Erbakan's use of state aircraft for his family's private use.   SABAH   - Industry minister Erez tries to placate Turkish businessmen after complaints that a duty-free car import scheme would harm domestic industry.   CUMHURIYET   - The Islamist-led coalition government's economic performance has disappointed as it fails to stop a rise in the budget deficit and delays foreign currency debt issues.   DUNYA   - Deputy Prime Minister Tansu Ciller pledges that major companies Etibank and Erdemir will be privatised in the near future.   YENI YUZYIL   - Turkish businessman warn of an economic crisis because of the government's failure to address the country's economic problems.   ZAMAN   - Statistics reveal that 88,000 people have died in accidents on Turkey's roads in the last twelve years after the latest major coach crash on Monday. 
12630 !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.   ALITHIA   - Question marks hang over the murder of the Turkish soldier.   He was killed because he was a Kurd, says a relative.   - United Nations envoy to arrive in Cyprus today to defuse tensions on island.   - Pseudominister in the north was one of the killers of a young Greek Cypriot, according to Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation report.   CYPRUS MAIL   - (Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf) Denktash 'minister' accused in Dherinia killing.   - Denktash warns that continued incidents between the two sides could lead to war.   - Government spokesman Yiannakis Cassoulides says neither the National Guard or the United Nations heard shots on Sunday when two Turkish Cypriot sentries were killed.   HARAVGHI   - Turkey attempts to raise tensions on the island after the killing of a Turkish Cypriot soldier.   - The Presidential Palace does not appear concerned about the bid of (centre right) Diko president Spyros Kyprianou to run for the presidency.   - Health Ministry launches inquiry into the disappearance of surgical equipment from a hospital in Nicosia.   PHILELEPHTHEROS   - Denktash calls for a meeting with President Clerides, warning that a continuation of incidents between the two sides may lead to war.   - Co-operative credit societies say they are against the deregulation of interest rates, currently with a ceiling of nine percent.   - Education minister is to ask for more law enforcement to crack down on illegal teaching institutes run by civil servants.   SIMERINI   - Blackmail dilemma of talks or war is put forward by Rauf Denktash.   - Indefinite strike at Limassol port is averted. 
12631 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Dockworkers at Limassol port in Cyprus ended a 24-hour strike and went back to work on Tuesday after accepting to refer their dispute with the management on staffing levels to the Labour Ministry, they said.   Workers had complained that a decision taken by the port authority to reduce staff numbers on afternoon and evening shifts was contrary to agreements. 
12632 !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   - Interior minister says that the UAE will start from October 1 a new law to curb illegal aliens; it stipulates fines and jail sentences against absconders.   - Gulf states and the U.S. had trade worth $9.1 billion in the past five months.   AL-KHALEEJ   - Profits in banks in the UAE rise about 10 percent in the first half of this year.   GULF NEWS   - Canada is chasing projects worth about 41.25 billion dirhams in the Middle East, of which 4 billion are in the UAE.   Focus is on engineering, airport expansion, and energy.   - Credit card fraud cases rise sharply in the Middle East, but local bank experts say that cases in the UAE have fallen this year to $200,000 compared to almost $4 million in 1995.   - Experts working on a customs union in the Gulf Cooperation Council have completed 60 percent of their work. 
12633 !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.   HAARETZ   - Syria and Israel exchange draft formulas for renewing peace talks.   - Barak announces bid for Labour party leadership, prime ministry.   - U.S. has taken steps to protect Israel in case of deterioration in Iraq.   - Findings: Soldiers acted improperly in Lebanon ambush that killed five Israelis.   JERUSALEM POST   - Prime Minister: I'm unsure Syria wants to talk.   - Foreign Minister Levy to meet Chirac today.   - Poll: Decline in army motivation starts at home.   - Mordechai appoints ex-general to revamp Nahal infantry corps.   - Makhteshim, Agan intend to swap shares.   - Deposits boom in bank savings plans corps.   YEDIOTH AHRONOTH   - Peres hurt over timing of Barak's announcement.   - Father in Gaza sold his son to Hamas for suicide attack.   MAARIV   - U.S. efforts for quick renewal of negotiations between Israel and Syria.   - Israeli infantry soldiers attacked in Lebanon in ambush three months ago left weapons behind.   - Israeli teen idol Aviv Gefen: "I recommend that young people leave Israel".   DGA 
12634 !GCAT !GVIO  A successful military drive by a Kurdish militia allied to Baghdad has raised the spectre of a repeat of a 1991 refugee exodus when more than a million Kurds poured through the mountains to Iran and Turkey for safety.   Iran fears the arrival on its border of another wave of civilians, this time fleeing a push by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).   The KDP of veteran warlord Massoud Barzani on Monday took Iraqi Kurdistan's biggest city Sulaimaniya, hastily abandoned by the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).   Barzani's group, aided by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in its capture of the PUK-held city of Arbil last month, said it now held the whole of northern Iraq.   "The (Kurdistan Democratic Party) KDP is in control of all the three Kurdish provinces," the KDP said in a statement.   It said Sulaimaniya residents rose up against the PUK and welcomed its forces with flowers.   Officials in Iran, 50 km (30 miles) away from Sulaimaniya, called for international aid to handle a possible refugee influx.   "Iranian officials are very alarmed and envisage hundreds of thousands of refugees pouring in over the border," said Laurens Jolles, an official of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Tehran.   He said Iran had asked international organisations to be ready for any situation "which might be a parallel to 1991".   More than a million Iraqis, most of them Kurds, fled to Iran when Baghdad crushed Kurdish and Shi'ite Moslem uprisings which erupted after Iraq's defeat in the 1991 Gulf War.   Most of the Kurds returned to northern Iraq after the Western allies set up a safe haven and began regular air patrols to shield civilians from any attack by Baghdad.   The recent fighting has mostly taken place south of a no-fly zone in northern Iraq imposed by the West on Saddam.   Washington launched missile attacks on southern Iraq after tens of thousands of government troops helped the KDP capture the city of Arbil on August 31.   President Bill Clinton said on Monday the United States was helping pro-U.S. Iraqi Kurds to flee the fighting but PUK leader Talabani's pleas for U.S. aid against the KDP have so far gone unanswered and analysts say he is more likely to get backing from Iran.   Barzani, who has previously accused his rival of receiving military support from Tehran, warned on Monday against Iranian intervention.   "In this case there would be a problem directly between us and Iran.   We don't want such a problem and I don't think they do either," he told reporters before Sulaimaniya fell.   Iraq launched a gas attack on the town of Halabja, near Sulaimaniya, in 1988 after Kurdish rebels aided Iranian forces in the area during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war.   Fear of Iraqi gas and chemical weapons sparked the 1991 civilian stampede. 
12635 !GCAT  NEUE ZUERCHER ZEITUNG   - Unemployment in Switzerland rose by 2,119 in August.   The unemployement rate remained at 4.5 percent.   - Italian president Oscal Luigi Scalfaro will arrive tomorrow for an official state visit.   - Suedelektra Holding AG posted a decline in group profit to $19.5 million for the first six months of 1996.   TAGES ANZEIGER   - The life expectancy for Swiss 74 years for men and 81 years for women, according to new statistics.   - Private companies offering access to the Internet protested the Swiss Telecom PTT's special low "local" rate access offer that should go into effect on September 16.   JOURNAL DE GENEVE   - Some 1.9 percent less energy was used and 1.2 million fewer tonnes of carbon dioxide emission emitted in Switzerland in 1995 as compared to 1994. 
12636 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP !GENV  Australia, trying to override an Indian veto and backed by 126 states, asked the U.N. General Assembly on Monday to approve and open for signing a treaty banning all nuclear test explosions.   "We ask for deep reflection upon the milestone in history this action will lay down -- agreement that there shall never again be nuclear explosions," Richard Butler, Australia's U.N. ambassador, said in introducing his resolution on the treaty.   Passage is expected on Tuesday.   The treaty would then be open for signature when world leaders come to the United Nations later this month.   The document is supported by all declared nuclear powers -- the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain.   After three years of negotiations, the 61-nation, Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament was unable last month to approve the treaty, because India refused to give its consent.   Under that conference's rules, decisions must be by consensus.   The General Assembly can vote by a two-thirds majority or a simple majority.   To circumvent the conference, Australia asked the assembly to approve the treaty in a legal manoeuvre never tried before.   The treaty, known as the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), would not come into force until 44 states with a nuclear potential signed and ratified it.   These states include India, which exploded a device in 1974.   But most diplomats believe that once a country signs and ratifies the accord, it must abide by it.   India has said since the mid-1960s that it would not give up its nuclear option until the nuclear powers adopted a timetable for eliminating their existing arsenals.   During Monday's debate, most nations agreed with India that the treaty alone would not wipe out the danger of atomic bombs.   But unlike India, they felt the treaty would limit the arms race by making it more difficult for countries to develop or improve their arsenals.   Indian Ambassador Prakash Shah said, "The nuclear weapons states have no intention of giving up their dependence on nuclear weapons, nor do they have any intention of letting the CTBT become an impediment in their pursuit of the qualitative improvement of nuclear weapons."   He said that in this day and age, the treaty should have banned not only underground and atmospheric explosions but all kinds of nuclear computer tests that could upgrade weapons.   Consequently, he said, India would maintain the nuclear option.   In an apparent reference to China and Pakistan, he said that "countries around us continue their weapons programmes either openly or in a clandestine manner."   But Pakistan's Ambassador Munir Akram said that "any step of nuclear escalation in our region will find a matching response."   He said Pakistan would vote for the resolution but would not sign the treaty because of India's position.   Since the United States exploded the world's first atomic bomb on July 16, 1945, in the New Mexico desert, there have been 2,045 known nuclear tests, 1,030 of them American and 715 in the former Soviet Union.   China's delegate, Sha Zukang, told the assembly that the test ban should not be an ultimate objective, calling it "one step forward to the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons."   The future of the treaty also depends on a quick signature from President Bill Clinton, who is expected to visit the United Nations later this month, and Senate ratification.   The platform adopted by the Republican Party last month at its convention says the United States needs "development of nuclear weapons and their periodic testing" for its security. 
12637 !GCAT !GCRIM  Swedish police seized 12 members of the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang in raids on three clubhouses in southern Sweden early on Tuesday, police said.   Police spokesman Lars Hakansson said the bikers were taken into custody and were being questioned on suspicion of conspiracy to murder.   They were seized after more than 100 policemen and two police helicopters swooped on clubhouses in Hasslarp, Djurslov, and Malmo, he told Reuters.   No further details were released and it was not clear if any charges would be laid.   The raid was the latest development in a long, drawn-out battle between police and rival motorcycle gangs in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland.   A territorial dispute between rival gangs, the Hells' Angels and the Bandidos, flared in 1994 when a lone Hell's Angel member was murdered in Helsingborg in Sweden.   The battle has resulted in six deaths over the past two years.   The most recent was in July when a Danish member of the Bandidos motorcycle gang was shot dead in Norway, hit several times outside an abandoned clubhouse near the city of Drammen. 
12638 !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.   LIBERTE   - More than seven million pupils and students return to schools.   LE MATIN   - The government to open dialogue over Algeria's social and economic development.   AL KHABAR   - Rally for Democracy and Culture (RCD) party boycotts the national conference.   Nahda and Republic Alliance parties confirm their participation.   - Spain Foreign Minister Abel Matutes visits Algiers.   Spain is interested in the Algerian market potential and hydrocarbon resources. 
12639 !GCAT  Following are some of the leading stories in the Swedish papers on Tuesday morning.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   DAGENS NYHETER   - Lower shipping charges for ships and ferries which are more environmentally friendly will be recommended by the government in the next budget proposals.   - Sweden ranks second in the international taxation league, with Swedish taxes corresponding to half of its Gross Domestic Product in 1995.   - Svenska Handelsbanken, one of Sweden's big four banks, says Sweden can make it into the European Monetary Union (EMU) in 1999.   The bank says it is puzzled as to why Sweden does not appear keen to join the EMU.   SVENSKA DAGBLADET   - Sweden's prestigious Karolinska hospital may have to shed 400 jobs.   - Swedish Malmo Aviation has relaunched its flights from Stockholm Bromma and Malmo Sturup airports to London City Airport, increasing competition to SAS.   DAGENS INDUSTRI   - Jan Carlzon, the former CEO of Scandinavian Airline Systems (SAS), says the travel company he now heads is interested in buying charter tour operator Apollo.   - Management at Scandinavian Airline Systems (SAS) now says it will pay former employees of Scanair severance pay, but a spokesman for the airline says the money has already been reserved and the payment won't affect SAS' bottom line.   - Sweden's royal couple begin a five-day visit to the U.S. on Tuesday, the culmination of the year-long celebration of the emigration of Swedes to the New World.   - In the wake of the Morgan Grenfell financial scandal, Sweden's Finance Inspection Authority is taking a closer look at Swedish mutual funds with unlisted shares in their portfolios.   -- Paul de Bendern, Stockholm newsroom +46-8-700 1006 
12640 !GCAT  The following are leading domestic stories in Portuguese newspapers.   DIARIO ECONOMICO   - Cement company Cimpor owes six billion escudos in corporation tax (IRC) from 1990 and 1991.   - Banco de Fomento & Exterior prepares to open new branches in Angola and Mozambique.   The first new branch may open in October in Luanda.   PUBLICO   - Opposition Social Democrats to focus its political attack on government on what sees as worsening crime situation in the country.   - Banking group Jorge de Mello sets up three holdings to bid for stakes in tobacco company Tabaqueira at its coming privatization.  .   DIARIO DE NOTICIAS   - Portuguese food prices rose 4.05 percent more than Spain's in first quarter of 1996.   --Lisbon bureau 3511-3538254 
12641 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The labour ministry/national statistics institute INSEE gave the following revised seasonally adjusted payrolls data, in millions unless stated    Q2 Q1 Q4 95 Q2 chg 96/95 chg    (pct) (pct)    Total 14.66 14.66 14.66 0.0  0.1    Industry excl building 4.10 4.13 4.15 -0.6 -1.4    Industry incl building 5.24 5.28 5.31 -0.7 -1.9    Construction 1.14 1.15 1.17 -0.9 -3.9    Services 8.11 8.07 8.04 0.5  1.5   -- Paris Newsroom +33 1 42 21 53 81 
12642 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT !GDIP  Spanish Economy Minister Rodrigo Rato said European Economic and Monetary Union must proceed on time in 1999, according to an interview published on Tuesday in a U.S.-based financial daily.   "The timetable can't be extended," Rato told the Wall Street Journal Europe, adding that a delay to the year 2000 could prompt a loss of credibility.   But governments that plan to participate must continue to make every effort to reduce their fiscal deficits - the main obstacle to a normal transition to the single currency.   Rato said adoption of a more flexible schedule would be difficult because it would give the sensation that European governments lacked the necessary political will, the newspaper quoted Rato as saying.   --Madrid Newsroom +34 1 585 2167 
12643 !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.   FINANCIEELE DAGBLAD   - Bourse flotation of Deutsche Babcock's Dutch gas turbines unit Thomassen International, planned this month, has been postponed for fourth time.   No reason given.   (page 1)   - Anglo-Dutch merger of P&O and Nedlloyd's container shipping operations is intended to deliver economies of scale to offset continuing decline in container freight rates.   (p1)   - Financial services group ING raises its stake in small specialist bank Mendes Gans to 55 pct by buying 20 pct stake from Chase Manhattan.   (p1)   - Retail trade body estimates that switching from guilder to Euro will cost Dutch retailers some two billion guilders.   (p1)   - Liberal (VVD) party leader Frits Bolkestein says top rate of Dutch income tax should be cut to 50 pct from 60.   (p1)   VOLKSKRANT   - Politicians and civil servants increasingly worried about head of state Queen Beatrix influencing policy decisions.   (p1)   - Ajax reveals that supporter who threw metal rod at an Austrian goalkeeper was ordered to pay damages of 500,000 guilders to Ajax as result of civil lawsuit.   Ajax banned from European competition for a year after the 1989 incident.   (p1)   - Study shows that 46 percent of Dutch people were worried about their future in 1995, versus 14 percent in 1986.   (p1)   DE TELEGRAAF   - Canal tours company Lovers plans to start additional rail services, bringing it into direct competition with Dutch Rail (NS), after success of first line from Amsterdam to coast.   (p1)   - Liberal (VVD) party leader Frits Bolkestein says profusion of leaks in run-up to annual budget have made Queen Beatrix's budget-day speech a farce.   He calls for end to leaks.   (p1)   - Three consortia in the race for licence to provide fixed telecoms services alongside monopoly holder Dutch PTT (p21).   - Transport concern Nedlloyd's shares add 15 percent on news of P&O link-up (p27)   TROUW   - Dutch cattle auctions to set up Internet trading site (p9).   ALGEMEEN DAGBLAD   - Dutch government plans to raise income threshold on first tax bracket, bringing overall tax rates down (p1).   -- Amsterdam Newsdesk +31-20-504-5000 (FAX 31-20-504-5040) 
12644 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT  The European Union's monetary committee gathered for a second day on Tuesday to discuss the planned single currency, in particular a budget stability pact for members of a future economic and monetary union (EMU).   The group, comprising national treasury and central bank officials, were also due to focus on a post-EMU exchange rate grid, linking the single currency to those not in the core group.   No information was immediately available from the meeting on Monday.   The decisions reached by the monetary committee will be forwarded to an informal meeting of EU finance ministers and central bankers in Dublin on September 21.   Among the various areas for discussion, the budget stability pact was expected to be the hardest to reconcile.   While EU officials are optimistic that an accord on budgetary discipline can be reached, there are doubts over whether a deal can be struck at this week's meeting.   The more likely scenario, say officials, is for work to continue through the autumn with a view towards an agreement ahead of the EU summit in Dublin in December. 
12645 !GCAT  Following are some of the leading stories in Norwegian papers this morning:   AFTENPOSTEN   - Norwegian tax payers have illegally claimed 53 million crowns in child allowance contributions, but the government has only managed to get back seven million.   The national audit office is unhappy with the mismanagement.   - Rena Karton, a Norwegian manufacturer of cardboard boxes, was saved from bankruptcy by investors who pumped 100 million crowns into the company.   - A newspaper strike may be stepped up from Saturday to include tabloid Verdens Gang unless a pay dispute involving administration and distribution workers is solved.   DAGENS NAERINGSLIV   - The national audit office criticises Finance Minister Sigbjoern Johnsen for not keeping tight enough controls on state and municipal income.   - The Oslo Bourse will discuss if the Morgan Grenfell affair calls for introducing new rules on trading, but officials caution there is little then can do.   - Higher electricity prices have not resulted in higher profits for power company. 
12646 !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   --- Pump group Danfoss has taken over Italian rival Interdab and increased its turnover in Italy from 300 million crowns to 700 million crowns, more than 10 percent of the total group turnover.   Interdab is not to be part of the Danfoss group, but wiIl maintain its own products, sales companies and sales agents.   POLITIKEN   --- As an attempt to solve the financial problems of Danish state railway, DSB, Transport minister Jan Troejborg now plans to split up DSB into two different companies.   One for running the train traffic efficiently and one state company to invest in rails, wires and train stations.   --- The planned Copenhagen subway is to cost 800 million crowns more than planned, with a total price of about 6.4 billion crowns.   The increase is due to a new and more expensive drilling method and comes already before the building contractors have signed their contracts.   JYLLANDS POSTEN   --- A new analysis from Denmark's Confederation of Industry shows that Danish companies' use of unskilled labour is decreasing due to new technology and increased specialization.   BORSEN   --- A new survey from Greens analysis institute shows that 34.5 percent of Danes are not satisfied with the teaching and the teachers in primary schools.   --- A major change of the Danish law for investment associations now makes it possible to form special associations for the handling of exclusive investments or customers .   DET FRI AKTUELT   --- New surveys show that between every second and every third Dane eats vitamin supplements which gives the sector an annual turnover of at least three billion crowns. 
12647 !GCAT  The following are the main stories from Tuesday morning's German newspapers:   FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG   - Bonn coalition announces tougher savings measures which will mean cuts in all budgets.   Debate in Bundestag lower house of parliament today.   - Greens co-leader Juergen Trittin said there was no danger of a red-green alliance between opposition Social Democrats (SPD) and his Greens party.   - IG Chemie chemical workers' trade union wants employees to participate in firms' capital by being partly paid in company shares.   - Economics Minister Guenter Rexrodt urges constructive relationship between management and employers in pay talks.   - RWI economic research institute says that German foreign investment does not jeopardise jobs at home.   HANDELSBLATT   - No money for Nuremberg Labour Office in 1997 budget.   The Bonn coalition will do everything in its power to keep to 1997 planned budget deficit of 56.5 billion marks.   - BDI employers federation has called on companies to end contracts which include full sick pay -- one of proposed measures in government's austerity programme which has been delayed by legislators.   - RWI economic research institute says that the increasing globalisation of the German economy has not yet led to substantial displacement of jobs abroad.   - German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel promises Israeli counterpart David Levy further economic help.   - Eastern Europe is catching up in terms of the amount spent on advertising to improve a company's image and market its products.   Companies in Switzerland and the United States spend the most on advertising.   - Criticism of Bonn "savings ritual".   Alternative economists support programme to create more jobs.   Bremen university's Rudolf Hickel urged long-term employment programme costing 150 billion marks to overcome what he called "the present deflationary and fiscal downward spiral".   - In case Chancellor Helmut Kohl reshuffles his cabinet, Christian Social Union (CSU), his Christian Democrats' Bavarian sister party, wants economics portfolio.   At present it is occupied by junior coalition partner the Free Democrats (FDP).   SUEDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG   - Parliamentary groups in Bundestag lower house of parliament spent 110 million marks in 1995, according to report by Bundestag president Rita Suessmuth.   - Alternative assessment of high public debt.   A group of alternative economists in Bremen including Rudolf Hickel and Joerg Huffschmid call on the government to step up public spending to boost the economy and employment.   - Bonn coalition sees further austerity programme at Christmas as a possibility.   Result of talks between Bundestag lower house of parliament and Bundesrat upper house uncertain.   Lower house starts debating austerity programme.   - Deutsche Bank is looking into causes for crisis situation for its London fund.   After spot checks bank supervisory board sees no problems with German investment fund.   - Prosecutors confirmed that they are investigating the spokesman for the management board of Commerzbank Martin Kohlhaussen.   - Foreign investment is not a job-killer at home.   RWI economic research institute says jobs have substantially been exported abroad between 1990 and 1994.   DIE WELT   - New benefit cuts for umemployed planned.   Bonn coalition sticks to savings targets in 1997 budget.   - Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy says that his country's secutiry takes precedence on visit to Bonn.   - Christian Democrats (CDU) not agreed with junior coalition partner Free Democrats (FDP) over tax plans.   - The four mobile telephone networks have been extended in terms of installations across the country.   -- Bonn Newsroom +49 228 2609760 
12648 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  Unidentified attackers blew up a car belonging to an investigating magistrate in the Corsican town of Bastia early on Tuesday, police said.   There were no injuries and no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.   The home of magistrate Rose-May Spazzola had been bombed last January when suspected separatist guerrillas also targeted the empty home of the president of the local court.   On Saturday Spazzola released a suspected separatist who was detained again on Sunday on the orders of a Paris prosecutor.   The suspect, Stephane Pierantoni, was tranferred to Paris and remanded on suspicion of possessing weapons and belonging to a guerrilla group.   Police sources said he was suspected of stealing a car that was later used in a car bomb attack which killed a separatist leader in a war between rival guerrilla groups.   The French Mediterranean island has been hit virtually daily by a series of bombings, part of a campaign by separatist guerrillas seeking greater autonomy from mainland France. 
12649 !GCAT  These are leading stories in this morning's Paris newspapers.   -- Eurotunnel posts a 3 billion francs loss for the first half due to debt servicing, says operations have reached balance since March 1996.   Negotiations with bankers on debt restructuring near final stage.  (Les Echos, La Tribune, Le Figaro, Liberation).   -- CGIP in talks to take over Cerus, which holds a 28 percent stake in auto parts maker Valeo.   CGIP could eventually merge Cerus and Valeo, while electronics group Sagem would enter the new unit.   (Les Echos, La Tribune, Le Figaro, Liberation).   LES ECHOS   -- Civil servants threaten to strike, notwithstanding government's offer to negotiate and lift wage freeze in 1997.   -- Group of Fifteen at work on Euro in Brussels, prepare sanctions for countries who fail to curb their public deficit under three percent of GDP by 1999.   LA TRIBUNE DESFOSSES   -- Workers at naval shipyards and defense industry to strike Tuesday against expected job cuts and planned restructuring.   -- Savings bank Caisses d'Epargne may be interested in bidding for CIC bank.   -- Interview with subscriber TV channel Canal Plus after it announced it will merge with Dutch satellite TV group Nethold.   LE FIGARO-ECONOMIE   -- A rise in local taxes in France could offset the impact of cuts in income tax planned by the government.   -- Eurotunnel expects a 50 percent rise in turnover for 1996.   LIBERATION (Economic section)   -- Prime Minister Alain Juppe ready to suppress freeze of civil servants' wages in 1997.   -- Paris Newsroom +33 1 4221 5381 
12650 !GCAT  The following are the main stories from Tuesday morning's Austrian newspapers.   DER STANDARD   - German insurance giant Allianz shows renewed interest in Austria's Creditanstalt if Finance Minister Viktor Klima reopens bidding.   Klima still has to check Friday's last-minute bid from the consortium led by EA-Generali.   Die Erste savings bank is also interested in the new tender.   - Industrial Economos' pre-tax loss dropped to 21.9 million schillings in the first half of 1996 after a loss of 10.1 million the previous year.   - Jam producer Adolf Darbo AG manages turnaround to pre-tax profit of 8.5 million schillings in the first half from last year's pre-tax loss of 6.1 million schillings.   The turnaround is largely due to higher exports.   - Austria's first private mobile phone provider max.  mobil threatens to take legal action against the federal Post and Telekom if the latter does not pay its licence fees worth four billion schillings to the government.   KURIER   - Austria Tabak's sales increased 8.3 percent in the first half due to growing exports, but sales in Austria fell due to cheap duty-free shops along Austria's borders.   - Boehler-Uddeholm chief Claus Raidl says the steelmaker may shed jobs if demand in its key markets continues falling.   - Insurer s-Lebensversicherungen, a unit of Austrian Sparkassen, life insurance sales jumped 215 percent in the first half.   Premium earnings climbed to 4.4 billion schillings.   DIE PRESSE   - Optimism in Austrian industry is improving due to higher demand of late.   Investments are planned, although there could be more job losses. 
12651 !E21 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GWELF  French national unemployment fund Unedic forecast on Tuesday a 12 billion franc surplus by the end of 1996, continuing the turnaround in its finances since it ran heavily into debt in the early 1990s.   "We had a 10 billion francs surplus at the end of July.   We expect to have a 12 billion franc surplus at the end of 1996," Jean-Pierre Revoil, Unedic assistant managing director, told a news conference.   It had a 2.4 billion franc deficit in 1995.   The surplus, along with deficits in the social security system, is included in calculating the total public deficit as defined by the Maastricht Treaty on European monetary union.    Economists said the most recent estimate of the 1996 surplus had been around 11 billion francs.   Last July, Unedic forecast it would show a surplus of between 10.5 billion and 10.9 billion francs in 1996 and 22.5 billion and 25.8 billion francs in 1997.   Unedic uses payroll taxes to fund unemployment benefits.   It is operated separately from the social security system which covers pensions, healthcare and family benefits and which is running a big deficit.    The government of former conservative prime minister Edouard Balladur launched a major reform of unemployment benefits in 1993 after Unedic recorded several years of big losses.   Revoil said Unedic had to repay a loan of 22 billion francs in 1999 of which the state had said it would pay 10 billion francs.   "In 2002, there is another 12 billion francs and five billion francs (of that sum) has been pledged by the state," he said.   -- Paris Newsroom +33 1 4221 5452 
12652 !GCAT  Following are some of the top headlines in Italy's leading newspapers.   ------------------------------------------------------------   TOP POLITICAL STORIES.   *In a meeting on Monday morning, leader of the communist refoundation party Fausto Bertinotti tells Romani Prodi that his party will not withdraw support for the 1997 financial budget if there are not cuts in pensions and health care.   Prodi is reliant on the refoundation party for a majority in parliament.   (ALL)   TOP BUSINESS STORIES.   *Shares in Italian high-tech group Olivetti fell by 20 percent on the Milan stock exchange on Monday after a two-day suspension was lifted.   Exchange authorities stepped in again and halted trading.   (ALL)   *Stock market watchdog Consob calls for Olivetti to answer seven queries relating to its first-half results within 24 hours.  (ALL)   *Metal workers will stage an 8 hour general strike on September 27 in protest against local area contracts (ALL)   *New work conditions are negotiated for workers of state owned telecommunications company Stet.   Terms are to include flexible hours and bonuses.  (La Stampa)   ---------------------------------------------------------------   Reuters has not verified these stories and can not vouch for their accuracy.   Rome bureau:++39 6 678 2501 
12653 !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GDIP  The European Union said on Monday it would hold its fifth annual summit with Japan in Tokyo on September 30.   European Commission President Jacques Santer and Irish Prime Minister John Bruton would meet Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto for the summit, a statement issued by the EU Presidency in Dublin on behalf of the 15-nation bloc said.   Bruton is president-in-office of the European Council during Ireland's six-month tenure as EU President.   "The summit will provide an opportunity for a broad exchange of views on the current state of EU-Japan relations and on the international situation," the EU said.   The previous EU-Japan summit took place in Paris in June 1995. 
12654 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT  Two top Bundesbank officials on Monday said criteria for membership in the single European currency must be adhered to but one saw modest flexibility in currency union's guidebook, the Maastrict Treaty.   Bundesbank council member Reimut Jochimsen told a conference in Munich that the economic targets in the treaty should not be weakened.   "A weakening of the convergence criteria should in no case come into question," Jochimsen said in a prepared speech.   Bundesbank council member Ernst Welteke echoed Jochimsen's comments in a speech to a banking group in Frankfurt that the treaty must be enforced.   However, Welteke also said: "Flexibility in the interpretation of the entry criteria is greater than often described, but this flexibility is limited and cannot be used arbitrarily."   Welteke, like other members of the powerful German central bank council, echoed comments from his colleagues that nations must stick to efforts to reduce government spending not only for currency union but also to improve long-term growth.   Jochimsen was more forthright in saying the critera must be fulfilled.   Countries seeking to join the new currency must meet the requirements by 1997 on inflation, exchange exchange and interest rates, as well as debt and deficit levels.   "Reaching into a box of tricks seems like a politically convenient alternative," said Jochimsen, president of the regional state central bank of North Rhine-Westphalia, referring to some calls to loosen the criteria.   But he warned: "It would represent the most risky way out of the accepted 'trilemma' of an immovable starting date, strict allegiance to the criteria and an adequate number of participants."   Jochimsen also said he believed the start of currency union should be delayed if there was an insufficient number of initial participants.   He did not say what minimum number of countries would be sufficient.   "We should not build on sand since it must have lasting stability.   A collapse due to a hasty start with unprepared partners could be a complete disaster and would put in jeopardy everything that has so far been achieved," he said.   He also warned against putting excessive expectations on currency union.   "Currency union will neither solve all problems in foreign trade nor will it be a panacea against the misery of unemployment, weak growth and financial emergencies or weakness in financial centres," he said.   Jochimsen also reiterated that additional efforts must be made to meet the criteria and that Germany and France must both be founding members.   Both nations are struggling to reduce budget debt and deficit levels to meet the treaty requirements.   "Currency union will hardly be possible without these two members," he said.   He also said the first formal review in late 1996 of which countries will likely take part in currency union must be taken seriously. 
12655 !GCAT  Following are the highlights of stories reported in the Irish press on Tuesday.   IRISH TIMES   - U.S. President Bill Clinton still holds an optimistic outlook on the multi-party talks in Northern Ireland, stating on Monday that he can see circumstances where real progress can be made "if we get one or two breaks."   - A Democratic Unionist Party attempt to expel the fringe loyalist parties dominated the first day of the resumed multi-party talks at Stormont in Northern Ireland.   -The Ulster Unionist Party, the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Fein have all lost electoral support since the Northern Ireland Forum elections in June.   - The "Evening News' newspaper has suspended publication from Tuesday due to difficult trading.   IRISH INDEPENDENT   - U.S. President Bill Clinton joined Irish Prime Minister John Bruton on Monday in a determined effort to save the Northern Ireland peace process.   - Hopes of resolving the bitter strike involving 6,000 staff at Irish retailer Dunnes Stores rose on Monday following a breakthrough after five days of negotiations.   - Ireland's newest evening newspaper, the Evening News, suspended publication on Monday after only three-and-a-half months on the streets, blaming cash-flow problems.   -- Dublin Newsroom +353 1 6603377 
12656 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GTOUR  The Russians are coming, this time with fists full of dollars.   Russian tourists topped the list this summer as the biggest buyers of tax-free goods in Sweden, outspending Japanese and American visitors, according to Bertil Larsson, a spokesman for rebate company Sweden Tax-free Shopping.   The most recent statistics from the company show Russians bought tax-free goods totalling about 47 million crowns ($7.1 million) in June, compared to 38 million crowns spent by Americans and 23 million crowns by Swiss tourists.   Japanese tourists spent about 14 million crowns in June.   Russians have been big spenders for about the last three years, Larsson said.   So far this year they have spent 238 million crowns in Swedish duty-free shops.   But Russians are not buying the usual souvenirs such as wooden horses and handmade crystal that most Americans, Japanese and Europeans pick up to remember their trips to the country.   Instead they are heading straight for the luxury goods like watches, furs, gold, sporting gear and haute couture.   "The Russians mostly buy clothes and shoes -- luxury clothes, expensive ones with well-known brands like Escada, Hugo Boss, and Armani," said Hans Granath, Sweden Tax-free's area manager for Stockholm.   "Crystal will come later."   Furs are also a hot item, but not during the summer months, Granath told Reuters.   "This is more common in the spring and autumn," he said.   Russians' pockets are bulging with cash, and almost exclusively with U.S. dollars when they travel as credit cards are still a rarity in the former communist country, Larsson said.   "They don't rely on anything else but U.S. dollar bills.   They calculate everything in dollars."   The average Russian visitors come in pairs and are usually slightly older than the usual tourist, Larsson said.   "It's mostly middle aged couples.   Other tourists are younger, come in groups, and there are more families.   "Russian young people seem to have no money -- that's one explanation for this," Larsson said.   Russian women are choosy shoppers but they know what they want, said a clerk at clothing boutique Escada in Stockholm.   "They buy a lot, more than others -- usually very feminine clothes.   They choose things quickly," said one sales woman.   Larsson said the trend, which started about three years ago, has changed since the time immediately following the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the Russian government eased restraints on travel.   The first Russian tourists came over for shopping weekends on ferries from Estonia or Finland, running from one store to the next to pick up as many small items as possible from different places, Larsson said.   "At first they came on the Silja ferries and spent their time going to as many shops as possible before the boat left again."   While they still often take an overnight ferry across the Baltic Sea, Russian tourists also commonly arrive on the two hour flight from Moscow or from Saint Petersburg, just 90 minutes away.   "We noticed they were very interested in anything with a brand name...so they were able to show off to their friends," Larsson said.   "When you could buy Levis in Russia instead of going to Sweden...suddenly it didn't necessarily mean you were privileged and could go abroad," Larsson said.   Larsson said this trend would probably change again until Russian's travelling habits resemble those of other tourists, who come to see Sweden's idyllic countryside and Stockholm attractions like the old town.   "Now we're are also seeing a more ordinary tourist pattern -- that they are travelling around Sweden a little more and buying Swedish glass for example," he said.   Other tourists also have particular shopping habits.   "The Japanese buy a lot of things to give to all the relatives and friends back home.   They will buy 10 pieces of the same crystal," Larsson said.   Americans were expected to overtake Russians at the top of the spending list in August when they flocked to Sweden for the 150th anniversary of Swedes' mass emigration to the United States.   "Americans this year will buy a lot more souvenirs and Swedish glass.   There are a lot of Americans with Swedish roots coming back to see where their ancestors are from," Larsson added.   ($ = 6.58 crowns) 
12657 !GCAT !GDIP !GREL  Pope John Paul's planned visit to France this month is triggering unprecedented opposition in a country once proud of its Roman Catholic piety.   A crude bomb was defused early this month in a church in northwest France where the Pontiff is due to pray on the first day of his September 19-22 visit.   Unknown attackers had daubed "In nomine-Pope-BOOM!"   on a wall of the crypt.   Up to 600 people have written to their bishops to ask that their names be struck off baptism registers to protest at the Pope's unflinching opposition to birth control, abortion and homosexuality.   His fifth trip to a country that long called itself "the eldest daughter of the Church" has stirred anti-clerical currents stretching back to before the 1789 French Revolution.   More than 50 anti-Pope groups, from Trotskyites to birth control advocates, have called a rally in Paris on September 22 "for the separation of church and state, against the return of the moral order".   Local councils and the centre-right government have come under fire for spending public funds on the visit to Tours, Vendee, Brittany and Reims.   Critics accuse them of violating a 1905 law separating church and state.   The Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, blasted opponents of the Pontiff's visit as "fanatical and intolerant.   I am outraged as a Frenchman and as a democrat."   Pierre Lagoutte, secretary-general of the French Bishops' Conference, lamented: "There was less criticism of the Pope on previous visits."   But the Bishops' Conference says the attacks are causing a backlash among the dwindling ranks of the faithful, raising interest as well as donations.   "Controversy has helped us," Lagoutte said.   "We've had to revise upwards our estimates of how many people are coming to Reims to 120,000-130,000 people from 80,000-100,000."   The Pope's visit follows a long crisis of Catholicism in France and a slide from papal standards that mirrors that of many other Western societies.   "We have a great number of internal problems to tackle," Lagoutte said.   About 45 million of France's 58 million inhabitants are nominally Catholics, but the Bishops' Conference says about six million go to church on Sundays.   Only 120 to 130 priests are ordained each year, a tenth of the number just 20 years ago.   Hardline secularists were shocked when President Jacques Chirac, an occasional churchgoer, paid a state visit to the Vatican last year and many deplored a requiem mass at Notre Dame cathedral for his Socialist predecessor Francois Mitterrand.   But the Chirac family also symbolises French non-conformism towards Catholic morality.   The president proudly poses with his unmarried daughter, her boyfriend and their six-month-old baby.   Reims, in the champagne-growing region, is a lightning rod for controversy about the visit since the Pope is to commemorate there the 1,500th anniversary of the baptism of Clovis, a pagan king who converted to Christianity around 496 A.D. -- purists say it was probably later.   Lionised by the far-right National Front party, Clovis was the first king in Western Europe to convert to Catholicism and became a symbol of a supposed divine link between God and French monarchs.   That dogma was overthrown by the French Revolution.   In his 1994 bestseller "Crossing the Threshold of Hope", Pope John Paul wrote that "the French Revolution overturned Christ's altars, it threw crucifixes into the street and replaced them with the Goddess of Reason".   In a challenge to secular traditions, he said France needed to rediscover its Catholic roots.   Yet the Pope's teachings have become less palatable to the French since his last visit in 1988, the year before elections brought democracy to John Paul II's native Poland.   "Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Pope's fight against communism and for human rights has receded in peoples' minds," said Jean Bauberot, head of a state-funded think-tank on the sociology of religions and secularism.   "Now people just hear his ideas on abortion and contraception.   To many French people they sound so unrealistic as to go against free choice," he said.   The Vatican's sacking last year of "Red Cleric" Jacques Gaillot as Bishop of Evreux for espousing liberal views such as the use of condoms to help prevent AIDS underscored the extent of French alienation from the Pontiff.   Polls showed more French identify with Gaillot's ideas than with the Pope's.   "Transferred" to a non-existent ancient diocese in the Sahara desert, Gaillot uses the Internet computer network as an alternative pulpit to preach on behalf of the unemployed and homeless.   Politically, the Church often seems trapped between conflicting extremes.   It has distanced itself from an ultra-traditionalist Catholic movement, close to the far-right, anti-immigrant National Front, which wants to turn the Clovis anniversary into a chauvinist celebration of France as a "Christian nation".   But it has also tried to shed an uneasy alliance with the Left after giving shelter in a Paris church to about 300 African immigrants for 50 days until a police raid ordered by the centre-right government last month.   And there has been trouble on other fronts.   Abbe Pierre, an elderly priest and anti-poverty campaigner long voted France's most popular man, drew fierce criticism this year by endorsing an author who cast doubt on the Nazi Holocaust and blaming the furore on a world Jewish conspiracy.   He retracted in July, asking the forgiveness of all he had hurt.   Many French people were shocked at the disclosure that right-wing priests had hidden the late Paul Touvier, convicted in 1994 of crimes against humanity for killing Jews in World War Two, for almost 50 years.   He was arrested in a Nice monastery.   Lagoutte said criticism of public funding of the papal visit was misguided.   Chirac's predecessors had done the same or more.   The Church will pay up to seven million francs ($1.4 million) for religious events.   The state will pay for security, an airliner and helicopters. 
12658 !G15 !GCAT  *   (Note - contents are displayed in reverse order to that in the printed Journal)   *   Corrigendum to the summary of Community decisions on marketing authorizations in respect of medicinal products from 15 July 1996 to 15 August 1996 (Official Journal of the European Communities No C 252 of 30 August 1996) (96/C 263/08)   Conceptual consolidation of existing terminologies in Eurodicautom Call for expressions of interest (96/C 263/07)   EUROPEAN ECONOMIC INTEREST GROUPING Notices published pursuant to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2137/85 of 25 July 1985 (1) - Formation (96/C 263/06)   Amendment to the notice of invitation to tender for the refund or tax for the export of common wheat to Ceuta, Melilla and certain ACP States (96/C 263/05)   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: 3 to 7 September 1996) (96/C 263/04)   LIST OF ENZYMES, MICRO-ORGANISMS AND THEIR PREPARATIONS IN ANIMAL NUTRITION PERMITTED FOR USE IN INDIVIDUAL MEMBER STATES (96/C 263/03)   Information procedure - technical regulations (96/C 263/02)   Ecu (1) 10 September 1996 (96/C 263/01) END OF DOCUMENT. 
12659 !G15 !GCAT  *   (Note - contents are displayed in reverse order to that in the printed Journal)   *   Corrigendum to Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 1355/96 of 8 July 1996 amending Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1552/89 implementing Decision 88/376/EEC, Euratom on the system of the Communities' own resources (Official Journal of the European Communities No L 175 of 13 July 1996)   COMMISSION DECISION of 4 September 1996 on animal health requirements and veterinary certification for imports into the Community of ova and embryos of the equine species (Text with EEA relevance) (96/540/EC)   COMMISSION DECISION of 4 September 1996 on animal health requirements and veterinary certification for imports into the Community of semen of the equine species (Text with EEA relevance) (96/539/EC)   COMMISSION DECISION of 8 August 1996 authorizing Member States to permit temporarily the marketing of forest reproductive material not satisfying the requirements of Council Directive 66/404/EEC (96/538/EC)   COMMISSION DECISION of 30 July 1996 defining the specifications of projects of common interest identified by Decision No 1254/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down a series of guidelines for trans-European energy networks (Text with EEA relevance) (96/537/EC)   COMMISSION DECISION of 29 July 1996 establishing the list of milk-based products in respect of which Member States are authorized to grant individual or general derogations pursuant to Article 8 (2) of Directive 92/46/EEC and the nature of the derogations applicable to the manufacture of such products (Text with EEA relevance) (96/536/EC)   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1758/96 of 10 September 1996 establishing the standard import values for determining the entry price of certain fruit and vegetables   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1757/96 of 10 September 1996 adopting exceptional additional support measures for the beef market in the United Kingdom   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1756/96 of 10 September 1996 amending Regulation (EC) No 1598/95 laying down detailed rules for the application of the arrangements for additional import duties in the milk and milk products sector   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1755/96 of 10 September 1996 revising the maximum amount for the B production levy and amending the minimum price for B beet in the sugar sector for the 1996/97 marketing year   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1754/96 of 9 September 1996 concerning the stopping of fishing for cod by vessels flying the flag of Portugal   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1753/96 of 10 September 1996 on the issue of import licences for high-quality fresh, chilled or frozen beef and veal   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1752/96 of 10 September 1996 on the issue of import licences for garlic originating in China END OF DOCUMENT. 
12660 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Meridian Minerals Corp and Dee Gold Mining Co said on Wednesday they have reached a settlement ending a legal dispute over land in Nevada.   Meridian Minerals Corp is a unit of Vancouver-based Meridian Gold Inc.   Dee Gold is a unit of Rayrock Yellowknife Resources Inc of Toronto.   The dispute started in the fall of 1995 after Dee sought court approval of an easement to build a layback on part of Meridian's Rossi property.   The land in question is just north of Dee's Dep North property in the gold-rich Carlin Trend in Nevada.   The settlement gives the easement to Dee, allowing the company to extend and deepen its pit northward.   In return, Dee will provide Meridian the option to access Dee's pit to excavate a decline or vertical shaft.   Once mining is under way, Dee is to mine gold mineralization on Meridian's claims in the layback and pay Meridian a five percent royalty on the proceeds, the companies said.   -- Reuters Toronto Bureau 416 941-8100 
12661 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The International Association of Machinists ratified a contract offer from McDonnell Douglas Corp.   Wednesday, ending a 99-day-old strike.   The vote to accept the offer was 3,774 to 1,785, said Gerald Oulson, president of the IAM District 837.   "Is this the best contract in the world?   Hell no," Oulson said.   "This is the best that we can do."   The 6,400 members of local 837 walked out June 5 in what was the largest strike underway in the country.   Job security was the main issue, although the machinists also wanted better pay raises and retirement benefits.   McDonnell Douglas said ratification of the contract was "a step toward a new beginning for both the membership and the company."   The aerospace and defense contractor said the contract provides McDonnell Douglas with the flexibility it sought to enhance its competitiveness globally.   In addition, it also allows machinists to bid on work identified for contracting to outside firms, the company said.   Oulson said the contract proposed by the company offers: -- Job security.   The union will be notified when work is in danger of being contracted to outside firms.   Machinists then have a chance to offer a counter-bid for the work.   A similar plan is in effect at Boeing Co.   -- Salary raises of 4.5 percent and bonuses totaling more than 8.5 percent of their pay over the course of the five-year contract.   -- Higher retirement benefits and training for workers whose jobs are displaced for any reason.   In return, the union gave up some job classifications and work rules the company said had impeded manufacturing efficiency.   Oulson thanked House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., for bringing the two sides together.   Sporadic negotiations yielded almost no progress until the St. Louis congressman persuaded the two sides to meet in his Washington office.   Machinists are to return to work Monday.   A provision of the contract requires McDonnell Douglas to fire the thousands of temporary replacement workers it hired to take the jobs of the machinists.   McDonnell Douglas said during the strike that it was able to maintain nearly normal production by using white collar employees and new hires.   The company said it expects a surge in work beginning next year, and it will need skilled machinists to handle production of the company's planes and missiles. 
12662 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  U.S. House and Senate negotiators on Wednesday opted not to include interstate waste and flow control in a final fiscal year 1996 funding bill for federal energy and water programs, congressional aides said.   Rep. John Myers, R-Ind., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee's subpanel on energy and water development, said during a marathon drafting session that it would be inappropriate to attach such "authorizing" language to an annual appropriations measure, the aides said.    In a surprise move, the Senate had voted on July 26 to tack flow control and interstate waste provisions onto its FY'97 energy and water funding bill.   The move, engineered by Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., was designed to end run the House Commerce Committee, whose chairman, Rep. Thomas Bliley, R-Va., declared that flow control legislation is probably dead for the rest of 1996 after a narrow bill he backed failed on the House floor this winter.   "I'm not surprised by this," a congressional aide said in a telephone interview about today's action.   "I think the timing was not good as far as trying to get the flow control/interstate waste agreement ready to go.   If they had another day, perhaps it could" have been cleared, he said.   He said backers of the provisions are examining other options for getting a bill through Congress this year. 
12663 !C42 !CCAT !E12 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Thomas Hoenig, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, on Wednesday said he saw some signs of wage pressures in the U.S. economy.   "If you think about the latest job numbers...most economists tend to agree that that is at the outer edges of our capacity so there is pressure," Hoenig said in remarks to the Kansas City Society of Financial Analysts.   "We're seeing spotty signs of it."    "If you look at today's Beige Book, the tight labor markets, you'll find you can translate it into...higher wages."   The Kansas City Fed president said the key question is what that meant for inflation, but he declined to offer an answer.   But Hoenig cautioned that economists are divided on the question of whether or not inflation looks likely to push higher in the near future.   Hoenig said that in the manufacturing sector, "there's still a lot of strength in that and when you look at inventories they've not become excessive."    Asked during the question-and-answer session whether or not the Fed was still committed to the type of pre-emptive monetary policy it undertook at the start of a tightening cyle in 1994, he responded: "We were pre-emptive in 1994 and -- this is a cop-out -- but we always try to be pre-emptive...in whatever action we take."   He was also questioned about the role the behavior of asset markets plays in the Fed's monetary policy decisions.   "It's only one piece of the puzzle," Hoenig replied.   "I try to look across the economy."   On the role of the dollar, he said: "The issue of a stronger dollar or a weaker dollar always comes in because there is in economics an analysis of interest rate effect plus exchange rate effect on the economy.   "So the answer is we look at it very carefully.   It has a meaningful role and an increasingly important role in the analysis.   It does not dominate, but it certainly is watched." 
12664 !GCAT !GDIP !GENV  The United States issued a strong protest on Wednesday to the Canadian government for allowing a whale hunt without international approval.   Canada authorized its native people to hunt two bowhead whales this year, despite pleas by the International Whaling Commission to stop issuing permits for killing the endangered animal without the commission's nod.   "The IWC expressed particular concern about the prospect of whaling in the eastern Canadian arctic, where bowhead stocks are still highly endangered and are not known to be recovering," U.S. commissioner to the IWC, James Baker, said in a statement.   Canada left the IWC in 1982, saying that it had no longer had a direct interest in the whaling industry.   "Clearly this is no longer the case," said Baker, who is also administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.   "Canada's unilateral whaling quotas call into question its commitment to international management of living marine resources," Baker's statement said, urging Canada to rejoin the IWC.   The commission allows limited whale hunts by aboriginal people to keep up their cultural traditions. 
12665 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  U.S. House tax committee chairman William Archer on Wednesday accused President Clinton of raising taxes instead of cutting them, as he promised at the Democratic National Convention.   "President Clinton has not offered a tax cut for the American people," said the Texas Republican, who heads the Ways and Means Committee.   "He instead has offered another tax increase."   The basis for Archer's charge is that Clinton has proposed two tax deductions: a tax credit for families with young children and a deduction for higher education expenses.   Both end in the year 2000.    At the same time, the taxes to pay the costs of the cuts continue indefinitely, he said.   Archer had the Joint Tax Committee compute the extra revenue that would be raised over 10 years by the continuing taxes.   For the proposals Clinton made in August, the extra revenue amounts to about $12 billion, according to "very preliminary" estimates by the Joint Tax Committee.   If the president's tax proposals from earlier in the year are added in, the total tax increase over 10 years comes out to about $64 billion, according to the Joint Tax Committee.   Clinton says his proposals will lead to a balanced budget by 2002. 
12666 !C12 !C33 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Saliva Diagnostic Systems Inc and Home Access Health Corp said they dropped a pending lawsuit and renegotited a contract.   Under the new contract, Saliva Diagnostics will license to Home Access its Omni-SAL, a saliva collection device used overseas in HIV testing.   Saliva Diagnostic will continue to sell and license Omni-SAL for rapid testing, for non-HIV applications and for HIV non-rapid testing other than for use in kits.   Its license to Home Access applies only Home Access kits and only for non-rapid testing. 
12667 !C12 !C33 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Asdar Group Wednesday said CasinoWorld Holdings Ltd has terminated the non-binding letter of intent under which Asdar would have received a non-exclusive license to operate a virtual gaming casino over the Internet.   Asdar said CasinoWorld notified Asdar that its decision to cancel the proposed grant of the non-exclusive license was based on negative information concerning Asdar that was contained in an article published Aug. 18 in the San Diego Union Tribune.   Asdar said it believes that the newspaper article contained "libelous statements concerning Asdar and has referred the matter to counsel."   Asdar said it also believes that CasinoWorld's decision not to grant the non-exclusive gaming license will not have an adverse effect on the settlement of the class action litigation previously announced by Asdar on Aug. 12.   However, as a result of the decision, Asdar said it does not have any ongoing business operations or any other plans or arrangements for the start of business operations in the foreseeable future. 
12668 !GCAT !GWEA  Hurricane Hortense remains as a strong risk to shipping as it moves from north of Hispanola through the southeast Bahamas islands during the next 24 hours and then east of the central Bahamas islands during Thursday and early Friday.   Top winds near the center of the system are about 90 mph now and they may reach 100-105 mph in 48-72 hours.   Hortense will also cause heavy rains and strong winds through the islands in the area with property damage due to these winds, flooding and mudslides.    Tropical depression 24w is west of Luzon, Philippines.   Rains will taper off on the western side of the island over the next few hours as the system pulls away into the South China Sea.   TD 24W has slowed considerably over the last few hours and is tracking west at 5 mph.   This system will likely strengthen into a tropical storm before threatening Hainan Island in 24-48 hours.   Shipping will become under increasing risk in the South China Sea as this system further intensifies.    Tropical Storm Fausto continues to strengthen about 190 miles southwest of Manzanillo Mexico.   Top winds are now up to 65 mph and further strengthen appears likely.   The system is mainly an increasing risk to shipping, however rain from the storm may reach some of southwest Mexico and the south Bajas this period.   This would lead to some possible flooding. 
12669 !GCAT !GDIS !GENV  A hurricane warning remained in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas Wednesday as Hurricane Hortense moved northwest across the Atlantic, the National Hurricane Center said.   At 5:00 p.m.   EDT (2100 GMT), Hortense's center was near latitude 22.2 north and longitude 70.9 west, or about 50 miles (85 km) north of Grand Turk Island.   It was moving northwest near 12 mph (19 kph) and a gradual turn toward the north-northwest and then the north was expected during the next 24 hours, forecasters said.   Maximum sustained winds remained near 105 mph (170 kph).   Some further strengthening was possible Wednesday night and Thursday.   Forecasters said winds would decrease Wednesday night in the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas.   Hurricane force winds extended outward up to 60 miles (95 km) from the center and tropical storm force winds extended outward up to 200 miles (325 km).   Forecasters warned of heavy rains and storm surge flooding.   A hurricane watch also was in effect for the central Bahamas. 
12670 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Fleming Cos Inc said on Wednesday it reached an agreement in principle to settle two lawsuits pending against the company in the U.S. District Court in Miami.   The company said the claimants will dismiss the actions against Fleming in exchange for a $19.5 million payment plus $500,000 for costs and expenses.   All related claims involving Fleming also will be dismissed.   The company said the charges involved a former subsidiary, Malone & Hyde. 
12671 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  A Thousand Palms, Calif.,-based company that promoted what it billed as a billion-dollar ostrich-raising business was ordered to pay $15.2 million to settle fraud charges, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday.   The order against Trans-American Ostrich Traders Inc was issued as a default judgment by federal Judge Robert Takasugi in Los Angeles, the SEC said.   Takasugi also barred Larry Earp, a founder of the company and its president and chief executive, from acting as an officer or director of any public company.    Separately, the SEC issued an administrative order barring Earp from the securities industry for life.   Earp consented to the orders without admitting or denying guilt, the SEC said.   The case against a third defendant, David Silver, national marketing director of the company, is pending, the SEC said.   Of the penalties against the company, $7.17 million represents forefeitures of illegal profits, a civil penalty of the same amount, and $863,342 in prejudgment interest.   SEC lawyer James Coffman said American Ostrich is inactive and the SEC will have to find out if the firm has assets that could be used to satisfy the court judgment.    Takasugi's order stemmed from a civil complaint by the SEC filed in March against the company and two of its executives.   The SEC said the defendants collected $7.45 million from about 350 investors in 40 states to operate an ostrich ranch to raise and later slaughter and sell its meat for food.   The defendants allegedly used high-pressure, boiler-room telemarketing tactics and a TV infomercial to sell between November 1993 and December 1994 unregistered securities in 17 partnerships at a price of from $7,500 to $20,000 a unit.   American Traders was a general partnership of the partnerships, the SEC said.    The SEC alleged the investors were made to believe that the price of ostriches would double when the defendants knew that as of July 1994, its market price had slumped.   The defendants also allegedly promised investors fantastic profits ranging from 45 percent in the first two years, 1,147 percent in five years, 5,003 percent in eight years and up to 9,355 percent in 10 years.   But about half of the investors' money went to sales commissions and marketing expenses, the SEC alleged, contrary to the defendants' claim they would use 80 percent of those funds to buy ostriches and for operating capital.   After the market for ostrich collapsed, the partnerships filed for bankruptcy, the SEC said. 
12672 !C12 !C15 !C152 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Biomet Inc, which makes and markets surgical implants and orthopedic support devices, said it expects its legal costs to continue mounting into fiscal 1997.   In an interview with Reuters, chief executive Dane Miller said, "Our legal costs have been growing the last several years substantially, both defense and settlement costs.   "I don't think it's a reflection of Biomet or anything that's happening at Biomet.   It's a reflection of our legal system," he said.   He said he sees legal costs continuing to grow.   "I don't know what we can do about it," he said.   The company foresees no material effect on results from its legal costs.   Biomet is preparing to appeal a verdict rendered against it earlier this year in Florida.   The initial $55-million jury award made to plaintiff Raymond Tronzo was reduced by a judge last month to $33.8 million.   Tronzo alleged patent infringement and other violations of state laws by Biomet.   Warsaw, Ind.-based Biomet recorded a $2 million charge against pre-tax earnings in its fiscal year ended May 31 on another patent infringement case.   Reuters Chicago Newsdesk 312-408-8787 
12673 !C24 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  EVEREN Securities Inc said Wednesday it will close its New York City and Boston municipal bond departments in a move that will cost about 26 employees their jobs.   A spokesman for the firm, Ted McDougal, said EVEREN will remain a "full service" municipal operation with offices in Chicago, San Francisco and Denver.   "What we are doing is basically reconfiguring our municipal securities operation in line with current municipal market conditions, which will involve the closing of our municipal desks in New York and Boston," McDougal said.    "We will continue to have a presence in Chicago, San Francisco (and) Denver and will remain a full service municipal bond department."   McDougal said the Chicago-based firm is "investing in and growing" its overall capital markets capabilities.   Part of that process includes "re-sizing" components the firm feels show less growth potential than others.   Earlier this month, McDougal said Leslie Belf, a former senior vice president and manager of municipal commitments, had left the firm "to pursue other interests."   EVEREN has been cutting back its municipal operations for at least a year.   In July, nine people were layed off and several other municipal employees saw their responsibilities at the firm shifted.   At the same time, EVEREN closed its one-person trading operation in Houston.   Last summer, EVEREN realigned its municipal operation to put research, public finance and trading sales and underwriting into a single department.   That move also resulted in several layoffs.   -- Kathie O'Donnell, 212-859-1655 
12674 !C42 !CCAT !E11 !E12 !E14 !E141 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The economy kept expanding moderately in August with no clear sign of inflation, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday, though wages appeared to be climbing faster than prices.   The Fed's latest Beige Book summary of national economic activity was issued amid worries that central bank policy-makers may boost interest rates this month to quash inflation risks.   Despite its cautioning about rising wages and labor shortages, the Fed summary did not clearly warn of mounting inflation and financial markets rallied after its noon release.   "Inflation indicators ... were varied and generally inconclusive, although there appears to be greater upward pressure on wages than on prices," concluded the Beige Book summary, prepared by the Cleveland Fed.   The Dow Jones industrial average was up 22 points at 5,749 in afternoon trading while the bond market recovered from earlier weakness and the yield on the 30-year bond was steady at 7.11 percent, the same as Tuesday's close.   The findings were based on information collected in interviews with businesses before Sept. 4 in the 12 Fed districts.   They will be used when the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee meets on Sept. 24 to decide interest-rate strategy.   The Beige Book surveys are released at about six-week intervals, with the last one published on Aug. 7.   The latest survey suggested the economy was holding its momentum entering the second half, rather than slowing as the Fed and many private economists had forecast.   "Business activity in most Districts is reported to be generally good and expanding moderately," the Fed said.   The Minneapolis Fed mentioned a local telephone company that was forced to issue cellular phones to new homeowners because it could not lay cable quickly enough to service them.   Few businesses in any Fed districts saw big price increases since the last survey was concluded on July 30, but none indicated that inflation pressures were subsiding.   Some industrial commodities like lumber and steel were rising in price, but it was generally confined to a few markets.   "Wage gains have tended to outstrip price increases, however," the Fed said.   The upward pressure on wages seemed most intense in the Richmond and San Francisco Fed districts, but many regions reported wage increases for entry-level jobs.   Many regions saw "pockets" of labor market tightness, with a few saying the scarcity of workers was broadly based.   The Chicago Fed said labor markets there were "tighter than the nation as a whole," yet there was no sign of rising wage demands.   The Fed said manufacturing activity was "either expanding or holding steady at a high level" across the country.   Few constraints were seen on industrial capacity, and companies in the Boston and Atlanta regions were adding to capacity.   "Building activity remains strong in most parts of the country," the Fed said.   "Agriculture conditions vary widely by District, but most regions report better crop conditions today than earlier in the summer."   Back-to-school shopping was "off to a good start," the Fed reported.   "Several districts indicated that sales are meeting -- or exceeding -- expectations," it added.   Inventories of unsold goods at the retail level were in line with sales, although some retail stores in the Boston region were cautiously building stocks.   Auto sales were described as "flat or declining slightly" in most parts of the country, but that was partly because dealer inventories of popular models were lean.   "Loan demand appears to be holding steady at a generally high level," the Fed said.   The Fed districts reported some deterioration in the credit quality of banks' consumer loans and higher delinquency rates but expressed no concerns about overall debt quality. 
12675 !C42 !CCAT !E14 !E141 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Katharine Abraham said on Wednesday the change in teachers' pay patterns from a 10-month to a 12-month period had an impact on U.S. August payrolls.   Asked by reporters if the change had influenced the August jobs report, Abraham replied, "That was a factor."   But she said it was impossible to quantify the impact.   "We'll get a better idea in September," she said.   "The seasonals capture the normal seasonal factors, but that wasn't one."    In the past, U.S. schools have paid teachers 10 months a year and withdrawn them from their payrolls during summer vacations.   This year, however, anectodal evidence shows many schools averaging their teachers' pay on a 12-month basis -- a factor that private analysts, such as Wrightson Associates's Michael Cloherty, said boosted the August payrolls rise of 250,000.   Abraham spoke to reporters at the annual conference of the National Association of Business Economists.    Asked about the $0.06 rise in August average hourly earnings, Abraham said, "We need to take a bit of a longer view" of the number.   "The year-over-year increase in August was 3.6 percent, which is higher than the year-over-year rate in December 1995 and higher than year-over-year rates before," she said.   "It's rising."   Regarding the 5.1-percent August unemployment rate, Abraham said this had to do with "the late survey date."    "We did see a decline that was exaggerated by the timing of the survey," she said, noting that many young people "withdraw from the labor force toward the end of the summer."   The decline in the U.S. unemployment rate in August was accompanied by a drop in the overall labor force.   The BLS survey of households -- the basis for calculating the unemployment rate -- was conducted late in the month of August.    In regard to signs of wage inflation, private analysts have also ventured the notion that average hourly earnings may have been boosted by early implementation of an increase in the U.S. minimum wage that becomes mandatory in October.   Asked whether tight U.S. labor markets, mainly regarding entry-level positions, had enticed employers to voluntarily pay higher minimum wages before the October deadline, Abraham said the BLS has not looked into this possibility.   Asked if the introduction of the first tranche of the minimum wage hike in October will skew average hourly earnings, Abraham said, "We have not attempted at this point to try to assess what the impact of this could be.   But we need to give some thoughts to this."   -- Isabelle Clary 212-859-1666 
12676 !C13 !C22 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd said on Wednesday it had received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to market and manufacture Clonazepam tablets, a generic version of a drug used to treat seizures.   Clonazepam is the first generic equivalent of Roche Holding Ltd's Klonopin, Teva said.   Klonopin has annual U.S. sales of about $300 million, it said.    "This is the largest product for which we have received the first, and to the best of our knowledge, the only generic approval," Teva Pharmaceuticals USA President William Fletcher said in a statement.   Teva said it expected to start shipping the product shortly.   -- New York Newsdesk 859 1610 
12677 !C23 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  Perclose Inc said Wednesday it has completed initial human clinical tests of its second generation, two suture percutaneous vascular surgical system, called Prostar Plus 10F.   Perclose said it has begun commercializing the product in Europe, Japan and Canada.   The Prostar Plus 10F is a minimally invasive surgical system that closes artery access sites after catheterization procedures such as angioplasty and atherectomy stenting.   "We are very pleased with the clinical experience of the Prostar Plus 10F," said Hank Plain, Perclose's president and chief executive officer.   "The Prostar Plus 10F offers the security of a surgical two-suture closure for larger arterial access sites together with the ease-of-use features of our single-suture Techstar product." 
12678 !C13 !C22 !C23 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel Wednesday recommended the agency approve Immunex Corp's Novantrone drug for late-stage prostate cancer patients, a company executive said.   The panel voted 6-2 with one abstention to recommend approval of the company's application to permit expanded labeling for the drug, currently approved for non-lymphocyte leukemia, said Peggy Phillips, senior vice president for pharmaceutical development.    The FDA generally follows advisory panel recommendations and is likely to act within six months if it continues to give the product a priority review, Phillips said.   Immunex filed the request for approval in May after results of a pivotal study that showed Novantrone helped reduce pain suffered by men with "hormone-refractory" or late-stage prostate cancer.   The published study of 181 patients showed 38 percent reported a decrease in pain with Novantrone in combination with the corticosteroid prednisone, compared with 21 percent for prednisone alone.    On average patients who were given Novantrone had a reduction of pain for 25 weeks longer than those who had prednisone only, she said.   Phillips noted that 40,000 men nationwide die annually from prostate cancer, with most suffering greatly.   "This can offer a higher quality of life in the last months of these men," Phillips said in an interview from the Washington, D.C., area where the panel met.   She said the company anticipated FDA approval would significantly increase sales of the product, although she declined to project by how much.   Currently Novantrone accounts for $40 million to $50 million of Immunex's approximately $160 million in annual revenues, she said.    -- Martin Wolk 206-386-4848 
12679 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  The New York Public Service Commission Wednesday decided to initiate a prudence investigation of Niagara Mohawk Power Corp to determine the extent to which ratepayers might have been harmed by an alleged bribery scheme, a commission statement said.   According to the utility's own investigation, the commission said, the scheme involved several employees and a scrap metal dealer over a 20 year period.   It said Niagara Mohawk has referred the matter to the Syracuse and Buffalo U.S. attorneys and the New York Attorney General for possible criminal investigation.    The commission was notified of the problem by Niagara Mohawk, utility spokeswoman Kerry Burns said.   She said it launched a six month investigation after being notified of a complaint to the Attorney General by a vendor.   The commission said Niagara Mohawk's review of the situation indicates as much as $200,000 was paid to six utility officers and employees during the 20-year period of a contract to sell scrap metal to Joseph Barsuk Inc.   All of the employees identified have either been terminated or have retired, it said.   It is the difference in revenue that Niagara Mohawk actually received under the contracts and what it could have received had the scrap been sold on the open market that the commission seeks to determine, it said.   Company management is cooperating fully in the commission staff's investigation, it added.   -- New York Newsdesk 212-859-1610 
12680 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  United States Surgical Corp said Wednesday it had won its third patent dispute against a unit of Johnson & Johnson in federal district court.    Surgical said a September 9 ruling from the district court of Connecticut upheld its rights to a patent on the trocar, a surgical device.   A spokesman for Surgical said the court decided that the company had as much right to the patent because it had bought the rights to it from one of the device's two inventors.   Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc had bought the rights from the other inventor and had accused Surgical of infringement.   A spokesman for Johnson & Johnson said the company planned to appeal the decision in a court of appeals for the federal circuit in Washington.   Surgical said it won its other two suits in a court of appeals in August and the Supreme Court in April. 
12681 !C42 !CCAT !E11 !E13 !E131 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The economy seems to be expanding moderately with no clear sign of higher inflation, although wages appear to be on the upswing, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.   "Inflation indicators ... were varied and generally inconclusive, although there appears to be greater upward pressure on wages than on prices," said the Beige Book summary prepared by the Cleveland Fed.   It was based on information collected before Sept 4 in the 12 Fed districts and will be used when central bank policymakers meet on Sept 24 to plot interest-rate strategy.    "Business activity in most Districts is reported to be generally good and expanding moderately," the Fed said.   In a departure from its usual format, the Beige Book summary led off with comments about the inflation outlook rather than the overall economy.   Markets are rife with speculation that the Fed may boost short-term interest rates later this month to keep inflation in check.   Few if any Fed districts saw big price increases since the last such survey was concluded on July 30 but none indicated that inflation pressures were subsiding and at least one -- the San Francisco Fed -- saw price rises intensifying.    "Wage gains have tended to outstrip price increases, however," the Fed said.   The upward pressure on wages seemed most intense in the Richmond and San Francisco Fed districts but many regions reported wage increases for entry-level jobs.   Many too also saw "pockets" of labor market tightness, with a few saying the scarcity of workers was broadly based.   The Fed said that manufacturing activity was "either expanding or holding steady at a high level" in most districts.   Few constraints were reported on industrial capacity, and companies in the Boston and Atlanta regions were adding to capacity.    "Building activity remains strong in most parts of the country," the Fed said.   "Agriculture conditions vary widely by District, but most regions report better crop conditions today than earlier in the summer."   The back-to-school shopping season was "off to a good start," the Fed reported.   "Several districts indicated that sales are meeting -- or exceeding -- expectations," it added.   Inventories of unsold goods at the retail level were in line with sales, although some retail stores in the Boston region were cautiously building stocks.    Auto sales were described as "flat or declining slightly" in most parts of the country but that was partly because dealer inventories of popular models were lean.   "Loan demand appears to be holding steady at a generally high level," the Fed said.   The Fed districts reported some deterioration in the credit quality of banks' consumer loans and higher delinquency rates but expressed no concerns about overall debt quality. 
12682 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Pure World Inc, which is in a proxy fight with American Industries Properties REIT, said on Wednesday a Federal District Court had ruled an American Industries bylaw prohibiting more than 9.8 percent ownership of its outstanding shares was invalid.   Pure World Inc said in a statement a Federal District Court in Dallas had granted its motion for a partial summary judgment filed in connection to a lawsuit with American Industrial.   American Industrial had said Pure World and its chairman violated the company bylaw.    American Industrial filed the lawsuit in January after Pure World won a plurality of votes cast at the December 1995 American Industrial annual meeting, Pure World said.   Neither company's candidate was elected at that meeting because no one received the two-third's majority required by American Industrial's bylaws, Pure World said. 
12683 !GCAT !GSPO  AC Milan striker George Weah was taken to hospital with a freak hand injury on Wednesday as the Italian favourites lost 3-2 to Porto in their opening European Cup Champions' League Group D match.   Brazilian striker Jardel, in his first season in European soccer and making his cup debut as a second half substitute, was the Porto hero with two well-taken goals in the last 15 minutes as his side twice came from behind.   It was the first time that Milan, five times champions in the past, had lost a European Cup match in Italy since 1979 when the victorious opponents were also Porto.   Wednesday's defeat had much to do with the absence through injury of veteran defender Franco Baresi, whose steady presence has long been the rock that has brought Milan title after title.   It also followed the injury to Weah, who was taken to hospital after being carried off on a stretcher with a heavily bleeding right hand only seconds after the Liberian scored Milan's second goal in the 68th minute.   A club spokesman said the World Player of the Year had snared a gold ring on his hand, apparently as he wheeled away in jubilation after making the score 2-1.   He said Weah went to hospital because the ring could not be removed and would have to be cut off his finger.   In his absence, Porto, the 1987 European Cup champions, stiffened their resolve.   Jardel, a 22-year-old summer signing from Brazilian club Gremio who came on in the 62nd minute, took advantage of some glaring defensive errors to snatch the victory.   He headed in a 75th-minute equaliser to level at 2-2 and then shot home the winner seven minutes from time.   Jardel has played only twice in the Portuguese league this season but has already scored two goals there as well.   Marco Simone had put Milan ahead in the 14th minute, helped by Roberto Baggio who was also making his European Cup debut, and Milan looked to be comfortably in control.   It was Simone's 12th career goal in Europe but the lead was cancelled out by Artur in the 53rd minute.   "Porto deserved their win," said new Milan coach Oscar Tabarez, who replaced cup-winning Fabio Capello at the start of the season.   "They took advantage of our errors.   "They played very well in defence and knew how to go forward when they were behind," the Uruguayan added.   Teams:   Milan - 1 - Sebastiano Rossi, 2 - Christian Panucci, 3-Paolo Maldini, 5-Filippo Galli, 14-Michael Reiziger (21-Mauro Tassotti, 40th minute), 4 - Demetrio Albertini, 8-Marcel Desailly, 20 - Zvonimir Boban (24-Stefanio Eranio, 69th), 18-Roberto Baggio, 9 - George Weah (22-Edgar Davids, 69th), 23-Marco Simone.   Porto - 1 - Andrzej Wozniak, 4-Aloisio (11-Ljubinko Drulovic, 72nd), 5 - Fernando Mendes 7-Sergio Conceicao, 13-Lula, 14-Artur (8-Rui Barros, 87th), 17-Barroso (16-Jardel, 62nd), 20 - Paulinho Santos, 21-Edmilson, 22-Jorge Costa, 25-Zlatko Zahovic. 
12684 !GCAT !GSPO  German international Heiko Herrlich pounced on two defensive mistakes to give Borussia Dortmund a 2-1 win over Poland's Widzew Lodz in their European Cup Champions' League group B match on Wednesday.   Defender Andrzej Michalczuk headed a cross into Herrlich's path on the six-metre line, giving him a simple header and Dortmund the lead just before halftime.   Midway through the second half Michalczuk blundered again, heading a cross from Stephane Chapuisat across his own goalmouth.   Herrlich, back in the starting line-up for the first time since tearing ankle ligaments last March, pounced to score from close range.   He came close to completing a hat-trick a few minutes later when he took a return pass from Austrian international Wolfgang Feiersinger and sent a dipping shot centimetres over the bar.   Dortmund then let the three-times Polish champions back into the game.   Juergen Kohler was slow to pick up Marek Citko on the edge of the box and managed only to deflect his drive past goalkeeper Stefan Klos.    "It wasn't a beautiful game but we won and that's what counts," Herrlich said.   Dortmund coach Ottmar Hitzfeld was equally philosophical: "You have to make your opponent make mistakes but those really were two gifts from the Poles."   Lodz showed enough flashes of technical skill to suggest they will pose problems for the other teams in the group, Steaua Bucharest and Atletico Madrid.   Their disciplined performance wiped out the memory of a previous excursion to Germany four years ago when they lost 9-0 to Eintracht Frankfurt.   Teams:   Borussia Dortmund - 1 - Stefan Klos, 6-Matthias Sammer, 15-Juergen Kohler, 5 - Julio Cesar, 7-Stefan Reuter, 14-Paul Lambert (Wolfgang Feiersinger 24th), 10-Andy Moeller, 8 - Michael Zorc, 17-Joerg Heinrich, 11-Heiko Herrlich (23-Rene Tretschok 77th), 9-Stephane Chapuisat (29-Vladimir Bout 90th)   Widzew Lodz - 1-Maciej Szezsny, 5 - Pawel Wojtala, 3 - Tomasz Lapinski, 17-Andrzej Michalczuk, 2-Miroslaw Szymkowiak (Marek Bajor 73rd), 12-Slawomir Majak, 10-Ryszard Czerwiec, 7-Radoslaw Michalski, 11-Rafal Siadaczka (Szarpak 80th), 8 - Jacek Dembinski, 6-Marek Citko   Referee: Karol Ihring (Slovakia) 
12685 !GCAT !GSPO  A superb goal by Jari Litmanen after little more than three minutes gave Ajax Amsterdam a 1-0 away victory over European Cup debutants Auxerre in their Champions' League group A opener on Wednesday.   It was the first away goal of the season in any competition for the four-times European champions, plagued by injuries and deprived of four players through suspension.   Speedy Nigerian winger Tajani Babangida broke away from his marker Franck Rabarivony on the right, something he was to do with frequent ease in the opening quarter of an hour, before turning the ball sharply into the middle as he fell.   Finnish international Litmanen leapt up in a manner reminiscent of the former Ajax great Johan Cruyff to loop the ball with his right foot into the top far corner of Lionel Charbonnier's net.   Auxerre were seldom allowed close to the Ajax goal but Edwin van der Sar, who made his European debut against the French side in 1993, had to make a point-blank save from winger Bernard Diomede in the 18th minute.   Diomede was Auxerre's most dangerous attacker but his finishing was poor as Ajax, successfully blooding several youngsters alongside their seasoned veterans, gave Auxerre a lesson in European competition at its highest level.   Ajax had three clear chances to increase their lead.   But Ronald de Boer was just wide of the far post on the half hour, Babangida was guilty of poor finishing when put through by Litmanen in the 75th minute and the Finn also fluffed his opportunity in the 67th, shooting straight at Charbonnier.    Auxerre had claims for a penalty in the second half turned down after 19-year-old Mario Melchiot, whose only previous senior experience was as a substitute in a few Dutch first division games, appeared to hinder striker Lilian Laslandes.   "It was clearly a penalty," said the French side's coach Guy Roux.   Melchiot kept Laslandes in check in the first half but had more trouble after the break.   Auxerre's problem was that the lanky French striker lacked support.   Roux, pointing to the bar in the press tent, said: "We were like that non-alcoholic beer.   We had no bubble.   "We stood back five metres from our rivals.   With their quality, they succeeded with their first attack."    If Ajax's metamorphosis after their dismal league form surprised many, Dutch trainer Louis van Gaal seemed to have expected it.   "Foreign teams don't know Ajax as well as Dutch teams do," he said.   "Auxerre play something like us.   The difference is that (Australian central defender Ned) Zelic plays behind their defence and, for us, Frank de Boer plays in front of it."   That turned into a key factor with Auxerre often made to look like the away side as de Boer -- with his brother Ronald and Litmanen the best players on the night -- pushed his team up into the French half of the field.   Teams:   Auxerre - 1-Lionel Charbonnier, 2-Alain Goma, 5-Ned Zelic, 12-Taribo West, 3-Franck Rabarivony, 7 - Sabri Lamouchi, 14-Christian Henna, 8 - Moussa Saib, 11-Bernard Diomede, 15-Abdelfahid Tasfaout (10-Antoine Sibierski 78th), 9-Lilian Laslandes (17-Steve Marlet 81st).   Ajax Amsterdam - 1 - Edwin van der Sar, 20 - Marcio Santos, 29-Mario Melchiot (30-Menno Willem 81st), 5 - Winston Bogarde, 17-Mariano Juan, 4-Frank de Boer, 10-Jari Litmanen (14-Martijn Reuser 90th), 18 - Kiki Musampa, 7 - Tijani Babangida, 6-Ronald de Boer, 11-Marc Overmars (28-Rody Turpijn 63rd).   Referee: Piero Ceccarini (Italy). 
12686 !GCAT !GSPO  Second seed Felix Mantilla of Spain bowed out of the Bournemouth International Open on Wednesday, beaten 6-2 2-6 6-4 in the second round by emerging Argentine 18-year-old Mariano Zabaleta.   Zabaleta, who in the last nine months has climbed from 380 in the world rankings to 125, won the opening set of a long baseline duel then broke the Spaniard in the first game of the second set.   Mantilla, ranked 16th in the world, fought back to win nine of the next 10 games to lead 3-0 in the third and world junior champion Zabaleta looked down and out.   But he battled back to win five of the last six games for the best win of his career and a place in the quarter-finals.   "I thought I had lost when I went 3-0 down in the final set," the Argentine said.   "But it was only one break and I did not give up.   I guess I was pretty lucky." 
12687 !GCAT !GSPO  Teams for Wednesday's European Champions' League Group B match between Borussia Dortmund of Germany and Widzew Lodz of Poland:   Borussia Dortmund: 1-Stefan Klos, 6-Matthias Sammer, 15-Juergen Kohler, 5 - Julio Cesar, 7-Stefan Reuter, 14-Paul Lambert, 10-Andy Moeller, 8 - Michael Zorc, 17 - Joerg Heinrich, 11-Heiko Herrlich, 9-Stephane Chapuisat   Widzew Lodz: 1-Maciej Szezsny, 5 - Pawel Wojtala, 3 - Tomasz Lapinski, 17-Andrzej Michalczuk, 2 - Miroslaw Szymkowiak, 12-Slawomir Majak, 10-Ryszard Czerwiec, 7-Radoslaw Michalski, 11-Rafal Siadaczka, 8 - Jacek Dembinski, 6-Marek Citko   Referee: Karol Ihring (Slovakia) 
12688 !GCAT !GSPO  Teams for Wednesday's European Cup Champions' League Group A match between Auxerre of France and Ajax Amsterdam of the Netherlands:   Auxerre - 1-Lionel Charbonnier; 2-Alain Goma, 5-Ned Zelic, 12-Taribo West, 3-Franck Rabarivony; 7-Sabri Lamouchi, 14-Christian Henna, 8 - Moussa Saib, 11-Bernard Diomede; 15-Abdelfahid Tasfaout, 9-Lilian Laslandes.   Ajax Amsterdam - 1 - Edwin van der Sar; 20 - Marcio Santos, 29 - Mario Melchiot, 17-Mariano Juan, 5 - Winston Bogarde, 4-Frank de Boer, 10-Jari Limanen, 6-Ronald de Boer, 18 - Kiki Musampa; 7 - Tijani Babangida, 11-Marc Overmars.   Referee: M. Ceccarini (Italy) 
12689 !GCAT !GSPO  Results at the Czech Open women's tennis tournament on Wednesday (prefix number denotes seeding):   First round   1-Barbara Paulus (Austria) beat Katerina Maleeva (Bulgaria) 6-4 6-3   Janette Husarova (Slovakia) beat 3 - Helena Sukova (Czech Rep) 6-3 6-3   Second round   Silvia Talaja (Croatia) beat 2-Karina Habsudova (Slovakia) 6-4 6-0   5-Ruxandra Dragomir (Romania) beat Denisa Chladkova (Czech Rep) 7-5 6-0   Flora Perfetti (Italy) beat Radka Bobkova (Czech Rep) 6-1 6-0   Emanuelle Gagliardi (Monaco) beat Sabine Hack (Germany) 6-4 7-6 (7-0)   4-Katarina Studenikova (Slovakia) beat Sandra Dopfer (Austria) 6-2 6-1. 
12690 !GCAT !GSPO  Italian magistrates on Wednesday ordered video footage of Inter's opening serie A match against Udinese to be seized after a lawyer took legal action against an Inter player whose tackle broke an opponent's leg.   Magistrates said the seizure was a formality after Udinese lawyer Roberto Cianci filed a formal complaint against defender Salvatore Fresi for a tackle on Udinese midfielder Giovanni Stroppa last Saturday.   Stroppa, a former Italian international, has been ruled out for at least 40 days after the seventh-minute foul.   Fresi escaped with a booking for the straight-legged tackle.   Cianci said on Tuesday that his legal action against Fresi was a private initiative but added that he had spoken to Udinese officials about it and they had not objected.   Ten Udinese fans meanwhile threatened their own legal action against Fresi, saying they had bought season tickets purely to watch Stroppa and now felt cheated.   "I want to raise the problem as a matter of principle.   We will try and resolve once and for all whether behaviour of a criminal nature on the pitch can be punished by the ordinary magistrates," Cianci was quoted as saying.   Newspapers quoted Inter president Massimo Moratti on Wednesday as saying the legal action was "in many ways absurd" and urging Cianci to tone down his rhetoric.   Udinese's German international striker Oliver Bierhoff was also critical of legal action and told reporters the issue would be best settled by Fresi receiving a long ban. 
12691 !GCAT !GSPO  Briton Nick Faldo, now based on the U.S. Tour, came out strongly in support of his European colleagues on Wednesday in their campaign for better playing conditions.   The U.S. Masters champion, in France for the Lancome Trophy which begins on Thursday, attended a players meeting on Tuesday to discuss course conditions in Europe, particularly the state of the greens at the British Masters at Collingtree Park two weeks ago.   The meeting was called by Ryder Cup captain Seve Ballesteros but neither he, nor Faldo, nor European number one Colin Montgomerie would disclose the contents of the discussions.   Montgomerie said they were private, though Ballesteros described them as "positive".   He would not elaborate.   "I was at the meeting because I have an active interest, I'm still part of the Tour, I'm still British and I still play selected events," Faldo said.   The world number two said he was fully aware of the problems encountered at Collingtree Park, where the greens turned bluish-black after treatment to combat what was called "meadow grass decline".   "They had a bad week," said Faldo.   "All we've been saying for three years came to a head that week.   I think the major priority must be to get the course conditions right."   Faldo, who has often mentioned the consistently good conditions at U.S. venues as one reason for basing himself there, said he had spoken to Tour executive director Ken Schofield about the problem at Collingtree.   "The standard of course conditions and the differences presented each week are vital.   There needs to be a constant schedule of maintenance and improvement of our courses," he said.   Faldo added that in the United States "you see plans posted in the locker room every week of improvements they intend to make before the next year.   They are constantly looking to improve things."   British Masters officials and the European Tour have officially apologised to the players for the condition of Collingtree Park.   Peter German, who was tournament director there and again here this week, said the players were entirely right to feel aggrieved and Ballesteros was entirely right to demand better courses on which players would qualify for next year's Ryder Cup team.   German said that three weeks before the Collingtree Park event, the greens were virtually fine.   "What slight signs of decline there were, we were assured would have no effect and the greens would be fine for the tournament.   That turned out to be wrong," he said.   "Three or four weeks before the event, we might have been able to move it to another venue.   One week before, it was too late."   He added that ironically the damage had been overcome and that within the next two weeks the greens would be in near-perfect shape again.   However, considerable changes made for this week's event at St Nom la Breteche, a composite of two courses at the parkland club, have met with approval from all concerned.   Bunkers have been remoulded and repositioned or some new ones installed, some tees have been re-sited, some greens have been reshaped and new trees have been planted on some holes.   "It needed to be strengthened.   It was too easy and we needed to make it a better test," German said.   Montgomerie, defending the title, concurred.   "It is now a test for the second shots where it wasn't before and new bunkers toughen the driving.   That is what we need, tougher courses.   "It is certainly tougher.   They have done well with this course," he said. 
12692 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of second round matches at the Bournemouth International Open men's tennis tournament on Wednesday (prefix number denotes seeding):   Mariano Zabaleta (Argentina) beat 2-Felix Mantilla (Spain) 6-2   2-6 6-4   8-Marc-Kevin Goellner (Germany) beat Lars Jonsson (Sweden) 6-7   (5-7) 7-5 6-0.    Magnus Norman (Sweden) beat Tom Kempers (Netherlands) 7-6 6-4 5 - Sergi Bruguera (Spain) beat Patrik Fredriksson (Sweden) 6-4 6-3. 
12693 !GCAT !GSPO  U.S. Open champion Steffi Graf will play a home tournament in Leipzig starting this month despite her father's tax evasion trial, organisers said Wednesday.   Tournament director Ivan Radosevic had said he expected the attention surrounding the trial to keep four-time winner Graf away.   But Wednesday her management firm sent a definite acceptance for the event, being played from Sept. 30 to Oct. 6.   Peter Graf went on trial last week with a family tax advisor charged with evading taxes worth $13 million on his daughter's earnings between 1989 and 1993.   World No. 1 Graf, who clinched her 21st Grand Slam title three days after her father's trial began, is still under investigation in the affair but has not been charged. 
12694 !GCAT !GSPO  Winners of three majors, Tom Lehman, Steve Jones and Mark Brooks, head one of the strongest fields ever for next month's World Matchplay golf championship at Wentworth.   The only 1996 major winner not in the star-studded 12-man field is Masters champion Nick Faldo, who is committed to a tournament in Japan during the matchplay dates of October 17 to 20.   The three Americans, British Open winner Lehman, U.S. Open champion Jones and PGA champion Brooks, will join two-times defending champion and top seed Ernie Els of South Africa as seeds with byes through the first round.   Els will be trying to become the first player to win the title three times in succession in the 33-year history of the event.   The leading four will play the winners of the four 36-hole first-round matches involving the other eight players.   Brooks and Lehman are second and third on the U.S. money list from which the top five are in the field.   Leader Phil Mickelson, the winner of four tournaments this year, fourth-placed Mark O'Meara and fifth-placed Steve Stricker are all taking part.   Australian Steve Elkington, last year's runner-up, returns to try and go one better while Britons Colin Montgomerie and Ian Woosnam, currently waging a battle to be European number one for the year, are both back again.   Woosnam won in 1987 and 1990 while Montgomerie, Europe's number one the past three years, was runner-up to Els in 1994, his best finish in four appearances.   Completing the strong field for the prestigious event are Vijay Singh of Fiji, world-ranked 18th, and Nobuo Serizawa, the reigning Japanese matchplay champion. 
12695 !GCAT !GSPO  Colin Montgomerie faces a dilemma familiar to all great performers at the Lancome Trophy this week - "What do I do for an encore?"   After his record-breaking triumph in the European Masters at the Swiss Alpine resort of Crans-sur-Sierre on Sunday, Montgomerie comes down to earth at this French parkland layout on the outskirts of Versailles, near Paris.   And having trailed Ian Woosnam by some 70,000 pounds ($109,000) in the European Order of Merit a week ago, he now heads the list again by 60,000 pounds ($93,000) as he continues his bid to be the European number one for a record-tying fourth successive year.   Montgomerie closed with rounds of 61 and 63 at Crans-sur-Sierre, his 124 total and 18-under-par figures for those rounds both breaking European Tour records.   His four-round aggregate of 260 broke the record for the event by a shot and was the best in Europe this year by four strokes.   "I was obviously delighted, particularly with the way I putted because I had been having some problems putting," Montgomerie reflected on Wednesday.   "Now I want to take that forward for the rest of the year because winning the Order of Merit again is my goal."   His second round of level-par 71 following an opening 65 was the only black mark on his week.   "But I had seven birdies in that round so I was still doing something right.   I just made seven mistakes," he said.   "If you cut out those mistakes, I had a good round.   That's what I did at the weekend.   I did not make a bogey at the weekend."   While Montgomerie revelled in Switzerland, Woosnam took the week off and must again take up the chase after two weeks in the lead following his triumph in the German Open.   He was full of admiration for Montgomerie's play last week.   "You can't take anything away from those scores.   He deserves to be on top again," the Welshman said.   "Now I'll just have to knock him off it again."   Woosnam, however, was dealing with a sore neck on Wednesday.   "It's a little stiff and I'm struggling a bit.   The weather is getting a bit colder and I'm getting a bit stiffer.   "But if I keep my back loose, I'll be okay," he said.   American-based Nick Faldo joins his European Ryder Cup colleagues -- all 12 of the winning team are in this field -- on one of his rare returns from the U.S. Tour.   The U.S. Masters champion and Montgomerie are two of seven players currently involved in a close battle for second place behind Greg Norman in the world rankings.   Faldo is currently second with Montgomerie, previously in second place before dropping to sixth last week, now in fourth place.   German Bernhard Langer has won at least one title for 17 consecutive years on the European Tour but faces the end of his streak this season.   Injuries and putting problems have nagged him this year and in an effort to cure his putting he was experimenting in the pro-am on Wednesday with one of the long broom-handled putters pioneered in Europe by Sam Torrance.   "I missed the cut at Crans by one shot and did not putt well.   This is a trial.   I'll decide later whether to use it in the tournament," Langer said.   Ryder Cup captain Seve Ballesteros will be seeking his fifth victory in the event he first won in 1976 when it was an eight-man tournament.   This year there are 123 taking part.   Ballesteros, making his 17th appearance in the tournament, presided over a meeting of players on Tuesday night to discuss the poor state of the greens at the British Masters at Collingtree Park two weeks ago.   "It was a very positive meeting," Ballesteros said, declining to disclose details of the discussions.   Tournament officials and the European Tour have officially apologised to the players for the state of the greens, which took on a blue-black tinge after treatment for a condition known as "meadow grass decline."   The St Nom la Breteche course has been substantially revamped this year and lengthened by some 75 yards to a distance of 6,840 yards.   The bunkers have been reshaped, several tees reconstructed and the greens made firmer.   "It needed to be strengthened and improved," tournament director Peter German said. 
12696 !GCAT !GSPO  AC Milan remain favourites to lift a record-equalling sixth European Cup despite losing 3-2 at home to Porto in their opening Champions' League match on Wednesday.   British bookmakers Ladbrokes quoted the Italian champions at 2/1, compared with 11/8 before Wednesday's match, with defending European champions Juventus 3/1 from 4/1 following their 1-0 win over Manchester United.   United, chasing their first European Cup since 1968, were pushed out to 6/1 from 5/1, while 1995 champions Ajax were quoted at 5/1 after beating Auxerre 1-0 in France.   Porto came in to 10/1 from 25/1 following their success in Italy, joining Atletico Madrid and Borrusia Dortmund, who both won their opening matches.   Glasgow Rangers slipped to 28/1 from 20/1 after their 3-0 defeat at Grasshopper Zurich.   Auxerre, in their first-ever European Cup campaign, stood at 40/1. 
12697 !GCAT !GSPO  European Cup favourites AC Milan stumbled to a 3-2 defeat at home to Porto in their opening Champions' League match on Wednesday while compatriots and defending champions Juventus beat Manchester United 1-0.   Milan, chasing a record-equalling sixth European Cup, twice took the lead through Marco Simone and Liberian George Weah, but the Portuguese champions hit back with three second half goals, the last two from substitute Jardel inside the final 15 minutes.   In Turin, Marcello Lippi's Juventus dominated their match against the English league and cup double winners and were unlucky not to win by a wider margin.   Croatian Alen Boksic, one of several players drafted into the side in the four months since Juve beat Ajax Amsterdam in last season's final, scored the decisive goal after 34 minutes.   Ajax shrugged off their dismal early-season league form to beat Auxerre 1-0 in France, while 1986 European champions Steaua Bucharest crashed 4-0 at Atletico Madrid, making their first appearance in Europe's top club competition for 20 years.   On a night in which goals flowed freely, Norway's Rosenborg beat Scandinavian neighbours Gothenburg 3-2 and Swiss side Grasshopper Zurich conquered Glasgow Rangers 3-0, equalling at the first attempt their goal tally from their six Champions' League games last season.    Milan's home defeat, however, was the shock result of the night.   With three European Cup titles to their name from the last decade, Milan are widely expected to usurp Juventus as champions -- just as they did in the Italian domestic league last season.   Dutchmen Edgar Davids and Michael Reiziger have joined them from Ajax since then, as has French international Christian Dugarry, and last month's European draw in Geneva placed them in the relatively easy Group D.   All appeared to be going to plan in the San Siro stadium when Marco Simone put the Italians ahead in the first quarter of an hour, a lead they defended until halftime.   Artur equalised shortly after the break before World Player of the Year George Weah scored Milan's second -- a goal which proved to be the turning point of the match.   As Weah spun away to celebrate he snared a ring on his finger.   Elation turned to agony as he was carried off the pitch, his hand swathed in a bandage and bleeding profusely.   Davids replaced the Liberian but Milan were shaken and allowed Brazilian Jardel, who had come on as a substitute with less than half an hour remaining, to haul the visitors level at 2-2 with a 75th-minute header.   Then, seven minutes from time, Jardel pounced on a defensive error to score his second and give Porto, European Cup winners in 1987, a memorable victory.   Juve's Group C win over Manchester United was less spectacular but nevertheless sent a clear signal of intent to their would-be usurpers across the continent.   Boksic showed just why coach Lippi paid Lazio $9 million for him in the close-season with a virtuoso performance capped by a sweetly taken goal.   The 26-year-old Croat collected a perfect through-ball from new French midfield signing Zinedine Zidane, took the ball to the edge of the United box and rode a tackle before sweeping his shot past goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel.   The defeat meant United, European Cup champions in 1968, have lost all five competitive European matches they have played in Italy since the 1957-58 season, during which time they have scored just once and conceded 12 goals.   Ajax, bidding for a place in their third consecutive European Cup final, scored the quickest goal of the night through Jari Litmanen.   The Finnish striker looped the ball into the top corner of the Auxerre net with barely three minutes gone.   That proved enough for the 1995 champions, who dominated their Group A game without adding to their lead.   It was the first away goal of the season in any competition for Ajax, four times champions of Europe.   Argentines Juan Eduardo Esnaider and Diego Simeone were on song in Madrid, where Atletico demolished Romanian champions Steaua in Group B.   Esnaider, whose last goal in Europe set Real Zaragoza on their way to victory against Arsenal in the 1995 Cup Winners' Cup final, scored the first two goals in their 4-0 rout.   With Steaua reduced to 10 men after Marius Baciu was sent off early in the match, Simeone bagged the last two.   The pitch at the Vicente Calderon ground -- which was laid just two days ago after the old grass had suffered an invasion of worms -- survived the game well despite heavy rain in Madrid in the hours before the match.   Rangers' humiliating defeat in Zurich, added to United's slipshod performance at Juventus meant that once again the British were left licking their wounds after visits to the continent.   Last season the two British entries in the Champions' League -- Rangers and Blackburn -- managed just one win between them.   This season, for now at least, promises more of the same. 
12698 !GCAT !GSPO  English division one results on   Wednesday:    Norwich  1  Queens Park Rangers  1    Swindon  0  Portsmouth 1 
12699 !GCAT !GSPO  Collated results of European Cup Champions' League first round and UEFA Cup first round, first leg matches on Wednesday:   European Cup Champions' League    Group A   In Auxerre:    Auxerre (France) 0 Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands) 1 (halftime 0-1)   Scorer: Jari Litmanen (4th)   Attendance: 18,500   In Zurich:   Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland) 3 Glasgow Rangers (Scotland) 0   Scorers: Kubilyay Turkyilmaz (28th, 79th), Murat Yakin (18th)   Attendance: 20,000   Group B   In Madrid:   Atletico Madrid (Spain) 4 Steaua Bucharest (Romania) 0 (2-0)   Scorers: Juan Eduardo Esnaider (32nd, 45th) Diego Simeone (64th, 85th)   Attendance: 47,000   In Dortmund:    Borussia Dortmund (Germany) 2 Widzew Lodz (Poland) 1 (1-0)   Scorers:   Dortmund - Heiko Herrlich (45th, 68th)   Lodz - Marek Citko (84th)   Attendance: 39,600   Group C   In Vienna:    Rapid Vienna (Austria) 1 Fenerbahce (Turkey) 1 (0-1)   Scorers:   Rapid Vienna - Christian Stumpf (69th)   Fenerbahce - Elvir Bolic (30th)   Attendance: 41,500   In Turin:   Juventus (Italy) 1 Manchester United (England) 0 (1-0)   Scorer: Alen Boksic (34th)   Attendance: 50,000   Group D   In Gothenburg:   Gothenburg (Sweden) 2 Rosenborg (Norway) 3 (1-1)   Scorers:   Gothenburg - Magnus Erlingmark (38th, 49th)   Rosenborg - Mini Jakobsen (32nd), Steffen Iversen (52nd), Harald Brattbakk (64th)   Attendance: 23,682   In Milan:    AC Milan (Italy) 2 Porto (Portugal) 3 (1-0)   Scorers:   Milan - Marco Simone (14th), George Weah (68th)   Porto - Artur (53rd), Jardel (75th, 83rd)   Attendance: 24,000   UEFA Cup   In Krakow, Poland:   Hutnik Krakow (Poland) 0 AS Monaco (France) 1 (0-0)   Scorer: Victor Ikpebe (87th)   Attendance: 8,000   In Moscow:    Spartak Moscow (Russia) 3 Silkeborg (Denmark) 2 (3-0)   Scorers:   Spartak - Andrei Tikhonov (14th and 37th), Valery Kechinov (20th)   Silkeborg - Jesper Thygesen (53rd), Allan Reese (72nd)   Attendance: 7,000   In Bucharest:   Rapid Bucharest (Romania) 1 Karlsruhe (Germany) 0 (0-0)   Scorer: Burkhard Reich (own goal, 67th)   Attendance: 17,000   In Athens:    Panathinaikos (Greece) 4 Legia Warsaw (Poland) 2 (3-2)   Scorers:   Panathinaikos - Nikos Lymberopoulos (26th, 39th), Alexis Alexoudis (34th), George H. Georgiadis (80th)   Legia - Dariusz Szykier (3rd), Czezary Kocharski (45th)   Attendance: 25,000 
12700 !GCAT !GSPO  English premier league Leicester have won their 250,000 pounds ($390,000) damages claim against Wolverhampton Wanderers over the collapse of a transfer deal involving Australian goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac.   First division Wolves entered an agreement with Leicester to buy Kalac on the condition that Wolves could obtain a work permit for him.   They then pulled out, prompting Leicester to claim a breach of contract.   The English Football League on Wednesday ruled in Leicester's favour.   Kalac played only one league game for Leicester before returning to Australia. 
12701 !GCAT !GSPO  Following are brief highlights of UEFA Cup first round first leg matches on Wednesday:   Monaco beat Hutnik Krakow 1-0 away, scoring a late goal despite playing with only 10 men for most of the second half.   Monaco's Philippe Leonard was sent off in the 62nd minute after a flagrant foul yielded his second yellow card of the match.   But Nigerian Viktor Ikpeba scored from close range three minutes from the end to reward the French league club who had dominated the game against the Poles.   - - - -    A Burkhard Reich own goal midway through the second half gave Rapid Bucharest a 1-0 win over Germany's Karlsruhe in Bucharest.   Reich diverted a shot from Dumitru Tartau into his own net as Rapid stepped up the pressure following an indifferent first half.   - - - -    Spartak Moscow striker Andrei Tikhonov was a hero at both ends in their UEFA Cup tie against Danish side Silkeborg who grabbed two precious away goals as the Russians squandered a 3-0 half-time lead.   Tikhonov scored two cracking goals in the 14th and 37th minutes with Spartak's Valery Kechinov also netting in the 20th.   But in the dying minutes of the game Tikhonov found himself pulling on the goalkeeper's jersey and pulling off a dramatic diving save to deny the Danes a late equaliser.   Spartak keeper Ruslan Nigmatullin had been sent off in the 88th minute for handling outside the penalty area after racing out and plunging at the feet of the fast-breaking Nocko Jokovic.   Silkeborg came out fighting after the break and were unlucky not to go away with a draw after Jesper Thygesen and Allan Reese scored in the 53rd and 72nd minutes respectively to take the Danes into the second leg with a narrow 3-2 deficit. 
12702 !GCAT !GSPO  The Anglo-Italian Cup has been scrapped this season because the English and Italian leagues cannot agree on dates for fixtures, an English soccer official said on Wednesday.   The competition was re-introduced in the 1992-93 season but, after four seasons, it has been dropped.   English Football League spokesman Chris Hull said: "This season the English and Italian leagues could not accommodate it.   They couldn't find dates which suited both parties."   A crowd of 12,683 saw Genoa beat Port Vale 5-2 in last season's final at Wembley.   The inter-league matches between the two countries will continue. 
12703 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of European Champions' League first round and UEFA Cup first round, first leg matches on Wednesday:   UEFA Cup   In Krakow, Poland:   Hutnik Krakow (Poland) 0 AS Monaco (France) 1 (halftime 0-0)   Scorer: Victor Ikpebe (87th minute)   Attendance: 8,000    UEFA Cup   In Moscow:    Spartak Moscow (Russia) 3 Silkeborg (Denmark) 2 (3-0)   Scorers:   Spartak - Andrei Tikhonov (14th and 37th), Valery Kechinov (20th)   Silkeborg - Jesper Thygesen (53rd), Allan Reese (72nd)   Attendance: 7,000   In Bucharest:   Rapid Bucharest (Romania) 1 Karlsruhe (Germany) 0 (0-0)   Scorer: Burkhard Reich (own goal, 67th)   Attendance: 17,000    UEFA Cup   In Athens:    Panathinaikos (Greece) 4 Legia Warsaw (Poland) 2 (3-2)   Scorers:   Panathinaikos - Nikos Lymberopoulos (26th, 39th), Alexis Alexoudis (34th), George H. Georgiadis (80th)   Legia - Dariusz Szykier (3rd), Czezary Kocharski (45th)   Attendance: 25,000    European Cup Champions' League    Group A   In Auxerre:    Auxerre (France) 0 Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands) 1 (0-1)   Scorer: Jari Litmanen (4th)   Attendance: 18,500    Group C   In Vienna: Rapid Vienna (Austria) 1 Fenerbahce (Turkey) 1 (0-1)   Scorers:   Rapid Vienna - Christian Stumpf (69th)   Fenerbahce - Elvir Bolic (30th)   Attendance: 41,500    Group B:   In Dortmund: Borussia Dortmund (Germany) 2 Widzew Lodz (Poland) 1 (1-0)   Scorers:   Dortmund - Heiko Herrlich (45th, 68th)   Lodz - Marek Citko (84th)   Attendance: 39,600    Group B   In Madrid:   Atletico Madrid (Spain) 4 Steaua Bucharest (Romania) 0 (2-0)   Scorers: Juan Eduardo Esnaider (32nd, 45th) Diego Simeone   (64th, 85th)   Attendance: 47,000   Group C   In Turin:   Juventus (Italy) 1 Manchester United (England) 0 (1-0)   Scorer: Alen Boksic (34th)    Group D   In Milan: AC Milan (Italy) 2 Porto (Portugal) 3 (1-0)   Scorers:   Milan - Marco Simone (14th), George Weah (68th)   Porto - Artur (53rd), Jardel (75th, 83rd)   Attendance: 24,000    Group A   In Zurich:   Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland) 3 Glasgow Rangers (Scotland) 0   Scorers: Kubilyay Turkyilmaz (28th, 79th), Murat Yakin (18th)   Attendance: 20,000 
12704 !GCAT !GSPO  Swansea centre Scott Gibbs was one of four former rugby league internationals selected on Wednesday in a 35-strong Welsh squad for matches against France, Italy, Australia and South Africa.   Forwards Stuart Evans, David Young and Richard Webster also get a chance to revive their international careers. 
12705 !GCAT !GSPO  Rower Steve Redgrave, who won his fourth consecutive Olympic title in Atlanta, will decide within the next two months whether to try for a fifth title at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.   Redgrave, 34, and Matthew Pinsent won the coxless pairs title in Atlanta, Britain's only gold medal of the Games.   Immediately after the victory, Redgrave said he would not be competing in Sydney but he has subsequently hinted that he might change his mind.   "I know it's going to be a very big decision to give up," Redgrave told reporters on Wednesday.   "I'm very, very tempted to go to Sydney...I'll make a decision in the next couple of months." 
12706 !GCAT !GSPO  West Indian all-rounder Phil Simmons signed a new two-year contract on Wednesday to continue as Leicestershire's overseas player.   "I have enjoyed my cricket at Grace Road and I am delighted to have the chance to return for the next two seasons.   My target is to help us win the county championship," Simmons said.   Simmons has been one of the most successful overseas players on the county circuit this season.   He is top of Leicestershire's bowling averages having taken 48 wickets and needs just 69 runs to complete 1,000 for the season. 
12707 !GCAT !GSPO  Three of Europe's past champions reach for their guide books and step into the relative unknown on Thursday as the European Cup Winners' Cup swings into action.   Liverpool, Barcelona and PSV Eindhoven begin their campaigns against teams they would be hard-pressed to place on Europe's bewilderingly diverse soccer map.   English giants Liverpool take their unquestionable European pedigree to Finland, where they meet MyPa-47 Anjalonkoski.   The Merseysiders have won four European Cups and two UEFA Cups, and start among the favourites to win the one European trophy to have eluded them so far.   Ironically, they are the one big side in the competition who qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup without winning a cup, losing to arch-rivals Manchester United in the F.A. Cup final.   Only when United went on to lift the English league title did Liverpool qualify for Thursday's first round.   PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands, who won their solitary European Cup title back in 1988, travel to Georgia to tackle Dynamo Batumi.   PSV have often languished in the shadow of Ajax Amsterdam since their finest hour, but this season they have proved unstoppable in their domestic league.   After disposing of Ajax in the curtain-raiser to the Dutch season they won their first four league games, scoring 15 goals and conceeding just three.   Brazil's former PSV striker Ronaldo will spearhead Barcelona's trophy bid when they open their account at home to AEK Larnaca of Cyprus.   The Spanish giants, who lifted the European Cup in 1992, have former England manager Bobby Robson at the helm, and an awesome new-look team including Portuguese international goalkeeper Vitor Baia and Brazilian Giovanni, who wore Pele's number 10 shirt at Santos.   The Catalans also have the best Cup Winners' Cup record of any side in the competition, having won the trophy in 1979, 1982 and 1989, and are among only three teams playing on Thursday to have lifted the cup before.   The others are holders Paris Saint Germain, who beat Rapid Vienna in Brussels in last season's final, and Fiorentina, who won the first Cup Winners' Cup in 1961 -- beating Glasgow Rangers over two legs.   PSG start their defence with what should be a lesuirely stroll past Vaduz of Liechtenstein, defeated 14-1 on aggregate by Czech side Hradec Kralove in the same competition last year.   Fiorentina look to build on the impressive Italian performances in the UEFA Cup on Tuesday night when they travel to Gloria Bistrita of Romania.   Red Star Belgrade meet Germany's Kaiserslautern in an intriguing tie which is difficult to call.   The once-mighty Red Star -- European Cup winners in 1991 -- remain an enigma following their country's recent isolation from international soccer, while the Germans are notoriously eratic.   Last season Kaiserslautern won the German Cup while slithering out of the top flight of the Bundesliga.   This year they head the second division table but crashed out of the Cup in the first round to tiny regional league side Greuther Fuerth. 
12708 !GCAT !GSPO  A top South African rugby union official hit back at All Black coach John Hart on Wednesday over allegations the New Zealanders were poorly treated during their recent tour of South Africa.   Rian Oberholzer, chief executive of the South African Rugby Football Union (SARFU), said he was "surprised and disappointed" by Hart's claim, made in a radio interview in New Zealand, that SARFU treated the All Blacks with disdain.   "SARFU went out of it's way to fulfil every tiny desire of the officials and the team, going far beyond the service usually provided to a visiting side," Oberholzer said in a statement.   "We hired special charter flights and an extra truck for their excess luggage, including a scrum machine they brought with them all the way from New Zealand.   "I must also object to the way Hart has gone about this matter," the statement read.   "If he felt so strongly about it he should have communicated these things directly to us, or even better brought them up when they occurred and we could have dealt with them straight away.   "To wait until he gets back home and then whinge to the press.   What does that tell us about the man?   All he's doing is tarnishing the memory of a highly successful tour for his side."   Hart, who masterminded the All Blacks 2-1 series defeat of the Springboks last month, said in the interview SARFU "treated (the All Blacks) with a bit of disdain".   "They pride themselves on looking after people well and I think that is something the South Africans have not done in the context of the tour," he said. 
12709 !GCAT !GSPO  Second round results in the Romanian Open men's tennis tournament on Wednesday (prefix number denotes seeding):   5-Francisco Clavet (Spain) beat Galo Blanco (Spain) 6-3 6-2   4-Alberto Berasategui (Spain) beat Richard Fromberg (Australia) 6-4 6-4   3-Carlos Moya (Spain) beat Andres Zingman (Argentina) 6-2 6-3   Ion Moldovan (Romania) beat Sebastian Prieto (Argentina) 4-6 6-3 6-2 
12710 !GCAT !GSPO  First round result in the Romanian Open men's tennis tournament on Tuesday (prefix number denotes seeding):   Andrei Pavel (Romania) beat David Adams (South Africa) 6-2 6-0 
12711 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of Russian premier league   match played on Wednesday:    KamAZ Naberezhniye Chelny 0 Rotor Volgograd  0   Standings (tabulate under games played, won, drawn, lost,   goals for, goals against, points).   Note - If more than one team has the same number of points,   precedence is given to the one with most wins.   If more than one   team has the same number of wins and points, precedence goes to   the side with the most successful record against the others.    Alania Vladikavkaz  26 17 5 4 51 27 56    Rotor Volgograd 26 16 6 4 44 18 54    Spartak Moscow 26 15 7 4 52 26 52    Dynamo Moscow 26 15 7 4 45 24 52    CSKA Moscow 26 14 6 6 43 29 48    Lokomotiv Moscow  26 10 9 7 32 24 39    Zenit St Petersburg  26 11 4 11 26 26 37    Lokomotiv Nizhny Novgorod 26 11 4 11 28 37 37    Torpedo Moscow 26 9 9 8 32 33 36    Krylya Sovetov Samara  26 9 7 10 21 30 34    Baltika Kaliningrad  26 8 10 8 30 28 34    Zhemchuzhina Sochi  26 9 4 13 28 39 31    Rostselmash Rostov  26 7 7 12 43 42 28    Chernomorets Novorossiisk 26 7 5 14 25 39 26    Kamaz Naberezhniye Chelny 26 6 5 15 27 42 23    Uralmash Yekaterinburg 26 4 8 14 27 47 20    Lada Togliatti 26 4 6 16 15 41 18    Tekstilshchik Kamyshin 26 3 9 14 17 34 18 
12712 !GCAT !GSPO  Rapid Bucharest beat Germany's Karlsruhe SC 1-0 in the first leg, first round of UEFA Cup on the Giulesti stadium in Bucharest.   Scorers:   Karlsruhe: Burkhard Reich, own goal, 67.   Attendance: 17,000 
12713 !GCAT !GSPO  The two main sponsors of Hungarian swimming said on Wednesday they would not renew funding until they knew who would be in charge of the national federation after a scandal forced the top official to resign.   Officials from CIB Bank and sports equipment manufacturer Arena said they were awaiting developments following the resignation of Tamas Gyarfas as head of the Hungarian Swimming Federation (HSF).   Gyarfas quit this week after it was alleged that half of Hungary's Olympic swimming team competed in Atlanta on the basis of a qualifying meet which never took place.   A Hungarian Olympic Committee official said on Tuesday the discovery would not affect Hungary's results at the recent Atlanta Games.   Hungary's elite swimmers, among the best in the world, won three gold, one silver and two bronze medals.   "For the last three years we had an excellent relationship with the HSF but the contract would not be automatically renewed," said Nikolett Naton of CIB Bank's press office.   The other main sponsor, Arena International's Hungarian unit, said it also would await the outcome of HSF board elections, scheduled for September 21.   "At the moment our sponsorship offer stands but we are waiting for the new board to be in place before signing any contract," Gabriella Lengyel of Arena Magyarorszag Kft said.   Both denied reports that the companies were demanding the reinstatement of Gyarfas as a condition of their continuing sponsorship.   According to reports in the national daily newspaper Nepszava, the results of a competition which supposedly took place between June 6 and 8 but never happened were submitted by Jozsef Ruza, general secretary of the swimming association.   Lengyel said Arena's sponsorship offer was 120 million forints ($790,000) for the next four years, 70 percent in cash and 30 percent in equipment.   CIB Bank declined to say how much its sponsorship was worth. 
12714 !GCAT !GSPO  The two main sponsors of Hungary's Olympic swimmers said on Wednesday they would not renew funding until they see who will head the team after a scandal forced the top official to resign.   Officials from CIB Bank and sports equipment manufacturer Arena said they were awaiting developments following the resignation of Tamas Gyarfas as head of the Hungarian Swimming Federation (HSF).   Gyarfas quit this week after it was alleged that half of Hungary's Olympics team competed in Atlanta on the basis of a "phantom" swimming meet.   "For the last three years, we had an excellent relationship with the HSF, but the contract would not be automatically renewed," said Nikolett Naton of CIB Bank's press office.   The other main sponsor, Arena International's Hungarian unit, said it also would await the outcome of HSF board elections, scheduled for September 21.   "At the moment, our sponsorship offer stands, but we are waiting for the new board to be in place before signing any contract," said Gabriella Lengyel of Arena Magyarorszag Kft.   Both denied reports that the companies were demanding reinstatement of Gyarfas as a condition of their continuing sponsorship.   According to reports in national daily newspaper Napszava, the results of a swimming contest that supposedly took place between June 6 to June 8 but never happened were submitted by Jozsef Ruza, general secretary of the Swimmers Association.   Lengyel said Arena's sponsorship offer is 120 million forints ($790,000) for the next four years, 70 percent in cash and 30 percent in equipment.   CIB Bank declined to give the size of sponsorship on offer. 
12715 !GCAT !GSPO  Results in the Romanian Open men's tennis tournament on Wednesday (prefix number denotes seeding):   First round   Andrei Pavel (Romania) beat David Adams (South Africa) 6-2 6-0   Second round   5-Francisco Clavet (Spain) beat Galo Blanco (Spain) 6-3 6-2   4-Alberto Berasategui (Spain) beat Richard Fromberg (Australia) 6-4 6-4   3-Carlos Moya (Spain) beat Andres Zingman (Argentina) 6-2 6-3   Ion Moldovan (Romania) beat Sebastian Prieto (Argentina) 4-6 6-3 6-2 
12716 !GCAT !GSPO  Goran Ivanisevic pulled out of the Romanian open tennis tournament with a shoulder injury on Wednesday in a second crushing blow to organisers after the withdrawal of top seed Boris Becker the previous day.   "He told the doctor he has had recurrent pains in his left shoulder since his U.S. Open semifinal defeat by Pete Sampras on Saturday," tournament spokesman Mihai Rusu said.   Ivanisevic, the tournament's second seed, and fellow Croat Sasha Hirszon lost a doubles match 6-2 6-4 to Romanian pair Ciprian Porumb and Gabriel Trifu on Tuesday.   Becker, the Australian Open champion, retired during his first round match when he was trailing 5-3 in the first set to unseeded Christian Ruud of Norway on Tuesday with a recurrence of the wrist problem that put him out of Wimbledon.   The 28-year-old German said he felt "a strong pull" in the tendon that he broke at the Wimbledon championships.   The withdrawal of the two top seeds is a big blow to organisers of the $500,000 clay court tournament who have struggled to attract top names after financial scandals in recent years. 
12717 !GCAT !GSPO  For the past month, Brazilians have been subjected to scenes of unadulterated brutality and sickening violence on their television screens as early as four in the afternoon.   Brazilian television stations are among the world's leading clients for Hollywood's more bloodthirsty productions, offering viewers endless car chases, explosions, scenes of torture, machine gun fights and ninjas by the thousand.   But the thuggery which has crept over into the primetime slots is very much a local production, the Brazilian soccer championship.   Brazilian domestic football is not for the squeamish.   The national team has always been associated with moments of skill and magic but fans watching a domestic clash between two leading clubs are more likely to see players lunging at each others' legs with reckless two-footed challenges.   Some teams have even been accused of employing a "rota" system in which their defenders take it in turns to kick the opposition's best player instead of getting a man-to-man marker to do it.   This reduces the chances of the same defender picking up two yellow cards.   "The violence in Brazilian football today is a disgrace," said former international Gerson, now a television commentator.   The source of his anger was a clash between leading clubs Flamengo and Corinthians, a game symbolic of the rest of the competition.   In the very first minute, Flamengoos lightweight striker Savio was knocked over by a vicious challenge from behind by Corinthians defender Alexandre Lopes.   Yet, in a decision which critics say is indicative of Brazilian refereeing, the giant defender got away with only a yellow card.   Savio, advised by national team coach Mario Zagalo to cut down on dribbling to save his shins from further punishment, hinted later that he had been hit on an already-injured ankle.   "FIFA (international soccer's governing body) say that players should be sent off for that type of offence but you try getting that into the heads of our referees," Gerson said.   "This refereeing is a joke."   "All that has to be done is to send the offender off.   It does not matter whether it is the first minute or the first second.   But the referees here overlook everything and the disciplinary tribunals overlook everything too."   Last week, a national news programme asked the coaches of top clubs to elect the most violent players in Brazilian soccer.   The winners included midfielders Amaral and Ze Elias, two regular Brazil internationals.   "It was a sequence to make your hair stand on end," said soccer critic Fernando Calazans, referring to the clips that accompanied the vote.   "The scenes proved that the fouls are increasingly targeting the legs of the opponent."   While the coaches acted as the jury on this occasion, many feel they should be facing the interrogations.   Coaches are accused of complaining about violence when it is against their own players but ignoring it when it is carried out by them.   Throughout the match with Corinthians, Flamengo coach Joel Santana could be heard cursing the violence of his opponents and the leniency of the referee, thanks to a microphone near the Flamengo bench.   But when asked about a challenge by Flamengo midfielder Alejandro Mancuso that dispatched Corinthians playmaker Souza to the treatment table before halftime, Santana replied: "Mancuso is macho."   Souza is expected to be out of action for 15 days while Mancuso received a yellow card only.   Three Flamengo players were included in the list of leading perpetrators.   The club's latest signing is defender Junior Baiano sacked by German club Werder Bremen after receiving a 10-match ban for punching an opponent in a Bundesliga match. 
12718 !GCAT !GSPO  Vietnam grabbed the last   semifinal spot in the Tiger Cup with a late penalty which gave   them a 1-1 draw against group A leaders Indonesia on Wednesday.   Indonesia still finished top of the group with three wins   and a draw from their four matches but Vietnam made certain of   second place with eight points.   In the other group A match, Burma beat Laos 4-2 to claim   third place on six points.   Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto opened the scoring for Indonesia   after 44 minutes with a fierce 20-yard drive but Vietnam proved   their ability to fight back by equlaising in the 77th minute   through a Vo Hoang Buu penalty.   Indonesia were close to maintaining their 100 percent record   but the woodwork twice denied midfielder Eri Iriyanto.   Indonesia will play Malaysia in the semifinals while Vietnam   face Thailand. 
12719 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of group A   matches in the Tiger Cup soccer tournament on Wednesday:    Vietnam 1 Indonesia 1 (halftime 0-1)   Scorers:    Vietnam - Vo Hoang Buu (77th minute penalty)   Indonesia - Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto (44th)    Attendance: 1,300    Laos  2 Burma  4 (2-2)   Scorers:    Laos - Khenkitisack Bounlap (40th), Phimmasean Phonesavanh   (45th)   Burma - Win Aung (16th, 68th), Maung Maung Oo (35th), Myo   Hliang Win (81st)   Attendance: 500    Final group A standings (tabulated - played, won, drawn,   lost, goals for, goals against, points):    Indonesia  4 3 1 0 15 3 10    Vietnam  4 2 2 0 9 4 8    Burma  4 2 0 2 11 12 6    Laos  4 1 1 2 5 9 4    Cambodia  4 0 0 4 1 12 0   Semifinals: Indonesia v Malaysia, Vietnam v Thailand. 
12720 !GCAT !GSPO  Co-world number one Monica Seles, Olympic champion Lindsay Davenport, Mary Joe Fernandez and Linda Wild were named on Wednesday to the U.S. team that will play champions Spain in the Fed Cup finals this month.   "I feel this is the best team we can put on the court against Spain," said U.S. Captain Billie Jean King in a conference call.   "I know it's going to be an awesome event.   I just hope we can bring back the Cup to the United States."   The best-of-five tie to determine the women's team championship will be held September 28-29 at the Atlantic City Convention Centre.   Spain, winners of the Cup the last three years, beat the United States in last year's final.   They are anchored by Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Conchita Martinez.   Missing from the U.S. team is Gigi Fernandez, who is ranked number two in the world in doubles.   Fernandez was asked to leave the last tie against Japan only an hour before the competition began after an undisclosed dispute with King.   "There are two good reasons why Spain has won the last few years -- Arantxa Sanchez and Conchita Martinez," explained King.   They are the number two and three players in the world."   The United States has won 14 Cup titles and will be making their 22nd appearance in the finals.   But Spain has reigned in recent years.   They began their current string of success by beating Australia 3-0 in Frankfurt in 1993, and beat the United States 3-0 the next year in Frankfurt.   Last year, the Cup adapted a format similar to the men's Davis Cup but it mattered not to Spain, who beat the United States 3-2 last year at home in Valencia.   "In Valencia, we played on red clay.   It was very slow and on their home court, which was absolutely packed with yelling and screaming fans," King said.   "This time we'll be playing on a supreme surface indoors at Atlantic City.   We're going to be on our home surface, in front of our home crowd.   "And we're going to have Monica Seles.   She's fit in very well and bonded with the other players.   We have a stronger team and we're on home court.   I love it."   King said the Japan incident had nothing to do with leaving Fernandez, who teamed with Natasha Zvereva last week to win the U.S. Open doubles title, off the team.   King would not comment specifically on Fernandez but said this squad was "the best as far as having the least amount of tension on the team."   Wild substituted successfully in Japan, teaming with Davenport to win the doubles in a 5-0 team rout.   Wild, ironically, ended Davenport's great summer singles run by ousting her in the fourth round at the Open.   King said Mary Joe Fernandez, who withdrew before the start of the U.S. Open because of tendinitis in her right wrist, had assured her she was in good shape. 
12721 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of Major League   Soccer game played on Tuesday (home team in CAPS):    NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY  3 Los Angeles  1 
12722 !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  80 63 .559 -    BALTIMORE  78 66 .542 2 1/2    BOSTON  73 72 .503 8    TORONTO  66 79 .455 15    DETROIT  51 94 .352 30    CENTRAL DIVISION    CLEVELAND  85 58 .594 -    CHICAGO  78 67 .538 8    MINNESOTA  72 72 .500 13 1/2    MILWAUKEE  70 76 .479 16 1/2    KANSAS CITY  66 79 .455 20    WESTERN DIVISION    TEXAS 83 61 .576 -    SEATTLE  73 69 .514 9    OAKLAND  71 75 .486 13    CALIFORNIA  65 80 .448 18 1/2   WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 SCHEDULE   MILWAUKEE AT BOSTON    CALIFORNIA AT CLEVELAND    NEW YORK AT DETROIT     CHICAGO AT BALTIMORE     TEXAS AT TORONTO     SEATTLE AT KANSAS CITY     OAKLAND AT MINNESOTA     NATIONAL LEAGUE    EASTERN DIVISION    W L PCT GB    ATLANTA  86 57 .601 -    MONTREAL  78 66 .542 8 1/2    FLORIDA  71 75 .486 16 1/2    NEW YORK  64 81 .441 23    PHILADELPHIA 58 87 .400 29    CENTRAL DIVISION    ST LOUIS  79 66 .545 -    HOUSTON  77 69 .527 2 1/2    CHICAGO  73 71 .507 5 1/2    CINCINNATI  73 72 .503 6    PITTSBURGH  59 84 .413 19    WESTERN DIVISION    LOS ANGELES  80 64 .556 -    SAN DIEGO  81 65 .555 -    COLORADO  74 71 .510 6 1/2    SAN FRANCISCO 59 84 .413 20 1/2   WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 SCHEDULE   FLORIDA AT NEW YORK     MONTREAL AT CHICAGO    ST LOUIS AT SAN FRANCISCO     ATLANTA AT COLORADO      PHILADELPHIA AT HOUSTON    CINCINNATI AT LOS ANGELES     PITTSBURGH AT SAN DIEGO 
12723 !GCAT !GSPO  The woeful New York Mets took the Florida Marlins into extra innings on Tuesday and somehow managed to lose by six runs, 9-3.   With Doug Henry (2-8) on the mound, Florida's Edgar Renteria led off the top of the 12th with a home run over the left-field wall that snapped a 3-3 tie.   Pinch-hitter Jerry Brooks delivered a two-run triple and Alex Arias doubled home Brooks before Paul Byrd relieved Henry.   Kurt Abbott singled home the final two runs of the six-run 12th-inning outburst.   "No matter what I threw, whether I was hittng my spots or not, they were hitting it," moaned Henry.   "I am standing here right now and I do not even know what happened," said Henry.   "It took six pitches to happen.   They got hot, they smelled blood and I could not stop the bleeding."   Jay Powell (4-1) pitched a perfect 10th and 11th to get the win after the Marlins allowed New York to tie the game in the ninth on an error by centre fielder Devon White.   In San Francisco, Mark Petkovsek and four relievers combined on a five-hitter and Ray Lankford's sixth-inning RBI double accounted for the game's only run as the St Louis Cardinals blanked the Giants 1-0.   St Louis has won 10 of its last 11 games and leads the Houston Astros by 2 1/2 games in the Central Division.   Petkovsek (11-2) allowed two hits, walked three and struck out three.   Tony Fossas, Cory Bailey, Rick Honeycutt and Dennis Eckersley combined to allow three hits over the final four innings, with Eckersley getting the final four outs for his 27th save.   In San Diego, Steve Finley hit a two-run homer off reliever Joe Boever with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, lifting the Padres to a 6-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.   With their fourth consecutive win, the Padres remain tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers atop the Western Division.   With the Padres trailing 5-4 and two out in the bottom of the ninth, Wally Joyner drew a walk off Boever (0-1) to set up Finley, who belted Boever's 0-2 pitch over the right-field wall for his 24th homer.   Trevor Hoffman (8-4) was credited with the win, despite allowing a run in the top of the ninth.   In Chicago, Luis Gonzalez hit a two-run single and Ozzie Timmons belted a two-run homer as the Cubs forced the Montreal Expos to use nine pitchers in a 10-3 rout.   The Expos, who tied the record for pitchers used in a nine-inning game set by the St Louis Browns in 1949, dropped 1-1/2 games back in the race for the N.L. wild-card berth.   Reliever Kent Bottenfield (3-5) recorded the win with two hitless innings.   Gonzalez's two-run single gave Chicago a 3-0 lead and chased Expos starter Omar Daal (3-3).   Timmons' homer off Barry Manuel in the second extended the Cubs' lead to 5-1.   In Houston, Craig Biggio's sacrifice fly capped a three-run eighth inning and lifted the Astros to a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.   With the Phillies leading 3-1, Orlando Miller and Derrick May opened the eighth with singles off Curt Schilling (7-9).   Houston tied the game by scoring one run on a throwing error by Schilling and another on a Schiling wild pitch.   Biggio followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Brian Hunter with the winning run.   Alvin Morman (4-1), the third Houston pitcher, got the last two outs in the eighth to post the win.   At Colorado, Andres Galarraga hit a solo homer and Eric Young added a two-run single during a four-run seventh inning and the Rockies held on for a 9-8 win over the Atlanta Braves.   The Braves led 6-5 when the Rockies took the lead for good with four runs in the seventh.   Darren Holmes (4-4) worked one scoreless inning for the victory and Bruce Ruffin notched his 21st save despite giving up two runs in the ninth as the slumping Braves lost for the seventh time in nine games.   Galarraga's homer was the 135th hit at home by the Rockies this season, eclipsing their 1995 major-league record of 134.   In Los Angeles, Tom Candiotti scattered four hits over eight innings and Raul Mondesi went 4-for-4 with a triple and two RBI as the Dodgers edged the Cincinnat Reds 5-4.   Candiotti (9-9) allowed two runs, walked two and fanned seven, including Curtis Goodwin in the eighth for the 1,500th strikeout of his career.   Todd Hollandsworth homered for the Dodgers off loser Roger Salkeld (8-5) in the first.   Todd Worrell picked up his 41st save despite giving up two runs in the ninth. 
12724 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of Major League   Baseball games played on Tuesday (home team in CAPS):    American League    Milwaukee 11 BOSTON  10    CLEVELAND 7 California  5    BALTIMORE 5 Chicago  1    Texas 11 TORONTO  8    KANSAS CITY  4 Seattle  2    Oakland 7 MINNESOTA  0    New York 9 DETROIT  8    National League    St Louis 1 SAN FRANCISCO 0    HOUSTON 4 Philadelphia 3    Florida 9 NEW YORK  3 (12 innings)    CHICAGO 10 Montreal  3    COLORADO 9 Atlanta  8    LOS ANGELES  5 Cincinnati  4    SAN DIEGO 6 Pittsburgh  5 
12725 !GCAT !GSPO  Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings scored at 10:37 of sudden death overtime to lift Canada to a 4-3 victory over previously unbeaten United States in the opening game of the best-of-three World Cup finals on Tuesday.   Yzerman carried the puck down the left wing and unleashed a high wrist shot from the lower portion of the left circle.   U.S. goaltender Mike Richter of the New York Rangers got a piece of his glove on the puck, but it fell to the ice and trickled over the goal line.   "The shot was wide and Richter hit it with his glove and batted it into the net," Yzerman said of the game-winner.   "I was shooting for the far side and really missed."   Eric Lindros of the Philadelphia Flyers, Claude Lemieux of the Stanley Cup champion Colorado Rockies and Calgary's Theo Fleury also scored for Canada, which hosts Game Two on Thursday in Montreal.   Fleury and Philadelphia's Rod Brind'Amour started the winning rush, feeding the puck to Yzerman on the left wing.   The United States claimed the Canadians were offsides on the winning goal.   "The goal was offside by at least three feet," said U.S. coach Ron Wilson.   "Still, we did not play well enough to win and the Canadians deserved their victory.   "You hate to see something like an offside goal happen but that's life.   It was Brind'Amour who was offside."   Fleury looked to have scored the game-winning goal for the second consecutive contest.   But John LeClair poked a rebound of a desperation shot by U.S. and Rangers defenceman Brian Leetch under Canada goalie Curtis Joseph's pads to tie the game at 3-3 with just seven seconds left in regulation.   It appeared on that play that Canada's Eric Desjardains may have poked the puck into his own net after LeClair poked at it.   The two are usually teammates with Philadelphia.   Ten minutes earlier, Fleury had burst in from the blue line and faked Richter out of postion before scoring on the short side at 9:58 to put Canada ahead 3-2.   It was Fleury who scored the sudden death overtime goal against Sweden on Saturday that put Canada into the finals.   Canada scored the only goal of the first period at 16:50 when Lindros tipped a 50-foot powerplay point shot from Rob Blake of the Los Angeles Kings past Richter.   In the second period, Dallas Stars young defenceman Darian Hatcher scored twice for the United States -- the first at 2:03 and the second at 13:51 -- to put the Americans up 2-1.   On the first goal, Hatcher followed a rush by Pittsburgh's Brian Smolinski and LeClair, beating Joseph on a rebound.   On the go-ahead goal, Hatcher intercepted a clearing pass by Colorado's Joe Sakic and passed ahead to Chicago's Tony Amonte.   Hatcher cut for the net and took a pass back from Amonte before whipping the puck past Joseph, who plays for Edmonton.   Canada rallied to tie the score in the final minute of the second period when Lemieux batted the puck out of the air past Richter.   Mark Messier of the Rangers, who usually plays with Richter, set up the goal for Canada, lifting the puck into the air toward the net.   Canada outshot the United States in regulation 28-26.   They also dominated the overtime, outshooting the Americans 7-1, although the United States withstood an rare overtime powerplay after Doug Weight was sent off for high-sticking Adam Graves.   Referee Mark Faucett was hit by a puck with 1:53 left in the third period and lost four teeth.   He was unable to return for the overtime, which was officiated by Kerry Fraser.   The United State had carried a 4-0 record into the finals, including a victory over Canada in the round-robin portion of the inaugural tournament.   "In games like this experience is the deciding factor," said Canada coach Glen Sather.   "We know how to win when we're pressed." 
12726 !GCAT !GSPO  The Baltimore Orioles moved into the lead in the race for the Amerian League wild card berth and kept the pressure on the New York Yankees in the battle for the Eastern Division title with a 5-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday.   David Wells scattered seven hits over 7 1/3 innings and Rafael Palmeiro belted a two-run homer to cap a three-run fifth inning for the Orioles, who moved one-half game ahead of the White Sox in the wild card race.   The Orioles, who trail New York by 2 1/2 games, scored three runs in the fifth off starter Kevin Tapani (12-9) to snap a 1-1 tie.   Roberto Alomar doubled and beat the throw home on Todd Zeile's bloop single to left.   Palmeiro then hit his 35th homer into the right-centre field stands for a 4-1 lead.   "He gave me a good pitch to hit and I just saw the ball well," Palmeiro said.   "You've got to give credit to David Wells, he pitched a great game."   Palmeiro, who has 130 RBI this season, has seven homers and 35 RBI in his last 30 games.   Wells (11-13) gave up one run with two walks and three strikeouts.   In Detroit, Cecil Fielder's fielder's choice in the eighth inning scored Bernie Williams with the go-ahead run and right fielder Ruben Rivera's diving catch in the ninth preserved the New York Yankees' 9-8 victory over the Tigers.   The Yankees won for just the sixth time in 15 games to stay 2 1/2-games ahead of Baltimore.   Fielder snapped an 8-8 tie with his grounder to third in his first game back in Detroit since being traded by the Tigers in July.   Mariano Rivera (6-2) got the win in relief of Dwight Gooden.   A.J. Sager (3-4) took the loss.   In Boston, Jeff Cirillo had four hits, including two homers, and drove in four runs, as the Milwaukee Brewers edged the Red Sox 11-10.   Boston, which has lost four in a row, fell 5 1/2 games behind Baltimore in the wild card hunt.   The Red Sox are 4-5 in September after winning 22 of 30 games in August.   Cirillo hit a solo homer in the first and added a two-run shot an inning later.   He also had an RBI single in the fifth.   Gerald Williams's RBI single triggered a five-run third-inning outburst that gave Milwaukee a 9-4 lead.   Ramon Garcia (4-3) got the win despite giving up six runs.   Mike Hudson (3-4) was drilled for five runs in just 2/3 innings for the loss.   In Cleveland, Manny Ramirez's three-run homer off Troy Percival with two out in the bottom of the ninth capped a four-run rally that lifted the Indians to a 7-5 victory over the California Angels.   With Cleveland trailing 5-3, Kenny Lofton walked, stole second and third, before scoring on a single by Jim Thome.   Then, with two men on, Ramirez belted his 28th homer, a 429-foot shot to straightaway centre field.   Paul Assenmacher (4-2) picked up the win in relief.   In Toronto, Will Clark hit a three-run homer and Mickey Tettleton and Lee Stevens added two-run shots to lead the Texas Rangers to an 11-8 victory over the Blue Jays.   Darren Oliver (12-6) allowed three runs and six hits in six innings for Texas, which has won eight consecutive games from Toronto and is 10-1 against the Jays this season.   The Rangers' magic number for clinching their first West Division title is 11.   Texas leads the Seattle Mariners by nine games with 18 to play.   Woody Williams (3-3) was tagged for six runs and 10 hits in five innings for loss.   At Minnesota, Dave Telgheder fired a three-hitter for his first major-league shutout and Ernie Young belted a three-run homer as the Oakland Athletics blanked the Twins 7-0.   Telgheder (3-6), making his 21st career start, walked three and struck out seven in his first complete game.   Rich Robertson (7-14) was tagged for five runs and seven hits over 4 1/3 innings.   The A's already led 3-0 when Young belted his 17th homer.   Minnesota's Paul Molitor was held hitless and remains 10 shy of the 3,000-hit milestone.   In Kansas City, Jose Rosado allowed six hits over seven innings and Bob Hamelin snapped a sixth-inning tie with a two-run homer as the Royals beat the Seattle Mariners 4-2.   Rookie left-hander Rosado (6-5) allowed two runs and two walks while striking out eight.   Edgar Martinez hit a two-run homer in the top of the sixth for the fading Mariners, who have lost six of nine.   Hamelin's 432-foot two-run blast off Salomon Torres (1-2) broke a 2-2 deadlock.   Torres allowed four runs and six hits in seven innings. 
12727 !GCAT !GSPO  A proposed October match race between Michael Johnson and Donavan Bailey to determine the world's fastest man apparently fell apart on Tuesday when the Canadian 100 meters world record holder shot down the idea.   A California-based promoter was set to stage a 150-meter showdown on October 6 at Toronto's SkyDome that would have paid the winner $1 million and the loser $250,000.   Johnson, America's Olympic hero who obliterated the 200 meter record in Atlanta in a stunning 19.32 seconds, was apparently set to go.   Bailey, who lowered the 100-meter world record to 9.84 seconds in winning at the Olympics, declined the invitation.   "I think some time we'll race ... but it won't happen in 1996," Bailey told CTV, a Canadian television network.   But the Canadian sprinter angered the Johnson camp by saying he would "easily win" a race against the American, who made history by becoming the first man to win the 200 and 400 meters gold medals at the same Olympics.   "I don't think Donovan's legs are as fast as his mouth," Brad Hunt, Johnson's business manager, said in a telephone interview from his Boulder, Colorado, office.   "He said he was too tired to run this year, but his mouth is not too tired," Hunt said.   "It's time to separate the doers from the talkers.   Hunt said Bailey was dodging Johnson.   "Michael has signed a letter of intent, but the conditions Donovan placed on the race were unbelievable.   He didn't even want to call it a race to determine the world's fastest man."   After his amazing 200 meters performance at the Olympics, Johnson had been called the world's fastest man by many.   That upset Canadians since the mythical honour traditionally has gone to the Olympic 100-meter winner, prompting the idea for a match race between the speedsters. 
12728 !GCAT !GSPO  Kubilay Turkyilmaz's dazzling skills swept Grasshopper Zurich to a 3-0 win over Glasgow Rangers in their opening European Cup Champions' League group match on Wednesday.   Switching from one wing to the other, the 29-year-old Swiss international tormented the Rangers defence, often wrongfooting Swedish defender Joachim Bjorklund who had been assigned to mark him.   Grasshopper, unfancied before the game following two lacklustre goalless draws in the Swiss championship, took the game to the Scottish champions from the start and were deservedly two goals up after half an hour.   The first came when Turkyilmaz took a free kick after he had been upended near the right corner flag.   He placed the ball perfectly for white-booted Murat Yakin to rise above a ruck of defenders to head home off the post.   Ten minutes later the mercurial Turkyilmaz, whose parents were immigrants to Switzerland from Turkey, struck himself.   He curled a free kick from just outside the penalty area into the corner of the net.    The start of the second half was marred by a series of fouls as tempers frayed.   The often fiery Turkyilmaz and Rangers midfielder Stuart McCall were shown yellow cards by referee Jose-Garcia Aranda.   Rangers manager Walter Smith sought to change his side's fortunes by pulling off defender Alex Cleland in the 70th minute and replacing him with Derek McInnes.   Within seconds the switch almost paid off.   A movement begun by McInnes ended with Gascoine blasting in a fierce shot from just outside the penalty area.   Goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbuehler parried the ball to safety.   That was the last time the Scots looked dangerous and Turkyilmaz and fellow striker Viorel Moldovan were now increasingly dominant in the Rangers half.   Urged on by the Swiss crowd chanting his nickname "Kubi", Turkyilmaz rammed home a header direct from a pinpoint corner from his Romanian team mate in the 79th minute to seal Rangers' defeat.   Seconds before the final whistle goalkeeper Andy Goram saved the Scottish side from further humiliation by pulling off a fine save from Moldovan.   Teams:   Grasshopper - 1-Pascal Zuberbuehler, 2 - Harald Gaemperle, 3-Pascal Thueler, 4-Mats Gren, 6-Murat Yakin, 7-Antonio Esposito (16-Marcel Koller 88), 9-Viorel Moldovan, 11-Kubilay Turkyilmaz (17-Tomasz Rzasa 82), 14-Johan Vogel, 19-Joel Magnin (10-Massimo Lombardo 76), 28-Bernt Haas.   Glasgow Rangers - 1-Andy Goram, 2-Alex Cleland (20-Derek McInnes 60), 3 - Joerg Albertz, 4-Richard Gough, 5-Gordan Petric, 6 - Joachim Bjorklund, 7 - Stuart McCall, 8 - Paul Gascoigne, 9-Ally McCoist (17-Peter van Vossen 70), 10-Gordon Durie (16-Charlie Miller 83), 11-Brian Laudrup.   Referee: Jose-Garcia Aranda (Spain). 
12729 !GCAT !GSPO  Rapid Vienna coach Ernst Dukopil earned quick dividends from his second-half substitutes as the Austrians came back to grab a 1-1 draw with Fenerbahce of Turkey in a Group C European Champions' League match on Wednesday.   Dukopil sent on new strikers Peter Stoeger and Christian Stumpf in the 57th minute and saw the pair combine to contrive an equaliser just 12 minutes later.   The Austrians had trailed 1-0 at the break after Fenerbahce's Bosnian striker Elvir Bolic, the best player on view, opened the scoring in the 30th minute.   Rapid's equaliser came when Stumpf dived in the 69th minute to head a cross from Stoeger high to the left of Fenerbahce goalkeeper Rustu Recber.   The acrobatic lunge brought Stumpf both glory and embarrassment as the elastic in his shorts snapped, forcing him to make a swift change of apparel on the pitch.   Rapid had most of the play in the first half but forwards Rene Wagner and Marek Penksa, who came off later for Stoeger and Stumpf, made little headway against the Turkish defence.   Bolic stunned the Austrian defence when he raced in to intercept a casual back pass from Peter Guggi to Andrzej Lesiak before going on to score.   Fenerbahce's Brazilian coach Sebastiao Lazaroni said afterwards: "It was a very good game.   We had many chances in the first half but Rapid stepped up the pressure in the second half and really made us work."  .   Dokupil said: "We struggled in the first half.   We just ran after the opponents rather than attacking them.   In the second half, we tried to dictate.   We must be satisfied although it wasn't our best game."   Teams:   Rapid Vienna - 1 - Michael Konsel, 3 - Peter Guggi, 4 - Trifon Ivanov, 5-Peter Schoettel, 9-Marek Penksa (7-Christian Stumpf 57th), 10-Didi Kuehbauer (2-Prvoslav Jovanovic 57th), 11-Christian Prosenik, 15-Andrzej Lesiak, 17-Rene Wagner (6-Peter Stoeger 57th), 19-Thomas Zingler, 20-Andreas Heraf.   Fenerbahce - 1-Rustu Recber, 2-Ilker Yagcioglu, 3-Uche Okechukwu, 4-Jes Hogh, 5 - Kemalettin Senturk, 6-Halil Ibrahim Kara, 7-Tayfun Korkut, 9 - Elvir Bolic, 10-Jay Jay Okocha, 16-Bulent Uygun, 19-Tarik Dasgun (8-Tuncay Akgun 79th). 
12730 !GCAT !GSPO  Alen Boksic scored a superbly taken goal on his home debut to lead new-look European champions Juventus to a 1-0 win over Manchester United in their opening Champions' League group match on Wednesday.   The 26-year-old Croatian striker, criticised for missing a series of chances in Juventus's opening league match of the season at Reggiana on Sunday, showed just why coach Marcello Lippi paid Lazio $9 million for him in the summer with a virtuoso performance that included the only goal of the game after 34 minutes.   Boksic collected a perfect through ball from new French midfield signing Zinedine Zidane, took the ball to the edge of the United box and rode a tackle before sweeping the ball past helpless United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel.   Although it was the only goal of a game that never quite lived up to expectations, it emphasised the significant advantage Juventus, fielding only six players who appeared in last May's European Cup final win over Ajax Amsterdam , held over the English league champions and F.A. Cup holders.   Their crisp, concise play, built around the non-stop foraging of Boksic, Zidane, Alessandro Del Piero and Didier Deschamps, was in stark contrast to United's hit-and-hope strategy that was further undermined by some sloppy passing and control.   The defeat meant United have lost all five competitive European matches they have played in Italy since the 1957-58 season, during which time they have scored just once and conceded 12 goals.    The match was the first Juventus had played against an English club in the European Cup since the Heysel disaster of 1985 when 39 fans died following a riot by Liverpool fans.   That game like this one ended in a 1-0 win for Juventus, who with more luck could have had four or five on Wednesday.   Skipper Antonio Conte thought he had scored the opening goal after 29 minutes when he followed up a rebound off Schmeichel to sweep the ball home.   Schmeichel had failed to hold a blistering 22-metre shot from Gianluca Pessotto.   But the linesman signalled Conte offside.   Juventus, who quickly snuffed out what rare threats United posed, dominated the opening half.   But before Boksic's breakthrough they created only two scoring chances themselves.   The first came after 12 minutes when Conte, arriving unmarked at the far post, connected with Boksic's accurate cross but saw his downward volley bounce up and away over Schmeichel's bar.   The next chance came in the 27th minute when Alessandro Del Piero beat Gary Neville wide on the left.   The unmarked Christian Vieri headed Del Piero's cross over the bar from close range.   Manchester United had little to show from the opening half with skipper Eric Cantona isolated alone in the centre of attack, starved of service from the uninspired Jordi Cruyff, Ryan Giggs and Karel Poborsky.   United manager Alex Ferguson brought on veteran Brian McClair for Giggs after the break and, with Poborsky coming more into the action, United played better in the second half.   But their only glimmer of goal came when McClair volleyed over the bar from the edge of the box after 62 minutes.   Teams:   Juventus - 1-Angelo Peruzzi; 5-Sergio Porrini, 2 - Ciro Ferrara, 4-Paolo Montero, 22-Gianluca Pessotto, 8 - Antonio Conte, 21-Zinedine Zidane (7-Angelo Di Livio 76th), 14-Didier Deschamps, 9 - Alen Boksic, 15-Christian Vieri (16-Nicola Amoruso 72nd), 10-Alessandro del Piero (13-Mark Juliano 89th)   Manchester United - 1-Peter Schmeichel; 2-Gary Neville, 6-Gary Pallister, 3 - Denis Irwin, 5-Ronny Johnsen, 8-Nicky Butt, 10-David Beckham, 7 - Eric Cantona, 11-Ryan Giggs (13-Brian McClair 46th), 14-Jordi Cruyff (9-Andy Cole 76th), 15-Karel Poborsky (20-Ole Sokskjaer 76th)   Referee: Markus Merk (Germany)    Juventus coach Marcello Lippi said he was pleased with the way his new-look team had played.   "We have a different side to last season but we played very well, especially in the first half.   Manchester United came back later in the game and I was not surprised.   "They have played five league matches and built up some fitness.   We have only played one and looked tired at the end.   But we have made a very good start and I am very encouraged."   United manager Alex Ferguson admitted that Juventus were the better team.   "We were lucky not to lose by more.   I didn't see anything wrong with the disallowed goal and I would have been very angry if that had been a decision against us in those circumstances.   "We showed a lot of inexperience, especially in the first half.   You do not give the ball away to the opposition at this level.   "We linked better in the second half...but Juventus are just as hard to beat as I expected and could easily win the cup again this season." 
12731 !GCAT !GSPO  Argentine striker Juan Eduardo Esnaider celebrated his return to European competition with two goals that set Atletico Madrid on the way to a comprehensive 4-0 Champions' League victory over Steaua Bucharest on Wednesday.   Esnaider, who starred in the Real Zaragoza side which won the 1994 Cup Winners' Cup final, scored twice in the first half and then saw fellow-Argentine Diego Simeone add two more after the break as the Spanish side totally outplayed the Romanians.   Esnaider hit the bar in the fifth minute and looked set to score when he was brought down in the area by Marius Baciu in the 28th.   Baciu was sent off for the foul and, with the Romanians forced to play most of the game with ten men, Atletico were able to take complete command.    The Romanians hardly managed a shot on goal and were lucky to see the referee give them the benefit of the doubt in several touch-and-go offside decisions in their own half.   Esnaider, who hardly played last year after rejoining Real Madrid from Zaragoza, maintained his record of finding the net in every official game since moving across the Spanish capital to Atletico in the summer.   He knocked in the first after good work by Simeone in the 32nd minute and headed home a superb Milinko Pantic cross to make it 2-0 just before the break.   Steaua goalkeeper Daniel Gherasim played an outstanding first period but was to blame for both second-half goals, allowing Simeone to beat him to the ball twice -- first at a corner in the 64th minute and then to a cross five minutes from time.   For Steaua it was a disastrous return to European Cup action in Spain after losing the 1989 final to AC Milan in Barcelona by the same score.   It was Atletico's first European Cup game since the 1977-78 season.   The pitch at the Vicente Calderon ground -- which was laid just two days ago after the old grass had suffered an invasion of worms -- survived the game well despite heavy rain in Madrid in the hours before the match.   Teams:   Atletico - 1-Juan Molina, 3 - Toni Munoz, 4-Roberto Solozabal, 6-Santiago Denia, 9-Juan Eduardo Esnaider (7-Leonardo Biagini 88th), 10-Milinko Pantic, 14-Diego Simeone, 15-Carlos Aguilera (Juan Lopez 67th), 19-Kiko Narvaez (17-Juan Carlos Gomez 62nd), 20 - Delfi Geli, 24-Radek Bejbl.   Steaua - 12 - Daniel Gherasim, 3-Roland Nagi, 4-Tiberiu Csik, 5-Bogdan Bucur, 6-Daniel Prodan, 8 - Damian Militaru, 9-Aurel Calin (14-Tudorel Zamifrescu 77th), 11-Sabin Ilie (18-Christian Ciocoiu 55th), 15-Marius Baciu, 17 - Laurentiu Rosu, 22-Dennis Serban. 
12732 !GCAT !GSPO  Marius Baciu of Steaua Bucharest was sent off for a foul in the 28th minute of a European Cup Champions' League Group B match against Atletico Madrid. 
12733 !GCAT !GSPO  Teams for Wednesday's Champions' League Group B match between Atletico Madrid and Steaua Bucharest:   Atletico - 1-Juan Molina, 3 - Toni Munoz, 4-Roberto Solozabal, 6-Santiago Denia, 9-Juan Esnaider, 10-Milinko Pantic, 14-Diego Simeone, 15 - Carlos Aguilera, 19-Kiko Narvaez, 20 - Delfi Geli, 24-Radek Bejbl.   Steaua - 12 - Daniel Gherasim, 3-Roland Nagi, 4-Tiberiu Csik, 5-Bogdan Bucur, 6-Daniel Prodan, 8 - Damian Militaru, 9-Aurel Calin, 11-Sabin Ilie, 15-Marius Baciu, 17 - Laurentiu Rosu, 22-Dennis Serban. 
12734 !GCAT !GSPO  Teams for Wednesday's European Cup Champions' League Group C match between Rapid Vienna of Austria and Fenerbahce of Turkey:   Rapid Vienna: 1-Michael Konsel, 3 - Peter Guggi, 4 - Trifon Ivanov, 5-Peter Schoettel, 9 - Marek Penksa, 10 - Didi Kuehbauer, 11-Christian Prosenik, 15-Andrzej Lesiak, 17-Rene Wagner, 19-Thomas Zingler, 20-Andreas Heraf   Fenerbahce: 1-Rustu Recber, 2-Ilker Yagcioglu, 3-Uche Okechukwu, 4-Jes Hogh, 5 - Kemalettin Senturk, 6-Halil Ibrahim Kara, 7-Tayfun Korkut, 9 - Elvir Bolic, 10-Jay Jay Okocha, 16-Bulent Uygun, 19-Tarik Dasgun. 
12735 !GCAT !GSPO  Teams for Wednesday's European Cup Champions' League group C match between Juventus and Manchester United at the Stadio delle Alpi:   Juventus - 1-Angelo Peruzzi; 5-Sergio Porrini, 2 - Ciro Ferrara, 4-Paolo Montero, 22-Gianluca Pessotto, 8 - Antonio Conte, 21-Zinedine Zidane, 14-Didier Deschamps, 9 - Alen Boksic, 15-Christian Vieri, 10-Alessandro del Piero   Manchester United - 1-Peter Schmeichel; 2-Gary Neville, 6-Gary Pallister, 3 - Denis Irwin, 5-Ronny Johnsen, 8-Nicky Butt, 10-David Beckham, 7 - Eric Cantona, 11-Ryan Giggs, 14 - Jordi Cruyff, 15-Karel Poborsky   Referee: Merk Markus (Germany) 
12736 !GCAT !GSPO  Laurent Jalabert of France hung on to his leader's yellow jersey in the wind and rain of the fifth stage of the Tour of Spain on Wednesday.   Like all those preceding it, the stage went to a sprint finish.   Dutch rider Jeroen Blijlevens emerged from the pack to take the honours.   "The victory is very satisfying after I considered abandoning the race in the first few days," said Blijlevens, who is still nursing a leg injury sustained in the Tour de France.   Less than a minute separates the top 20 riders after five days of bad weather.   Race organisers delayed the start 15 minutes to avoid the worst of the weather but the riders did encounter sporadic rain throughout the day and had to battle through a heavy downpour in the final section.   The conditions were not ideal for solo efforts but Switzerland's Tony Rominger, who on Monday saw his chances of winning all but disappear after losing seven minutes to Jalabert and Miguel Indurain, attempted three times to break clear.   With Jalabert's ONCE and Indurain's Banesto team mates ready to counter any move, Rominger was unable to open up a gap of more than 10 seconds.   But two less-threatening riders, Spaniard Inaki Ayarzaguena and Italian Mirki Crepaldi, were allowed to build up a lead of almost nine minutes before being hauled in 12 kms from home.   As the line approached Jalabert kept a close eye on Italian sprinter Fabio Baldato, who needed a place on the podium to lift him from second to top of the overall standings.   Only three seconds separate the two riders, with Giovanni Lombardi a further six seconds back in third place.   Two riders withdrew at the beginning of the stage as a result of injuries sustained in a fall which broke up the pack two kms from the end of Tuesday's finish.   The Spanish press reported on Wednesday that Jalabert's ONCE team manager Manolo Saiz had threatened to pull the team out if the 37-second advantage which the Frenchman took over Indurain because of the crash did not stand.   The race's technical jury looked at the case but decided the result should not be changed. 
12737 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of the fifth   stage of the Tour of Spain over 210 kms between Murcia and   Almeria on Wednesday:    1.   Jeroen Blijlevens (Netherlands) TVM four hours 39 minutes   39 seconds    2.   Nicola Minali (Italy) Gewiss    3.   Tom Steels (Belgium) Mapei    4.   Giovanni Lombardi (Italy) Polti    5.   Angel Edo (Spain) Kelme    6.   Massimo Apollonio (Italy) Scrigno    7.   Pascal Chanteur (France) Petit Casino    8.   Hendrik Redant (Belgium) TVM    9.   Massimiliano Mori (Italy) Saeco    10.   Fabio Baldato (Italy) MG     11.   A Petacchi (Italy) Scrigno    12.   Biagio Conte (Italy) Scrigno    13.   Davide Casarotto (Italy) Scrign    14.   Leonardo Calzavara (Italy) Polti    15.   Yvan Martin (France) Lotus    16.   Giuseppe Citterio (Italy) AKI    17.   Stefano Faustini Italy) AKI    18.   Laurent Jalabert (France) ONCE    19.   Max Van Heeswijk (Netherlands) Motorola    20.   Jann Kirsipuu (Estonia) Petit Casino  all same time   Overall classification (after five stages):    1.   Jalabert 20 hours 43 minutes 47 seconds    2.   Baldato  three seconds behind    3.   Lombardi  9 seconds    4.   Juergen Werner (Germany) Telekom  20 seconds behind    5.   Steffen Wesemann (Germany) Telekom  26 seconds    6.   Stefano Faustini (Italy) AKI    7.   Roberto Pistore (Italy) MG    8.   Luca Pavanello (Italy) AKI    9.   Sergei Uchakov (Ukraine) Polti all same time    10.   Luca Colombo (Italy) AKi 32    11.   Melchor Mauri (Spain) ONCE    12.   Apollonio    13.   Alex Zuelle (Switzerland) ONCE    14.   Valerio Tebaldi (Italy) Lotus all same time    15.   Gianluca Gorini (Italy) AKI 43    16.   Sergei Smetanin (Russia) Santa Clara 51    17.   Blijlevens  same time    18.   Laurent Dufaux (Switzerland) Lotus  53    19.   Bobby Julich (U.S.) Motorola 56    20.   Juan Arenas (Spain) Lotus same time 
12738 !GCAT !GSPO  Matthias Sammer was voted Germany's Footballer of the Year for the second year running in a poll of sports journalists published on Wednesday.   The 29-year-old international libero received 166 votes in the poll conducted by Kicker magazine, finishing ahead of striker Juergen Klinsmann, with 154, and goalkeeper Andreas Koepke, with 91.   The award capped a perfect season for the 29-year-old east German, who was the linchpin of Germany's European championship winning side and captained Borussia Dortmund to their second successive Bundesliga title. 
12739 !GCAT !GSPO  Jeroen Blijlevens of the Netherlands won the 210-km fifth stage of the Tour of Spain from Murcia to Almeria on Wednesday.    Laurent Jalabert of France retains the yellow jersey as overall leader. 
12740 !GCAT !GSPO  Casino Graz coach Ljubo Petrovic has resigned after hitting a player in the dressing room, club secretary Karl-Heinz Koritnig said on Wednesday.   Koritnig said Petrovic had assaulted forward Boban Dmitrovic after Casinon Graz lost 3-1 to Belgium's Germinal Ekeren in their UEFA Cup first round first leg match on Tuesday.   Dmitrovic was sent off in the 50th minute.   "It was agreed by both sides that he (Petrovic) should step down," Koritnig said.   Petrovic has been replaced by assistant coach Hans-Peter Schaller. 
12741 !GCAT !GSPO  A German court issued a summons on Wednesday against the manager of Formula One motor racing champion Michael Schumacher for tax evasion because he failed to declare income earned on the sale of a Ferrari sports car.   A district court in the southwestern city of Stuttgart ordered Weber to pay a 250,000 mark ($165,100) fine because he failed to declare to tax authorities income from the car sale.   The court said Weber has until September 20 to appeal against the ruling.   If he appeals, the 54-year-old Weber will have to appear before the district court. 
12742 !GCAT !GSPO  Ireland's rugby international against Australia at Landsdowne Road has been brought forward one week to November 23, the Irish Rugby Football Union said on Wednesday.   The change in date was made in response to a request from the Welsh Rugby Union for one of the six matches that had been allocated to Ireland for the Wallabies tour.   Ireland surrendered the fixture between Ireland A and the Wallabies on November 26 and in return will have a match against the All Blacks next season. 
12743 !GCAT !GSPO  Fast bowler Heath Streak dismissed Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga and Romesh Kaluwitharana within the space of three balls on Wednesday to give Zimbabwe the initiative on the first day of the first test.   At the close Sri Lanka were 290 for seven in their first innings.   After electing to bat on a grassless pitch, Sri Lanka were reduced to four for two before Ranatunga (75) and Kaluwitharana (71) shared a partnership of 142 for the sixth wicket.   Streak swung the game back towards Zimbabwe when he took the second new ball and quickly accounted for both batsmen.   Ranatunga, who had hit seven fours in 192 minutes, was trapped lbw by an inswinger while Kaluwitharana, attempting a wild pull, skied a return catch to the bowler.   His attractive innings had lasted 155 minutes and contained 10 fours and a six.   Streak, who provided Zimbabwe with the intitial breakthrough by dismissing Roshan Mahanama for four in the first over of the day, finished with three for 41 from 17 overs. 
12744 !GCAT !GSPO  Scoreboard at close of play on   the first day of the first cricket test between Sri Lanka and   Zimbabwe on Wednesday:   Sri Lanka first innings    R.Mahanama lbw b Streak 4    S.Jayasuriya c Evans b Olonga 0    A.Gurusinha c Olonga b Strang 52    A.de Silva b Strang 35    H.Tillekeratne c A.Flower b Olonga  20    A.Ranatunga lbw b Streak 75    R.Kaluwitharana c and Streak 71    K.Dharmasena not out 16    C.Vaas not out 3    Extras (lb-6 nb-7 w-1) 14    Total (seven wickets) 290   Fall of wickets: 1-4 2-4 3-53 4-105 5-128 6-270 7-271   To bat: M.Muralitharan, J.Silva.   Bowling: Streak 17-5-41-3, Olonga 14-2-46-2, G.Whittall   9-1-31-0, Strang 29-3-88-2, A.Whittall 11-3-35-0, Evans   6-0-27-0, G.Flower 4-1-16-0   Zimbabwe - Alistair Campbell (captain), Andy Flower, Grant   Flower, Craig Evans, Heath Streak, Paul Strang, Craig Wishart,   Mark Dekker, Guy Whittall, Henry Olonga, Andrew Whittall. 
12745 !GCAT !GSPO  Sri Lanka were 290 for seven   wickets at close of play on the opening day of the first test   against Zimbabwe on Wednesday. 
12746 !GCAT !GSPO  Zimbabwe leg-spinner Paul Strang   and paceman Henry Olonga each took two wickets as Sri Lanka   struggled on the opening day of the first test on Wednesday.   Despite a patient half-century by Asanka Gurusinha, Sri   Lanka were 155 for five at tea.   Zimbabwe made an early breakthrough after Sri Lanka won the   toss and decided to bat, dismissing Roshan Mahanama for four,   Sanath Jayasuriya for a duck and Aravinda de Silva for 35.   Gurusinha and Hashan Tillekeratne staged a partial recovery   with a fourth wicket partnership of 52 before Tillekeratne   became Olonga's second victim, edging a catch to wicketkeeper   Andy Flower after scoring 20.   Gurusinha departed soon afterwards when he miscued a cover   drive off Strang and was caught by Olonga at extra cover.   Gurusinha's 52 included six boundaries in a stay of 197 minutes.   At tea captain Arjuna Ranatunga was undefeated on 19 and   Romesh Kaluwitharana 16. 
12747 !C24 !CCAT !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GENV  More than two billion people live on the margins of the modern world, without electricity to extend their productive day beyond sunset.   And energy experts say these people -- most of whom live in poor areas of sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and other regions of the developing world -- may be condemned to a life without electricity as most live in scattered, remote villages where distances are too great to plug them into national power grids.   "As far as energy is concerned, the world today seems to have been polarised.   The 75 percent of humanity living in the developing countries accounts for only 25 percent of global energy consumption,'' says the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).   "More than two billion in these countries have energy supplies that can barely meet their basic needs,'' it says in a draft document of the World Solar Programme, an initiative of the organisation aimed at promoting the use of alternative renewable sources of energy for the world's poorest regions.   "The limited access to energy is a major cause of poverty and hardship and it is a contributory factor to rural-urban migration.   This is in sharp contrast to the energy situation prevailing in the developed world.''   However, rising concern, not only about environmental degradation but also the inadequacies of such conventional energy sources as fossil fuels like oil have turned the focus on "cleaner'' renewable sources such as solar power.   That, in turn, has provided hope for those without access to electricity.   Proponents of solar energy use believe the only hope to power rural progress in the developing world lies in tapping energy from sunshine, abundant in the Southern Hemisphere.   "The sun is there.   It's part of creation.   It's not a diminishing asset like other forms of energy such as oil and coal,'' says Lawrence Vambe, an official of the Zimbabwe Solar Energy Society.   He says technological innovations to exploit the sun's powers have been progressing rapidly since the 1960s when efforts to look at environmentally friendly alternative energy sources began to take off seriously with rising concern over global warming.   It has spawned a growing industry of a variety of gadgets ranging from batteries, cookers, refrigerators and even toys.   However, critics say high costs of these new technologies -- the majority of them produced in the developed countries and exported to the Third World -- have kept the use of solar power to a tiny fraction in poor rural communities.   UNESCO's World Solar Programme -- due to be launched at an international solar summit on September 16-17 in Harare -- hopes to correct this.   The programme is a 10-year plan aimed at marshalling government and international donor resources to boost the development of low-cost equipment and promote their use.   It envisages the implementation, over the next decade from 1996 to 2005, of 300 renewable energy projects -- most of them centering on the supply of power to the rural areas of the world -- identified as top priorities by governments and international organisations.   The projects will serve as pilot schemes to show their technical feasibility and economic viability.   Recognising that most developing countries lack the cash to fund these projects, UNESCO says the World Solar Programme was looking at international and regional development and finance banks to help finance these programmes.   The plan has won the political backing of 22 world leaders -- among them South Africa's Nelson Mandela, Spain's King Juan Carlos, China's President Jiang Zemin and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.   The leaders agreed to serve on a World Solar Commission set up two years ago to push research into renewable power sources into the mainstream of world energy development programmes.   "Governments are urged to come up with policies which are affirmative and offer incentives for the promotion of solar and other renewable energy sources,'' Mugabe said in a speech early this year after he was elected chairman of the Commission. 
12748 !E51 !ECAT !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GHEA !GPOL  South African President Nelson Mandela said on Wednesday a mystery donor had withdrawn an offer to replace 10.5 million rand ($2.3 million) in European Union aid funds misused for an abortive AIDS-awareness play.   "The donor has now decided to withdraw his offer," Mandela told a news conference in Pretoria.   Visibly angry, Mandela accused the country's white-owned media of being tougher on the country's first black government than it had been on the former white administration.   The EU repudiated the Sarafina II AIDS project earlier this year and said aid funds intended for the campaign against AIDS had been used in violation of agreed procedures.   The EU demanded the 10.5 million of the 14.2 million rand originally budgeted for the project be returned to the Department of Health for approved AIDS education.   Health Minister Nkosazana Zuma, who has borne the brunt of criticism surrounding the travelling Broadway-style musical, told a news conference the taxpayer would now have to foot the bill.   "It is regrettable that this offer...had to be withdrawn as a result of a virulent campaign directed at the Ministry of Health and the government as a whole," she said.   Responding to questions, Zuma said she did not believe she had done anything wrong in accepting an offer to pick up the tab for the play, which was cancelled in June, on condition that the donor's name was not made public.   "From what I understand, he has never had any tenders with the government, he has never had dealings with the Department of Health.   There was no favour that he was expecting.   He was just doing this because he was also concerned about the AIDS epidemic...He just wanted to help," she said.   Asked who would now pay, Zuma said: "It will be dealt with as all other unauthorised expenditure is dealt with."   Parliament is authorised to give retrospective approval for improper expenditure of government funds.   South Africa's independent Public Protector, Selby Baqwa, slammed the handling of the tender for the project earlier this year and launched a second inquiry when opposition parties demanded to know the identity of the donor.   Baqwa had been scheduled to name the donor on Wednesday.   Speculation on who the mystery benefactor might be ranged from Mandela himself to an Indian pharmaceuticals firm and local businessmen.   ($=4.50 rand) 
12749 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  South Africa's Chamber of Mines and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) have reached agreement on wages and employment conditions, the union said on Wednesday.   The deal, which affects gold and coal mines, is due to be signed at 1130 GMT, a union statement said.    A Chamber of Mines spokesman declined to comment but said there would be a news conference at 1130 GMT.   The NUM said that the deal would result in the gradual phasing out of apartheid mining practices.   "All workers who fall under category 1, after three months period will be paid under category 2, at a minimum wage of 826 rand a month," the NUM said.   "For Gold Fields (of South Africa Ltd ), new employees without skills or experience will be paid at a rate of 87.5 percent of the category 2 minimum rate, with a provision for increment after a certain length of service." 
12750 !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.   - A study has shown that most of Zimbabwe's growth-point areas are poorly serviced with inadequate infrastructure which cannot promote growth or attract meaningful investment.   - Iranian president Ali Akbar Rafsanjani and a delegation of more than 250 arrive in the Zimbabwean capital Harare on Wednesday morning for a two-day state visit during which eight agreements of co-operation in various fields are expected to be signed.   ---Harare Newsroom: +263-4 72 52 28/9--- 
12751 !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   - The finance department has warned local authorities that government will pull the financial plug on them if their wage and salary bills rise excessively.   - The money market shortage shot up 850 million rand this week to breach the nine billion rand mark as foreign exchange outflows resumed, traders said on Tuesday.   - There was a "certain ambiguity" in Home Affairs Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi's non-violent approach, KwaZulu-Natal attorney general Tim McNally told the Durban Supreme Court on Tuesday.   - First National Bank Holdings Ltd executive director Viv Bartlett will replace former managing director Barry Swart, who stepped down on Monday after being censured by the board for awarding a 6.3 million rand corporate contract to his daughter.   - Production at De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd mines could be brought to a standstill from Tuesday when about 7,000 members of the National Union of mineworkers planned to strike in support of wage demands, the union said on Tuesday night.   - General Electric, one of the world's largest industrial groups, is poised to make its first direct investment in South Africa in a deal which signals German company AEG's withdrawal.   - - - -   BUSINESS REPORT   - Viv Bartlett, who was named on Tuesday as the new managing director of First National Bank, said he would scrutinise the bank's corporate governance controls in the wake of the resignation of his predecessor, Barry Swart.   - Mining house Johannesburg Consolidated Investments Ltd on Tuesday reported sharply higher profits for the year to June 30, boosted by a strong performance at its Tavistock Collieries and its chrome operations.   - Sasol Ltd , the synthetic fuel producer, denied that it had entered a joint marketing venture with its state-owned synthetic fuel counterpart Mossgas, to sell the Mossel Bay plant's alcohol products overseas.   - Foschini , the blue-chip fashion retailer, seems unlikely to maintain last year's interim performance in the six months to September 30 this year, which could result in the company shredding at least a decade uninterrupted annual profit growth.   - The main road between Gauteng and Durban could be administered under one toll regime by a private company once a contractor is decided upon early next year, transport minister Mac Maharaj said.   - - - -   THE STAR   - Olympic marathon champion Josia Thugwane has unwittingly landed himself in a the middle of a potentially explosive legal wrangle.   -- Johannesburg newsroom, +27 11 482 1003 
12752 !GCAT  NARODNA OBRODA - The state-owned gas distributor SPP said it plans to take part in tenders for 49 percent stakes in three regional gas distributors in Greece.   SPP is most interested in the gas company in Thessaloniki.   - SPP has signed contracts with Greek gas distributors to supervise the quality of natural gas imported from Russia.   - Slovak local beer producer Horden in Trnava said it would form a Slovak-Chinese joint-venture brewery in Shan Si with an annual production capacity of 500,000 hectolitres.   Horden said the government should provide guarantees for loans from commercial banks to help finance further expansion in China.   HOSPODARSKE NOVINY - Private companies accounted for about 67 percent of overall Slovak industrial output in the first half of this year, an increase of 10.7 percent over the same period in 1995.   Slovakia's industrial production in the January-June period totalled around 258 billion crowns.   - The government is considering revising the current law on limited liability companies which are often used as channels for tax evasion.   - Slovakia's per capita GDP stands at $5,365, compared with Hungary's $5,720, Poland's $5,029 and $6,738 in the Czech Republic.   SME - An unknown group of Chechens are demanding $150,000 for the release of a Slovak citizen, kidnapped about month ago in Grozny.   -- Bratislava newsroom, 42-7-210-3687 
12753 !GCAT  HOSPODARSKE NOVINY - The Ministry of Finance intends to increase heating prices from 180 crowns per gigajoule to nearly 250 crowns per gigajoule.   - Ceska Posta, the Czech Postal agency, wants the Ministry of Finance to increase postal rates after two years of stable prices.   - Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus visited Singapore yesterday.   His one-day visit marks the end of his week-long visit to Asia.   - According to the Ministry of Finance, the failure for some individuals to pay taxes in recent years may have been due to lack of knowledge, though currently it is conscious tax evasion.   - The market value of PPF's property is said to be 10 million crowns.   The property belongs to three people.   - The Koprivnice-based Tatra vehicle manufacturer has begun manufacturing vehicles for the United Arab Emirates.   The contract for 1,127 military vehicles is estimated to be worth 180 million dollars.   PRAVO - According to the Minister of Finance, natural gas and electricity prices should increase by 15 percent from July 1, 1997.   - Tax decreases will likely be lower than Finance Minister Ivan Kocarnik promised earlier in spring according to a copy of the budget which is to discussed in a government meeting today.   - The Czech Republic's telephone country code will change from 42 to 420 starting February 28, 1997.   - The former director of the Atlas health insurance company, Jan Konecny, was convicted by a regional court in Brno for violating obligations in the management of public funds and for misappropriation.   - Plzens Pilsner Urquell beer is now exported to 56 countries, an increase of four from last year.   - The Czech Chamber of Commerce is opening an office in Belgrade in order to support trade with Yugoslavia.   - Citibank a.s., the Czech daughter company of America's Citibank, increased its net profit in 1995 by 21 percent to 466 million crowns.   -- Prague Newsroom - 42-2-2324 0003 
12754 !GCAT  IZVESTIA   - Military specialists are puzzled by the failure of three degrees of safety measures designed to prevent accidental explosions in ground-to-air missiles when three soldiers were killed on Sunday at a military base at Komsomolsk-on-Amur in Russia's far east as they stole a warhead from an ammunition store.   - The presidential information office will be restructured to make access to information about the head of the state more open.   SEVODNYA   - Boris Yeltsin has instructed the defence and security ministers to report to the prime minister during his holidays.   - The congress of Chechen political parties and movements has approved peace accords with Moscow and invited three members of Doku Zavgayev's administration to be in a new government.   NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA   - The "power" ministers will be coodinating their work with the prime minister but President Boris Yeltsin will remain in charge of the "nuclear button".   - The state should establish control over industry to improve economic situation, says Sergei Glazyev, head of the economic department of Russia's Security Council.   ROSSIISKAYA GAZETA   - Russia is paying a very high price for the low level of inflation, says Economics Minister Yevgeny Yasin.   MOSKOVSKY KOMSOMOLETS   - Doku Zavgayev, head of the Moscow-installed administraton in Chechnya, refused to take part in the work of the congress of political movements held in Grozny.   --Tatyana Ustinova, Moscow Newsroom, +7095 941 8520. 
12755 !GCAT  Radio Romania news headlines:   * In Bucharest, schools will resume courses on October 1, instead of September 16, due to numerous cases of viral meningitis and poor sanitation in many of them, mayor Victor Ciorbea told a news conference.   He said city hall is allocating 1.0 billion lei for improvement of hygienic conditions until October 1.   * But Education ministry state secretary Romulus Pop said all schools would reopen on September 16, except those which have poor sanitary equipment or no running water.   He said ministry would release a decision on Friday.   * Lower Chamber of Deputies discussed bill to control dignitaries' fortune, part of an anti-corruption set of bills on a priority agenda in parliament.   Bill settles that fortune statements are confidential and can only be requested when there is evidence of illicit assets.   It also stipulates that parliament can demand president in office to make his assets statement.   * Cabinet met for weekly session to debate preparations ahead of November 3 elections and autumn farming campaign.   * Romania-Hungarian friendship treaty will be signed on September 16, in western city of Timisoara, at 1230 local (0930 GMT), by Premier Nicolae Vacaroiu and counterpart Gyula Horn, foreign ministry spokesman Sorin Ducaru said.   He said talks between President Ion Iliescu and Premier Horn would follow.   * Yugoslav Prime Minister Radoje Kontic is expected to make a working visit to Romania on September 20 to sign tourism, industry, culture and transport accords.   Kontic will be accompanied by a group of businessmen.   * No voter's cards have been distributed so far in Bucharest, Adrian Duta, head of government's elections secretariat, said.   ($=3,177 lei) -- Bucharest Newsroom 40-1 3120264 
12756 !GCAT  These are the main headlines on Hungary's Kossuth Radio midday news.   Reuters cannot vouch for their accuracy:   - It's a moral duty to complete the compensation of the Jewish people in Hungary, government members said in the Parliament.   At the same time, Jozsef Torgyan, chairman of Smallholders Party, said that nobody compensates the Hungarians.   - The Finance Ministry is satisfied with the trend of the budget up to now.   - The National Ambulance is at the edge of bankruptcy.   - The President of Hungary and the members of Parliament received the Spanish royal couple.   - The price of petrol may rise even by ten forints/litre as of January, 1997.   -- Budapest newsroom +36 1 327 4040 
12757 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  A fire in Bulgaria's biggest refinery Neftohim near the Black Sea port of Bourgas has injured four workers, civil defence officials said on Wednesday.   The four were making repairs on a generator in the refinery's thermal power station when the fire broke out at 0545 GMT, a civil defence official told Reuters.   She said the workers were hospitalised, two in a serious condition.   Last month an explosion of an installation for production of propane-butane gas in the bottled-fuel department of Neftohim killed three workers and six were severely burned in the fire which followed the explosion.   "We have never had such hard a time at Neftohim," said one official who declined to be named.   -- Liliana Semerdjieva, Sofia Newsroom, 359-2-84561 
12758 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu, in a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher, has reaffirmed Romania's firm desire to join NATO as a full member, the ministry spokesman said on Wednesday.   "The letter...reiterates Romania's firm commitment to be among the first countries to start the Alliance's expansion process," spokesman Sorin Ducaru told journalists.   The letter followed a speech by U.S. State Secretary Warren Christopher in Stuttgart last week outlining the U.S. vision of a "new Atlantic community," and his proposal of ways to strengthen NATO's "Partnership for Peace" Program.   Romania has became increasingly worried that despite its enthousiasm for NATO accession, its name is not often mentioned on the list of countries likely to win an early alliance place.   Western alliance officials have not yet identified which countries will be invited to join NATO in its first phase of post-Cold War expansion into eastern Europe.   But Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic are the countries most often mentioned as likely to be in the first wave to be invited some time next year to negotiate joining the western security structure.   "The problem is not for Romania to join NATO, Romania is a valid candidate...What we want is to be among the countries with whom NATO's expension will start," Ducaru said.   Over the past six years Romania has built its entire foreign policy on striving for NATO and European union full membership.   It was the first former Warsaw Pact nation to sign up for NATO's Partnership for Peace Programme.   It has focused on reforming its military along NATO lines and its armed forces eagerly engaged in joint exercises with NATO's military.   "The message confirms the continuity of Romania's preparation process...and underlines the significance of the conclusion of the Romanian-Hungarian treaty," Ducaru said.   Last month Romania and Hungary reached an unexpected agreement over the text of their long-delayed bilateral treaty.   The accord, expected to end years of disputes over the status of Romania's large ethnic Hungarian minority, will be signed next Monday in the western city of Timisoara, the cradle of Romania's anti-communist popular uprise in December 1989.   NATO foreign ministers will meet in Brussels in December to chart the course of NATO's future enlargement. 
12759 !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  German President Roman Herzog said on Wednesday Germany would do everything in its power to help Slovenia become a full member of the European Union and NATO.   "One of the purposes of my visit is to show (the world) that Germany wants Slovenia to become a member of the EU and NATO if that is what Slovenia wishes," Herzog told a news conference during his first official visit to Slovenia.   "Germany will continue to do everything to support Slovenia on its way (to membership in the EU and NATO)," he added.   Slovenia said earlier it expected to become a full member of the EU by the year 2001, while it hoped to be in the first group of countries that would join the 16-member North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.   Herzog, who visited Slovenia after spending two days in Macedonia, said he admired the two countries for managing to break away peacefully from the former Yugoslavia.   "Germany has traditionally been Slovenia's most important trading partner....and shares Slovenia's view of the common future in Europe," Slovenian President Milan Kucan said.   In 1995, Slovenia's trade with Germany rose 23.5 percent to $4.7 billion.   Exports to Germany represented 30.2 percent of total exports. 
12760 !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   - King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain begin a three-day visit to Hungary today, with the scheduled highlight being the King's address to Parliament.   - Parliament began its autumn session on Tuesday by debating a bill on workplace supervision.   Labour supervisors will be empowered to enter workplaces without prior notice and could demand access to all data.   - A Central and East European sub-regional office of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation was formally opened in Budapest yesterday.   - Hundreds of firefighters demonstrated outside Parliament Tuesday for an increase in wages.   - The French packaging company Cofinec issued a statement Monday night announcing the resignation of CEO Stephen Frater.   - The southern part of the posh Vaci utca in downtown Budapest will be a pedestrian-only zone from October 22.   NEPSZABADSAG   - Dutch Foreign Minister Hans van Mierlo arrived in Budapest today.    - The Socialist Party's parliamentary group expects to have an alternative 1997 tax table ready next Monday to rival the cabinet's proposal.   - The top leaders of the Young Democrats and the Democratic People's Party are to hold a summit level meeting on Thursday.   VILAGGAZDASAG   - Chief prosecutor Kalman Gyorgyi has lodged a protest against the Finance Ministry for recently reducing a fine the Customs and Excise Guard had imposed on the company that operated the former Q8 chain of filling station from HUF 83 million to HUF 100,000.   Kuwait Petroleum Magyarorszag has since sold Q8 to OMV.   - An IMF delegation is set to visit Budapest next week.   - South Korea's LG Group aims to establish itself in Hungary's financial sector.   - The steel industry giant Dunaferr earned HUF 82 billion from sales through July.   MAGYAR HIRLAP   - Busy week for Hungarian-Slovak relations: Premier Gyula Horn and Slovak Premier Vladimir Meciar will hold separate meeting at the CEFTA summit on Friday, Slovak President Michal Kovac will attend a meeting and a fair in Magyarnandor this weekend, the Slovak foreign minister will held unofficial talks in Hungary next Wednesday.   - Construction industry output fell 4.1 per cent in July.   - Some 6,235 work permits for foreigners were issued in the first six months of 1996, compared to nearly 9,000 in the first six months of 1995.   - Interior Minister Gabor Kuncze, who oversees sports, said he thinks an investigation is necessary in the Hungarian swimming scandal.   NAPI GAZDASAG   - Hungaroring Sport Rt, the chief organiser of Hungary's Formula One Grand Prix race, saw a record gross earnings of HUF 900 million over the August 11 race attended by 181,000 spectators.   -- Budapest newsroom (36-1) 327 4040 
12761 !GCAT !GDIP  German Chancellor Helmut Kohl said on Wednesday he still hoped a post-war reconciliation pact could be agreed with the Czech Republic this year, and that the countries would one day be not just good neighbours but friends.   Criticism has mounted in Germany over failure to agree the text after more than a year of tortuous negotiations intended to close the book on the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia and the subsequent brutal expulsion of millions of ethnic Germans.   But in a keynote parliamentary address, Kohl pleaded for patience and said the deal would be done at the right time.   "We want to conclude this agreement this year," he said, adding that he wanted it to be symbolically crowned by a speech in Bonn by a representative of the Czech government.   He said this speech, like one made by then Polish Foreign Minister Wladyslaw Bartoszewski in 1995, should not skim over the painful issues of German-Czech history but "debate them openly and point the way to the future".   In a nod to the "Sudeten Germans", of whom 2.5 million were held collectively guilty for the Nazi occupation and hounded out of Czechoslovakia after 1945, Kohl said many still remembered the atrocities of the war as if they were yesterday.   These included not only the Nazis' eradication of the village of Lidice in retaliation for the murder of deputy Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich, but also the lynching of dozens of Germans at Aussig (Usti nad Labem) in 1945, Kohl said.   He said it was futile to weigh up one injury against another, and reminded the assembly that he had faced similar pressure in 1989 when he appeared to be prevaricating over united Germany's recognition of the post-war border with Poland.   That issue was fraught with similar historical burdens for millions of expelled Germans but the treaty, when it was finally approved in 1990, was a landmark which unified domestic opinion and cemented good relations with Poland, Kohl said.   Kohl rounded on hecklers who called President Roman Herzog a "traitor to the fatherland" at the weekend for once again affirming the inviolability of the German-Polish border.   "That is a return to political barbarism which we cannot accept," he said.   Many Czechs see the chief obstacle to an agreement in the stance of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party to Kohl's Christian Democrats.   Over a million Sudeten Germans or their descendants live in Bavaria, and the CSU, a member of the ruling coalition in Bonn, has made their cause its own.   Kohl went out of his way to deflect blame from the CSU and praise the intensive cooperation between Bavarians and Czechs which already contributed to good neighbourly relations.   "It would be even better if one day someone could stand in my place... and speak not just of good neighbourliness but of friendship," Kohl added. 
12762 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  A new row blew up in troubled Northern Ireland's multi-party peace talks on Wednesday after Britain and Ireland rejected demands for the expulsion of politicians linked to pro-British "Loyalist" guerrillas.   As the talks adjourned until next Monday after a three-day wrangle, one of the province's mainstream Protestant parties condemned the decision.   The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which supports union with Britain, dubbed it an underhand manoeuvre to bring the Irish Republican Army's Sinn Fein political arm into talks in advance of the IRA calling off an anti-British bombing campaign.   "This judgement is an invitiation to Sinn Fein to come through these doors without any change in the IRA's position," protested DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson.   London and Dublin maintain that Sinn Fein will not be admitted before the IRA ends its bombing campaign.   Officials in both capitals insisted there was no change in that position.   However, Sinn Fein said the decision was further evidence that it was being victimised by being kept outside the talks.   "Today's decision reflects a policy of selective discrimination," party chairman Mitchel McLaughlin said.   Robinson was speaking after British and Irish ministers dismissed a DUP call that the political wings of two Protestant extremist parties should be expelled because they had breached peace principles underpinning the three-month talks.   London and Dublin regard the Loyalist parties -- so called because of their allegiance to British rule -- as crucial to the maintenance of a ceasefire which the Protestant extremists have observed since October 1994.   The DUP said that a failure by the two parties -- the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) and the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) -- to condemn a recent Loyalist guerrilla death threat against a high-profile dissident made them a mirror image of Sinn Fein.   But the governments said the UDP and PUP had not fallen foul of the talks rules.   Heralding new wrangling, the DUP said they would renew their opposition to the presence of the Loyalist parties next Monday.   The row was the latest controversy in talks which have failed to tackle any substantive issues since their launch in June.   The discussions were convened to give the British province the prospect of a fresh start on agreeing new political institutions after years of strife between majority Protestants who support rule from London and minority Catholics who want an all-Ireland republic.   Britain and Ireland are adamant that a new IRA truce is the key to progress but republicans say talks must be unconditional.   Politicians across the sectarian divide poured cold water on Wednesday on optimism voiced by Irish Prime Minister John Bruton about the prospects of an early IRA truce.   "I see no evidence to suggest that there is (going to be) an imminent IRA cessation," a Sinn Fein source said. 
12763 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  Britain's trade unions backed a demand for a minimum wage of 4.26 pounds ($6.63) an hour on Wednesday but some union leaders said this would undermine the chances of the opposition Labour Party at the next election.   The unions, at the annual conference of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), also passed a motion mentioning a lower minimum wage plus a statement deferring a decision until after the electon.   In an acrimonious debate, Rodney Bickerstaffe, leader of the giant public sector union Unison, hit out at union bosses who demanded patience until after the election.   "After working for 30 years for a minimum wage, I don't need lectures from Johnny-come-latelies (newcomers)," he said.   His demand for 4.26 pounds an hour was supported by miners leader Arthur Scargill, who set up his Socialist Labour Party in May after quitting Labour in disgust at its centrist turn.   "I'm fed up to my back teeth with people telling us not to rock the boat ahead of the election," Scargill said.   "I'm fed up with Labour leaders telling us not to rock the boat, then intervening in our affairs."   The TUC conference has been overshadowed by a row over Labour proposals to limit strikes by a system of binding arbitration.   Some unions believe Labour leader Tony Blair picked a fight this week to underline the new, more distant relationship between Labour and unions.   "The Labour Party will govern in government for the whole country," Blair said on Wednesday.   The unions provide half of Labour's funds and command half the votes at its policy-setting conference, but Blair sees the link as an electoral liability and has cut their influence.   TUC leader John Monks accepts the new relationship, and has made it clear that it is in the union interests to behave.   "It's realism, not rhetoric, that makes us recognise the only way we've got of getting a minimum wage is getting a Labour government," he told delegates.   The Conservative government says a 4.26 pounds minimum would destroy a million jobs.   The Confederation of British Industry, which represents employers, said it would push up inflation.   Labour wants to introduce a minimum but has refused to indicate a level, saying it will decide after the next election.   The election must be held by May 1997, and Labour has a convincing lead of at least 20 points in opinion polls.   All the same, some union leaders preferred an anodyne wage motion that did not set a precise target, since that "would provide a target for opponents in the pre-general election period".   That motion was also passed.   To muddy the picture still further, the conference also approved a statement from the TUC's executive body, the General Council, that the TUC should not back a target figure until after Labour wins the election, and its Commission is set up.   ($1=.6430 Pound) 
12764 !C13 !C17 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !G158 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  France raised the prospect on Wednesday that subsidised European Union wheat sales may soon be resumed after a suspension because of record world prices.   In response, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman seemed to threaten a trade war if these distorted the market, but EU sources doubted it would come to that.   The Glickman statement "seems to be aimed primarily for domestic consumption," EU Commission agriculture spokesman Gerard Kiely told Reuters.   THe EU noted U.S. Presidential elections in November.   Subsidised wheat sales were halted and the EU even imposed a tax on exports last year to keep a lid on internal prices in a perilously tight world grain market.   Drought in Russia, Australia and North Africa had sent world grain stocks to the lowest in 20 years.   But the talk of subsidies is yet another reminder that bigger bigger harvests are being reaped worldwide this year.   Benchmark Chicago wheat futures prices have retreated from a historic $7.50 per bushel in March and were down 10 cents on the day to around $4.50 on Wednesday.   Against this backdrop, the director-general of France's grain office ONIC, Alain Moulinier, said an EU decision to resume subsidies now mostly hinged on the trend of the dollar.   "Currently we have taxes but we will return to subsidies," Moulinier told a news conference.   But he added that "this does not mean we will need large subsidies to export."   ONIC expects the EU 1996 grain harvest to exceed a 1991 record of 195 million tonnes.   Moulinier said that prospects of a record crop should allow the EU to "step up its presence" on world markets.   France stood to benefit most.   Washington's Glickman gave a warning that "if they use export subsidies, we will aggressively use the tools at our disposal to fight fire with fire...We're going to have more competitive wheat markets next year."   The EU in Brussels played down the Glickman threat.   "In view of tight global supplies and high prices there is little danger of a grain trade or subsidy war," said the EU Commission's Kiely.   Data from the U.S. Agriculture Department on Wednesday added two million tonnes to its estimate of the Australian wheat harvest.   It also sees China's huge imports down at 7.0 million from 12.0 millionlast year because of a bigger harvest there.   Such assessments and the easier wheat prices promise relief to cash-pinched Third World grain buyers.   The EU recently made a token subsidised sale to come such nations as a gesture. 
12765 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  British Prime Minister John Major on Wednesday hailed as historic the approval at the U.N. of a treaty outlawing nuclear tests but said it was now vital to get India in particular to drop its opposition to the pact.   Major said the overwhelming adoption of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) on Tuesday could make an important contribution to preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and promoting international security.   The United Nations general assembly voted 158-3 to approve the treaty.   Only India, Libya and Bhutan were opposed.   "This is an historic achievement which the end of the Cold War has finally made possible," Major said in a statement.   Britain plans to sign the treaty on September 24, the earliest possible day, officials said.   But Major said there was still vital work to be done.   "If the treaty is to be effective, it must command the full support of the whole international community.   "We must now persuade those who have yet to agree, particularly India, that it is in their interests -- and the interests of all of us -- that they should do so without delay," the prime minister said.   India, one of 44 nations that must ratify the CTBT for it to enter into force, says the treaty does not go far enough in spelling out a timetable for global nuclear disarmament.   It also says it fears threats from neighbouring China and Pakistan.   A Foreign Office spokeswoman said acceptance of the terms of the treaty had involved difficult compromises for all countries involved.   But she added: "It was clear that the vast majority of countries participating wanted to see the CTBT completed." 
12766 !CCAT !GCAT !GODD  An airliner flying 49 passengers from Britain to Italy had to divert to a French airport after the co-pilot told the pilot he was "frightened of the altitude", an official accident report said on Wednesday.   The co-pilot had said he felt unwell as the Maersk Air Ltd BAC 1-11 flight flew over Moulins, France, to Milan.   As the co-pilot continued "to show symptoms of anxiety and stress", the pilot asked for permission to land at Lyon, said the report from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.   The co-pilot's condition later improved and he was able to help the pilot as the plane landed safely.   But he was suspended from duty, subsequently failed the required medical tests and later left the airline, said a spokeswoman for Maersk, a British Airways franchise operator owned by Norwegian company Maersk Air.   The incident happened on May 9, just under a year after the co-pilot joined Maersk, having worked as a commercial pilot for two other airlines since 1989.   "The co-pilot had been with us for just under a year and there had been no problem before," Maersk spokeswoman Roseanne Crossey said.   "I don't believe he is flying any more and I'm not sure what work he is now involved in." 
12767 !GCAT  Following are some of the major events to have occurred on September 18 in history.   1180 - Louis VII of France died and was succeeded by his son Philip II.   1502 - Christopher Columbus landed at Costa Rica on his fourth and last voyage to the New World.   1544 - Treaty of Crespy between Charles V of Germany and Francis I of France was signed; France abandoned its claim to Naples.   1709 - Samuel Johnson, English author, lexicographer and essayist, born.   His "Dictionary of the English Language", published in 1755, remained the authoritative reference book for over a century.   1765 - Gregory XVI, Pope from 1831-46, born.   1786 - Christian VIII, King of Denmark from 1839-48, born.   1810 - Chile gained independence from Spain.   1819 - Jean Bernard Leon Foucault, French physicist who invented a pendulum which visually demonstrated the rotation of the earth, later to become the gyroscope, born.   1851 - The New York Times, founded by Henry Jarvis Raymond, was published for the first time.   1876 - James Henry Scullin, statesman, leader of the Australian Labor Party and prime minister 1929-31, born.   1895 - John George Diefenbaker, Canadian statesman and Conservative prime minister 1957-63, born.   1905 - Greta Garbo, Swedish film actress who appeared in many Hollywood films including "Anna Karenina" and "Camille", born.   1905 - Claudette Colbert.   French-born American actress noted for her sophisticated comedy roles, born.   She won an Oscar for "It Happened One Night".   1914 - General von Hindenburg was named commander in chief of the German armies on the Eastern Front.   1919 - Pal Losonczi, Hungarian statesman and president 1967-87, born.   1922 - Hungary admitted to the League of Nations.   1931 - Japan began the military occupation of Manchuria, an act of aggression that marked the beginning of the Sino-Japanese War.   1934 - The USSR joined the League of Nations.   1961 - Dag Hammarskjold, secretary-general of the United Nations, was killed in a plane crash in Northern Rhodesia, while on a mission trying to arrange a ceasefire between troops of the United Nations and Katanga in the Congo.   1964 - Sean O'Casey, Irish playwright, author of "Juno and the Paycock" (1924), died.   He was 80.   1964 - King Constantine of Greece married Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark.   1970 - Jimi Hendrix, U.S. rock singer and guitarist, died of a drug overdose aged 27.   1975 - Fugitive Patti Hearst was arrested in San Francisco after spending more than six months with the Symbionese Liberation Army.   1981 - French parliament decided to abolish capital punishment.   1982 - Lebanese Christian militias ended a bloody massacre in the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Chatila in Beirut.   1988 - The army seized power in Burma amid nationwide protests against one-party rule.   1989 - The Indian government agreed to suspend military operations against the Tamil Tigers and remove troops from Sri Lanka by the year end.   1989 - Israel and Hungary restored full diplomatic ties after a 22-year break.   1990 - The United States and the Soviet Union signed a cooperation agreement covering nuclear waste and environmental restoration.   1990 - Winnie Mandela, wife of ANC leader Nelson Mandela, was charged with kidnap and assault in the case of a black teenager found with his throat slit in a Soweto township ditch.   1994 - Pro-democracy parties dominated Hong Kong's first fully democratic elections. 
12768 !GCAT !GENV !GSCI  The world is long overdue for a huge volcanic eruption, 1,000 times more violent than the explosion of Pinatubo in the Philippines five years ago, a leading British scientist said on Wednesday.   "We may well be living on borrowed time," Professor Bill McGuire told Britain's annual science festival.   Studies of geological records show such events, which have devastating effects on the world's climate, dramatically cooling the temperature as fine debris reflects back the sun's rays, occur twice every 100,000 years.   The last was at Toba in Indonesia 70,000 years ago.   That eruption shot 1,750 cubic miles (2,800 cubic kilometres) of debris into the atmosphere, dropping the earth's surface temperature 10 or 12 degrees Centigrade, sparking an ice age.   "Statistically, we're way overdue for the next one," said McGuire, who has spent much of his career studying volcanoes such as Etna and Vesuvius in Italy.   McGuire warned that even without the "big one", eruptions around the world were causing large loss of life and economic disruption, much of it needlessly.   "Volcanic eruptions can't be prevented, but the effects can be mitigated much better," McGuire told Reuters at the British Association science festival in Birmingham, central England.   Only around 100 of the 500 or 600 known active volcanoes were currently being monitored.   Most of those not monitored were in the developing world, he said.   Modern monitoring did not even have to be expensive, he said, with satellites already orbiting the globe.   Schemes being pioneered in the Philippines and Indonesia using local inhabitants had also shown results, he said.   But educating local authorities and residents of the risks of building homes near volcanoes was also essential.   McGuire said the failure to get the message across to authorities in Nevado del Ruiz, Colombia, before the 1985 eruption there led to the needless death of 25,000 people, buried under an avalanche of volcanic mud.   Current danger zones include the Caribbean island of Montserrat, a British colony, where 15,000 residents have been evacuated since an eruption began last year.   The worst danger is at Vesuvius, near Naples. 
12769 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT  A U.S. airliner with 193 people on board landed safely at Glasgow airport on Wednesday after a security scare forced it to divert in mid-Atlantic.   The American Airlines' Boeing 767, on a flight from London to Chicago, was 500 miles (800 km) west of Ireland when it diverted to Glasgow.   "It is a security matter," an airline official said.   Fire engines and police gathered by the plane, which was being searched for a possible suspect package, official sources said.   For the last leg of its journey, the airliner's progress was monitored by a British Royal Air Force Boeing Sentry radar surveillance aircraft.   Rescue helicopters stood by, but the plane landed safely without them needing to be called on, officials said.   The 179 passengers and 14 crew gathered in the terminal building while American decided how they could continue their journey. 
12770 !GCAT !GHEA !GSCI  Chemicals produced by sponges to keep barnacles and other unwelcome visitors away are a new focus of interest for cancer and AIDS researchers, a marine biologist said on Wednesday.   But no one really knows enough about sponges to make a systematic search, Michelle Kelly-Borges, an expert on sponges at London's Natural History Museum, said.   "Marine sponges are the greatest known source of chemicals with the potential to treat human illness," Kelly-Borges told a lecture at the British Association for the Advancement of Science annual festival in Birmingham.   "It is thought that these compounds evolved to deter competition and disease in nature.   Several compounds from sponges are currently being tested for their effectiveness against cancer, AIDS, fungus infections and inflammation."   One chemical, dubbed discodermolide after the species of sponge it comes from, disrupts the process of cell growth.   Tests by the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in Florida show it acts to stop breast cancer, Kelly-Borges said.   It was not yet clear how this happened, but surface markers on the cancerous cell may look like the surface of some organism the sponge considered an enemy.   Another sponge found off New Zealand was being tested against the HIV virus that causes AIDS, she said.   Sponges have a complex immune system that allows them to recognise each other and to identify foreign species she said.   They produced compounds that may protect them from being eaten, discourage larvae from settling on them, or deter their neighbours from growing on them -- something like the chemicals painted on ships' hulls to stop barnacles.   But there are 10,000 to 15,000 different species of sponges and it was often hard to tell one from the other.   Drug companies and groups like the U.S. National Cancer Institute are searching for sponges that could offer magic bullet compounds to fight diseases.   But they were wasting time and money, as well as damaging ecosystems, with random searches.   "Better identification can help prevent wholesale harvesting of sponges in the hunt for drugs," she said. 
12771 !GCAT !GENV !GSCI  Roadside radio beacons could be used to enforce pollution-free zones in city centres by automatically switching specially-designed cars to battery power, a British engineer said on Wednesday.   Hybrid taxis could run on relatively pollution-free natural gas outside smog black spots, using batteries in designated zero- emission zones, James Randle of the University of Birmingham told a scientific conference.   Randle also presented plans for a small, sporty car that could run on similar lines.   He had based his designs on the assumption that cities and towns would soon impose "zero-emission" zones.   The beacons could be designed like road-pricing schemes, which use kerbside sensors to read bar codes on passing cars.   Both vehicles were a far cry from the slow and easily exhausted cars that often come to mind when environmentally correct motor design is discussed.   "The performance can be quite remarkable," said Randle, a former engineer at Jaguar Cars.   The taxi could run for as long as three hours on its 370 kg (816 lb) of batteries before needing a re-charge.   "You just want it to stop the engine running in areas where it is not running efficiently," he said -- for example in a traffic jam.   It would automatically recognise when it was time to run off the battery.   Batteries would be charged by a generator while the car was running, so there would be no need to plug it into the mains.   But he doubted manufacturers would make such a car unless they were forced to by new legislation.   Many companies have been working on hybrid-type engines but Randle said he thought his design was especially efficient.   "It's actually quite quick," he said.   "It goes from zero to 60 miles (96.56 km) per hour in 12 seconds without the battery."   With the battery it could get to 60 mph in 10 seconds. 
12772 !GCAT !GODD  American country music can literally drive you to despair.   And if that does not come as a surprise to some, British scientists revealed on Wednesday that you can predict economic recession by the degree of gloom in pop charts.   In a report to Britain's main annual science festival, two British psychologists said researchers were just beginning to understand how people in the western world respond to music.   But studies showed music could influence human behaviour, David Hargreaves and Adrian North from the University of Leicester told the British Association meeting.   One study showed a relationship between the frequency country music, which often dwells on themes such as the loss of loved ones, was played on the radio and the suicide rate of white urban males in several areas of the United States.   Another study showed researchers were able to predict recession in the economy by the degree of pessimism in song lyrics in the American pop charts.   Other reports showed fast music led to shoppers moving around a supermarket faster, to diners eating more quickly and to people drinking faster in bars.   But playing classical music in a wine cellar led to more bottles of expensive wine being bought, while more greetings cards were sold in shops when sad music was played.   "There are certainly grounds for arguing that any attempt to explain people's responses to music in everyday life must take account of the effect of music on the listening situation," the two men said in their paper to the meeting.   The two said they were waiting for other scientists to test the research by repeating some of the studies.   But they said the research could lead to important conclusions for businesses like shops, restaurants and bars.   "Aside from their psychological interest, studies such as these have clear implications for the use of music in commercial settings," they said in their presentation. 
12773 !C23 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  New research shows delicate parts of the human ear which can be damaged by drugs and loud noise may be repairable, bringing new hope to the deaf, a British scientist said on Wednesday.   Doctor Carole Hackney told Britain's main science festival that studies had unexpectedly shown some of the tiny "hairs" in the inner ear which transmit sound could recover naturally.   Scientists are now scrambling to find nerve growth factors or hormones to encourage the tiny hair-like filaments on the cochlea, the spiral-shaped hearing organ, to repair themselves.   "The hunt is on to make it happen safely in people who have lost these cells," Hackey told the British Association meeting.   Hearing loss affects seven million people in Britain alone, with another four million suffering from tinnitus, or debilitating ringing in the ears.   Many have lost hearing because the tiny "hairs", known as stereocilia, have been damaged either by drugs such as strong antibiotics given to combat tuberculosis or blood-poisoning, or by loud noise such as rock concerts.   The little filaments sway as sound is transmitted to the inner ear.   As they tilt, they open minute molecular switches which transmit short electrical impulses to the brain.   But when damaged, they literally break and fall over.   The huge burst of research into finding drugs to repair the damage, which Hackney called potentially Nobel Prize-winning work, was going on in institutes in Britain and abroad.   U.S. biotechnology firm Genentech Inc recently advertised for people to do work in this area, she said.   But Hackney, from Keele University's department of communication and neuroscience, warned the research, and other work with cochlear implants and studies on chemicals which auditory nerves use to communicate, would not end deafness.   "I'm not going to say deafness can be cured," she said.   And people were still at risk of losing their hearing, despite the recent advances on prevention.   "Indiscriminate use of antibiotics in developing countries is still causing millions of people to be deafened," she said.   Hackney also called on manufacturers to include volume limits on portable stereo machines like the Walkman.   But she warned that traditional ideas that it was only young people at risk from loud rock music was misleading.   "You can blast your ears just as well with classical music as with rock," said Hackney. 
12774 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Britain expects a "firm" U.S. response, perhaps in north Iraq, after Baghdad's forces staged a missile attack on American fighter jets on Wednesday, officials said.   "I wouldn't rule out military reaction in the north," one official said.   American retaliation, strongly backed by the British government, has so far been confined to southern Iraq where the U.S. last week fired 44 cruise missiles and extended a no-fly zone in to its 33rd parallel near Baghdad.   Washington said its strike was a response to the Iraqi army's intervention in northern Iraq to help a Kurdish faction seize a city from a rival group.   In the latest incident, SAM-6 surface-to-air missiles fired at two U.S. F-16 jets policing a no-fly zone over northern Iraq did not damage the planes, the Pentagon said.   "I would expect there to be a firm reaction," said one British official in answer to questions about the next move.   "The likelihood is that the reaction would be American," he added.   Officials stressed that British support for U.S. policy in Iraq was still firm.   "We stand shoulder to shoulder," one said.   U.S. defence officials said B-52 bombers like those used for last week's cruise missile attacks had been moved from Guam in the Pacific Ocean to a British air base on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to put them closer to Iraq.   British officials confirmed that if American jets wanted to use the base as their launching pad again, then permission would have to be sought from London. 
12775 !C42 !CCAT !E14 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  Britain's trade unions passed a motion at their annual conference on Wednesday calling for a future Labour government to set a minimum wage of 4.26 stg ($6.63) per hour within one year of taking office.   However, delegates also passed a second motion that did not set a precise target, since that "would provide a target for opponents in the pre-general election period" but suggested "a figure of more than four pounds would be reasonable".   The present Conservative government maintains that a minimum wage of 4.26 stg per hour would destroy one million jobs.   To muddy the picture still further, the Trades Union Congress also approved a statement from the TUC's executive body, the General Council, that the TUC should not back any target figure for the minimum wage until a Labour government has been elected.   "It would be better to determine the precise position when the real negotiations are about to start," the statement said.   The next election has to be held by the end of May, 1997, and Labour is well ahead in the opinion polls.   Labour has pledged to introduce a minimum wage, but has declined to set a figure.   It plans to set up a Low Pay Commission made up of unions, employers and independent experts to determine a level after the election.   The unions have long backed a formula that would fix a minimum wage at a level equivalent to half male median earnings.   The two left-wing unions that proposed the first motion -- public sector union Unison, Britain's biggest, and the National Union of Mineworkers -- said the formula currently gave a figure of 4.26 stg, to be updated after the election.   The second motion said the formula gave a figure of 3.80 or 3.58 stg per hour.   Calculations can vary depending on which workers are included in the tally of hours worked and which survey is used, and TUC leaders say more research is needed.   Many unions are trying to set a floor of four stg per hour in industry and services through negotiations with employers.   "The TUC will need to have regard to the prevailing circumstances which pertain at the time of the negotiations before the figure is finally decided", the statement from the General Council said.   The vote to back 4.26 pounds an hour is designed to put pressure on the Labour Party to set a minimum wage at or near that level.   However, the second motion and the statement also approved will allow TUC leaders to play down the significance of the figure.   Individual unions are affiliated to the Labour Party and, although the party has cut their influence on policy in recent years, they still command 50 percent of the vote at Labour's policy-setting annual conference.   One senior TUC official, who declined to be named, said that under TUC rules the General Council statement took precedence, so the TUC as a confederation was not supporting any precise minimum wage figure.   "The debate this afternoon has got nothing to do with Labour, it was a trade union debate.   What we were discussing this afternoon was not a demand on Labour but our bid to put to a Low Pay Commission," he said. 
12776 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Protestant politicians linked to pro-British guerrillas on Wednesday survived a bid to expel them from Northern Irish peace talks.   Britain and Ireland, joint sponsors of the talks, dismissed a charge by the powerful Protestant Democratic Unionist Party that the smaller Protestant parties, the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) and Ulster Democratic Party (UDP), had breached key peace principles through their links with the guerrillas.   "The governments have determined that it has not been established that the UDP and PUP have demonstrably dishonoured the principles of democracy and non violence...No further action is therefore appropriate," British and Irish ministers said in a written adjudication.   The dispute had thrown a shadow over talks that have stumbled through a series of difficulties since they were launched in June.   They were convened to try to resolve years of of conflict between pro-British majority Protestants and minority Catholics who want an all-Ireland republic.   Britain and Ireland regard the UDP and PUP as crucial to the maintenance of a truce which Protestant guerrillas loyal to London have observed since October 1994.   But many mainstream Protestant politicians look on the Loyalist parties with a jaundiced eye.   They say the parties and the militants are two sides of the same coin.   The PUP and UDP on Tuesday declared their commitment to democracy and said they opposed all violence.   But the DUP said they should be expelled because they had not condemned a death threat by their military allies against a dissident Loyalist figure who opposes their participation in the talks.   "I always knew that we were innocent and that would not be found guilty," PUP leader Billy Hutchinson told reporters.   Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republian Army, is barred from the talks because the IRA refuses to renew a ceasefire in its 25-year war against British rule in the province. 
12777 !GCAT  (Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors)   THE AUSTRALIAN   Brisbane are poised to lose the edge over premiership rivals Cronulla with Broncos prop Glen Lazarus unlikely to get on the field for Saturday's elimination final, because of re-occurring groin problems.   Lazarus has been given until tomorrow to prove fit.   Page 20.   --   The ARL is considering a plan mediated by the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance to cover player payments for the South Queensland Crushers club as it was revealed to players they could only expect to be paid two-thirds of their contracts at best.   Page 20.   --   The West Coast Eagles are reconciled to letting star defender Ashley McIntosh go elsewhere because he is asking too much to remain with the Perth-based team.   Port Power, the newcomers to the 1997 AFL season, have repeatedly offered A$300,000 for his services.   Page 20.   --   THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD   More Australian Rugby League aligned clubs may appoint administrators before the end of the year, ARL chief executive John Quayle admitted last night, although he rejected rumours an administrator had been appointed at Newcastle.   Page 46.   --   Wallaby supporters beware!   It has been leaked that because of a major sponsorship change from Canterbury to Reebok, the traditional Wallaby jersey may be replaced with green and gold lightning flashes across it.   The Australian Rugby Union is expected to approve the new look if it is necessary for the sponsorship.   Page 46.   --   The Confederation of Australian Sport will cut funding of 22 minor sports, including fencing, archery and pentathlon, in a major shake up of federally supported sporting organisations.   The major sports, however, will not receive such drastic cuts as a resut of their popularity.   Page 45.   --   THE AGE   Port Power, the newcomers to the 1997 AFL season, are believed to be considering a bid for the services of Victorian legend Garry Ablett, should the Cats be prepared to trade him.   Ablett has already revealed he does not want to retire this year.   Page B8.   --   Anti-merger group chief Don Scott last night spoke of being pipped at the post by the merger move, because of lack of organisation.   Operation Payback, the Hawthorn-independence movement, already has 1,200 signatures but needs 3,000 for a successful challege.   Page B8.   --   Champion horse trainer Lee Freedman's awesome team of three-year-olds was further strengthened at Flemington with the emergence of yet another potential group-race winner, in the filly "Plot", who has displayed style and honesty in track work.   Page B6.   --   HERALD SUN   Melbourne Football Club officials have rejected the Hawthorn call this week to name the new merger team as the "Melbourne-Hawthorn Hawks", throwing the proposed merger talks into further disarray with the continued success of anti-merger groups within the clubs.   Page 88.   --   After two weeks without being sighted, Tony "Plugger" Lockett resumed training with the Swans last night, proving his suspect groin and knee strains will not handicap him for the run into what is hoped to be Sydney's first grand final.   Page 86.   --   Former Australian Test paceman Merv Hughes, 34, will discuss his future with Victorian cricket officials and coach John Scholes today, but made it clear he will not play for another state if he is dropped.   Page 86.   --   THE DAILY TELEGRAPH   A decision on whether the proposed Wallaby Grand Slam Tour will be complete with the inclusion of a test against England, will be announced tomorrow at a meeting of the Rugby Football Union, England's governing body.   Page 88.   --   The Australian Rugby Union should be paying the Wallabies more money according to the players' association boss Tony Dempsey, if more unscheduled tests are included in a season's itinerary.   Wallaby players are only obligated to play the tests nominated in their contracts and are therefore playing extra tests for free.   Page 86.   --   Australian cycling will stagnate unless a challenge to national coach Charlie Walsh's stronghold on the sport is made, according to former world champion Martin Vinnicombe.   Australian Cycling Federation media director Darren Elder disagrees.   Page 86.   -- Reuters Sydney Newsroom 61-2 373-1800 
12778 !GCAT !GSPO  Coaches and assistant coaches confirmed at today's New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU) board meeting for next year's Super 12 competition.   Otago Highlanders:   Coach - Glenn Ross, assistant coach - Keith Robertson.   Canterbury Crusaders:   Coach - Wayne Smith, assistant coach - Peter Sloane.   Wellington Hurricanes:   Coach - Frank Oliver, assistant coach - Graeme Taylor.   Chiefs:   Coach - Brad Meurant, assistant coach - John Boe.    Auckland Blues:   Coach - Graham Henry, assistant coach - Mac McCallion.   Wellington Newsroom (64-4-4734746) 
12779 !GCAT !GSPO  ROTORUA, Sept 11 - Taupo's Wairakei golf course is for sale but only at the right price, general manager Kevin Park says.   The right price is tipped to be in excess of NZ$10 million.   "We have had a couple of offers recently which have gone to a point and fallen through," Park told NZPA.   Wairakei, which was this year ranked by the U.S. Golf Digest as the 17th best golf course in the world outside the United States, has been owned since 1993 by a Japanese businessman.   It included extra land zoned for tourism development, which had been a major point of interest for potential buyers, Park said.    However, the course was for sale only if someone were prepared pay enough, Park said. 
12780 !GCAT !GSPO  Alaska Milk survived a powerful rally by Formula Shell on Tuesday to win 83-77 and capture the Philippine Basketball Association second conference title.   The Milkmen, sparked by forward Jojo Lastimosa's jump shot and four free throws, broke away from a 75-all deadlock to clinch the victory.   Lastimosa made his offensive charge after Shell, down 65-75, unleashed a 10-0 spurt to tie the contest with two minutes left.   "We almost cracked but we relied on our experience to hold on...I'm totally relieved," Alaska coach Tim Cone told reporters.   It was the third straight PBA title for the Milkmen. 
12781 !GCAT !GSPO  Result of the seventh game of the Philippine Basketball Association second conference finals on Tuesday:   Alaska Milk beat Formula Shell 83-77 (37-32)   (Alaska win best-of-seven series 4-3). 
12782 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of South Korean   pro-baseball games played on Tuesday.    Hyundai 4  LG 2    Samsung 3  OB 1    Hanwha 10  Lotte 5    Ssangbangwool  14  Haitai  8   Standings after games played on Tuesday (tabulate under won,   drawn, lost, winning percentage, games behind first place)    W D L PCT  GB    Haitai  67 2 49 .576  -    Hanwha  65 1 52 .555  2 1/2    Ssangbangwool 66 2 53 .554  2 1/2    Hyundai  64 5 53 .545  3 1/2    Samsung  54 5 61 .471 12 1/2    Lotte  50 6 59 .461 13 1/2    LG 48 5 67 .421 18 1/2    OB 47 6 67 .417  19 
12783 !GCAT !GSPO  Oklahoma City formally submitted a bid for a National Hockey League expansion franchise that would play in a new arena to be built downtown, city officials said on Wednesday.   A $100,000 deposit was sent by the Oklahoma Sports Commission to the league, which this summer said it was seeking bids for expansion teams, said Clayton Bennett, an Oklahoma publisher and president of the sports commission.   The hockey club would be the first major league sports franchise in Oklahoma.   Oklahoma City voters in 1993 approved a five-year, one-cent sales tax to fund a series of downtown revitalization projects, including the 17,500-seat indoor sports arena for a professional hockey club.   The city, wracked by the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in the heart of downtown, last week started a $2.7 million program promoting Oklahoma City as a site for corporate relocations. 
12784 !GCAT !GSPO  The New York Yacht Club, desperate to recapture yachting's prized America's Cup from New Zealand, has turned to a New Zealander to help them achieve their goal.   Bruce Farr, 47, now based in Annapolis, Maryland, was born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, where the cup now resides.   The New York Yacht Club has turned to Farr to help design their entry for the next cup race to be held off Auckland in 2000.   "I'm delighted actually to be working with the U.S. team," he said in a telephone interview.   "I don't owe New Zealand anything.   They haven't asked us to work for them, it's their problem ... I will be absolutely delighted to go down and lift the cup out of New Zealand."   Farr and his partner, Russell Bowler, 50, together have developed some 30 offshore racing yacht designs, including four winners of the Whitbread Round the World Race.   "I think it is an important advantage.   (Hiring Farr) certainly was a strategy," said John Marshall, president of PACT2000, the NYYC's challenge racing syndicate.   "Local knowledge and full understanding go a long way in reducing errors in the design process and in team understanding."   Aiding team understanding of wind and tides around Auckland, especially for the 16 crew members who will sail one of the two yachts NYYC-PACT2000 plans to build, will be skipper Ed Baird, a U.S.-born sailor who coached Team New Zealand to its 1995 win over a team lead by Dennis Conner of the San Diego Yacht Club.   The NYYC-PACT2000 syndicate is one of two declared American teams that, with others from England, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Russia, the Virgin Islands, and, of course, defender New Zealand, has forked over $100,000 each to reserve places.   If the Australians or Conner decide to enter, it will cost them $200,000 for missing the May 14 deadline to declare.   That is only a small slice of the $30 million or more PACT2000 plans to spend on design and production of two yachts to return what some call the "Ugly Auld Mug" to NYYC's Manhattan clubhouse.   It had rested there for 132 years before Conner lost it the first time to Australia in 1983.   The NYYC schooner America first captured what was then known as the One Hundred Guineas Cup from the cream of British yachters in 1851 and the cup's name was changed in its honour.   Competition has since changed from yacht club against yacht club to nation versus nation, Marshall said.   The syndicate he has helped assemble includes yacht clubs from Maine, Florida and Michigan.   Embracing other clubs is a new America's Cup syndicate fund-raising strategy for the New York club.   The other U.S. entry is from San Francisco's St. Francis Yacht Club leading the AmericaOne syndicate.   The basic rules of the race laid down by the cup's deed of gift allow only evolutionary changes in the materials used.   Because sailing conditions at Auckland are windier but seas generally flatter than at San Diego, the site of the 1995 cup regatta, the international America's Cup class boats may be wider and stronger.   But they will not be made of boron fibers or use cobalt alloy riggings, which are banned as too expensive and yet unproven for widespread use.   "The rules of the America's Cup strike a balance in technology (and) I think that is generally a good thing," Farr said.   "If (use of materials) was unlimited it would not be of much use to the rest of the world."   PACT2000 plans a World Wide Web site and consideration is being given to relaying real-time telemetry such as windspeed, positions of competing yachts and other data recorded by a boat's instruments to the Internet watchers.   Women proved themselves as sailors aboard millionaire Bill Koch's 1995 entry America3 and may be integrated with male sailors when trials start at Auckland in 1999, Marshall said, but skippers and crew will be limited by nationality of the syndicates.   Money continues to dictate the strength of a syndicate's efforts, with the NYYC-PACT2000 halfway to raising its $30 million budget to build two boats, about $5 million of that from well-heeled individuals, with most corporate donors still to be solicited.   "It's a tough competitive sport, just like the real world," Marshall said.   "Our biggest fans are big business executives who see the strategy of it -- more than the tacking and jibing (while racing) -- as more like what they do." 
12785 !GCAT !GSPO  Zimbabwe leg-spinner Paul Strang and paceman Henry Olonga each took two wickets as Sri Lanka struggled on the opening day of the first test on Wednesday.   Despite a patient half-century by Asanka Gurusinha, Sri Lanka were 155 for five at tea.   Zimbabwe made an early breakthrough after Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bat, dismissing Roshan Mahanama for four, Sanath Jayasuriya for a duck and Aravinda de Silva for 35.   Gurusinha and Hashan Tillekeratne staged a partial recovery with a fourth wicket partnership of 52 before Tillekeratne became Olonga's second victim, edging a catch to wicketkeeper Andy Flower after scoring 20.   Gurusinha departed soon afterwards when he miscued a cover drive off Strang and was caught by Olonga at extra cover.   Gurusinha's 52 included six boundaries in a stay of 197 minutes.   At tea captain Arjuna Ranatunga was undefeated on 19 and Romesh Kaluwitharana 16. 
12786 !GCAT !GSPO  Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat in their five-day Test match against Zimbabwe in the capital Colombo on Wednesday.   Teams:   Sri Lanka - Arjuna Ranatunga (captain), Roshan Mahanama, Sanath Jayasuriya, Asanka Gurusinha, Aravinda de Silva, Hashan Tillekeratne, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Kumara Dharmasena, Chaminda Vaas, Muthiah Muralitharan, Jayantha Silva.   Zimbabwe - Alistair Campbell (captain), Andy Flower, Grant Flower, Craig Evans, Heath Streak, Paul Strang, Craig Wishart, Mark Dekker, Guy Whittall, Henry Olonga, Andrew Whittall. 
12787 !GCAT !GPOL  PARAGUAY GOVERNMENT LIST (960911)    President (Sworn in 15 Aug 93)...........  .  Juan Carlos WASMOSY    Presidency Secretary-General.....................  Hugo SAGUIER    - - - - - - -   CABINET (Formed 15 Aug 93)   MINISTERS:    Agriculture & Livestock................  Juan Alfonso BORGOGNON    Defence....................................  .  Hugo ESTIGARRIBIA    Education......................................Nicanor DUARTE    Finance........................................Carlos FACETTI    Foreign Relations.....................  Ruben MELGAREJO Lanzoni    Health & Social Welfare...........  .  Dr Andres VIDOVICH Morales    Integration..........................  .  Juan Ernesto VILLAMAYOR    Interior..................................Juan Manuel MORALES    Justice, Labour............................Sebastian GONZALEZ    Public Works & Communications................  .  Gustavo PEDROZO    Trade & Industry...............................  Ubaldo SCAVONE    Women's Affairs...............................  .  Cristina MUNOZ    - - - - - - -    Central Bank Governor....................Jacinto ESTIGARRIBIA    - - - - - - -     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) 
12788 !GCAT !GPOL  HUNGARY GOVERNMENT LIST (960911)    President (Re-elected 19 June 1995)...............Arpad GONCZ    - - - - - - -   TWO-PARTY COALITION GOVERNMENT (Formed 25 Jun 94, took     office 15 July 94)    Prime Minister...............................  Gyula HORN (HSP)    Deputy Prime Minister.....................  .  Gabor KUNCZE (AFD)    - - - - - - -   MINISTERS:    Agriculture...............................  .  Laszlo LAKOS (HSP)    Culture & Education.......................Balint MAGYAR (AFD)    Defence...................................Gyorgy KELETI (HSP)    Environment & Regional Development..........Ferenc BAJA (HSP)    Finance.................................Peter MEDGYESSY (HSP)    Foreign Affairs..........................  .  Laszlo KOVACS (HSP)    Interior...................................Gabor KUNCZE (AFD)    Justice....................................  .  Pal VASTAGH (HSP)    Labour.......................................Peter KISS (HSP)    Transport, Communications & Water...........  Karoly LOTZ (AFD)    Trade & Industry..........................  Tamas SUCHMAN (HSP)    Welfare....................................  Gyorgy SZABO (HSP)    Without Portfolio.......................Istvan NIKOLITS (HSP)   (i/c of National Security)    - - - - - - -   PARTY AFFILIATIONS:   HSP -- Hungarian Socialist Party   AFD -- Alliance of Free Democrats    - - - - - - -    Speaker of Parliament........................Zoltan GAL (HSP)    - - - - - - -    National (Central) Bank President..............Gyorgy SURANYI    - - - - - - -     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) 
12789 !GCAT !GPOL  RWANDA GOVERNMENT LIST (960911)    President (Sworn in 19 Jul 94).  .  Pasteur BIZIMUNGU (RPF, HUTU)    Vice-President...............Maj-Gen Paul KAGAME (RPF, TUTSI)   (Also Minister of Defence)    - - - - - -   NATIONAL UNITY GOVERNMENT (formed 31 Aug 95)   (For party affiliations see end of list)    Prime Minister...........  .  Pierre Celestin RWIGEMA (MDR, HUTU)    Deputy Prime Minister.  .  Colonel Alexis KANYARENGWE (RPF, HUTU)   (also Interior Minister,     President of Rwanda Patriotic Front)    - - - - - -   MINISTERS:    Agriculture...................Augustin Iyamuremye (PSD, HUTU)    Defence....................................  See Vice-President    Environment & Tourism..Jean-Nepomuscene NAYINZIRA (PDC, HUTU)    Finance.............................Marc RUGENERA (PSD, HUTU)    Foreign Affairs...................Anastase GASANA (MDR, HUTU)    Health................  Colonel Dr Joseph KALEMERA (RPF, TUTSI)    Higher Education & University    Education................  Dr Joseph NSENGIMANA (PL, TUTSI)    Industry and Commerce..............Prosper HIGIRO (PL, TUTSI)    Information..................Jean-Pierre BIZIMANA (MDR, HUTU)    Interior............................See Deputy Prime Minister    Justice..............Martha MUKAMURENZI (Independent, HUTU)**    (**Resigned 10 Sept 1996)    Planning............Jean-Berchmans BIRARA (Independent, HUTU)    Primary Education..............Laurien NGIRABANZI (MDR, HUTU)    Public Service........Cheikh Abdulkarim HABIMANA (RPF, TUTSI)    Public Works................  Charles NTAKIRUNTINKA (PSD, HUTU)    Rehabilitation................  .  Patrick MAZIMHAKA (RPF, TUTSI)    Social Affairs.........................Pie MUGABO (PL, TUTSI)    Transport & Telecommunications.  Charles MULIGANDE (RPF, TUTSI)    Women Affairs....................Aloysia INYUMBA (RPF, TUTSI)    Youth & Sports.............Dr Jacques BIHOZAGARA (RPF, TUTSI)    - - - - - -   PARTY AFFILIATIONS:   RP -- Rwanda Patriotic Front   PSD -- Social Democratic Party   MDR -- Republican Democratic Movement   PDC -- Christian Democratic Party   PL -- Liberal Party    - - - - - -    Central Bank Governor....................Francois MUTEMBEREZE    - - - - - -   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) 
12790 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP !GREL !M14 !M141 !MCAT  North Korea should be in need of food aid for most of 1997 as flood-induced shortages were expected to continue, an official with a Canadian church food aid group told Reuters.   "We're certainly targeting next year as another critical time, there are going to be food shortages probably between March and October of 1997," Winnipeg-based Canadian Foodgrains Bank spokeswoman Trish Jordan said.   Canadian farmers donate grains and oilseeds to the CFB, an agency of 12 Christian churches.   The CFB donated 4,350 tonnes of rice to North Korea earlier this year.   Floods in the summer of 1995 displaced 100,000 farming families and has lead to malnutrition among more than 550,000 North Koreans.   The Canadian International Development Agency, a federal third-world aid agency, asked to meet CGB officials to discuss the North Korean situation, she said.   "Obviously, one of the attractions is CIDA matches donations four to one, either grain or cash," Jordan said.   "Initially the response from the Canadian government was no but it was a sympathetic, friendly no.   We're hoping that they would come on board," Jordan added.   -- Gilbert Le Gras 204 947 3548 
12791 !C12 !C13 !C31 !C311 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GENV  Canadian Environment Minister Sergio Marchi said on Wednesday he was not surprised by Ethyl Corp's plan to sue the Canadian government over a bill to ban the gasoline additive MMT and that he would continue to press the measure in parliament.   "I think they are entitled to their opinion, but the government of Canada is also entitled to do what they think is the right thing for the environment and health safety for Canadians," Marchi told reporters after a cabinet meeting.   "And we feel that the MMT bill is a bill that is in the best interest of Canadians."    Richmond, Va.-based Ethyl said on Tuesday it planned to launch a US$201 million suit against the Canadian government to try to halt the bill, which would ban imports and interprovincial trade of MMT.   The bill is awaiting a final hearing and vote in Canada's House of Commons.   Ethyl said the suit, filed under provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), would seek damages for its Canadian subsidiary, Ethyl Canada, which is the only importer and distributor of MMT in Canada.    "I think we have the sovereign right to encourage nationally alternative fuels.   This is not something personal with Ethyl.   This is something personal with the health and environment facing Canadians," Marchi said.   MMT, methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl, is a fuel octane enhancer.   It has been used as a replacement for lead in gasoline in Canada since 1977.   Tuesday's action by Ethyl started a 90-day consultation process between the company and the government, but Marchi said he saw little point in meeting Ethyl again.   "I've heard all of their arguments and I think governments also get paid at some point to make a decision.   I think there has been a lot of debate, a lot of discussion...the debate should also be on the floor of the House of Commons," he said.   The use of MMT in the United States has been permitted since late 1995 after a U.S. Court of Appeals overruled Environmental Protection Agency objections to the additive.   -- Malina Poshtova Zang, Reuters Ottawa Bureau (613) 235-6745 
12792 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union said on Wednesday it expects Chrysler Corp to deliver its first economic proposal on Thursday morning.   "He (Chrysler lead negotiator Ken Francese) just told me this morning that their intent now is to make their first economic proposal tomorrow morning at 1030 EDT," said CAW president Buzz Hargrove in a phone interview.   The union said top-level executives from Chrysler Corp's Detroit headquarters arrived Wednesday night at the labor talks being held in a Toronto hotel ahead of next week's September 17 strike deadline.    "I'm certainly comfortable that they have the decision-makers here and the issue now will be whether we can find the resolve," Hargrove said.   He said he did not expect the talks to be interrupted by a rumored deal in the offing between Ford Motor Co and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union in the United States.   "They can't sign a deal and ratify in time to interfere with our deadline next week," he said.   Hargrove said he was more worried about Chrysler's proposals on key issues, such as outsourcing, than the status of talks between the UAW and Ford.    "Solutions have to be designed here to suit our needs regardless of what they do with Ford or with Chrysler in the U.S.," Hargrove said.   He said the union negotiators rejected Chrysler's first proposal on outsourcing.   "It doesn't at all address the issue as we see it has to be addressed," he said.   The CAW said late Tuesday it rejected a Chrysler proposal for a contract longer than the traditional three years.    On Monday, the union said talks were grinding slowly over outsourcing and a surprise proposal on profit-sharing.   Outsourcing is the sale of plants or the transfer of work to outside contractors, whose employees are generally not members of the auto unions.   The existing labor agreements with the three North American automakers -- Chrysler, Ford's Canadian unit and General Motors Corp 's Canadian subsidiary -- expire on September 14.   The union has a strike deadline for September 17 if it does not reach a deal with Chrysler, its negotiating target.   -- Paul Casciato (416) 941-8100, or e-mail:paul.  casciato@reuters.com 
12793 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA !M14 !M141 !MCAT  Canada's central Prairies were forecast to see a slight to moderate risk of frost Wednesday night to Thursday morning, Environment Canada said.   South and central Saskatchewan and western Manitoba face a slight risk of frost Wednesday night, Environment Canada's 10-day frost outlook said.   Saskatchewan's Yorton area and Manitoba's Swan River region face a moderate risk of frost Wednesday night.   A slight risk of frost was forecast for eastern Manitoba Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday mornings.   A slight risk of frost was forecast for westcentral Alberta Monday morning.   A slight to moderate risk of frost was forecast for all but southeastern Alberta Tuesday morning.   A moderate to high risk of frost was forecast for Alberta, Saskatchewan and western Manitoba the morning of Sept 20.   -- Gilbert Le Gras 204 947 3548 
12794 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Inco Ltd put forward a contract offer on Tuesday night to settle with unionized workers at its Thompson, Manitoba division, the union and company said on Wednesday.   The union responded early today and was now awaiting a response from the company, said Bob Desjarlais, president of United Steelworkers of America local 6166.   The existing three-year agreement expires at midnight on Sunday, September 15.   If no agreement is reached by that time, the 1,327 union members will strike, Desjarlais said.    "It's crunch time," Desjarlais said in a phone interview.   "We're in the playoffs here."   The union plans to hold an information meeting for its members on Thursday and vote on whatever Inco offer is then on the table, Desjarlais said.   Results of the vote will be known by about 2200 EDT/0200 GMT, he said.   Inco produces about 100 million pounds of nickel a year from the Thompson area in northern Manitoba.   "So far, talks are going very well and we hope we'll have something by Sunday," said Inco spokesman Dan McSweeney.   Pensions are the top priority for the union, Desjarlais said.   The union is also concerned about wages, benefits and health and safety issues.   Contract talks began in July.   -- Reuters Toronto Bureau 416 941-8100 
12795 !C12 !C31 !C312 !C34 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  A group of western Canadian farmers filed a suit with the Federal Court of Canada Monday asking the Canadian Wheat Board to issue export licences to Prairie farmers free of charge whether they plan to export through the CWB or on their own, a group spokesman said.   "The application was filed Monday," Canadian Farmers for Justice spokesman Jim Pallister told Reuters.   The Canadian government has 30 days in which to respond.   The CWB has an export monopoly on all wheat and barley grown on Canada's Prairie provinces and the Dawson Creek region of British Columbia.    A CWB spokeswoman declined comment on the lawsuit.   "It's not asking for a very acute change.   We're just looking for an export licence free of charge for the farmer by declaration that the grain is his own," Pallister said.   Some farmers trucked wheat and barley to border U.S. elevators since last fall as spot prices there outpaced the CWB's monthly price outlooks.   They were charged with illegally exporting grain.   Farmers called off border crossings when a federal panel in July suggested lifting the CWB's feed barley monopoly and Canada's agriculture minister promised action on the report.   "We think the (Wheat Board) is operating under the false assumption that they somehow control everyone, whether they contract with them (to export grain) or not," Pallister said.   -- Gilbert Le Gras 204 947 3548 
12796 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA !M14 !M141 !MCAT  Northwestern Saskatchewan saw an eight hour frost Wednesday morning while southeast and central Saskatchewan saw a three-hour frost, Environment Canada meteorologist Mike Russo told Reuters.   "Spiritwood hit zero (freezing) at midnight and stayed below to eight in the morning," Russo said.   Spring wheat harvest in that region ranged from 10 to 15 percent, barley was 20 to 30 percent done, canola was 20 to 30 percent complete, Saskatchewan Agriculture said.   Spiritwood reported 0 degrees Celsius at chest level at 2400 CDT/0500 GMT and returned to 0 C at 0800 CDT/1300 GMT.   Spiritwood is north of North Battleford.   An area 60 to 90 miles wide extending from Estevan in the southeast to Prince Albert in the north central region to Lynn Lake, Manitoba, north of the grainbelt, reported temperatures at or below 0 C at chest level between 0500 CDT/1000 GMT to 0800 CDT/1300 GMT, Russo said.   The average fall frost for most of the Prairies is Sept 12 based on a 59-year study by Environment Canada, the University of Manitoba and Manitoba Agriculture.   -- Gilbert Le Gras 204 947 3548 
12797 !GCAT !GREL !GVIO  Burundi's Catholic church on Wednesday buried a nun who was killed along with the country's leading churchman in a Hutu rebel ambush on Monday.   Several hundred Catholics, many crying, attended a mass for the nun at Gitega parish church in central Burundi before walking to a cemetery for the twilight burial.   Seven people, including Archbishop Joachim Ruhuna, were ambushed on Monday evening in a jeep travelling to Gitega.   Three bodies had been recovered by the time of the funeral.   Sister Concessa, a Burundian from the Sisters of Charity order, was returning with Ruhuna after visiting relatives.   A preliminary government investigation showed that automatic rifles were used in the ambush, army spokesman Lieutenant- Colonel Isaie Nibizi said.   "The investigation has found that it is absolutely certain that assailants (rebels) killed the archbishop.   G3 and R4 (rifle) bullets were used in the attack and they are not used by the Burundian army," Nibizi told Reuters.   Ruhuna's body had not been recovered by Wednesday night, Nibizi said.   His body was last seen by a deacon burning in his car.   Burundian authorities and the main Hutu rebel group the National Council for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD) have accused one another of responsibility for the archbishop's murder.   The driver of the jeep survived the attack and was sent home after being treated at a local hospital.   The driver was not hurt in the initial burst of gunfire and fled into a nearby field when attackers began looting the vehicle, Nibizi said.   The assailants gave chase and shot him twice in the legs before robbing him and leaving him for dead.   "The driver stayed out all night in the field and the next day managed to drag himself to the parish at Gitongo," Nibizi said.   Earlier Burundi's military leader Pierre Buyoya appealed to his ethnically divided nation for calm following the murder of Ruhuna.   "I ask people to stay calm and not to commit any acts of vengeance.   That is the best way to respect Archbishop Ruhuna and honour his memory," Buyoya said in a national address on state- run radio.   "His blood unjustly spilled could be used to heal our own wounds and help us work for peace," Buyoya said.   Buyoya, of the Tutsi minority, seized power in a military coup on July 25, ousting the country's Hutu president.   The archbishop, a 62-year-old Tutsi, had made enemies on both sides of Burundi's ethnic divide by his condemnation of all violence.   His death shocked many people in predominantly Catholic Burundi.   More than 150,000 people have been killed in three years of massacres and civil war between the Tutsi-dominated army and Hutu rebels in Burundi, the southern neighbour of Rwanda where one million people, mostly Tutsis, were slaughtered in ethnic bloodshed in 1994. 
12798 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday discussed ways of expanding ties between their two countries.   Officials said the two also discussed international issues but declined to give details on the half-hour talks.   "They discussed ways of improving cultural and trade ties as well as international issues," a Zimbabwean foreign affairs official told reporters.   A second round of talks was scheduled for Thursday.   Rafsanjani, who arrived in Zimbabwe on Wednesday on the fifth leg of a six-nation African trip to boost trade and improve ties, was scheduled to attend a banquet later in the evening.   He has already been to Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan and Kenya where he started off the tour which diplomats said was aimed at reducing Iran's international isolation and boosting business with the world's poorest continent in the face of U.S. sanctions.   Washington accuses Tehran of sponsoring terrorism, a charge Iran denies.   Western diplomats based in Harare, who normally line up at the airport with colleagues from other nations for welcoming ceremonies for visiting leaders, were absent when Rafsanjani arrived on Wednesday.   The diplomats were unavailable for comment.   Security at the airport was unusually tight, with scores of armed policemen and soldiers swarming around, some of whom patrolling rooftops while dozens of Iranian security men paced the tarmac, mobile radio phones in hand.   The Iranian president was met at the airport by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, his wife Grace and cabinet ministers and a few diplomats.   Hundreds of Zimbabwean Moslem women -- covered from head to toe in dark cloth in the sweltering midday sun -- chanted welcoming songs and waved placards, some of which read: "Your victory is our victory" and "We share common historical struggles for independence".   Rafsanjani, who arrived from Tanzania with a delegation of 250 -- including Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati and five other cabinent ministers and businessmen -- leaves Harare for South Africa on Thursday. 
12799 !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GENT !GHEA !GPOL  South African President Nelson Mandela said on Wednesday a mystery donor had withdrawn an offer to replace 10.5 million rand ($2.3 million) in European Union aid funds misused for an abortive AIDS-awareness play.   "The donor has now decided to withdraw his offer," Mandela told a news conference in Pretoria.   Visibly angry, Mandela accused the country's white-owned media of being tougher on the country's first black government than it had been on the former white administration.   The EU repudiated the Sarafina II AIDS project earlier this year and said aid funds intended for the campaign against AIDS had been used in violation of agreed procedures.   The EU demanded the 10.5 million of the 14.2 million rand originally budgeted for the project be returned to the Department of Health for approved AIDS education.   Health Minister Nkosazana Zuma, who has borne the brunt of criticism surrounding the travelling Broadway-style musical, told a news conference the taxpayer would now have to foot the bill.   "It is regrettable that this offer...had to be withdrawn as a result of a virulent campaign directed at the Ministry of Health and the government as a whole," she said.   Responding to questions, Zuma said she did not believe she had done anything wrong in accepting an offer to pick up the tab for the play, which was cancelled in June, on condition that the donor's name was not made public.   "From what I understand, he has never had any tenders with the government, he has never had dealings with the Department of Health.   There was no favour that he was expecting.   He was just doing this because he was also concerned about the AIDS Epidemic...He just wanted to help," she said.   Asked who would now pay, Zuma said: "It will be dealt with as all other unauthorised expenditure is dealt with."   Parliament is authorised to give retrospective approval for improper expenditure of government funds.   South Africa's independent Public Protector, Selby Baqwa, slammed the handling of the tender for the project earlier this year and launched a second inquiry when opposition parties demanded to know the identity of the donor.   Baqwa had been scheduled to name the donor on Wednesday.   Speculation on who the mystery benefactor might be ranged from Mandela himself to an Indian pharmaceuticals firm and local businessmen.   ($=4.50 rand) 
12800 !GCAT !GVIO  Burundi's military leader Pierre Buyoya appealed to his ethnically divided nation for calm on Wednesday following the murder of Archbishop Joachim Ruhuna in an ambush blamed on Hutu rebels.   "I ask people to stay calm and not to commit any acts of vengeance.   That is the best way to respect Archbishop Ruhuna and honour his memory," Buyoya said in a national address on state- run radio.   "His blood unjustly spilled could be used to heal our own wounds and help us work for peace," Buyoya said.   Buyoya, of the Tutsi minority, seized power in a military coup on July 25, ousting the country's Hutu president.   The archbishop, a 62-year-old Tutsi, had made enemies on both sides of Burundi's ethnic divide by his condemnation of all violence.   His death in an ambush on his car near the central town of Gitega on Monday shocked many people in predominantly Catholic Burundi.   Three other people, including at least one nun, died in the attack and three others are missing.   An army spokesman said troops resumed a search of the Mubarizi river and nearby countryside for the archbishop's body, last seen by a deacon burning in his car.   The National Council for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD), political wing of the largest Hutu rebel group, denied any role in the killing of Ruhuna.   "The army killed him because he was very moderate," said Innocent Nimpagaritse, CNDD's East Africa representative in Nairobi.   More than 150,000 people have been killed in three years of massacres and civil war between the army and rebels in Burundi, the southern neighbour of Rwanda where one million people, mostly Tutsis, were slaughtered in ethnic bloodshed in 1994.   Hutu rebels have almost paralysed north and central parts of Burundi with a string of attacks and ambushes in Bubanza, Kayanza, Ngozi and Gitega provinces in the last two weeks.   Seven civilians and one soldier were killed in an attack on a displaced camp at Ngara commune, in Burundi's northwestern Bubanza region on Tuesday, the army said.   An army spokesman accused Hutu rebels of firing mortar bombs at the camp.   Soldiers returned fire and six rebels were killed in the fighting, the spokesman added.   The ethnic bloodshed in Rwanda and Burundi has also fuelled outbreaks of violence in neighbouring Zaire where over one million refugees are camped.   A senior aid official said on Wednesday that 84 Tutsi women and children had taken refuge in the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) compound at Uvira on Monday after more than 30 people were killed in fighting last week between Tutsis and the Zairean army at Limera commune close to Luberizi refugee camp.   Zairean authorities had jailed around 80 Tutsi men.   "Everybody who is Tutsi is being turned upon.   The situation is very ugly," the aid worker in Uvira said by telephone.   He said 30 armed Tutsis and three Zairean soldiers died in the fighting which further damaged already fragile relations between ethnic Tutsis in Uvira and the Zairean population.   On Monday Zairean political groups staged a ville morte (dead city) strike against Tutsis in Uvira and used the opportunity to attack Tutsi property, sparking the flight of Tutsis to the UNHCR compound.   "They stole everything, even food that was cooking on the stoves.   Soldiers shot in the air, but they did nothing to stop the looting," the aid official said.   It was not possible to reach Zairean authorities to comment.   Zairean Tutsis who fled the fighting said young Tutsi militants were resisting a systematic campaign by the authorities to force them out of eastern Zaire.   Around 225,000 Rwandan and Burundian refugees languish in 12 camps near Uvira, an inaccessible Zairean town on the northwest shore of Lake Tanganyika around 30 km (20 miles) west of the Burundian capital. 
12801 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  South Africa's Chamber of Mines and the National Union of Mineworkers averted the prospect of a damaging strike on Wednesday by reaching a key wages deal for gold and coal miners.   Most miners are in line for wage increases of eight to 10 percent, although rates vary from a low of five to a high of 13 percent depending on conditions at individual mines.   The union said the agreement would also help kill off outdated mining practices from the apartheid era.   The powerful 350,000-strong NUM declared a dispute with the employer body, the Chamber of Mines, on August 1 and union officials had talked of a strike that would have crippled the huge gold and coal industries.   The union had been pushing for an average 25 percent wage increase.   But chief negotiator Ikaneng Matlala said the NUM had accepted less in view of the concessions offered in restructuring miners' provident funds and on training.   "Despite all the difficulties that we had during negotiations, we are glad that we we have arrived at a this particular agreement," Matlala said at the signing of the annual wage agreement.   At du Plessis, president of the Chamber of Mines, said the successful conclusion of the negotations showed dialogue between management and labour was working well.   "This year's agreement once again underscores the impressive levels of sophistication and maturity that characterise the industrial relations climate within the South African mining industry," he said.   NUM official Thomas Ketsise said the restructuring of provident funds and the creation of a joint committee to review and set up training programmes would help break down old apartheid barriers.   "Employers have been contributing more in developing white workers than black workers, but with this agreement we will gradually establish parity between white and black workers on training, retirement and death benefits," he said.   Companies signing up to the wage deal represent the core of South Africa's mining establishment, including Anglo American Corp of South Africa Ltd, Gencor Ltd, Gold Fields of South Africa Ltd, JCI Ltd, Randgold and Exploration Co Ltd and Anglovaal Ltd.   Last year the NUM won an average 10.5 percent increase in basic wages in gold mines and 11.5 percent in coal mines.   News of this year's wage agreement help bolster gold shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, already perking up as worries over falling bullion prices faded.   By 1305 GMT the gold share index had gained 1.44 percent to stand at 1,746. 
12802 !GCAT !GPOL  Rwanda's information minister said on Wednesday that Justice Minister Martha Mukamurenzi, a Hutu, had resigned because of a scandal over alleged misuse of government money for lavish personal spending.   "Mukamurenzi misappropriated 27 million Rwandan francs ($90,000) from public funds," alleged Information Minister Jean-Pierre Bizimana, who is also a Hutu.   "Most of this was spent on her personal habits, things she wanted for herself, her personal needs."   Hutu Prime Minister Pierre Celestin Rwigema announced the minister's resignation on Tuesday.   "She resigned after it was discovered that she misappropriated public money," he told reporters.   Bizimana said on Wednesday that Mukamurenzi decided her behaviour was incompatible with being a minister but she would not face criminal proceedings.   The former minister was not immediately available for comment.   "She was taking money, and then putting it back.   She has replaced almost everything she stole.   She has asked forgiveness, so we are not going to prosecute her," Bizimana told Reuters.   He added no decision had been taken on her successor.   The Justice Ministry is a focal point in Rwanda, where up to an estimated one million Tutsis and Hutu moderates were slaughtered by Hutu troops, mobs and militiamen in three months of genocide in 1994.   Its prisons and lock-ups are overcrowded with 83,000 people accused of involvement in the genocide still awaiting trial.   Many of the 1.1 million Rwandan Hutu refugees in eastern Zaire and nearly 600,000 in Tanzania refuse to go home because they fear being detained or attacked by the Tutsi-led army in reprisal for the genocide.   An international criminal tribunal on the genocide opens its first trial of a suspect accused of genocide and crimes against humanity on September 26 at its Arusha, Tanzania, headquarters.   The international tribunal cannot impose the death penalty, a punishment demanded by Kigali for leaders of the genocide.   ($1=300 Rwandan francs) 
12803 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  South African police swarmed the streets of the black Soweto township on Wednesday after gunmen killed eight men in an attack at a workers' hostel.   Police spokesman Govindsamy Mariemuthoo said the eight were from the Zulu heartland province of KwaZulu-Natal and were shot dead in three hits at the men-only Dube hostel late on Tuesday.   "Five gunmen first opened fire at a room where they killed four men.   They went on and shot dead three other men who were seated in a car which was parked inside the hostel's premises," he said.   One other man was killed when the gunmen opened fire at another room before fleeing, he added.   "Our area police commissioner has instructed our members to step up patrols in the township and around the scene of the attack.   We have a tense but quiet situation," Mariemuthoo said.   The motive for the attack was not known but eyewitnesses had given police details about one of the suspects.   It was reminiscent of tit-for-tat political battles before 1994 all-race elections between supporters of Zulu Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi's Inkatha Freedom Party and their African National Congress township neighbours, violence monitors said.   Worker hostels, some housing up to six men per room, girdle many of South Africa's industrial cities and were created by the apartheid authorities as camps for black migrant workers providing cheap labour, particularly to Johannesburg mines.   The hostels have a history of tribal conflict, sparked mainly by feuds transported from rural areas to the cities and by cultural differences.   Mariemuthoo, however, could not say if the victims had been Inkatha supporters or where the attackers had come from.   One violence monitor from the Human Rights Committee said the attack suggested a "resurgence of political intolerance which could fuel new party-political killings".   "There has been no peace between township residents and hostel dwellers who are perceived to be Inkatha supporters.   The only thing is that they have not been fighting for some time now," Makubetse Sekhonyane said.   "In order to remove the political stigma associated with the hostels the government has to change them into proper habitation," he told Reuters.   Wives of hostel residents, forbidden from moving to the cities under apartheid, have lobbied to be allowed to join their husbands in the hostels and end separations that last many months or longer. 
12804 !C13 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL !GVIO  President Nelson Mandela has appointed a judicial commission of inquiry into violence on South African mines, the labour ministry announced on Wednesday.   Judge John Myburgh, the judge president of the labour courts, will head the inquiry, the ministry said in a statement.   "The terms of reference for the commission are to urgently investigate the causes of the recent violence and occurrences... and to make recommendations within 10 working days as to the immediate steps needed to end the strife and carnage," it added.   At least 30 miners have been killed and scores more injured in fighting on four mines run by Gold Fields of South Africa Ltd.   Three produce gold and one is a platinum operation.   Gold Fields has attributed the violence to clashes between the 350,000-strong National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) which has a largely Xhosa membership and the smaller United Workers' Union of South Africa, aligned to the Zulu-led Inkatha Freedom Party.   Labour Minister Tito Mboweni said late last month he backed a wide-ranging inquiry into South Africa's mining industry and would moot it in cabinet.   "It is quite clear that some of the root causes of this violence are historical and in a sense some of the chickens are coming home to roost at the wrong time when now there is a democratic government," Mboweni said.   South Africa's mining industry was built on a labour system whereby men left their wives and families for months at a time to work on the mines.   Mine hostels were largely segregated on ethnic lines with Zulus, Xhosas or Basotho in separate quarters. 
12805 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  The soldier charged with bringing democracy to South Africa's post-apartheid army, acknowledged on Wednesday that he gave the order to fire in the 1992 "Bisho massacre" of 29 black demonstrators.   Major General Marius Oelschig, director of transformation management in the South African National Defence Force, told Archbishop Desmond Tutu's Truth and Reconciliation Commission that he had radioed an "open fire" order to field commanders.   Oelschig was amongst the last witnesses at a three-day hearing on the September 7, 1992, massacre near Bisho, capital of the now defunct Ciskei tribal homeland created under apartheid.   Deputy Defence Minister Ronnie Kasrils, an African National Congress organiser at the time, testified on Monday that he had led a charge by demonstrators through a gap in a stadium fence towards Bisho, about a kilometre away.   Twenty-eight demonstrators and one soldier were killed and about 200 people were wounded when soldiers hidden behind a sand embankment opened fire on the crowd.   Oelschig said he was convinced by officers on the scene that they were under attack and in imminent danger.   "I confirmed that the troops were authorised to fire, meaning those troops who were in immediate danger," he said.   He added, however, that when he realised that the fire was not of a defensive nature "...I gave an instruction three times on the radio to cease fire."   Kasrils and ANC secretary general Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday they believed the demonstrators, who wanted the homeland's military leader Brigadier Oupa Gqozo deposed, had been led into an ambush.   Oelschig denied the charge, saying: "I reject these allegations in the strongest possible terms.... I believe that the ANC wanted, in fact engineered, the whole incident."   While Oelschig defended his role and offered no apology, his chief of staff at the time, Horst Schobersberger, told the commission in his testimony that he felt deep remorse.   "We are sorry.   The burden of the Bisho massacre will be on our shoulders for the rest of our lives.   Forgive us and get the soldiers back into the community," he said to applause.   Tutu's commission was set up to investigate the human rights record of the struggle over apartheid, to pardon offenders and to compensate victims. 
12806 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !G15 !G158 !GCAT  South Africa's regional trade partners, warning of damage to vulnerable industries, have urged the country's parliament to protect their interests in trade talks with the European Union.   "We...urge the South African negotiators to keep the wider implications of the current negotiatons with the EU in mind," the South African Customs Union (SACU) parliamentary liaison group said in a letter this week to Frene Ginwala, Speaker of South Africa's parliament.   The letter signed by the group's secretary, Namibian legislator Siegfried Wohler, urges South Africa's parliament to consult with parliaments in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland before accepting their country's negotiating mandate.   Legislators resolved last week to insist on a right to vet the South African negotiating mandate before it is submitted to President Nelson Mandela's cabinet for ratification.   A draft South African mandate has been prepared, but has not yet been made public.   The European Union has refused post-apartheid South Africa full accession to the Lome Convention granting favourable access to its markets to developing countries in Africa, the Carribean and the Pacific.   Instead, the European Commission has given its negotiators a tight mandate to negotiate a free trade area agreement with South Africa, but with protection for a wide range of vulnerable European industries and agricultural products.   The mandate calls for extensive tariff reductions by South Africa to ensure easier access to its market for European producers.   "Serious regional implications...could arise as a result of the conclusion of a free trade area along the lines developed by the European Commission and endorsed by the European Council of Ministers," Wohler said.   He said tariff reductions could cripple allied industries within the SACU, a common monetary area linking South Africa, and its four closest neighbours.   Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland rely on their share of the region's pooled customs income for between 20 percent and 50 percent of their income.   Tariff reductions and a free trade area would slash customs revenue and allow tougher competition from European suppliers.   "It needs to be recognised that unfortunately the sectors which appear most vulnerable to this increased competition from the EU are...either central to their economies or the principle sources of economic growth," Wohler said.   He listed amongst them beef and processed meat products in Namibia and Botswana, fish and processed fish products in Namibia, sugar, sweets, canned and preserved fruit in Swaziland, cars and components in Namibia, Botswana and Swaziland, as well as household electrical goods and generic medicines in Lesotho.   Wohler said the free trade agreement with South Africa could also impact on existing preferential arrangements for South Africa's four neighbours in the beef, sugar, flower, fisheries, agriculture, clothing and textile sectors. 
12807 !GCAT !GPOL  The planning ministry in the West African state of Benin has placed itself onto the Internet, the worldwide computer network.   Albert Tevoedjre, the minister of planning, economic restructuring and job promotion, said the aim was "to keep pace with the rest of the world and find opportunities for developing our country".   To call Benin's first state-run Internet address, simply type http://planben.intnet.bj and await results. 
12808 !GCAT !GHEA  Thousands of women supporters of female circumcision marched in Sierra Leone's capital Freetown to protest against campaigns to end the traditional ritual practice.   The women marched to state house on Tuesday and urged President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah to halt public debate on the Bondo Secret Society, a female circumcision group to which they belong.   "We demand that international organisations and non-governmental organisations in the country stop interfering with our traditional practices and beliefs," Sunbean Rogers, a representative of the society told Kabbah.   Doctors and foreign aid groups have denounced the practice of female genital mutilation as a serious health risk for girls who undergo the operation.   Prevalent in many parts of Africa and the Middle East, it involves removal or all or part of the clitoris and can cause excessive bleeding and loss of sexual sensation.   The U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals ruled in June in the case of a Togolese woman that fear of genital mutilation at home was grounds for U.S. asylum.   Newspapers in Freetown reported similar protests in favour of the practice on Saturday in the impoverished West African nation's second city of Bo. 
12809 !GCAT !GODD  A parrot killed a baby in the Central African state of Congo by pecking the sleeping infant's nose while its mother was taking a shower, family members said.   The incident happened on Saturday in a southern suburb of the capital Brazzaville.   The parrot escaped from its cage and repeatedly pecked the baby's nose, causing severe and ultimately fatal bleeding, they added.   The family beat the bird to death with sticks. 
12810 !GCAT !GVIO  The skeletal, pot-bellied children discovered in the western Liberian town of Tubmanburg display some of the worst symptoms of malnutrition seen in almost seven years of civil war, aid workers say.   The children, 150 of whom were evacuated to a special feeding centre in the capital Monrovia on Sunday, were among thousands of hungry civilians discovered by aid workers in the town, which had been cut of by faction fighting since February.   Aid workers reached Tubmanburg, which is 70 km (45 miles) north west of Monrovia, for the first time since February on Saturday and have started shuttling in food by road.   "This is the worst thing we have seen in the seven year history of the war in Liberia," one aid worker with the U.N. Children's Fund UNICEF told Reuters.   Aid workers say a precise death toll is difficult to pin down.   Locals speak of up to 16 people a day dying before help arrived.   One aid worker said five people -- four children and an elderly person -- died on Sunday, despite the arrival of food and emergency medicines and rehydration fluids.   Aid workers, who estimate that over 80 percent of the 35,000 population is seriously malnourished, say hundreds of hungry civilians have emerged from the forest looking for food as word of the relief operation spreads.   "Hundreds have emerged from the jungle along the road to Tubmanburg," Daniela Deane of the World Food Programme told Reuters on Wednesday.   "We set up a distribution point along that road today."   She said the civilians spoke of having fled their homes following harassment by faction fighters.   Civil war has killed well over 150,000 people in Liberia, which freed American slaves founded in 1847.   Ethnic rivalry pitting descendants of the original inhabitants against the descendants of the slaves was one underlying cause.   A peace deal clinched in August 1995 fell apart in April and May when faction fighting and an orgy of looting by rampaging gunmen killed hundreds of people in Monrovia.   Relief workers took advantage of peace moves among rival factions to negotiate safe passage to Tubmanburg.   West African leaders brokered a new deal in August and threatened individual sanctions against any faction leader who derailed it.   Aid workers say they suspect there are pockets of hunger in several isolated corners of the war-weary West African nation where rival factions hold sway.   They have targeted Cape Mount in the southwest for their next foray in search of beleaguered civilians.   "We are trying to get to Cape Mount on Friday," Deane said, adding that they also hoped to visit cut-off areas in the south east.   Under the peace deal, faction gunmen are to be disarmed by January with elections to follow in May. 
12811 !E21 !E211 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  President Nelson Mandela's government was criticised by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Wednesday for trying to rush new investment incentives into law without prior consultation.   In particular Cosatu, the country's strongest trade unions' federation, expressed strong reservations to the parliamentary finance committee on proposed tax holidays for new investments.   "The key thing we want to raise is to first make it clear that...we are opposed to the issue of tax holidays, but we have not come here to argue that we should not implement them," said Sam Shilowa, Cosatu's general secretary.    The federation recommended changes to proposed legislation that would ensure tax holidays did not put existing investments at a disadvantage and that all applications be subject to hearings before they were granted.   It also asked the government to guarantee that tax holidays would not be compensated by increases in VAT, fewer zero-rated items, or higher taxes for low income earners.   The committee is holding a two-day public hearing into the Revenue Laws Amendment Bill, which provides for a wide range of tax changes announced in the macro-economic plan on June 14.   Shilowa recommended the committee should launch a public investigation into other ways of mobilising public investment and creating jobs.   "You have got a responsibility as lawmakers to ensure that at least the process of participation is itself not denied," he said.   -- Parliamentary office +27 21 403-2502 
12812 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !M11 !MCAT  The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) asked South Africa's parliament on Wednesday not to enact Justice Ministry proposals to fight money laundering unless modified to limit criminal sanctions.   JSE legal counsel Nicky Newton-King said proposals in the Proceeds of Crime Bill were at odds with South African Law Commission recommendations for a money laundering bill likely to go to cabinet within about six months.    "One shouldn't be rushing through legislation like this," she said during justice committee hearings on a group of anti-crime bills being hastened through parliament.   Newton-King said the JSE believed that only one law should regulate money laundering and that should be the still unnamed law currently being drafted.   If the money-laundering provisions of the current bill are to be accepted as an interim measure, they should be stripped of the criminal liability on businessmen to report suspicions that property in their possession could be the proceeds of a crime.    "Limit it, at the very least, to people who have actual knowledge of a crime and not a suspicion," she said.   Newton-King also proposed that the criminal liability should be replaced by administrative sanctions to be implemented by existing regulatory authorities such as the JSE.   Senator Mohseen Moosa asked repeatedly why the JSE should be trusted to police money laundering when it had done nothing in the past specifically to prevent it.   Newton-King said the JSE could not impose sanctions until it was obliged to do so, but added: "If we were to be given the obligation, we would obviously put regulations into place.   "The sanctions that would be imposed would be serious sanctions, not a slap on the wrist, but they would be different to the criminal sanctions proposed here."   She said the JSE had demonstrated its commitment to the strict implementation of its obligations.   The Proceeds of Crime Bill is one of six special measures coming before parliament to bolster the fight against drug dealing and organised crime.   It is designed to make easier the seizure of money and goods acquired by crime and impose an obligation to report crimes backed by prison sentences of up to 15 years. 
12813 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  At least 291 academics from a banned union resigned from their jobs at a Nigerian university on Wednesday, while others across the country gave up a five month strike and returned to work.   Nigeria's military government last week gave the lecturers a seven-day ultimatum to resume classes by Tuesday or quit.   A statement from the 291 lecturers at the University of Ilorin, in the opposition's southwestern heartland, said they were resigning because of "the unwillingness of the government to amicably resolve the dispute between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the government through dialogue."   But reports from many of Nigeria's 37 other universities said staff had returned to work and begun teaching classes for the tens of thousands of students left idle for five months.   In Lagos, lecturers have begun teaching in law, philosophy and some other faculties, while others remain on strike.   "We are still waiting for instructions from our union before we will know what the next line of action is," said Segun Odukomaya, a lecturer of mass communication in Lagos who had returned to work.   Lecturers in Nigeria's universities have been on strike since April, pressing for better working conditions.   The government last month banned ASUU and two smaller academic unions because of the strike.   Witnesses said police were deployed in heavy numbers around the campus of Lagos University on Wednesday, but there were no reports of violence.   Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, sank into political crisis in 1993, when a previous military government annulled a presidential election meant to restore democracy after a decade of army rule.   Students were in the forefront of violent protests against the poll's annulment in 1993 and against the detention of the presumed winner, Moshood Abiola, in 1994. 
12814 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL !GVIO  A former military officer walked free on Wednesday after being acquitted of 13 murders in the high-profile trial of apartheid defence minister Magnus Malan and other South African security force bosses.   The prosecution said there was no reason for Commandant Jan van der Merwe's continued presence in the court because it had been unable to prove his involvement in the 1987 massacre at a black family's home near the east coast city of Durban.   "I stop the prosecution against (van der Merwe).   He may go," Attorney-General Tim McNally said as the 16 other co-defendants burst into applause.   A tearful van der Merwe, a former officer in the military's Counter Intelligence section, told reporters outside the packed courtroom he was grateful it was over.   "I've not got much to tell you except that I am very happy that this is all over," the burly ex-soldier said.   Malan remains on trial with three generals, a vice-admiral, a senior policeman, three military officers, six black policemen and an official of Zulu chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi's Inkatha Freedom Party.   The men stand accused of 13 counts of murder, conspiracy to murder and attempted murder stemming from the attack in January, 1987 on the home of a youth activist aligned to the then-banned African National Congress (ANC).   Malan, 66, a hardliner from the previous white-minority government, is accused of covertly providing military aid to a group of Inkatha members, 10 of whom allegedly carried out the hit-squad killings over nine years ago.   He has repeatedly pledged his innocence and has declined to ask for amnesty from Archbishop Desmond Tutu's Truth and Reconciliation Commission which is investigating atrocities committed by blacks and whites under 30 years of apartheid rule.   The defence teams are due to begin their summaries before Judge Jan Hugo next week. 
12815 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh, on the campaign trail two years after leading a military coup, warned voters on Wednesday that if they did not elect him, foreign doctors would leave the country.   Jammeh, who retired from the army as a colonel to run in the September 26 elections, has already said he will poll 99 percent of the vote against his three civilian challengers.   "I am appealing to you to give me a chance to finish my plans and projects for the country," he told a rally of his Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction.   "I ask you to vote for me; if not, 60 doctors who came from Cuba and Egypt will go back to their countries because I am their friend, and also projects will stop."   Gambia has turned to alternative sources, notably Taiwan and Libya, to fill the gap left by Western donors who suspended development aid after the July 1994 coup.   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 in 1965 until 1994, and excludes the former ruling People's Progressive Party, the National Convention Party and the Gambia People's Party.   "Be aware of former politicians who are now united to form a party.   They want to be elected and ruin the country's wealth.   Do not give them the chance," Jammeh told the rally in Gambia's North Bank Division.   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.   The 31-year-old colonel, who received military training in the United States, retired from the army on August 28 to contest the presidency.   His main challenger is Ousainou Darboe, the vice-president of Gambia's Bar Association, who has drawn strong support from followers of deposed president Jawara. 
12816 !GCAT !GVIO  Four soldiers have been arrested in connection with Monday's attempt to overthrow Sierra Leone's civilian government, security sources said on Wednesday.   A prison spokesman said a warrant officer, a staff sergeant, a corporal and a private had been brought to Freetown's Pademba Road prison on Wednesday.   Officials said the plot to seize control of a key bridge and kill President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah on his way to work was foiled by senior military officers following a tip-off from a soldier approached by the plotters.   Tejan Kabbah, who took office in March, linked the plot to people associated with Sierra Leone's former military rulers.   In the eastern town of Bo on Wednesday, thousands of supporters of Kabbah's Sierra Leone People's Party held a rally to call on the government to pull the army back to barracks, a police spokesman said.   Eastern towns and villages have suffered a resurgence of armed attacks despite the current ceasefire between the government and rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF).   The police spokesman said the demonstrators complained of harassment of civilian travellers at checkpoints, and called for checks to weed out bogus soldiers, training for local defence units of traditional hunters, and for checkpoints to be reduced in number and manned by police.   Peace talks between the government and rebels who took up arms in 1991 are stalled over a rebel demand that foreign troops and South African mercenaries helping the army be sent home.   Government officials say Tejan Kabbah has intensified contacts in recent weeks with RUF leader Foday Sankoh, who is in Ivory Coast, and diplomats in Freetown expect the government to sign a peace accord with the rebels this month. 
12817 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO  Zaire's government on Wednesday reassured the Central African nation about the health of President Mobutu Sese Seko following a prostate operation in Europe and deplored a rash of associated newspaper speculation.   "The operation took place under excellent conditions and he came out of hospital on August 30," government spokesman Mutombo Bakafwa Nsenda said on state television.   "On the advice of his doctors, the president, who is convalescing normally, is still receiving out-patient treatment in Switzerland," he added.   Zaire's army on Monday moved to quash fears of a coup.   "The high command declares to (public) opinion its attachment to democracy," it said in a statement, wishing Mobutu, 65, a speedy recovery.   The government criticised press coverage of the illness.   "The government deplores the exploitation of the president's state of health and the exaggerated speculation this exploitation has prompted in the press," its spokesman said.   Zaire plans to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in May, wrapping up its much-delayed democratic transition.   Mobutu's illness has feuled speculation that the army fill a power vacuum in the event of his death.   The military have played a pivotal role in Zaire's history since Mobutu, then a colonel, seized power in the vast Central African country in 1965.   He ruled the sprawling and chaotic nation virtually unchallenged until 1990 when opposition protests and pressure from Zaire's foreign partners forced him along the path of democratic reform. 
12818 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Military officials from Central African states are meeting in Cameroon as part of a U.N. programme to build up a core of trained peacekeepers ready for use in the region or beyond.   The U.N. said in a statement that the aim of the eight-day seminar, which began on Monday, was to train senior military experts and civilians so they could return home and create specialised units within their national armed forces.   "The main aim... is to strengthen their capacity to play a more active role in future peace operations of the United Nations and the Organisation of African Unity," it added.   A spokeswoman said Angola, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Sao Tome E Principe and Zaire had all sent representatives.   Burundi is the one absentee.   "Because of the ongoing problems at the moment in Burundi they were unable to be represented at this meeting," she added.   The 11 states are members of the U.N. Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa, which decided in 1995 to contribute more actively to such peace missions.   The decision followed the experience during the 1994 Rwandan massacres when it took the U.N. more than six months to fully deploy a U.N. peacekeeping force called for by the Security Council at the height of the genocide and civil war there.   U.N. assistant secretary general Marrack Goulding told the seminar that sub-Saharan African countries provided 10 percent of U.N. peacekeeping forces around the world -- a total of 2,683 soldiers.   Japan is helping to fund the seminar. 
12819 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  African health ministers meeting in Congo have called for measures to ensure medical and humanitarian aid reaches Burundi to protect vulnerable groups from the worst effects of sanctions.   A meeting of the World Health Organisation (WHO) regional committee urged countries imposing an embargo on Burundi to exempt essential supplies, warning that epidemics could break out if basic medical care could not be maintained.   "The regional committee appeals to member states who imposed the embargo on Burundi to take appropriate measures to allow through products which are vital for the population, particularly the most vulnerable," said a resolution adopted on Tuesday.   The health ministers called on WHO regional director Ebrahim Malick Samba to keep up contacts with the secretary-general of the Organisation of African Unity, Salim Ahmed Salim, to press for an exemption of humanitarian supplies.   Burundi was placed under sanctions by regional states after Tutsi leader Pierre Buyoya, a retired army major, ousted the Hutu president in an army coup on July 25.   A regional sanctions committee agreed at a meeting in Tanzania last week to allow U.N. flights to Burundi, road access for staff and permission to import some fuel.   The meeting allowed United Nations agencies to import baby food and other essentials but said the rest of the sanctions, such as blocking coffee exports and oil imports, would be strictly maintained. 
12820 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani arrived in Zimbabwe on Wednesday on the fifth leg of a six-nation African trip to boost trade and improve ties.   Rafsanjani arrived at Harare international airport which was swarming with scores of armed policemen and soldiers, some of whom patrolled rooftops while dozens of Iranian security men paced the tarmac, mobile radio phones in hand.   The Iranian president was met at the airport by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, his wife Grace and cabinet ministers and a few diplomats.   Hundreds of Zimbabwean Moslem women -- covered from head to toe in dark cloth in the sweltering midday sun -- chanted welcoming songs and waved placards, some of which read: "Your victory is our victory" and "We share common historical struggles for independence".   Rafsanjani and Mugabe are scheduled to hold talks later on Wednesday and Zimbabwean officials said they expected discussions to centre on ways of improving trade between their two countries.   Figures on trade between the two countries were unavailable.   Rafsanjani, who arrived from Tanzania with a delegation of 250 -- including Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati and five other cabinent ministers and businessmen -- leaves Harare for South Africa on Thursday.   He has already been to Uganda, Sudan and Kenya where he started off the tour diplomats said was aimed at reducing Iran's international isolation and the impact of U.S. sanctions.   The U.S. accuses Iran of sponsoring terrorism, a charge Tehran denies.   A month ago U.S. President Bill Clinton tightened sanctions against Tehran, penalising non-U.S. firms that invest $40 million or more a year in Iran's or Libya's oil and gas sectors.   Western diplomats based in Harare -- who usually line up with colleagues from other nations to welcome visiting leaders -- were absent from the welcoming ceremonies at the airport, witnesses said.   They were unavailable for comment. 
12821 !E51 !ECAT !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GDIP !GHEA !GPOL  South African President Nelson Mandela said on Wednesday a mystery donor had retracted an offer of money to bail out the government in a scandal involving misuse of European Union aid.   "The donor has now decided to withdraw his offer," he told a news conference in Pretoria.   The donor had offered to pay 10.5 million rand ($2.3 million) to help keep a glitzy Aids education musical, Sarafina 2, going after the government was forced to pull out in the face of criticism by parliament and a state watchdog.   Opposition parties called on Health Minister Nkosazana Zuma to quit after it was revealed early this year that she had allocated 14 million rand of government funds -- a large chunk of health education spending -- to the lavish musical.   Zuma said the money came from EU aid funds, but EU officials said they had not authorised it and demanded the money back.   Brushing aside claims that he was too loyal to controversial ministers, Mandela has stood by Zuma since the scandal erupted early this year.   The angry president accused the white-dominated media on Wednesday of hounding black politicians more than whites.   He blamed the donor's rethink on journalists who had scrambled to reveal his identity even after a state watchdog said anonymity was justified.   Speculation on who the mystery benefactor might be ranged from Mandela himself to an Indian pharmaceuticals firm and local businessmen.   ($=4.50 rand) 
12822 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Last-minute talks between management and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) could avert next week's planned strike by South African miners at De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd, industry sources said Wednesday.   The NUM said earlier on Wednesday it expected its 5,000 members working in De Beers' diamond mines would come out on strike from September 17 after preliminary ballot results showed a clear majority in favour of industrial action.   But a union official said the company had since come back with improved recommendations in an attempt to end the deadlock.   "Whether or not the strike is averted will depend on the reaction of our members," he said.   Another industry source told Reuters an agreement appeared "very likely" following the last-minute talks.   The main bone of contention in the dispute over the company's pay offer concerns public holiday payments.   The De Beers pay offer would see "A band" miners receive a 9.5 percent increase and "B band" miners getting 9.25 percent, a level of increase which the company insists is attractive.   The NUM on Wednesday settled its 1996 pay claim with gold and coal mining houses represented by the Chamber of Mines, with most pay rises ranging between eight and ten percent.   -- Ben Hirschler, Johannesburg newsroom +27 11 482 1003 
12823 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  South Africa's Chamber of Mines said on Wednesday it had agreed wage increases ranging between five and 13 percent for gold and coal miners, although most of the settlements were between eight and 10 percent.   The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said earlier it had reached agreement with employers on the 1996 review of wages and employment conditions, averting the threat of a damaging strike.   Minimum wage rates for different mining houses have been adjusted as follows:   - - - -   GOLD MINES   - Anglo American Corp of South Africa Ltd (Gold and Uranium Division), 9.5 to 10 percent   - Anglovaal Ltd (Avmin), 8.5 to 10 percent   - Gencor Ltd (Gengold), 8.5 to 10 percent   - Gold Fields of South Africa Ltd (Gold Division), 8.5 to 9.5 percent   - JCI Ltd (Gold Division), 8.01 to 9.51 percent   - Randgold and Exploration Co Ltd, five to 10.4 percent   - - - -   COLLIERIES   - Anglo American Coal Corp Ltd, 9.25 to 10.75 percent   - Ingwe Coal Corp Ltd, 9.25 to 10.75 percent   - Duiker Ltd, 8.9 to 13 percent (including realignment of certain rates)   - Gold Fields (Coal), 9.5 to 9.75 percent   - JCI (Coal), 8.38 to 10 percent   - Kangra, 9.25 to 10 percent.   -- Johannesburg newsroom +27 11 482 1003 
12824 !GCAT !GVIO  The Sudanese army has recaptured the town of Lui in Western Equatoria state from forces of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), a government newspaper said on Wednesday.   Al-Ingaz al-Watani did not say when the government troops took the town but quoted an unnamed source as saying that the army suffered no losses.   It said an official delegation from the neighbouring Bahr al-Jebel state and other parts of Western Equatoria state were on their way to Lui and the government would deliver emergency assistance to the town's inhabitants.   Government forces have been trying to enter and establish a presence in Western Equatoria for a long time.   The state is almost entirely in the hands of the SPLA.   The rebel movement, fighting for greater autonomy for the south, has been battling troops from the north for over 13 years.   Thousands of people have been killed. 
12825 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Gold Fields Namibia Ltd said on Wednesday it had regained control of all mine and smelter operations at Tsumeb, but a strike by workers at the site was continuing.    The group's Tsumeb Corp Ltd (TCL) mines in northern Namibia and its copper smelter have been shut down since August 23 when Mineworkers' Union of Namibia members took control of key areas.   The lead smelter, which was shut down before the strike, has also been out of commission.   The strike is costing TCL some 80 tonnes a day in lost copper production and a similar amount in lost lead.   The company had obtained a contempt of court order against the union for failure to comply with an interdict declaring the strike unlawful and ordering workers to surrender control of operations, a spokesman said.   In the face of this latest challenge, the union agreed to allow management back on to the site, the spokesman told Reuters by telephone from Namibia.   "At the moment we are trying to find out what the status quo is at Tsumeb...to see what is up and what is not up," he said.   The company said earlier that the copper smelter had been extensively damaged and latest estimates suggested it would take six to eight weeks and between eight and 10 million rands to repair.   The lead smelter did not appear to be damaged but would still take two to three weeks to restart when the strike ended.   TCL produced just under 30,000 tonnes of blister copper last year and 27,000 tonnes of lead.   Most of the lead was produced from bought-in material while copper output was from TCL mines.   -- Ben Hirschler, Johannesburg newsroom +27 11 482 1003 
12826 !GCAT !GPOL  South Africa has rid itself of the "bantustans", dusty poor homelands in which blacks were to be contained, but scandal plagues their fallen rulers.   Most were bogeymen to the black liberation movement, seen as unscrupulous collaborators with the racist white government.   For now, most live well but uneasily in the new South Africa.   Ciskei's former military dictator, Oupa Gqozo, was due to tell Archbishop Desmond Tutu's "Truth Commission" this week why his army mowed down 29 anti-apartheid protesters in 1992.   He failed to show, saying he was too depressed and afraid.   "The brigadier...is not the person people saw him as in the past," said a lawyer sent by Gqozo to the three-day hearing.   Gqozo, a prison guard who came to power with a coup in 1990, was fined 10,000 rand ($2,225) last week for illegal diamond dealing.   His farms and homes were confiscated earlier.   He and others like him keep a low profile as South Africa examines its traumatic past and its courts struggle with how to prosecute crimes in what were, supposedly, independent states.   Corruption is the most common charge against the homeland leaders, who often amassed considerable wealth.   Their fiefdoms, though poor, were awash with state money as South Africa pumped in cash in return for cooperation with its master plan, begun in the 1970s, of fencing blacks off in tribal states to leave the mother country white.   Many leaders grasped the chance to wield power and accepted nominal independence.   Others, such as the powerful Mangosuthu Buthelezi who led KwaZulu homeland, refused it but said they agreed to rule in the hope of beating apartheid from the inside.   Zulu chief Buthelezi, leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party, is now interior minister and the main black political rival to President Nelson Mandela.   But some Inkatha allies are on trial for a massacre alleged to have been carried out in cahoots with apartheid security chiefs.   Most homelands were made up of disjointed parcels of barren land scores of kilometres (miles) apart.   Some welcomed gambling -- banned in white South Africa -- in order to make a living.   Boputhatswana was home of the world famous Sun City gaming resort.   Its ex-leader, Lucas Mangope, stands accused of fraud and misuse of 200 million rand ($44.4 million) in public funds.   Gqozo and Mangope were deposed in 1994 by the same people who set them up, as the country's white rulers prepared for the all-race election they knew would bury apartheid forever.   Other homelands simply died out when the new era began, but their legacy still rankles even though not all bantustan chiefs were pawns of the apartheid government.   General Bantu Holomisa, from the remote Transkei homeland by the Indian Ocean, was a shining exception, said to be like a son to President Nelson Mandela.   Rather than collaborate, he used power to fight apartheid.   He deposed Transkei chief George Matanzima for allegedly taking bribes from a gambling magnate who wanted to open a casino.   Holomisa installed his ally Stella Sigcau, but she in turn was enveloped by scandal so he took over the Transkei himself.   Brought into cabinet as a member of Mandela's African National Congress (ANC), he was a highly popular figure.   But now the proud soldier has fallen from grace.   He was fired as deputy tourism minister this year after stubbornly repeating charges that Sigcau -- a fellow cabinet minister -- accepted money under the table from the same millionaire who was alleged to have tried to buy her predecessor.   Holomisa is currently sidelined, refusing to retract or make a public apology.   In the former bantustan of Transkei, the casino is running smoothly. 
12827 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Taiwan, vying with China for friends in Africa, is to give Senegal 15 billion CFA francs for a project to help reclaim drought-hit valleys for agriculture, officials said on Wednesday.   The project, which will cost a total of 30 billion CFA francs, seeks to bring water back to the dead valleys of Haut Ferlo and Sine in the centre of the West African country.   Senegal restored diplomatic ties with Taiwan in January.   China, which views Taiwan as a renegade province, responded by breaking ties with Senegal.   ($1=516 CFA francs) 
12828 !GCAT !GDIP  A Commonwealth delegation said on Wednesday it has reached broad agreement with Nigeria's military government on sending a ministerial team to discuss alleged human rights abuses and lack of democracy.   "The framework and modalities for a CMAG (Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group) visit to Nigeria have been discussed and general agreement reached.   We are optimistic the CMAG visit will take place," a statement from the four-man delegation in the Nigerian capital said.   A visit to Nigeria was called off last month when Abuja imposed strict conditions that would have meant the Commonwealth ministers could have spoken only to government officials.   The Commonwealth said that was unacceptable and that its team wanted to meet people outside of government, including the opposition and political detainees.   Terms of the agreement reached by the delegation led by Commonwealth deputy secretary-general K. Srinavasan, a former Indian deputy foreign minister, have not been made public.   "The talks were not exactly about a fact-finding mission," one source close to the meetings said.   The fundamental disagreement between Nigeria and the Commonwealth is over it's suspension from the 53-member organisation of Britain and its former colonies.   Africa's most populous nation was suspended in November after the hanging of author Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other minority-rights activists in the face of worldwide pleas for clemency.   Nigerian Foreign Minister Tom Ikimi has kept to a hard line that the suspension has to be discussed before there can be any talk of other issues.   Crucially the delegation met Ikimi during a courtesy call on Tuesday despite earlier indications that it would not.   Diplomats say they would not have been able to reach an agreement if they had only met lower-ranking officials.   "Dates have been proposed by the Nigerian authorities for the visit.   Naturally this will require consultations amongst CMAG members' ministers, which will begin after the Commonwealth delegation returns to London," the statement said.   The delegation is scheduled to leave Abuja later in the day.   Some Commonwealth members were pushing for a CMAG mission to Nigeria before a meeting in New York later this month that would decide whether to impose sanctions.   CMAG agreed the sanctions in May to propel Nigeria toward democracy, including a ban on sporting links and arms sales.   But at a meeting in London in June, CMAG said the measures would be suspended until the new York meeting to give Nigeria a chance for further talks.   Military ruler General Sani Abacha last year set out a plan to restore civilian rule by October 1998, which the Commonwealth as well as local critics say is too long.   The last attempt to end army rule collapsed in 1993, when a previous military government annulled a presidential election and plunged Nigeria into political crisis.   CMAG comprises Malaysia, Zimbabwe, Jamaica, Ghana, Britain, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada. 
12829 !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   - New Security Minister Marcel Dibonan Kone has made a week-long tour of the interior, reaffirming the government's determination to protect the population against insecurity.   - Visiting International Monetary Fund official Amor Tahari meets President Henri Konan Bedie and expresses satisfaction with Ivory Coast's execution of its programme.   - Oil and gas distribution workers' union SYNTEPCI postpones one-day pay strike strike scheduled for today to September 25.   LA VOIE   - Ivorian Human Rights League criticises draft law widening security forces' powers to search private houses.   - Director-general of palm oil producer Palmindustrie says he will not meet striking workers' demands for loans to pay school fees.   LE JOUR   - Security Minister Marcle Dibonan Kone earmarks 50 million CFA francs to reward informers as part of fight against crime.   - Abidjan Catering International has made the highest bid for the Palm Club hotel complex, offering 700 million CFA francs.   The succesful bid for its privatisation is to be announced today.   $=516CFA   -- Abidjan newsroom +225 21 90 90 
12830 !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   - Head of state General Sani Abacha reassures Nigerians he will hand over to civilian rule in 1998.   - President of Chartered Institute of Bankers advocates the forced merger of some banks to sanitise the system.   - National Electric Power Authority says it has completed arrangements for the construction of four new power plants.   THE GUARDIAN   - Insurance brokers seek extension of Failed Banks Decree to the insurance industry.   THISDAY   - 300 university teachers resign, ahead of government deadline to end their strike for better conditions or leave campuses.   --Lagos newsroom +234 1 2631943 
12831 !GCAT !GVIO  Burundi's Tutsi-dominated army said on Wednesday 14 people including six Hutu rebels were killed in an attack on a camp for displaced people, a day after rebels killed the country's Roman Catholic prelate.   The National Council for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD), political wing of the largest Hutu rebel group, however denied any role in the killing of Archbishop Joachim Ruhana on Monday.   "The army killed him because he was very moderate," said Innocent Nimpagaritse, CNDD's East Africa representative in Nairobi.   "The army killed all 25 priests, monks and nuns who were killed in the past three years in Burundi before him."   The death of the 62-year-old archbishop, who refused to travel with guards and was ambushed north of the central town of Gitega, shocked many people in predominantly Catholic Burundi.   An army spokesman said troops resumed on Wednesday a search of the Mubarizi river and nearby countryside for the archbishop's body, last seen burning in his car by a deacon.   He said rebels on Tuesday attacked Ngara camp in Bubanza province in the northwest and seven displaced people, six rebels and a soldier were killed and eight civilians were wounded.   There was no independent confirmation of the report.   "The displaced camp was mainly for Hutus.   There were some other rebels killed, but they took their bodies away.   We recovered one weapon and some grenades," the spokesman added.   Asked why Hutu rebels would attack a Hutu displaced camp, he said: "This is a question you must go and ask them.   Wherever (people) cooperate with the army the rebels kill them."   More than 150,000 people have been killed in three years of massacres and civil war between the army and rebels in Burundi, the southern neighbour of Rwanda where one million people, mostly Tutsis, were slaughtered in ethnic bloodshed in 1994.   The army said so far three bodies had been recovered from the site of the ambush on the archbishop's car north of Gitega town.   The archbishop, two nuns, two schoolgirls, an accountant and a driver were travelling in the vehicle when it was ambushed at Murongwe, five km (three miles) north of Bugendana village, in an area described by aid workers as a Hutu rebel stronghold.   A Burundian nun from Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity religious order was among the dead.   Two other bodies have not been identified while the search continues for the four others.   Ruhuna had received death threats after publicly hitting out against both Hutu and Tutsi extremists in Burundi, priests said.   Hutu rebels have almost paralysed north and central parts of Burundi with a string of attacks and ambushes in Bubanza, Kayanza, Ngozi and Gitega provinces in the last two weeks.   The army spokesman said the deacon and others heard the attack on the car and managed to drag the corpse of one of the two nuns out of the car but the burning body of the archbishop was too heavy.   He said when they returned the body had disappeared and he speculated that the rebels had thrown it into the river.   The archbishop was booed at a funeral for 304 Tutsi massacre victims in Bugendana on July 23, when he said there were extremists among both the Tutsi minority and the Hutu majority.   Angry Tutsis pelted President Sylvestre Ntibantunganya with rocks and cow dung, forcing him to flee the funeral.   Two days later the Hutu president was toppled in a coup by the Burundi's Tutsi-dominated army under retired major Pierre Buyoya.   A Roman Catholic peace group, the Rome-based Sant'Egidio Community, expressed horror at Ruhuna's reported killing. 
12832 !GCAT !GCRIM  Armed robbers shot the Roman Catholic bishop of Nigeria's south-western Ondo diocese in both legs as he was travelling to a church conference, local newspapers reported on Wednesday.   The National Concord newspaper said Bishop Francis Alonge was waylaid on a road near Benin City in southern Nigeria on Monday night.   The bandits shot him below the knee in both legs and stole his four-wheel-drive car and personal belongings.   Other newspapers also carried the report.   Father Emmanuel Badejo, a spokesman for the bishop, was quoted as saying the bishop's leg bones had not been broken by the bullets and that the cleric was undergoing treatment.   Badejo said the bishop had forgiven the robbers.   Armed robbery is common in Africa's most populous nation, particularly on roads in the south and east of the country. 
12833 !GCAT !GDIP  A Commonwealth delegation said on Wednesday it has reached broad agreement with Nigeria's military government on sending a ministerial team to the African state.   "The framework and modalities for a CMAG (Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group) visit to Nigeria have been discussed and general agreement reached.   We are optimistic the CMAG visit will take place," a statement from the four-man delegation in the Nigerian capital said.    The team, led by deputy secretary general K. Srinavasan was sent to Nigeria after Commonwealth ministers turned down a previous invitation when Abuja imposed strict conditions on who it would have been allowed to meet.   "Dates have been proposed by the Nigerian authorities for the visit, naturally this will require consultations amongst CMAG members' ministers, which will begin after the Commonwealth delegation returns to London," the statement said.   Nigeria has repeatedly said the only question for discussion is Nigeria's suspension from the 53-member organisation of Britain and its former colonies.   But Commonwealth ministers, concerned about human rights, want broader talks, focussing on the military's plans to return civilian rule and numerous political detainees.   Nigeria was suspended from the Commonwealth in November after the hanging of author Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other minority rights activists for murder in spite of international appeals for clemency. 
12834 !GCAT !GVIO  At least 14 people were killed when Hutu rebels attacked a camp for displaced people in Burundi's north-western Bubanza region, the Tutsi-dominated army said on Wednesday.   The attack on Tuesday at Bubanza's Ngara camp left seven displaced people, six rebels and one soldier dead and eight civilians wounded, an army spokesman told Reuters.   Independent confirmation of the attack was not immediately available.   "The displaced (people's) camp was mainly for Hutus.   There were some other rebels killed, but they took their bodies away.   We recovered one weapon and some grenades," the spokesman said.   Asked why Hutu rebels would attack a Hutu camp, he said: "This is a question you must go and ask them.   Wherever (people) co-operate with the army, the rebels kill them."   Rebels are blamed for the assassination of Burundi's most senior Catholic cleric, Archbishop Joachim Ruhuna, on Monday who was killed in an ambush on his car in central Burundi.   At least one nun and two other people were also killed in the attack.   Around 150,000 people have died in Burundi since 1993 when the country's first democratically elected Hutu president was assassinated in an attempted coup. 
12835 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd faces a strike by South African miners from next week with preliminary ballot results clearly in favour of industrial action, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Wednesday.   "The workers will be going on strike from September 17," an NUM spokesman said.   All ballot results from the NUM's 5,000 members employed at De Beers had now been counted, with the exception of the Venetia mine, and the vote in favour of strike action was over 70 percent, the spokesman said.   Results from Venetia are expected later on Wednesday.   The main bone of contention in the dispute over the company's pay offer concerns public holiday payments.   A spokesman for De Beers said the group believed its pay offer was very attractive with "A band" miners set for a 9.5 percent increase and "B band" miners offered 9.25 percent.   -- Johannesburg newsroom +27 11 482 1003 
12836 !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   - Opposition FORD-Kenya party chairman Michael Kijana Wamalwa announced a new party policy which seeks to overhaul the education and social security departments.   - Two self-confessed guerrillas trained in Uganda said President Daniel arap Moi and Roman Catholic Archbishop Raphael Ndingi Mwana a'Nzeki were among assassination targets as late as last month.   - Controversial lawyer and opposition legislator Paul Muite challenged the government to charge him in a court of law if it had evidence supporting allegations he was involved in the activities of a guerrilla group.   EAST AFRICAN STANDARD   - British American Tobbacco Kenya Limited announced new prices for various cigarette brands reflecting an increase of between seven and 20 percent.   - Air traffic controllers threatened to go on strike on October 4 unless the government implemented an internationally recognised pay package for them.   - Outspoken opposition Democratic Party legislator Charity Kaluki Ngilu announced she would be a candidate for president in the next general election in 1997.   KENYA TIMES   - The Higher Education Loans Board secretary Professor chacha Nyaigoti Chacha cautioned that there was not enough money to pay costs for all students and announced that from the next academic year, university fees would rise.   - Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources William Mayaka said the government was concerned about the rapid spread of the water hyacinth weed in Lake Victoria and was working out ways of eradicating it.   ($1=56.75 shillings) 
12837 !GCAT !GPOL  Rwandan Justice Minister Martha Mukamurenzi has resigned over "problems" in her ministry, state radio said on Wednesday.   The radio said Mukamurenzi's resignation on Tuesday was announced by Prime Minister Pierre Celestin Rwigema and came after consultations between the Rwigema and Mukamurenzi, both Hutus.   No specific details for her resignation were available. 
12838 !GCAT !GVIO  South African gunmen shot dead eight men at a workers' hostel in the township of Soweto outside Johannesburg, police said on Wednesday.   They said they did not yet know the motive for the attack on Tuesday night by five gunmen.   No arrests had been made.   A spokesman said the victims were shot dead in two rooms at the men-only Dube hostel, which houses hundreds of migrant workers from other parts of South Africa.   Workers hostels like Dube have a history of violent conflict which is often tribally based.   Police said the eight victims were from KwaZulu-Natal. 
12839 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL !GVIO !GVOTE  Indicted war criminals Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic will probably vote in Bosnia's post-war elections on Saturday, the Bosnian Serb prime minister said on Wednesday.   But the NATO-led peace force said its troops would arrest the two men if they encountered them, although it would not launch any "manhunts".   "Both of them are citizens.   They should exert their right to vote.   They probably will find the time and place to do that," Prime Minister Gojko Klickovic told Reuters.   Karadzic, former president of Bosnian Serb territory, and Mladic, Bosnian Serb army chief, have been indicted twice by the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia for crimes against humanity.   But both remain at large.   Klickovic did not say how or where the two men would choose to vote in Saturday's elections.   If they went to a polling station, they would be likely to encounter international officials supervising the election and NATO troops patrolling the roads.   Lieutenant-General Sir Michael Walker, commander of NATO ground forces in Bosnia, told a press briefing in Sarajevo earlier on Wednesday that NATO would exercise its mandate under the Dayton peace treaty to arrest war crimes indictees if the technical conditions permitted it.   It remained unclear if Karadzic or Mladic would try to vote openly at a polling station in front of television cameras, an act that would embarrass Western Governments seeking to remove the two from power.   The Serb premier said it would be unjust if the international community tried to bar the two men from casting ballots in the election.   "Forbidding them to vote would be too much.   Nowhere in the world could this happen.   How can you prevent anyone from voting?"   Klickovic said.   "The right to vote, to be elected -- if they deny us, then what does democracy mean?"   Karadzic was forced to step down as president of the Serb Republic in July as required by the Dayton peace agreement but he continues to exert influence behind the scenes from his headquarters in Pale, outside Sarajevo.   Mladic remains commander of the Bosnian Serb army but he has kept a low profile since the Dayton pact was signed last December.   Relations between Mladic and Karadzic's ruling Serb Democratic Party (SDS) have been tense since a power struggle erupted last year, when Karadzic failed to oust the Serb commander.   The Organisation for Security and Cooperation (OSCE), which is overseeing the elections, fined Karadzic's hardline SDS party $50,000 this week for campaigning in favour of secession from Bosnia and union with Serbia.   The OSCE said it had fined the SDS for campaign rhetoric against the state integrity of Bosnia.   The Dayton accord split Bosnia into a union comprised of Serb and Moslem-Croat entities.   Klickovic called the fine "ridiculous".   "Everything is being done to provoke the SDS not to stand in the elections," he said.   "The SDS will not withdraw from the elections regardless of all methods and pressures used."   The SDS has also defied the international community by glorifying Karadzic at campaign rallies, despite signed pledges to keep him out of official media. 
12840 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  The EU administrator of the divided Bosnian city of Mostar said on Wednesday he hoped a potentially serious incident had been averted when some 200 Moslems crossed into the Croat-controlled side of town.   The incident flared in the morning when a group of Moslems from east Mostar crossed the town's dividing line apparently to repair property they were forced to leave during the town's 1993-94 ethnic conflict.   Bosnian state radio accused Croat police of beating some of the Moslems and detaining an East Mostar television crew which was filming the repairs.   But Croat police denied this and said the Moslems were former soldiers and policemen bent on provoking confrontation.   European Union administrator Martin Garrod said the West European (WEU) police had closed off the area, where between 150 and 200 Moslems had come to repair their homes.   "We had a potentially extremely serious situation," Garrod told Reuters by telephone.   "I hope all the (house) owners and those who support them will leave tonight."   He spent five hours negotiating with the Moslem refugees and agreed to meet the Croat mayor and his Moslem deputy for further discussion on Thursday.   The mayor and deputy were elected in August under EU attempts to create a united government as a step towards reintegrating the city, seen as a test case for the success of the Dayton agreement which ended four years of war in former Yugoslavia.   He said it was unfortunate the incident had coincided with a major rally of the Bosnian Croat ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, which was being held in the sports stadium on Wednesday afternoon.   The rally was to campaign for Saturday's Bosnia-wide elections.   "I hope we will have an incident-free night," Garrod said.   Earlier a Croat police officer denied a Bosnian government radio report that Moslems had been beaten by Croat police.   "Only a small number of them have a house on this side.   All they want is to provoke a conflict," said the policeman, contacted by telephone from Zagreb, who declined to give his name.   Asked how he knew the Moslems were former police and soldiers, he said: "We have recognised them.   This is not New York, we all know each other here."   Mostar has been a frequent flashpoint for the Moslem and Croat communities, despite EU efforts to unite the city. 
12841 !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GDIP  President Jacques Chirac assured Poland on Wednesday that France wanted it in the European Union within three to four years and would do everything to help, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski's spokesman said.   "He (Chirac) expressed the hope that in three or four years Poland will be a member of the European union, and said this will require efforts by all involved," spokesman Antoni Styrczula told reporters after the presidents met in Warsaw.   The two presidents spoke for 45 minutes soon after Chirac arrived from Paris to begin a three-day visit to Poland, where politicians were hoping he would dispel doubts about French commitment to the top Polish goals of fast EU and NATO entry.   "We will do everything in our power for Poland's entry into the European Union to take place as fast as possible and on the best possible terms," Styrczula quoted Chirac as saying.   Chirac said this process would not be easy and would require efforts by members states and candidates.   Chirac himself told a gathering of French Warsaw residents Poland was unique among East European candidates for EU entry.   "Poland will be without doubt one of the first or the first to enter the EU.   It wants to be, and we hope it will," he said.   Chirac's comments, likely to be stated still more clearly in his address to both houses of parliament on Thursday, will please Poles eager to hear dates for their EU entry, which they fear could be subject to long delays.   Brussels officials say 2002 is the earliest realistic date for the first east Europeans to join, but Chirac aides argue it could enter sooner, with a long transition before it enters the single trade market and the common agricultural policy.   The French president also backed Poland's NATO bid, but stressed it should only join after the defence alliance had been reformed and that NATO expansion should not be done in such a way as to offend or isolate Russia.   Kwasniewski agreed with Chirac's caution over isolating Russia, saying NATO was not aimed against any country and should form the basis of a new security system.   But he stressed that Poland's partners, East and West should understand that Poland insisted on its right to make sovereign decisions, Styrczula said.   "Dialogue yes, Diktat no," Styrczula quoted Kwasniewski as saying in an apparent reassertion that Moscow should not be allowed to block its entry into the Euro-Atlantic pact.   Chirac is expected while in Poland to back a call endorsed by the United States last week for an early 1997 summit of the 16 NATO nations, central European candidates and eastern partners, including Russia, to provide a pan-European security framework to accompany NATO's enlargement.   The two presidents also stressed the importance for Europe of their close bilateral relations and of their cooperation in the so-called Weimar Triangle also involving Germany.   Chirac, accompanied by four ministers, is due to meet Prime Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, ex-president Lech Walesa and Roman Catholic primate Cardinal Jozef Glemp, as well as touring the former Nazi German Auschwitz extermination camp.   Both sides regard strengthening their economic cooperation, which has so far fallen short of its potential, as a major goal and Chirac is accompanied by seven powerful business leaders interested in investment in Poland's booming economy. 
12842 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Kremlin security chief Alexander Lebed called on Wednesday for opposing factions to work together to rebuild war-ravaged Chechnya.   He also met the pro-Russian leader who opposed the peace deal he signed with separatist rebels.   However, there were new signs of uncertainty over the accords Lebed reached with rebel commander Aslan Maskhadov on August 31.   The justice minister repeated that the deal was not legally binding and voiced reservations about it.   Lebed said he and Doku Zavgayev, who was elected Chechen leader in December in a vote riddled with irregularities, discussed the formation of a coalition government in the region.   He told Ekho Moskvy radio he expected to see a coalition in Chechnya, despite the failure on Tuesday of an assembly of mostly pro-independence political movements in Grozny, which Zavgayev boycotted.   A new gathering of all factions was needed, he said.   "In the end, fairly soon, a coalition government will be formed because a power vaccuum is dangerous," Lebed concluded.   He said he believed there were people acceptable to both Zavgayev and separatist leader Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev who could lead a coalition to deal with Chechnya's pressing problems.   Zavgayev told NTV television after his talks with Lebed that he favoured a coalition but accused the separatists of atrocities and called on Moscow to clearly define the aims and responsibilities of a new administration.   His spokesman warned that Zavgayev supporters could fight if the separatists continued to press for secession from Russia.   Maskhadov and Lebed, an ex-general and political outsider brought into the Kremlin in June to help secure President Boris Yeltsin's re-election, agreed to stop the war and defer for five years a decision on the separatists' demand for secession.   Yeltsin, who is resting ahead of heart bypass surgery later this month, has not met Lebed since, although he did voice his general approval of the accord last week.   His main objection, he said, was to rapid Russian troop withdrawals.   The president's absence has, however, fuelled speculation of Kremlin infighting between Lebed and, among others, Yeltsin's constitutional deputy Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin.   That has, in turn, created fears that the Chechen peace could fall victim to disagreement in Moscow.   Russian Justice Minister Valentin Kovalyov told Interfax news agency the Lebed-Maskhadov accords were "a political declaration" but had "no state-legal significance as such".   Other ministers have also said they are not legally binding.   Kovalyov said the deal gave a "positive impulse" toward ending the war but indicated he felt it did not go far enough to guarantee Chechnya would not secede.   Asked about Kovalyov's criticisms, Lebed told Ekho Moskvy he sought only to define Chechnya's relations with Moscow not to challenge its constitutional definition as part of Russia.   An unidentified source told Interfax the justice ministry found the final deal differed from proposals originally agreed in Moscow.   Notably it dropped Russia's insistence that Chechnya was an integral part of the federation.   Nor, the source said, did it mention the role of Zavgayev's "legitimate" government.   Vladimir Lukin, liberal chairman of parliament's foreign affairs committee and head of Russia's delegation to the Council of Europe, called an invitation by the Council's parliamentary assembly for Maskhadov to visit it in Strasbourg "a rude, impertinent and unprecedented" interference in Russia's affairs.   Interfax quoted sources as saying Lukin and the communist speaker of parliament wrote to the assembly chairman saying Russia would not attend the planned session on September 23.   Lebed, who has also been invited, said a decision on his presence in Strasbourg might be taken only shortly beforehand. 
12843 !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GDIP  Polish leaders greeted President Jacques Chirac in Warsaw on Wednesday in hopes that he will dispel doubts over French commitment to their country and its EU and NATO aspirations during his three-day official visit.   Signs from Paris suggested they might not be disappointed.   Informed sources said Chirac would tell the Warsaw parliament in a speech on Thursday that France wanted Poland in the European Union by the year 2000 and to start talks on joining the Euro-Atlantic defence pact next year.   Such assurances would be music to Polish ears, jarred by arguments in France urging caution over expanding NATO for fear of offending Russia and stressing economic priorities in the Mediterranean region rather than ex-communist Central Europe.   After a greeting ceremony Chirac plunged straight into talks with his Polish counterpart Aleksander Kwasniewski and was due to address members of Warsaw's French community.   Earlier, Parliament foreign affairs committee chairman Bronislaw Geremek said he wanted Chirac to give a date for Polish EU entry and spell out his views on NATO expansion:   "The president of France should say when he... thinks Poland will become a member of the EU.   I stress the word 'when'," Geremek said.   Brussels officials have been giving 2002 as the earliest realistic date for the ex-communist candidates to join.   But Chirac aides say Poland could do so sooner, although with a long transition period before full entry into the Common Agricultural Policy and the single trade market.   "In the question of NATO a clear voice from France would be important because we know France is a little suspicious of NATO, although it is a member," Geremek told private Radio Zet.   Chirac is expected to back a call endorsed by the United States last week for an early 1997 summit of the 16 NATO nations, the central European candidates and eastern partners including Russia, to provide a pan-European security framework to accompany NATO's enlargement.   Polish analysts were encouraged that Chirac has chosen Poland for his first trip to the region, signalling that it was France's chief partner there.   Traditionally Francophile Poland is tied politically to Paris through the Weimar Triangle, a framework for cooperation involving Germany.   But economic links fall short of potential.   France is Poland's fifth largest trade partner and the fourth largest investor, after the United States, multinational firms and Germany, with about $600 million placed since 1990.   "We can and will use this visit...to strengthen economic and trade ties with France," Kwasniewski said last week, adding that a priority was to diversify economic links dominated by Germany, which accounts for 38 percent of Polish foreign trade.   Chirac is accompanied by several top industrialists, including Jean-Luc Lagardere of Matra-Hachette.   Kwasniewski has dismissed a Polish consortium's efforts to rival Hachette's bid for state news-stand chain Ruch SA.   A tough issue likely to be raised is France Telecom, which invested in Poland's current mobile phone system following assurances it would get a licence to share in operating a new GSM digital system, but then failed to gain such a licence.   Chirac is due to meet Prime Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, ex-president Lech Walesa and Roman Catholic primate Cardinal Jozef Glemp, as well as visiting the former Nazi German extermination camp at Auschwitz.   He is accompanied by four ministers.   During the visit the governments will clinch three agreements on cooperation between foreign and interior ministries and a renewal of funding for a foundation which, among other tasks, trains civil servants. 
12844 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  U.N. war crimes experts found human remains on Wednesday in an alleged mass grave on a farm in Serb-held northeast Bosnia believed to contain bodies of Moslem prisoners executed last year.   The team, wearing blue overalls and rubber gloves for protection, began digging at the isolated Branjevo farm near the village of Pilica on Tuesday.   "During the trenching which we're currently doing, we have uncovered human remains and those were catalogued and stored," forensic expert John Gernes told reporters.   The International Criminal Tribunal on former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has sent over a dozen war crimes and forensic experts to fathom the full extent of Europe's possible worst single war atrocity since 1945, committed when Serbs overran the Moslem enclave of Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia in July last year.   Gernes refused to speculate on how many bodies there could be in the grave, a grassy patch some 90 feet (30 metres) long and 30 feet (10 metres) wide, guarded by Russian peacekeepers.   He said nothing had been found so far to indicate a mass execution had taken place there.   "Nothing of that nature has been located.   Nothing to indicate hands being tied, blindfolds," he said but added the excavation had only begun.   "We're trying to establish what the perimeter of the grave is.   Once we find the edges, we'll start moving in, clear the entire surface out, and will get working on what we find."   Up to 8,000 Srebrenica men are still unaccounted for.   Many are feared to have been killed in Serb ambushes while trying to reach Bosnian government territory over wooded hills.   Others are believed to have been captured and executed elsewhere.   The ICTY team, after completing excavations at several other sites in north and northeast Bosnia, visited the farm in spring and found human bones scattered around, "probably carried away by dogs and other animals", Gernes said.   Bosnian Croat Drazen Erdemovic, who served in the Bosnian Serb army, pleaded guilty at the Hague war crimes tribunal in May to taking part in the massacre of an estimated 1,200 Bosnian Moslems from Srebrenica in July 1995 at a farm on the outskirts of Pilica.   He said buses carrying Moslem men started arriving at the farm in the morning and kept coming until the late afternoon and the passengers were systematically taken off and shot.   Branjevo farm is a large state-run agricultural complex, surrounded by vast cornfields.   Local villagers still work on the farm, apparently ignoring the excavation taking place behind the main building.   "I don't know what these guys are doing and I don't care," one worker said.   "But I would like to know if they are going to pay us damages for the corn they destroyed," he added. 
12845 !GCAT !GVIO  A crowd of angry Croats, supported by local police, attacked a group of Moslems who crossed into the Croat side of the divided city of Mostar on Wednesday to repair their homes, Bosnian state radio said.   A Croat police official in the city, devastated in a year-long Moslem-Croat war, denied the Moslems had been beaten and accused them of trying to provoke a confrontation.   Mostar's European Union (EU) administrator Sir Martin Garrod had intervened to try to defuse the tensions, he said.   The trouble flared shortly before the main Croat party, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), was due to hold a rally in west Mostar on Wednesday evening to campaign for Saturday's Bosnian elections.   The radio report said the Moslems were beaten with sticks near their former homes in the Podhum area after they arrived from the Moslem-controlled eastern side.   A local television crew was arrested by Croat police before EU officials intervened.   A policeman in Croat-controlled west Mostar said the 60 to 70 Moslems, whom he described as mostly former soldiers and police in civilian clothes, had not returned to the east.   "Only a small number of them have a house on this side.   All they want is to provoke a conflict," said the policeman, contacted by telephone from Zagreb, who declined to give his name.   "In the meantime they were joined by more people and at the moment Martin Garrod is negotiating with their (East Mostar) mayor on the spot...It seems that they are refusing to go back," he told Reuters.   Asked how he knew the Moslems were former police and soldiers, he said: "We have recognised them.   This is not New York, we all know each other here."   An official of the Western European Union (WEU), which runs an EU police force, said contacts were under way with both sides to defuse the situation, but gave no details.   "We have a tense situation between the east and west side," he said.   Garrod was unavailable for comment.   Mostar has been a frequent flashpoint for the Moslem and Croat communities despite EU efforts to unite the city. 
12846 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Moslem voters in Gorazde may well have broken eggs on their minds when they cast their ballots in Bosnia's first post-war elections on Saturday.   All supplies, including eggs, have to be driven over a treacherous mountain road from Sarajevo to the eastern Moslem town.   Most of the eggs break on the way.   The shortage of eggs and high prices for fruit and other items reminds Gorazde residents that their town is still isolated and vulnerable, said Alija Begovic, a doctor at the town's clinic.   "There is access to Gorazde but there is no free access," Begovic said.   During Bosnia's war, separatist Serb forces in surrounding hills placed Gorazde in a stranglehold, blocking humanitarian convoys and cutting off water and electricity.   Lying deep inside Serb territory, The Moslem enclave had to survive through ingenuity borne of despearation.   Water-wheels on the river Drina supplied generators, soldiers used mules instead of trucks to ferry in supplies.   "We improvised a lot," said Begovic.   The 42-year old doctor relied on cigarette lighters to see his patients in the operating room.   Wounded civilians were given brandy and morphine instead of proper anaesthesia.   The shelling has ended and relief agencies supply plenty of food for Gorazde, but the siege has left deep scars on the town's 30,000 Moslems.   The Dayton peace accord supposedly grants them freedom of movement, but in reality troops from the NATO-led peace force provide Gorazde the only protection against a return to siege.   Bosnia peace talks nearly collapsed last November over Gorazde's status until Balkan leaders agreed on a land corridor linking the enclave with Moslem-Croat territory to the west.   German engineers are building a new road to Gorazde at a cost of more than $200 million.   NATO expects the road to be finished before winter sets in.   In the meantime, truck drivers who want to avoid stoning on hostile Serb territory have to travel a mountain track that takes six hours.   Many locals harbour suspicions that Bosnia's Moslem-led government has always regarded the remote enclave as a bargaining chip to be traded for territory elsewhere.   The Sarajevo government denies such speculation but no leading members of the ruling Moslem SDA party have visited Gorazde during the election campaign.   An opposition coalition has attracted some prominent local citizens as candidates.   The opposition has a strong appeal among educated professionals such as Samir, a 29-year old university graduate, who says he is disillusioned by the SDA's attitude to Gorazde.   "We have electricity now thanks to the U.N. not the SDA," he said, referring to two generators set up by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.   Samir, a Moslem by heritage, said he was concered the SDA was playing up its religious identification to win votes from simple country folk.   "I'm not religious and I'm worried that they are going to make it difficult for people like me who fail to fall into line," he said, sitting at one of the town's newly-opened cafes.   Western officials say the opposition Joint List for Bosnia-Herzegovina should gain a portion of the vote in Gorazde but no one expects them to prevent the SDA from winning a majority here or in the federation.   The SDA controls nearly every aspect of life in Gorazde, dominating the police, the army, the media and local businesses.   Perhaps because Gorazde residents shared the same fate during the war, the town's political climate is more tolerant than some places where opponents of the SDA have had their houses bombed.   Until Bosnia's rival ethnic parties are reconciled, Gorazde does not want to leave things to chance.   The Bosnian army, with help from the United States and Islamic countries, is building up its defences.   "If the Bosnian Serb army tries to take the town again, Gorazde will be ready," said Nedzad, a veteran who lost his left leg on a nearby front line.   "This time we are stronger.   We won't let it happen." 
12847 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Feelings are running high in the Bosnian town of Bihac about Fikret Abdic.   To many Bihac Moslems, the millionaire businessman turned politician -- himself a Moslem -- is a traitor worse even than the Serbs who besieged their homes for three years.   "Most of the young guys in the cemetery were put there by him," said Reihana Masic, a 23-year-old primary school teacher.   "More died at the hands of Abdic than of the Serbs."   Her brother, helping to load vegetables at their parents' Bihac market stall, muttered that this was an exaggeration.   An exaggeration perhaps but people in Bihac and the surrounding Moslem enclave suffered near starvation during the siege and Serb artillery killed Masic's own 28-year-old sister.   But to many people in the northwest Bosnian town, who vote along with the rest of the country in elections this weekend, Abdic committed the ultimate crime -- he broke Moslem unity.   Sarajevo is trying him in absentia as a war criminal and police in his former stronghold of Velika Kladusa have banned an election rally he planned for Thursday.   Abdic says he will seek to have Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic indicted by a United Nations war crimes commission.   Abdic, who made his fortune before the 1992-1995 Bosnian war in food processing and retailing, controlled the northern part of the Bihac pocket for three years, ignoring orders from the Moslem-led Bosnian government besieged in Sarajevo.   Based in a castle overlooking Velika Kladusa, a small market town, he applied business principles to warfare.   By striking deals with the Serbs and Croats, his territory became a haven of relative peace.   While fellow Moslems suffered appalling deprivation in Bihac, food convoys continued rolling into Velika Kladusa just 40 km (25 miles) to the north.   Abdic, who beat Izetbegovic in elections for the former collegial Bosnian presidency in 1991 but ceded his place to his rival under a political deal, fought only one major battle -- against Bosnian government forces which overran his enclave last year.   He fled to neighbouring Croatia.   Supporters of Abdic remain devoted to a man who brought prosperity to Velika Kladusa before the war and relative peace during it.   But most of them also live in Croatian exile.   In Velika Kladusa it is hard to find anyone with a good word for Abdic, who is running again in Saturday's election.   "Nobody accepts him here.   This is the man who committed a crime," said a pensioner standing outside a branch of Abdic's Agrokomerc supermarket chain.   "Our youth and children perished because of him.   Moslems should stick together."   Izetbegovic's Democratic Action Party (SDA) has used Moslem unity to taunt its opponents in the rest of the opposition.   "Where were you while Bosnian blood was being spilled for freedom?"   asks one SDA poster in the shabby streets of Bihac.   Masic predicted the SDA would win in Bihac, a town impoverished by war although the few who profit from conflict cruise in Mercedes cars past buildings scarred by Serb shells.   Asked how many votes Abdic would get, she said: "Not one."   Several other Moslem parties are contesting the polls.   One is led by former Bosnian prime minister Haris Silajdzic, who stood by the government in Sarajevo throughout the dark days and went into opposition only after the fighting had ended.   Opposition members resent the SDA taunts.   "Everybody defended Bosnia, not just the SDA.   During the war nobody asked about party membership," said Mehmet Alija Lilic, a candidate for the opposition SDP party.   Lilic, a chemistry teacher, accused the SDA of using Islam to win votes.   "Religion should not be used for political purposes because it's a personal matter," he said at a rally held at a patched-up basketball stadium in a Bihac suburb.   Some people said that ultimately Moslems -- and Serbs and Croats -- should think less about nationalism and more about living peacefully together with other Bosnian communities.   "There can't be peace in Bosnia-Hercegovina, which is a multi-ethnic state, as long as nationalist parties are in power," said Muhamed Durakoviuc, a retired factory manager. 
12848 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  As Bosnian elections designed to restore the country's multi-ethnic fabric approach, Serb hard-liners are promising to make any reconciliation with former ethnic foes impossible.   "We want a division so strict that if we could we would split the very air we breathe and not share it with the Moslems," a senior official in the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) ruling the Bosnian Serb region said.   His words were greeted with loud applause by several thousand loyal followers attending a rally in Prijedor, northwest Bosnia, on Tuesday.   The town gained notoriety in 1992 as the site of the first cases of "ethnic cleansing", a policy of removing ethnic minorities that would later spread throughout Bosnia.   Prijedor also became notorious for the concentration camps in its vicinity, the first in Europe since World War Two.   Distressing pictures of Moslem prisoners, some with protruding ribs and emaciated limbs gazing vacantly from behind barbed wire in Omarska and Keraterm camps, shook the world.   Former camp commander Dusko Tadic is currently on trial at the international tribunal in the Hague for war crimes allegedly committed in the camps, whose inmates testified to beatings, killings and appalling conditions.   The Serb side had denied the charges, and published a list of sites where it said nearly 17,000 Serbs were held.   But before the television footage helped galvanize the international community into action and serious involvement in the crisis, Serb hardliners had razed entire villages in the area, expelling thousands of their Moslem occupants.   Now these exiles are guaranteed, at least on paper, the right to safely return to their former villages and vote in Saturday's elections.   "God forbid.   I simply cannot imagine how that is going to turn out, but believe me I am very scared of the possibility of violence," a policeman at the SDS rally said.   His boss Simo Drljaca, the man who shoulders responsibility for the safety of the Moslem voters in the area, was unavailable for comment.   The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), backed by the muscle of the 60,000-strong NATO-led peace force (IFOR), has designated 19 safe routes through ethnic boundaries for some 140,000 Moslems who are expected to cross.   IFOR will guard the ballots and polling stations, but the security of the routes is being left to local police forces, a decision many observers fear is a blueprint for disaster.   "What is to prevent a lunatic from stoning or shooting up buses or cars at some remote spot in the middle of nowhere?"   one Western election observer asked.   Security concerns are also shared by the SDS leadership, prompting Momcilo Krajisnik, the influential speaker of the Bosnian Serb parliament and candidate for Bosnia's future multi- ethnic presidency, to urge Prijedor residents to be tolerant.   "Nothing must happen to the Moslems on Saturday," he said on Tuesday.   "My foot, nothing will happen.   Just you wait and see what happens when they show their faces here," an elderly man in the crowd retorted.   Political analysts in the Bosnian Serb stronghold of Banja Luka estimate that ethnic hatred in Bosnia will last well into the next century.   "Just too much blood has been shed, too many atrocities have been committed for the people on all sides to forget soon," Brane Bozic said.   The SDS, ignoring Krajisnik's call for tolerance, is doing its best to ensure that ethnic divisions remain as deep as ever.   "Some people are launching monstrous ideas of reintegrating the Bosnian Serb republic into Bosnia," Biljana Plavsic, the hard-line nationalist who replaced indicted war criminal Radovan Karadzic as head of state, told the rally. 
12849 !GCAT  Here are highlights from Polish newspapers this morning.   RZECZPOSPOLITA   - The opposition socialist Union of Labour (UP) demanded that Prime Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz and the Supreme Auditing Chamber (NIK) present their allegations against former foreign trade minister Jacek Buchacz which led to his dismissal.   - Privatisation Minister Wieslaw Kaczmarek ruled out any annulling of the privatisation tender for the Ruch SA press distribution network.   He said information he received from a Polish consortium to be formed to tender for the Ruch did not include any bidding documents comparable with those submitted by France's Hachette.   - A document produced by Poland's economic ministers council KERM envisaged privatisation of 240 companies in 1997.   - Donnelly Polish-American Printing Company will start a telephone book printing line in its Krakow plant and will offer services to all countries in central and eastern Europe, Donnelly's director Przemyslaw Swiatkowski said.   - The listed Forte SA furniture maker has produced 1.5 million pieces of furniture in 1995, a 28 percent increase compared with 1994.   Its sales revenues grew by 43.4 percent and amounted to 223.36 million zlotys.   NOWA EUROPA   - National Investment Fund (NFI) mass privatisation units closed at 124 zlotys in Warsaw bourse continuous trade on Tuesday, 9.1 percent higher than at the opening.   - Milk consumption has fallen to its 1953 level in Poland.   The decline was registered among people earning lowest wages, a report by Institute of Agricultural Economics said.   - Poland's political elites expect France's President Jacques Chirac to express strong support for Poland's joining NATO and the EU during his coming Warsaw visit.   - The Warsaw bourse may extend its daily operations by one hour, a new project by the Warsaw Stock Exchange board, to be consulted with brokerage houses, said.   - The Plock refinery has received International Standard Organisation (ISO)-9002 quality certificates for its products.   - Poland's President Aleksander Kwasniewski will sign the new liberalised abortion law as it provides "a better and more honest way of solving this social problem," Kwasniewski said.   GAZETA WYBORCZA   - "Poland not only expects to fulfil its demands to join the EU, but also wants to become France's ally in the creation of a strong European Union and future structures of the organisation", Foreign relations parliamentary committee chairman Bronislaw Geremek said.   - The Siedlce-based Polmos distillery opposed the Culture Minister's motion to deprive it of the right to promote its vodka with Fryderyk Chopin's name and profile.   Polmos cited similarly-promoted products in other countries.   - Poland's finance ministry will pay 34 million zlotys in 1997 to compensate people who made down-payments to buy cars in the past and whose money was diminished through inflation.   - Gdynia Shipyard has delivered a 18,200 DWT container ship to the German contractor Reederei Hermann Wulff.   ZYCIE WARSZAWY   - Radom-based Michalow housing cooperative successfully sued the province's heating supplier WPEC for monopolist practices.   WPEC will have to pay 2.8 million zlotys in damages.   - Poland's PZU major insurance company and other insurance firms' representatives have denied recent rumours about increases in obligatory (OC) insurance premiums.   PARKIET   - "Bank" monthly named the BRE export development bank and Citibank Poland as the country's two best banks in 1995.   BRE bank's net profit last year amounted to 105 million and Citibank's was 61 million zlotys.   - Gliwice regional court will decide tomorrow whether the Finance Ministry's should repay 75 million zlotys in interests accrued on excessive advance tax payments by the listed Stalexport firm in the 1989-1990 period.   -- Warsaw Newsroom +48 22 653 9700 
12850 !GCAT  DELO   - Slovenia's government promises special aid for the northeastern city of Maribor, which has the country's highest unemployment rate.   - German President Roman Herzog starts his first official visit to Slovenia on Wednesday.   - A total of 23 Slovenian investment companies has bid 22.5 billion tolars ($170 million) in the Slovenian Development Fund's tender for stakes in 162 companies taking part in the country's privatisation programme.   - The European Parliament's foreign relations committee has voted in favour of ratifying the European Union's association agreement with Slovenia.   - Some 500 out of machine producer Litostroj's 1,400 employees went on strike on Tuesday over unpaid salaries, demanding the management of the company be replaced.   - Slovenia's parliament is expected to pass a bill introducing an across-the-board 20-percent value added tax by the end of the year.   DNEVNIK   - Slovenia's largest manufacturing industry fair to start on Friday in the city of Celje.   FINANCE   - Traders on the Ljubljana bourse said shares hit an all-time low this week because of a lack of buyers. 
12851 !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 wheat harvest totals 682,000 tonnes this year and the country's needs of 1.6 million tonnes can not be covered without imports, agriculture minister Krastyo Trendafilov said.   @   -- Bulgaria's debt-ridden state railways will raise tariffs by an average 20 percent this month to offset losses incurred by the hikes in energy prices and a sharp fall in the lev, transport ministry officials said.   -- International auditors Deloitte & Touche have been chosen to audit the Bulgarian National Bank after winning a tender among five auditing firms, finance minister Dimitar Kostov said.   STANDART   @   -- Bulgaria's Industry ministry will resume on September 20 its negotiations with South Korea's industrial giant Daewoo for the sale of forklift truck producer Balkankar Holding, which was initially slated for liquidation, Industry ministry officials said.   -- Bulgaria's state-owned fuel distributor Petrol will build 30 new petrol stations by the year 2000, company's president Bedo Doganyan said.   -- Bulgaria has exported goods worth of $1.75 billion in the first half of 1996, down 17.7 percent year-on-year, trade ministry officials said.   @   PARI   -- Cumulative inflation for 1996 is expected to top 250 percent due to monthly rises of energy and fuel prices, which are pegged to inflation rate and the lev/dollar exchange rate, experts said.   -- Bulgaria's Bank Consolidation Company, which manages state equity in local commercial banks, plans to sell stakes in some stable state banks to foreign investors to raise funds for the stabilisation of ailing financial institutions under a draft programme for restructuring of the banking sector.   @   -- Bulgaria's trade union Podkrepa is expected today to work out a demand for the Socialist cabinet's resignation, union officials said.   KONTINENT   -- Socialist parlamentarians will prepare a draft for a new coat-of-arms featuring a crowned lion instead of the uncrowned one, which was approved only by the socialist majority two months ago.   President Zhelyu Zhelev returned the coat-of-arms law back to parliament for further consideration over the lack of consensus in the initial approval of the state symbol.   @   -- Sixteen state-owned food producing firms from a total of 813 in the country will be liquidated, agriculture ministry officials said.   -- A new budget revision has to be urgently debated by the parliament due to the high inflation and the Bulgarian lev's sharp fall on the domestic forex market, an opposition deputy said.   -- Sofia Newsroom, (++359-2) 981 8569 
12852 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GDIP  President Jacques Chirac was set to tell Poland's parliament on Thursday what he has already told its president -- that France wants the country in the European Union fast and backs its goal of joining NATO.   Soon after arriving in Warsaw on Wednesday for a three-day visit, Chirac told President Aleksander Kwasniewski that France supported Poland's rapid EU membership -- easing Polish worries that Paris was lukewarm on the issue.   "He (Chirac) expressed the hope that in three or four years Poland will be a member of the European Union, and said this will require efforts by all involved," Kwasniewski spokesman Antoni Styrczula said after the extended 45-minute talks.   "We will do everything in our power for Poland's entry into the European Union to take place as fast as possible and on the best possible terms," Styrczula quoted Chirac as saying, though the French leader also said the process would not be easy.   Chirac himself told a gathering of French Warsaw residents Poland was unique among East European candidates for the EU.   "Poland will be without doubt one of the first or the first to enter the EU.   It wants to be, and we hope it will," he said.   Chirac's comments, likely to be restated in his speech to both houses of parliament, will please Poles eager to hear dates for their EU entry, which they fear could be delayed.   Poland, which escaped Soviet domination with the 1989 fall of communism, is set on binding itself to the West quickly.   Brussels officials say 2002 is the earliest realistic date for the first east Europeans to join; Chirac aides argue Poland could enter sooner, but with a long transition before it joins the common agricultural policy or the single trade market.   Chirac also backed Poland's NATO bid, but stressed it should only join after the Euro-Atlantic defence alliance had been reformed to assume a new European focus and that NATO expansion should not offend or isolate Russia.   Kwasniewski agreed with Chirac's caution over isolating Russia, saying NATO was not aimed against any country and should form the basis of a new European security system.   But he stressed that countries, East and West, should understand that Poland had the right to sovereign decisions.   "Dialogue yes, Diktat no," Styrczula quoted Kwasniewski as saying in an apparent reassertion that Moscow should not be allowed to bloc Polish entry into the Euro-Atlantic pact.   Chirac is expected to back a call endorsed by the United States last week for an early 1997 summit of NATO nations, central European candidates and eastern partners including Russia, to provide a pan-European security framework to accompany NATO's enlargement.   The two presidents stressed the importance for Europe of their close bilateral relations as well as of their cooperation in the so-called Weimar Triangle also involving Germany.   Germany has so far been Poland's chief champion over European integration, as well as its largest trading partner.   The francophile Poles eagerly welcome signs that Paris -- hitherto seen in Warsaw as being preoccupied with conciliating Russia and focusing on the Mediterranean region -- is now keen to cultivate eastern Europe and especially their own country.   Both sides see strengthening their economic cooperation, which has fallen short of its potential, as a key goal and Chirac's delegation includes seven leading industrialists interested in investment in Poland's booming economy.   Chirac, accompanied by four ministers, is due to meet Prime Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, ex-president Lech Walesa and Roman Catholic primate Cardinal Jozef Glemp, as well as touring the former Nazi German extermination camp at Auschwitz. 
12853 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO !GVOTE  Opposition candidates in Bosnia's elections heavily criticised the nationalist policies of the current ruling parties at a well-attended rally in central Sarajevo on Wednesday.   At least 2,000 people, many waving the Bosnian flag, turned out to cheer candidates of the Joint Opposition List only hours after taxi drivers paralysed traffic in the same area in a show of support for President Alija Izetbegovic.   Despite angry accusations of intimidation, the rally was good-humoured and passed off without incident.   The large crowd massed on Sarajevo's main Marshal Tito street roared approval as speaker after speaker accused Izetbegovic's Party of Democratic Action (SDA) and his Bosnian Serb enemies of narrow nationalism.   "Those who are saying the Joint List has betrayed the country were telling us in June 1992 there would be no war," said Zdravko Grebo, a law professor.   The Joint List is supported by intellectuals and has its power base in Sarajevo, Bosnia's cultural melting pot.   It is expected to attract little support in rural areas where peasants bore the brunt of the war's ethnic cleansing.   "No single party defended this city, the citizens defended it," said another speaker to loud applause.   The Joint List includes Moslems, Croats and Serbs and is also fielding candidates in the semi-autonomous Serb Republic.   Dragan Vikic, a Croat who commanded Bosnia's police special forces and saved several areas of the city from Serb takeover at the start of the war, was given a rapturous welcome.   He accused nationalist parties of "spitting on all the bright spots of Bosnia" and trying to divide people.   "Even though we are five parties with five programmes, we have all one aim -- a united Bosnia, a united Sarajevo."   Earlier, some 2,000 taxis decked out with SDA flags brought traffic to a standstill in the area around the makeshift platform of their opposition rivals for about half an hour.   They denied they were trying to intimidate their opponents.   "This has got nothing to do with spoiling the Joint List rally, we are organising support for the party we love.   We will win no matter how many joint List Rallies there are," said one driver, Hamid Kapetanovic.   "How can this be a spontaneous show of support at this very moment?   We're very distressed by this.   It's terror against the people," said Joint List spokeswoman Nagorka Idrizovic.   General elections supervised by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe will be held across Bosnia on Saturday as prescribed by the 1995 Dayton peace treaty.   Independent monitors say the main Moslem, Serb and Croat nationalist parties ruling in Bosnia have orchestrated bombings and mob violence against pro-unity opposition parties to stifle their campaigns.   In Wednesday's demonstration, SDA militants shouted "Allahu Akbar", Arabic for "God is Greatest".   Two cars drove in tandem with a banner stretched between them saying: "Alija we love you".   The SDA has a tight grip on the Bosnian government police force as well as the main news media, just as nationalist Serb and Croat parties wherever they are in power.   Passers-by were divided over the event.   "I really don't see anything bad in this, I think all of us should help the promotion of the SDA because only it can lead us to real freedom," said Azra, a 45-year-old nurse.   One non-SDA supporter quipped: "If this was done by an opposition party, the organisers would already be in jail, but they (the SDA) can obviously do whatever they want." 
12854 !G15 !G158 !GCAT  President Jacques Chirac said on Wednesday that France wanted Poland in the European Union within three to four years, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski's spokesman told reporters.   "He (Chirac) expressed the hope that in three or four years Poland will be a member of the European Union, and said this will require efforts by all involved," spokesman Antoni Styrczula said after the two presidents met in Warsaw.   The presidents spoke for 45 minutes soon after Chirac arrived from Paris to begin a three-day visit to Poland, where politicians were hoping he would dispel doubts about French commitment to Poland's top goals of joining the EU and NATO.   "We will do everything in our power for Poland's entry into the European Union to take place as fast as possible and on the best possible terms," Styrczula quoted Chirac as saying.   Chirac said this process would not be easy and would require efforts by members states and candidates.   Chirac himself told a gathering of French residents of Warsaw that Poland had unique place among East European candidates for EU entry.   "Poland will be without doubt one of the first or the first to enter the EU.   It wants to be, and we hope it will," he said.   Chirac's comments, likely to be stated still more clearly in his address to a joint sitting of Warsaw's houses of parliament on Thursday, will please Polish politicians keen to hear dates for their EU entry.   The French president also backed Poland's NATO bid, but stressed it should only join after the defence alliance had been reformed and that NATO expansion should not be done in such a way as to offend or isolate Russia.   Kwasniewski agreed with Chirac's caution over isolating Russia, saying NATO was not aimed against any country and should form the basis of a new security architecture.   But he stressed that Poland's partners, East and West should understand that Poland insisted on its right to make sovereign decisions.   "Dialogue yes, Diktat no," Styrczula quoted Kwasniewski as saying in an apparent reassertion that Moscow should not be allowed to bloc its entry into the Euro-Atlantic pact.   French concern to cultivate Russia and its policies of seeking a more European focus for defence on the continent have aroused fears in Poland that it could delay NATO entry.   Similarly France has been seen as reluctant to open up wealthy Western Europe to the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe, preferring to focus on the Mediterranean and trying to limit imports of industrial and agricultural goods from the East.   But Chirac's comments appeared designed to boost Poland's case for the EU.   The two presidents also stressed the importance for Europe of their close bilateral relations and of cooperation in the so-called Weimar Triangle also involving Germany. 
12855 !G15 !G158 !GCAT  President Jacques Chirac said on Wednesday that France wanted Poland in the European Union within three to four years, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski's spokesman reported.   "He (Chirac) expressed the hope that in three or four years Poland will be a member of the European union, and said this will require efforts by all involved," Kwasniewski's spokesman said after the two presidents met in Warsaw.    Chirac met Kwasniewski for 45 minutes soon after arriving from Paris to begin a three-day visit to Poland, where politicians were hoping he would dispel doubts about French commitment to Poland's EU and NATO aspirations.   "We will do everything in our power for Poland's entry into the European Union to take place as fast as possible and on the best possible terms," spokesman Antoni Styrczula, briefing reporters, quoted Chirac as saying.   Chirac said this process would not be easy and would require efforts by member states and candidates.   The French president also backed Poland's NATO bid, but stressed that it should join after the defence alliance had been reformed and that NATO expansion should not be done in such a way as to offend or isolate Russia. 
12856 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO !GVOTE  NATO is taking security precautions in case local police do not do their job on Bosnia's Election Day and said on Wednesday it was setting up detention centres to hold anyone who attacks voters.   Thousands of NATO peace troops will help ensure Moslems, Croats and Serbs in ethnically polarised Bosnia reach polling booths and get home safely, above all war refugees returning to vote in territory held by the faction that expelled them.   Buses will take tens of thousands of refugees across ethnic boundaries along 19 designated routes secured by NATO soldiers and U.N. personnel, monitoring local police who will be responsible for law and order and keeping traffic moving.   "NATO cannot and will not assume the role of civil police, but we do intend to be robust in preventing overt criminal activity," said Lieutenant-General Sir Michael Walker, commander of NATO ground forces in Bosnia.   By criminal activity, he was alluding to feared attempts by ethnic nationalists, especially in Serb republic territory and possibly involving policemen, to molest passing refugee voters.   "We will hand over miscreants to the local civil police where we judge that they will deal with them responsibly," Walker said at a pre-election news briefing in Sarajevo.   "If the (NATO) commander on the ground judges that that will not be the case, he may choose to detain the miscreant in one of the detention centres we are setting up at battalion level (for Election Day) throughout the country.   "As a last resort, in the absence of anything else, we may take the miscreants to a distant, mine-free, safe place within his own entity and dump him."   Independent monitors say local police in Bosnia were involved in ethnic atrocities during the 1992-95 war and sometimes function today as little more than enforcers, sometimes undercover, of authoritarian party rule.   Police were implicated in numerous bombings, beatings and evictions targeting minority communities in Moslem, Croat and Serb-dominated regions of Bosnia alike in the months leading up to Saturday's elections.   As a result, international agencies in charge of enforcing Bosnia's peace treaty spent weeks in negotiations with factional police ministers to secure written commitments to guarantee public safety on Election Day.   Those police ministers drew up the voter transport plan in consultation with commanders of 1,700 U.N. police monitors and the 53,000-strong NATO-led peace Implementation Force (IFOR).   "None of us in the international community has any illusions.   We cannot just monitor their plan.   We must watch very carefully how it is put into effect," said Walker.   IFOR will "remove" any obstacles from roads, including menacing mobs, if police do not do it themselves.   But polling stations will be guarded mainly by local police, an arrangement that some critics said might unnerve refugees coming face-to-face with former persecutors.   Peter Fitzgerald, commander of the U.N.-affiliated International Police Force (IPTF), said more than 100 IPTF teams had been briefing local police on "what is expected of them in this election process".   Some 25,000 IPTF booklets describing standards of democratic policing have been sent to local police forces.   To keep traffic flowing, only vehicles carrying eight or more people will be permitted to use the 19 routes.   Any weapons or propaganda material found in vehicles at boundary checkpoints will be confiscated.   Bosnian officials said on Wednesday about 104,000 refugees would need transport to polling places.   About 90,000 of these will be entering the Serb Republic.   Few Serb refugees are likely to cross into Federation territory to vote as virtually all have registered in their new homes under pressure from Serb separatist authorities bent on sealing Bosnia's division through elections. 
12857 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Hundreds of cars driven by supporters of Bosnia's dominant Moslem nationalist SDA party paralysed central Sarajevo on Wednesday before a planned opposition election rally.   SDA supporters, waving flags, honking horns and playing blaring folk music from car radios, massed on the main Marshal Tito street where opposition workers had started to build a makeshift stage.   Traffic halted and members of the five-party opposition Joint List accused Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic's SDA of trying to intimidate them into abandoning their rally.   SDA supporters, driving mainly in city taxis and trucks, denied any intention to sabotage the Joint List rally, insisting their demonstration was spontaneous.   "How can this be a spontaneous show of support at this very moment?   We're very distressed by this.   It's terror against the people," said Joint List spokeswoman Nagorka Idrizovic.   "We'll go ahead with our 7 p.m. (1700 GMT) rally, or at least try to," she told Reuters.   General elections supervised by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe will be held across Bosnia on Saturday as prescribed by the 1995 Dayton peace treaty.   Independent monitors say the main Moslem, Serb and Croat nationalist parties have orchestrated bombings and mob violence against pro-unity opposition parties to stifle their campaigns.   In Wednesday's demonstration SDA militants shouted "Allahu Akbar", Arabic for "God is Greatest".   Two cars drove in tandem with a banner stretched between them saying: "Alija we love you".   Police stood by idly as the SDA procession totally snarled traffic in downtown Sarajevo before starting to move at a snail's pace with a police vehicle in the lead.   The SDA has a tight grip on the Bosnian government police force as well as the main news media, just as nationalist Serb and Croat parties have wherever they are in power. 
12858 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Slovenia's parliament must set a new date for a referendum on electoral reform within a week, the country's Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday.   Parliament decided in August that a referendum on a new electoral system, offering four different models, should be held within four months of Slovenia's third multi-party general election on November 10.   But the main opposition Social Democrats appealed to the Constitutional Court, saying the referendum should take place as soon as possible.   The referendum's outcome will not affect the November election.   The last general election held in the former Yugoslav republic was in 1992 and under the constitution the last possible date for a fresh poll was December 8.   Among the various proposals for electoral reform are an increase in the number of voting districts and the introduction of a first-past-the-post system.   Slovenia currently has eight electoral districts.   Candidates are chosen from party lists, with parliamentary seats allocated according to the percentage of votes received.   Some 1.5 million Slovenes are eligible to vote for the 27 political parties expected to contest the November poll. 
12859 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GVIO  Russia fired the first shot in a trade dispute with Ukraine on Wednesday by pressing ahead with a 10 percent tax on Ukrainian sugar imports, a move described as discriminatory and a "tragedy" by Ukrainian officials.   The levy, to be introduced from next month, was one of a series of "value added taxes" of about 20 percent initially proposed last month to counter what Russian producers say is mass dumping of cut-price goods on their markets.   The measure had been postponed after emergency talks between the two countries' prime ministers.   "Russia's decision is pure discrimination.   I would even call it a tragedy.   But this is caused by our short-sightedness and inability to foresee developments," Olexander Bohatarenyk, deputy head of state-run Ukrtsukor sugar concern told Reuters.   "The only way out is to sit down with our Russian partners and find common ground on this.   Ukraine will find no markets other than Russia."   Vladimir Yemelyanov, a Russian state customs official, said the measure applied to raw and refined sugar imports from Ukraine and sought to protect domestic producers.   "We have sugar production of our own, which is nearly enough to meet our needs," he told Reuters.   "It is abnormal when a country is glutted with cheap Ukrainian sugar."   The dispute over the taxes has raised political passions and threatens to spoil recent improvements in what were often rocky relations between Russia and Ukraine in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of Soviet rule.   Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma said last week that any Russian decision to proceed with the taxes would be a political one which could trigger a trade war.   The taxes were to apply to most Ukrainian goods, with special tariffs for some imports like vodka, which Russian reports said would be hit by a 300 percent duty.   Other punitive measures, including quotas, have also been proposed.   A Russian government commission recommended last month that all white sugar imports for 1996 and 1997 be capped at 1.5 million tonnes, including one million tonnes from Ukraine.   but no decision has yet been taken.   Traders said the tax would prompt them to find new markets.   One told Reuters it would make it very difficult to unload sugar in Russia.   "But there are markets in Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan," he said.   A second trader said exporters would absorb the tax.   "The Russian rules will have a serious effect on the Ukrainian sugar business," he said.   "Ukrainian sugar exporters will have to lower their prices by 10 percent."   Bohatarenyk said the relatively low quality of Ukrainian sugar made exports to regions other than Russia unlikely.   "I have serious doubts that Ukrainian sugar can compete on markets other than Russia and the CIS.   The biggest historical market for Ukraine has been Russia," he said.   Russia is Ukraine's largest trading partner, accounting for $2.2 billion dollars of its exports in the first half of this year -- 37.7 percent of the total.   Most of Ukraine's 1.4 million tonnes of sugar exports this year have gone to Russia.   Disputes broke out periodically from 1992 over Russian energy supplies, repayment of Soviet debt and the future of the Black Sea Fleet and Ukraine's pro-Russian Crimean peninsula.   Since Kuchma took office in 1994, $1.4 billion in energy debts have been restructured.   Overall ties are improved, though a friendship pact remains unsigned because of disagreements on dividing the Fleet's bases.   Yeltsin has postponed a visit to Kiev at least six times. 
12860 !E12 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Talks on finding a way to split the federal assets of the former Yugoslavia between its successor states have reached deadlock, the chief Croatian negotiator said on Wednesday.   "There has been no breakthrough," Bozo Marendic told Reuters after returning from a meeting with international mediator Sir Arthur Watts in Brussels.   He said Croatia proposed nothing new and instead cemented its old position on ex-Yugoslavia's inheritance and debts which remained after its violent breakup.   Watts created a memorandum of understanding for carving up the property of ex-Yugoslavia, estimated at $70 billion in real estate and other property, foreign exchange and gold reserves.   He has also held separate consultations with each of the former constituent republics to prepare the ground for a joint meeting.   But Marendic said there were no plans yet for any European Union-sponsored conference of successors.   Since the United Nations lifted sanctions against Yugoslavia last year, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Macedonia have acted together to block Belgrade's access to currency and other assets deposited abroad.   They are seeking the division of all assets according to the share each former constitutent republic had in the federal gross domestic product.   Under this scheme Slovenia would get 16.4 percent, Croatia 28.5, Bosnia 13.2 and Macedonia 5.4 percent.   Serbia and Montenegro, which now form rump Yugoslavia, would be allotted 36.5 percent.   "As we and three other (successor) states are not relenting, you could say the position is a stalemate one," Marendic said.   The four allies are to meet in Ohrid, Macedonia on September 16 to discuss the division of joint gold reserves held by the Basle-based Bank for International Settlements.   It is not clear whether representatives of Yugoslavia will also attend. 
12861 !GCAT !GVIO  Kremlin security chief Alexander Lebed called on Wednesday for opposing factions to work together to rebuild war-ravaged Chechnya and met the pro-Russian leader who opposed the peace deal he signed with separatist rebels.   Elsewhere in Moscow, however, there were new signs of uncertainty over the accords Lebed reached with rebel commander Aslan Maskhadov on August 31.   The justice minister repeated that the deal was not legally binding and voiced reservations on it.   Lebed and Doku Zavgayev, who was elected Chechen leader in December in a vote riddled with irregularities, discussed the formation of a coalition government for the region, Lebed's spokesman told Itar-Tass news agency.   "A power vaccuum is dangerous...Let them make up their minds on a coalition government," Lebed told RIA news agency.   He welcomed an assembly of mostly pro-independence political movements in Grozny on Tuesday -- which Zavgayev did not attend.   Lebed said it was vital to find a neutral body to administer federal reconstruction funds for Chechnya before the winter.   But Zavgayev's spokesman warned that his supporters could fight if the separatists continued to press for secession from Russia.   The co-chairman of Tuesday's assembly told Interfax news agency a coalition dominated by separatists but including three Zavgayev ministers should start work "in the shortest possible time".   There was no immediate response from Zavgayev.   Maskhadov and Lebed, an ex-general and political outsider brought into the Kremlin in June to help secure President Boris Yeltsin's re-election, agreed to stop the war and defer for five years a decision on the separatists' demand for secession.   Yeltsin, who is resting ahead of heart bypass surgery later this month, has not met Lebed since, although he did voice his general approval of the accord last week.   His main objection, he said, was to rapid Russian troop withdrawals.   The 65-year-old president's absence has, however, fuelled speculation of Kremlin infighting between Lebed and, among others, Yeltsin's constitutional deputy Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin.   That has, in turn, created fears that the Chechen peace could fall victim to disagreement in Moscow.   Russian Justice Minister Valentin Kovalyov told Interfax the Lebed-Maskhadov accords were "a political declaration" but had "no state-legal significance as such".   Other ministers have said they are a basis for political action but not legally binding.   Kovalyov said the deal gave a "positive impulse" toward ending the war but indicated he felt it did not go far enough to guarantee Chechnya would not secede.   An unidentified source told Interfax the justice ministry found the final deal differed from proposals originally agreed in Moscow.   Notably it dropped Russia's insistence that Chechnya was an integral part of the federation.   Nor, the source said, did it mention the role of Zavgayev's "legitimate" government.   Zavgayev's spokesman, Ruslan Martagov, told Interfax 4,000 armed men loyal to Zavgayev were concentrated in central and northern districts and warned their numbers would swell if Moscow backed Lebed's agreement.   For the moment, however, they were prepared to challenge the separatists "constitutionally".   Vladimir Lukin, the liberal chairman of parliament's foreign affairs committee who heads Russia's delegation to the Council of Europe, condemned an invitation by the Council's parliamentary assembly for Maskhadov to visit it in Strasbourg on September 23.   Lukin, who was present at the signing of the peace accord, called the offer "a rude, impertinent and unprecedented" interference in Russia's internal affairs and told Interfax he would oppose a formal invitation. 
12862 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe said on Wednesday that it fired a German supervisor for Bosnian elections because he had worked as a surgeon in Croat militia hospitals during the war.   Spokeswoman Agota Kuperman said the supervisor, Boris Bill, was assigned to Livno in a separatist Croat zone where local election committees will be run by members of the main Croat nationalist party which is strongly backed by the militia.   Some 1,300 observers from OSCE member states will supervise Bosnia's first post-war elections on Saturday aimed at reunifying the country.   Impartial election monitoring and supervision are seen as crucial after a campaign plagued with irregularities by rival ethnic factions bent on cementing division at the ballot box.   Bosnia's minority Croats, who fought the mostly Moslem government army in 1993-94, still aspire to a self-proclaimed mini-republic in violation of the 1995 Dayton peace treaty.   Germany is a traditional ally of the Croats and took in many Croat refugees from former Yugoslavia's ethnic conflict.   A number of German mercenaries fought in the Croat HVO militia during the war, and other Germans are thought to have joined the Croat side in other capacities.   Kuperman said another Livno-based German supervisor, Horst Glueck, was found to have engaged in unauthorised negotiations with the mayor of Bugojno, in Moslem-controlled central Bosnia, for the return of Croat refugees now in Germany.   "Mr Glueck, who is a member of a German state parliament, went without OSCE permission to Bugojno to talk to its mayor about repatriating (Croats now in Germany)," she said.   But OSCE sources said an attempt to sack the supervisor was blocked after the German ambassador to the organisation intervened at its Vienna headquarters.   A spokesman at the German embassy in Sarajevo had no information on the two supervisors. 
12863 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Bulgaria's defence ministry on Wednesday angrily denied a report that Soviet nuclear warheads capable of striking Western targets had been kept at a secret military base in the Balkan country during the communist era.   Bulgarian state radio quoted a former Soviet army officer as telling the Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda that some 70 nuclear warheads had been stored near the popular ski resort of Borovets, some 60 km (40 miles) from Sofia.   "Bulgaria never had and does not have nuclear warheads," the ministry said in a statement carried by the state news agency BTA.   "The claim that a military site and a store of nuclear warheads guarded by Soviet troops existed in the vicinity of Borovets and its ski-slopes does not correspond to the truth and is a base insinuation," it added.   "Such claims only serve the interests of people whose thinking derives from an era now past," the statement said.   Bulgaria, which shares a border with NATO members Greece and Turkey, was a close ally of Moscow until the collapse of its communist regime in 1989.   However Soviet troops and nuclear weapons were not officially stationed on its soil.   Like most ex-communist countries including Russia, Bulgaria now participates in NATO's Partnership for Peace programme designed to build closer ties between former foes. 
12864 !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Traditionally francophile Poles nurtured hopes that a visit by President Jacques Chirac, starting on Wednesday, would dispel doubts over French commitment to their country and its EU and NATO aspirations.   Signs from Paris suggested they might not be disappointed.   Informed sources said Chirac would tell the Warsaw parliament in a speech on Thursday that France wanted Poland in the European Union by the year 2000 and to start talks on joining the Euro-Atlantic defence pact next year.   Such assurances would be music to Polish ears, jarred by arguments in France urging caution over expanding NATO for fear of offending Russia and stressing economic priorities in the Mediterranean region rather than ex-communist Central Europe.   Parliament's foreign affairs committee chairman Bronislaw Geremek said he wanted Chirac to give a date for Polish EU membership and to spell out France's views on NATO expansion:   "The President of France should say when he... thinks Poland will become a member of the EU.   I stress the word 'when'."   Brussels officials have been giving 2002 as the earliest realistic date for the ex-communist candidates to join.   But Chirac aides say Poland could do so sooner, although with a long transition period before full entry into the Common Agricultural Policy and the single trade market.   "In the question of NATO a clear voice from France would be important because we know France is a little suspicious of NATO, although it is a member," Geremek told private Radio Zet.   Chirac is expected to back a call endorsed by the United States last week for an early 1997 summit of the 16 NATO nations, the central European candidates and eastern partners including Russia, to provide a pan-European security framework to accompany NATO's enlargement.   Poland is tied politically to France through the Weimar Triangle, a framework for cooperation involving Germany.   But economic links fall short of their potential.   France is Poland's fifth largest trade partner and the fourth largest investor, after the United States, multinational firms and Germany, with about $600 million placed since 1990.   "We can and will use this visit...to strengthen economic and trade ties with France," President Aleksander Kwasniewski said last week, adding that a priority was to diversify economic relations dominated by Poland's neighbour Germany, which accounts for 38 percent of its foreign trade.   Chirac is accompanied by several industrialists, including Jean-Luc Lagardere of Matra-Hachette.   Kwasniewski has dismissed a Polish consortium's efforts to rival Hachette's bid for state news-stand chain Ruch SA.   The delegation also includes the heads of utilities giant Lyonnaise des Eaux and glass and car part firm Saint Gobain.   A tough issue likely to be raised is France Telecom, which invested in Poland's current mobile phone system following assurances it would get a licence to share in operating a new GSM digital system, but then failed to gain such a licence.   Several projects in the pipeline include arms and electronics maker Thomson, electronics and telecoms giant Alcatel and state utility Electricite de France.   During his three-day visit, Chirac will meet Kwasniewski, Prime Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, ex-president Lech Walesa and Roman Catholic primate Cardinal Jozef Glemp, as well as visiting the former Nazi extermination camp at Auschwitz with French and Polish high school students.   He is accompanied by four ministers.   During the trip the governments will clinch three agreements on cooperation between foreign and interior ministries and a renewal of funding for a foundation which, among other tasks, trains civil servants. 
12865 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  War crimes investigators have removed the first of what could be as many as 260 bodies from a mass grave in Serb-held eastern Croatia, the chief investigator said on Wednesday.   "He was a middle-aged male, dressed in civilian clothing and with trauma to the head and neck," Dr William Haglund told a news conference.   "We're going to have to wait until we've removed all the bodies and conducted autopsies to determine the exact cause of death."   Haglund and his dozen-strong team from the Boston-based Physicians for Human Rights began excavating the site a week ago, in their inquiry into what they suspect is the single largest mass grave in the former Yugoslavia.   "The grave looks to be about six-by-eight metres (yards) and as we've determined the edges, we've uncovered the parts of about a dozen individuals," he said, adding that it was too early to say how deep the pit may be.   The people buried in the field near the tiny village of Ovcara just outside Vukovar are believed to be non-Serb civilians massacred by a group of Yugoslav National Army (JNA) officers after the fall of Vukovar in November 1991.   The International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague has indicted three JNA officers for the massacre, although Yugoslavia has refused to hand them over for trial.   Vukovar is the capital of the rebel Serb region of Eastern Slavonia, which fought a bloody 1991 uprising against Croatia's declaration of independence from Yugoslavia.   An interim U.N. administration is to return it to Zagreb's control next year.   In 1991, the JNA and Serb irregular forces used thousands of artillery shells to smash the serene Austro-Hungarian town on the Danube River to rubble in a bloody three-month siege.   According to the indictment, the Serbs removed some 260 wounded Croat patients, hospital staff and political activists sheltering in the Vukovar hospital, and took them to a building in Ovcara where they were beaten for several hours.   A few were released, but the remainder were moved to an isolated shed nearby, where they were shot and buried, it said.   "At this point it is too early to tell from the evidence that has been uncovered from the grave that these were the individuals taken from the Vukovar hospital," said Tribunal legal expert Clint Williamson.   "But we believe other evidence indicates that the individuals did indeed come from the hospital."   Williamson said the main aim of this current investigation was to identify and return the bodies to their families for reburial, and support other evidence to build a solid legal case against the three accused officers.   "We believe we have sufficient evidence of the entire fact scenario of what occurred," he said.   "But certainly identification will play a large part in corroborating the information we've found thus far." 
12866 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Russia on Wednesday welcomed U.N. approval of a treaty banning nuclear tests around the world as an important step towards creating a nuclear-free world.   A foreign ministry statement said Moscow hoped all United Nations member states would back the document, which the General Assembly approved by 158 votes to three on Tuesday.   Dissenting countries were India, Libya and Bhutan.   "We welcome the approval of...the draft treaty as a practical implementation of the proposal put forward by Russian President Boris Yeltsin to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the creation of the United Nations in a fitting way," the ministry said.   "We hope that this treaty will receive support from all U.N. member states and will be an important contribution to the ever-advancing process of moving towards a non-nuclear world."   Russia is one of the world's five declared nuclear powers along with the United States, China, France and Britain.   All five have already ended nuclear tests unilaterally.   India, one of the 44 nations which must ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) for it to enter into force, says the treaty does not go far enough in spelling out a timetable for global nuclear disarmament.   It also says it fears threats from neighbouring China and Pakistan. 
12867 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Bulgaria's socialist-dominated parliament on Wednesday overturned President Zhelyu Zhelev's veto of controversial amendments to the 1996 budget law.   "The socialist majority in parliament rejected the president's veto and passed the amendments to the 1996 state budget without changes," said a parliament press officer.   The amendments are linked to a contract under which the state-owned gas company Bulgargas transfers debts owed to it by the Himco chemical plant, also state-owned, to the country's private business giant Multigroup.   Under the budget amendments, Himco will pay its debt directly to the state without the mediation of Multigroup.   Zhelev had vetoed the amendments and returned them to parliament because he said they harmed private property rights and discouraged private initiative.   He also accused parliament of interfering in a legal case that has still to be resolved.   Multigroup has appealed to the Supreme Court to rule on Himco's decision to suspend payments to it following the government's suspension of the contract.   President Zhelev has returned nearly a dozen laws to parliament this year.   In most cases, he has said they contradicted basic principles of a market economy or grant too much power to state institutions controlled by the ruling Socialist Party.   Under Bulgaria's post-communist constitution, the president can only veto laws once.   -- Galina Sabeva, Sofia Newsroom, 359-2-84561 
12868 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  U.S. armed forces chief John Shalikashvili said on Wednesday NATO would soon begin talks on a new international peace force for Bosnia, but ruled out any return to the U.N.-style mission which ended in ignominy.   Questioned repeatedly on the issue, Shalikashvili declined to be drawn on what sort of force would be needed after the current NATO peace mission ends at the end of year or if U.S. troops would participate.   "I really do believe it is premature to say what force, how long, let alone who will command it.   There is a whole host of questions that have to be answered, but the debate is starting," he told a press conference.   "It would be wrong for military officers to sit here before you and speculate on the type of force, its duration, its command arrangements before there has been the political discussion as to what nations would like this force to accomplish," he added.   In the last few weeks some European allies have begun to acknowledge the need for a continued military presence openly, but the issue remains highly sensitive in the United States ahead of November's presidential elections.   Shalikashvili, chairman of the U.S. joint chiefs of staff, said he thought NATO defence ministers would discuss the issue at a meeting later this month in Bergen, Norway   "I would be surprised if they did not have preliminary discussions on that point, even if only informally," he said, adding the results of this Saturday's countrywide elections would then be known.   "Shortly after the elections is the right time to begin these discussions... (but) it should never become a return to UNPROFOR (United Nations Protection Force) troops," he added.   NATO forces took over from the U.N.'s ill-fated peacekeeping mission, which found itself powerless to stop Serb aggression, after the signing of the Dayton peace accords last year.   Shalikashvili said the NATO troops really had "their heads in the game" and would be able to provide all necessary support for the September 14 poll which was their immediate priority. 
12869 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The Czech government plans a balanced 1997 budget of 549.1 billion crowns involving tax cuts totalling about 2.8 billion crowns, Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus said on Wedensday.    "The cabinet did not find bigger room (for tax cuts) other than the possibility to cut taxes in the level of about 2.8 billion crowns," Klaus told the news conference.   The budget plan is expected to go to a final vote in the cabinet next week, and then on to parliament where it is traditionally debated until final approval in December.   The 1997 budget assumes growth in gross domestic product of 5.4 percent, average inflation of 8.6 percent, and a current account deficit equal to 5.8 percent of GDP.   If passed, the budget would by the fifth straight balanced budget for a government led by Klaus.   -- Prague Newsroom, 42-2-2423-0003 
12870 !GCAT !GPOL  The heart surgery Boris Yeltsin is preparing for entails a big risk but his doctors clearly believe he is fit enough to come through it, a surgeon who used to treat the Russian president said on Wednesday.   Yuri Ognev, the former head of a hospital once used by Soviet leaders, said he saw no evidence that the president had any serious ailments which would complicate the operation and said he had not had a drink problem when he last examined him.   "The operation itself is a serious one and entails a big risk.   Any surgical intervention involves a certain degree of risk," Ognev, who treated Yeltsin in the late 1980s, told Reuters in an interview.   But he made clear the doctors who recommended the operation would not have done so if they doubted his ability to survive it.   "They think...his health is good enough to get through the operation," he said.   Yeltsin, 65, announced last week that he would have a heart operation later this month but gave no details.   Russian cardiologists have described the expected operation as a fairly routine heart bypass to correct ischaemia -- a lack of blood flowing to the heart.   An expert in Britain has put the chances of dying from the operation at about two percent.   But some Western experts have suggested Yeltsin could have other illnesses ranging from a blood clot on his brain to water on his lungs which might complicate the operation.   Ognev specialises in stomach surgery and was until 1994 head of the Central Clinic Hospital Number One which was once used by top Soviet Communist Party officials.   He declined to say when he had last treated Yeltsin.   But other officials said it appeared to have been shortly after the future Russian president was sacked as first secretary of the Moscow Communist Party in November 1987.   "He was in good shape.   He stood out from the other elderly members of the (Communist Party's ruling) politburo," Ognev said.   Despite widespread rumours that Yeltsin has long had a drink problem, Ognev said he had found no evidence of this when he treated him and that he saw none now to confirm rumours that drink had badly damaged the Kremlin leader's liver.   "As far as I know he did not drink at all before.   I can say this with authority," Ognev said.   "Looking at him now on television, I would say there are no outward signs that he has a sick liver."   He said time had inevitably taken its toll on Yeltsin's condition but he could not see anything to indicate that he had any other serious health problems.   Ognev said the speed of Yeltsin's recovery would depend on his strength and health, but that the average recuperation time after such an operation was about one month.   Yeltsin, who is on vacation west of Moscow, ducked out of public view about a week before he was re-elected on July 3 and has been on holiday for much of the time since then.   He has handed Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin partial control of several top ministries but kept the "red button" which controls Russia's nuclear arsenal. 
12871 !C21 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  A fire in Bulgaria's biggest refinery Neftohim near the Black Sea port of Bourgas has injured four workers, but output was not affected, civil defence officials said on Wednesday.   The four were making repairs on a generator in the refinery's thermal power station when the fire broke out at 0545 GMT, a civil defence official told Reuters.   She said the workers were hospitalised, and two were in a serious condition.   Last month an explosion in an installation for production of propane and butane gas in the bottled fuel department of Neftohim killed three workers and six were severely injured.   -- Liliana Semerdjieva, Sofia Newsroom, 359-2-84561 
12872 !GCAT !GVIO  Angry Croats, supported by local police, attacked a group of Moslems who crossed into the western side of the divided Bosnian city of Mostar on Wednesday to try to repair their homes, state radio said.   The radio said the Moslems were beaten with sticks near their former homes in the Podhun area after they arrived from the Moslem-controlled eastern side of the E.U.-administered city in southwestern Bosnia.    A local television crew were arrested by Croatian police before European Union officials intervened.   An official of the Western European Union (WEU), which runs an EU police force, said contacts were under way with both sides to defuse the situation, but gave no further details.   "We have a tense situation between the east and west side," he said. 
12873 !C15 !C152 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Equities analysts on Wednesday said news that the primary Czech savings bank, Ceska Sporitelna a.s., would shed 5,500-7,500 jobs from its workforce of nearly 20,000 would have little positive effect on its share price.   "That announcement will have only a minor influence on the price," said Michal Snobr, analyst at AKRO Capital.   "What (Sporitelna) is missing is some comprehensive plan of a rehabilitation."   Sporitelna's investment banking chief Pavel Makovec said on Thursday that Sporitelna would lay off 1,000 staff next year and 2,000 in 1997, from the current workforce of roughly 19,500, and eventually 5,500-7,500 jobs   Makovec said Sporitelna would also continue to gradually close some of its current 1,800 branches.   Sporitelna shares closed unchanged on the Prague Stock Exchange Wednesday at 350 crowns.   Analysts have said Sporitelna, still 45 percent state owned, has been hindered by a bloated workforce, and an inefficient branch network.   The bank ploughed its full 1995 profit of over nine billion crowns into reserves against risky credit on the suggestions of independent auditors.   The bank, which was the primary savings bank where most every Czech deposited money during Communism and is still the country's largest in terms of retail deposits, had about 2,700 branches at its peak.   Analysts said that current shareholders were still trying to firm their position in the bank, but the stock was still overpriced.   "Fundamentally Sporitelna (shares) should be about 350 crowns," said Jan Bilek, broker at RC&I.   -- Radek Narovec, Prague Newsroom, 42-2-2423-0003 
12874 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  Russian insurer Afes is likely to pay insurance claims to relatives of 140 people who died when a Vnukovo Airlines Tupolev-154 crashed on the Norwegian island of Spitzbergen last month, a company statement said.   "Vnukovo Airlines insured the crashed jet with Afes...and relatives of victims can get claims after they deliver documents," the statement said, but gave no details.   Valery Postnikov, chief executive of loss adjusters Airclaims-CIS told Reuters that Afes was liable for $20,000 for each passenger, $14,000 for each crew member and $93,000 for the plane, which had been in operation for eight years.   Afes (RSO Aviatsionny Fond Yediny Strakhovoi) declined to comment on the figures and officials from Vnukovo Airlines VKOL.  RTS could not be reached for comment.   "We think all insurance claims dealing with the crashed plane will be covered in full, including those for damage caused to the environment," Postnikov said.   But he added many Russian airlines insured planes and crew for only small sums of money.   "They do not have enough funds for it," he said.   There are almost 400 airlines in Russia.   He said Airclaims experts had been in Spitzbergen to draw up a report on the crash and it would be presented to Afes soon.   Vnukovo Airlines was set up in 1993 after the collapse of former Soviet monopolist Aeroflot.   The company operates 54 aircraft and operates scheduled and charter flights flies to 27 domestic destinations and several international points.   In 1995 Vnukovo Airlines carried 1.9 million passengers and 15,300 tonnes of cargo and mail.   -- Viktor Anoshkin, Moscow Newsroom, +7095 941 8520 
12875 !GCAT !GPOL  A Caucasus woman is ready -- quite literally -- to give her heart to Russian President Boris Yeltsin if doctors should ever decide he needed a transplant, Itar-Tass news agency said on Wednesday.   Tass said the woman, Zinaida Boliyeva, 46, made her offer at the office of the government party Our Home is Russia in the autonomous region of North Ossetia, close to breakaway Chechnya.   "The Russian president must have a healthy heart and be able to work hard," Tass quoted Boliyeva as saying.   "He has to continue the course of democratic reforms."   But the offer seems unlikely to be taken up.   Yeltsin said last week he had agreed to have an operation on his heart, but doctors say it will be a relatively routine bypass operation rather than anything more complicated. 
12876 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  Rebel Bosnian Moslem leader Fikret Abdic said on Wednesday he would ask the U.N. war crimes tribunal to indict President Alija Izetbegovic for his conduct of the war.   Abdic, a millionaire businessman who controlled a Moslem pocket in northwest Bosnia during the war, compared Izetbegovic with Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.   "I possess hard facts for the indictment," Abdic told a news conference in Zagreb, where he is exiled after Bosnian government forces overran his enclave last year.   Abdic, who has himself been tried in Sarajevo in absentia for war crimes, did not say what evidence he had showing that his old enemy Izetbegovic was a war criminal.   But Bozidar Sicel, deputy chairman of Abdic's Democratic National Union (DNZ), said an indictment was justified.   "The indictment Mr Abdic is to file against Mr Izetbegovic in The Hague will be both factually and legally founded," he said.   No details were given of when or how the charges would be submitted.   In 1991, Abdic defeated Izetbegovic in elections for the former collegial Bosnian presidency, which then also contained Serb and Croat representatives, but ceded his place to his rival under a political deal.   During the war which began the following year he refused to take orders from the Moslem-led government and struck deals with the Serbs and Croats.   Abdic said he had documents proving that he had offered to let the Bosnian government operate on his territory but that the presidency in Sarajevo had rejected this.   Abdic had planned to hold a rally on Thursday for Saturday's elections in his former stronghold of Velika Kladusa, where he ran a successful food processing and retailing business before the war, but called it off on Wednesday after police banned it, saying they could not guarantee security.   "In order to follow our principles of political battles being fought exclusively by political means, we have decided to postpone our rally to protect the inhabitants and to convince the international community that we are democrats," said Sicel.   Sicel accused Izetbegovic's Democratic Action Party (SDA) of using the police in a political struggle against his party.   "The DNZ is the only real opposition party to the ruling SDA in the area under Bosnian army control.   We are the only party which has not been allowed to hold a pre-election rally on the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina," he said.   In Sarajevo, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is organising Saturday's elections, called the ban "a blatant contradiction of our rules and regulations regarding the elections.   The Abdic party was registered correctly".   Abdic appealed for calm but bitterly attacked Izetbegovic.   "I would like to call on the people to act in a dignified manner, to accept this decision by Alija Izetbegovic, remain in their homes and not fall for this pre-ordained scenario by good pupils of the Stalinist school," he said. 
12877 !GCAT !GPOL  The chairman of Belarus's parliament on Wednesday turned up the heat in the assembly's conflict with President Alexander Lukashenko, accusing him of dragging the country towards Nazi-style dictatorship.   Semyon Sharetsky, the second ranking political figure in the former Soviet republic, published an appeal comparing Lukashenko's proposal for broader constitutional powers with Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany.   "Fellow countrymen!   Our country is teetering on the brink of fascist dictatorship!"   Sharetsky wrote in the newspaper Narodnaya Volya.   He recalled Lukashenko's comments in an interview last year saying that Hitler has established order as a top priority after Germany's World War One defeat and that Belarus should follow the same approach.   (Corrects to make clear quote attributed to Sharetsky was paraphrase of earlier statement by president).   Sharetsky said Lukashenko's proposed new constitution "prepares the ground for a totalitarian fascist state.   There will be unlimited power for a single person.   Such a draft can only be proposed by a person with maniacal drive for power."   Sharetsky's appeal was the shrillest outburst in a dispute pitting Lukashenko against a wide range of political parties newly united against his increasingly authoritarian rule.   Lukashenko, who expresses nostalgia for the Soviet era, has called a referendum on a new constitution which he says will enable him to rule for 10 more years and appoint one-third of the members of a new upper house of parliament.   He wants the vote to take place on November 7, anniversary of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, along with plebiscites on other issues -- upholding capital punishment, banning private land ownership and changing the national holiday.   Deputies called a referendum for November 24 on their own constitution abolishing the post of president.   Senior parliamentarians on Tuesday gave Lukashenko a five-day deadline to rescind a series of decrees struck down by Belarus's highest court or face impeachment.   Lukashenko became Belarus's first post-Soviet president two years ago on a platform of fighting corruption and pressing for a union of some sort with neighbouring Russia.   He has since suspended trade unions, hobbled the country's press and put the brakes on market reforms.   Last year, he suggested in an interview that Hitler's emphasis on strong central authority had helped build up Germany after its World War One defeat and suggested Belarus should adopt a similar approach.   Up to 200 people have been given short jail terms for attending mass demonstrations last spring against his signing of a pact to create a "community" with Russia.   "There is no rule of law (in Belarus)," Sharetsky said in his appeal.   "Searches have been conducted without warrants, people have been detained with no grounds, provocations, threats and blackmail have become commonplace."   Deputies told Reuters that police had searched the parliament building overnight after a telephone bomb threat was received.   They later left without incident. 
12878 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov will visit Vienna on September 20 for preparatory work for a summit of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.   A spokesman confirmed that, apart from discussing the Lisbon summit scheduled for December 2-3, Primakov would also meet NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana to discuss "the problematic relations between Russia and the North Atlantic alliance".   Further meetings were planned with Austrian Foreign Minister Wolfgang Schuessel and Chancellor Franz Vranitzky.   Russia opposes any expansion of the NATO alliance to include the countries of the former Soviet bloc, saying such moves would threaten its security.   But the Norwegian defence ministry said on Monday that Russian Defence Minister General Igor Rodionov had accepted an invitation to attend an informal meeting of NATO defence ministers on September 25-26.   Primakov returned last week from a visit to Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.   The foreign ministry said he was due to visit New York after his trip to Austria. 
12879 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Russia's Norilsk Nickel NKEL.  RTS metals group plans to slash jobs not related to production, Interfax news agency quoted Norilsk director Alexander Khloponin as saying on Wednesday.   He did not say how many jobs would be cut but said four out of every five Norilsk workers had jobs not related to output.   Khloponin also told workers in the Arctic town of Norilsk that Norilsk units not directly related to production would be given greater freedom within the company.   Interfax indirectly quoted him as saying Norilsk's main metals combine would also undergo restructuring, but gave no details.   It said wage arrears at the combine totalled 800 billion roubles and salaries had not been paid for two months.   -- Moscow Newsroom +7095 941 8520 
12880 !GCAT !GDIP  King Juan Carlos of Spain told Hungarian members of parliament on Wednesday that their country would become an important part of European organisations such as the European Union.   "Hungary is destined to play an important part in building the new European security structures," Juan Carlos told parliament in his address, on the first full day of a three-day visit to Hungary.   His host, Hungarian President Arpad Goncz, said the king's remarks amounted to an endorsement of Hungary's bid to join the EU.   "The king is a broad-minded European monarch and his speech was more on behalf of the EU than just his own country," Goncz told a news conference.   Goncz said this was the fourth time he had met King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia.   "(Today) we did not speak a word about politics... This is not an official visit but a family reunion," Goncz said.   Goncz said the king had told him he wanted to take a stroll in the Hungarian capital despite unseasonably cold weather.   "When leaving parliament, he told me he was looking forward to a walk in downtown Budapest," the president said. 
12881 !GCAT !GENT  Albania will host a European festival of mediaeval music next year in the southern town of Gjirokaster, an official said on Wednesday.   Roland Cene, head of the cultural centre in Gjirokaster, 230 km (145 miles) south of Tirana, said participants would come from Germany, France, Italy, Croatia, Austria, Spain and Hungary, as well as Albania itself.   The festival is due to be held in the mediaeval town's 12th-century castle next May. 
12882 !GCAT !GHEA  Bucharest will delay the start of the new school year for two weeks to protect children from a viral meningitis outbreak that has already killed 21 people in the Romanian capital, its mayor said on Wednesday.   "Given the state of the city's schools and the risk of infecting children with meningitis, the new school year in Bucharest will start on October 1 instead of September 16," Mayor Victor Ciorbea told journalists.   About 400 patients, including 50 children, have been taken to hospital in Romania since the worst viral meningitis outbreak in a decade began at the end of July.   Those who died have mainly been elderly.   The disease apparently entered the country with tourists returning from Cyprus.   More than 100 people fell ill with mild meningitis in the southern Cyprus coastal town of Limassol in July.   Ciorbea designated one billion lei ($315,000) for an emergency programme to improve sanitation in schools.   Meningitis is spread through poor hygiene and inspectors have found 14 schools in the capital with no running water.   Illness from the virus normally lasts around a week.   It affects the gastro-intestinal tract, causing high fever, headaches and vomiting.   Last week the city hall ordered an increase in the water supply to three southern districts of Bucharest worst hit by the meningitis outbreak.   In 1986 Romania suffered an epidemic of the more dangerous bacterial meningitis which has killed 15,000 people in central Africa this year. 
12883 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO !GVOTE  A veneer of normality, unthinkable only a few months ago, has returned to Sarajevo and much of the rest of Bosnia.   Sidewalk cafes are full, smart new shops and restaurants seem to open every day, and the once-hazardous streets are again bustling with people.   Evidence, international politicians say, the Dayton peace accords which last November ended Europe's worst war in half a century are working and slowly taking hold.   In those nine months, a ceasefire has been implemented, frontlines dismantled, zones of separation enforced, troops returned to barracks, basic amenities restored, and a large measure of freedom of movement reestablished.   "There has been enormous progress, these people were at war less than a year ago.   Now look at the place, it is unrecognisable," said NATO spokesman Major Simon Haselock.   Optimists say countrywide elections this Saturday will underpin that progress and allow Bosnia to move to the next stage of reconciliation -- the creation of common institutions.   "Peace is infectious, but it needs time," Carl Bildt, the international community's High Representative in Bosnia, said recently, but admitted the poll would fall far short of normally-accepted international standards.   Critics say the sharp contrast with the war years must not be allowed to obscure the reality that Dayton's main aim -- a single, multi-ethnic Bosnia -- is in danger of being lost.   With the wounds of 3-1/2 years of war still gaping, critics say the poll is little more than a sham which will push the country further down the road towards partition -- an aim openly sought by the main Bosnian Serb party.   Haris Silajdzic, Bosnia's mercurial wartime prime minister and one of the few politicians standing on an all-Bosnia ticket, said the polls could legitimise the carve-up of the country into ethnic blocs.   He said the poll should be delayed, political parties suspended and a coalition of national unity created to allow Serbs, Moslems, and Croats to recover from the trauma of war.   "Bosnia is an historic community of three peoples and there is no Bosnia without one of those peoples," he told a final election rally of his small Party for Bosnia-Herzegovina in Sarajevo on Tuesday evening.   That view and those of other opponents of the main nationalist parties which fought the war and are set to triumph are rarely heard.   Opposition parties are poorly organised and have little access to any independent media.   But the international community, fearing it could get bogged down in the Balkans for years, is desperate to stick to the Dayton timetable, even it means lowering its standards.   Robert Frowick, who as head of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) mission in Bosnia is running the polls, admits they will be neither free nor fair, but says he hopes they will be "reasonably democratic".   He said on Tuesday that after four years of terrible war in Bosnia the "rule of reason" had to apply.   Behind that remark, diplomats say, lies the argument that if the polls do not go ahead then there is no hope of creating the joint institutions foreseen by Dayton to unify the country.   "Frankly, the international community has too much tied up in Bosnia for the polls not to go ahead and be acceptable," said one senior NATO diplomat in Brussels.   NATO's peace force, which arrived in Bosnia last December to oversee Dayton's implementation, is due to leave at the end of the year.   Western allies, including the United States, have privately accepted the need for a continued military presence in Bosnia next year, but want their involvement reduced to a minimum.   This summer the U.S., where domestic elections make the stakes in Bosnia even higher, exerted enormous pressure to remove Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic from formal office to allow the polls to go ahead.   Under Dayton indicted war criminals, like Karadzic, are barred from holding office.   His influence appears unaffected.   Posters of him are frequently seen in Serb territory and his Serb Democratic Party (SDS) openly speaks of secession -- both breaches of OSCE rules for which the SDS has been fined.   Washington moved earlier this week to forestall criticism of next Saturday's polls, saying they were only a first step on the road to rebuilding the country.   State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said the elections were never meant to be Dayton's "final examination".   "They were never designed to be the end of the process.   In fact, in a very real sense they're the beginning of the process," Burns told a news briefing on Monday. 
12884 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The Czech savings bank Ceska Sporitelna a.s. plans redundancies of between 5,500 and 7,500 employees over the next five years under a plan to increase efficiency, an official at the bank said on Wednesday.   Investment banking chief Pavel Makovec told Reuters Sporitelna would lay off 1,000 staff next year and 2,000 in 1997, from the current workforce of roughly 19,500.   Makovec said Sporitelna would also continue to gradually close some of its current 1,800 branches.   Analysts have said Sporitelna, still 45 percent state owned, has been hindered by a bloated workforce, and an inefficient branch network.   The bank, which was the primary savings bank where most every Czech deposited money during Communism and is still the country's largest in terms of retail deposits, had about 2,700 branches at its peak.   Makovec said the reduction of the branches should not cause a significant loss of clients.   "The core of about 600 branches administer some 95 percent of our balance sum," Makovec said.   He said the bank would seek to change its style into a more "client-oriented" service, with each assistant at every branch capable of providing help in every type of service.   -- Jan Lopatka, Prague Newsroom, 42-2-2423-0003 
12885 !C21 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Bulgaria's air traffic has returned to normal following the resolution of a wage dispute between air traffic controllers and employers, a senior official said on Wednesday.   He said four controllers were fired for failing to turn up for work, including the chief of the Bulgarian association of air traffic controllers Stefan Raichev, who headed the protests.   "Everything is over.   The situation is normal.   Traffic is normal, too," said the official, who declined to be named.   Some controllers had demanded an increase in their monthly wage from $230 to some $1,000 and the resignation of the air traffic service's management.   Some 40 air controllers were fired last week as they refused to return to work despite a local court ruling that a strike planned for September 3 was illegal.   They have since been reinstated.   -- Liliana Semerdjieva, Sofia Newsroom, 359-2-84561 
12886 !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   - Parliamentary law commission to propose a law according to which members of polling stations who boycott elections can be sentenced to up to nine years in prison.   - Prosecutors have started investigating Albania's last communist president Ramiz Alia on charges of deporting dissidents.   The trial is expected to start in six months.   - A man who threatend to explode a grenade in front of the Albanian presidency in April while President Sali Berisha was inside in a meeting with Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro is expected to go on trial soon.   - Outbreak of polio has affected 38 Albanians over the past three months.   - Albania is one of eleven founding members of the Black Sea Commercial and Development Bank.   The bank, with total capital of $1 billion, is expected to start working next year.   - A threatened strike by trade unions asking full compensation for recent price increases in basic goods may endanger the country's relations with the International Monetary Fund, which has imposed strict monetary guidelines.   - One person died and seven others were wounded when gunmen opened fire on a house in the coastal town of Vlora where a group of Albanians had gathered, waiting to be shipped to Italy.   GAZETA SHQIPTARE   - The liberalisation of fuel prices could prompt many Albanians to turn to electricity for heating, putting an additional burden on the country's ailing national grid.   - A prosecutor has asked for a total of seven years in jail for a group of four Albanians accused of attempting to form a communist party, which is against the country's constitution.   RILINDJA DEMOKRATIKE   - Nestor Thereska, head of the electoral commission, met with local government secretary Njazi Kosovrasti to discuss preparations for the October 20 local polls. 
12887 !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.   NOVA MAKEDONIJA   - Local elections to be scheduled next week.   Unofficial sources say the elections will be held in mid-November.   - Macedonia and Germany signed an agreement on the protection and promotion of investments.   German President Roman Herzog said Germany would continue to support Macedonia economically and politically.   - The Yugoslav government announced that all agreements signed in Skopje are to be ratified by the Yugoslav parliament.   DNEVNIK   - Macedonia's biggeest opposition party VMRO-DPMNE will not boycott the local elections.   The leader Ljupco Georgievski said coalition with other opposition parties is possible.   - Finance minister Taki Fiti announced certain easing of the restrictive credit-monetary policy.   Vice-governor of the National Bank Tome Nenovski said "controlled inflation of 44-5 percent is welcome".   VECER   - Skopje airport to be closed on September 19 when works on the reconstruciton of its runway and signalisation due to start.   - EU veterinarian experts will check Macedonian cattle to determine there is no more foot-and-mouth disease.   -- Skopje newsroom +389 91 201 196 
12888 !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:   ADEVARUL   - Farmers need credits for autumn wheat and barley sowing.   TINERETUL LIBER   - Private oil companies formed national oil and gas company with 550 billion lei capital.   - Simulation trading started on over-the-counter system, called Rasdaq, recently developed in Romania.   AZI   - Senate passed bill on transformation of five regional ownership funds into investment companies.   LIBERTATEA   - Petrol price will rise by 15 percent starting January to create special fund for road building and upgrading.   - Banca Comerciala Romana will launch $100 million worth of Eurobonds on international capital market.   CURIERUL NATIONAL   - IMF mission is expected in Bucharest this week to discuss economic indicators.   VOCEA ROMANIEI   - Troubled Banca Dacia Felix deblocks 235,000 individual deposits of less than 1.0 million lei starting Wednesday.   General:   ADEVARUL   - Opposition senators have asked parliament to interpret 1992 law on presidential polls, which bans candidates from running after serving two consecutive terms, regarding President Ion Iliescu's new bid for office.   - Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu will write a letter to U.S. Defense Secretary Warren Christopher to plead for Romania's inclusion in NATO.   - Cable operators claiming 3.0 million Romanian subscribers say CNA broascast media watchdog banned them from producing videoclips for November's elections.   EVENIMENTUL ZILEI   - Ion Cristoiu says in editorial that constitutional court move to reject chalenges to President Ion Iliescu's candidacy has dealt a blow to Iliescu's credibility.   - Iliescu will invite his main rivals in the presidential race to attend the signing ceremony of the Romanian-Hungarian treaty in Timisoara on Monday.   - Iliescu's campaign spokesman, Iosif Boda, has suggested that the opposition Democratic Convention and the ruling Party of Social Democracy (PDSR) form a coalition government after November's polls.   ZIUA   - "The Moscow scenario is repeated in Bucharest," says front-page headline of report about team of U.S. experts hired to help Iliescu's re-election campaign.   ROMANIA LIBERA   - The president of the international court of justice in The Hague is visiting Romania.   CURIERUL NATIONAL   - PDSR executive president Adrian Nastase says the opposition is trying to "intimidate state television, after controlling local newspapers, commerical radio and television stations."   JURNALUL NATIONAL   - Nationalist Romanian National Unity Party (PUNR) will stage protest rallies against the signing of the Romanian-Hungarian treaty, PUNR deputy leader Ioan Gavra said.   - Commercial television Antena 1 launches show inviting presidential contenders to talk to leading journalists.   - Interview with Transport minister Aurel Novac, who says he quit PUNR party disgusted with "what he saw was going on."   CRONICA ROMANA   - Editorial says politicians migrating from one political party to another before the elections apply "hit and run" strategy.   - Parliament has voted stiffer punishments for libel and insult.   - Michael Jackson to meet his fans at Ceausescu's Palace of the People on September 13.   LIBERTATEA   - Romanian police is questioning an Iranian who spent $15,000 he found in his account, put there by mistake by a leading Romanian commercial bank.   - French charity group Equilibre to turn Bucharest restaurant "Drumetul" into free-meals pub for pensioners.   - Swarms of counterfeit insect killers sold in Romanian shops are expensive and have no effect, newspaper report says.   -- Bucharest Newsroom, 40-1 3120264 
12889 !GCAT  Following are the reports carried by Estonia's newspapers on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these reports and does not vouch for their accuracy.   SONUMILEHT   - The president and parliamentary foreign affairs commission fear NATO is distancing itself from Estonia.   EESTI PAEVALEHT   - Police launched a criminal investigation on Wednesday into allegations that a member of the Rural People's Party was kidnapped by his colleagues.   POSTIMEES   - A large number of bankers are running for local council seats.   ARIPAEV   - Fuel firms are split over the Oil Importers Union plan to introduce stricter assets and capital requirements.   - Estonia's leading bank Hansa Bank intends to establish a property insurance firm next year.   - The lottery firm Eesti loto signed a cooperation agreement with Austria's Novo-Invest to establish a casino in Tallin.   -- Riga newsroom +371 7226693 
12890 !GCAT  Lithuanian newspapers carried the following reports on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   LIETUVODS RYTAS   - Lithuanian President Algirdas Brazauskas will not interfere in Lithuania's talks with neighbour Latvia over a disputed sea border, saying it is the government's job.   - State Defence Council decides to double funds allocated to the defence system in next year's budget.   The 1995 defence budget was about 200 million litas or 0.56 percent of GDP.   - A cable television network in Lithuania has 100,000 subscribers and will operate in 22 towns and cities.   RESPUBLIKA   - The Ignalina nuclear power plant was forced to shut down for the second time in two weeks on Monday when an oil leak was detected in the regulation system of the Unit 1 reactor.   - The yield for one-month T- bills reached a record low of 9.27 percent at Tuesday's auction.   -- Riga newsroom +371 7226693 
12891 !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   - Prime Minister Andris Skele's foreign policy advisor said the premier's September 13 visit to Moscow had been postponed and would likely take place on September 26.   - The governing factions have drawn up additional amendments to the coalition agreement.   The document is likely to be signed next week.   - The ruling parliamentary factions have agreed to allow the newly-formed faction Tautai un Taisnibai (For People and Justice) to join the government after a three month probation period.   - Finance Minister Aivars Kreituss and head of the International Monetary Fund mission to Latvia, Emmanuel van der Mensbrugh, predict Gross Domestic Product in 1997 would grow three to four percent while inflation would rise 10-12 percent.   - The finance ministry will introduce a tax on the income of working pensioners with monthly incomes over 50-60 lats.   - Latvian Foreign Affairs Ministry State Secretary Maris Riekstins, who heads the country's delegation for sea border talks with Lithuania, said the two states are likely to achieve a principle agreement by the end of the next week.   DIENA   - The government has adopted a ruling to implement a pulp mill construction plan in Latvia which is hoped to attract $1.2 billion in investments.   NEATKARIGA RITA AVIZE   - The Association of Local Self-Governments has decided to hold a poll of rural residents on opinions on several issues.   DIENAS BIZNESS   - Finnish packaging company Pakenso officially opens a corrugated cardboard plant in the Baltic on Wednesday.   - A new Ro-Ro line between the Latvian port of Liepaja and Karlshamn in Sweden started operating on September 9.   -- Riga newsroom +371 7226693 
12892 !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   - Although conditions are far from ideal, Bosnia's September elections are "pivotal" to development of peace, chief of OSCE mission says.   - Second Sarajevo Film Festival, sponsored by Bosnian government, officially opened on Tuesday night with screening of Jan De Bont's "Twister".   - A Bosnian member of OSCE's media expert commission resigned in letter to chief of OSCE mission in Bosnia.   DNEVNI AVAZ   - Ruling Moslem SDA party had rally in Tuzla on Tuesday with 50,000 people attending.   President Izetbegovic promised "We will not change the party but we will change some people within the party".   - About 2,000 people gathered in Sarajevo's sports centre to attend Party for BiH rally, of former prime minister Haris Silajdzic.   --Sarajevo newsroom, +387-71-663-864. 
12893 !GCAT  Following are the main stories in Croatian newspapers on Wednesday.   VJESNIK   - Is Zdravko Tomac (the current president of the Zagreb city council) to accept a Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) candidate for mayor and thus resolve the Zagreb crisis?   - Bosnian Federation president Kresimir Zubak: HDZ will get the full support of the Bosnian Croats during the oncoming elections.   - Who is to become the president of the Privredna Banka Zagreb board: current finance minister Prka, the current president Katicic or someone else?   VECERNJI LIST   - The Croatian parliament's delegation visits Vukovar: Yet another step towards peaceful reintegration.   - Economic editorial commentary: Recession over - recovery speeding up.   - New housing could become five to six percent more expensive after VAT is introduced next year at the rate of 22 percent.   It will be applicable on real estate sold by firms, therefore on newly built houses and commercial premises.   - Ex-PM Nikica Valentic, now a private entrepreneur, says in an interview he has no ambition to create a huge company employing thousands of people but that with a thousand small firms like his with 35 employees, the problem of joblessness in Croatia could be resolved.   SLOBODNA DALMACIJA   - Croatia's membership in the Council of Europe is a done thing, claims a member of the Council of Europe foreign policy committee for the non-member countries, Zarko Domljan.   -- Zagreb Newsroom, 385-1-4557075 
12894 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  South Korean President Kim Young-sam and his Brazilian counterpart Fernando Henrique Cardoso on Wednesday heralded a new age of cooperation and commerce between their two countries.   Kim, blazing an unprecedented trail through Latin America by a South Korean leader, predicted his visit to Brazil would spur some $5 billion in Korean investment over the next three years, almost double the $3.3 billion invested to date in the whole of Latin America.   Cardoso's spokesman Sergio Amaral said the Korean leader singled out telecommunications, mineral resources and pending state privatisations as the areas of greatest interest for Korean firms.   The Brazilian president, eulogising his guest and the breathtaking economic growth of South Korea at a dinner in Brasilia, said the visit broke new ground.   "We receive your visit, the first by a South Korean head of state to Brazil, as a signal of our willingness to intensify our relations," Cardoso said.   "We talk the same language, objective and pragmatic, the language of two countries developing dynamically and with enormous potential for interchange."   On the next to the last leg of a 12-day Latin American tour, Kim ealier on Wednesday signed accords with Cardoso on visas, cooperation in tourism and regular political dialogue.   Hot on the heels of a tour of the region by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto of Japan, Kim went to Chile, Guatemala and Argentina and was due to fly to Peru on Thursday.   Diplomats said the visits by Kim and Hashimoto reflected renewed faith in the economies of Latin America following widespread success at banishing the hyperinflation of the 1980s.   On Tuesday Brazil's mining giant Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, soon to be privatised, and South Korea's largest industrial conglomerate Hyundai, signed an agreement to boost Brazilian exports of minerals, paper, timber and aluminium.   Another South Korean industrial power, Samsung, announced it intended to build a factory manufacturing television tubes in the Amazonian capital Manaus.   Samsung has a significant presence in Brazil, churning out 300,000 television sets and 100,000 video recorders a year from a plant in Manaus.   Brazil and Korea have long had friendly relations.   Brazil was the first Latin American country to recognise South Korea after the Korean war, establishing diplomatic relations in 1959.   Investment and trade, however, lagged during the 1980s as Korean businesses focused on their own backyard in Asia.   But the commercial relationship has since taken off.   Bilateral trade in 1995 amounted to some $2.9 billion, up from a mere $700 million in 1990.   Cardoso told Kim he may visit the Asian country next year. 
12895 !GCAT !GDIS !GENV  Hurricane Hortense headed for the Bahamas on Wednesday, but not before dropping more rain on Puerto Rico where floodwaters already had taken at least nine lives.   By afternoon, Hortense had strengthened to a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds up to 105 mph (170 kph) and a defined eye as it battered the low-lying Turks and Caicos Islands and moved toward the Bahamas.   Although it was expected to grow stronger, forecasters said they did not expect it to brush Florida or Georgia later in the week because a large cold weather front moving off the North American coast would keep it east of the U.S. coastline.   "Just now, it appears that the eye is passing just to the north of Grand Turk ... We're at a very active part of the thing right now," said an employee at Blue Water Diving Ltd. on Grand Turk Island as Hortense's winds and pouring rains lashed his shop and just before telephone service was cut off.   The island had been without electric power for hours.   In Puerto Rico, searchers in helicopters circled flood-ravaged areas trying to find people missing after Hortense slammed the U.S. territory with record rainfall.   The National Weather Service said a flood watch was in effect for the entire island until 6 p.m.   EDT (2200 GMT), with up to another three inches (7.5 cm) of rain expected.   At 5 p.m.   EDT (2100 GMT), Hortense's centre was at latitude 22.2 north and longitude 70.9 west, about 50 miles (85 km) north of Grand Turk Island, moving northwest at 12 mph (19 kph), the National Hurricane Centre said.   The storm was becoming more defined, having developed an eye as it gained strength.   A hurricane warning was in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas and a hurricane watch was up for the central part of the long Bahamas chain.   "All indications right now have the storm continuing to move to the northwest today, then turning to the north," said Michelle Huber at the hurricane centre.   "We do expect it to gain energy and strength over the open waters."   Hortense's death toll in Puerto Rico rose to nine when two bodies -- possibly two members of a family of six swept away by the swollen Guayami River -- were found in the southeastern town of Guayama, police said.   They said the death toll would likely go higher as information came in from communities isolated by impassable roads and no telephone service.   At least four other people were still missing, said Gov. Pedro Rossello.   Hortense left behind an estimated $13.4 million of damage to public housing on the island, and caused $5.6 million in problems in aquaducts and sewers, Rossello said.   "This is a significant loss," he said.   "This is much worse than the damages from Hurricane Marilyn," which brushed Puerto Rico last September.   Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. commonwealth was without electricity on Wednesday evening, he said.   Emergency officials said the floodwaters left by Hortense had begun to recede by dawn on Wednesday.   But earlier flooding was so severe throughout the island that residents of entire villages had taken to rooftops to escape the churning waters and the U.S. Geological Survey said the Rio de la Plata in northeastern Puerto Rico had reached its highest level ever.   U.S. Coast Guard and police helicopters were dispatched to pluck stranded people off rooftops.   San Juan residents Felix and Margarita Olmo sat in a darkened cafeteria on Wednesday after being evacuated from their home by the civil defence.   "I still have a house but not for long.   The civil defence told me that it's about to slide down the mountain," Felix Olmo said.   The city of San Juan created a $200 million emergency fund for families needing food vouchers or home repair materials.   In the Dominican Republic, brushed by Hortense after its trek through Puerto Rico, officials said three fishermen were missing in high seas off the northeastern coast on Tuesday. 
12896 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Searchers in helicopters circled flood-ravaged areas throughout Puerto Rico on Wednesday, trying to find people missing after Hurricane Hortense pounded the island and killed at least seven.   The southern Bahamas and the tiny Turks and Caicos braced for the arrival of Hortense, which strengthened and carried winds of 100 mph (160 kmh) along with heavy rains.   At 11 a.m.   EDT (1500 GMT), Hortense's centre was at latitude 21.6 north and longitude 70.6 west, about 35 miles (55 km) east of Turks Island and moving northwest at 13 mph (20 kph), the National Hurricane Centre said.   Forecasters said Hortense was not likely to brush Florida or Georgia later in the week because another weather front would steer the hurricane in a northerly direction.   Residents of some entire villages in Puerto Rico huddled on rooftops late on Tuesday to escape the churning flood waters.   Local emergency officials said the waters began to recede by dawn.   "We've got a helicopter out assisting civil defence in Guyama, where there is a report of 11 people missing in a river," said Coast Guard petty officer Tim Lavier.   "We haven't located anyone and we've seen whole towns under water."   Several Puerto Rican police helicopters used by an anti-drug trafficking squad were also dispatched to pluck any stranded people off rooftops.   A spokeswoman for Gov. Pedro Rossello said there were at least seven dead after Hortense's floods and mudslides.   But police said the toll could go higher as information trickled in from communities isolated by impassable roads and no telephone service.   In the Dominican Republic, brushed by Hortense after its trek through Puerto Rico, officials said three fishermen were missing in high seas off the northeastern coast on Tuesday.   Although Hortense spent hours off the Dominican coast on Tuesday, most of its power remained offshore, lessening damage from its high winds and rains.   In Puerto Rico, the 24-hour deluge broke records, including 23 inches (58 cm) recorded at Rio Mameyes.   Rossello estimated agricultural losses of at least $127 million, topping the $100 million lost during 1989's Hurricane Hugo.   Hortense's sustained winds were near 100 mph (160 kmh), making it a Category 1 hurricane.   But forecasters said its heavy rains showed the danger carried even by these storms, and it was expected to strengthen as it moved away from land and over the warm waters of the tropical Atlantic.   Hurricane warnings were posted for the entire north coast of the Dominican Republic, the Turks and Caicos Island and the islands of the southeastern Bahamas.   A tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch were in effect for the north coast of Haiti and a hurricane watch was up for the central Bahamas. 
12897 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Puerto Ricans remained out of reach of raging waters early on Wednesday, as continuing rains worsened tremendous flooding left by Hurricane Hortense that swept through on Tuesday, leaving seven dead.   Pedro Rossello, governor of the U.S. territory, told an evening news conference that there were at least seven dead and four missing after Hortense's floods and mudslides.   In the Dominican Republic, brushed by Hortense after its trek through Puerto Rico, officials said that three fishermen were lost in high seas in the Bay of Samana off the northeastern coast on Tuesday afternoon.   But the final toll was likely to rise after floodwaters receded and the long cleanup from Hortense began.   Spotty telephone service and impassable roads made it difficult for Puerto Rico's emergency officials to get accurate information about the destruction.   Officials in the Dominican Republic, while noting they had been spared the worst of Hortense's wrath, said they were still assessing damage.   "Happily, we had little damage, but we will evaluate the information now arriving from provincial governments," Dominican Vice President Jaime David Fernandez, who heads the National Emergency Commission, told a news conference.   Although Hortense spent hours off the Dominican coast on Tuesday, most of its power was east of its center, away from the shore, lessening damage from its high winds and rains though high seas lashed beaches, trees and power lines fell and families were evacuated from coastal zones.   Rossello, in a news conference broadcast on local radio, urged residents to stay inside for safety from the rising waters and said he had asked for a federal disaster declaration from Washington.   "There's still danger of flooding tonight.   Stay in your houses, homes or shelters," he said.   "The people of Puerto Rico have shown that when confronted with a crisis, they know how to respond."   The 24-hour deluge broke rainfall records throughout the island, including 23 inches (58 cm) recorded at Rio Mameyes.   And forecasters said the battered island faced even more water.   "Additional rainfall of 3 to 5 inches, possibly higher over mountainous areas, is possible over Puerto Rico during the next day or two," the National Hurricane Center said on Tuesday night.   Rossello gave a preliminary estimate of at least $127 million in agricultural losses, topping $100 million lost during 1989's Hurricane Hugo, a stronger storm with less rain.   Nearly 7,000 Puerto Ricans were expected to spend the night in Red Cross shelters.   Authorities said that virtually the entire northeast portion of the island was under water.   Ninety-five percent of the island was without power for hours, although electricity returned for many on Tuesday night.   The U.S. Coast Guard dispatched helicopters to help locate and rescue families stranded by the fast-rising waters.   "There are whole communities on the rooftops in some places," said Petty Officer Brandon Brewer.   Hortense had moved on a westward track into the western Caribbean, moving over the island of Guadeloupe as a tropical storm on Sunday.   But it stalled and gained strength on Monday before taking a turn toward the northwest, moving over Puerto Rico before dawn and heading over the eastern Dominican Republic later on Tuesday.   At 5 a.m.   EDT (0900 GMT), Hortense's center was at latitude 20.6 north and longitude 69.9 west, or about 100 miles (160 km) southeast of Turks Island and moving northwest at 9 mph (17 kph), the National Hurricane Center said.   The storm was about 800 miles (1,280 km) southeast of Miami.   Maximum sustained winds were near 80 mph, just above hurricane strength, heading toward the Bahamas.   But forecasters called Hortense's rains an example of the danger carried by even a Category 1 hurricane.   Hortense also was expected to strengthen as it moved away from land and over the warm waters of the tropical Atlantic over the next 24 hours.   Hurricane warnings were posted for the entire north coast of the Dominican Republic, the Turks and Caicos Island and the islands of the southeastern Bahamas.   A tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch were in effect for the north coast of Haiti, and a hurricane watch was up for the central Bahamas.   The National Hurricane Center said it was too early to tell whether or where Hortense would strike the mainland United States, but said Hortense's track likely would keep it east of southern Florida as it moved north over the next few days. 
12898 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Hurricane Hortense swirled across Puerto Rico on Tuesday with torrential rains that unleashed deadly floods and mudslides, forcing homeowners to flee to rooftops for safety and leaving at least seven dead.   Governor Pedro Rossello told reporters in the evening that the confirmed death toll from the storm was seven and that at least four people were missing.   Earlier in the day, Police Superintendent Pedro Toledo had said there were eight fatalities from the storm and another eight or nine people reported missing as heavy rain left in Hortense's wake added to the island's misery.   Spotty telephone service and impassable roads made it difficult for emergency officials to get accurate information about the destruction.   Among the dead were a 63-year-old woman who died of a heart attack and a two-year-old boy killed in a mudslide in the south coast city of Guayama, near where Hortense made landfall.   There also were three suicides, Toledo said.   Rossello, in a news conference broadcast on local radio, urged residents to stay inside for safety from the rising waters and said he had asked for a federal disaster declaration from Washington.   "There's still danger of flooding tonight.   Stay in your houses, homes or shelters," he said.   "The people of Puerto Rico have shown that when confronted with a crisis, they know how to respond."   The 24-hour deluge broke rainfall records throughout the island, including the 23 inches (58 cm) recorded at Rio Mameyes.   Rossello gave a preliminary estimate of at least $127 million in agricultural losses, topping the $100 million lost during deadly Hurricane Hugo in 1989.   Hugo was a much stronger hurricane but carried less rain.   Nearly 7,000 Puerto Ricans huddled in Red Cross shelters with blankets and pillows late on Tuesday, the governor said.   Authorities said that virtually the entire northeast portion of the island was under water.   The U.S. Coast Guard dispatched helicopters to help locate and rescue families stranded by the fast-rising waters.   "There are whole communities on the rooftops in some places," said petty officer Brandon Brewer.   A wobble in Hortense's westward track late on Monday sent its 80 mph (129 kph) winds and heavy rains from the edges of the Virgin Islands across Puerto Rico and northwest over the Dominican Republic, making Hortense the first hurricane to strike that nation in almost 20 years.   The change in course prompted hurricane warnings in the southeastern Bahamas and Turks and Caicos and increased the likelihood Hortense could be on Florida's doorstep by week's end, the National Hurricane Centre said.   Hurricane watches were posted for the central Bahamas and parts of Haiti, which lies west of the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola.   Rivers in Puerto Rico flooded their banks and 95 percent of homes were without power.   Bridges were swept away and major roads were blocked with flood water and debris.   In some areas, streets seemed covered with two or three feet (60-90 cm) of water and worse was feared as rains continued into the night.   "The whole place is under water.   This is a total disaster," said Jesus Colon, the mayor of Comerio, in the island's north-central mountains.   More than 200 homes were destroyed in Ponce, Puerto Rico's second-largest city, and many others were damaged.   An extreme concern was the La Plata Reservoir, near Comerio, west of San Juan, which was filled to historically high levels by early afternoon.   Without power to close the gates in case of an overflow, emergency workers warned nearby residents to prepare to leave their homes.   Government officials said very preliminary estimates were that 75 percent of the plantain crop, 30 percent of coffee and 50 percent of the island's citrus crop had been damaged.   At 8 p.m.   EDT (2400 GMT), Hortense's centre was 20 miles (30 km) east of Cabo Samana on the northwest coast of the Dominican Republic.   Its winds were measured at 75 mph (120 kph), barely hurricane strength. 
12899 !GCAT !GVIO  Ecuadorean President Abdala Bucaram said on Wednesday that unidentified gunmen fired on a car carrying his son, but the boy was not injured.   "My son, Abdala Jr., who is 14, was traveling to the doctor to be checked up when the security car was shot at," Bucaram told reporters.   "The police managed to repel the attackers," Bucaram said, without elaborating.   He said his son was unharmed in the attack.   Bucaram, who took office last month after winning July runoff polls, said it was unclear if the attack was an attempt to kill or kidnap the youth. 
12900 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Political parties in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon agreed Wednesday to bring forward a vote for state governor to July 6 next year so that it coincides with key nationwide legislative elections.   "The community has expressed a preference for there to be just one election," Juan Manuel Paras, head of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in the state, told reporters following an accord between the four main Nuevo Leon parties.   "Now everything will be on July 6."   The vote for governor, state legislature and 51 town halls had originally been set for the third Sunday in July.   The July 6 federal elections are seen as a key test for President Ernesto Zedillo and the PRI, which has been losing popularity as a result of a deep recession sparked by the December 1994 peso crisis.   The PRI holds the governorship of Nuevo Leon but the conservative opposition National Action Party (PAN) holds the mayorship of the industrial centre Monterrey, the state capital and Mexico's second-biggest city.   The July 6 elections will include the first vote to elect a governor of Mexico City.   The position was previously filled by presidential appointment.   -- Debora Montesinos, Monterrey bureau 918 3457677 
12901 !C31 !C312 !CCAT !G15 !G158 !GCAT  The European Union and Mexico will begin a pilot program aimed at boosting Mexico's agricultural and construction material exports across the Atlantic, officials said Wednesday.   "The technical assistance project will cost $1.75 million and will be applied in the next 15 months," Eric Galvin, a European Commission delegate in Mexico, told a business forum.   Seafood, agroindustrial products and arts and crafts also will come under the program, Galvin said.   "It can't be opened up to all sectors, but we have identified the problem areas that have impeded the growth of Mexican exports to Europe," Galvin said.   Mexican exports to the European Union grew by 20 percent in 1995 over 1994 to $3.38 billion, an EU report said.   But Mexican imports from the European Union in 1995 were double that figure at $6.72 billion, a drop of 25.7 percent from 1994.   --Maria Luisa Aguilar, Mexico City newsroom, (525) 728-9553 
12902 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  An organization grouping Mexico's main foreign exchange houses is seeking to take part in drafting regulations to combat money laundering which Mexico plans to apply in 1997, a top official said.   "We have approached the authorities asking them to let us take part in drawing up regulations regarding money laundering in foreign exchange trading," Hector Lagos Donde, president of the Mexican Exchange Houses Association (AMCC), told Reuters.   Lagos said the authorities aimed to bring the regulations into effect in January 1997 and the AMCC had a particular interest in discussing and drawing up regulations designed to step up monitoring of illicit operations masked by currency transactions.   At a hearing on Capitol Hill last week, a senior U.S. Congressman, Spencer Bachus, quoted estimates of up to $30 billion of drug profits being generated in Mexico each year, much of which he said was laundered here.   Lagos said he knew of one documented case of money laundering via exchange houses in the northern industrial city of Monterrey in 1992.   The case led to action by the Fiscal Attorney General's Office.    Nonetheless, Lagos protested at undocumented accusations of money laundering in exchange houses, as he insisted they operated under tight controls.   According to a report by the Mexican Finance Ministry, the Association has 48 members, most of them linked to financial groups.   The Ministry also estimates that some 1,500 "exchange centers" exist, which are not regulated and handle about $100 million a day.   In border city Tijuana alone there are some 300 unofficial "exchange centers" the report adds.   -- Claudia Villegas, Mexico City newsroom, +525 728-9549 
12903 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  Argentina's largest labour federation on Wednesday pulled out of a "blackout" planned by opposition parties to protest at austerity measures.   The government warned that the protest planned for Thursday evening could collapse the nation's electrical power grid.   The Radical Party and the centre-left Frepaso coalition have asked Argentines to switch off their lights for five minutes from 8 p.m. local time (2300 GMT) and bang pots and pans to show their disapproval of the ruling Peronists' economic policies.   Rodolfo Daer, head of the CGT union federation, said: "We respect this initiative, but we're not going to join in because the CGT's exclusive task is solving workers' problems, and the blackout was called by parliamentary political parties."   The CGT, instead, is calling a 36-hour general strike on Sept. 26, the second in two months, to protest against cuts in family allowance and new taxes which President Carlos Menem hopes will narrow a $6.6 billion budget deficit.   Unions want pro-growth economic policies to combat unemployment of 17.1 percent.   Sparks have been flying since the government electricity chief warned that a sudden blackout and subsequent surge of demand could plunge the whole country into darkness.   "The electricity system should not be used for protests," said Electric Energy Secretary Alfredo Mirkin.   As churchmen and shopkeepers signed up for the protest and firemen and taxi drivers promised to sound sirens and blow horns, Frepaso chief Carlos "Chacho" Alvarez accused officials of "using fear tactics to discredit the blackout."   Radical leader Rodolfo Terragno argued: "Even if we turned off all the lights in the country, it could not happen at the very same second, so there should not be any problem."   Peronist officials meanwhile stepped up the campaign to ridicule the protest.   Cabinet Chief Jorge Rodriguez said it showed "the opposition's lack of ideas" and the Peronist leader of the Chamber of Deputies, Alberto Pierri, said: "We are not for darkness, we are for light." 
12904 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  A government committee on Wednesday recommended compensating the families of two leading left-wing guerrillas who were killed by the military during the 1964-85 dictatorship.   The families of the two men -- Carlos Lamarca, an army captain who deserted to lead an armed leftist group, and Carlos Marighella, a former federal deputy who advocated the use of force against the regime -- stand to receive roughly $100,000 each in compensation.   The seven-member committee, which includes representatives of the armed forces, families of victims and government officials, voted 5-2 to recommend compensation.   President Fernando Henrique Cardoso still has to approve the payments.   "Today's decision was important because it recognised that the military acted outside the rule of law and that they killed these men when they could have been taken prisoner," committee aide Iara Xavier Pereira said.   Senior military officials have repeatedly said the execution-style killings of the men were justified, given their involvement in the armed struggle against the government.   In July, Alberto Cardoso, top military adviser at the presidential palace, branded Lamarca "a thief, a deserter and a traitor who killed many people."   On Wednesday, the military's representative on the committee blasted the ruling in favour of the compensations.   "This is a grave political mistake," said Oswaldo Pereira Gomes, a retired general.   "It's not the armed forces but the taxpayer who is being hit by this illegal compensation that could lead to others."   Miguel Reale Jr., president of the committee, said questions relating to the political views or military involvement of Lamarca and Marighella were not at issue.   "We didn't judge Lamarca and Marighella," Reale told reporters.   "We did not establish whether they were heroes or traitors.   We examined the circumstances of their deaths, in which there was total domination by the military."   The committee already had ruled on 100 cases of left-wing activists killed by the state during the dictatorship.   Of that number, 18 have been rejected.   About 150 cases remain to be heard. 
12905 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Argentina's ruling Peronist Party was unable Wednesday to obtain quorum in the lower house of Congress to approve a key tax bill and postponed the vote until next week, Peronist officials said.   "We were unable to get quorum today," Jorge Matzkin, head of the ruling party in the Chamber of Deputies, told reporters.   "But there is the political will and I believe that next week we will be able to vote."    There were few Peronist deputies in the chamber and members of the leading opposition parties and provincial parties refused to enter because of the shortage of ruling party congressmen there.   However, Matzkin said he was sure the ruling party would back the measures next week.   "At least in the Peronist bloc (deputies) are fully convinced," he said.    Following are details of the proposed fiscal package that is designed to head off an estimated $6.6 billion deficit this year:   * 46 percent increase in tax on diesel.   * 12 percent increase in gasoline tax.   * 28.6 percent rise in tax on natural gas.   * 10 percent tax increase on diesel vehicles.   (The Deputies' Budget Committee removed an article making fuel tax hikes non-shareable with provinces, leaving it to the Senate to vote on Economy Minister Roque Fernandez's request for this revenue to go exclusively to the central government.)   * Increase in income tax for companies, to 33 percent from 30 percent and for wage-earners on more than $10,000 a month, to 35 percent from 30 percent.   * An increase in the share of personal wealth tax going to the provinces, to 56 percent from 10 percent.   * Authorization for a $4.0 billion increase in government indebtedness for this year.   -- Gary Regenstreif, Buenos Aires Newsroom, 541 318-0618 
12906 !GCAT !GDIS !GENV !GWEA  Hurricane Dolly left parched Nuevo Leon state with about 183 million cubic yards (140 million cubic meters) of water, making it "a great blessing" for the state, Governor Benjamin Clariond said on Wednesday.   Agriculture in this primarily industrial state has been devastated by cylical droughts in recent years.   The Atlantic hurricane struck Mexico last month, leaving two dead.   El Cuchillo dam, the largest in the state, retained 154 million cubic yards (118 million cubic meters) of water because of Dolly, Clariond said.   As of September 9, El Cuchillo had 413 cubic yards (316 million cubic meters) of water, Clariond told reporters during a meeting of the state agricultural cabinet.   He attributed figures to the National Water Commission.    --Debora Montesinos, Monterrey bureau, (528) 345-7677 
12907 !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Ecuadorean President Abdala Bucaram said he was postponing the announcement of a package of economic and social measures planned for Wednesday night until September 20.   Bucaram told foreign correspondents he had postponed the announcement "at the request of some ministers who were still not prepared and at the request of the vice president."   He said that after he does announce his $250 million social program it will be another month before the government's definitive economic plan is finally made public.   "This will take us about another month more (before) I present the definitive project, because there are many laws to eliminate, many paths to shorten and many institutions to eliminate," Bucaram said.   The social plan will concentrate mainly on housing, education and nutrition.   -- Gustavo Oviedo, Quito Newsroom +5932 25-8429 
12908 !E11 !ECAT !GCAT !GHEA  Nicaragua's suicide rate is up 20 percent this year over 1995, largely because of an economic crisis that has sunk most Nicarguans into poverty, according to police statistics released on Wednesday.   The most common methods of suicide are hanging and poisoning, a police report said.   In the latest case, a 16-year-old girl hung herself with a garden hose after her parents bought her sister new shoes but would not buy her any, a local newspaper reported.   Brenda Javiera Noguera Meza, who hung herself from a beam in her home in the poor Managua barrio of Villa Libertad, was the 110th Nicaraguan to commit suicide in 1996, the daily newspaper El Nuevo Diario reported.   Police attributed the suicide wave to the economy, in which 70 percent of Nicaraguans live in poverty, and copycat suicides caused by the media's coverage of the phenomenon.   While love gone bad and depression are still the main motives for committing suicide, the police report cited a growing number of suicides motivated by economic reasons, with 10 cases being reported so far this year. 
12909 !E11 !E51 !E511 !ECAT !GCAT !GTOUR  Ecuadoran President Abdala Bucaram said Wednesday economic growth will be propped up by sectors like construction and tourism.   "The government is going to seek a process of economic growth that will double the pace of population growth.   The government wants to see growth in gross domestic product (GDP)," he told foreign reporters.   Bucaram said his government will encourage investment in tourism, an industry badly needing an injection of funds.    "To do all this, a framework of confidence must be generated, a responsible framework, honest and with a large dose of ethics and morality," he said.   Bucaram added that in order to bring these improvements about, tax collection needs to be improved.   "Ecuador is one of the countries in the world where citizens pay less taxes," he said.   Monetary authorities have estimated that some $900 million in tax revenue is lost every year.    The president confirmed that the government will announce its new economic program at the end of October, but gave no details on the major macroeconomic policy changes it is expected to implement.   Analysts say that one of Ecuador's biggest economic problems is its budget deficit, now at four percent of GDP.   Another major problem is delays in payments to the Paris Club of creditor nations.   Ecuador has $60 million in arrears on its Paris Club debt of some $2.0 billion.    Asked about the delay in payments on some of its foreign bonds, Bucaram replied that Ecuador "is a faithful payer of its debts."   Summing up his performance after one month in office, he said he was satisfied he had broken the tradition of new economic packages being presented every time there is a change of government.   -- Quito Newsroom, 5932 258429 
12910 !GCAT !GVIO  Riot police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse stone-throwing youths on Wednesday on the 23rd anniversary of the military coup that overthrew socialist president Salvador Allende.   Witnesses said about 10 people were injured and at least a dozen others arrested in street battles near the tomb of Allende, who committed suicide during the 1973 coup as air force jets bombed the presidential palace.   The clashes began after about 5,000 people, including Allende's widow and daughter, marched to the Santiago cemetery where the late Marxist president is buried.   Some of the protesters began stoning police, who responded with tear gas and water, witnesses said.   Youths also ransacked the neighbourhood offices of a rightist political party nearby.   In wealthy eastern Santiago, supporters of former dictator General Augusto Pinochet gathered outside his home for an annual show of gratitude for leading the coup, which brought the military to power for 17 years.   Standing in his gray uniform, Pinochet smiled and waved to the admirers and saluted army officers who came to greet him.   Pinochet handed power back to elected civilians in 1990 after losing a referendum, but remains in command of the army.   While leftists protested and rightists celebrated, several politicians said September 11 should be abolished as a national holiday because it only served to divide Chileans and remind them of the country's painful past.   "Having the 11th as a holiday doesn't help the process of reconciliation," said Public Works Minister Ricardo Lagos, a popular Socialist Party leader.   "On a day like this we should be reflecting on how to build the future so that something like (the coup) never happens again," he told reporters.   "I don't think it's a day for celebration."   But rightists, who consider September 11 an almost sacred day of thanks to the armed forces, said the date should remain a holiday as decreed by Pinochet's former government.   "We don't care that some sectors feel that this date only promotes division," said congressman Jovino Novoa, of the pro-military UDI party and one of scores of politicians and military men who went to greet Pinochet.   "Chile became again a free and independent country, thanks to the military intervention of September 11," said Novoa. 
12911 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  A court battle was underway Wednesday in the Cayman Islands over whether or not a locally-owned retail company was authorized to sell 51 percent of its stock to internal duty-free retailer Nuance Ltd.   Nuance is a division of Swissair Associated Cos, part of Swissair, the national airline of Switzerland.   The Cayman Islands Immigration Board in early April refused a request by Island Companies Ltd to sell 51 percent of its stock to Nuance for US$8.3 million.   The board must approve any sale of more than 40 percent of the stock of a company doing business in the Caymans to a foreign entity.   Island Companies operates 15 retail outlets in the British territory.   The shops specialize in designer handbags, sunglasses, jewelry and clothing, catering primary to an upmarket clientele.   Before the Immigration Board could re-review the purchase by Nuance, attorneys for Kirk Freeport Plaza Ltd, a duty-free outlet owned by a local family, filed a suit with the Grand Court to block any reapplication until a complete judicial review of the matter takes place.   The review, which began on Tuesday, was expected to last until September 13, with a decision not expected before the following week. 
12912 !C13 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The Brazilian Senate approved a bill banning financial institutions that receive special Central Bank credit lines from sacking workers for two years, an official said.   The Senate passed the legislation in a show of hands vote.   The bill would stem staff lay-offs in banks bought out or rescued under the government's PROER programme for encouraging mergers in the overcrowded banking sector.   The bill was proposed by Senator Antonio Carlos Magalhaes, a key ally of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso in Congress.   No government leaders were present on the upper house floor when the vote took place.   The bill must still be approved by the Chamber of Deputies.   Magalhaes played a key role in the takeover of failed Banco Economico by Excel Banco, a deal made possible by the use of special PROER credit lines.   Economico was based in Magalhaes political stronghold, the northeastern state of Bahia.   -- Michael Christie, Brasilia newsroom 55-61-2230358 
12913 !GCAT !GDIP  Colombia's Foreign Minister Maria Emma Mejia said Colombia and the United states were "bound together" in the war on drug trafficking and she expected ties between the two countries to soon improve.   Mejia told Reuters neither the United States nor Colombia could win the fight against illegal drugs alone.   Colombia is the world's largest cocaine producer.   "The United States cannot win the battle against drug trafficking without Colombia.   It is imposible.   We are bound together, whether we like it or not," she said on Tuesday at the end of a two-day visit to Brazil.   Relations are at their lowest point since early in the century after Washington decertified Colombia as a nation that is cooperating in the drug war and revoked President Ernesto Samper's U.S. visa.   U.S. officials believe Samper accepted money from drug cartels during his election campaign.   While the U.S. and Colombian governments argued with each other, drug traffickers were profiting and probably "dying of laughter," Mejia said.   "Not to understand the shared responsibility we have in the battle against drug trafficking is short sightedness."   Despite poor relations, the two governments maintain a steady flow of communication and Colombia regularly hosts visits by U.S. military advisers and senior State Department officials, Mejia said.   She said the Clinton administration was actively lobbying the U.S. Congress this week to approve the sale of Blackhawk helicopters requested by Colombia for counter-narcotics use.   In Washington, Assistant Secretary of State Robert Gelbard urged Congress on Wenesday to approve the sale of 12 Blackhawk helicopters to the Colombia army, telling the House of Representatives International Relations Committee that the United States would continue counter-narcotics aid to Colombia's army and police despite its opposition to Samper.   Mejia, who has visited 11 countries in Latin America and Europe since becoming foreign minister two months ago, said she perceived a wave of sympathy towards Colombia in reaction to the U.S. decision to withdraw Samper's visa.   "There is a serious concern that this kind of decision could trigger a wave of instability, which is not what Latin America wants or needs," she said.   She said Colombian Vice President Humberto de la Calle's resignation on Tuesday was unfortunate but would not weaken Samper's resolve to continue in office.   De la Calle said the government had lost confidence and Samper should step down.   "A vice president that deserts his president is very hard to understand," she said, calling the resignation a "new destabilising factor" in her country but one that would not affect Colombia's international relations. 
12914 !C13 !C33 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The head of Colombia's powerful oil workers union said Wednesday that workers would strongly oppose any move by the government to sweeten the terms of its existing oil contracts with foreign companies.   "It would be a step backward for the country and for the national interests," said Hernando Hernandez, president of the 6,000-strong trade union known as USO.   "If the government approves these new reforms it would be an act of high treason," he said.    He added that leaders of the union, which is fiercely nationalistic and has railed against foreign oil companies operating in Colombia in the past, planned to meet Monday in the oil center of Barrancabermeja in northern Santander province to consider staging nationwide protests and a possible strike against the reforms.   President Ernesto Samper confirmed Tuesday that the government was studying revisions in the terms of an association contract that it signed with the British Petroleum Co Plc in the 1980s to explore the Piedemonte area in the country's eastern plains, near the giant Cusiana and Cupiagua oil fields.    He confirmed the possible changes -- which would set an historic precedent in the country's policy toward its jealousy- guarded oil sector -- in a letter to Jose Fernando Isaza.   Isaza, a veteran member of Ecopetrol's board of directors, resigned with two other board members Monday to protest against what he has described as undue pressure to change the contract.   He has argued that BP has no business insisting on revisions to a contract that was already signed, and publicly accused the British oil giant of seeking to take advantage of the weakness of the government -- hard hit over the past year by a scandal stemming from Samper's alleged ties to drug lords.    BP's call for changes in the contract terms date back to June 1995.   It reiterated the call in a statement Monday, saying: "Development of the Piedemonte project is not feasible under the present contract conditions compared to the levels of international competitivity."   Under the so-called sliding-scale formula that currently applies to the Piedemonte contract, BP's profits are divided equally with Ecopetrol when total production is less than 60 million barrels.   Ecopetrol's share rises gradually as accumulated production increases, topping out at 70 percent when it reaches 150 million barrels.    In his letter to Isaza, Samper insisted that any changes in BP's Piedemonte contract would be aimed, not at weakening Colombia's oil policy, but at boosting flagging investment in the oil sector by "making our country more attractive in terms of international standards."   "What we're talking about here isn't the particular case of just one specific company but the country's entire oil policy," Samper said.    Isaza said in an interview in Wednesday's editions of Bogota's El Espectador newspaper that the government would be setting "a fatal precedent" by renegotiating a contract with BP, however, since other companies would be sure to follow in BP's footsteps with similar demands for contractual changes.   Hernandez told Reuters that the USO knew of at least 20 other foreign oil contracts that were sitting on the desk of Energy and Mines Minister Rodrigo Villamizar, awaiting possible retroactive changes in the Piedemonte contract."    "If this one is revised they'll all be revised," he said, adding that a 1989 government decree guaranteeing that 70 percent of Colombia's oil wealth would remain in Colombia was sure to be violated if the contract terms were revised.   "These contracts have already been signed," he said, adding that USO would do everything within its power to make sure that they were respected by the government and foreign oil companies alike. 
12915 !GCAT  Brazilian schoolchildren as young as seven years old will get sex education from next year to prepare them for the joys of physical contact as well as the dangers of AIDS, the government said on Wednesdsay.   "Manifestations of child sexuality occur from a very young age and are inherent to human development," the education ministry said in guidelines on sex education to be distributed to primary school teachers.   Teachers should not criticise pupils for their sexual curiosity to "help the child recognise that his needs and desires for pleasure are acceptable," the document said.   However, the teachers "must also make it clear that sexual acts and similar intimacies are possible manifestations of the sexuality of youths and adults, not of children," it warned.   A ministry spokeswoman said sexual reproduction, safe sex and contraception would be raised in class discussions and denied seven year-olds were too young to learn about sex.   "Most Brazilian schoolchildren are from low income families with little schooling.   Our aim is to show them the importance of respecting their own bodies as early as possible," she said.   Sex education is not part of current national curriculum.   However, some primary and secondary schools have already chosen to include it in classes. 
12916 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GHEA !GPOL  The Brazilian Lower House approved a regulatory bill setting up a financial transaction tax to fund the health services, an official said.   The official said the Chamber of Deputies approved the bill setting out the legal framework for the so-called CPMF cheque tax in a symbolic vote.   The bill now heads for the Senate.    Congress has already approved, after heated debate and last-minute deals, a consitutional amendment permitting the implementation of the tax, which would levy 0.2 percent on all financial transactions and is aimed at funding health services.   The regulatory bill would exempt government bodies, including the federal government, the states and cities and state-owned firms.   Transfers between accounts belonging to the same person or firm would also be exempt, as would be financial transactions by institutions on behalf of third parties, a measure intended to avoid double-taxation.    Those earning less than three minimum salaries a month, currently 336 reais, and state pensioners would be compensated.   The measure is designed to raise 400 million reais a month and is expected to come into effect in 1997 for a year.   -- Michael Christie, Brasilia newsroom 55-61-2230358 
12917 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  The lower house of Brazil's Congress approved on Wednesday a bill outlawing the unlicensed carrying of firearms, considered a key step in curbing a rising tide of violence.   The bill, which must be approved by the Senate, sets jail sentences for unauthorised carriers of weapons, who are now subject only to fines.   President Fernando Henrique Cardoso urged Congress to give it speedy attention in response to concerns that Brazil's long history of violent crime is reaching unprecedented levels.   Thirty-one of every 100,000 Brazilians are murdered, compared with 20 in Mexico and 10 in the United States, and murder is the leading cause of death for Brazilian men aged 20-29, according to official statistics. 
12918 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Mexican officials have discovered U.S. bank accounts belonging to former President Carlos Salinas' brother Raul that may have been used to launder illegal drug money, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.   Reforma said it obtained documents from the Mexican Attorney General's Office that showed officials were investigating the accounts as part of an effort to charge Raul Salinas with money laundering.   Spokesmen at the office were not immediately available to comment on the report.   Salinas was arrested in February 1995 on charges of corruption during his brother's 1988-1994 administration and with plotting the 1994 murder of a top politician.   He has denied both charges.   Reforma said one of the accounts being investigated by Mexican and U.S. officials is at the Laredo National Bank, a bank just over the border in Texas that is owned in part by Mexican financier Carlos Hank Rhon, the son of prominent ruling party politician Carlos Hank Gonzalez.   The bank's president, Gary Jacobs, denied in an interview with Reforma that Raul Salinas had an account there.   The government documents show Salinas may have used the U.S. accounts to transfer money to and from huge secret bank accounts in Switzerland that were discovered late last year, Reforma said.   The Swiss bank accounts prompted a money laundering probe of Salinas by Swiss officials. 
12919 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GWELF  Peruvian Prime Minister Alberto Pandolfi said 44 percent of the government's proposed 1997 budget, or 10.9 billion soles, will be used for social spending.    "This effort to assign more funds to social spending has to be related to greater efficiency in the use of those funds," Pandolfi said in a speech to Congress.   He added that the government's aim was to reduce extreme poverty from 22 percent now to 11 percent in 2000.   Pandolfi said social spending included education, basic health, security and food subsidies.   The government has proposed a 24.765 billion sol 1997 budget, up from 22.263 billion soles for 1996.   -- Andrew Cawthorne, Lima newsroom, 221-2134 
12920 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !G15 !G158 !GCAT  Trade between Mexico and the European Union in 1996 will outstrip the $10 billion posted in 1995, a Trade Ministry official said on Wednesday.   "Of course we can surpass the $10 billion chalked up in 1995," said Deputy Minister of Trade Jaime Zabludovsky, at the opening session of the Mexico-European Union Business Forum.   The European Union is Mexico's second biggest source of foreign investment after the United States, Zabludovsky said.   "For that reason we are looking forward to a formal trade agreement, which should be finalized in a couple of months."   He said Mexico's free trade deal with Chile has made the country more optimistic on the benefits of one with Europe.   "If we look at free trade agreements, particularly with Chile, which is the oldest, we see that trade has increased fourfold and I think this is an important indication of what may happen in the agreement with Europe," he added.   -- Maria Luisa Aguilar, Mexico City newsroom +525 728-9500 
12921 !C12 !C18 !C181 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Cia.   Minera Buenaventura SA said Wednesday it had won a lawsuit allowing the company and its partner, Newmont Mining Co, to exercise pre-emptive rights to buy a 24.7 percent stake in Peru's largest gold miner Minera Yanacocha S.A.   Yanacocha is a joint venture run by Newmont, which will now take a further 13.4 percent stake in the joint venture to increase its overall share to 51.4 percent, Buenaventura announced in the Lima Stock Exchange's daily report.    Buenaventura added it would now take a further 11.3 percent stake in the joint venture to increase its share to 43.6 percent.   The 24.7 percent stake to be taken up by the two companies is worth $109 million, according to a September 2 ruling of a local court, Buenaventura said.   The law court's ruling on the pre-emptive rights can be appealed, Buenaventura said.    Newmont and Buenaventura filed the lawsuit to prevent France's Bureau de Recherches Geoligiques et Mineres from transferring the 24.7 percent stake in Yanacocha to Australia's Normandy Poseidon Ltd.   The remaining five percent of Yanacocha is owned by the World Bank's International Finance Corp.   Yanacocha produces gold through heap-leaching operations at its open-pit mines in highland Cajamarca department some 375 miles north of Lima.   The miner produced 17 tonnes of gold in 1995, up 75 percent from the previous year, and plans this year to boost output to 22 tonnes.   According to latest Energy and Mines Ministry figures, Yanacocha produced 14.28 tonnes in the first seven months of the year, up 56 percent compared with the same period last year.   The joint venture's January to July output accounted for 38 percent of Peru's total output in the first seven months, the ministry said.   -- Saul Hudson, Lima newsroom, 511 221-2134 
12922 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The Peronist government's "Second Reform of State" to streamline the administration will produce savings of $1.3 billion from Argentina's 1997 budget, a spokesman said Wednesday.   "The impact of the reforms on the 1997 budget is a saving of $1.3 billion from improved efficiency in centralized organizations and a new methodology for ensuring the state benefits from court rulings in its favor," said an aide to Alberto Abad, government Strategic Control Secretary.    The Second Reform of State law passed earlier this year gives the government sweeping powers to streamline the public administration, and in June it slashed the number of secretariats and government departments by one third.   The reform came in two parts -- special taxation powers granted to the Economy Minister at the beginning of the year and the administrative reforms.   -- Buenos Aires Newsroom +541 318-0695 
12923 !C42 !CCAT !E14 !E141 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The Brazilian government is planning to increase the national minimum monthly wage by 6.7 percent in May 1997, a senior official was quoted as saying.   Social security benefits will be raised 7.9 percent, the expected rate of inflation between June 1996 and May 1997, Jose Cechin, executive secretary at the Social Security Ministry told newspaper Gazeta Mercantil.   Brazil's minimum monthly salary is currently worth 112 reais.   The increases would lead to a 10 percent increase in overall social security spending, he told Gazeta.   Cechin also said the social security budget might show a 1.3 billion-reais deficit in 1997.   The deficit would be lower should Congress approve the government's pension reform proposals and should the ministry be given new powers to recover debts and improve efficiency.   -- William Schomberg, Brasilia newsroom 5561 2230358 
12924 !GCAT !GDIS !GENV  An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the open-ended Richter scale rocked a wide area of western Colombia on Wednesday but caused no casualties or damage, according to initial reports from the Colombian Seismological Institute.   The tremor struck at 1.28 a.m. (0628 GMT), with its epicentre close to the town of Sipi, in Choco province, 175 miles (280 km) west of the capital Bogota.   The quake, powerful enough to cause considerable damage in a populated area, sparked panic as it shook the cities of Cali, Pereira and Manizales.   It was also felt in other towns.   The tremor was the second in two days in the region.   The first, on Monday, measured 4.6 on the Richter scale.   Last year several earthquakes of varying intensities were felt across Colombia.   The biggest, at 6.0 on the Richter scale, hit the town of Pereira in February, killing 40, leaving scores injured and causing extensive damage. 
12925 !C42 !CCAT !E21 !E211 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Mexican officials have approved a 25 percent wage hike for thousands of workers of the state-run social security system, officials said on Wednesday.   Genaro Borrego, head of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), told Mexico's Radio Red that IMSS workers would receive a 25 percent wage hike effective September 16.   Earlier, state-owned news agency Notimex said the IMSS had approved a 22 percent wage hike.   -- David Luhnow, Mexico City newsroom 525 7289565 
12926 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Congressmen from Argentina's ruling Peronist Party have decided to remove an extension of value-added tax (VAT) from a government fiscal austerity package, local news agencies reported Wednesday.   Peronist leaders in the Chamber of Deputies agreed late Tuesday to accept major measures in the package such as big rises in fuel tax but to reject the extension of VAT to cover items such as cable television and private health payments.   Economy Minister Roque Fernandez hoped for $400 million in extra VAT.   But the main, $1.6-billion chunk of the package, to be debated in the Chamber Wednesday, was the fuel tax rise.    The Peronist deputies agreed not to require the extra fuel tax to be shared with the provinces, but senators might still demand fuel tax funds for the provinces when they discuss the package.   When Fernandez announced the package in August, he said it would cut $1.6 billion from the budget deficit this year and between $4 billion and $4.5 billion from next year's deficit.   He said Tuesday that the government is putting the final touches to a new agreement with the International Monetary Fund which includes a 1996 budget deficit of $5 billion.   The Peronists have a majority in the Chamber of Deputies.   -- Jason Webb, Buenos Aires Newsroom +541 318-0655 
12927 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Brazil's oilworkers will vote next week whether to hold a 24-hour strike on September 26 in protest against state oil monopoly Petrobras pay offer, said Antonio Carlos Spis, president of the United Oilworkers Federation (FUP).   He said a union assembly would vote September 17 on the FUP proposal to hold a 24-hour strike on September 26.   "The assembly will have the final say on how to reject Petrobras' offer," Spis said.   "The assembly will also decide what issues the FUP shold give priority to in its negotiations with Petrobras."    Petrobras and the FUP are diverging sharply over proposed pay increases in their annual salary talks, with Petrobras offering 8.8 percent and the FUP asking for 46.64 percent.   Oil company and FUP officials continued their negotiations yesterday, but Petrobras has not moved from its offer.   Spis said further talks with Petrobras were planned to be held after September 17 and before September 26.    "If the company makes advances on the issues important to us during the next round of talks the strike might be avoided," he said.   "We would present any new proposals to the assembly and hold another vote on strike action."   -- Simona de Logu, Rio de Janeiro newsroom, 5521 507 4151 
12928 !GCAT  These are the highlights of the main Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro newspapers this morning.   GAZETA MERCANTIL   -- BNDES REOPENS SWISS MARKET FOR BRAZIL   Brazil's National Development Bank (BNDES) has issued a 120 million Swiss franc five-year bond.   It is Brazil's first public placing in the Swiss market in 17 years.   -- SENATE VOTES ON ICMS TAX AS FISCAL WAR CONTINUES   The Brazilian senate is due to vote Thursday on a bill abolishing the ICMS tax levied on exports of goods and services, which is meeting some resistance especially from senators in Brazil's less industrialized states.   -- INFLATION INDEX SHOWS FIRST FALL IN PRICES SINCE REAL   For the first time since Brazil introduced its Real economic stabilization plan the country's IGP-M inflation index has shown a deflation in retail prices.   O GLOBO   -- GOVERNMENT TO CONFISCATE LAND FROM BANKS   The Brazilian government will confiscate 24,417 hectares of land from Banco Economico and Banorte, two banks which are currently under Central Bank intervention, to resettle one thousand landless peasant families.   -- FIRST GRADE STUDENTS TO HAVE SEXUAL EDUCATION   As of next year, elementary school teachers are to include sexual education in their lessons with seven to 10-year-old children.   -- POLICE OFFICERS IMPLICATED IN ILLEGAL LOTTERY SUSPENDED   Rio de Janeiro state Governor Marcello Alencar has resuspended police officers implicated in Brazil's illegal lottery known as "jogo do bicho" (animal game) which had been reinstated by the chief of police despite the allegations.   FOLHA DE SAO PAULO   -- MINIMUM SALARY COULD RISE TO 119.50 REAIS IN 1997   Brazil's minimum salary might be increased 6.7 percent in May 1997, raising it to 119.50 reais ($119.50) a month from the currently 112 reais a month.   -- BRAZIL OILWORKERS PLAN STRIKE SEPTEMBER 26   Brazil's United Oilworkers Federation (FUP) is planning to hold a 24-hour strike September 26 over a pay rise dispute with state oil monopoly Petrobras.   Reuters has not verified the stories and cannot vouch for their accuracy.   -- Simona de Logu, Rio de Janeiro newsroom, 5521 507 4151 
12929 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  A group of senior British and foreign military officers attending Britain's Royal College of Defence Studies arrived in Cuba on Tuesday on a three-day fact-finding visit to the communist-ruled Caribbean island.   "This is the first time we have been invited to visit Cuba," Air Vice Marshall Sam Goddard of Britain's Royal Air Force, the group's leader, told reporters at Havana airport.   He headed a 12-strong delegation that consisted mostly of senior officers from the British armed forces but also high ranking army, navy and airforce officers from India, China, Russia, Ukraine and Sri Lanka, all students at the college.   It was believed to be the biggest ever visit by senior serving British military officers to communist-ruled Cuba.   "Cuba has got a lot to offer a group of people who are serious about studying military matters," Goddard said.   He said the group, which will also be travelling to Jamaica, Canada and the United States, would be briefed by their Cuban hosts on the island's national defence policy, the role of its armed forces and its social and economic situation.   The visit formed part of the curriculum of Britain's Royal College of Defence Studies, whose students visit different areas of the world each year as part of their studies.   Goddard said the group hoped to meet Cuban Defence Minister Raul Castro, the brother of President Fidel Castro.   "We are not here to judge.   We are here to observe and learn," Goddard said.   He added: "Until now, we have only learned about Cuba from lectures, newspapers and the TV and there is no substitute for meeting people first hand".   The Chinese member of the group, Colonel Tu of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, said he would be interested in learning what kind of reforms Cuba was introducing.   "I would like to see how socialism works here," he said.   The group was met by Cuban Colonel Jose Martinez Olivera, director of Cuba's National Defence College.   Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), which for several decades received training and arms from the former Soviet Union and other ex-Soviet bloc countries, maintains close links with the military of socialist allies like China and Vietnam.   But in recent years, military delegations from other nations, like Spain and Latin American countries, have visited. 
12930 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Puerto Ricans huddled out of reach of raging waters early on Wednesday, as continuing rains worsened tremendous flooding left by Hurricane Hortense which swept through on Tuesday, leaving seven dead.   Pedro Rossello, governor of the U.S. territory, told an evening news conference that there were at least seven dead and four missing after Hortense's floods and mudslides.   In the Dominican Republic, brushed by Hortense after its trek through Puerto Rico, officials said that three fishermen were lost in high seas in the Bay of Samana off the northeastern coast on Tuesday afternoon.   But the final toll was likely to rise after floodwaters receded and the long cleanup from Hortense began.   Spotty telephone service and impassable roads made it difficult for Puerto Rico's emergency officials to get accurate information about the destruction.   Officials in the Dominican Republic, while noting they had been spared the worst of Hortense's wrath, said they were still assessing damage.   "Happily, we had little damage, but we will evaluate the information now arriving from provincial governments," Dominican Vice President Jaime David Fernandez, who heads the National Emergency Commission, told a news conference.   Although Hortense spent hours off the Dominican coast on Tuesday, most of its power was east of its centre, away from the shore, lessening damage from its high winds and rains though high seas lashed beaches, trees and power lines fell and families were evacuated from coastal zones.   Rossello, in a news conference broadcast on local radio, urged residents to stay inside for safety from the rising waters and said he had asked for a federal disaster declaration from Washington.   "There's still danger of flooding tonight.   Stay in your houses, homes or shelters," he said.   "The people of Puerto Rico have shown that when confronted with a crisis, they know how to respond."   The 24-hour deluge broke rainfall records throughout the island, including 23 inches (58 cm) recorded at Rio Mameyes.   And forecasters said the battered island faced even more water.   "Additional rainfall of 3 to 5 inches, possibly higher over mountainous areas, is possible over Puerto Rico during the next day or two," the National Hurricane Centre said on Tuesday night.   Rossello gave a preliminary estimate of at least $127 million in agricultural losses, topping $100 million lost during 1989's Hurricane Hugo, a stronger storm with less rain.   Nearly 7,000 Puerto Ricans were expected to spend the night in Red Cross shelters.   Authorities said that virtually the entire northeast portion of the island was under water.   Ninety-five percent of the island was without power for hours, although electricity returned for many on Tuesday night.   The U.S. Coast Guard dispatched helicopters to help locate and rescue families stranded by the fast-rising waters.   "There are whole communities on the rooftops in some places," said Petty Officer Brandon Brewer.   Hortense had moved on a westward track into the western Caribbean, moving over the island of Guadeloupe as a tropical storm on Sunday.   But it stalled and gained strength on Monday before taking a turn toward the northwest, moving over Puerto Rico before dawn and heading over the eastern Dominican Republic later on Tuesday.   At 11 p.m.   EDT (0300 GMT), Hortense's centre was at latitude 19.8 north and longitude 69.4 west, or about 35 miles (55 km) north-northwest of Cabo Samana in the Dominican Republic, and moving northwest at 10 mph (17 kph), the National Hurricane Centre said.   The storm was about 850 miles (1,368 km) south of Miami.   Maximum sustained winds were near 75 mph (120 kph), barely hurricane strength.   But forecasters called Hortense's rains an example of the danger carried by even a Category 1 hurricane.   Hortense also was expected to strengthen as it moved away from land and over the warm waters of the tropical Atlantic over the next 24 hours.   Hurricane warnings were posted for the entire north coast of the Dominican Republic, the Turks and Caicos Island and the islands of the southeastern Bahamas.   A tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch were in effect for the north coast of Haiti, and a hurricane watch was up for the central Bahamas.   The National Hurricane Centre said it was too early to tell whether or where Hortense would strike the mainland United States, but said Hortense's track likely would keep it east of southern Florida as it moved north over the next few days. 
12931 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  The Chilean Senate gave final approval on Tuesday to an ambitious free-trade agreement between Chile and the four-nation Mercosur customs union.   By the surprisingly lopsided margin of 36 to 3, the Senate voted to ratify the treaty over the objections of Chilean farmers, who said the treaty would put them out of business by opening the way to cheap Argentine and Brazilian grain.   The treaty stops short of making Chile the fifth member of Mercosur, because Chile wants to determine its own trade policies toward the rest of the world, possibly even joining the North American Free Trade Agreement.   The pact with Mercosur will erase cross-border tariffs on most goods on Oct. 1.   But a list of "sensitive" items, including wheat, rice and some other grains, will be phased out over several more years.   A few items will take up to 18 years to lose their protective tariffs.   Chilean President Eduardo Frei signed the pact in the Argentine city of San Luis in June with the leaders of the four full members -- Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay -- and sent the treaty to the Senate for ratification.   The Congress meets in the port city of Valparaiso. 
12932 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Former Colombian Defence Minister Fernando Botero has been sentenced to 63 months in jail and a $2 million fine for his role in the campaign finance scandal dogging President Ernesto Samper, judicial sources said Tuesday.   They said the sentence, worked out as part of a plea bargain agreement between Botero's lawyer and the chief prosecutor's office, had been handed down by a so-called "faceless" or anonymous judge specialising in drug-related crimes.   The judge increased the $1 million fine proposed by the prosecutor's office to $2 million, however, the judicial sources told Reuters.   Botero, son of the world renowned painter and sculptor of the same name, served as the manager of Samper's 1994 election campaign before being appointed HIS defence minister.   He was arrested in August of last year on the drug-related charge of illicit enrichment stemming from allegations that the campaign received millions of dollars in contributions from the Cali drug cartel.   Botero, who has been held at a sprawling military base on the north end of Bogota since his arrest, broke a long silence last February to charge that Samper know about and personally approved the use of drug money to finance his campaign.   Samper, whose vice president resigned Tuesday citing the finance scandal and damage it has done to the government's credibility, was absolved of any wrongdoing in a congressional trial in June. 
12933 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The U.S. ambassador to Mexico said on Tuesday his country is willing to help Mexico fight a new, leftist guerrilla force, saying "all they (Mexicans) need to do is ask."   "The two most likely areas would be in any exchange of information that we might have and ... would be training," U.S. ambassador James Jones told reporters in Mexico City.   Mexico has been rocked by a wave of guerrilla violence carried out by the Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR in Spanish), leaving 19 dead and 32 injured since Aug. 28, according to official figures.   The Mexican government has made a wide distinction between the EPR, which has launched sneak attacks in several Mexican states, and the Maya Indian-based Zapatista rebels in southeastern Chiapas state.   While the EPR has been labeled "terrorist" by some, the Zapatistas have been praised for negotiating with the government, although talks are now stalled.   The U.S. ambassador also applied the terrorist label to the EPR.   "As you know, the United States has had to become expert on terrorism ourselves and we have trained the people to know how to deal with anti-terrorist actions," Jones said.   Jones also said he expected Mexico to overcome the EPR, saying, "We have full confidence in Mexico, in its future, in its economy and its ability to handle this kind of terrorist activity." 
12934 !C41 !C411 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  The Chilean senate approved Carlos Massad's nomination to become a member of the five-member central bank board of governors.    The senate approved Massad, an economist and former health minister, by a vote of 23 to two with one abstention.   The vote amounted to an important political victory for President Eduardo Frei, who saw a first vote on Massad's nomination end in defeat last month.   The government's rightist opponents left the chamber minutes before the vote.   Massad replaced Roberto Zahler, who resigned in June. 
12935 !GCAT  GOVT DENIES TELSTRA WILL MOVE SOME UNITS OVERSEAS   The Federal Government says Telstra Chief Executive, Frank Blount, is not considering moving some operator services to the Philippines.   The Opposition has accused Telstra of turning its back on Australian workers and selling jobs offshore.   But Deputy Prime Minister, Tim Fischer, says Mr Blount has advised him that he hasn't been involved in any discussions canvassing the merits of any proposal to out-source to the Philippines.   - - - -   N.T. RELEASES ANTI-DISCRIMINATION PROGRAMME   The Northern Territory Government has today released an information package on anti-discrimination laws in 14 Aboriginal languages.   The package which includes videos, tapes, written material and television promotions has been developed to meet recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.   Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination Commissioner, Dawn Lawrie, says the recommendations stipulate that Aboriginal people have to be informed about their rights under anti-discrimination laws.   - - - -   COMPENSATION REQUEST FOR PARLIAMENT HOUSE RIOT   The ACT Trades and Labor Council has been asked for around 90-thousand dollars compensation for the pre-budget riot at Parliament House.   The House of Representatives Speaker and the Senate President have asked for the compensation.   Senate President, Margaret Reid, says the T-L-C hasn't replied.   Senator Reid says the Council's been asked to pay for the damage that's been calculated so far, which is not the full amount.   - - - -   BONDI XMAS PARTY WILL COST   Backpackers thinking of spending Christmas Day on Sydney's Bondi Beach will now have to fork out money for the privilege.   Waverley Council says managing the event is more productive than resisting it, and will now partition off a section of the beach, providing it with an alcohol licence and organised entertainment.   Revellers will no longer be allowed to bring their own alcohol, and will have to pay 20 dollars for pre-booked tickets, or 25 dollars for tickets on the day.   - - - -   STUDY EXPLAINS DIFFERENCES IN WEIGHT GAIN   A new study helps explain why two people can eat the same sort of food, but only one will gain weight.   A research team from Brisbane says it's found that obese people absorb fat more efficiently than lean people.   Gastro-enterologist, Dr Tim Florin says that's due to the turnover of bile in the small intestine.   He says the preliminary findings suggest that eating behaviour is not the only issue and there may be other ways genes influence obesity.   Dr Florin says the findings could have significant impact on the treatment of obesity.   -- Reuters Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 
12936 !GCAT  HOWARD WELCOMES NUKE TREATY SUPPORT   Prime Minister, John Howard, says Australia welcomes the adoption of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty by the United Nations.   He says the CTBT is a vital step towards the goal of the elimination of nuclear weapons.   He has urged all nations to join Australia in signing and ratifying the treaty.   Mr Howard says Australians can be proud of the role Australia's played in achieving the outcome.   - - - -   BY-ELECTION DATE TO BE DETERMINED   House of Representatives Speaker, Bob Halverson, will announce a date for the western Sydney by-election after consulting with the electoral commission and the leaders of the two main parties.   The court of disputed returns this morning ordered a by-election in the seat of Lindsay on the grounds that the winning Coalition candidate was ineligible to stand.   Jackie Kelly was ruled ineligible on the grounds that she was a New Zealand citizen at the time of the election.   Ms Kelly won Lindsay in March with a margin of one-point-six per cent from former Labor minister, Ross Free,   Both will recontest the seat.   - - - -   BEAZLEY: ALP UNDERDOGS IN BY-ELECTION   Opposition leader, Kim Beazley, says the Lindsay by-election will be the first chance for Australian voters to make a statement about the Federal Government's performance so far.   The court of disputed returns this morning ordered a re-run of the election in the western Sydney seat after it ruled the winning Coalition candidate ineligible.   The court found Jackie Kelly ineligible because she was a New Zealand citizen at the time of the election.   Mr Beazley says ALP candidate and former minister Ross Free will come into the by-election as the underdog.   He says there's been no indication that voter intentions have changed since the federal election.   - - - -   INDEPENDENT MP'S MAIDEN SPEECH CONDEMNED   The Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils says Queensland Independent MP Pauline Hanson is out of touch with reality.   This follow Ms Hanson's maiden speech to Federal Parliament last night where she called for a review of immigration policy and the abolition of multiculturalism.   Ms Hanson told Parliament that a truly multicultural country could never be strong or united.   Chairman of the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils, Vic Rebikoff, has condemned the speech as racist and ignorant.   - - - -   CATHOLIC CHURCH WEIGHS INTO ABORTION CASE   The Catholic Church has told the High Court it must hear argument about the legality of abortion.   The church is seeking a chance to put its arguments in a case currently being heard in Canberra between Super Clinics Australia and a female patient.   The patient is claiming damages because she says doctors failed to diagnose her pregnancy until the fifth month when it was too late for termination.   Counsel for the church has told the judges that the defence of necessity used to allow abortions is unclear and the court should take the opportunity to hear legal argument.   The church claims any win for the woman will have wide ranging ramification for all health care providers.   The woman is opposing the application, the hearing is continuing.   - - - -   N.T. MAY THREATEN GOVT'S SENATE POSITION   A Northern Territory politician says the Government's position in the Senate will be weakened if a bill overriding the Territory's voluntary euthanasia law is passed.   Country Liberal Party member Eric Poole says success of the bill would force Territory Senator Grant Tambling onto the cross benches in protest against the assault on Territory rights.   The bill to prevent any Australian Territory making a law to allow voluntary euthanasia was introduced by a Liberal backbencher this week.   But Mr Poole says any advantage gained by the Government from the defection of Labor Senator Mal Colston to the crossbenches could be lost if the bill is passed.   - - - -   WORRIES FOR REMOTE TELSTRA CUSTOMERS   Doubt has been cast on the ability of a partially privatised Telstra to meet its commitments to regional and remote Australians.   The Consumer Telecommunications Network says the Federal Government's proposed protections for such customers under its partial Telstra sell-off plans will be hard to enforce.   The network's Helen Campbell says in order to complain, Telstra customers would have to go to the ombudsman to obtain a certificate of complaint, then go to the Federal Court to get it enforced.   Ms Campbell says this would make it difficult for remote customers to get redress if service guarantees aren't met.   - - - -   MEDIBANK DENIES FEE RISE INTENTION   Health insurer, Medibank Private, says it hasn't applied to the Federal Government to increase its premiums.   It has been reported that Medibank wants to increase its premiums by more than 10 per cent, or 190 dollars a year for families, and 97 dollars for singles.   But Medibank General Manager, Ken MacDougall, says the insurer is in the process of reviewing its costs and bottom line, but no recommendations have yet been put to the board.   Mr MacDougall says any proposed fee changes have to be passed by the board, before a formal application can be made.   - - - -   CENTURY ZINC: ABORIGINES SUBMIT PLAN   ATSIC Deputy Chairman, Ray Robinson, says the Century Zinc mine dispute in Queensland's north west could be settled for much less than the 60 million dollars the company's offering Aborigines.   Mr Robinson says Aboriginal groups have forwarded an alternative proposal worth 20 million dollars to the state government.   It involves signing over the ownership of five cattle properties from Century Zinc to Aboriginal groups, and the acquisition of properties along the proposed pipeline to Karumba.   Under the plan, these properties would be designated National Parks.   Mr Robinson says the state government and Century Zinc should agree to accept the offer in order to get the billion dollar mine off the ground.   -- Reuters Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 
12937 !GCAT  (Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors)   THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW   Providing further evidence of the success of Australia's entertainment industry, Village Roadshow yesterday announced its eighth consecutive profit increase, delivering a rise in 1995/96 profits of almost 25 percent.   Page 1.   --   The Australian Gas Light Co yesterday ended its monopoly over the gas distribution network, opening up its New South Wales pipelines to third party users.   Natural gas can now be transported to market through AGL's New South Wales gas distribution network as part of a move to de-regulate the gas market in all states and territories.   Page 5.   --   Shares in BHP Co Ltd lost another 48 cents yesterday, taking losses for the week to A$1.20 and wiping A$2.3 billion off the company's market capitalisation.   The plunge was sparked by chief executive John Prescott's downbeat comments to Reuters about the copper and teel markets and the revelation by a leading broker of a big cut in forecast earnings.   Page 21.   --   An encouraging outlook for the Adsteam group, along with acquisitions by the group last year, have set the scene for the A$150 million float of the towage, ship agency and ship salvage group's tug-boat operations early next year.   Adsteam Steamship Co Ltd yesterday announced a profit of A$81.2 million for 1995/96, aided by the A$750 million sale of retailer David Jones Ltd.   Page 21.   --   After releasing a A$7.7 million full-year loss yesterday, national coachline Greyhound Pioneer said its board was finalising a A$7 million convertible note issue to upgrade its coach fleet and provide additional working capital.   Greyhound's current liabiities are well above current assets of A$5.8 million and it has just A$670,000 in cash.   Page 21.   --   Higher than expected operating costs at the San Cristobal mine in Chile and lower head grades at the Red Dome mine in north Queensland have given Niugini Mining an interim net loss of A$4.1 million.   However, general manager in charge of corporate and finnce, Jeff Quartermaine, said yesterday Niugini expected a better second half compared to the first.   Page 22.   --   THE AUSTRALIAN   Mining giant BHP was rocked by a billion-dollar-plus fall in its stock market value following a combination of a stronger dollar and weakened metal prices, sparking a massive selldown.   BHP's share price fell 72 cents sending its market capitalisation from A$32.4 billion to A$31 billion amid concerns of decreased profitability.   Page 21.   --   Following solid returns from radio and theme park interests, Village Roadshow's annual profit was pushed 25 percent higher to A$47.5 million.   Although group sales rose 20.5 percent to A$297.1 million, earnings from core cinema and film divisions only rose five percent to A$22.8 million.   Page 21.   --   The Federal Government has announced the launch of an independent investigation into rorts of the now defunct syndicated research and development tax concession scheme.   The inquiry will also investigate allegations that the Southern Cross Foundation misused tax breaks under the scheme.   Page 21.   --   A Peruvian court has ruled that a subsidy of Robert Champion de Crespigny's Normandy Group lose its stake in one of Latin America's richest gold mines.   Although the ruling serves as a blow to Normandy's international expansion plans, the group will receive A$97 million compensation.   Page 21.   --   Gary Rice, chief executive of the Seven Network Ltd, claims the broadcaster will remain focused on expanding interests in free-to-air broadcasting despite growing commitments into pay-TV and a A$250 million investment into Hollywood.   Page 22.   --   As the Wallis inquiry unfolds, Bankers Trust Australia Ltd has gone against the consensus of Australia's major financial institutions by warning the inquiry against lifting the ban on mergers between larger banks and leading life offices.   Page 23.   --   THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD   The Taxation Commission has warned employers and executives seeking to avoid the new 15 percent superannuation surcharge by clever salary packages, that the tax office was not naive to the potential of extensive salary packaging to be used to avoid the payment of the surcharge.   Page 25.   --   The Commonwealth Bank plans to give up to A$100 million of its shares to employees over the next three years under proposals tailored to changes in staff share schemes announced in the recent federal budget.   Page 25.   --   The Australian Gas Light Co is poised to end its monopoly on the New South Wales gas industries with the release of terms and conditions for competitor access to its natural gas distribution network.   Last night AGL managing director Len Bleasel claimed hsi company was preparing for the increased competition.   Page 25.   --   Strong growth from radio group Austereo, which earlier this week announced a 97 percent jump in profit to A$36.5 million, helped lift entertainment group Village Roadshow's annual net profit by 25 percent to A$47.5 million.   Group sales revenue for the year to June 30 increased by 20.5 percent to A$297.1 million.   Page 27.   --   Despite a 14 percent drop in sales to A$106.8 million, Melbourne casino developer and property group Hudson Conway yesterday announced a virtually steady net profit of A$25.72 million for the year to 30 June.   The largest shareholder in Crown Casino, with a 37 percent stake, Hudson Conway said development of the new permanent casino site was proceeding to plan and it was very satisfied with the operating performance of the casino last year.   Page 27.   --   Compared with a A$10.1 million profit last year, former one-time sharemarket darling, Mount Edon Gold Mines, yesterday announced a A$9.6 million loss for the last financial year and confirmed it was unable to make repayments on its bank debt.   The result was sparked by lower than expected production from its flagship Tarmoola mine and low head grades.   Page 27.   --   THE AGE   The entertainment giant Village Roadshow has reported a rise in earnings growth of 24.97 percent with a net result of A$47.5 million - up from A$38 million previously - for the year to 30 June.   Directors declared an unfranked final dividend of 8.5 cents an ordinary share.   Page B1.   --   The newly privatised Commonwealth Bank of Australia is planning a A$126 million free share offer, discounts and lucrative options to staff and senior executives.   Most of the bank's 36,000 full and part-time staff will each receive shares worth A$3,000 over three years.   Page B1.   --   According to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 1995/96 proved to be a record year for the minerals and energy sector, with export earnings figures increasing 12 percent to A$33.9 billion.   Across-the-board strength of world prices and increased export volume contributed to the boom, despite most commodities selling at prices below individual record levels.   Page B1.   --   Normandy Mining has lost the opening round of a legal battle over a 24.7 percent interest in the US$1 billion-plus Yanacocha gold mine in the Peruvian Andes, after the other partners in the mine, Newmont of the U.S. and Buenaventura SA, challenged the Yanaocha component of the deal on the basis that it triggered the joint venture's pre-emptive rights agreement.   Page B3.   --   In a submission to the Wallis inquiry into the financial system, U.S.-owned investment bank Bankers Trust warned of the dangers of allowing mega-mergers among banks, claiming mergers would lessen competition in lending to small and medium businesses and in distribution of financial products.   Page B3.   --   The Australian Gas Light Co's monopoly over the New South Wales gas industry came one step closer to ending yesterday when the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal released terms and conditions for access to its natural gas distribution network.   AGL managing director Len Bleasel said last night that it would not be easy for the company to operate in the increasingly deregulated industry because of the new competitive environment, but he believed AGL was well positioned after five years of hard work.   Page B3.   -- Reuters Sydney Newsroom 61-2 373-1800 
12938 !GCAT  (Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors)   THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW   Australian National will this week place newspaper advertisements calling for registrations of interest to take over the operations of several of its business units, following the release of a report by former NSW Rail Authority head John Brew which states that AN will never make a profit and it should be broken up and sold.   Page 1.   --    Telstra is set to lose A$200 million this financial year from its 63-member Operator Assistance Service network and is considering outsourcing, or closing a number of centres to reduce costs, but chief executive Frank Blount has ruled out a plan to establsh a Philippines OAS centre.   Page 3.   --   The New South Wales Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal is attempting to resolve a commercial dispute between National Rail Corp and the State's new rail access body, Rail Access Corp.   The national freight carrier is moving to secure access contrcts on a fully commercial basis with each of the    States, covering its entire network.   Page 4.   --   After High Court Chief Justice Gerard Brennan decided yesterday to invalidate the election of Liberal Jackie Kelly in the far west Sydney seat of Lindsay in the March Federal election, the Howard Government will face its first electoral test in the blue cllar heartland.   Page 5.   --   THE AUSTRALIAN    The Australian Catholic Health Care Association and the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference yesterday mounted the first legal challenge to Australia's abortion law in the High Court.   The groups aim to strike down two key rulings in New South Wales and Victoria which underpin the widespread availability of abortion.   The Catholic bodies appear as a friend of the court in an unusual case in which no abortion occurred.   Page 1.   --    In a significant step towards worldwide nuclear disarmament, the United Nations yesterday approved the first nuclear test ban treaty.   The treaty, initiated by Australia, was backed by all five nuclear weapons states and US President Bill Clinton thanked Forign Minister Alexander Downer in a public statement for his work in bringing the treaty to light.   Page 1.   --   The Federal Government and Opposition were gearing up for the first electoral test since March following the High Court ruling that the sitting member for Lindsay, Jackie Kelly, was not capable of being chosen for Parliament as she was in the    Airforce at the time she nominated for election.   The Australian Electoral Commission is currently waiting for instructions to begin the by-election process.   Page 1.   --   The ACT Trades and Labour Council and the Australian Council of Trade Unions have rejected a Federal Government request of A$91,000 to cover the damage bill following last month's pre-Budget Parliament House riots.   The Labour movement intends to purse the matter in court if Parliament does not accept their rejection.   Page 3.   --    THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD   Following a report into Government rail operations, Australia's famous passenger services - the Ghan and the Indian Pacific - are likely to be sold due to debts of A$1 billion.   The sell-off will be a part of a total Government withdrawal from the troubledrail operations.   Page 1.   --   The Coalition Government faces its first electoral test after the High Court ruled that the ballot in the Sydney seat of Lindsay was void.   During the March 2 poll, Lindsay fell to the Coalition with an 11.5 percent swing.   Page 1.    --   Prime Minister John Howard has personally intervened in a refugee case by asking Immigration Minister Phil Ruddock to review the circumstances of three Chinese women and their families who have failed in the fight to obtain refugee status on the basis of China's one-child policy.   Page 3.   --   Federal Arts Minister Richard Alston, has proposed that Artbank, the A$11 million art lending library which boasts a collection of over 7,500 works and an annual turnover of A$11 million, be privatised.   The move has outraged the arts community    who feel a rivate operator may place commercial imperatives ahead of the library's community-service.   Page 3.   --   THE AGE   After handing down a State Budget that forecasts a A$2.17 billion surplus, but no tax cuts or big spending, Victorian Treasurer Alan Stockdale said yesterday that Victorians were unlikely to get significant tax relief over the next three years and busines would benefit from any tax changes.   Page A1.   --    Australian Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Butler said yesterday it would be extremely hard for any nation to conduct a nuclear test following the passing of a comprehensive test-ban treaty resolution moved by Australia, which received 158 votes o three, with only five abstentions.   Page A1.   --   The Catholic Church yesterday succeeded in gaining access to a High Court case that will rule on abortion for the first time.   A Sydney woman is suing a medical centre because she was not advised of her pregnancy until it was too late to have an abortion nd the church will use the case to have the High Court    decide under what grounds an abortion can be performed in Australia.   Page A1.   --   In a submission to the Mansfield inquiry into the role and functions of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, top television industry body the Screen Producers Association of Australia suggests the ABC should sell its studio facilities and real estate and get rid of almost all its program-making staff if it is to survive as a quality broadcaster.   Page A1.   -- Sydney Newsroom 61-2 373-1800 
12939 !GCAT  **BIRTHDAYS**   One of the least-liked members of the Royal family, GEORGE IV, was born in 1762.   His extravagance and cruelty to his wife CAROLINE of Brunswick undermined the popularity of the monarchy.   English poet and writer ROBERT SOUTHEY was born in 1774.   Radical Australian politician WILLIAM MCLELLAN was born in 1831.   He was known as "The Dove of Ararat".   The American financier DIAMOND JIM BRADY was born in 1856.   His gem collection included 12 gold bicycles with ruby handle-bars.   American film director CECIL B. DE MILLE was born in 1881.   DE MILLE was legendary for his large-scale biblical epics such as "The Ten Commandments".   Australian journalist and newspaper owner SIR KEITH MURDOCH was born in 1885.   He earned the title of a "would-be press and radio dictator".   Tennis-ace HARRY HOPMAN was born in Sydney was born in 1906.   He played in four Davis Cups and established the Womens' Federation Cup in 1963.   He turned to coaching and was a major influence in the careers of the world's greatest tennis players.   The legendary swimmer ANDREW 'BOY' CHARLTON was born in 1907.   He was known as the "Manly Flying Fish" and won Olympic gold but never an Australian title.   He had very little formal training and conducted most of his preparation for events in the surf.   Australian painter CHARLES BLACKMAN was born in 1928.   British guitarist with Dire Straits MARK KNOPLER was born in 1949.   German bass player and songwriter JURGEN DEHMEL with the group Nena was born in 1958.    **EVENTS**    1609 : HENRY HUDSON, English navigator and explorer,   entered the river known afterward as the Hudson, in North America.    1848 : Switzerland adopted a new constitution under which   it became a Federal Republic.    1869 : Dr PETER MARK ROGET, British scientist and compiler   of the "Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases", first published in 1852, died.    1874 : Cricket became a womans' game.   The match involving   22 women caused unusual curiosity and excitement in England.   The Nash parish team scored 115 in one innings against 86 scored by the Great Harwood parish in two innings.    1877 : The age of hi-tech had its humble beginnings with   the first public demonstration of a recording.   A small group of people at THOMAS EDISON's "invention factory" witnessed the demonstration of a new device called the phonograph.   It recorded the human voice.   The group listened dumbfound to a recording of EDISON reciting "Mary Had A Little Lamb."    1908 : The Model T Ford rolled-off the factory floor.   The   car was the first to be mass-produced, and revolutionized motoring.   The car retailed for the relatively low price of $825.   The Model T was the brain-child of company president HENRY FORD.   It utilised standardized parts and assembly-line production to keep the price down.    1928 : The Olympic Games came of age in Amsterdam, when   more than 3,000 competitors from 46 countries participated.   Previous games had been dominated by North America and Western Europe, but the Amsterdam Games drew a truly international field.    1932 : Australia was awarded a contract at the Imperial   Conference in Canada, to supply meat to the British Army.   The contract was welcomed by Australian cattle producers.    1935 : U.S. millionaire HOWARD HUGHES flew a plane of his   own design at 352.46 m.p.h. to establish the first of his several aviation records.    1949 : Starlings on the miunte hand of London's Big Ben   made the clock lose four-and-a-half minutes.    1953 : American politician and future president JOHN F.   KENNEDY married JACQUELINE BOUVIER.    1959 : Parents and children rioted in Arkansas over   racial segregation in schools.    1960 : The first communications satellite, "Echo", was   launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida.    1964 : The man who created secret agent JAMES BOND 007,   IAN FLEMING, died of heart failure.    1964 : One of the 'Great Train Robbers', CHARLIE WILSON,   escaped from jail.    1970 : The supersonic airliner Concorde landed for the   first time at Heathrow airport in London, causing a barrage of complaints about the noise.    1972 : An Icelandic gunboat sank two British trawlers in   the North Sea in the first hostilities of the "Cod War".    1974 : Emperor HAILE SELASSIE of Ethiopia was deposed in   an army coup.   He had ruled since 1930.    1980 : The first giant panda born in captivity was   delivered safely at a zoo in Mexico.    1982 : American actor HENRY FONDA died.   He was the father   of actress JANE and actor and director PETER.   He was 77.   HENRY FONDA won his first Oscar earlier that year, for his part in the 1981 film "On Golden Pond".    1983 : In Santiago, Chile, 17 people were killed in a   demonstration against military dictator General PINOCHET.    1990 : In the aftermath of the Tienanmen Square massacre,   the communist Chinese government was attempting to improve its image.   The government efforts received a major setback with the release of official documents relating to riots in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa.   It was revealed more than 450 were killed, 750 injured and 3,000 detained.   More embarrassing for Beijing was the revelation that People's Armed Police dressed as Tibetans provoked the riots, by attacking and burnings shops and offices.    1994 : Soldiers from NATO states and their former   communist foes joined forces for the first time in a military exercise in Poland, an event hailed as historic by officials from East and West.   (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 
12940 !GCAT  DOMINION   Front page - Tax-credit flop raises National's anxieties   Bolger silent on talks with Dalai Lama   CHE loses court action over bill for patient's care   Captain's wife draws line at Ranfurly Shield in bed   Park gets test reprieve   Fire victim's family relieved   Business - Bonds, shares ready to take off   Thistle issuse float prospectus   Fletcher Paper shares rated a sell   Cafe culture leads food sales boom    TransAlta gets A-grafe credit rating from agency   Otter's gold production and profits increase   Sport - Shield of silence on Chiefs' home base   Lomu may make comeback against Wellington   More play, more pay says Wallabies' union   NEW ZEALAND HERALD   Front page - Ex tenant cleans up with sale to soap star   Super crane and $11 million port letdown   Nuts give toddler close call   Soulmate follows Robbie Horton's path   Editorial - Just pre-election posers    Sport - We don't need Farr says main Kiwi designer   Devoy trains champ   Decision on Chief's home base delayed   Bourne eyes top spot on Oz rally   Blues tinge colours Auckland awards   Business - No ritzy price in Thistle float   Auckland retail growth well down   Punters flock to Sky City   Gondola firm positive   Independent up 16pc   Heinz proposes to sell non-performing assets    CHRISTCHURCH PRESS   Front page - Few families apply for new tax credit   Kiwi staff used over money loss   US warns Saddam of more air strikes   Missing man found in NI   Two killed in train-car crash   Higher health payment warning   Business - Smiths adopts constitution   Dairy Brands warns its result will be lower   Pure NZ posts small profit   NZ Experience down, but looking up    Sport - Cook wins NZ squash champs   Excluded Wilson sees no justice in Davis Cup selections   Pocock at Lincoln to re-establish NZ career   Nelson looks to whitewash Stars 
12941 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Australian labour force data for August is released at 11.30 a.m. (0130 GMT) today.   The median forecast of the 32 economists Reuters surveyed is for a rise of 11,000 in the month.   Forecasts range from a fall of 20,000 to a rise of 30,000, although only three economists are forecasting a fall.   The unemployment rate is seen at 8.5 percent, unchanged from July, with forecasts ranging from 8.2 to 8.7 percent.   Employment is expected to have received a boost of around 10,000 to 15,000 in August from the hiring of workers for the national census.   These are expected to mainly impact on part time employment, and economists said their inclusion should be considered when reacting to any signs of strength in the employment figure.   Recent months data, and August forecasts, are tabled below:   ---------------------------------------------------------------   Employment Mar  Apr May  Jun  Jul Aug(f)   Level  8,281.0 8,290.8 8,324.8 8,333.5 8,343.2 8,354.2   mth change -55.3 +9.8 +34.0 +8.7 +9.8 +11.0   Unemp rate 8.5  8.9  8.5  8.3  8.5  8.5   Part Rate 63.4 63.6 63.5 63.4 63.5 63.5   ---------------------------------------------------------------   The labour force data will be closely watched as it is seen as the key to any monetary easing in late 1996.   The stalling of the unemployment rate at around 8.5 percent -- it has been between 8.0 and 9.0 percent since the beginning of 1995 -- was one of the key factors behind the July 31 rate cut.   With inflation and wages expected to show continuing moderation in annual terms when third quarter data is released in October, further weakness in employment is the key to another rate cut, economists said.   The August data is not expected to show any great strength.   Even a rise of 10,000 or so, in line with the growth of the past few weeks, may be seen as weak given the inclusion of the census workers.   While employment will have risen for five consecutive months if the median forecast is realised, it can hardly be seen as a sign of strength, economists said.   If the median forecast of an 11,000 rise is realised, employment will have risen by only 18,900 in the first eight months of 1996, or just under 2,500 per month.   While still positive, this rate of growth is not sufficient to make any impact on the unemployment rate, and most economists expect continued softish growth for a few months yet.   Economists forecasts for the August labour force report are listed below.   -----------------------------------------------------    Employ Unemp Part    Rate Rate    ABN Amro +12,000 8.5 63.5    AMP +10,000 8.5 63.5    ANZ Banking -5,000 8.7 63.5    ANZ Securities  -20,000 8.5 63.3    Axiom flat 8.6 63.5    Bain +10,000 8.5 63.6    BT Australia +16,000 8.5  n/f    BZW Australia  +17,000 8.4 63.5    Citibank +5/20,000 8.3/6 63.4/6    Commonwealth +25,000 8.4 63.5    County Natwest  +30,000 8.3 63.5    CS 1st Boston flat 8.5 63.4    Dresdner +27,000 8.5 63.6    GIO Australia  +15,000 8.4  n/a    HongKong +20,000 8.4 63.5    James Capel +10,000 8.5 63.5    JB Were +20,000 8.3 63.5    JP Morgan +25,000 8.2 63.4    Macquarie +20,000 8.4 63.5    McIntosh +10,000 8.7 63.5    Merrills +5,000 8.5 63.5    NAB +10,000 8.5 63.5    National Mutual  +10,000 8.5 63.5    Nomura +7,000 8.5 63.5    Pru Bache +7,000 8.6 63.5    Rothschild +15,000 8.6  n/f    SBC Warburg +25,000 8.5 63.6    Schroders +10,000 8.5  n/f    St George +12,000 8.5 63.5    State Bank +17,000 8.5 63.5    UBS +10,000 8.4 63.5    Westpac -5/10,000 8.6 63.5   ----------------------------------------------------------------    Low -20,000 8.2 63.3    High +30,000 8.7 63.6    Average +11,700 8.5 63.5    Median +11,000 8.5 63.5   ----------------------------------------------------------------   -- Sydney newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 
12942 !C12 !C18 !C181 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Justice Robert Fisher on Wednesday reserved his decision on the legality of Utilicorp NZ's agreements with four local authorities in the former Valley Power region over their Power New Zealand holdings.   Fisher said he would try to deliver a quick decision.   In the Auckland High Court, Mercury has alleged the non-disclosure of the agreements between UtiliCorp and the four councils over their holdings was illegal.   -- Wellington Newsroom (64-4-4734746) 
12943 !GCAT !GCRIM !GREL  Australia's highest court on Wednesday allowed the Catholic Church to intervene in what lawyers said is the country's first test case on abortion.   The court allowed the church into a case to challenge a woman who is claiming damages from a medical centre that failed to diagnose her pregnancy in time for an abortion.   The church is trying to prevent the court from ruling that abortion is legal.   The woman, who cannot be named, claims a medical centre failed to diagnose her pregnancy in time for an abortion, costing her the expenses of child-rearing and the income that, as a stay-at-home mother, she can no longer earn.   The woman gave birth to a daughter in 1987.   Church anti-abortion campaigner Bishop Pat Power said the church's main concern was the rights of the unborn child.   "We believe that, in the whole abortion debate and practice, that really hasn't been looked at in any particularly significant way," Power told Reuters.   At the original trial in 1994, a New South Wales state court rejected the woman's claim, saying abortion was illegal.   She won on appeal in 1995 when the appeal court ruled abortion in the state can be legal sometimes.   Now the medical centre has now appealed further to the High Court of Australia.   "This will be the first time that it's been looked at even in an appeal court," Power said.   "And of course, when the highest court in the land is looking at the issue of abortion, we consider it important that the interpretation of the law be put under scrutiny."   In part, the church fears having to advise women in its own hospitals that they can have an abortion, violating fundamental Catholic beliefs.   "Catholic hospitals may not be able to continue providing for the care of pregnant women," he said.   The church is scheduled to make its submission to the court on Thursday and expects the pro-abortion lobby to involve itself.   "I think the hope is that the matter will be concluded tomorrow, although I think the pro-abortion lobby is now looking to intervene in the case too," Power said.   Abortion is generally freely available in Australia although in most states, abortion on demand is technically illegal.   However, the laws allow abortions in many circumstances, notably where a physician decides the woman's physical or mental health might be be in jeopardy if the baby is carried to term. 
12944 !C13 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Sugar cane grower organisation CANEGROWERS said it strongly supported a recommendation by the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission that sugar industry employees should not take part in a proposed 24-hour strike on Thursday.   Queensland's A$2 billion a year sugar industry, now in the middle of its largest-ever cane harvest, could not afford to lose even a single day of crushing through unnecessary industrial action, CANEGROWERS chairman Harry Bonanno said in a statement.    Stoppages by industry unions in protest against state government changes to workers' compensation would seriously disrupt the harvest and could severely diminish the industry's capacity to maximise earnings from the record 1996 crop, Bonanno said.   Even if fine weather continued, extension of crushing by even a single day would mean an irreplaceable loss of sugar because sugar content of cane dropped significantly near the end of the season, he said.    With recent fine weather the industry had been crushing up to 1.8 million tonnes of cane a week.   The potential cost of the work stoppage could exceed A$500,000, he said.   Queensland, which produces almost all of Australia's sugar, expects a record sugar cane crop of more than 37 million tonnes and record raw sugar production of more than five million tonnes in 1996.   -- Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 
12945 !GCAT  -- WEN WEI PO - China's Foreign Ministry lodged a strong protest with the Japanese government, saying it should take responsibility for the actions of its citizens on the disputed Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea.   -- HONG KONG STANDARD - China pledged to use its massive hard currency reserves to defend the Hong Kong dollar from a speculative attack during the 1997 handover.   -- HONG KONG ECONOMIC TIMES - The head of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority Joseph Yam said that in future the territory's Exchange Fund might be able to invest in Chinese government debt, provided the risks were acceptable.   -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST - Typhoon Sally has killed at least 114 people and left another 110 missing, many of them fishermen caught at sea, when it slammed into southern China.   -- MING PAO DAILY NEWS - Research by an independent organisation showed that last year 60 percent of Hong Kong workers who emigrated from the British colony have returned.   -- Research by the Chinese University showed that Hong Kong people had mixed feelings towards China.   They found symbols of the People's Liberation Army and China's public security police disturbing, and believed they were smarter and more disciplined than their mainland counterparts.   -- ORIENTAL DAILY NEWS - Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing clarified his business dealings with shipping magnate Tung Chee-wah and touted the front-runner for the post of chief executive, saying it might be beneficial to the territory to be governed by a business man as without a booming economy, Hong Kong would be worth nothing.   -- TA KUNG PO - China's "wedding of the century" would take place in the southern city of Guangzhou at the end of the month, when more than 300 hundred couples from China and overseas would get married in a traditional Chinese ceremony.   -- HONG KONG COMMERCIAL DAILY - A young former Chinese news presenter claimed that Chinese could speak better English than Americans if they followed his method of shouting aloud in English.   He set up a school with the ambition of teaching 300 million Chinese to speak English fluently.   -- Hong Kong newsroom (852) 2843 6441 
12946 !GCAT  NIHON KEIZAI SHIMBUN   A Nihon Keizai Shimbun survey of 2,285 companies shows the companies have increased their total capital investment for the business year ending March 1997 by seven percent from a year earlier, helped by an increase in investments made by the car and food industries as well as telecommunications companies.   ----   Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp (NTT) plans to cut its workforce by 35,000, including 25,000 employees who will be reassigned to NTT's affiliated companies.   ----   The Export-Import Bank of Japan is to sign a $403 million loan contract on Thursday to fund part of a $1.2 billion power plant project in China.   This would make it the first time for the bank to extend a loan without Chinese government guarantees.   Mitsubishi Corp and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd have jointly won the order.   ----   Toshiba Corp has developed a blue-purple semiconductor laser designed for next-generation digital video disc (DVD) systems.   Toshiba plans to commercialise the product in two years.    ----   Furukawa Electric Co Ltd and Nichimen Corp have agreed to start a copper foil business in Taiwan as early as this month in cooperation with a Taiwanese company.   The venture plans to invest about 7.5 billion yen to build a plant in Taiwan.   ----   Toyota Motor Corp is targeting annual domestic sales of 2.5 million vehicles, or about 45 percent of total domestic demand, in the year 2000.    ----   Kyocera Corp plans to sell a new personal digital assistant (PDA) that can be accessed through a local area network (LAN), by the end of March 31, 1997.   ----   Kawasaki Steel Corp and Mitsui & Co Ltd are to begin steel bar production with two companies in the Philippines.   The venture will be capitalised at about 16 billion yen and aims to start production from January 1999.   ---- 
12947 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  President Fidel Ramos on Wednesday hailed a Moslem rebel chief's election as a regional governor in the southern Philippines, and committed $1.2 billion dollars in aid to develop an area battered by 24 years of war.   Nur Misuari, chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and who signed a peace pact with the government last week, ran unopposed in Monday's elections in a semi-autonomous region comprising four Moslem provinces in the Mindanao region.   Based on official partial results giving Misuari 148,060 votes in his home province of Sulu, the election commission in Manila officially declared him the victor.   "By joining the mainstream of democratic government, the MNLF enriches our political tradition with a legacy of revolutionary ideals turned into reformist zeal and determination," Ramos said in a statement.   "We now foresee a leadership that is committed to fight as tenaciously for peace as it has waged war," he said.   The peace deal, ending a 24-year separatist war that killed more than 120,000 people, has been fiercely opposed by some Mindanao Christians who accused Manila of selling out.   Some Christians have formed militias to fight the agreement.   Ramos asked Mindanao Christians to "set aside all recriminations and hurts" and join the government in its efforts "to bring Mindanao into the brave new world of modernisation."   The presidential palace said a total of 32.6 billion pesos ($1.2 billion dollars) would be set aside in next year's national budget for the region's development.   Last week Ramos orded an additional 10 billion pesos ($385 million) released for various projects in the area for this year, officials said.   Misuari's election as regional governor is part of a peace deal that also calls for the establishment of an MNLF-led council to supervise development in 14 southern provinces, most of which are dominated by Christians.   The council will serve as forerunner of a wider autonomous region to be composed of provinces that would vote to join it in a plebiscite three years from now.   The country's five-million Moslem minority regard the Mindanao area as their ancestral homeland, but they are outnumbered 3-to-1 in the area by Christians.   Ramos' order on Tuesday for the military to disarm all vigilante groups provoked fierce reaction from one of them, the Mindanao Christian Unified Command (MCUC), which claims about 3,000 armed members.   "If the government will insist on disarming us...we will be forced to fight them," MCUC spokesman Virgilio Andolan told reporters in Zamboanga city.   "We want to set it straight.   Our group was voluntarily formed to protect ourselves and the Christian communities from possible abuses by these (MNLF) people," he said. 
12948 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Leaders of the three parties in Japan's ruling coalition agreed to meet on Thursday to discuss the timing of long-anticipated general elections.   Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), will meet the heads of the Social Democratic Party and New Party Sakigake president Shoichi Ide to hammer out an election schedule.   Social Democratic Party head Tomiichi Murayama and Sakigake chief Shoichi Ide had earlier expressed anger at a flurry of newspaper reports attributed to LDP sources that said a general election was likely to be held on October 20.   Many in the LDP want to hold elections as soon as possible, but the two smaller parties, embroiled in a dispute over how to contest the polls, needed more time, a senior Social Democratic Party official told reporters.   Hashimoto on Wednesday reiterated earlier statements that he would set an election date after confirming that Japan's economy was in full recovery and settling a dispute with the southern island of Okinawa over U.S. military bases.   "I will make a decision on a specific date after confirming that the Okinawa issue will be solved and that a full economic recovery is under way," Hashimoto said.   "We have to first see Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) to make sure the economy is heading for full recovery," he said.   Polls for the 500-seat lower house of parliament are not mandated until July 1997.   The April-June GDP data is to be released on Friday, government officials announced on Wednesday.   The Okinawa hurdle appeared partially cleared after a meeting on Tuesday between Hashimoto and Masahide Ota, the governor of the southern Japanese prefecture, who channeled outrage at the rape of a local schoolgirl by U.S. servicemen last year into a fiery campaign for removal of the U.S. bases.   Hashimoto pledged renewed efforts to shrink the bases and set up a five billion yen ($45.8 million) fund for the economic development of Okinawa if Ota would ease calls for a total pullout of U.S. forces, which are seen by Tokyo as a bulwark of regional security.   Analysts have said the main focus of what appears to be a mostly issue-free election will be the effect of drastic electoral reforms introduced in 1994 to balance a system in which thinly-populated rural districts enjoyed vastly more clout than urban areas. 
12949 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  China on Wednesday welcomed the nuclear test ban treaty passed by the United Nations, and took the rare step of urging worldwide accession to the pact.   "This move will surely contribute to the advancement of the nuclear disarmament process, the prevention of nuclear weapons proliferation and promotion of international peace and security," Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang told the official Xinhua news agency.   "This undoubtedly conforms to the common interests of the entire international community," he said.   The General Assembly overwhelmingly endorsed the treaty banning nuclear explosions in the atmosphere, underground or in any other environment, in a 158-to-three vote on Tuesday led by Australia and adamantly opposed by India.   Beijing, which usually avoids pressing other countries to take part in international accords, took the rare step of hinting that India should end its opposition.   China hoped the treaty would be signed as soon as possible and would be "acceded to and honoured worldwide," Shen said, in a clear call to India.   India has dug in its heels, saying it would hold fast against the accord just as the nation's spiritual founder, Mahatma Gandhi, had stood up to British rule.   However, Shen repeated a long-held stand by China -- one of the world's five declared nuclear powers -- that the treaty was insufficient and that a total world ban on nuclear weapons was necessary.   "Of course, the prohibition of nuclear testing is in itself not the ultimate objective, but rather the first step toward the accomplishment of the final goal of the complete elimination of nuclear weapons," Shen said.   "Therefore, in the field of nuclear disarmament, the international community still has an arduous task and a long way to go," he said, adding that it should strive for a world free of nuclear weapons as soon as possible.   Removal of China's objections to the treaty had been crucial in reaching the final draft approved at the U.N.   Beijing 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.   On July 29, China conducted what it said would be its last nuclear test before a self-imposed moratorium that took effect the following day.   It was the last declared nuclear power after Britain, the United States, Russia and France to announce a halt to testing.   Three other non-declared nuclear states are believed to have covert nuclear programmes -- India, Pakistan and Israel.   India's opposition, based on the treaty's failure to set a timetable for eliminating the world's atomic arsenals, was a key sticking point for the deal's ultimate success and was likely to lead to heavy pressure on New Delhi.   The pact, known as the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), does not enter into force until 44 countries with nuclear power reactors sign the document and ratify it through their parliaments. 
12950 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP !GENV  Most of Asia on Wednesday welcomed the U.N. General Assembly's approval of a treaty banning nuclear explosions as a flawed but necessary pact, although India vowed to continue fighting the deal.   The General Assembly overwhelmingly endorsed the treaty banning nuclear explosions in the atmosphere, underground or in any other environment in a 158-to-three vote on Tuesday, led by Australia and adamantly opposed by India.   India dug in its heels, saying it would hold fast against the accord just as the nation's spiritual founder, Mahatma Gandhi, had stood up to British rule.   "We shall not sign the treaty," Foreign Minister Inder Kumar Gujral told the upper house of parliament, where lawmakers expressed their approval with the loud thumping of desks.   On Tuesday, India was one of only three United Nations member states that voted against the accord.   Japan, the only nation to suffer atomic bombing, led the chorus of praise.   "It is a big step forward," Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto told reporters.   "From now on, the international community must make its utmost efforts to persuade India and other countries to accept the treaty."   India's opposition -- based on the treaty's failure to set a timetable for eliminating the world's atomic arsenals -- was a key sticking point for the deal's ultimate success and likely to lead to heavy pressure on New Delhi.   The pact, known as the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), does not enter into force until 44 countries with nuclear power reactors sign the document and ratify it through their parliaments, putting pressure on India to deliver support.   Pakistan, which has fought three wars with neighbouring India since 1947, says although it voted in favour of the treaty on Tuesday it will not sign the CTBT unless India does the same.   China, which held on July 29 what it said would be its last nuclear test before a self-imposed moratorium that took effect the following day, welcomed the U.N. endorsement and took the rare step of urging worldwide accession to the pact.   "This undoubtedly conforms to the common interests of the entire international community," Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang was quoted by the Xinhua news agency as saying.   Australia admitted that the pact was flawed, but said it was a vital move towards ridding the world of nuclear weapons.   "This treaty, like any international treaty is a compromise, we weren't perfectly happy with the wording of it...," Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told reporters.   Downer said Australia would sign the pact this month and lobby world governments to follow.   "We'll be encouraging the international community generally to sign the (treaty)."   Other Asian nations agreed the document was not perfect, but stressed it should be passed for the sake of world stability.   Although countries like Sri Lanka considered India's opposition a serious shortcoming in the pact, they said its vote against the deal was not a surprise.   Malaysia called on those opposed to the CTBT at the United Nations -- India, Libya and Bhutan -- to rethink their positions.   "Flawed as the treaty is, Malaysia would join others, albeit with a lot of reservations, in supporting the draft Resolution...," said Malaysia's U.N. Permanent Representative, Razali Ismail.   The South Korean Foreign Ministry said it hoped all countries would soon ratify the treaty.   "We believe the U.N. decision will play a positive role in controlling development of nuclear bombs, and that will lead to non-proliferation and disarmament," it said in a statement.   New Zealand Prime Minister Jim Bolger said he was delighted with the vote, but Disarmament Minister Doug Graham was cautious over the pact's entry-into-force provision, the formula for the number of signatures needed to bring the treaty into effect.   All five declared nuclear powers -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- support the treaty.   The United States, Russia and Britain stopped testing between 1990 and 1992 while France and China ended blasts only several months ago.   Three other non-declared nuclear states -- India, Pakistan and Israel -- are believed to have covert nuclear programmes. 
12951 !GCAT !GDIP  Taiwan on Wednesday demanded that Japan remove a lighthouse built by Japanese rightists on a disputed chain of East China Sea islands.   Foreign ministry officials quoted by Taiwan's state-funded Central New Agency said Taipei was handling the row cautiously and urged Japanese and Taiwan boats not to fish within 12 miles (20 km) of the uninhabited islands.   A long-dormant sovereignty dispute over the islands, called the Diaoyus in Chinese and Senkakus in Japanese, erupted in July after the right-wing Japan Youth Federation erected a lighthouse on one, angering rival claimants Taiwan and China.   Tempers flared in September after Japanese coast-guard ships barred private Taiwan boats from reaching the area while the rightist group repaired the typhoon-damaged structure.   Beijing and Taipei have assailed Japan's protection of the rightists' activities and ordered Tokyo to keep people away.   Taiwan's foreign ministry on Wednesday instructed its unofficial trade office in Tokyo to register Taipei's "grave concern and protest" over Japan's support of the trespassing "Japanese nationalists", the Central News Agency said.   Taipei also ordered Tokyo to remove the lighthouse, a move that some analysts said undermined its own sovereignty claim by inviting Japan to trespass again on the islands about 200 km (120 miles) northeast of Taiwan.   Seeking to resolve the dispute through diplomatic means, Taiwan's foreign ministry said it was ready to negotiate with Japan over fishing rights in waters near the islands.   Japan in August agreed to send officials to Taiwan for talks, easing the crisis and averting a planned mass protest sailing by 200 Taiwan fishing boats, but the dispute over fishing rights has yet to be resolved.   Taiwan officials said the time, location and agenda of the fishing talks remained undecided, the Central News Agency said.   Taiwan has no diplomatic ties with Japan, which recognises only the rival Chinese communist government in Beijing. 
12952 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Hong Kong activists on Wednesday urged China to allow protests on the mainland against Japanese right-wing claims to a group of disputed islands.   Sixty activists burned a model of a Japanese gunboat outside of the Japanese consulate in the territory and crushed a miniature mock-up of a lighthouse which a right-wing Japanese group has erected on the East China Sea islands in a bid to assert Japanese sovereignty.   The actions have riled Beijing and Taiwan which also claim the islands, which are known as the Diaoyus in China and the Senkakus in Japan.   The rocky islands are about 300 km (190 miles) west of the Japanese island of Okinawa.   While Beijing has lodged a strong official protest with Tokyo, a Chinese source said police on the mainland were reluctant to allow student demonstrations against Japan.   Democratic Party legislator Albert Ho called on Beijing not to suppress mainland protestors and said Hong Kong activists were planning to send money to their compatriots to support the patriotic movement there.   "By our actions, we are expressing our sentiment and fury," Ho told reporters during the demonstraion at the Japanese consulate.   In Hong Kong, which reverts to Chinese rule in mid-1997, daily protests have been staged for more than a week, urging Beijing to take tougher action to protect its territory.   The issue has united Chinese nationalist sentiment in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, bringing together even groups who are usually at odds with each other. 
12953 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  A top Chinese official on Wednesday indicated that Beijing would consider allowing an accelerated pace of democracy in Hong Kong after China takes control of the territory next year.   Lu Ping, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, told a pro-democracy Hong Kong politician in Beijing that the territory would be allowed to decide its own style and pace of democracy, Pearl television reported.   Lu told Frederick Fung, chairman of the Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood, that Hong Kong needed only to amend some appendices to its constitution if it wanted to change the way it elects its legislature, and did not need Beijing's approval.   Under Hong Kong's post-handover constitution, called the Basic Law, provisions have been made for the territory to attain full democracy.   But details of when and how that would be achieved are still unclear.   Beijing understands that China and Hong Kong differ on the pace of democracy that should be allowed in the territory, but the problems could be resolved through an exchange of views, it quoted Lu as saying.   Hong Kong reverts to Chinese rule on July 1, 1997 after more than 150 years of British rule.   Many residents worry about the rights and freedoms that will remain under Chinese rule in light of Beijing's decision to scrap Hong Kong's current elected legislature and replace it with an appointed one approved by China.   But Beijing's hardline stance has appeared to have eased recently, starting with Foreign Minister Qian Qichen's statement in August that Beijing would tolerate dissenting views within the Selection Committee that is being formed to choose Hong Kong's future leaders.   China also told Hong Kong's Democratic Party last week that Beijing hoped its members could join the work in preparing for the handover.   Lu's meeting with Fung's group was seen as another indication of Beijing's more relaxed stance, the television said. 
12954 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GWELF  China will boost annual spending on poverty relief by 40 percent in 1997 as part of a new action plan aimed at bringing prosperity to 65 million Chinese poor, the Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday.   The central government would raise spending from the current annual 10.8 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) and would call on provincial authorities to match up to 50 percent of Beijing's outlay on anti-poverty campaigns, the official news agency said.   Spending would be targeted at a more local level and officials would be held more responsible for results due to wide-ranging reforms of poverty-reduction strategy, it said.   About 65 million Chinese struggle on incomes under the official absolute poverty line of 530 yuan ($64) a year, but Beijing has vowed to lift them out of destitution by the end of the century.   Anti-poverty spending would be raised 40 percent in 1997 and kept at that level until the end of the century, Xinhua said, but gave no details of the new annual expenditure.   China would spend a total of 100 billion yuan on poverty alleviation by 2000, it quoted officials of the State Council, or cabinet, as saying.   Senior local government and Communist Party officials would be ordered to eliminate poverty in their areas within fixed periods, it said.   Rural incomes in many parts of China have lagged those of urban residents in recent years after economic reforms have turned coastal cities into boomtowns, but left government coffers woefully bare of funds for development.   A senior World Bank official said on Wednesday China needed to increase government revenues substantially to cover its yawning deficit and provide for essential expenditures.   Xinhua said Beijing would give control of anti-poverty work to provincial poverty alleviation offices and projects would be targeted at poor households at the village level.   Counties that succeeded in eliminating poverty would continue to enjoy preferential policies until the end of the century, to enable them to consolidate their gains, it said.   China would also adopt policies to encourage assistance from international organisations, it said but gave no details.   ($1=8.3 yuan) 
12955 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GSCI  China gave new details on Wednesday of the failed launch of a satellite aboard its Long March 3B rocket in February, confirming that the cause lay with the new generation launcher.   The report concluded that the failure of the Long March 3B was due to an electrical problem in the power module of the "inertial platform" that operated the rocket's direction controls.   "There was no electric current output from the power module in the servo-loop on the follow-up frame of the inertia platform," a spokesman for the China Great Wall Industrial Corp, which handles China's launches, quoted the report as saying.   "All other systems operated normally," the report said.   The initial report had said briefly that the problem was a failure of the rocket's inertial platform.   The Long March 3B, which was being used in a launch for the first time, veered wildly seconds after lift-off from the Xichang satellite centre in southwestern Sichuan province.   It ended its flight in a spectacular explosion that destroyed the rocket and the U.S.-made Intelsat satellite it was carrying.   The latest report said the rocket smashed into a hillside 1.85 km (1.2 miles) from the launch site.   Official reports said six people were killed and 57 injured, although a video smuggled out by an Israeli scientist showed extensive damage to buildings in the area, suggesting that the number of casualties might have been considerably higher.   The final report said that because of the severity of the explosion, no large pieces of wreckage of the satellite or the rocket remained.   The report's conclusions were drawn largely from film of the launch and data from remote testing.   China's space programme once had a reputation for dependability, but has been marred by a string of recent failures.   It suffered a blow to its hopes to capture a significant share of the commercial satellite launch market when a Long March 3 rocket failed to lift a U.S.-built satellite into proper orbit last month.   The preliminary conclusion blamed the failure on a problem with the third-stage booster of the Long March 3 rocket, which is supposed to be one of China's most reliable launch vehicles.   China has come under pressure from potential foreign customers as well as the insurance industry to disclose more information on the problems with its launches so far.   In January 1995, a Long March rocket blew up, destroying the Apstar 2 satellite and killing six people on the ground.   However, China successfully launched Hong Kong's Apstar 1A telecommunications satellite in July after delaying the launch following last February's Long March 3B explosion. 
12956 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) told the United States on Wednesday that its campaign to economically isolate Iran and Libya violated international law.   Izhar Ibrahim, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry's political affairs head, said the seven-member grouping had expressed concern over Washington's sanctions law on the first day of the 13th ASEAN-U.S. Dialogue.   "ASEAN, in general, expressed its concern about the U.S. law," Ibrahim told reporters.   "We believe it does not conform with the principles of international law because it is actually a law of the United States which may have a negative impact on relations between other countries."   The U.S. sanctions law, which seeks to punish foreign firms that invest $40 million or more per year in energy projects in Iran or Libya, violated national sovereignty, he added.   Ibrahim said Indonesia, the world's largest Moslem nation and a major oil and gas exporters, was also affected by the law.   "We are a member of OPEC (the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) and Iran and Libya are also members of OPEC and we have economic cooperation with these countries," he said.   Ibrahim said the U.S. delegation, led by Winston Lord, the assistant secretary of state for east asian and pacific affairs, told senior ASEAN officials at the two-day dialogue that it was not Washington's intention to violate international law.   "(They said) it is their own law intended for their own citizens," he said, adding the U.S. side had admitted the law did have an impact on the private sectors of other countries.   ASEAN comprises Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. 
12957 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Police in central China have detained democracy activist Fu Guoyong for what they said were illegal political activities, family members said on Wednesday.   Police in Taiyuan in central Shanxi province had detained Fu, his sister and several workers at his sister's company on July 26, Fu's wife, Cao Lirong, told Reuters.   The others had since been released, she said.   Cao, speaking from her home in Hangzhou in eastern Zhejiang province, said she had received no formal notification of her husband's detention and that she first heard of the incident on July 30 when Fu's sister called to tell her that he had been taken into custody.   "She said a lot of police officers, she didn't know exactly how many, arrested them around noon on July 26 and searched her home, her office and her shop," Cao said.   "His sister said the police said he had engaged in illegal political activities," she said.   Charges had yet to be filed.   The police had released Fu's sister and co-workers later the same day, but said they would detain the 29-year-old Fu for up to three months before deciding further action, Cao said.   Police had confiscated fax machines, photocopiers and telephones from Fu's sister's company, Cao said, adding that the firm had lost business due to the raid.   Police in Taiyuan declined to comment, saying such cases were handled by state security authorities.   Cao said she had received a postcard from Fu on September 1 saying he had not been fed enough and asking for clothes and other personal items.   "I'm worried about his health...after he was imprisoned in 1989 his health deteriorated," she said.   Fu was sentenced to two years of labour reform for his role in the student-led pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square that ended in a bloody military crackdown on June 4, 1989.   Police detained Fu for more than a month in December 1995 after he, along with dissidents Wang Donghai and Chen Longde, wrote a letter calling for the release of Wei Jingsheng, one of the fathers of China's democracy movement.   Fu, Wang and Chen also presented a letter to China's parliament before the 1996 anniversary of the June 4 massacre, demanding the release of dissidents active in the movement.   Fu had moved to Taiyuan in late June after being repeatedly harassed by police in Hangzhou, Cao said.   Hangzhou police recently ordered Chen to serve three years of re-education through labour while Wang was sentenced to serve one year. 
12958 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Britain is eyeing a seat on the ASEAN Regional Forum to stay close to Southeast Asia after Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule, Britain's Defence Secretary Michael Portillo said on Wednesday.   "The ARF (ASEAN Regional Forum) is playing a big part in creating confidence and stability," Portillo told a news conference.   "We've put our marker to say Britain is deeply interested in having a seat."   The 19-member ARF is made up of the seven-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, Japan, the United States, Russia, the European Union, Laos, Cambodia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Papua New Guinea and South Korea.   It was set up by ASEAN -- which comprises Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- to resolve potential conflicts in Asia Pacific.   Portillo said Britain was already represented in the forum through the European Union but was keen to get an individual membership, partly to retain its "commitment" to the region after the British colony of Hong Kong reverts to Chinese rule at midnight on June 30, 1997.   Portillo, on the first day of a four-day visit to Malaysia, said he had voiced Britain's hopes to Malaysian Defence Minister Syed Hamid Albar whom he met for talks soon after his arrival.   "But of course, these are decisions for the ARF to make," Portillo said.   "The ARF membership is based on the concept of continents...so, we're really making a broader appeal to the ASEAN Regional Forum to consider the way its membership is presently based to see whether there might be exceptions to this continental rule to allow some national representation," he said.   ARF members, who last met in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta in May, are scheduled to hold their next round of talks in Kuala Lumpur next year. 
12959 !GCAT !GDIP  The governments of Malaysia and Indonesia have entered into another round of negotiations over long-disputed islands, the official Antara news agency said on Wednesday.   It quoted Foreign Minister Ali Alatas as telling parliament that Indonesia hoped the wranglings over the Sipadan and Ligitan islands off the coast of Borneo could be settled amicably.   "The two heads of government have appointed their respective chief negotiators to hold informal political talks to achieve a solution to the dispute in the spirit of good neighbourliness," Alatas said.   It was the latest development in years of official negotiations to find a bilateral solution to the dispute.   Alatas has previously said that Indonesia would agree to International Court arbitration in the Hague if necessary, but that the two countries would first seek a bilateral solution. 
12960 !GCAT !GVIO  Rival Karen guerrilla groups clashed on the Thai-Burma border on Wednesday, killing at least six people and injuring four, Thai military sources said.   About 100 rebels from the pro-Rangoon Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) attacked the rival Karen National Union (KNU) at Tee Baw Bow, just inside Burma about 50 km (30 miles) southwest of Mae Sot, the sources said.   Thai officials said they saw the 30-minute clash from the other side of the border.   At least six DKBA members were killed and four injured.   Casualties on the KNU side were not immediately known, the Thai sources said, and KNU officials were not immediately available.   The predominantly Christian KNU, formed in 1948 after Burma was granted independence by Britain, is the last major rebel group left fighting for autonomy from Rangoon.   The DKBA, an offshoot of the KNU, was formed after a mutiny by the Buddhist faction from the core group in late 1994.   There was little fighting between the factions during the recent rainy season, but clashes are expected to escalate over the next few months. 
12961 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  The United States thanked the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for its support in the U.N. General Assembly vote against nuclear testing, delegates to a U.S.-ASEAN dialogue said on Wednesday.   All seven ASEAN members backed the Australian resolution supporting the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).   The General Assembly passed the treaty by a vote of 158-3 on Tuesday with India, Bhutan and Libya voting against it.   ASEAN diplomats said Winston Lord, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for east asian and pacific affairs, praised the support of Southeast Asian nations during the talks.   "He was quite profuse in his tributes for ASEAN support," one diplomat said.   Lord said participants in the talks were very pleased with the role of the United Nations in supporting the treaty.   "All seven ASEAN countries and the U.S. were in favour of the Australian resolution, and indeed three ASEAN countries co-sponsored it with ourselves," he told reporters after the session.   "There was general satisfaction that this step has been taken and we hope that it will be signed as soon as possible," he added.   The treaty does not come into force until 44 nations with nuclear power reactors sign the document and ratify it through their parliaments.   Participants at the U.S.-ASEAN dialogue also discussed other nuclear issues including the Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapons Free Zone treaty, which Washington has refused to sign.   "We have made it clear we are ready to sign these things if we can protect our defence, navigation and security rights," Lord said. 
12962 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Indonesia's best-known opposition figure, Megawati Sukarnoputri, held a crucial meeting of her supporters on Wednesday, just days before she is expected to be formally sidelined from mainstream politics.   Megawati, the daughter of late founding president Sukarno and the ousted leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), is not on the lists of candidates for next year's general elections being finalised by Indonesia's three recognised political parties.   The government has said it will not accept any list proposed by her since it only recognises the PDI faction headed by her rival.   "We are preparing strategies (for that eventuality)," Megawati told reporters during a break in the meeting, adding that no decision had been reached.   The last date for submitting the lists is September 16.   The Christian-Nationalist PDI, the ruling Golkar party and the Moslem-oriented United Development Party are the only groups allowed to contest parliamentary elections in Indonesia.   Wednesday's meeting of Megawati's supporters was also their first large-scale gathering since police ousted them from PDI headquarters on July 27.   The eviction sparked the worst riots in Jakarta for more than 20 years, with at least five people killed and scores of buildings and vehicles set ablaze.   Indonesia's national human rights commission has said 74 people are still missing in the aftermath of the riots.   Megawati also told reporters that she believed the death toll in the riots was higher than reported, and that some of her supporters were possibly killed during the police raid on the party headquarters.   "There are still many people missing...it's already more than 40 days," Megawati said.   She said some 70 delegates from 24 of Indonesia's 27 provinces attended the meeting at the new headquarters of her faction of the PDI.   The headquarters, in an eastern suburb of Jakarta, was opened earlier this week despite the country's military saying that the move was unacceptable since Megawati and her supporters did not have the right to carry out political activities.   Megawati was ousted from the PDI leadership by a government-backed rebel faction in June in a move that political analysts said was aimed at preventing her from cutting into Golkar's vote in the 1997 elections.   They said the government was also worried that she could stand against President Suharto in the 1998 presidential elections.   Suharto, who took over from Sukarno in the mid-1960s, has not been opposed in the six times has stood for president.   He has not said if he will stand for a seventh term, even though he is widely expected to do so. 
12963 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Senior Hong Kong civil servants went to court on Wednesday to fight a controversial government ban on them joining a China-controlled committee set up to appoint the territory's new political elite.   The dispute is the latest twist in the run-up to the transfer of sovereignty to China in mid-1997, when London hands the colony back to Beijing.   The government argued in the High Court that it would be disloyal of any senior civil servant to join the panel, which is to choose Hong Kong's first post-colonial leader and members of a new provisional legislature.   The court, which was open to reporters, will reconvene on Thursday for a verdict on the civil servants' bid to join the contest for China's 400-seat Selection Committee.   "It is a question of loyalty to the present government and to the policy of the present government," said Geoffrey Ma, the government's lawyer.   The colonial government opposes one of the committee's main tasks -- the appointment of a provisional legislature to replace the current elected Legislative Council.   China wants to dismantle the legislature on the grounds that the democratic process that elected it last year breached Sino-British treaties on the handover.   Ma argued that the senior civil servants always had to adhere to regulations, and now was no exception.   The government has said it wants to preserve the political neutrality of the civil service.   But a lawyer representing more than 1,000 affected civil servants, Gerard McCoy, said the government was behaving in a "schizophrenic" way, as it had allowed 99.3 percent of the territory's 180,000 civil servants -- the junior grades -- to enter the contest, but not the 0.7 percent in the top echelon.   McCoy also charged the government had breached Hong Kong's Bill of Rights by disenfranchising the senior civil servants. 
12964 !GCAT !GENV  A pair of pandas has been airlifted from Shanghai to the San Diego Zoo for treatment for infertility, a Shanghai Zoo official said on Wednesday.   The pandas are a 15-year-old male named Shishi (Stone) and a five-year-old female named Baiyun (White Cloud), who is still a virgin.   Both came from the Wolong Protection Zone in southwest Sichuan Province.   They left for San Diego on Tuesday, the official said.   There are about 100 pandas in Chinese zoos, and they gave birth to a total of only 12 babies between 1991 and 1995.   It is estimated that about 1,000 of the animals exist in the wilds of central China. 
12965 !GCAT !GDIP  Taiwan acknowledged on Wednesday that it may be forced to withdraw its representative offices in Hong Kong if rival China interferes with their operations after the British colony returns to Chinese rule in mid-1997.   While analysts in Taiwan said the worst-case scenario was unlikely to occur, they urged Taipei and Beijing to resolve several pressing issues regarding Taiwan's ties with Hong Kong before the colony's July 1 handover to China.   "Under the very, very, very worst circumstances, we do not rule out withdrawing our offices," William Li, spokesman for cabinet's policymaking Mainland Affairs Council, said on state-run television.   "This also can serve as a bottom line and bargaining chip in talks" with China about Hong Kong, Li added.   China has regarded Taiwan as a renegade province since the Chinese civil war split them in 1949.   Analysts have warned that China may use its control over Hong Kong, a crucial trade centre for Taiwan, to force Taipei into making political and economic concessions.   One crucial matter yet to be resolved is direct links.   While China has approved a deal ensuring Hong Kong-Taiwan flights beyond 1997, such an arrangement for sea links has yet to be negotiated, much less accepted by Beijing.   Daniel Chen, chief economist for Taiwan's Chinatrust Commercial Bank, said Beijing may use Hong Kong to pressure Taipei into allowing direct links between Taiwan and China -- which Taipei has long banned due to sovereignty concerns.   "It is unlikely for China to say, 'You either allow all direct links or you can't even go to Hong Kong'," Chen said.   "But still, pressure will be mounting for the Taiwan government to come up with new policies once Hong Kong becomes part of China," Chen said by telephone.   Taiwan has banned direct air and shipping links since 1949.   On August 20, China unveiled unilateral rules governing direct shipping links across the strait.   Taiwan gave a cool response, saying Beijing's rules were "mingled with sensitive political issues."   But Taiwan, which routes much of its US$20 billion in China investments through Hong Kong, would in effect be allowing direct links once Hong Kong again becomes part of China.   Taiwan insists that direct links with Hong Kong do not equal links with China, arguing that the territory will be a "special administrative region" rather than part of China.   Analysts say Taipei will face growing pressure at home to put economic interests above such political considerations.   "From the business point of view, Taiwan investors want the government to do away with all restrictions and allow direct links to all parts of China after 1997," said George Hou, securities analyst for Jardine Fleming.   Said Chen Han-chung of Yungli Securities: "Obviously, the sovereignty issue is a big concern for the government, especially after 1997, but I hope it can put aside political differences and concentrate on improving economic relations."   China's new sea-link rules allow wholly Chinese-owned or Taiwan-owned shipping companies or joint ventures to sail between Taiwan and China. 
12966 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Cambodia's First Prime Minister said on Wednesday he and co-premier Hun Sen have asked the king for a royal pardon for dissident Khmer Rouge leader Ieng Sary for his role in the genocide of the 1970s.   Prince Norodom Ranariddh said he and Hun Sen had written a letter that would be forwarded to King Norodom Sihanouk soon, likely on Wednesday.   He said he expected the king to agree to an amnesty once he received the request.   "I believe that when his majesty the king sees the letter coming from the two prime ministers, he will (grant amnesty)," Ranariddh told reporters.   Ieng Sary, who was foreign minister during the Khmer Rouge's brutal 1975-79 rule of Cambodia, was sentenced to death in absentia for his role in the genocide of more than one million people during the Khmer Rouge reign of terror.   Talk of an amnesty arose after Ieng Sary broke last month with the guerrilla group's hardline supremo Pol Pot.   Ieng Sary, who the hardline rebels now want to execute, has formed a group made up of thousands of breakaway rebels and is talking peace with the Phnom Penh government.   Sihanouk, who is believed to have nursed dislike for Ieng Sary since the early 1970s, said last month he would consider a royal pardon if asked in writing by the government and if the proposal was approved by two-thirds of the national assembly.   A political analyst said he had confirmation that the king had not changed his mind about wanting assembly approval.   But Ranariddh, who along with Hun Sen has set aside personal distaste for the leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime to work for national peace, said it was up to the king to decide on amnesty.   "I welcome all initatives toward real national reconciliation and peace," Ranariddh said.   "It is up to his majesty...to give amnesty or not to Mr Ieng Sary."   Ieng Sary has said he wanted the government to clear his legal status before continuing reconciliation talks.   Loy Sim Chheang, acting chairman of the National Assembly, told Reuters that parliament would try to arrange a special debate later this month on the issue, but said many members of parliament (MPs) were in the provinces or out of the country.   Ranariddh said a special session was not necessary, saying MPs could discuss the amnesty during the regular session.   The National Assembly has 120 members who are all members of the coalition government.   It is to resume on October 19, with a quorum of two-thirds required for new business.   Analysts and MPs expect debate on the issue to be lively.   Many MPs question the sincerity of Ieng Sary, who has said he was never Pol Pot's right hand man and had no part in the killings.   "The government has to show the honesty of the negotiations on the principle of reconciliation," Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party MP Kem Sokha told Reuters.   "This reconciliation (process) has some secrets, (it) is not transparent.   The government should answer some questions before deciding on amnesty."   While the debate is expected to be heated, the motion is expected to pass. 
12967 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The suspected remains of a German executed by Khmer Rouge guerrillas in 1994 were flown out of Cambodia en route for Germany on Wednesday, a diplomat said.   Dissident Khmer Rouge leader Ieng Sary on Monday in his Phnom Malai base handed a small bag said to contain ashes and bone fragments of Matthias Wolf to a representative of the Order of Malta's Bangkok mission, witnesses said.   The Order's Jacques Bekaert on Tuesday handed over the remains to the German Embassy in the Cambodian capital.   They were flown to Singapore on Wednesday to catch an Air France flight to Europe later in the day, a diplomat at the German Embassy said.   He said the remains would be taken to the Foreign Ministry in Bonn and added that Wolf's family had been notified on Tuesday.   Officials said they expected forensic experts to examine the remains to try to determine if they belonged to the German.   Wolf was last seen in the Thai border village of Ban Laem on December 8, 1994, before he crossed into northwest Cambodia's Phnom Malai region on his motorcycle.   Ieng Sary, who was Khmer Rouge foreign minister during Pol Pot's brutal 1975-79 rule, said the 32-year-old Wolf had been executed and his remains burnt after he crossed into the area.   The leader of a breakaway Khmer Rouge faction, who is negotiating peace with the royal coalition government, told reporters in Phnom Malai on Monday that Wolf was killed in the Veal Veng area on the orders of Khmer Rouge defence chief Son Sen.   He said Wolf was shot by his captors on December 16, 1994, and petrol was poured over his body and set alight.   The Cambodia Daily reported on Wednesday that Bekaert, a Belgian national who has also followed the Cambodian story for several years as a journalist, had corroborated reports that Wolf was executed shortly after his capture.   Ieng Sary claimed the killing had been ordered after a request from Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, whose rule is blamed for the deaths of more than one million people.   Pol Pot and Ieng Sary were in 1979 sentenced to death in absentia for their roles in the genocide.   The Khmer Rouge signed a peace accord in 1991, but reneged on the accord and have been fighting the coalition government that emerged from United Nations-run elections in 1993.   The guerrillas have abducted several Westerners since resuming their struggle against the central government in 1993, releasing a handful and killing at least six besides Wolf. 
12968 !GCAT !GPOL  Thai Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa is confident he will defeat an opposition-led no-confidence motion against him set for debate in parliament next week, his spokesman said on Wednesday.   But leaders of two junior parties in his 13-month-old coalition disagreed, and said that even if Banharn won the vote on the debate set for September 18, he may have to step down.   Banharn leads a six-member coalition government that has been wracked by internal squabbling in recent months.   Gloomy economic news such as a sharp slowdown in exports, a depressed stock market and rumours the baht may be devalued have also taken their toll on the confidence in his government.   "The prime minister told us this morning all the leaders of coalition partners promised to support him during the no-confidence debate," said Banharn's spokesman, Somsak Prisana-anantakul.   "He also said that he will make a major cabinet reshuffle after the no-confidence debate and this time it will be a significant one," he told reporters.   Banharn has already made four minor reshuffles of his cabinet over the past six months.   Deputy Prime Minister Montree Pongpanich, who heads junior coalition partner the Social Action Party, said there could be major changes in the government's profile after the debate.   "Even though he (Banharn) can clear himself during the debate, loss of public faith in the government has gone too far.   What I can say after the debate is everyone is for himself," Montree told reporters.   The opposition motion against Banharn accuses him of incompetence, economic mismanagement and plagiarism involving a thesis for master's law degree.   He has denied the accusations and vowed to fight them in parliament.   Banharn said after chairing a meeting of his core Chart Thai party on Wednesday that he was confident he would get the votes of all 209 government members of parliament in the 391-seat lower house of parliament, Somsak said. 
12969 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  China said on Wednesday it welcomed the nuclear test ban treaty passed by the United Nations and urged worldwide accession to the pact.   "This undoubtedly conforms to the common interests of the entire international community," Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang said.    China hoped the treaty would be signed as soon as possible and would be "acceded to and honoured worldwide", the Xinhua news agency quoted Shen as saying.   He did not refer specifically to India, which has dug in its heels against the pact.   "This move will surely contribute to the advancement of the nuclear disarmament process, the prevention of nuclear weapons proliferation and promotion of international peace and security," Shen said.   However, he said the international community still faced a long and tough task if it is to bring about a world free of nuclear weapons, adding that this should be the ultimate objective of the countries of the world. 
12970 !GCAT !GDIP  Japanese right-wingers said on Wednesday they built a controversial lighthouse on a remote island at the centre of sovereignty dispute among Tokyo, Beijing and Taipei merely for safety reasons.   "We built the lighthouse on the Senkaku Islands, which are Japan's territory, to ensure the safety of ships from around the world," Toyohisa Eto, president of the Japan Youth Federation, told Reuters in an interview.   The construction of the lighthouse on the Senkakus, known in Chinese as the Diaoyu Islands, has angered Chinese in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and on the Chinese mainland, uniting the regions despite their own political differences.   On Tuesday, Beijing warned of serious damage to bilateral ties if Japanese rightists set foot on the disputed islands, and angry Taiwanese legislators urged Tapei to send military forces to the area.   "We are aware of angry reaction from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong," Eto said.   "But the Senkaku Islands are Japan's territory."   While the islands are uninhabited, their nationality could decide who has claims to large areas of the adjoining seas for fishing and oil exploration.   "We will protect and keep the lighthouse at any cost until the Japanese government builds one," Eto said.   Members of the Tokyo-based rightist group repaired the aluminium lighthouse on Monday after the previous one, built in July, was damaged in a typhoon.   The Senkakus, a group of small uninhabited islands, lie in the East China Sea west of Japan's Okinawa island, northeast of Taiwan and east of China's southeastern Fujian coast.   Tokyo's claim dates to 1895, when Japan defeated China and seized Taiwan and other territories.   China has claimed sovereignty over the islands for centuries.   Teruo Haginoya, another rightist who returned to the island this week to repair the lighthouse, said the Japanese government had never pressed his group to stop construction.   He said: "There's been no pressure from the Japanese government."   Chinese ambassador to Japan Xu Dunxin visited Japan's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday to protest what the Chinese believe is Tokyo's negligence and indifference to the acts of the ultrarightists.   The Japanese appear mainly interested in avoiding the whole dispute.   A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry quoted Vice Foreign Minister Sadayuki Hayashi as saying that "both sides must remain sober in dealing with the situation so as not to inflict a negative impact on our relations". 
12971 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  The United States on Wednesday pledged it will continue efforts to reduce the impact of its military presence in the southern Japan island of Okinawa.   Rust Deming, charge d'affaires at the U.S. embassy in Tokyo, told Okinawa Governor Masahide Ota the United States was committed to successfully concluding bilateral negotiations on the partial return of land in Okinawa currently used by the U.S. military, an embassy statement said.   Ota visited the embassy to deliver the results of Sunday's referendum in the prefecture in which an overwhelming majority voted in favor of reducing U.S. military bases.   "The U.S. will continue to seek to reduce the impact of the American military presence on Okinawan communities, consistent with our responsibilities under the U.S.-Japan Mutual Security Treaty and our requirements to fully maintain operational readiness and capabilities," the statement quoted Deming as saying.   "The United States greatly valued its relationship with Okinawa Prefecture and emphasised that we will continue to do our best to be good neighbours to our host communities in Okinawa and elsewhere in Japan," the statement said.   On Tuesday, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto promised in a meeting with Ota to implement a series of measures to develop Okinawa, which is Japan's poorest prefecture.   Okinawa is home to three-quarters of the U.S. military facilities in Japan and hosts about half of the 47,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in the country, although it constitutes less than one percent of Japan's total land area.   Okinawans have long resented the noise, aircraft accidents and crime associated with the heavy U.S. presence.   The resentment increased following the rape of an Okinawan schoolgirl by three U.S. servicemen last year. 
12972 !GCAT !GDIP  China and Taiwan, bitter rivals since 1949, are finding their usually disparate interests awkwardly united in a mounting sovereignty dispute with Japan over a string of rocky East China Sea islands.   Growing anger in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and the mainland itself over Japanese rightists in the Diaoyu chain is forcing Beijing and Taipei to face hard choices with broad implications for their own policies towards each other.   "This question of the Diaoyus is putting both China and Taiwan in a very awkward position," said Lu Ya-li, a political analyst at National Taiwan University.   The right-wing Japan Youth Federation rekindled the row in July by building a lighthouse on one of the uninhabited islands about 200 km (120 miles) northeast of Taiwan that are claimed by Tokyo as well as Beijing and Taipei.   Chinese tempers flared anew in September as Japanese coast guard ships and helicopters barred private Taiwan boats from reaching the islands, where the Japanese group had gone to repair the typhoon-damaged structure.   China's communists and Taiwan's exiled Republic of China government agree the islands have been China's for centuries and dispute Tokyo's claim, which dates to China's forced cession of Taiwan and the Diaoyus after its defeat by Japan in 1895.   Both have separately denounced Japan's support for the rightists' activities and demanded the Japanese leave the Diaoyus -- yet both have declined to act.   "It's clear that both governments are trying to contain the Diaoyu islands issue and don't want to see a chain reaction into other unrelated issues," Taiwan's Central Daily News said in an editorial.   Analysts say China faces a rare opportunity to win friends among sceptical Taiwanese by standing up to Japan, whose 1895-1945 occupation of Taiwan remains a bitter memory.   Citizens in Hong Kong, where Chinese nationalism is waxing ahead of the colony's mid-1997 return to Chinese rule, have appealed publicly to Beijing for a military response.   Hong Kong media accounts have said China's military is hankering to assert sovereignty in the Diaoyus and has forced Beijing to match its discreet diplomacy with public anger at Tokyo, while stopping short of force.   Beijing clearly is loth to offend Japan or its legions of deep-pocketed investors, who flush China's evolving socialist market economy with crucial capital and market know-how.   "Practically speaking, the economic consideration is for the mainland far more important than the Diaoyu issue," Lu said.   "They want to strike a balance, but my guess is their response towards Japan will not be strong."   One military analyst said China might send a few navy boats, but was reluctant to pick a fight it fears it might not win and risk losing face -- and credibility -- in Taiwan and Hong Kong.   "They may despatch patrol boats into the area, but don't want this to become a (bigger) issue because it would be an issue that they cannot resolve," he said.   "China's air force lacks confidence because Japan's technology is still stronger."   Taiwan, too, finds its hands tied -- perhaps even more so now that democratic reforms have spawned two strong opposition camps, one warm to reunification with China and another leaning towards a fully sovereign Taiwan republic.   Taiwan has demanded that Japan stop hindering its vessels near the Diaoyus, but, like Beijing, Taipei too has failed to despatch its own powerful coast guard to defend them.   Taiwan Foreign Minister John Chang has said repeatedly that Taipei does not need Beijing's help to handle the Diaoyu issue.   Analyst Lu says Taipei feels it must resist pressure from the Beijing-leaning New Party to take actions that might be seen as supportive of Beijing's pro-unification policies.   "Taiwan can't make a military response, and not only for fear of offending Japan.   It also fears being manipulated by the mainland," Lu said.   "The mainland hopes to toss this hot potato to Taiwan, to make internal trouble for President Lee Teng-hui's government." 
12973 !GCAT !GDIP  More than 100 Chinese nationalists on Wednesday urged China's top military leaders to send warships to the disputed Diaoyu islands to tear down structures built by Japanese rightists.   "We will not hesitate to safeguard her (the Diaoyus) with our blood and lives," reads a copy of a letter that seven nationalists in Beijing sent to Communist Party chief Jiang Zemin and the four vice-chairmen of the party's Central Military Commission.   Nationalists from six provinces also sent letters to the military leaders calling for warships to escort residents of China, Taiwan or Hong Kong heading for the Diaoyus, a group of small, uninhabited islands in the East China Sea claimed by Beijing, Tokyo and Taipei.   Japanese coast guard ships have kept several Taiwanese boats away from the islands in recent days.   Angry Taiwanese lawmakers have urged their government to deploy military forces to assert its claim in the escalating sovereignty dispute with Japan.   The seven Chinese who signed the Beijing letter included leading playwright Wu Zuguang, London-based World War Two correspondent Xiao Qian, and retired general Huang Yuzhou, who fought invading Japanese troops from 1937-45.   Copies of the letters were sent by fax to Reuters.   The response of China's military commission, which is headed by party chief and state president Jiang, was not immediately available.   A group of Hong Kong activists, members of the Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood, are in Beijing to present to Chinese authorities a petition signed by 15,000 people urging the government to get tough on Japan's claim to the islands.   On Tuesday, Beijing lodged a strong protest with Tokyo and called in its charge d'affaires in Beijing, warning of serious damage to bilateral ties if Japan failed to stop its rightists from setting foot on the islands.   China said Japan must not allow the structures built by the nationalists to remain on the islands.   The islands, known in Japanese as the Senkakus, lie east of China's southeastern Fujian coast, west of Japan's Okinawa island and northeast of Taiwan.   Disputes over the islands resurfaced in recent months after the Japanese nationalists built a lighthouse and a war memorial on the islands in an attempt to bolster Tokyo's claim to them, sparking a wave of protests by Chinese across the region.   Members of the Nihon Seinen-sha (Japan Youth Federation) sailed to the islands on Monday and repaired the makeshift aluminium lighthouse, which was damaged by a typhoon last month.   Tokyo has supported the group's moves, mobilising patrol boats to repel private Taiwan vessels that have tried to reach the islands in recent days.   Japan's persistent moves to assert sovereignty over the islands have angered Chinese in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, uniting the region despite political differences.   University students in Beijing have applied to police for permission to stage a demonstration, but authorities have been reluctant to approve the application and were trying to placate the students, a Chinese source has said. 
12974 !C31 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS !M14 !M141 !MCAT  A collision involving the bulk ship Neptune Aldebaran near Japan will delay its Taiwan-bound cargo of 54,000 tonnes of corn and temporarily boost local corn prices, Taiwan traders said on Wednesday.    "This will definitely push local prices higher in the near term," one trader told Reuters.   Traders said any significant delay in delivery of the shipment would cause disruption in the island's tight local supplies as buyer Chengyi Group scrambles for alternative sources of corn.   An executive of the grain supplier Peavey confirmed that the affected shipment was purchased by Chengyi but was unable to say how long it might be delayed.   Freight firm MIT, which brokered transport of the shipment, said it was likely the vessel would seek harbour in Japan.    The Singapore-flag bulk carrier Neptune Aldebaran collided with the South Korean-registered Dongjin Hope late on Tuesday in the Tsushima strait off western Japan in lat 34 33n, long 130 00e, Lloyd's Shipping Intelligence Service said on Wednesday.   The 66,764 dwt Neptune Aldebaran was sailing from the U.S. and sustained damage to its starboard side shell plating in the way of No.4 hold, Lloyd's said.   The 1,975 dwt Dongjin Hope was bound for Tokuyama from Busan with 17 empty containers and sustained damage to its bow and its engine-room was flooded.   The crew abandoned the vessel and all 12 crew members boarded a Maritime Safety Agency patrol boat. 
12975 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Japan on Wednesday welcomed the United Nations' endorsement of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) as an historic step towards a world free of nuclear weapons and urged efforts to persuade India to approve the landmark pact.   "We welcome the (adoption) as an historic step towards a nuclear-free world," top government spokesman Seiroku Kajiyama said.   "We would like to be assured that the nuclear powers will never conduct nuclear testing," Kajiyama told a news conference.   Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto called for united global efforts to persuade India to join the ban.   "From now on, the international community must make its utmost efforts to persuade India and other countries to accept the treaty," Hashimoto told reporters.   The U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved and opened for signature the treaty, which would ban nuclear explosions from the world forever.   But implemention of the landmark treaty would need the signature of India, which has yet to be persuaded to ratify it.   Indian delegates told the U.N. their government would prevent the treaty from becoming law, mainly because the nuclear powers refused to set a timetable for ridding themselves of their atomic arsenals. 
12976 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Japanese Finance Minister Wataru Kubo told reporters on Wednesday that his ministry may investigate financial institutions at the centre of a series of lawsuits involving insurance policies.   Kubo did not specify what kind of action the ministry could take.   He was referring to a recent spate of lawsuits over variable insurance policies the financial firms hawked during the 1980s "bubble" era that have now gone sour.   Policyholders, mostly elderly people, were left with heavy debts when they could no longer repay the loans taken out to buy the policies after their yields turned negative.   Many of the policyholders say they were duped into buying the policies and were not fully told of the risk of losses.   Banks and insurance firms teamed up to sell the policies.   Last week the Yokohama District Court ordered financial institutions to pay compensation or return the premiums to four plaintiffs.   The institutions have appealed to a higher court.   "The ministry cannot do anything based on the court judgement as the dispute is still going on... Apart from the judgement, the ministry could separately investigate (the firms) to see if they had ever betrayed their clients," Kubo said. 
12977 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDEF !GDIP !GPOL  Chinese soldiers who will garrison Hong Kong from mid-1997 will not be tried by local courts if they commit crimes, a Hong Kong political party said on Wednesday.   Daniel Wong, spokesman for a delegation of the Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood, said a Chinese official told party members during a visit to Beijing that the troops could only be tried by China's military courts.   Wong was quoted by Hong Kong government radio as saying the group had discussed the issue with a senior member of the National People's Congress, China's parliament.   Hong Kong, a British colony for more than 150 years, reverts to Chinese rule at midnight on June 30, 1997.   The Hong Kong politician said that if China tried errant People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers in military courts, this would breach the Basic Law agreed on by China and Britain.   The Basic Law is Hong Kong's post-1997 constitution.   Wong said the official "took into account our views, but he saw great difficulty in surrendering soldiers to Hong Kong court jurisdiction if there was a criminal offence committed."   Prosecution of PLA troops stationed in Hong Kong remains a grey area in the Basic Law.   The law says that "in addition to abiding by national laws, members of the garrison shall abide by the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative region."   But it does not say whether soldiers who break Hong Kong laws would be tried in the territory's courts.   The arrival of PLA troops in Hong Kong is viewed with some trepidation in the colony of 6.3 million people.   Images of the PLA's bloody crackdown on student-led demonstrations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989 remain etched in the memories of many Hong Kong people. 
12978 !GCAT !GDIP  Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto will address the U.N. General Assembly in New York on September 24, Japan announced on Wednesday.   Officials are also working to arrange a summit between Hashimoto and U.S. President Bill Clinton during the former's September 23-25 visit to the United States, government spokesman Seiroku Kajiyama told a news conference.   Hashimoto is expected to stress to the United Nations Japan's efforts to spur its economy in support of world economic growth and its contribution to world security, Kajiyama said.   Hashimoto on Tuesday paved the way for a resolution of a row over the U.S. military presence on Okinawa by offering the southern Japanese island prefecture an extensive economic development package if it eases up in its campaign for a total U.S. pullout. 
12979 !E11 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Finance Minister Wataru Kubo on Wednesday reiterated the government stance of delaying a decision on whether to draft a supplementary budget until after the release of gross domestic product (GDP) data due out on Friday.   Kubo told a news conference that opinions are divided on whether a supplementary budget for the current year, ending next March 31, is needed to stimulate the economy.   "I would like to have talks as soon as possible with the prime minister on whether to draft a supplementary budget after seeing economic trends based on the result of GDP data."   Kubo said it was not the right time to reach any quick conclusion on whether an extra budget was needed.   Asked about a possible move among legislators in the Liberal Democratic Party, the biggest member of the ruling coalition, to seek political contributions from the banking industry, Kubo said he believed the coalition should honour its earlier pledge to refrain from receiving any political contributions from the industry.   Kubo is a member of the Social Democratic Party. 
12980 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO !GVOTE  Philippine President Fidel Ramos on Wednesday hailed a Moslem rebel chief's election as governor of a semi-autonomous region and said he hoped the guerrilla leader would fight as tenaciously for peace as he did for war.   Nur Misuari, chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), ran unopposed in Monday's elections and unofficial results showed him garnering 485,112 votes out of 507,074 votes counted so far with about 200,000 more still to be tabulated.   Election officials have yet to formally proclaim Misuari as the victor.   "By joining the mainstream of democratic government, the MNLF enriches our political tradition with a legacy of revolutionary ideals turned into reformist zeal and determination," Ramos said in a statement.   He said he believed the MNLF leadership in the semi-autonomous area comprising four Moslem provinces in the southern Philippines would be "committed to fight as tenaciously for peace as it has waged war".   Misuari's election as regional governor is part of a peace deal he signed with Manila last week formally ending a 24-year separatist war that killed more than 120,000 people.   The deal calls for the establishment of an MNLF-led council to supervise development in 14 southern provinces, most of which are dominated by Christians.   The council will serve as forerunner of a wider autonomous region to be composed of provinces that would vote to join it in a plebiscite three years from now. 
12981 !GCAT !GPOL  Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto on Wednesday called for serious study of sweeping reform of the government structure, which he said had become too complicated and sectionalised to function effectively.   "It is extremely necessary to strengthen the leadership of the prime minister's office," Hashimoto told reporters.   He suggested the task of forming a national budget be shifted to the prime minister's office from the Finance Ministry.   "We can make roughly four groupings of the existing 22 government ministries and agencies," he said.   Overhaul of the administration including the powerful Finance Ministry has been a key platform of Hashimoto's cabinet, but until now Hashimoto has not publicly presented his own ideas on the reform.   The groupings he suggested would include one in charge of national security, defence and diplomacy, a second covering the economy and industry, a third in charge of medical care, labour and welfare, and a fourth in charge of education and culture.   "These are purely my personal opinions.   But a very serious study is needed on the matter," he said.   His suggestion to give more power over budget formation to the prime minister's office could cause uproar in the Finance Ministry, which has resisted calls for radical reform.   The ministry, long viewed as the pinnacle of Japan's elite bureaucracy, has come under fierce public criticism for its poor handling of problems in the financial sector and a series of scandals involving senior ministry officials.   The ministry, in charge of banking, securities and budgetary and tax policies, has met calls both at home and abroad to change its system of trying to deal with crises in financial institutions internally.   The ruling coalition is now studying the feasibility of splitting up the ministry and dispersing its authority.   "Problems the nation faces now require handling by various ministries and agencies.   But the existing structure has become too complicated and sectionalised to cope with problems effectively," Hashimoto said. 
12982 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The United States warned Iraq on Wednesday it would soon learn Washington was "not playing games" and that firing missiles at U.S. planes would draw a response "disproportionate" to the Iraqi attack.   To back threats of new military strikes against Iraq, the United States moved F-117A "stealth" fighters and B-52 bombers closer to the region.   Eight stealth jets were being sent to Kuwait and the B-52s were already on a British base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, according to administration and defence sources, who asked not to be identified.   The Pentagon said Iraq fired one SAM-6 surface-to-air missile at two F-16 jets policing a no-fly zone over northern Iraq on Wednesday, but did not damage the planes.   "In Iraq, air defence crews are playing some kind of a game, and they will very soon learn that we are not playing games," U.S. Defence Secretary William Perry told reporters.   "The responses that we will make...will be disproportionate with the provocations which are made against us," he said.   Iraq, in a brief statement carried by the Iraqi News Agency, said its air defence units used artillery and missiles against U.S. and allied warplanes in the north and south of the country.   The report did not say that any planes were hit.   Perry said the Iraqis who fired on the U.S. aircraft had made a "wild shot" and "only had their radar turned on for a few seconds."   This was a wise decision, because otherwise "they would have had an anti-radiation missile down their throats."   U.S. officials also said an Iraqi MiG-25 jet fighter and a helicopter flew into a no-fly zone in southern Iraq on Wednesday, defying U.S. warnings of retaliation.   Last week the U.S. launched 44 Tomahawk and airborne cruise missiles against military targets in southern Iraq to punish Iraqi President Saddam Hussein for sending troops to attack Kurds in the north of the country.   Arab countries, many of them involved in the U.S.-led force that liberated Kuwait in 1991, have disapproved of the action.   Saudi Arabia played host to the allied force in 1991 but said that if the United States had asked it to use bases there to launch missile attacks against Iraq last week it would have refused such a request.   Saudi Defence and Aviation Minister Prince Sultan, in the kingdom's first official comments on the punitive U.S. raids, said: "This (the use of the bases) was not requested from us.   If it was requested we would have rejected it."   Oil prices climbed to their highest levels since the 1991 Gulf War after the news that Iraq had fired at U.S. fighters.   World benchmark Brent crude gained 72 cents to trade at a high of 23.60 a barrel, the highest price for prompt futures on the International Petroleum Exchange since January 1991 when they hit 31.20 in the heat of the Desert Storm campaign.   In northern Iraq, where the Kurdish civil war gave Saddam a chance to move troops into the region at the end of August, refugees from the losing side tramped towards Iran.   Iran said it was sheltering 39,000 Kurdish refugees and was also setting up camps for another 16O,OOO refugees on the Iraqi side of the border and providing aid.   Tens of thousands of refugees had fled toward Iran from advancing Iraqi-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) forces who took Sulaimaniya, Iraq's biggest Kurdish city, on Monday from the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).   Refugees said KDP fighters killed four people and wounded about 100 in Iraq on Tuesday night.   "I would rather be a refugee than go back home to Sulaimaniya and live under the KDP and Saddam Hussein," said a middle-aged man standing next to a camp-fire at the Bashmaq border crossing in Iran.   U.N. officials in Geneva said on Tuesday up to 75,000 people were on the move, although some were later reported returning home.   With the triumph of its allies the KDP, Iraq has at last been able to assert a presence in its Kurdish provinces, which had been out of its control since the aftermath of the Gulf War.   The United States and its allies protected Iraqi Kurds since the collapse of their post-Gulf War uprising against Baghdad, helping them to run their own affairs.   On Wednesday Iraq said the KDP victory was a warning to Iran and Turkey to keep out of Iraqi Kurdish affairs.   Ankara has announced plans to set up a security zone up to 10 km (six miles) deep inside Iraq to stem infiltration by rebels of Turkey's Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).   The neighbours held talks on Wednesday over Ankara's controversial plan.   "Iraq understands us and we understand each other better," Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller told reporters after her second meeting in two days with Iraqi envoy Hamed Youssef Hummadi.   "I hope there will be positive developments in the coming days," she added. 
12983 !GCAT !GDIP  Israel and the United States have put together a draft proposal that could form the basis for resumption of talks between the Jewish state and Syria, Israeli media said on Wednesday.   Shai Bazak, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, later said he "knew nothing" of a draft.   In Washington State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said the United States has developed proposals for re-starting peace talks between Israel and Syria that will be passed on to Damascus shortly,   U.S. Mideast Coordinator Dennis Ross on Tuesday had long talks on the subject with Dore Gold, adviser to Netanyahu, after Netanyahu met President Bill Clinton on Monday and "now we will be going back to the Syrians," Burns told reporters.   Israel's state-run Channel One Television said there was a draft that could be used to resume talks and that Ross would come to the region next week to try to mediate between the sides over the draft.   Channel One quoted a senior government source saying Israel had gone a "long way" toward Syria.   It did not elaborate.   Israel's Channel Two Television said Israel, in the draft, accepted some of the understandings reached between Syria and Israel's previous centre-left government ousted by the right-wing Likud party led by Netanyahu in May elections, but that Israel refused to commit to adopting all the understandings.   Channel Two said the draft was formulated by Gold and Ross.   It too said Ross would be in the region next week.   Netanyahu returned to Israel on Wednesday night from a brief trip to the United States.   Syria wants Israel to withdraw from all the Golan Heights it captured in the 1967 Middle East war.   Netanyahu was elected on campaign vows rejecting the principle of trading land for peace, the basis of nearly five years of peace talks between the sides.   Damascus has said it wants to resume negotiations where they left off with the previous government which was willing to make concessions on the heights in return for full peace.   Netanyahu held an hour-long working meeting with Clinton on Monday and U.S. officials said then they were trying to find a formula to bring the sides together.   In New York on Tuesday, Netanyahu slammed Syria.   "Syria essentially wants...to resume negotiations by saying to us, 'We need to negotiate the future of the Golan Heights, therefore, you (must) accept our demand to cede the Golan Heights," Netanyahu said.   "At a certain point we will discover whether Syria is interested in peace.   I'm more sanguine about the Palestinian plan...both sides have a vested interest," he said.   Syria on Wednesday said Netanyahu's stand meant the Middle East peace process, initiated in October 1991, would remain frozen.   "It is clear now after Netanyahu's statements in Washington that the peace process will remain frozen and that the aim of his visit to Washington was not to work to push forward the peace process," the ruling party's al-Baath newspaper said.   Netanyahu after meeting Clinton had said neither side should try to "try to nail the other" on conditions for resuming talks. 
12984 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  Iran said on Wednesday it was sheltering 39,000 Kurdish refugees who fled the takeover this week of northern Iraq by a Baghdad-backed Kurdish faction.   Ahmad Hosseini, Iran's top official in charge of refugees, told the official news agency IRNA the refugees were given shelter outside the border towns of Baneh and Sardasht and the city of Kermanshah 125 km (80 miles) east of the border.   IRNA quoted him as saying Iran was also setting up camps for another 16O,OOO refugees on the Iraqi side of the border and providing aid.   Tens of thousands of refugees had fled toward Iran from advancing Iraqi-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) forces who took Sulaimaniya, Iraq's biggest Kurdish city, on Monday from the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).   But, against the flow, hundreds of Kurdish refugees went back to their homes in northern Iraq.   Some said they were returning because President Saddam Hussein's Iraqi troops had not entered Sulaimaniya.   "People are still coming back.   They continue to return.   We've monitored a lot of trucks and cars coming back," Stafford Clarry, senior U.N. representative in Sulaimaniya, told Reuters by telephone.   Thousands of refugees set up camp on the Iranian side of the Bashmaq border crossing on Wednesday after they said KDP guerrillas killed four people on Tuesday night.   "KDP men came and asked us first nicely to go back home, but when people confronted them, they started shooting.   Four were killed," a refugee told Reuters.   Local Iranian authorities at the Bashmaq border crossing said four people were killed and about 100 wounded.   The wounded were taken to hospitals in Iran, they said.   State-run Tehran radio said Iraqi troops were also involved.   Tehran had said it would not admit refugees "unless in an emergency".   It said it would offer relief with the help of international organisations in camps on the Iraqi side of the border.   United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees official Laurens Jolles in Tehran said Iranian officials had decided to allow refugees facing grave danger into Iran.   "Iranian officials said they were now admitting more refugees, including those whose lives were in danger and those who were in hard-to-reach border areas," he said.   "They also repeated their request for urgent international action to bring aid to the refugees.   They said food and medicines were in short supply," Jolles told Reuters.   Tehran this week appealed for international aid, saying nearly 200,000 refugees were approaching.   UNHCR officials in Geneva said on Tuesday up to 75,000 people were on the move, although some were later reported returning home.   Iran already has more than two million refugees, including 1.5 million Afghans, making it the country hosting the largest number anywhere.   Tehran had feared a repeat of an exodus in 1991, when more than a million Iraqis, most of them Kurds, fled to Iran as Baghdad crushed uprisings that followed Iraq's defeat in the Gulf War.   Most Kurds had since returned to northern Iraq.   "I would rather be a refugee than go back home to Sulaimaniya and live under the KDP and (Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein," a middle-aged man with his wife and daughter told Reuters earlier in Bashmaq.   He said he and many other refugees belonged to Kurdish clans opposed to the KDP. 
12985 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Turkey and Iraq held talks on Wednesday over Ankara's controversial plan to set up a border security zone against separatist Kurdish guerrillas based in northern Iraq.   "Iraq understands us and we understand each other better," Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller told reporters after her second meeting in two days with Iraqi envoy Hamed Youssef Hummadi.   "I hope there will be positive developments in the coming days," she added.   Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan later met Hummadi to try to persuade Baghdad to accept Turkish control over a thin strip of its land along the rugged border.   Many Arab nations, including some at odds with Baghdad, have criticised Turkey's plan to establish a cordon up to 10 km (six miles) deep inside Iraq in an attempt to stem infiltration by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which uses bases there to fight its separatist guerrilla war in southeast Turkey.   There has been little sign of the plan being put into operation, despite a military buildup on the 330-km (200-mile) border last week and tough talk from Turkish generals.   "An assessment of the situation is being made and preparations are ongoing.   It will be declared at the appropriate time," foreign ministry spokesman Omer Akbel told reporters.   Egypt, a member of the 1991 Gulf War coalition against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, fears any Turkish military presence in Iraq could set a precedent for neighbour Iran or the Western powers to take chunks of Iraqi territory.   The Arabs are also concerned that approval of the Turkish plan would legitimise Israel's self-proclaimed anti-guerrilla security zone set up in southern Lebanon since 1985.   Even Morocco and Mauritania, several thousand kilometres (miles) from the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan, have chimed in to warn Turkey against encroaching on an Arab state's soil.   But Turkey, which frequently raids Kurdish-held north Iraq to take on the PKK, says Arab fears are unfounded.   "Turkish soldiers will not be based in northern Iraq," a government official told Reuters.   He said the cordon would be a free-fire zone controlled by electronic observation posts along the border.   Western diplomats say Turkish troops would probably stay on their side of the border and strike into Iraq at the first sight of suspected rebel activity.   But it was unclear how Turkey would persuade Iraqi Kurdish villagers to abandon their homes and leave the field open for a free-fire zone.   NATO partner Washington has tacitly accepted the proposed security zone.   Iraq on Tuesday described the plan as "provocative behaviour" inspired by the United States.   Turkey failed to oust the rebels from north Iraq in a six-week cross-border drive by about 30,000 troops last year that was criticised by some of Ankara's Western allies.   An Iraqi Kurdish group said Turkey might enlist its help against the PKK.   "There might be a delegation of Turkish officials going to Iraqi Kurdistan...this might be very soon, in the next few days," said Faik Nerweyi, a spokesman for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).   "This should be our duty.   We do have the duty to protect our border from outsiders and from infiltrations," he said.   The KDP, now in control of much of northern Iraq after defeating another Iraqi Kurdish group this week with the aid of Baghdad, has had limited success against the PKK in the past.   Turkish plans to leave much of the border security to the KDP after last year's incursion came to little.   The Turkish Kurd group inflicted heavy casualties on the KDP, led by Massoud Barzani, in another round of inter-Kurdish fighting. 
12986 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Turkey on Wednesday began discussing the future of U.S.-led air protection for northern Iraq in the wake of the capture of the region by Iraqi-backed Kurdish forces.   Turkey, a U.S. ally that has provided a base for the air cover, said it had begun talks with Washington on reassessing the aims of the force set up five years ago to protect the area's Kurds from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.   The Turkish cabinet also met under Islamist Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan to discuss the flights of Operation Provide Comfort flown by the United States, France and Britain.   "What is the situation now of the conditions for Provide Comfort that parliament put forward?   That will be evaluated," Erbakan told reporters as he headed into the meeting.   Underscoring the uncertainty in the region, Washington and Baghdad said Iraqi forces fired missiles at two U.S. jets from the force.   The missiles, and others fired at similar patrols over southern Iraq, missed.   In Ankara, a foreign ministry spokesman said talks with Washington were necessary because of the nine-day outbreak of Kurdish infighting that ended with the Iraq-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in control of northern Iraq.   "It became apparent that the duties and responsibilities of Provide Comfort have to be looked at again in the light of the recent developments," said Omer Akbel, ministry spokesman for the 10-week-old Islamist-led government.   He spoke before news of the Iraqi attacks.   Turkey's parliament regularly extends the mandate of the force but Turkish MPs have often called for it to be scrapped or downgraded.   They say flights have created a power vacuum that allows Turkish Kurds fighting for autonomy from Turkey to operate from northern Iraq.   "Contacts with the Americans began this week," Akbel told a news briefing.   "The other coalition partners will be consulted."   He said the talks were on a technical level and gave few other details.   In Washington, a senior U.S. defence official said Iraqi forces fired at U.S. F-16 fighter jets over northern Iraq on Wednesday but neither jet was damaged.   Provide Comfort, in place since after the 1991 Gulf War, is supposed to protect Iraqi Kurds from any attack by Baghdad but the area is now under the rule of a Kurdish faction backed by Saddam.   The allies withdrew to Turkey from a Provide Comfort command centre in the northern Iraqi town of Zakho last week to avoid the inter-Kurdish fighting.   "There is a de facto situation.   The centre has moved from there to Turkey.   It has become clear that it cannot operate there," Akbel said.   Erbakan, under pressure from his pro-Western coalition partners and the military, persuaded his MPs to approve coontinued allied patrols in July.   But he called for fewer flights and more Turkish control.   In the northern Iraqi town of Salahuddin, a functionary of the Baghdad-backed KDP said, despite the group's alliance with Saddam, all Kurds feared the end of air cover.   "If in the first moment Operation Provide Comfort is ended, in the second moment Saddam Hussein will attack Kurdistan.   All the people think like that.   No Kurdish people trust Saddam Hussein," he said. 
12987 !GCAT !GVIO  Iraq said its air defence units used artillery and missiles against U.S. and allied warplanes over northern and southern Iraq on Wednesday.   "At 1000, 1159 and 1244 hours (local time) our defence units in the northern and southern sectors have confronted today with artillery and missiles hostile targets and forced them to flee," a military spokesman said, quoted by the Iraqi News Agency.   He said "the criminal American enemy and those who are taking part with it" -- a reference to Britain and France -- had violated Iraqi air space 15 times from bases in Turkey and 57 times from bases in Saudi Arabia.   Earlier U.S. defence officials in Washington said Iraqi forces fired missiles at U.S. fighter jets over northern Iraq on Wednesday but missed their targets, and that the United States had moved B-52 bombers to a base in the Indian Ocean to back its threat of new military strikes on Iraq.   The missile firings occurred at 0758 GMT or 11.58 a.m.   Iraqi time, the officials said.   American warships and B-52s, which flew non-stop more than 19 hours round-trip from Guam, launched 44 Tomahawk and airborne cruise missiles against air defence targets in southern Iraq last week to punish Iraq for using its forces to attack Kurds in northern Iraq.   Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has order his armed forces to ignore the no-fly zones and fire on intruding aircraft.   Iraq has reported several times that it had launched missiles against U.S. aircraft but Wednesday's attack was the first to be confirmed by Washington.   Asked if there would be a U.S. response, White House spokesman Mike McCurry said: "I don't want to speculate."   The United States on Tuesday accused Saddam of starting to rebuild his air defences in the south despite direct warnings from Defence Secretary William Perry and others and warned that U.S. forces could launch new attacks at any time. 
12988 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Several hundred Iraqis travelled on Wednesday in the Kurdish areas of the country following Iraq's decision to lift an embargo and issue a broad amnesty to its Kurds, state-run Baghdad radio said.   "Very large numbers of passangers have rushed today to Kirkuk bus station seeking to travel to the northern provinces of Arbil, Sulaimaniya and Dahuk," said the radio, quoting its correspondent in the northern town of Kirkuk.   "In order to handle growing numbers of travellers, the Private Transport Committee in Kirkuk has devoted 350 buses to transport these passengers," it added.   There was no independent confirmation Iraqis were getting into the Kurdish areas.   Travellers from Dahuk told reporters that Iraqis in about 100 cars had tried to move in to that northern Iraqi town but were stopped at a KDP highway checkpoint.   On Tuesday, President Saddam Hussein issued an amnesty to Iraqi Kurds in northern Iraq and lifted Baghdad's embargo on these three Iraqi Kurdish provinces.   The measure came after the victories of Baghdad's new Kurdish ally, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), over its old rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).   The KDP of Massoud Barzani declared on Monday it controlled northern Iraq.   Traders in Baghdad expected trade between Iraq's Kurdistan and the rest of the country to flourish after the government's decision to end the embargo.   The Iraqi dinar has already strengthened against the dollar on news of the lifting of Baghdad's blockade on northern Iraq.   It climbed to about 1,000 to the dollar on Wednesday and Tuesday from 1,400 to 1,500 prior to the announcement.   Traders expect more gains by the Iraqi dinar as soon as commodities from the north start reaching Baghdad.   The economy of northern Iraq is based on agriculture and cross-border trade with neighbouring Iran and Turkey.   Prior to the 1991 Gulf War, the region was Baghdad's main supplier of vegetables, fruits and cereals like rice and wheat. 
12989 !GCAT !GCRIM  Armed motorcyclists freed two prisoners in Cyprus from a police car on Wednesday by cutting off their handcuffs with clippers before fleeing through a U.N. checkpoint to the Turkish-held part of the island.   A police spokesman said Abi Biton, 21, and Shuki Samana, 24 -- both Israeli nationals from Haifa -- escaped with their two accomplices after a police car taking them to court on charges of handling forged bills was intercepted in central Nicosia.   Cyprus police identified the accomplices as Israelis Amor Shimon, 28, and David Biton, 24.   Eray Merturk, police chief of the Turkish-held sector of Nicosia, said all four surrendered and authorities were in contact with the Israeli embassy.   A Turkish Cypriot court ordered the two men be held in custody for three days, Turkish Cypriot police sources said.   A Turkish Cypriot news agency said the order would give police a chance to investigate.   "Two armed motorcyclists intercepted the police car, cut the suspects handcuffs off with clippers and put them on the back of their bikes," Cypriot police spokesman Stelios Neofytou said.   "They left the bikes at the checkpoint and ran into the occupied areas," he said.   The northern part of the island has been inaccessible to Cyprus police since Turkey invaded in 1974 in the wake of a brief coup engineered by the military regime ruling Greece at the time.   Abi Biton and Samana were being taken to court in the coastal town of Larnaca from Nicosia's central prison where they were to stand trial on charges of possessing $7,000 in counterfeit bills.   The two were arrested on August 30.   Before speeding off, the motorcyclists cut the radio in the police car and took the car keys, leaving the two officers stranded.   The motorcycles were rented from Larnaca.   Later both policemen were put on suspension pending a disciplinary inquiry, police said.   Two British U.N. soldiers at the Ledra Palace checkpoint tried to stop the four by closing a gate leading to the other side.   All four climbed over the gate, ringed with barbed wire, and threatened the peacekeepers with a knife, a U.N. spokesman said.   "The U.N. has launched a request for their return... they stormed a U.N. obstacle and threatened U.N. personnel," spokesman Waldemar Rokosewski said.   Turkish Cypriot police sources said the four had asked to be sent to Turkey or Israel.   Eyewitnesses told Reuters the four -- two of them with the remains of the handcuffs dangling from their wrists -- walked over to the Turkish Cypriot checkpoint, saying they were tourists who wanted to visit the Turkish-held north.   "They were not mickey mouse guys.   The whole thing looked very professional," said another U.N. source. 
12990 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  An Israeli court on Wednesday convicted Yitzhak Rabin's assassin Yigal Amir, the killer's brother and a third religious Jew of conspiring to murder the prime minister.   Amir, 26, is already serving a life sentence for killing Rabin at a Tel Aviv peace rally last November.   Sentences in the separate conspiracy case against him, his brother Hagai and their friend Dror Adani will be handed down on October 3.   The Tel Aviv District Court also convicted the Amir brothers of weapons offences and all three defendants on charges of conspiring to attack Palestinians.   Lawyers said the Amirs faced up to 40 years in jail and Adani up to 15 for the offences.   "We have decided unanimously to convict all three suspects of all the charges brought against them," said Amnon Strashnov, head of the three-judge panel, reading the verdict.   The three smiled throughout the hour-long reading of the verdict and whispered to one-another at the defendant's bench as it became clear they were going to be convicted.   From his seat, Yigal Amir shouted: "Why don't you add a few Strashnov answered firmly: "Keep your mouth shut or else I'll throw you out."   All three accused were expressionless when their convictions were announced.   Their attorneys said they would appeal the decision.   Judges said the convictions were based primarily on confessions the three suspects gave police in the days after the assassination, some of which the defendants later retracted.   According to the indictment, the three defendants met at the Amir home north of Tel Aviv on several occasions in the year leading up to the assassination and discussed ways to murder Rabin, including rigging his car with explosives and poisoning him.   At one point, Yigal and Hagai Amir scouted around Rabin's Tel Aviv home to decide on the best strategy for killing Rabin, the indictment said.   While Yigal Amir stalked Rabin over many months waiting for an opportunity to shoot him, Hagai Amir, 28, amassed a huge arsenal in the family home and crafted the hollow-point bullets his brother used to kill the prime minister.   Hagai Amir said during the trial that his brother talked frequently about murdering Rabin but he never took him seriously.   He said he falsely confessed to helping plan the murder out of sympathy for his brother.   "The denials in court from suspect number two (Hagai Amir) are not plausible.   I believe that he was telling the truth when he confessed to investigators of his involvement in plotting the murder," Strashnov said.   Adani, 28, said during the trial he had visited the Amir home hoping to romance the killer's sister but instead got pulled into a discussion on ways to assassinate the prime minister.   "The decision was predictable.   I think it's hard to imagine this court allowing itself to come to any other conclusion," said Adani's lawyer, Tzion Amir.   Yigal Amir, a right-wing religious Jew, was convicted in March of murdering Rabin and sentenced to life imprisonment, plus six years for wounding the prime minister's bodyguard.   Amir, a law student, said he shot Rabin to stop peace moves with the Palestinians.   Last month, the Supreme Court rejected Amir's appeal against his conviction and life sentence, saying his lawyer's theory there had been a second gunman was "rooted in fantasy". 
12991 !GCAT !GPOL  Israel's minister of agriculture and environment said on Wednesday he would resign from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government if it redeployed Israeli troops in the West Bank town of Hebron.   Israel's Channel One Television asked Rafael Eitan, whose small far-right Tsomet party ran jointly with Netanyahu's Likud party in May national elections, if he would resign if the redeployment went forward.   Eitan, Israel's army chief of staff during its 1982 invasion of Lebanon, said it was not a redeployment but a withdrawal that was planned, in his opinion, at the only West Bank town with Jewish settlers living inside of it.   The interviewer then said: "You are saying in an unequivocal way, if Netanyahu implements the withdrawal in Hebron, Tsomet will not be in the government?"   Eitan replied: "Correct."   Asked if Netanyahu was aware of his position, Eitan said: "He knows".   Netanyahu has said his government will honour agreements, like that to redeploy Israeli troops in Hebron, signed by the previous government with the Palestine Liberation Organisation but he insists there must be adjustments to the Hebron deal.   Palestinians, Arab states and the United States expect the Hebron deal, which should have been carried out in March, to be implemented.   Eitan did not say if he would support the government from outside if he resigned but in all likelihood he would rather than vote with the dovish coalition ousted in May.   In any event, it is also unclear just how many other parliamentarians now back Eitan.   Likud, Tsomet and another small party ran jointly in Israel's May 29 parliamentary elections, garnering 32 votes.   Netanyahu was elected prime minister in a simultaneous direct election.   Tsomet had five seats in the last parliament.   Netanyahu's religious-right coalition government commands a 66-54 majority in parliament. 
12992 !GCAT !GDIP  Iran agreed to a request on Wednesday by seven Western countries to allow their citizens to leave Iraq through Iranian territory, Tehran radio said.   It said the envoys of Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Britain, Australia and Italy to Iran made the request at a meeting with a senior Foreign Ministry official.   The Irish ambassador expressed concern over the safety of the countries' citizens because of the crisis in northern Iraq and asked that they be allowed to return home by travelling through neighbouring Iran, the radio said.   The Iranian official said Tehran would provide the necessary assistance, it added.   Tension mounted on Wednesday between the United States and Iraq after Baghdad's forces fired a missile at U.S. warplanes over northern Iraq and Washington said it was moving F-117A "stealth" fighters near Iraq. 
12993 !GCAT !GODD  A suspicious-looking tool box left behind by an electrician disrupted a reception held to inaugurate the new premises housing the Cypriot central bank on Wednesday night, police said.   Guests, including President Glafcos Clerides, ministers and diplomats, were moved to another part of the building when the box was found but returned when police gave the all-clear.   "Police bomb disposal experts searched it and found it was not anything suspicious," said a police spokesman.   The box contained rusty tools left behind by an electrician when the building was completed. 
12994 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday that if the United States had asked it to use bases there to launch missile attacks against Iraq last week it would have refused such a request.   Saudi Defence and Aviation Minister Prince Sultan, in the kingdom's first official comments on the punitive U.S. raids, said: "This (the use of the bases) was not requested from us.   If it was requested we would have rejected it."   He was speaking to reporters in Riyadh and a copy of his comments was made available to Reuters.   Saudi Arabia, the U.S.' chief strategic ally in the Middle East and the main base for U.S. forces in the Gulf since the 1990-91 Gulf crisis, had maintained official silence on the attacks -- which the United States launched from ships in the Gulf and B-52 bombers.   Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states that rely heavily on U.S. protection from any Iraqi or Iranian threat made no mention of the U.S. cruise missile attacks during their weekend meeting of foreign ministers.   Two senior U.S. officials had visited the kingdom seeking Saudi support for retaliation against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's assaults on Kurds in northern Iraq.   Saudi Arabia remains highly sensitive to any publicity about the American presence in the kingdom, where two bombs have killed 24 Americans and two Indians in the past year.   The kingdom served as the launch pad for the coalition against Iraq in 1991 when up to half a million mostly American troops were stationed in the kingdom.   Since the Gulf War, the Saudi government has faced growing condemnation from Moslem militant groups against its close alliance with Washington.   The militants were blamed for at least one of the two bomb attacks targeting Americans and underground groups have warned of more violence.   When asked about Turkey's plans to set up a buffer zone in northern Iraq, Prince Sultan said: "The Turks themselves say they will not do anything inside Iraq...As long as these operations are within the framework of the Security Council resolutions, we have no interference in it."   Prince Sultan's comments seemed cautious compared to reactions from other Arab states.   Many Arab nations, including some at odds with Baghdad, have criticised Turkey's plan to establish a cordon up to 10 km (six miles) deep inside Iraq to stem border infiltrations by Turkey's Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels based there.   There has been little sign of the plan being put into operation, despite a military buildup on the 330-km (200-mile) border last week and tough talk from Turkish generals. 
12995 !GCAT !GDIP  The Gulf Arab state of Qatar on Wednesday condemned Turkey's plans to create a security zone in northern Iraq, the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.   It said Qatar's cabinet "condemned setting up a buffer zone in northern Iraq, considering it a negative move that threatens to eradicate security and stability in the region and threatens to divide Iraq."   It stressed the need to preserve Iraq's territorial unity and sovereignty and appealed to Turkey to change its decision in view of its historic ties with the Arab world, QNA said.   The Qatari cabinet also called for a "speedy taking of the steps needed to implement the oil-for-food deal to lift the suffering of the Iraqi people."   The deal that was supposed to allow Baghdad to sell $2 billion worth of oil over six months to raise funds to buy food and other aid was frozen by the UN after Iraq troops swept through northern Iraq last week to help a Kurdish faction.   Many Arab countries, including some at odds with Baghdad, have criticised Turkey's plan to establish a cordon up to 10 km (6 miles) deep inside Iraq to stem border infiltrations by Turkey's Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels based there.   There has been little sign of the plan being put into operation, despite a military buildup on the 330 km (200-mile) border last week and tough talk from Turkish generals.   The Arabs are also concerned that approval of the Turkish plan would legitimise Israel's self-proclaimed anti-guerrilla security zone set up in southern Lebanon since 1975.   But Turkey, which frequently raids Kurdish-held north Iraq in operations against the PKK, says Arab fears are unfounded. 
12996 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  An Istanbul court on Wednesday ordered former state minister Ayvaz Gokdemir to pay compensation to three female Euro-MPs he had called prostitutes in a row over Turkey's rights record.   The state-run Anatolian news agency said Gokdemir, a hardline rightwinger in Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller's conservative party, was to pay the women a total of 500 million lira ($5,600).   The parliamentarians had demanded three billion lira ($33,700).   The three -- Claudia Roth, leader of the Green Group in the European parliament, Pauline Green who leads the Socialist Group, and Radical Alliance leader Catherine Lalumiere -- had called for the release of jailed Kurdish deputies during a visit to Ankara in May 1995.   Gokdemir retorted: "We are not going to release those traitors for the sake of the prostitutes in Europe who have come to us."   Gokdemir's lawyer said his comments had been general and not aimed at the three visiting parliamentarians, Anatolian reported.   The former state minister's trial had taken several months, which is not unusual for Turkish court cases.   European MPs had been increasingly critical of Turkey's shaky human rights record -- and particularly of the jailing of eight deputies for links with Kurdish separatist guerrillas the year before -- in the run-up to their ratification of a customs union deal between Ankara and the European Union.   The deal went into effect in January. 
12997 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Israel's quasi governmental Jewish Agency said on Wednesday it had asked Swiss President Jean-Pascal Delamuraz to intervene to locate assets deposited by Jews killed in World War Two and "by Nazi murderers".   The agency, which helps Jews immigrate to Israel, said its treasurer sent a letter asking for the intervention after recent reports World War Two allies secretly held on to vast amounts of gold looted by Nazi Germany.   "I therefore call on you to intervene personally not only to locate monies deposited in Switzerland by Jews but also those deposited by Nazi murderers and collaborators who looted assets from their Jewish victims," Treasurer Hanan Ben Yehuda said in a letter to Delamuraz given the media.   "All relevant information must be provided by the Swiss in order to aid this campaign...before the aged survivors of the Holocaust end their days in the shadow still casting its pall over the modern Swiss nation and its international reputation."   Britain's Foreign Office on Tuesday disclosed that Switzerland had only returned a fraction of Nazi gold to the Allies after World War Two.   The Foreign Office said in a report the sum of 250 million Swiss francs paid in 1946 to settle claims connected with Nazi gold was little more than a tenth of the gold thought to be in Swiss bank vaults at the end of the war.   It said the United States, Britain and France accepted the sum of 250 million Swiss francs because they felt they had little alternative. 
12998 !GCAT !GPOL  Bahrain's Emir Sheikh Isa bin Sulman al-Khalifa has decreed a larger, 40-member consultative Shura council, the official Gulf News Agency reported.   The decree, carried by the official Gulf News Agency (GNA) on Wednesday, said "the council (now) consists of 40 members and will be appointed by an Emiri decree."   The government appointed a 30-member Shura council in 1992 mainly to give views on laws drafted by the cabinet.   The decree said there will be a secretary-general for the expanded council who will have a status equivalent to an undersecretary of a ministry.   Officials said the new Shura council would start its first session in October.   Sheikh Isa promised in June he would develop the Shura council, give it more say in the island's affairs and increase its members to widen popular representation.   Restoration of an elected assembly dissolved in 1975 was a key demand by dissidents in anti-government protests which erupted in 1994 in Bahrain, the Gulf's main financial centre.   A second Emiri decree reported by GNA on Wednesday called for the formation of legal, foreign affairs, financial, economic and services committees in the council. 
12999 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Hundreds of Kurdish refugees returned to their homes in northern Iraq on Wednesday after fleeing this week for fear President Saddam Hussein would regain control of their embattled region.   "People are still coming back.   They continue to return.   We've monitored a lot of trucks and cars coming back," Stafford Clarry, senior U.N. representative in the region's biggest city of Sulaimaniya, told Reuters by telephone.   U.N. officials and witnesses said earlier in the day that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of civilians had returned home.   About 5,000 refugees set up camp on the Iranian side of the border at Bashmaq crossing.   Clarry said U.N. officials estimated another 6,000 had amassed at Sairan Ban, another crossing to Iran.   Sulaimaniya was the last stronghold of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) overrun in a largely bloodless nine-day takeover of northern Iraq by its Baghdad-backed rival, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).   Clarry said residents lived in fear.   "Absolutely.   There is a sense among the people that if they (the Iraqis) don't come back today it'll be tomorrow.   People are really worried," he said.   Kurds remember the poison gas Saddam used against the region in 1988.   Families tell of having suffered the loss of relatives at his hands over the years. 
13000 !GCAT !GPOL  Moroccan authorities banned a show by satirist Ahmed Sanoussi, nicknamed Bziz, due to have been held on Tuesday in Rabat, but gave no explanation, a human rights group said on Wednesday.   Bziz's work includes mocking Morocco's human rights record and parodies of powerful government figures like the Interior Minister Driss Basri.   The U.S.-based Human Rights Watch says he is the most censored artist in the kingdom.   "Sanoussi was prevented from entering the theatre where the show was planned to end a summer university on human rights convened by Moroccan human rights groups and their counterpart from the French city of Lyon," a spokesman for the Moroccan Human Rights Association (AMDH) said.   Asked by telephone, an interior ministry spokesman said he was not aware of the incident.   "We complied with all official requirements to stage the show in the theatre, which belongs to the culture ministry, but it was unfortunately banned with no previous warning," the independent AMDH said.   Bziz has been banned from the domestic private and public television and radio since 1986.   He remains Morocco's most popular independent satirist with cassette recordings of his work widely distributed in universities and popular areas.   Former human rights minister Mohamed Ziyane has said Bziz was banned "because he makes politics instead of performing art."   Human rights ministry officials were not available for comment. 
13001 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Iraqi forces fired SAM missiles at U.S. fighter jets on Wednesday, missing their target but raising tensions once again between Washington and Baghdad.   To back threats of new military strikes against Iraq, the United States moved B-52 bombers closer to the region.   U.S. defence officials said the bombers had flown from Guam in the Pacific Ocean to the British base of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.   The Pentagon said Iraq fired SAM-6 surface-to-air missiles at two F-16 jets policing a no-fly zone over northern Iraq, but did not damage the planes.   Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the incident occurred near Gir Pahn, midway between the cities of Zakho and Mosul.   U.S. officials also said an Iraqi MiG-25 jet fighter and a helicopter flew into a no-fly zone in southern Iraq on Wednesday, defying U.S. warnings of retaliation.   Iraq, in a brief statement carried by the Iraqi News Agency, said its air defence units used artillery and missiles against U.S. and allied warplanes in the north and south of the country.   The report did not say that any planes were hit.   Last week the U.S. launched 44 Tomahawk and airborne cruise missiles against military targets in southern Iraq to punish Iraqi President Saddam Hussein for sending troops to attack Kurds in the north of the country.   Oil prices climbed to their highest levels since the 1991 Gulf War after the news that Iraq had fired at U.S. fighters.   World benchmark Brent crude gained 72 cents to trade at $23.60 a barrel, the highest price since January 1991 when they hit $31.20 in the heat of operation Desert Storm against Iraq.   In northern Iraq, where Kurdish civil war gave Saddam a chance to move troops into the region at the end of August, refugees from the losing side tramped towards Iran.   About 5,000 weary Iraqi Kurdish refugees set up camp just inside Iran on Wednesday after they said a Baghdad-backed Kurdish group killed four people.   Refugees said fighters from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) killed four people and wounded about 100 in Iraq on Tuesday night.   Tens of thousands of refugees have streamed towards Iran to escape advancing forces of the Iraqi-backed KDP, which took Sulaimaniya, Iraq's biggest Kurdish city, on Monday from the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).   "I would rather be a refugee than go back home to Sulaimaniya and live under the KDP and Saddam Hussein," said a middle-aged man standing next to a camp-fire at the Bashmaq border crossing in Iran.   U.N. officials in Geneva said on Tuesday up to 75,000 people were on the move, although some were later reported returning home.   Tempers have been running high in the border region.   A U.N. spokeswoman said nine U.N. staffers were surrounded by screaming Iraqi Kurds, "angry at the perceived lack of intervention by the United Nations in the recent crisis in Iraq".   U.N. guards arrived to calm the crowd.   With the triumph of its allies the KDP, Iraq has at last been able to assert a presence in its Kurdish provinces, which had been out of its control since the aftermath of the Gulf War.   The United States and its allies protected Iraqi Kurds since the collapse of their post-Gulf War uprising against Baghdad, helping them to run their own affairs.   On Wednesday Iraq said the KDP victory was a warning to Iran and Turkey to keep out of Iraqi Kurdish affairs.   Ankara has announced plans to set up a security zone up to 10 km (six miles) deep inside Iraq to stem infiltration by rebels of Turkey's Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).   Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan was due to meet an Iraqi envoy on Wednesday to try to persuade Baghdad to accept the idea, which it has so far vigorously opposed. 
13002 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The head of Israel's proxy militia in south Lebanon warned Lebanese leaders on Wednesday of a possible widescale Israeli operation in Lebanon if serious violence flared on the Lebanon-Israel border.   General Antoine Lahd, commander of the South Lebanon Army (SLA), made the warning after urging the Lebanese leaders to reconsider an offer from Israel for a conditional withdrawal of its troops from the area which they had already rejected.   He said Lebanon faced two possibilities if it continued its futile attempts to get an unconditional Israeli pullout from the south: the limited Hizbollah-Israel tit-for-tat war or widescale Israeli retaliation if matters worsened.   "There are two possibilities; the first is that things remain the same in the south as they are today until peace arrives, meaning absence of security and stability and limited sabotage operations (by guerrillas)," Lahd told reporters.   "The second possibility is that matters would escalate in south Lebanon in a manner that leads to Israel undertaking a wide military operation which no one knows where it will stop this time," Lahd, who was speaking in the zone, added.   Israel launched a 17-day blitz in April against pro-Iranian Hizbollah guerrillas that killed 200 people and caused extensive damage.   A U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement ended the blitz, barring both sides from targeting civilian areas.   The pro-Iranian Hizbollah (Party of God) leads an Islamic Resistance against Israeli and SLA forces to force them out of the 15-km (nine-miles)-deep zone set up by Israel in 1985 to protect its northern settlements from guerrilla raids.   Israel said in July it was ready to pull out from south Lebanon under a "Lebanon first" deal to be negotiated with Syria, if Syrian troops left Lebanon and if Lebanon's army could ensure Israel's security against raids by Hizbollah guerrillas.   It was flatly rejected by Beirut and Damascus, Lebanon's main power broker with 35,000 troops over two-thirds of the country.   Syria and Lebanon argued it was an Israeli ploy to separate the twin Syrian-Lebanese peace talk tracks with Israel.   Lahd, appealing to Lebanese President Elias Hrawi and other leaders to accept "Lebanon first", said:   "I hope they go back to their right minds and consciences so as not to spoil the chance to regain south Lebanon especially as regaining it does not necessitate under "Lebanon first" to sign a peace treaty with Israel nor shed an ounce of sovereignty." 
13003 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Several hundred Iraqis travelled on Wednesday in the Kurdish areas of the country following Iraq's decision to lift an embargo and issue a broad amnesty to its Kurds, state-run Baghdad radio said.   "Very large numbers of passangers have rushed today to Kirkuk bus station seeking to travel to the northern provinces of Arbil, Sulaimaniya and Dahouk," said the radio, quoting its correspondent in the northern town of Kirkuk.   "In order to handle growing numbers of travellers, the Private Transport Committee in Kirkuk has devoted 350 buses to transport these passengers," it added.   On Tuesday, President Saddam Hussein issued an amnesty to Iraqi Kurds in northern Iraq and lifted Baghdad's embargo on these three Iraqi Kurdish provinces.   The measure came after the victories of Baghdad's new Kurdish ally, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), over its old rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).   The KDP of Massoud Barzani declared on Monday it controlled northern Iraq.   Traders in Baghdad expected trade between Iraq's Kurdistan and the rest of the country to flourish after the government's decision to end the embargo.   The Iraqi dinar has already strengthened against the dollar on news of the lifting of Baghdad's blockade on northern Iraq.   It climbed to about 1,000 to the dollar on Wednesday and Tuesday from 1,400 to 1,500 prior to the announcement.   Traders expect more gains by the Iraqi dinar as soon as commodities from the north start reaching Baghdad.   The economy of northern Iraq is based on agriculture and cross-border trade with neighbouring Iran and Turkey.   Prior to the 1991 Gulf War, the region was Baghdad's main supplier of vegetables, fruits and cereals like rice and wheat. 
13004 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Egypt said on Wednesday it had reservations about the nuclear test ban treaty approved by the U.N. General Assembly but may agree to sign it.   Egypt voted for the treaty on Tuesday despite its sympathy for the argument that the treaty should include provisions for nuclear disarmament by the five declared nuclear states.   "Egypt has reservations on some clauses of the treaty, even if the aim is to end nuclear tests," Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa told reporters.   "In the end, now that the treaty has been approved, we will look at signing it."   The minister said it was a positive step that Israel had voted for the treaty but the Jewish state should complement that by signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.   Persuading Israel to sign that treaty has been a longterm goal of Egyptian foreign policy.   Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister Sayyed el-Masri said the test ban treaty had defects but was a positive step along the road to nuclear disarmament.   He added: "The expression comprehensive nuclear test ban is a deceptive name because it is not comprehensive.   "It does not and will not ban all nuclear tests, but only explosive tests in the sense that there are also laboratory tests and simulated tests and this will enable the five nuclear states to develop their nuclear weapons."   He noted that early in the negotiations Egypt had proposed a timetable for nuclear disarmament.   The proposal did not survive the negotiating process.   Masri said Egypt would press at next week's annual meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency for studies and workshops on its proposal to declare the Middle East a zone free of nuclear weapons.   The proposal mainly affects Israel, which is widely believed to have produced some 200 nuclear warheads. 
13005 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The most famous Nazi gold hoard captured in the Second World War may have come from melted down teeth fillings, according to a previously secret U.S. government document made public on Wednesday.   The document, a 1946 letter from a diplomat at the U.S. Embassy in Paris to the secretary of state, refers to 8,307 gold bars found in April 1945 by U.S. soldiers hidden in a salt mine near Merkers, Germany, along with other gold, platinum bars, silverware, jewels, wedding rings, cash and hundreds of Old Master paintings.   A famous war photograph shows Generals Dwight Eisenhower, George Patton and Omar Bradley at the salt mine, beaming proudly at the captured wealth.   The treasures stashed at Merkers were sent there by Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels, who wanted to keep the contents of the German Reichsbank and Berlin National Gallery masterpieces from Soviet troops advancing on the German capital.   The document was found by researchers for the World Jewish Congress in the U.S. National Archives and turned over to the Senate Banking Committee headed by New York Republican Alfonse D'Amato, which has been investigating whether the looted assets of Holocaust victims were still in Swiss banks.   "We are filled with horror over the document's content but feel compelled to release it by the demands of history and justice.   It is just a horrfying document," said Elan Steinberg, the WJC's executive director, of the letter written by U.S. Embassy Minister-Counsellor for Economic Affairs Livingston Merchant.   In the letter, Merchant said he put a question mark next to an inventory listing for the gold bars because of its questionable origin.   He then asked that tests be performed to determine if the gold bars represented "gold teeth fillings and therefore classifiable as non-monetary gold."   The Nazis extracted gold fillings from the teeth of millions of death-camp victims, but the letter made no mention of where the fillings would have come from.   Steinberg said it was possible that the gold was collected from victims and turned into gold bars which were then housed at the Reichsbank.   So far, no other documents have turned up related to the gold bars and whether tests were performed on them, he said.   Lynn Nicholas, author of the best-selling book "The Rape of Europa -- Europe's Looted Treasures," said in an interview that it had always been assumed that the 8,307 gold bars came from the Reichsbank.   But she said that until the document surfaced there was never a suggestion that it came from gold teeth fillings.   "Goebbels had sent the gold bars to Merkers to avoid its being captured by the Russians.   And he was lucky, Merkers was just inside the U.S. zone of occupation.   Goebbels had complained that the shipments of gold, cash and artworks was not going fast enough and he was outraged that the German railroad system closed to observe Easter Sunday," she said.   She said the paintings were eventually returned to Berlin and it was assumed that gold was used to pay reparations.   The British Foreign Office in a report on Tuesday on the fate of the gold looted by the Nazis mentioned the Merkers horde as being "the most spectacular and substantial."   It said it represented 20 percent of all gold held in Germany.   The Foreign Office report estimated that up to $7 billion worth of looted gold was in Switzerland by war's end and that 90 percent of it could still be in Swiss banks.   It said Switzerland only returned a fraction of Nazi gold to the Allies after the Second World War. 
13006 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  Oklahoma City bombing suspect Timothy McVeigh was an outgoing youngster and an exemplary soldier who will not receive a fair hearing if he is tried along with co-defendant Terry Nichols, McVeigh's lawyers said on Wednesday.   McVeigh's defence team filed additions to their request last week of U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch for a separate trial.   Nichols' attorneys have also requested a separate trial, arguing the evidence against McVeigh was much stronger.   Prosecutors want to try the two men together.   No date has been set for the trial, which was moved to Denver to ensure a more fair hearing, but it is expected to begin late this year or early next year.   "The differences between Mr. McVeigh and Mr. Nichols are stark.   If Mr. McVeigh's character is not assessed independently of Mr. Nichols', he will be severely prejudiced," McVeigh's lawyers said.   The filing is the latest indication the defendants, who face the death penalty if convicted, will feel compelled to point a finger at each other.   "The perverse spectacle of two co-defendants prosecuting each other -- with the prosecution as the undeserving winner and the Constitution, as well as Mr. McVeigh and Mr. Nichols, the losers -- should not be permitted to erupt," McVeigh's lawyers said.   The judge will hold a hearing on October 2 to listen to defence arguments seeking separate trials.   In a separate filing, McVeigh's lawyers said federal authorities quoted on television violated a judge's order prohibiting comments about evidence in the upcoming trial.   The lawyers claimed comments by former prosecutors and others attributed to unidentified government sources on NBC's Dateline programme on Sept. 4 violated the order.   The attorneys alleged the comments were an attempt to influence potential jurors to believe that McVeigh and Nichols were guilty of the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building that claimed 168 lives.   The trial judge has ordered authorities and defence laywers not to comment on potential evidence that could interfere with a fair trial.   Leesa Brown, a spokewoman for the prosecutors, said no current government employee who spoke to Dateline said anything that violated the judge's order.   "We're aware of what the protective order is and we're following its guidelines."   The Dateline programme quoted persons that McVeigh attorney Amber McLaughlin called "surrogate prosecutors" about how "John Doe II" may never have existed and about the purported favourable quality of the prosecution's evidence.   Shortly after the bombing, authorities circulated a sketch of John Doe II, an additional suspect who has never been arrested.   McVeigh's lawyers have said someone other than McVeigh may be responsible for the bombing. 
13007 !C42 !CCAT !E13 !E131 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  There was no clear-cut evidence of mounting inflation in August as the economy kept growing moderately, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday, though there were signs that wage pressures were building.   The Fed's latest Beige Book summary of national economic activity, issued amid worry that central bank policy-makers might boost interest rates this month to quash inflation risks, calmed financial markets and stirred a modest stock rally.   "Inflation indicators ... were varied and generally inconclusive, although there appears to be greater upward pressure on wages than on prices," concluded the Beige Book summary, prepared by the Cleveland Fed.   Analysts said companies were likely having difficulty passing price rises on but warned rising wages eventually will lead to intensified corporate efforts to boost prices because wages account for two-thirds of production costs.   The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 27.74 points at 5,754.92, while the bond market recovered from earlier weakness leaving the yield on the 30-year bond unchanged at 7.11 percent.   The Fed findings were based on information collected in interviews with businesses before Sept. 4 in the 12 Fed districts.   They will be used when the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee meets on Sept. 24 to decide interest-rate strategy.   The Beige Book surveys are released at about six-week intervals, with the last one published on Aug. 7.   The latest survey suggested the economy was holding its momentum entering the second half, rather than slowing.   "Business activity in most Districts is reported to be generally good and expanding moderately," the Fed said.   Economist Lynn Reaser of Barnett Banks Inc. in Jacksonville, Fla., said wage increases of around 4 percent a year were exceeding productivity gains at this point and suggested the central bank would be well advised to act now to keep the 5-1/2-year-old expansion going.   "Some increase in interest rates now would not likely damage the economy's growth trend significantly and it would be appropriate given the upward pressure on wages," she said.   Reaser added the Beige Book did not suggest an economy that was overheating but it showed "solid and expanding" growth that carries the potential for escalating wages and prices if they are not reined in through tighter credit.   The Minneapolis Fed mentioned a local telephone company that was forced to issue cellular phones to new homeowners because it could not lay cable quickly enough to service them.   Few businesses in any Fed districts saw big price increases since the last survey was concluded on July 30, but none indicated that inflation pressures were subsiding.   Some industrial commodities like lumber and steel were rising in price, but it was generally confined to a few markets.   "Wage gains have tended to outstrip price increases, however," the Fed said.   The upward pressure on wages seemed most intense in the Richmond and San Francisco Fed districts, but many regions reported wage increases for entry-level jobs.   The Clinton administration likely would prefer not to see interest rates raised with Nov. 5 general elections on the horizon.   On Wednesday, Labour Secretary Robert Reich said in an interview he saw no inflation threat from wages that were growing after a 15-year decline.   He urged that in weighing greater employment against avoidance of inflation, the needs of those who might become "casualties" in a war on inflation be taken into account.   The Fed said that "pockets" of labour market tightness were developing in many regions, with a few saying the scarcity of workers was broadly based.   The Chicago Fed said labour markets there were "tighter than the nation as a whole," yet there was no sign of rising wage demands.   The Fed said manufacturing activity was "either expanding or holding steady at a high level" across the country.   Few constraints were seen on industrial capacity, and companies in the Boston and Atlanta regions were adding to capacity.   Back-to-school shopping was "off to a good start," the Fed reported.   "Several districts indicated that sales are meeting -- or exceeding -- expectations," it added. 
13008 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  The president of giant fruit cooperative Sun-Diamond Growers of California said Wednesday he was unaware of a senior company executive giving illegal gifts to former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy.   Testifying for 5 1/2 hours at the trial of Sun-Diamond, which has been charged with trying to entice the former Clinton Cabinet member with expensive gifts and favours to gain special treatement, Larry Busboom denied that he was closely involved with the Washington operations of the company and said he left politics in the hands of its D.C. representative.   "I do not have any political skills.   I relied solely on Richard Douglas (Sun-Diamond's vice president of corporate affairs)" to maintain political ties in the nation's capital, said Busboom, the opening witness in the trial.   "I gave no specific direction to Douglas in any specific activity."   Busboom denied any knowledge of Douglas paying for an expensive outing to a U.S. Tennis Tournament in 1993 that Espy, Douglas and their girlfriends took part in.   Douglas was later reimbursed $8,400 by Sun-Diamond for that expensive weekend, but Busboom said he never saw an expense report from Douglas on the excursion, that he never approved it, and that he did not even learn of the event until March 1995 when he was briefed by his attorneys.   Busboom also claimed that he was not aware that Espy's girlfriend accompanied him on an expensive junket to Greece allegedly at Sun-Diamond's expense.   Busboom at first refused to answer questions on the grounds he could incriminate himself but he was given personal immunity by the government after it was ruled that his testimony was crucial to the case.   Whether any other Sun-Diamond executives will be granted immunity was uncertain.   Prosecutors said it depended on whether they also plead protection under the Fifth Amendment and how vital their testimony was deemed to be.   The government charged Sun-Diamond Growers with a calculated pattern of plying Espy with illegal gifts and favours to get special treatment.   Prosecutors contended that with Busboom's approval and knowledge, the company acted through Douglas to try to sway Espy on issues important to the firm.   The government also charged that Sun-Diamond purposely used a long and close friendship between Espy and Douglas to gain a sympathetic ear in the administration.   Sun-Diamond denied all charges and its defence team on Tuesday said they would prove that corporate trust in Douglas and the deep-rooted friendship of Espy and Douglas made the company innocent of any wrongdoing.   Busboom, clearly on edge during the questioning, repeatedly said he gave Douglas no specific guidance on how to handle issues.   He suggested he was only vaguely aware of how Douglas was representing the company's interests, even on such critical issues as a planned phaseout of the pesticide methyl bromide and the continuation of millions of dollars in funding from the Agriculture Department's Market Promotion Programme.   The Sun-Diamond trial was the first case to come to court as the result of a sprawling two-year special investigation of Espy led by Independent Counsel Donald Smaltz.   Espy resigned as head of the huge federal agency in 1994 amid a swirl of accusations that he took illegal gifts and favours from companies his agency was charged to regulate.   The investigation resulted in four sets of criminal indictments and charges being brought against a dozen individuals and concerns. 
13009 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Miami City Manager Cesar Odio and City Commissioner Miller Dawkins surrendered to authorities Wednesday after being charged with corruption in a City Hall scandal involving kickbacks and skimming funds.   Odio and lobbyist Jorge de Cardenas, who also turned himself in, were accused of conspiring to siphon off public money from a contract to provide health insurance to city workers.   Dawkins was charged with conspiring to procure kickbacks for a computer company contract.   All three surrendered to face the federal charges.   "Nice to see you.   I haven't seen you for a while," Judge Peter Palermo said to Dawkins when he appeared at the pretrial hearing on Wednesday afternoon.   "Nice to see you, judge, though not under these circumstances," Dawkins replied.   Rumours of corruption within City Hall swirled around Miami in recent months but the fact that it reached the upper echelons added spice to the saga.   Outside the courtroom Odio, who fled from Communist-ruled Cuba 36 years ago and is an idol to the vast Cuban community here, insisted he was innocent.   Dawkins and de Cardenas made no comment.   U.S. Attorney William Keefer, announcing the charges Wednesday morning, told a news conference: "Corruption within public institutions cannot be tolerated and government cannot be for sale.   This type of conduct strikes at the heart of our public institutions."   The action followed a year-long investigation codenamed Operation Greenpalm by the FBI during which agents pieced together shredded notes passed between two alleged conspirators.   Odio, 60, stepped down after 11 years as city manager on Monday saying he had nothing to be ashamed of.   He and de Cardenas, owner of Creative Marketing and Advertising Group, were charged with theft, embezzling, obtaining by fraud and converting government funds, and tampering with a witness.   De Cardenas, 51, lobbied the city on behalf of the Connecticut General Insurance Company of North America (Cigna) for a contract to provide health insurance to workers.   Odio, as charged in the complaint, was to pay Cigna $150,000 per year from city funds that would be passed on to De Cardenas as a consulting fee of $12,500 a month.   Odio would get $5,000 of this, according to the FBI.   A further $2,500 was to go to former city Finance Director Manohar Surana.   He cooperated with investigators to snare the accused and has agreed to plead guilty to certain charges.   Dawkins, city commissioner since 1981, was charged with theft or bribery concerning programmes to receive city funds.   The complaint said Dawkins, 71, and Surana tried to solicit money from UNISYS Corporation in connection with computer contracts.   UNISYS reported the demand to the FBI.   Dawkins allegedly demanded $25,000 in March 1996 from UNISYS and $100,000 in July 1996.   Odio, Dawkins and De Cardenas were all released on a personal surety of $100,000 each and ordered to surrender their travel documents.   No pleas were taken and they will appear in court again on Sept. 30. 
13010 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  By Alan Elsner, U.S. Political Correspondent   Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole insisted on Wednesday he could still beat President Bill Clinton in November, and his running mate Jack Kemp harshly criticised Clinton's Iraq policy.   The presidential campaign was overshowed by events in the Middle East, where U.S. military action appeared imminent again after Iraqi forces fired a missile at American planes.   Americans gave Clinton high marks for his handling of the Iraq crisis and a new attack would make it risky for Dole to criticise him.   Americans tend to back the president when the country is involved in military action.   Dole decided to let his vice presidential running mate take the lead in attacking Clinton over Iraq.   In a strongly worded statement, Kemp said none of the United States' objectives in Iraq had been met.   "Our alliances are in disarray and support for our mission is at risk because President Clinton's policy is vague and uncertain," Kemp said.   "Before any further action the president must clearly state his policies, forthrightly explain his objectives and tell us how he intends to implement these goals," he said.   "In what is obviously a worsening situation the public will only stand united behind the president if he plainly explains his policies and tells the American people what is required to achieve them," Kemp said.   With less than eight weeks left until Election Day, Dole ws having serious problems gaining voters' attention.   Trailing Clinton by 15-20 percentage points in the polls, he summoned Republican lawmakers for a Washington pep talk and told them not to give up hope.   "If you're optimistic, if you have the right message, if you believe in the American people ... we're going to win on November 5, 1996," Dole told the lawmakers.   The Dole campaign began airing two new television advertisements, one highlighting Dole's life story, the second focusing on his economic plan.   Significantly the campaign bought time on national networks for the biographical spot instead of targeting it at key states.   That suggested the campaign felt a need to boost Dole's standings throughout the entire country.   But some Republicans were already writing off Dole's chances and turning to the question of whether the Democrats will be able to win back control of one or both houses of Congress after only two years in the minority.   Former vice president Dan Quayle said last weekend Clinton had a "good chance" of winning and urged voters to back Republican congressional candidates even if they did not vote for Dole.   The third candidate in the race, Reform Party candidate Ross Perot, named economist Pat Choate as his running mate on Tuesday but a poll suggested the selection of a person with little public name recognition would do nothing to revive his flagging fortunes.   The state of California said it was too late to include Choate's name on the ballot.   Perot trailed with about 5 percent of the vote in recent polls.   Some 86 percent of respondents in an ABC poll said the selection of Choate would have no effect on their voting intentions.   Seven percent said it made them less likely to vote for Perot; 4 percent said it made them more likely.   Clinton's high ratings are underpinned by a strong economy, illustrated by a Federal Reserve report that said wages had climbed faster than prices last month while overall moderate growth continued.   In a display of confidence, Clinton took his campaign to Arizona, a state that has gone Republican in the last 11 presidential races.   He was due to deliver a speech on health care for the aged at a Phoenix recreation centre that serves 45,000 elderly people in the region. 
13011 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Iraqi forces fired a missile at U.S. warplanes over northern Iraq on Wednesday and the Pentagon said it was moving F-117A "stealth" fighters and B-52 bombers near Iraq in apparent preparation for new strikes against President Saddam Hussein's military.   U.S. Defence Secretary William Perry said Saddam "will very soon learn that we are not playing games" and warned that any retaliation would be "disproportionate" to what he called new Iraqi provocations.   "The determination of the United States in dealing with the problem of Iraq should not be underestimated," President Bill Clinton said at a campaign stop in Sun City, Arizona.   He said U.S. pilots policing "no fly" zones over northern and southern Iraq would be protected.   Eight radar-avoiding F-117A stealth jets were being sent to Kuwait and four B-52s had been transferred from Guam in the Pacific Ocean to a British airbase on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, according to administration and defence sources, who asked not to be identified.   U.S. defence officials meantime said an Iraqi MiG-25 and a military helicopter defied U.S. warnings and briefly flew into a no-fly zone in southern Iraq.   No shots were fired.   Although the Iraqi SAM-6 surface-to-air missile missed U.S. F-16 fighters over northern Iraq in the morning, that triggered an escalation in a faceoff which last Tuesday and Wednesday saw U.S. cruise missile attacks on southern Iraq.   Perry told reporters the United States was moving radar-avoiding F-117A stealth fighters, used to bomb Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War, from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico to a country near Iraq.   He would not say where, except to stress it was not Saudi Arabia.   U.S. officials said privately that eight F-117s would fly to Kuwait on Iraq's southern border after the United States sought and received permission from the emirate, which was liberated from occupying Iraqi troops by a U.S.-led coalition in the 1991 Gulf War.   Other officials said U.S. B-52 bombers like those used in the cruise missile raids on southern Iraq last week had been moved from Guam to the Diego Garcia base after Britain granted permission for their basing there for a month.   While the cruise missiles launched by warships and bombers last week targeted only air defence targets in southern Iraq, the United States hinted on Wednesday that any new strikes could be more widespread.   "In Iraq, air defence crews are playing some kind of a game, and they will very soon learn that we are not playing games," Perry told reporters.   "The responses that we will make ... will be disproportionate with the provocations which are made against us."   Defence officials said the stealth fighters could be used at night to drop laser-guided bombs on Iraqi command and control centres if Clinton ordered new strikes.   White House spokesman Mike McCurry said U.S. forces were continuing to fly missions to enforce the no-fly zones established in north and south Iraq after the 1991 Gulf war.   In Wilmington, Delaware, Republican vice presidential nominee Jack Kemp attacked Clinton's Iraq policy on Wednesday as "vague and uncertain" and said Clinton should clarify it before taking further action there.   "Our alliances are in disarray and support for our mission is at risk because President Clinton's policy is vague and uncertain," Kemp said in a statement issued to reporters travelling with Kemp's running mate, presidential nominee Bob Dole.   Saddam last week called on his forces to ignore the zones, set up to protect Kurds in northern Iraq and Shiite Moslems in the south.   In Baghdad the Iraqi News Agency quoted an Iraqi military spokesman saying air defence units used artillery and missiles against U.S. and allied warplanes over northern and southern Iraq on Wednesday.   A Pentagon official said he could not confirm an attack on U.S. flights in the south.   The SAM-6 surface-to-air missile, fired on Wednesday at two U.S. F-16 jets, missed the planes and caused them no damage, Pentagon officials said.   They had earlier said that two missiles were fired, but said information given by the pilots later indicated only one was involved.   "Our fighters which were in the area could not return fire at the SAM site because the Iraqi radars were turned off very quickly," spokesman Bryan Whitman told Reuters.   American warships and B-52s launched 44 Tomahawk and airborne cruise missiles in two salvoes against air defence targets in southern Iraq fighter last week to punish Saddam for using his forces to attack Kurds in northern Iraq.   The United States on Tuesday accused Saddam of starting to rebuild his air defences in the south despite direct warnings not to do so. 
13012 !GCAT  If you're not passionate about what you're doing, your chances of succeeding are slim.   At the same time, if your business doesn't fill a niche in the marketplace by meeting -- or creating -- a need, the same applies.   Tom Orsos, an Australian businessman and veteran of the Australian air force, found a way to combine his passion, which was for flying jet planes, with his business skills.   Orsos ran a successful multinational company that dealt in lightweight concrete.   When a deal with the Slovakian goverment went sour in 1991 and the Slovaks defaulted on their payments, he found a way to combine his passion for flying with a niche business.   "I told them that instead of writing it off, they could pay for it in the form of fighter pilot training and a school," Orsos said by phone from Budapest, Hungary, the front-office headquarters of his International Fighter Pilots Academy.   "Everyone said 'You're crazy -- you can never do a workable deal with the East Bloc,'" he said.   But Orsos convinced the Slovaks to give him everything he requested, including a separate squadron of Soviet-built MiG fighter planes and air force academy training.   "I was pretty cheeky to ask for it, but they agreed," he said, presenting proof of the entrepreneurial rule that "If you don't ask for it, you certainly won't get it, but if you ask, you just might."   Orsos stuck with it, investing more than $1.2 million in the venture and in the meantime earning the rank of lieutenant colonel from the Slovakian air force.   Since 1993, a total of 345 "students" have gone through his academy's weeklong course since it was started at a Slovakian airbase.   They pay from $5,000 to $11,000, depending on what aircraft they want to fly.   The prices include transfers from Budapest, meals and accomodations.   About 60 percent of the participants are non-pilots.   "We've designed the course to safely fly people who have never flown or those who are pilots," said Orsos.   So far, there have been no accidents and no safety incidents.   The planes, ranging from training craft and Soviet-built Hind attack helicopters to the MiG-29 and Sukhoi SU-27UB "Flanker" fighter, are equipped with two seats and dual controls.   The student pilots fly varying amounts of time, depending on their background and ability.   "If we feel comfortable, the student can fly 30 percent or 50 percent of the flight," said Orsos.   "If they're professional, they fly 80 percent of the flight.   They actually get in and do a loop or a role, though the landings and takeoffs are always done by the instructor pilots."   Two years ago Orsos moved the programme to a Ukrainian airbase in the Crimea near the Black Sea after the Slovaks were unable to provide an adequate number of reliable aircraft.   "They only had one MiG-29 working," said Orsos.   "There were times that I had more people waiting and they had to stay another week.   We couldn't deliver our 'product' and it was getting to be a nightmare in logistics.   I was forced to find an air force that had enough planes and were safe."   Orsos employs 160 people looking after the aircraft and teaching, including veterans of the U.S. Air Force who, like him, previously could only dream about flying top-line Soviet-built warplanes.   A year ago, Orsos met Dan Lehner, a Valley Stream, N.Y., businessman and amateur pilot who shares his passion for flying.   Lehner invested a six-figure sum for a 10 percent stake in the business, which the two hope to expand to allowing student fliers to play "Top Gun" by firing rockets and dropping bombs on a military practice range in the Ukraine.   "It's the only place in the world where you can go and do this," said Lehner.   "There was a demand for this kind of flying, but the only other place available is in the air force.   "For me, this is just a lot of fun -- when you combine fun and a good business, you can have a comfortable business," he said.   "You have to take any business and find that niche."   To reach Daniel Grebler about the NEWBIZ column, send E-Mail to Daniel.  Grebler (at) Reuters.  com. 
13013 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  The Democrat challenging Newt Gingrich's re-election bid called on the House speaker Wednesday to support the public disclosure of a draft report on his ethical conduct.   Millionaire businessman Michael Coles told a news conference that only through disclosure can the 53-year-old Georgia Republican dissolve "a cloud of suspicion and distrust" hanging over his head.   The report is a draft discussion document that was submitted to the House Ethics Committee last month by the special counsel investigating complaints against Gingrich.   The counsel was asked to examine claims that the speaker violated tax laws by using tax-deductible donations to finance a college course he taught in Georgia in 1993.   Panel members said House rules bar disclosure of the report.   But Coles quoted remarks made by Gingrich on NBC's "Meet the Press" in 1989 when he called for disclosure of similar documents dealing with an investigation of House Speaker Jim Wright, a Texas Democrat, who resigned amid ethics allegations tied to his outside income sources.   Gingrich, then House Republican whip, was a driving force behind efforts to oust Wright.   "Mr. Gingrich must hold himself to the same standard to which he has held others throughout his 18 years in Washington.   He cannot, and must not, allow himself to be held to any less," Cole told a small group of journalists who gathered for a news conference outside the Georgia Capitol.   "It is incomphrehensible to me that Mr. Gingrich can claim that this preliminary report, or draft discussion document or whatever you wish to call it, should not be made public."   Gingrich's re-election campaign later issued a statement that referred to Coles as a "puppet" of Democrats on Capitol Hill, including House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt and Whip David Bonior.   "I fully expect the report to be released when it has been completed, when the committee has acted and when we have had the opportunity to review it," the speaker said in the statement.   "From the beginning of this process, I have instructed my staff to cooperate fully with the committee and with the special counsel."   Also on Wednesday the New York Times charged in an editorial that the House Ethics Committee would sacrifice its remaining credibility if it failed to resolve complaints against Gingrich before Congress recesses in two weeks.   The newspaper said failure to settle the case and make public the investigator's findings would show the ethics panel to be "little more than a charade."   Gingrich has been widely expected to win re-election in Georgia's Sixth Congressional District, a collection of Atlanta suburbs that rank together as one of the most conservative areas in the United States. 
13014 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Striking members of the International Association of Machinists voted Wednesday to accept a labour contract offered by McDonnell Douglas Corp., the union said, ending a strike that lasted more than three months.   The vote was 3,774 in favour and 1,785 against.   The IAM said the striking machinists, numbering about 6,400, were expected to return to work on Sept. 16.   Last week, company executives and union officials hammered out a tentative agreement.   The strike revolved around the issue of job security, with union members concerned their jobs would evaporate, subcontracted to companies in distant cities.   Negotiators for McDonnell and the IAM met Tuesday for final talks before Wednesday's vote.   A federal mediator said the two sides did not meet to bargain, but to "make sure all the questions are answered on the package."   Union officials said this week they would not recommend a vote either for or against the proposal, leaving members to decide for themselves.   The contract negotiations had been conducted in St. Louis until they broke down on Aug. 16, when union leaders said the company was unwilling to discuss job security.   Late in August, Representative Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., invited the two sides back to the table in his Washington office.   Thousands of machinists and other McDonnell Douglas employees live in Gephardt's district.   Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Director John Calhoun Wells said the final agreement was reached in 30 hours of non-stop bargaining with federal mediators.   McDonnell Douglas' stock gained $1.375 to end at $51.75 on the New York Stock Exchange. 
13015 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPRO  A lawyer for Clint Eastwood's ex-girlfriend alleged in court on Wednesday that the movie star "destroyed" her client's screen career, but the actor's attorney said Eastwood had only been trying to help actress Sondra Locke become a film director.   The clash came in opening arguments in the civil lawsuit brought by Locke, who alleges Eastwood sabotaged her career after their 13-year relationship ended.   "Her career was essentially destroyed," Locke's attorney Peggy Garrity told the court in suburban Burbank.   Garrity said Locke, who lived with Eastwood for 13 years, sought damages "in excess of $2 million."   Locke, who met Eastwood on the set of their 1975 movie "The Outlaw Josey Wales," alleges in her suit that Eastwood undermined her contract with Warner Bros.   Pictures to direct films for the studio.   "It is our contention that the deal with Warner Bros. was a sham," Garrity said in her opening argument.   She said she would show that Eastwood secretly made a deal with the studio to reimburse it for any losses from Locke's films.   In his opening argument, Eastwood's lawyer Raymond Fisher said there was no intention to defraud Locke.   "What Mr. Eastwood was doing was attempting to help the directorial career of Ms. Locke.   He had nothing to do with any damages that she suffered; in fact we will show she was not damaged," said Fisher.   Eastwood's attorney said that contrary to Locke's contention that the Oscar-winning actor/director had tried to undermine her career, he was in fact trying to help by reimbursing Warner Bros.   "He thought this was going to work.   It was a show of good faith, he thought he was carrying out her wishes," said Fisher.   Eastwood, 66, and Locke, 49, were present as the civil trial got under way in front of a jury.   The case stems from Locke's original 1989 palimony lawsuit in which she claimed assets the couple accumulated during their relationship.   Locke later dropped the palimony suit when Eastwood agreed to secure the director's contract at Warner Bros. for her.   But now she alleges his involvement destroyed her career.   According to court records, her suit says Eastwood's action sent a message "to the film industry and the world at large ... that Locke was not to be taken seriously."   Her directorial efforts, "Ratboy" in 1986 and "Impulse" in 1989, were not commercial successes.   Eastwood, who rose to fame with a series of Westerns and the Dirty Harry detective movies, has more recently earned new acclaim as a director, including an Oscar for "Unforgiven."   Locke was nominated for an Oscar for her first film role in "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" in 1968.   The couple began living together in 1976.   Locke and Eastwood worked on six films together before breaking up.   In her 1989 suit, Locke said their relationship soured in the mid-80's when Eastwood became mayor of Carmel, California, and Locke remained in Los Angeles. 
13016 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  President Bill Clinton proposed on Wednesday making states set up drug programmes for prisoners in order to receive about $7.5 billion in federal funds to build new prisons.   The proposal, floated in the middle of a three-day campaign trip to key Western states, allowed Clinton to marry two issues popular with the electorate -- fighting crime and fighting drugs -- all without spending any new federal money.   "It's time to say to inmates, if you stay on drugs, you'll stay in jail.   If you want out of jail, you'll have to get off drugs," Clinton told a campaign rally in Pueblo.   "It's time to say to parolees, if you go back on drugs, you'll go back to jail.   If you want to stay on the street, stay off drugs."   The campaign of Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole, who has criticised Clinton's record on the drug war, said Clinton's proposal was "simply a shameless attempt to cover his failed liberal drug policy."   Dole spokesman Nelson Warfield pointed to new government statistics that said drug abuse among teenagers had risen since Clinton took office.   In recent days Clinton and Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich have sparred publicly over who is more concerned about drug abuse in America.   A senior White House official said Clinton's proposal was for states to set up drug testing and treatment for prisoners and parolees in order to have access to $8 billion to build prisons contained in the 1994 crime bill.   Bruce Reed, White House domestic policy adviser, said about $500 million of this had already been disbursed to states, leaving $7.5 billion.   Clinton also announced on Wednesday he was releasing $27 million in federal money to states for drug programmes.   But this money, like the prison construction funds, was already in the 1994 crime bill so its release involved no new federal money.   The twin proposals were vintage Clinton campaign technique -- involving limited federal action and little federal money while allowing him to appear tough on crime and drugs.   He has floated a series of such small-scale proposals this year as he has campaigned against Dole in the Nov. 5 election.   In announcing the ideas on Wednesday, Clinton unveiled a study showing sharp declines in repeat offences when such programmes break drug habits.   The study, carried out in Delaware, showed that of offenders who followed drug treatment programmes in prison and after their release, 75 percent were drug free and 70 percent arrest-free after 18 months.   Of those who did not follow the programme, 83 percent returned to drug use and 64 percent were arrested for new crimes.   Leading by 15 to 20 percentage points in national opinion polls, Clinton appeared to be using his latest trip to solidify his support in states like Missouri, Colorado and California while trying to undermine Dole in traditionally Republican states like Arizona.   In 1992 Clinton carried Colorado, a Rocky Mountain swing state, beating Republican George Bush 40-36, with independent Ross Perot winning 23 percent of the vote.   Campaign officials said recent polls show the president leading in all four states he was visiting, including Arizona, which has gone Republican in the last 11 presidential races.   The last time a Democrat won there was in 1948, when Harry Truman was elected.   Clinton was to fly to Phoenix later on Wednesday for a speech on health care for the aged at a recreation centre that serves 45,000 elderly people in the region. 
13017 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry said on Wednesday Iraq would "very soon learn that we are not playing games" and any U.S. response to Wednesday's missile attack on American aircraft would be "disproportionate" to the Iraqi attack.   "In Iraq, air defense crews are playing some kind of a game, and they will very soon learn that we are not playing games," Perry told reporters.   "The responses that we will make ... will be disproportionate with the provocations which are made against us," he said.   Iraqi forces fired a missile at U.S. fighter planes over northern Iraq earlier on Wednesday and the United States moved B-52 bombers to an Indian Ocean base to back a threat of new military retaliation.   Perry said the United States was boosting its forces in the area, moving F-117A "stealth" fighters to the region near Iraq.   He said Washington has been consulting by telephone with its allies and keeping them informed about "what our response is going to be."   "We have both the ability and resolve to protect our interests and to protect our flight crews," Perry told reporters at a Washington hotel where he had addressed an aeronautics conference.   Perry said the Iraqis who fired on the U.S. aircraft had made a "wild shot" and "only had their radar turned on for a few seconds."   He said that was a wise decision, because otherwise "they would have had an anti-radiation missile down their throats." 
13018 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  By Alan Elsner, Political Correspondent   Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole rallied the faint-hearted in his party on Wednesday and said the issue of trust would bring him a come-from-behind election victory over President Bill Clinton.   Leading a pep rally for Republican lawmakers in Congress, Dole admitted he trailed Clinton in the November 5 election race but said he had overcome adversity many times before in life and would do so again.   "I want to say to those faint-hearted people in the audience -- there are probably not very many -- don't worry about this election," Dole declared to ringing applause from the lawmakers -- some of whom fear a rout could take their congressional majorities down the tubes as well.   "Fifty-four days is a long time in politics, as all of you know.   Each of us have been in close races, tough races.   The polls go up and down and people get discouraged," Dole said.   "The candidate can never get discouraged.   The candidate has to be optimistic."   He read a letter sent to his father by the U.S. Army in October 1945 when Dole was lying gravely wounded in a military hospital, which said his recovery was "somewhat questionable."   Dole's recovery from spinal wounds that left him with a crippled right hand and other problems is legendary.   "I understand you have your ups and downs in this business, you have your ups and downs in life," said Dole.   "But the bottom line is if you're optimistic, if you have the right message, if you believe in the American people ... we're going to win on November 5, 1996, and it's going to be because you were out there working with us.   We were all working together."   Later, in Hartford, Connecticut, Dole said the Clinton campaign was trying to scare the American people with lies about his policies.   "I don't believe the American people scare that easily," he said.   Dole trails Clinton by around 15 percentage points in most recent survey, 21 points in the latest Gallup poll.   No U.S. presidential candidate has ever overcome such a large deficit so late in a campaign since polls have been conducted.   Dole said voters were only waiting for Republicans to give them one good reason to oppose Clinton.   "And I believe, in the final analysis, that reason is going to be trust," he said.   Some Republicans have begun to express fears that a decisive Clinton victory could also sweep Democrats back into control of one or both house of Congress, after only two years of majority Republican control.   Connecticut Representative Christopher Shays told Reuters after Dole's speech that such a danger was real.   "Bob Dole is in a real uphill fight," he said.   "If he loses (by) 45-55 (percent) our people are telling us we basically hold our own.   Anything close to 60 percent (for Clinton), we're out of power."   Connecticut Governor John Rowland, travelling with Dole, told reporters Dole was down 10 to 20 points in his state.   He said support for Dole in Congress is "edgy" among Republicans.   "That's the nature of the beast.   They're running every two years.   They're always edgy.   They're looking at the polls," Rowland said.   But Dole said the party remained in excellent shape.   "The crowds are enthusiastic, the money is rolling in ... So don't let anybody dissuade you in this effort," he said.   Mississippi Senator Trent Lott, who succeeded Dole as Senate Majority Leader when Dole quit to campaign full-time in June, had another tactic to turn the election around.   "We will be with you, we will be thinking about you and we want you both to know you're in our prayers every day," he assured Dole. 
13019 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP !GVIO  The United States will send F-117A "stealth" fighters near Iraq to back up threats of new American attacks against Iraqi military targets, Defence Secretary William Perry said on Wednesday.   Administration officials who asked not to be identified said eight radar-avoiding jets armed with laser-guided 2,000-pound (907 kg) bombs would go from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico to Kuwait, which gave permission for their basing.   "We will be sending the F-117s. They already have the deployment order," Perry told reporters in response to questions.   He would not say where the stealth jets were going but said Saudi Arabia had not been asked to accept them.   U.S. defence officials said earlier the United States had already sent B-52 heavy bombers armed with cruise missiles to the British base on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in preparation for possible new U.S. raids against Iraq.   Perry said Washington had not asked Saudi Arabia, where other U.S. warplanes are based, to accept the F-117s. Such planes were flown from Saudi bases and used with devastating accuracy against Iraqi targets during the 1991 Gulf War.   "We did not request the Saudis for permission to base the F-117s. We requested another country.   That request has been granted and we will be sending the F-117s," he said. 
13020 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Iraqi forces fired a missile at U.S. warplanes over northern Iraq on Wednesday and the Pentagon said it was moving F-117A "stealth" fighters and B-52 bombers near Iraq in apparent preparation for new strikes against President Saddam Hussein's military.   U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry said the Iraqi forces "will very soon learn that we are not playing games" and warned that any retaliation would be "disproportionate" to what he called new Iraqi provocations.   Eight stealth jets were being sent to Kuwait and the B-52s were already on a British base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, according to administration and defense sources, who asked not to be identified.   U.S. defense officials meantime said an Iraqi MiG-25 and a military helicopter defied U.S. warnings and briefly flew into a no-fly zone in southern Iraq.   No shots were fired.   Although the Iraqi SAM-6 surface-to-air missile missed U.S. F-16 fighters over northern Iraq in the morning, that triggered an escalation in a face-off which last Tuesday and Wednesday saw U.S. cruise missile attacks on southern Iraq.   Perry told reporters the United States was moving radar-avoiding F-117A stealth fighters, used to bomb Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War, to a country nearby.   He would not say where, except to stress it was not Saudi Arabia.   U.S. officials said privately that eight F-117s would fly to bases in Kuwait on Iraq's southern border after the emirate granted permission.   Other officials said U.S. B-52 bombers like those used in the cruise missile raids on southern Iraq last week had been moved from Guam in the Pacific to a British air base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.   While the cruise missiles launched by warships and bombers last week targeted only air defense targets in southern Iraq, the United States hinted on Wednesday that any new strikes could be more widespread.   "In Iraq, air defense crews are playing some kind of a game, and they will very soon learn that we are not playing games," Perry told reporters.   "The responses that we will make ... will be disproportionate with the provocations which are made against us."   Defense officials said the stealth fighters could be used at night to drop laser-guided bombs on Iraqi command and control centers if President Bill Clinton ordered new strikes.   "Once again, we say what we have been saying: We reserve the right to take action to protect our pilots who are enforcing the no-fly zones in northern Iraq and southern Iraq," Clinton's spokesman Mike McCurry said.   He said U.S. forces were continuing to fly missions to enforce the no-fly zones established in north and south Iraq after the 1991 Gulf war.   In Baghdad, the Iraqi News Agency quoted an Iraqi military spokesman saying air defense units used artillery and missiles against U.S. and allied warplanes over northern and southern Iraq on Wednesday.   A Pentagon official said he could not confirm an attack on U.S. flights in the south.   The SAM-6 surface-to-air missile, fired on Wednesday at two U.S. F-16 jets, missed the planes and caused them no damage, Pentagon officials said.   They had earlier said that two missiles were fired, but said information given by the pilots later indicated only one was involved.   "Our fighters which were in the area could not return fire at the SAM site because the Iraqi radars were turned off very quickly," spokesman Bryan Whitman told Reuters.   McCurry said Clinton was "satisfied that our pilots were not in immediate danger because of the nature of (Wednesday's) missile launch."   Saddam has called on his troops to ignore the no-fly zones set up by Western powers to deter Iraqi military activity and protect Kurds in the north and Shiite Moslems in the south.   American warships and B-52s, which flew non-stop more than 19 hours round-trip from Guam, launched 44 Tomahawk and airborne cruise missiles against air defense targets in southern Iraq fighter last week to punish Saddam for using his forces to attack Kurds in northern Iraq.   The United States on Tuesday accused Saddam of starting to rebuild his air defenses in the south despite direct warnings not to do so. 
13021 !C23 !C32 !CCAT !GCAT !GSCI  Imagine having a lawnmower that operated like a robot, manoeuvring itself around trees and shrubs to cut the lawn without your help.   That type of technology may have come a step closer with the National Robotics Engineering Consortium, which opened this summer in Pittsburgh after two years of planning.   Funded by a $2.5 million NASA grant and corporate contributions, it is a collaborative effort by the federal government and U.S. industry and universities.   Its goal is to move mobile robotics technology out of government laboratories and into the private sector so American manufacturers and taxpayers can benefit.   "The consortium provides an opportunity for industries like mining, agriculture, cargo handling and construction to experience productivity gains the likes of which they haven't seen in 40 years," said David Pahnos, its director.   He said taxpayers will also reap rewards from robotics technology as manufacturers begin using it in their products.   "The technology that enables a moon rover to avoid a rock or crater can also enable a lawnmower to better navigate around trees and shrubbery."   Operated by Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University, the consortium includes National Aeronautics and Space Administration technologists, academic researchers and U.S. companies.   For many years Carnegie Mellon's own robotics institute has been NASA's leading provider of this technology, including Dante I and II robots used to explore volcanoes.   The consortium hopes to commercialize robotics technology and make it accessible to U.S. manufacturers who lack resources to develop it on their own.   Many industries could benefit from robotics including construction, mining, space and sea exploration, transportation and hazardous materials handling, as well as the military, consortium officials said.   The use of robotics in all those industries will be researched over the next several years.   Officials said the research will move the United States back to the forefront of robotics technology.   "The U.S. robotics industry desparately needs to be reinvigorated," said NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin.   "We must act now to regain what previously was America's dominance in this $8 billion-per-year international industry.   That's exactly what the consortium is about."   Robotics is an American invention dating back to factory robots that were developed in the 1960s, but only one in 10 factory robots is made in the United States currently.   Initial research is focusing on agriculture, excavation and space exploration.   The consortium's first projects include building an automated system for agricultural harvesting and developing an autonomous lunar rover. 
13022 !CCAT !GCAT  - Paul Coleman doesn't know it, but he made a lot of people very happy this summer.   Like the rest of the country, Coleman watched the Atlanta Summer Olympic Games on television.   But two of his favourite sports, sailing and the equestrian competition, didn't get much air play.   So every night, the San Diego man logged on to the Internet to get the latest sailing news and dressage results from ESPN SportsZone and NBC's Web site.   Online news organisations say viewers like Coleman made their coverage of this summer's major events a runaway hit, attracting millions of viewers and setting the pace for future productions.   Along with the Olympics, Internet viewers tuned into the Republican and Democratic national conventions in droves, and used online services extensively to follow the crash of TWA Flight 800.   Coverage of the summer's big events drew some of the largest audiences ever:   -- The official Olympics Web site logged a total of 190 million "hits" over the Games' 17-day life span.   The biggest day was Aug. 1, with 17 million hits.   Hits measure the number of times a Web page or page element is accessed and aren't necessarily equal to the number of people who visit a site.   -- When the Democratic National Convention took place in Chicago during the last week of August, visitors to the Chicago Tribune's Web edition (http://www.chicago.tribune.com/) retrieved more than 1 million documents, a new record.   -- PointCast (http://www.pointcast.com/), the Internet-based screen-saver news service, said the number of people downloading the company's free software jumped 50 percent during the first week of the Summer Games, when a special "Olympics channel" was available.   -- ClariNet Communications Corp. (http://www.clarinet.com/), a seven-year-old Internet news distributor, said traffic on its Web server was up 30 percent during the Olympics and 10 percent during the conventions.   The public likes online news because they can get as much information as they want, when they want it.   David Weil, also of San Diego, missed watching the Republican and Democratic conventions on television because he was working, and didn't want to programme the VCR to tape everything.   Instead, Well followed the conventions online on MSNBC (http://www.msnbc.com/), the Microsoft-NBC news venture.   Going online was the perfect compromise, said Weil, curator at the Computer Museum of America in San Diego.   "A combination of writing and video is ideal for those of us who don't have time to sit at home and watch things as they unfold," Weil said.   The Internet is well-suited to people who like their news unfiltered.   ClariNet, for example, posted more than 3,000 Olympics stories from Reuters, UPI, the New York Times and other sources on its Web site and in a dozen Usenet newsgroups devoted to the Olympics.   Overall reader reaction was positive.   "People want to read the entire story, not just a few paragraphs that some editor may have edited, not just headlines and not just from one news organisation," said Ed Vasquez, a ClariNet spokesman.   Apparently, Internet users like their news tossed with some multimedia razzle dazzle.   Visitors to the Chicago Tribune's Web edition gave high marks to RealAudio sound files and video clips that ran with stories, said Owen Youngman, head of the paper's interactive publishing division.   The Tribune and other Internet news organisations are using what they learned to plan for upcoming events, most notably the November elections, but also the Super Bowl in January and the Academy Awards next spring.   The Internet was a bit player in the 1992 presidential elections, but promises to take centre stage this year.   Dozens of sites have been covering the presidential race since the early days of the primaries, and dozens more will weigh in with regular updates by Election Day.   The Chicago Tribune hopes to distance itself from the pack by focusing on Congressional and local races.   ClariNet is already operating three news feeds for the elections: one each for Clinton, Dole and Congressional races.   PointCast may create another special channel for the elections, said Jaleh Bisharat, the company's marketing vice president.   "These intense events create peaks, but overall it tells us that news as it happens is something human beings respond to, and the Internet is uniquely capable of handling that," Bisharat said.   - - - -   Junk E-mail, the uninvited messages that clog your electronic mailbox, received renewed attention after America Online said it would bar five major junk E-mail distributors from sending mail to its subscribers.   One of those companies received a temporary court order stopping AOL from blocking junk E-mail delivery, an order AOL has vowed to fight.   How do you feel about receiving junk E-mail?   Does getting it bother you more than receiving the printed kind?   When you get it, what do you do with it?   Send your comments and I'll include a representative sample in an upcoming column.   (Michelle V. Rafter writes about cyberspace and technology from Los Angeles.   Reach her at mvrafter(at)deltanet.  com.   Opinions expressed in this column are her own.) 
13023 !C33 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  U.S. federal investigators on Wednesday charged Miami City Manager Cesar Odio and City Commissioner Miller Dawkins with corruption in a City Hall scandal involving kickbacks for government contracts and skimming funds, U.S. Attorney William Keefer said.   Odio and a lobbyist, Jorge de Cardenas, were charged with conspiring to siphon off public money in connection with a contract to provide health insurance to city workers.   Dawkins was charged with conspiring to procure kickbacks from a computer company contract.   All three were expected to surrender later on Wednesday to face the charges filed in a federal complaint, officials said.   "Corruption within public institutions cannot be tolerated and government cannot be for sale," Keefer told a news conference.   "This type of conduct strikes at the heart of our public institutions."   The action followed a year-long probe codenamed Operation Greenpalm by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, during which agents pieced together shredded notes passed between two alleged conspirators.   One handover of cash was made in a family restaurant, according to the complaint papers.   Former city Finance Director Manohar Surana, who cooperated with investigators to snare the accused, agreed to plead guilty to charges arising from his role in the Dawkins conspiracy, Keefer added.   Surana resigned on August 30.   Odio, 61, the city manager since 1985, stepped down on Monday but denied he was involved in any scam.   "I have nothing to be ashamed of," he told a news conference on Monday.   "The facts will come out and I will be proven totally innocent."   He and De Cardenas, owner of Creative Marketing and Advertising Group, were charged with theft, embezzling, obtaining by fraud and converting government funds, and tampering with a witness.   De Cardenas, 47, lobbied the city on behalf of the Connecticut General Insurance Company of North America (Cigna) for a contract to provide health insurance to city workers.   Odio, as charged in the complaint, was to pay Cigna $150,000 per year from city funds that would be passed on to De Cardenas as a consulting fee of $12,500 a month.   Odio would get $5,000 of this and Surana $1,500, according to the FBI.   The FBI complaint recorded one conversation in which Odio said he needed money as he was putting three children through school, had to borrow to fix his house, and was making the same money as he was 10 years ago.   Dawkins, city commissioner since 1981, was charged with theft or bribery concerning programmes to receive city funds.   The complaint said Dawkins and Surana agreed to solicit money from UNISYS Corporation in connection with computer contracts with the government.   UNISYS reported the demand to the FBI.   Surana was confronted and agreed to wear a hidden wire to tape conversations implicating other city officials.   Dawkins allegedly demanded $25,000 in March 1996 from UNISYS and $10,000 in July 1996.   In one conversation with Surana, Dawkins was said to have communicated with him by written notes which he then shredded.   The FBI pieced together the notes, FBI agent Keith Bryars told Wednesday's news conference.   On one occasion in March, Surana handed over $25,000 in cash to Dawkins at a Denny's restaurant off the South Dixie Highway in Miami, the complaint said. 
13024 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Iraqi forces fired a missile at U.S. fighter planes over northern Iraq on Wednesday and the United States moved B-52 bombers to an Indian Ocean base to back a threat of new military retaliation.   As tensions rose between Washington and Baghdad, the Pentagon also said an Iraqi MiG-25 jet fighter and a military helicopter defied U.S. warnings and flew into a no-fly zone in southern Iraq but that no action was taken immediately.   "Once again, we say what we have been saying: We reserve the right to take action to protect our pilots who are enforcing the no-fly zones in northern Iraq and southern Iraq," President Bill Clinton's spokesman Mike McCurry said.   He said U.S. forces were continuing to fly missions to enforce the no-fly zones established in north and south Iraq after the 1991 Gulf war.   In Baghdad, the Iraqi News Agency quoted an Iraqi military spokesman saying air defence units used artillery and missiles against U.S. and allied warplanes over northern and southern Iraq on Wednesday.   A Pentagon official said he could not confirm an attack on U.S. flights in the south.   Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said on Tuesday that if U.S. flights were threatened "we will take action," indicating a possible repeat of last week's cruise-missile strike against President Saddam Hussein's air defences in southern Iraq.   The SAM-6 surface-to-air missile, fired on Wednesday at two U.S. F-16 jets, missed the planes and caused them no damage, Pentagon officials said.   They had earlier said a number of missiles were fired, but said information given by the pilots later indicated only one was involved.   "Our fighters which were in the area could not return fire at the SAM site because the Iraqi radars were turned off very quickly," spokesman Bryan Whitman told Reuters.   McCurry said Clinton was "satisfied that our pilots were not in immediate danger because of the nature of (Wednesday's) missile launch".   One senior Pentagon official described the missile as "errant" suggesting the radar had not been on long enough for an accurate shot.   Other defence officials said U.S. B-52 bombers like those used in the cruise missile raids on southern Iraq last Tuesday and Wednesday had been moved from Guam in the Pacific Ocean to a British air base on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to put them closer to Iraq.   Whitman said Wednesday's missile incident occurred at 3:58 a.m.   Washington time (0758 GMT), which was late morning Iraqi time, near Gir Pahn, midway between the cities of Zakho and Mosul in the Kurdish-inhabited area of northwest Iraq.   That and the southern zone violation -- in which a MiG-25 and an Iraqi helicopter flew into and then quickly out of the zone -- increased tensions between Washington and Baghdad.   Saddam has called on his troops to ignore the no-fly zones set up by Western powers to deter Iraqi military activity and protect Kurds in the north and Shiite Moslems in the south.   Clinton, who was in Pueblo, Colorado, campaigning for re-election, was informed of the incident by the National Security Council representative on the trip, Navy Captain Fred Dhose, White House officials said.   Asked if there would be a U.S. response, White House spokesman Mike McCurry said, "I don't want to speculate."   American warships and B-52s, which flew non-stop more than 19 hours round-trip from Guam, launched 44 Tomahawk and airborne cruise missiles against air defence targets in southern Iraq fighter last week to punish Saddam for using his forces to attack Kurds in northern Iraq.   The United States on Tuesday accused Saddam of starting to rebuild his air defences in the south despite direct warnings from U.S. Defence Secretary William Perry and others and warned that U.S. forces could launch new attacks at any time.   In Baghdad, the Iraqi News Agency on Tuesday quoted a military spokesman as saying three SAMs were fired at U.S. warplanes policing the southern no-fly zone and chased them away, but U.S. officials dimissed those reports.   The Pentagon says Saddam has been warned in diplomatic notes and in statements by Defence Secretary William Perry and General John Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, not to rebuild air defences or threaten U.S. planes policing the southern no-fly zone. 
13025 !C31 !CCAT !GCAT  Forget no-name stuff.   It's the brand names that count for back-to-school clothing and accessories, leading parents to shell out as much as 12 percent more this year for each child.   Blame it on Levi's and Nike, two of the most requested brand names by back-to-schoolers, according to a survey of their parents conducted for American Express Travel Related Services Co.   Inc.   "It's what other kids are wearing," said a spokeswoman for American Express.   "They are very influenced by television and movies, especially "Clueless"."   No, teenage girls aren't interested in the movie's spiritual guide, Jane Austen.   They're following the fashion trend set by the character, Cher, with her short skirts, clunky shoes, knee socks, stylised backpacks and numerous accessories.   Levi's topped the American Express Retail Index as the most preferred brand for back-to-school clothing of elementary through college students at 45 percent.   Nike came in at 39 percent.   They were followed by clothing and accessories from Gap, 17 percent; Reebok, 16 percent; and Guess, 13 percent.   Designer labels were also popular, with Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Polo/Ralph Lauren each preferred by 5 percent of the back-to-schoolers.   Among accessories, Jansport backpacks are No. 1, outselling albeit far less expensive clones by an overwhelming margin.   It's not the look, per se, it's the name.   This year, back-to-school shopping for clothing and supplies will cost a parent about $363 per child, compared with $325 last year, the survey showed.   Don't blame price increases, the American Express spokeswoman said.   Prices for clothing, supplies, textbooks and electronics have stayed fairly stable.   Look at the brand names kids are demanding, which are more expensive than generic.   "Retailers are doing a better job of managing inventories, or there are fewer items on sale.   Kids are leaning more toward brands and are more fashion conscious.   So there's a trend to higher ticket items.   "Consumer confidence is also going up," she said, adding to an increase in spending.   A lengthening of the back-to-school shopping season is also adding to the amount a parent might spend on a child's school needs.   In the past, the back-to-school shopping season ran from July 4 through Labour Day.   Now, due to several factors, the season runs into September and October, and even into November.   For one, retailers are bringing out cold weather items closer to the season and putting warm weather items on sale later in the year.   "Also, kids don't want to buy anything upfront.   They want to see what other kids are wearing," the American Express spokeswoman said.   Here are some first thoughts for Christmas.   It might be only September, but WSL Strategic Retail, a marketing and retail consulting firm, has some predictions for the season to be merry.   This holiday season will be defined by things outrageous, indulgent, religious, but nothing high-tech.   WSL said that the outrageous and indulgent will be typified by vampire-like colours in makeup, blues and golds in hair colours, any real or faux fur and rich (forget fat-free) foods.   "Americans are so fed up with saving their pennies..., planning cautiously for the future..., and worrying about who will be the next president that they are ready to let their heads go," WSL said.   Any kind of religious imagery will do, the more spiritual the better.   This trend is not based on a political mood, rather a time when people feel much is out of their control.   Look for a new growth in religious music, movie themes, books and religious insignia on clothing, home furnishings, accessories and medical therapies.   Personal computers, cellular phones and beepers -- gifts that lack the "warm and fuzzy feeling" will be out this year.   WSL said consumers want to cuddle, not buzz this year.   This year, the more personal or intimate, the better.   Think jewelry that is personally ingraved, custom tailored clothing, kand-knit sweaters, a hand-written letter -- not E-mail.   Have a question or solution to making your money go farther?   You can write to Judith Schoolman at Reuter Business Report, 199 Water Street, 10th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10038.   Her E-mail address is Judith.  Schoolman(at)Reuters.  com. 
13026 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Texas billionaire Ross Perot named little-known economist Pat Choate as his vice-presidential running mate on Tuesday, hoping the move would revive his faltering bid for the White House.   Perot said during a half-hour television campaign ad that Choate, an academic and a determined critic of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), was an expert on economic policy who would play a key role in his campaign.   "He knows the system.   He knows what's wrong with it.   We agree what's wrong with it.   His views are your views out there across America," said Perot, who is running for the fledgling Reform Party he founded and financed out of his own pocket.   The 66-year-old Perot described Choate as a "person of intellect, courage, integrity and grit."   Choate, 55, worked in the Commerce Department during the administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford but has little experience in the political limelight and was only chosen after three experienced politicians turned down Perot's offers to join him on the Reform Party ticket.   Choate said he was ready for responsibility.   "I know Washington, and I know it cannot be changed from the inside.   I also know it cannot be changed by either of the two major political parties," he said.   The author of six books on public policy, Choate advised Perot in his 1992 presidential bid, when Perot won 19 percent of the vote, and helped craft the anti-NAFTA plank of Perot's policy platform.   The two men co-authored "Save Your Job, Save Our Country: Why NAFTA Must Be Stopped Now," a populist handbook that said the trade treaty would have a devastating effect on U.S. workers.   Perot's 1992 campaign shook up U.S. politics, but he has so far failed to capture the public's imagination this time around, and recent polls show him trailing far behind President Bill Clinton and Republican challenger Bob Dole, with about 5 percent support.   Before Tuesday he had even found it difficult to find anyone prepared to run with him.   Two Congresswomen -- Marcy Kaptur of Ohio and Linda Smith of Washington -- declined offers to join Perot, and former Sen. David Boren did the same, preferring to stay on as president of the University of Oklahoma.   Nonetheless, Reform Party officials said Choate's nomination should help rejuvenate the Perot campaign, which, as in 1992, has been based on folksy, 30-minute television ads.   Choate said in Tuesday's "infomercial" he would focus on economic issues in the remaining eight weeks of the campaign.   "This is a campaign about ideas, choices and solutions.   It is about fixing what has gone wrong in America while we still have enough time and resources to act," he said.   Speaking later about social issues on CNN's "Larry King Live," Choate said he backed Perot's pro-choice stance on abortion rights and favoured regulation of the tobacco industry by the Food and Drug Administration.   He said he was "absolutely" confident Perot would overtake Dole in opinion polls by mid-October and win the Nov. 5 election.   In 1992 Perot's running mate was retired Adm. James Stockdale, a political novice who became a handicap.   Paul Truax, chairman of the Reform Party in Texas, said Choate's economic expertise meant he would be a powerful weapon against Gore and Dole's running mate, Jack Kemp, in any debate on economic policy and NAFTA.   "He's got a terrific chance.   He'll take Gore apart if they get to the specifics," Truax said.   Perot promised during Tuesday's infomercial to abolish the Internal Revenue Service and overhaul the U.S. tax system within a year of taking office.   He also pledged to pass a constitutional amendment prescribing a balanced budget and to make any tax increases conditional on majority support in a special national referendum. 
13027 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  Duke Power Co said Wednesday it has returned power service to nearly 400,000 customers in North Carolina affected by last week's Hurricane Fran.   As of 0630 EDT, about 30,500 customers were still without service.   Full service was expected within the next few days, the company said in a statement.   Tuesday afternoon's thunderstorms slowed the company's efforts to restore service, the company added.   Most of these outages are in Durham, N.C., where approximately 19,800 electricity users were still without power.   An additional 8,250 customers are without service in Chapel Hill, N.C. Restoration of this service was dependent on the reconstruction of one large power line, which was currently underway and was expected to be complete by late Thursday.   --H McCulloch, New York Power Desk +212-859-1628 
13028 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  Federal investigators are focusing on a single suspect and possible accomplices in the deadly Olympic bombing who have no connection with Richard Jewell, the security guard headlined as an early suspect, CBS News said on Wednesday.   The Federal Bureau of Investigation had no comment on the report, which did not name the new suspect.   CBS said investigators were still without a clear theory as to what led to the bombing, although the network reported the latest suspect may have military training or be connected to a militia-like movement.   CBS said investigators lifted partial fingerprints from a telephone used by someone to warn of the bomb but video monitors in the park apparently captured no scenes of anyone depositing the bomb.   It said investigators were asking to see videotape shot by several local television stations the night of the blast.   Jewell said he discovered the bomb at Centennial Olympic Park shortly before it went off July 27, killing two people and injuring 111 others.   First hailed as a hero, Jewell maintained his innocence since he was first named by the Atlanta Journal as a suspect in the bombing.   Many other news reports also named Jewell as a suspect.   Charges were never filed against Jewell, although his property was searched.   Jewell's attorneys in news conferences and television appearances have repeatedly appealed to federal law enforcement officials to admit Jewell was innocent.   His mother, in a weeping appeal to President Bill Clinton, asked the government to clear her son's name.   But no such clearance has come.   Jewell's attorneys were not immediately available for comment. 
13029 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The United States acknowledged on Wednesday that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has extended his control over northern Iraq in recent weeks and it could take "some time" to contain him regionally.   With the success of a Kurdish and Iraqi military drive across an internationally protected zone in northern Iraq, Washington also made clear its strategic interests lie not with the Kurds in the north but in Saddam's potential threat to oil interests in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait toward the south.   After sending tens of thousands of troops into northern Iraq to successfully aid one Kurdish faction, Saddam "has perhaps widened his field of operations in the north," U.S. State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns told reporters.   But he insisted these "gains may not be lasting" and that Saddam is "constrained in a strategic sense" because Iraq is unable to act "as a state with other states in the region" due to U.S.-imposed no-fly zones in the northern and southern sectors of the country.   Burns rejected suggestions that Saddam was emboldened by his Kurdish allies' victory over a rival faction in northern Iraq even though Iraqi forces, apparently unfazed by U.S. air strikes last week, on Wednesday fired a missile at U.S. warplanes over northern Iraq.   The U.S. effort to contain Saddam should be viewed from "a longer-term perspective ... (It) did not begin last week with the American air strikes and it won't end tomorrow or next week or maybe even next year," Burns said.   "We're engaged in a five-year effort -- and it could go on for some time if Saddam Hussein survives in power -- to contain him regionally," he added.   The United States retaliated with cruise missile strikes last week when Iraqi troops moved into the northern sector to aid forces of Kurdish leader Masood Barzani fight forces loyal to rival Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani.   But instead of hitting targets in the north, the United States struck back at air defense targets and bases in southern Iraq.   "We chose to hit him where we thought it would hit him hardest and be most seriously felt and that was in his southern air defenses and at his southern air bases, to cripple his ability to pose a threat to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.   "Let's remember what the core of U.S. strategic interests are -- to protect Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.   It's been that way throughout the Bush and Clinton administrations.   That's why we chose the targets in the south," Burns said.   The Clinton administration made the decision last week that it "would not intervene in a civil war between two Kurdish groups despite the fact that Saddam Hussein was supporting one and Iran the other," he said.   Noting international relief agency estimates that upwards of 100,000 Kurdish refugees have fled northern Iraq for the border with Iran, he stressed the U.S. view that all neighboring states to Iraq "have a responsibility to take in refugees when they present themselves." 
13030 !C12 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  A Massachusetts court ordered a Cape Cod man to stop selling videos on the Internet showing women changing in locker rooms, showering or using bathrooms, prosecutors said on Wednesday.   The Barnstable County Court barred Robert Novello from promoting his "Voyeur Videos" on the World Wide Web.   The tapes were made without the women's knowledge using hidden cameras.   "These videos are an outrageous invasion of privacy," said State Attorney General Scott Harshbarger.   "Attempts to profit from this kind of sleazy garbage are not only disgraceful and offensive, but also against the law."   Investigators were trying to determine where the videos were made.   The identities of the victims were not known.   Investigators believe Novello created his Web page in August and estimated it had been accessed 528 times.   Novello also allegedly ran a small advertisement in a larger Web page that had been accessed nearly 16,000 times.   Harshbarger's office filed a civil complaint against the man and, if he is found liable, Novello faces a fine of up to $5,000 for each tape he sold. 
13031 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  The House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday not to extend the life of the 25-year-old Overseas Private Investment Corp. which insures U.S. business abroad against risks.   Supporters needed two-thirds approval to extend OPIC's life but the House instead voted 260-157 against a bill that would have extended its life to 2001.   The House took the action without debate but a coalition of conservative and liberal House members called OPIC a prime example of corporate welfare because it insures U.S. companies' investment abroad from risks including takeover of their assets by foreign governments.   "There is a sense of fair play out there," said House Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich, an Ohio Republican and a leading opponent of the agency.   Kasich said the agency might find some way to yet win Congress's approval to continue operations.   OPIC responded that it would work with Congress to try to keep itself in business.   "We will continue to work with Congress on a measure that will preserve OPIC's ability to create American jobs and U.S. exports," it said in a brief statement.   The House vote was taken under a special procedure normally used to win speedy approval of non-controversial bills.   The bill also would have extended the Trade Development Agency and export-related programmes of the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration.   But Kasich said there should be no problem with adding approval of those two programmes to some other bill because the opponents' only target was OPIC.   OPIC denied in a fact sheet that it is corporate welfare, saying it more than pays for itself.   It said it earned $189 million last year, boosting its reserves to $2.6 billion.   It said it has generated $43 billion in U.S. exports since 1971 and created about 200,000 American jobs. 
13032 !GCAT !GDIP  The United States and Israel have developed proposals for restarting peace talks with Syria that were to be passed on to Damascus, State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said on Wednesday.   U.S. Mideast Coordinator Dennis Ross on Tuesday had long talks on the subject with Dore Gold, key adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after Netanyahu met President Bill Clinton on Monday and "now we will be going back to the Syrians," Burns told reporters.   "We have produced some ideas that we hope might lead to progress and convince Israel and Syria that they ought to reinitiate conversations," Burns said.   "Obviously, now having heard the views of the prime minister and his advisers, we will be going back to the Syrians.   I can't tell you whether that contact was made this morning or whether it will be made tomorrow, but it will be made," he said.   He gave no details.   Israel's Channel Two Television reported that Israel, in the draft, accepted some understandings reached between Syria and Israel's previous centre-left government.   But Netanyahu refused to commit to all the understandings, it said.   U.S. officials said Ross may travel to the Middle East next week.   Burns was downbeat about the prospects for progress.   "Frankly, I can't stand here and predict early success for you.   This is a very difficult process with a number of obstacles in its way.   And we'll keep working very hard on it, and we'll just have to see how it goes and when we might be successful, if we are successful," he said.   Israel-Syria peace talks have been frozen since May when Netanyahu was elected over Shimon Peres, an architect of the Mideast peace process.   A major stumbling block has been Netanyahu's position against giving back the Golan Heights, which Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War.   Netanyahu was elected on campaign vows rejecting the principle of trading land for peace, the basis of nearly five years of peace talks between the sides.   Syria wants Israel to return all the lands it holds on the strategic Golan Heights.   Peres and his slain predecessor Yitzhak Rabin had expressed willingness for at least a partial Golan withdrawal, a stance Netanyahu has often blasted as compromising Israel's security.   In Washington on Monday Netanyahu urged Syria to resume peace talks without conditions.   But Syria has said Netanyahu's stand on the Golan meant talks would remain at an impasse.   "Israel and Syria will have to decide the basis for the resumption of talks, if there is to be any substantive basis whatsoever for it," Burns told reporters.   Asked if the United States believed Netanyahu has reneged on commitments to Syria made by a preceeding government, the spokesman stressed that neither Syria nor Israel had signed any written agreements.   "Therefore to ask either one of them to uphold elements of private conversations seems to be a very different subject than the Israel-Palestinian talks, where there is a written agreement.   There is a new government in Israel and that new government brings some new ideas and a new orientation to the negotiations ... And our own effort is now focused on just getting them to talk directly to each other.   And then we'll see what can be done substantively," Burns said. 
13033 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  A California-based company that promoted what it billed as a billion-dollar, ostrich-raising business was ordered to pay $15.2 million to settle fraud charges, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday.   The order against Trans-American Ostrich Traders Inc., was issued as a default judgment by federal Judge Robert Takasugi in Los Angeles, the SEC said.   Takasugi also barred Larry Earp, a founder of the Thousand Palms, Calif.-based company and its president and chief executive, from acting as an officer or director of any public company.   Separately, the SEC issued an administrative order barring Earp from the securities industry for life.   Earp consented to the court and SEC orders without admitting or denying guilt, the SEC said.   The case against a third defendant, David Silver, national marketing director of the company, is pending, the SEC said.   Of the penalties against the company, $7.17 million represents forfeitures of illegal profits, a civil penalty of the same amount, and $863,342 in prejudgment interest.   SEC lawyer James Coffman said Trans-American Ostrich was inactive, and the SEC will have to find out if the firm has assets that could be used to satisfy the court judgment.   Takasugi's order stemmed from a civil complaint by the SEC filed in March against the company and two of its executives.   The SEC said the defendants collected $7.45 million from about 350 investors in 40 states to operate an ostrich ranch to raise and later slaughter and sell its meat for food.   The defendants allegedly used high-pressure, boiler-room telemarketing tactics and a TV commercial to sell between November 1993 and December 1994 unregistered securities in 17 partnerships at a price of from $7,500 to $20,000 a unit.   Trans-American Ostrich was a general partner of the partnerships, the SEC said.   The SEC alleged the investors were made to believe that the price of ostriches would double when the defendants knew that as of July 1994, its market price had slumped.   The defendants also allegedly promised investors fantastic profits ranging from 45 percent in the first two years, 1,147 percent in five years, 5,003 percent in eight years and up to 9,355 percent in 10 years.   But about half of the investors' money went to sales commissions and marketing expenses, the SEC alleged, contrary to the defendants' claim they would use 80 percent of those funds to buy ostriches and for operating capital.   After the market for ostrich collapsed, the partnerships filed for bankruptcy, the SEC said. 
13034 !C13 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  U.S. airline and airport officials said on Wednesday a series of roadblocks was needed to put an end to terrorism so if a terrorist slipped by one obstacle he might be caught by another.   And one told a House of Representatives committee that the government should take a bigger financial hand in the expensive fight because a terrorist does not aim at an airline or its passengers but at the U.S. government.   Most funding is currently done by airlines and airports.   The officials testified before the aviation subcommittee on how to improve airport security following recommendations by a White House commission formed after the explosion of TWA flight 800 off the coast of New York on July 17.   Investigators have not determined the cause of the explosion, which killed all 230 people on board, but they suspect it may have been a bomb or other criminal act.   John Meenan, vice president for policy and planning of the Air Transport Association, said that two of the commission's recommendations should be given immediate consideration.   He said these were to match all baggage with passengers and to require criminal history checks of all workers with access to secure airport areas.   Meenam said also it was vital that travelers be "profiled" by computers to try to screen out potential criminals.   He said ATA was committed to working with the government to evaluate new technology being tested in several U.S. airports that can screen explosives that cannot be detected by existing technolgy.   The machines are costly, have a high false alarm rate and are slow, so their use could bottle up plane loadings considerably, experts say.   Meenam told the panel that it was wrong to think that a single quick fix, a bag match or screening machine, would solve the terrorism problem.   "The airline industry knows that any system -- whether for security or for any purpose -- which relies on the 100 percent performance of a given task is inherently ineffective and unreliable," he said.   James DeLong, chairman of the Airports Council International-North America, said there had to be broad funding for aviation security, a reference to federal money.   This was valid, he said, because "air travelers and aviation may be the victims, but the real target of the terrorists is the U.S. government."   DeLong, aviation director of Denver International Airport, said there was no single way to fight terrorism.   He told the panel that learning a terrorist's motives, backing and methods "allows those responsible for providing security to set up a string of obstacles in the path of would-be terrorists." 
13035 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  Nigerian swindlers are robbing Americans of hundreds of millions of dollars a year, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.   "Nigerian nationals are involved in perpetrating a variety of financial and other crimes upon U.S. citizens and businesses from the safety of Nigeria," Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mark Richard told a House International Relations Committee hearing.   Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Jonathan Winer said the U.S. embassy in Lagos was inundated with requests for help from Americans defrauded by Nigerians.   "Last year, the embassy rescued several American citizens lured to Lagos in scams, taken hostage and held for ransom," Winer said.   Richard and Winer said one of the biggest scams involved letters sent from Nigerians claiming to be officials who had illegally obtained government funds.   They offer a percentage of the money to those who help them launder the funds.   If the recipient responds to such a letter, he or she is asked to send money to pay fees and other expenses involved in the fund transfer.   The officials estimated the fund transfer fraud was costing Americans at least $250 million a year.   Sally Miller, director of the Commerce Department's Office of Africa, urged Americans to be cautious and to check with her office before being involved in such deals.   "We are aware of at least two incidents, one in 1991 and a second in 1995, in which Americans who had unkowingly become involved in a fraudulent business deal travelled to Nigeria and were killed after refusing to put more money into the deal," she said.   Winer said political unrest in Nigeria may have helped encourage criminal activities.   The country has been under military rule since 1993 when presidential elections were annulled.   Last year, author Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other activists were executed despite worldwide pleas for clemency.   "Although there is no conclusive evidence, it is widely believed that corruption and criminal activity, especially global and regional financial fraud and narcotics trafficking, are fostered by some of the Nigerian elite, some of whom have links to ranking Nigerian government officials," Winer said.   U.S. Secret Service agent Michael Stenger said the special frauds unit of the Nigerian National Police had cooperated with U.S. officials in the recent arrest of 43 Nigerians on fraud charges.   He said the number of U.S. victims has been dropping, in part because of publicity about the schemes. 
13036 !C24 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Everen Securities Inc. said Wednesday it will close its New York and Boston municipal bond departments in a move that will cost about 26 employees their jobs.   A spokesman for the firm, Ted McDougal, said Everen will remain a "full service" municipal operation with offices in Chicago, San Francisco and Denver.   "What we are doing is basically reconfiguring our municipal securities operation in line with current municipal market conditions, which will involve the closing of our municipal desks in New York and Boston," McDougal said.   "We will continue to have a presence in Chicago, San Francisco (and) Denver, and will remain a full service municipal bond department."   Everen has been cutting back its municipal operations for at least a year. 
13037 !GCAT !GPOL !GWELF  New York City is weighing the legal issues raised by the sweeping federal welfare bill approved in August, a city official said on Wednesday.   Gail Rubin, assistant corporate counsel for the city, said: "The law department is looking at the welfare bill to see what kinds of problems it raises."   New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said the bill raised "serious constitutional questions" in a speech that he gave to Georgetown University's law department in Washington, D.C.   Asked whether or not New York City would sue the federal government to stop part or all of the new welfare bill from going into effect, Rubin replied: "We haven't come to any conclusions."   A spokeswoman for the mayor said she had no information immediately available.   --Joan Gralla, 212-859-1654 
13038 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Veteran U.S. diplomat John Negroponte is the leading candidate to negotiate America's future relationship with Panama once the canal and U.S. bases there revert to Panamanian control in the year 2000, the State Department said Wednesday.   Spokesman Nicholas Burns said a new job of special coordinator for Panama basing issues will be established shortly and while a final decision has not been made "Ambassador Negroponte is the leading candidate for that position."   Although the two countries agreed in 1977 that the canal should be shifted to Panamanian control in the year 2000, a major outstanding question is whether any American military personnel will remain in Panama after that time.   That issue was discussed when Panama's president visited President Clinton recently but "we've not come to the end of that discussion by any means," Burns said.   "That's a question that we're looking at, but we've not made any final determination on.   It'll depend on these discussions that we're going to have with the Panamanians ... The feeling is we need to have a special negotiator to work more or less full time on this issue," he said.   Negroponte, a controversial career diplomat, served as U.S. ambassador to Honduras during the Reagan administration at a time when the Central American nation was a staging ground for American efforts to topple the leftist Sandinista regime in neighbouring Nicaragua.   Burns said that with 35 years as a diplomat, Negroponte "is one of our most distinguished career foreign service officers ... He's a very distinguished man and, if he is selected for this, he'll be an excellent choice."   In addition to serving as ambassador to Honduras, Neogroponte has been ambassador to Mexico and the Philippines, an assistant secretary of state and deputy national security adviser under Colin Powell. 
13039 !GCAT !GCRIM  In a scheme believed to be the first involving all four mafia families, three alleged mafioso were arrested on Wednesday on charges of tax fraud and extorting millions of dollars from Russian criminals in New York and New Jersey, officials said.   U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Faith Hochberg told a news conference that high-ranking Genovese crime family member Daniel Pagano, 43, was charged with controlling underlings through "threats and intimidation" to exploit profit in a "mob tax."   Anthony Palombo, 46, also known as "Tony D" of Bronxville, New York, and Genaro "Jimmy Sweats" Dellamonica, 66, of Staten Island, from the Genovese and Gambino crime families were also arrested.   The indictments capped a two-year undercover investigation called "Operation Daisy Chain" that ended in 1993 and led to the capture of 35 mobsters from the U.S. and Russian mafia on charges of defrauding the federal government of $80 million in taxes.   Agents uncovered a scheme where, working with the organised crime families, Russian immigrant mobsters would set up shadow fuel businesses to sell bootleg gasoline and diesel fuel without paying the appropriate taxes.   Members of the four organised crime families -- the Genovese, Gambino, Colombo and Lucchese families -- formed an illegal cartel that extorted millions of dollars in protection money from the Russians, authorities charged.   "This indictment unmasks a mob cartel that used brute force to establish territories, set prices and maintain the flow of illegal gasoline to the marketplace," Hochberg said.   The three arrested on Wednesday face a 17-count indictment for racketeering, extortion, interstate travel in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service. 
13040 !GCAT !GPOL  House Republicans moved ahead on Wednesday on a long-delayed bill to combat illegal immigration as Democrats assailed its plan to allow states to bar illegal immigrant students from public schools.   Democrats opposing this and other provisions in the bill predicted a Senate filibuster and a presidential veto even though the measure as a whole seeks to respond to wide public concern over a flood of illegal aliens into the country.   Both the House of Representatives and Senate have passed separate versions of the measure but further congressional action has been stalled since Senate passage last May because of problems with the schools provision adopted by the House.   The House action on Wednesday sent a compromise bill worked out by Republicans to a Senate - House conference committee expected to consider it next Tuesday.   The chief architect of the bill, Representative Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican, told the House illegal immigration had reached a crisis with one million illegal aliens coming in each year.   He pointed out the bill doubled the number of border agents, made it more difficult for illegal aliens to get jobs and overhauled deportation procedures.   But Democrats complained they had had no voice in crafting the compromise, suggesting Republicans might be seeking a veto by President Bill Clinton to create an election issue.   On Wednesday California's Republican Gov. Pete Wilson met House Speaker Newt Gingrich and other House members to urge support for the schools provision attached to the bill by Representative Elton Gallegly, R-California.   Wilson said education accounted for $2 billion of the $3 billion California spent on benefits to illegal immigrants.   The state is vital to Clinton's election strategy.   Democrats complained that the bill removed safeguards against employer discrimination against Hispanic and Asian Americans who might be denied jobs because of suspicion they were in the country illegally.   "They (the Republicans) systematically weakened or eliminated that which would protect American citizens against discrimination or government error," Representative Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, said.   In the Senate, Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, the Judiciary Committee's senior Democrat said: "This bill will do more harm than good.   It doesn't deserve to pass." 
13041 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GENV  The Clinton administration on Wednesday ended a three-year watch of Taiwan for its role in the black market for tiger bone and rhinoceros horn, praising Taiwan for clamping down on illegal wildlife trade.   In a report on Taiwan's efforts one year after Washington lifted sanctions against it, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt said the 16-month limited trade ban had succeeded in spurring Taiwan to increase seizures of unlawful shipments and stiffen penalties against traffickers of the endangered animals.   "We have clearly demonstrated that trade sanctions ... can indeed work to achieve conservation goals," Babbitt said at a news conference.   The U.S. ban on $25 million worth of imports of fish and wildlife products from Taiwan had also encouraged it to follow U.S. recommendations to fund efforts to protect imperilled species in other countries, fund research into substitutes for traditional Chinese medicines made from rhino, tiger and bear parts, and launch a public education campaign.   Rhino and tiger parts are highly valued among Asians for medicinal uses.   According to Babbitt, tiger penis soup in Taiwan costs $1,500 for four people and a bottle of Tiger bone wine could fetch $5,000.   While ending its scrutiny of Taiwan, Washington kept China under watch as an active centre for illegal wildlife trade although it had taken some steps to curb trafficking.   "At this point we lack information, a clear understanding of the breadth of those measures, their efficacy," Babbitt said.   Assistant Secretary of State Eileen Claussen and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials planned trips to China in October to discuss a range of environmental issues, including wildlife trade.   "The United States must remain vigilant in its efforts to protect these imperilled species and must closely monitor the actions of other key nations -- notably the People's Republic of China and South Korea," said Ginette Hemley, World Wildlife Fund's international wildlife policy director.   World Wildlife Fund spurred the U.S. action against Taiwan, which marked the first time Washington had ever used trade sanctions under a 1978 wildlife conservation law.   South Korea was under close watch by countries in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, particularly for trade in bear gall bladders, said assistant director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, Marshall Jones. 
13042 !GCAT !GHEA !GSCI  Exposing a foetus to industrial pollutants found in contaminated fish can significantly reduce a child's intelligence, according to a new U.S. study.   Researchers Joseph and Sandra Jacobson of Wayne State University in Detroit also said the impact on intelligence did not fade with time, according to their study which is due to appear in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.   The researchers said the study built on earlier research showing that pre-birth exposure to PCBs, which stands for a class of chemicals known as polychlorinated byphenyls, can affect brain development.   They found that exposed infants and four-year-olds, for example, had poorer short-term memory.   PCB exposure was assessed by testing blood taken from umbilical cords at birth, and by subsequent blood tests.   Samples of the mother's milk were also tested for the industrial chemicals, which have been banned in the United States and most Western nations since the 1970s.   Most of the PCB exposure came from the mother eating PCB-tainted fish from Lake Michigan, which was polluted following decades of shipping, industrial waste and agricultural runoff.   The study also looked at the mental abilities of those children when they were about 11-years-old.   The Jacobsons found that the typical Intelligence Quotient in the group with the highest exposure to PCBs was six points lower than for the children in the other four groups.   Those children also had poorer verbal and word comprehension scores, and it was easier to distract them.   "The most highly exposed children were more than three times as likely to perform poorly in terms of the scores for full-scale IQ, verbal comprehension, and freedom from distractibility," the researchers reported.   In addition, those children were "more than twice as likely to be at least two years behind in reading comprehension."   The intellectual problems were subtle and detectable only in testing, the Jacobsons said.   "There was no evidence of gross intellectual impairment among the children we studied."   The drop in IQ, they said, was equivalent to what has been seen in children exposed to low levels of lead.   Although many of the babies received extra exposure to PCBs during breast feeding, the Jacobsons' analysis found that the amount of PCB-tainted breast milk a baby received did not seem to affect the intelligence score. 
13043 !C22 !CCAT !GCAT  Do you know that the name "porpoise" means "pig fish," or that the silhouette got its name from a tightwad French politician reputed to have only hung the outlines of drawings in his home to save money?   Your kids will if know it if they spend some time browsing through "The Ultimate Children's Encyclopaedia" (from The Learning Company, Windows, $45).   Based on the Kingfisher collection of reference books for children, this CD-ROM for ages 7 to 12 also includes a thesaurus, atlas, dictionary and profiles of the famous and infamous.   It features bouncy music, colourful artwork, and a cartoon host named Zak who guides youngsters through the product and whose enthusiasm is likely to keep elementary school students poking around for a while, just to see what will pop up next.   The developers of children's encyclopaedias always have to walk a fine line between overwhelming a youngster with information and being superficial.   Let's just say the folks behind this encyclopaedia didn't err on the side of depth.   Nonetheless, the quality of the information is pretty good -- if you know to look for it.   For example, in the listing on the reputed prophet Nostradamus, it makes the usual wishy-washy claim that "even today people claim to see his predictions fulfilled in events around the world."   The youngster must click on the tiny "picture facts" icon to uncover the secret to Nostradamus' success: That he "wrote his predictions in verse, often so obscurely that readers can put different interpretations upon them."   You have to wonder whether a typical 8-year-old will know what "obscurely" means, but clicking on the word brings up a dictionary item that explains it.   "The Ultimate Children's Encyclopaedia" also provides background on common phrases and expression, wise sayings and the elements that make up a word.   Its biggest flaw is the lack of good system for searching the CD-ROM for words.   The item on "baseball" says it evolved from a game called "rounders."   But if a child looks for a reference to "rounders," the closest it will get is painter Henri Rousseau.   Multimedia products such as this one have the ability to use animated diagrams to explain how things works.   On that level, this encyclopaedia is disappointing because its illustrations are so limited.   For example, the diagram of a copying machine gives names to some of the parts, yet doesn't explain how it works.   The animation showing the principles behind an elevator mentions a counterweight, but doesn't show viewers where it is.   The Learning Company has come up with a good product, but calling it "Ultimate" is ultimately pretentious.    - - - -   Of the many CD-ROM encyclopaedias available for older children and grownups, Grolier never seems to be the name that comes to mind.   "Grolier's" problem has been its lack of pizzazz.   It hasn't had the flashy graphics and displays of colour that have enlivened "Encarta" and "Compton's."   That's been unfortunate.   In some areas I've found the quality of the Grolier articles to be far better and more authoritative than the other big-name encyclopaedias, including the "Britannica."   "Grolier" doesn't lack pizzazz anymore.   The just-released "1997 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopaedia" (Windows/Macintosh $50) has put the same high-quality database into a livelier-looking package, and given customers a choice of four "looks" from which to choose.   It also has an atlas and (for some people with access to the Internet) World Wide Web sites to provide updated articles and lists of authoritative Web pages.   Unfortunately, the "Grolier" system for connecting to the Internet doesn't support some systems.   For example, I couldn't get it to work through Prodigy's Internet system.   Nonetheless, it's a bargain at $50.   And with its new look, maybe "Grolier's" will get the respect it deserves.    - - - -   Some new and notable software in stores:   "Independence Day" (Fox Interactive, Windows/Macintosh, $20) is for the folks who can't get enough of the hit movie about alien invaders with emminently hackable computers.   It includes over 500 photos from the productions, film clips and more than 750 electronic storyboard illustrations.   "Invention Studio" (Discovery Channel Multimedia, Windows, $35) -- Inspired by the TV series "Invention," this game gives players information about inventors and lets them build their own simulated inventions in the Gadgetorium.   It's geared to youngsters ages 9 to 14.   "Voyeur II" (Phillips, DOS/Windows, $40) lets you sneak a peek through some unshaded windows and try to stop a murder.   This dual CD-ROM game stars Jennifer O'Neil and is rated for ages 17 and older because of its nudity and adult subject matter.   "Adventures of the Smart Patrol" (Inscape, Windows/Macintosh, $40) features the musical group Devo and bills itself as "'Blade Runner' on steroids."   Players must prevent deadly bacteria from escaping in a world filled with "mega-corporate villainy, rabid technscience, come-hither erotic naughtiness and dangerously mutated humour."   It also is for ages 17 and over.   "Nine Worlds" (Palladium, Windows/Macintosh, $40) -- This look at the solar system, hosted by Star Trek's Patrick Stewart, has original animations, interviews with astronomers, and over 500 photographs.    - - - -   (Gene Emery is a columnist who covers science and technology.   His Internet address is gene.  emery(at)prodigy.  com.   Any opinions in the column are his alone.) 
13044 !C13 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, trying to protect the environment without stifling New York Harbor, on Wednesday said it had begun the official administrative process of closing a dump site.   The plan calls for granting permits to dredging firms more quickly, and the federal agency plans to fund new technology to find new ways to dispose of the mud.   It also will work with New York and New Jersey to identify options for disposing of contaminated material.   The mud dump site covers two square nautical miles and is located about six miles off the New Jersey coast.   The area around the site has been used for dumping since the late 1800s, and the EPA has expanded the area it proposes to treat to about 30-square nautical miles from 23, though it noted that this does not mean the entire area is contaminated.   --Joan Gralla, 212-859-1654 
13045 !GCAT !GPOL !GWELF  New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani on Wednesday attacked the new federal welfare bill, saying some of its provisions, like ones denying benefits to future immigrants, raised "serious constitutional questions."   New York City will be hit particularly hard by the new legislation, which imposes a number of new restrictions, because it has such a large population of immigrants.   In prepared remarks, the mayor, whose grandparents emigrated from Italy, estimated that the city has 400,000 illegal and undocumented immigrants, adding the new rules might prevent up to 80,000 children from attending public schools.   Giuliani, a Republican, was addressing Georgetown University's Law School in Washington.   "The act creates dangers for our states and cities.   If you have 400,000 undocumented immigrants who are cut off from hospitals, schools and police protection, it's going to create danger for us all."   Saying he believed the new welfare act "does more harm than good," Giuliani focused on how he thinks it conflicts with the law.   He only noted in passing that the new act fails to provide the funds needed to help welfare recipients find jobs, though he added the city sends the federal goverment $9 billion more than it receives back.   In early August, the mayor estimated that the dramatic new welfare rules, which require recipients to begin working after collecting benefits for two years, could cost the city as much as $600 million.   Under former Mayor Ed Koch, New York City enacted a law that protects undocumented and illegal aliens who want to use city health and safety services.   The seven-year old law, which also was supported by former Mayor David Dinkins, protects all city residents, Giuliani said, explaining that immigrants who are ill might pose a danger to the public health.   He also said it was important not to discourge immigrants from reporting crimes.   "Muggers don't ask for a green card before commiting a crime."   Saying the federal government was targeting the weakest residents--children, crime victims and people who are ill--the mayor said it first should focus on the over 4,000 illegal, undocumented criminals who are jailed in the city every year.   While New York City has reported these criminals to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, he said only about 200 to 300 were deported.   The new welfare act also clashes with the city's police power, which tries to protect the confidentiality of undocumented or illegal aliens, Giuliani said.   He added part of the act would compel cities to put in place a Congressional reporting program, violating the 10th amendment in the U.S. constitution, which he said protects states and their subdivisions from being forced to serve federal regulators.   --Joan Gralla, 212-859-1654 
13046 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GENT  Imagine sitting at home and talking with a member of one of the hottest rock bands around.   Well that's what nine lucky fans of Hootie & the Blowfish did Tuesday evening before the rock band's sold-out concert at the Red Rocks amphitheatre, nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains outside Denver.   But the fans didn't have to clean the living room for company, it was all done via the latest high-technology on their personal computer.   "Cool.   Like talking on the phone," said band member Mark Bryan after chatting with some of his fans.   "The irony is that we're in one of the most beautiful and natural settings we've ever seen and it's combined with the newest technology," said another member Jim (Soni) Sonefeld.   Time Warner Inc.'s Atlantic Records, has been presenting on-line concerts since May at Atlantic's Digital Arena site on the World Wide Web at http://www.atlantic-records.com/digitalarena/.   But this was the first time that Internet phone technology, furnished by Intel Corp., was used at a rock concert.   Fans had to be equipped with an Intel Pentium processor, Windows 95, a full duplex sound system and 16 megabytes of RAM, and free Interphone software downloaded from the Internet.   The latest technology aside, the fans were at times reduced to the banalities of everyday conversations.   Sports, including baseball and golf were discussed.   Sonefeld told a caller named Ted that he learned humility being a Chicago Cubs fan when he was growing up in Naperville, Illinois.   There was some news.   Singer Darius Rucker told a fan named D.J. not to expect a new album from the band until sometime in 1998.   Fans at the concert site were able to view a demonstration of another new technology, Intercast, also from Intel.   Intercast made its debut during the Olympics, when NBC used it to broadcast live video feeds to computers.   Intercast can take a live video feed and send it to a computer the way a television receives its signal.   The technology uses the VBI, or vertical blanking interval, a part of the television spectrum not ordinarily used by broadcasters.   The advantage is that the system avoids having to use the regular telephone lines, whose traffic jams on the Internet are well known.   Intercast technology is being tested by Turner Broadcasting System Inc.'s CNN and WGBH-TV.   Intel senior vice president Ron Whittier said branching into entertainment reflects the chip maker's strategy for the future.   "We're trying to get major categories of entertainment on the PC," he said.   As personal computers are found in more and more homes, Intel wants to come up with software applications to compel users to buy computers.   Compaq now sells computers equipped with the Intel Intercast technology, which increases the cost of the PC by between $200 and $300.   AST has said it will also start selling computers equipped with Intercast and Sony has expressed an interest in doing the same, an Intel spokeswoman said.   Whittier said Intel is talking with many other original equipment makers, some of whom could be installing the technology in time to be on store shelves by Christmas.   The commercial possibilities are endless, Whittier believes.   "You can do your complete marketing on the Web," from identifying the customer to closing the sale.   And buying from the comfortable setting of one's home is another plus.   "You're not pressured by a salesman," he noted. 
13047 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Areas of North Carolina devastated by Hurricane Fran were hit with heavy rains on Wednesday, with flash floods in eastern parts of the state threatening to undermine local cleanup efforts.   The death toll from last week's storm climbed to 39 for the mid-Atlantic region.   North Carolina authorities discovered three more bodies among the debris of hard-hit areas, bringing the state's count up from 17 dead to 20.   More than 183,000 homes remained without power, prompting state officials to warn against the dangers of handling contaminated food rotting inside refrigerators.   The number of households still without electricity was down from nearly 400,000 on Tuesday.   But officials worried that many would not see power return until next week, leaving no running water for rural and beachfront residents who rely on electric pumps.   Most of eastern North Carolina was a soggy, debris-cluttered obstacle course, scarred by downed trees and power lines as well as ever-rising curbside piles of storm refuse.   "We're looking for weather fronts to move through and it's just compounding problems posed by already saturated ground.   And the forecast tonight is for a 100 percent chance of rain," said Tom Hegele, a spokesman for the state emergency management agency.   The National Weather Service issued flash-flood watches for 48 counties in the Carolinas, stretching from Georgetown, South Carolina, to Roanoke Rapids near North Carolina's border with Virginia.   A stalled cold front threatened to bring up to 3.5 inches (9 cm) of rain to the region.   Communities near the city of Wilmington in Pender, New Hanover and Brunswick counties remained under a river flood warning.   But some North Carolina residents got good news from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which promised to pay for 75 percent of hurricane damages in 16 of the hardest-hit counties.   "We continue to ask people to be patient.   Progress is being made to help get their lives back to normal as quickly as possible," said James Witt, FEMA's state director.   North Carolina Gov. James Hunt also announced that the state government had set aside $25 million in hurricane relief.   County leaders in the so-called Research Triangle area of North Carolina, comprised of Wake, Durham and Orange counties and home to scores of high-tech companies, have said damage from the storm could approach $1 billion.   State Emergency Operations Centre officials said Raleigh's Wake County estimated private property damage at about $900 million. 
13048 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  President Bill Clinton on Wednesday told Baghdad not to underestimate the determination of the United States to protect its pilots patrolling the no-fly zones over Iraq.   Speakin at a campaign stop hours after Iraqi forces fired a missile at U.S. fighter jets over northern Iraq, Clinton said: "The determination of the United States in dealing with the problem of Iraq should not be underestimated."    The United States is sending "stealth" fighter planes and B-52 bombers to the region to prepare for a further possible attack on President Saddam Hussein's forces following last week's U.S. cruise missile attacks on Iraqi military targets.   "I just want to say again that we are going to do everything we can to make sure our own pilots are safe, that they can fly their missions in safety," Clinton said.   "We will do whatever is necessary to protect them.   And the determination of the United States in dealing with the problem of Iraq should not be underestimated.   We will do what we must do to protect our people."   The United States is continuing to fly patrols over no-fly zones in both the north and south of Iraq, set up in the wake of the 1991 Gulf War to restrict Saddam's military activities and to protect minorities which oppose him. 
13049 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO !GVOTE  By Alan Elsner, Political Correspondent   Presidential candidate Bob Dole tried on Wednesday to rally Republican spirits by declaring he could still win in November, even as President Bill Clinton took his campaign into Republican territory.   Campaigning was overshowed by events in the Mideast where U.S. military action appeared imminent again after Iraqi air defence forces fired a missile at American planes.   Americans gave Clinton high marks for his handling of the Iraq crisis and a new attack would make it more difficult for Dole to criticise him.   Americans tend to back the president when the country is involved in military action.   With less than eight weeks left until Election Day, Dole already has serious problems gaining voters' attention.   Trailing Clinton by 15-20 percentage points in the polls, he summoned Republican lawmakers for a Washington pep talk and told them not to give up hope.   "If you're optimistic, if you have the right message, if you believe in the American people ... we're going to win on November 5, 1996," Dole told the lawmakers.   The Dole campaign began airing two new television advertisements, one highlighting Dole's life story, the second focusing on his economic plan.   Significantly the campaign bought time on national networks for the biographical spot, instead of targeting it at key states.   That suggests the campaign felt a need to boost Dole's standings throughout the entire country.   But some Republicans were already writing off Dole's chances and turning to the question of whether the Democrats will be able to win back control of one or both houses of Congress, after only two years in the minority.   Former vice president Dan Quayle said last weekend Clinton had a "good chance" of winning and urged voters to back Republican congressional candidates even if they did not vote for Dole.   The third candidate in the race, Reform Party candidate Ross Perot, named economist Pat Choate as his running mate on Tuesday but a poll suggested the selection of a person with little public name recognition would do nothing to revive his flagging fortunes.   The state of California said it was too late to include Choate's name on the ballot.   Perot trailed with about 5 percent of the vote in recent polls.   Some 86 percent of respondents in the ABC poll said the selection of Choate would have no effect on their voting intentions.   Seven percent said it made them less likely to vote for Perot; 4 percent said it made them more likely.   Clinton's high ratings were underpinned by a strong economy, illustrated by a Federal Reserve report which said wages had climbed faster than prices last month while overall moderate growth continued.   In a display of confidence Clinton took his campaign to Arizona, a state which has gone Republican in the last 11 presidential races.   He was due to deliver a speech on health care for the aged at a Phoenix recreation centre that serves 45,000 elderly people in the region.   Earlier, in Colorado, Clinton said states should establish drugs programmes for prisoners as part of a federal prison-building programme.   "It's time to say to inmates, if you stay on drugs, you'll stay in jail.   If you want out of jail, you'll have to get off drugs," Clinton told a campaign rally in Pueblo. 
13050 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GWELF  The District of Columbia is headed for a fiscal disaster if it and the federal government do not deal with the city's massive unfunded pension liability, the chairman of D.C.'s financial control board said.   "It is clear that - without some change in this situation - the impact of the liability on the District will be catastrophic," Andrew Brimmer said in opening remarks at a fact-finding hearing called by the board on the pension problem.   The District was saddled with a $2 billion unfunded liability in 1979, as a result of the 1974 federal law that created Home Rule in the city, Brimmer said.   Currently, the city gets $52.1 million annually from Congress to pay off the liability, but that will cease in 2004, Brimmer said.   "By then, the unfunded liability will have grown from the current $4.7 billion to over $7 billion," Brimmer said.   "The District's current payments of about $300 million would grow to as much as $800 million annually, and account for more than 15 percent of the total budget," he said.   The situation puts the city in "considerable jeopardy," he said.   Larry King, the District's personnel chief, agreed that pension plans for police officers, fire fighters, teachers and judges represent a "significant drain" on the city and said his office is doing a complete review of the situation.   "One fact is clear - these funds cannot continue as they are presently structured," he said.   King said one solution is to amortize the unfunded liability over 40 years.   "Without this change, the unfunded liability will grow to $6.1 billion by FY-2004," he said.   He said Congress also could increase employee contributions to pension funds, suspend payment of cost of living adjustments for a period of time, or fund pension plans for people hired before 1980 in the city.   King said his office favors a recommendation by the D.C. Appleseed Center, a group pushing broad financial reform for the city.   The center says all pension plan assets and liabilities should be transferred to the federal government, which would assume full responsibility for running and funding the program.   Joshua Wyner, executive director for the center, said his group is working with the city's delegate to Congress, Eleanor Holmes Norton, D, to develop a bill that would authorize such a transfer. 
13051 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  Attorneys for Oklahoma City bombing defendant Timothy McVeigh said on Wednesday federal authorities quoted on television violated a judge's order prohibiting comments about evidence in the upcoming trial.   The claim was made in a brief filed with the court and released to the public on Wednesday.   It says comments by former prosecutors and others attributed to unidentified government sources on NBC's Dateline programme on Sept. 4 violated the order.   The attorneys alleged the comments were an attempt to influence potential jurors to believe that McVeigh and co-defendant Terry Nichols were guilty.   They are the only persons accused of the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building that claimed at least 168 lives.   The trial was moved to Denver to better insure a fair hearing, but a trial date has not been set.   McVeigh's lawyers used the allegation against authorities to bolster a defence request for the trial judge to permit McVeigh to grant eight news interviews "to counter the false image that he is a demon."   "Mr. McVeigh should not be required simply to sit back while the government continues to 'produce' television programmes which assume his guilt," the brief said.   "He must be allowed, within the guidelines of this court's order, to attempt to stop the perversive efforts of the prosecution to poison the prospective jury pool."   Trial Judge Richard Matsch has ordered authorities and defence laywers not to comment on potential evidence.   He said comments of that type could interfere with a fair trial.   Leesa Brown, a spokewoman for the prosecutors, said no current government employee who spoke to Dateline said anything that violated the judge's order.   "We're aware of what the protective order is and we're following its guidelines."   The Dateline programme quoted persons that McVeigh attorney Amber McLaughlin called "surrogate prosecutors" about how "John Doe II" may never have existed and about the purported favourable quality of the prosecution's evidence.   Shortly after the bombing, authorities disseminated a sketch of John Doe II, an additional suspect who has never been arrested.   McVeigh's lawyers have said someone other than McVeigh may be responsible for the bombing.   Separately, a coalition of news organisations objected to last week's filing of arguments by McVeigh and Nichols about why they should have separate trials being partially censored.   The coalition asked Matsch to unseal the censored portions unless the defendants prove that sealing is justified. 
13052 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  Three days before Bosnia's scheduled elections, U.S. envoy John Kornblum warned Bosnian Serbs on Wednesday that no matter who wins they will be part of a united country and secession is not an option.   "There is not going to be any secession and the Serbs know that," he told reporters.   "This is not a question of threats, this is a question of reality," said Kornblum, the assistant secretary of state for European and Canadian affairs.   "There simply is no real future for that little jagged piece of territory ... there's no place for them to go outside the peace settlement."   Kornblum, one of the architects of the peace plan for the former Yugoslavia hammered out in Dayton, Ohio, last year, said the United States would underscore the need for cooperation after Saturday's elections by offering incentives, including unspecified economic help for reconstruction.   Voters in the two Bosnian entities created by the Dayton accord -- a Serb republic and a Moslem-Croat federation -- will elect joint institutions for Bosnia, including a presidency, legislature, central bank and supreme court.   The administration has defended the timing of the vote, arguing any postponement would be against the will of the people.   But President Bill Clinton's political opponent, Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole, has urged delay, saying a vote now would make a mockery of democratic principles.   Clinton's National Security Adviser Anthony Lake wrote in The New York Times on Wednesday that the elections are "essential" but noted, "We should not, and we do not, expect the election to be perfect."   Kornblum echoed those sentiments: "I can predict to you there are going to be lots of reports of problems ... In the end the election results will stand for themselves."   State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns dismissed suggestions that the United States would be willing to certify virtually any election result in Bosnia: "We're not willing to sanction a sham.   And if a sham takes place, we'll call it so."   Burns said former U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke, who negotiated the Dayton accords, will lead a U.S. presidential delegation to monitor the elections.   Kornblum was also headed for Bosnia late on Wednesday, with stops planned in Sarajevo and throughout the area, including unannounced stops at polling places on Saturday.   He will travel to Belgrade on Sunday to meet with Serb President Slobodan Milosevic. 
13053 !C42 !CCAT !E13 !E131 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  U.S. consumers may have more money in their pockets lately, but they still refuse to pay higher prices at the checkout counter, analysts said.   While a shrinking labor supply has steadily fattened workers' take-home pay, retailers have failed to siphon off their share, leaving the consumer price index (CPI) on its current moderate growth trajectory, analysts said.   "Right now the consumer commands so much pricing power that businesses are unable to pass on short-term blips in their cost structure," said Patrick Dimick at CS First Boston.    Core CPI, excluding volatile food and energy prices, rose just 2.7 percent over the 12 months ending July, even though average hourly earnings rose 3.6 percent over the 12 months ending in August.   With the U.S. unemployment rate slipping to 5.1 percent in August--a seven-and-a-half-year low--many analysts predict wage growth will remain strong, which should ultimately translate into higher retail prices.   "Inflation continues to be well in check, but we're seeing some early signs on the wage side," said Robert Dederick, economic consultant at Northern Trust Co.    Economists have sounded sporadic inflation alarms for the last several years, each time confounded by the economy's ability to postpone price hikes.   As a result, many analysts give only vague timetables for the latest "inevitable" increase in CPI.   "Crude goods prices haven't shown us anything, nor have interemediate goods or the (National Association of Purchasing Management) index," said Dederick.   "But one of these days, we're going to get some worse news."   The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the August CPI report Friday at 0830 ET/1230 GMT.    The consensus forecast of a Reuters economist poll has both overall and core CPI rising 0.2 percent in August.   A widely-expected slowdown in U.S. economic growth in the second half of 1996 holds the key to relative optimism for subdued inflation growth, analysts said.   While gross domestic product grew a surprisingly strong 4.8 percent in the second quarter, many analysts now see a significant dip toward 2.0 percent in the third quarter, which should rein in inflation.    "I expect CPI this month to continue to behave in a very docile fashion.   I don't see a discernible uptick in inflation trends," said Dimick, Treasury analyst at CS First Boston.   Modest CPI growth appears to have delayed a Federal Reserve hike in short-term interest rates, which many analysts expect shortly.   Several Fed officials have stated recently that they are watching CPI closely as other economic signals point to mounting inflationary pressure.   "Clearly, the Fed is focused on CPI," said Dimick.   The latest Reuter poll on Fed policy, conducted September 6, showed 16 to 30 participants already predicting a rate hike at the September 24 Federal Open Market Committee meeting.   "The evidence now is more in favor of those (Fed officials) who want some action," said Dederick.   "The water keeps creeping into the boat and now it's starting to tip."    --N.A. Treasury Desk 212-859-1664 
13054 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  A bill intended to curb economic espionage by foreign countries and companies was passed on Wednesday by the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee.   The bill would make it a federal crime to steal trade secrets.   Persons convicted of economic spying could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison and organisations could be fined up to $10 million.   The legislation was drawn up in response to warnings by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Central Intelligence Agency of increased economic espionage against U.S. companies by foreign governments and companies seeking technological advances.   France and Russia were among the countries citied by the FBI and the CIA.   U.S. officials said current laws often did not cover the theft of ideas such as computer software.   The bill is expected to be approved by both the full House and Senate before Congress adjourns for the year this month. 
13055 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Pat Choate, the Reform Party's newly named vice presidential candidate, will not appear on the ballot in California in November because he was chosen too late, state officials said Wednesday.   Reform Party presidential candidate Ross Perot announced on Tuesday that he had selected Choate, an economist and author, as running mate for his White House bid.   California Secretary of State Bill Jones said he notified Perot that Choate's selection was not made in time to allow his name to be on the ballot in the most populous state.   Under the state elections code, parties had to submit the names of candidates for president and vice president by Aug. 29.   "To ensure that all California citizens, including members of the military serving abroad, would be able to obtain their voting materials in time to participate, we had to begin the printing of our ballots on Aug. 29," Jones said.   Michael Farris, chairman of the Reform Party of California, said he was not surprised or concerned by the announcement.   If Perot wins California in November, electors in the electoral college that chooses the president would be able to vote for Perot for president and Choate for vice president, he said.   He said he believed California was "a winnable state for the Reform Party." 
13056 !C22 !CCAT !GCAT !GENT  In the town that invented the Hollywood casting couch, one company is offering legal protection from what it calls the threat of the '90's - sexual harassment.   Employers who worry about being sued because their managers might be squeezing, stroking, fondling or groping workers can now rest easy, protection is just a premium away.   "Don't get caught naked" is the slogan Paul Sirkin Insurance Agency is running in the classified pages of Daily Variety, the bible of the entertainment industry.   "Everybody who has one employee needs the product," Sirkin said in an interview.   "Every other day it seems that there's another entertainment person that gets sued for sexual harassement.   "There's the whole thing about the couch interview.   Everything associated with entertainment breeds people who might want to cash in on a particular quirk," he said.   According to Sirkin employees complaints for sexual harassment have increased 200 percent since 1990 with the average settlement costing upwards of $200,000.   In 1995 alone, he said, 94,000 employees filed suit for employment practices violations including sexual harassment, racial, disability and age discrimination and wrongful termination.   While most employers have general liability insurance, few policies include employment practice liability.   Sirkin, 46, opened his new business in July after 15 years as an agent for Farmer's Insurance Group and a number of years selling non-standard auto-insurance.   As Sirkin searched for a new area of work it was employment practice liability that piqued his interest.   "What I have discovered is there are actually supervisors who are actually touching women's breasts," he said.   "This stuff, the more you hear, is rampant."   Employers buying Sirkin's insurance get coverage of $1 million per claim with a maximum of $2 million for each policy period.   The policy also covers defence costs, which can run as high as $300 an hour for a reputable defence lawyer.   The insurance costs about $150 per employee for small firms with 10 to 15 employees or as low as $90 a head for companies with more than 200 employees.   Sirkin said one reason for the proliferation of sexual harassment cases is that many cases are taken on a contingency basis meaning the accuser does not have to worry about legal fees making suing less risky.   "I imagine 97 percent of the stuff gets settled out of court and the cost of the settlement will be much more than if you're suing the middle manager over at Sear's," Sirkin said.   But while Sirkin will take most risks politicians are the one group of people he's not too keen on insuring.   "It's much more difficult if you're Senator Packwood than if you're Montel Williams."   Williams was accused in June by former employees of engaging in sexually offensive conduct including holding meeting dressed solely in underwear.   He dismissed the charges as meritless attempts at extortion. 
13057 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  A coalition seeking free air time for presidential candidates failed Wednesday to win agreement from major commercial networks but the public television network signed on.   The Free TV for Straight Talk coalition that includes former CBS anchor Walter Cronkite, Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Bill Bradley, D-N.J., and former Washington Post writer Paul Taylor met for an hour with commercial, cable and public broadcasting network officials on the proposal.   It calls for 2 1/2 uninterrupted minutes nightly for each candidate on a rotating basis in the closing weeks before the Nov. 5 election so a running debate can occur.   At a news conference, Cronkite called the meeting "profitable" in that the networks showed interest in the coalition plan.   McCain said he was pleased with the dialogue, and Bradley added, "I too was encouraged."   They said it was suggested at the meeting that if the commercial networks agree to the proposal for free air time the others might follow.   But only the Public Broadcasting Service agreed to the coalition's plan that would allow for candidate statements uninterrupted by moderators or questions.   PBS said it was offering free air time just before 8 p.m. local time on its member stations from Oct. 17 to Nov. 1 and said both President Clinton and Republican rival Bob Dole have agreed in principle to the proposal.   Reform candidate Ross Perot also will be asked to join if the Commission on Presidential Debates permits him to participate in the three debates scheduled for Sept. 25, Oct. 9 and Oct. 16.   Taylor said he expected a definitive answer from the commercial and cable networks within seven to 10 days on the plan for simultaneous 2 1/2 minute segments on all networks.   Each of the networks has offered free time but on a varied basis, ranging from a CBS plan to provide time during nightly newscasts during the last days of the campaign to an NBC plan to give air time during its magazine shows.   Fox has agreed to give an hour of air time to each candidate unmoderated on the eve of the Nov. 5 election.   It also has said it would give candidates one minute each to answer a specific question each week and Clinton and Dole have both agreed to that suggestion.   Cronkite stressed that the key to the coalition proposal is that all networks provide the air time simultaneously so people who ordinarily would not be following politics tune in.   One of the arguments the networks made is that people will start clicking their remote controls to other channels if candidates suddenly appear.   They fear they will lose their audience, Taylor said. 
13058 !GCAT !GCRIM  The civil trial of O.J. Simpson will begin on schedule next Tuesday and was expected to last a minimum of four months, the ex-football star's lawyer said in court on Wednesday.   But Simpson will not be present on the opening day since he must be in another courtroom to hear the outcome of the legal battle for custody of his children, his attorney Robert Baker told the trial judge.   Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki, presiding over the wrongful death civil trial, met with lawyers from both sides for a status hearing on Wednesday and asked if they were ready to proceed.   Confirming it will start on Sept. 17, Fujisaki asked Baker how long he expected the trial to last.   Baker replied at least four months and told the judge Simpson must be in a court in suburban Orange County next Tuesday to hear the ruling in his efforts to retain custody of his two young children.   Sydney, 10, and Justin, 8, have lived with their grandparents Juditha and Louis Brown since Simpson was arrested in June 1994 and charged with murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman.   Simpson was acquitted of the murders last October but now faces the unlawful death civil suit brought against him by the families of the victims.   Fujisaki has barred television cameras from covering the trial and has issued a sweeping gag order preventing lawyers and witnesses from commenting on the proceedings publicly.   The first day of the trial was expected to consist of discussions about legal motions and the jury selection process was expected to begin on Sept. 18.   Fujisaki set another hearing this Friday to discuss evidence issues with lawyers. 
13059 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  A U.S. appeals court denied a request by a group of 93 investors in Lloyd's of London for a rehearing of a decision that allowed the British insurance giant to proceed with its reorganization.   The U.S. appeals court in Baltimore in August threw out an injunction issued by a U.S. district judge that Lloyd's said could have led to its collapse.   Investors in Lloyd's, known as Names, were being asked to pay up to $150,000 each to help fund a new company called Equitas that would take responsibility for $12.4 billion in Lloyd's losses.    The U.S. Names argued that they had not been given adequate financial information and claimed that Lloyd's had violated U.S. securities laws.   U.S. District Judge Robert Payne in Richmond, Va., agreed with the Names and ruled they would suffer irreparable harm if the preliminary injunction were denied.   The appeals court lifted the injunction and now denied the motion for a rehearing.   "We were disappointed the court was unwilling to give further consideration of the matter," said Susan Cahoon, a partner with Atlanta, Ga., law firm Kilpatrick & Cody, which represented the Names.   She said there has been no decision about any possible further action.   -- Patricia Vowinkel 212-859-1716 
13060 !GCAT !GENT !GOBIT !GPRO  To the twang of bluegrass music and the sweet harmonies of gospel songs, Bill Monroe's fellow artists bade him farewell on Wednesday with a foot-stomping funeral tribute.   More than 2,000 people filed past Monroe's open, stainless steel casket inside the old Ryman Auditorium, once home to the Grand Ole Opry where the king of bluegrass held the stage so many times.   At the side of the body of the 84-year-old Monroe, who died Monday after suffering a stroke earlier in the year, was his white cowboy hat along with a roll of quarters -- a gesture to his habit of handing out coins to children.   The service began with Monroe himself playing the mandolin on a solemn recording of "My Last Days on Earth."   Between eulogies on the flower-bedecked stage, hymns were sung and played, often with a bluegrass fervor, by Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Stuart Duncan, Roy Husky Jr. and Patty Loveless.   The mood was reflective until bluegrass great Ralph Stanley joined the other performers singing "Rank Stranger" and someone in the crowd suddenly burst into applause.   When Opry star Connie Smith finished a moving rendition of "How Great Thou Art," the auditorium erupted in applause and the crowd was on its feet for a whooping and hollering "Rawhide" in the style Monroe had done it over the years.   The 90-minute ceremony ended with performers joining in "Go Rest High on That Mountain," after which the casket was escorted out of the building to "Amazing Grace" played by the Nashville Pipe and Drum Corps.   Among those at the service was banjo great Earl Scruggs, who 50 years ago joined the late Lester Flatt, Howard Watts and Chubby Wise in Monroe's first "Blue Grass Boys" group -- a name that would later define the style of music Monroe forged.   Others in the crowd included Mac Wiseman and Sonny Osborne, along with Opry stars Little Jimmy Dickens, Billy Walker, John Conley, Bill Carlyle, Porter Wagoner, Skeeter Davis and Bill Anderson.   Monroe's body was taken to his birthplace, Rosine, Kentucky, for burial. 
13061 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !G15 !G158 !GCAT  Acting U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky said Wednesday it would be impossible to reach global agreement on reducing tariffs on information technology without the European Union.   Barshefsky, who met with European trade commissioner Sir Leon Brittan in London over the weekend, said that the European Union does not seem to have a full mandate from its members on the Information Technology Agreement (ITA).   "If the European Union can't come forward it will be virtually impossible to conclude an ITA," Barshefsky told the panel.    "We will not let Europe have a free ride on the tariff reductions of other countries," Barshefsky added.   The proposed ITA would provide for a phased-in tariff reduction on a variety of information technology products, bringing duties to zero by the year 2000. 
13062 !C13 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  A Democratic lawmaker on Wednesday criticized the Federal Reserve for "languishing behind" other government agencies in the hiring and promotion of women and minorities.   Rep. Henry Gonzalez, a Texan who is the ranking Democrat on the Housing Banking Committee and a frequent critic of the Fed, said he looked at data on the percentages of minorities and women among top-paid staff at the Fed's Board of Governors in Washington.   He compared that with data on high-level Senior Executive Service federal employees.    "The average percentages of minority and female staffers for all federal government (senior-level) employees is far from adequate," Gonzalez said.   "But the Board of Governors' staff contains fewer women and minority persons than these (senior-level federal) employees."   The Texas lawmaker sent a letter to Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan commending him on some gains the Fed has made in recent years in promoting minorities and women but said, "There is still evidence of substantial gender and racial bias in Fed hiring and promotion."   A spokesman for the Fed confirmed that the agency had received the letter but said the board would have no comment until it officially responded to the letter.   Among the senior-level federal employees, 18 percent were women and about 16 percent were either black, Hispanic, Asian-American or American Indian/Alaskan native, Gonzalez said.   At the Fed, 15 percent of the highly paid staff were women and 7 percent were minorities, he said.   The latest study was a follow-up to studies of the Fed's hiring practices done by the House Banking Committee in 1990 and 1993. 
13063 !GCAT !GCRIM  Federal prosecutors said on Wednesday that a grand jury had indicted the acting boss of the Colombo organised crime family for operating a garbage collection business through a pattern of racketeering.   Andrew Russo, 62, of Old Field, New York, was indicted along with five other people and four corporations for money laundering and fraud against the town of Islip and insurance fraud.   The indictment was returned by a federal grand jury in Uniondale, New York, on Long Island.   All of the defendants are charged with racketeering and racketeering conspiracy and if convicted face a maximum prison term of 20 years on each of these charges.   They are also charged with conspiring to commit mail fraud and money laundering, which also carries a 20-year maximum prison term.   The indictment also seeks forfeiture of $15 million and the assets of defendant corporations Hickey's Carting, Inc., Grand East, Inc., Grand Carting, Inc. and Competition Carting. 
13064 !C41 !C411 !CCAT !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The presence of Augusto de la Torre as head Ecuador's central bank may be key to the financial markets' view on whether the Ecuadorean government remains commited to economic reform, U.S. analysts said.   Ecuador's Brady bond prices barely quivered last week when news emerged that de la Torre had tendered his resignation, which was then refused.   The resignation was said to be over a conflict with Monetary Board head Alvaro Noboa.    U.S. analysts said the emerging debt market had already priced in the uncertainty, but they were keen on seeing how the situation played out.   "There is a fundamental issue here and that is who is going to run the central bank?"   said Peter Allen, director of research at Bank of Boston.   "I think Bucaram is going to have to settle this ... It still hasn't been resolved."   President Abdala Bucaram was supposed to meet with de la Torre this week, but the gathering was reported to have been put off until next week because of deadline pressure to release the government's social spending plan.    "For all practical purposes (de la Torre) is gone," said Walter Molano, SBC Warburg's chief of Latin American research.   "His tenure in the new administration is mainly symbolic."   Molano added that de la Torre's departure would likely push securities prices down below their current low levels.   Ecuador bond prices have wipsawed dramatically since the July election of President Abdala Bucaram, who campaigned on a populist platform, and U.S. analysts credited the continued tenure of de la Torre as a stabilizing factor.    "Of the members of the economic team that decided to stay on (in the government), Augusto is the most important one," Allen said.   "The markets have been expecting ... that he would run the central bank."   But De la Torre's eventual departure may not weigh on Ecuadorean assets unless his replacement is seen as lacking objectivity, analysts said.   Brady bonds slumped when Bucaram named Pablo Concha, the president's brother-in-law, as finance minister in August.    On the other hand, Michael Hood, Latin American economist at JP Morgan, said a de la Torre resignation could mean less than the markets have anticipated, particularly since the country would probably not alter its monetary policy.   "You are going to have more inconsistency in policy statements than the previous administrations," Hood said.   "That doesnt necessarily mean you're going to have inconsistency in policy action."   Hood said that more significant than the government's statements was its progress on privatization, which had proceeded more rapidly than initially expected.   Until the recent run-up in oil prices, Ecuadorean Brady bonds lagged the overall market.   On Wednesday, Ecuador's IEBs slipped 1/8 to 76-3/8, while PDIs rose 7/8 to a bid of 48-3/8.   "They certainly look pretty cheap at these levels, even if you're not crazy about Ecuador fundamentally," Hood said.   "They look to be a good purchase at these levels."   -- 212-859-1671 
13065 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA !GPOL  A child who lit his first cigarette at age 6 and was hooked at 9 urged lawmakers Wednesday to crack down on smoking at an unofficial hearing held by Senate Democrats to underscore what they depicted as inaction by the Republican-led Congress.   "I hope you guys can help my (younger) brother and sister so they don't start," said Justin Hoover, a 12-year-old from West Des Moines, Iowa.   He also suggested that stores make cigarettes "harder to steal."   Chaired by Sens. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey and Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, the six-member panel lacks the powers of a formal Senate committee.   But lawmakers sometimes use such forums to draw attention to a problem they believe is getting short shrift from the majority party.   The Democratic senators said they wanted to show support for new regulations announced by President Clinton and the Food and Drug Administration to curb teenage smoking.   They also wanted to register opposition to any congressional attempt to settle the many state lawsuits against tobacco companies or strip the FDA of its power to regulate nicotine.   In addition, the meeting highlighted an issue that Clinton's re-election campaign is using against Republican nominee Bob Dole.   In 1994, several powerful congressional committees held wide-ranging hearings on tobacco, subpoenaing tobacco company executives and exploring risks caused by second-hand smoke.   But although tobacco is not a strictly partisan issue -- some Republicans are strong foes of smoking and some Democrats defend tobacco interests -- the hearings did not resume after the Republicans took control of Congress last year.   "What has been this Congress' response to this public health epidemic?"   Lautenberg asked.   "Pure silence."   In addition to the testimony of the sixth-grader, who said he has tried and failed to quit smoking three times, and a community police officer who accompanied him, the ad hoc panel took testimony from celebrities including brash television personality Morton Downey Jr., who has lung cancer and recalled how he started smoking as a boy at military school.   Former actor and "Winston Man" model Alan Landers said, "I appeared on billboards and in magazine advertising holding a Winston cigarette urging others, young and old, to smoke.   I was expected to portray smoking as stylish, pleasureable and attractive."   Former tobacco researcher Ian Uydess reviewed the deposition he gave this year to the FDA about his work at Phillip Morris and said he thought other tobacco scientists would come forward if Congress protected them. 
13066 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO !GVOTE  Former Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke will lead a U.S. presidential delegation to monitor this weekend's elections in Bosnia, the State Department said on Wednesday.   Holbrooke, who negotiated the Dayton Accords that ended Bosnia's nearly four-year-old war and set the stage for the polls, will head a group including members of the private sector and some government officials "who will be observing the elections on behalf of the president," Burns said.   Holbrooke is to meet Secretary of State Warren Christopher on Thursday before leaving Thursday night for the Balkans.   He will monitor the voting on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Burns said.   The Americans consider the elections a crucial building-block of the new post-war Bosnia, but many critics say the polls should be postponed until conditions can be created to ensure the elections are reasonably free and fair. 
13067 !GCAT  Dickinson School board officials said on Wednesday they would probably decide next month whether to drop the school's "midget" mascot, an issue that has torn this North Dakota community apart.   Schools Superintendent C.B. Haas said more than 250 local residents attended a lively debate on Tuesday night over the proposed change to the name and logo of a short, squat mean-looking "midget" character.   School Board President Earl Abrahamson said the board would consider all of the opinions presented at Tuesday's debate and would likely reach a final decision in October.   In July, the board voted 4-1 to change the name and dwarf-like logo after receiving complaints from a parent advisory committee.   But the move ran into opposition from what one board member described as "die-hard fans" of the 80-year-old traditional mascot.   Abrahamson said he disagreed with the fans' argument that the proposal should be put to a community-wide vote.   "This is not an issue of majority vote.   This is an issue of sensitivity to minorities," Abrahamson said.   "I find it unbelievable that people would spend this much time trying to preserve the nostalgia about something in their past that to me is no longer acceptable."   The word midget is seen by many as a politically incorrect and derogatory way to describe very short people. 
13068 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL !GWELF  President Clinton said raising the retirement age for Social Security benefits would be one way to keep the programme solvent as the population ages, Money magazine reported Wednesday.   In an interview to appear in the October edition, Clinton also said he was open to a downward adjustment of the Consumer Price Index -- the government's official inflation gauge -- that would effectively reduce Social Security benefits paid out to retirees.   "There might be some agreement on whether we could accelerate the (planned) increase in the retirement age a little, or whether it would be raised more for the people who are younger, like me," the 50-year-old Clinton told Money.   "We are going to have to do something," he said of Social Security reform in an interveiw conducted before the Democratic convention in the last week of August.   The eligibility age for Social Security old age cash benefits is 65 but it is scheduled to go up in gradual steps to 67 over a transition period from the year 2003 to 2027.   Some advocates of reforming Social Security say that to keep the programme solvent the eligibility age may need to go even higher by the time Clinton's generation, the so-called baby boomers, starts to retire 15 years from now.   Others urge an adjustment to the Consumer Price Index, which is used to index Social Security benefits for inflation.   "We made a minor adjustment" in the inflation gauge already this year, Clinton said.   "I was prepared to reduce it more this year if we could have gotten the Bureau of Labour Statistics to say that it was out of whack with the (true) cost of living."   The Bureau of Labour Statistics, part of the Labour Department, issues the inflation gauge monthly.   Many prominent economists, including Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan, charge that the CPI overstates inflation by as much as one percentage point annually.   Greenspan and others contend that if the overstatement could be fixed, it could save the federal government billions of dollars on cost-of-living adjusted programmes such as Social Security and federal pensions.   But reforming Social Security is risky politically, and Clinton suggested that any dramatic changes would need the endorsement of a bipartisan commission.   Still another way to boost the pool of money available to retirees would be to allow workers to put some of their Social Security contributions in more risky but higher yielding private investments.   "On privatisation, that's got to be reviewed and recommended by a bipartisan commission," he said.   "I wouldn't feel comfortable supporting (privatization) based on the evidence I have now."   He came out against raising Social Security payroll taxes.   "I do think that (a commission) can't recommend a substantial increase in the payroll tax because the tax is so high already," he said. 
13069 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry said Iraq would "very soon learn that we are not playing games" and any U.S. response to Wednesday's missile attack on American aircraft would be "disproportionate" to the Iraqi attack.   "In Iraq, air defense crews are playing some kind of a game, and they will very soon learn that we are not playing games," Perry told reporters.   "The responses that we will make ... will be disproportionate with the provocations which are made against us," he said.    Iraqi forces fired a missile at U.S. fighter planes over northern Iraq earlier on Wednesday and the United States moved B-52 bombers to an Indian Ocean base to back a threat of new military retaliation.   Perry said the United States was boosting its forces in the area, moving F-117A "stealth" fighters to the region near Iraq.   He said Washington has been consulting by telephone with its allies and keeping them informed about "what our response is going to be."   "We have both the ability and resolve to protect our interests and to protect our flight crews," Perry told reporters at a Washington hotel where he had addressed an aeronautics conference.   Perry said the Iraqis who fired on the U.S. aircraft had made a "wild shot" and "only had their radar turned on for a few seconds."   He said that was a wise decision, because otherwise "they would have had an anti-radiation missile down their throats." 
13070 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  The president of giant fruit cooperative Sun-Diamond Growers of California said Wednesday he was unaware of a senior company executive giving illegal gifts to former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy.   Testifying at the trial of Sun-Diamond, which has been charged with trying to entice the former Clinton cabinet member with expensive gifts and favours to gain special treatement, Larry Busboom denied that he was closely involved with the Washington operations of the company and said he left politics in the hands of its D.C. representative.   "I do not have any political skills.   I relied solely on Richard Douglas (Sun-Diamond's vice president of corporate affairs)" to maintain political ties in the nation's capital, said Busboom, the opening witness in the trial.   "I gave no specific direction to Douglas in any specific activity."   Busboom at first refused to answer questions on the grounds he could incriminate himself but he was given personal immunity by the government after it was ruled that his testimony was crucial to the case.   Whether any other Sun-Diamond executives will be granted immunity was uncertain.   Prosecutors said it depended on whether they also pleaded protection under the Fifth Amendment and how vital their testimony was deemed to be.   The government has charged Sun-Diamond Growers with a calculated pattern of plying Espy with illegal gifts and favours to get special treatment.   Prosecutors contend that with Busboom's approval and knowledge, the company acted through Douglas to try to sway Espy on issues important to the firm.   The government has also charged that Sun-Diamond purposely used a long and close friendship between Espy and Douglas to gain a sympathetic ear in the administration.   Sun-Diamond has denied all charges and its defence team on Tuesday said they would prove that corporate trust in Douglas and the deep-rooted friendship of Espy and Douglas made the company innocent of any wrongdoing.   Busboom, clearly on edge during the questioning, repeatedly said he had given Douglas no specific guidance on how to handle issues.   He suggested he was only vaguely aware of how Douglas was representing the company's interests, even on such critical issues as a planned phase-out of the pesticide methyl bromide and the continuation of millions of dollars in funding from the Agriculture Department's Market Promotion Programme.   The Sun-Diamond trial is the first case to come to court as the result of a sprawling two-year special investigation of Espy led by Independent Counsel Donald Smaltz.   Espy resigned as head of the huge federal agency in 1994 amidst a swirl of accusations that he had taken illegal gifts and favours from companies his agency was charged to regulate.   So far the investigation has resulted in four sets of criminal indictments and charges being brought against a dozen individuals and concerns. 
13071 !C17 !C172 !CCAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT  Tennessee Valley Authority and European Investment Bank saved millions of dollars by avoiding the currency swap market on their huge global bond issues this week, but dealers see no similar transactions on the horizon.   TVA sold a 1.5 billion mark 10-year bond while EIB sold a $1 billion 10-year bond.   Under a direct swap agreement, TVA gave the mark proceeds of its deal to EIB in return for the bank's dollar proceeds.   The two will also exchange interest payments on the bonds.    But so-called back-to-back exchanges, which pre-date the swap market, are difficult to pull off and dealers do not expect any follow-through business.   Usually, issuers like TVA and EIB would approach forex swap dealers to convert obligations into another currency.   But each would pay dealers a slight bid-offer spread, four to five basis points on small deals, even more on huge billion dollar or billion mark transactions.   By dealing directly, the issuers cut out the middleman.   Avoiding the swap market also prevents swap dealer hedging activity from depressing bond prices, which raises the cost of borrowing.   Dealers typically hedge the swaps by selling Bunds or Treasuries and on large deals that can push rates up a few basis points.    Lead managers Deutsche Bank AG and Lehman Brothers Bankhaus AG priced TVA's 10-year noncallable bond, with a 6-3/8 percent coupon, at 99.173 to yield 6.29 percent, a spread of 17 basis points.   EIB's managers, CS First Boston and Lehman, priced the dollar bond, with a coupon of 7-1/8 percent, at 99.979 to yield 7.128 percent, also a 17 basis point spread.   A Lehman official noted TVA's global bond will be listed in Frankfurt, not Luxembourg as previous top-drawer U.S. mark issuers, such as Fannie Mae, have done.    "This may seem rather esoteric but it's important in terms of the appeal to German investors," the official said.   Lehman worked to link various clearing systems and meet requirements of U.S. tax withholding needs to facilitate the listing.   With the structures in place, future U.S. issuers could have an easier ride selling mark-denominated bonds, the official said.   The deal was TVA's first non-dollar issue.   "This bond offering continues our strategy of gaining access to new debt markets and broadening TVA's investor base in Europe, Asia and the United States," the authority's chief financial officer, David Smith, said.   TVA will use proceeds to retire short-term debt, Smith said.   --202-898-8312 
13072 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Hurricane Hortense grew stronger Wednesday, battering the Turks and Caicos Islands with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (170 kph), National Hurricane Center said.   At 1400 EDT/1800 GMT, Hortense's center was near latitude 21.7 north and longitude 70.7 west, about 35 miles (55 km) east-northeast of the Turks Islands.   The storm was moving northwest at 11 mph (18 kph), which motion forecasters said was expected to continue through Wednesday night.   Satellite pictures indicated Hortense developed an eye.   Amateur radio reports indicated wind gusts up to 90 mph (145 kph) on Grunk Turk Island, which was in the southeastern part of Hortense's eye wall at 1400.   Forecasters warned of up to 10 inches (25 cm) rain along Hortlense's path, as well as storm surge flooding of three to five feet (1.0 to 1.6 meters), accompanied by battering waves.   A hurricane warning remained in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southestern Bahamas.   A hurricane watch was in effect for the central Bahamas as Hortense edged through the Atlantic Ocean. 
13073 !C13 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  Planned Parenthood, the largest U.S. reproductive health services provider, on Wednesday became the latest group to announce a clinical study aimed at regulating drugs for non-surgical abortions.   In March the New York-based Population Council, which has U.S. patent rights to the French abortion pill RU-486, or mifepristone, said it had filed an application asking the Food and Drug Administration to approve the drug.   Abortion rights activists believe the FDA will approve it soon.   Planned Parenthood said it had received FDA clearance for a study of early medical abortion by using a combination of the drugs methotrexate and misoprostol.   Methotrexate has already been approved by the FDA for treatment of certain cancers and misoprostol for preventing stomach ulcers.   The combination has already been used by some doctors to induce abortion and one purpose of the study is to have the labels of those drugs revised to include abortion.   "It has been political reasons, not medical ones, that have kept American women from gaining access to early medical abortion until now," Planned Parenthood President Gloria Feldt told a news conference.   "Methotrexate will provide American women with another option, along with mifepristone, to surgical abortion."   A woman's consitutional right to abortion, upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in its historic 1973 Roe vs. Wade ruling, is a contentious political issue.   In the presidential race, abortion rights supporter President Bill Clinton is facing anti-abortion Republican candidate Bob Dole.   An anti-abortion group said drug-induced abortion would not change the debate.   "What it does is force the pro-life (anti-abortion) movement to deal with chemical abortions that have been occurring for years due to use of the pill, norplants and the IUD," said Cathy Ramey of Oregon-based Advocates for Life Ministries.   Planned Parenthood, which has 170 affiliates across the United States, said it planned to collect information from 3,000 cases for submission to the FDA and expected the study to last about a year.   In the procedure, women who are not more than 49 days pregnant would be given an injection of methotrexate, which kills the foetus.   They would return to the clinic four to seven days later to be given misoprostol, which causes uterine contractions and expels the foetus.   The group said participation in the study was voluntary, limited to 18-year-old women or 15- to 17-year-olds who had the written consent of a parent or guardian.   Participants would be required to understand and follow the instructions of the procedure and not have serious medical problems. 
13074 !GCAT !GENT  A recent spate of high-profile thefts of Jewish manuscripts and religious objects underscores the growing value of such artifacts in the art market.   But ordinary Jews are also finding that even candlesticks handed down from their grandmothers are fetching thousands of dollars at auctions as Judaica has become a hot collectible.   Even unimpressive hand-stitched prayer cloths and handwritten prayer books are sought by a growing number of Jewish museums the world over, which are willing to pay for records of all aspects of Jewish life through the ages.   "People are interested in knowing more about their heritage and are intrigued by ceremonial art that they knew nothing about," said Sylvia Herskowitz, director of the Yeshiva University Museum in New York.   For non-religious Jews or even non-Jews, "it's a secular pastime that puts you in touch with your culture and your roots," she said.   "You don't have to commit to anything, and get a great deal of pleasure from it."   The value of many objects lies in their beauty and history.   Five rare Hebrew and Latin manuscripts stolen in a foiled robbery in a Benedictine monastery library near Barcelona, Spain last week were estimated to be worth at least $160,000.   A 1480 machzor, or prayer book, fetched a record $1.16 million in April 1993 at Sotheby's twice-yearly Judaica auction in Tel Aviv.   A 1746 haggadah, the special prayer book for Passover, sold for $239,000 in October 1995.   A monumental Polish lamp made from silvered metal and blue glass to celebrate the Chanukah festival sold for $90,000 -- far above the $10,000 to $15,000 estimate -- at a Sotheby's auction in June.   The designer of the elaborate mid-19th century artifact was not even known.   A gilt silver Torah shield made in Vienna in 1857 is estimated to fetch $75,000 to $100,000 at Sotheby's upcoming Judaica auction in Tel Aviv on Oct. 7 and 8.   Such shields, used to decorate scrolls of scripture, were among the treasures targeted by thieves who broke into several synagogues in New York in recent years.   Despite the functional nature of many religious objects, many are works of art as Jews obeyed the Biblical injunction to enhance ritual with beauty.   "If you can do it in a more beautiful way, it's good to do in performing a ritual," said Jennifer Roth, senior vice president of Sotheby's New York.   Moreover, these objects reflect the rich, diverse cultures that Jews adopted or adapted to the world over as a result of the Diaspora.   Hence the prevalence of elaborate silverware, illustrated manuscripts, intricately woven textiles and other artifacts that bear a commonality despite their origins in eastern Europe, Africa or even China.   "There is no other faith like Judaism that has so many appurtenances for use in home and in synagogues," said Arthur M. Feldman, who owns a gallery in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park (847-432-8858).   Rituals from birth to death, including Bar Mitzvah, Rosh Hashanah, Chanukah, Sabbath and other Jewish observances require specific objects in the home or synagogue, such as prayer books, candlesticks, lighting sticks, wine cups, cloth to cover ritual bread, knives for the bread and burial combs.   However, with so much Judaica destroyed in the Holocaust, even unimpressive pre-World War II items, especially from eastern Europe, are rare and can be very valuable.   "A very homely, dowdy ceramic pottery dish used to make matzoh balls could sell for thousands of dollars at an auction," Herskowitz said.   Judaica is affordable to collectors of even modest means, as such objects abound.   A turn-of-the-century Russian kiddush cup costs as little as $35, depending on how elaborate it is, said Gary Niederkorn, a silverware dealer in Philadelphia (215-567-2606).   Vintage kiddush cups, or wine cups, are common because Jewish immigrants fleeing Europe could stuff them in their pockets, he said.   But beware of fakes.   "Unscrupulous dealers will often buy a sterling silver sugar bowl and engrave it with Hebrew words to make into a Jewish object," said Herskowitz.   Objects used exclusively in a synagogue, such as a Torah crown or finial that adorns a scriptural scroll, are most likely stolen if not sold by the temple.   For an appraisal, consult a reputable dealer, museum or the Judaica Collectors Society (818-988-6496). 
13075 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Most Republicans put on a brave face after a Capitol Hill appearance by Bob Dole and Jack Kemp on Wednesday, but one warned a poor showing at the top of the ticket would cost Republicans control of Congress.   "Bob Dole is in a real uphill fight," Representative Chris Shays said.   He said experts in the party believe Republicans stand to gain if Dole wins and hold their own if he loses by 55-45 percent but anything less than that would be a disaster.   "Anything close to 60 percent (for President Bill Clinton) we're out of power," the Connecticut congressman told reporters.   "So that's definitely a factor."   But Republicans, who won control of both houses of Congress in the 1994 elections for the first time in 50 years, said that concern was not why less than half of the nearly 300 Republicans in Congress attended the Dole-Kemp rally.   The real reasons, they said, were that many members were out of town, there was late publicity for the meeting, they were very busy and heavy rain slowed traffic.   Dole tried to calm the fears of some Republicans that the election could turn into a rout.   "I want to say to those faint-hearted people in the audience -- there are probably not very many -- don't worry about this election," he said.   "We're going to win.   We're going to win.   We're going to win."   Members tried to reflect his optimism despite his standing in public opinion polls, which show him 15 points or more behind Clinton.   "I think we've got to be optimistic," said Sen. Larry Pressler of South Dakota, adding that he would welcome Dole into his state to campaign for him.   "I'm not faint-hearted.   We're going to win.   He said it three times."   Other senators also accentuated the positive.   Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania said Dole's speech marked "real progress."   Pete Domenici of New Mexico called it "uplifting" and Orrin Hatch of Utah said its message "will resonate."   Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas said she was "optimistic" and Alfonse D'Amato of New York said the final result would be victory for the Republicans.   But how can they win when Dole is running so far behind?   Representative Jerry Lewis of California said in his state Dole was behind Clinton "by only 15 points ... in the nine counties outside Los Angeles he's dead even.   We need to identify and deliver that vote.   California's still in the mix."   No matter what happens, Republican National Committee Chairman Haley Barbour said he felt confident members of Congress would stay together with Dole and Kemp.   "The fact of the matter is issues unify Republicans," he said.   "The record of this common sense Republican Congress unifies our party."   But Shays argued that it was Kemp and Dole who had walked away from Congress, not the other way around.   "I want my presidential candidate to talk about what we have done in the past two years," he said, charging that Dole had failed to highlight the success of House Speaker Newt Gingrich's "Contract with America."   That has allowed Democrats to define Congress in a negative way, he said.   "This isn't an issue of our distancing ourselves from them, they basically have distanced themselves from Congress," Shays said of Dole and Kemp. 
13076 !GCAT !GVIO  The United States will send F-117A "stealth" fighters to the region near Iraq to back up threats of possible new American attacks against Iraqi military targets, U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry said on Wednesday.    "We will be sending the F-117s. They already have the deployment order," Perry told reporters in response to questions.   He would not say where the fighters were going but said another country in the area -- not Saudi Arabia -- had given permission to temporarily base the radar-avoiding jets.   U.S. defence officials said earlier the United States had already sent B-52 heavy bombers armed with cruise missiles to the British base on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.   Perry said Washington had not asked Saudi Arabia, where other American warplanes are currently based, to accept the F-117s. Such planes were flown from Saudi Arabian bases and used with devastating accuracy against Iraqi targets during the 1991 Gulf War.   "We did not request the Saudis for permission to base the F-117s,.   We requested another country.   That request has been granted and we will be sending the F-117s," the secretary said. 
13077 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Harlequin Ltd and its affiliate Harlequin Inc said Wednesday they have sued Scitex Corp and unit Printing Technologies Associates Inc, over certain patents held by Israel-based Scitex.   The suit, filed in Federal Court in San Francisco, asks the cort to rule that Harlequin's EasyTrap product does not violate trapping patents owned by Scitex.   Harlequin is also asking the court to rule the patents are invalid.    The suit is also joined by Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co Ltd and units Island Graphics Corp, D.S. America Inc, and Dainippon Screen Engineering of America Inc, which are also seeking to establish that their Sigmagraph and Renatus/TaigaSPACE products do not infringe Scitex patents.   The patents in question relate to pixel-based technology for processing color data to prepair printing plates.   Trapping is a process that ensures gaps in misregistered plates will not appear in the final printed product.   Privately-held Harlequin, a worldwide supplier of digital printing software and hardware, has developed EasyTrap using trapping technology supplied by Dainippon Screen.   Scitex, headquartered in Herzila, Israel, has claimed patent infringement and demanded licensing fees, Harlequin said in a statement. 
13078 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  The United States will continue counter-narcotics aid to Colombia's army and police despite its opposition to President Ernesto Samper, a senior State Department official said on Wednesday.   "Despite our difficulties with President Samper, Colombian cooperation remains the key to our ability to eliminate most of the cocaine and much of the heroin that threaten our youth," Assistant Secretary of State Robert Gelbard told the House International Relations Committee.   "Thousands of Colombian police, military, judges and officials already have sacrificed their lives in the effort to bring down the Colombian drug trade.   These forces have been our allies in a common struggle and, in spite of corruption in critical segments of their government, they remain our principal hope for destroying the drug mafias," he said.   Washington has suspended Samper's visa to visit the United States and decertified Colombia as a nation that is cooperating in the drug war because it believes Samper accepted campaign money from the drug cartels.   On Tuesday Colombian Vice President Humberto de la Calle resigned because of a lack of confidence in Samper.   Last week, de la Calle urged Samper to quit, but Samper refused.   "I understand that some in President Samper's administration believe that Colombia's decertification was tied to U.S. election-year politics and that, come January 1997, it will be business as usual for his government.   President Samper's assessment of U.S. resolve, however, could not be more wrong," Gelbard said.   Gelbard urged Congress to approve the sale of 12 Blackhawk helicopters to the Colombia army for counter-narcotics use.   Committee Chairman Benjamin Gilman, a New York Republican, said he hoped the helicopters could be delivered as soon as possible.   "Let us get on with providing Colombia the tools and equipment needed to do the job, before these drugs reach our streets and infect our communities and schools," Gilman said.   Gilman said the Clinton administration was not doing enough to keep drugs out of the United States, a charge also made repeatedly by Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole.   Gelbard urged Samper and the Colombian legislature to pass stronger laws against drug dealers.   Referring to the surrender this month of Cali cartel kingpin Helmer "Pacho" Herrera, Gelbard said, "Unfortunately, however, he surrendered knowing that he, like his jailed colleagues, will be able to run his empire from prison." 
13079 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has taken on a decades-long dispute over responsibility for educating Philadelphia's largely minority schoolchildren.   The high court on Tuesday took jurisdiction away from a lower court and said it would conduct new hearings on the case, which has moved from a question of racial desgregation to one of who should pay for public education in Philadelphia.   The high court vacated a lower court's ruling in the 25-year-old case that Gov. Tom Ridge must find $45 million in new state money for Philadelphia schools within 30 days.   A spokeswoman for the city schools said the combination of a shrinking local tax base and inadequate state aid had opened a $2,000 gap between what is spent per child in the city and the amouont spent in neighbouring districts.   "The order to vacate was based on legal, technical matters," spokeswoman Barbara Grant said.   "We have not had a hearing on the question of whether the state of Pennsylvania has an obligation to fully fund the education of Philadelphia schoolchildren."   Since the suit was filed 25 years ago, Philadelphia's school enrollment has gone from roughly half white to less than a third -- mostly because white families either enroll their children in private schools or move to the suburbs.   Grant said the state constitution makes public education the responsibility of state government.   But Tim Reeves, a spokesman for the governor, said courts have upheld the state's partial delegation of that duty to local bodies.   "The issue (in the court case) was whether Philadelphia was using its own resources in a way that prejudiced the interests of minority students," Reeves said.   "Judge Smith turned the issue into state aid."   Commonwealth Court Judge Doris Smith had presided over the case before it went to the high court. 
13080 !GCAT !GCRIM  A male elementary school prinicipal who pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution while dressed as a woman received a fine plus a suspended jail sentence, police said on Wednesday.   "He received a $550 fine and a 30-day suspended sentence," police Sgt. Randy Young said of George Meadows, 55, who was arrested in Charleston this month and charged with soliciting for prostitution.   "He pled guilty to the charge," Young added.   Young said Meadows was arrested after he offered oral sex to two undercover police officers in exchange for money.   He was dressed as a woman at the time.   He resigned as principal of Sylvia Elementary School in Beckley, West Virginia, about 60 miles south of Charleston, school officials said.   He had held the job for about nine years. 
13081 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO !GVOTE  John E. Sununu, son of the former White House chief of staff, and conservative lawyer Ovide Lamontagne were the victors Wednesday in New Hampshire's contested Republican primaries for the House and governor.   Sununu, who had instant name recognition in a state where his father John H. Sununu is a former governor and now a CNN commentator, squeaked out a win, beating a local television news reporter and a former Manchester mayor by less than 1,200 votes in a seven-candidate field.   He will face Democrat Joseph Keefe in November for the seat being vacated by three-term Representative Bill Zeliff, who ran for the Republican governor's nomination and lost to Lamontagne in an upset.   With 89 percent of the precincts reporting, the state Board of Education chairman won the Republican nod by three points, 47 percent to 44 percent.   He will now face Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, who easily won her primary.   New Hampshire has never elected a woman to statewide office and Republicans have held the governor's office since 1982.   Former Representative Richard Swett won the the Democratic primary to challenge Republican Sen. Bob Smith.   With 90 percent of the precincts reporting, Swett was ahead of John Rauh, the 1992 Democratic Senate candidate, 53 to 47 percent.   In the second congressional race, Democrat Deborah Arnie Arneson will face Republican Charlie Bass. 
13082 !GCAT !GODD !GPOL  Local politician Lynne Plaskett says space aliens cured her cancer.   Plaskett, who is seeking reelection to the Volusia County council, appears on the "Maury Povich" television show this week with several other people who claim they were abducted or visited by aliens.   She also recounted her 1975 close encounter with extraterrestials in Wednesday's Orlando Sentinel.   Plaskett, 46, who was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma, says one night her room was filled with fog, she was levitated from her bed and an 8-inch disk appeared in her room.   The disk hovered over her body and then disappeared.   Soon after, she said, her cancer was cured.   "It was almost as if it was examining me," she said.   "I know it wasn't God.   I know it wasn't of this Earth.   It was alien in nature."   Plaskett said she was not concerned about losing votes in the November election after her constituents in the county east of Orlando hear her story.   Going public with her experience "is more important than my personal career as a politician," she told the Sentinel.   "If this costs me my election I think that would be very sad." 
13083 !C33 !C331 !CCAT !GCAT !GDEF  Northrop Grumman Corp said Wednesday its Electronic Sensors and Systems division and GDE Systems unit have secured a $9.4 million U.S. Army contract.   The contract is to develop the handheld standoff mine detection system.   The contract calls for the team to develop and deliver 10 systems over the next 30 months.   The system is able to detect buried mines from greater than 10 feet away. 
13084 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  The family of alleged Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski was so concerned about his mental state in 1991 that they tried to get him committed to a mental hospital, his brother and sister-in-law said in their first television interview.   In the interview to be aired on Sunday on CBS's "60 Minutes," David Kaczynski, who turned his brother in to the FBI in April, said he and his wife, Linda Patrik, failed because it is extremely difficult to have someone committed.   The couple added they knew nothing at the time about a link between Theodore Kaczynski and the Unabomber, who in a 17-year letter bombing campaign killed three people and injured 23 others in a self-declared "war against technology."   Patrik said she and her husband went to a pyschiatrist who "advised us that Ted was mentally disturbed, seriously disturbed -- that not only was he disturbed but that there was the possibility of violence.   That stuck in my mind and it's stuck in my mind all these years."   She said they were also told it was very difficult to have someone committed.   "so we did the next best thing that we could think of."   They contacted one of Theodore Kaczynski's doctors in Montana, where he lived in a remote cabin, and asked the doctor to refer to therapy.   "We were told he had to be a danger -- a demonstrable danger to himself or others" to have him committed, David Kaczynski said.   He said he became suspicious about his brother early this year after newspapers published a 35,000-word anti-technology manifesto from the Unabomber.   In it, he spotted many of his brother's ideas.   Also interviewed on the programme was the Kaczynskis' mother Wanda, who said the family would not profit from the $1 million reward offered for the Unabomber's capture.   "We are not going to profit one cent from that," she said. 
13085 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  CardioGenesis Inc said Wednesday it filed a lawsuit against PLC Systems Inc of Canada and its U.S. unit, PLC Medical Systems Inc, claiming that PLC's patent on a heart-synchronized pulsed laser system is invalid and unenforceable.   In the suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, CardioGenesis seeks a ruling that CardioGenesis' Transmyocardial Revascularization (TMR) systems do not infringe the PLC patent.   PLC said it had not yet seen the complaint, but said the company viewed it as a defensive move by CardioGenesis.    "We believe the suit was instigated by our notice of infringement on our 1992 patent issued in Europe," a PLC spokesperson said. 
13086 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  Irish Prime Minister John Bruton made a fervent call for peace in Northern Ireland on Wednesday, telling the U.S. Congress that the Irish Republican Army must halt its violence "in all circumstances."   In a speech frequently interrupted by applause as he spoke of his hopes for a resolution of the Northern Ireland conflict, Bruton said a political agreement was within reach.   Addressing U.S. senators and congressmen assembled in the House of Representatives, he said Irish and Americans had welcomed efforts that had led to the 17-month IRA ceasefire that ended last February.   "But now all of us want the IRA to stop for good," Bruton said.   "True negotiations can only take place in an atmosphere of genuine peace."   He said everyone had to be at all-party talks ready to negotiate.   "That can only happen, when everyone has been convinced that violence will never be used again to intimidate opponents or to control supporters," he added.   "Never again."   "That means a cessation of violence by the IRA that will hold in all circumstances," Bruton said amid applause.   Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA, has been barred from the talks because of the guerrillas' failure to reinstate their ceasefire.   At another point in his speech, dealing with the need for "global rules against terrorism," Bruton said those who wanted to win respect through democratic processes had to "give up all connections with terror, give up the threat of terror and give up even coded and well-informed warnings about the possibility of terror."   Bruton, who had talks with President Bill Clinton on Monday, was greeted in the ornate House chamber by some senior lawmakers of Irish heritage including Senators Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Patrick Leahy of Vermont.   He said harmony in Northern Ireland would come in stages with the parties working together to solve practical, immediate problems.   Dublin believed that this required talks moving swiftly beyond procedure to substantive issues of disagreement, he said, noting that some six weeks of talks under the chairmanship of former U.S. Senator George Mitchell had laid the foundation for movement.   Bruton said Dublin was not asking the Unionists in British-ruled Northern Ireland to end their loyalty to Britain or the Nationalists to cease being loyally Irish.   But he said he was asking both to agree on a political framework to allow them to take on responsibility for solving day-to-day problems in harmony and cooperation with Britain and the rest of Ireland.   Bruton said the people of Northern Ireland had cooperated on projects aided by the International Fund for Ireland and had agreed at the local level on how to deal with some contentious marches, but a wider agreement was needed now.   Warning against the "destructive force of sectarianism," he said an agreement was needed within a workable time frame.   "Such an agreement it within reach," he said.   Both parties could change or redraft a framework agreed on last year by Britain and Ireland, he said.   But Bruton said he was "absolutely determined" that the present generation of political leaders would tackle and overcome the core problems identified by the two governments.   Bruton, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, acknowledged that Northern Ireland was divided by psychological boundaries but said similar boundaries in Europe had not prevented development of political structures in which minorities and majorities worked in partnership. 
13087 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  By Alan Elsner, Political Correspondent   Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole rallied the faint-hearted in his party on Wednesday and said the issue of trust would bring him a come-from-behind election victory over President Bill Clinton.   Leading a pep rally for Republican lawmakers in Congress, Dole admitted he trailed Clinton in the November 5 election race but said he had overcome adversity many times before in life and would do so again.   "I want to say to those faint-hearted people in the audience -- there are probably not very many -- don't worry about this election," Dole declared to ringing applause from the lawmakers -- some of whom fear a rout could take their congressional majorities down the tubes as well.   "Fifty-four days is a long time in politics, as all of you know.   Each of us have been in close races, tough races.   The polls go up and down and people get discouraged," Dole said.   "The candidate can never get discouraged.   The candidate has to be optimistic."   He read a letter sent to his father by the U.S. Army in October 1945 when Dole was lying gravely wounded in a military hospital, which said his recovery was "somewhat questionable."   Dole's recovery from spinal wounds that left him with a crippled right hand and other problems is legendary.   "I understand you have your ups and downs in this business, you have your ups and downs in life," said Dole.   "But the bottom line is if you're optimistic, if you have the right message, if you believe in the American people ... we're going to win on November 5, 1996, and it's going to be because you were out there working with us.   We were all working together."   Dole trails Clinton by around 15 percentage points in most recent survey, 21 points in the latest Gallup poll.   No U.S. presidential candidate has ever overcome such a large deficit so late in a campaign since polls have been conducted.   Dole said voters were only waiting for Republicans to give them one good reason to oppose Clinton.   "And I believe, in the final analysis, that reason is going to be trust," he said.   It was a clear indication the Dole campaign would increasingly train its guns on Clinton's character, which polls identify as the president's weakest spot even though he currently enjoys a 60 percent approval rating.   Sniping about Clinton's alleged extra-marital affairs and his avoidance of Vietnam-era military service did him little damage with voters in the 1992 presidential campaign, and questions since about the Whitewater financial controversy appear to have done him little harm since.   Dole had been counting on his promise to cut income tax by 15 percent to revitalise his campaign, but that message has not been selling.   Nevertheless, he vowed to stick with it.   Some Republicans have begun to express fears that a decisive Clinton victory could also sweep Democrats back into control of one or both house of Congress, after only two years of majority Republican control.   Connecticut Representative Christopher Shays told Reuters after Dole's speech that such a danger was real.   "Bob Dole is in a real uphill fight," he said.   "If he loses (by) 45-55 (percent) our people are telling us we basically hold our own.   Anything close to 60 percent (for Clinton), we're out of power."   But Dole said the party remained in excellent shape.   "The crowds are enthusiastic, the money is rolling in ... So don't let anybody dissuade you in this effort," he said.   House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich said the Republicans had a record to be proud of and cited four recent cases of party candidates confounding the polls and scoring comeback victories.   "We have tremendous accomplishments ... a winning argument to take to the American people," said Gingrich.   Mississippi Senator Trent Lott, who succeeded Dole as Senate Majority Leader when Dole quit to campaign full-time in June, had another tactic to turn the election around.   "We will be with you, we will be thinking about you and we want you both to know you're in our prayers every day," he assured Dole. 
13088 !C31 !CCAT !GCAT !GENT  Canadian singing sensation Alanis Morissette has tied Whitney Houston for having the best-selling album ever by a female solo artist, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) said on Wednesday.   Morissette's debut album "Jagged Little Pill" was certified at 12 million copies sold in the United States, tying Houston's debut "Whitney Houston" and outdoing industry veterans like Carole King, Madonna and Mariah Carey.   The RIAA said the 12 million copies sold put "Jagged Little Pill" in fourth place on its list of top-selling debut albums, trailing Boston's "Boston" (15 million copies sold), Hootie & The Blowfish's "Cracked Rear View" (14 million) and Guns 'N Roses' "Appetite for Destruction" (13 million).   Morissette's debut tied for fourth with Meat Loaf's "Bat Out of Hell" and Houston's debut album on the list.   Released in the middle of 1995, Morissette's album took just 15 months to reach the 12 million mark, the RIAA said.   It beat out established female singers like Carole King, whose "Tapestry" stands at 10 million in U.S. sales, followed by Madonna's "Like a Virgin," Carey's "Music Box" and Houston's "Whitney," which all have nine million in U.S. sales.   Morissette, a former child television actress turned teen pop singer, last week won best female artist, new artist and the editing award for the video "Ironic" at the annual MTV music video awards programme.   The RIAA said all certifications were calculated by the accounting firm of Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman. 
13089 !C33 !C331 !CCAT !GCAT !GDEF  The Pentagon said that the government of Turkey was seeking authorization for $125 million in logistical support from several defense firms for its fleet of F-16 jet fighters.   In a notification to Congress, the Defense Department said the Clinton administration intended to approve the request.   The chief U.S. defense contractors would be Lockheed Martin Corp, the aircraft engine division of General Electric Co, the guidance and control systems division of Litton Industries, and Westinghouse Electric. 
13090 !GCAT !GENT !GODD  A Maine store owner who sparked an international controversy by putting a 3,000-year-old mummy up for sale may be able to sell the artifact after all.   The U.S. Customs Service said it is considering lifting the ban that keeps Terry Lewis from selling the mummy while the Egyptian government determines where the mummy came from and if it wants it returned.   "I'm not in the business of holding a person's property, especially when there's no evidence of criminal activity," the Portland Press Herald quoted Customs Special Agent Jerry Padalino as saying on Wednesday.   Lewis says he wants $20,000 for the unwrapped woman's body, which he bought in 1992 from a New Hampshire museum and now displays in the hallway of his store, Nonesuch House Antiques.   The Egyptian government was expected to send an expert to Maine in the next few days to examine the mummy.   Egypt wants to determine the item's cultural value and if it was smuggled from that country.   Under international treaties, Egypt would have the right to take the mummy if it is determined it was brought illegally into the United States.   Egypt has expressed outrage that Lewis would sell a mummy but is considering whether he should be compensated in some way, Abdul Monem Al-Mashat, cultural affairs counsellor at the embassy in Washington, said.   Lewis renewed his threat to toss the mummy into a nearby river if Egypt tried to seize it, saying it was brought into the United States legally and he needed the money to pay bills. 
13091 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  Sun Company Inc and Phillips Petroleum Co said Wednesday their Puerto Rico refineries escaped serious damage from Hurricane Hortense but would remain closed days longer due to flooding and power loss on the island.   Sun spokesman Bud Davis said his company's 85,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery in Yubucoa, Puerto Rico, would likely remain closed five to seven days.   "The winds didn't appear to do any damage," Davis said, but added the plant was waterlogged after being buffeted by 15 inches of rain.    The Sun plant, shut Tuesday as Hortense barreled westward, sells its production of gasoline and other fuels on the island, Davis said.   Phillips spokeswoman Jeanne Forbis said she expected power to be restored "in a couple of days," but added it would probably take 10 days to restart the company's 30,000 bpd refinery on the Caribbean island.   "The plant is okay; there was no damage to the facility itself," she said, adding its 14,000 bpd of gasoline production was sold on the island.   She said the refinery's main production is petrochemicals, including cyclohexane, a feedstock for making nylon, and paraxylene, a polyester feedstock.   -- Ransdell Pierson, New York Energy Desk 212 859-1632 
13092 !C21 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  Carolina Power & Light Co said Wednesday it was continuing to reduce the number of customers without power, and was boosting output from its nuclear facilities after Hurricane Fran hit the utility hard last week.   "We now have about 118,400 customers without power," company spokesman Mike Hughes said Wednesday.   A total of 730,000 customers were left with no electricity at the peak of the storm, but that number was reduced to 153,000 customers by early Tuesday.    Carolina Power has a customer base of about 1.1 million.   Repair efforts were ongoing despite the possibility of thunderstorms and torrential rains in the Raleigh and Wilmington, N.C. areas Wednesday near where Fran came ashore late last Thursday, Hughes said.   "They are experiencing torrential rains right now in Wilmington, but our repair crews are still out there," the spokesman said, adding "they won't stop unless there is lightning."    The crews were working to free and repair thousands of power transmission lines damaged by trees that had fallen or been blown around by the hurricane's 120 mph winds.   The peak load on Carolina Power's system Wednesday was expected to be near yesterday's levels of about 7,900 megawatts (MW), Hughes said.   "We are having no problem meeting demand," he said.   Two of the company's nuclear units were nearing full output after being shutdown or maintained in an idle mode in preparation for Fran.    Carolina Power's 767 MW Brunswick nuclear unit 1 was producing at 70 percent of capacity Wednesday morning, and was expected to reach full output late Wednesday or early Thursday, Hughes said.   The 754 MW Brunswick unit 2, also located at Southport, N.C. with unit 1, was expected to resume production later this week.   The company's Harris nuclear power plant in New Hill, N.C. was also expected to reach full production Wednesday, Hughes said.   The Harris plant was producing at 73 percent of capacity as of early Wednesday.   Although focusing on repair work, Hughes said the company was keeping a nervous eye on Hurricane Hortense, which was nearing the Turks and Caicos islands.   The hurricane was expected to move to the northwest and then north, possibly hitting Florida or Georgia later this week.   "Folks here are a little on edge as you can imagine," Hughes said.   -- Chris Reese, New York Power Desk 212-859-1627 
13093 !E21 !E212 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Harrison County, Miss., will vote Nov 5 on a $23 million general obligation bond issue for schools, county officials said Wednesday.   The county school board unanimously approved the proposal Tuesday.   If the measure passes, proceeds would be used to build two new elementary schools, expand two high schools and buy computers.   The district has added nearly 1,000 students in the last two years, putting enrollment at 12,000.   District voters have approved four bond issues since 1984.   --Jane Sutton, 305-374-5013 
13094 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  A prominent 60-year-old department store executive was charged Wednesday with a botched bank robbery in which he was caught red-handed with a paper sack full of money soaked with red dye.   Barry Miller was "distraught and confused" Tuesday when he brandished a handgun and demanded money at the AmeriFirst Bank branch in Montgomery, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati, his lawyer Jack Rubenstein said in Hamilton County Municipal Court.   A bank clerk called police and the masked Miller was arrested in the parking lot holding a paper sack full of money blotched with red after a packet of dye exploded.   "There is disbelief that this ever happened," Rubenstein said in entering the not guilty plea, adding that Miller was being evaluated in a psychiatric hospital.   Miller, who according to his lawyer had money problems, managed a women's apparel store in Cincinnati called The Shops.   He previously owned his own department store and was once a high-level executive with Federated Department Stores. 
13095 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Hurricane Hortense gained strength as it neared the Turks and Caicos islands Wednesday, packing 100 mph (160 kmh) winds and heavy rain, National Hurricane Center said.   At 1100 EDT/1500 GMT, the center of Hortense was about 35 miles east (55 km) of the Turks Islands at latitude 21.6 north and longtiude 70.6 west.   The storm was moving northwest at 13 mph (20 kmh).   "All indications right now have the storm continuing to move to the northwest today, then turning to the north," said forecaster Michelle Huber at hurricane center.   "We do expect it to gain energy and strength over the open waters."   Hurricane warnings were issued for the tiny Turks and Caicos and the southern Bahamas.   A hurricane watch was in effect for the central Bahamas.   Forecasters said Hortense was not expected to threaten the coast of Florida or Georgia later in the week, but said it was difficult to predict the storm's likely path more than three days ahead of time.   Hortense pounded Puerto Rico Tuesday and its rainfall of up to two feet caused flash flooding that killed at least seven people, according to the governor's office, and left many others scrambling to rooftops for safety. 
13096 !GCAT !GPOL  The French political establishment was torn on Wednesday over how to counter the far-right National Front after its leader Jean-Marie Le Pen openly espoused racial inequality.   Some political leaders advocated banning the party or taking it to court for inciting racial hatred after the outspoken Le Pen said that racial differences were "a fact".   "I don't see why saying one does not believe in racial equality is a violation of human dignity," Le Pen reaffirmed in a television interview.   "I will not be intimidated by the demonstrations or the threats of a 'thought police," he told LCI television.   The controversy came amid discussion over election law reforms expected to help the Front break into the National Assembly, where it now has no seats, in the 1998 general elections.   Mainstream politicians sounded in broad agreement, though, on their frustration over the Front's uncanny ability to grab the political spotlight and appear to thrive on bad publicity.   Triggering a fresh firestorm, Le Pen first said on Monday: "To say that the races are unequal is a fact, an unremarkable statement."   He cited as an example the "obvious difference" between white and black athletes at the Olympics.   Former National Assembly speaker Henri Emmanuelli promptly called for the Front to be banned, and his Socialist Party later demanded that the government open a judicial probe of Le Pen's remarks.   Inciting racial hatred is illegal under French law.   Justice Minister Jacques Toubon threw cold water on the opposition Socialists' plea, suggesting a ban was unconstitutional and urging instead that all politicians individually "fight against these ideas in the political arena".   In a bit of bad timing for the centre-right government, Prime Minister Alain Juppe had last week proposed a reform in election law that political analysts said would enable the Front to win a sizeable bloc of seats in the National Assembly.   A major goal of the reforms appeared to be an attempt at winning good will from Le Pen, who has been routinely opposing all the ruling centre-right's candidates, even when a Front candidate was not in the race.   The centre-right is worried that the anti-immigrant National Front could take enough votes from it in 1998 to hand control of parliament to the Left, which governed until 1993.   Le Pen, who advocates "France for the French", won 15 percent of the vote in last year's presidential elections.   Le Pen sparked fury with a 1987 remark that the Nazi death camp gas chambers were a mere detail in the history of World War Two.   He stirred up anger this year by saying that many players on France's winning soccer team were foreigners unable to sing the national anthem.   Analyst Carine Marce of the SOFRES polling firm said Le Pen had a pattern of provocative statements.   "He is constantly testing the outer limits.   And little by little, he is able to gain ground.   By and by he will end up where he wants to go," Marce said in an interview.   "I do not believe he sets out to say things that are beyond the pale, knowing this will boost the party in the polls.   But I also believe he doesn't say these things by accident.   This simply happens too often," she said. 
13097 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Two Spanish fishermen were injured when a Portuguese naval patrol boat fired warning shots while chasing a Spanish trawler out of Portuguese waters, sparking a formal protest from Madrid on Wednesday.   Spain accused its neighbour of using excessive force against the vessel, although it was not immediately clear how the fishermen had been injured or how badly they were hurt.   The Spanish foreign ministry said in a statement in Madrid it had summoned Portugal's ambassador to tell him of the "deep concern of the Spanish government as well as its vigorous protest at what it considers a disproportionate use of force".   The Portuguese government expressed sorrow over what had happened.   "The Portuguese government laments the incident," a foreign ministry statement said.   "This event presents the Portuguese government with the opportunity to appeal to the competent authorities of the two countries to avoid repeats of such situations in the future," it added.   A naval spokesman in Lisbon said the navy patrol boat had fired into the air while chasing the Spanish trawler which he said had been caught fishing illegally in Portuguese waters on Tuesday night.   "The Spanish trawler ditched its nets when the Portuguese vessel pursued it," Commander Morais Soares said.   "It did not stop and crossed back into Spanish waters."   He said Spanish trawlers had frequently entered Portuguese waters to fish illegally and called the response of the naval patrol boat "standard practice".   "We are investigating with Spanish authorities how the fishermen were injured.   We don't know how they were hurt -- perhaps it was a ricochet, for example," Soares said.   Spanish media said the patrol boat fired machineguns at the Spaniards, who were taken to hospital in Huelva, southern Spain.   Spanish Farm and Fisheries Minister Loyola de Palacios told reporters that regardless of the outcome of the investigations, Spain was formally opposing the action by the patrol boat as "absolutely unjustified".   Soares said the Spanish vessel had been spotted 20 km (13 miles) south of Vila Real de Santo Antonio in southern Portugal. 
13098 !C13 !C24 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT  European Union veterinary officials discussed on Wednesday the latest data on mad cow disease, including selective slaughter programmes, but took no decisions.   "The meeting reached no conclusions but heard detailed reports on inspection visits to Portugal and Britain," a European Commission official said after the meeting.   "There are still some problems but the British report was satisfactory," the official added.   Britain's Chief Veterinary Officer Keith Meldrum said he told the EU's Standing Veterinary Committee that the British government would review the slaughter programme in the light of two new reports.   "It's very much for the ministers," he said, referring to a weekly British cabinet meeting on Thursday.   The first report, which found that mad cow disease -- known as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) -- could be passed to calves, was not discussed by the committee, he told reporters.   The report raised the possibility that more animals would have to be slaughtered to stamp out BSE, but said that only one percent of British cows passed on the disease to their calves.   The second report by Oxford University scientists predicted that mad cow disease would disappear by 2001 even without a cull.   Portugal's veterinary representative said that attitudes among EU countries which had earlier taken a hard line towards Britain were softening.   "We can see and feel that the British authorities are doing all they can to move in the right direction," the official said. 
13099 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Germany closed ranks with its European allies on Wednesday against American efforts to apply joint sanctions against Cuba.   In a smouldering confrontation that underscores the differences between the U.S. policy of trying to isolate Cuba and Europe's "critical dialogue", Economics Minister Guenter Rexrodt said U.S. threats to impose sanctions on companies doing business with Cuba were intolerable.   "U.S. threats of extraterritorial sanctions against German and other European companies are the wrong way to promote democratisation.   We will not accept this," Rexrodt said after a meeting with Stuart Eizenstat, special U.S. envoy on Cuba.   Eizenstat has visited European nations, Mexico and Canada to smooth feathers ruffled by the Helms-Burton act.   He said the United States' partners had been reacting frostily to limited aspects of the legislation, but shared the goal of promoting democracy in Cuba.   "Cuba stands alone as the only non-democratic nation in the Americas... an oppressive anachronism," Eizenstat told a news conference.   "Europeans' critical dialogue has in our opinion been an utter and complete failure."   The Helms-Burton Act, passed after two private U.S. planes operated by a Cuban dissident group were downed in international waters off Cuba last March, provides for sanctions against companies that profit from U.S. assets confiscated after Fidel Castro took power in 1959.   The law is more narrowly targeted than many people fear, Eizenstat said, adding that fewer than a dozen companies are under investigation, none of them German.   The potential sanctions are under a six-month suspension that will be reviewed in January for possible renewal.   In view of past criticism that the United States was pursuing a unilateralist policy, Eizenstat said his main mission was to find common ground on policies the United States and its partners could pursue together.   Washington also hopes to promote private-sector efforts against Cuba similar to the Sullivan principles imposed against South Africa during the apartheid period, he said.   But he said he met with firm opposition from government and business officials in Bonn.   The European Union, including Germany, has repeatedly rejected the Helms-Burton Act and U.S. sanctions against Iran and Libya because of their extra-territorial character.   Rexrodt said the U.S. laws did not conform to the principles of international law and the multilateral trade system.   "Economic reforms are particularly important for the democratisation of Cuba.   This reform process has our full support," Rexrodt said.   German companies doing business in Cuba were aware of their responsibilities, and offered their workers better conditions than Cuban employers, he said.   Eizenstat will travel to London on Thursday.   He plans further trips to the Netherlands, Italy and France. 
13100 !GCAT !GPRO  Princess Stephanie of Monaco has told her lawyer she plans to divorce her ex-bodyguard husband Daniel Ducruet, French television said on Wednesday after magazine pictures of Ducruet cavorting naked with another woman.   The Italian magazines Eva Tremila and its sister publication Gente last month printed pages of photos of the woman undressing Ducruet, the pair embracing on a sunbed and finally both naked by a poolside in France.   The all-news LCI channel said Stephanie, 31, had contacted her lawyer Thierry Lacoste on Wednesday to inform him that she would seek a divorce.   Lacoste, whose office had said earlier that divorce was a possibility, could not immediately be reached.   A spokesman for the Monaco royal family said it had not denied the report but had no comment.   "The princess will very likely move towards divorce proceedings," Lacoste had told the local newspaper Nice-Matin in remarks published on Wednesday.   But "in a situation like this, in which feelings can change... it is best to remain cautious," he added.   Stephanie's father Prince Rainier had disapproved of his daughter's choice of husband.   She had two children with Ducruet before their marriage in July last year.   The Italian magazines said the woman pictured with Ducruet was a 26-year-old Belgian stripper.   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 the singer during a race in Belgium and photographers had been on their trail ever since.   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. 
13101 !C13 !C31 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !G157 !GCAT  Bu Suzanne Perry   Everyone in the European Union should have access to affordable telephone services ranging from pay phones to directories once the EU completely opens its telecoms markets to competition, the European Commission said on Wednesday.   The Commission, unveiling the last major legislative initiative connected to the EU's pledge to end state telecommunications monopolies by January 1, 1998, also proposed that itemised billing and touch-tone dialling be available to all users.    Furthermore, all new phone connections from the start of 1998 should give customers access to information services such as the Internet, it said in a statement.   The Commission did not include mobile phone service, however, in the package of services that must be provided at an affordable cost.   After a long debate, it concluded that that could hamper investment in a sector that is just getting off the ground in some member states, a Commission official said.   The situation would be reviewed by the end of 1999, however, he said.    The new legislation, which must be approved by EU ministers and the European Parliament, sets out rules to ensure that customers of voice telephone networks -- either consumers or competing phone companies -- receive efficient and non-discriminatory service.   It would update existing rules on voice telephone service to take account of the influx of new market players that are expected to take advantage of the 1998 market opening.    It covers issues such as connections to terminal equipment, access to operator and emergency services, supervision of contracts by national regulatory authorities and publication of information about phone services.   While the original legislation covers phone companies granted "special or exclusive" rights, for example, the new text applies some provisions only to companies with "significant market share" -- which a Commission official said would generally mean more than 25 percent of the national voice telephone market.    It also requires governments to establish procedures for resolving disputes over phone bills or other issues.   The text outlines a range of services that must be guaranteed at an affordable price, a concept known as "universal service".   Those include a normal telephone line, directories, directory enquiry services, public pay telephones, and possibly services for disabled users and other social groups.   Governments would decide how to define "affordable" and could require public network operators to share the costs of providing unprofitable universal service, officials said.   They would have to ensure all users had access to tone dialing, itemised billing and "selective call barring", which allows users to determine which services they want to use and pay for -- but those would not fall under the universal service obligation, an official said. 
13102 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Italy's centre-left government has warned Northern League leader Umberto Bossi, who plans to declare "independence" for the country's rich north at the weekend, that the law must be respected.   Prime Minister Romano Prodi, in an interview with RAI television on Wednesday night, said his government would be keeping a close eye on the fiery party leader and intended to be "extremely firm and inflexible" if he broke the law.   Bossi, whose party has moved from federalism to outright secession, intends to proclaim a northern "federal republic of Padania" in Venice on Sunday as the climax to three days of demonstrations along the River Po.   The League -- which built its support in northern Italy on discontent with corruption, central government inefficiency and high taxes -- also intends to set up a provisional government and declare a bill of rights.   "We have to be clear about Bossi," said Prodi, who comes from the wealthy central city of Bologna which would be included in Bossi's new republic.   "If Sunday's demonstration is a political demonstration along the river, then fine," said Prodi.   "This is within the laws of the land and we will be happy to witness the show from a distance.   "But if it means something outside the law or a secession, the government will be extremely rigid and inflexible because national unity is precious to everybody," Prodi warned.   "We will not tolerate wandering from the path of the law.   The sovereignty of the law is our path."   Italy's postwar constitution refers to the nation as "one and indivisible" and it is an offence to "threaten the integrity, independence or unity of the state."   However the government has resisted calls from some politicians to ban Bossi's "independence" rallies on the grounds that such a move would play into his hands.   Bossi told RAI1 in a separate interview that the north would become truly independent on September 15 next year.   "One year later, on exactly the same date, independence will become operational, or rather the federal republic of Padania will become operational at all levels," he said.   Brushing aside assertions that those who wanted independence were a minority, Bossi said they were a majority in the north and promised a big turnout on Sunday.   "Sunday is a small test," he said.   "We will bring several million "Padanians" out along the Po."   Prodi, professing to be "concerned but calm" ahead of a weekend sure to dominate the headlines, said Bossi and his supporters were welcome to demonstrate along the Po.   Prodi, joining a growing chorus of establishment voices against Bossi, said Italy was a great country that could not be allowed to go the way of Czechoslovakia or Yugoslavia.   "Germany, which has become more united, is our example rather than countries which have divided and brought suffering to all their citizens," said Prodi.   Italian president Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, speaking on an official visit to Switzerland, said earlier that the neighbouring Alpine nation's cantonal system was a model of political autonomy that Italy could learn from. 
13103 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Belgium's King Albert has triggered a national debate by urging politico-judicial reforms amid damaging twin scandals over a "contract" murder of a party leader and horrifying child sex-abuse.   The king, trying to restore public confidence in law and order, touched off controversy whether the sovereign has a right to intervene.   The country has been rocked by daily revelations of a paedophile gang abducting, torturing and killing girls, plus murder charges against a former government minister for a Mafia-style political assassination of a rival ex-minister.   Public anxiety has worsened with accusations of police bungling, corruption and coverups.   Details in both cases are still unfolding.   Some analysts say the king's call on Tuesday for a fundamental review of the judiciary represents government views, but others say that constitutionally he overstepped the bounds.   Under the Belgian constitution, public statements by the king require the backing of the government.   King Albert asked Justice Minister Stefaan De Clerck to ensure the country's child sex scandal is cleared up fully.   Four young girls have so far been found dead, two have been rescued and a further seven are being searched for.   The four died as captives of a gang led by convicted child rapist Marc Dutroux, who led police to their bodies.   By making the call for full clarity King Albert stepped into national judicial affairs as reports abounded of investigating magistrates ignoring informers' reports and police investigators failing to relay key information to each other.   Belgians' feeling of distrust of the judiciary grew further with a sudden spate of arrests last weekend in the unresolved murder of Belgian socialist politician and ex-minister Andre Cools in July 1991.   The arrests came after an annonymous and extraordinarily detailed tipoff to stymied investigators last week.   It led them to pick up a lead that had lain dormant for more than two years, overtaken by a probe into bribery scandals involving politicians of Cools' francophone socialist PS party.   The PS is currently part of the ruling coalition government.   Media reports have said PS supporters steered investigators away from leads which could have pointed to a settling of scores between career politicians.   The appointment of judges is a political affair.   One of five suspects charged with the murder of Cools, is Belgian ex-minister Alain van der Biest, a leading PS member.   He has denied any involvement in the killing.   National news media quoted lawyers in the case as saying Cools was the victim of a Mafia-style contract killing by two hired assassins, probably of Tunisian origin, living in Sicily.   Some circumstances remain obscure.   Justice Minister De Clerck has pledged to look into the investigations of the Dutroux and Cools cases.   But Belgians' confidence in politics, politicians and the judiciary has been seriously damaged.   By calling for a more humane and efficient judiciary with better controls and training and for investigators, King Albert -- bitterly criticised for his silence by the parents of missing children -- sought to polish his own image and that of the judicial system.   But some analysts said the king was dabbling in politics. 
13104 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Italian prime minister Romano Prodi said on Wednesday that his government would rely on the support of the hard left Communist Refoundation to get the 1997 budget passed by parliament.   Prodi's centre-left coalition controls the upper house of parliament (Senate), but Refoundation holds the balance of power in the lower house.   Up until now Refoundation has always supported the government in key votes, but Prodi has suggested in the past that he might seek help from the opposition to get some of his policies past a reluctant hard-left.    "On less important problems yes, but with the budget definitely not.   The coalition (with Refoundation backing) is this," Prodi said in an interview with state television.   Refoundation leader Fausto Bertinotti said earlier this week that he gave the government only a 50 percent chance of getting its budget, which must be presented by September 30, through parliament.   But Prodi said he was confident he could win Refoundation support for his budget package, which the government has already said will cut 32.4 trillion lire off next year's deficit.   "Bertinotti is not a problem.   With Bertinotti we have always had daily talks, we face the problems one at a time without ever hiding them," he said.   Bertinotti has said a pre-requisite for Refoundation support is that the government leaves health and pension spending untouched.   -- Rome newsroom 39 6 678 2501 
13105 !GCAT !GWELF  The Algerian government said on Wednesday the monthly allowance for poor people would be increased by 50 percent to 900 dinars ($16.6) from 600 dinars, the official Algerian news agency APS said.   The increase will take effect on October 1.   The government also raised by 33.3 percent to 2,800 dinars ($51.8) from 2,100 dinars salaries for people in temporary work paid by the government under a safety net, it added.   This will also become effective on October 1.   Inflation is estimated to be running at an annual 20 percent.   The Algerian authorities set up a social scheme to help ease hardship for some four million people, mainly elderly and unemployed youngsters, as they try to shift the once central commanded economy towards a free market.   Algeria's workforce is estimated at some four million, out of the population of 29 million -- more than 60 percent of whom are aged under 30.   An estimated 2.1 million people are jobless.   The North African country's economy has also been hit in the past five years by violence blamed on Moslem fundamentalists, whom the government also blames for sabotage estimated to have cost the economy more than $2 billion.   Officials say that poverty, particularly among the young, provides a fertile breeding ground for the fundamentalist ranks. 
13106 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  A Paris court on Wednesday set October 23 for its ruling in a damage claim by the late French President Francois Mitterrand's family against his former doctor for invasion of privacy.   Dr Claude Gubler has already been sentenced to a four-month suspended jail term for breaching medical secrecy by revealing in a book that Mitterrand kept the cancer which finally killed him secret for over a decade.   The court which heard the case on Wednesday is also expected to decide whether Gubler's book should be banned indefinitely.   The Mitterrand family has asked for 800,000 francs ($160,000) in damages.   Published a week after Mitterrand died in January, and eight months after he left office, the book was banned within 24 hours after its first print run of 40,000 copies had sold out.   In the book, Gubler revealed that Mitterrand, a Socialist who served two seven-year terms beginning in 1981, learned he had cancer within months of his election but kept it secret until 1992, issuing dishonest medical bulletins twice a year.   The physician testified that he wrote to set the record straight rather than for personal gain and pledged to donate any proceeds to charity after payment of his legal bills.   He no longer practises medicine.   Gubler said he agreed to keep the cancer secret from the public -- and not to resign as the president's physician -- because he felt Mitterrand had trapped him into lying by ordering him to treat the illness as a state secret.   The book provided painful details about Mitterrand's diagnoses and treatments as well as the president's anxieties and argued that he was unfit to rule by November 1994. 
13107 !GCAT !GPRO  An Italian magazine published on Wednesday pictures of what it said was Princess Caroline of Monaco looking gaunt and bald, raising worries about the health of Prince Rainier's eldest child.   Oggi magazine said the photographs were taken recently at a villa in the south of France.   Several show Caroline in the gardens of the house talking to one of her children and wearing a blue Mao-style jacket.   "It's Caroline of Monaco," the magazine said on its front cover over a grainy close-up of a bald woman.   "Look what all her misfortunes have reduced her to."   Another photograph inside showed the 39-year-old Caroline leaving the villa apparently wearing a wig.   The magazine ruled out a new cropped hairstyle, saying the photographs clearly showed skin discolourisation on her scalp.   It is the second time in two weeks that paparazzi photographers have breached the defences of the Monaco royal family.   Two weeks ago Italian magazines printed photographs of the husband of Caroline's younger sister Stephanie, cavorting naked with a French cabaret singer.   Princess Stephanie of Monaco may seek a divorce from Daniel Ducruet following publication of the photographs, her lawyer told Reuters in France earlier on Wednesday.   Caroline has kept largely out of the media glare since the death of her second husband, Stefano Casiraghi, in a powerboat accident off the French Riviera in 1990.   She had three children with Casiraghi after her first marriage to international playboy Philippe Junot ended swiflty in divorce.   Caroline's mother, Hollywood screen goddess Grace Kelly, was killed in a car crash in 1982.   Her father still rules the tiny Mediterranean principality of Monaco. 
13108 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The standing of French President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Alain Juppe has slipped since the announcement of income tax cuts they had expected to boost confidence, an opinion poll said on Wednesday.   The CSA survey to be published on Thursday in the daily Le Parisien said Chirac's popularity had slipped to 43 percent from 45 percent last month.   Juppe's standing was down to 34 percent from 35 percent.   Juppe said last week he would cut income taxes by 75 billion francs ($14.7 billion) over five years, with 25 billion francs applying in 1997 on 1996 income, in a bid to restore confidence and boost consumer spending to help a stagnating economy.   Critics have called it a transparent political ploy for votes in a 1998 general election, a gift to the rich at the expense of the poor and a contradiction with efforts to cut the budget deficit.   An earlier poll said most people believe the reform would do nothing to improve economic growth, employment or confidence.   The CSA survey said Interior Minister Jean-Louis Debre's popularity jumped six percentage points to 32 percent following his tough line in evicting African immigrants who staged a hunger strike in a Paris church to demand residence permits. 
13109 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL !GVIO  Belgian authorities probing a sensational political assassination five years ago have brought murder charges against a former Socialist government minister and his then-private secretary, Liege Court said on Wednesday.   National news media quoted lawyers in the case as saying leading politician Andre Cools was the victim of a Mafia-style contract killing but some circumstances remain obscure.   Court officials said ex-minister Alain Van der Biest and his former private secretary Richard Taxquet had been charged with murder, as well as three other suspects Carlo Todarello, Cosimo Solazzo and Domenico Castellino.   A former minister in the Wallonia government, Van der Biest has repeatedly stated his innocence in the Cools affair.   He was forced to resign from his regional government post in 1992 for alleged involvement in a 500 million Belgian franc ($16 million) securities fraud thought to be linked to Cools' murder.   Police were questioning a sixth man on Wednesday, while the five suspects arrested at the weekend had their charges of murder confirmed in court.   The latest man to be detained was Van der Biest's former driver, Pino Di Mauro, who was taken into custody late Tuesday after he returned from holiday in France.   The affair, coming after a child abduction, sex, murder and car theft scandal, has shocked Belgians and prompted calls for a thorough overhaul of the judicial and political systems.   The July 18, 1991 murder of Cools, patriarch of the country's francophone Socialist Party, caused a national outcry but remained a mystery till recently.   Cools was shot dead amid reports that he was on the verge of making disclosures about political corruption among Liege socialists.   Police say investigations into the slaying uncovered a trail of bribery and other scandals but Belgian media said an apparent major breakthrough came only recently from an anonymous informer which led to the current charges.   The witness's detailed account had not however given the names of Cools' killers, the motive nor the origin of funds believed paid for his assassination.   Judicial sources said Van der Biest staunchly denied Taxquet's accusations that he ordered a "hit" on Cools.   Lawyers for other suspects contend that the murder resembled a Mafia contract.   Van der Biest's lawyer Jean-Jacques Dessy cited a document and said "Everything is there except the motive" and the name of the person who ordered the hit.   Castellino's lawyer Jean-Jacques Piette said on Wednesday his client had admitted recruiting two assassins, probably of Tunisian origin, living in Sicily, without knowing their victim's identity.   "It was a question of a debt of honour to render this service," the lawyer told reporters.   "You know what that means in certain circles."   Asked if he was referring to the Mafia, Piette replied: "That's it.   Yes.   Exactly."   Police say Castellino directed investigators to a 7.65 mm pistol, dumped in a river.   Initial analyses suggest the weapon was used in the attack.   Claire Rion, Todarello's lawyer, said only the two killers had been paid -- 750,000 francs ($25,000)   Cools was shot in a car park outside a block of flats near Liege where he had been visiting his girlfriend.   ($1=31.19 Belgian Franc) 
13110 !GCAT !GVIO  Nine U.N. staffers were surrounded by angry Iraqi Kurdish refugees near the Iranian border on Wednesday but the situation calmed down after the arrival of U.N. guards, a spokesman said.   "They were never taken hostage," U.N. spokesman Sylvana Foa said, denying rumours U.N. employees had been seized.   "They described it as 'an unpleasant shouting match, and we are getting used to it,'" she added.   The group, employees of various U.N. agencies, had been inspecting the situation near the Iraq-Iran border when it was surrounded by screaming refugees "angry at the perceived lack of intervention by the United Nations in the recent crisis in Iraq," Foa said.   One of the staffers radioed to their base in Sulaimaniya and more U.N. guards arrived to calm the situation, she said.   The incident ended a couple of hours later when the U.N. group returned to base.   Involved in the initial incident were five U.N. guards, two staff of the World Food Programme (WFP) and one each from the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Foa said.   Thousands of Kurdish refugees have been streaming towards the Iranian border since Iraqi President Saddam Hussein sent troops into the largely Kurdish north of his country nearly two weeks ago to back one side in an inter-Kurdish struggle. 
13111 !C13 !C22 !C31 !C311 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV  A Greenpeace campaign to stop imports of genetically-modified U.S. soybeans in Germany drew sharp criticism from Bonn-based food institute BLL, which supplies legal and scientific services to the industry.   A BLL statement issued after a Greenpeace press conference in Hamburg on Wednesday said, "the oils, fats and lecithin derived from these soybeans are identical with traditional products."   Health and ecological risks could be ruled out.   Labelling was impracticable because it was impossible to prove which parts of a given product were derived from genetically altered organisms.   Germany's food industries supported biotechnology and would not isolate themselves in increasingly global food production and trade, BLL said.   Greenpeace said it opposed the new soybeans as risks to human health and the environment could not be ruled out.   -Vera Eckert, Hamburg newsroom, +49-40-41903275 
13112 !C21 !C31 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT  European compound feed producers will have to make a major effort to promote their products as customers become more wary following the mad cow crisis, the president of a producers group said on Wednesday.   The disease, known as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), is believed to have been passed to cattle through feed containing the remains of sheep affected by scrapie, a similar brain wasting disease.   "There is a perception problem," Pat Lake, President of the European Compound Feed Manufacturers Association (FEFAC) told Reuters.   "We have to go out and tell people we are not putting strange things into animal feed."   FEFAC was committed towards providing safe livestock products at affordable prices, he added.   Lake agreed there was a need to upgrade meat processing standards and that it was in the feed trade's interest that an EU ban on use of specified bovine offals should be implemented by April 1997.   But he added that some FEFAC member states, which had not suffered from BSE, disagreed.   Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands said they already met the new meat and bone meal processing standards.   New French rules were even stricter.   -Peter Blackburn Brussels Bureau +322 287 6830 
13113 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, facing a challenge by northern separatists, held up Switzerland's system of cantons on Wednesday as a model of political autonomy that Italy could learn from.   Scalfaro, kicking off a three-day visit to Switzerland, hailed the highly devolved Swiss political system in which individual cantons have a broad say in how people live, unlike Italy's centralised system of government.   A parliamentary commission set up to look into constitutional change for Italy "could even draw experience from the example of Switzerland," he told reporters in Berne after talks with members of the Swiss cabinet.   "Switzerland represents an autonomous and vital system of cantons which is exemplary," he said, adding: "Autonomy is a fundamental element for different religions, languages and races to live together."   Italy's secessionist Northern League intends to proclaim a northern "Republic of Padania" in Venice on Sunday as the climax to three days of demonstrations along Italy's River Po.   Asked how to confront pressure by the Northern League, Scalfaro said events "had to be taken with calm seriousness and nothing else".   Scalfaro was scheduled to visit Francophone western Switzerland on Thursday and the Italian-speaking southern canton of Ticino on Friday. 
13114 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Turin city council has sparked angry debate among Italian politicians after overwhelmingly voting for soft drugs to be legalised.   The motion, which carries no legal force, was welcomed by many politicians, including the Green party which is in Prime Minister Romano Prodi's government coalition, but was denounced by others.   The council, voting 22-2 with five abstentions, urged parliament and government on Tuesday to reform Italy's existing drug laws to enable the northern city to carry out what it called a "social, political and medical experiment."   The council, run by a coalition of centre-left parties, said it also wanted to set up a programme for the controlled distribution of heroin to addicts.   Turin, an industrial city in the shadow of the Alps and home to car giant Fiat, has long been plagued by urban drug problems.   "It was a courageous and responsible decision," declared city mayor Valentino Castellani on Wednesday.   "Our's was a political act.   We wanted to bring to the attention of parliament, government and political parties the complex problem of drugs and drug addiction," he said.   Agostino Ghiglia, leader of the far-right National Alliance group on the city council, called it an "act of shame" and said he would send a syringe to those who voted in favour.   Centrist CCD leader Pierferdinando Casini said he was against any acceptance of soft drugs and said legalisation was tantamount to the state turning its back on the problem.   "This road aims to level Italy with countries like the Netherlands and represents the exact antithesis of what we believe the younger generations need," he said.   Italian law currently tolerates possession of only a small quantity of hashish for personal use and bans the sale of soft drugs. 
13115 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL !GVIO !GVOTE  The U.N. war crimes trial of Bosnian Serb Dusan Tadic, accused of atrocities against Moslems, has been put on hold until after the Bosnian elections, judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald said on Wednesday.   Lawyer Michail Wladimiroff said alibi witnesses in the defence case, which kicked off on Tuesday after a three-week recess, had been delayed by Bosnia's first postwar elections this weekend.   The trial, which began in early May and has so far heard testimony from 75 prosecution witnesses, will resume on Tuesday.   Tadic, former cafe owner and father of two girls, denies charges of killing, raping and torturing Moslems in Serb-run detention camps in northwestern Bosnia in 1992.   The only defence witness to testify so far, Robert McBeth Hayden, a professor of anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh, concluded his testimony on Wednesday.   He detailed rising nationalism in the former Yugoslavia which culminated in war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.   Hayden said voting in the region's last elections in November 1990 clearly followed ethnic lines, with the outcome "almost amounting to a census of Bosnia-Herzegovina".   When the "constitutional order dissolved leaving three nations...civil war was absolutely inevitable", he said.   The prosecution assets that Tadic was part of a wider movement aiming to terrorise non-Serbs into leaving their homes in what came to be called ethnic cleansing.   The defence said it expected its first alibi witnesses to leave Bosnia on Sunday, the day after polling.   It plans to call up to 36 witnesses to support Tadic's alibi that at times specified in the indictments he was working 50 km (30 miles) from the Prijedor region as a traffic policeman in Banja Luka.   The defence said it expected to wind up its case by October 25, with judge McDonald adding the entire case must be concluded by the end of November.   Tadic is one of seven war crimes suspects in Tribunal custody.   So far the tribunal has indicted 75 suspects -- 54 Serbs, 18 Croats and three Moslem. 
13116 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  The regional court of Lazio has overturned the decision of stock market authority Consob to suspend Italian licenced broker Refco Italia Sim, after an appeal against the ruling by the brokerage house.   Consob ruled on August 30 to suspend the broker, in which Refco Inc of the U.S. has a 50 percent stake, for 60 days for a series of violations.   The decision of the court, which covers the region around Rome where Consob has its headquarters, was announced by Andrea Carboni, a board member of Refco Italia Sim.   -- Milan newsroom +392 66129502 
13117 !C12 !C18 !C181 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GJOB  Unions at troubled French property lender Credit Foncier warned on Wednesday they would take legal action if the government did not release more details regarding an offer for Foncier by state bank Caisse des Depots et Consignation (CDC).   At a news conference, the six main unions reaffirmed their judgement that the takeover plan was flawed and could be successfully challenged in court and said Credit Foncier should stay in business after turning in a first-half profit.   They said a note explaining the CDC offer left two essential questions open and that they had written to the finance ministry on the matter.   "Is this a matter of holding shares for the state or is this a capitalistic takeover?"   the unions' letter said.   If the former, the plan would require a contract between between the government and the CDC, they said.   If the latter, the plan would have required advance consultations with the CDC.   The government announced a "managed wind down" of Credit Foncier in July and said it would be initiated with a takeover by CDC on the state's behalf.   The proposals foresaw spinning off its commercial activities and low-cost housing loan portfolio to another group called Credit Immobilier.   The rest of the company would be reduced to a shell company and placed in a state holding firm that would ensure billions of francs of bonds issued in its name were honoured.   On September 4, French stock markets authority CBV said CDC's 70 franc per share offer for Credit Foncier was acceptable.   The offer period opened on Monday and requires acceptances covering two-thirds of the shares in the group.   The takeover is expected to cost about 2.5 billion francs and the offer closes on October 4.   The unions' threat came on top of earlier warnings by disgruntled shareholders that they too could challenge the takeover.   Credit Foncier ran up huge property loan and investment losses as the bottom fell out of the property market in the early 1990s.   It reported losses of 10.8 billion francs for 1995 after provisions for property losses of 13.6 billion francs.   For the first half of 1996 the company posted a profit of 402 million francs compared with a 12 million franc loss in the year-earlier period.   -- William Emanuel, Paris Newsroom +331 4221 5071 
13118 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Spain's new conservative prime minister shrugged off graft allegations against his defence minister on Wednesday and vowed to end corruption scandals like those that toppled its Socialist predecessors.   "Old times will not come back.   The days of corruption scandals will not return," Jose Maria Aznar told reporters.   He dismissed calls for the resignation of Defence Minister Eduardo Serra, who acknowledged on Tuesday making hundreds of calls recommending friends for public contracts and other favours but denied corruption charges.   "I'm at peace, just as he is," Aznar said.   On Tuesday, the government's Basque allies urged Serra, an independent who was defence secretary under the Socialists, to quit.   Aznar took office four months ago on a clean-hands platform after lambasting the Socialists for countless corruption scandals.   Serra, who owes his job to King Juan Carlos according to local media, has said it was up to Aznar to say whether he should stay or go.   The newspaper El Mundo on Monday quoted court documents as showing Serra was a top executive of major construction company Cubiertas when it paid more than $1 million in bribes in return for contracts from then-Civil Guard chief Luis Roldan.   On Tuesday, the daily said Serra had interceded on behalf of a brother-in-law in 1986 for a contract from the paramilitary Civil Guard.   "Frankly, I don't know if I ever made such a request in a telephone call," he told a radio interviewer on Tuesday.   "It's possible."   "As you know, one makes hundreds of calls on behalf of someone else...even if it was true, it would only be a run-of-the-mill recommendation like the ones you do by the hundreds," he added.   Serra has been in the spotlight for weeks for a reported tug-of-war with Deputy Prime Minister Francisco Alvarez Cascos over control of Spain's intelligence services.   He was also criticised as one of the key movers in a surprise government decision to turn down court requests to declassify files on the 1980s "dirty war" on Basque ETA rebels.   The 1983-87 campaign of bombings, kidnappings, torture and murder killed 27 people, one-third of them by mistake.   Aznar's brother Manuel, a long-serving member of the judiciary, turned down the offer of a more senior position this week in order to avoid any suspicion of undue privileges. 
13119 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Former Bundesbank president Karl Otto Poehl warned on Wednesday that letting Spain and Italy join the single European currency on political grounds would be a "dangerous" decision that could bring higher interest rates.   Poehl told Germany's Wirtschaftswoche magazine that countries with inflation rates twice as high as Germany and France and also lower productivity levels would lose their competitiveness in a currency union, due in 1999.   "It would be dangerous if one for political reasons allowed Italy or Spain to join the currency union," Poehl said.   "It would be better for us if these countries stay outside for the time being.   Otherwise we must all pay -- in the form of higher interest rates," he added.   Poehl said he had the impression German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and French President Jacque Chirac have made a political decision to push forward with currency union.   Poehl added that inclusion of higher-inflation countries could also put the Euro's stability in danger and would likely put the new currency under pressure against the dollar.   But Poehl said he saw little need to insist on countries meeting all of the economic criteria laid down in the Maastricht Treaty to be eligible for membership.   The treaty calls for countries to meet by 1997 targets on interest and exchange rates, inflation and public budgets.   Most countries are facing the greatest problems in meeting the budgetary goals.   The Treaty refers to a three percent maximum of gross domestic product as the reference value for budget deficits and a 60 percent maximum for debt.   Germany has been insisting that these targets should be met strictly by all would-be participants.   But Poehl took the opposite view.   "One can also start a currency union with deficits of four percent," he said.   "This barrier at three percent is fairly irrelevant for the smooth functioning of a monetary union."   He said the fact that Germany, France, the Benelux states, Austria and Denmark had been more or less in a monetary union for years was much more important.   "These countries can make the step into currency union without major troubles," Poehl said.   Poehl, who opposed the way in which German monetary union was to be implemented and then left the Bundesbank, said he did not think European monetary union would be delayed.   "The likelihood (of currency union) has become greater because if it were to be delayed, it would presumably never occur," Poehl said.   He said current long-term German interest rate levels reflected the coming single currency, which is to be called the Euro.   He noted that German short-term rates were at historic lows and that the spread against long-term rates was over four percent and should be closer to three to four percent.   "The expectations for the realisation of currency union have led to a realignment of rates," he said.   Poehl said he believed Germany had reached the bottom of the current cycle and he was unsure whether the Federal Reserve would raise U.S. rates through the end of the year, which is marked by the November presidential election.   "The central banks have used their room to manoeuvre," he said of Germany, Japan and Switzerland.   Poehl said the German economy was showing signs of a recovery but he did not expect dramatic growth or rates to rise quickly because inflation did not pose any danger. 
13120 !GCAT !GDEF !GPOL !GVIO !GVOTE  The U.S. aircraft carrier Enterprise returned to the Adriatic on Wednesday to provide air support to peacekeepers in Bosnia if needed during the forthcoming elections, a Sixth Fleet spokesman said.   Bosnia holds its first elections since the end of the four-year civil war on Saturday.   NATO has a 60,000-strong peace force in Bosnia which has promised to provide security for refugees who want to return to their homes to vote.   The U.S. Navy spokesman said the USS Enterprise and its accompanying battle fleet had been on duty in the Mediterranean before heading back into the Adriatic where it regularly patrolled during the war. 
13121 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Algeria's main Moslem fundamentalist rebel group said on Wednesday that a forthcoming government-organised conference to chart reforms and try to end violence was doomed.   The outlawed Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), which has not been invited to the parley, said participants "would have to take entire responsibility for the consequences...of the aggravation of the crisis with its accompanying destruction, misery and poverty".   Algerian authorities expect about 1,000 politicians and officials from political parties and social groups to attend the conference, from which radical Islamists are excluded.   Some legal opposition parties had already said next weekend's conference would bring no change in the violence-torn North African country.   In a statement sent to a news agency in Paris, the exiled leadership of FIS in Europe said: "Holding the conference in this way and under the present circumstances is bound to failure and cannot in any way bring about national understanding and reconciliation especially since the Algerian people show absolutely no interest in it...".   FIS called on Algerian authorities to release its jailed leaders and "allow the people to choose (future political options) in an atmosphere of stability and freedom".   Western estimates put at more than 50,000 the number of people killed in Algeria's violence since early 1992, when the authorities cancelled a general election in which FIS had taken a commanding lead. 
13122 !C13 !C17 !C24 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT  FEDIOL, the EU Seed Crushers and Oil Processors' Federation said on Wednesday that a European Commission proposal to cut area aid did not allow for a deterioration in the balance between cereals and oilseeds.   It said that oilseeds production aid has deteriorated because it was linked to world market prices while cereal aids were not.   "For several years now, this situation has made oilseeds production relatively uncompetitive vis-a-vis the growing of cereals in many regions," FEDIOL said in a statement.   The statement said that oilseed aids should be revised or the market based system extended to the cereal sector.   The organisation said it was also worried about proposed cuts in set-aside compensatory payments.   In added that the proposed cut in compensation together with the overall five per cent reduction in set-aside and "the suppression of the obligation to rotate land set aside" will lead to a drastic reduction in supplies of non-food raw materials and, especially, of non-food oilseeds. 
13123 !C13 !C18 !C183 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !G157 !GCAT  The European Commission, seeking to reassure people about its efforts to break up state monopolies, said on Wednesday the European Union should pledge in its treaty to promote public services.   The move responds to pressure from EU governments, including France and Belgium, and others who have expressed fears that the Union's deregulation and privatisation efforts will lead to a deterioration of service, especially if it is unprofitable.   But the text agreed by the Commission is relatively anodyne and falls short of stronger treaty language advocated by some including French Commissioner Edith Cresson and German Commissioner Monika Wulf-Mathies.   The Commission proposed that the EU treaty be amended to list as an official Union activity "a contribution to the promotion of services of general interest".   Commission spokesmen said this would merely spell out the approach the EU is already taking in its efforts to liberalise sectors such as telecommunications, postal services, energy and transport.   In telecoms and postal services legislation, for example, it has included a requirement that governments guarantee "universal service" -- a minimum set of services to all consumers at an affordable price.   "Its purpose is mainly didactic," spokesman Thierry Daman told reporters.   The Commission said in a statement that it had included the proposal in a report that aimed to clarify that "there is no contradiction between competition policy and promotion of the general interest of European citizens".   Cresson and Wulf-Mathies had fought to make access to general interest services a right of European citizenship, Commission officials said.   But others argued that could open a "Pandora's box" of legal problems, for example whether such a right should also apply to citizens of third countries living in the EU, they said.   The Commission agreed to consider the question within a broader debate it is planning on whether the EU treaty should guarantee citizens a list of fundamental rights, Daman said. 
13124 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Bundesbank council member Edgar Meister said on Thursday that the European Union and the European Monetary Institute should aim to give as clear an interpretation of the Maastricht Treaty criteria as possible.   Meister said in the prepared text of a speech to a banking group in Kiel that uncertainty in the public and in financial markets about currency union was due in part to questions as to how the convergence criteria will be interpreted.   An advance copy of the speech by Meister, a Bundesbank directorate member, was made available under embargo.   "More transparency, in particular in making concrete the fiscal convergence criteria, would be clearly well received," Meister said.   "That is not only applicable for the selection of initial members in the first round but also for the question of how the convergence criteria will be laid out for entry later by other countries," Meister said.   The Maastricht Treaty calls for countries who wish to join monetary union at the planned start in 1999 to meet targets on interest and exchange rates, inflation and budgets.   But many of the targets -- particularly those on budgets -- leave room for interpretation on the precise standards which must be met. 
13125 !E12 !E13 !E131 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT !GPOL !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Germany's minister for Europe took the unusual step on Tuesday of publicly warning France's opposition Socialists against any weakening of the fight against inflation in the run-up to a single European currency.   Werner Hoyer, junior minister for European affairs, was responding in an article in the newspaper Le Monde to a call by Socialist parliamentary floor leader Laurent Fabius for a shift in Franco-German economic and monetary policy to revive growth.   "On that point, Laurent Fabius is wrong on multiple counts," Hoyer wrote.   "His wish to use monetary policy as an instrument to revive the economy and to slacken the fight against inflation means nothing less than abandoning European economic and monetary union (EMU) before even joining it."   He also said Fabius was mistaken in wanting to enshrine the fight against unemployment in the European Union treaty as one of the aims of the 15-nation block. 
13126 !C13 !C17 !C31 !C312 !CCAT !E51 !E512 !ECAT !G15 !G153 !G158 !GCAT  The European Union played down on Wednesday a warning from U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman against using grain export subsidies, saying that a trade war was unlikely under present market conditions.   "In view of tight global supplies and high prices there is little danger of a grain trade or subsidy war," European Commission agriculture spokesman Gerard Kiely told Reuters.   The U.S. warning came amidst expectations that the EU may soon restore wheat export subsidies after a lapse of nearly one year as prices ease under pressure of a new harvest.   The EU also noted upcoming U.S. presidential elections in November.   "The statement seems to be aimed primarily for domestic consumption," Kiely added. 
13127 !GCAT !GSCI  Mineralogists from Hamburg university found a new rhodium-containing mineral in studies of platinum concentrates near Veluce in central Serbia, the university announced on Wednesday.   Professor Mahmud Tarkian said the International Mineralogical Association in Ottawa approved the new rhodium-palladium arsenide under the name Rhodarsenite.   Field studies were still underway and it was far too early to comment on any possible commercial viability of extraction.   Tarkian said commerial uses would require at least five grams of platinum minerals per tonne of rock.   Initial results may be published next year.   Rhodium is used in the production of car catalysts which neutralise toxic gas in car exhausts.   Of the 14.5 tonnes of rhodium produced last year, 13.5 tonnes went into autocatalysts.   -Vera Eckert, Hamburg newsroom, +49-40-41903275 
13128 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Togo's President Gnassingbe Eyadema, a general in power since 1967, crowned a return to favour with his top aid donor on Tuesday by lunching with French President Jacques Chirac.   Eyadema basked in the red-carpet welcome from France, which broke with its European Union allies in 1994 by resuming aid to the West African nation, which has had a stormy transition to multi-party rule.   "I would like to pay a well-deserved tribute to President Chirac," Eyadema, who staged independent black Africa's first coup d'etat and was elected in 1993 in a vote boycotted by the opposition, said after lunching at the Elysee Palace.   "He is a great friend of Africa, a man who knows Africa and a man who likes Africans.   Our discussions were most fruitful in every respect," he told reporters as a gleaming honour guard stood to attention in the courtyard of the palace.   Eyadema was in France, the former colonial ruler, for talks on aid to bolster democratic institutions in Togo and to help its economy.   He also met French Cooperation Minister Jacques Godfrain on Monday.   France provided about 500 million francs ($100 million) in aid in 1994 and 290 million ($60 million) in 1995, officials said.   France was the last country to cut off aid to Togo in 1993 after peace talks between Eyadema's party and the opposition broke down.   Pressure to suspend aid became overwhelming when Eyadema's security forces shot dead 17 people during a visit in January 1993 by the French and German cooperation ministers.   Antoine Glaser, of the African newsletter La Lettre du Continent, said Eyadema worked to claw back French favour under late Socialist President Francois Mitterrand, succeeded by Chirac in 1995.   Eyadema attended a Franco-African summit in the French resort of Biarritz in 1994, but did not get an individual reception until meeting Chirac.   "This visit confirms his rehabilitation," Glaser said.   He said Eyadema hoped to enlist Chirac's support in securing aid from other European nations, especially Germany.   Even when France cold-shouldered Eyadema, he was never shunned like Zairean President Mobutu Sese Seko, who was formerly banned from visiting France, Glaser said.   After lunch with Chirac, Eyadema said that he was working to help U.N. efforts for a peace accord between Cameroon and Nigeria on the Bakassi peninsula on the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea.   He also said Togo was appealing for greater foreign help for Liberia, torn by civil war and famine. 
13129 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GWELF  France's Labour and Social Affairs ministry denied on Wednesday a newspaper report that the government was considering making families wholly or partly financially responsible for recipients of the minimum unemployment benefit (RMI).   "In the wake of news published in Le Monde...the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs wants to make clear that no change to the law of December 1, 1988 relative to the RMI is planned by the government," the ministry said in a statement.   The statement said that while the law contains a subsistence obligation between married couples and parents and children, there was no plan to means test RMI benefits.   But the statement said the government was examining whether to means test RMI benefits to young people over 25 with well-off parents.   "The difficulties which can arise with regard to the equity of the case of young seekers of the RMI over 25 whose parents have high incomes is, on the other hand, the object of discussion with a view to reaching an appropriate solution," the statement said.   Le Monde had reported the government planned to impose a subsistence obligation on families depending on their means.   It said the idea would be contained in the 1997 budget law but was not likely to have a major impact on France's 1997 accounts.   The new measure would save less than 500 million francs in an annual budget of some 24.2 billion francs.   About one million people in France receive the Revenue Minimum d'Insertion (RMI) which is allocated to people who have no resources and are not eligible for unemployment benefits.   Le Monde had reported that under the new measure parents would pay all or part of the obligation for their children in need and children could be held responsible for parents in need.   -- Paris Newsroom +331 4221 5071 
13130 !C13 !C17 !C24 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT  European Union countries were divided over a proposal to cut cereals area aid payments in order to finance beef reforms, an EU official said.   On July 30 cuts the European Commission proposed that would save 1.3 billion Ecus in 1998 and 1.6 billion Ecus in 1999 and subsequent years.   "There is a clear split with only Britain and Sweden actively supporting the proposal.   Denmark is broadly supportive but the rest have a variety of objections," the official said after the proposal was discussed by member state farm officials.   They were preparing for an EU farm ministers meeting on September 16-17.   France has not opposed the proposal outright but has said there is no reason to include the oilseed sector in the cuts, the official said.   Germany remains opposed and with other countries believes that there is enough money to aid producers hit by falling markets because of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).   "Almost all countries other than those who support the plan were negative for one reason or another.   Italy was the most outspoken member state saying that they see no reason for beef to be given special treatment," the official added. 
13131 !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT  Bundesbank board member Edgar Meister said on Wednesday that currrent thinking indicated that the European Central Bank would have minimum reserves in its armoury of instruments.   In a speech released in advance of delivery to bankers in the north German town of Kiel, Meister said, "On the basis of information currently available, minimum reserves will be used in stage three of EMU by the ECB in a relatively simple technical form which will not mean much of a burden."   He added that the ECB itself would of course have the last word on its instrumentarium.   The Bundesbank has long campaigned for the European central bank to use minimum reserves, although the German central bank's system of requiring banks to hold cash in interest-free accounts at the central bank is unpopular in the industry.   --Frankfurt Newsroom +49 69 756525 
13132 !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT  The European Monetary Institute will produce its draft of the likely policy tools (instrumentarium) of the European Central Bank in January 1997, Bundesbank board member Edgar Meister said on Wednesday.   In the text of a speech prepared for delivery to bankers in Kiel, he said "The EMI plans to publish significant parts of its blueprints for the monetary policy instrumentarium in January 1997."   An EMI spokeswoman confirmed "It is planned for January."   She said the report would contain information about the operational plans of the European Monetary Institute in Stage Three of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).   A final decision on the instrumentarium has to be taken by the ECB council once it has been appointed.   --Frankfurt Newsroom +49 69 756525 
13133 !GCAT !GDEF !GPOL  French Defence Minister Charles Millon unveiled on Wednesday a plan to reform the DGA arms procurement office, with wide use of civilian management methods.   The Direction Generale de l'Armement (DGA), which is responsible for buying equipment for the armed forces, must adapt to France's new budgetary constraints and cut its costs, a briefing document said.   The DGA "must apply the methods of industry to the management of arms programmes" in order to reduce costs and lead times, it said.   This was aimed at cutting both the cost of the DGA itself and the industrial costs of arms programmes.   The head of the DGA, Jean-Yves Helmer, appointed earlier this year from the automobile division of carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen, wants defence companies to cut their costs by 30 percent over six years.   The DGA must cut its own cost by the same proportion.   Its 1995 operating budget totalled 7.7 billion francs ($1.5 billion), of which 50 percent came from the payroll, 30 percent in current and 20 percent on capital spending.   The DGA is the principal manager for the defence ministry's financing credits under the military budget.   Its 48,800 staff handle around 80 percent of those credits, or 70 billion francs, and have long been considered slow and bureaucratic.   The DGA will now emphasise the need for competition in industry while at the same time pursuing a Europe-first purchasing policy rather than buying off-the-shelf from U.S. firms.   As part of the planned reforms, the DGA will set up a central office for management of arms systems -- direction des systemes d'armes (DSA) -- to replace the former specialised services, with the exception of the DCN which manages naval dockyards which are politically sensitive.   The DSA will be a multi-disciplinary body which will follow programmes from beginning to end, in close collaboration with defence contractors.   DGA unions, which met Helmer on Wednesday, responded coolly to the reforms, fearing they will mean job cuts.   The unions called out workers on Tuesday to demonstrate against threatened job losses, with a big showing from naval dockworkers.   -- Paris newsroom +33 1 4221 5452 ($ = 5.160 French Francs) 
13134 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis, facing a tough election challenge in 10 days, said on Wednesday that "Turkish threats" in the Aegean and the Cyprus issue were his main foreign policy concerns.   "Turkey continues to be the main problem of our foreign policy," he told a news conference.   "Turkey has an expansionist policy and intensifies tension (with Greece) whenever it sees fit."   Simitis accused the conservative opposition, which backs a harder line towards Ankara, of pushing Greece into a "dangerous adventure" and said an intense diplomatic effort in the European Union was the only way to serve the country's interests.   "If we choose the same road (tension) then this dangerous recipe will mathematically lead us to uncontrollable situations," he said.   Simitis said Greece's EU partners and the United States were now accepting Greek arguments that differences with Ankara should be solved through the International Court at the Hague.   "For the first time there is a shift in our allies' policy from keeping an equal distance between us and Turkey to adopting our positions," he said.   He called for the modernisation of the Greek armed forces and said a decision on an arms purchase would be one of his first priorities if he won the September 22 vote.   "The central aim in our defence policy is our ability to deter Turkish threats.   To achieve this we primarily need strong armed forces.   Our priority is to upgrade their quality with a arms programme in the next four years," Simitis said.   Defence ministry officials say the joint chiefs of staff have asked the government for a $10 billion arms purchase which includes F-16 fighters, missiles, tanks, submarines and attack helicopters.   Simitis declined to comment on the cost but said he could resort to foreign borrowing to an extent which would not hurt Greece's convergence plan with the rest of the European Union.   "If we have to, we will resort to borrowing but this will not affect the targets of our economic policy.   We also don't plan to impose any new taxes," he said.   Greece and its fellow-member of NATO Turkey have long standing disputes over territorial rights in the Aegean Sea and the divided island of Cyprus.   The two neighbours came close to blows in January over rights of an uninhabited islet in the eastern Aegean.   A clash was averted through a U.S.-mediated compromise in which both Athens and Ankara withdrew their flags and forces from the area.   Simitis, a staunchly pro-European pragmatist, said other foreign policy priorities included an active presence of Greece in the Balkans and negotiations over Greece's participation in the European Monetary Union shortly after 1999.   Foreign policy matters have so far played a secondary role in the campaign, with the economy in the forefront.   A nationwide opinion poll this week showed Simitis' PASOK party running neck-to-neck with the opposition New Democracy and analysts said they could not make any safe predictions on who would win. 
13135 !GCAT !GDIP  The leader of Germany's vestigial Jewish community sharply criticised World War Two allies on Wednesday for secretly holding on to vast amounts of gold looted by Nazi Germany.   Ignatz Bubis, the head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said the United States, Britain and France had apparently kept gold after World War Two that the Nazis had taken from victims of the Holocaust.   "It is an absolute scandal and a crime if the three Western Allies wanted to divide up what the Nazis stole," Bubis said in an interview to be published in Thursday's edition of Berlin's Der Tagesspiegel newspaper.   Bubis singled out France for a special rebuke, saying that unlike the United States and Britain, France had failed to make public more details of what it knew about the post-war handling of the fortune.   "The French are the only ones we haven't heard a thing from," Bubis said.   He also emphatically called upon Switzerland to open its banking records.   Britain's Foreign Office on Tuesday disclosed that Switzerland had only returned a fraction of Nazi gold to the Allies after World War Two.   The Foreign Office said in a report the sum of 250 million Swiss francs paid in 1946 to settle claims connected with Nazi gold was little more than a tenth of the gold thought to be in Swiss bank vaults at the end of the war.   It said the United States, Britain and France accepted the sum of 250 million Swiss francs because they felt they had little alternative.   Bubis told German television in a separate interview that revelations from Britain and the United States, which he said admitted several weeks ago it was willing to return its share of the gold, should have come years ago.   "We believe there was a lot more (gold involved)," Bubis told the ARD network.   "We have seen the agreement in the meantime from 1946 and it shows that Switzerland was permitted to keep half for itself and the three western Allies divided up the rest among themselves." 
13136 !C17 !C21 !C31 !C312 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  The head of France's grain office ONIC said on Wednesday the European Union may soon restore export subsidies for its wheat as it faces a promising 1996 harvest.   ONIC's director general Alain Moulinier said the timing of the decision now mostly hinged on the trend of the dollar.   "Currently we have taxes, but we will return to subsidies," Moulinier told a news conference, adding "this does not mean we will need large subsidies to export."   The European Commission has until now resisted trade pressure to relax its tight grip on wheat exports and restore export subsidies amid prospects of a bumper crop.    Moulinier said the European Commission had already reduced to a "symbolic" level the taxes applying to wheat exports.   The EU began taxing wheat exports last year when stocks were low and domestic prices high.   But prices have eased in recent weeks as reports of a promising harvest started to emerge.   Last Thursday the European Union granted the export of 77,350 tonnes of EU soft wheat at a minimum tax of 0.02 Ecus per tonne through its weekly grain tender system.   In a separate tender it granted the export of 35,000 tonnes of EU soft wheat for export to African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) nations at a subsidy of 5.40 Ecus per tonne.   But that sale was widely seen as favourable treatment to ACP countries linked to the EU through a special trade pact.   Moulinier said that prospects of a record crop in the EU should allow the EU to "step up its presence" on world markets.   France stood to benefit most if wheat export subsidies were eventually restored, he said.   ONIC expects the European Union 1996 grain harvest to exceed the 1991 record level of 194.8 million tonnes seen before the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.   Estimates for the EU soft wheat harvest were between 88 and 89 million tonnes, Moulinier said.   ONIC, which expects France to harvest a record 33.8 million tonnes of soft wheat in 1996, hopes exports to non-EU destinations may jump to 6.7 milion tonnes in 1996/97 from 3.7 million in the past season.   --Paris newsroom +331 4221 5432 
13137 !E12 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  France and Germany have stepped on the accelerator in what they hope is the home stretch to European monetary union, with both driving down public deficits to meet Maastricht treaty standards.   Germany on Tuesday unveiled an austerity budget which aims bring the total public deficit next year down to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product while France has promised a budget on September 18 bring its deficit to three percent of GDP.   But in the unseemly scramble to get below three percent next year -- the key year for deciding which countries qualify for a single currency -- economists say Europe may be storing up problems for itself which may create huge strains for the fledgling monetary union before and after its launch in 1999.   In crude terms, many economists believe France is cheating to get its deficit down to three percent of GDP -- by pushing spending forward into future years -- while Germany is not.   So that whereas Maastricht was meant to bring Europe's two biggest economies into line to smoothe the launch of the single currency, big differences might remain afterwards.   Among other things, France is expected to use a transfer of funds to pay for pensions for France Telecom workers in the years to come to meet its target in 1997.   Most such accounting tricks are allowed under the Maastricht treaty -- though not encouraged by a pact that was meant to ensure a steady reduction of public spending to underpin the stability of the new single currency at the outset.   "It's breaking the spirit of Maastricht.   You have actually created a heavier burden for your country in the years to come to achieve a quick fix," Credit Lyonnais economist Iain Lindsay said.   "Therefore in the year 2000 the divergence between the two economies will look quite stark."   The issue is far more than academic, since too much focus on 1997 budgets at the expense of later years could leave countries exposed until 2002, when notes and coins go into circulation.   In theory a "stability pact' proposed by Germany would prevent countries running up big new deficits after 1997, although details on that have still to take shape"   During that time Europe faces first a period of currency unrest between a decision on monetary union membership in early 1998 and fixing exchange rates at the end of that year.   Then even when governments and markets start using the euro, it will remain on slightly shaky ground until full public circulation in 2002 makes the change irrevocable.   France's deficit tactics may also have moved the goalposts for other hopeful monetary union members, notably in the weaker economies of southern Europe, for whom French and German budget deficits will set the standard.   Some have suggested Germany has pushed France to get its deficit below three percent next year to provide a good excuse to keep out countries like Spain and Italy which are likely to fail this target -- though in Spain's case not by that much.   Economists say Germany's powerful Bundesbank does not want to see the strong mark diluted by the peseta and the lira through early Spanish and Italian membership.   But Sally Wilkinson, UBS economist for Spain, Italy and Portugal, said France's apparent cheating on its budget deficit made it all the easier for these countries to cheat even more.   "If France is allowed to get away with it, Spain will do it much more blatantly," she said.   "You can't exclude one and not the other."   "The important thing for me is how the Germans and the Bundesbank react to the French budget," she said.   A favourable response would encourage all other European countries while criticism could spark a new currency crisis, she added.   Even within that scenario, big questions remain about Germany's ability to cut its own budget deficit.   The German government is already running into mass union demonstrations and political accusations of gross social injustice over its own austerity drive.   "The government over here is wildly optimistic about the budget.   We should be lucky to be at 3.5 percent next year," Merrill Lynch economist Holger Schmieding said.   He said that while the German government had not yet resorted to the window-dressing taking place in France, "they may now with the French example give a lot of thought to that".   Curiously, one such source of extra revenue could be the Bundesbank itself, which has huge hidden reserves. 
13138 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT !GJOB  Workers at Germany's once biggest and now bankrupt shipyard Bremer Vulkan Verbund AG are entitled to payments from European Union social funds, German government officials said on Wednesday.   The European Union has agreed to help pay some retraining costs and non-wage labour costs for the workers who joined an employment group, Mypegasus, shortly after the shipbuilder said it was entering bankruptcy proceedings.   But government officials were unable to say how money would be channelled from Brussels to Bremen, adding that details still needed to be hammered out between Germany's federal labour ministry and its Labour Office.   Mypegasus employs about 1,350 workers of the 4,000 workers who were employed by Bremer Vulkan before its demise.   Other workers are currently being loaned out to yards, still working to finish up orders placed earlier.   Bremer Vulkan earlier this year tangled with the EU when it held up approval for more subsidies after the company was accused by the German privatisation agency of having diverted millions of marks in subsidies to other operations.   --Frankfurt Newsroom, +49 69 756525 
13139 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Economics Minister Guenter Rexrodt on Wednesday reiterated German objections to U.S. sanctions against companies doing business with Cuba.   "U.S. threats of extra-territorial sanctions against German and other European companies are the wrong way to promote democratisation.   We will not accept this," Rexrodt said after a meeting with Stuart Eizenstat, special U.S. envoy on Cuba.   Eizenstat has been touring European and other nations to win acceptance of the Helms-Burton act, which provides for sanctions against companies doing business with Cuba.   The European Union, including Germany, has in many statements criticised and rejected the Helms-Burton Act and U.S. sanctions regarding Iran and Libya becuase of their extra-territorial character, Rexrodt said.   The U.S. laws were not in accord with the principles of international law and the multilateral trade system, he said.   "Economic reforms are particularly important for the democratisation of Cuba.   This reform process has our full support."   German companies doing business in Cuba were aware of their responsibilities, and offered their workers better conditions than Cuban employers, Rexrodt said.   -- Terence Gallagher, Bonn newsroom, 49 228 26097150 
13140 !C13 !C17 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT  European Union countries were divided in the Special Committee on Agriculture on Tuesday over Commission plans to cut arable area aid payments in order to finance beef reforms, an EU official.   "There is a clear split with only Britain and Sweden actively supporting the proposal.   Denmark is broadly supportive but, the rest have a variety of objections," the official said.   The same divisions were reflected at Wednesday's meeting of COREPER, the official added.   France has not opposed the proposal outright but has said that there is no reason to include the oilseed sector in the cuts.   Germany remains opposed and with a number of other member states believes that there is enough money to compensate producers hit by falling markets because of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).   "Almost all countries other than those who support the plan were negative for one reason or another.   Italy was the most outspoken member state saying that they see no reason for beef to be given special treatment," the official added.   The Commission denied that money could be found without making the proposed cuts at both the special agriculture committee and COREPER, the official said.   The Commission's proposal, presented on July 30, would save 1.3 billion Ecus in 1998 and 1.6 billion Ecus in 1999 and subsequent years.   It will be discussed by farm ministers on September 16-17. 
13141 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Finnish Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen on Wednesday called for the Baltic states to be involved in enlargement of the European Union, warning against any isolation of the region in Europe.   "It is important for Finland that the Baltic countries also have an equal opportunity to join the European Union," Lipponen told a meeting of European Social Democrats.   "This is very important to ensure stability within the EU," he said.   Sketching the outlines of foreign policy in Finland, which joined the EU in 1995, Lipponen said the Union should be developed to ensure its own way of peace-keeping, although in practice "we may have to rely on logistics from the USA".   Non-aligned Finland has recently been joined by its neutral neighbour Sweden in voicing concerns that the newly-independent Baltic states, especially those which house large Russian minorities, not be left in a security vaccuum by the west.   Finland has said enlargement of the NATO alliance, if focused on more southern and central European countries, could create new "spheres of influence"; voicing concern that Russia may see the Baltic region as within its area of interest.   While NATO enlargement could boost Europe's stability, "it could also be a step backwards if it leads to new spheres of influence and a new divide in Europe," Lipponen said through an interpreter.   He said Finland, which fought two wars against the Soviet Union earlier this century and lived for decades in its Cold War shadow, had in history constantly focused on its security.   "We always have to ask ourselves -- do any new actions increase or reduce our stability?"   he said. 
13142 !C13 !C18 !C183 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  The postal committee of the German upper house of parliament on Wednesday postponed discussions on rules for interconnection agreements between Deutsche Telekom and its competitors after it is privatised.   The committee's secretariat said the delay occurred because it wanted to hold talks with private telecoms firms before making a decision about interconnection.   The decision is likely to be made on October 2 and be approved by the whole upper house, or Bundesrat, on October 18.   The decision does not endanger the privatisation of Deutsche Telekom which does not begin until November because the issue should be cleared up by then.   The law governing Telekom's relations with its competitors after market liberalisation in 1998 was passed earlier this year and stipulated that the competitors should be allowed to have connection to Telekom's local networks.   But it was not clearly defined and said precise definitions of how the law should be applied in practice should be made before Telekom's float.   After Telekom publishes half-year results for the first time next week it plans to take a roadshow around to potential investors to advertise itself.   Clarity on interconnection rules would help this process.   Telekom's competitors do not have networks as comprehensive as Telekom's and are dependent for their viability on getting interconnection at the right price.   Postal Minister Wolfgang Boetsch said he did not understand the committee's delay.   "The clarification (of the law on interconnection) is of crucial importance for the creation of a functioning and fair telecoms market and for the planning of future operators," he said in a statement, adding that he thought the matter had been already sorted out last month.   A Deutsche Telekom spokesman stressed that the delay would have no impact on the company's imminent privatisation.   The only consequences was that the interconnection clause of the law could not yet be listed in the company's privatisation prospectus due out early in October.   -- Ashley Seager, Bonn newsroom, 49-228-2609750 
13143 !C13 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT  A draft directive which would allow mortgage-backed securities to be given the same risk weightings as mortgage loans is due to win approval from the European Parliament on September 17.   Marlies Mosiek-Urbahn, a German Christian Democrat, will urge MEPs to back the proposal - COM(95)709 - which amends a 1989 directive setting a solvency ratio for credit institutions.   The amendment means that mortgage-backed loans for offices and multi-purpose commercial premises can be given a risk weighting of 50 percent until January 1, 2001.   When a bank grants credit, the risk has to be weighted, that is, bank supervision law requires it to be backed by a corresponding amount of own capital.   In the case of normal risks, credit institutions are obliged to reserve own capital amounting to eight percent of the volume of credit granted.   This corresponds to a risk weighting of 100 percent.   When the credit is granted to a bank or state structure and the risk is particularly low, the weighting is set at between 0 and 20 percent.   This enables the credit institution to reduce its own capital reserve to 1.6 or even 0 percent of the volume of credit granted.   According to Mosiek-Urbahn, surveys have shown that the rates of default on long-term financing for offices and multi-purpose commercial premises can be as low as for housing credit, which attracts a risk weighting of 50 percent.   She therefore agrees with the European Commission that the member states' banking regulatory authorities must be allowed to weight this type of credit at 50 percent too.   This would have the added advantage of establishing equal treatment with commercial property leasing which, under the solvency directive, is also to be weighted at 50 percent. 
13144 !C13 !C31 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !G157 !GCAT  The European Commission said on Wednesday it would look into any complaint from airline owner Richard Branson that Scandinavian Airlines Systems (SAS) was undercutting prices on the Brussels-Copenhagen route.   "Certainly when we get the letter we will take the complaint seriously and see whether there are any grounds for pursuing it," European Union transport policy spokeswoman Sarah Lambert said.   Depending on what the Commission finds "it may or may not" take action, Lambert told Reuters.   But there was no reason "to suppose that there is necessarily anything wrong in SAS's behaviour" at this point.   Speaking on Tuesday to launch his Virgin Express airline's Brussels-Copenhagen service, Branson said he had written to Commission air transport chief Fredrik Sorensen complaining about SAS price cuts on selected Copenhagen-Brussels flights.   Virgin started daily flights between Copenhagen and Brussels last Friday at up to 75 percent below competitors' fares.   "If SAS can afford to reduce their fares suddenly and miraculously...on a particular flight which happens to go quite near the time of our own flight, but not be able to do it on all their other flights, that is the sort of behaviour that we feel is blatantly anti-competitive and we're asking Fredrik Sorensen to look into it," Branson said.   In the letter, Branson accuses SAS of cross-subsidising the route "with no other intention than to use its muscle to damage us."   Lambert said the Commission had not yet received the letter from Branson, who also said he would make a formal complaint if necessary.   She said it was difficult to say anything about the case before the Commission had had time to look at all the details.   "We'll have to see exactly black and white what his complaint is," she said.   On Tuesday, SAS rejected Branson's complaint, accusing Virgin of fearing competition.   Lambert noted that competition was supposed to lead to lower prices.   "At first glance that has happened here but clearly we have to check that that is being done fairly."   There have been huge drops in fares on some European routes as a result of liberalisation but in other areas, for example in Scandinavia, prices have remained high.   "The question is whether that is a result of duopoly practice or something like that or whether it is simply because there are some markets that just are never going to be highly competitive markets," Lambert said. 
13145 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  Belgian police investigating the assassination of a leading Belgian politician questioned a sixth man on Wednesday, while five suspects arrested at the weekend had their charges of murder confirmed in court.   The affair, coming on top of the child abduction, sex, murder and car theft scandal, has shocked the country deeply and prompted calls for a thorough overhaul of the judicial and political systems.   Former government minister Alain Van der Biest, his then- private secretary Richard Taxquet and three others have been charged with the murder near Liege on July 18, 1991 of Andre Cools, patriarch of the country's francophone Socialist Party.   The latest man to be detained was Van der Biest's erstwhile driver, Pino Di Mauro, who was taken into custody late on Tuesday after returning from holiday in France.   An international warrant requiring Di Mauro to present himself had been issued, and Belgian radio said he returned from holiday and made contact with the authorities himself after hearing about it on the French news.   "Di Mauro has been apprehended and is currently being questioned in connection with the Cools investigation," a police spokesman told Reuters.   A court in Liege, south eastern Belgium, decided on Wednesday to renew the charges against the five other men.   The move was necessary if the men were to be kept in detention.   A former minister in the Wallonia government, Van der Biest has repeatedly stated his innocence in the Cools affair.   He was forced to resign from his regional government post in 1992 for alleged involvement in a 500 million franc securities fraud thought to be linked to Cools's murder.   Investigations into the death of Cools, who is believed to have been on the verge of blowing the whistle on corruption in the Liege branch of the Socialist Party when he was gunned down, have uncovered a trail of bribery and other scandals.   Up to now though police had not appeared close to finding Cools's murderers.   New momentum was injected into the case on September 3 after a witness came forward under condition of anonymity with a testimony, according to Belgian media.   The witness's detailed account had not however given the names of Cools's killers, the motive nor the origin of funds believed to have been paid for his assassination.   Police discovered at the weekend two guns which they believe were used when Cools was shot in the car park outside a block of flats near Liege where he had been visiting his girlfriend.   The army engineers who found the two revolvers were led there by Domenico Castellino, one of the five men under arrest and who has admitted hiring and hiding the two hit-men who shot Cools. 
13146 !GCAT !GVIO  The rebel Taleban militia seized Afghanistan's main eastern city of Jalalabad on Wednesday and vowed to enforce Islamic Sharia law in surrounding Nangarhar province, Afghan sources said.   Taleban spokesmen in neighbouring Pakistan and witnesses and other Afghan sources said the Islamic militia captured the provincial capital with very little fighting.   They seized Jalalabad hours after troops loyal to President Burhanuddin Rabbani's government in Kabul took control from a previously neutral council.   Later the militia fighters advanced on the 75-km (45-mile) eastern highway to Pakistan and had come up to five km (three miles) from the Torkham border crossing, Afghan sources said.   Before the battle for the town began, an apparent peace mission ended in bloodbath when Nangarhar acting governor Engineer Mahmood and 69 other people were shot dead while driving towards the Pakistan border, a survivor said.   Former Nangarhar corps commander Fazle Haq Mujahid told reporters at the Pakistan border that the attack was carried out by the fighters of a rival commander apparently to avenge the murder of his brother.   A Pakistan-based Afghan news service, the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP), said the group seemed to be heading for peace talks with Taleban leaders when they were shot.   Mahmood, a commander of the neutral Hezb-i-Islami faction of Maulvi Mohammad Younis Khalis, was killed only hours after he had been appointed acting governor of Nangarhar.   An Afghan government spokesman accused Pakistan of conspiring and aiding the Taleban attack, signalling a return to frosty relations between the two governments.   A Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman rejected the charge as unfounded and said Islamabad had been trying to promote intra-Afghan talks to bring peace to the war-shattered country.   Pakistan evacuated eight staff members of its consulate in Jalalabad after government troops arrived there earlier on Wednesday to try to stop the pre-announced Taleban advance, a staff member said.   A Pakistani mission official said 15 United Nations officials had been trapped in their Jalalabad office while a U.N. plane awaited for them at the airport.   There was no further information about their evacuation.   "We have taken over the (Jalalabad) city and the airport with blessings of God," Taleban field commander Mullah Burjan said in a statement.   "We will enforce Sharia and maintain complete peace in Nangarhar."   Taleban movement leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, based in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, directed his field commanders to treat Nangar people well and harm no one, Taleban militia sources said.   Mullah Mohammad Rabbani was named the new Nangarhar governor replacing the previous neutral governor Haji Qadeer, who had fled to Pakistan on Tuesday.   Taleban, which seeks to topple Rabbani, already rules half of Afghanistan and the capture of Jalalabad, which is about 120 km (75 miles) east of Kabul, will give it an effective control over the country's main road access to Pakistan.   AIP said there had been severe fighting in some areas of Jalalabad and there were some casualties.   But no exact figures were available.   Amrullah, an Afghan government spokesman in Kabul, earlier told reporters that the Taleban had seized Jalalabad airport and street fighting was raging in the city.   Government jets bombed Taleban positions and supply routes on Wednesday, he said. 
13147 !GCAT !GVIO  Afghanistan's rebel Taleban Islamic militia said it had captured the country's main eastern town of Jalalabad on Wednesday, hours after it had been seized by government forces.   An Afghan government spokesman accused neighbouring Pakistan of conspiring and aiding the Taleban attack, signalling a return to frosty relations between the two governments.   A Taleban spokesman, quoted by a Pakistan-based Afghan news service, said the militia were heading east after taking Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar province, and its airport from forces loyal to President Burhanuddin Rabbani.   The Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) said Taleban commander Mullah Burjan told the group's office in Pakistan from Jalalabad airport that his fighters had taken the town in a thrust from western Nangarhar.   AIP also quoted its own sources in Jalalabad as saying the key town had fallen to Taleban, which already controlled about half the war-shattered country.   Amrullah, an Afghan government spokesman in Kabul, earlier told reporters that the Taleban had seized Jalalabad airport and street fighting was raging in the city.   Jalalabad is about 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of Kabul.   Government jets regularly bombed Taleban positions and supply routes on Wednesday, Amrullah said.   The spokesman said Taleban fighters entered the city from the Khogiani district to the west and from the border with Pakistan, whom he accused of "hatching a conspiracy for Taleban puppets to wage war in Jalalabad".   Pakistan denies helping the Taleban and says it has no favourites among the Afghan factions, most of which it helped during their war against Soviet occupation in the 1980s.   Amrullah said earlier on Wednesday that government troops had entered the previously neutral city to stop the Taleban advance and more were being flown there.   He said the government had sent troops to the town after the Taleban had captured two strategic districts in western Nangarhar as part of their goal of controlling Jalalabad.   Before the battle for the town began, an apparent peace mission ended in the death of Nangarhar governor Engineer Mahmood and six colleagues, who were shot dead while driving towards the Pakistan border.   AIP said the group seemed to be heading for peace talks with Taleban leaders when they were shot.   There was no immediate information who was responsible for the attack.   Mahmood, a commander of the neutral Hezb-i-Islami faction of Maulvi Mohammad Younis Khalis, was killed only hours after he had been appointed acting governor of Nangarhar.   A Taleban source in the northwestern Pakistani town of Peshawar, who did not want to be identified, said Mahmood had been in contact with the Taleban and had wanted to hand over Jalalabad peacefully to the Islamic militia.   The Taleban are also believed to be eager to attack Sarobi, a stronghold of Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's faction, about 60 km (40 miles) east of Kabul and roughly midway between Kabul and Jalalabad.   The Taleban, which has had Kabul under siege for the past year, has pledged to install a purist Islamic order throughout Afghanistan. 
13148 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  India dug in its heels against a global nuclear test ban treaty on Wednesday, vowing to hold fast against the accord just as the nation's spiritual founder, Mahatma Gandhi, had stood up to British rule.   "We shall not sign the treaty," Foreign Minister Inder Kumar Gujral told the upper house of parliament, where lawmakers expressed their approval with the loud thumping of desks.   India blocked adoption of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) by disarmament negotiators in Geneva last month.   On Tuesday, it was one of only three United Nations member states that voted against the accord banning nuclear explosions in the atmosphere, underground or in any other environment.   The other two were Bhutan and Libya.   By a vote of 158-to-3, the U.N. General Assembly called for the accord to be open for signature by individual nations.   India has insisted the treaty commit the five declared nuclear powers -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- to a timetable for dismantling their arsenals.   But New Delhi has been angered by a provision that would require it and 43 other countries to ratify the accord before the pact could take effect.   India first raised its veto threat when the entry-into-force provision was introduced in late June, and Gujral has said New Delhi would be willing to reconsider its stance if the measure was scrapped.   Backed by political parties and public opinion, the three-month old government seemed at ease in its stance.   "This country has the national will to withstand pressure," Gujral said in a written statement presented to parliament.   He said India had stood up to the British for its freedom.   "We shall sustain the glorious path laid by Gandhi and Nehru," he said.   Jawaharlal Nehru led the struggle against British colonial rule, which ended in 1947, and was India's first prime minister.   Although India was badly outnumbered in the U.N. vote, Gujral said many countries had recognised New Delhi's concerns.   "We have the distinct impression that even after the adoption of the text, there is an uneasiness on the part of many delegations about what has really been achieved," he said.   Gujral said New Delhi was pleased that neighbouring Bhutan voted against the U.N. resolution, and that Mauritius was among five countries to abstain.   Many non-aligned countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Mexico, refused to co-sponsor the resolution, he said.   He said many countries expressed concern over the procedure the treaty's backers used to take the accord from the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva to New York, as well as over the unprecedented entry-into-force clause.   "There is an understanding of India's position in the international community," Gujral said, noting the government had carefully explained its position to friendly countries.   "We are confident that our bilateral relations with countries will not be affected by our differences on this issue," he said, adding that India's voice had been heard "with respect".   The foreign minister said India, strengthened by what he called growing support for comprehensive nuclear disarmament, would continue to push for a nuclear weapons-free world.   The entry-into-force provision will ensure that the treaty never takes effect, he said, "unless its proponents agree to amend this provision in order to remove any possibility of imposing any obligations on India."   India is one of the so-called "threshold nuclear states" along with Pakistan and Israel.   Pakistan, which has fought three wars with neighbouring India since 1947, says that although it voted for the treaty on Tuesday it will not sign the CTBT unless India does, too. 
13149 !GCAT !GVIO  Army troops backed by helicopters on Wednesday began searching for five people still missing after tribal rebels in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts killed 30 Bengali-speaking settlers.   The killings, described by sources as a "massacre," have raised fears of a backlash against the Shanti Bahini (peace force) guerrillas who abducted the settlers late Monday.   The five missing were abducted with the others on Monday, but their bodies have not yet been found, officials said.   "The whole area is boiling in anger and we are fearing a backlash by Bengalis that could be far more savage than the massacre by the rebels," one government official said.   "Troops are searching frantically for the missing Bengalis, but other settlers are preventing the burial of the dead, saying they want to march to Dhaka with coffins," he told Reuters.   "This is very dangerous," the official added.   Most of the victims were beheaded, military sources in the region told reporters.   "This is the biggest massacre in many years, which took place on Tuesday in the deeply forested Rangamati district.   The bodies of the victims have been found today," one source told Reuters by telephone.   The settlers were abducted by Shanti Bahini guerrillas on Monday night.   The abductions were reported by two people who escaped despite being shot and wounded.   "Most of the bodies have been beheaded and a few bore gunshot marks," one police officer said on Wednesday.   The guerrillas, most of who are members of the Chakma tribe, took up arms in 1973 after Bangladesh rejected their demand for autonomy for the 5,500 square-mile (14,200 sq-km) hill tracts bordering India and Burma.   They also want more than 300,000 settlers expelled from the region, which the Shantis consider a tribal homeland.   A journalist in the area said the situation on Wednesday was "explosive."   "Thousands of Bengalis, many carrying knives and spears, are waiting for the bodies to come to their village.   Anything may happen then," he told Reuters.   Schools and markets in Rangamati were closed and many residents had fled their homes, he said.   Tuesday's killings occurred despite the ceasefire reached between the rebels and the government two months ago.   Officials say more than 8,000 rebels, soldiers and civilians had been killed in the insurgency, which has forced thousands of tribal families to flee to northeast India.   Police said soldiers tightened security in Rangamati district after Monday's abductions and asked Bengalis not to retaliate.   The Chittagong Hill Tracts National Coordination and Peace Council, which represents both communities, on Wednesday demanded the immediate arrest of the killers.   It also called for a day of mourning on Friday to ease tensions. 
13150 !GCAT !GVIO  The Afghan government said on Wednesday its troops had entered the previously neutral eastern Nangarhar provincial capital Jalalabad to stop an advance by the rebel Taleban Islamic militia.   A Pakistan-based Afghan news service said Nangarhar's acting governor, Engineer Mahmood, and six colleagues were shot dead on Wednesday while driving from Jalalabad to the Torkham border post with Pakistan, apparently for peace talks with the Taleban.   An Afghan government spokesman told reporters in Kabul more troops were being flown to Jalalabad and government jets were bombing Taleban positions in Nangarhar province.   Earlier, U.N. and Afghan sources in Pakistan said Taleban forces were only 30 km (19 miles) west of Jalalabad after capturing the two western districts of Hisarak and Khogiani.   The spokesman said government troops would build a security belt on the edges of Jalalabad, which a Taleban source in Pakistan earlier said was controlled by Mahmood and was to be handed over by him to the militia.   The government now controlled Jalalabad airport and the Jalalabad-Torkham highway, the spokesman said, contradicting a Taleban claim the road was under its control.   In the Afghan capital Kabul, Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar met the government's top military commander, Ahmad Shah Masood, on Tuesday, the official Kabul Radio said.   The Taleban were believed to be eager to attack Sarobi, a stronghold of Hekmatyar's Hezb-i-Islami faction about 60 km (40 miles) east of Kabul and roughly midway between Kabul and Jalalabad.   The Taleban, which has had Kabul under siege for the past year, has pledged to install a purist Islamic order throughout Afghanistan.   Mahmood, a commander of the neutral Hezb-i-Islami faction of Maulvi Mohammad Younis Khalis, was killed only hours after he had been appointed acting governor of Nangarhar.   He had replaced governor Haji Qadeer, who crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday as the Taleban advanced towards Jalalabad after capturing two districts to the west of the province.   Mahmood and his colleagues were about eight km (five miles) from the Torkham border post when they were shot dead, the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) said.   The six colleagues of Mahmood who died along with him included a member of the Nangarhar's ruling council, or shura, Saz Noor, and some counil officials.   Taleban sources in Pakistan said Mahmood had taken control of Jalalabad to prevent any lawlessness and planned to hand over the town to the Taleban when its militia arrived there.   The sources had said earlier that the Taleban forces, which control about half of Afghanistan, had expected Jalalabad to fall soon.   A Taleban source in the northwestern Pakistani town of Peshawar, who did not want to be identified, said Mahmood had been in contact with the Taleban and had wanted to hand over Jalalabad peacefully to the Islamic militia.   The source said the Taleban's main representative in Peshawar, Maulvi Ahmad Jan, had left for Nangarhar on Wednesday morning with about 200 activists. 
13151 !GCAT  Following are some of the main stories in Wednesday's Pakistani newspapers.   DAWN   - The State (central) Bank of Pakistan on Tuesday devalued the rupee 3.79 percent to 36.9700/37.1549 to the dollar from 35.6200/35.7981 fixed on August 29, the bank said.   - Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif has expressed willingness to hold talks with Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's government on accountability, strengthening of the democratic system and holding immediate national elections.   - Central Board of Reveune (CBR) has withdrawn 5.0 percent regulatory duty on the imports of oil exploration machinery.   - The government has asked pharmaceutical companies not to increase the prices of their medicines for another two months.   - Several political parties and government employees' associations have announced a strike in Baluchistan province on Thursday to support employees' demands.   - The Corporate Law Authority has approved the prospectus of ICI Pakistan Ltd for flotation of Term Finance Certificates.   BUSINESS RECORDER   - The Karachi Stock Exchange 100-share index touched the nine-month low as equities tumbled mainly owing to a 3.65 percent devaluation of the rupee against the dollar.   - Fourteen people were killed in gunbattles between religious groups in the town of Parachinar, official sources said.   THE NEWS   - The United Nations General Assembly adopted by an overwhelming majority a global nuclear test ban treaty.   - President Farooq Leghari has reached Uganda.   - State (central) Bank of Pakistan governor Muhammad Yaqub has demanded "severe punishment" for loan defaulters.   - The governor of Afghanistan's Nangarhar province fled to Pakistan as the rebel Taleban Islamic militia advanced in an offensive against his forces.   - Pakistan has revised its revenue targets for fiscal 1996/97 (July-June) to 270 billion rupees from 296.4 billion rupees owing to changes in the budget to accomodate demands of traders.   THE NATION   - Afghanistan's rebel Taleban militia advanced on Tuesday in an attack on previously neutral groups in the eastern province of Nangarhar, taking strategic town of Hisarak.   - The National Assembly (lower house) failed to arrive at a consensus on modalities of forming an accountability commission to recover bank loans from defaulters.   -- Islamabad newsroom 9251-274757 
13152 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the Bangladesh press on Wednesay.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   ---   DAILY STAR   Bangladesh has decided to allow overseas investors six months multiple entry visa without fees to lure foreign investment.   Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has directd Dhaka's foreign missions to make vigorous efforts to promote the country's image abroad.   Dhaka Stock Exchange will soon request the government to offload its shares in multinationl firms, and gas and petroleum companies.   ---   THE INDEPENDENT   Bangladesh opposition leader and former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia has warned the government not to compel her party to intensify movement against what she alleged was rigging in recent by-elections.   She asked the Chief Election Commissioner to quit his office with "dignity".   Bangladesh will import 50,000 tonnes of urea fertiliser to meet the shortfall this year.   ---   BANGLADESH OBSERVER   Major student groups in trouble-prone Dhaka University have agreed to detect "terrorists" in their own organisations and declare them "persona non grata" on the campus.   ---   FINANCIAL EXPRESS   Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Corporation (HSBC), one of the world's leading trade finance banks, will start operations in Bangladesh by December this year.   Bangladesh will restore rail communications with the southern frontier land port of Benapole through which the country transacts lion's share of its trade with neighbouring India.   -- Dhaka Newsroom 880-2-506363 
13153 !GCAT  ---   VEERAKESARI   Justice Minister G.L. Pieris says Tamil parties should give support to find permanent solution to ethnic problem while at same time demand only what can be given.   More than 100 Tamil refugees reach Rameshwaram in India from Mannar.   ---   THINAKARAN   U.S. diplomat to meet Tamil parties to discuss political climate and proposed ban on LTTE.   ---   DAILY NEWS   Country will benefit from devolution, central province chief minister W.P.B. Dissanayake says.   ---   THE ISLAND   Talks between Indian and Sri Lankan foreign ministers to be held in Colombo next month.   ---   LANKADEEPA   Female Tamil rebel caught with five pressure mines jailed for five years.   ---   DIVAINA   Fifty-one factories, mostly making garments, closed during the past year.   ---   DINAMINA   Police arrest two more train bomb suspects.   More than 50 people were killed when Tamil Tiger rebels bombed a packed commuter train in Colombo in July.   --Colombo newsroom tel 941-434319 
13154 !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   CONGRESS ACCEPTS REBEL DEMAND FOR MEETING ON CORRUPTION   Dissidents in the Congress party have scored a point.   The party leadership has finally bowed to their demand for convening a meeting of the Congress Party in Parliament (CPP) to discuss f corruption.   CPP spokesman Suresh Kalmadi said the special CPP meeting would be held on September 12 or 13.   The Party is going through torrid times following disclosure of the alleged involvement of several of leaders, including former prime minister Narasimha Rao in scams.   The CCP meeting is likely to decide the party's stand on Sukh Ram, the ex-communications minister in the former Congress ministry, who has been linked to a telecom scam.   - - - -   Indian Express   FURTHER BLOW TO BJP GOVERNMENT IN GUJARAT   The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Gujarat received another jolt when Governor Krishna Pal Singh turned down Chief Minister Suresh Mehta's request to summon the assembly on September 18.   The Governor asked the Mehta to take the vote of confidence on September 13 or 14.   The directive meant Mehta would not be able to move the vote of no-confidence against Deputy Speaker Chandubhai Dabhi, as the mandatory notice period of 14 days would not be over by then.   The notice period expires on September 17.   - - - -   Hindustan Times   PAKISTAN REFUSES TO SIGN NUCLEAR TEST BAN TREATY   Pakistan formally announced at the U.N. General Assembly its refusal to sign the draft Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, while several other countries joined India in attacking the draft CTBT, saying it would not lead to nuclear disarmament but rather propagate nuclear hegemony.   While Pakistan cited what it called its concerns over New Delhi's nuclear ambitions as the reason for opting out, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Mexico said signing the CTBT would make the nuclear power a monopoly of the Big Five.   - - - -   Financial Express   PRIME MINISTER UNVEILS FOREIGN INVESTMENT MEASURES   Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, inaugurating the two-day Destination India conference, unveiled several measures to step up foreign direct investment (FDI).   He said the government would take steps towards liberalisation of foreign investment in the infrastructure sector, total transparency in government-industry deals, abolition of Central clearance for power plants with up to 10 billion rupee investment and setting up of cross-country super highways in the private sector.   He said the government would soon come out with fresh guidelines further liberalising foreign investment in several industrial sectors to achieve the $10 billion FDI target set by his government.   - - - -   DECISION ON EXPANSION OF INVESTMENT LIST DEFERED   The cabinet failed to reach consensus on the controversial expansion of the list of industries, in which foreign direct investment (FDI) should be automatically approved.   Dissenting voices within the cabinet forced postponement of a decision on a proposal moved by Industry Minister Murasoli Maran.   Maran had planned for Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda to unfurl the new FDI policy in his inaugural address at Destination India, a high profile government-industry summit organised by the industry ministry in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.   - - - -   NATIONAL ORGANIC CHEMICAL TO SEEK FOREIGN EQUITY   National Organic Chemical Industries Ltd (Nocil) hopes to obtain the 46 billion rupees needed to fund its modernisation and expansion programme from its prospective foreign partner.   The inability of the company to raise funds from the capital market had compelled Nocil to invite foreign participation in the equity for implementing the project.   The companies with which Nocil is negotiating are not know.   It is believed Nocil has had talks with firms such as Shell, Mitsubishi and Dow Chemicals.   - - - -   Economic Times   FI POLICY TO SELL STAKES IN POOR PERFORMERS   Financial Institutions (FIs) have decided to formulate a new policy for disposing of their stakes in the poorly performing companies.   Proposed guidelines will envisage debarring the existing promoters with poor track record from bidding for institutional stock, as and when it is put up for sale, say sources.   An inter-institutional committee has been set up to prepare the draft guidelines by the end of this month.    ADVANCE TAX MAY DERAIL 20 BLN RUPEES GILTS AUCTION   The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the central bank, has announced an auction of 20 billion rupees six-year central government paper.   The auction is scheduled for September 17.   This paper will be eligible for ready forward purchases.   Market players decried RBI's move, saying the the auction was badly timed.   Advance tax payments of around 40 billion rupees will start leaving the system on September 17, the auction day.   - - - -   $45 MLN IFC LOAN FOR ITC CLASSIC POSSIBLE   The Washington-based IFC has agreed in principle to provide a loan of $45 million to ITC Classic Ltd to help expand its operations.   The loan can come through only if ITC obains final IFC clearance, the central bank and government authorities.   - - - -   Observer   PANEL TO ADVISE RBI ON FOREIGN EXCHANGE POLICY   The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the central bank, has set up a committee to advise it on policy issues aimed at developing a healthy foreign exchange market in the country.   The Forex Market Technical Advisory Committee will also advise the bank on issues relating to risk management.   RBI deputy governor in charge of exchange control, R.V. Gupta, will chair the committee.   - - - -   TELECOM DEPARTMENT TOLD NOT TO LEAVE LOOPHOLES IN TENDERS   The communications minister has asked the department of telecommunication to be specific in its tender documents and to leave no scope for ambiguities and loopholes for corruption.   Earlier, the minister had divested himself of the authority to decide all tenders above 10 million rupees that his predecessor Sukh Ram had centralised in his office.   Unnamed sources said further steps towards cleansing the telecommunication sector were being finalised.   - - - -   OIL MAJOR SEEKS CASH FOR HYDROCARBON EXPLORATION   Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) has proposed to the government that 220 billion rupees be allocated to it to handle its future hydrocarbon exploration during the Ninth Plan period.   Sources said the ONGC in the next five years wanted to concentrate on hydrocarbon discovery to meet India's oil and gas requirements.   - - - -   Business Standard   SIX NEW STOCKS ADDED TO NSE INDEX   The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has recast its NSE-50 index by including six new stocks and excluding six stocks from the index.   The total market capitalisation of the securities added to the index is 138.79 billion rupees.   The capitalisation of stocks being taken out of the index is 36.88 billion rupees.   Sources said the new index would be effective from September 18.   - - - -   BRITISH FIRM TO INVEST $355 MLN IN HINDUJA POWER   U.K.-based power major National Power will inject equity worth $355 million for the 1,040 MW Hinduja National Power Ltd, in Visakhapatnam.   Hindujas, the UK based non-resident Indian Joint ventures partners in the project, has decided to put in 100 million rupees in the project.   A consortium of Indian development financial institutional donors led by the Industrial Development Bank of India have already pledged six billion rupees for the project.   The financial closure for the proposed 1040 MW Hinduja National Power project is likely to be fixed from early next year.   - - - -   Business Line   INTEREST RATES MAY SOFTEN   Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor C. Rangarajan said he expects a softening of interest rates in coming months.   He said interest rates, both nominal and real, could come down since inflation rates continued to remain at a reasonable level, thereby breaking the high inflationary expectations.   The RBI governor also mentioned that the credit availability from the banking system was expected to improve considerably during the current year, since deposit growth had been much stronger than the previous year. 
13155 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDEF  Two Pakistani widows sprinkled petrol on their bodies and set themselves alight on Wednesday to protest against a delay in hanging a convicted killer of their husbands, witnesses said.   The women, Hakimzadi and Zaibunnisa, were rescued by a journalist and a photographer who saw the incident in the Sindh province town of Hyderabad, and were later fighting for their lives in hospital with serious burns.   "Both have been burnt seriously," a doctor said.   The women, whose husbands were among nine villagers killed by army troops at a Sindh village in June, 1992, were protesting against the failure to carry out a death sentence on an army major who had ordered the killings allegedly at the instance of a friend wrongly depicting them as outlaws.   A government statement said the execution of Major Arshad Jameel, ordered by a military court, had been held up by the Supreme Court after Pakistani President Farooq Leghari had rejected his mercy petition.   Some other army personnel involved were serving life prison terms while two civilians were being tried by a civilian court, it said.   It called the action of the widows "highly unwarranted", saying it had been made clear to them that the matter was pending before the Supreme Court. 
13156 !GCAT !GPOL  A member of the Sindh provincial parliament defected from Pakistan's ethnic Mohajir National Movement (MQM) on Wednesday to become a minister in the provincial cabinet, government officials said.   Feroza Begum took the oath as a minister in the provincial government led by national Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party.   Her portfolio has yet to be announced.   No comment was immediately available from the MQM.   Feroza's son, Usma Qadri, an active member of the MQM, was arrested last month while in hiding in Karachi, the Sindh provincial capital and Pakistan's commercial hub.   The official APP news agency quoted Feroza as saying after taking the oath that she had joined the government to save youths like her son who had gone into hiding and were unable to meet their parents.   Feroza is the second MQM member in the Sindh assembly to defect from the party, which speaks for Urdu-speaking Mohajirs -- Moslems who migrated from India at Partition in 1947 and their descendants.   The government accuses the MQM of terrorism and much of the violence in Karachi, which took more than 2,000 lives in 1995 and more than 350 so far this year.   The MQM denies the charge and blames security agencies for the bloodshed. 
13157 !GCAT !GDIS  One body was recovered and 13 people were missing after a boat accident in northern India in which 40 people were earlier feared drowned, the Press Trust of India (PTI) said on Wednesday.   The news agency quoted a home (interior) department spokesman of the state of Uttar Pradesh as saying that 41 women and children, who were among 55 passengers on a joy ride, swam to their safety or were saved by rescuers.   The accident occurred late on Tuesday on the Rapti river near a village in Bahraich district, some 240 km (160 miles) from Lucknow, the state capital.   Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda expressed grief over the accident, PTI said.   The boat was believed to have been swept away by a swift water current, it said.   Most Indian rivers are overflowing this year after heavy rains in the monsoon season that began in June.   PTI had said earlier that there were 60 passengers travelling on the boat. 
13158 !GCAT !GDIS  More than 40 persons were feared drowned in northern India when a boat filled with people on a joy ride overturned in the state of Uttar Pradesh, the Press Trust of India (PTI) said on Wednesday.   The news agency said the accident occurred late on Tuesday on the Rapti river near a village in Bahraich district, some 240 km (160 miles) from Lucknow, the state capital.   Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda expressed grief over the accident, it said.   The boat had more than 60 persons on board, of which 20 swam to safety, PTI said.   Rescue operations were on but no bodies had been recovered so far, it added.   It did not give any reason for the accident.   Most Indian rivers are overflowing this year after heavy rains in the monsoon season that began in June. 
13159 !GCAT !GDIS  More than 40 persons were feared drowned in northern India when a boat filled with people on a joy ride overturned in the state of Uttar Pradesh, the Press Trust of India (PTI) said on Wednesday.   The news agency said the accident occurred late on Tuesday on the Rapti river near a village in Bahraich district, some 240 km (160 miles) from Lucknow, the state capital.   Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda expressed grief over the accident, it said.   The boat had more than 60 persons on board, of which 20 swam to safety, PTI said.   Rescue operations were on but no bodies had been recovered so far, it added.   It did not give any reason for the accident.   Most Indian rivers are overflowing this year after heavy rains in the monsoon season that began in June. 
13160 !C12 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GJOB  India's highest court has ordered the Indian subsidiary of Anglo-Dutch firm Unilever to pay out 300 million rupees to some employees in a case spanning over two decades, the firm's labour union said on Wednesday.   More than 1,000 members of Hindustan Lever Ltd's (HLL) sales team were affected after the firm changed their terms of employment in 1975, the Hindustan Lever Mazdoor Sabha said in its statement.   "On a conservative estimate, these employees will receive a total of around 300 million rupees in arrears.   The average arrears per employee is around 300,000 rupees and in some cases totals over 1.2 million rupees," the statement said.   A division bench of India's supreme court on August 29 ordered HLL to implement a wage agreement it entered into with the labour union in 1971, the firm said.   "HLL is studying the full implications of the order and will ensure that its actions are fair and in conformity with the law," the firm said in a statement.   The dispute essentially revolved around whether the sales personnel legally fell within the scope of a 1957 agreement by the company with the labour union. 
13161 !GCAT !GVIO  Afghanistan's rebel Taleban Islamic militia said it had captured the country's main eastern town of Jalalabad on Wednesday, hours after it was seized by government forces from a neutral council, an Afghan news service said.    The Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) said Taleban commander Mullah Burjan radioed to the group's office in Pakistan from Jalalabad airport that his fighters had taken the town, which is the capital of Nangarhar province.   AIP also quoted its own sources in Jalalabad as saying that the town had fallen to the Taleban.   An Afghan government spokesman in Kabul earlier told reporters that the Taleban had seized Jalalabad airport and street fighting was raging in the city. 
13162 !GCAT !GVIO  The Sri Lankan navy sank seven Tamil Tiger rebel boats in seas off the northeastern coast this week, a military spokesman said on Wednesday.   In the first attack on Monday night, navy patrols attacked and sank three rebel boats between Vettilaikerni and Mullaitivu, south of the rebels' former stronghold in the Jaffna peninsula, he said.   Another rebel boat escaped.   Navy patrols sank four more rebel boats off Chalai and Chundikulam in the same area early on Tuesday, he said.   The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are fighting for an independent homeland for minority Tamils in the island's north and east.   The navy said it suffered no casualties from the attacks.   Information on possible Tamil Tiger deaths was not immediately available.   The navy has stepped up patrols in the northern waters to counter a growing threat from the rebel "Sea Tiger" naval wing, officials said.   The government estimates more than 50,000 people have died in the ethnic war, now in its 14th year. 
13163 !GCAT !GVIO  Afghanistan's rebel Taleban Islamic militia entered the country's main eastern town of Jalalabad on Wednesday and were fighting government troops who had seized it earlier in the day, a government spokesman said.   Spokesman Amrullah told reporters that government forces had lost control of Jalalabad airport and street fighting was raging in the town, the capital of Nangarhar province. 
13164 !E12 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Following is the text of the speech of the Finance Minister on moving the finance bill (No 2) 1996 for consideration in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.   Sir I beg to move:-   2.  "That the bill to give effect to the financial proposals of the central government for the financial yar 1996/97 be taken into consideration".   3.  Now I wil turn to the changes I propose in the clauses pertaining to direct taxes.   4.   Clause 11 of the bill seeks to amend Section 32 of the Income Tax Act 1961 relating to depreciation.   During the course of discussion on general budget, a number of honourable members have expressed their apprehension that the proposed amendment limiting carry forward of unabsorbed depreciation to eight years will adversely affect the growth of industry.   Similar apprehensions have been raised in a large number of post budget memoranda.   I would like to allay these fears.   The proposed amendment is only prospected in as much as the cumulated and absorbed depriciation brought forward as on April, 1, 1997 can still be set off against taxable business profits or income under any other head for assessment year 1997/98 and seven subsequent assessment years.   The proposed change will have effect only after eight years and there is no cause for immediate concern about its likely impact in the industry.   Eight years is a period long enough for industry to adjust itself to the new dispensation and provide for depreciation accordingly.   A number of honourable members had brought to my notice that the proposed amendment may adversely affect sick companies.   I accept the suggestions made by them.   I therefore propose to provide that the time limit of eight years shall not apply to sick companies, during the period the company is treated as a 'sick company' under Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985.    5.   I further propose to make a drafting amendment in clause 11 to clarify that the depreciation for the year can be set off not only against profits and gains of any business carried on by the assessee bit also against income under any other head as in the case with the set off of business losses.   6.   Clause 14 of the bill inter alia seeks to amend Section 36 of the Income Tax Act with a view to defining the term "long-term finance" to mean any loan or andvance where the terms under which moneys are loaned or advanced provide for repayment along with interest thereof during a period of not less than seven years.   Representations have been received from financial institutions that the period of seven years is rather long and should be reduced.   After considering the matter I propose to reduce the period to five years.   7.   Honourable members will recall that I introduced through clause 16 of the bill, a new explanation to Section 43 of the Income Tax Act to deal with sale-and-lease back transactions which were widely misused by leasing companies resulting in substantial loss of revenue.   However, I am given to understand that even the proposed amendment may be circumvented through successive sales of the asset thus defeating the purpose of the amendment.   Therefore, in order to thwart any atempt to do so a modification to the aforesaid explanation is being proposed to the effect that in the case of successive sales of the asset also the written down value in the books of the original seller will be taken as the cost of the lessor.   8.   I also propose an amendment in clause 17 of the Bill which seeks to modify the provisions of Section 43 B of the Income Tax Act.   This is necessary in order to remove the doubt that in cases where bank interest has been earlier claimed and allowed on due basis, such interest will not be allowed for a second time on cash basis.   I am also proposing that only interests on term loans of the banks will be covered by the amendment proposed to the provisions of Section 43 B.    9.   Clause 19 of the bill proposes to insert a new Section 54 EA in the Income Iax Act which provides for exemption to the capital gains arising from the transfer of long-term capital assets if the net consideration is invested in any bonds or debentures specified in this behalf by notification in the official Gazette.   While replying to the debate on the budget I had announced that the units of mutual funds will also be included in the assets in which a tax payer may invest to obtain exemptions from captial gains tax.   To carry out this decision, I propose to amend clause 19 of the bill.   10.   Section 88 of the Income Tax Act was sought to be amended by Clause 32 of the bill and ceiling of 60,000 rupees was raised to 70,000 rupees for cases where investment is made in equity shares or debentures forming part of any eligible issue of capital by a public company.   The eligible issue of capital was to mean an issue by a public company where the issue is wholly and exclusively for the purposes of developing, maintaining and operating an infrastructure facility or for generating, or for generating and distributing power.   It has been suggested to me that units of any mutual fund dedicated to the infrastructure or power sector should also qualify for being subscribed for purposes of Section 88.   I have accepted this suggestion and, therefore, I propose to make a suitable amendment.   11.   A large number of suggestions have been received from trade associations, companies, and various sections of industry on the proposal regarding MAT.   The matters have been raised by many honourable members also.   In the light of the suggestions made, I propose the following changes:   * Exclude from the purview of MAT, profits of industrial undertakings located in industrially backward districts/states for such periods for which these units are entitled to claim under Section 80IA read with the Eigth Schedule of Income Tax Act.   * Exclude also the profits of sick industrial companies from the purview of MAT during the period the company is treated as a 'sick company' unde the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985.    12.   Clause 35 of the bill seeks to reduce the rate of capital gains tax from 30 percent to 20 percent.   After this change all companies, individuals and HUFs will be taxed at the rate of 20 percent on their long term capital gains.   However, the partnership firms and associations of persons will still be taxed at 30 percent.   In order to bring uniformity in this regard, I propose to reduce the tax rate in their cases also to 20 percent.   13.   I also propose a couple of changes in the provisions not covered by the bill.   The first of these relates to sub-section (3) of Section 40 A of the Income Tax Act which inter alia deals with this allowance of a part of expenditure incurred by an assessee, payment in respect of which is made in cash in a sum exceeding 10,000 rupees.   A number of representations have been received that the present limit of 10,000 rupees is too low and requires upward revision.   It has been pointed out that this limit was fixed in 1987 and that it causes a lot of hardship particularly to transport contractors, civil contractors to the assessees in such trades, where, looking to the exigencies of the business, payment has to be made in cash.   I have considered the matter and found merit in the representation.   Therefore I propose to raise the limit from 10,000 rupees to 20,000 rupees.   14.   Another change that I propose is in pusuance of the announcement made by me last week.   Section 80L of the Income Tax Act provides for a deduction from the gross total income of an individual or HUF in respect of income earned by way of interest from government securities, National Savings Certificates, deposits with banking companies, dividends from Indian companies, income from units of mutual funds etc.   I propose that the overall ceiling under Section 80L be raised to 15,000 rupees and out of this 3,000 rupees will be allowed only in respect of income from dividends from an Indian company or income received in respect of units of a Mutual Fund including UTI.    15.   Clause 54 of the Finance Bill seeks to bring tax for wealth tax purposes, the commercial buildings which are not occupied for the purpose of business.   It has been brought to my notice that commercial buildings forming part of stock-in-trade may also be affected by this amendment.   I see merit in this demand and therefore, propose to exclude commercial properties forming a part of stock-in-trade from the levy of wealth tax.   16.   Sir, I know turn to the changes I propose in respect of indirect taxes.   17.   I had proposed several changes in my budget proposals realating to indirect taxes.   These proposals relate to further rationalising the tax structure as well as strengthening the procedures so as to achieve the twin objectives of helping the honest tax payer's to reduce compliance cost and curb evasion of taxes.   18.   The budget proposals have been widely welcomed by a cross section of trade and industry.   Many honourable members have also given encouraging support.   However, I have received a number of representations from many honourable members in which they have suggested some changes in the overall interest of the industry.   I am grateful to them for their valuable suggestions.   19.   Sir, there is by now a general consenus in the country an excise duty structure should move to moderate rate of taxes applied on a wider base and our excise and customs procedures should be transparent and easy to follow.   At the same time, we ought to use the tax mechanism to reduce costs and make our inustry further competitive.   Accordingly, I had mentioned in my budget speech that we ought to further bring down the number of excise duty rates in a year or two.   At the same time our tax structure should provide necessary relief in deserving areas.   20.   I have given my earnest consideration to the suggestions made by several honourable members as also by the trade and industry.   I am inclined to accept that in some cases adjustment in the tax rates is called for.    I am informed that an uniform rate of excise duty of 10 percent which was proposed in the budget proposals as the rate to be applied to paper and paper board made from pulp containing at least 50 percent non-conventional raw materials would affect many small paper mills.   It has been represented that there are small paper mills which are still in need of fiscal support for some more time lest they be rendered unviable.   I therefore propose to modify the scheme of concessional excise duty for the use of raw materials in the manufacture of paper and paper board.   I propose that paper and paper board made from pulp in which at least 75 percent of non-conventional raw material are used would be subjected to excise duties at the rate of 10 percent.   I am told that the 300 paper mills -- the vast majority of mills -- will fall under this category.   However, in order to give a competitive edge to smaller paper mills, first clearances of up to 10,000 tonnes in a financial year would be subjected to a reduced rate of duty of five percent.   Small paper mills can now clear virtually the whole of the production at the low rate of five percent.   I am confident that the tax structure now proposed would provide adequate fiscal relief to the small paper mills and also encourage use of non-conventional raw materials in a larger proportion.   22.   I also propose exemption from excise duties in a few deserving cases.   Henceforth spoons, forks, ladles etc falling under heading number 82.15 of the Central Excise Tariffs would be exempted from excise duty.   Similarly, no excise duty will be charged on vermicelli.   Absorbent cotton wool, non absorbent cotton wool, gauge, bandages and similiar articles for medical purposes will be free of excise if they are marketed without a brand name.   I also propose to exempt rosin manufactured without the aid of power from excise duty.   23.   Mr Speaker, Sir, products of coir industry are exempted from excise duty.   We also also need to encourage its production in the cottage sector which generates employment.   I am informed that this sector employs a large number of women and mechanisation of some processes would help to remove their drudgery.   Keeping this objective in view, I have decided to exempt specified coir processing from excise duty.    24.   Insulated wares of plastics will henceforth be chargeable to excise duty at the reduced rate of 15 percent as against the rate of 20 percent proposed in my budget.   25.   Shoddy woolen yarn is charegable to excise duty at a low rate of 5 percent.   I propose to extend a similar relief to synthetic shoddy yarn up to 10 counts.   This would also facilitate the process of assessment as no distinction would be made between shoddy woolen yarn and synthetic shoddy yarn.   I also propose to exempt synthetic shoddy blankets of value not exceeding 100 ruppes per sq.   metre from the levy of excise duty.   It has been represented to me that unprocessed knitted or crocheted fabrics are generally produced in the decentralised sector.   In any event such fabrics attract excise duty when they are processed.   I propose to exempt unprocessed knitted or crocheted fabrics made of man made fibres from excise duty.   I also propose to exempt certain specified processed narrow oven fabrics of cotton and man made fibres from excise levy.   26.   I also propose to exempt Iscador, an anti-cancer drug, from customs duty and also CLIA diagnostic kits, intended to detect AIDS, etc from customs duty.   27.   In my budget proposals I had proposed to reduce the import duty on computers and computer parts to 20 percent.   I have received representations that while reduction in import duty on computers is a step in right direction, charging same rate of duty on parts of computers may adversely affect the manufacturers engaged in production of computers.   I accept the logic of this argument and propose to reduce the rate of customs duty on hard disc drive, floppy disc drive and CD-ROM drive from 20 percent to 10 percent.   28.   In my budget proposals I had proposed to reduce the customs duty on rayon grade wood pulp from 25 percent to 5 percent.   It had been represented to me that such a steep reduction would no doubt reduce the cost of production of viscose fibre and yarn but it would adversely affect such of the rayon grade wood pulp manufacturers who market their entire production rather than consume it captively.   I, therefore, propose to keep the reduction in the customs duty on rayon grade wood pulp from 25 percent to 10 percent.    29.   Steel is the core sector of industry.   Hon.   Members will agree with me that our steel industry has adjusted itself admirably to the gradual reduction in customs duties.   I do not wish to increase the customs duty on steel in general.   However, I propose to increase the customs duty on primary forms of stainless steel, other than stainless steel slabs, from 20 percent to 30 percent.   I also propose to reduce the customs duty on stainless steel scrap from 20 percent to 10 percent.   This will help them to import stainless stell scrap at reasonable prices for the manufacture of blooms, billets etc. and give them adequate protection against imports of such semi-finished goods.   30.   I have made adjustments in customs duty in few more areas.   I have deicded to reduce the duty on methanol from 40 percent to 30 percent, on epichlorohydrin from 40 percent to 30 percent and DBM from 50 percent to 40 percent.   31.   In my budget proposals I had modified customs duty structure in respect of ball or roller bearings.   I have, however, received representations from manufacturers as well as traders.   I have considered their view points in entirety.   Henceforth ball or roller bearings of bore diameter upto 60 mm would be chargeable to customs duty at 10 percent + 150 rupees per kg.   Ball or roller bearings of bore diameter of over 60 mm would attract duty at the rate of 10 percent + 80 rupees per kg.   I have also decided that parts of ball or roller bearings would be charged to same rate of duty as applicable to the corresponding bearings.   32.   I had proposed reduction in customs duty on raw materials and components for electronic industry.   I am given to understand that sufficient investment is coming for increasing the production of colour picture tubes in the country.   I recognise the fact that it is a capital intensive industry and some fiscal protection is necessary in the short run.   For the present, therefore, I have decided to increase the customs duty on colour picture tubes from 30 percent to 35 percent.   33.   Except for increase in customs duty on rayon grade wood pulp and colur tubes, all other changes would come into force from today.   Copies of the notifications issued in this regard would be laid on the Table of the House in due course.   Increase in customs duty on rayon grade wood pulp and colour picture tubes would come into force with effect from the date the Finance Bill is enacted.   34.   The changes proposed above in respect of customs and excise duties involves a net loss of revenue of Rs 31 crore on the customs side and Rs 63 crore on the excise side in a full year.   35.   With these words, I commend the Finance (No.2) Bill, 1996 to the House and request the Hon'ble Members to give their whole-hearted support to it.   --New Delhi Newsroom +91-11-301 2024 
13165 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  India dug in its heels against a global nuclear test ban treaty on Wednesday, saying it would hold fast against the accord just as the nation's spiritual founder Mahatma Gandhi had stood up to British rule.   "We shall not sign the treaty," Foreign Minister Inder Kumar Gujral told the upper house of parliament, where lawmakers expressed their approval with the loud thumping of desks.   India blocked adoption of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) by disarmament negotiators in Geneva last month.   On Tuesday, it was one of only three United Nations member states which voted against the accord banning nuclear explosions in the atmosphere, underground or in any other environment.   By a 158 to three vote, the U.N. General Assembly called for the accord to be open for signature by individual nations.   India has insisted the treaty commit the five declared nuclear powers -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- to a timetable for dismantling their arsenals.   But New Delhi has been especially piqued by a provision that would require it, along with 43 other countries, to ratify the accord before the pact could take effect.   India first raised its threat to veto the treaty when the entry-into-force provision was introduced in late June, and Gujral has said New Delhi would be willing to reconsider its stance if the measure was scrapped.   Backed by political parties and public opinion, the three-month old government seemed at ease in its lonesome stance.   "There has been no pressure on India to sign the treaty but if there is any, this country has the national will to withstand pressure," United News of India quoted Gujral as saying.   The foreign minister, who has repeatedly called the CTBT a "charade", said India had a longstanding history of withstanding pressure and had stood up to the British for its freedom.   "We shall sustain the glorious path laid by Gandhi and Nehru," he said, referring to Mahatma Gandhi and the nation's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who led the struggle against British colonial rule which came to an end in 1947.   India detonated a nuclear device in 1974 but says it has never built the bomb and has no plans to do so.   Its strategic doctrine has been to keep the option to build nuclear weapons.   "We cannot be at the mercy of the United States," said Jaswant Singh, deputy leader of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in parliament.   "It is all the more necessary looking at the way our neighbouring country, Pakistan, is arming itself and is engaged in developing its nuclear capability."   Western diplomats took solace in the fact India did not try to block endorsement of the treaty in New York.   "India saw fit to express its own position but not try to put any procedural roadblocks in the way," an envoy said.   Analysts predicted pressure would now grow on India to test and build a nuclear weapon.   In a recent poll by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies published in India Today magazine, 36 percent of the respondents said India should build the atomic bomb while 26 percent were opposed.   The rest had no opinion.   "With Pakistan having been nuclear and China having been so for many years, India must go nuclear to defend its sovereignty," BJP national secretary Tapan Sikdar said.   Analysts scoffed at U.S. President Bill Clinton's remark that "I believe we can find a way for the Indians to have their security concerns met".   "Clinton cannot provide security to my country," said Brigadier Vijai Nair, executive director of the Forum for Strategic and Security Studies.   "Is this a new form of imperialism coming?" 
13166 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told parliament's lower house on Wednesday that the minimum alternate tax (MAT), a corporate tax he proposed in his budget for 1996/97 (April-March), was "a justified levy."   "MAT is a justified levy," he said.   "It will not be more than 12.9 percent," he said while introducing for voting the fianace bill which would give effect to his budget proposals.    "I don't propose to raise the tax," Chidambaram said of the tax which the government wants to impose on firms that earlier avoided tax payment by making use of a law that enabled tax exemptions on profits if they were ploughed back as investment.   But he announced that the tax will not be applicable to companies declared "sick" -- a reference in India to firms whose accummulated losses are more than their net worth.   The tax would also not apply to incomes from factories located in areas notified as "backward," Chidambaram said.    Chidambaram said the profits of industries located in districts or states declared as "backward" would be eligible for exemption from the tax during the period for which they can under the existing law claim overall income tax exemption.   "Sick companies" would enjoy the exemption as long as they fall within the official definition of a sick company, he said.   He proposed no other changes regarding the tax, which has adversely affected stock market sentiments since it was proposed in July.   --New Delhi newsroom, +91-11-3012024 
13167 !GCAT !GVIO  The acting governor of eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, which was under attack by rebel Taleban Islamic militia, and another member of a provincial ruling council were shot dead on Wednesday, a Pakistan-based Afghan news service said.   Engineer Mahmood and council member Saz Noor were attacked while driving on the highway from the provincial capital Jalalabad to the Pakistan border post of Torkham, the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) said.   It did not identify the attackers.    AIP said Mahmood was appointed acting governor of the province early on Wednesday after governor Haji Qadeer crossed into Pakistan as the Taleban advanced towards Jalalabad after capturing two districts to the west of the province.   It said Mahmood and Noor were probably on their way to Torkham to talk to Taleban representatives when they were attacked.   Taleban sources in Pakistan said earlier Mahmood had taken control of Jalalabad to prevent any lawlessness and would hand over the town to Taleban when the militia forces arrived there. 
13168 !GCAT !GVIO  Afghan government troops entered the previously neutral eastern town of Jalalabad on Wednesday to build defences against an advance by the rebel Taleban Islamic militia, a government spokesman said.   Spokemsan Amrullah told reporters that more troops were being flown to Jalalabad while government jets were bombing Taleban positions in areas already captured by the militia in Nangarhar province, of which Jalalabad is the capital.    Earlier, U.N. and Afghan sources in neighbouring Pakistan said the Taleban forces were only 30 km (19 miles) west of Jalalabad after capturing the two western districts of Hisarak and Khogiani.   Amrullah said the government troops will build a security belt on the edges of Jalalabad, which a Taleban source in Pakistan earlier said was controlled by a neutral commander who would hand it over to the militia.   The Jalalabad airport and the highway from there to Pakistan border are under government control, Amrullah said, contradicting an earlier Taleban claim that it was under militia control. 
13169 !GCAT !GVIO  Afghanistan's rebel Islamic militia said on Wednesday its forces had drawn close to the main eastern town of Jalalabad and expected it to fall soon.   Taleban sources in neighbouring Pakistan said Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar province, was now in the control of a previously neutral commander after provincial governor Haji Qadeer fled the town on Tuesday.   Taleban forces, which control about half of Afghanistan and captured two districts in western Nangarhar in a sweep on Tuesday, were now 30 km (19 miles) west of Jalalabad, U.N. and Afghan sources in Pakistan said.   Engineer Mahmood, a commander of the neutral Hezb-i-Islami faction of Maulvi Mohammad Younis Khalis, has taken complete control of Jalalabad to prevent any lawlessness before Taleban forces arrive there, a Taleban source in the northwestern Pakistan town of Peshawar told Reuters by telephone.   The source, who did not want to be named, said Mahmood had been in contact with the Taleban and wanted to hand over the town peacefully to the Islamic militia.   There was no independent confirmation of the report.   Taleban's main representative in Peshawar, Maulvi Ahmad Jan, left for Nangarhar on Wednesday morning with about 200 activists, the Taleban source said.   He said the road from Pakistan's Torkham border post to Jalalabad was now controlled by Taleban.   A Pakistan-based Afghan news service said hundreds of troops loyal to President Burhanuddin Rabbani's government in Kabul had taken positions some 10 km (six miles) west of Jalalabad.   The Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) quoted pro-government commanders present in Jalalabad as saying that if the Taleban tried to enter Jalalabad, government troops would do the same.   Qadeer, who has headed a neutral shura, or council, that ruled Nangarhar for the past four years of factional fighting in Afghanistan, crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday evening after the Taleban captured the Hisarak and Khogiani districts in western Nangarhar, Pakistani officials said in Peshawar.   Government jets bombed Taleban positions on Tuesday in Azra district, in the adjoining Logar province, which the Islamic militia captured from government forces on Friday, AIP said.   The neutral factions had until this week stayed out of the conflict between the Taleban and the government, but the Taleban forced their hand by demanding military use of their territory.   In the Afghan capital Kabul, Prime Minister Hekmatyar met the government's top military commander Ahmad Shah Masood on Tuesday, the official Kabul Radio said.   The Taleban are believed to be eager to attack Sarobi, which straddles the Kabul-Jalalabad highway and is a stronghold of Hekmatyar's Hezb-i-Islami faction.   The Taleban, besieging Kabul for the past year, have pledged to install a purist Islamic order throughout Afghanistan. 
13170 !GCAT !GVIO  Tribal insurgents in Bangladesh's southeastern Chittagong Hill Tracts have killed 30 Bengali-speaking settlers, beheading most of the victims, military sources said on Wednesday.   "This is the biggest massacre in many years, which took place on Tuesday in the deeply forested Rangamati district.   The bodies of the victims have been found today," one source told Reuters.   The 30 settlers were abducted by Shanti Bahini (peace force) guerrillas on Monday night.   The abductions were reported by two settlers who had managed to escape despite being shot and wounded.   "Most of the bodies have been beheaded and a few bore gunshot marks," one police officer said on Wednesday.   The guerrillas, mostly members of the Chakma tribe, took up arms in 1973 after Bangladesh rejected their demand for autonomy for the 5,500 square-mile (14,200 sq-km) hill tracts bordering India and Burma.   They also want more than 300,000 settlers expelled from the region, which the Shantis consider a tribal homeland.   Tuesday's killings occurred despite a ceasefire reached between the rebels and Bangladesh government two months ago.   Officials say more than 8,000 rebels, soldiers and civilians had been killed in the protracted insurgency, which has also forced thousands of tribal families to flee to northeast India.   Police said soldiers had tightened security in Rangamati district following Monday's abductions and asked Bengalis not to retaliate.   "But the situation may turn extremely volatile following Tuesday's killings.   The whole Bengali community has been seriously angered by the massacre," one police officer said. 
13171 !GCAT !GVIO  Tribal insurgents in Bangladesh's southeastern Chittagong Hill Tracts have killed 30 Bengali-speaking settlers, military sources said on Wednesday.   "This is the biggest massacre in many years, which took place on Tuesday in the deeply forested Rangamati district.   The bodies of the victims have been found today," one source told Reuters.    The 30 people were abducted by Shanti Bahini (peace force) guerrillas on Monday night.   The abductions were reported by two settlers who had managed to escape despite being shot and wounded.   Army troops tightened security after the abductions as Bengalis threatened to retaliate, police told reporters.   "Most of the bodies have been beheaded and a few bore gunshot marks," one police officer said on Wednesday.   The guerrillas, mostly members of the Chakma tribe, took up arms in 1973 after Bangladesh rejected their demand for autonomy for the 5,500 sqare-mile (14,200 sq-km) hill tracts bordering India and Burma. 
13172 !C42 !CCAT !E11 !E13 !E131 !E14 !E141 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  There was no clear-cut evidence of mounting inflation in August as the economy kept growing moderately, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday, though there were signs that wage pressures were building.   The Fed's latest Beige Book summary of national economic activity, issued amid worry that central bank policy-makers might boost interest rates this month to quash inflation risks, calmed financial markets and stirred a modest stock rally.   "Inflation indicators ... were varied and generally inconclusive, although there appears to be greater upward pressure on wages than on prices," concluded the Beige Book summary, prepared by the Cleveland Fed.   Analysts said companies were likely having difficulty passing price rises on but warned rising wages eventually will lead to intensified corporate efforts to boost prices because wages account for two-thirds of production costs.   The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 27.74 points at 5,754.92, while the bond market recovered from earlier weakness leaving the yield on the 30-year bond unchanged at 7.11 percent.   The Fed findings were based on information collected in interviews with businesses before Sept. 4 in the 12 Fed districts.   They will be used when the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee meets on Sept. 24 to decide interest-rate strategy.   The Beige Book surveys are released at about six-week intervals, with the last one published on Aug. 7.   The latest survey suggested the economy was holding its momentum entering the second half, rather than slowing.   "Business activity in most Districts is reported to be generally good and expanding moderately," the Fed said.   Economist Lynn Reaser of Barnett Banks Inc. in Jacksonville, Fla., said wage increases of around 4 percent a year were exceeding productivity gains at this point and suggested the central bank would be well advised to act now to keep the 5-1/2-year-old expansion going.   "Some increase in interest rates now would not likely damage the economy's growth trend significantly and it would be appropriate given the upward pressure on wages," she said.   Reaser added the Beige Book did not suggest an economy that was overheating but it showed "solid and expanding" growth that carries the potential for escalating wages and prices if they are not reined in through tighter credit.   The Minneapolis Fed mentioned a local telephone company that was forced to issue cellular phones to new homeowners because it could not lay cable quickly enough to service them.   Few businesses in any Fed districts saw big price increases since the last survey was concluded on July 30, but none indicated that inflation pressures were subsiding.   Some industrial commodities like lumber and steel were rising in price, but it was generally confined to a few markets.   "Wage gains have tended to outstrip price increases, however," the Fed said.   The upward pressure on wages seemed most intense in the Richmond and San Francisco Fed districts, but many regions reported wage increases for entry-level jobs.   The Clinton administration likely would prefer not to see interest rates raised with Nov. 5 general elections on the horizon.   On Wednesday, Labour Secretary Robert Reich said in an interview he saw no inflation threat from wages that were growing after a 15-year decline.   He urged that in weighing greater employment against avoidance of inflation, the needs of those who might become "casualties" in a war on inflation be taken into account.   The Fed said that "pockets" of labour market tightness were developing in many regions, with a few saying the scarcity of workers was broadly based.   The Chicago Fed said labour markets there were "tighter than the nation as a whole," yet there was no sign of rising wage demands.   The Fed said manufacturing activity was "either expanding or holding steady at a high level" across the country.   Few constraints were seen on industrial capacity, and companies in the Boston and Atlanta regions were adding to capacity.   Back-to-school shopping was "off to a good start," the Fed reported.   "Several districts indicated that sales are meeting -- or exceeding -- expectations," it added. 
13173 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Striking members of the International Association of Machinists voted Wednesday to accept a labour contract offered by McDonnell Douglas Corp., the union said, ending a strike that lasted more than three months.   The vote was 3,774 in favour and 1,785 against.   The IAM said the striking machinists, numbering about 6,400, were expected to return to work on Sept. 16.   Last week, company executives and union officials hammered out a tentative agreement.   The strike revolved around the issue of job security, with union members concerned their jobs would evaporate, subcontracted to companies in distant cities.   Negotiators for McDonnell and the IAM met Tuesday for final talks before Wednesday's vote.   A federal mediator said the two sides did not meet to bargain, but to "make sure all the questions are answered on the package."   Union officials said this week they would not recommend a vote either for or against the proposal, leaving members to decide for themselves.   The contract negotiations had been conducted in St. Louis until they broke down on Aug. 16, when union leaders said the company was unwilling to discuss job security.   Late in August, Representative Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., invited the two sides back to the table in his Washington office.   Thousands of machinists and other McDonnell Douglas employees live in Gephardt's district.   Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Director John Calhoun Wells said the final agreement was reached in 30 hours of non-stop bargaining with federal mediators.   McDonnell Douglas' stock gained $1.375 to end at $51.75 on the New York Stock Exchange. 
13174 !C31 !C311 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV !GHEA  Greenpeace plans to organise consumer protests against imports of genetically-modified U.S. soybeans, which are due to arrive in Germany in late 1996, the environmental group said at a news conference on Wednesday.   Greenpeace said it oppposed the new products because risks to human health and the environment could not be ruled out.   The products would allow decision-making on farming procedures to be dictated by chemical firms such as Monsanto, which developed the new herbicide-resistant soybeans.   "If Monsanto has its way, we will soon have genetically altered soy in bread, margarine and chocolate," said Joerg Naumann, the head of the campaign.   So-called Roundup Ready soybeans, which are expected to account for one or two percent of the total U.S. soybean crop this year, are resistant to Monsanto's Roundup herbicide.   Monsanto argues that modified soybeans allow herbicide use and ecological damage to be reduced and costs to be cut.   But Greenpeace said the products might encourage herbicide use.   A poll carried out on behalf of Greenpeace in early September showed two-thirds of consumers opposed genetically-modified soybean products, the group said.   Greenpeace added that U.S. and European Union (EU) health and safety checks, under which the products were approved, could have been too lax.   Germany crushes some 3.4 million tonnes of soybeans a year out of a total oilseed crush of seven million tonne.   The EU last year processed 15 million tonnes of mostly imported soybeans, with the U.S. supplying 60 percent.   But the Greenpeace campaign to stop imports drew sharp criticism from Bonn-based food institute BLL, which supplies legal and scientific services to the industry.   A BLL statement issued after a Greenpeace press conference said, "the oils, fats and lecithin derived from these soybeans are identical with traditional products."   Health and ecological risks could be ruled out.   Labelling was impracticable because it was impossible to prove which parts of a given product were derived from genetically altered organisms.   Germany's food industries supported biotechnology and would not isolate themselves in increasingly global food production and trade, BLL said.   --Vera Eckert, Hamburg newsroom +49-40-41903275 
13175 !GCAT !GVIO  Iraqi forces fired missiles at U.S. fighter jets over northern Iraq on Wednesday but missed their targets, and the United States moved B-52 bombers to a base in the Indian Ocean to back its threat of new military strikes on Iraq, U.S. defence officials said.   The officials also said an Iraqi MiG-25 jet fighter and a military helicopter flew into a no-fly zone in southern Iraq on Wednesday in violation of U.S. warnings but that no action was taken immediately.   The SAM-6 surface-to-air missiles fired at two U.S. F-16 jets policing a no-fly zone over northern Iraq did not damage the planes, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told Reuters.   "Our F-15E fighters in the area could not return fire with their (anti-radar) missiles because the Iraqi radars were turned off quickly," Whitman said.   He said the incident occurred near Gir Pahn, midway between the cities of Zakho and Mosul.   The missile firings occurred at 3:58 a.m.   EDT (0758 GMT), which was late morning in Iraq, and along with the southern zone violations were sure to increase rising tensions between the United States and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.   President Bill Clinton, who was in Pueblo, Colorado, campaigning for re-election, was informed of the incident by the National Security Council representative on the trip, Navy Capt. Fred Dhose, White House officials said.   Asked if there would be a U.S. response, White House spokesman Mike McCurry said, "I don't want to speculate."   He said the Pentagon was addressing details.   The defence officials, who asked not to be identified, said U.S. B-52 bombers like those used in cruise missile attacks on southern Iraq last week had been moved from Guam in the Pacific Ocean to a British air base on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to put them closer to Iraq.   American warships and B-52s, which flew non-stop more than 19 hours round-trip from Guam, launched 44 Tomahawk and airborne cruise missiles against air defence targets in southern Iraq fighter last week to punish Saddam for using his forces to attack Kurds in northern Iraq.   The United States on Tuesday accused Saddam of starting to rebuild his air defences in the south despite direct warnings from U.S. Defence Secretary William Perry and others and warned that U.S. forces could launch new attacks at any time.   Whitman said the two Iraqi aircraft that penetrated the no-fly zone in the south had flown in from the north and were not simply defying the no-fly order by taking off in the zone.   State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns told reporters on Tuesday the United States was determined to keep Saddam from flying in the zones in order to protect Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other U.S. friends to the south.   In Baghdad, the Iraqi News Agency on Tuesday quoted a military spokesman as saying three SAMs were fired at U.S. warplanes policing the southern no-fly zone and chased them away, but U.S. officials dimissed those reports.   "We have absolutely no indication of that," responded Air Force Col. Doug Kennett, a Defence Department spokesman in Washington.   The Pentagon says Saddam has been warned in diplomatic notes and in statements by Defence Secretary William Perry and Gen. John Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, not to rebuild air defences or threaten U.S. planes policing the southern no-fly zone.   Spokesman Ken Bacon hinted on Tuesday the U.S. military might resume attacks, especially if the Iraqis tried to target U.S. aircraft with radars, saying: "We have warned Saddam Hussein that we retain the right and will, in fact, take actions necessary to protect our pilots.   And we will do that."   Saddam has called on his troops to ignore the no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq set up by Western powers to protect Kurds in the north and Shiite Moslems in the south. 
13176 !E12 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  German Chancellor Helmut Kohl on Wednesday defended his government's austerity drive after unions held mass demonstrations against it and the opposition Social Democrats (SPD) accused him of creating gross social injustice.   Kohl told the daily Neue Presse newspaper ahead of a major parliamentary debate on the 1997 budget that his plans, which involve spending cuts totalling 70 billion marks ($46.5 billion) next year, were completely in line with demands for social justice.   "If we don't make cuts we have no chance to lower the tax burden on citizens in our country.   That is also a matter of justice," he said.   Kohl was due to address parliament at around midday (1000 GMT).   He said the greatest social injustice was when people looking for work could not find a job.   "If we did not act, further jobs would be lost."   German unemployment has surged to over 10 percent of the workforce, busting Bonn's budget calculations for this year and threatening to leave another hole in public finances in 1997.   Opening the Bundestag debate, SPD parliamentary leader Rudolf Scharping said: "The government's austerity policy endangers the future of the country and is deeply socially unjust.   You, Chancellor, are fighting against the weak."   He said Kohl had lied to people about the real costs of unification in 1990 and was now making ordinary people pay by cutting back social benefits.   Kohl's austerity package consists of a wide range of spending cuts and supply side reform measures aimed both at cutting runaway budget deficits and reducing firms' costs to encourage them to take on more workers.   In particular the package aims to slash 50 billion marks from public spending and 20 billion marks from social welfare fund spending next year in a bid to get Germany's public deficit back under the three percent of gross domestic product level required for joining the single European currency planned for 1999.   A major chunk of the package, including pension and health reforms as well as cuts in sick pay and workers' protection from dismissal, is set to be voted through the lower house of parliament on Friday, overriding upper house objections.   About 240,000 people attended demonstrations against the cuts around Germany at the weekend and Germany's most powerful union, IG Metall, this week threatened to strike if employers do not compensate workers for Bonn's sick pay cuts.   Kohl said Germans knew perfectly well that adjustments to their cherished welfare state were needed if Germany were to survive international competition in the long term.   Germany currently spends a trillion marks annually -- equivalent to a third of its GDP -- on welfare and social spending.   Kohl's cuts would trim about two percent from this.   He added that a comprehensive reform of the tax system the government was planning for 1999 would definitely lead to a net reduction in taxes.   Scharping said Kohl himself was responsible for the excessive tax burden on citizens and that families in Germany were in a worse position than those in any other country in Europe and even Mexico.   Kohl and SPD leader Oskar Lafontaine were scheduled to address parliament around midday.   Wolfgang Gerhardt, leader of Kohl's junior coalition partners the Free Democrats, was also due to speak.   ($1=1.5032 Mark) 
13177 !C13 !C31 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !G157 !GCAT  Bu Suzanne Perry   Everyone in the European Union should have access to affordable telephone services ranging from pay phones to directories once the EU completely opens its telecoms markets to competition, the European Commission said on Wednesday.   The Commission, unveiling the last major legislative initiative connected to the EU's pledge to end state telecommunications monopolies by January 1, 1998, also proposed that itemised billing and touch-tone dialling be available to all users.   Furthermore, all new phone connections from the start of 1998 should give customers access to information services such as the Internet, it said in a statement.   The Commission did not include mobile phone service, however, in the package of services that must be provided at an affordable cost.   After a long debate, it concluded that that could hamper investment in a sector that is just getting off the ground in some member states, a Commission official said.   The situation would be reviewed by the end of 1999, however, he said.   The new legislation, which must be approved by EU ministers and the European Parliament, sets out rules to ensure that customers of voice telephone networks -- either consumers or competing phone companies -- receive efficient and non-discriminatory service.   It would update existing rules on voice telephone service to take account of the influx of new market players that are expected to take advantage of the 1998 market opening.   It covers issues such as connections to terminal equipment, access to operator and emergency services, supervision of contracts by national regulatory authorities and publication of information about phone services.   While the original legislation covers phone companies granted "special or exclusive" rights, for example, the new text applies some provisions only to companies with "significant market share" -- which a Commission official said would generally mean more than 25 percent of the national voice telephone market.   It also requires governments to establish procedures for resolving disputes over phone bills or other issues.   The text outlines a range of services that must be guaranteed at an affordable price, a concept known as "universal service".   Those include a normal telephone line, directories, directory enquiry services, public pay telephones, and possibly services for disabled users and other social groups.   Governments would decide how to define "affordable" and could require public network operators to share the costs of providing unprofitable universal service, officials said.   They would have to ensure all users had access to tone dialing, itemised billing and "selective call barring", which allows users to determine which services they want to use and pay for -- but those would not fall under the universal service obligation, an official said. 
13178 !GCAT !GVIO  Iraqi forces fired missiles at U.S. fighter jets over northern Iraq on Wednesday but missed their targets, and the United States moved B-52 bombers to a base in the Indian Ocean to back its threat of new military strikes on Iraq, U.S. defence officials said.   The officials also said an Iraqi MiG-25 jet fighter and a military helicopter flew into a no-fly zone in southern Iraq on Wednesday in violation of U.S. warnings but that no action was taken immediately.   The SAM-6 surface-to-air missiles fired at two U.S. F-16 jets policing a no-fly zone over northern Iraq did not damage the planes, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told Reuters.   "Our F-15E fighters in the area could not return fire with their (anti-radar) missiles because the Iraqi radars were turned off quickly," Whitman said.   He said the incident occurred near Gir Pahn, midway between the cities of Zakho and Mosul.   The missile firings occurred at 3:58 a.m.   EDT (0758 GMT), which was late morning in Iraq, and along with the southern zone violations were sure to increase rising tensions between the United States and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.   President Bill Clinton, who was in Pueblo, Colorado, campaigning for re-election, was informed of the incident by the National Security Council representative on the trip, Navy Capt. Fred Dhose, White House officials said.   Asked if there would be a U.S. response, White House spokesman Mike McCurry said, "I don't want to speculate."   He said the Pentagon was addressing details.   The defence officials, who asked not to be identified, said U.S. B-52 bombers like those used in cruise missile attacks on southern Iraq last week had been moved from Guam in the Pacific Ocean to a British air base on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to put them closer to Iraq.   American warships and B-52s, which flew non-stop more than 19 hours round-trip from Guam, launched 44 Tomahawk and airborne cruise missiles against air defence targets in southern Iraq fighter last week to punish Saddam for using his forces to attack Kurds in northern Iraq.   The United States on Tuesday accused Saddam of starting to rebuild his air defences in the south despite direct warnings from U.S. Defence Secretary William Perry and others and warned that U.S. forces could launch new attacks at any time.   Whitman said the two Iraqi aircraft that penetrated the no-fly zone in the south had flown in from the north and were not simply defying the no-fly order by taking off in the zone.   State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns told reporters on Tuesday the United States was determined to keep Saddam from flying in the zones in order to protect Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other U.S. friends to the south.   In Baghdad, the Iraqi News Agency on Tuesday quoted a military spokesman as saying three SAMs were fired at U.S. warplanes policing the southern no-fly zone and chased them away, but U.S. officials dimissed those reports.   "We have absolutely no indication of that," responded Air Force Col. Doug Kennett, a Defence Department spokesman in Washington.   The Pentagon says Saddam has been warned in diplomatic notes and in statements by Defence Secretary William Perry and Gen. John Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, not to rebuild air defences or threaten U.S. planes policing the southern no-fly zone.   Spokesman Ken Bacon hinted on Tuesday the U.S. military might resume attacks, especially if the Iraqis tried to target U.S. aircraft with radars, saying: "We have warned Saddam Hussein that we retain the right and will, in fact, take actions necessary to protect our pilots.   And we will do that."   Saddam has called on his troops to ignore the no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq set up by Western powers to protect Kurds in the north and Shiite Moslems in the south. 
13179 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Southeast Asian economic ministers said on Wednesday that progress was well under way towards the creation of an ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) by the target date of 2003.   "The basic things are already done and are about to be implemented, so in other words we will actually be able to meet our target for tariff cuts by the year 2000 and 2003," Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz told a news conference.   She was speaking after a half-day meeting of the AFTA council comprising the trade ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).   ASEAN -- Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Brunei, Thailand and Vietnam -- aims to cut tariffs on most of its trade items to zero-to-five percent by the year 2003.   Indonesia's Trade and Industry Minister Tunky Ariwibowo said the dispute over a deadline for including sugar and rice in the tariff cutting scheme had been given to the ASEAN secretariat for review, adding he hoped for a quick resulution of the row.   Indonesia and the Philippines have balked at including rice and sugar in the Common Economic Preferential Tariff (CEPT) scheme by the year 2010.   They want the deadline extended 10 years.   The CEPT lists items for tariff reduction.   The ministers hold their annual economic meeting on Thursday to discuss several issuesm including an ASEAN investment agreement and the proposed establishment of an ASEAN Investment Area to promote intra-regional investment and attract outside funds into the region of 420 million people.   They will also debate a proposed mechanism to resolve trade disputes within the region.   ASEAN said total trade between six of the seven member countries -- Vietnam only joined last year and was not included in the figures -- rose 19.77 percent to $68.8 billion last year from $57.5 billion in 1994.   A statement following Wednesday's meeting said the ministers agreed that more products should be included on the list of items for tariff reductions.   There was also an emphasis on trade facilitation programmes, a report on a customs agreement setting out a legal framework for customs cooperation, and the adoption of a common customs form to be implemented by an informal ASEAN summit in Jakarta late this year.   The AFTA council agreed that all customs surcharges on goods on the CEPT list should be eliminated by December 31 as part of a move to get rid of non-tariff barriers in the region.   The ministers also agreed on "alternative rules of origin" for textiles and textile products, but Ariwibowo said this was not connected with U.S. rules of origin under its textile quotas. 
13180 !C13 !C21 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !GHEA  Prime Minister John Major on Wednesday set the scene for another clash with the European Union by saying Britain would review a planned cull of cattle designed to eliminate mad cow disease.   Major, under heavy pressure from farmers and members of his Conservative Party to scrap the slaughter of 147,000 cattle, said a cabinet meeting on Thursday would discuss new scientific evidence.   "Nobody should expect snap decisions but it is right to examine and make sure the policy is correct in the light of new information we now have.   There is no pre-ordained outcome," he told reporters.   Last month the government welcomed a report by Oxford University scientists predicting that mad cow disease, or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), would be over by the year 2001 even without the mass cull.   The Times newspaper said ministers were now likely to shelve the cull.   This would undoubtedly spark a new row with the EU, which slapped a ban on British beef exports in March and only agreed to gradually start lifting it in return for the cull.   The ban followed a British government admission that BSE could cause the fatal brain disease CJD in humans.   The ban caused a serious rift with London and resulted in British ministers blocking EU business for several weeks.   The EU later suggested that the ban on British beef exports should be kept in place longer than planned in the light of evidence that BSE can be spread from mothers to calves.   The National Farmers Union (NFU), keen to settle the row so its hard-pressed members can start exporting their cows again, urged ministers to take their time and not do anything to provoke Britain's European partners.   "First of all explore with Europe all the opportunies and then make a decision.   Don't make a decision based on newspaper reports and scaremongering," NFU president Sir David Naish told BBC Radio on Wednesday.   But scrapping the cull would be popular with the more nationalist members of the Conservative Party, who are doing their best to put the party on a collision course with Brussels.   "If these reports turn out to be right, three cheers," said William Powell, a Conservative member of parliament's agriculture select committee.   "We have been without the export trade now for some six months.   The Germans are making it plain that no matter what the science, they have no intention of allowing us to export again.   "So why should we engage in a mindless slaughter, at staggering public cost, with no advantage in eradicating BSE, just because some ignorant Germans are determined to elevate politics above all else?"   The Oxford scientists' report said 700,000 cattle with mad cow disease had been eaten, raising fears that an epidemic of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), the human form of the brain-wasting ailment, could follow.   The row broke out in March after the government acknowledged there could be a link between BSE and CJD.   British Agriculture Minister Douglas Hogg is due to meet European Farm Minister Franz Fischler on Monday to discuss the matter. 
13181 !E21 !E211 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL !GWELF  German Chancellor Helmut Kohl on Wednesday defended his government's austerity drive after unions held mass demonstrations against it and the opposition Social Democrats (SPD) accused him of creating gross social injustice.   Kohl told the daily Neue Presse newspaper ahead of a major parliamentary debate on the 1997 budget that his plans, which involve spending cuts totalling 70 billion marks ($46.5 billion) next year, were completely in line with demands for social justice.   "If we don't make cuts we have no chance to lower the tax burden on citizens in our country.   That is also a matter of justice," he said.   Kohl was due to address parliament at around midday (1000 GMT).   He said the greatest social injustice was when people looking for work could not find a job.   "If we did not act, further jobs would be lost."   German unemployment has surged to over 10 percent of the workforce, busting Bonn's budget calculations for this year and threatening to leave another hole in public finances in 1997.   Opening the Bundestag debate, SPD parliamentary leader Rudolf Scharping said: "The government's austerity policy endangers the future of the country and is deeply socially unjust.   You, Chancellor, are fighting against the weak."   He said Kohl had lied to people about the real costs of unification in 1990 and was now making ordinary people pay by cutting back social benefits.   Kohl's austerity package consists of a wide range of spending cuts and supply side reform measures aimed both at cutting runaway budget deficits and reducing firms' costs to encourage them to take on more workers.   In particular the package aims to slash 50 billion marks from public spending and 20 billion marks from social welfare fund spending next year in a bid to get Germany's public deficit back under the three percent of gross domestic product level required for joining the single European currency planned for 1999.   A major chunk of the package, including pension and health reforms as well as cuts in sick pay and workers' protection from dismissal, is set to be voted through the lower house of parliament on Friday, overriding upper house objections.   About 240,000 people attended demonstrations against the cuts around Germany at the weekend and Germany's most powerful union, IG Metall, this week threatened to strike if employers do not compensate workers for Bonn's sick pay cuts.   Kohl said Germans knew perfectly well that adjustments to their cherished welfare state were needed if Germany were to survive international competition in the long term.   Germany currently spends a trillion marks annually -- equivalent to a third of its GDP -- on welfare and social spending.   Kohl's cuts would trim about two percent from this.   He added that a comprehensive reform of the tax system the government was planning for 1999 would definitely lead to a net reduction in taxes.   Scharping said Kohl himself was responsible for the excessive tax burden on citizens and that families in Germany were in a worse position than those in any other country in Europe and even Mexico.   Kohl and SPD leader Oskar Lafontaine were scheduled to address parliament around midday.   Wolfgang Gerhardt, leader of Kohl's junior coalition partners the Free Democrats, was also due to speak.   ($1=1.5032 Mark) 
13182 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  South Africa's Chamber of Mines and the National Union of Mineworkers have struck a deal on wages for gold and coal miners, averting the threat of a damaging strike, the union said on Wednesday.   The NUM union said that the deal would result in the gradual phasing out of apartheid mining practices.   A Chamber of Mines spokesman declined to comment but said there would be a news conference at 1130 GMT.   The 350,000-strong NUM declared a dispute with the employer body, the Chamber of Mines, on August 1 and union officials had hinted at a strike which could cripple the huge gold and coal industries if the dispute was not settled.   Full details of the deal were not immediately available.   Companies set to sign up represent the heart of South Africa's mining establishment, including Anglo American Corp of South Africa Ltd, Gencor Ltd, Gold Fields of South Africa Ltd, JCI Ltd, Randgold and Exploration Co Ltd and Anglovaal Ltd. 
13183 !C42 !CCAT !E12 !E13 !E131 !E14 !E141 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The economy kept expanding moderately in August with no clear sign of inflation, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday, though wages appeared to be climbing faster than prices.   The Fed's latest Beige Book summary of national economic activity was issued amid worries that central bank policy-makers may boost interest rates this month to quash inflation risks.   Despite its cautioning about rising wages and labour shortages, the Fed summary did not clearly warn of mounting inflation and financial markets rallied after its noon release.   "Inflation indicators ... were varied and generally inconclusive, although there appears to be greater upward pressure on wages than on prices," concluded the Beige Book summary, prepared by the Cleveland Fed.   The Dow Jones industrial average was up 22 points at 5,749 in afternoon trading while the bond market recovered from earlier weakness and the yield on the 30-year bond was steady at 7.11 percent, the same as Tuesday's close.   The findings were based on information collected in interviews with businesses before Sept. 4 in the 12 Fed districts.   They will be used when the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee meets on Sept. 24 to decide interest-rate strategy.   The Beige Book surveys are released at about six-week intervals, with the last one published on Aug. 7.   The latest survey suggested the economy was holding its momentum entering the second half, rather than slowing as the Fed and many private economists had forecast.   "Business activity in most Districts is reported to be generally good and expanding moderately," the Fed said.   The Minneapolis Fed mentioned a local telephone company that was forced to issue cellular phones to new homeowners because it could not lay cable quickly enough to service them.   Few businesses in any Fed districts saw big price increases since the last survey was concluded on July 30, but none indicated that inflation pressures were subsiding.   Some industrial commodities like lumber and steel were rising in price, but it was generally confined to a few markets.   "Wage gains have tended to outstrip price increases, however," the Fed said.   The upward pressure on wages seemed most intense in the Richmond and San Francisco Fed districts, but many regions reported wage increases for entry-level jobs.   Many regions saw "pockets" of labour market tightness, with a few saying the scarcity of workers was broadly based.   The Chicago Fed said labour markets there were "tighter than the nation as a whole," yet there was no sign of rising wage demands.   The Fed said manufacturing activity was "either expanding or holding steady at a high level" across the country.   Few constraints were seen on industrial capacity, and companies in the Boston and Atlanta regions were adding to capacity.   "Building activity remains strong in most parts of the country," the Fed said.   "Agriculture conditions vary widely by District, but most regions report better crop conditions today than earlier in the summer."   Back-to-school shopping was "off to a good start," the Fed reported.   "Several districts indicated that sales are meeting -- or exceeding -- expectations," it added.   Inventories of unsold goods at the retail level were in line with sales, although some retail stores in the Boston region were cautiously building stocks.   Auto sales were described as "flat or declining slightly" in most parts of the country, but that was partly because dealer inventories of popular models were lean.   "Loan demand appears to be holding steady at a generally high level," the Fed said.   The Fed districts reported some deterioration in the credit quality of banks' consumer loans and higher delinquency rates but expressed no concerns about overall debt quality. 
13184 !GCAT !GVIO  Iraqi forces fired missiles at U.S. fighter jets over northern Iraq on Wednesday but missed their targets, and the United States moved B-52 bombers to a base in the Indian Ocean to back its threat of new military strikes on Iraq, U.S. defence officials said.   The officials also said an Iraqi MiG-25 jet fighter and a military helicopter flew into a no-fly zone in southern Iraq on Wednesday in violation of U.S. warnings but that no action was taken immediately.   The SAM-6 surface-to-air missiles fired at two U.S. F-16 jets policing a no-fly zone over northern Iraq did not damage the planes, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told Reuters.   "Our F-15E fighters in the area could not return fire with their (radar-destroying) 'Harm' missiles because the Iraqi radars were turned off quickly," Whitman said.   He said the incident occurred near Gir Pahn, midway between the cities of Zakhu and Mostar.   The missile firings occurred at 3:58 a.m.   EDT (0758 GMT), which was late morning in Iraq, and along with the southern zone violations were sure to increase rising tensions between the United States and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.   The defence officials, who asked not to be identified, said U.S. B-52 bombers like those used in cruise missile attacks on southern Iraq last week had been moved from Guam in the Pacific Ocean to a British air base on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to put them closer to Iraq.   American warships and B-52s, which flew non-stop more than 19 hours round-trip from Guam, launched 44 Tomahawk and airborne cruise missiles against air defence targets in southern Iraq fighter last week to punish Saddam for using his forces to attack Kurds in northern Iraq.   The United States on Tuesday accused Saddam of starting to rebuild his air defences in the south despite direct warnings from U.S. Defence Secretary William Perry and others and warned that U.S. forces could launch new attacks at any time.   Whitman said the two Iraqi aircraft that penetrated the no-fly zone in the south had flown in from the north and were not simply defying the no-fly order by taking off in the zone.   State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns told reporters on Tuesday the United States was determined to keep Saddam from flying in the zones in order to protect Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other U.S. friends to the south.   In Baghdad, the Iraqi News Agency on Tuesday quoted a military spokesman as saying three SAMs were fired at U.S. warplanes policing the southern no-fly zone and chased them away, but U.S. officials dimissed those reports.   "We have absolutely no indication of that," responded Air Force Col. Doug Kennett, a Defence Department spokesman in Washington.   The Pentagon says Saddam has been warned in diplomatic notes and in statements by Defence Secretary William Perry and Gen. John Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, not to rebuild air defences or threaten U.S. planes policing the southern no-fly zone.   Spokesman Ken Bacon hinted on Tuesday the U.S. military might resume attacks, especially if the Iraqis tried to target U.S. aircraft with radars, saying: "We have warned Saddam Hussein that we retain the right and will, in fact, take actions necessary to protect our pilots.   And we will do that."   Saddam has called on his troops to ignore the no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq set up by Western powers to protect Kurds in the north and Shiite Moslems in the south. 
13185 !C13 !C18 !C181 !C183 !CCAT !GCAT !GDEF  France announced on Wednesday plans to increase European cooperation and cut costs in its arms industry as part of a wide-ranging defence reform.   The plans, presented to the cabinet by Defence Minister Charles Millon, provide for taking a longer, 30-year view on arms programmes, improving coordination between the services and tightening procurement procedures to increase competitivity.   They are part of a major armed forces reform to abolish conscription and build all-professional forces by 2002, cutting numbers from 573,000 to 437,000.   President Jacques Chirac told the cabinet the arms industry reform was "important and courageous, with the main benefit of bringing together the army, air force and navy armament needs," according to government spokesman Alain Lamassoure.   "The reform will in the end increase resources for the arms industry.   It testifies to our country's determination to maintain and modernise its defence," Chirac said.   The defence ministry said shrinking arms markets made it necessary to create major groups able to cope with increasingly aggressive competition from U.S. companies.   The merger between aicraft-makers SNI Aerospatiale and Dassault Aviation, and the privatisation of Thomson SA were first steps in a consolidation that would lead to forming multinational groups in a future European defence industry, it said.   "Everything leads France to a determinedly European armament policy," the ministry said, stressing that the the costs of new equipment were increasingly out of reach for a single nation.   It said current European cooperation, torn between egoistic interests and hampered by diverging national regulations, had so far been costly and had not managed to avoid duplication.   "In order to be more efficient, cooperation must stem from a common vision of and preparations for the future, and be based on genuinely integrated European programmes," it said.   While budget cuts would not spare cooperation programmes, the share of France's arms spending conducted in cooperation with European partners would increase to 34 percent in 2002 from 15 percent now, with the main partners being Germany, Britain and Italy.   Plans are to peg annual defence spending at 185 billion francs ($37 billion) a year in 1997-2002 at 1995 rates, about 20 billion francs ($4 billion) less than in 1994.   The reform has worried unions who staged protests on Tuesday against feared job cuts in several arms industry centres, mostly navy shipyards.   The CFDT trade union said in a statement it had met the head of the DGA arms procurement office, Jean-Yves Helmer, and asked that the defence minister meet all the unions.   Increased cooperation also reflects Chirac's shift to move closer to NATO.   Prime Minister Alain Juppe has said France, which left NATO's military wing 30 years ago, hopes to return soon to full integration in a reformed Western defence alliance.   The ministry said procurement procedures needed improving, to encourage competitiveness and the industry should match the productivity gains of civilian companies.   Taking a longer view of armament needs, integrating arms programmes and making good use of civilian technology would also allow to cut costs and delivery delays, it said.   It cited as examples the Franco-German Roland anti-tank missile programme, and the navy frigate Horizon programme between France, Britain and Italy. 
13186 !E12 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  A growing majority of Germans accept Chancellor Helmut Kohl's argument that government spending cuts are needed to boost the economy's competitive position, an opinion poll published on Wednesday said.   The Allensbach research institute said, in a survey published in the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, that 64 percent of Germans now agree that Kohl's savings plan is necessary, up sharply from 44 percent in May.   Even though trade unions have staged massive demonstrations throughout the country in recent months to protest against the proposed cuts in sick pay and workers' rights, Allensbach found more and more people now accept the cuts as inevitable.   "The population is anxious about the economy and is concerned it is not just a temporary downturn but rather a changing environment that requires sacrifice and change," pollster Renate Koecher wrote in the newspaper.   "The public is aware of the state's financial problems," she added.   "What frightens people is the thought that taxes and fees will continue in a permanent upward spiral."   Kohl's austerity package consists of a wide range of spending cuts and supply side reform measures, aimed both at cutting runaway budget deficits and reducing business costs to encourage firms to take on more workers.   The package aims to slash 50 billion marks ($33.03 billion) from public spending next year and 20 billion marks from social welfare fund to get the public deficit under the three percent of gross domestic product level required for joining the single European currency planned for 1999.   Kohl, citing the survey during a nationally televised debate in parliament on Wednesday, said: "A large majority of our fellow citizens have recognised that changes are needed in order to secure the future."   Despite the growing acceptance, there was a sharp division between how east and west Germans viewed the spending cuts.   While acceptance in the west rose to 69 percent at the end of August from 46 percent in June, only 43 percent of those in the formerly communist east agreed with the austerity plans, up from 36 percent in June.   "The savings programme has touched a more critical nerve in the east, where many doubt the need to save," Koecher said.   "While a slowly growing majority in the west are convinced that even massive cuts in the social welfare system are unavoidable, the majority in the east want to maintain or even expand on the social security system."   A major part of the package, including pension and health reforms as well as cuts in sick pay and workers' protection from dismissal, is set to be voted through the lower house of parliament on Friday, overriding upper house objections.   Germany currently spends a trillion marks annually -- equivalent to a third of its GDP -- on welfare and social spending.   ($1=1.5139 Mark) 
13187 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  British opposition leader Tony Blair said on Wednesday a future Labour government would not be in the pocket of trade unions, adding fuel to a growing row with the party's traditional allies.   "The Labour Party will govern in government for the whole country.   The 1990s is not the 1970s," said Blair referring to a time when Labour was widely seen as under the sway of unions.   The once-powerful unions helped found Labour and still provide nearly half its funds, but Blair has cut their influence over the party and shifted policy to the centre-ground of politics.   He has chosen the week of the unions' annual conference to underline the split and show that, if Labour forms the next government at an election due by May 1997, the unions can expect no favours.   Labour's employment spokesman David Blunkett floated proposals at the start of the week on measures to curb strikes, to the outrage of the union members, already angry at similar noises from the Conservative government.   Blunkett appeared to water down his plans by the time he addressed a fringe meeting here on Tuesday evening, referring to a voluntary system of arbitration in disputes rather than the compulsory, binding system mentioned earlier.   Union powers have been cropped hard by the Conservative government during its 17 years in power.   But Blair threw oil on the flames by intervening in a long-running postal dispute on Wednesday, saying the Communication Workers Union's call for two more strike days this month should be put to a fresh ballot of the membership.   This latest appeal serves Blair's purpose of trying to separate party from union in the public mind, but Trade and Industry Secretary Ian Lang said he was not taken in.   "The fact is that the trade unions sponsor the Labour Party, they fund it to the extent of over six million pounds ($9.3 million) and they control half the votes at (Labour's) conference," he said.   He was scornful of Labour's strike proposals, "born at breakfast-time and dead at dinner because the trade unions gave them the thumbs-down".   Blair will not be addressing the conference -- the Labour leader gives a speech only every other year -- but he attended a dinner with union leaders on Tuesday evening, after which Trades Union Congress leader John Monks was conciliatory.   Monks, who had complained earlier on Tuesday about Labour's confused statements, said Blair had put the emphasis at the dinner on consultation before any changes were made to the present industrial relations system.   "I think that things are a lot calmer and clearer than they were yesterday afternoon," Monks said.   However, the Labour/unions issue is bound to resurface on Thursday when the conference debates employment law.   Blunkett made it clear on Tuesday that a Labour government would not repeal the series of anti-union laws brought in by the Conservative government since 1979, though it would give workers and unions more rights in the workplace.   The conference debates a national minimum wage on Wednesday.   Blair is committed to introducing a statutory minimum wage if Labour wins the election but Blunkett stressed on Wednesday any figure unions put forward this week would carry little weight.   The level of a minimum wage will be set by the government, on the recommendation of a Low Pay Commission comprised of union and employer representatives plus outside experts, he said.   Lang said the level of 4.26 pounds ($6.62) an hour likely to be backed by the unions would destroy up to a million jobs. 
13188 !E41 !E411 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Britain's unemployment rate fell to 7.5 percent in August, from 7.6 in July, after the number of jobless fell 15,600 to 2.11 million, official figures showed on Wednesday.   Unemployment had fallen 24,300 in July.   The August figures were in line with market expectations.   The Treasury said the fall in unemployment underlined strengthening economic activity. 
13189 !GCAT !GSPO  Oklahoma City formally submitted a bid for a National Hockey League expansion franchise that would play in a new arena to be built downtown, city officials said on Wednesday.   A $100,000 deposit was sent by the Oklahoma Sports Commission to the league, which this summer said it was seeking bids for expansion teams, said Clayton Bennett, an Oklahoma publisher and president of the sports commission.   The hockey club would be the first major league sports franchise in Oklahoma.   Oklahoma City voters in 1993 approved a five-year, one-cent sales tax to fund a series of downtown revitalization projects, including the 17,500-seat indoor sports arena for a professional hockey club.   The city, wracked by the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in the heart of downtown, last week started a $2.7 million program promoting Oklahoma City as a site for corporate relocations. 
13190 !C42 !CCAT !E21 !E211 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Tunisian wages are set to rise by between 5.5 to six percent for civil servants and four to 8.5 percent in the private sector each year for the next three years, a trade union official said on Wednesday.   The increases were agreed after several months of behind closed doors talks between trade union group Union Generale Tunisienne du Travail (UGTT) and employers and the government.   "The increase is 5.5 to six percent for the civil servants and four to 8.5 percent for the private sector.   For both cases, it is slightly better than what was obtained in 1993 for the last three years," a UGTT official told Reuters.   Wage rises in 1993 averaged six to seven percent a year for the private sector and five percent for the civil servants.   Tunisia uses sectorial collective bargaining every three years to determine wages and benefits for some 46 different professions in the private sector.   The bargaining system also aims at maintaining social peace and the country's international competitiveness. 
13191 !C13 !C31 !C312 !CCAT !E51 !E512 !ECAT !G15 !G153 !G158 !GCAT  U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman Wednesday warned that the United States will subsidize its grain exports if the European Union or other exporters launch new export subsidies.   "The U.S. is going to be watching to make sure that other producers are not in the game of subsidizing their exports," Glickman said.   "If they use export subsidies, we will aggressively use the tools at our disposal to fight fire with fire."    Speaking to reporters after the release of USDA's September crop report, Glickman did not predict a major subsidy war to break out, pointing to still tight stocks for wheat.   But he stressed that Washington stands ready to compete in a subsidy war if necessary, and indicated the administration would not shy away from asking Congress to increase the $100 million allocated for the Export Enhancement Program -- the U.S. agricultural subsidy program -- next year if conditions call for it.   Glickman said the world is seeing "a rather significant increase in (wheat) production," and predicted a more competitive market for U.S. wheat exporters this coming year.   "We're going to have more competitive wheat markets next year," he said.   He said the U.S. corn crop looks "pretty much on target."   USDA estimated corn production at 8.80 billion bushels, up slightly from its August estimate.   Glickman said corn stocks are still tight, but added this is "nothing catastrophic at all."   He said, "Stocks are still tight but solid." 
13192 !C13 !C21 !C31 !C312 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT  The European Commission said on Wednesday that a British programme to slaughter cattle most at risk from mad cow disease was an essential part of an agreement to gradually lift a worldwide ban on British beef.   Prime Minister John Major said British ministers would review on Thursday the planned cull of 147,000 cattle most at risk of developing the fatal brain wasting disease, setting the scene for another clash with the European Union.   "The selective slaughter plan is an integral part of the Florence agreement on a step by step lifting of the export ban," Commission agriculture spokesman Gerard Kiely told a news briefing.   EU leaders agreed at the Florence European Council in June to lift progressively the ban on exports of British beef and products as Britain implemented a series of tough measures, including the slaughter of affected cattle and those most at risk.   The deal defused a crisis which broke when the ban was imposed on March 27 after Britain said that the disease, known medically as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), could be transmitted to humans who ate infected beef.   Britain retaliated against the ban, which it said was disproportionate and unfair, by blocking EU business for many weeks.   It has now seized on a report by Oxford University scientists last month predicting that mad cow disease would disappear by 2001, even without the cull.   But the Commission noted an earlier British study which found that cows can pass mad cow disease to calves and raised the possibility that more animals would have to be killed.   The study, released on August 1, said that 10 percent of calves born within six months of their mothers showing signs of BSE, developed the fatal disease.   This translated into a one percent overall rate of transmission.   It prompted Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler to write to British Agriculture Minister Douglas Hogg warning that the selective slaughter programme should be reviewed.   The confirmation of maternal transmission of the disease, even though at a very low level, also made it unlikely that Major's objective of ending the ban in November would be met.   The Commission, which stresses that consumer safety should be given priority, said it did not intend being drawn into a battle of numbers.   "We have never got into discussing numbers," Kiely told Reuters.   "Our approach is based on reducing BSE as quickly as possible with better guarantees for consumer safety."   Kiely noted that the Oxford report, published in the British scientific review "Nature", was based on a computer model that might prove impractical because some 25,000 farms would have to be monitored.   British officials said that Britain would draw attention to the Oxford report at a meeting of senior EU veterinary officials on Wednesday but discussions would concentrate on maternal transmission of BSE.   Britain would not be pressing for any decisions.   "We are in listening mode," a British official said, adding that it was likely to take some time before EU veterinary experts came to any conclusions. 
13193 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Karl Otto Poehl, the former president of the German Bundesbank, said in a magazine interview released on Wednesday that the European Union must be careful in selecting countries to join in a single currency.   In a summary of the interview released in advance of publication in this week's Wirtschaftswoche, Poehl said, "Countries whose inflation rates are twice that of Germany and France and which show a much lower level of productivity would lose their competitiveness in a currency union.   He added, "It would be better for us if these countries stay outside for the time being.   Otherwise we must all pay -- in the form of higher interest rates."   The editorial text of the article said Poehl had warned against allowing Spain and Italy in on political grounds, but this was not immediately backed up by the quotes provided.   A full text of the interview, which will be published in the Wirtschaftswoche tomorrow, was not immediately available.    Poehl added that inclusion of higher-inflation countries could also put the Euro's stability in danger.   But Poehl said he saw little need to insist on countries meeting all of the economic criteria laid down in the Maastricht Treaty to be eligible for membership.   The treaty calls for countries to meet targets on interest and exchange rates, inflation and public budgets.   Most countries are facing the greatest problems in meeting the budgetary goals.   The Treaty refers to a three percent maximum of gross domestic product as the reference value for budget deficits and a 60 percent maximum for debt.   Germany has been insistent that these targets should be met strictly by all would-be participants.   But Poehl took the opposite line on this.   "A currency union can also be started with deficits of four percent," he said.   "This barrier at three percent is fairly irrelevant for the smooth functioning of a monetary union."   He said the fact that Germany, France, the Benelux states, Austria and Denmark had been more or less in a monetary union for years was much more important. 
13194 !E11 !E12 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Former finance minister Alain Madelin fired a further salvo at his own government coalition on Wednesday, warning that deflationary pressures could derail the economy and that planned tax cuts were not enough to help.   Madelin, deputy in the UDF grouping which is junior partner in the ruling centre-right coalition, said the economy was showing "symptoms that could turn into a serious illness".   Policies used to steer it in times of inflation were no longer of any use, said the fervent free-marketeer who was sacked by Prime Minister Alain Juppe a year ago,   "When the temperature drops below zero, the road gets icy.   Hitting the brakes in a bend on an icy road is a reflex which will send you into a tailspin," Madelin told a news conference.   Juppe has the difficult task of trying to cut spending and clean up state finances without further hurting chances for a revival in consumer spending and business investment needed to fire the economy.   Madelin said he had waged a lone fight in warning of deflationary pressures before the economy went into recession in 1993 but that this time round his views were shared by a widening number.   "This is not a partisan question, it's in the interest of the nation," Madelin, who is planning a tour of the country to promote the ideas of his own political movement, Idees Action (Ideas, Action), told reporters.   Similar warnings had been made recently by ex-Prime Minister Edouard Balladur and also by former Socialist Prime Minister Michel Rocard, as well as some of the country's most prominent economists, he said.   Balladur, who lost to Gaullist rival Jacques Chirac in the run for president, said before the government announced income tax cuts of 25 billion francs last week that more drastic cuts would be needed to spur an economy mired by a lack of consumer morale and weak business investment.   Widely respected economist Jean Paul Fitoussi also warned recently of the spectre of deflation and evoked the image of the economic crash in the United States in 1929.   Madelin said he was sceptical about how plans for tax cuts of 75 billion francs over the next five years -- of which 25 billion are slated for 1997 -- would be financed.   Madelin said he was "100 percent in favour" of a single EU currency and cleaning up state finances but the government was already planning to take 37.5 billion francs from the coffers of state-owned France Telecom to round off the 1997 budget, which cast doubt on funding of the tax cuts beyond next year.   He announced he would join Charles Pasqua, another Conservative critic of the government's tax reforms, at a political meeting in Villandry, central France, on Sunday.   But Madelin also said there were differences of approach between him and Pasqua -- who blames the austerity drive in the name of a single currency for the problems of the economy -- and cautioned against reading too much into their meeting.   "Don't look for a wedding in a kiss," he quipped. 
13195 !C13 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT !GCRIM  The European Commission, denying reports in British newspapers, said on Wednesday that a court ruling over television broadcasting did not authorise pornography to be beamed into Britain.   In a statement, the Commission said the European Union's TV without frontiers directive 89/552/EEC specifically exempted "offensive programme material, such as pornography or gratuitous violence".   Under the headline "Europe Orders Britain to Let in Porn", at least one British newspaper reported that the European Court of Justice had opened the door on Tuesday to pornographic broadcasts from other countries.   The Daily Mail said the judges had given "continental TV pornographers the right to flood Britain with a tide of filth".   An editorial called for Britain to challenge the EU's treaty.   The Luxembourg-based court ruled that Britain had broken the TV without frontiers rules by claiming jurisdiction over broadcasters with a satellite uplink in Britain, even if they had their headquarters in another EU state.   A central principle of the law is that national governments cannot bar broadcasts that comply with the laws of the EU state where the broadcaster is established.   But the Commission noted that the law had a reverse principle when it came to pornography, explicitly allowing countries to take measures against offending broadcasters wherever they are based.   It noted that Britain had actually done this twice, most recently in November 1995 against Sweden's "TV Erotica".   In fact, it said London's reading of the EU rules prior to Tuesday's court ruling had made it more diffult to determine who was responsible for TV channels that aired offensive material.   It cited the 1993 case where Britain refused to take responsibility for the "Red Hot Dutch" channel because it did not have a satellite uplink in Britain, even though its parent company was there. 
13196 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  German Chancellor Helmut Kohl on Wednesday said unemployment remained Germany's most pressing problem and that the government remained committed to halving the jobless rate by 2000.   German unemployment is hovering close to a post-war record four million, or 10 percent of the workforce, and is showing no signs of retreating despite a fledgling economic recovery.   "This is unacceptable and remains central to our policy," Kohl told a parliamentary debate on the 1997 budget.   "But economic growth alone is not sufficient and therefore we need our 50-point austerity package," he added.   The package aims to slash government spending next year to ensure qualification for the single currency but also contains a range of supply-side measures aimed at increasing the flexiblity of the labour market to promote employment.   Kohl said Bonn remained committed to the "ambitious" goal of halving unemployment by 2000 as agreed earlier this year in talks with unions and employers even though the attempt to build an "Alliance for Jobs" between all parties has since broken down.   He hit out at the opposition parties, accusing them of a "permanent refusal to help reform" and of having made "no contribution to helping solve the challenges that face us as we head into the 21st century".   Emboldened by a new poll showing 64 percent of Germans agreed that his austerity package was necessary, Kohl said: "A large majority of Germans have recognised that change is necessary to secure the future."   Kohl said that a skilled worker in a printing works cost an employer 51 marks an hour in Germany, 25 marks in Britain and only nine marks in Hungary.   "This is bound to have an impact.   It cannot be maintained ... Dramatic changes in the world economy require change in an economy like Germany's," Kohl said.   But he added he hoped that after a lower house vote on a significant part of his austerity package on Friday that a constructive relationship could be built with the SPD and unions with the aim of further promoting jobs.   "I do not say that our proposals are the be-all and end-all.   I am always ready to listen to any reasonable suggestions," he said.   -- Bonn newsroom, 49-228-2609750 
13197 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT  A compromise plan to punish countries which run excessive deficits under a single European currency has fallen short of the German ideal and doubts remain over how it will actually work, analysts said on Wednesday.   The EU's monetary committee of central bankers and finance ministry officials on Tuesday agreed an outline for sanctioning governments which run deficits above three percent of GDP once the planned monetary union comes into being in 1999.   While several important details remained unresolved, such as the precise level of fines, there was a common understanding that governments which failed to present a credible plan for curbing excess deficits should be penalised automatically.   Yet debate over what is considered automatic may be in the eyes of the beholder, said analysts, several of whom argued that the EU accord lacked bite.   "I suppose this is the best you can come up with short of amending the treaty," said Martin Brookes, economist at Goldman Sachs in London, of the Maastricht treaty envisaging a monetary union.   "But it is not as significant a deal as the original stability pact."   Given the constraints of the Maastricht treaty, and the widespread desire not to reopen any of its articles, it has long been understood that there were limits to how far the EU could go towards making the procedure quicker and more punitive.   Under the initial proposal by German Finance Minister Theo Waigel, governments which join EMU would be sanctioned once an excessive deficit was identified, a degree of automaticity that was seen to be at odds with the treaty.   Germany, which insists on strict crietria for EMU membership, is one of only a handful of the EU's 15 nations that look likely to qualify for monetary union or want to join a single currency.   In contrast, the emerging compromise would be a two-stage process, with the first focused on determining whether a budget overshoot exists and whether it was temporary or exceptional.   This last caveat is seen necessary to take account of a severe economic downturn affecting a country's finances.   While the EU's monetary committee did not come to a agreement on what defines an "exceptional" circumstance, the issue is expected to be resolved in the coming months.   The second stage, presuming a government's deficit was not extraordinary, would involve a presentation by the offending country of how it planned to rectify the problem.   If the plan was considered by its fellow EMU partners as not credible, sanctions, in the form of a non-interest bearing deposit to the European Central Bank, would be initiated.   The central bank will have been set up when EMU comes into being.   While such a procedure would improve the current sanctions process, several observers none the less questioned whether anything has really changed.   In other words, would the EU have any added powers to penalise countries.   For some, the answer is a clear no.   "Fines can only be imposed on the basis of the Maastricht treaty," said Daniel Gros, an economist with the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels.   "You need a decision by finance ministers with a two-thirds majority."   "If you don't change that there can be no automaticity of fines," he added.   Yet others argued that it was beyond the realm of political reality to construct an accord which trod on the national sovereignty of governments.   While it is understandable that financial markets would want the maximum degree of insurance against fiscal misbehaviour, such guarantees were not feasible.   "In the end we are in a political world and there is no way to make such agreements absolutely binding," said Graham Bishop, European affairs adviser at Salomon Brothers in London.   "It is a future political bet.   Of course markets want certainty, but that is not available."   The monetary committee's views will form the basis for talks among EU finance ministers and central bank governors in Dublin on September 20 and 21. 
13198 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The leader of Germany's national chamber of commerce said on Wednesday that the country should liberalise its foreign worker laws so that companies can more easily employ foreign workers.   Hans Peter Stihl, president of the national DIHT chamber of commerce, said during a business conference discussion that it was difficult for large German companies to employ workers from developing countries to teach them needed skills.   "It is because of this that we need to change our foreign worker laws," he said.   Stihl, who expected rather stagnant worlwide economic growth in 1996, said German firms must expand in the growing economies of Asia-Pacific and South America, claiming it was not sufficient to view the areas just as export markets.   In order to better understand the local markets, Stihl said workers from the regions must be allowed to be employed by companies in Germany.   He specifically critised German laws that make it difficult for students from emerging countries who are studying at German universities to stay for a few extra years for internships.   Stihl also criticised German workers for being inflexible toward foreign assignments, which would hinder Germany's competitive stance in breaking into foreign markets.   -- John Gilardi, Frankfurt Newsroom, +49 69 756525 
13199 !C22 !C31 !C311 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV  Greenpeace plans to organise consumer protests against imports of genetically-modified U.S. soybeans, which are due to arrive in Germany in late 1996, the environmental group said at a news conference on Wednesday.   Greenpeace said it oppposed the new products because risks to human health and the environment could not be ruled out.   The products would allow decision-making on farming procedures to be dictated by chemical firms such as Monsanto, which developed the new herbicide-resistant soybeans.   "If Monsanto has its way, we will soon have genetically altered soy in bread, margarine and chocolate," said Joerg Naumann, the head of the campaign.   So-called Roundup Ready soybeans, which are expected to account for one or two percent of the total U.S. soybean crop this year, are resistant to Monsanto's Roundup herbicide.   Monsanto argues that modified soybeans allow herbicide use and ecological damage to be reduced and costs to be cut.   But Greenpeace said the products might encourage herbicide use.   A poll carried out on behalf of Greenpeace in early September showed two-thirds of consumers opposed genetically-modified soybean products, the group said.   Greenpeace added that U.S. and European Union (EU) health and safety checks, under which the products were approved, could have been too lax.   Germany crushes some 3.4 million tonnes of soybeans a year out of a total oilseed crush of seven million tonne.   The EU last year processed 15 million tonnes of mostly imported soybeans, with the U.S. supplying 60 percent.   --Vera Eckert, Hamburg newsroom +49-40-41903275 
13200 !GCAT !GPRO  Princess Stephanie of Monaco may seek a divorce from her husband and former bodyguard Daniel Ducruet, her lawyer said on Wednesday following pictures in the Italian press of Ducruet cavorting naked with another woman.   The magazines Eva Tremila and its sister publication Gente last month printed pages of photos of the woman undressing Ducruet, the pair embracing on a sunbed and finally both naked by a poolside in France.   "Divorce is a possibility," the office of Thierry Lacoste, lawyer for the 31-year-old Stephanie, told Reuters.   "The princess will very likely move towards divorce proceedings," Lacoste told the local newspaper Nice-Matin in remarks published on Wednesday.   But "in a situation like this, in which feelings can change...it is best to remain cautious," he added.   No divorce proceedings had so far been launched, he said.   Stephanie's father Prince Rainier has long disapproved of his daughter's choice of husband.   She had two children with Ducruet before their marriage in July last year.   The Italian magazines said the woman pictured with Ducruet was a 26-year-old French singer and dancer.   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 the singer during a race in Belgium and photographers had been on their trail ever since.   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. 
13201 !GCAT  These are leading stories in afternoon daily Le Monde.   FRONT PAGE   -- Government considers tightening the conditions of "RMI" minimal unemployment benefit, introducing the idea that their families could be partly responsible for supporting them.   BUSINESS PAGES   -- Renault chairman Louis Schweitzer in an interview explains the 911-million-franc loss of the car branch for the first half, says Renault cars are too expensive, seeks to cut by 8 percent the cost of producing a car by end 1997.   -- CGIP denies intending to launch a buyout offer on Cerus and Valeo, as had been reported by newspapers yesterday, but confirms its interest in Valeo and is in talks with Italian magnate Carlo De Benedetti.   -- Franco-Italian semi-conductors group SGS-Thomson expects sluggish orders.   -- Paper pulp producers expect further rise in prices notwithstanding increase in stocks.   Helsinki stock exchange to launch futures market for paper.   -- SNCF railway operator vows to increase client satisfaction, launches free mail-order service for train tickets.   -- Paris Newsroom +33 1 42 21 53 81 
13202 !E12 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  German Chancellor Helmut Kohl said on Wednesday he was confident he would achieve the necessary absolute majority in parliament on Friday to pass a significant chunk of his austerity package.   "I think we will get a clear majority on Friday," Kohl told a parliamentary budget debate.    The opposition Social Democrat-controlled upper house of parliament is likely to reject key parts of the package on Thursday, but Kohl can override the objection on Friday with an absolute majority in the lower house.   The parts due to be voted on this week include pension and health reforms as well as reductions in sick pay and workers' protection from firing.   Kohl also said the economy was growing again in the second half of this year but acknowledged this would be insufficient to reduce the country's post-war record unemployment.   "This is why we need our 50-point austerity package," Kohl said.   The package aims at slashing public spending by 70 billion marks next year and at reducing firms' labour costs to encourage them to take on more people. 
13203 !C13 !C17 !C18 !C183 !CCAT !G15 !G154 !G157 !GCAT  European Competition Commissioner Karel Van Miert said in a newspaper interview he would recommend that Italy be given a six month extension on the terms of a 1993 agreement on reducing industrial holding IRI's debt.   Under the existing accord between Italy and the European Commission, IRI must cut its debt to below 5.0 trillion lire by the end of 1996.   Van Miert met Italian ministers on Tuesday to discuss the deadline and said an extension would be needed because of hitches in Italy's privatisation programme that have delayed the sale of IRI-controlled telecoms holding Stet.   In an interview with Il Messaggero daily published on Wednesday, Van Miert said he had asked the government to send him a written undertaken to reduce IRI's debt "to a figure around five trillion lire" by the Spring of 1997.   "On the basis of this I will propose to my colleagues for a very, very brief extension," he said.   When asked if this meant six months, he replied: "That's exactly right."   IRI's net debt at the end of 1995 was 22.456 trillion lire ($14.8 billion).   Stet is slated for sale next February or March and the group will probably also have to sell-off its motorway toll group Autostrade SpA to meet the EC terms.   Turning to loss making Banco di Napoli, Van Miert said the commission had no objections to Italian government plans to set up a rump company which will take on a large part of the struggling southern bank's huge bad debt portfolio.   "But we have asked (the government) to give us all the information needed to evaluate the size of the help the state will make with this operation," he was quoted as saying.   -- Rome newsroom +396 6782501 
13204 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GHEA  French health care spending is still rising too fast to meet government objectives on restraint, although the rate of increase is beginning to slow, a senior welfare official said on Wednesday.   "We are still on a rate of increase which is far too fast compared to our objective," Gerard Rameix, deputy head of the health insurance fund Caisse Nationale d'Assurance Maladie (CNAM) told reporters.   "If we continue at the same rate that we have seen since the start of the year, we would get near to four percent for non-hospital spending," he said.   The government has said it aims to limit the rise in non-hospital spending to 2.1 percent as part of efforts to curb spending on France's generous welfare system and cut the public deficit.   Rameix said however, that the rate of increase was slowing and was lower than at the same time last year.   "With all the efforts that we are making, we are in the process of slowing the rate of increase in spending," he said.   The CNAM said on Tuesday it proposed to save four billion francs a year by cutting the price of some medical procedures and promoting the use of generic medicines.   It also said it would distribute before the end of the year a guide to generic medicines to encourage doctors to prescribe such cheaper treatment.   Health care spending makes the biggest contribution to a hefty deficit in the welfare system, which uses payroll charges to fund health care, pensions and family benefits.   The welfare system is expected to run up a deficit of at least 55 billion francs ($10.72 billion) this year and government spokesman Alain Lamassoure said on Sunday the government would be unable to meet its goal of eliminating the gap in 1997.   "The situation has certainly improved compared to the first six months, but this will not bring us into balance in 1996 or in 1997," CNAM head Jean-Marie Spaeth told reporters.   The government has pledged to reduce the total public deficit to three percent of gross domestic product in 1997 to meet Maastricht treaty goals.   It has said it will raise some seven billion francs in additional welfare taxes next year, while some of the proceeds from expected increases in excise duties on alcohol and tobacco could also be used to fund the welfare system.   The government is due to present a budget for 1997 on September 18 covering central government spending.   It has also promised to outline on the same day how it plans to reduce the total public deficit -- inclunding central government spending, welfare and local authority spending -- to three percent of GDP.   ($1=5.129 French Franc)   -- Christopher Noble Paris Newsroom +33 1 42 21 53 81 
13205 !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL !GWELF  German opposition Social Democrat parliamentary leader Rudolf Scharping on Wednesday slammed the Bonn government's austerity drive as deeply unjust, and a danger to the country's future.   Opening a parliamentary debate on Bonn's 1997 budget, Scharping said: "The government's austerity policy endangers the future of the country and is deeply socially unjust.   You, Chancellor, are fighting against the weak."   He said Kohl had lied to people about the real costs of unification in 1990 and was now making ordinary people pay by cutting back social benefits.   He accused Kohl's centre-right government of blocking a serious reform of the country's social and labour practices.   "This country needs modernisation and you are blocking it.   We can't go on like this," Scharping said.   Kohl was responsible for an excessive tax burden on citizens, he said, adding that families in Germany were worse off than elsewhere in Europe and even Mexico.   "Without purchasing power an economy cannot function," he said, adding that Kohl's policies were the reason German growth was so weak and unemployment so high, he said.   Scharping accused Kohl of failing to push social policies internationally and at the European level.   "In Florence you blocked all moves to promote a European jobs initiative," he said, referring to the European Union summit in Italy in June.   He warned that people would not accept a European monetary union which, he said, only aimed to keep prices and currencies stable and not to improve the welfare of EU citizens.   -- Ashley Seager, Bonn newsroom, 49-228-26097150 
13206 !GCAT  These are leading stories in this morning's Paris newspapers.   -- Government studies a reform of company law, with a bill to be presented before the end of the year which could change the terms for "misuse of corporate funds."   -- CGIP says has no intention of launching a public buyout offer on Cerus and Valeo, as had been reported by newspapers yesterday, but confirms its interest in Valeo and is in talks with Italian magnate Carlo De Benedetti.   (Les Echos, La Tribune, Le Figaro, Liberation).   -- Renault car maker expects losses in car and lorry activities for 1996, auto branch lost 911 million francs in the first half.   Renault posts a 158 million franc profit for the first half thanks to financial results and dividends.   LES ECHOS   -- Bourse watchdog COB signs co-operation agreement with German counterpart.   LE FIGARO-ECONOMIE   -- Civil servants unions prepare labour unrest for October, against job cuts and a wage freeze which Prime Minister Alain Juppe announced he would lift in 1997.   LIBERATION (Economic section)   -- Navy shipyard workers to join October labour action to protest job cuts in defence sector restructuring.   -- Air France Europe workers worried over job cuts due to a planned merger with Air France announced this summer.   -- German budget proposal for 1997 aims for a public deficit of 2.5 percent of GDP, seeks cost-cutting and draws criticism in Parliament.   THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE   -- Analysts have downgraded profit forecasts for subscriber-TV channel Canal Plus saying the acquisition of Nethold NV would dilute short term earnings.   -- Paris Newsroom +33 1 4221 5381 
13207 !GCAT !GPOL  Ontario's Conservative government continues to enjoy a solid lead in popular support over its opposition rivals, a new public opinion poll suggested on Wednesday.   The Conservatives have the support of 52 percent of decided voters in Canada's most populous province, up four percentage points from a poll taken this summer, said the Angus Reid Group.   The Liberals are at 35 percent and the New Democratic Party at 12 percent.   Support for both opposition parties is down slightly from levels earlier this summer.   -- Reuters Toronto Bureau (416) 941-8100 
13208 !GCAT  For the week of Sept 9, here are some of the top stories reported in major U.S. technology trade publications.   -----------   PC WEEK - Xerox Corp and Electronic Data Systems are hammering out a revision of their two year old outsourcing contract - the biggest in computing history - because the deal, which was intended to free up Xerox management to focus on strategic technology issues, actually slowed down by months the delivery of several projects, PC Week reported in its Sept. 9 issue.   Motorola Inc this week will unveil a pager and client/server messaging software that enables users of the pocket-size device to send messages, query World Wide Web sites, retrieve Internet information and filter incoming electronic mail, PC Week reported in its Sept. 9 issue.   Sun Microsystems Inc's JavaSoft unit is planning a host of major product and technology releases over the next two months as a precursor to the delivery of its first major Java upgrade in December, PC Week reported Sept. 9.   ----------   INFOWORLD - Intel Corp's Deschutes architecture planned for late next year will allow manufacturers to build systems with up to 32 Pentium Pro processors, up from the current four, providing scalability to compete with RISC-based Unix systems, InfoWorld reported in its Sept. 9 issue.   Hewlett-Packard Co and International Business Machines Corp are offering new products to improve security for Internet-based transactions, InfoWorld reported.   -----------   INFORMATION WEEK - Microsoft Corp is expected to release an initial version of its Windows NT directory service in November, indicating that version 5.0 of the operating system may be released earlier than late 1997, Information Week reported in its Sept. 9 issue.   Microsoft is aiming for the high-end of the corporate database market with its SQL Server product, which should be able to handle 1 terabyte databases by next year, up from the current 200 gigabytes, Information Week said.   ----------   COMPUTER RESELLER NEWS - Oracle Corp plans to shift nearly $1.3 billion of its direct sales to the distribution channel and will drastically beef up programs, such as reseller education and cooperative marketing, CRN reported in its Sept. 9 issue.   The computer reseller distribution channel is in an uproar over a dramatic disparity in the price direct PC makers pay for Microsoft's Office software versus the price that it charges reseller partners and Microsoft declines to comment, CRN reported in its Sept. 9 issue.   -------   COMPUTERWORLD - Cisco Systems Inc, Cabletron Systems Inc and Ipsilon Networks Inc will invade each other's turf with options for faster and less expensive network switching to be unveiled at the Networld/Interop trade show next week in Atlanta, Computerworld reported Sept. 9.   Microsoft Corp's Windows NT Server software is gaining ground as applications server software but its lack of a directory service has left many corporations still committed to Novell Inc's NetWare as the primary network operating system, Computerworld reported in the Sept. 9 issue.   ----------   MACWEEK - - Apple Computer Inc recently discontinued all PowerBook 5300 and 190 models, paving the way for new laptops this fall, MacWeek reported Sept 9.   Apple told dealers in August it would no longer accept orders for 5300- and 190-series machines.   The notebooks dropped off price lists throughout the summer following the company's dealer recall program in May.   At that time, Apple said the models would be unavailable in the retail channel for about a month, but MacWeek said the repairs and manufacturing changes took longer than the company expected and the machines trickled back into the market slowly.     ----------   ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING TIMES - The alliance announced last week of 35 semiconductor vendors to develop standards for system-on-a-chip design set ambitious goals that will allow systems and intellectual property vendors to mix and match property from various sources, EE Times reported Sept. 9.   Microsoft Corp researchers have developed a compact but powerful real-time operating system code-named Rialto that could fuel the software giant's march into multimedia consumer platforms, where is it already in use in set top boxes for interactive TV trials, EE Times reported in its Sept. 9 issue.   ---------   ELECTRONIC BUYERS' NEWS - International Business Machines Corp has signed a $1.8 billion deal with rival Acer Inc to build and distribute up to 80,000 desktop PCs a month for resale under the IBM label, Electronic Buyers News reported in its Sept 9 issue.   Semiconductor distributors, which have generally enjoyed healthy sales gains while their suppliers suffered, warned that they are in for tough times as well, after Wyle Electronics, Richey Electronics Inc and Kent Electronics all said last week that order cancellations and pricing pressures will result in lower-than-expected sales, EBN reported Sept 9. 
13209 !C12 !C18 !C181 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  CKE Restaurants Inc and two wholly owned units said they filed an application in federal court seeking to enjoin the merger of HomeTown Buffet Inc and Buffets Inc.   CKE and the units, Summit Family Restaurants Inc and HTB Restaurants Inc, said they filed for an application for preliminary relief and request for hearing in conjunction with their lawsuit against HomeTown Buffet Inc and Buffets Inc in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Utah.   They requested a court hearing on or before September 19, the date that HomeTown shareholders are to vote on the merger.    The plaintiffs seek up to $160 million in damages.   The August 9 suit alleges an illegal conspiracy between HomeTown Buffet and Buffets Inc to restrain competition in the buffet-style restaurant market in Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming.   The suit seeks to enjoin the merger because CKE said it will harm competition.   It also includes claims of violations of federal and state antitrust laws, unfair business practices, tortious interference with contract, breach of contract, and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing.   Neither Hometown Buffet and Buffets Inc had an immediate comment. 
13210 !C23 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  Immune Response Corp said Monday patients involved in a Phase I clinical trial of a company treatment for rheumatoid arthritis observed a decrease in joint swelling and pain after four weeks.   Results of the clinical trial, which included 15 patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, were published in the August 1996 edition of the Journal of Rheumatology.    In the trial, patients were given intramuscular injections of the rheumatoid arthritis treatment, followed by a second injection four weeks later.   These patients were then followed for a total of 48 weeks.   The trend of pain relief after the first four weeks continued throughout the 48-week trial, the company said.   Results also showed the product was well tolerated and no serious treatment-related adverse events were observed.    Immune Response said it is currently conducting a Phase II clinical trial to treat rheumatoid arthritis, involving 99 patients in double-blind, controlled, multi-center tests.   Results from the Phase II trial are expected to be available by year-end 1996. 
13211 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Hurricane Hortense remains as a strong risk to shipping as it moves from the north coast of Dominican Republic to the southeast Bahamas islands during today and Thursday.   Top winds near the center of Hortense continue at about 75 mph during this time.   Shipping is at risk due to strong winds and rough seas.   Very heavy rains causes flooding and mudslides in the Dominican Republic.   Winds diminish later today as the system moves away from the Dominican Republic and heads for the southeastern Bahamas.   Damage due to floods, mudslides and strong winds may be severe in some areas.   Hortense will continue to track through the Bahamas with heavy rains and damaging winds Thursday and will possibly threaten the Southeastern US by Friday or Saturday.    Tropical depression 24w is west of Luzon, Philippines.   Rains will taper off on the western side of the island over the next few hours as the system pulls away into the South China Sea.   TD 24W has slowed considerably over the last few hours and is tracking west at 7 mph.   This system will likely strengthen into a tropical storm before threatening Hainan Island by 24 hours and likely northern Vietnam sometime thereafter.   Shipping will become under increasing risk in the South China Sea as this system further intensifies.    Tropical Storm Fausto has formed in the eastern Pacific 185 miles south of Manzanillo, Mexico.   Top winds are near 45 mph.   Fausto will track northwestward over the next 48 hours while gradually strengthening.   This system will become an increasing burden to shipping in the region this period. 
13212 !GCAT  The New York Times reported the following business stories on Wednesday:   * Horsham Corp said it would merge with Trizec Corp.   * Using economic sanctions as a method of negotiation has been around since ancient Greece, with mixed results.   * Publicis SA will announce Wednesday it plans to acquire a controlling interest in BCP, Canada's seventh-largest advertisiing agency with US$181 million in yearly billings.   * General Motors Corp made its first comprehensive contract offer to the United Automobile Workers union.   * Corporate profitability rose in the second quarter.   * Demand for computer chips rose in August but was lower versus year-ago levels.   * Coastal Corp and Westcoast Energy Inc said they will combine marketing operations for natural gas and electricity operations.   * The financial architect of President Ronald Reagan's 1981 tax-cut package, Murray Weidenbaum, warned against the tax-cut package being offered by campaigning Republican presidential nominee Sen. Bob Dole.   * Prices of Treasury securities fell after comments by an official of the Federal Reserve Board pointing to increased concern about inflation.   * The U.S. dollar hit two-month highs in trading against the German mark and Japanese yen amid expectations of higher U.S. interest rates.   * Business travel this fall will drop to a five-year low, according to the Travel Industry Association of America.   --New York Newsdesk (212) 859-1610 
13213 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP !GPOL  U.S. Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary applauded a vote by the U.N. General Assembly approving a landmark treaty that would ban nuclear explosions from the world forever.   "The treaty is a major advancement in the vital international effort to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and reduce the global nuclear danger," O'Leary said in a statement.   "Its signing will be a giant step toward a more secure future and away from the nuclear weapons competition that defined the Cold War," she said.   Tuesday's 158-3 vote approves the global test ban treaty and asks that it be open for signature as soon as possible.   But the assembly's action was not sufficient to implement the treaty because India, whose signature is necessary, has vowed to block its ratification. 
13214 !GCAT !GPOL !GWELF  Santa Clara County, Calif., supervisors voted on Tuesday to help legal immigrants in the county become U.S. citizens in a bid to keep them from losing federal benefits and turning to the county for support.   About 17,000 legal immigrants in the county are eligible to become U.S. citizens, supervisor Jim Beall said.   If they remain non-citizens, county officials fear they will turn to county programmes for support after losing federal assistance under the new federal welfare reform act.    Beall said the county-funded aid program, known as general assistance, could take a $34 million hit due to the shift from federal to county programs.   In a bid to save the county money, the county's five-member Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday for a proposal designed to streamline and speed the immigration and naturalization process.   The proposal allows the county to hire a coordinator and administrative staff to coordinate the efforts of community-based organizations, businesses, and volunteers that are helping legal immigrants to become citizens.    "We have to make sure that the federal government knows we are willing to take matters into our own hands by moving those who can work into jobs and allowing those who are frail, disabled, and elderly to exercise their right to citizenship," Beall said in a statement.   Under federal welfare reform, federal spending would be reduced by $54 billion over six years, mainly by cutting food stamps nutrition aid and denying federal benefits to most legal immigrants.   California counties, like Santa Clara, would be hard hit by the changes because state law requires them to pick up the tab for financial aid and indigent health care for those that have no other means of support. 
13215 !GCAT  -- LABOUR LEADERS CLASH WITH UNIONS OVER STRIKE CURBS   There is reported to be considerable confusion within Labour ranks over a change in party policy in the area of industrial relations and specific proposals relating to strike legislation.   At the annual Trades Union Conference union leaders expressed concern with recent statements by party leader Tony Blair on the introduction of mandatory and binding arbitration between unions and employers.   The strife comes in the wake of similar confusion within party ranks over the issue of Scottish devolution.   -- MATTHEW CLARK SHARES SLIDE 35 PER CENT   Drinks group Matthew Clark has seen its shares fall 35 per cent in value after the company announced a fall in profits resulting from competition presented by a new generation of alcoholic soft drinks.   A number of the company's main brands had seen sales decline sharply during July and August as younger drinkers switched to 'alcopop' alternatives.   The news has prompted analysts to revise downward profit forecasts for the year to next April from 50 million stg to 20 million stg.   -- 500 MILLION STG KLEINWORT FUND TO BE BROKEN UP   Kleinwort Benson has decided to break up its 500 million stg Kepit fund.   M&G has been awarded the task of liquidating the Kleinwort European Privatisation Investment Trust after a period of two years during which it produced disappointing returns for thousands of investors.   The company has noted that high marketing costs as well as a demand for more rapid returns had led to the decision to wind-up the trust.   77,000 investors are to be offered the option of either accepting cash for their shares or alternative investments in other trusts.   -- SWISS BANKS FACE PRESSURE OVER 'NAZI GOLD' CLAIMS   A report from the British foreign office on the amounts of plundered gold placed in Swiss banks by the Nazi regime has increased pressure on the Swiss to reveal whether or not they are still holding assets.   It has been revealed that after the Second World War the Swiss authorities handed back only a small proportion of the hundreds of millions of pounds worth of assets deposited in their vaults.   There is particular concern that the banks have continued to prove reluctant to return funds to the families of Jewish people murdered by the Nazis.   -- COMPANIES FEAR MOVES TO CLOSE VAT LOOPHOLES   British companies are reported to be concerned that the government is planning to tighten rules relating to value added tax payments after discovering that businesses have become increasingly efficient at avoiding having to make such payments.   Studies by the government have indicated that for the 1995-96 tax year revenues from this source were some 5 billion stg less than had been anticipated.   It is now the belief that this situation has arisen as a result of increased use of tax planning in the corporate sector.   -- MERCURY PLANS BIG BOOST TO UK SPENDING   Mercury Communications is reported to be planning to increase its capital expenditure levels in the UK in an effort to enhance its ability to compete more effectively with rival British Telecom .   The increase in investment to between 400 million stg and 450 million stg will principally go towards the development of local networks.   The company also sees mainland Europe as another market in which it wishes to expand its operations.   -- BUNDESBANK MEMBER SEES FLEXIBLE EMU   Ernst Welteke, a member of the central council of the Bundesbank, is reported to have called on Germany to adopt a more flexible approach to the interpretation of Maastricht criteria for participation in the process of EMU.   The call comes at a time when it appears increasingly likely that a number of key EU member states, including France and Germany, may encounter difficulties in qualifying for membership of the planned single currency.   -- US GROUP TO INVEST 68 MILLION STG IN N IRELAND   US electronics company Seagate Technology has announced that it intends to invest some 68 million stg in a production facility in Northern Ireland.   The plant, which will eventually employ 759 people, will manufacture substrates for use in computer disk drives.   A grant of 24.2 million stg is being made available by the local development authorities for the project, which is seen as a major vote of confidence in the local economy.   -- RETAILERS FIND LITTLE COMMERCIAL BENEFIT IN SUNDAY TRADING   A survey by property consultant Healey & Baker has concluded that the introduction of Sunday trading in Britain has resulted in little commercial benefit for retailers.   Instead the same level of trade which was carried out over five days has simply been extended to cover six.   Those who have gained the most from the changes have been larger out-of-town multiple retailers, with town centres continuing to experience a decline in trade.   -- TUC GIVES BACKING TO MONETARY UNION   At the annual Trades Union Congress delegates have been told by the TUC's general council that Britain must join the planned single European currency.   John Edmonds of the GMB union informed those gathered that the country had to play a more central role in EMU if it was to shape the final outcome of the process.   The TUC has noted, however, that the timetable adopted for the creation of the euro is too rapid and that it is therefore essential that the country play a more prominent role in order to secure reform.   For a full range of news monitoring services, phone BMC +44-171-377-1742 
13216 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  The Finnish markka is currently too strong to enter Europe's exchange rate mechanism (ERM), Juha Niemela, chief executive of UPM-Kymmene Oy , Europe's biggest forest industry group, said on Wednesday.   "At the moment, I would say (the markka) is too strong.   If linked to ERM at this level it might face downward pressure," Niemela told Reuters.   He declined to say what would be an appropriate level.   "A strong markka is bad for the forest industry," Niemela said.   The markka closed at 3.027 against the German mark and at 4.559 against the U.S. dollar.   The Finnish government has said a decision whether to link the markka to ERM will be made this autumn.    The highly cyclical forest industry is among the country's most important foreign currency earners accounting for about one third of annual export revenues.   In Europe, Finland's biggest forest industry competitor is Sweden, which is undecided on whether to join Europe's Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).   --Roland Moller, Helsinki Newsroom +358 - 0 - 680 50 245 
13217 !E21 !E211 !E212 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Conservative Party MP Irja Tulonen on Wednesday praised the government's efforts at debt reduction and tax cuts as parliamentary debate on the government's 1997 state budget proposal continued.   Tulonen told parliament the left-right-green coalition's budget contained two elements of crucial importance for the nation's future.   "We will take only 29 billion markka in (new net) state debt, which is markedly less than this year," she said.   The 1996 state net financing requirement is expected to be about 45 billion markka, down from some 55 billion in 1995.   "The second clearly positive element is, depite all the criticism, that income taxes are being lowered faster than was initially intended in the government programme," Tulonen said.   "I strongly believe in the equation which says that lowering income taxes will also have a so-called dynamic effect.   An increase in domestic demand will create jobs," Tulonen added.   Earlier in the debate, which started on Tuesday, the parliamentary group speakers of left- and right-wing government parties expressed different opinions on the fairness of the budget proposal's 5.5 billion markka income tax reductions.   Social democrat Pertti Paasio said his group "would rather have seen the tax reductions focussing more on low- and medium-income citizens".   The SDP's earlier demand for equal income distribution was not fully met by the budget proposal, he said.   The income tax solution was "not entirely in line with the wishes of the Leftist Alliance's parliamentary group," the party's group speaker Asko Apukka said.   But Ben Zyskowicz of the Conservative Party said the agreed income tax cuts were "as fair and even-handed as possible and it covers wage-earners, entrepreneurs, farmers and pensioners".   And Eva Biaudet of the liberal centre-right Swedish People's Party said the tax cut was "the best piece of news in a long time" and she labelled criticism of the model as propaganda.   The opposition Centre Party's group speaker Aapo Saari said the government's income tax reduction amounted to public theft from the poor through cuts in social benefits resulting in handouts to the rich in the shape of lower taxes.   "The government aims at success in the polls at the expense of the unemployed," Saari said, referring to the local government and European Parliament elections to be held in Finland on October 20.   Apart from their opposing views on how income tax cuts ought to be targetted, the government parties' parliamentary group leaders spoke in unison on the positive aspects of the 1997 budget.   The government was finally leaving behind the time of sharp growth in state debt, SDP's Paasio said, adding, however, that next year's projected 29 billion markka net borrowing need was still too big.   "The long shadow of the recession is fading and favourable changes in economic behaviour are visible," he said.   "Right now better economic prospects are in sight than forecast just a short while ago," he added.   The conservatives' Zyskowicz said international confidence in the Finnish economy was strong.   This was evident from the fall in interest rates and the stability of the exchange rate, he said.   "Finland is now on the right road."   The government's 1997 state budget proposal would "increase citizens' confidence in a favourable development of their own finances and in a brighter future for our country," Zyskowicz said.   Addressing a concrete issue due to be decided in the near future, Biaudet of the Swedish People's Party said the timing of a decision whether to link the markka to Europe's exchange rate mechanism, ERM, "should be considered carefully."   There had been hardly any open discussion about the pros and cons of linking the markka to ERM, she said.   The Centre Party's Saari called on the government to submit a report on EMU to parliament before the October elections and before a possible linking of the markka to ERM.   The SDP, the Conservative Party and the Leftist Alliance did not mention ERM at all in their prepared group speeches.   After the initial plenary debate, scheduled to be completed on Thursday, the budget will be passed to various parliamentary committees.   It will return to plenary session in December for approval.   --Helsinki Newsroom +358 - 0 - 680 50 245 
13218 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  For the first time in Greece, the two lead candidates for prime minister will face off in a U.S.- style television debate on Friday, in what is expected to be a critical moment in the neck and neck electoral race.   Officials from both camps said that Socialist Prime Minister Costas Simitis and conservative opposition leader Miltiadis Evert had agreed to the prime-time television showdown.   The two men are running almost even in opinion polls for the September 22 election.   The ruling socialists, who called the election, had an early advantage but the conservatives have been coming on strong.   The debate will start at 2100 local and last for more than an hour.   It will be televised live from studios at the state ERT headquarters and be broadcast simultaneously to all channels.   A coordinator will direct questions by a still unspecified number of journalists to the two candidates, who will each have two minutes to answer the same question.   There will be no direct exchanges between the candidates, who will be seated during the debate.   Both candidates have been undergoing intense preparations for the debate, officials said.   They said it was still undecided whether each candidate would pick two journalists or whether a team of reporters of common acceptance would ask the questions.   Questions are expected to cover domestic and foreign policy as well as the state of the economy.   --Dina Kyriakidou, Athens Newsroom +301 3311812-4 
13219 !C13 !C33 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  Greek conservatives seem to have two different views on state procurements.   Party president Miltiadis Evert favours long-term contracts to help domestic firms and party economic heavyweight Stefanos Manos favours open international tenders.   Greek newspapers reported that Evert told the presidium of the Federation of Greek Industrialists (SEB) that he favoured long-term contracts to help shore up ailing domestic industry.   "Above all, we must favour Greek productive capacity.   I agree with you on this," Evert was quoted by Express financial newspaper as saying.   "And where there are long-term contracts and where there is none."   "That is, it is not possible to build a big public project and import cement from abroad when there is under-utilised productive capacity in our country.   The same happens in many sectors," he was quoted as saying.   Conservative daily Eleftheros Typos reported that Evert told SEB that local firms should be supported but this can take place in competitive conditions so that the cost of public projects does not rise.   It was not clear whether the New Democracy party leader had in mind tenders open to domestic firms only and excluding foreign firms.   This could run into trouble with the European Union.   But former National Economy Minister Stefanos Manos, a leading figure of the neo-conservative wing of the party, has repeatedly said that he favoured open international tenders for state procurements to secure lower prices and better quality for Greek consumers.   The differing views reflect differences over policy between the traditional pro-state wing and the pro-market neo- conservative wing of the conservative party, market analysts said.   The socialist PASOK party is in favour of long-term agreements between Greek firms and the state to support the local industry.   It was unclear whether Evert favoured long-term contracts between state telecom OTE and its two main suppliers, Greek Intracom and Siemens Hellas, a subsidiary of German Siemens AG.   Greek prosecutors have laid criminal charges against unknown persons in connection with a 1994 digital switches deal between OTE and its two main suppliers.   Currently, OTE is weighing whether to exercise an option in the 1994 contract and order its two long-term suppliers with an additional 300,000 digital switches or call an international tender.   Press reports have said OTE leans towards exercising the option on the ground that the introduction of a third technology would be very costly.   Socialist ministers such as Development Minister Vasso Papandreou have expressed their support for this solution but conservative politicians such as Manos have said this would constitute a scandal.   --Dimitris Kontogiannis, Athens Newsroom +301 3311812-4 
13220 !C13 !C21 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !GHEA  Prime Minister John Major set the scene on Wednesday for another clash with the European Union by saying Britain would review a planned cull of cattle designed to eliminate mad cow disease.   Major, under heavy pressure from farmers and members of his Conservative Party to scrap the slaughter of 147,000 cattle, said a cabinet meeting on Thursday would discuss new scientific evidence.   "Nobody should expect snap decisions but it is right to examine and make sure the policy is correct in the light of new information we now have.   There is no pre-ordained outcome," he told reporters.   Last month the government welcomed a report by Oxford University scientists predicting that mad cow disease, or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), would be over by the year 2001 even without the mass cull.   The Times newspaper said ministers were now likely to shelve the cull.   This would undoubtedly spark a new row with the EU, which slapped a ban on British beef exports in March and only agreed to gradually start lifting it in return for the cull.   The ban followed a British government admission that BSE could cause the fatal brain disease CJD in humans.   The ban caused a serious rift with London and resulted in British ministers blocking EU business for several weeks.   The EU later suggested that the ban on British beef exports should be kept in place longer than planned in the light of evidence that BSE can be spread from mothers to calves.   The National Farmers Union (NFU), keen to settle the row so its hard-pressed members can start exporting their cows again, urged ministers to take their time and not do anything to provoke Britain's European partners.   "First of all explore with Europe all the opportunies and then make a decision.   Don't make a decision based on newspaper reports and scaremongering," NFU president Sir David Naish told BBC Radio on Wednesday.   But scrapping the cull would be popular with the more nationalist members of the Conservative Party, who are doing their best to put the party on a collision course with Brussels.   "If these reports turn out to be right, three cheers," said William Powell, a Conservative member of parliament's agriculture select committee.   "We have been without the export trade now for some six months.   The Germans are making it plain that no matter what the science, they have no intention of allowing us to export again.   "So why should we engage in a mindless slaughter, at staggering public cost, with no advantage in eradicating BSE, just because some ignorant Germans are determined to elevate politics above all else?"   The Oxford scientists' report said 700,000 cattle with mad cow disease had been eaten, raising fears that an epidemic of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), the human form of the brain-wasting ailment, could follow.   The row broke out in March after the government acknowledged there could be a link between BSE and CJD.   British Agriculture Minister Douglas Hogg is due to meet European Farm Minister Franz Fischler on Monday to discuss the matter. 
13221 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Britain's Communications Workers Union (CWU) said it would go ahead with two one-day strikes this month, rejecting an appeal from opposition Labour Party leader Tony Blair for a ballot to be held first.   The CWU has refused to back down even though the head of the mail service said postal workers would forfeit a 100 million pound ($155 million) benefits package if the strikes went ahead on September 20 and 22.   The government has said it would suspend the monopoly the Royal Mail enjoys on letter delivery for another three months in the event of further disruption.   The monopoly was lifted for a month in August after a series of stoppages.   "We will not re-ballot," CWU general secretary Alan Johnson told a news conference at the Trades Union Congress conference.   "The decision yesterday (of the CWU executive) was that we will re-ballot when we have a satisfactory agreement."   The CWU has rejected a pay and hours proposal from the Royal Mail to rearrange the way the mail is sorted and delivered.   Royal Mail management said its offer of extra pay, plus a cut in hours and extra holidays add up to a 100 million pound package, but it needed the new working arrangements to make it cost-effective.   "We have to operate in the real world...we're seeing competition building up all the time.   We can't afford in the business to give something away for nothing," Royal Mail managing director Richard Dyke told Sky television.   Blair called on the union to reballot its members on the latest pay offer.   The union, by law, had to ballot its members before it began the series of one-day strikes.   There have been eight stoppages to date.   "If the dispute continues it is right there is a further consultation of members -- that would be the overwhelming view of the public and members of the union," he told reporters in the northern town of Blackpool.   "There has been a reasonable offer put on the table and I am sure it would be right to go back to the members and ask what they think," he said.   "This is not a matter for the Labour Party, it is a matter between us and the employer," Johnson said, although he added that the suspension of the monopoly was a legitimate matter for Labour to pursue when parliament returns after its summer break.   Johnson is one of the strongest supporters among union leaders of Blair's modernisation of the Labour Party, which has included a loosening of union-Labour links.   He was set to accept the latest offer from Royal Mail management but was overruled by his executive. 
13222 !E41 !E411 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Britain's rate of unemployment fell to a 5-1/2 year low of 7.5 percent in August, boosting the image of Prime Minister John Major's embattled goverment as the next general election nears.   Unemployment fell by 15,600 in August to 2.11 million -- also the lowest level since March 1991, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.   The jobless rate was 7.6 percent in July.   Other ONS data showed average underlying earnings -- a key inflation indicator -- were stable for the sixth consecutive month in July at 3.75 percent.   Economists said the figures backed the view growth would accelerate in the final months of 1996 without triggering inflation, the traditional bugbear of the British economy.   "The data are very encouraging and stronger than they look," Morgan Stanley economist Kevin Gardiner said.   "We expect pretty punchy growth going forward."   The government welcomed the figures.   "Falling unemployment combined with stable earnings growth and low inflation make the United Kingdom the most successful major economy in Europe," Education and Employment minister Cheryl Gillan said.   "Job prospects for young people leaving full-time education this year are good -- youth unemployment is 15 percent, well below the European average of 21 percent."   One of the most encouraging details in the jobs release was a large 13,000 rise in manufacturing employment, coupled with an increase in the weekly level of overtime hours worked in that sector.   This suggested that manufacturing was finally managing to struggle out of its chronic weakness, economists said.   "This tends to reinforce the view that any rate cut is unnecessary at this stage of the cycle -- manufacturing has been the only significant drag on growth over the last 12 months," CIBC economist David Coleman said.   British monetary authorities hold their next policy meeting on September 23, but few believe finance minister Kenneth Clarke will yield to the temptation to trim the 5-3/4 percent official interest rate for the fifth time since December.   A general election must be held by May 1997 and the unpopular ruling Conservatives are under mounting pressure to regain voter support through the "feel-good" effects of economic recovery.   An interest rate cut, highly popular in a nation of heavily-mortgaged homeowners, would be taken badly by financial markets.   The Bank of England has made clear it would oppose a cut because of the threat to the official 2.5 percent inflation target.   The ONS said growth in underlying production earnings fell to its lowest level since records began in 1967.   But there was a worrying pickup in service sector wage growth, while unit wage costs were revised up to 3.8 percent from 3.3 for June.   "Overall, the data paint a benign picture.   The labour market offers no inflation threat," HSBC Midland economist Ian Sheperdson said.   Figures for the August retail price index -- Britain's main inflation indicator -- on Thursday are expected to show the headline and underlying measures of inflation both declining by 0.1 percent to 2.1 and 2.7 percent respectively. 
13223 !GCAT  Prepared for Reuters by The Broadcast Monitoring Company   EVENING STANDARD   GRID REVOLTS OVER PLAN FOR PRICE CUTS   The National Grid group has condemned swingeing new price cuts proposed by industry regulator Stephen Littlechild as "extreme and unacceptable".   The proposals would wipe one billion stg per year from customers' bills.   Industry heads say the company is being penalised for past efficiency gains.   --   STERLING CHASES DOLLAR   The dollar is continuing to ride high today with news from the Federal Reserve that the US economy was in an "inflationary danger zone".   Sterling is dragging behind but added another tenth of a pfennig to 2.3484 marks.   --   CO-OP LAUNCH "BEST DEAL" CREDIT CARD   The Co-Operative Bank is launching a new cheap credit card alongside renewed advertising based on its ethical investment policy.   The card, specifically aimed at borrowers rather than credit card holders, has been deemed by managing director Terry Thomas as "by far the best deal on the market".   --   TOP SHOPS ARE RUNNING SHORT OF GOOD EXECS   Research by Austin Knight and trade magazine Retail Week has confirmed suspicions that good retail executives with board potential are becoming increasingly hard to find.   Blame ranged from inadequate training to the retail cycle which, being buoyant at the moment, means a higher turnover of staff.   --   LEHMAN SETTLES 28 MILLION STG CHINA TRADES DISPUTE   Lehman Brothers has reached an out-of-court settlement with China's biggest crude oil importer over a derivatives-based trading dispute.   The U.S. Investment Bank sued China International United Petroleum & Chemicals in 1994 for 28 million stg in losses Lehman incurred trading with Unipec in foreign exchange and swap markets.   Unipec has agreed to pay Lehman an unspecified sum to meet the claim.   -- BMC +44 171 377 1742 
13224 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  The pilot of a British Airways airliner with 42 people on board filed a near miss report after he saw a jet fighter flying towards him at the same altitude over northern England, the airline said on Wednesday.   A BA spokeswoman said the Tornado jet had been about a mile (1.6 km) away when it flashed past the British Aerospace ATP twin-propeller commuter plane on Monday.   The pilot of the BA plane, which was en route from Aberdeen to Manchester at a height of 20,000 feet (6,250 metres), did not have to take evasive action.   Pilots are entitled to file near miss reports with the Civil Aviation Authority when their craft come within five miles (eight km) horizontally or 1,000 feet (310 metres) vertically of another plane.   A passenger jet belonging to British airline easyJet from Barcelona had to take evasive action on Saturday when the pilot spotted a motorised paraglider coming dangerously close as he was on final approach to Luton airport in southern England. 
13225 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  World leaders welcomed on Wednesday U.N. approval of an atomic weapons test ban but cautioned that obstacles remained on the road to nuclear disarmament with India blocking the treaty from becoming law.   U.S. President Bill Clinton hailed the United Nations General Assembly's 158-3 vote on Tuesday in favour of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), as did others among the five declared nuclear states -- United States, Russia, Britain, France and China.   Clinton said the concerns of India, which says it opposes the treaty because it does not go far enough in spelling out a timetable for global nuclear disarmament, could be addressed.   "I believe we can find a way for the Indians to have their security concerns met," he said.   Of the three undeclared nuclear states believed to have atomic programmes, India has vowed to oppose the pact, Pakistan says it will not sign as long as India refuses to do so and Israel supports the treaty.   India exploded a nuclear device in 1974 and is one of the 44 nations which must ratify the CTBT for it to enter into force.   China, which held on July 29 what it said would be its last nuclear test before a self-imposed moratorium that took effect the following day, welcomed the U.N. endorsement and took the rare step of urging worldwide accession to the pact.   "This undoubtedly conforms to the common interests of the entire international community," Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang was quoted by the Xinhua news agency as saying.   Britain and France both said they would sign the test ban treaty at the earliest possible date on September 24.   U.S. officials said Clinton, who cancelled further U.S. tests in 1993, also plans to sign the treaty then at the United Nations.   French President Jacques Chirac, who caused a furore a year ago by staging six atomic tests in the South Pacific, hailed the test ban treaty as a turning point in the arms race.   "This success should allow (the world) to turn the page of the nuclear arms race...For future generations, it opens the hope of a world freed from the threat of the proliferation of atomic weapons," a government spokesman quoted Chirac as saying.   European Union president Ireland said it welcomed the U.N. move, but Irish Foreign Minister Dick Spring said in a statement:   "This treaty is not the end of the process.   There is a need for further systematic and progressive efforts towards nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation."   German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said: "We have jumped over one important hurdle on the way to a permanent ban on nuclear tests, but we have not yet reached our goal by any means.   "We may not be able to put the genie of the atom back into the bottle, but we have at least tamed it," he said.   Japan, the only nation to suffer atomic bombing, led the chorus of praise among most Asian nations for the U.N.'s move.   "It is a big step forward," Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto told reporters.   "From now on, the international community must make its utmost efforts to persuade India and other countries to accept the treaty."   Pakistan, which has fought three wars with neighbouring India since 1947, says although it voted in favour of the treaty on Tuesday it will not sign the CTBT unless India does the same.   Australia said the U.N. endorsement of the landmark test ban treaty was a vital move towards ridding the world of nuclear weapons, but stressed the treaty was not perfect.   Prime Minister John Howard said: "It is a vital step towards the goal of the ultimate elimination of nuclear weapons."   Malaysia called on those opposed to the CTBT at the United Nations -- India, Libya and Bhutan -- to rethink their positions.   New Zealand Prime Minister Jim Bolger said he was delighted with the vote, but Disarmament Minister Doug Graham was cautious over the pact's entry-into-force provision, the formula for the number of signatures needed to bring the treaty into effect. 
13226 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT !GJOB  British companies are rushing to set up European works councils despite govenment opposition to the bodies, required under the Social Chapter of the Maastricht Treaty, British trade unions said on Wednesday.   The latest company to sign is Hanson Brick Ltd, part of the Hanson Plc group, in the process of being demerged into four companies.   The GMB union made the announcement on the sidelines of the Trades Union Congress's annual conference.   The council will cover Hanson Brick workers in Belgium, Holland, France and Germay, as well as Britain.   It will discuss the performance and strategy of the company.   The union could not contain its delight at the agreement signed with a company usually considered a close supporter of the Conservative government.   "Works councils are now an established form of industrial relations.   The government can barely continue with their opt-out when Tory (Conservative) flagships such as Hanson are signing Euro-deals," GMB national officer Allan Black said.   The British government negotiated an opt-out from the Social Chapter, so British workers do not have to be included in any councils set up by European companies.   Companies that employ more than 1,000 people, and more than 150 in each of two European states, have to set up councils.   British-based companies that have 1,000 workers and more that 150 in two states other than Britain are obliged to set up a council for their non-British workers, but many have decided they cannot justify excluding their workforce at home.   The directive becomes effective on September 22 and companies have been scrambling to set up councils ahead of this date.   Companies that have already set up a council voluntarily can continue with their arrangements, but the rest may have to follow the directive and end up with more rigid arrangements.   According to a TUC survey published this week, 113 British companies were covered by the directive because of the size of their workforce in Europe, and around 30 had already done so.   If the opt-out is ended -- and Labour is pledged to end it if it wins the next election, due by May 1997 -- another 127 would be covered, on current workforce numbers.   Banking union BIFU announced on Tuesday that HSBC Holding was setting up a council covering 40,000 workers in Britain plus between 3,000 and 4,000 in Germany, France and Greece.   National Westminster Bank has already set up a council and BIFU officials said talks with other financial institutions, notably Barclays, were well advanced.   "Most institutions are seeing that it's absurd to exclude UK staff," BIFU assistant secretary Alan Scrimgour said.   "Clearly, they're making the calculation that within a year or so they'll have to include them anyway."   The Labour Party is expected to win the next general election, to he beld by mid-1997, and has pledged to end Britain's opt-out from the Social Chapter.   The Transport and General Workers Union has announced a council covering 55,000 people employed by Europe's biggest catering group, Compass, and TUC officials said discussions with other companies were taking place at Blackpool this week.   "Over half of British companies currently covered are likely to have set up works councils before the start date of September 22," TUC assistant general secretary David Lea said. 
13227 !GCAT !GHEA !GSCI  A protein isolated from the roots of bluebells and daffodils could hold the key to a useful AIDS treatment, researchers said on Wednesday.   The protein, called lectin, acts as a barrier between the HIV virus that causes AIDS and the immune system cells that it targets, a team of chemists told the annual festival of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.   "(Our findings) are a breakthrough but they are not the end product yet," Pierre Rizkallah of the Daresbury Laboratory near Warrington in northern England told a news conference.   The lectin proteins in the flower bulbs are attracted and bind to a sugar called mannose.   Mannose sugars are found in the protein envelope that holds the HIV virus together and help it attack human cells.   Scientists at Belgium's Leeuven University found in 1991 that lectin can inactivate HIV.   Building on their work, Rizkallah and Colin Reynolds of Liverpool's John Moores University are trying to isolate the most effective form of lectin and describe how it works.   Rizkallah said HIV looks something like an icosahedron, a multi-sided ball with 20 surfaces.   Bits of protein stick out of this surface and some are used to hook up to cells that the virus infects.   One of these is glycoprotein 120, or gp-120, which is also the target of several experimental vaccines against HIV.   "It finds the target, it manages to infect the human cell and it causes illness," Rizkallah said.   But gp-120 can be fooled by lectin.   "It mimics the CD4 cell," he said.   "These proteins mimic the interaction between the HIV particle and the immune cells."   So if lectin, or a drug that looks like it, can be delivered into the immune system, it can block HIV from attacking cells.   "If you put lectin in between, it is obvious what happens.   HIV cannot bind to the human cell," Rizkallah said.   Although lectin is fairly easy to isolate from bluebell bulbs, the most effective form has been found in daffodils.   Scientists think it is an important part of the plant's defences, perhaps binding to bacteria that attack plants and even fending off insects.   But daffodils contain irritants and so the lectin must be purified.   Rizkallah and Reynolds are using x-ray crystallography to find out what the molecule looks like on an atomic level.   X-rays are used to bombard the crystal and the resulting patterns can by analysed.   They stressed that their work was still highly experimental and not guaranteed to succeed.   Several compounds have been found that act in a similar manner -- notably the body's own chemokines -- but experiments show the way they work is more complex than anyone thought and no successful cure has been found for HIV. 
13228 !E12 !E13 !E131 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT  British authorities will stick to an anti-inflation policy whether the country joins European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) or not, Bank of England deputy governor Howard Davies said.   "In or out of Economic and Monetary Union, we would...argue that the UK should be aiming to achieve price stability, or at least an inflation rate as close as possible to that which obtains in our major markets in Continental Europe," he said.   "Indeed our policy aim as an 'out' would be broadly the same as that of the European Central Bank," he told a lunch organised by the German-British Chambers of Commerce in London.    All three major British political parties now endorsed an anti-inflation policy and non-membership of EMU would not be seen as a license to run a domestic monetary policy at variance with Britain's trading partners, Davies said.   "Of course it is not necessarily the case that if your inflation rate is the same as that of your major trading partners your exchange rate will remain stable," Davies said.   "But it does remove one source of volatility and change.   And an important one."   The BOE would not advocate a policy of competitive devaluation of the pound, Davies added.   -- Mariam Isa ++44 171 542 7708 
13229 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Sweden's indecision about taking part in European monetary union and its perceived ante-chamber, the exchange rate mechanism, is expected to sideline the Swedish crown at a time when convergence trades may be back in vogue.   Moreover, the fuel behind strong bond market flows which supported the crown's spectacular 25.6 percent rally between May 1995 and June 1996 looks to be drying up.   Most analysts believe the Riksbank's steep monetary easing since 1997 is close to an end and they said the effect is at best ambiguous for the crown now that the inflation rate is set to tick higher again from 37-year lows.   The crown has notably lagged the lira's latest resurgence, for example, as the Italian unit and the Italian bond market conversely eye a well of pent-up monetary easing and the prospect of the lira's post-budget ERM re-entry.   "The crown is more vulnerable now to less favourable domestic trends because it doesn't have the EMU/ERM safety net that currencies like the lira have," said Paul Meggyesi, senior currency strategist at Deutsche Morgan Grenfell in London.   "If we do see a return to convergence trades in the weeks ahead, the crown will not necessarily benefit in line with the rest," he said.   A report this month from Enskilda Research in Stockholm argues that Sweden will not seek ERM membership this year.   The Swedish government has adopted a wait-and-see policy toward EMU and that removes the obligation to be in the ERM for two years prior to taking part in a single currency, the report said.   Enskilda analysts said they do not expect Sweden to be part of the first wave of countries to move to EMU in 1999.   Domestic party-political splits, public indifference on the issue and more pressing domestic policy goals are reasons for pro-EMU premier Goran Persson's reticence, they said.   "We shall reserve the right to have a thorough debate (on EMU) before we take a decision," Persson said late last month.   Meggyesi at Deutsche said it is interesting to note that Swedish 10-year yields, now at 7.99 percent, have converged on UK yields, now at 7.87 percent, and the crown may well be viewed as an EMU "opt-out" alternative to sterling.   Analysts agree that greater EMU enthusiasm in Finland will more than likely land the markka in the ERM before the crown and this event may force the Swedes to clarify their stance.   In the meantime, the perceived life-blood of falling inflation and interest rate cuts looks to have run its course.   "We're approaching the end of the easing cycle in Sweden at 5 percent and this looks like a very mixed blessing for the crown," said Ian Amstad, economist at Bankers Trust in London.   Amstad said economic growth is picking up again in Sweden and the annual inflation rate, 0.6 percent in July, is expected to push higher again over the coming months.   "Against this background, further easing beyond 5.0 is not really justified," said Amstad, who noted that the crown has eased back as the Riksbank has slowed the pace of easing from a more regular 20-to-25 basis points earlier this year.   --London newsroom +44 171 542 6762 
13230 !C24 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  British supermarket retailer ASDA will open six new superstores in the first half of 1997, creating around 2,700 full and part-time jobs, chairman Patrick Gillam told the annual meeting in Leeds, northern England.   The new stores are part of a programme of eight store openings (Corrects to make clear that the stores are part of an existing programme and not in addition to those already announced.)   announced for the current financial year along with annual results in June, a company spokeswoman said on Wednesday.   "These six new stores are going into 1997," she said.   In a statement, Gillam said the new store openings would bring ASDA's total number of outlets to 213.   ASDA will also be refurbishing or rebuilding over 30 stores around the country, which should add a further 300 jobs, Gillam said.   ASDA stores are increasingly moving to its so-called "market hall" format which aims to suggest a market place atmosphere to shoppers.   "Our new market hall superstores provide the best value and the most exciting shopping experience in the industry," Gillam added.   ASDA, one of Britain's big four supermarket groups, prides itself on offering the cheapest prices across an average weekly shop.   It has seen sales increase even though it has so far deferred from introducing nationwide a so-called "loyalty card" as its major rivals, Tesco, J.Sainsbury and Safeway have done.   No investment details for the new ASDA stores were immediately available.   -- London Newsroom +44 171 542 7717 
13231 !E41 !E411 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Trades Union Congress leader John Monks said on Wednesday the British government needed to stimulate more job-creating investment, and played down the fall in unemployment recorded in August.   Official figures released earlier showed that seasonally- adjusted unemployment in August fell by 15,600 to 2.11 million and the rate dropped to 7.5 percent from 7.6 percent in July.   "The pre-election consumer boom is beginning to deliver jobs, but if these are to last, we also need a pre-election invesment boom," Monks said on the sidelines of the annual TUC conference.    "Job-creating investment to sustain this recovery must be given priority in the 1996 budget," he added.   The Labour Party's employment spokesman, Ian McCartney, also in Blackpool, said the official figure bore no resemblance to the true number of people out of work.   "Labour believes that to solve unemployment, government must act to get people off benefit and into work, not simply change the way they work out the figures," he said, referring to the 30 or so changes made under the Conservative government since 1979 in the way the jobless total is calculated.   "That is why, as one of our early pledges, we will introduce a windfall tax on the excess profits of the privatised utilities, targeted at helping young people and the long-term unemployed back into work," McCartney added.   -- London Newsroom +44 171 542 7717 
13232 !GCAT !GHEA !GSCI  Tests by a British scientist show unborn babies prefer the theme tune of a popular soap opera to a Strauss waltz.   "It does seem to be some kind of innate preference," Professor Peter Hepper told Britain's annual science festival.   Hepper said foetuses showed no difference in their ability to learn the waltz or the theme tune from the Australian soap opera "Neighbours", shown daily on British television.   But he said: "When given a preference test, foetuses showed a preference for the Neighbours tune."   Foetuses have long been known to respond to sound, but little was known until recently on how they reacted to music.   Hepper said researchers using ultrasound scans had now found unborn babies rapidly learned a favourite piece of music.   After birth, they showed a preference for it by going still.   The research showed the unborn babies kept time with the beat.   "From preliminary observation, when you look at the movement, (the foetus) does appear to move in time," he said.   The sound quality in the womb is not ideal.   Higher frequencies are filtered out as music passes through the womb, so the foetus mainly hears bass sounds, somewhat like listening to the thudding beat of loud music in a neighbouring room.   But Hepper said the research may help justify old tales of the origin of musical ability.   "This supports claims by many musicians that their musical abilities began whilst in the womb when their mother played a musical instrument whilst pregnant." 
13233 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  Northern Ireland's rival Protestants and Roman Catholics on Wednesday poured cold water on hopes for an early IRA guerrilla ceasefire sparked by upbeat comments from Irish Prime Minister John Bruton.   They played down Bruton's optimism before the opening of a session of difficult multi-party peace talks in Belfast aimed at ending conflict between the Protestant majority who support British rule and Catholics, who want government from Dublin.   Speaking to a BBC correspondent in Washington, where he met President Bill Clinton, Bruton said on Tuesday: "The conditions may exist in which a ceasefire might be called."   Bruton made clear he had no specific information on which to base his prediction.   John Hume, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party that speaks for most of the province's Catholics, said he had maintained contact with Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams to try to achieve a new ceasefire, "but that has not yet happened".   A source in Sinn Fein, the political wing of the outlawed Irish Republican Army, said: "At this stage I see no evidence to suggest that there is (going to be) an imminent IRA cessation."   Protestant politician Reg Empey of the powerful Ulster Unionist Party dubbed Bruton's remark speculative.   "I don't share his optimism...I am sceptical about it," he said.   The Irish Times, published in Dublin, reported Bruton felt a new truce could be on the cards because of progress made in talks between the province's chief political rivals, the SDLP and UUP.   London and Dublin say the IRA must reinstate a ceasefire broken in February before Sinn Fein is allowed into the multi-party talks on the province's political future.   Former U.S. senator George Mitchell, who chairs the talks, unexpectedly left Belfast for the United States on Wednesday.   But official sources at the talks said his departure was not linked to wrangling that has marred progress since June.   "He had to fly back to the U.S. this morning on urgent personal business.   He will be back next week," a British official told journalists.   Mitchell's international colleagues at the talks, former Finnish Prime Minister Harri Holkeri and Canadian general John de Chastelain will take his place during his absence.   Britain and Ireland were expected on Wednesday to give a ruling on a demand for the expulsion of two smaller parties that are the political wings of pro-British "Loyalist" guerrillas.   The influential Democratic Unionist Party wants the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) and Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) thrown out because they refused to condemn a death threat by Loyalist extremists to a dissident Loyalist opposed to their participation in the talks.   UDP and PUP leaders, seen as crucial in helping to maintain a shaky ceasefire by Protestants loyal to London since October 1994, were confident they would not be ejected.   Billy Hutchinson, leader of the PUP, said he expected the governments, who are jointly sponsoring the talks, to give their ruling around 2 p.m. (1300 GMT).   "We expect it to be positive," he said.   Other mainstream Protestant politicians said the ruling might not be made on Wednesday. 
13234 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  By Nicholas Doughty, Diplomatic Correspondent   Is the global treaty banning nuclear tests a worthless piece of paper that will never become law, or a landmark in the history of arms control and protection of the environment?   An overwhelming majority of nations endorsed the treaty at U.N. headquarters in New York on Tuesday.   But India, which has opposed the pact, vowed it would never sign or ratify the agreement and would thus prevent it from coming into force.   The United States, France and others failed to win international consensus in support of the treaty at earlier talks in Geneva.   Now, they are hailing the U.N. endorsement as a victory for the test ban treaty and its aims.   With some reservations, most analysts agree that it still has enormous political and moral value -- even though the agreement may never have any force in international law if India refuses to change its position.   "We have a global acceptance that there will be no more nuclear tests," said Eric Arnett of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).   "That has been strengthened by the U.N. endorsement.   The fact that we don't have the full legal force of the treaty probably doesn't matter that much."   "It still has value, even though it won't enter into force in the next few years," said Sharon Riggle of the Centre for European Security and Disarmament in Brussels.   The world's five declared nuclear powers -- the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain -- have already ended nuclear tests unilaterally.   Even India, which exploded a nuclear device in 1974 and is widely believed to have a nuclear weapons capability, has said it has no intention of testing.   The same is true for the other so-called "threshold" states, Pakistan and Israel.   Nations including the five nuclear powers are expected to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) at the United Nations in coming weeks.   Once they have signed, diplomatic conventions state that nothing should be done to undermine any international treaty while it waits to enter into force.   In other words, diplomats say, most nations will have given what is a binding commitment once they sign the agreement.   "It means that the moratorium declared by the Big Five nuclear powers is not just a unilateral action, it becomes a much stronger commitment at that stage," said a European diplomat, who asked not to be identified.   Nevertheless, the treaty cannot enter into force before 44 countries with nuclear power facilities sign the agreement and then ratify it.   India is among them and so can block progress.   The treaty provides for monitoring stations and on-site inspections to check suspicions that any country may be preparing a nuclear test blast or may have carried one out.   Nuclear tests are often conducted more or less publicly, as a demonstration of military power to threatening neighbours, and there is already a detailed monitoring network in place that would detect most types of blast with ease, even if kept secret.   But there could be problems of trust in coming years, if the treaty does not come into force.   Patricia Lewis of the Verification Technology Information Centre (VERTIC) in London said the treaty contained provisions for on-site inspections that would be vital to establish what had happened in certain cases.   "A country could have a very small test and we could not be sure what had happened without on-site inspections," said Lewis.   "It is a problem, and there are bound to be suspicions."   The other major problem is that no one knows how the world will look in 10 or 20 years' time.   Without a binding international treaty, China, Russia or the United States might all be tempted to resume nuclear tests to upgrade their arsenals or to ward off potential threats.   Other countries may decide it is worth risking international condemnation to prove that they are nuclear-capable.   Another problem is that failure to reach agreement in talks at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva has cast doubt on the credibility of the U.N.-sponsored body.   Its next project is to negotiate an end to the production of fissile material used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons.   "That is going to be a much tougher prospect than the test ban treaty, and questions have to be asked about its credibility now," said SIPRI's Arnett. 
13235 !G15 !G153 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  The European Union (EU) is expected to award at least 60,000 tonnes of current series white sugar at its weekly tender on Wednesday, the sixth of the new series for the 1996/97 crop, traders said.   Last week there was confusion over which Matif futures contract the EU would use to price its maximum restitution in the tender, but this week traders said December was the most likely position as October expires on Friday.   "I think they will base themselves on December -- I think there will probably be a large tonnage," said one.   "I don't see any reason why it should be less than 60,000 tonnes," he said, adding that currency exchange rates had moved in the favour of trade players who were pre-hedging against the weekly licences award.   The EU awarded an exceedingly low 250 tonnes in its last tender on September 4, all won by traders in Germany.   The maximum restitution for licences this week was estimated at 43.392 Ecus (European Currency Units) per 100 kg of sugar, after the 43.106 Ecus awarded last week.   -- Jeremy Smith, London Newsroom +44 171 542 8064 
13236 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The head of Britain's postal service on Wednesday said workers would lose a 100 million pound benefits package if their union went ahead with a threat to call two more one-day strikes later this month.   "We have to operate in the real world...we're seeing competition building up all the time.   We can't afford in the business to give something away for nothing," Royal Mail managing director Richard Dyke told Sky television.   Government officials have already said any decision to call more postal strikes could result in a three-month suspension of Royal Mail's monopoly on delivering letters.   The Communication Workers Union announced the strikes would be held on September 20 and 22 after deciding not to ballot members on a proposed pay deal.   The union said more stoppages were possible in an effort to bring an end to a dispute over pay and working conditions which has already resulted in eight strikes during the summer.   "If they do take this strike action, not only will the monopoly go, but we're saying it will be impossible for us to sustain 100 million pounds worth of benefits," said Dyke.   Tony Blair, leader of the opposition Labour Party, called on the union to reballot its members on the latest pay offer. 
13237 !E41 !E411 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Northern Ireland unemployment increased by 800 in August, bringing the total to 87,500 or 11.3 percent of the workforce, according to seasonally adjusted figures released on Wednesday.   Unadjusted unemployment figures showed a rise of 1,759 in unemployment in August to 92,554, Northern Ireland's Department of Economic Development said.   "The unemployment figures reflect the enormous effect on the province of the BSE crisis and the violence this summer which has reduced confidence," Northern Ireland Economy Minister Baroness Denton said in a statement.   "Northern Ireland, however, remains a good investment location," Denton said.   -- Belfast newsroom +44 1232 315 253 
13238 !E41 !E411 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Another fall in UK unemployment in August suggests the British economy will enjoy robust growth later this year and next, analysts said on Wednesday.   And the icing on the cake is that fears of a tightening labour market feeding through to wage inflation can be put to one side, at least for now.   "The data are very encouraging and stronger than they look," said Kevin Gardiner, UK economist at Morgan Stanley.   "We expect pretty punchy growth going forward."    A 15,600 fall in the number of jobless in August took the unemployment rate to its lowest level since March 1991.   Within that, the service sector created 129,000 jobs over the month.   On the inflation side of the equation, underlying average earnings growth held steady at an annualised 3.75 percent in July.   Delving further into the labour market figures, Gardiner noted a strong showing from job centre vacancies again, up 6,400 in August following a 11,300 rise in July.   "The trend is now so pronounced it can't be ignored."   he said.   "The demand side of the labour market is strong."    Analysts looking for inflationary alarms pointed to a 3.7 percent increase in unit wage costs over the three months to July.   Economists had forecast a 3.2 percent rise.   And with the labour market tightening fast, they said average earnings must head up at some point.   "Data show another healthy fall in unemployment...suggesting the labour market is becoming increasingly tight," said Andrew Snowball, economist at the Cooperative Bank.   "Add in a trend productivity slowdown and the result will ultimately be higher earnings and intensifying inflationary pressures."    But Gardiner said those fears were misplaced, at least for now.   "Of course the tightening labour market will eventually feed through but unit wage costs will fall before they rise."   To date, unit wage costs have been pushed up by depressed manufacturing productivity, he said.   But with the economy improving, that will soon pick up, he said.   A 13,000 increase in manufacturing employment in August, suggests the worst is over for that beleaguered sector.   Other analysts noted a strong correlation between headline inflation levels and wage settlements.    "Historically, there has been a strong correlation between headline inflation and wage levels," said Nigel Richardson, head of bond research at Yamaichi International.   "Wage settlements could actually ease back in the months ahead."   Headline retail price inflation has dropped from 3.5 percent year-on-year in July 1995 to 2.2 percent last month.   But even if wage inflation is not a worry for the immediate future, Wednesday's unemployment figures did little to enhance the case for a further cut in official interest rates.    "This would tend to reinforce the view that any further rate cut is unnecessary at this stage of the cycle," said David Coleman, chief economist at CIBC Wood Gundy.   "A large rise in manufacturing employment combined with the increase in overtime hours worked is consistent with anecdotal evidence pointing to the beginnings of a manufacturing recovery," he added.   Manufacturing overtime hours totalled 8.58 million per week in July, up from 7.87 million in June.   -- London Newsroom +44 171 542 5109 
13239 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS !M14 !MCAT  The Singapore-flag bulk carrier Neptune Aldebaran and the South Korean-registered Dongjin Hope collided late on Tuesday in the Tsushima Strait off Western Japan in lat 34 33n, long 130 00e, Lloyd's Shipping Intelligence Service said on Wednesday.   The 66,764 dwt Neptune Aldebaran was sailing from the United States for Taiwan laden with maize.   The 1,975 dwt Dongjin Hope was headed for Tokuyama from Busan carrying 17 empty containers.   The Neptune Aldebaran sustained damage to its starboard side shell plating in the way of no.4 hold.   The Dongjin Hope sustained damage to its bow and its engine-room was flooded.   The crew abandoned the vessel and all 12 crew members boarded a Maritime Safety Agency patrol boat. 
13240 !E41 !E411 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  British economic data showing a fall in unemployment and steady average earnings growth reflect a strengthening economy and a lack of inflationary pressures, the British Treasury said on Wednesday.    "Today's employment figures, combined with stable earnings, underline a picture of strengthening economic activity with a general lack of inflationary pressures," a Treasury official said.   Unemployment fell 15,600 in August, with the unemployment rate falling to 7.5 percent from 7.6 percent.   Average earnings in July showed annual growth of 3.75 percent, unchanged from the rate in June.   --International Bonds Unit +44 171 542 6784 
13241 !E41 !E411 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Following is a selection of economists' reactions to data showing UK July average earnings rose an underlying 3.75 percent, unit wage costs up 3.7 percent in the three months to July and August unemployment falling 15,600 to give a jobless rate of 7.5 percent.   The consensus forecast was average earnings 3.75 percent year-on-year, unit wage costs 3.3 percent in the three months to July and a fall of 15,000 in unemployment.   PETER LUXTON, MMS INTERNATIONAL   "Interesting that overtime hours worked were up.   That may reflect increasing signs of bullishness from manufacturers."    "We could be at the start of a situation where overtime is going to pick up, employment pickup and that eventually feeds through to the wage side -- not at the moment but it's just the start of that cycle."    THOMAS RAYNER, SOCIETE GENERALE (RFTV)   "An interesting fact about average earnings...is that the manufacturing component actually fell from 4.25 to 4.0 percent whereas services increased.   The underlying figures stayed the same but perhaps wage pressures in manufacturing are not showing through yet.   I think the unit wage costs side is a little disappointing -- productivity gains look as though they are tailing off there."    JEREMY HAWKINS, BANK OF AMERICA   "Data broadly as expected.   There was a 15,600 fall in unemployment which, after the 24,300 fall in July, suggests some increase in the rate of decrease.   The underlying growth of average earnings remained unchanged.   Unit labour costs rose...with data for the previous month data revised higher.   This appears to be associated with revisions to the back data, but may create some concern about a pickup in wage costs and may dampen down expectations about a further cut in interest rates.   Otherwise, the data hint at improvement in the economy."    ANDREW SNOWBALL, COOPERATIVE BANK   "Data show another healthy fall in unemployment.   This, together with the rise in unfilled job vacancies plus a sharp rise in overtime hours, suggests the labour market is becoming increasingly tight.   Add in a trend productivity slowdown and the result will ultimately be higher earnings and intensifying inflationary pressures.   Mildly gilt-negative data."   -- Richard Murphy, London Newsroom 44 171 542 2774 
13242 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The Office for National Statistics released the following data on unit wage costs in UK manufacturing.   (previously announced data in brackets)    UNIT WAGE COSTS  July  June    Monthly change vs yr ago 3.5  4.1 (3.6)    Index (base=1990)  113.5  113.3 (112.7)    3-mth versus same yr/ago 3.7  3.8 (3.3)    Index (base=1990)  113.1  112.8 (112.2)   PRODUCTIVITY    monthly change vs yr ago 0.4  0.1 (0.6)    Index (base=1990)  121.2  121.1(121.7)    3mth vs same year ago 0.3  0.4 (0.9)    Index (base=1990)  121.3  121.3 (121.9)   MANUFACTURING OVERTIME HOURS    (million per week) 8.58  7.87 (7.87)    index (1985=100)  101.1  100.3 (100.3) 
13243 !E41 !E411 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The Office for National Statistics released the following provisional data for unemployment in August and average earnings in July.   (Previous estimates in brackets, minus denotes fall, data seasonally adjusted unless indicated)    UNEMPLOYMENT Aug  July    Monthly change -15,600 -24,300 (-24,100)    Rate (pct) 7.5  7.6 (7.6)    Monthly non-s/adj change +18,376  n/a (+61,747)    Monthly non-s/adj rate  7.8  7.7 (7.7)   NOTE - Mkts forecast 15,000 May unemployment fall    Unemployment level (million) 2.110  2.126 (2.126)    Unemployment level unadj 2.176  2.158 (2.158)    Avg change in past 3m adj -18,600 -18,800 (-18,700)    Avg change in past 6m -17,000 -13,500 (-13,400)    AVERAGE EARNINGS JULY JUNE    underlying yearly chng (pct)  3.75 3.75 (3.75)    index (base 1990) 131.8 131.6 (131.5)    actual yearly chng (pct) 3.8  3.9 (3.8)   By sector (annual pct chng)    Production-- underlying 3.75* 3.75 (4.0)    -- actual 3.8  3.8 (3.7)    Manufacturing -- underlying  4.0  4.0 (4.25)    -- actual 3.9  4.3 (4.2)    Services -- underlying 3.75  3.5 (3.5)    -- actual 3.9  4.0 (4.1)   NOTE: consensus forecast 3.75 pct for overall underlying average earnings.   MANUFACTURING EMPLOYMENT (GB)    monthly change (July)  +13,000 +3,000 (+4,000)    Average monthly change last 3m +5,000 -6,000 (-5,000)    Quarterly change (Q2) -17,000   OVERALL EMPLOYMENT (THOUSANDS, S/ADJ)    WORKFORCE IN EMPLOYMENT  Q2 Q1    LEVEL 25,810 25,720    CHANGE +90 -75   EMPLOYEES IN EMPLOYMENT LEVEL 22,107 21,989    CHANGE +118 -23    JOB CENTRE VACANCIES AUG  JULY    change +6,400 +11,300 (+11,500)    level 236,500 230,100 (230,300)    Avg 3m change +10,500 +11,000(+11,100)   The ONS said in its Labour Force Survey quarterly bulletin that the ILO unemployment level rose by 11,000 in the three months to May 1996 to 2.313 million.   The overall unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.3 percent.   * Average earnings growth in production at the lowest level since the series began in 1967. 
13244 !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:   - New blood agency to open in 1997: Beleaguered Red Cross can keep role in national system, health ministers decide.   - Medical specialists postpone job action: Ontario given breathing room.   Representatives of Ontario's 8,600 medical specialists decided last night to put off refusing patients or reducing service until November 1.   - Yeltsin cedes powers to PM: Retains control of nuclear arsenal.   - Stowaways pleaded with captain, sailor says: Crewman testifies officer pushed Romanian off ship.   The captain of the Maersk Dubai forced two pleading and praying stowaways to leave the ship and board a makeshift raft in the cold, choppy water of the Atlantic in March, a Filipino sailor testified yesterday.   - Quebec ousts Hydro chairman: Executive power struggle amplified utility's problems with sagging profits.   Report on Business Section:   - Horsham Corp to build property giant: Plans to acquire rest of Trizec Corp, sell stake in Clark USA.   - Southam Inc to sell all but newspapers: Return to publishing roots affects 1,400 as contruction data group, other businesses go on block.   - Westmin Resources Ltd bids for Gibraltar Mines Ltd: Placer Dome Inc to tender 30.8 percent stake in miner to C$307-million offer.   - French ad agency buys majority stake in BCP Group:   Canadian unit spun off for federal deals.   THE FINANCIAL POST:   - Horsham, Trizec to merge: Peter Munk bets his golden touch will work on real estate and creates a company with US$6 billion in assets to carry out the wager.   - B.C.-New Brunswick jobs fight could topple provincial trade pact.   -- Reuters Toronto Bureau 416 941-8100 
13245 !C21 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA !M14 !M141 !MCAT  Southeast Saskatchewan saw at least two hours of frost Wednesday morning, and skies over the eastern Prairies were forecast to clear during the day to bring sunshine and cool temperatures, Environment Canada said.   "It looks like Estevan (Saskatchewan) got two to three hours of frost," meteorologist Mark Gerlyand told Reuters.   Estevan, 15 kms (9 miles) north of the North Dakota border, saw chest level temperatures of 0 Celsius at 0500 CDT, -1.0 Celsius at 0600 CDT and 0700 CDT, Geryland said.   Ground temperatures can be 2.0 to 5.0 Celsius below chest level temperatures on wind, sky and moisture conditions.    Southeast Saskatchewan saw clear skies, little wind and little ground moisture, he said.   "Everywhere else was covered by cloud and that prevented heat radiation," Gerlyand said.   Regina reported a low of 0 Celsius (32 F), Hudson Bay reported a low of 4.0 Celsius and Yorkton reported a low of 5.0 Celsius at 0600 CDT, he said.   Western Manitoba also benefited from cloud cover with Brandon reporting a low of 5.0 Celsius at 0600 CDT and Dauphin reporting 7.0 Celsius.   Winnipeg saw a low of 7.8 Celsius.   Alberta should see sun and highs of 20 to 25 Celsius.    Saskatchewan should see sun and highs of 15 to 24 Celsius.   Manitoba should see sun and highs of 10 to 15 Celsius.   -- Gilbert Le Gras 204 947 3548 
13246 !GCAT !GCRIM  Two Israelis facing forgery charges escaped briefly on Wednesday when a police car taking them to a court in Cyprus was intercepted by two armed motorcyclists in the centre of the capital, police said.   Police said Abi Biton, 21, and Shuki Samana, 24 -- both Israeli nationals from Haifa -- fled with their accomplices through a U.N.-controlled checkpoint to the Turkish-occupied north of the island where they surrendered.   A Turkish Cypriot court ordered the two men be held in custody for three days, Turkish Cypriot police sources said.   A Turkish Cypriot news agency said the order would give police a chance to investigate.   "Two armed motorcyclists intercepted the police car, cut the suspects' handcuffs off with clippers and put them on the back of their bikes," Cypriot police spokesman Stelios Neofytou said.   "They left the bikes at the checkpoint and ran into the occupied areas," he said.   U.N. soldiers at the Ledra Palace checkpoint tried to stop the four but were threatened with a gun and a knife, a U.N. spokesman said.   Turkish Cypriot police sources said the four had asked to be sent to Turkey or Israel.   Eray Merturk, police chief of the Turkish-held quarter of Nicosia, said authorities were in contact with the Israeli embassy.   When they were intercepted Biton and Samana were being taken from Nicosia's central prison to court in the coastal town of Larnaca.   They were to stand trial on charges of possessing $7,000 in counterfeit bills.   The two were arrested on August 30.   Before speeding off, the motorcyclists cut the radio in the police car and took the car keys, leaving the two officers stranded.   The motorcycles were rented.   The northern part of the island has been inaccessible to Cyprus police since Turkey invaded in 1974 in the wake of a brief coup engineered by the military regime ruling Greece at the time. 
13247 !GCAT !GVIO  About 5,000 weary Iraqi Kurdish refugees set up camp on the Iranian side of the border on Wednesday after they said a Baghdad-backed Kurdish group killed four people.   "On Tuesday night, KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) men came and asked us first nicely to go back home, but when people confronted them, they started shooting.   Four were killed," a refugee told Reuters.   Local Iranian authorities at the Bashmaq border crossing said four people were killed and about 100 wounded.   The wounded were taken to hospitals in Iran, they said.   State-run Tehran radio said Iraqi troops were also involved.   Refugees said after the shooting some 5,000 people rushed toward a closed border crossing.   Iranian border guards shot into the air but could not halt them, they said.   Tens of thousands of refugees had streamed toward Iran to escape advancing forces of the Iraqi-backed KDP who took Sulaimaniya, Iraq's biggest Kurdish city, on Monday from the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).   "I would rather be a refugee than go back home to Sulaimaniya and live under the KDP and (Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein," said a middle-aged man standing next to a fire where his wife and daughter were cooking.   He said he and many other refugees belonged to Kurdish clans opposed to the KDP.   Iranian relief workers set up tents in a large field about 500 metres (yards) from a line of tress marking the border.   The refugees had spent the night in cars or outside in the rugged mountainous region.   "I left Sulaimaniya after my sister called me on Sunday to tell me that the Iraqis were coming," said Sirwan Rostam a 50-year-old school supervisor.   "I have been active with a Kurdish women's union and criticised Saddam publicly, so I had to leave."   "Now I am here with a few clothes and some money I could bring.   I have lost touch with my sister.   I am finished.   I am dead," she said.   Two dozen women in colourful Kurdish dresses queued for water near a tanker sent by Iran's Red Crescent Society.   Tehran radio said Iran was housing "thousands" of refugees but named only the Bashmaq camp.   United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees official Laurens Jolles in Tehran told Reuters that "several thousand" refugees had been admitted.   Tehran had said it would not admit refugees "unless in an emergency".   It said it would offer relief with the help of international organisations in camps on the Iraqi side of the border.   Iran already has more than two million refugees, including 1.5 million Afghans, making it the country hosting the largest number anywhere.   Tehran had appealed for international aid, saying nearly 200,000 refugees were approaching.   UNHCR officials in Geneva said on Tuesday up to 75,000 people were on the move, although some were later reported returning home.   Tehran had feared a repeat of 1991 when more than a million Iraqis, most of them Kurds, fled to Iran as Baghdad crushed uprisings that followed Iraq's defeat in the Gulf War.   Most Kurds had since returned to northern Iraq. 
13248 !GCAT !GCRIM  An Israeli court on Wednesday convicted Yitzhak Rabin's assassin Yigal Amir, the killer's brother and a third religious Jew on charges of conspiring to murder the prime minister.   Amir, 26, is already serving a life sentence for killing Rabin at a Tel Aviv peace rally last November.   Sentences in the separate conspiracy case against him, his brother Hagai and their friend Dror Adani will be handed down on October 3.   The Tel Aviv District Court also convicted the Amir brothers of weapons offences and all three on charges of conspiring to attack Palestinians.   Lawyers said the Amirs faced up to 40 years in jail and Adani up to 15 for the offences.   "We have decided unanimously to convict all three suspects of all the charges brought against them," said Amnon Strashnov, head of the three-judge panel, reading the verdict.   The defendants smiled throughout the hour-long reading of the verdict as it became clear they were going to be convicted.   From his seat, Yigal Amir shouted: "Why don't you add a few Strasnov answered firmly: "Keep your mouth shut or else I'll throw you out."   All three accused were expressionless when their convictions were announced.   According to the indictment, Hagai Amir, 28, amassed a huge arsenal in the family's Tel Aviv home and crafted the hollow-point bullets his brother used to shoot Rabin.   Adani, 28, denied during the trial that he helped plot the November 4 murder, saying he had visited the Amir home hoping to romance the killer's sister but instead got pulled into a discussion on ways to assassinate the prime minister.   "After reviewing all the evidence and reading the confessions of the suspects, I have no doubt that all three conspired to kill the prime minister," Strashnov said.   Yigal Amir, a right-wing religious Jew, was convicted in March of murdering Rabin and sentenced to life imprisonment, plus six years for wounding the prime minister's bodyguard.   Amir, a student, said he shot Rabin to stop peace moves with the Palestinians.   Last month, the Supreme Court rejected Amir's appeal against his conviction and life sentence, saying his lawyer's theory there had been a second gunman was "rooted in fantasy". 
13249 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  Two Israelis facing forgery charges escaped on Wednesday when a police car taking them to court was intercepted by two armed motorcyclists in the centre of the capital, police said.   A police spokesman said Abi Biton, 21, and Shuki Samana, 24 -- both Israeli nationals from Haifa -- escaped with their accomplices to the Turkish-occupied north of the island through a nearby United Nations-controlled checkpoint.   Eray Merturk, police chief of the Turkish-held quarter of Nicosia, said all four surrendered and authorities were in contact with the Israeli embassy.   Turkish Cypriot police sources said the four had asked to be sent to Turkey or Israel.   "Two armed motorcyclists intercepted the police car, cut the suspects handcuffs off with clippers and put them on the back of their bikes," Cypriot police spokesman Stelios Neofytou said.   "They left the bikes at the checkpoint and ran into the occupied areas," he said.   Biton and Samana were being taken to court in the coastal town of Larnaca from Nicosia's central prison where they were to stand trial on charges of possessing $7,000 in counterfeit bills.   The two were arrested on August 30.   Before speeding off, the motorcyclists cut the radio in the police car and took the car keys, leaving the two officers stranded.   The motorcycles were rented.   U.N. soldiers at the Ledra Palace checkpoint tried to stop the four but were threatened with a gun and a knife, a U.N. spokesman said.   The northern part of the island has been inaccessible to Cyprus police since Turkey invaded in 1974 in the wake of a brief coup engineered by the military regime ruling Greece at the time. 
13250 !GCAT !GVIO  Iraqi Kurds at a camp near the Iran-Iraq border said on Wednesday that guerrillas from a Baghdad-backed Kurdish group fired into a crowd of refugees on the Iraqi side of the border, killing four people.   "On Tuesday night, KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) men came and asked us first nicely to go back home, but when people confronted them, they started shooting.   Four were killed," a refugee told Reuters.   Local Iranian authorities at the Bashmaq border crossing said four people were killed and about 100 wounded.   The wounded were taken to hospitals in Iran, they said.   State-run Tehran radio reported the incident but said Iraqi troops were also involved.   "The forces of (KDP leader Massoud) Barzani and the Iraqi army, after taking the city of Penjwin, approached the Iranian border in the area of Bashmaq and opened fire on a group of refugees, killing and wounding a number of them," it said.   Refugees said a crowd of about 5,000 refugees rushed after the shooting towards the border crossing which was closed.   Iranian border guards shot into the air but this did not halt the flow of people into Iran, they said.   Tens of thousands of refugees have streamed towards the Iranian border to escape the advancing KDP after its forces on Monday took Sulaimaniya, Iraq's biggest Kurdish city, from the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).   Tehran has said it would not admit any refugees into the country "unless in an emergency".   It said it would offer relief with the help of international organisations in camps on the Iraqi side of the border.   Iran on Monday appealed for international aid for nearly 200,000 Iraqi Kurdish refugees it said were massing near its border. 
13251 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Moroccan police arrested five members of a leftist opposition party campaigning near Casablanca for a boycott of Friday's referendum on constitutional reforms, the party said on Wednesday.   "Five militants of the Avant-Garde Democratic and Socialist Party (PADS) were arrested by security forces in Mohammadia while explaining to people the party point of view on the constitutional reforms," a party spokesman said.   The Interior Ministry said it was not aware of the arrests.   Officials from the Ministry of Human Rights were not available for comment.   The party named those held as Abdellatif Belahacen, Abdelghani Arif, Lahbib Assal, Ahmed Joudar and Mustapha Jouabri.   More than 12 million people are expected to vote on September 13 on constitutional reforms that include splitting the existing 333-seat parliament into two chambers.   King Hassan, who has called for a 'yes' vote, said the amendments would strengthen regional representation and Moroccan democracy.   The PADS, a legal opposition group, had issued a statement inviting Moroccans to boycott the referendum.   "The new amendment aims in reality at the reproduction of past failed political experiences and setting up a 'facade of democracy'...The proposed new upper house will be an instrument to hamper legislative work and impose a non-confidence vote against the government at any time," the PADS statement said.   The independent Moroccan Human Rights Association said six other PADS militants were arrested over the weekend in Sale, the twin city of Rabat, and two more in the eastern town of Berkan.   It added they were released with no explanation.   "Such behaviour is a clear violation of human rights and freedom of speech, which are guaranteed by the Moroccan constitution," the PADS said. 
13252 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL !GVOTE  A losing candidate in Lebanon's general elections cited fraudulent voting in the name of dead people or emigres in an appeal to the constitutional court to overturn the result and name him the winner.   Nazem Khoury, a Maronite Christian, said in the appeal to the 10-member Constitutional Council that bribery and other violations also took place during the August 18 vote in the Christian heartland of Mount Lebanon.   Khoury was the first of six losing candidates in the first four rounds of voting to appeal to the council, which can cancel his opponent's victory and declare him winner if it finds the vote was seriously flawed.   Reuters obtained a copy of the appeal on Wednesday.   It was presented to the court on Friday.   "It has become evident...after questioning candidates' representatives that a large number of voters in Lasa (village) were emigres or dead," Khoury complained.   "Identity cards were obtained for them from official institutions and were used by other people in the voting, which is fraud," he added.   He said 57 fraudulent votes were cast.   Khoury, who lost by 311 votes to Emile Nawfal, said the council should cancel the result and declare him the winner.   The Lebanese Association for Democracy of Elections (LADE), a private watchdog group, and newspapers and opposition candidates reported systematic abuses in the first four rounds of voting in the five-stage polls.   In one incident, a Reuters reporter saw representatives of Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri bribing voters with payments of 100,000 Lebanese pounds ($64) each to vote for his ticket.   The final round of the election takes place on Sunday in the eastern Bekaa valley.   Pro-government candidates scored an overwhelming victory in the first four rounds. 
13253 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !G15 !G158 !GCAT  European textile companies have complained to the European Union (EU) about Egyptian exports of bed linen and the EU is about to open an enquiry into their dumping allegations, Egyptian officials said on Wednesday.   The imminent trade dispute is the second this year between Egypt and the EU in the textile sector and is souring the atmosphere in negotiations on a partnership agreement.   "We have the impression the Europeans are trying to impose protectionist measures.   The Egyptian exporters are upset about it and so is the government," said Abderrahman Fawzi, the head of the anti-dumping department in the Ministry of Trade.   "Our point of view is that the trade relationship and the partnership does not take Egypt's rights into account," he told Reuters in an interview.   An EU committee will meet in Brussels on September 17 to decide on an internal recommendation that the EU impose extra duties on imports of unbleached cotton fabrics to compensate for the margin between the price at which the Egyptian companies sell on the local market and the price at which they expect.   That dispute, which began in February, affects about 15,000 tonnes of Egyptian cloth a year.   Egyptian officials learnt of the complaints about bed linen last week and they expect formal notification through the EU's official gazette within weeks.   Trade and Supply Minister Ahmed Gueily called a meeting of 35 Egyptian textile manufacturers on Monday to coordinate a response to the complaints.   The officials said they could not say how big the trade was but they thought it was declining.   Fawzi said that in the case of unbleached cotton fabrics, the EU had identified a margin of about 10 percent between the local and the export price but Egypt disputes the calculation.   "Anyway the quantities are very small, they are going down year by year and Egyptian prices are higher than those of other exporters such as India," he added.   Negotiations on a partnership agreement have foundered on the question of Egyptian agricultural exports to Europe.   Egypt wants the EU to increase the quotas but the EU is refusing.   -- Jonathan Wright +20 2 578 3290/1 
13254 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The United States may publicly hope for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's downfall but his continued defiance helps entrench American clout in a Gulf lined with nervous oil-rich states.   "The United States needs Saddam as a scarecrow in the Gulf.   Without him and Iran, the Americans would not have such influence here," a Gulf diplomat who requested anonymity said on Wednesday.   "Saddam does not seem to be in any trouble.   He looks healthy to me on television and his key ministers are still in place.   Even the Americans themselves said he is building more palaces," he said.   "This is good for the Americans."   But analysts also said the increasing U.S. power in the Gulf, underscored by thousands of U.S. troops backed by warships and planes enforcing a no-fly zone in southern Iraq, has its price.   "This is a two-edged sword," said a Western diplomat.   "The United States may be defending the Gulf states against regional aggression from Iraq or Iran but the increased influence is in some ways destabilising.   "It is a rallying point for local groups that will find it as a justification to carry out terrorism.   So a lower profile is better in some ways," he said.   Saudi Arabia, the dominant Gulf power, is already facing violent Moslem opposition to some 5,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in the kingdom to watch Iraq.   Americans are on alert after two bombs at U.S. installations in the past year killed 24 servicemen and two Indians.   The continuing Gulf tension was shown last week when the United States fired U.S.cruise missiles to punish Saddam for dispatching 40,000 troops into northern Iraq to help a Kurdish faction against a rival group.   The sweep into the north was Saddam's latest demonstration that he still has an army despite five years of trade sanctions and international isolation.   It was a reminder of the threat that pushed rich Gulf Arab states to look to Washington for security against Saddam after his lighting takeover of Kuwait in 1990.   A Gulf analysis said: "The U.S. has tried to increase their influence by making Saddam a bogeyman."   "The American influence among their client states in the Gulf who think the U.S. fifth cavalry will come to their rescue has created an environment of paranoia concerning Saddam Hussein," said the analyst.   But he expressed doubt whether the feeling was shared beyond the ruling circles: "The ordinary man takes all of this with a pinch of salt."   Saddam, meanwhile, is gloating that the conquest of Iraqi Kurdistan by his new Kurdish ally in the north, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, has restored Baghdad's influence and humiliated the United States.   The Iraq leader seems undeterred by the U.S. reprisals for his renewed involvement in northern Iraq, with Washington saying he has ignored warnings and is rebuilding air defence facilities destroyed last week.   Baghdad has twice reported firing missiles at U.S. aircraft patrolling over southern Iraq and on Wednesday a senior U.S. defense official said Iraqi forces fired on U.S. jets over the north of the country.   Iraq on Wednesday also complained to the United Nations that flights by a U.S.-led force over its territory were tantamount to military agression.   "It seems Saddam has come out of this with prestige and this will encourage him to look for other ways to increase his weight in the region," said a western expert on the Middle East.   "This will...close any gaps between the Gulf states and Washington." 
13255 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Turkey said on Wednesday it had begun consultations with Washington about the future of a Turkey-based allied air force that patrols northern Iraq, following an outbreak of Kurdish infighting in the region.   Iraqi forces fired one or two anti-aircraft missiles at U.S. F-16 fighter jets from the force, known as Operation Provide Comfort, over northern Iraq on Wednesday, a U.S. senior defence official said.   Neither jet was damaged.   "It became apparent that the duties and responsibilities of Provide Comfort have to be looked at again in the light of the recent developments," Foreign Ministry spokesman Omer Akbel said.   He was speaking before news of the Iraqi action.   "Contacts with the Americans began this week," he told a news briefing.   The other coalition partners will be consulted," he said.   U.S., British and French planes have been flying over northern Iraq since after the Gulf War in 1991 to protect the Iraqi Kurds from any attack by Baghdad.   But one of the Kurdish groups sided with the Iraqi government to defeat a rival militia in a nine-day offensive that ended earlier this week.   Washington hit targets in southern Iraq with cruise missiles in retaliation for the Iraqi government's involvement in the fighting.   The Turkish parliament regularly extends the force's mandate but Turkish MPs complain that the flights have created a power vacuum that allows Turkish Kurd rebels to establish themselves in northern Iraq. 
13256 !GCAT !GDIP  Tunisia on Wednesday appealed to Turkey not to interfere in Iraq's internal affairs and expressed concern over Ankara's plans to set up a buffer zone in northern Iraq.   "The Tunisian government follows with concern the Turkish government decision to set up security zones in northern Iraq, along the border between Iraq and Turkey," a Foreign Ministry statement said.   "While restating the necessity of conforming totally with international decisions and principles...the Tunisian government appeals to the Turkish government not to interfere in Iraq's internal affairs and to abstain from all that could infringe its territorial integrity and its sovereignty," it added. 
13257 !GCAT !GVIO  Turkey played for time on Wednesday in its effort to set up a security zone against Kurdish guerrillas in northern Iraq that worries the Arabs.   "An assessment of the situation is being made and preparations are ongoing.   It will be declared at the appropriate time," foreign ministry spokesman Omer Akbel told reporters.   Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan was to meet an Iraqi envoy later in the day to try to persuade Baghdad to accept Turkish control over a thin strip of its land along the rugged border.   Many Arab nations, including some at odds with Baghdad, have criticised Turkey's plan to establish a cordon up to 10 km (six miles) deep inside Iraq to stem border infiltrations by Turkey's Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels based there.   There has been little sign of the plan being put into operation, despite a military buildup on the 330-km (200-mile) border last week and tough talk from Turkish generals.   "Our (diplomatic) contacts are continuing," Akbel said.   Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller said on Monday that Turkey would soon invite "all the Arab world's representatives" to explain the policy.   Egypt, a member of the 1991 Gulf War coalition against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, fears any Turkish military presence in Iraq could set a precedent for neighbour Iran or the Western powers to take chunks of Iraqi territory.   The Arabs are also concerned that approval of the Turkish plan would legitimise Israel's self-proclaimed anti-guerrilla security zone set up in southern Lebanon since 1985.   Even Morocco and Mauritania, several thousand kilometres (miles) from the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan, have chimed in to warn Turkey against encroaching on an Arab state's soil.   But Turkey, which frequently raids Kurdish-held north Iraq to take on the PKK, says Arab fears are unfounded.   "Turkish soldiers will not be based in northern Iraq," a government official told Reuters.   He said the cordon would be a free-fire zone controlled by electronic observation posts along the border.   Western diplomats say Turkish troops would probably stay on their side of the border and strike into Iraq at the first sight of suspected rebel activity.   But it was unclear how Turkey would persuade Iraqi Kurdish villagers to abandon their homes and leave the field open for a free-fire zone.   NATO partner Washington has tacitly accepted the proposed security zone.   Iraq on Tuesday described the plan as "provocative behaviour" inspired by the United States.   Turkey failed to oust the rebels from north Iraq in a six-week cross-border drive by about 30,000 troops last year that was criticised by some of Ankara's Western allies.   An Iraqi Kurdish group said Turkey might enlist its help against the PKK, fighting for self-rule in southeast Turkey.   "There might be a delegation of Turkish officials going to Iraqi Kurdistan...this might be very soon, in the next few days," said Faik Nerweyi, a spokesman for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).   "This should be our duty.   We do have the duty to protect our border from outsiders and from infiltrations," he said.   The KDP, now in control of much of northern Iraq after defeating another Iraqi Kurdish group this week with the aid of Baghdad, has had limited success against the PKK in the past.   Turkish plans to leave much of the border security to the KDP after last year's incursion came to little.   The Turkish Kurd group inflicted heavy casualties on the KDP, led by Massoud Barzani, in another round of inter-Kurdish fighting. 
13258 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA  Morocco received its first autumn rains on Wednesday, which is seen as good sign for the 1996/97 agricultural season.   "It is the first time for years that we have seen plentiful rains in the first weeks of September...It is a good sign for the 1996/97 agricultural season compared with the dry seasons of the early 1990s," Abdsalam Chaachoou, an official at the Casablanca-based meteorological station, told Reuters by telephone.   Morocco's northern provinces received up to 24 millimetres while the dry southern regions received an average of 3.0 millimetres.   The central farming areas received an average of 10, he added.   Last year, the first rains were registered at the end-October and the begining of November.   Since 1990, Morocco has suffered from persistent drought except in 1994 and 1996, the year it harvested up to 9.75 million tonnes of cereals.   Drought cut the 1995 harvest to 1.6 million tonnes, a fifth of an average year.   "It is too early to draw a correct picture of next year's agricultural season but with Wednesday's rains we are optimistic," an expert at the agriculture ministry said.   --Rabat newsroom (212-7) 726518 
13259 !GCAT !GWEA  Morocco, which has suffered cyclical droughts in recent years, on Wednesday received its first autumn rains seen as good sign for the 1996/97 agricultural season.   "It is the first time for years that we have seen plentiful rains in the first weeks of September...It is a good sign for the 1996/97 agricultural season compared with the dry seasons of the early 1990s," Abdsalam Chaachoou, an official at the Casablanca-based meteorological station, told Reuters by telephone.   Morocco's northern provinces received up to 24 millimetres while the dry southern regions received an average of 3.0 millimetres.   The central farming areas received an average of 10 millimetres, he added.   Last year, the first rains were registered at end October and begining of November.   Since 1990, Morocco has suffered from persistent drought except in 1994 and 1996, the year it harvested up to 9.75 million tonnes of cereals.   Drought cut the 1995 harvest to 1.6 million tonnes, a fifth of an average year.   "It is too early to draw a correct picture of next year's agricultural season but with Wednesday's rains we are optimistic," an expert at the agricultural ministry said.   The agricultural sector, which employs 50 perecent of Morocco's 10-million workforce, represents an average 18 percent of the expected 330 billion dirhams of Gross Domestic Product by end 1996.   ($1= 8.7 dirhams)   -- Rabat newsroom (212-7) 726518 REUTER BA/JFB 
13260 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Turkish metal employers' union Turkiye Metal Sanayicileri Sendikasi (MESS) and workers' union Turk Metal on Wednesday agreed on wage hikes for around 75,000 workers after two months of bargaining.   MESS officials said the two unions signed a two-year period bebinning September 1, 1996, giving a 92 percent average hourly wage increase in the first year.   Hourly wages will rise by 45 percent in the first half of the first year and by 35 percent in the second half.   The increases will track inflation in the second year.   MESS said before-tax salaries of the workers would range between 26 million and 75 million lira from September 1.   MESS, which represents around 300 plants, had been in talks with Turk Metal since July 5 and is continuing negotiations with two other labour unions for another 30,000 metal workers.   The deal concerns several firms listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange.   Turkey's biggest flat steel producer Eregli Demir ve Fabrikalari said in a statement sent to the Exchange that it was separately conducting labour talks for its workers.   -- Istanbul newsroom +90-212-2750875 
13261 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Iraq said on Wednesday the victory by its new Kurdish allies in the north of the country was a warning to Iran and Turkey that interference in Iraqi Kurdish affairs would boomerang on them.   "All countries in the region concerned with the Kurdish issue have to extract correct lessons from the latest events in northern Iraq," the government newspaper al-Jumhouriya said in a front-page editorial.   "The roots of this lesson are that meddling in Iraqi affairs is a dangerous game that will eventually burn the hand of those playing it," it said.   The paper said its remarks were directed mainly against Iran and Turkey, both keen to restrain their rebellious Kurds.   The Baghdad-backed Kurdish faction of Massoud Barzani overran rivals in a nine-day sweep in northern Iraq.   Guerrillas of Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) are now in control of most of Iraqi Kurdistan, bordering Iran, Turkey and Syria.   "Now that the issue of multi-power centres in Iraqi Kurdistan is over...there are opportunities to put an end to unnatural conditions at the level of the region as a whole," al-Jumhouriya said.   It said Turkey had mounted "90 military incursions" into northern Iraq since 1991 under the pretext of preventing its own Kurdish rebels from staging attacks against targets inside its territory.   Iran has also been said to send forces into northern Iraq to hunt down rebel Iranian Kurds.   The United States and its allies have been protecting Iraqi Kurds since the collapse of their post-Gulf War uprising against Baghdad, helping them to run their own affairs by themselves.   Al-Jumhouriya said Barzani's siding with Baghdad would bring stability to the region and "terminate the power vacuum" which both Ankara and Tehran used as an execuse to attack Iraq.   "Therefore, from now on playing the Kurdish card will not only harm the Iraqi people, both Arabs and Kurds, but also be detrimental to non-Iraqi sides," it said.   Al-Jumhouriya made no reference to Ankara's declaration that it wants to create a security zone in northern Iraq but Babel newspaper of President Saddam Hussein's eldest son Uday described the plan as "ugly, filthy and vicious".   Vowing to take any necessary steps to prevent Ankara from carrying out its plan, Babel said: "Iraqis shall never accept measures for the vicious buffer zone under any circumstances and pretexts.   The Turkish side has to reconsider its cards and calculations.   "Why does not Turkey create the buffer zone on its own territory if it is so concerned about protecting its national security instead of committing a flagrant aggression against Iraq...by implementing such an ugly project," Babel said. 
13262 !GCAT !GDIP  The Iraqi National Congress, an umbrella for groups opposing the Iraqi government, threatened on Wednesday to expel the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) unless it severed links with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.   The INC, which groups various Moslem Shi'ite, nationalists and Kurdish opposition groups, issued the threat after a meeting in Damascus to discuss the Iraq-backed KDP's victory this week over the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in northern Iraq.   The statement, which criticised both Iraq's involvement and the U.S. retaliatory air strikes in southern Iraq, condemned the struggle between the two Kurdish factions.   "After the involvement of the Iraqi regime in the struggle in Kurdistan and its consequences...which affected all of the Iraqi opposition, the sides in the struggle are now responsible for...moving away from the regime," the statement said.   "Without that the Iraqi opposition would be forced to...distinguish the members of its line from those of the (Iraqi) regime's," it said.   But the INC was also critical of the U.S. attacks on Iraqi military sites in reprisal for the Iraqi involvement in the KDP assault.   "The American attacks on certain positions in Iraq is a measure which will not frighten Saddam....and will cause serious damage to the people...," the statement said.   It also expressed doubts about the U.S. decision to expand the zone closed to Iraqi aircraft, saying unless it was meant to undermine Saddam it would raise "fears of dividing Iraq and intentions to harm its sovereignty." 
13263 !GCAT !GDIP  A United Nations envoy launched contacts in Cyprus on Wednesday to defuse tension heightened by recent killings on the ceasefire line dividing the island's Greek and Turkish Cypriots.   Han Sung-Joo, Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary General, is seeking a statement from the leaders of the two sides, Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash.   "I think a statement, whether a joint statement or separate statements, would be useful to calm down the situation and to move forward," Han told reporters after meeting Clerides.   "We are seeking the possibility of such a statement."   Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when the Turkish army invaded, capturing the northern third of the island, in response to a coup in Nicosia.   Tension has risen perceptibly since two Greek Cypriot protestors were killed by Turks in separate incidents along the U.N.-controlled buffer zone last month.   Earlier this week a Turkish Cypriot sentry was found shot dead at his post close to the ceasefire line, and another injured.   Turkish Cypriots have accused Greek Cypriots of being to blame, but the Cyprus government has denied any involvement.   "We discussed the implications of the serious and unfortunate events of the last few weeks... and how those events underline the importance of finding a solution," said Han.   At a news conference earlier this week Denktash called for a meeting with Clerides to defuse the tension.   "The president will send a letter to Mr Denktash, possibly this afternoon, to answer points he raised during the news conference," Cypriot government spokesman Yiannakis Cassoulides said.   He refused to elaborate on the contents of the letter.   "There may be an answer to it," said Cassoulides.   The government has until now been adamant that a meeting of the two could be feasible only if common ground has been achieved on basic aspects of the Cyprus problem.   That position, said Cassoulides, has not changed.   Only Turkey recognises the Turkish Cypriot breakaway state formed in 1983 in the north of the island where some 30,000 Turkish troops are stationed.   The dispute is a constant source of tension between NATO allies Turkey and Greece. 
13264 !GCAT !GCRIM  An Israeli court on Wednesday found Yitzhak Rabin's assassin Yigal Amir, the killer's brother and a third religious Jew guilty of conspiring to murder the prime minister, Army Radio said.   Yigal Amir is already serving a life sentence for killing Rabin at a Tel Aviv peace rally last November.   Sentences in the separate conspiracy case against Amir, his brother Hagai and their friend Dror Adani, will be handed down at a later date.    According to the indictment, Hagai Amir ammassed a huge arsenal in the family home and crafted the hollow-point bullets his brother used to shoot Rabin.   Adani denied during the trial that he helped plot the murder, saying he had visited the Amir home hoping to romance the killer's sister but instead got pulled into a discussion on ways to assassinate the prime minister.   Yigal Amir, a right-wing religious Jew, was convicted in March of murdering Rabin and sentenced to life imprisonment, plus six years for wounding the prime minister's bodyguard.   Amir said he shot Rabin to stop peace moves with the Palestinians. 
13265 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Kurdish chieftain Massoud Barzani, having seized Iraqi Kurdistan, now awaits the bill from President Saddam Hussein for services rendered.   With limited but key military assistance from the Iraqi leader, Barzani and his men swept through northern Iraq to realise a longtime dream.   But at what price?   "No one knows whether Barzani did a deal, but the common wisdom is that Saddam does not give favours for nothing," a senior U.N. official in northern Iraq told Reuters.   Barzani's bold gambit has produced more upheaval in northern Iraq over the past 10 days than at any point since a failed Kurdish uprising five years ago.   Tens of thousands of panicked Kurds fled to the Iranian border, fearing Barzani brought Baghdad with him despite billing his Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) as the authentic voice of Kurdish nationalism.   To retain that mantle, Barzani must hold Saddam at arm's length, maintain productive relations with the West and somehow reconcile deeply divided Iraqi Kurds, nearly half of whom voted in 1992 elections for Jalal Talabani, the rival chieftain he vanquished this week.   Held at bay by Western air power and Kurdish resolve since the Kurd rebellion collapsed in 1991, Saddam now has a tenuous toehold in northern Iraq thanks to Barzani.   "I personally don't think we will see an Iraqi government present here.   Barzani knows that would be the end of the aid effort since Baghdad said the aid operation is illegal," the U.N. official said.   But betrayal is the word that has formed in the minds, but is not yet on the lips, of many Kurds.   They're convinced Iraqi Kurdistan will not find happiness at the hands of Saddam.   Hardly a family has not suffered the loss of a relative at his hands.   Refugees are not just routed Talabani soldiers, but also Kurdish civilians with undimmed memories of torture, murder, rape and disappearances at the hands of Saddam's regime.   Although some have returned, among those who fled the key cities of Arbil and Sulaimaniya were aid workers, fearing reprisals from Baghdad.   Aid worker Fuad Zangani was one who headed home once convinced Iraqi troops were staying out: "If Saddam Hussein were there and caught us, he would kill us."   The U.N. official said: "Foreign staff are subject to prison terms and local staff could face death.   The humanitarian effort would collapse overnight at the first scent of Saddam's agents".   Some Kurds insist Iraqi agents are circulating in Arbil and Sulaimaniya in Kurdish dress.   Reporters are hard pressed to support the claims, except for eyewitness accounts that Saddam's forces arrested Iraqi National Congress and other opposition figures in Arbil and executed about 100.   KDP officials say they have taken "remedial action" to prevent further reprisals.   But suspicions of a secret deal will not die easily where allegiances shift with dizzying speed.   Analysts warn that if Barzani allows himself to be romanced by Baghdad, Talabani could rally anti-Saddam forces and make a comeback.   Saddam's limited military assistance to Barzani -- armour and artillery around Arbil and possibly near Degala and Koi Sanjaq -- has been swiftly followed by sweeteners to pull Iraqi Kurdistan into Baghdad's orbit.   The Iraqi president has lifted his five-year-old blockade and declared a broad amnesty.   Though suspicious, most Kurds acknowledge such benefits as lower fuel prices, greater business opportunities and more reliable salaries for civil servants who have fared poorly under a Kurdish experiment in self-government.   Barzani has issued his own amnesty to Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) forces and said that once Talabani admits defeat new elections must be organised in which the defanged PUK would be eligible to participate.   Supporters say Barzani is betting he can pit Baghdad against the West and win economic benefits for his people and power for himself while relying on the Western air umbrella to prevent Saddam moving in.   In Ankara, a spokesman for Barzani's KDP said the faction was signing no agreements with Saddam and that only parliament could make such a deal.   But critics reckon the KDP leader is supping with a devil, who will not be denied.   The PUK's Ankara spokesman Shazad Saib brushed aside the KDP election offer, telling Reuters: "What kind of elections?   It will be like the elections of Saddam Hussein.   And I think the KDP is an extension of the Iraqi government." 
13266 !GCAT !GCRIM  Two Israelis facing forgery charges escaped on Wednesday when a police car taking them to court was intercepted by two armed motorcyclists in the centre of the capital, police said.   A police spokesman said Israeli nationals Abi Biton, 21, and Shuki Samana, 24, escaped to the Turkish-occupied areas of the island through a nearby United Nations-controlled checkpoint.   "Two armed motorcyclists intercepted the police car, cut the suspects handcuffs off with clippers and put them on the back of their bikes.   They left the bikes at the checkpoint and ran into the occupied areas," police spokesman Stelios Neofytou said.   Biton and Samana were being taken to court in the coastal town of Larnaca from Nicosia's central prison where they were to stand trial on charges of possesing $7,000 in counterfeit bills.   The two were arrested on August 30.   Cyprus has been divided since Turkey invaded the northern third of the island in 1974 in the wake of a brief coup engineered by the military regime ruling Greece at the time.   The northern parts of the island are now inaccessible to Cyprus police. 
13267 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Iraq on Wednesday told U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali that flights by a U.S.-led air force over its territory were tantamount to military aggression.   "This military action constitutes a flagrant aggression against Iraq's sovereignty and the safety of its political independence in contravention of U.N. Charter and norms of international law," Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf said in a message to Ghali.   Sahaf's message, carried by the official Iraqi News Agency (INA), said that the Iraqi government would hold countries policing no-fly zones in southern and northern Iraq "accountable for any damages".   Sahaf said Baghdad regarded the flights as "an armed aggression" against Iraq but stopped short of reiterating earlier warnings that his country would try to shoot down the intruding planes.   Iraq said on Tuesday its air defence units fired three missiles at U.S. planes patrolling the no-fly zones, forcing them to flee Iraqi airspace.   In Washington U.S. officials said they could not confirm the report.   A U.S.-led Western air force in Turkey and the Gulf bars flights by Iraqi aircraft north of the 36th parallel and south of the 33rd parallel.   The United States last week mounted missile strikes on air defence targets in southern Iraq in retaliation for Baghdad's military thrust into Kurdish areas.   It also expanded the southern no-fly zone now covering the whole of southern Iraq up to the outskirts of Baghdad.   President Saddam Hussein has declared the zones null and void.   Washington sent a stern warning to Iraq on Tuesday not to rebuild the anti-aircraft defences damaged by its missile strikes.   INA also said Iraq's foreign ministry undersecretary Riyad al-Qaisi was in New York for talks with the Security Council on resolution 687 which set the terms of the 1991 Gulf War ceasefire.   INA said Qaisi will brief U.N. officials on relations with the U.N. Special Commission disarming Iraq under 687.   It said he would tell them that Baghdad had honoured obligations leading to the total lifting of curbs on its oil exports.   Iraq and the U.N. signed on May 20 a deal that was to allow Baghdad partial oil exports worth $2 billion over six months.   Ghali earlier this month put off implementation of the plan, saying latest military operations would make it difficult for U.N. food monitors and oil overseers to work properly.   U.S. President Bill Clinton has also said that the scheme should be suspended for the time being. 
13268 !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   - King Fahd says Saudi Arabia spent 131 billion riyals on roads.   - Italian Foreign Minister Dini initials investment protection accord with Saudi Arabia.   AL-YAUM   - King Fahd, Crown Prince Abdullah meet visiting Dini.   - Saudi invests 2.4 billion pounds in Egypt in 313 projects.   ARAB NEWS   - Saudi Consolidated Electric Company - East signs a 4.1 billion riyal power plant agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Dammam.   - Saudi prince Talal set to hold talks in Cairo in September with Mohammad Younus, founder-president of Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, on opening bank for the poor. 
13269 !GCAT  The following stories were reported in Wednesday's Daily Variety:   MEXICO CITY - The Walt Disney Co is poised to sign its first-ever pay-TV distribution deal south of the border -- with top Latino programmer HBO Ole, a joint venture between Time Warner, Sony Corp and Venezuelan investors.   HOLLYWOOD - Arnold Rifkin, the worldwide president of the motion picture group at the William Morris Agency, has been offered the job of chairman of Sony's Columbia-TriStar Motion Picture Companies, now held by Mark Canton, and has entered into negotiations with the company.   HOLLYWOOD - HBO captured 111 nominations in voting for the 18th Annual CableACE Awards, matching the combined total of its six closest competitors.   TORONTO - No major new movies have been forthcoming at the 21st Toronto International Film Festival, but there has been no shortage of good, reasonably engaging films.   HOLLYWOOD - ABC Entertainment senior vice president Michael Rosenfeld has resigned after less than one year in the job.   --New York Newsdesk (212) 859-1610 
13270 !C33 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  Former Clinton campaign strategist Dick Morris hid his plan to write a lucrative book about his service to President Clinton by evading a White House agreement that he not disclose what he learned as an insider, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.   The newspaper quoted knowledgeable sources as saying Morris signed a White House confidentiality agreement in 1995, but almost immediately began negotiations with Random House to write a book about his experiences in the campaign.   When his 1995 contract expired, Morris swiftly made a secret $2.5 million deal to write the book, and then resisted signing a new employment agreement.   Morris abruptly resigned as top strategist in President Bill Clinton's re-election campaign two weeks ago when Rowlands, a $200-an-hour Washington call-girl, said in an interview with the Star, a supermarket tabloid, that she had had a yearlong affair with him.   She said his pillow talk had included plenty of inside White House gossip.   The Post said officials in the White House learned of Morris's book deal only when the Star tabloid quoted Rowlands as saying Morris was regularly making notes for a forthcoming book.   The newspaper quoted Morris as saying that he was not under contract to the Clinton campaign when he made the deal with Random House and had no obligation to reveal his plans until next year under any legally binding disclosure rule.   The Post quoted one Democratic strategist as saying Morris repeatedly refused to sign a new employment contract with the campaign after his 1995 contract expired on December 31.   He signed a deal with Random House less than two weeks later on Jan. 12, the newspaper said.   White House spokesman Mike McCurry told the Post Morris never revealed that he was working on a book and he maintained that the consultant was obliged to come forward with the information voluntarily.   "It does some violence to the concept of disclosure that we are attempting to establish," it quoted McCurry as saying.   McCurry also noted that Morris, by signing the book deal just after the first of the year, had avoided having to disclose the huge advance on his required annual financial statement -- the document covering money earned in 1996 is not due until early next year, after the election and publication of the book.   One Democratic official told the Post Morris's contract went unsigned all year because of an internal dispute over how much he should be paid.   THe Post also quoted Random House publisher Harold Evans saying it didn't bother him to acquire a book under such circumstances.   "If there are any problems here, they are for the author, not me," he told the paper in an interview.   Evans said it would be impossible to publish the book before the election because not much was yet written and he was now looking at a January publication date.   Separately, the Washington Post also reported in its Wednesday editions that McCurry had admitting to inadvertently misleading reporters when he said last week that Clinton had no knowledge of whether Morris had a child out of wedlock.   McCurry initially quoted Clinton as asking whether a story in the Star about Morris's longtime relationship with a woman in Texas, with whom he fathered a 6-year old daughter was true.   But he told the Post that this was based on a misunderstanding, since Clinton had been informed about the affair and the child last year.   In fact, he said, Clinton's question -- "Is it true?"   referred to the tabloid's report that Morris was still involved with the woman. 
13271 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL !GVOTE  President Bill Clinton planned on Wednesday to propose requiring that states set up drug treatment programmes for prisoners and parolees in order to receive federal money to build new prisons, White House officials said.   Clinton, in the middle of a three-day campaign swing, has timed the idea to coincide with a Justice Department study showing sharp declines in repeat offences when such programmes break drug habits, they added.   "There is a proposal to make federal funds for state prisons contingent upon the states having testing and treatment programmes in place," said a White House official.   The Justice Department study roughly showed that when such programmes succeed in breaking drug habits, more than two thirds of the prisoners and parolees do not return to a life of crime, said one official.   In the opposite case, it found that nearly two thirds committed crimes again.   As part of his effort to draw attention to the issue, Clinton will announce the release of $28 million in federal funds for drug testing and treatment programes for both prisoners and parolees.   But one official said this money was included as part of the 1994 crime bill and simply had not yet been released to the states.   As described by the officials, Wednesday's proposals were vintage Clinton -- involving limited federal action and yet allowing him to appear tough both on crime and drugs.   Clinton has floated a series of such small-scale proposals this year as he has campaigned to beat Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole in the Nov. 5 election.   Leading by 15 percentage points in national opinion polls, Clinton appears to be using this trip to solidify his support in states like Missouri, Colorado and California while trying to undermine Dole in traditionally Republican states like Arizona.   Clinton campaign officials said that recent polls have shown the president with double-digit leads in all four, including Arizona, which was last won by a Democrat in 1948, when Harry Truman was elected.   In Missouri on Tuesday, the president took aim at Dole by attacking the Republican's opposition to the popular Family and Medical Leave law, which allows people to take unpaid leave for the birth of a child or the illness of a family member.   "My opponent said just the other day that he still thought ... (we) were wrong in passing the Family and Medical Leave law ... he said it was anti-business," Clinton told supporters at a rally in St. Louis.   "All the bill says is if you work in a business with 50 or more employees and your spouse is about to have a baby, or you are, or your momma or your daddy is real sick, or your baby's real sick, you can take just a little time off from work with out losing your job."   "Now you tell me, is that anti-business?  ," Clinton said.   "If it's anti-business, how did the economy produce 10.5 million jobs?"   The Clinton campaign also attacked Dole with a new television advertisement to be aired on Wednesday, showing a father and mother talking about how the law allowed them to spend time with their daughter before she died.   Dole last weekend denounced the Family Leave Act as unwarranted government intrusion and said the federal government should leave such matters to states and local communities to regulate.   Dole campaign spokeswoman Christina Martin reacted indignantly to the Clinton advertisement, calling it a "moral outrage ... nasty and spiteful." 
13272 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Voters went to the polls in eight U.S. states on Tuesday, the largest one-day total of primary elections this year, to choose candidates in some pivotal Senate and House of Representatives races in November.   Senate and House primaries were held in New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Minnesota.   Five other states - Arizona, Connecticut, New York, Vermont and Wisconsin - held House primaries.   Turnout was reported light across the board.   The most competitive election on Tuesday was not the congressional contests, but the governor's race in New Hampshire, where popular Republican Gov. Stephen Merrill's surprise decision not to run again launched a mad race to replace him.   After the polls closed, early returns showed conservative lawyer and state Board of Education chairman Ovide Lamontagne leading Republican Congressman William Zeliff in the five-way primary in a race still too close to call.   The winner will face Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, declared the winner after garnering 90 percent of the ballots cast, with 30 percent of the ballots counted.   A woman has never been elected to statewide office in New Hampshire where Republicans have held the governor's post since 1982.   Democrats also hoped to mount a strong challenge to the state's incumbent Republican Sen. Bob Smith, a former real estate agent who was elected in 1990 and already has one of the most conservative voting records in the Senate.   Democrats John Rauh and former Representative Dick Swett have fought a bitter primary battle to oppose Smith.   Polls predict a Swett victory and give him a chance of defeating Smith in November.   In Rhode Island, where the stakes are high as retiring Democratic Sen. Claiborne Pell's seat is up for grabs, officials reported a light voter turnout.   Jack Reed, one of the state's two congressmen, was expected to defeat his opponent Don Gil for the Democratic nomination.   State Treasurer Nancy Mayer was expected to defeat Theodore Leonard and Thomas Post Jr. to win the Republican nomination.   In Minnesota former Sen. Rudy Boschwitz overwhelmed former law school dean Steve Young to win the GOP nomination, sending him into a November battle against Democrat Paul Wellstone -- the man who ousted Boschwitz from the Senate in 1990.   Wellstone, a liberal who recently voted against a welfare reform bill, was unopposed within his party for a second term.   With most of the vote counted Boschwitz had 78 percent of the vote.   Turnout was extremely light -- around 8 percent -- meaning that only about 290,000 people bothered to vote.   The November contest will be a three-way race with Dean Barkley, founder of the state's new Independence Party, who had no primary opposition.   In New York, freshman Republican Representative Sue Kelly faces primary opposition again from former Representative Joseph DioGuardi, whom she beat two years ago by three percentage points.   Jerrold Nadler, the Democratic incumbent who represents a Congressional district that stretches from the west side of Manhattan to Brooklyn's Coney Island, won handily in his battle for re-election.   In Albany, four-term Democratic Representative Mike McNulty won a 57-43 percent victory against millionaire Lee Wasserman, a former environmental lobbyist who faulted McNulty for voting for most provisions of the GOP "Contract with America."   With more than half the precincts reporting, Republican John Gropper was headed to a a decisive victory in Vermont's gubernatorial primary.   Gropper, a Rochester businessman held a two-to-one lead over businessman Tom Morse.   Gropper lead 67 percent to Morse's 34 percent.   Gropper is expected to face two-term Democratic incumbent Howard Dean in November.   In the meantime, both Republican Susan Sweetser and Democrat Jack Long both won their uncontested primaries to face Congress's only Socialist, Bernie Sanders.   In Connecticut, Ed Munster claimed victory in the Republican congressional primary for that state's second district giving him a third try at defeating Democratic incumbent Sam Gejdenson.   Gejdenson, who is running for his ninth term, defeated Munster in 1994 by 21 votes. 
13273 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  By Alan Elsner, U.S. Political Correspondent   President Bill Clinton on Tuesday lashed out at Bob Dole in two television commercials, while Texas billionaire Ross Perot introduced a little-known anti-free trade economist as his running mate.   Perot said during a half-hour television campaign ad that Pat Choate, an academic and determined critic of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), was an expert on economic policy and would play a key role in his campaign.   "He knows the system.   He knows what's wrong with it.   We agree what's wrong with it.   His views are your views out there across America," said Perot, who is running for the fledgling Reform Party he founded and financed from his own pocket.   With Perot trailing in the polls at around five percent, his failure to persuade a national figure to run with him on his ticket unlikely to revitalise his prospects.   In other developments, Dole, who is also looking for a shot in the arm, arranged a meeting with Republican members of Congress on Wednesday to steady nerves about his and their election prospects.   The latest CNN/USA tracking poll showed Clinton's lead over Dole unchanged at a substantial 21 percentage points.   But Clinton is not sitting on his lead.   He stayed on the offensive with a new advertisement attacked Dole for opposing the popular Family and Medical Leave Act, which allows employees to take unpaid time off for family emergencies.   "Bob Dole led a six-year fight against Family Leave.   Twelve million have used leave but Dole's still against it," the commercial says.   Dole campaign spokeswoman Christina Martin reacted indignantly, calling the advertisement a "moral outrage ... nasty and spiteful."   A second advertisement decried Dole for raising taxes throughout his career.   "Bob Dole: 35 years in Washington, 35 years of higher taxes," an announcer declares.   Dole last weekend denounced the Family Leave Act as unwarranted government intrusion and said the federal government should leave such matters to states and local communities to regulate.   Campaigning in Kansas City on Tuesday, Clinton rejected Dole's criticism.   "I just respectfully disagree.   I think we were right to do it.   ... It's not a big radical step.   It's pro-family and pro-work," the president said.   Dole's meeting with congressional Republicans was clearly designed to to calm fears that the Nov. 5 election in shaping up as a disaster for the party.   Republican leaders put a positive spin on the meeting.   Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said its purpose was to discuss the legislative agenda and receive a briefing on the presidential campaign.   "I think there's plenty of time for them to get their message of economic growth out to the public .... I think there's a long way between now and the election in November and I'm counting on a very competitive campaign," Lott said.   Perot got 19 percent of the vote in 1992 but is currently trailing with about five percent in the polls, making his participation in upcoming presidential debates open to doubt.   Dole and Clinton campaign officials plan to hold their first negotiating session on Thursday to discuss the rules of the debates, the first of which is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 25 in St Louis, Missouri.   Meanwhile the independent Commission on Presidential Debates will announce next Monday whether it believes Perot should take part.   Its recommendations, while not binding on the campaigns, will carry substantial weight.   The commission is proposing three presidential debates and one between vice presidential candidates on four successive Wednesdays starting on Sept. 25.   Dole spent the day in Louisiana trying to shore up his southern Republican base.   He pushed his 15 percent income tax cut and blamed Clinton for increased drug use by teenagers.   At a rally in the small Louisiana town of Baker, Dole derided Clinton's claim that another four years of his Democratic administration would be a bridge to a brighter American future.   "Which bridge to the future is right for America?   My opponent would build a bridge of higher taxes and more teenagers using drugs, of a government-run health care system, more liberal judges, an economy producing fewer jobs and more and more and more government," Dole said. 
13274 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Presidential nominee Bob Dole will meet congressional Republicans aides said Tuesday, speaking amid signs of growing concern that Dole's flagging campaign might jeopardise his party's prospects in November.   The campaign also unveiled a two-minute positive advertisement, the first product of a new creative team, designed to spotlight a U.S. "moral crisis" and stress Dole's credentials as a war hero and man who can be trusted.   "I'm not candidate Clinton, I'm candidate Bob Dole.   I keep my word to the American people, that's the big difference," Dole said on the campaign trail.   He and his vice presidential running mate, Jack Kemp, will meet Republican lawmakers on Wednesday in the Capitol.   Aides said it was the last opportunity for Dole to rally the troops during the campaign season.   Republicans won control of Congress in 1994 for the first time in 40 years.   Democrats believe a big Clinton victory could help propel them back to control of Congress.   Former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker, travelling with Dole, said he saw "no signs of distress" in Congress.   But Republican lawmakers have begun to distance themselves from Dole.   Two respected congressional election analysts, Charles Cook and Stuart Rothenberg, say the Republicans will probably keep control of Congress but with slimmer margins.   Polls show Democrats have a single-digit advantage when voters are asked for whom they will vote in their home district, with some public sentiment in favour of divided government -- Clinton in the White House and Republicans controlling Congress.   A USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll showed Dole lagging Clinton by 21 points.   During a two-day campaign swing through the South, Dole has been trying to shore up his Republican base.   He has pushed his 15 percent income tax cut and balanced budget and blamed Clinton for increased drug use among teenagers.   But Dole has been forced to play defence.   He warned voters in Baker that Clinton, waging a campaign of "fear, fear, fear," would try to scare them into believing his tax plan would force huge cuts in Social Security and Medicare.   Dole was also forced to defend himself against a new Clinton advertisement criticising his opposition to a federal law that allows most workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave a year to attend to a family illness, adoption or childbirth.   "We care about kids, we care about families, we just don't think the federal government ought to be involved," Dole said as he left a meeting later on Tuesday in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.   The Dole campaign blasted Clinton's ad, saying the former Senate majority leader had "always fought for families" and the defenceless.   "If Bill Clinton had any shame left when he woke up this morning, he threw it away with this latest attack ad," deputy press secretary Christina Martin said.   "It is a moral outrage that this ad made it off the drawing board, let alone onto the air."   To help make the case that Clinton does not have the character to be president, Dole has been travelling with former White House drug czar William Bennett, who has harshly attacked the president.   Bennett criticised Clinton during the rally in Baker.   He told reporters on Dole's plane, "I cannot think of a major American political figure who is as unprincipled in his promises and performance as Bill Clinton."   Bennett said the character issue ought to give Dole a boost.   "I think it ought to help him get elected," he said.   "I think character is a very important criterion for being president."   But he said Dole would refrain from attacking Clinton personally on the campaign trail.   After meeting lawmakers on Wednesday, Dole travels to Delaware. 
13275 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Voters went to the polls in eight U.S. states on Tuesday, the largest one-day total of primary elections this year, to choose candidates in some pivotal Senate and House of Representatives races in November.   Turnout was reported light in New England where on average 20 percent or less of eligible voters cast their ballots for Senate and House races and a governorship.   Senate and House primaries were held in New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Minnesota.   Five other states - Arizona, Connecticut, New York, Vermont and Wisconsin - held House primaries.   But the most competitive election on Tuesday was not the congressional contests, but the governor's race in New Hampshire, where popular Republican Gov. Stephen Merrill's surprise decision not to run again launched a mad race to replace him.   After the polls closed, early returns showed conservative lawyer and state Board of Education chairman Ovide Lamontagne leading Republican Congressman William Zeliff in the five-way primary in a race still too close to call.   The winner will face Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, declared the winner after garnering 90 percent of the ballots cast, with 30 percent of the ballots counted.   A woman has never been elected to statewide office in New Hampshire where Republicans have held the governor's post since 1982.   Democrats also hoped to mount a strong challenge to the state's incumbent Republican Sen. Bob Smith, a former real estate agent who was elected in 1990 and already has one of the most conservative voting records in the Senate.   "Smith is definitely one of the top four or five Republicans that we are targeting, and we believe he is vulnerable," said Stephanie Cohen, spokeswoman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in Washington.   Democrats John Rauh and former Representative Dick Swett have fought a bitter primary battle to oppose Smith.   Polls predict a Swett victory in the primary and say he has a chance to defeat Smith in November.   In Rhode Island, where the stakes are high as retiring Democratic Sen. Claiborne Pell's seat is up for grabs, officials reported a light voter turnout.   Jack Reed, one of the state's two congressmen, was expected to defeat his opponent Don Gil for the Democratic nomination.   State Treasurer Nancy Mayer was expected to defeat Theodore Leonard and Thomas Post Jr. to win the Republican nomination.   Both Reed and Mayer have been advertising heavily on television and Reed last month accused the Republican National Committee of already having spent $700,000 on the race.   Republicans said that figure was too high but conceded they were working hard for the seat, which would be a big boon to their efforts to keep their 53-47 majority in the Senate.   Initial turnout was also reported light in Minnesota where officials doubted more than about eight percent of the eligible voters would go to the polls -- a record low -- to set the stage for a rematch between Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone, a liberal who recently voted against a welfare reform bill in Washington, and the man he ousted from office in 1990, former Sen. Rudy Boschwitz.   Wellstone was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Boschwitz had token opposition.   The November contest will be a three-way race with Dean Barkley, founder of the states' new Independence Party, who had no primary opposition.   In New York, freshman Republican Representative Sue Kelly faces primary opposition again from former Representative Joseph DioGuardi, whom she beat two years ago by three percentage points.   The race drew some national attention when DioGuardi picked up the endorsement of arch-conservative Representative Robert Dornan, a California Republican.   Dornan says the endorsement got him in trouble with House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who removed him from negotiations on a defence authorisation bill.   Farther up the Hudson River, Democratic Representative Mike McNulty was being challenged by Lee Wasserman, a former environmental lobbyist who faulted McNulty for voting for most provisions of the Republican "Contract with America."   Congressional primaries were also being held in Vermont -- home of the only socialist in Congress, Representative Bernard Sanders. 
13276 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL !GVOTE  President Bill Clinton's campaign on Tuesday attacked Bob Dole's criticism of a law that allows workers to take unpaid leaves for family medical reasons -- in an advertisement that Republicans called so "nasty and spiteful" that an apology was due.   The Clinton campaign said it was buying "substantial" television time to air a new ad saying the Republican presidential candidate had fought the Family and Medical Leave Act in Congress and is "still against it."   Dole, a former senator and earlier a U.S. representative from Kansas, had long opposed the proposal, and on Saturday he struck out at the 1993 law, which Clinton has called one of his proudest achievements.   The family leave law allows most workers 12 weeks of unpaid leave a year to attend to a family illness, adoption or childbirth.   During a campaign trip in Pennsylvania, Dole said: "My view is why should the federal government be getting into family leave?   It ought to be left to the employees or the state or the county and the federal government ought to be out of it."   The new Democratic television ad shows a Texas couple, Rose Marie and Kenny Weaver, who lost a child to cancer.   In the ad, they say Clinton signed the law "so parents can be with a newborn or sick child and not lose their jobs."   It goes on to say "Bob Dole led a six-year fight against Family Leave -- 12 million have used leave, but Dole's still against it."   The Dole campaign issued an angry statement blasting the ad and saying that the former Senate majority leader had "always fought for families" and the defenseless.   "If Bill Clinton had any shame left when he woke up this morning, he threw it away with this latest attack ad," said Dole's deputy press secretary Christina Martin.   "It is a moral outrage that this ad made it off the drawing board, let alone onto the air.   "To imply that Bob Dole would let a child die without her parents at her side shows a moral hysteria so outrageous, so grossly offensive that it defies description," Martin continued in her statement.   The Dole/Kemp campaign on Tuesday unveiled a new two-minute positive advertisement, the first product of Dole's new creative team, designed to showcase his credentials as a war hero and man who can be trusted.   It also released the text of a new 30-second television ad focusing on Dole's 15-percent tax cut proposal, the centerpiece of his campaign.   The Clinton camp also unveiled another ad, though, claiming that Dole would "raise taxes on nine million working families."   This new ad follows an earlier one also attacking Dole's tax cuts.   The new Democratic ad portrays Clinton as creating jobs and cutting taxes while claiming Dole voted to raise taxes when he was a senator.   Dole communications director John Buckley attacked the Clinton campaign on the tax ad, saying that the Clinton camp was making "totally unsubstantiated charges" and "this is why, according to most polls, a majority in the country believe this president has a problem with the truth."   Clinton spokesman Joe Lockhart, asked for substantiation that Dole would raise taxes on nine million families, said the Dole economic plan includes a narrowing of the earned income tax credit that would result in the higher taxes. 
13277 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Presidential nominee Bob Dole will meet congressional Republicans, aides said Tuesday, amid growing signs of concern his flagging campaign may jeopardise his party's prospects in November.   The Dole campaign also unveiled a new two-minute positive advertisement, the first product of Dole's new creative team, designed to showcase his credentials as a war hero and man who can be trusted.   "I'm not candidate Clinton, I'm candidate Bob Dole.   I keep my word to the American people, that's the big difference," Dole said Tuesday on the campaign trail.   Dole and his vice presidential running mate, Jack Kemp, will meet Republican lawmakers on Wednesday in the Capitol.   Aides said it was the last opportunity for Dole to rally the troops during the campaign season.   Republicans won control of Congress in 1994 for the first time in 40 years.   Democrats believe a big Clinton victory could help propel them back to control of Congress.   Former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker, travelling with Dole in Tennessee, said he saw "no signs of distress" in Congress.   But Republican lawmakers have begun to distance themselves openly from the candidate.   Two respected congressional election analysts, Charles Cook and Stuart Rothenberg, believe the Republicans will probably keep control of Congress, though with slimmer majorities.   Polls show Democrats have a single-digit advantage when voters are asked whom they will vote for in their congressional district, with some public sentiment in favour of divided government -- Clinton in the White House and Republicans controlling Congress.   A USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll showed Dole lagging behind Clinton by 21 points.   During a two-day campaign swing through the South, Dole has been trying to shore up his Republican base.   He has pushed his 15 percent income tax cut and balanced budget and blamed Clinton for increased drug use among teenagers.   But Dole has been forced to play defence.   He warned voters in Baker that Clinton, waging a campaign of "fear, fear, fear," would try to scare them into believing his plan would force huge cuts in Social Security and Medicare.   Dole was also forced to defend himself against a new Clinton advertisement criticising his opposition to a federal law that lets workers take time off to care for a new baby or sick family member.   "We care about kids, we care about families, we just don't think the federal government ought to be involved," Dole said as he left a meeting later on Tuesday in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.   To help make the case that Clinton does not have the character to be president, Dole has been travelling with former White House drug czar William Bennett, who has harshly attacked the president.   Bennett criticised Clinton during the rally in Baker.   He told reporters on Dole's plane on Monday night Clinton "is one of the most unprincipled major public figures in recent history."   "Everybody knows this.   It isn't shocking," Bennett said.   "We are all imperfect, we are all sinners, but there is a basic issue of trustworthiness and honesty," he said.   After meeting lawmakers on Wednesday, Dole travels to Delaware. 
13278 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  The Commission on Presidential Debates said it will decide by Monday whether to invite Reform Party candidate Ross Perot to debate with President Bill Clinton and his Republican rival, Bob Dole.   Co-chairmen Frank Fahrenkopf and Paul Kirk told a news conference Tuesday that a decision on participation by Perot and other minor party candidates would be made "no later than Monday."   Perot, who failed to win any states four years ago as an independent candidate, participated in debates in 1992 against the Democratic candidate, Clinton, and the Republican incumbent, President George Bush.   But this year his chances of election success seem even slimmer and polls show him far behind, with about 5 percent of voters questioned favouring him.   Clinton/Gore campaign manager Peter Knight lent his support to an appearance by Perot in a letter to Russell Verney, national coordinator of the Perot campaign.   "From our standpoint, we have always assumed that Mr. Perot, who is the only non-major party candidate who can meet the relevant criteria, would be included in the debates," Knight said, citing Perot's strong national field organisation and his receipt of over $30 million in federal matching funds.   Presidential debates have proved huge drawing cards and highlights of the campaign season.   The final debate in 1992 had an estimated 97 million viewers, a record.   The commission, which has been running debates since 1988, is relying on a carefully drawn set of critieria to determine if Perot or others should join Clinton and Dole in the upcoming three debates Kirk called "the Super Bowl" of the 1996 presidential campaign year.   The commission must decide whether a candidate appears on enough state ballots to muster the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency and whether a candidate has a "realistic, more than theoretical, chance" of winning on Nov. 5.   Perot is, in theory, on enough ballots to get the 270 electoral votes.   Farhrenkopf, the debate commission's co-chairman and a former Republican Party chairman, noted that at least two other minor party candidates, Harry Browne of the Libertarian Party and John Hagelin of the Natural Law Party, also appeared to meet that criterion.   Other criteria include candidate standings in opinion polls and attention given candidates by the news media.   Kirk, a former Democratic chairman, said debates should not be used as a launching pad for any lesser-known candidate.   Last year, the commission decided to hold three presidential debates in 1996 and one between vice presidential candidates on four successive Wednesdays starting on Sept. 25.   Presidential candidates will debate under the present schedule on Sept. 25 in St. Louis, Oct. 9 in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Oct. 16 in San Diego.   The vice presidential debate is scheduled for Oct. 2 in Hartford, Connecticut.   There could be changes in the schedule or format of the debates depending on negotiations between Dole and Clinton.   Clinton aides say the president is due to address the United Nations on Sept. 24 and is considering asking for a change in the date of the first debate to give him more time to rehearse.   Dole's camp has objected to Perot's joining the major party debaters, since polls indicate the Texas billionaire may draw more votes away from Dole than Clinton.   If Perot is invited, Dole aides have suggested consumer advocate Ralph Nader, running on the Green Party ticket, should also be allowed to debate, on the assumption that he would draw support from Clinton.   At the news conference, the commission co-chairmen indicated that a date change and other issues would be discussed Thursday at a meeting between representatives of the Clinton and Dole camps. 
13279 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told New York business leaders on Tuesday that he was more optimistic about reaching an accord with the Palestinians than achieving peace with Syria.   "Syria essentially wants ... to resume negotiations by saying to us, 'We need to negotiate the future of the Golan Heights, therefore, you (must) accept our demand to cede the Golan Heights,'" Netanyahu told a breakfast meeting of the Association for a Better New York.   "At a certain point we will discover whether Syria is interested in peace.   I'm more sanguine about the Palestinian plan ... both sides have a vested interest," he added.   In a subsequent interview with NBC-TV, which aired on Tuesday evening, Netanyahu voiced concern over the possibility of Iraq or Iran acquiring weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear weapons.   "If you ask me what do I see down the line as the greatest threat to peace ... it is the looming threat of a nuclearized Middle East, nuclearized when one of those regimes has weapons of mass destruction," he told NBC.   Netanyahu praised President Bill Clinton's handling of the latest crisis in northern Iraq and his decision to attack Iraqi targets last week, saying, "I think he's doing the right thing."   Asked if Clinton had done enough, Netanyahu said: "It remains to be seen.   And I'm sure he's judging what needs to be done.   The American action is the proper action, it's a correct action and maybe there will be the need for more action."   In New York, Netanyahu visited the grave of Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, leader of the world-wide Lubavitch Hasidic movement, and addressed a dinner of U.S. Jewish leaders along with Vice President Al Gore and Republican vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp.   Netanyahu met Clinton in Washington on Monday and later urged Syria to resume peace negotiations without conditions.   U.S. officials said they were trying to find a way to bring the two sides together.   After an hour-long working visit with Clinton, Netanyahu told reporters there was "a wide area for negotiations between us and Syria."   He also pledged to pursue peace negotiations with the Palestinians and Clinton expressed confidence that some progress was being made in the Middle East.   Israeli officials said Netanyahu rejected calls by the Clinton administration to pull Israeli troops out of Arab-populated areas of the West Bank town of Hebron, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.   The Post said Netanyahu argued that such a step could create an "explosive" situation in Hebron and damage the overall peace process.   Israeli troops were supposed to have pulled back from the Arab population centres in Hebron by the end of last March, guarding only the 440 or so Jews in the town.   The Post quoted State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns as saying Washington expected Israel to live up to commitments made by the previous Labour government but would not hold the new Likud government to any "fixed timetable." 
13280 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  Extradition proceedings against a man wanted in Peru as an alleged member of the leftist guerrilla group Shining Path have been stopped, federal prosecutors said on Tuesday.   Julian Salazar Calero's extradition case ended because Peru failed to supply the U.S. government with sufficient evidence, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office said.   The case can be re-opened if Peru sends further information.   Salazar has denied being a member of the Shining Path and is seeking political asylum in the United States, saying he fears the Peruvian military police.   In an Aug. 23 letter to U.S. Magistrate Judge Sharon Grubin, prosecutors said Peru had filed formal extradition and supplemental papers with the State Department.   But, they said, "after reviewing the papers filed, this office has determined that the papers as they now stand are insufficient to proceed with the extradition of Julian Salazar Calero to Peru."   Prosecutors requested that the case against Salazar be dismissed but asked to retain the right to re-open it "should we receive from the government of Peru papers which set forth sufficient probable cause to support the extradition."   Salazar was being held in a Manhattan federal prison on a separate deportation complaint brought by the Immigration and Naturalisation Service when he was arrested on June 3 on the federal criminal complaint based on a Peruvian arrest warrant.   Federal prosecutors said Salazar had been indicted on "terrorism" charges in Peru and there were five outstanding warrants for his arrest there.   They said Peru alleged that he was a member of the Shining Path group, which had planned and executed many attacks in Peru, resulting in the deaths of police officers and civilians.   Salazar's lawyer, Michael Deutsch, legal director for the Centre of Constitutional Rights, said his client had originally been detained when he went to the INS office to seek political asylum on May 30.   Deutsch said Salazar and his family had been the victims of human rights abuses by the Peruvian military police.   Salazar's wife and father-in-law have been jailed and tortured and his brother-in-law killed, Deutsch said.   Salazar, a Peruvian farmer who had been living with his sisters in Connecticut, was arrested because he had entered the United States without inspection, Deutsch said.   During an Aug. 30 immigration bail hearing, a number of witnesses testified on Salazar's behalf, and an immigration judge granted bail.   But the INS won a temporary stay of the ruling from the Board of Immigration Appeals in Virginia while it determines if Salazar can be released.   A hearing is expected to be set soon on his asylum petition. 
13281 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  A study has shown that Merck and Co Inc's Fosamax works as well as hormone replacements in preventing bone loss that leads to osteoporosis in women after menopause, the company said on Wednesday.   Fosamax is a non-hormonal drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year for the treatment of osteoporosis.   Merck is seeking FDA approval for its use as a prevention of the bone-thinning disease based partly on the study data released at a scientific conference in Seattle.   Prevention use is key to Fosamax meeting expecations it could eventually have sales of $1 billion a year, analysts said.    Some women on Fosamax had their bone density returned "to what was expected they were four years before the study," McClung said in an interview.   About 15 to 20 percent of post-menopausal women take estrogen, McClung said.   He said many do not take hormones because of side effects and concerns about links between estrogen therapy and breast cancer.   Side effects resulted in 11.8 percent of women on hormone replacement therapy droppoing out of the study, compared with 2.0 percent on Fosamax and 2.2 percent on placebo, Merck said.    Osteoporosis affects about 20 million women and five million men in the U.S., according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation.   The disease often leads to fractures of the hip, spine or wrist.   -- R. Jacobsen, 212-859-1733 
13282 !E41 !E411 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  West Virginia's unemployment rate dipped to 6.5 percent in July from 7.2 percent in June and 7.8 percent a year ago, West Virginia Bureau of Employment Programs reported Wednesday.   The jobless figure represents 52,900 unemployed workers, the lowest total in 17 years, the bureau said.   Nonfarm employment rose by 600 jobs in July, putting the total at 705,900.   That was an increase of 14,100 over July of last year.   The construction industry added 1,100 jobs in July, while an increase of 100 jobs in mining offset a decline of 100 jobs in manufacturing.   The services sector lost 500 jobs in July, including 400 within government.   Transportation and public utilities increased by 200, while finance, insurance, real estate and trade were unchanged.   Earnings for private sector production and nonsupervisory workers averaged $11.11 per hour in July, an increase of three cents from June and 43 cents from July of last year.   --Jane Sutton, 305-374-5013 
13283 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA !M14 !M141 !MCAT  A cold front began moving across the western U.S. Midwest on Wednesday and was expected to push eastward during the week, bringing well below normal temperatures to the corn belt, meteorologists said.   "There is some chilly weather around," said Mike Palmerino, meteorologist with Weather Services Corp. "It appears as though it is going to be moving across the Midwest in the next couple of days."   Low temperatures were expected to be in the 40s Farenheit in the western corn belt Thursday and Friday mornings with some 30s F possible in Minnesota and northern Iowa, he said.    Highs were seen in the mid to upper 50s F to low 60s, said Basilio Lopez, meteorologist with Smith Barney.   "The cooler air will slow down late pod development throughout the Midwest," Lopez said.   "Little threat of frost is foreseen through the coming weekend and into next week."   The front was not expected to produce much moisture and coverage amounts were also seen low, Palmerino said.   He predicted rainfall amounts of mostly less than 0.25 inch in the western corn belt.   But in the eastern corn belt, Hurricane Hortense could bring higher rainfall amounts, Lopez said.    "If the storm moves too close to the coast...this could potentially increase rainfall totals in the region," Lopez said.   "For now, it looks like the eastern belt will pick up light amounts, on the order of 0.30 to 1.20 inches, with the heaviest amounts falling to the north and east," he added.   Coverage was expected to be about 40 percent, biased to the north, he said.   The cold weather was expected to remain in the Midwest through Sunday but some long range maps indicated the cooler pattern could persist next week, Palmerino said.   "The milder air is going to try to return next week but there's a major change in the way today's maps look compared to yesterday's," Palmerino said.   "Today's maps don't show that warming taking place."   Palmerino said Tuesday's weather maps had indicated a return to the warm, dry pattern seen in late August.   Maps early Wednesday showed continued below normal temperatures and But he cautioned that the sharp discrepancy in the maps raised some doubts about the forecast for continued cool weather.   "I'd like to see a little more consistency," he said.   "There are some signs it could turn sharply colder next week but they're very preliminary."   --Emily Kaiser 312-408-8749 
13284 !C13 !CCAT !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GENV  New York Gov. George Pataki vetoed a bill that would have given tax incentives to companies that burn waste tires, citing tax-related technical problems, Albany Times Union reported.   Environmentalists had criticized the measure because it did not focus enough on recycling, saying it instead would have encouraged firms to ship waste tires to the state to subsidize its dirtiest and least efficient power plants.   The paper quoted Pataki as agreeing the bill would have encouraged New York state companies to import waste tires.   New York State Electric & Gas Corp, which had supported the measure, said the governor's veto could cause it to shut two of its marginal plants, one in Chenango County, and one in Steuben County.   --U.S. Municipal Desk, 212-859-1650 
13285 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Wellman Inc said Wednesday negotiations have stalled with striking workers at its polyester fiber production unit in Ireland and it is pessimistic about reaching a settlement.   "This strike is exacerbating the current difficult market and earnings situation at the Irish fiber operation.   We cannot afford to meet the strikers' excessive and unreasonable demands and, as a result, we are reconsidering our future in Ireland," said Wellman's chief operating officer, Clifford Christenson.    Wellman said it indicated earlier this year that a protracted strike at the unit, located in Mullagh, Ireland, would hurt the unit's profitability.   The company said the year is also seeing weaker demand, lower selling prices and increased competition, following a record year for the unit in 1995.   The workers left their jobs in mid-July to protest changes that were initiated after two years of negotiations and approved by the Irish Labour Court, the company said, adding that the changes included the installation of new production equipment and the redeployment of 35 workers.    The plant has been closed for nine weeks, the company said.   The company said its European customers are being supplied from inventories and U.S. production.   Wellman manufactures and markets polyester products. 
13286 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GHEA !GJOB  As part of the merger between Boston City Hospital and Boston University Medical Center, the Boston Specialty and Rehabilitation Hospital in Mattapan will close Oct. 1 with 110 workers losing their jobs, newspapers reported Wednesday.   Overall the merger of the two medical institutions that became Boston Medical Center this summer is expected to result in about 400 layoffs over six years, The Boston Herald reported.   "From a financial standpoint, the program, the program was running at an estimated $700,000 loss per month," Paul Drew, vice president for network development at Boston Medical Center told The Boston Globe.   Boston Medical Center officials could not be immediately reached for comment.   --Boston bureau, 617-367-4106 
13287 !GCAT !GWEA  Hurricane Hortense strengthened early Wednesday, packing winds of 90 mph (145 kmh) as it moved northwest through the Caribbean, the National Hurricane Center said.   At 8 a.m.   EDT, Hortense was located 60 miles (95 kmh) east-southeast of the Turks and Caicos, at latitude 21.1 north and longitude 70.3 west.   The storm was moving northwest at 13 mph (20 kmh).   Forecasters at the hurricane center said Hortense was likely to strengthen even more during the next day or two.   A hurricane warning remained in effect for the north coast of the Dominican Republic stretching to the border of Haiti.   A warning was also in effect for the Turks and Caicos and the southern Bahamas.   A hurricane watch was in effect for the central Bahamas. 
13288 !GCAT !GVIO  Iraqi forces fired one or two anti-aircraft missiles at U.S. F-16 fighter jets over northern Iraq on Wednesday but neither jet was damaged and American warplanes had no time to return fire, a senior defense official said.    The official said the incident occurred at 3:58 a.m.   EDT (0758 GMT), which would be late morning in Iraq.   "One, or possibly two, SAM-6's (surface-to-air missiles) were fired at two F-16's after they were briefly illuminated by Iraqi radar," the official, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters.   "Both (missiles) were errant and neither jet was damaged,"   The official said that American jets armed with "Harm" missiles designed to destroy such radars were in the area but could not return the fire because the radars "illuminated the jets very briefly".   The incident, expected to heighten tensions between Washington and Baghdad in the wake of last week's U.S. cruise missile attacks against air defenses in southern Iraq, came one day after Washington accused Iraq of rebuilding those air defenses in the south and warned that it might resume strikes. 
13289 !GCAT !GWEA  Tropical depression 24w, currently west of Luzon in the Philippines, is likely to strengthen into a tropical storm before threatening Hainan Island within 24 hours and probably northern Vietnam thereafter.   independent forecaster Weather Services Corp said on Wednesday.   Rains will taper off on the western side of Luzon over the next few hours as the system pulls away into the South China Sea.   The depression has slowed considerably over the last few hours and is tracking west at seven mph.   Shipping will become under increasing risk in the South China Sea as this system further intensifies. 
13290 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA  No major cold is in sight in Brazil's coffee areas, private forecaster Weather Services Corporation (WSC) said on Wednesday.   Conditions will be clearer today and fair to partly cloudy on Thursday, with temperatures trending lower.   Friday to Sunday will be partly cloudy with near-normal to above-normal temperatures. 
13291 !GCAT  Ford Motor Co said it expects to reach a deal soon on a new contract with the United Automobile Workers Union and said it sees wider-than-expected losses in South American operations, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.   Other top stories included:   * The Ford Explorer model is being considered for its first-ever sales incentives.   * AT&T units won two contracts with a combined total valued at $2 billion.   * Prudential Insurance Co of America lost a $4.5 billion health-care contract with the American Association of Retired Persons, which represents about 30 percent of the revenue at the company's health care unit.   * Workplace productivity rose 0.5 percent in the second quarter.   * The semiconductor industry's book-to-bill ratio rose in August.   * Oil futures prices rallied amid the belief that Iran is rebuilding its air defences.   * Eastman Kodak Co is expected to announce Wednesday plans to restructure its Professional Printing & Imaging division in an effort to capture more of the professional photographers' market.   * Horsham Corp offered to buy the 52 percent of Trizec Corp it does not already own for $523 million in stock.   * The Treasury Department set final rules for the reporting of large positions in government securities in a bid to combat market manipulation.   * AMR Corp's American Airlines will grow slower than the rest of the industry, the carrier's chairman said.   * The chairman of Sony Corp's Columbia TriStar Motion Pictures unit, Mark Canton, is expected to resign soon.   * Iomega Corp said Matsushita Communication Industrial Co Ltd will make and sell compatible versions of Iomega's computer disk drive.   * In commercial banking, some of the smartest buys might be the smartest buyers.   - Heard on the Street 
13292 !GCAT  The Washington Post carried the following items on the front page of its business section on September 11:   ---   WASHINGTON - The financial condition of a state-run fund that provides loan guarantees for Maryland businesses is in bad shape as a result of poor underwriting practices.   ---   WASHINGTON - GE Capital Corp. is planning to begin charging credit card customers who pay off their balances every month, avoiding finance charges.   ---   WASHINGTON - Adventist HealthCare will buy four ambulatory care centers in Maryland.   ---   WASHINGTON - A key showdown vote is planned Wednesday on the future of the Overseas Private Investment Corp., the federal agency which insures investments by U.S. companies abroad. 
13293 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  General Motors Corp made a comprehensive labour contract offer on Tuesday to the United Auto Workers union in a bid to take the lead in talks on a new labour agreement away from Ford Motor Co, officials said.   The UAW last week chose to focus most of its top-level bargaining efforts on Ford, but also decided to continue discussions with GM and Chrysler Corp as it nears a September 14 deadline for reaching a new labour agreement for Detroit's Big Three automakers.   GM spokesman Charles Licari said the offer presented to UAW officials was the first full contract proposal made by the automaker since talks began in June.   He said the proposal "addresses the overall issue of GM's competitiveness", but declined to offer details.   Although people close to the talks have said Ford may agree to provisions guaranteeing a specified number of jobs to UAW members to bring some work back into its own plants, GM is considered more likely to resist such measures.   The world's largest automaker needs to trim its workforce and shift more parts work to outside suppliers in order to slash its costs and become more competitive, according to analysts.    "We need to enter into an agreement to give GM the necessary flexibility to be competitive in a tough global environment," Licari said.   However, initial UAW reaction to the GM proposal was cool.   One union official who was familiar with the plan called it "dreadful".   Talks at Ford were expected to continue on Wednesday at the subcommittee level and among top-level union and company officials.   A Ford spokesman said "main-table" discussions to iron out final details of a proposed agreement may be held later in the week.   Ford Chief Financial Officer John Devine told Reuters earlier on Tuesday that Ford bargainers were working to craft an agreement that meets Ford's needs first and foremost.   Historically, the UAW uses the pact reached with the first company as a pattern for the other automakers to follow.   Ford has about 104,000 UAW hourly workers, while GM has about 216,000 and Chrysler about 66,000. 
13294 !GCAT  The New York Times reported the following stories on its front page on Wednesday:   * The Senate passed legislation that denies federal benefits to marriages between same-sex couples and allows states to ignore same-sex marriages recognized by other states.   * Republican presidential nominee Sen. Bob Dole began several initiatives to reinvigorate his campaign.   * Reform party presidential nominees Ross Perot chose Pat Choate, a Washington-based economist, as his running mate.   * Hurrican Hortense hammered Puerto Rico with up to 18 inches of rain, causing four deaths.   * Iraq defied United States by rebuilding air-defense sites.   * Russian President Boris Yeltsin prepared for surgery by formally turning over authority for national security and law enforcement to his Prime Minister, Viktor Chernomyrdin.   * The United Nations voted 158-3 to endorse the nuclear test-ban treaty.   --New York Newsdesk (212) 859-1610 
13295 !GCAT !GDIP  Vice President Al Gore and Republican Vice Presidential candidate Jack Kemp duelled with each other on Tuesday night before an audience of prominent American Jews over who was Israel's strongest supporter.   With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the audience at an anniversary dinner of a major Jewish group, Kemp talked of his many trips to Israel, heaped praise on Netanyahu and vowed that a Bob Dole White House would never pressure Israel into giving up the Golan Heights to Syria.   Not to be outdone, Gore declared in a speech after Kemp's: "History will record that Israel has never had a better friend in the White House than President Bill Clinton."   He also lavished praise on Netanyahu, even though it was an open secret that the Clinton administration opposed his election.   Said Gore, "Just as we once walked walked side by side in partnership for peace with Yitzhak Rabin, we are proud to walk by your side, Mr. Prime Minister."   The vice president added, "I do not doubt for a moment that this Prime Minister will seek peace with all of Israel's neighbours, seek it cautiously but energetically.   These neighbours should not for one moment mistake his sterness for belligerence.   "These neighbours should understand he seeks peace with security.   Of course, we will have our differences.   We had differences with the previous government of Israel, too.   Friends have differences ... The bonds between Israel and the United States are permanent, indivisible and unseverable."   Kemp used his appearance at the dinner of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organisations to undo any damage he may suffered by partially praising black separatist leader Louis Farrakhan, a man many Jewish groups consider an anti-Semite, in a Boston Globe interview on Monday.   The Republican said that his comment that Farrakhan's plan for black self-help was "wonderful" had been "sorely misrepresented" in newspaper stories and he called upon Farrakhan and his followers "to renounce anti-Semtism.'   "It's the campaign season, and, as you know, headlines can override the facts.   All of you here tonight, and everyone in Israel who has ever known me, know how strongly I abhor anti-Semitism, racism and bigotry," Kemp said to applause.   Netanyahu, for his part, took no sides in the Gore-Kemp battle.   He is an old friend of Kemp's and currently striving for a close working relationship with the Clinton administration.   In his speech, the Israeli leader said, "The temptation is always there to sign pieces of paper.   But securing peace is not easy.   We want formal peace, secure peace and a prosperous peace for ourselves and our neighbours."   His appearance at the 40th anniversary dinner of the Conference of Presidents, an umbrella group for all major Jewish organisations, capped a three-day visit to the United States that included talks with President Bill Clinton.   He was to return to Israel on Wednesday. 
13296 !GCAT  The Washington Post carried the following stories on its front page on Wednesday:   ---   WASHINGTON - The Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation designed to prevent gay marriages and President Bill Clinton has promised to sign it.   ---   DALLAS - Reform Party presidential candidate Ross Perot named Pat Choate, a maverick economist and leading opponent of free trade, as his vice-presidential running mate.   ---   WASHINGTON - The Clinton administration has subtly shifted U.S. policy toward Iraq to focus solely on containing the military operations of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in southern Iraq, rather than in the northern region bordering Turkey, Iran and Syria.   ---   WASHINGTON - Former Clinton campaign strategist Dick Morris hid his plan to write a book about his service to the president by evading a White House request that he agree not to disclose what he learned as an insider.   ---   WASHINGTON - The five-year old daughter of Representative James Moran is described as a "miracle child" for her successful battle against cancer of the brain and spine. 
13297 !GCAT !GPOL  President Clinton drew his own caricature at the behest of a cartoonist on Tuesday, depicting himself as "a typical politician ... saying one thing and thinking another."   Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist Mike Luckovich, after making a series of drawings of Clinton on a campaign trip in Missouri, talked the president into drawing himself on board Air Force One.   Clinton came up with a reasonable likeness, complete with bags under his eyes and a thought balloon to his left reading: "How did I ever get talked into this!   Maybe Luckovich should be president."   On the right side of the drawing, made on a piece of blue stationery, Clinton showed himself saying: "Hey, Mike.   Now I feel my pain!   I'm no good at this."   Clinton told reporters travelling with him that the cartoon showed a "typical politician."   "He's saying one thing and thinking another," he explained.   Luckovich, whose humorous, hard-edged cartoons for the Atlanta Constitution won him a Pulitzer Prize in 1995, inspected the drawing and quipped, "Now I can understand why he's working so hard to keep his day job." 
13298 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPRO  Lawyers for the three alleged killers of Oscar-winning actor Haing Ngor asked on Tuesday for the case to be thrown out after a key witness recanted his testimony, but the judge denied the motion.   On Monday, the first day of the preliminary hearing, Sarik Vireak shocked the court be saying his original testimony was false and that police had told him which of the suspects to identify and what to say.   He also told the judge he was afraid while he was giving testimony against the three alleged members of the Oriental Lazy Boys street gang accused of killing the Cambodian film star.   Ordered back to court on Tuesday, Sarik was given a court-appointed lawyer by Judge Stephen Marcus, and prosecutors questioned him again about what he saw on Feb. 25, when Ngor was shot.   At that point, defence attorney Kenneth Kahn asked Marcus to throw out the case "based on the fact that this witness, who has been called a star witness, has implicated the police department in manufacturing his testimony."   Kahn said there was "a serious question of perjury" by Sarik, who recanted his original testimony identifying the three suspects running in an alley shortly after he heard shots near Ngor's home.   Marcus denied the request on the spot.   Jason Chan, Indra Lim and Tak Sun Tan have pleaded not guilty to murdering Ngor, who won an Oscar as best supporting actor in the 1984 movie "The Killing Fields."   Ngor was shot twice in the driveway of his home in the Chinatown section of Los Angeles Feb. 25 during what police believe was a robbery attempt.   With Sarik back on the stand Tuesday, prosecutor Craig Hum played audio and video tapes of the Cambodian's original testimony to police in which he said he and his friend "Timmy" had seen the three suspects and given them a lift.   Asked by Marcus if he had in fact been where he said he was the night of the killing, Sarik replied through an interpreter, "I was not there."   When Hum asked him why he was changing his story, Sarik said: "The police told me to talk the same way as Timmy.   When I said something that was different from Timmy, they said that I lied."   Hum told the court that it was not uncommon in such cases for witnesses to recant their testimony.   "It's my feeling that the witness was, in fact, intimidated -- not necessarily by the defence but by somebody.   He's gotten scared for whatever reason," the prosecutor said.   The hearing at the Central Criminal Court in Los Angeles continues Wednesday. 
13299 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GTOUR  Helena Freitas arrived in Miami three years ago, lured by tourist packages that portrayed it as a city with white sand beaches, nightclubs and bargains.   Freitas, 29, who has a working visa sponsored by a public relations firm, is one of 200,000 Brazilians who live in Florida, according to the Beacon Council of Miami, a group that monitors the city's economic flows.   In addition, Florida tourism officials estimate that approximately 600,000 Brazilians will have visited Florida by the end of 1996.   "The life style I had in Brazil was so different from the one I saw here that I knew I had to come back to stay, and here I am," Freitas told Reuters as she drank a "caipirihna," a typical Brazilian cocktail, at one of dozens of Brazilian restaurants that have sprung up here in the last few years.   Brazilian residents in Miami agree the main attractions that brought them to the city are its long stretches of white sand beaches, its solid economy and the low cost of public services.   Phones are often mentioned as an example.   In Brazil, a phone line costs up to $5,000 and to get one installed is considered a miracle.   In Miami, service is available in two days and the basic cost is little more than $11 per month.   Sources at the Brazilian consulate said the number of Brazilians living in Florida has increased 20 per cent in the last five years.   "The exodus, especially in the case of Miami, is a phenomenon that is common to all Latin American countries.   But the Brazilians are special because this community has more money than others," said a diplomat who asked not to be identified.   "Of course we also have illegal immigration problems.   We estimate that around 40,000 illegal Brazilians live in Florida.   But the problem is not as great as with other countries because poor Brazilians cannot afford the $1,000 airplane ticket to the U.S.," he said, noting that airfare from Central America or Mexico is far cheaper at around $300.   Florida tourism officials say Brazilian visitors spent $500 million in the state in 1995.   In terms of overall trade, Florida has a surplus of $5 billion with Brazil.   The consulate official said the average annual salary of a college-educated Brazilian in Florida is between $25,000 and $35,000, pretty close to that of a middle class American.   Miami has also attracted famous Brazilians such as race car drivers Emerson Fittipaldi and his nephew Christian, both of whom have property on ritzy Key Biscayne.   Another Brazilian living in Miami, who may not be as popular with his countrymen, is former President Fernando Collor de Melo, who moved to South Florida after he resigned to escape impeachment for corruption and now lives in a $2 million mansion.   "Brazilians identify themselves a lot with the U.S. It's easier for people looking for a better life to live in the U.S. than in Europe.   Lifestyle-wise, the U.S. offers more opportunities to develop themselves economically," Christian Fittipaldi told Reuters.   "I personally chose Miami because it was a mixture of the perfect logistical location and a place to have fun.   Also, it's closer to Brazil than any other American city.   I travel very often to Sao Paulo."   The importance of the Brazilian community in Florida is such that tourism and service businesses in Florida are giving it special attention.   Walt Disney's theme parks this year hired Portuguese-speaking guides, who are specially trained about Brazilian culture to help them understand their visitors.   Many Americans see Brazilians as too noisy and affectionate, but Disney believes catering to them is a small price to pay for the economic benefits they bring.   "Brazilians are becoming a significant economic force in Florida," Walt Disney Travel Corp.   CEO Randy Garfield said.   Anheuser-Busch Co, owner of the Busch Gardens and Sea World theme parks in Orlando, invited Christian Fittipaldi as a special guest when it opened its new big attraction, the Montu rollercoaster at Busch Gardens.   "This gave us a lot of attention in Brazil, one of our main source of visitors in Latin America," a Busch Gardens spokesman said.   Banks and other financial institutions have placed advertisements in Portuguese on Miami streets and The Miami Herald publishes a weekend paper in that language.   The phenomenon of Brazilians in Florida has had such an impact that the Brazilian magazine "Veja" published a seven-page story about it.   Veja said Florida cities with the biggest Brazilian populations are Miami 100,000, Pompano Beach, 12,000, Fort Lauderdale, 10,000, and Boca Raton and Tampa, aproximately 2,000 each.   But it was careful not to portray Florida as the paradise some imigrants describe when they write home.   It said there was discrimination against Latinos in general and a lack of solidarity between old imigrants and newcomers to the United States, and the cultural and language barriers Brazilians encounter can turn "the American Dream" into a nightmare. 
13300 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Republican Vice Presidential candidate Jack Kemp, under fire for praising part of Louis Farrakhan's message, urged the black nationalist leader Tuesday night to renounce anti-Semitism.   Kemp made the appeal at a gala dinner of U.S. Jewish leaders honouring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that was also attended by Vice President Al Gore.   Kemp said: "Racism, bigotry, scapegoating and anti-Semitism are evil and must be eradicated at every turn if we are to move forward as a society ... So tonight in that spirit I call on Louis Farrakhan and his followers to once and for all renounce anti-Semitism."   Kemp made his comments a day after he praised Farrakhan's black self-help message in an interview in the Boston Globe, telling the newspaper that he thought Farrakhan's bootstrap approach was "wonderful."   He also praised the Million Man March, which Farrakhan organised earlier this year in Washington, for promoting responsible fatherhood and individual initiative.   The comments irritated several U.S. Jewish growps which consider Farrahkan an anti-Semite.   Kemp is a longtime supporter of Israel and the U.S. Jewish community. 
13301 !GCAT !GCRIM !GENT !GPRO  A jury was chosen Tuesday to hear a civil lawsuit brought against movie star Clint Eastwood by his ex-girlfriend Sondra Locke, who alleges he sabotaged her screen career after they broke up.   The jury of 12, plus four alternates, was sworn in by Judge David Schacter, who gave them instructions and ordered opening arguments to begin Wednesday.   Both Eastwood, 66 and Locke, 49, were in court while the jury selection process took place, but neither had much to say to reporters.   Locke, who met Eastwood on the set of their 1975 movie "The Outlaw Josey Wales", alleges in her suit that Eastwood undermined her contract with Warner Bros.   Pictures to direct films for the studio.   The case stems from Locke's original 1989 palimony lawsuit, in which she claimed assets the couple accumulated in their 13-year relationship.   Locke later dropped the palimony suit when Eastwood agreed to secure the director's contract at Warner Bros. for her.   But now she alleges his involvement destroyed her career.   According to court records, Locke's suit says Eastwood's action sent a message "to the film industry and the world at large ... that Locke was not to be taken seriously."   Her directorial efforts, "Ratboy" in 1986 and "Impulse" in 1989 were not commercial sucesses.   Eastwood, who rose to fame in a series of "spaghetti Westerns" and the Dirty Harry detective movies, has more recently earned new acclaim as a director, including an Oscar for "Unforgiven".   Locke was nominated for an Oscar for her first film role in "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" in 1968.   The couple began living together in 1976.   Locke and Eastwood worked on six films together before breaking up.   In her 1989 suit, Locke said their relationship soured in the mid-80's when Eastwood became mayor of Carmel, California, and Locke remained in Los Angeles. 
13302 !GCAT !GCRIM  The Menendez brothers, sentenced to life in prison without parole for murdering their wealthy Beverly Hills parents, were sent to separate prisons Tuesday despite their wish to serve time together.   Lyle Menendez, 28, was taken to the California Correctional Institution at Tehachapi, near Bakersfield in south-central California, said Christine May, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections.   His brother Erik, 25, was taken to another maximum-security facility, the California State Prison, known as New Folsom, near Sacramento, May said.   The two had been held since July in the North Kern State Prison north of Los Angeles.   Asked why the brothers were separated, May cited state regulations that partners in crime are usually not allowed to serve their terms together.   She also said the department's investigation yielded "information" indicating that the two should be separated, but declined to elaborate.   She said she did not know whether the brothers were allowed to bid each other farewell before boarding buses for their transfer.   Their first trial ended in mistrial in 1995 after jurors deadlocked on the charges against them.   In their second trial, the two were convicted last March of shotgunning their parents to death in their Beverly Hills mansion.   They were later sentenced to life in prison without chance of parole.   The brothers had claimed that they acted in self-defence, fearing their parents planned to kill them to keep them from going public with the family's history of sexual and psychological abuse.   But prosecutors contended that the brothers killed their parents to inherit their multimillion-dollar fortune. 
13303 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott was leaving Washington on Tuesday for Paris to discuss European security issues with Russian and French officials, the State Department said.   Spokesman Nicholas Burns said Talbott would discuss the proposed enlargement of NATO and a dialogue between the Western alliance and Russia, themes raised in a speech in Germany last Friday by Secretary of State Warren Christopher.   In the speech in Stuttgart, Christopher said NATO leaders would hold a summit next year to decide new members and would approve a charter defining the alliance relationship with Russia.   Russia has long been hostile to the idea of NATO admitting former Warsaw Pact states such as Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, but has recently hinted that it might agree under certain conditions.   State Department officials said Talbott was expected to meet Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Mamedov in Paris.   He last met Mamedov only two weeks ago in Ottawa.   Burns described the talks as "part of the normal pattern of conversations that we have with the Russian government and the French government on these particular issues".   He said Talbott, who will stay in Paris until Friday, would be accompanied by James Collins, Washington's ambassador-at-large for the countries of the former Soviet Union. 
13304 !GCAT !GCRIM !GREL  A blaze that destroyed a predominantly black church in the California state capital was deliberately set but the fire did not appear to be racially motivated, an investigator said Tuesday.   Pete Urrea, resident agent in charge of the Sacramento office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), said investigators had ruled out accidental causes for Sunday night's blaze at the New Home Missionary Baptist Church in Sacramento.   "It is an arson," he said.   He said the fire "does not appear to be racially motivated at this point."   Urrea said the church had had no problems or harassment and no graffiti or vandalism was found.   He said it was "hard to tell" what the motive might be.   Authorities have investigated more than 70 fires at U.S. churches since the start of 1995, many of them at black churches in the South.   Investigators believe some of the fires were racially motivated.   California has had few church fires.   The Sacramento church blaze, which began in a construction area, broke out a few minutes before midnight on Sunday and took 30 firefighters an hour to put out, fire officials said.   The church was declared a "total loss" and damage was estimated at $400,000.   The church had just celebrated its 31st anniversary.   FBI and ATF agents joined the Sacramento Fire Department in investigating the cause of the blaze on Monday.   Investigators had found traces of what appeared to be an accelerant, Urrea said, using the term used to refer to gasoline or some other substance often found in arson fires.   Samples taken during the investigation have been sent to an ATF laboratory for analysis, he said.   Urrea said authorities had no suspects as yet in the church fire. 
13305 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  By selecting political economist Pat Choate as his running mate, Reform Party presidential candidate Ross Perot will be trying to put trade into the centre of the election debate.   Choate, a strong critic of U.S. trade policy, helped make it a defining issue for Perot's 1992 presidential bid in which he won considerable support among blue collar workers worried about losing jobs to cheap labour abroad.   Choate helped craft Perot's arguments against the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico, which became a key theme of the 1992 Perot campaign.   His 1990 book "Agents of Influence" criticised U.S. government officials who went to work for the Japanese after leaving their U.S. government posts.   He said the Japanese spent some $400 million a year to influence American public opinion and to support a network of lobbyists.   In the book, Choate identified some 200 former U.S. trade and defence officials, diplomats and former members of Congress who went to work for foreign governments and corporations after leaving their high-ranking U.S. positions.   Choate has called the Geneva-based World Trade Organisation, which sets the rules for the global trading system, a "stealth-like power grab by international bureaucrats of unprecedented proportions."   He has complained that for the first time in U.S. history a foreign body will have the right to hear challenges to any U.S. law and rule against it as an obstacle to trade.   Choate was also critical of the U.S. financial aid package to Mexico that helped that key United States trading partner overcome its 1995 currency collapse.   Reform Party officials said the anti-trade economist could help Perot rejuvenate his flagging campaign.   It could also help him win over some supporters of Pat Buchanan, who ran against Bob Dole in the Republican presidential primaries.   Trade and its impact on U.S. job loss was a central theme in Buchanan's unsuccessful bid.   A Perot campaign official said on Tuesday that Choate would be well-equipped to stand up against Gore and Dole's running mate Jack Kemp in any debate on economic policy and NAFTA.   He received a doctorate degree in economics from the University of Okahoma.   Choate worked in Washington for TRW Inc, a diversified corporation that produces high tech products and information systems, as a policy director.   Choate left the company in 1990, when his "Agents of Influence" book was published, to become a Washington consultant. 
13306 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Spain accused neighbouring Portugal on Wednesday of using excessive force in the shooting of two Spanish fishermen in Portuguese waters.   The two were injured on Tuesday when a Portuguese navy vessel fired warning shots while chasing a Spanish trawler fishing illegally in Portuguese waters.   Spain's Agriculture and Fishing Minister Loyola de Palacios called the action "absolutely unjustified", telling reporters that Spain was formally opposing it regardless of the outcome of an investigation.   A foreign ministry statement said the foreign secretary for European affairs called in the Portuguese ambassador to express "the deep concern of the Spanish government as well as its vigorous protest at what it considers a disproportionate use of force".   A Portuguese navy spokesman said the vessel fired the shots as standard procedure during its pursuit of the trawler in Portuguese waters 20 km (13 miles) south of Vila Real de Santo Antonio. 
13307 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  French Prime Minister Alain Juppe won backing from Corsican deputies on Wednesday for a crackdown on separatist violence as guerrillas blamed for bombings on the Mediterranean island accused him of burying a peace process.   Several of the seven deputies and senators said after they met Juppe that they supported his "policy of firmly maintaining republican law" on the French island, hit by a wave of bombings targeting public buildings and magistrates.   "I'm an opposition parliamentarian, I express some differences on social and economic policy, but on the need to re-establish the rule of law, I support him totally," Radical Socialist deputy Emile Zuccarelli told reporters.   Parliament member and former industry minister Jose Rossi urged the French National Assembly to set up a parliamentary mission on Corsica.   Juppe's office said in a statement that the premier, flanked by five cabinet ministers, had detailed his law and order policy and his plan for tax breaks to boost Corsica's ailing economy.   French media said security was tightened at public buildings in Paris, with some police wearing bullet-proof vests, after suspected Corsican separatists made telephone threats of machinegun attacks.   Police declined comment.   In an earlier statement, Corsica's outlawed separatist FLNC movement accused the government of wrecking a peace process.   The Corsican National Liberation Front (FLNC) Historic Wing accused Paris of "willingly letting the situation rot to bring the Corsican question back to a simple law and order issue".   "The government has chosen provocation," it said.   The movement seeks greater autonomy from the mainland and called off a shaky truce in mid-August.   It urged its militants "to signal everywhere their determination to survive and for emancipation".   "Juppe's move, signalled by the round-up of Ajaccio (suspects), seals the liquidation by the state of the peace process," it said, referring to the seizure of six suspected guerrillas put under investigation by a Paris anti-terrorism judge.   In the island's capital Ajaccio, some 100 demonstrators occupied the chamber of the Corsican assembly on Wednesday, demanding talks with a representative of Juppe, and recognition of the Corsican people.   A spokesman for the protesters, chiefly workers from the tourism, transport, fishing and farming sectors, said they would continue the occupation until their demand had been met. 
13308 !C13 !C31 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !G157 !GCAT  Bu Suzanne Perry   The European Commission proposed on Wednesday the last major legislative initiative connected to the EU's pledge to open up telecoms markets by 1998, the draft directive to apply Open Network Provision (ONP) to voice telephone.   The text updates existing directive 95/62/EC, which sets out rules for ensuring that both final users and competing phone companies have efficient and non-discriminatory access to public voice telephone networks.   It outlines, for example, what kind of "universal service" obligations -- guaranteeing that all citizens have access to affordable basic service -- should apply to the sector.   It sticks to the list that has been included in other EU legislation -- a basic telephone line, directories and directory enquiry services, public pay telephones and where appropriate special services for disabled and other social groups.   The Commission decided against including mobile phone service in the package, it said in IP/96/826.   After a long debate, it decided that could hamper investment in a sector where competition is just getting off the ground in some member states, Commission officials said.   "At this stage the mobile market is a very competitive one on which we don't have the dominant operator which is losing its monopoly," Jean-Eric de Cockborne, head of regulatory aspects in Directorate-General XIII (Telecommunications), told reporters.   "We think at this stage, regulation can be kept at a lower level on mobile, but it's something that can be re-examined in 1999," he said.   The Commission also said that phone companies providing public services over fixed networks must offer by the end of 1998 itemised billing, tone dialling and "selective call barring", which allows consumers to decide which phone services they want to use and pay for.   Those would not be part of the package eligible for "universal service" funds, however, a Commission official said.   The draft directive, which must be approved by the Telecommunications Council and the European Parliament, also proposes requiring all new phone connections from January 1, 1998, to give customers access to advanced information services such as the Internet.   It would amend the existing directive to take account of the influx of new market players that are expected to take advantage of the 1998 market opening.   It covers issues such as connections to terminal equipment, access to a telephone operator and emergency services, supervision of contracts by national regulatory authorities and publication of information about phone services.   While the original legislation covers phone companies granted "special or exclusive" rights, for example, the new text applies some provisions only to companies with "significant market share" -- which a Commission official said would generally mean more than 25 percent of the voice telephone market.   It also requires governments to establish procedures for resolving disputes over phone bills or other issues.   Governments would decide how to define "affordable" and could require public network operators to share the costs of "providing unprofitable universal service.   The Commission is drafting a communication on how to calculate how much universal service costs. 
13309 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GHEA  French health care spending is rising faster than government targets, but the rate of increase is beginning to slow, a welfare official said on Wednesday.   "We are still on a rate of increase which is far too fast compared to our objective," Gerard Rameix, deputy head of France's largest health insurance fund Caisse Nationale d'Assurance Maladie des Travailleurs Salaries (CNAMTS) said.   "If we continue at the same rate that we have seen since the start of the year, we would get near to four percent for non-hospital spending," he told reporters.   But he said the rate of increase was slowing and was lower than a year ago.   "With all the efforts we are making, we are in the process of slowing the rate of increase in spending."   The CNAMTS, which insures about 47 million workers, begins talks next week with unions to try to negotiate the enforcement of government decrees to reform France's generous health care system.   Jean-Marie Spaeth, new head of CNAMTS, said on Wednesday that the fund wanted to stop paying out blindly.   "We want to give the right care at the right cost," he said.   The government has said it aims to limit the rise in non-hospital spending to 2.1 percent this year to help curb spending on the welfare system and cut the public deficit.   In a new move to change the system, CNAMTS proposed on Tuesday to save 4.2 billion francs a year from 1997 by cutting the price of some medical procedures and promoting the use of generic medicines, which are cheaper versions of patent-expired brand-name products.   It said it would distribute before the end of the year a guide to generic medicines to encourage such cheaper treatment.   But Spaeth said the measures would have "zero" effect on spending levels in 1996.   He said the CNAMTS's talks with the health care unions would aim to set agreements on spending for 1997 and broach the politically sensitive subject of healthcare reform.   Spaeth said the talks will be completed by the end of November with decisions to go into effect in 1997.   The union talks will touch on next year's spending targets, the system's current financial situation, enforceable medical standards for doctors, computerization of the system and restrictions on visits to specialists and other topics, he said.   Spaeth said making choices about the kind of care to provide in France was crucial.   "Whatever the resources given to healthcare, they will always have a limit and we will always have to make choices," he said.   Health care spending is the leading factor in the welfare system's deficit, with a shortfall estimated at about 30 billion francs.   The welfare system is expected to run up a deficit of at least 55 billion francs ($10.72 billion) this year and government spokesman Alain Lamassoure said on Sunday the government would be unable to close the gap in 1997.   The government has pledged to reduce total public deficit to three percent of gross domestic product in 1997 to meet Maastricht Treaty goals for a single European currency.   It has said it will raise some seven billion francs in additional welfare taxes next year, while some of the proceeds from expected increases in excise duties on alcohol and tobacco could also be used to fund the welfare system.   The government is due to present a budget for 1997 on September 18 covering central government spending. 
13310 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  French Prime Minister Alain Juppe met Corsican parliamentarians on Wednesday as guerrillas believed to be behind a wave of bombings on the Mediterranean island accused the premier of burying a peace process.   Juppe and five cabinet ministers held talks with seven deputies and senators expected to focus on a crackdown promised by Juppe after a series of bombings targeting public buildings and magistrates.   They were also likely to discuss the French island's blighted economy.   Ahead of the talks, member of parliament Jose Rossi, a former industry minister, said he would tell Juppe he would soon ask the speaker of the French National Assembly to set up a national parliamentary mission on Corsica.   LCI television said security was tightened at public buildings in Paris after suspected Corsican separatists made telephone threats of machine-gun attacks.   Police declined comment.   In a statement earlier on Wednesday, Corsica's outlawed separatist FLNC movement accused the government of wrecking a peace process and urged its members to signal their "determination to survive".   The Corsican National Liberation Front (FLNC) Historic Wing accused Paris of "willingly letting the situation rot to bring the Corsican question back to a simple law and order issue".   "The government has chosen provocation," it said.   The movement, which seeks greater autonomy from the mainland and called off a shaky truce in mid-August, urged its militants "to signal everywhere their determination to survive and for emancipation".   The group said it had at first believed that government measures boosting the island economy paved the way for political and institutional reform but Juppe had then pledged the crackdown on violence.   "Juppe's move, signalled by the round-up of Ajaccio (suspects) seals the liquidation by the state of the peace process," it said, referring to police seizing six suspected guerrillas who were put under investigation by a Paris anti-terrorism judge.   In the island's capital Ajaccio, a hundred or so demonstrators occupied the chamber of the Corsican assembly on Wednesday, demanding talks with a representative of Juppe, and recognition of the Corsican people.   A spokesman for the protesters, chiefly workers from the tourism, transport, fishing and farming sectors, said they would continue the occupation until their demand had been met. 
13311 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  President Jacques Chirac said on Wednesday that France would sign a treaty aimed at outlawing nuclear tests on September 24, the earliest day possible, and hailed the U.N. pact as a turning point in the arms race.   Chirac, who caused a furore a year ago by staging six atomic tests in the South Pacific, praised a vote by the U.N. General Assembly on Monday approving the test ban treaty by 158-3.   New Delhi voted against the treaty.   Foreign Minister Herve de Charette suggested security guarantees to win the approval of India, which exploded a nuclear device in 1974 and is one of the 44 nations which must ratify the CTBT for it to enter into force.   "I think the next step will be to go and hold talks with the Indians, to understand their security problems and to provide the necessary guarantees," de Charette told Europe 1 radio.   Government spokesman Alain Lamassoure quoted Chirac as telling a cabinet meeting:   "France will sign the treaty on September 24 and calls on all states to do the same and to conform with it immediately,"   Chirac called the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, or CTBT, a "great success because, for the first time since the invention of atomic weapons, the international community is committing itself to ending tests," Lamassoure said.   "This success should allow (the world) to turn the page of the nuclear arms race...For future generations, it opens the hope of a world freed from the threat of the proliferation of atomic weapons," Lamassoure quoted Chirac as saying.   U.S. President Bill Clinton, who cancelled further U.S. tests in 1993, also plans to sign the treaty at the United Nations on September 24, U.S. officials said.   Chirac said France had played a "driving role" in pushing through the treaty, outlawing all blasts under a so-called "zero option".   Chirac has defended France's disputed final six tests as essential to update its arsenal before halting tests.   India says the treaty does not go far enough in spelling out a timetable for global nuclear disarmament and says it fears threats from neighbouring China and Pakistan.   Declared nuclear states -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France -- say they have stopped testing. 
13312 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  A Norwegian engineer was sentenced to four years in prison on Wednesday for stealing leading-edge technology from industrial group Norsk Hydro ASA, the national news agency NTB said.   A court in Porsgrunn south of Oslo found the 43-year-old defendant was found guilty of four charges, including fraud and theft.   The man, who denied the charges, was not identified in keeping with Norwegian rules pending an appeal to a higher court.   NTB quoted prosecutor Jon Borgen as saying it was the first time in Norway that an employee had been found guilty of breaking a company's code of conduct by passing on secret documents to a competitor.   The man, who was charged in July last year, worked as a senior engineer at Hydro's research centre at Porsgrunn, where the company was developing a process to produce nitric acid as a first stage in making complex fertilisers.   The court said the defendant from 1992 to January 1995 passed technical documents to a Swedish company owned by himself and his brother.   The Swedish firm sold the information in 1994 to British-based precious metals and industrial group Johnson Matthey Plc, which bought it in good faith and began to market the process.   The scheme began to unravel when Johnson Matthey, in an ironic twist, approached Norsk Hydro with the process. 
13313 !GCAT !GVIO  A group of United Nations officials were held briefly by angry Kurds on Iraq's northern border with Iran on Wednesday but quickly released, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said.   Spokeswoman Ruth Marshall said it was not immediately clear how many U.N. employees were involved but it was believed the UNHCR's own representative in northern Iraq, Pierre Vinet, was among them.   "It was not a hostage-taking.   From what we have heard, it was simply a group of angry people surround the vehicles in which they were travelling on an inspection tour," she said.   "We understand they are all now heading back to Sulaimaniya."   Sulaimaniya is in the hands of the Iraqi government-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which drove its rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) from Iraq's biggest city on Monday.   Thousands of refugees fled Sulaimaniya but on Tuesday the UNHCR said many of them were now returning.   Marshall said the people, some armed, who briefly detained the U.N. officials appeared to be supporters of the PUK. 
13314 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar said on Wednesday that the government would not have its 1997 budget draft ready before the cabinet meeting on September 27.   "The time between now and the cabinet meeting on September 27 is the time for political dialogue to define the budget with our partners and allies," Aznar told journalists at the legislature.   --Madrid Newsroom +34 1 585 2167 
13315 !C31 !CCAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT  Germany's HDE retail federation said on Wednesday the launch of the common European currency could cause up to 30 billion marks in extra costs, which would have to be passed on to consumers as higher prices.   Bernd Rueckert, head of the association's Berlin branch, told reporters that the costs of switching to the Euro currency could not be met out of retailers' slim margins alone.   "That means that prices would be forced upwards," he said.   Germany is at the vanguard of countries seeking to qualify for the next stage of European monetary union, planned to take effect in 1999.   Euros will not, however, go into circulation as cash until 2002.   Rueckert said it would be cheaper to make an overnight switch to the new currency, rather than continue to operate a parallel payments system in which marks would be phased out over time.   Marking goods with two prices and accepting payment in two currencies would cost an estimated three percent of annual turnover -- equivalent to a whopping 30 billion marks, he said.   But if the Euro launch goes ahead on schedule and becomes the only legal tender in Germany, the costs would fall to 10 billion marks, he said.   -- Douglas Busvine, Bonn newsroom, 49-228-26097150 
13316 !GCAT !GDIS  A series of seismic shocks that registered between 4.5 and 5.0 on the Richter scale caused minor structural damage to buildings in parts of eastern Germany on Wednesday, a seismological station said.   The Economics Ministry said the tremors, felt in the cities of Erfurt, Leipzig, Dresden and Eisleben, were caused by the collapse of walls in an abandoned salt mine.   A spokesman for a monitoring station in Koelm, however, said the shocks may have been related to a powerful earthquake that struck Japan earlier.   The economics ministry, which is responsible for mining in Germany, said there had long been concerns that the Teutschenthal mine near Halle would collapse.   Police in Halle said that there were no known injuries resulting from the tremors in the state of Saxony-Anhalt that struck shortly before 6 a.m. local time (0400 GMT).   Buildings briefly swayed, windows vibrated and glasses on shelves rattled, according to reports from local residents. 
13317 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  Belgium, usually known for its beers and the European Union headquarters, has suddenly hit world headlines for altogether darker reasons -- paedophilia, murder and political assassination.   Shock after shock has shaken the country as investigators unearthed the bodies of four abducted young girls, confiscated paedophile porn tapes, and uncovered a catalogue of police bungling, inefficiency and possible complicity.   If three weeks of that was not enough, investigators pounced at the weekend and arrested a former government minister on charges of murdering another former minister five years ago.   Suggestions of a canker at the core of not just the Socialist Party, of which the two were members, but of the whole political and judicial system have abounded.   Add to that potent brew a spate of murderous attacks with machine guns and assault rifles over the past eight months on security vans -- attacks that have killed four people and wounded 14 -- and the question starts to be whether the country is in terminal moral decline.   Interior Minister Johan Vande Lanotte insisted that Belgium was not the Wild West.   His stance was, however, somewhat undermined by two robberies late last month at shooting clubs in which some 50 weapons -- including Kalashnikov AK47s -- were stolen.   No question was asked in the media as to what the clubs were doing with assault rifles in the first place.   Shootings, killings and widespread allegations that the central European and Italian mafias are already well entrenched in various segments of the country's commercial life, are facts that most Belgians deplore but shrug their shoulders and accept.   Child kidnapping, sexual abuse, pornography and murder are another matter altogether, and Belgians are being forced to realise that they are not -- like the infamous SPARTACUS international paedophile network run from Belgium by a Briton -- events that are conveniently confined to other countries.   The rescue on August 15 of 14-year-old Laetitia Delhez and 12-year-old Sabine Dardenne from a home-made dungeon in the basement of a house owned by convicted child rapist Marc Dutroux heralded a spate of happy headlines and stories that skated carefully around the fact that this was paedophilia in Belgium.   The discovery two days later of the bodies of eight-year-olds Julie Lejeune and Melissa Russo in a house owned by jobless father-of-three Dutroux sent the nation into shock.   Grim scenes of police digging, using sniffer dogs, special British radar and a Dutchman whose speciality is sniffing out dead bodies sent shivers down the country's collective spine.   The discovery after two-and-a-half weeks of the bodies of Eefje Lambrecks, 19, and An Marchal, 17, on the property of a house formerly occupied by Bernard Weinstein, an accomplice whom Dutroux admits killing was almost the final straw.   Tales of police incompetence, lack of communication and rivalry between different judicial regions that could arguably have contributed to the deaths of the four girls prompted calls for a complete review of the justice system, as did the arrest in a related inquiry of a chief police detective.   But the final blow, and the one that could still have dire consequences for the country's political system, was the sudden arrest last weekend of five people, including former Socialist government minister Alain Van der Biest for the murder on July 18, 1991, of Socialist patriarch Andre Cools.   The fact that five years of enquiries had failed to pinpoint the murderers or the motives, and the key investigators on the Dutroux case had been thrown off the Cools case in 1992 due to judicial rivalry, served to highlight the crisis of confidence.   It was not helped by King Albert launching into the debate on Tuesday with an appeal for a more efficient justice system.   In a bid to head off the avalanche, the government has launched enquiries into the enquiries.   Others have called for a parliamentary investigation.   The only thing that is sure is that Belgium will never be quite the same again. 
13318 !GCAT !GHEA  The suicide rate for young men has more than trebled in the last five years, a parliamentary committee was told Wednesday by Dr Pat McKeown, chairman of Aware, the mental health group.   "The suicide rate for men under 35 years old had risen by between 300 and 400 per cent in the past five years"", he said.   He said about 200,000 people suffer from depression at any one time and it accounts for about 10,000 hospital admissions every year.    More people commit suicide than are killed on the roads, yet the impact of depression tends to be hidden and the illness frequently goes untreated, he said.   That was despite the fact that 80 per cent of those with depression can be helped within two or three weeks, by counselling or medication.   Dr McKeown said an enormously high proportion of those with depression had been abused as a child.    Geraldine Bailey, an Aware worker, told the parliamentary committee on the family that before she got treatment for depression she was unable to show any affection for her own children and would push her daughter away, if the child tried to hug her.   -- Dublin Newsroom +6603377 
13319 !GCAT !GDIP  The Swiss government and historians reacted cooly on Wednesday to a British government report that charged Switzerland had only returned a fraction of Nazi gold to the Allies after World War Two.   The Federal Council, or cabinet, did not discuss the report or resulting calls by a British member of parliament for Swiss compensation payments to Nazi victims.   "This was not a issue at today's session," a government spokesman told reporters after the weekly cabinet meeting.   Officials declined to comment further on the British report, saying the question of whether Swiss banks still harboured looted Nazi wealth would best be answered by a government commission now being set up.   The head of the Federation of Swiss Jewish Communities, Rolf Bloch, agreed that it was best to await a report from the Berne commission now beinge stablished to look at Swiss bank activities in the war era.   "There is nothing new in the British report as far as I can judge.   The questions of how the Swiss got the gold and under what conditions are the same as they were in 1946," Bloch told Reuters.   Historians noted the British report, released by London's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, was a compilation of public documents and said it seemed to contain little new information over a 1946 deal between the Swiss and the Allies.   The British alleged that Switzerland turned over to Allied powers only a fraction of the gold it bought from Nazi Germany before and during World War Two.   Under the 1946 Swiss agreement with the Allies, Switzerland paid about $60 million as compensation for accepting gold looted from countries overrun by Germany.   The British ministry, citing a published U.S. government account, said the then-director of the Swiss National Bank had let slip during post-war negotiations with the Allies that Swiss banks held $500 million when the war ended.   Swiss historians said the only new data in the British report seemed to be this number of $500 million, somewhat higher than previous estimates of Nazi gold sold by Germany to the Swiss National Bank in exchange for hard currency.   "The historical literature has generally used an estimate of up to 1.7 billion Swiss francs (about $400 million at 1946 exchange rates)," Gean Trepp, author of a history of war-time Nazi gold deals, told Reuters.   However, Trepp said controversy around the British report would add to pressure on Switzerland to clear up for good whether Swiss banks still held assets left by both Nazis and their victims.   "It surprises me to see how slow the government has been to recognise how important this issue is for Switzerland's reputation in the world," Trepp said.   World Jewish groups have spearheaded efforts since last year to push Swiss banks and the government to search for accounts possibly left behind by Jews killed in the Holocaust and clear up any Swiss role in helping Nazis hide their wealth.   Swiss banks agreed in May to set up an independent commission to search for lost accounts, but a broader government inquiry into the role of Swiss banks and companies in Nazi business is not expected to get final legislative backing until early next year. 
13320 !C12 !C13 !C32 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  The Irish Bookmakers' Association said on Wednesday it would fight a ban designed to stop its members from advertising odds in British specialist publications like the Racing Post and the Sporting Life.   "Our first port of call will be Berlin in October when we will put our case to the Federation of European Bookmakers Association," spokesman Terry Rogers said.   "After that, we might have to take it to the European Courts," he added.   Rogers said he had received a letter from James Sollis, advertisement director at the Racing Post, telling him that the publication had received a verbal warning from British Customs and Excise about advertisements from Irish bookmakers.   "We've been told that if we carry any more advertisements from Irish bookmakers we will either be fined 5,000 stg or imprisoned for three months," Sollis said.   Rogers said he believed the move followed protests from British-based bookmakers who are afraid of losing business to their Irish counterparts.   -- Dublin Newsroom +353 1 660 3377 
13321 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  German Chancellor Helmut Kohl expressed his hope on Wednesday that the issue of expanding NATO into eastern Europe would not became a partisan issue in the United States presidential election campaign.   Kohl said he had recently agreed with U.S. President Bill Clinton, French President Jacques Chirac and British Prime Minister John Major that NATO would not surprise Russia with a take-it-or-leave-it decision on its new members.   The alliance now had to proceed carefully so that the security interests of Russia and Ukraine were taken into account even though they have no veto over the decision.   "I hope very much that this issue does not get caught up in the U.S. election campaign," Kohl told parliament during the annual budget debate.   "That would not be a favourable development."   After meeting President Boris Yeltsin last week, Kohl said he was sure the Russian leader would get to work on the NATO expansion issue soon after his planned heart surgery.   Kohl did not name the candidates for NATO membership.   Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic are widely seen as having the best chances for joining first.   Bob Dole, the Republican presidential challenger, and several Republican congressmen have called for the NATO expansion process to be speeded up and accused Clinton of dragging his feet on the issue. 
13322 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  The French political establishment was torn on Wednesday over how to counter the far-right National Front after its leader Jean-Marie Le Pen openly espoused racial inequality.   Some political leaders advocated banning the party or taking it to court for inciting racial hatred after the outspoken Le Pen said that racial differences were "a fact".   Others were arguing, however, over election law reforms expected to help the Front break into the National Assembly, where it now has no seats, in the 1998 general elections.   Mainstream politicians sounded in broad agreement, though, on their frustration over the Front's uncanny ability to grab the political spotlight and appear to thrive on bad publicity.   Triggering a fresh firestorm, Le Pen said on Monday: "To say that the races are unequal is a fact, an unremarkable statement."   He cited as an example the "obvious difference" between white and black athletes at the Olympics.   Former National Assembly speaker Henri Emmanuelli promptly called for the Front to be banned, and his Socialist Party later demanded that the government open a judicial probe of Le Pen's remarks.   Inciting racial hatred is illegal under French law.   Justice Minister Jacques Toubon threw cold water on the opposition Socialists' plea, suggesting a ban was unconstitutional and urging instead that all politicians individually "fight against these ideas in the political arena".   "The National Front has been saying the same thing for a long time.   Those who are now asking to ban it could have done so when they were in power," added Jean-Claude Gaudin, minister for territorial planning, urban affairs and integration.   In a bit of bad timing for the centre-right government, Prime Minister Alain Juppe had last week proposed a reform in election law that political analysts said would enable the Front to win a sizeable bloc of seats in the National Assembly.   A major goal of the reforms appeared to be an attempt at winning the Front's good will.   Angered by the government's perceived past wrongs, Le Pen has been routinely opposing all the ruling centre-right's candidates, even when a Front candidate was not in the race.   The centre-right is worried that the anti-immigrant National Front could take enough votes from it in 1998 to hand control of parliament to the Left, which governed until 1993.   Le Pen, who advocates "France for the French", won 15 percent of the vote in last year's presidential elections.   Front official Alain Vizier denied Le Pen knowingly set out to generate publicity over his views on racial differences but acknowledged it would not surprise him if the party kept rising in opinion polls.   Vizier told Reuters Le Pen had merely responded to an interviewer's question.   He blamed rival parties, worried by the Front's growing popularity, for making a fuss over the comments.   "It's obvious there are differences between the races," Vizier said.   "This is not a part of the Front's foundation."   Analyst Carine Marce of the SOFRES polling firm said Le Pen had a pattern of provocative statements.   "He is constantly testing the outer limits.   And little by little, he is able to gain ground.   By and by he will end up where he wants to go," Marce said in an interview.   "I do not believe he sets out to say things that are beyond the pale, knowing this will boost the party in the polls.   But I also believe he doesn't say these things by accident.   This simply happens too often," she said.   Le Pen sparked fury with a 1987 remark that the Nazi death camp gas chambers were a mere detail in the history of World War Two.   He stirred up anger this year by saying that many players on France's winning soccer team were foreigners unable to sing the national anthem. 
13323 !C13 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT  MEPs are expected on September 16 to give a lukewarm second reading to the Transport Council's common positions on restructuring, liberalisation and promoting inland waterway transport.   When EU transport ministers approved proposal COM(95)199 covering these three aspects of the European Union's inland waterways market earlier this year, they disregarded most of the amendments which the European Parliament had requested at first reading (cooperation procedure).   Next Monday, Dutch Europe of Nations MEP Leen van der Waal, reporting for the transport committee, will urge parliament to reinstate a number of its demands.   Much to parliament's displeasure, the Council has radically altered the European Commission's draft regulation for restructuring the sector by reducing overcapacity.   With parliament's support, the Commission proposed a Community scrapping programme for 1996, 1997 and 1998, designed to ensure that market liberalisation could be coupled with rationalisation of the waterways market.   But ministers said EU money would only be available for 1996 and rejected MEPs' call to extend the scrapping programme to 1999.   Given the difficulties ministers encountered in reaching a decision on funding, Van der Waal will not be insisting on EU financing post 1996.   But he will urge MEPs to reinstate their demand for an extra scrapping scheme for the tanker sector, where overcapacity is estimated at 20 percent.   Council approved the Commission's proposal for liberalising the sector by 2000 by gradually abolishing the system of chartering by rotation.   However, ministers ignored amendments to the draft directive from parliament which require the introduction of accompanying social measures to prevent ruthless rationalisation in the sector, an extension of the present "old for new" system by five years from 1999 to 2004, and the creation of a scrapping fund.   Van der Waal wants the provisions for an accompanying social policy to be reinstated and proposes to send a letter to Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock seeking assurances that he will study the feasibility of an extended "old for new" system and possible threats to the inland waterway market in EU after liberalisation.   The Commission's draft regulation on aid grants for rail, road and inland waterway transport was left more or less intact by ministers.   Council's one alteration, absolving aid recipients from paying back subsidies for the construction of inland waterway terminals and loading/unloading equipment, is in line with parliament's thinking.   MEPs are expected to approve this third regulation without further changes. 
13324 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G158 !GCAT !GDIP  The European Union's ambitious plans to create a Mediterranean free-trade zone continue to be thwarted by seemingly irreconcilable differences between old adversaries Greece and Turkey.   As a fully-fledged member of the EU, Greece has sorely tested the diplomatic patience of the other 14 members states by delaying or blocking anything that might benefit Turkey, which it accuses of having extra-territorial ambitions.   At the same time, Athens has had to temper its strategy in order to balance its desires to see its close ally Cyprus progress towards eventual full EU membership.   These dual ambitions give the EU some room to manouevre the passage of its Mediterranean aims, but its policy nevetheless remains bogged in a swamp of political and diplomatic hyberbole.   Earlier this year Greece finally lifted its veto of an agreement to release funding for Mediterranean projects, but Athens warned it reserved the right to block specific projects when they reached committee stages.   Athens and Turkey almost came to blows earlier this year after Turkey raised its flag on a group of rocky islets in the Aegean.   The two -- partners in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation -- have a long history of territorial disputes not helped by what many European countries see as a shift by Ankara towards an Eastern rather than Western outlook.   The EU has planned an ambitious program to advance the rest of its Mediterranean policy in the latter part of this year.   The European Council's stated Mediterranean aims are three-fold:   -- a multi-lateral, economic and social dialogue between the EU and its 12 Mediterranean partners;   -- a raft of Euro-Mediterranean association agreements (in the process of being drawn up;   -- strengthened cooperation between civil socities of the participating countries.   This formulaic language disguises loftier ambitions unveiled by closer scrutiny of the Commission's diary for the next six months.   The most important meeting will not be until April next year, when EU and Mediterranean foreign ministers will meet at a venue still to be decided to plan future cooperation.   Before that, however, there are series of high-level gatherings for the partnership to prepare for this ministerial.   The Committee for the Barcelona Process -- the formal name of the Euro-Med agreement -- meets in Brussels on October 9 and November 20, while comittees dealing with political and security issues will also gather a day before these dates.   Economic and financial matters are to be discussed on October 14 and 15 in Cyprus and November 25 and 26 in Marseilles.   Drugs and organised crime are due to be tackled in Malta in October, while a meeting on "Institutional Contacts" will take place in Paris on November 21 and 22.   One one-institutional conference which will be closely monitored is the Promethius Europe meeting on the Euro-Meditterranean partnership on October 31 In Marrakesh, Morocco.   The European Commission is also pressing ahead with agreements with the 12 non-EU Mediterranean states keen on tapping into EU expertise and funding to develop projects.   Association agreements are due to be settled with Jordan (neg.   SEC(95)418), Lebanon (neg.   SEC(95)1025) and Egypt (neg.   SEC(95)1772) as part of the Euro-Med accord, while Algeria's role in the free-trade zone is subject to a separate agreement (neg.  SE C(95)766).   Lurking behind any ambition for agreements with these countries, however, is a European Parliament that is becoming increasingly annoyed with what it sees as Commission indifference to human rights in the area.   Case in point is the Customs Union signed with Turkey -- the agreement only went through after an amendments was added by parliament for Ankara to pay closer attention to human rights.   Similar clauses were introduced for deals with Algeria and Tunisia, but Parliament is concerned that once these clauses are introduced, they are not monitored. 
13325 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Spain said on Wednesday it had protested to Portugal after a Portuguese patrol boat fired on a Spanish trawler, injuring two seamen.   A foreign ministry statement said the Foreign Secretary for European affairs had called in the Portuguese ambassador to express "the deep concern of the Spanish government as well as its vigorous protest at what it considers a disproportionate use of force".    Portuguese authorities said two Spanish fishermen were wounded on Tuesday when a patrol boat opened fire on a Spanish trawler that refused to stop after being caught fishing illegally in Portuguese waters.   The foreign ministry said there was an investigation into the incident to clear up the details.   Agriculture and Fishing Minister Loyola de Palacios said regardless of the outcome of the investigation, Spain was formally opposing the action by the patrol boat as "absolutely unjustified".   Spain was seeking an explanation from its European Union neighbour 
13326 !G15 !GCAT  Following are highlights of the midday briefing by the European Commission on Wednesday:   Spokesman Joao Vale de Almeida said the Commission had taken a decision on voice telephony during its weekly meeting.   A technical briefing took place after the midday briefing with a member of Commissioner Martin Bangemann's Cabinet and a Commission official.   Vale de Almeida said the Commission was discussing President Jacques Santer's communication on public services.   He also said the British media might have misunderstood one of Tuesday's cases from the Court of Justice on the Television without Frontiers Directive (89/552/EEC).   The case does not limit member states' power to limit pornographic broadcasting, he said.   Spokesman Nicolaas Wegter said Commissioner Hans van den Broek was visiting Ukraine from September 11-13.   The Commission wished to underline the importance of developing economic and political relations with Ukraine, he said.   Van den Broek would visit the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and discuss measures to reform energy sector in Ukraine, Wegter said.   Spokesman Josep Coll i Carbo said a meeting was taking place from September 11-12 in Bonn on the third pilot programme to conserve the tropical forest in Brazil.   Results of the meeting would be given at 1600/1400 GMT on Thursday in the press room, he said.   In reference to one of Tuesday's question, Coll i Carbo said the EU-Mediterranean partnership programme (MEDA) had been published in the official journal of the European Communities on January 1, 1996 (OJ-L-189).   Asked about EU-Belarus relations, Wegter said the Commission was following the political situation and its capacity and willingness to assure democracy in the country.   The nature of the EU-Belarus relationship has not yet been established, he said.   Asked about news reports on Britain planning to reduce its culling programme, spokesman Gerrard Kiely said the reports were based on speculation and the Commission would not get involved in discussions on the number of animals to be slaughtered.   Vale de Almeida announced there would be a second briefing at 1600/1400 GMT.   - - - -   The Commission released the following documents:   - IP/96/823: Fuel price down in relation to income.   - IP/96/826: Guaranteeing affordable access to telephone services in a liberalised environment.   - IP/96/827: Commissioner van den Broek visits Ukraine.   - Oil Bulletin, No 835:   - Memo/96/85: Pilot Programme to conserve the tropical forest in Brazil.   - Memo/96/86: EU-Ukraine relations.   - ME96/11.9: Midday express 
13327 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Two Spanish fishermen were injured when a Portuguese navy vessel fired warning shots while chasing a Spanish trawler fishing illegally in Portuguese waters, a Portuguese navy spokesman said on Wednesday.   Commander Morais Soares said the navy vessel fired warning shots as standard procedure during its pursuit of the Spanish trawler in Portuguese waters 20 km (13 miles) south of Vila Real de Santo Antonio on Tuesday.   He told Reuters the Portuguese ship closed in to 20 metres (yards) from the Spanish trawler.   "The Spanish trawler ditched its nets when the Portuguese vessel pursued it.   It did not stop and crossed back into Spanish waters," he said.   "We are investigating with Spanish authorities how the fishermen were injured.   We don't know how they were hurt -- perhaps it was a ricochet, for example," Soares said.   The injured fishermen were recovering in a hospital in Huelva in southern Spain, he added.   The incident was the latest of a series of incursions by Spanish trawlers into Portuguese waters to fish illegally, the spokesman said. 
13328 !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  European Union president Ireland said on Wednesday it welcomed the U.N. endorsement of a nuclear test ban treaty but added that it was only one step towards nuclear disarmament.   "As presidency of the European Union, Ireland gave expression to the firm support and commitment of the Union to this treaty," Irish Foreign Minister Dick Spring said in a statement.   "This treaty is not the end of the process," the statement said.   "There is a need for further systematic and progressive efforts towards nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. 
13329 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GWELF  The French government is considering making families wholly or partly financially responsible for recipients of the minimum unemployment benefit (RMI), afternoon daily Le Monde said on Wednesday.   The measure would impose a subsistence obligation on families depending on their means, the paper said.   It said the idea would be contained in the 1997 budget law but was not likely to have a major impact on France's 1997 accounts.   The new measure would save less than 500 million francs in an annual budget of some 24.2 billion francs.   About one million people in France receive the Revenue Minimum d'Insertion (RMI) which is allocated to people who have no resources and are not eligible for unemployment benefits.   Under the new measure parents would pay all or part of the obligation for their children in need and children could be held responsible for parents in need, the paper said.   -- Paris Newsroom +331 4221 5452 
13330 !GCAT !GDIS  One Polish diver has died and two were still missing after being trapped in underwater caves off the southern coast of Italy, a port official said on Wednesday.   The three men were part of a six-strong diving team from Poland which started to explore the cave system late on Tuesday.   The port official said three of the divers returned to the surface and raised the alarm over their missing colleagues.   Police divers searched for the lost men overnight and recovered one body after daylight.   There was still no trace of the other two divers.   The Italian news agency Ansa named the dead and missing men as Witold Olszowski, Gregorz Sosinka and Rafal Spyrka.   It was still not clear why the accident had happened, the port official said. 
13331 !G15 !G151 !G155 !GCAT  MEPs are expected next week to ask for improvements to a package of proposals designed to make the free movement of people around the European Union single market easier.   Plans to regulate the posting of workers to other member states are likely to meet with more enthusiastic acclaim.   On September 19, the European Parliament will study three draft directives drawn up by the European Commission in July 1995 after the parliament took it to court for failure to take action in this area.   The first concerns the elimination of controls on people crossing the EU's internal frontiers - COM(95)347.   A second concentrates on the removal of restrictions preventing EU workers and their families from moving to or residing in another member state - COM(95)348.   The last gives third country nationals who are lawfully resident in a member state the right to travel to any of the other 14 - COM(95)346.   Two days earlier, on September 17, MEPs are due to adopt a Council common position setting conditions for the posting of workers to other member states - COM(93)0225.   In its proposal on eliminating internal frontier controls, the Commission says that just as there are no border controls between regions in a single member state, there should be no controls on individuals crossing borders between member states.   Its proposal on third-country nationals prevents member states from refusing entry, for a maximum of three months, to non-EU citizens who are legally resident in another member state.   But to the annoyance of the parliament's civil liberties committee, the Commission makes the removal of these border restrictions dependent on the introduction of accompanying measures on asylum applications, visas for third country nationals and controls on people crossing the EU's external frontiers.   Neither the three related draft directives nor the flanking measures can come into effect unless they obtain the unanimous backing of the Council, an outcome about which the committee is far from optimistic.   While acknowledging that the flanking measures are important, the committee insists there is nothing in the EU treaty which says they must be in place before border controls come down.   Rapporteurs Glyn Ford (British Socialist) and Milan Linzer (Austrian Christian Democrat) will be urging fellow MEPs to amend the Commission's proposals to remove this link.   Linzer's report on non-EU nationals recommends other amendments to the proposal, including a reminder to member states that they must adhere to the European Convention on Human Rights and not expel to another EU country people who have a right to their protection.   The parliament is also expected to take issue with the Commission's proposal on the free movement of workers and their families, an area in which the Council and parliament have joint decision-making powers.   On the advice of German Christian Democrat Klaus-Heiner Lehne, MEPs are expected to reject a clause which allows member states to oblige non-EU members of an EU national's familiy to carry a visa.   In a report for for the legal affairs committee, Lehne also suggests the EU could do more to remove other obstacles to workers' mobility, such as the member states' failure to recognise qualifications, coordinate social security provisions and introduce the direct taxation of migrant workers.   MEPs are likely to react more enthusiastically to the common position on the posting of service sector workers reached by social affairs ministers on June 3 after five years of wrangling.   The draft directive aims, on the one hand, to set decent working conditions for workers on temporary contracts in another member state and on the other, prevent them from undercutting wage levels in the host country.   Reporting for the social affairs committee, German Socialist Helwin Peter will encourage parliament to approve the Council's position unamended.   The proposal has the supported of all member states except Britain and Portugal. 
13332 !GCAT !GDIS  Six Moroccans were killed and 23 injured on Wednesday when a bus slid off a rain-soaked exit ramp near Cuenca in eastern Spain and plunged into a ditch, officials said.   Cuenca's civil governor, Luis Casero, said the bus, which had Moroccan number plates, fell four metres (13 feet).   The driver and all 28 of the passengers were Moroccans, most of them workers travelling from Barcelona through the Castilla La Mancha region to Granada.   Those killed were a girl, a woman and four men. 
13333 !GCAT !GCRIM  A German court issued a summons on Wednesday against the manager of Formula One motor racing champion Michael Schumacher for tax evasion because he failed to declare income earned on the sale of a Ferrari sports car.   A district court in the southwestern city of Stuttgart ordered Weber to pay a 250,000 mark ($165,100) fine because he failed to declare to tax authorities income from the car sale.   The court said Weber has until September 20 to appeal against the ruling.   If he appeals, the 54-year-old Weber will have to appear before the district court. 
13334 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP !GVIO  Chancellor Helmut Kohl said on Wednesday he could not imagine German peacekeeping troops would leave former Yugoslavia when the mandate for IFOR forces implementing the Bosnia peace accord runs out in December.   Kohl told parliament that some kind of security force would probably have to stay in place next year to ensure a military equilibrium between former warring factions in the region.   His were the latest in a series of German comments about an expected extension for foreign peacekeepers in Bosnia.   Other NATO members have kept quiet about the issue and Washington has refused to comment until after U.S. elections on November 5.   "This is not up for decision today -- it would be wrong to try to decide it today -- but it is clear that, after the end of the IFOR mission, the difficult peace process must be secured," Kohl said during the annual budget debate.   "I cannot imagine the Germans will shirk this responsibility," he said.   "I cannot imagine we will talk about peace in our own country on Christmas Eve after watching pictures on television showing the exact opposite."   About 50,000 troops from 34 countries under American leadership are deployed in Bosnia to help implement the Dayton peace accord which ended 43 months of war last December.   NATO-led IFOR's mandate runs out in December but plans are already under way to begin pulling out after Bosnian elections.   There is also speculation over whether some form of security force should remain after the official IFOR pull-out.   Kohl said this was not the time to discuss details of any extended mandate.   As for Bonn's role in Bosnia so far, he recalled Germany had taken in over 400,000 war refugees -- more than all other European countries combined -- and spent 15 billion marks ($10 billion) caring for them.   Defence Minister Volker Ruehe has been increasingly outspoken in recent weeks in offering German troops for a successor force.   He said on Tuesday international peacekeeping troops should stay until October 1997 and could have a German chief-of-staff.   The chief-of-staff ranks after the mission commander and deputy commander in seniority.   Ruehe, who has slowly expanded Bonn's military role in recent years after decades of post-war reticence, says Germany should now take a full part alongside its military partners.   Germany's participation in IFOR would have been unthinkable before the counsry's unification in 1990, when Bonn began to shed its post-war qualms about sending troops abroad on any mission.   Now its soldiers provide medical and logistics support for IFOR in an area which was occupied by the Nazis over half a century ago.   But they remain based in Croatia rather than Bosnia to avoid rekindling old enmities with the Serbs. 
13335 !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  European Union president Ireland said on Wednesday it welcomed the U.N. endorsement of a nuclear test ban treaty but added that it was only one step towards nuclear disarmament.   "As presidency of the European Union, Ireland gave expression to the firm support and commitment of the Union to this treaty," Irish Foreign Minister Dick Spring said in a statement.   "This treaty is not the end of the process," the statement said.   "There is a need for further systematic and progressive efforts towards nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. 
13336 !GCAT !GPOL  Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi has called a cabinet meeting for 0700 GMT on Thursday, his office said in a statement.   The agenda is largely routine, dominated by the renewal of various government decrees which are about to expire. 
13337 !GCAT !GREL !GVIO  Pope John Paul on Wednesday deplored the killing of Burundi's senior Roman Catholic prelate, saying it was the latest link in a chain of unheard of violence.   Archbishop Joachim Ruhuna, a member of the Tutsi minority, was ambushed by rebels on the way to the central town of Gitega on Monday.   Three other people were also killed in the attack.   The 76-year-old Pope told thousands of pilgrims and tourists at his weekly general audience in St Peter's Square that the killing had filled him with great sadness.   "I deplore this new act of cruelty, which joins a chain of unheard of violence, often exalted as a means of political struggle," he said.   "I renew my heartfelt appeal for reconciliation in truth and charity."   He asked the faithful to pray for Ruhana, whom he called a "generous minister of God".   "I express my deep participation in the mourning of the families and my spritual closeness to the faithful of the diocese and the entire Burundian community," he said.   The National Council for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD), political wing of the largest Hutu rebel group, has denied any role in the killing of Ruhana.   A deacon saw the archbishop's body burning in his car but it has not been found.   More than 150,000 people have been killed in three years of massacres and civil war between the army and rebels in Burundi, the southern neighbour of Rwanda where one million people, mostly Tutsis, were slaughtered in ethnic bloodshed in 1994.   The Pope visited both countries in 1990. 
13338 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Algeria's main secular opposition parties said on Wednesday that next weekend's conference to chart a reform plan would bring no change to the violence-torn North African country.   "Instead of committing themselves firmly to a dynamic of returning peace and to a democratic process, the authorities have decided to carry out a process of authoritarian normalisation with the backing of some political parties," said the Socialist Forces Front (FFS) party.   The FFS, which came second in a first round of later-aborted general elections, was publicly rejecting an invitation from the presidency to attend a national conference over reforms to be convened on Saturday and Sunday.   "The FFS denounces this conference-alibi based on a fake consensus and destined to establish a constitutional dictatorship," it added.   The other main secular party, the Rally for Democracy and Culture (RCD), said the conference would have no impact in easing Algeria's civil strife.   "Except for the 70,000 dead (in the violence), we are (still) at 'square one'," RCD leader Said Saadi told the Algerian newspaper Liberte in an interview.   Western estimates put at more than 50,000 the number of people killed in Algeria's violence since early 1992, when the authorities cancelled a general election in which radical Islamists had taken a commanding lead.   Algerian newspapers on Wednesday echoed some opposition politicians' fears that any conference held without large political participation might worsen the civil strife.   "The talks held in the past six months with political parties over ways and means to settle the crisis ran into divergences and disagreements...The same components which led to the current tragedy are still always there," Liberte wrote in a commentary.   El Watan newspaper said the pro-democratic opposition feared that the conference, held without conflicting views, might adopt a platform that would fuel increased violence and economic problems.   The RCD said it would boycott the conference because, it said, the authorities had come under the pressure of unnamed "shadowy groups" and backtracked on reform proposals, like the recognition of Berber as an official language alongside Arabic.   FFS leaders walked out last month from talks with President Liamine Zeroual accusing him of trying to forge an "anti-Islamist front" rather than to reach a solution to end the violence.   The authorities expect about 1,000 politicians and officials from parties and social groups to attend the conference from which radical Islamists are excluded. 
13339 !GCAT !GDIP  Italian Prime Minister Minister Romano Prodi will meet Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar on September 16-17, Prodi's office said in a statement on Wednesday.   The statement said the meeting would be held in the Spanish city of Valencia. 
13340 !GCAT !GDEF  Austria on Wednesday began unearthing in the southern province of Styria a U.S. arms depot left over from the Cold War, which the Interior Ministry believes is the largest of 79 arsenals stockpiled by the U.S.   The stockpile, created in the early 1950s in preparation for a Soviet invasion without the knowledge of the Austrian government, contains weapons and ammunition in 180 boxes to arm about 100 troops, an interior ministry spokesman said.   The other depots found scattered around the Austrian countryside earlier this year only contained arms for about five to 15 men.   Austria was only informed by the U.S. government in January of the existence of such arms caches.   The ministry said this was one of the last depots to be unearthed, the first one having been found in April in Salzburg near the German border. 
13341 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Germany welcomed on Wednesday the United Nations' adoption of a nuclear test ban treaty, but warned that there were still important hurdles standing in the way of a complete halt to global nuclear testing.   Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said the General Assembly's 153-3 vote on the treaty which would ban nuclear explosions forever was an "historic breakthrough on the road to a complete test ban".   Most nations endorsed the treaty in New York on Tuesday, but India opposed it.   New Delhi has vowed it would never sign or ratify the pact and thus prevent it from coming to force.   India is among three non-declared nuclear states believed to have covert nuclear programmes.   The two others are Pakistan, which has indicated it will not sign the treaty until India does, and Israel, which supports the pact.   Kinkel urged that the treaty be signed by all nations and ratified as quickly as possible.   "We have jumped over one important hurdle on the way to a permanent ban on nuclear tests, but we have not yet reached our goal by any means," he said in a statement.   "We may not be able to put the genie of the atom back into the bottle, but we have at least tamed it."   The treaty does not enter into force before 44 countries with nuclear power reactors sign the document and ratify it through their parliaments. 
13342 !GCAT !GPOL  Here are the latest opinion polls tracking national support for Germany's main political parties:    SEPTEMBER 1996 CDU/CSU SPD FDP Greens PDS    Allensbach Sept 11 37.0 35.1 7.8 11.4 5.2    Emnid Sept 8  40.1 34.0 5.0 10.0 5.0    Emnid Sept 1  41.0 33.0 6.0 10.0 6.0    AUGUST 1996 CDU/CSU SPD FDP Greens PDS    Elect Res Aug 23 41.0 35.0 5.0 11.0 4.0    Emnid Aug 25  41.0 34.0 7.0 10.0 6.0    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 
13343 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  French police detained six suspected supporters of the Basque separatist guerrilla group ETA on Wednesday in raids in southwest France, the interior ministry said.   The six unnamed people were suspected of belonging to a logistical support network for the guerrillas, it said.   They were rounded up in a series of raids in the French Basque region ordered by a Paris magistrate.   France has pledged increased cooperation with Spain in cracking down on ETA.   In a spectacular swoop in July, French commandos seized Julian Achurra Erugola, a member of the movement's three-man executive in charge of arms and logistics, in Pau in southwest France.   ETA (Basque Homeland and Freedom) has killed about 800 people in Spain in a 28-year fight for Basque independence. 
13344 !C11 !C13 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G157 !GCAT  The European Commission said on Wednesday it was probing an agreement between seven Belgian banks to set up a telecommunications network that would provide access to other Belgian and foreign networks including the Internet computer online service.   It said in a statement published in the European Union's Official Journal the deal involved the following banks and the groups they belong to: Generale de Banque, Banque Bruxelles Lambert, Kredietbank, which is part of Belgian financial group Almanij, Credit Communal, Bacob, Cera and Caisse Generale d'Epargne et de Retraite, a partly owned subsidiary of the Fortis Group.   The agreement, to market a system called Isabel -- Interbank Standards Association Belgium -- was submitted to the Commission for clearance on May 31 under competition rules which prohibit restrictive practices or abuse of dominant position, the statement said.   There is no deadline for the EU to give its verdict.   The Commission said Isabel will enable electronic communications services between its shareholders and between them and their customers.   The services include electronic mail, electronic banking and access to foreign networks such as the Internet.   It called on interested parties to comment within ten days.   -- Brussels newsroom 322 2876841 
13345 !C13 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G157 !GCAT  Even before final adoption of the deal to liberalise European Union electricity markets, work on opening up the bloc's natural gas markets to more competition is in full swing.   "This will be our main priority during the Irish presidency," Irish Energy Minister Michael Lowry told the European Parliament in July.   Another priority of the Irish presidency and the European Commission is to start discussions on developing a strategy for renewable energy resources.   Controversy concerning funds for EU energy programmes may continue during the autumn with some member states increasingly reluctant to endorse much such spending.   NATURAL GAS AND ELECTRICITY;   The natural gas dossier will dominate the EU's energy policy work during the final months of the year, even if no one expects an agreement before 1997.   "I think one can say there is a will for a directive," one Irish diplomat said.   "The Irish presidency will take it as far as we can."   This means that both natural gas and electricity liberalisation are set to be on the agenda of the only planned Energy Council this autumn, scheduled for December 3.   But whereas the talks on gas are still at an early stage, the plan is to adopt the electricity deal formally.   Ministers reached agreement on a limited opening of electricity markets at an extraordinary Council in June after years of wrangling.   However, the deal must be approved by the European Parliament before it can be ratified by ministers and come into force as planned on January 1, 1997.   The Irish presidency hopes the Parliament will be able to adopt it in November.   But if the assembly opts for significant amendments, the directive may be delayed.   Just a few weeks after the June agreement on electricity, EU energy officials started talks on the amended Commission proposal on the internal market in natural gas, COM(93)643, hoping for a quicker and easier deal than on electricity.   That proposal was put forward already in 1993 but was left in abeyance while the EU focused on the twin directive on electricity.   So far, energy officials have been going through the text from 1993.   Depending on the outcome of that process, the Irish presidency may decide to draft a new compromise text in October.   The 1993 proposal said the liberalisation of the gas markets should be implemented in phases "in order to enable industry to adjust in a flexible and ordered manner to its new environment."   Diplomats hope some aspects of the electricity deal, which foresees a gradual and limited liberalisation, can be used for natural gas, removing some potential obstacles.   As for electricity, the outcome is expected to be a gradual and managed liberalisation of the natural gas markets.   Under the deal on electricity nearly a quarter of the EU's market will be open to competition from January 1999.   This would rise to about a third by 2003.   It was the result of a compromise, mainly between Germany, which pushed for wide liberalisation, and France, wary of any dramatic opening up of markets.   Officials hope for more flexibility in the gas talks, even if the positions of some countries are not yet clear.   Britain and the Netherlands, both big producers, would like to see rapid and far-reaching liberalisation while other member states take a more cautious line, stressing the need to guarantee the security of supply.   However, the Irish diplomat said there was no opposition to liberalisation as such.   One key question in the talks is likely to be how liberalisation will affect the long-term "take or pay" contracts which currently dominate the highly concentrated European gas industry and how it may affect the security of supply.   The Irish presidency hopes that the Council in December will be able to reach conclusions on some aspects of the natural gas dossier.   RENEWABLE ENERGY;   An open debate on the development of a strategy for renewables is planned for the Council in December.   The Commission plans to present a new ALTENER programme to promote renewable energy in time for the Council.   It will also propose a strategy on renewable energy, probably early in 1997.   "As the EU's external energy dependency continues to grow, an ambitious renewable energy strategy is crucial," Lowry told the European Parliament.   "Renewable energy is clean, good, wholesome and, above all, sustainable."   "The Irish presidency has made renewables a priority and I am anxious to make as much progress as possible in this area over the coming months," Lowry said.   EU ENERGY PROGRAMMES;   The Council is expected to formally adopt the SAVE II programme, COM(96)195, on boosting energy efficiency, a higly controversial dossier which has highlighted the difficulty in getting ministers to agree on the budgets of various EU energy programmes.   "All these energy programmes are under scrutiny from certain delegations," said one Irish official.   Ministers decided at the May 7 Council to limit the programme's budget to 45 million Ecus compared with the original Commission proposal for a 150 million Ecu five-year programme.   However, several countries deplored the outcome and Environment Commissioner Ritt Bjerregaard has urged Parliament to demand a substantial increase in the programme's budget.   However, the Parliament's powers are limited as the dossier falls under the cooperation procedure and an Irish official said it would probably be adopted as an "A" point.   Lowry has made no secret of his disappointment over the size of the budget.   "However, there is agreement to review the indicative budget for the remaining period of the programme before the end of 1997," he said in his speech to the European Parliament.   "That affords us the opportunity to review the indicative budget for the remaining period of the programme before the end of 1997," Lowry said.   There may be difficulties agreeing also on the Synergy programme on international energy cooperation, COM(96)194, with a budget of 50 million Ecus over five years.   In June, the Commission put forward a modified proposal, accepting several amendments proposed by the European Parliament to strengthen the original proposal, and it hopes the Council will be able to agree on it.   However, the Irish official seemed to play down the chances of approval.   "A number of member states are very reluctant on any funds be spent on international cooperation," the official said.   The issue will be discussed on September 24 in the Council's energy working group.   OTHER ISSUES   The Council is also expected to take a decision on the EU's accession to the Energy Charter Treaty, which commits all signatories to cooperate and to provide a legal framework for investments, trade and transit in the energy sector.   EU member states need to ratify it individually as well.   "A lot of the individual member states are in the course of ratification," the Irish official said.   The treaty, which needs to approved by the parliaments of 30 countries, had been ratified by seven by July.   Altogether, 51 countries have signed the treaty, which also provides for binding international arbitration.   The Commission will also present a report on the situation of oil supply, refining and markets in the EU to the Council. 
13346 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT  The European Union's monetary committee of central bank and finance ministry officials agreed a plan on Tuesday for punishing countries which run excessive deficits under a single currency, EU sources said.   Although several details of a budget stability pact remained unresolved, the outline of a system which sanctions countries in a quick and credible fashion was agreed and deemed essential to the success of a monetary union.   "We made progress on the issue of automatic sanctions," said one source familiar with the committee's deliberations.   "It is now up to the ministers to decide."   Finance ministers and central bank governors from teh 15-nation bloc will meet in Dublin on September 20 and 21 for informal talks on economic and monetary union (EMU).   Under the emerging scenario, governments which are deemed to have an excessive deficit of more than 3 percent of Gross National Product would have several months -- the exact number is still undefined -- to rectify the problem.   If their plan was deemed insufficient, automatic sanctions would kick in.   Germany, the primary catalyst behind the plan, has argued for a grace period of only six to seven months.   But many others believe that is too short for governments, particulary those in coalition with other parties, to put forward a credible plan.   Also unresolved is under what circumstances a government's deficit is considered to be exceptional, another way of acknowledging the impact a severe economic downturn can have on a country's finances.   Countries would be let off sanctions if there were exceptional reasons.   The exact level of fines offenders would face was also put aside, with the presumption that this would deflect attention from the primary task at hand -- agreement on what automatic sanctions actually mean.   Monetary sources said they believed German officials were pleased with the results of Tuesday's discussion, having achieved most of what they wanted.   In addition to the stability pact, the committee also focused on a post-EMU Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), linking the single currency to those not in the first wave of participants.   Sources said there was agreement that a European Central Bank (ECB) should have the authority to initiate discussions about parity changes for currencies outside of EMU.   However, there appeared to be a desire to avoid specifying the ranges in which perimeter currencies would trade.   There also seems to be an unwillingness to define precisely the extent to which the ECB would intervene in support of a currency under speculative attack.   The lack of such precise limits is being deemed essential to preserve the integrity and credibility of the ECB, and is seen in many ways analogous to the present ERM and the role Germany's Bundesbank plays in currency realignments.   Lastly, there was a discussion over the legal framework of the single currency.   In terms of substance, recent proposals put forward by the European Commission, the EU's executive, were seen by many to be on the mark.   Yet how to implement a regulation which lays out the foundations of a legal framework well in advance of EMU, expected in 1999, remains elusive.   Because of the strictures of the Maastricht treaty, it is unclear whether such a framework can become part of EU law before 1999, sources added. 
13347 !GCAT  NEUE ZUERCHER ZEITUNG   - Swiss Defence Minister Adolf Ogi returned on Tuesday from a two day visit to Sweden, where he discussed European security issues with his Swedish collegue Thage G. Peterson.   - Men in Switzerland have a life expectancy of 74.19 years.   Women live on average 6.86 years longer, the Swiss Office for Statistics said.   But a wide-spread opinion that men die earlier because of stress in their job is unfounded, the office said.   - Swiss-based technology group Carlo Gavazzi Holding doubled its net profit to 5.7 million Swiss francs in fiscal 1995/96.   TAGES ANZEIGER   - Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro will arrive in Switzerland today for a three day official visit.   He will meet leading Swiss politicians in Berne to discuss Switzerland's integration in Europe and the current situation in Bosnia.   - Software producers in Switzerland lose some 170 million Swiss francs every year due to software piracy.   Major software companies, lead by Microsoft, now formed the so-called Business Software Alliance (BSA).   As a a first step, BSA installed a hotline on Tuesday, where users are invited to denounce companies who apply or deal with illegal software.   JOURNAL DE GENEVE   - Switzerland registered a 16 percent drop in the number of building permits in the first six months of 1996. 
13348 !GCAT  Headlines from major national newspapers.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   EL PAIS   - Congress leaves its Representatives in quandary on what to do before Judge Gomez de Liano   - Aznar quiet, but orders his ministers to support Serra   - Yeltsin yields to Chernomyrdin direct control on Russian armed forces   EL MUNDO   - "If I see that it is possible I will contest the refusal to declassiy the CESID papers - I don't feel myself tied to the government in any way" - interview with new state attorney general   - Serra says Aznar reiterates his support but worries grow in PP   DIARIO 16   - Congress supports Representatives testifying about CESID secrets   - Aznar throws all his weight behind Serra   - Cepsa and Total enter in price war and cut prices   ABC   - Lazaro Carreter - language, fundamental for liberty   CINCO DIAS   - One labarotory shatters prices - I.F. Cantabria cuts its gastric ulcer medication price by 36 percent and withdraws from pharmaceutical industry association   - Corte Ingles creats subsidiary to revive its cultural business   EXPANSION   - Rato takes Basque adminstration to court over local corporate tax law   - Cepsa joins petrol battle and lowers its prices in line with Repsol   GACETA DE LOS NEGOCIOS   - Government pulls loss-making state-owned companies from budget   - Cepsa seconds Repsol and lowers gas prices   - Germany closing public spending tap to approve Maastricht   - Blesa will submit major decisions to Caja de Madrid cabinet 
13349 !GCAT !GCRIM  Romania lost a legal bid to force former King Michael to return 42 paintings, including works by Rembrandt and El Greco, when a Geneva court said on Tuesday it was not competent to rule on the dispute.   The court also said the exiled monarch was the Romanian ruler in 1947, thereby benefiting from immunity when the works were taken out of the country months before he was stripped of his crown by Moscow-backed communists.   Bucharest, which lodged its complaint in May 1993, argued that the paintings, left to the crown by his grandfather King Carol I in 1911, were part of the national heritage.   It has 30 days to appeal the court decision.   There was no immediate comment from King Michael, who resides in Versoix, a suburb of Geneva, with his wife.   The couple have five adult daughters.   In 1992, he made an emotional homecoming to Romania for the first time in 45 years but in 1994 he was barred from entering the country by the leftist government.   REUTER 
13350 !GCAT  The Greek press digest has been expanded during the pre-election period to include a variety of political as well as economic newspapers:   ELEFTHEROTYPIA   --The economy cannot tolerate any "ifs".   Roundtable with major parties.   National Economy Minister Yannos Papandoniou (PASOK) pledges to cover social needs and wages.   Former economy minister Stephanos Manos (New Democracy) says public sector corrupt, must break state monopolies, keep drachma stable.   Political Spring: 'hard drachma' means more austerity.   Communists: growth dependent on social factors.   Coalition of the Left:restructure production, public administration and employment.   --Nostalgia: PASOK's biggest and best rally yet in Patras, birthplace of late founder Andreas Papandreou.   Simitis reiterates: a vote for smaller left parties helps a New Democracy victory.   --33 parties in the running for September 22 poll.   TA NEA   --Simitis, Evert get intensive tutoring for Friday's television debate.   --Coalition of the Left leader Nikos Konstandopoulos aiming for the defeat of conservative forces "wherever they may come from" and getting politics into a progressive direction.   --Konstandopoulos leads in popularity (61.4), followed by Simitis (59.2), Tsovolas (56.8), Samaras (39.4) and Evert (37.8), according to Ta Nea poll.   ETHNOS   --Constantine Mitsotakis says he's the only one who can guarantee unity in the opposition New Democracy party.    --Simitis: Message of victory from Patras.   Yesterday's rally pulsed with spontaneity and enthusiasm, the first vibrant rally so far in the lacklustre PASOK campaign.   ELEFTHEROS TYPOS   --"Resurrecting Andreas".   PASOK returns to the electoral practices of the past, following disappointing poll results.   Campaign mastermind Costas Laliotis gets ready for a dirty war.   EXPRESS   --No excuses after the elections, SEB warns political leaders.   --EU agrees to Greek request to pay off outstanding export subsidies totalling 15 billion drachmas in instalments.   --Evert favours long-term agreements between Greek industry and state enterprises.   --Trickle of voters to smaller parties worries Simitis.   IMERISIA   --Federation of Greek Industries (SEB) press their case with party leaders ahead of September 22 national election.   On the agenda in meeting yesterday with opposition leader Miltiades Evert, and in sought meeting with Prime Minister Costas Simitis, are keeping the economy on course for convergence as quickly as possible, increased privatisation and changes in currency and incomes policies.   The hard drachma policy has exhausted its limits and undermined competitiveness, they say.   --General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE) seek wage agreements with employers and a return of procurements contracts to the domestic market, in package of measures to be pursued post-election.   --New increase in fuel, diesel prices a serious threat to price index.   --Continuing forex inflows keep interbank rates on downward course.   --Twenty Northern Greek companies candidates for listing on Thessaloniki Stock Exchange.   --Popular former conservative prime minister Constantine Mitsotakis says opposition New Democracy party has "a real chance to win" elections.   But political "fluidity" will continue after the elections, he says.   KATHIMERINI   --PASOK and New Democracy change tactics: the new battleground is the loss of voters to smaller parties, with opinion polls showing both main parties neck and neck.   Former PASOK finance minister Dimitris Tsovolas's Democratic Social Movement (DIKKI) the X-factor.   --Countdown to debate.   Preparations for Friday's televised debate - a first for the Greek political scene - between Prime Minister and PASOK president Costas Simitis and his main challenger New Democracy's Miltiades Evert in full swing.   --SEB pleas for the economy.   Bankers and business take   government and opposition to task for economic choices and their hesitation in articulating the sum of the economic policies to be implemented post-election.   --No easy solutions for the economy: a total package of intervention measures needed.   --Siemens lays off 10 at its Thessaloniki plant; a final decision on viability of unit to be taken at the month's end.   --National Life puts the final touches to the establishment of its Romanian subsidiary.   --Hellas Can sees 9.7 percent increase in turnover in first half year.   KERDOS   --New Democracy will support domestic production, Evert says.   The Athens Stock Exchange to become a pole of attraction for 'healthy' capital.   NAFTEMBORIKI   --Industry demands 'realistic' exchange parity for the drachma.   SEB: the new government must take immediate measures.   --Simitis says planned major projects for the Ahaia area, including the Rio-Antirro link, and new port and roadworks, will begin in first half 1997.   --Inflation: Still hopes for a 7.5 percent figure in December.   --Business asks for extension of September 30 deadline for settlement of debts to pension funds (IKA and others).   --Greek shipowners ask ministry for equal rules of competition with firms operating in Europe, including incentives to modernise fleet ahead of cabotage deregulation.   --Athens Newsroom +301 3311812-4 
13351 !C13 !C24 !C31 !C312 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !GHEA  British officials on Wednesday played down media reports that the government might abandon the planned slaughter of 147,000 cattle to eliminate mad cow disease, saying no decision had been taken.   The Times newspaper said ministers were likely to shelve the cull in a meeting on Thursday.   This would undoubtedly spark a new row with the European Union, which slapped a ban on British beef exports in March.   Last month Britain welcomed a report by Oxford University scientists predicting that the outbreak of mad cow disease, or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), would be over by the year 2001 even without the mass cull agreed with the EU.   "We based our initial estimate of the number in the cull on science.   Therefore, if new science comes along, it is right that we should review those numbers.   But no decision has been taken," said an agriculture ministry spokesman.   The EU has already suggested that the ban on British beef exports should be kept in place longer than planned in the light of evidence that BSE can be spread from mothers to calves.   The National Farmers Union (NFU), keen to settle the row so its hard-pressed members can start exporting their cows again, urged ministers to take their time.   "First of all explore with Europe all the opportunies and then make a decision.   Don't make a decision based on newspaper reports and scaremongering," NFU president Sir David Naish told BBC Radio on Wednesday.   But scrapping the cull would be popular with the more nationalist members of Prime Minister John Major's Conservative Party, who are doing their best to put the party on a collision course with Brussels.   "If these reports turn out to be right, three cheers," said William Powell, a Conservative member of parliament's agriculture select committee.   "We have been without the export trade now for some six months.   The Germans are making it plain that no matter what the science, they have no intention of allowing us to export again.   "So why should we engage in a mindless slaughter, at staggering public cost, with no advantage in eradicating BSE, just because some ignorant Germans are determined to elevate politics above all else?"   The Oxford scientists' report said 700,000 cattle with mad cow disease had been eaten, raising fears that an epidemic of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), the human form of the brain-wasting ailment, could follow.   The row broke out in March after the government acknowledged there could be a link between BSE and CJD.   The EU ban on British beef and by-products caused a serious rift with London and resulted in British ministers blocking EU business.   Britain reluctantly agreed to the cull in exchange for the gradual lifting of the ban.   British Agriculture Minister Douglas Hogg is due to meet European Farm Minister Franz Fischler on Monday to discuss the matter.   "The minister is understood to believe that if there is little likelihood of the ban being lifted soon, there is no point in pressing ahead with the cull that had never been justified on scientific grounds," The Times said. 
13352 !GCAT  DAILY TELEGRAPH   -- US FIRM WINS 24 MILLION STG AID FOR NI FACTORY   The British government is giving 24 million stg to an American computer parts manufacturer, Seagate Technologies, to move into a factory in Northern Ireland which received 9.7 million stg in state aid in just two years.   Baroness Denton, economy minister for Northern Ireland, announced that Seagate will convert the plant, located in Derry, to produce parts used to make computer hard disks.   -- RJB TO CREATE 500 JOBS IN NEW MINE PROJECT   RJB Mining have announced plans for Britain's first new pit since privatisation.   500 jobs are expected to be provided from an investment of 300 million stg to develop up to 450 million tones of reserves in a 200 square kilometre area in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.   Chief executive of RJB, Richard Budge, said that the move demonstrates faith in the long-term future for the coal industry in the UK.   -- OSTRICH FARM CASH 'SIPHONED OFF'   High Court action is being taken against directors of the Ostrich Farming Corporation, which went into liquidation in April, and its business partners, over alleged financial mismanagement.   The writ, filed on OFC's behalf by it liquidator Coopers and Lybrand, alleges 3.37 million stg was paid to US company Wallstreet LLC for no consideration and were not for the benefit of the OFC.   It claims that 1.49 million stg of the money paid to Wallstreet was misappropriated by Kevin Jones, who was connected with two companies acting as selling agents for OFC.   THE TIMES   -- FRAUDSTER TRIES TO RECRUIT SFO CHIEF FOR NIGERIAN SCAM   George Staple, director of the Serious Fraud Office has been the target for a fraudulent scheme.   He received a letter from Dr Oludare Wilson of the Nigerian Petroleum Corporation saying he had 32 million dollars to place in a UK bank account and he needed the help of a trustworthy person employed at a reputable company.   Dr Wilson also offered the SFO a cut of 30 per cent in return for its help.   Mr Staple referee the letter to the Metropolitan Fraud Squad.   -- M AND G DEAL URGED ON KEPIT INVESTORS   The board of Kleinwort Benson European Privatisation Trust has announced that the interests of 70,000 investors would be best served in a joint deal with the unit trust group M&G. This has prompted a row between Kepit and Henderson Touche Remnant, the fund management group, whose TR European Growth unit trust is bidding 500 million stg for Kepit.   Treg us claiming that the M&G arrangement did not properly cater for the needs of the bulk of Kepit's investors who wanted cash.   -- BT CUTS BILLS TO FIGHT CABLE   British Telecom is set to battle against the rising number of customers turning to cable telephone companies by reducing Britain's telephone bill by 214 million stg.   The price of national and international calls will fall by between ten and 25 per cent.   BT says the new cuts have raised the total savings to residential and business customers to more than 1.5 billion stg over the past three years.   THE GUARDIAN   -- SMALL FIRMS ARE PUNISHED   The victims of the Morgan Grenfell affair include young companies planning to raise capital in the City and eventually join the stock market because fund managers are moving away from commitments to junior firms.   At least one start-up company, which was in talks with Morgan Grenfell is known to have been forced to re-think plans to raise money in London.   Advisors to the British firm planning to exploit timber-related assets in Estonia were discussing terms for Morgan to take a stake.   -- BRITISH STANDARD AIMS TO HALT LATE PAYMENT OF DEBTS   A new code on the late payment of debts has been decided upon by the Treasury and the Department of Trade and Industry.   They hope to tackle one of the biggest blights to small firms and avoid tough new laws, which are favoured by the Labour Party, and which would give firms a right to interest on late payments.   The standard sets recognised guidelines for both purchases and sellers and has been drawn up by the British Standards Institution and Confederation of British Industry, in conjunction with other industry organisations.   -- ROW AFTER NATIONAL EXPRESS MAKES FAST 400,000 STG PROFIT   The bus and coach operator, National Express, has entered a political row after it said its new train division, which was set up in April, was performing above expectations.   The division had notched up 401,000 stg in profits in only two months.   The Labour Party has condemned the profits, with shadow transport secretary Andrew Smith saying that the travelling public should see benefits as well as shareholders.   THE INDEPENDENT   -- CITY SEETHES AS WARNING HITS MATTHEW CLARK   Matthew Clark, the cider maker and drinks group, has announced an unexpected profits warning which has sent shares plunging.   The company blamed the soaring sales of the new breed of alcoholic "soft" drinks for a slump in demand for its Diamond White and K cider brands and Babycham.   Business development director, Peter Huntley, said the volumes of the company's three big brands were 35 per cent down in the financial year to date which stated in May after a 60 per cent decline in July and August.   -- CHINA BACKS SINGLE HK CURRENCY   Chen Yuan, deputy governor of the People's bank of China, has reassured the City that it would back a separate Hong Kong currency and promised the it would use its own reserves to support the link with the US dollar.   He pledged China's determination to do everything it could to avoid jeopardising Hong Kong's prospects as a financial centre.   He said Hong Kong would continue in its present role and would become the most important funding centre for China.   -- BSKYB IN ROW WITH CARLTON OVER ADVERTS   According to Carlton's media buyers, an advertising campaign by Carlton Select, the cable-only entertainment channel owned by Michael Green, which has been running on 13 Sky channels for the past week has been pulled by BSkyB for 20 out of 22 of its scheduled airings.   BSkyB is concerned that its direct-to-home satellite subscribers are being told about a channel they cannot currently receive.   BMC +44-171-377-1742 
13353 !GCAT  -- LABOUR LEADERS CLASH WITH UNIONS OVER STRIKE CURBS   There is reported to be considerable confusion within Labour ranks over a change in party policy in the area of industrial relations and specific proposals relating to strike legislation.   At the annual Trades Union Conference union leaders expressed concern with recent statements by party leader Tony Blair on the introduction of mandatory and binding arbitration between unions and employers.   The strife comes in the wake of similar confusion within party ranks over the issue of Scottish devolution.   -- MATTHEW CLARK SHARES SLIDE 35 PER CENT   Drinks group Matthew Clark has seen its shares fall 35 per cent in value after the company announced a fall in profits resulting from competition presented by a new generation of alcoholic soft drinks.   A number of the company's main brands had seen sales decline sharply during July and August as younger drinkers switched to 'alcopop' alternatives.   The news has prompted analysts to revise downward profit forecasts for the year to next April from 50 million stg to 20 million stg.   -- 500 MILLION STG KLEINWORT FUND TO BE BROKEN UP   Kleinwort Benson has decided to break up its 500 million stg Kepit fund.   M&G has been awarded the task of liquidating the Kleinwort European Privatisation Investment Trust after a period of two years during which it produced disappointing returns for thousands of investors.   The company has noted that high marketing costs as well as a demand for more rapid returns had led to the decision to wind-up the trust.   77,000 investors are to be offered the option of either accepting cash for their shares or alternative investments in other trusts.   -- SWISS BANKS FACE PRESSURE OVER 'NAZI GOLD' CLAIMS   A report from the British foreign office on the amounts of plundered gold placed in Swiss banks by the Nazi regime has increased pressure on the Swiss to reveal whether or not they are still holding assets.   It has been revealed that after the Second World War the Swiss authorities handed back only a small proportion of the hundreds of millions of pounds worth of assets deposited in their vaults.   There is particular concern that the banks have continued to prove reluctant to return funds to the families of Jewish people murdered by the Nazis.   -- COMPANIES FEAR MOVES TO CLOSE VAT LOOPHOLES   British companies are reported to be concerned that the government is planning to tighten rules relating to value added tax payments after discovering that businesses have become increasingly efficient at avoiding having to make such payments.   Studies by the government have indicated that for the 1995-96 tax year revenues from this source were some 5 billion stg less than had been anticipated.   It is now the belief that this situation has arisen as a result of increased use of tax planning in the corporate sector.   -- MERCURY PLANS BIG BOOST TO UK SPENDING   Mercury Communications is reported to be planning to increase its capital expenditure levels in the UK in an effort to enhance its ability to compete more effectively with rival British Telecom.   The increase in investment to between 400 million stg and 450 million stg will principally go towards the development of local networks.   The company also sees mainland Europe as another market in which it wishes to expand its operations.   -- BUNDESBANK MEMBER SEES FLEXIBLE EMU   Ernst Welteke, a member of the central council of the Bundesbank, is reported to have called on Germany to adopt a more flexible approach to the interpretation of Maastricht criteria for participation in the process of EMU.   The call comes at a time when it appears increasingly likely that a number of key EU member states, including France and Germany, may encounter difficulties in qualifying for membership of the planned single currency.   -- US GROUP TO INVEST 68 MILLION STG IN N IRELAND   US electronics company Seagate Technology has announced that it intends to invest some 68 million stg in a production facility in Northern Ireland.   The plant, which will eventually employ 759 people, will manufacture substrates for use in computer disk drives.   A grant of 24.2 million stg is being made available by the local development authorities for the project, which is seen as a major vote of confidence in the local economy.   -- RETAILERS FIND LITTLE COMMERCIAL BENEFIT IN SUNDAY TRADING   A survey by property consultant Healey & Baker has concluded that the introduction of Sunday trading in Britain has resulted in little commercial benefit for retailers.   Instead the same level of trade which was carried out over five days has simply been extended to cover six.   Those who have gained the most from the changes have been larger out-of-town multiple retailers, with town centres continuing to experience a decline in trade.   -- TUC GIVES BACKING TO MONETARY UNION   At the annual Trades Union Congress delegates have been told by the TUC's general council that Britain must join the planned single European currency.   John Edmonds of the GMB union informed those gathered that the country had to play a more central role in EMU if it was to shape the final outcome of the process.   The TUC has noted, however, that the timetable adopted for the creation of the euro is too rapid and that it is therefore essential that the country play a more prominent role in order to secure reform.   For a full range of news monitoring services, phone BMC +44-171-377-1742 
13354 !GCAT  Prepared for Reuters by The Broadcast Monitoring Company.   -- LABOUR LEADERS CLASH WITH UNIONS OVER STRIKE CURBS   There is reported to be considerable confusion within Labour ranks over a change in party policy in the area of industrial relations and specific proposals relating to strike legislation.   At the annual Trades Union Conference union leaders expressed concern with recent statements by party leader Tony Blair on the introduction of mandatory and binding arbitration between unions and employers.   The strife comes in the wake of similar confusion within party ranks over the issue of Scottish devolution.   -- MATTHEW CLARK SHARES SLIDE 35 PER CENT   Drinks group Matthew Clark has seen its shares fall 35 per cent in value after the company announced a fall in profits resulting from competition presented by a new generation of alcoholic soft drinks.   A number of the company's main brands had seen sales decline sharply during July and August as younger drinkers switched to 'alcopop' alternatives.   The news has prompted analysts to revise downward profit forecasts for the year to next April from 50 million stg to 20 million stg.   -- 500 MILLION STG KLEINWORT FUND TO BE BROKEN UP   Kleinwort Benson has decided to break up its 500 million stg Kepit fund.   M&G has been awarded the task of liquidating the Kleinwort European Privatisation Investment Trust after a period of two years during which it produced disappointing returns for thousands of investors.   The company has noted that high marketing costs as well as a demand for more rapid returns had led to the decision to wind-up the trust.   77,000 investors are to be offered the option of either accepting cash for their shares or alternative investments in other trusts.   -- SWISS BANKS FACE PRESSURE OVER 'NAZI GOLD' CLAIMS   A report from the British foreign office on the amounts of plundered gold placed in Swiss banks by the Nazi regime has increased pressure on the Swiss to reveal whether or not they are still holding assets.   It has been revealed that after the Second World War the Swiss authorities handed back only a small proportion of the hundreds of millions of pounds worth of assets deposited in their vaults.   There is particular concern that the banks have continued to prove reluctant to return funds to the families of Jewish people murdered by the Nazis.   -- COMPANIES FEAR MOVES TO CLOSE VAT LOOPHOLES   British companies are reported to be concerned that the government is planning to tighten rules relating to value added tax payments after discovering that businesses have become increasingly efficient at avoiding having to make such payments.   Studies by the government have indicated that for the 1995-96 tax year revenues from this source were some 5 billion stg less than had been anticipated.   It is now the belief that this situation has arisen as a result of increased use of tax planning in the corporate sector.   -- MERCURY PLANS BIG BOOST TO UK SPENDING   Mercury Communications is reported to be planning to increase its capital expenditure levels in the UK in an effort to enhance its ability to compete more effectively with rival British Telecom.   The increase in investment to between 400 million stg and 450 million stg will principally go towards the development of local networks.   The company also sees mainland Europe as another market in which it wishes to expand its operations.   -- BUNDESBANK MEMBER SEES FLEXIBLE EMU   Ernst Welteke, a member of the central council of the Bundesbank, is reported to have called on Germany to adopt a more flexible approach to the interpretation of Maastricht criteria for participation in the process of EMU.   The call comes at a time when it appears increasingly likely that a number of key EU member states, including France and Germany, may encounter difficulties in qualifying for membership of the planned single currency.   -- US GROUP TO INVEST 68 MILLION STG IN N IRELAND   US electronics company Seagate Technology has announced that it intends to invest some 68 million stg in a production facility in Northern Ireland.   The plant, which will eventually employ 759 people, will manufacture substrates for use in computer disk drives.   A grant of 24.2 million stg is being made available by the local development authorities for the project, which is seen as a major vote of confidence in the local economy.   -- RETAILERS FIND LITTLE COMMERCIAL BENEFIT IN SUNDAY TRADING   A survey by property consultant Healey & Baker has concluded that the introduction of Sunday trading in Britain has resulted in little commercial benefit for retailers.   Instead the same level of trade which was carried out over five days has simply been extended to cover six.   Those who have gained the most from the changes have been larger out-of-town multiple retailers, with town centres continuing to experience a decline in trade.   -- TUC GIVES BACKING TO MONETARY UNION   At the annual Trades Union Congress delegates have been told by the TUC's general council that Britain must join the planned single European currency.   John Edmonds of the GMB union informed those gathered that the country had to play a more central role in EMU if it was to shape the final outcome of the process.   The TUC has noted, however, that the timetable adopted for the creation of the euro is too rapid and that it is therefore essential that the country play a more prominent role in order to secure reform.   For a full range of news monitoring services, phone BMC +44-171-377-1742 
13355 !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   - Demand for electricity in Saudi Arabia will reach 60,000 megawatts in 2020.   - Cement production in Arab countries is expected to reach 121 million tonnes in 1998.   ASHARQ AL-AWSAT   - Kuwaiti parliament ratifies a law to set up an Islamic financial company.   - Khartoum prepares for a national economic conference amid financial crisis.   - Yemeni agricultural bank allocates nine billion riyals to support agricultural sector.   - Jordan, Israel sign agreement organising joint tourism cooperation. 
13356 !C13 !C15 !C151 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  Britain's opposition Labour Party wants tighter profit caps for utilities and may share out a windfall tax on the cash-rich privatised companies on a regional basis, The Times said on Wednesday.   Richard Caborn, Labour's spokesman for competitiveness and a regulation specialist, told a fringe meeting at the Trades Union Congress conference that the party planned to review the pricing formula and make regulators more publicly and politically accountable, the newspaper said.   "Excess profits" clawed back under a windfall tax could then be returned to the areas in which the companies had made their profits, The Times added.   "Why shouldn't it be that where the money has been generated it then finds its way back?"   Caborn was quoted as asking.   The tax levied on those companies such as British Gas and the electricity generators, which have no obvious regional base, would be distributed nationally.    The tax, to be implemented if Labour wins the next general election that is due by next May, is expected to raise at least 3.0 billion stg.   Labour has said it would use the cash to help fund training and youth employment schemes.   Labour may also insist on domestic companies having separate listings in London if they are taken over by foreign industries, and could endorse vertical integration -- electricity generating companies merging with distributors -- that the current government has recently banned.   -- London Newsroom +44 171 542 7717 
13357 !C13 !C31 !C312 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT  Britain is considering abandoning the slaughter of 147,000 cattle that was planned to eliminate mad cow disease and to convince the European Union to lift a ban on British beef exports, newspapers said on Wednesday.   The Daily Telegraph said Prime Minister John Major and senior ministers would meet on Thursday to discuss the plan, which could enrage Britain's European partners.   "The government is under pressure from farmers and Tory (Conservative) MPs to abandon or reduce drastically the planned slaughter of thousands of apparently healthy cattle in order to satisfy demands from Europe for action to eradicate BSE," the newspaper said.   Last month Britain welcomed a report by Oxford University scientists predicting that the mad cow, or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), epidemic would be over by the year 2001 even without the mass cull.   The scientists' report said 700,000 cattle with mad cow disease had been eaten, raising fears that an epidemic of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), the human form of the brain-wasting ailment, could follow.   The row over mad cow disease broke out in March after the government acknowledged there could be a link between BSE and CJD.   The European Union issued a ban on British beef and its by-products which caused a serious rift with London and resulted in British ministers blocking EU business on the orders of Major.   Britain reluctantly agreed to the cull in exchange for a gradual lifting of the ban.   British Agriculture Minister Douglas Hogg is due to meet European Farm Minister Franz Fischler on Monday to discuss the matter.   "The minister (Hogg) is understood to believe that if there is little likelihood of the ban being lifted soon, there is no point in pressing ahead with the cull that had never been justified on scientific grounds," The Times newspaper said. 
13358 !GCAT !GENT  British band Pulp walked away with the Mercury Music Prize for their hit "Different Class" at an awards ceremony on Tuesday.   The group nudged pass rival band Oasis who were hoping to clinch the award after sweeping three top prizes at the Brit Awards in February.   "The thing is with this award is that, even though we're very pleased to have it, we have already won because people have bought quite a lot of copies," Pulp's lead singer Jarvis Cocker said before presenting the 25,000 pound ($38,840) prize to the WarChild charity.   "We would like to instigate a new award, the Pulp Music Award, and the two contenders for it are WarChild and the Help album." 
13359 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The Canadian Auto Workers union said that it has rejected Chrysler Canada Ltd's offer of a contract longer than the traditional three years, the Canadian Press news agency reported on Tuesday.   Union president Buzz Hargrove said that the wholly owned unit of Chrysler Corp had offered a contract longer than the standard three years.   Hargrove said it appeared the auto maker was not ready to negotiate a new contract with the union.   "It flies in the face of everything that's logical if they want an agreement," Hargrove told the Canadian Press.   "When you add this to their attitude on outsourcing, gain sharing and now the longer-term agreement -- why they would want to antagonise us now certainly has got to make you wonder," he said.   The newsagency said Chrysler would not comment.   On Monday, the union said that talks were grinding slowly over issues of outsourcing and a surprise proposal on profit sharing.    Outsourcing is the sale of plants or the transfer of work to outside contractors, whose employees are generally not members of the auto unions.   The current labour agreements with all three North American auto makers -- Chrysler, Ford Motor Co's Canadian unit and General Motors Corp's Canadian subsidiary -- expire on September 14.   The union has set a strike deadline for September 17 if it does not reach a settlement with Chrysler. 
13360 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  "Crucial by-election" is one of those journalistic cliches aimed at getting people interested in something that would otherwise seem rather dull.   So let us say from the top that the by-election for the Sydney seat of Lindsay, ordered by the High Court earlier on Wednesday, will not be crucial.   The government's majority is something over 40, depending on how you count it.   It will not matter if the Labor Party regains its formerly safe seat from the Liberal whose candidacy in March has been declared unlawful.   The Labor Party is not even odds-on to win the by-election when it is held sometime later this year.   But that's the interesting part.   Former Labor minister Ross Free held the seat with a 10.2 percent margin before the March 2 election.   As a point of reference, a margin greater than five percent is usually called "safe".   Yet Liberal candidate Jackie Kelly ousted Free and took the seat with a mammoth 11.8 percent swing, giving her a rather thin margin of 1.6 percent.   Kelly always looked like one of the large band of Liberal oncers -- the swarm of MPs who unexpectedly won safe Labor seats by thin margins and were now expected to lose them at the next general election.   But at this stage it looks like Kelly might actually hang onto the seat at the by-election, despite all those unpopular budget cuts.   The latest polling suggests that if an election were held now, incredibly enough, there would be a swing towards the government, which already sits on all those seats no-one expected it to gain.   The Reuters Poll Trend estimates for August 25, the latest available, show the government 10.2 percentage points ahead of the opposition on opinion polls' primary support measure.   It won the election with an 8.5 percent primary lead.   If that shift in support were reflected in the Lindsay by-election, Kelly would be returned with a bigger margin.   Now, by-elections usually produce less favourable results for the government than are showed in national opinion polls and government marginals are nearly always lost.   This is presumably because voters take the opportunity of protesting against government actions without risking removal of the government.   That effect could be quite pronounced in this by-election -- because it is so insignifcant to the fate of the government.   But government retention of Ross Free's seat remains a good possibility.   A stronger commentary on Labor's condition would be hard to imagine.   Which is why Opposition Leader Kim Beazley was keen to tell everyone on Wednesday that Labor started as the underdog.   He doesn't want a Labor loss to come as a nasty shock.   -- Canberra Bureau 61-6 273-2730 
13361 !GCAT !GVIO  Papua New Guinea on Wednesday began a rescue operation to evacuate seven soldiers hiding in jungle hills on Bougainville after a battle with secessionist rebels in which a reported 12 soldiers were killed.   Papua New Guinea (PNG) Defence Force Chief-of-Staff Colonel Jack Taut told Reuters from the capital of Port Moresby that the reinforcements had landed on southern Bougainville island.   "We have people on the ground now and will soon move," Taut said.   "We have contact now with the seven and we are doing everything possible to rescue them."   About 100 Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) rebels on Sunday attacked a government refugee care centre at Kangu Beach on southern Bougainville island that was being guarded by 32 soldiers, Taut said.   The rebels said 13 soldiers were killed and five captured in the battle, but Prime Minister Sir Julius Chan said 12 soldiers had been reported killed.   Chan has described the Kangu attack as "barbaric" and a major setback to peace on Bougainville.   PNG defence sources told The National newspaper in Port Moresby that five soldiers had been captured, seven escaped and eight were missing.   The rebel's Bougainville Interim Government said in a statement on Wednesday that they expected the death toll in the fighting to rise because rebels knew the terrain like the "backs of their hands."   Thousands have died from fighting or disease since the start of the eight-year conflict on the resource-rich island, 800 km (500 miles) northeast of Port Moresby.   The rebel's interim government, set up in 1990 in Arawa in the rebel-held central part of the island, said its forces had intercepted troop messages calling for ammunition.   It reported government communications as saying: "All evacuation of casualties and reinforcement of troops is now at a standstill... It is very difficult to land..."   The PNG Defence Force commander on Wednesday blamed the Kangu casualties, the worst death toll since the armed rebellion began, on the army's dual role on Bougainville of caring for refugees and fighting rebels.   "It is an unwritten responsibility to look after care centres.   In doing so, soldiers compromised their military role," Brigadier Jerry Singirok said.   "Kangu Beach is certainly a demonstration of where the soldiers were hopelessly attacked by the rebels using the civilians to get very close," Singirok said.   Some 70,000 Bougainvilleans have left their villages to live in government-controlled care centres.   Singirok said he would ask other government agencies to send personnel to Bougainville, "so that security forces can concentrate more on suppressing and combating the armed resurrection by the armed rebels." 
13362 !GCAT !GDIP !GREL  Tibet's spiritual leader in exile, the Dalai Lama, said on Wednesday he was hopeful of reaching agreement with China "in a few years' time" on autonomy for his homeland.   "Genuine self-rule, genuine autonomy which is agreeable to the Chinese also, I think that kind of mutual solution can be found," he told a crowd of about 4,000 in Wellington during a visit to New Zealand.   "I hope in a few years' time it can be achieved."   The Dalai Lama, who is on a five-day visit to New Zealand, earlier met Foreign Affairs Minister Don McKinnon and was also holding talks with New Zealand Prime Minister Jim Bolger.   On Tuesday, the Chinese government expressed displeasure at the Dalai Lama's visit to New Zealand and said meetings with officials or ministers would be viewed as an impediment to smooth Sino-New Zealand relations.   "The Dalai Lama is not purely a religious personage but a political exile who engages in political activities aimed at disrupting national unity, advocating Tibetan independence and splitting up the motherland," a statement from the Chinese embassy in Wellington said.   The Dalai Lama appealed to New Zealanders to help "materialise meaningful negotiations" between Tibet and China.   He said that sooner or later the Chinese government would have to find a more constructive policy regarding Tibet, which was occupied by the People's Liberation Army in 1950.   "The Chinese government must produce a policy or attitude to increase mutual trust, that's the proper way to solve this problem," said the Dalai Lama who went into exile in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule. 
13363 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Australia said on Wednesday the approval of a landmark United Nations nuclear test ban treaty was a vital move towards ridding the world of nuclear weapons, but stressed the treaty was not perfect.   Prime Minister John Howard said the U.N. approval of Canberra's resolution to open the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) for signature was a step towards abolishing nuclear weapons.   The assembly's action was not sufficient to implement the treaty because India, whose signature is necessary, has yet to be persuaded to ratify it.   "It is a vital step towards the goal of the ultimate elimination of nuclear weapons," Howard said in a statement.   "The CTBT would ban nuclear weapon tests for all time and act as a major impediment to the development of new generations of nuclear weapons," Howard said.   The U.N. General Assembly voted 158-3 for Canberra's resolution, with India, Bhutan and Libya voting against, in a move Australia said salvaged the CTBT.   The treaty foundered at the 61-nation Conference on Disarmament in Geneva last month, after three years of negotiations, when India refused to give its consent.   India maintains the treaty is flawed because it does not commit the nuclear powers towards eventual destruction of their arsenals.   Australia, trying to override the Indian veto, asked the United Nations to approve the treaty and open it for signing.   Despite the U.N. move, Canberra has expressed concerns about the entry-into-force provisions, the formula for the number of signatures needed to bring the treaty into effect.   All five declared nuclear powers -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- support the treaty, but the pact does not come into force until 44 states with a nuclear potential sign it.   India is one of these nations.   "This was the best treaty that we thought could be negotiated.   It was not perfect," Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told reporters.   "This treaty, like any international treaty is a compromise, we weren't perfectly happy with the wording of it...," he said.   Downer said Australia would sign the pact this month and lobby world governments to follow.   "We'll be encouraging the international community generally to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, Downer said.   "I don't know at this stage how many will sign the treaty and that will be a gradual process, it won't all happen at once," he said.   The CTBT's backers believe nations that sign the treaty will abide by its provisions, despite it not being legally binding, and that an isolated India over the next few years might change its mind.   "The treaty will have enormous moral force," said Downer.   Ahead of the United Nations vote, Indian officials said the treaty was meaningless because it was not binding on New Delhi.   India has said that since the mid-1960s it would not give up its nuclear option until the nuclear powers adopted a timetable for eliminating their arsenals.   "As the CTBT text stands, it cannot go into force without India's acceptance," a foreign ministry official in New Delhi told Reuters.   "Sadly, therefore, it will be passed but only to remain a worthless piece of paper," he said. 
13364 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Australia said on Wednesday the approval of a landmark United Nations nuclear test ban treaty was a vital move towards ridding the world of nuclear weapons, but stressed the treaty was not perfect.   Prime Minister John Howard said the U.N. approval of Canberra's resolution to open the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) for signature was a step towards abolishing nuclear weapons.   The assembly's action was not sufficient to implement the treaty because India, whose signature is necessary, has yet to be persuaded to ratify it.   "It is a vital step towards the goal of the ultimate elimination of nuclear weapons," Howard said in a statement.   "The CTBT would ban nuclear weapon tests for all time and act as a major impediment to the development of new generations of nuclear weapons," Howard said.   The U.N. General Assembly voted 158-3 for Canberra's resolution, with India, Bhutan and Libya voting against, in a move Australia said salvaged the CTBT.   The treaty foundered at the 61-nation Conference on Disarmament in Geneva last month, after three years of negotiations, when India refused to give its consent.   India maintains the treaty is flawed because it does not commit the nuclear powers towards eventual destruction of their arsenals.   Australia, trying to override the Indian veto, asked the United Nations to approve the treaty and open it for signing.   Despite the U.N. move, Canberra has expressed concerns about the entry-into-force provisions, the formula for the number of signatures needed to bring the treaty into effect.   All five declared nuclear powers -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- support the treaty, but the pact does not come into force until 44 states with a nuclear potential sign it.   India is one of these nations.   "This was the best treaty that we thought could be negotiated.   It was not perfect," Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told reporters.   "This treaty, like any international treaty is a compromise, we weren't perfectly happy with the wording of it...," he said.   Downer said Australia would sign the pact this month and lobby world governments to follow.   "We'll be encouraging the international community generally to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, Downer said.   "I don't know at this stage how many will sign the treaty and that will be a gradual process, it won't all happen at once," he said.   The CTBT's backers believe nations that sign the treaty will abide by its provisions, despite it not being legally binding, and that an isolated India over the next few years might change its mind.   "The treaty will have enormous moral force," said Downer.   Ahead of the United Nations vote, Indian officials said the treaty was meaningless because it was not binding on New Delhi.   India has said that since the mid-1960s it would not give up its nuclear option until the nuclear powers adopted a timetable for eliminating their arsenals.   "As the CTBT text stands, it cannot go into force without India's acceptance," a foreign ministry official in New Delhi told Reuters.   "Sadly, therefore, it will be passed but only to remain a worthless piece of paper," he said. 
13365 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  The United Party candidate for Auckland Central has left to form his own party, Radio New Zealand reported on Wednesday.   Wayne Young says he would run as an Independent for Auckland Central under the Citizens Party banner, which he hoped to build into a formal party for the next elections.   New Zealanders go to the polls on October 12.   Young fell out with United over his 24th placing on the party's list of 28, and other differences with the party leadership.    United has seven members of Parliament and is in formal coalition with the ruling National Party.   But it has barely rated in opinion polls since its formation last year.   Its MPs include four former opposition Labour Party MPs and three who left the National Party.   It has one member in Cabinet, Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne, who on current polling should win the Wellington seat of Ohariu-Belmont.   National has opted not to field a candidate in the seat to give Dunne a better chance of winning.   -- Wellington newsroom 64 4 4734 746 
13366 !C17 !C171 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The Commonwealth Bank of Australia said on Wednesday it would seek approval from shareholders for the introduction of new employee share plans.   Three plans are proposed and will be put to the company annual general meeting.   Commonwealth Bank said an employee share acquisition plan would provide the bank's 36,000 staff with shares up to the value of A$1,000 in the first year and up to an equivalent amount in subsequent two years.   The shares to be issued will be subject to the bank's profit performance and will need to held for a minimum of three years.    The bank said the employee share acquisition plan accorded with Federal government legislation to encourage employee share ownership.   A second plan, the employee share subscription plan, would allow employees to purchase shares at a five percent discount up a maximum of 300 shares in any one year.   These shares would be required to be held for a period of at least 12 months before disposal.   The third plan is an executive option plan which the bank said would have tougher guidelines than the other plans.    Specifically, for executives to exercise their options, total shareholder return over a minimum three year period must equal or exceed the index of total shareholder return achieved by the Australian Stock Exchange's Banking and Finance Accumulation index, excluding CBA.   Only a maximum of 50 executives can be participate in the option plan and executives must pay a time value of money premium for options.   CBA said that overall number of shares that could be issued under the three plans was limited to five percent of the issued capital over a rolling ten year period.    After an initial grant, further issues of shares under the plan would be subject to a minimum profit growth hurdle.   Shareholders are to vote on the share plans at the bank's annual general meeting on October 8.   By 3.10 p.m. (0510 GMT), CBA shares were 22 cents higher at A$11.17 on turnover of 2.1 million shares.   -- Sydney newsroom 61-2 9373 1800 
13367 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIS  The jury in the Empire Hotel fire trial has found Alan Lory guilty of arson and six counts of manslaughter but not guilty of murder, Radio New Zealand reported on Wednesday.   The jury's verdict came after almost fifteen hours of deliberation which began on Monday afternoon.   The jurors found 41-year-old Lory not guilty on the original six charges of murder after the Hamilton hotel fire which claimed six lives.   Relatives of two of the fire's victims broke down in court after the verdict was delivered.   Lory has been remanded in custody until October the third for sentencing.   -- Wellington newsroom 64 4 4734 746 
13368 !E41 !E411 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The Australian government's leading indicator of employment fell in July to minus 0.352 from minus 0.316 a month earlier, the Department of Employment, Education and Training said on Wednesday.    The department said in a statement the indicator suggested cyclical employment would not increase before 1997.   "The leading indicator has now declined at a relatively slow rate for the four months to July, 1996, following four months of equally slow growth," it said.   "Although the rate of decline in cyclical employment has been falling over recent months, the leading indicator suggests that cyclical employment will not increase before the first quarter of 1997."    The indicator, which combines seven other indicators, has been shown to lead employment changes consistently over the long term.   -- Canberra bureau 61-6 273-2730 
13369 !E41 !E411 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Australian employment could record reasonably strong growth in August, mainly due to a temporary boost from a national census, meaning any signs of apparent strength should be treated cautiously, economists said.   Thursday's jobs data is also important in shaping market expectations of the interest rate outlook, with a weak number expected to see a fourth quarter rate cut quickly factored in.   The median forecast of the 32 economists Reuters surveyed is for a 11,000 rise in employment anf for an unchanged unemployment rate of 8.5 percent.    The labour force data is at the top of the market's watch list after the stalling unemployment rate was put forward as a key factor behind the July 31 cut in official interest rates.   Last week, speaking in Tokyo, Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Bernie Fraser said that apart from unemployment, economic forecasts for 1996/97 (July/June) looked fairly comfortable.   He said that while there appeared little early need for a rate change, a close eye would be kept on unemployment, as well as wages growth and business investment.    Westpac senior economist John Peters said that given the RBA's public concerns on unemployment, a flat to negative employment result in August would heighten speculation that the RBA would move to ease policy settings again in late 1996.   Others said even a positive figure could put a cut on the market's agenda.   Societe Generale economists said a figure much under 10,000 would see renewed speculation about an October rate cut.   Forecasts for the jobs data range from a fall of 20,000 to a rise of 30,000, with only three economists forecasting a fall.    If the median forecast is realised, it will be the fifth monthly rise in a row, but will leave employment levels only about 20,000 up on the December 1995 level.   The possibiltiy of a strong number was increased by the inclusion of workers who put together the Australian Bureau of Statistics's National Census, a five-yearly survey that was conducted in early August.   The Census is expected to increase job levels by about 10,000 to 15,000 based on past experience, economists said, but this would be only a temporary impact that needed to be considered when analysing the data.    "A very high level of 25,000 or above would be a quirk caused by temporary hiring for the census survey," the Societe Generale economists said.   While a boost form the cenusus is expected, whether the workers fall into part time or full time employment is harder to say, although most are expected to show up as part time.   In the labour force release, full time workers are classed as those who usually worked 35 hours or more a week in all jobs, or who worked 35 hours or more during the reference week.   The Census was conducted on August 6, with collectors delivering forms before then and collecting them afterwards.    The labour force survey period for the month started on August 12, and as a result the Census work will fall into the reference week. 
13370 !C21 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA !M14 !M141 !MCAT  Good rains particularly in southern Australia in the next week could add substantially to forecast barley yields for 1996/97, Brian Bailey, managing director of Australian Wheat Forecasters Pty Ltd, told Reuters on Tuesday.   "If we got something significant, an inch and a half (of rain) or better, it would really add a significant amount on to the barley production in southern Australia," he said.   Bailey said his latest forecast was for a national barley yield of 5.96 million tonnes, which he would update next week.    "If we got two inches of rain between now and when I report, we would put the barley yields up substantially because the timing would be absolutely magnificent if a heavy rain fell now," he said.   Heavy rains earlier last week in north-western New South Wales had had no downside because of their timing, he said.   The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) last week forecast a national barley crop of 5.69 million tonnes.    The Australian Barley Board (ABB), which represents growers in South Australia and Victoria, has estimated areas sown with barley for 1996/97 at 950,000 hectares for SA, compared with 955,000 ha last year, and 595,000 ha for Victoria, a six percent reduction on last year's 636,000 ha.   "As it stands in South Australia at the moment, we are probably looking at an average to above average sort of season and in Victoria, not dissimilar," ABB corporate relations manager, Ian Desborough told Reuters.   "No-one is really talking about a bumper season at this time...," he said.    "If you now go through with a normal spring, (with) reasonable rains in the next few weeks, I think people would be confident in the above average result, but if we got a very, very wet spring ... that certainly would not help the estimates," he said.   The ABB earlier on Tuesday announced a A$10 a tonne reduction in its barley pool prices, to A$220 for malting and to A$167 for feed barley in Victoria, because of big crops around the world.   -- Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 mmc reuters 
13371 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA  Good falls of rain occurred in western and southern Queensland, Australia, in August, providing welcome relief for many graziers, the state's Department of Primary Industries said.   But much of the northern area of the state received little to no effective rainfall except the coastal fringe and cane growing areas north of Ingham, it said in a statement.   Rainfall was very patchy in central Queensland and drought affected areas received very little useful rain, it said.   Useful falls were recorded in many centres of the south and south east in the last week of the month, it said.    These falls would assist grain growers and small crop farmers preparing for spring plantings, it said.   In the latter part of the month crop damage from frost was reported from the south, southeast and central regions although it may be some time before exact crop losses due to frosting were known, it said.   At the end of the month 18 shires and six part shires were declared drought stricken together with 594 individually drought declared properties in 33 other shires, it said.    This represented about 23 percent of the state or 11,485 out of the 55,545 Department of Primary Industries registered livestock enterprises, the department said.   Most climate forecast systems were suggesting average to slightly above average rainfall for the next three months in eastern Australia, it said.   The probability of exceeding median rainfall in most areas was about 70 percent, it said.   -- Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 
13372 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Australian Opposition Leader Kim Beazley said on Wednesday the Labor Party would struggle to win the by-election ordered for the Sydney electorate of Lindsay.   "I think we run this by-election as an underdog," Beazley told reporters.   "I don't think there is any question about that, but that doesn't mean we won't fight it."   Former minister Ross Free, who lost the seat in the March 2 general election landslide to the Liberal-Nationals, would run as Labor's candidate for the by-election.    The High Court of Australia earlier on Wednesday ordered a by-election for the seat after Liberal Party candidate Jackie Kelly was found inelligible under the Consititution.   Kelly was a government employee and held dual nationality when she stood for the lower house of parliament, the House of Representatives.   No date has yet been set for the by-election.   -- Canberra Bureau 6-61 273-2730 
13373 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL !GVOTE  The High Court of Australia on Wednesday ordered a by-election for the Sydney electorate of Lindsay.   Chief Justice Gerard Brennan quashed the March 2 election for the seat after the winning Liberal Party candidate, Jackie Kelly, was found inelligible under the Constitution.   Kelly was a government employee and held dual Australian and New Zealand nationality when she stood for the lower house of parliament, the house of representatives, where the Liberal-National Coalition government holds a substantial majority.   No date has been set for the by-election.   -- Canberra Bureau 61-6 273-2730 
13374 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  The United States said on Wednesday that trade, not aid, would be the basis of its future partnership with the rapidly developing countries of Southeast Asia.   Winston Lord, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said Washington's engagement in the region of 420 million people was well understood and that aid was not the only measure of its presence.   "Aid funds for ASEAN are not as crucial as they are for some other parts of Asia given the dynamism and the economies out here," Lord told reporters after the first session of the U.S.-ASEAN Dialogue.   The United States and the seven-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meet annually to review political, security and economic issues.   ASEAN comprises Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines and Vietnam.   The two-day meeting was opened by co-chairman Izhar Ibrahim, the Indonesian foreign ministry's director-general for political affairs, who said ASEAN still saw development assistance as an important part of its relationship with Washington.   "ASEAN appreciates the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) contribution and its support for ASEAN projects," Ibrahim told the opening session.   "However, I would like to reiterate the concern of ASEAN due to the diminishing USAID commitment towards ASEAN."   After the end of the Private Investment Trade Opportunities programme in June 1995, USAID's Environmental Improvement Programme remained the only source of funding, he added.   On Tuesday USAID Administrator Brian Atwood said in Washington the agency's budget had been cut by $1.0 billion and it had closed 23 overseas missions over the past three years.   The Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) put U.S. aid in 1994 at $9.93 billion.   Ibrahim said ASEAN could understand the United States developing a more economic and commercial relationship with the region, but he reminded Washington that three less developed countries -- Cambodia, Laos and Burma -- would soon join ASEAN.   Lord told the opening session that U.S. investment in ASEAN exceeded $25 billion and trade had increased by 50 percent in the past two years to make ASEAN the third-biggest market for the United States.   "We believe that trade and investment in the long run is the most important motor of prosperity," Lord later told reporters.   He said with the U.S. Congress cutting government spending to reduce the budget deficit, it was natural that international spending should also be trimmed.   Wednesday's talks were also due to include political issues such as the Korean peninsula, the South China Sea, the U.S. security role in the region, the Middle East, Bosnia, United Nations reform and nuclear weapons. 
13375 !GCAT !GDIS !GENV  A strong earthquake shook Tokyo and surrounding areas on Wednesday morning, halting transport systems in the bustling metropolis for a few minutes and startling residents but causing no noticeable damage.   The tremor struck at 11.37 a.m. (0237 GMT) and was strongest in the northern part of Chiba Prefecture adjoining the capital, site of Tokyo's main international airport.   The quake measured measured 6.6 on the Richter scale but the Tokyo Fire Agency said there were no immediate reports of any damage or casualties.   Transport systems in the central area of Japan -- a nation which is one of the world's most active seismic hotspots -- came to a brief halt after the earthquake, not because of damage or accidents but as a precautionary measure.   Officials said the airport closed its runways for about 10 minutes but then resumed operations.   Tokyo's other airport Haneda, located inside the city itself, also stopped its flights temporarily.   Super fast Shinkansen "bullet trains" running in the Tokyo area stopped for a short while.   Other trains, many of which are programmed to halt automatically in case of a major earthquake, were running as normal after the tremor.   The earthquake startled residents of Tokyo, many of whom live in fear of the "Big One" -- a seemingly overdue killer quake -- especially since the devastating 7.2-magnitude earthquake which hit the western city of Kobe in January 1995, killing more than 5,500 people.   When the quake struck, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto was meeting guests in the basement of his sprawling official residence in central Tokyo, which was built in 1928.   "The building rattled rather radically," a spokesman for the prime minister's office said.   No one, however, was hurt, he said.   The Meteorological Agency issued a tidal wave warning for Japan's Pacific Ocean coast around Tokyo right after the earthquake, but this was lifted about an hour later.   The epicentre -- the point on the surface above an earthquake's focus -- was in the Pacific Ocean 150 km (90 miles) east of Tokyo, the agency said.   The quake measured five on the Japanese scale of seven in northern Chiba.   It measured three on the same scale in Tokyo itself.   The Japanese scale measures ground motion in a given area in relation to the epicentre, while the Richter scale gauges the absolute seismic energy of an earthquake at its epicentre.   One resident of northern Chiba, who was driving her car when Wednesday's earthquake struck, said she had not felt the tremor.   "I didn't feel anything while I was driving.   But my mother, who was staying at home, grabbed our three-week-old baby in a panic and dived under a table," Sachiyo Kohyama said.   Yasuji Ishigami, an official at the municipal office of Kashima, a town northeast of Tokyo where the tremor was also very strong, said: "The shaking was relatively strong... We were not affected much... Everybody was calm and we just waited for it to end." 
13376 !GCAT  Newspaper headlines   CHINA TIMES - Military to test new-generation surface-to-surface missiles this year.   Police receive more than 100 telephone calls a day to report gangsters during islandwide crackdown on gangs.   UNITED DAILY NEWS - Interior Ministry plans to include anti-gangster clause in election bill.   United states to review whether to put Taiwan on watchlist for trade sanctions.   COMMERCIAL TIMES - Car companies halt new projects as Taiwan and Japan will soon conduct talks on car imports.   Domestic economic slowdown slashes saving ratio.   ECONOMIC DAILY NEWS - Taiwan approves US$997 million worth of foreign funds to invest in domestic stock market.   Central bank postpones scheduled board meeting, unlikely to cut banks' reserve requirements in near term.   -- Taipei Newsroom (2-5080815) 
13377 !GCAT  TOP STORIES   - Cabinet's rescue package to boost exports seen as too little, too late.   The economic rescue package approved by the Cabinet yesterday received a lukewarm response from investors, with the SET index falling 4.29 points to close at 982.03 (BANGKOK POST).   - Media hits back at coalition.   About 80 government house reporters sign letter criticising the deputy prime minister's who earlier this week denounced reporters as an opposition tool.   The letter says all reporting was based on fact, and claimed some government officials were trying to manipulate the media.   (BANGKOK POST)   - Government warns opposition leader Chuan Leekpai may face arrest if found to be involved in a land controversy.   Warning made as response by government to opposition threat to file a police complaint against Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa following the upcoming censure debate.   (THE NATION)   + + + +   BUSINESS   - Government urged to stop suggesting possible changes to baht exchange rate band because its causing expectations that there are plans afoot to devalue the currency (BUSINESS DAY)   - Analysts cool to Amnuay measures, say investor confidence depends on government's ability to improve economy (THE NATION)   - ASEAN ministers expected to consider proposal to create free investment area at meeting on Thursday.   (THE NATION)   -- Bangkok newsroom (662) 652-0642 
13378 !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.   - - - -   REPUBLIKA   A company owned by President Suharto's grandson, Ary Sigit, has submitted a proposal to build a bridge over the Sunda Straits, between the islands of Java and Sumatra.   - - - -   JAKARTA POST   Indonesia and the Phillipines have refused to accept the 2010 deadline for the reduction of tarrifs on unprocessed agricultural goods within the proposed ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA).   Indonesia suggested phasing in these products starting in 2010 with full integration planned for 2020.   Senior officials of the ASEAN countries were meeeting in preparation for today's AFTA council meeting.   - - - -   MERDEKA   Ousted leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) Megawati Sukarnoputri yesterday appeared at the Attorney-General's office for further questioning in connection with riots in the city in July.   She was questioned from 9.30 to 20.00 hours.   - - - -   BISNIS INDONESIA   Bank Tamara has announced a 142.8 billion rupiah rights issue in order to strengthen its financial structure. 
13379 !GCAT  DAY'S TOP STORIES   - President Fidel Ramos on Tuesday ordered law enforcers to take "forceful measures" if necessary, in dismantling armed Christian vigilante groups opposing the peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), as he expressed fear that their presence may stall development in the southern Philippines.   (TODAY)   - The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said on Tuesday that a unified front including itself, the New Peoples Army and the extremist Abu Sayyaf was "very possible" despite admitted ideological differences, especially with the communist guerrillas.   The MILF is opposed to the peace pact that the main Moslem group, the MNLF, has signed with the government.   (TODAY)   - The Philippine economy is moving to a higher growth path and now has the potential to grow at an annual rate of six to seven percent over the next few years, the Asian Development Bank said.   (THE PHILIPPINE JOURNAL)   - The Department of Health on Tuesday traced the source of the cholera outbreak in Manila to an illegal water reservoir that was contaminated with waste from public toilets.   (THE MANILA CHRONICLE)   - The Philippine National Police has tightened security around the Egyptian and Indian embassies in Manila in response to requests from the embassies.   The embassies said they received reports terrorist groups were out to assassinate their envoys.   (MANILA BULLETIN)    +++++   BUSINESS   - The office of the Government Corporate Counsel has refused to allow the extension of the deadline set by the Bases Conversion Development Authority for the Manuela land & Houses consortium to sign a lease agreement for the development of Camp John Hay.   (MANILA BULLETIN)   - Philippine Airlines stockholders on Tuesday agreed to implement a 100 percent increase in the firm's capital base within the month, giving all stockholders seven days to exercise their preemptive rights to subscribe to the capital call.   (THE BUSINESS DAILY)   - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday formally submitted to President Ramos a proposal to set up a special mutual fund company to manage the savings of overseas Filipino workers.   (THE MANILA CHRONICLE)   - The SEC is directing the Philippine Stock Exchange to suspend the processing of all "backdoor listings" until after the issuance of rules governing these listings, an SEC official said.   (THE PHILIPPINE JOURNAL)   - Manila newsroom (632) 841 8934 
13380 !GCAT  Following are the main stories in Wednesday's Malaysian newspapers.   NEW STRAITS TIMES   - Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said operators of Malaysia's three privatised ports must work together while maintaining a healthy competitive spirit.   He said the nation should be given priority, not the companies or the ports -- Northport, Southport and Westport.   - Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said retrenchment exercises affecting workers in the electronic and oil industries did not indicate the economy is on a decline.   The move would instead benefit the economy as many other industries are facing problems getting workers.   - The central bank will implement a new cheque clearing system in phases from next year which will see outstation cheques being cleared within five days intead of up to 14 days.   THE STAR   - Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad wants work on the Putrajaya administrative centre to be speeded up now that certain regulatory constraints have been resolved.   - Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim warned property developers not to test the government's patience over its directive on building low and medium cost housing.   - Two Sarawak groups have merged to become a powerful infrastructure and finance giant, Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd (formerly Cement Manufacturers Sarawak Bhd) and BUMB Holdings Bhd.   - Kuala Lumpur newsroom (603-230 8911) 
13381 !GCAT !GDIP  Indonesian armed forces commander General Feisal Tanjung said on Wednesday China had no problem with Indonesia's military exercises at the Natuna islands in the South China Sea.   "There is no problem," Tanjung told reporters after accompanying Chinese Chief of General Staff Fu Quangyou to a meeting with President Suharto.   Asked whether he had discussed the exercises with the Chinese official, Tanjung said: "We have and there is no problem."   Indonesia's military is conducting its largest exercises in four years in the area around the Natunas, the site of a huge gas field which Jakarta hopes to make operational by 2004.   At least 19,500 personnel are participating along with warships and combat aircraft.   Indonesia recently questioned a Chinese maritime map which showed the Natunas as part of China but later accepted an explanation from Beijing that they belonged to Jakarta.   Fu told reporters his visit was aimed at seeking military cooperation with Indonesia in the field of science and technology.   Tanjung said Fu informed him about Chinese policy on Hong Kong and Taiwan.   He gave no other details. 
13382 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Any supplementary budget for the current year is likely to be drawn up simultaneously with the budget for the next fiscal year, Japanese Finance Ministry officials said on Wednesday.   The budget for 1997/98, starting next April 1, is due to be drafted at the year-end.   One official said formulation of a supplementary budget will be delayed until the end of this year if a general election is held in October, as newspapers have speculated.   "If the government decides to adopt a supplementary budget, the extra budget will be formulated together with a 1997/98 budget," he said.   Another official said formulation of an extra budget at the year-end would not have a negative impact on the economy.   "Even if we cannot formulate a supplementary budget in the autumn because of elections, we do not have to worry too much about negative effects of a delay on the economy," he said. 
13383 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  China's central Henan province has ordered firms engaged in illegal fund-raising schemes to halt such activities and repay investors, a central bank official said on Wednesday.   The central bank's Henan provincial branch has issued a circular restating a ban on unauthorised fund-raising by firms and ordering firms to repay the funds, the official told Reuters by telephone from the provincial capital, Zhengzhou.   The funds are usually normally raised by firms under the pretext of investment in infrastructure and technical renovation and can reach as much as 10 million yuan in some larger firms, he said.   "Firms with such funds must pay back their employees before official deadlines," he said.   The central bank had fined several companies for illegal fund-raising, he said but gave no further details.   Firms wanting to issue debt must obtain approval from both the central bank and the State Planning Commission, which allocate quotas to each province, he said.   Some firms had promised interest rates as high as 20 percent on the funds compared with a bank interest rate of just 7.47 percent earned on one-year fixed deposits.    "The illegal fund-raising is a result of the tight monetary policy and firms' desperate demand for capital," the bank official said.   "They became more active after the interest rate cuts."   The central bank has cut interest rates twice in less than four months.   The most recent reduction on August 23 trimmed interest on bank deposits by an average of 1.5 percentage points. 
13384 !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Japan's three ruling coalition parties are expected to map out an outline on how to reform the Ministry of Finance (MOF) by September 20, a senior coalition lawmaker said on Wednesday.   "We want coalition party executives to reach a consensus on the ministry's reform outline by September 20," said Shigeru Ito, a deputy chairman of the Social Democratic Party.   But Ito, who also heads the coalition's special task force in charge of reforming MOF, added that specific reform plans may come after general elections, which are widely expected to be called later this year.    Ito vowed to seek "bold measures" to overhaul the ministry by splitting up its functions and distributing its responsibilities.   For instance, he said, the coalition is considering merging the ministry's banking, securities and international finance bureaux into one or two entities.   "It is troublesome to see too much concentration of power and authority in the ministry like at present.   We need to carry out bold reforms in what is dubbed the MOF empire," Ito said.   The coalition was considering setting up an independent body to inspect and supervise Japan's financial industry, which he said should play the role as a "strict referee".   The ministry, long viewed as the pinnacle of Japan's elite bureaucracy, has come under fire for its handling of problems in the nation's banking industry and has been urged to change its system of trying to deal with banking crises internally.   Ito said the coalition may need to take away the budget-drafting function from the ministry, while reviewing the current system of letting senior MOF officials take lucrative jobs in the private sector after their retirement or vice ministerial posts in the government agencies of defence, environment and national land. 
13385 !GCAT !GDIP  American veterans of the Vietnam War took a big stride towards further reconciliation with their former enemies on Wednesday, handing over information about mass graves where 600 Vietnamese servicemen are buried.   James Brazee, President of Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), handed his counterpart in Hanoi a North Vietnamese soldier's ammunition pouch and gas mask along with a briefcase packed with papers related to the war, which ended 21 years ago.   "The issue of those missing is still of primary importance to both sides," Brazee told retired Major-General Nguyen Trong Vinh, vice-president of the Vietnam Veterans' Association.   The documents, which included maps pinpointing two burial sites in the central province of Quang Tri, increased to more than 6,000 the number of Vietnamese war dead on whom the VVA had provided information.   The VVA launched a drive in February 1994, asking members to turn in battlefield souvenirs to help Vietnam determine the fate of some of its 300,000 missing servicemen.   Vinh thanked Brazee for the objects and papers and told him that the remains of an American pilot had been recently discovered in Quang Tri, the scene of some of the most bloody battles during the war's 1968 Tet Offensive.   He told Reuters that Vietnam's veterans had provided information that helped the United States clear up 29 cases.   He also promised continued cooperation between the two associations.   According to U.S. officials, 2,143 American military personnel and civilians are still listed as missing in action (MIA) in Southeast Asia.   More than 1,600 of the total were in Vietnam.   More than three million Vietnamese and about 58,000 Americans died in the war, which ended with a communist victory over U.S.-backed South Vietnam in 1975.   The United States and Vietnam normalised relations in July 1995.   But progress and economic and strategic ties have been hampered by the festering MIA issue.   Briefing reporters ahead of a visit by U.S. national security advisor Anthony Lake in July, Hanoi expressed some irritation over Washington's stress on MIA accounting and said there were other post-war humanitarian issues that needed to be addressed.   Brazee also handed over photographs of the war that the VVA had received from veterans.   "We realise that they are not pleasant to look at, but we as soldiers know that war is horrible," he said.   "We do not want to keep anything that is provided to us by American Vietnam veterans, we want to give it to you."   The VVA delegation, on a five-day visit, was due to hold talks in Hanoi on Thursday about the effects of Agent Orange.   The herbicide was widely used by the Americans in the war to defoliate jungles areas used by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops.   Although there has been a long and bitter debate over the effects of the chemical, it is generally recognised that it raises the risk of cancer, reproductive problems and other illnesses.   The group will also visit a "peace village" west of Hanoi, home to suspected second-generation victims of the chemical. 
13386 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  A strong earthquake on Wednesday caused pipelines supplying jet fuel to Tokyo's Narita airport to shut automatically, but they are due to open on Friday after checks, an airport official said.    The airport has about 90,000 kilolitres of jet fuel stocks, enough for about seven days, he said.   Two pipelines extending 47 km between an oil terminal at Chiba port and the airport were shut when an earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale hit Tokyo and surrounding areas late on Wednesday morning. 
13387 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said on Wednesday the Middle East peace process is now "passing through difficult times" and sought Japan's support in the face of a new hard-line Israel.   "This (peace) process is now passing through difficult times," Arafat told a lecture audience in Tokyo.   "It is almost frozen and that caused a real crisis which undermined all the expectations which came to existence in the beginning of the process."   "Japan has a moral and political responsibility to push forward the peace process," he told guests at a reception later.   "I reiterate the importance of your support here in friendly Japan, of your role and efforts to rescue the peace process and push it forward again on all tracks," Arafat said.   Arafat's four-day visit to Tokyo, which began on Tuesday, comes just a week after his landmark meeting and handshake with new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.   Arafat, who in January became the first democratically chosen Palestinian leader, is touring the world appealing for pressure on the new Israeli leader.   Arafat said Israel's refusal to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and West Bank is strangling the Palestinian economy, estimating the daily loss at $7 million.   "We are gravely concerned by the Israeli practices...which is a violation of all the signed agreement and a challenge to the will of international community and the resolutions of international legitimacy," Arafat said.   The Palestinians want implementation of the 1993 Oslo agreement on an Israeli troop redeployment in Hebron and other areas of the West Bank and the opening of a passage for Palestinians to travel between the West Bank and Gaza.   Israel has stressed that self-rule in the Gaza Strip and West Bank cannot go ahead unless its security needs are satisfied.   The Palestinians have said they will not give in to Israeli demands to modify the Oslo agreement, but will only discuss its implementation.   Arafat was meeting Japanese Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda later in the day and is due to see Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto on Thursday.   Japan has diplomatic relations with Israel but does not officially recognise the Palestine Liberation Organisation, although the government has allowed it to have a representative office in Tokyo.   The PLO closed its Tokyo office in June 1995 because of financial difficulties.   Japan, which relies on the Arab world for 70 percent of its oil, has historically taken a pro-Arab stance. 
13388 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Microsoft Corp, Lotus Development Corp, an IBM subsidiary, and Just System Corp said on Wednesday they had settled a dispute in which they said an Osaka-based software maker was illegally copying their programmes.   Under the conditions of the out-of-court settlement, the Osaka company will pay a total of 140 million yen to the two U.S. firms and to Just System, the three firms said.   "As far as we know, it is the largest compensation for damages paid for illegal computer software copying in Japan," a spokesman at Microsoft said.   The case started when the three firms received a letter from an employee of the Osaka firm, a Lotus spokeswoman said.   Microsoft, Lotus, Just System and the Osaka District Court declined to reveal the name of the Osaka software company.   A probe by the court in March found that the Osaka firm had illegally copied and was using 20 computer software programmes developed by the three companies, the Lotus spokeswoman said.   Microsoft's "Microsoft Excel", Lotus's "1-2-3-" and Just System's "Ichitaro" were among the programmes, she said.   The Microsoft spokesman said: "We believe the settlement is a step forward in protecting computer software copyrights in Japan." 
13389 !GCAT !GDIS !GENV  The death toll from Typhoon Sally, which slammed into southern China this week, has climbed to 133, officials and state media said on Wednesday.   The typhoon also left 190 missing after slicing across Guangdong province on Monday and neighbouring Guangxi province the next day.   "We have 100 seriously injured here...The death toll is likely to rise," an official of Maoming city in Guangdong told Reuters by telephone.   The death toll in Maoming rose by three to 36 on Wednesday, officials said, adding that at least 79 people were killed in worst-hit neighbouring Zhanjiang city.   In Guangxi, at least 16 people were killed and 160 injured, the China News Service said.   Officials in Guangdong's Yangjiang city reported at least two dead.   Hundreds of fishing boats either sank or were damaged.   Economic losses in Maoming and Zhanjiang alone were estimated at 12.8 billion yuan ($1.5 billion), local officials said.   Soldiers and paramilitary police had been deployed to help with rescue work in Zhanjiang, where almost all trees in the city and its suburbs had been uprooted by the storm's fierce winds.   Rail and highway traffic had been suspended.   Water supplies and electricity were cut off but in some areas had been restored by Wednesday morning, officials said.   The typhoon follows floods that swept across central and southern China in July, killing at least 2,700 people and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless, according to the latest official figures. 
13390 !C23 !CCAT !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Taiwan officials on Wednesday would not confirm or deny a newspaper report that the island soon would test fire a new surface-to-surface missile with sufficient range to strike targets in China.   The China Times said designers had nearly completed development of the missile, whose range of 300 km (186 miles) would enable it to hit many coastal military installations in China, Taiwan's rival since a civil war split them in 1949.   "The surface-to-surface missiles...are scheduled to be test fired this year," the mass-circulation daily quoted unidentified military officials as saying.   Defence Minister Chiang Chung-ling declined to comment.   "I have nothing to tell you," Chiang told reporters.   When asked if the missile would help Taiwan's defence significantly.   he also declined comment.   Other officials would not confirm or deny the report.   China mounted war games and missile tests in waters near Taiwan in a long intimidation campaign that peaked during the island's historic popular presidential election in March, highlighting Taiwan's growing vulnerability.   Some analysts say China's manoeuvres backfired, angering the United States and other Western powers and strengthening Taiwan's assertion that it needs advanced Western defences.   The newspaper, quoting unnamed officials, said Taiwan now hoped to buy from Washington a long-distance weapons system from which to fire the missile and would make the request in 1997.   If the U.S. purchase and missile deployment proceeded smoothly, Taiwan would be able to strike China's coastal airports and military bases when necessary, it said.   The state-run Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, Taiwan's main weapons research centre, has said it was capable of developing such surface-to-surface missiles, but declined to say whether any project was under way.   Since the 1980s, the institute has developed first and second generation versions of anti-ship Hsiung Feng missiles, anti-aircraft Sky Bow and Sky Sword missiles.   The new missile is based on Sky Bow II, the report said.   Taiwan began developing advanced weapons after the United States and other supporters switched diplomatic ties to Beijing, which has increased pressure on its diplomatic partners to stop arming what it regards as a renegade province.   Beijing maintains a standing threat to recover the island by force if it opts for independence, prompting Taiwan to spend huge sums on advanced weapons and on the military in general.   Both governments say they want reunification, but under different terms.   Citing China's military buildup, Taiwan in 1992 managed to order 150 F-16 and 60 Mirage 2000 fighters from the United States and France.   Deliveries started in mid-1996.   Taiwan's state-funded television reported on Tuesday that the island would begin mass-producing a new generation of the Sky Sword II missiles by July 1997. 
13391 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  South Korea said on Wednesday said it welcomed the United Nations' adoption of a landmark nuclear test ban treaty.   "South Korea welcomes adoption of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) by the United Nations General Assembly," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.   "We believe the U.N. decision will play a positive role in controlling development of nuclear bombs and that will lead to non-proliferation and disarmament," it said.   The statement said South Korea hoped all countries would soon ratify the treaty.   The U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved and opened for signature a landmark treaty that would ban nuclear explosions from the world forever.   But the assembly's action was not sufficient to implement the treaty because India, whose signature is necessary, has yet to be persuaded to ratify it. 
13392 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Two of Indonesian President Suharto's children have been selected by the ruling Golkar party as candidates for next year's parliamentary elections, the Jakarta Post newspaper said on Wednesday.   The newspaper quoted Dien Syamsuddin, the head of Golkar's research and development department, as saying the list of candidates for the 425 elective seats in parliament included Suharto's eldest daughter, Siti Hardianti Rukmana, and son, Bambang Trihatmodjo.   Both are established figures in Indonesian business.   Rukmana controls toll-road operator PT Citra Marga, while Trihatmodjo owns a majority share in the Bimantara conglomerate.   Neither is currently a member of parliament.   Suharto, who has three daughters and three sons, has ruled Indonesia since the mid-1960s. He has been elected president unopposed for six consecutive five-year terms.   Newspapers have said Rukmana has sought a wider political role in Indonesia since the death of Suharto's wife, Tien, in April.   Trihatmodjo usually maintains a lower profile in politics but is a member of Golkar.   The Jakarta Post said Vice-President Try Sutrisno's son, Isfan Fajar Satryo, was also on the list of candidates for the 500-member House of Representatives.   Seventy-five seats in the house are nominated by the military, while the rest are contested by Indonesia's three permitted political parties -- Golkar, the Christian-Nationalist Indonesian Democratic Party and the Moslem-oriented United Development Party.   All three parties have to submit lists of candidates by September 16, which will then be scrutinised by the interior ministry.   Elections are to be held in mid-1997. 
13393 !C13 !CCAT !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  China's propaganda tsars have suspended a magazine and banned articles by a leading bankruptcy expert after a lengthy behind-doors debate on economic reform erupted into the public eye, Chinese sources said on Wednesday.   The ban prompted an open letter by a writer in Beijing questioning whether China's propaganda officials were opposed to economic reform and whether they backed the leadership of state president and Communist Party chief Jiang Zemin.   The Press and Publications Administration, under the party's powerful Propaganda Department, suspended publication of the Economic Work Monthly, based in southwestern Guizhou province, in August, said sources familiar with the magazine.   The suspension followed the magazine's publication of an article critical of a privately circulated tract known as the "10,000-word essay" which urges a return to class struggle and warns of the erosion of the state sector by private enterprise.   This was the first public disclosure in China of the essay penned by supporters of a more orthodox Marxist line.   Western diplomats and Chinese analysts have described a literary and cultural freeze in recent months amid a crackdown by propaganda tsars on publications and authors that dare to break away from a stultifying diet of state-approved fare.   The president of the outspoken Beijing Youth Daily is to be replaced soon by a more conservative editor.   The clampdown has been fuelled by a call for "spiritual civilisation" -- a communist watchword for orthodox Marxist values -- as the theme for a party plenum scheduled for later this month, the analysts said.   Suspension of the Economic Work Monthly came after the Press and Publications Administration issued an internal notice on August 9 banning newspapers and magazines from reprinting two articles on economic reform by prominent economist Cao Siyuan that were carried in the magazine's July edition, the sources said.   The notice said Cao's articles "violated propaganda discipline" and contained "serious political problems", said a source who saw the circular.   The notice did not elaborate on the political problems in the articles by Cao, who drafted China's bankruptcy law in the mid-1980s, said the source, who declined to be identified.   Cao's daring articles focused on criticism of the essay doubting the merits of reform and believed to have been produced by the office of Deng Liqun, a retired propaganda tsar and former secretary to late Chairman Mao Zedong.   The essay, titled "Factors Affecting Our Country's National Security" has circulated privately in official and intellectual circles since last year and has sparked widespread debate between those advocating market reforms and conservative defenders of public ownership and central planning.   In an open letter issued on September 8 and timed to precede the forthcoming party plenum, writer Shi Jin said: "Although no blood has been shed, the magazine is dead... The Propaganda Department can no longer distance itself from the '10,000-word essay'.   "Does the Propaganda Department represent the party centre?   Is (department head) Ding Guangen helping Jiang Zemin, or is he hindering Jiang Zemin?  ," wrote Shi, who could not be further identified.   Jiang is said to have distanced himself from the essay at the annual session of the National People's Congress, or parliament, last March, when he reportedly said: "Some people say I support the 10,000-word essay, isn't that underestimating me too much?" 
13394 !C21 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Indonesian plastics company PT Dynaplast said on Wednesday that operations at its plant in Tangerang had returned to normal after a strike on Tuesday and added it was in negotiations with workers.   "We are currently negotiating with workers' representatives over their demands for higher wages.   But it would be difficult to agree to their demands as we have a huge number of workers.   We've got some 2,500 workers," corporate secretary Gunawan Cokro told Reuters.   Dynaplast stopped production on Tuesday night after a strike involving hundreds of workers started in the morning, Gunawan said.   The plant located in Tangerang, West Java, employs around 900 workers, mostly women, Gunawan said.   He said the workers were demanding an incrase of 1,500 rupiah in their meal allowance and 2,000 rupiah in their transport allowance.   The firm currently pays a minimum daily wage of between 5,200 rupiah to 7,200 rupiah, he said.   The government has set minimum daily wages in Tangerang at 5,200 rupiah.   Dynaplast, a plastic components, plastic packaging and plastic sheets manufacturer, posted a net profit of 5.74 billion rupiah in the first-half of 1996 against 4.57 billion rupiah in the same period of last year.   -- Jakarta newsroom +6221 384-6364 
13395 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Japanese financial institutions face a spate of lawsuits over insurance policies they hawked during the boom years of the 1980s "bubble" that have now gone sour, analysts say.   Already battered by a bad loan mess from the bubble that is costing billions of taxpayer dollars in a government-led cleanup, they now have to deal with angry policyholders.   The policyholders, mostly elderly people, were left with heavy debts when they could no longer repay loans taken out to buy variable insurance policies as yields turned negative.   Many policyholders say they were duped into buying variable insurance during the bubble of inflated asset prices and were not fully told of the risk of losses on their policies.   Banks and insurance firms teamed up to sell variable insurance policies during the bubble, they say.   "Lawsuits on variable insurance policies are something like 'bombs' for banks," said Katsuhito Sasajima, an analyst at Nikko Research Centre.   The cases show that the after-shocks of the bursting of bubble have yet to disappear for many individual investors even as the government has begun to tackle the problem of massive bad loans at banks this year, he said.   So far, more than 400 lawsuits have been filed against major banks and insurers, a lawyer said, citing a figure calculated by a group of policyholders' lawyers.   Variable insurance policies, introduced in Japan in 1986, attracted individuals initially by raising hopes of high yields, with some topping 20 percent, as stock and asset prices soared, said an official at the Life Insurance Association of Japan.   As Japan's economy dipped into recession in the early 1990s yields went south, leaving some investors heavily in debt as they borrowed from banks to buy the insurance policies.   Variable insurance policies in Japan are divided into two parts.   One part guarantees a fixed amount of money to be paid at the time of the policyholder's death, and another invests in stocks, bonds and other financial assets.   Policies can run for the buyer's lifetime or a set term.   Under a whole-life contract, a fixed amount as well as an additional sum depending on the investment performance is paid at the time of death.   But if the contract is cancelled before then, the amount repaid depends on the investment performance.   Hiroko Ohishi, 71, who has brought a suit now being heard by a Tokyo court, said an insurance agent did not adequately explain risks involved in variable insurance.   "If I knew such risks, I would not have bought such products," she said.   "During the bubble, banks and insurers aggressively sold the insurance to ordinary people worried about the heavy burden of inheritance tax," Ohishi said.   Her family borrowed 130 million yen ($1.19 million) from a bank to buy the insurance.   Of about 50 cases decided in court so far, only three have gone entirely in favour of the policyholders, the lawyer said.   In one case last week, Yokohama District Court ordered financial institutions to pay compensation or return the premiums to four plaintiffs.   Dissatisfied with the decision, the institutions have appealed to a higher court.   Meiji Life Insurance and Mitsubishi Bank, now the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ltd, have the largest number of lawsuits filed against them, according to the lawyers' group.   A spokesman at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi said 18 variable insurance lawsuits against the bank had so far been concluded and each was in favour of the bank.   "But some customers are having trouble repaying borrowings (used to buy variable insurance).   So we have been talking with them about revising the conditions of repayment," he said.   ($1=109 yen) 
13396 !C13 !CCAT !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Philippine legislators are expected to approve a new formula for taxing beer and cigarettes, ending an impasse that has stalled passage of a crucial tax reform package, the Speaker of the House of Representatives said on Wednesday.   "I am very happy that we have finally reconciled our differences on this very important piece of tax legislation, which is also a controversial piece of legislation," Speaker Jose de Venecia told reporters.   He said the House later on Wednesday would endorse a specific tax on beer and cigarettes based on their retail price, in line with the original government proposals.   De Venecia, speaking after a meeting of President Fidel Ramos's legislative advisory committee, said the House proposals were supported by Ramos and Finance Secretary Roberto de Ocampo.   After the House approves its proposals, they will then go to the Senate for further deliberation.   De Venecia emphasised that the new system would be primarily based on specific taxes and that an ad valorem component would only be applied for higher priced cigarettes and beer.   Debate on the excise taxes has been stalled for months by debate over the specific tax system and the alternative ad valorem system.   Some breweries and tobacco companies have been accused of taking advantage of the current ad valorem method, which is based on the manufacturers' price, by undervaluing their products, thus lowering their tax bill.   Excise taxes are supposed to account for 45 percent of the 13.6 billion pesos ($520 million) in annual additional revenues the government's Comprehensive Tax Reform Programme are designed to produce, according to government figures.   The government wanted to switch from the ad valorem system to a specific tax system because the former left too much room for tax evasion.   The Asian Development Bank on Tuesday became the latest in a line of public and private institutions to warn the government of the urgency of pushing ahead with its tax package.   It said in a report that with government receipts from privatisations drying up, there was an urgent need to approve tax reforms which would ensure more sustainable revenues. 
13397 !GCAT !GCRIM  A U.S. serviceman in South Korea is to be charged with the murder of a local woman who was stabbed to death on Saturday, a U.S. military statement said on Wednesday.   Eric Munnich, from Chicago, had confessed during questioning by South Korean police and U.S. military investigators, the statement said.   "A joint investigation by Republic of Korea and U.S. law enforcement authorities has led to an arrest and confession by the suspect in the September 7 murder of Lee Ki-sun," the statement said.   The body of Lee, 44, was found in a boarding house near a U.S. military base where Munnich is stationed.   The United States maintains 37,000 troops in South Korea to defend against any conflict with North Korea.   Crimes committed by U.S. troops have traditionally fanned opposition to their presence by radical students and leftist organisations. 
13398 !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Taiwan Vice-President Lien Chan was quoted on Wednesday as saying China would harm its own economy and the whole region's stability and security if it failed to keep its promises on the future of Hong Kong.   "If China cannot keep its promises to Hong Kong, and dampens Hong Kong's (economic) superiority, it will obstruct China's economic reform and lead to political instability, and further affect the development and security of the Asia-Pacific region," Lien told the Sing Tao Daily in an interview.   Beijing has promised Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy and a system of "Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong" after Britain hands the colony back to China at midnight June 30, 1997.   Lien said Hong Kong's economic freedom might continue after 1997 but politically China would not depart from its autocratic style of governing.   "The principles of Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong and high autonomy could only be exercised within a very restricted framework determined by China," he said.   Lien's remarks were published in a short extract from the interview, which Sing Tao plans to run in full on Thursday.   The Hong Kong handover is a first step towards China's goal of reintegrating its lost territories, which also include Taiwan and Portuguese-administered Macau.   China has often accused the Taiwan government of plotting a formal independence move or a "two Chinas" policy.   Beijing has regarded Taiwan as a rebel province since the Chinese Nationalist regime took refuge on the island after losing a civil war to the communists on the mainland in 1949.    "The issue for the future is, as the IDA goes and we find we don't have concessionary money for the social sectors and the poorer provinces, does China want us to continue to lend to those areas using IBRD resources?"   Hope said.   The World Bank would need to decide whether it would be able to lend IBRD funds to China near current levels "given that we need to keep an eye on equitable and prudential considerations in the way we lend resources to our clients," he said.   China is a major recipient of direct foreign investment, but Hope said that, as in many countries in the region, changes in legal and regulatory frameworks were necessary to entice more investment in large-scale infrastructure projects.   Much of the private direct investment in China had been directed at small-scale projects in manufacturing and services, he noted.   The Chinese goverment, together with mulitlateral agencies including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, is working on pilot models to help better direct foreign investment.   -- Hong Kong Newsroom (852) 2843-6371 
13399 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Leaders of the three parties in Japan's ruling coalition are expected to meet in a day or two to decide when to call a general election, a senior official of Social Democratic Party told reporters on Wednesday.    Referring to domestic newspaper reports that a general election was likely to be held on October 20, Shigeru Ito, a deputy chairman of the Social Democratic Party, said: "Tomorrow or the day after there will be a meeting between the three party leaders to discuss when to call general elections."   He said the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) wanted to hold general elections as soon as possible, but his own party needed He said his party had to settle the issue of when and how to form a new party but it would follow any decision that came from the meeting of the three party leaders.    He did not give any likely date for a general election.   Referring to the likely size of a supplementary budget for the current fiscal year to next March, widely expected to be drafted by the year-end, Ito said the government may need to finance extra expenditure totalling 400 billion to 500 billion yen.   The extra budget would include a special provision of five billion yen for the development of Okinawa and other expenditure for construction projects following the Kobe earthquake in January last year, projects to support small firms and for regular pay rises for public servants.    Ito said extra spending must not be financed by additional issues of government bonds, but rather by cutting regular expenditures through administrative reform or other measures.   He said the sum needed for Okinawa projects could be covered by government reserves without drafting an extra budget, because reserves currently stood at 300 billion yen.   He said there were contradictory opinions within the LDP, the biggest party in the coalition, with some saying an extraordinary session of parliament should be called to pass an extra budget, and others arguing that such a session should be called and then immediately dissolved for an election.   The coalition needed to decide on the matter soon, he said.   He quoted Social Democrat leader Tomichii Murayama as saying the rule was for the three party leaders to decide the date for an election based on discussions among them.   Murayama had said that if other parties did not follow this rule, the Social Democrats would not cooperate with them after an election. 
13400 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp (NTT) said on Wednesday that it would cut its workforce to 150,000 by the end of the year to March 31, 2001 from 185,000 at the end of March 1996.    The planned cut in NTT's workforce is part of the company's overall review of its operations, NTT said in a statement.   NTT is reviewing its telephone directory enquiry service, sales and maintenance activities, and operations related to software development, it said without elaborating. 
13401 !C13 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV  "Si Doel", a popular Indonesian television comedy, tells a story of two likeable rogues from Jakarta's suburbs who ferry people illegally in their rusty and smoke-belching bemo -- a three-wheeled motorised minibus.   But some people are not amused.   Jakarta's city council, which has the unenviable job of trying to solve the horrendous traffic jams that plague this city of 10 million people, are trying to get rid of the vehicle.   Officials want to phase out 1,800 bemos by 1998.   Sometime after that the city's 14,000 bajajs, a three-wheeled motorised rickshaw named after Indian manufacturer Bajaj Auto Ltd, will also be junked, they say.   "We have to educate our people here to get used to a modern bus service," an official from the town planning department told Reuters.   The bajaj -- which has no specific route and carries only two people -- does not maximise road capacity, she said.   Jakarta's traffic jams are legion.   With around 1.5 million vehicles on the streets (86 percent of which are private cars), many journeys of only a few kilometres can take up to an hour in rush-hour traffic.   Many people set off from home before dawn to reach offices on time and leave well after dark, when they expect traffic to be lighter.   Others have been known to finish a paperback novel in the time taken on the two journeys.   Things are set to get worse.   In a recent study, the city administration predicted that by the year 2010 Jakarta will have a population close to 12 million and about one-third of them will own a car.   To cope with this unbridled growth, officials want to beef up the public transport system.   Until recently the council's main focus had been on reducing the number of cars in the city.   In 1992 they introduced a "three-in-one" policy, under which there had to be a minimum of three people in a car entering the central business district at specified times in the morning and evening.   But people got around the law by paying street children to make up the required number.   Groups of young boys gather near the arterial road into the city each morning and climb in for the short ride past the video cameras strung up a little further on.   They charge as little as 1,000 rupiah (less than 50 U.S. cents) per trip and quickly sprint back to find another commuter.   With that scheme largely proving useless, officials are trying to revive the city's moribund public transport service and rid the city of bemos and bajajs.   "Public transport should be the backbone of our city," the planning official said.   But many fear that the council's plans will lead to job losses.   "My drivers have to live...think of their families," said Tasripah, a woman who owns a fleet of 50 bajajs.   Around 30,000 drivers depend on the bajaj to make a living, taking home about 10,000 rupiah ($5) a day after paying 20,000 ($10) to the owner.   Tasripah -- who says she makes about 60 million rupiah ($25,800) a year from her business -- said that the ban will not only affect owners and drivers but also millions of people who rely on the vehicles for quick short trips.   "We don't have to change.   There's no problem as there is," she said.   Still, officials are plugging the scheme as part of a drive to turn Jakarta into a symbol of Indonesia's economic growth.   New toll roads have recently been built, by a company owned by President Suharto's daughter Siti Hardianti Rukmana.   The same company has plans to build a $800 million elevated railway track next year and begin work on a subway in 2001.   In contrast, the bemo and the bajaj are slow, polluting and ecologically unfriendly.   The city administration wants to replace them with bigger minivans which, officials said, will maximise road efficiency and be cleaner and safer.   Early attempts to get bemo drivers to switch to minivans by the 1998-deadline have been a failure with only 100 drivers signing up to the scheme.   Officials said this is because around 750 of Jakarta's 1,800 bemos already operate without permits. 
13402 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Japan's Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto said on Wednesday he would decide on a date to hold a general election after confirming that Japan's economy is in a full recovery phase and settling the Okinawa issue.    Asked if he had decided when to dissolve parliament and call a general election, Hashimoto told reporters he would make a decision on the basis of important national issues.   "I will make a decision on a specific date after confirming that the Okinawa issue will be solved and that a full economic recovery is under way," Hashimoto said.   Japanese media reported on Wednesday that Hashimoto had decided to call a general election on October 20.   "We have to first see Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) to make sure the economy is heading for full recovery," Hashimoto said.   The April-June GDP data is expected at the end of this week or early next week.    Hashimoto said on Tuesday after a meeting with the governor of the southern Japanese prefecture of Okinawa that the issue of the huge U.S. military presence on the island had not yet been resolved.   Concerning the timing of the election, Hashimoto also said on Wednesday that he had to keep in mind the planned visits to Japan by the French and German presidents in November.   "We should pay due respect to the visits of foreign guests," he said. 
13403 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Southeast Asian nations expressed their concern on Wednesday over cuts in aid to the region by the United States at the opening of a two-day meeting.   Indonesian co-chairman of the 13th ASEAN-U.S. Dialogue, Izhar Ibrahim, said the seven members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) still saw development cooperation as an integral part of relations between Washington and the group.   "ASEAN appreciates the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) contributions and its support for ASEAN projects.   However, I would like to reiterate the concern of ASEAN due to diminishing USAID commitment towards ASEAN," Ibrahim said in an opening address.   "The funding through the Private Investment Trade Opportunities ended in June 1995, leaving only the Environmental Improvement Programme as a funding force," he added.   Ibrahim said ASEAN could understand that the United States was developing an economic and commercial relationship with other countries and organisations.   "But I would also like to stress here that three Southeast Asian countries, namely Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar (Burma) will join ASEAN in the not-too-distant future," said Ibrahim, who is also Indonesia's foreign ministry's director-general for political affairs.   The U.S. delegation leader, Under-Secretary of State Winston Lord, did not address the aid issue in his opening remarks after Ibrahim's statement.   Lord said the dialogue, being held on the Indonesian special industrial zone and resort island of Batam near Singapore, would cover political and economic issues including trade, investment, the Korean peninsula, the South China Sea and the United States' regional security role.   Cambodia and Burma would also be touched on, he told the opening session.   ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. 
13404 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  Twenty-four crew members of a Chinese-registered cargo ship were rescued on Wednesday after their vessel began sinking 388 miles (554 km) southeast of Hong Kong, marine officials said.   "All crew members on board the ship have been rescued by a vessel which was passing by," an officer for Hong Kong's Marine Rescue Coordination Centre told Reuters.   He said the Wanliea, a 4,600 gross registered ton cargo vessel bound for Hong Kong from the Solomon Islands, was still sinking.   The crew was taken to Singapore.   "The crew reported the vessel had begun to take in water, and was sinking," the officer said.   "That is all we know at this stage."   There were no details available on the cargo carried by the vessel. 
13405 !C12 !C31 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  About 90 percent of the photographic film and paper sold in China is smuggled into the country to avoid tariffs, the Shanghai-based Business News said on Wednesday.   The newspaper said the value of the photo film and supplies market in China in the first half of 1996 was $113.5 million and the government lost $82.6 million in tariff income as a result of smuggling.   Most of the goods are smuggled into China under the protection of regional governments in the form of preferential policies and tax allowances, the paper said but gave no details.   Domestic Chinese photo film manufacturers now have only about 10 percent of the market. 
13406 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the official Vietnamese press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   VIETNAM NEWS   -- The Ministry of Planning and Investment licensed 192 joint ventures and wholly foreign investment projects in the first eight months of this year, with registered capital of over $3 billion.   Companies from Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore continued to top the list of investors.   -- Twenty thousand tonnes of Vietnamese rice has arrived in the Cuban port of Havana as a gift from the Vietnamese people.   -- A delegation from Vietnam's National Assembly, led by Chairman Nong Duc Manh, yesterday began an official visit to Malaysia.   -- Quebec's Minister for International Affairs, Sylvain Simard, will leave today after a three-day visit to Hanoi.   -- The overseas arm of Pacific Power, the Australian state of New South Wales' largest government enterprise, has won a $579.68 million dollar contract to design and supervise the construction of an electricity station in Pha Lai.   NSW Premier Bob Carr and Pacific Power Chairman Fred Hilmer said in Sydney that Pacific Poiwer International and a Japanese development company would provide project supervision for the power station.   -- More than a dozen car makers and parts and accessories suppliers will display their latest models and technology at a show in Ho Chi Minh City October 3-7.   -- The State Bank of Vietnam will auction 50 billion dong ($4.54 million) of one-year Treasury bills today.   - - - -   LE COURRIER DU VIETNAM   -- Bidding will open in April 1997 for the construction of a 300-km (188-mile) stretch of road between Vinh, Nghe An province, and Dong Ha, Quang Tri province.   The World Bank is helping finance the $200-million project.   -- More than 165 foreign and local companies have signed up for an October 22-26 exhibition on Telecommunications, Computers, Radio and Television in Ho Chi Minh City.   - - - -   NHAN DAN   -- Vietnam's army took part in a reforestration and protection project on 50,000 ha of forest area.   -- A $300-million shipbuilding project has been submitted to the government for official approval by the Ministry of Planning and Investment.   The project is a joint-venture between four companies of the Hyundai group and Vietnam Shipbuilding Corp.   -- Minister of Science, Technology and Envronment Dang Huu said in an interview that government and Communist Party policies have not yet created a favourable environment for the development of science and technology.   He said that in the near future, two percent of the state budget would be spent on scientific and technological development.   - - - -   QUAN DOI NHAN DAN   -- The number of HIV carriers in Vietnam had reached 4,209 by the end of August.   Three hundred and fifty-three were suffering from AIDS and 184 have died from the disease.   -- A conference was held in Hanoi on Tuesday by the central anti-flood and natural calamity committee and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development to discuss measures for storm and flood control in the country's central provinces.   - - - -   HA NOI MOI   -- A ground breaking ceremony for a $12 million electrical conductors factory was held in Hanoi's Gia Lam district on Tuesday.   The plant is joint-venture between Japan's Sumi Co. and Vietnam's Hanel.   -- Vietnam Central State Bank Deputy Governor Le Van Chau wrote in the newspaper that Asian countries are still Vietnam's biggest and most important partners.   He said one of the ways to overcome backwardness was strong and fast development of the financial and monetary environment, a high savings rate and stronger domestic investment. 
13407 !C13 !CCAT !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The Philippine House of Representatives will back a specific tax on beer and cigarettes, House Speaker Jose de Venecia said on Wednesday.   "We expect the House to approve its version of the excise tax on beer and cigarettes tonight," de Venecia said in a statement after a meeting of a legislative advisory body.   "This version will be a specific tax, not an ad valorem tax ...," the statement said. 
13408 !C21 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS !GENV  Operations at the four oil refineries located in Chiba prefecture were not disrupted by an earthquake that hit eastern Japan on Wednesday morning, plant officials said.   The Tokyo Fire Agency said there were no immediate reports of any damage or casualties from the quake, which measured 6.6 on the Richter scale.   Idemitsu Kosan Co Ltd, Cosmo Oil Co Ltd, Kyokuto Petroleum Industries Ltd and Fuji Oil Co Ltd run refineries in Chiba with a total capacity of 795,000 barrels per day. 
13409 !GCAT !GDIS !GENV  A strong tremor shook homes and office buildings in Tokyo on Wednesday, but there were no immediate indications of any damage or casualties, eyewitnesses said.    The tremor struck the Tokyo area at 11.37 am (0242 GMT).   Japanese televsion said the eathquake measured four on the Japanese scale of seven in northern Chiba prefecture near Tokyo and three in Tokyo.   The reports said there was a tsunami (tidal wave) warning in effect for Japan's Pacific Ocean coast around Tokyo.   No details were immediately available. 
13410 !GCAT  The following are top stories from selected Singapore newspapers.   THE STRAITS TIMES:   - Singapore's crime rate registered a slight increase in the first half of this year.   This is the first time in seven years that the crime rate has gone up.   - Singaporeans are concerned about rising health-care costs, and to allay their fears, the government has put in place schemes which will help them meet these costs.   - Lau Pa Sat festival market, which is the most famous landmark in the Shenton Way business district and is now owned by Kopitiam Investments, will reopen as 24-hour food court.   - The Monetary Authority of Singapore will be one of the nine new members of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).   BUSINESS TIMES:   - Global capital flows to the developing world to hit a new all-time high this year with Asia taking the lion's share, but there is concern about countries' ability to manage sudden surges of flows.   - Brokers pumped millions of baht from a support fund to halt the slide in the Thai stock exchange as Cabinet endorsed a series of measures to prop up the economy.   - Speaking at the launch of Westport, Port Klang's third and newest terminal, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad urged country's firms to use Port Klang and make it one of the world's top 10 ports.   - Indonesia's plan to allow foreign cargo planes to fly only to Batam before proceeding to any other airports in the country draws mixed response.   - Singapore consortium, whose members include First Capital Corporation and the Thakral group, will launch a joint-venture office project in India.   - Closure of loss-incurring store Lane Crawford could spell higher income for landlord Marco Polo Development Ltd if conversion of the two floors into smaller retail units is successful.   - Samsung, Hotel Properties Ltd to sell Donna Karan and DKNY line of apparel in South Korea.   -- Singapore newsroom 65-8703080 
13411 !GCAT  With 293 days left before the British colony reverts to China, comments in the Hong Kong media on Wednesday remained centred mainly on the Sinoi-Japanese dispute over claims to the Diaoyu Islands.   -- MING PAO said it was glad to see China was toughening its stance on the Japanese presence on the Diaoyu Islands.   It said Beijing's change of attitude was a result of the patriotic actions of Hong Kong and overseas Chinese and that all Chinese on the mainland and overseas would support Beijing's stance.   -- SING TAO Daily said the Chinese and Taiwan governments should take solid measures to safeguard China's sovereignty over the islands.   It said that if Japan did not give in, China should send troops to escort protesters and carry out extensive military exercises to demonstrate its military strength.   It said that in this way the Japanese could be forced to give in.   The Beijing-funded WEN WEI PO said China's attitude towards the United Nations global nuclear test ban treaty was positive, practical and responsible, because it believed tht the ultimate aim was to ban and destruct all nuclear weapons.   As a first step towards that goal, China hoped that the treaty could be enforced nnd supported by all countries.   The English-language SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST said that it would be a tragedy for Hong Kong and a blow to China's future relations with Taiwan if the recent raising of the anti-leftist banner turned out to be a short-term ploy designed to prop up political and business confidence during the handover period.   It said it hoped Beijing's new pragmatic approach was intended to apply to Hong Kong affairs for the longer term.   -- HONG KONG NEWSROOM (852) 2843-6441 
13412 !GCAT !GENT  China is rethinking plans to invite Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti to Hong Kong's 1997 handover celebrations because he's so expensive, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.   Organisers were reconsidering plans to feature Pavarotti and magician David Copperfield in the handover party because they wanted at least HK$7 million (US$897,000) each to perform, the South China Morning Post said.   Negotiations for Copperfield had started with his request for more than $7 million and Pavarotti wanted "even more than that", the paper quoted Raymond Wu, a member of the Chinese committee overseeing Hong Kong's return to Beijing control.   "We have to see whether it is worthwhile spending that much," Wu was quoted as saying.   Members of the committee were not immediately available on Wednesday to comment on the report.   Other plans for the celebrations included elaborate fireworks synchronised with music, and "flying dragons", floating from Hong Kong to southern China, symbolising the return to the motherland, the paper said.   A 1,000-member advisory group would be appointed next month to assist in the preparations, it said.   Hong Kong, a British colony for more than 150 years, will return to Chinese rule at midnight on June 30, 1997. 
13413 !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 cold electoral battle is expected in the eastern Bekaa Valley on Sunday in the last round of Lebanon's parliamentary elections.   -The public budget deficit until the end of August reaches 1,990 billion Lebanese pounds.   AS-SAFIR   -Maronite patriarch Sfeir says: "The elections should not make the government forget about people's daily affairs".   -The Lebanese army has arrestd 34 people in south Lebanon for firing into the air to celebrate their supporters' victory in the polls.   AL-ANWAR   -Lebanon's minister of posts and communications Chalaq denies there is a dispute with Sweden's Ericsson.   AD-DIYAR   -Former parliament speaker Husseini will head the coalition ticket in the Bekaa Valley to include candidates of the rival Shi'ite groups Amal and Hizbollah.   NIDA'A AL-WATAN   -The total number of candidates in Lebanon's five-round general elections are 760 of whom 47 had officially withdrawn, the interior minister says. 
13414 !GCAT !GDIP  Syria said on Wednesday that statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed the Middle East peace process would remain frozen.   "It is clear now after Netanyahu's statements in Washington that the peace process will remain frozen and that the aim of his visit to Washington was not to work to push forward the peace process...." the ruling party's al-Baath newspaper said.   The Likud leader said on Tuesday that he was more optimistic about reaching an accord with the Palestinians than achieving peace with Syria.   Syrian-Israeli peace talks have been stalled over withdrawal from the Golan Heights, captured by Israel in 1967.   Netanyahu has rejected concessions on the Heights and called for unconditional talks.   "Israel, as Netanyahu says, still insists that resumption of peace talks should be without preconditions, which means that the Israeli government is still clinging to (a policy that would) destroy the peace process," al-Baath said.   Another offical daily, Tishreen, rejected any possibility of Syria ceding parts of the Golan.   "The Madrid process and Washington talks were opened on the basis of U.N. resolutions ... calling for Israel's withdrawal to the previous border lines (of 1967)," Tishreen said.   "When Israel officially announces its commitment to these (U.N.) decisions and its readiness to exchange land for peace, then we could resume peace talks from the point where they stopped." 
13415 !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 expresses concern over Turkey's plan to set up buffer zone in northern Iraq.   - Leader of opposition socialist party, Union Socialiste des Forces Populaires, Abderrahman Youssoufi says bicameral parliamentary system secures balance and trust.   L'OPINION   - Main opposition parties call for yes-vote in referendum on constitutional reform due on Sept 13.   AL-BAYANE   - Congolese Prime Minister Charles David Ganao expected in Morocco on Sept 16.   LIBERATION   - Staff at Banque Marocaine du Commerce et de l'Industrie BMCI.  SC threaten to strike in protest over salaries.   AL-ANBAA   - Council of Jewish community in Morocco calls on members to vote yes in referendum. 
13416 !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   - President (Zine al-Abidine) Ben Ali received editors of the Tunisian press.   He recommended working on the content of articles to reflect the concerns of the national community more.   - President Ben Ali decided to extend until June 1997 the deadline for payment of fees owed to the social security fund.   LE TEMPS   - The government is discussing a plan to reduce bureaucracy in the export sector.   - A Tunisian-British seminar on industrial sands was held in Tunis on Tuesday. 
13417 !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   - Those killed in the 12-year-old struggle in the southeast -- more than 20,000 people now -- are not simply numbers or a list of names but human beings.   MILLIYET   - During the Iraq crisis, the Islamic world turned its back on Turkey's Islamist premier Necmettin Erbakan, who had aspirations of becoming a prominent leader in the Moslem world.   - Foreign minister Tansu Ciller attended the funeral in north Cyprus of a Turkish Cypriot soldier killed by Greek Cypriots on Sunday.   HURRIYET   - A 10 percent interest rate will be given to those who open 50,000DM account as well as the right to the duty free importation of cars.   CUMHURIYET   - An Iraqi delegation came to Turkey to be informed about a 10km (six-miles) deep security zone into nothern Iraq that Ankara is gearing up to form.   DUNYA   - Uncertainty rules the Turkish cotton market.   YENI YUZYIL   - Islamists in government support the forming of a school owned by a private foundation, which will give Islamic education.   ZAMAN   - The Barzani period has begun in nothern Iraq after the Kurdistan Democratic Party siezed the rival stronghold of Suleymaniya. 
13418 !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   - Crown Prince Hassan receives message from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on trade and transport between Jordan and Israel.   AL-RAI   - Prince Hassan stresses need to implement projects that can be executed.   Prime Minister Abdul-Karim al-Kabariti and Israeli minister discuss current situation in region.   - Board of directors of Jordan national electricity company formed.   - Opposition deputies call for lower house of parliament delegation to visit Turkey.   AD DUSTOUR   - Kabariti speaks of new programme to balance social security with economic reforms.   - Palestinian Islamic affairs minister says talk about Jordanian-Palestinian differences over Islamic sites in Jerusalem is like "air bubles."   AL-ASWAQ   - Details on Iraq's "Zuaib" operation to oust Kabariti.   Higher decision taken in Baghdad in June to oust the Jordanian government.   Taha Yassin Ramadan in charge of the file while its execution was in the hands of Bader-Edine al-Mudathar and two of his aides.   Finance came from money paid for fees of Jordanian students in universities and from double profits reaped from Jordanian industrial exports.   - Information Minister Marwan Muasher says we will not intervene in Iraq.   - $128 million from European Union to Jordan. 
13419 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Diplomats in Kuwait said on Wednesday they had no information to support an Iraqi opposition report of Iraqi troops massing in southern Iraq.   "We just don't see it," one of the diplomats said by telephone said of the report carried in Kuwaiti newspapers.    The diplomats dismissed reports carried in Kuwait's al-Watan and al-Qabas newspapers quoting the Iraqi opposition Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) as saying Iraq's Republican Guard was building up troop levels in Iraq's southern marshes.   "We have no confirmation of any unusual troop movements described by SCIRI," one of the diplomats said, describing the SCIRI report as unfounded.   A senior Kuwaiti military officer said he had no confirmed word of an Iraqi troop buildup in the south.   Al-Watan said: "Regarding the massed Iraqis in the south, SCIRI said they belong to the Iraq Republican Guard and they are big and they have been witnessed the day before yesterday (Monday) and yesterday (Tuesday) morning taking positions on the sides of the marshes of al-Basra, al-Nasseriyah and al-Amara governorates in the south.   SCIRI said its sources were its own supporters in the south, adding they had seen armour, artillery and infantry moving south.   Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990.   A U.S.-led coalition ousted Iraqi troops in February 1991. 
13420 !GCAT !GPOL  Israel opened a second crossing point for Palestinian workers along its border with Gaza on Wednesday, a Palestinian official said.   The Sova checkpoint in the southern Gaza Strip will cut commuting time for between 800 and 900 Palestinians who have travelled to jobs in southern Israel through the northern Erez crossing.   "It will lessen the pressure on Erez and ease the way for workers to get into Israel," Said al-Mudalal, a Palestinian labour ministry official, told Reuters.   Witnesses said some 700 Palestinians passed through Sova, previously used only for the transit of cargo, on Wednesday.   The workers underwent Palestinian and Israeli security checks before being allowed into the Jewish state.   About 19,500 Gazans and 15,500 residents of the West Bank work in Israel.   Palestinian officials have urged Israel to allow in more workers by lifting a closure imposed on the West Bank and Gaza after suicide bombings by Moslem militants killed 59 people in the Jewish state in February and March. 
13421 !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   - Three people injured when unidentified persons set fire to a small store in the capital Manama.   AKHBAR AL-KHALEEJ   - Bahrain exported goods worth 79 million dinars to Gulf Arab states in the first six months of 1996.   - Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Mohammad bin Mubarak al-Khalifa meets ambassadors of France, India and Algeria.   - Bahrain to host an international conference on aluminium in November 1997. 
13422 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the official Iraqi press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   JUMHOURIYA   - President Saddam Hussein issues amnesty to Kurds in northern Iraq.   - Secretary-general of Arab League says Iraqi people and leaders are a potential force for the Arab nation.   - (Rebel Kurd leader Jalal) Talabani flees to Iran.   - Iraq takes immediate measures to implement Saddam's orders to lift internal blockade on Kurdish areas.   - Iraqi air-defences fire missiles at U.S. and allied warplanes and force them to flee.   - (Iraqi envoy) Hummadi meets Ciller and Erbakan in Turkey.   - Editorial urges neighbouring countries to start dialogue with Iraq to solve outstanding issues.   - France's Total Sa will buy 30-60,000 bpd of Iraq crude once the oil-for-food deal goes into effect.   - U.S. missiles will not scare Iraq.   - Sulaimaniya refugees return home.   THAWRA   - Cuban President Fidel Castro sends message to Saddam.   - Technical meetings continue at the United Nations for the implementation of oil-for-food deal.   - Clinton and Perry admit defeat in conflict with Iraq.   AL-IRAQ   - Industry minister meets Romanian ambassador.   - Communications minister meets Algerian ambassador.   - Vietnam grants scholarships to Iraq.   BABEL   - Editorial attacks Turkey for plan to set up security zone in northern Iraq and warns Ankara of unspecified measures if it went ahead with it. 
13423 !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   - Egypt urges Israel to fulfill its peace agreements with the Palestinians and resume negotiaions with Syria.   This came during a meeting between Foreign Minister Amr Moussa and the outgoing Israeli ambassador to Egypt, David Sultan.   - Public Enterprise Minister Atef Obeid says: The state will sell-off profit-making companies through the stock market and loss-incurring firms to one or more investors.   AL-AKHBAR   - The military excercises "Badr 96" have started.   Air, naval and land forces take part in the manoeuvres in the southeastern port of Safaga.   - Water level in the Nile rose to 176.36 metres.   AL-GOMHURIA   - After meeting ministers of education, justice and tourism, Prime Minister Kamal Ganzouri says giant tourist projects to be set up shortly.   - The Environmental Affairs Agency takes measures to protect migrating birds from Europe to Metrouh, in western Egypt.   AL-WAFD   - Amr Moussa denies that Egypt asked the Security Council to discuss plans to create a buffer zone in northern Iraq.   -- Cairo newsroom +20 2 578 3290/1 
13424 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Kuwaiti press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy:   AL-SEYASSAH   - Chairman of protection of public funds committee at parliament says he wants a deal to buy British naval missiles reconsidered.   MPs are probing a planned purchase of British Aerospace Sea Skua after Kuwaiti officials rejected a cheaper French offer by Aerospatiale.   - Central Bank governor Sheikh Salem Abdul-Aziz al-Sabah heads to Morocco for a meeting of Arab central bank chiefs.   AL-WATAN   - Iraq masses troops towards the marshes in the south.   Washington warns Baghdad not to rebuild its air defences.   - Active trade on Kuwait Stock Exchange despite a relative drop in volume.   Volume rose to a record high earlier this week.   AL-QABAS   - Crackdown on foreigners violating the residency law.   - Magraw Hill report says Kuwait finds difficulties in attracting investments.   AL-RAI AL-AAM   - Leading Kuwaiti economist Jasem al-Saadoun says government will not be able to eliminate the state budget deficit by year 2000.   The government has said it plans to balance its budget in 2000. 
13425 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in Greek Cypriot press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   ALITHIA   - The government produces concrete evidence of the pseudominister who murderered Solomos Solomos.   The goverment shall issue warrants for the arrest of Kenan Akin and Emanet Erkal.   - Diko party president Spyros Kyprianou dismisses suggestions of problems in partnership with conservative Disy in the government.   CYPRUS MAIL   - The government calls for calm as the Turkish soldier shot dead on Sunday is buried.   - Dead soldier was "related to senior Kurd guerrilla" in the PKK, say three people claiming to be relatives.   - Defence minister backs conscription of women.   FINANCIAL MIRROR   - Bank of Cyprus is to raise 75 million pounds in new capital.   - Russia's Menatep Bank aims to penetrate the offshore market in Cyprus.   - Bank of Cyprus H1 profits up 12 percent.   - No tax hikes are expected in 1997.   HARAVGHI   - The United Nations must undertake their responsibilities to defuse the crisis in Cyprus, says Communist Akel party chief Demetris Christofias.   PHILELEPHTHEROS   - Millions of pounds go down the drain every year from discrepancies in the way the civil service works, says the Auditor General.   SIMERINI   - Butchers in Paphos continue their strike in protest at abbatoir rate hike. 
13426 !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   - The government daily and other UAE newspapers fronted news of the UAE emphasising to the United States, a key ally, of its belief in the need to preserve Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity in light of events in northern Iraq.   AL-KHALEEJ   - Bosnian soldiers graduate from UAE military training.   GULF NEWS   - UAE to supply two batteries of 105 mm artillery as a gift to the Bosnian government.   KHALEEJ TIMES   - Taiwan's exports to the UAE rose 40 percent to $350 million in the first five months of 1996 compared to the same period in 1995. 
13427 !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   - Syria continues to move forces.   - Director-general of Prime Minister's Office announces plan to help development towns, including Kiryat Arba and Emmanuel in the West Bank.   - Prime Minister Netanyahu urges U.S. President Clinton to press Palestinian President Arafat to agree to changes in Hebron redeployment agreement.   - Israeli to impose closure on West Bank and Gaza for Jewish New Year.   - IMF delegation to publish sharply critical report today on Israeli Treasury policy.   MAARIV   - Clinton: There must be a pullback from Hebron so there can be movement forward.   - Sufa checkpoint in Gaza opened to Palestinians.   YEDIOTH AHRONOTH   - New book: Yitzhak Rabin made verbal commitment to Clinton that Israel would pull out of all of the Golan Heights.   GLOBES   - Trade deficit $1.05 billion in August; $7.5 billion since beginning of the year.   - Finance Minister Meridor: Cabinet determines exchange rate fluctuation range and will not change it.   - Job-seekers down 1.2 percent in August.   - Merrill Lynch: Israel's three to four percent growth is no recession.   JERUSALEM POST   - Netanyahu: Peace with Palestinian Authority more likely than with Syria.   - Arab League may decide fate of November's economic summit in Cairo.   - Poll: Half of Israeli army reservists would opt out if they could. 
13428 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The Canadian Auto Workers union said Tuesday it will seek certification to represent workers at five Starbucks Corp outlets in Vancouver.   If successful, they would be the only unionised workers among the 17,000 employed by Starbucks at its 976 North American coffee bars and other offices, company officials said.   The union said it had received approval from 55 percent of the 60 employees at the five outlets to proceed with the certification application.   The British Columbia Labor Relations Board will hold a hearing on the case on Friday and could issue its decision the same day, union representative John Bowman said.   Bowman said the workers hoped to gain higher wages and more control over working hours through a union contract.   The workers make between C$7 and C$9 an hour, he said.   The minimum wage is C$7 an hour.   "We are concerned about it obviously, but we need to keep it in perspective," Starbucks president and chief operating officer Orin Smith told Reuters.   He noted that the affected workers represented only five of the company's 91 stores in British Columbia, which has a heavily unionised work force.    Starbucks is known for offering better than average pay and benefits for its employees, including paid medical insurance and stock option grants for virtually all workers, including those who put in as few as 20 hours weekly.   Smith said several dozen Starbucks workers at a Seattle roasting plant were unionised until about three years ago when the bargaining unit was decertified. 
13429 !C24 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Port conditions from Lloyds Shipping Intelligence Service --   LIMASSOL, Sept 10 - Strike action by Limassol port authorities personnel has been called off and as from this morning Limassol port is back to normal.   Dispute has been referred to Ministry of Labour for mediation. 
13430 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Decades after protests and debates against the atom bomb, the General Assembly overwhelmingly endorsed a treaty banning nuclear explosions in the atmosphere, underground or in any other environment.   "This was a treaty sought by ordinary people everywhere, and today the power of that universal wish could not be denied," U.S. Ambassador Madeleine Albright told the 185-seat assembly on Tuesday.   The 158 to 3 vote calls for the document, known as the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty or CTBT, to be open for signature by individual nations.   President Clinton, who cancelled further U.S. tests in 1993, plans to sign the treaty at the United Nations on September 24, U.S. officials said.   But the treaty does not enter into force before 44 countries with nuclear power reactors sign the document and ratify it through their parliaments.   Nevertheless, experts believe that their signature alone obligates nations to abide by the treaty's provisions.   "How easy would it be now for anyone to conduct a nuclear test?"   said Australia's ambassador, Richard Butler, who is credited with organising the lopsided vote.   In Washington, a senior U.S. officials said Clinton intends to ask the Senate for approval as soon as possible but not desposit final ratification papers until the other seven known or undeclared nuclear states do so also.   "Pakistan will watch India, India will watch China and China will watch Russia, who in turn will be watched by the United States, Britain and France and nobody is going to leave Israel out," he said.   "The eight are not going to dribble in one at a time."   All five declared nuclear weapons states have imposed voluntary moratoriums on testing.   The United States, Russia and Britain stopped testing between 1990 and 1992 while France and China ended blasts only several months ago.   Three other non-declared nuclear states are believed to have covert nuclear programmes -- India, Pakistan and Israel.   India has vetoed the treaty in the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament which negotiated the pact and has vowed to block it from becoming international law.   Pakistan indicated it would not sign until India did.   Israel supports the pact.   Only Libya and Bhutan supported India in casting a negative note in the assembly.   Five other countries -- Cuba, Lebanon, Mauritius, Syria and Tanzania -- abstained and another 19 nations were absent or could not vote.   Indian delegates told the assembly that their government would prevent the treaty from ever becoming law, mainly because the nuclear powers refused to set any kind of timetable for ridding themselves of their atomic arsenals.   Many other delegates agreed with India's criticism but decided the treaty needed to be supported anyway.   Said Iran's deputy foreign minister Javad Zarif: "We are left with one choice-- a choice between having a flawed treaty or abadoning the treaty altogether; an unwanted choice indeed."   But India's delegate, Arundhati Ghose, did not mince words.   "I would like to declare on the floor of this august assembly that India will never sign this unequal treaty -- not now, not later.   As long as this text contains this article, this treaty will never enter into force," she said in reference to India's being named as one of the 44 nations who had to ratify the treaty.   Australia's Butler speculated that Ghose's comments left some room for manoeuvre in future discussions on the treaty.   If not enough states ratify the pact within three years, a review conference will be held to discuss steps members could take to make the treaty international law. 
13431 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  The U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved and opened for signature a landmark treaty that would ban nuclear explosions from the world forever.   But the assembly's action was not sufficient to implement the treaty because India, whose signature is necessary, has yet to be convinced to ratify the treaty.   President Bill Clinton immediately called the vote a "step toward lifting the cloud of nuclear fear."   "With this treaty we are on the verge of realising a decades-old dream that no nuclear weapons will be detonated anywhere on the face of the earth," he said during a campaign stop in Kansas City, Missouri.   Clinton is expected to sign the treaty when he comes to the United Nations on September 24, a senior administration official said.   The official said the other declared nuclear powers -- Britain, France, Russia and China-- would do likewise.   Tuesday's vote was a lopsided 158-to-3 with India, Bhutan and Libya voting against.   Abstaining were Cuba, Lebanon, Mauritius, Syria and Tanzania.   The resolution, drafted by Australia, approves the treaty and asks that it be open for signature as soon as possible.   Its supporters believe that those nations who sign will abide by the treaty's provisions anyway and that, isolated, India over the next few years might change its mind.   "There could be no greater gift to the future and no better start to a new century, than a world in which this treaty is law from pole to pole, in every land, for all time," U.S. Ambassador Madeleine Albright told the assembly.   And U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali called for speedy ratification of the treaty "so that our children and grandchildren can grow up without the threat of nuclear weapons proliferation."   But India so far is not convinced: "I would like to declare on the floor of this august assembly that India will never sign this unequal treaty, not now, nor later," said India's delegate, Arundhati Ghose.   Ghose, however, particularly objected to her country being included among the 44 countries that must ratify the treaty, saying: "As long as this text contains this article, this treaty will never enter into force."   Diplomats said New Delhi fears that sanctions might be taken against it in the future if it is the only country among the 44 that will not sign the document.   But they also noted that Ghose opened the door slightly by pointing to a specific article in the treaty.   India also says the treaty does not go far enough in spelling out a timetable for global nuclear disarmament.   It maintains that the treaty would prevent it from responding to threats from neighbouring China and from Pakistan, which may have a covert nuclear and missile programme.   Pakistan said it would vote for the resolution endorsing the treaty but would not sign it unless India does so.   Usually a treaty is adopted first by the conference that drafted it and submitted to the U.N. General Assembly for approval.   It is then open for signature, with ratification from a specified number of states required to become international law.   In this case, the resolution circumvented the procedure after India last month vetoed the text at the 61-nation Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.   Conference rules require unanimity, whereas the General Assembly can approve resolutions by a majority vote.   The treaty bans any kind of nuclear weapons explosions, whether in the atmosphere or underground.   It also sets up a monitoring system to verify compliance or spot violations.   It would enter into force 180 days after it was signed and ratified by 44 countries that have nuclear reactors of some kind.   If at the end of three years the treaty does not get the required signatures, a conference will be held to evaluate and possibly change the requirements.   Since the United States exploded the world's first atomic bomb on July 16, 1945 in the New Mexico desert there have been 2,045 known nuclear tests, 1,030 of them American and 715 in the former Soviet Union. 
13432 !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   - There has been a tenfold increase in child abuse reports over 10 years.   The rise could be due in part to heightened awareness.   There were 500 child abuse cases reported between November 1994 and last June.   L-ORIZZONT   - Man charged with wife's killing has attempted suicide.   - Italian singer Ivana Spagna is in Malta to give a concert on Wednesday as guest of the General Workers Unions. 
13433 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Corsica's outlawed separatist FLNC movement accused the French government on Wednesday of burying a peace process and urged its members to signal their "determination to survive".   The Corsican National Liberation Front (FLNC) Historic Wing issued a statement only hours before a meeting in Paris between French Prime Minister Alain Juppe and Corsican members of parliament.   Juppe is expected to detail a new crackdown on guerrillas after a series of bombings targeting public buildings and magistrates on the French Mediterranean island.   The attacks are part of a campaign by guerrillas seeking greater autonomy from mainland France.   The statement accused Paris of "willingly letting the situation rot to bring the Corsican question back to a simple law and order issue".   "The government has chosen provocation," it said.   The movement, which called off a shaky truce in mid-August, called on its militants "to signal everywhere their determination to survive and for emancipation".   The group said it had at first believed that government measures boosting the island economy paved the way for political and institutional reform but Juppe had then pledged the crackdown on violence.   "Juppe's move, signalled by the round-up of Ajaccio (suspects) seals the liquidation by the state of the peace process," it said, referring to police seizing six suspected guerrillas who were put under investigation by a Paris anti-terrorism judge.   Ahead of the Paris meeting with Juppe, member of parliamentarian Jose Rossi, a former industry minister, said he would tell the premier he would soon ask the speaker of the French National Assembly to set up a national parliamentary mission on Corsica.   In the island's capital Ajaccio, several dozen demonstrators occupied the chamber of the Corsican assembly on Wednesday, demanding talks with a representative of Juppe.   A spokesman for the protesters, chiefly workers from the tourism, transport and fishing sectors, said they would continue the occupation until their demand had been met. 
13434 !GCAT !GDIP  France faulted Israel on Wednesday for contributing to stalling peace efforts in the Middle East and said Palestinians and the international community were right to be concerned.   After talks with new Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy on Tuesday in which Paris offered help in reviving negotiations with Syria, French Foreign Minister Herve de Charette said there was no alternative to the previously existing peace process.   "I have blamed the Israelis for contributing to halting the peace process both on the Palestinian and on the Syrian and Lebanese fronts," he told Europe 1 radio.   "The Palestinians and the international community are right to be worried, to be concerned," he said.   Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handshake with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat was a start but "we now need concrete acts", he said.   Asked if he blamed Israel for the stalling of peace efforts since hardline Netanyahu came to power in May, de Charette said: "There is no doubt there was a peace process before the elections...and that this process has been suddenly shaken."   In an interview with the conservative daily Le Figaro, Levy said he did not believe that France's efforts to strengthen ties with Arab nations would damage Paris's relations with Jerusalem.   He said a planned visit to Jerusalem by French President Jacques Chirac would contribute to peace efforts.   But the two nations differed sharply over last week's U.S. cruise missile strikes on Iraq.   Levy criticised Paris for failing to back Washington, saying "This attitude is incomprehensible".   De Charette reiterated France's view that "We don't think that anyone can bomb another country without (U.N.) texts authorising it." 
13435 !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   - Unemployment among Swedish construction workers is set to rise as Norway reduces its demand for workers from neighbouring countries.   - The strong Swedish crown is keeping the Swedish debt down, helping the government to save over 40 billion crowns so far this year.   SVENSKA DAGBLADET   - Swedish electricity agency Nutek said it is possible that there will be insufficient electricity this winter in Sweden, leading to rationing and increased electricity prices.   - The Swedish government and parliament want better control over Swedish spies after a scandal erupted over the expulsion of a Swedish engineer from Russia.   The defence minister is holding a press conference on Wednesday about a review of Sweden's intelligence sector.   - Sweden has isolated 50 HIV-infected patients, mostly drug addicts, under the infection protection law because they are judged to be in danger of spreading the illness.   DAGENS INDUSTRI   - The former board of Frigoscandia may be personally liable for 250 million crowns in damages for allegedly not mentioning a potential legal case against the refrigerated-transport and equipment company when it was sold to ASG.   - A Dagens Industri survey showed that companies, including Scandinavian Airlines System and Skanska, plan to continue providing employees with cars, as it appears new tax changes will not be as unfavourable as first imagined.   - Swedish engine part manufacturer Opcon has come under the shadow of the Morgan Grenfell investment funds investigation.   Opcon is half owned by foreign interest including Morgan Grenfell.   -- Paul de Bendern, Stockholm newsroom +46-8-700 1006 
13436 !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.   LE MATIN   - The national conference is to be convened without pro-democratic parties.   EL WATAN   - There is political restlessness ahead of the national conference on September 14 and 15.   L'AUTHENTIQUE   - There have been intensive contacts between the presidency and the Islamist Hamas party which has set conditions for its participation in the conference.   AL CHAAB   - Algeria needs legislation to curb pollution and protect the environment. 
13437 !E12 !E21 !E211 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL !GVIO  German Chancellor Helmut Kohl on Wednesday defended his government's austerity drive in the wake of mass demonstrations by unions at the weekend and ahead of a major political debate in parliament.   Kohl told the daily Neue Presse newspaper that his plans, which involve spending cuts totalling 70 billion marks next year, were completely in line with demands for social justice.   "If we don't make cuts we have no chance to lower the tax burden on citizens in our country.   That is also a matter of justice," he said.   Kohl was due to address parliament at around midday (1000 GMT) as part of a debate on the 1997 budget.   He said the greatest social injustice was when people looking for work could not find a job.   "If we did not act, further jobs would be lost."   German unemployment has surged to over 10 percent of the workforce, busting Bonn's budget calculations for this year and threatening to leave another hole in public finances in 1997.   Kohl's austerity package consists of a wide range of spending cuts and supply side reform measures aimed both at cutting runaway budget deficits and reducing firms' costs to encourage them to take on more workers.   In particular the package aims to slash 50 billion marks from public spending and 20 billion marks from social welfare fund spending next year in a bid to get Germany's public deficit back under the three percent of gross domestic product level required for joining the single European currency.   A major chunk of the package, including pension and health reforms as well as cuts in sick pay and workers' protection from firing, is set to be voted through the lower house of parliament on Friday, overriding upper house objections.   About 240,000 people attended demonstrations against the cuts around Germany at the weekend and Germany's most powerful union, IG Metall, this week threatened to strike if employers do not compensate workers for Bonn's sick pay cuts.   Kohl said Germans knew perfectly well that adjustments to their cherished welfare state were needed if Germany were to survive international competition in the long term.   Germany currently spends a trillion marks annually -- equivalent to a third of its GDP -- on welfare.   Kohl's cuts would trim about two percent from this.   Kohl said it was important to target benefits more specifically and to combat fraud of the system.   "And equally important is the struggle without compromise against tax evasion and subsidy fraud," Kohl told the paper.   He added that a comprehensive reform of the tax system the government was planning for 1999 would definitely lead to a net reduction in taxes.   Wednesday's debate was to be opened by opposition Social Democrat parliamentary leader Rudolf Scharping.   Kohl and SPD leader Oskar Lafontaine were scheduled to speak around midday.   Wolfgang Gerhardt, leader of Kohl's junior coalition partners the Free Democrats, was also due to address deputies. 
13438 !GCAT  The following are leading domestic stories in Portuguese newspapers.   DIARIO ECONOMICO   - Electricity campany EDP sees profit of 70 billion escudos in 1996.   Profits have multiplied five times over the past five years.   - Pulp company Caima registered a 44 percent fall in its sales in the first half of 1996 compared to the same period of 1995.   PUBLICO   - Government and shipowners to ask Brussels to suspend a planned reduction in the sardine-fishing fleet for three years to study stocks.   They will propose a halt to sardine fishing for two months.   - Government plans to begin tax reform from 1997 with some measures to be included in the coming budget.   - Swedish electrical goods company Electrolux expects to boost its sales in Portugal from 3.8 billion escudos in 1995 to 4.5 billion in 1997.   A tendency which is contrary to other markets where Electrolux is active.   DIARIO DE NOTICIAS   - The Attorney-General is more concerned with the number of illegal arms in circulation than with statistics showing crime is increasing.   - Government prepares new rules for tax deductions which will hit higher income earners next year.   - Foreign investment is boosting the Lisbon's stock exchange.   The index gained 0.33 percent on Tuesday.   --Lisbon bureau 3511-3538254 
13439 !GCAT  Following are some of the leading stories in Norwegian papers this morning:   AFTENPOSTEN   -The oil tax office believes that local councils owe the state 300 million crowns in duties.   The taxes relate to Norsk Hydro production facilities at Porsgrunn, Bamle, Meloey and Rjukan.   State auditors have criticised the Finance Ministry and tax authorities for not chasing up the payments from the councils.   -Investigators have not found any technical fault in a Russian passenger plane that crashed on the Arctic island of Spitzbergen killing all 141 people on board.   Investigators are now trying to find out if the human factor or a navigational error could have caused the disaster on August 29.   -Norwegian electricity prices are too high, was the overwhelming message passed to Energy Minister Jens Stoltenberg during a phone-in of domestic consumers.   Power prices have increased steeply this year due to low water levels in hydropower reservoirs.   Stoltenberg told callers people must try and cut back on power usage.   -Norway's largest life insurance company UNI Storebrand has confirmed plans to reduce the number of its offices and centralise its activities.   DAGENS NAERINGSLIV   -Private investor Christen Svaas, a board member and one of the largest shareholders in Sysdeco, is threatening to take Detusche Bank to court to force the bank to make an offer for the outstanding shares in the international software house.   Deutsche Bank, parent of Morgan Grenfell Asset Management (MGAM), announced last week it and MGAM owned 51 percent of Sysdeco.   According to Norwegian law, any shareholder owning more than 45 percent is required to make an offer to remaining shareholders.   MGAM is currently under investigation for alleged irregularities.   -Norsk Hydro ASA is considering huge investment in Venezuela's aluminium industry.   The South American country plans to privatise the industry before the end of the year and Hydro Aluminium is one of 12 companies shortlisted to get a share of activities.   -Shipping family Werring plans to sell its 25 percent stake in one of Norway's largest shipping firms Wilh.   Wilhelmsen ASA.   Ship owner Wilhelm Wilhelmsen has first right to buy the shares to become the largest shareholder of the group.   -Scandinavian airline group SAS sees passanger growth od four to six percent over the next 12 months.   Deputy SAS head Gunnar Reitan says the company is working with plans to increase the number of direct flights to Europe from Oslo's new airport at Gardermoen. 
13440 !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   --- A survey of 37 building sites in Copenhagen shows that two out of three building sites have safety problems.   Only 11 sites met present safety rules.   POLITIKEN   --- Minister of social affairs Karen Jespersen is to launch the second part of a new social security act allowing privatisation of social services to a larger extend than before.   --- Biotech company Novo Nordisk now has applied for 200 patents since introducing a new patent strategy more than one year ago.   JYLLANDS POSTEN   --- A survey made by the international analysis institute ISR in 17 countries shows that the Danish employees are more satisfied with their jobs than other Scandinavians.  In Europe as a whole the Danes take second place to the Swiss.   BORSEN   --- Danish villages are to join together in an association of 105 local authorities with the idea of forming a development fund for rural areas. 
13441 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Decades after protests and debates against the atom bomb, the General Assembly overwhelmingly endorsed a treaty banning nuclear explosions in the atmosphere, underground or in any other environment.   "This was a treaty sought by ordinary people everywhere, and today the power of that universal wish could not be denied," U.S. Ambassador Madeleine Albright told the 185-seat assembly on Tuesday.   The 158 to 3 vote calls for the document, known as the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty or CTBT, to be open for signature by individual nations.   President Clinton, who cancelled further U.S. tests in 1993, plans to sign the treaty at the United Nations on September 24, U.S. officials said.   But the treaty does not enter into force before 44 countries with nuclear power reactors sign the document and ratify it through their parliaments.   Nevertheless, experts believe that their signature alone obligates nations to abide by the treaty's provisions.   "How easy would it be now for anyone to conduct a nuclear test?"   said Australia's ambassador, Richard Butler, who is credited with organising the lopsided vote.   In Washington, a senior U.S. officials said Clinton intends to ask the Senate for approval as soon as possible but not desposit final ratification papers until the other seven known or undeclared nuclear states do so also.   "Pakistan will watch India, India will watch China and China will watch Russia, who in turn will be watched by the United States, Britain and France and nobody is going to leave Israel out," he said.   "The eight are not going to dribble in one at a time."   All five declared nuclear weapons states have imposed voluntary moratoriums on testing.   The United States, Russia and Britain stopped testing between 1990 and 1992 while France and China ended blasts only several months ago.   Three other non-declared nuclear states are believed to have covert nuclear programmes -- India, Pakistan and Israel.   India has vetoed the treaty in the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament which negotiated the pact and has vowed to block it from becoming international law.   Pakistan indicated it would not sign until India did.   Israel supports the pact.   Only Libya and Bhutan supported India in casting a negative note in the assembly.   Five other countries -- Cuba, Lebanon, Mauritius, Syria and Tanzania -- abstained and another 19 nations were absent or could not vote.   Indian delegates told the assembly that their government would prevent the treaty from ever becoming law, mainly because the nuclear powers refused to set any kind of timetable for ridding themselves of their atomic arsenals.   Many other delegates agreed with India's criticism but decided the treaty needed to be supported anyway.   Said Iran's deputy foreign minister Javad Zarif: "We are left with one choice-- a choice between having a flawed treaty or abadoning the treaty altogether; an unwanted choice indeed."   But India's delegate, Arundhati Ghose, did not mince words.   "I would like to declare on the floor of this august assembly that India will never sign this unequal treaty -- not now, not later.   As long as this text contains this article, this treaty will never enter into force," she said in reference to India's being named as one of the 44 nations who had to ratify the treaty.   Australia's Butler speculated that Ghose's comments left some room for manoeuvre in future discussions on the treaty.   If not enough states ratify the pact within three years, a review conference will be held to discuss steps members could take to make the treaty international law. 
13442 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  France on Wednesday suggested security guarantees for India to persuade it to lift objections blocking a U.N. treaty aimed at banning nuclear tests.   French Foreign Minister Herve de Charette, whose country was bitterly criticised a year ago for staging a series of nuclear tests, hailed a vote by the U.N. General Assembly on Monday that approved the test ban treaty by a 153-3 margin.   India, which is one of the nations that has to ratify the treaty for it to enter into force, voted against.   "I think the next step will be to go and hold talks with the Indians, to understand their security problems and to provide the necessary guarantees," de Charette told Europe 1 radio.   He gave no details.   India, which exploded a nuclear device in 1974, says the treaty does not go far enough in spelling out a timetable for global nuclear disarmament and fears threats from neighbouring China and Pakistan.   Declared nuclear states -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France -- say they have stopped testing. 
13443 !GCAT  The following are the main stories from Wednesday morning's German newspapers:   FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG   -Finance Minister Theo Waigel calls for strict savings plan in opening discussion for 1997 budget, opposition SPD says government's budget policies are in chaos.   -Stiff prison terms for six East German generals convicted of aiding and abetting manslaughter on German-German border.   -German President Roman Herzog on state visit to Macedonia praises Macedonian government and promises Germany's support in the country's efforts to join EU and NATO.   -The SPD moves ahead of CDU in eastern Germany, according to opinion poll by Allensbach.   SPD now pulling 33.9 percent, up from 29.2 percent a month ago.   The CDU, meanwhile, fell to 27.4 percent from 30.8 percent.   HANDELSBLATT   -Waigel kicks off four-day budget debate saying the "solidarity surcharge" on income tax to help finance the reconstruction of eastern Germany should be lifted in 1999.   -German exports once again stimulate economy, with exports rising 2.3 percent to 371 billion marks in the first half of 1996.   -Angry shareholders criticize KHD management at annual shareholder meeting, supervisory board chairman Michael Endres rejects charges that board failed to spot trouble on time   SUEDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG   -Finance Minister Theo Waigel threatens that government savings package may need to be tightened even further because of higher unemployment.   He rejects raising debt for 1997.   -Berlin court convicts leaders of East German border guards for deaths at the former German-German border   -The annual inflation rate in west Germany at 1.4 percent, as it was in July.   Lowest level since German unification in 1990.   -Allies knew about transfer of Nazi gold worth $550 million in the 1940s to "neutral" countries like Switzerland and Portugal.   DIE WELT   -SPD warns coalition against lying to public about proposed cuts in child-support money, saying it will cause people to lose trust in the government.   -Turmoil in courtroom after East German generals convicted by Berlin court of aiding and abetting murder at German-German border.   Defendants call out "political verdict" after judge announces sentencing.   -Inflation rate reaches new low level of 1.4 percent, insuffient investment endangers economic upturn.   -IG Metall leader Klaus Zwickel expects hard wage negotiating round in 1997.   -- Bonn Newsroom +49 228 2609760 
13444 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !GPOL  The Finnish government on Thursday is due to give an idea of the reasons that will guide its decision whether to link the markka to Europe's exchange rate mechanism (ERM), officials said on Wednesday.   The issue will be addressed at the regular weekly question-and-answer session in parliament on Thursday.   Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen and Finance Minister Sauli Niinisto will be present and both are likely to respond, government officials said by telephone.   A question by opposition Centre Party MP Olavi Ala-Nissila, also member of the Bank of Finland's nine-strong board of parliamentary supervisors, was among those approved for Thursday's session, the parliament said.   The question is: "Does the government intend to make a possible decision on an ERM-link based on economic policy reasons and will Sweden's and Denmark's monetary policy thinking be taken into consideration?"   Leading up to the question, Ala-Nissila said in the statement government leaders appeared to have been justifying a markka ERM-link mainly on political grounds.    The government has said the decision whether to link the markka to ERM will be made this autumn.   Lipponen has said the decision will be made in the near future, but has not specified a time frame.   Finland's stated objective is to be part of the third phase of economic and monetary union from the beginning in 1999.   Some analysts have said ERM participation is a condition for meeting the exchange rate stability criterion for EMU.   -- Peter Starck, Helsinki Newsroom +358 - 0 - 680 50 245 
13445 !GCAT  The following are some of the leading stories in Finnish papers this morning.   HELSINGIN SANOMAT   - Drug trafficking between Estonia and Finland on the rise.   The city of Helsinki is preparing to distribute free syringes to drug users.   Justice Minister Kari Hakamies opposes the project.   - President Martti Ahtisaari, speaking on state visit to the Czech Republic, urged creation of a collective security zone in Europe and stressed cooperation between the EU, the United States and Russia in building security.   @   - Supreme Court overturned a lower court's ruling against an unemployed person who collected jobless benefits while travelling abroad.   - Cable TV subscribers in Lappeenranta can access the Internet over their cable lines as of next week, when Telecom Finland becomes first in country to offer such a service.   KAUPPALEHTI   - Demand for taxi rides is booming.   Helsinki taxi drivers' association expects growth of 8-10 percent this year.   @   - Finnish companies lag behind firms in other Nordic countries in environmental reporting, comparative study says.   Neste and Kemira were ranked best among Finnish firms in terms of environmental disclosure.   - Fred Kayser, chief of television operations at Europe's biggest commercial TV company, CLT, says company is interested in Finland because it is interested in the Nordic region.   @   AAMULEHTI   - Conservatives called on Social Democrats to distance themselves from labour federation SAK in dealing with unemployment.   - Appeals court in Tampere acquitted a woman who was earlier sentenced to life in prison for murdering her husband in Thailand.   Court says evidence insufficient despite traces of lethal drug in drowned man's blood.   - RSL COM Finland, a subsidiary of international group RSL Communications, set to challenge Radiolinja and Telecom Finland in provision of mobile phone services.   @   TURUN SANOMAT   - Chairman of STTK labour federation Esa Swanljung rejected Finance Minister Sauli Niinisto's model for boosting job creation by easing demands on firms, saying it would only create insecurity.   - Cool and windy weather in August-September has chilled sea waters.   --John Acher, Helsinki Newsroom +358-9-680 50 235 
13446 !GCAT  The following are the main stories from Wednesday morning's Austrian newspapers.   DER STANDARD   - Conservative People's party chief Wolfgang Schuessel demands Austrian interests in Creditanstalt be protected.   Going public is a very possible alternative to a sale.   - Germany's Allianz has denied any interest in buying Creditanstalt.   - Austrians, compared to 19 other OECD members, go to hospital the most, a study says.   KURIER   - Finance Minister Viktor Klima has presented plans for Austria's budget to the year 2000.   The deficit is to be reduced to 58.5 percent of GDP.   - Austrian retail sales rose 3.2 percent to 239.5 billion schillings in the first half of 1996 compared to the previous year.   Wholesales however went down 3.2 percent to 439.8 billion schillings in the same time.   WIRTSCHAFTSBLATT   - Sales in mineral water went down 21 and 15 percent respectively in July and August.   For 1996 sales are expected to be down by four percent.   DIE PRESSE   - Finance Minister Viktor Klima hopes to boost the state's coffers by 2000 through selling the government's stakes in Austria Tabak and banks.   - The consortium around EA-Generali only wants to buy half of the government's stake in Creditanstalt, the rest is to be sold through the stock exchange.   - Austria's export industry is losing ground in Hungary.   Exports to the neighbouring country have fallen 12.2 percent to 741.5 million schillings in the first half of 1996.   SALZBURGER NACHRICHTEN   - Klima says a new call for bids for Creditanstalt is quite likely, however a sale of the government's stake through the stock exchange is a possibility too. 
13447 !GCAT  Following are some of the top headlines in Italy's leading newspapers.   -------------------------------------------------------------   TOP POLITICAL STORIES   *Public works minister Antonio Di Pietro says no to suggestions to amnesty for turncoats in return for money.  (ALL)   TOP BUSINESS STORIES   *High-tech company Olivetti shares fell a further 5.88 percentage points on the Italian stock market.   (All)   *After a meeting with ex Olivetti chairman Carlo De Benedetti, prime minister Romano Prodi says the government will not bail the company out.  (All)   *Sales of cars in Italy fell yet again in August.   (Corriere, Il Sole)   *European commissioner Karel Van Miert to propose a further six months for giant state holding Iri to reduce its debt.  (Il Sole)   ---------------------------------------------------------------   Reuters has not verified these stories and can not vouch for their accuracy.   --Rome bureau:++39 6 678 2501 
13448 !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.   ** For summary of the FINANCIAL TIMES, click on PRESS/FT ** For summary of the WALL STREET JOURNAL, click on PRESS/WSJ FINANCIEELE DAGBLAD   - Vendex first half net jumps 21 percent, boosted by consumer spending, particularly at its speciality shops.   (p1)   - Following their container ship merger, P&O and Nedlloyd must decide which previous alliance they'll stick with -- Nedlloyd's Global Alliance or P&O's Grand Alliance.   (p1)   - Economic affairs ministry says Dutch should invest more in South Africa (p5)   - Small Business lobby wants subsidised job creation scheme scrapped and the money spent on education instead.   (p4) VOLKSKRANT   - Employers and unions reach steel industry deal to avert strike threat.   (p1)   - Dutch Railways warns that increased competition on inter-city lines could have repercussions on commuter trains.   (p2) DE TELEGRAAF   - Metals industry accord will give 180,000 workers a five percent pay increase, but no automatic reduction to a shorter working week.   (p1)   - Dream European debut for Feyenoord's Kees van Wonderen who scored winner in 1-0 win against CSKA Moscow in UEFA Cup (pT23)   - Markets angry at Nedlloyd's failure to disclose that its stake in ECT container venture was included under the Nedlloyd- P&O deal on Monday.   (T27) TROUW   - Senior coalition partner (PvdA/Labour) wants more national authorities delegated to European Union level.   -- Amsterdam Newsdesk +31-20-504-5000 (FAX 31-20-504-5040) 
13449 !GCAT  Following are the highlights of stories reported in the Irish press on Wednesday.   IRISH INDEPENDENT   - Irish prime minister John Bruton last night gave a clear signal that a new IRA ceasefire is on the cards.   He said he had received information "that gives me ground for optimism".   - Union leaders last night backed a deal to end the strike at Irish retail chain Dunnes Stores, raising hopes that the company's 73 stores will be back in business next week.    - The Revenue Commissioners are to begin investigating the names of investors and the amounts of undeclared money, if any, which was invested with Tony Taylor and Taylor Asset Managers.   - Matt Cooper, business editor of the Irish Independent, has been appointed editor of the Sunday Tribune.   IRISH TIMES   - Irish prime minister John Bruton has signalled that a new IRA ceasefire could be on the cards because of the progress being made by the Ulster Unionist Party and the SDLP in striking a deal on the decommissioning of arms.    - Two Ukrainian women and their three children, who they claimed were victims of the Chernobyl nuclear explosin, were deported following refusal of their request for asylum in Ireland.   - The Irish Tourist Board, Bord Failte, is seeking up to five major corporate partners who will pay millions of pounds to promote their products alongside Irish tourism.   - Aer Lingus will begin negotiations with Aeroflot and Aer Rianta over the much-disputed rights to the Shannon-New York flight. 
13450 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  President Bill Clinton and other world leaders are expected to flock to the United Nations later this month and sign a landmark treaty that would ban nuclear explosions from the world forever.   "They can't all sign at once because you have to have photographs and ceremonies but sign they will -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and 100 others," said a U.S. official.   But signing the document needs to be followed by ratification before the document becomes international law.   And this depends on convincing India, once the world's leader in championing a test ban, to drop its opposition.   By a 158-3 vote, the world's nations in the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday approved and opened for signature the treay that calls for the end of nuclear explosions underground, in the atmosphere or in any other environment.   Only Libya and Bhutan joined India in casting a negative vote.   The treaty must be ratified by 44 nations with nuclear power capability before it enters into force but the consent of eight countries is crucial.   They are the five known nuclear powers, the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China, and the three so-called undeclared nuclear states -- India, Pakistan and Israel.   According to a senior Clinton administration official, none of the eight countries will allow the treaty to enter into force until the other seven are ready to ratify it.   This interlocking relationship, he said "means Pakistan will watch India, India will watch China and China will watch Russia, who in turn will be watched by the United States, Britain and France and nobody is going to leave Israel out."   "So we are all going to go in one day to the U.N. secretary-general's office" and deposit ratification papers.   The eight are not going to dribble in one at a time."   In Washington, Clinton is expected to ask the U.S. Senate shortly to ratify the treaty, despite some Republican opposition.   But he will not deposit any papers of ratification until he is certain the other key states will do the same.   "We are going to make the case to the Senate that the way to get India to join would be for us to be ready to deposit our instruments of ratification," the official said.   India, which exploded a bomb in 1974, voted against the agreement and vowed it would block it from taking force.   Once the leader for such a treaty, New Delhi hardened its position over the past few years, with each party in its coalition government taking an increasingly hawkish stand.   India, as well as many non-nuclear countries, maintains that the treaty is flawed because it does not commit the nuclear powers towards eventual destruction of their arsenals and in fact allows them to use more sophisticated means of testing without explosions.   New Delhi is also worried about China's nuclear capability and its rival neighbour, Pakistan, which may have a covert nuclear and missile programme supplied by Beijing.   This fear prompted Clinton to tell reporters: "I believe we can find a way for the Indians to have their security concerns met."   But so far India has not budged.   "I would like to declare on the floor of this august assembly that India will never sign this unequal treaty, not now, not later," said India's delegate, Arundhati Ghose.   She indicated that her main objection was India's inclusion among the 44 countries that have to ratify the treaty, saying: "As long as this text contains this article, this treaty will never enter into force."   Diplomats say India fears sanctions or other types of punishment if it is the only state to block the treaty.   Richard Butler, Australia's ambassador, who organised supporters of the treaty in the assembly, speculated that Ghose's comment might indicate a "way out" if that provision were in some way changed.   "I don't see it as a hopeless situation but the beginning of a process," he told a news conference.   "Now that the world community has spoken with such a clear voice, I am sure we will enter into a period of diplomatic and political conversation about ways in which (India) can be encouraged to accept it," he said. 
13451 !GCAT !GODD  The sign outside the display in the primate section of Copenhagen Zoo is much like those of the surrounding Orang-utangs, baboons and gibbons.   A map of the world shows the animal's geographical distribution -- just about everywhere -- and key facts are noted:   Period of gestation: Nine months   Number of young per birth: One   Reaches sexual maturity: 13-17 years of age   Weight 50-100 kg.   Lifespan:75-85 years   Diet: Omnivorous   The name of the newest inmate of the primate house is given in Danish as Menneske, with its Latin, English and German equivalents -- Homo Sapiens, Human Being, Mensch.   In what it says is a unique exercise, Copenhagen Zoo has let local couple Henrik Lehmann and Malene Botoft move into a perspex-walled hut between the ruffed lemurs and the baboons where they will live under the public gaze until September 15.   Lehman, an acrobat by trade, says the object is to bring humans into contact with their simian roots.   "We love to look at apes.   The most popular animal to look at the world over -- apart from the predators -- are apes because they remind us so much of people," he told Reuters over a beer in the couple's small but cosy air-conditioned enclosure.   "Monkeys and gorillas have 98.5 percent of human chromosomes, only 1.5 percent separates us from the monkeys, so I thought, if we were to display people, not under ape conditions but the way we are, it would make people think."   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.   The cash-strapped zoo was happy to go along with the idea as long as its potential exhibits could finance it themselves, so they spent three months wooing sponsors, eventually winning support from a multinational computer company, a local brewery, motorcycle dealers and a daily newspaper.   On August 25 they moved in, doing much of the installation work themselves.   Botoft's diary, published in the Danish daily Berlingske Tidende where she works as a secretary and motorcycle writer, describes the first hours as a zoo inmate.   "We were near fainting from exhaustion and I could hardly get up but I made a cup of coffee with warm milk," she wrote.   "I drank it on the sofa and ate a meatball with cheese while people looked at us.   Henrik slept."   Botoft noted that while adults hastened on to look at the real apes, seemingly uncomfortable at seeing humans on zoological display, children seemed to prefer looking at their own species.   "Children find it easier to observe us, they come close up and keep staring," she wrote.   The neighbours, particularly the baboons, she found entertaining during the day but the lemurs next door became tiresome 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.   The couple's nest boasts 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.   Throughout the day the human exhibits go about their business, cooking, cleaning, reading and listening to music, while specators peer through the perspex.   The more intimate aspects of human behaviour are not on display: "That's not interesting," Lehmann said.   Unlike their furry neighbours the couple are free to move around the zoo although one always remains in their quarters during opening hours.   "We can go out, the animals can't, that is our advantage," Lehmann said.   Guided groups of visitors come through the zoo after the six p.m. closing time but by 8.30 they are left with only the animals for company.   Unlike the other animals Lehman and Botoft have an e-mail address and a postbox; Homo Sapiens, Henrik and Malene, Zoological Gardens, Soendre Fasanvej 79, 2000 Copenhagen F, Denmark, and are keen to hear what others think of their project. 
13452 !GCAT !GCRIM !GENV  Asian rhinos, whose horn is widely used in traditional oriental medicines, face extinction from heavily armed poachers who even use high tension power lines to electrocute them, conservationists said on Tuesday.   The Swiss-based World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) said in a new report that only two viable populations survived in India, while in Indonesia there were only between 250 and 450 of the animals left.   "The worse rhino crisis is now in Asia, where all three surviving species are endangered," an introduction to the report by the WWF's Elizabeth Kemf said.   In the past, environmentalists have seen African rhinos as facing the main threat to extinction.   Demand for the rhino's horn in traditional Chinese and Tibetan medicine is the single biggest threat to the beast's survival.   In India, the herd of greater one-horned rhino had been reduced to around 1,500 by an increase in activity by poachers who often kill the animals by electrocution, the report said.   Poachers dangled wires connected to high tension powerlines across rhino paths, but also used pit traps and shooting, the most common method of killing the animals.   At a separate WWF news conference in London, conservationist Vivek Menon said park guards were sent out with rusty old bolt action rifles and a handful of bullets and were no match for the better-equipped poachers.   "Anti-poaching must be a top priority," he told reporters.   "Manas national park has lost nine guards in the past couple of years who have been shot by poachers."   Calling on courts to hand out stiffer penalties to poachers, Menon said: "The arms and drugs mafia control the trade.   Wildlife is now the world's second largest illegal trade after drugs."   Although almost extinct by the turn of the century, rhino numbers had increased due to conservation policies but many had died since the 1980s.   Illegal killing accelerated in the early 1990s, leading to a loss of 14 per cent in the total population between 1990 and 1993.   Another five per cent were estimated to have been lost in 1994/95, according to the report.   In Indonesia, the report said, the Sumatra rhino was declining despite increased protection.   "The Indonesian government itself says illegal killing of the rhino is Sumatra is "uncontrollable' and "overwhelming'," Kemf said. 
13453 !GCAT  These are leading stories in this morning's Paris newspapers.   -- Government studies a reform of company law, with a bill to be presented before the end of the year which could change the terms for "misuse of corporate funds."   -- CGIP says has no intention of launching a public buyout offer on Cerus and Valeo , as had been reported by newspapers yesterday, but confirms its interest in Valeo and is in talks with Italian magnate Carlo De Benedetti.   (Les Echos, La Tribune, Le Figaro, Liberation).   -- Renault car maker expects losses in car and lorry activities for 1996, auto branch lost 911 million francs in the first half.   Renault posts a 158 million franc profit for the first half thanks to financial results and dividends.   LES ECHOS   -- Bourse watchdog COB signs co-operation agreement with German counterpart.   LE FIGARO-ECONOMIE   -- Civil servants unions prepare labour unrest for October, against job cuts and a wage freeze which Prime Minister Alain Juppe announced he would lift in 1997.   LIBERATION (Economic section)   -- Navy shipyard workers to join October labour action to protest job cuts in defence sector restructuring.   -- Air France Europe workers worried over job cuts due to a planned merger with Air France announced this summer.   -- German budget proposal for 1997 aims for a public deficit of 2.5 percent of GDP, seeks cost-cutting and draws criticism in Parliament.   THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE   -- Analysts have downgraded profit forecasts for subscriber-TV channel Canal Plus saying the acquisition of Nethold NV would dilute short term earnings.    -- Paris Newsroom +33 1 4221 5381 
13454 !GCAT  These are leading stories in this morning's Paris newspapers.   -- Government studies a reform of company law, with a bill to be presented before the end of the year which could change the terms for "misuse of corporate funds."   -- CGIP says has no intention of launching a public buyout offer on Cerus and Valeo , as had been reported by newspapers yesterday, but confirms its interest in Valeo and is in talks with Italian magnate Carlo De Benedetti.   (Les Echos, La Tribune, Le Figaro, Liberation).   -- Renault car maker expects losses in car and lorry activities for 1996, auto branch lost 911 million francs in the first half.   Renault posts a 158 million franc profit for the first half thanks to financial results and dividends.   LES ECHOS   -- Bourse watchdog COB signs co-operation agreement with German counterpart.   LE FIGARO-ECONOMIE   -- Civil servants unions prepare labour unrest for October, against job cuts and a wage freeze which Prime Minister Alain Juppe announced he would lift in 1997.   LIBERATION (Economic section)   -- Navy shipyard workers to join October labour action to protest job cuts in defence sector restructuring.   -- Air France Europe workers worried over job cuts due to a planned merger with Air France announced this summer.   -- German budget proposal for 1997 aims for a public deficit of 2.5 percent of GDP, seeks cost-cutting and draws criticism in Parliament.   THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE   -- Analysts have downgraded profit forecasts for subscriber-TV channel Canal Plus saying the acquisition of Nethold NV would dilute short term earnings.   -- Paris Newsroom +33 1 4221 5381 
13455 !GCAT  These are leading stories in this morning's Paris newspapers.   -- Government studies a reform of company law, with a bill to be presented before the end of the year which could change the terms for "misuse of corporate funds."   -- CGIP says has no intention of launching a public buyout offer on Cerus and Valeo, as had been reported by newspapers yesterday, but confirms its interest in Valeo and is in talks with Italian magnate Carlo De Benedetti.   (Les Echos, La Tribune, Le Figaro, Liberation).   -- Renault car maker expects losses in car and lorry activities for 1996, auto branch lost 911 million francs in the first half.   Renault posts a 158 million franc profit for the first half thanks to financial results and dividends.   LES ECHOS   -- Bourse watchdog COB signs co-operation agreement with German counterpart.   LE FIGARO-ECONOMIE   -- Civil servants unions prepare labour unrest for October, against job cuts and a wage freeze which Prime Minister Alain Juppe announced he would lift in 1997.   LIBERATION (Economic section)   -- Navy shipyard workers to join October labour action to protest job cuts in defence sector restructuring.   -- Air France Europe workers worried over job cuts due to a planned merger with Air France announced this summer.   -- German budget proposal for 1997 aims for a public deficit of 2.5 percent of GDP, seeks cost-cutting and draws criticism in Parliament.   THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE   -- Analysts have downgraded profit forecasts for subscriber-TV channel Canal Plus saying the acquisition of Nethold NV would dilute short term earnings.   -- Paris Newsroom +33 1 4221 5381 
13456 !E21 !E211 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GWELF  German Chancellor Helmut Kohl on Wednesday defended his government's austerity drive in the wake of mass demonstrations by unions at the weekend and ahead of a major political debate in parliament.   Kohl told the daily Neue Presse newspaper that his plans, which involve spending cuts totalling 70 billion marks next year, were completely in line with demands for social justice.   "If we don't make cuts we have no chance to lower the tax burden on citizens in our country.   That is also a matter of justice," he said.   Kohl was due to address parliament at around midday (1000 GMT) as part of a debate on the 1997 budget.   He said the greatest social injustice was when people looking for work could not find a job.   "If we did not act, further jobs would be lost."   German unemployment has surged to over 10 percent of the workforce, busting Bonn's budget calculations for this year and threatening to leave another hole in public finances in 1997.   Kohl's austerity package consists of a wide range of spending cuts and supply side reform measures aimed both at cutting runaway budget deficits and reducing firms' costs to encourage them to take on more workers.   In particular the package aims to slash 50 billion marks from public spending and 20 billion marks from social welfare fund spending next year in a bid to get Germany's public deficit back under the three percent of gross domestic product level required for joining the single European currency.   A major chunk of the package, including pension and health reforms as well as cuts in sick pay and workers' protection from firing, is set to be voted through the lower house of parliament on Friday, overriding upper house objections.   About 240,000 people attended demonstrations against the cuts around Germany at the weekend and Germany's most powerful union, IG Metall, this week threatened to strike if employers do not compensate workers for Bonn's sick pay cuts.   Kohl said Germans knew perfectly well that adjustments to their cherished welfare state were needed if Germany were to survive international competition in the long term.   Germany currently spends a trillion marks annually -- equivalent to a third of its GDP -- on welfare.   Kohl's cuts would trim about two percent from this.   Kohl said it was important to target benefits more specifically and to combat fraud of the system.   "And equally important is the struggle without compromise against tax evasion and subsidy fraud," Kohl told the paper.   He added that a comprehensive reform of the tax system the government was planning for 1999 would definitely lead to a net reduction in taxes.   Wednesday's debate was to be opened by opposition Social Democrat parliamentary leader Rudolf Scharping.   Kohl and SPD leader Oskar Lafontaine were scheduled to speak around midday.   Wolfgang Gerhardt, leader of Kohl's junior coalition partners the Free Democrats, was also due to address deputies.   -- Bonn newsroom, 49-228-26097150 
13457 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  By Alan Elsner, U.S. Political Correspondent   President Bill Clinton on Tuesday lashed out at Bob Dole in two television commercials, while Texas billionaire Ross Perot introduced a little-known anti-free trade economist as his running mate.   Perot said during a half-hour television campaign ad that Choate, an academic and determined critic of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), was an expert on economic policy and would play a key role in his campaign.   "He knows the system.   He knows what's wrong with it.   We agree what's wrong with it.   His views are your views out there across America," said Perot, who is running for the fledgling Reform Party he founded and financed from his own pocket.   With Perot trailing in the polls at around five percent, his failure to persuade a national figure to run with him on his ticket unlikely to revitalise his prospects.   In other developments, Dole, who is also looking for a shot in the arm, arranged a meeting with Republican members of Congress on Wednesday to steady nerves about his and their election prospects.   The latest CNN/USA tracking poll showed Clinton's lead over Dole unchanged at a substantial 21 percentage points.   But Clinton is not sitting on his lead.   He stayed on the offensive with a new advertisement attacked Dole for opposing the popular Family and Medical Leave Act, which allows employees to take unpaid time off for family emergencies.   "Bob Dole led a six-year fight against Family Leave.   Twelve million have used leave but Dole's still against it," the commercial says.   Dole campaign spokeswoman Christina Martin reacted indignantly, calling the advertisement a "moral outrage ... nasty and spiteful."   A second advertisement decried Dole for raising taxes throughout his career.   "Bob Dole: 35 years in Washington, 35 years of higher taxes," an announcer declares.   Dole last weekend denounced the Family Leave Act as unwarranted government intrusion and said the federal government should leave such matters to states and local communities to regulate.   Campaigning in Kansas City on Tuesday, Clinton rejected Dole's criticism.   "I just respectfully disagree.   I think we were right to do it.   ... It's not a big radical step.   It's pro-family and pro-work," the president said.   Dole's meeting with congressional Republicans was clearly designed to to calm fears that the Nov. 5 election in shaping up as a disaster for the party.   Republican leaders put a positive spin on the meeting.   Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said its purpose was to discuss the legislative agenda and receive a briefing on the presidential campaign.   "I think there's plenty of time for them to get their message of economic growth out to the public .... I think there's a long way between now and the election in November and I'm counting on a very competitive campaign," Lott said.   Perot got 19 percent of the vote in 1992 but is currently trailing with about five percent in the polls, making his participation in upcoming presidential debates open to doubt.   Dole and Clinton campaign officials plan to hold their first negotiating session on Thursday to discuss the rules of the debates, the first of which is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 25 in St Louis, Missouri.   Meanwhile the independent Commission on Presidential Debates will announce next Monday whether it believes Perot should take part.   Its recommendations, while not binding on the campaigns, will carry substantial weight.   The commission is proposing three presidential debates and one between vice presidential candidates on four successive Wednesdays starting on Sept. 25.   Dole spent the day in Louisiana trying to shore up his southern Republican base.   He pushed his 15 percent income tax cut and blamed Clinton for increased drug use by teenagers.   At a rally in the small Louisiana town of Baker, Dole derided Clinton's claim that another four years of his Democratic administration would be a bridge to a brighter American future.   "Which bridge to the future is right for America?   My opponent would build a bridge of higher taxes and more teenagers using drugs, of a government-run health care system, more liberal judges, an economy producing fewer jobs and more and more and more government," Dole said. 
13458 !C21 !C31 !C313 !CCAT !GCAT !GENT  When U.S.-based Metromedia International took over Hungary's Juventus radio in 1994 the station aired heavy metal rock music, taxi drivers' reminiscences and tips on goat shearing.   "It was a mishmash and an embarrassment," said Michael Lonneke, the 53-year-old American manager of Juventus (which means "youth").   "We seriously considered changing the name."   The name stayed but the goats were put out to pasture.   Two and a half years later Juventus, with a mix of mainstream rock, almost no talk and plenty of ads, climbed to the top in the June Gallup survey of time spent listening -- more than 300 minutes a week for people 14 and older.   "We beat all comers," Lonneke said after Juventus for the first time surpassed -- in that Gallup category -- state-run Kossuth Radio, with its weightier diet of news, public service programmes and classical, religious as well as popular music.   "It's nothing magic," added Lonneke, who came to Juventus in April from a Metromedia station in Moscow.   "It's what any successful Western company does.   Survey the market and determine what products are needed."   But now Juventus, owned by a subsidiary of Metromedia International Group Inc., faces an even bigger challenge than kicking out the goats.   The station itself may be partly kicked off the air.   PRIVATISATION PLAN WILL MEAN LOSS OF FREQUENCIES   Under a plan for the rationalisation and privatisation of Hungary's television and radio, Juventus will lose at least one of its three frequencies and possibly more, said Janos Timar, a member of the National Radio and Television Committee (ORTP).   Timar said Hungarian businessmen who cobbled together Juventus from regional radio channels in 1992 and later sold it to Metromedia were licensed for programming on a medium wave (AM) station near Lake Balaton in western Hungary.   They also got technical licences for two FM channels to rebroadcast to a wider audience, including the capital Budapest.   "It is only a technical licence (for the FM channels) to receive programmes (from the Balaton station).   It is not in the original licence and that's why it's a problem," Timar said.   "I can't say it's illegal because they got permission for it but the circumstances of how they got the licences for the two FM frequencies are not clear...There are a lot of problems with it and therefore it's a bad situation for Metromedia."   Lonneke, who abandoned a possible career as an opera singer to become a salesman and manager for mass market radio, does not seem unduly worried.   He said he was confident Juventus would retain its Budapest channel because "the government has assured us they will take into consideration past performance..."   Metromedia also knew when it purchased Juventus that it would have to give up one of the FM channels, based in Kabhegy near Balaton, Lonneke said.   But he added that other frequencies should become available as formerly communist Hungary proceeds with radio and television privatisation.   "One possibility would be to reconstruct to maintain our dominance in Budapest and pick up other outlying towns," he said.   Timar said the ORTP, after many months of delay, hopes to complete its work in September on tenders for the privatisation of two national radio channels and two television channels.   Media companies, including Luxembourg-based CLT, France's TF1, Scandinavian Broadcasting System and possibly Ronald Lauder's Central European Media Enterprises, are interested in the television channels while Indianapolis, Indiana-based Emmis Broadcasting Corp is expected to bid for a radio station, industry and government sources said.   STATION STEPPING UP ITS PROFILE   Meanwhile Juventus, although it will fade from part of the radio dial, is if anything stepping up its public profile.   A few months ago it was impossible to miss Juventus billboards plastered around the city showing a parrot with its beak tied shut.   Next came ads with smashed tomatoes covering the words "blah, blah" and soon, Lonneke said, the parrot will be shown being "nailed by a tomato".   Juventus has a hot-air balloon, flashy new vans plastered with the Juventus slogan and displays a banner at the stadium as co-sponsor of concerts by Tina Turner or Michael Jackson.   It also sold a pop CD to raise a million forints ($6,443) for the Hungarian Olympics team and organised benefit concerts for victims of a train wreck last year and flooding this year.   The tactics -- hard-sell, American style -- offend some people.   "They changed owners, the new owner bought software and machines, he told the speakers not to talk and that's it," said an executive of a rival station, who asked not to be quoted by name.   "It's McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Juventus."   But it goes over well with young people who Lonneke says have the disposable income that advertisers want.   "It is the best radio," said Niki Kasari, a waitress at a trendy Budapest restaurant where Juventus played in the background.   "At home I also have it on all the time."   ($1=155.19 Forint) 
13459 !C12 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GJOB  Giant Food Inc said on Thursday that a lawsuit would be filed against it in a U.S. District Court, but the company planned to vigorously defend itself.   "We state categorically that we have never tolerated, nor will we ever tolerate any discriminatory conduct at Giant Food," Giant Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Pete Manos said in a statement.   (Corrects name of Giant Food boss to Pete Manos from JoAnn Myles)   The lawsuit, to be filed by several employees in a District of Maryland Court, would allege racial discrimation, a Giant spokesman said. 
13460 !G15 !GCAT  Committee on Women's Rights [[ Tuesday 17 September 1996 ]] PUBLIC MEETING 0.1 1.   Adoption of draft agenda (PE 218.984 ) 2.   Chairman's announcements ===] In the presence of the Commission 3.   1997 budget - Section III (T04556) (T04556) BUD0074 COM(96)0300 C4-0350/96 + FEMM Avis A GRONER Lissy.   (PSE) (PE217.394 ) F BUDG Fond R BRINKHORST Laurens J (ELD) (PE218.328 ) - Adoption of draft opinion 4.   Any other business 5.   Date of next meeting in Brussels (PE/XIX/OJ/96-12 ) END OF DOCUMENT. 
13461 !G15 !GCAT  Committee on Development and Cooperation [[ Monday 16 September 1996 ]] 1.   Adoption of draft agenda (PE218.759 ) ===] In the presence of the Council and Commission 2.   1997 budget - Section III (T04556) (T04556) BUD0074 COM(96)0300 C4-0350/96 + DEVE Avis A GUNTHER Maren.   (PPE) (PE218.754 ) F BUDG Fond R BRINKHORST Laurens J (ELD) (PE218.328 ) - Adoption of draft opinion - Adoption of amendments 3.   Ninth EC-UNRWA Convention prior to signature of the Convention by the Commission and UNRWA (T04898) (T04898) CNS96154 COM(96)0257 C4-0422/96 + DEVE Fond R KOUCHNER Bernard.   (PSE) (PE218.760 ) - Consideration and adoption of a draft report 4.   Any other business 5.   Date of next meeting (in BRUSSELS) (PE/XIII/OJ/96-10 ) ) END OF DOCUMENT. 
13462 !G15 !GCAT  Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media [[ Monday 16 September 1996 ]] 0.   ===] MONDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 1996.   ===] In the presence of the Commission 1.   Adoption of draft agenda (PE 219.397 ) 2.   Regional and local authorities and their role in the political Union.   (DVR0401 ) - Adoption of draft opinion 2.1 Future of economic and social cohesion.   (DVR0402 ) - Adoption of draft opinion 3.   Establishment of a support programme in the field of books and reading (Ariane) (T03501) (T03501) COD94189 COM(95)0374 C4-0377/96 + JEUN Fond R MOUSKOURI Nana.   (PPE) (PE218.735 ) - Consideration of draft recommendation 4.0 4.   Europe's cultural heritage: programme to encourage its preservation and the extension of its influence (RAPHAEL) (T03753) (T03753) COD95078 COM(96)0333 C4-0378/96 + JEUN Fond R SANZ FERNANDEZ F. (PSE) (PE219.395 ) - Consideration of draft recommendation ===] TUESDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 1996.   ===] In the presence of the Commission 6.   1997 budget - Section III (T04556) (T04556) BUD0074 COM(96)0300 C4-0350/96 + JEUN Avis A PERRY Roy.   (PPE) (PE218.731 ) F BUDG Fond R BRINKHORST Laurens J (ELD) (PE218.328 ) - Consideration of amendments 7.   Date of next meeting (PE/XII/OJ/96-17 ) 8.   9.   10.   All the COM/SEC documents referred to above will be available on request dur ing the meeting END OF DOCUMENT. 
13463 !G15 !GCAT  Committee on Regional Policy [[ Monday 16 September 1996 ]] The room number will be posted on the notice board ===] Monday 16 September at 7 p.m. 1.   Adoption of draft agenda (PE 218.351 ) 2.   Possibly, chairman's announcements 2.1 In the presence of the Council and Commission 3.   1997 budget - Section III (T04556) (T04556) BUD0074 COM(96)0300 C4-0350/96 + REGI Avis A McCARTHY Arlene.   (PSE) (PE218.348 ) F BUDG Fond R BRINKHORST Laurens J (ELD) (PE218.265 ) - Consideration of draft opinion 4.   Multiannual programme to assist European tourism, 1997-2000 (PHILOXENIA) (T04854) (T04854) CNS96127 COM(96)0168 C4-0356/96 + REGI Avis BAGGIONI Jean.   (UPE) (PE218.349 ) F TRAN Fond BENNASAR TOUS F. (PPE) (PE218.418 ) - Consideration and adoption of draft opinion 5.   Industrial restructuration and relocation in the European Union (T03509) (T03509) INI0329 INI0329 + REGI Avis A SCHROEDTER Elisabeth (V ) (PE218.869 ) F ECON Fond R HAUTALA Heidi.   (V )   (PE218.611/DT ) - Consideration of draft opinion 6.   White Paper on an energy policy for the European Union (T03923) (T03923) COS0361 SEC(95)2283 C4-0018/96 + REGI Avis A CAMISON ASENSIO F. (PPE) (PE218.350 ) F ENER Fond R van VELZEN W. (PPE) (PE217.771 ) - Consideration of draft opinion 7.   Any other business 8.   Date of next meeting (in Brussels) (PE/IX/OJ/96-16 ) - FIN - R END OF DOCUMENT. 
13464 !G15 !G154 !GCAT  Committee on External Economic Relations [[ Tuesday 17 September 1996 ]] P U B L I C M E E T I N G 1.   Adoption of draft agenda (PE218.811 ) 2.   Chairman's announcements ===] In the presence of the Council and Commission 3.   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 4.   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 ) - Adoption of draft opinion 5.   Competitiveness of the shipping industry (T04389) (T04389) COS0402 COM(96)0084 C4-0211/96 + RELA Avis A PEX Peter.   (PPE)   (PE218.560 ) F ECON Fond R KATIFORIS Georgios.   (PSE) - Adoption of draft opinion 6.   The changeover to the single currency (report by the European Monetary Institute) (T04566) (T04566) COS0336 C4-596/95 C4-0559/95 + RELA Avis A DE CLERCQ W. (ELD) (PE218.810 ) F ECON Fond R HOPPENSTEDT Karsten (PPE) (PE218.194 ) - Consideration of draft opinion - Deadline for tabling amendments 7.   Any other business 8.   Date of next meeting (PE/VI/OJ/96-20 ) 8.1 - oOo-===] Coordinators' meeting: after the meeting 9.   Appointment of rapporteurs and draftsmen - decisions on procedure ===] CONSULTATIONS ===] - Responsible 10.   Protection against effects of application of certain third-country legislation (Helms-Burton Act) (T04951) CNS96217 COM(96)0420 + RELA Fond - Appointment of rapporteur ===] - Opinion 11.   Algeria: Euro-Mediterranean association agreement (T04799) ATT1198 + RELA Avis F POLI Fond - Appointment of draftsman 12.   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 13.   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 R MEDINA ORTEGA M. (PSE) (PE219.017 ) - Appointment of draftsman 14.   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 R MEDINA ORTEGA M. (PSE) (PE219.018 ) - Appointment of draftsman ===] Any other business 15.   Petition 1181/95 by Mr Spencer on the destruction of the Amazon rainforests - Decision on procedure - FIN - END OF DOCUMENT. 
13465 !G15 !GCAT !GENV  Committee on Research, Technological Development and Energy   [[ Tuesday 17 September 1996 ]] E X T R A O R D I N A R Y M E E T I N G ===] Tuesday, 17 September at 5.30 pm 1.   Adoption of draft agenda (PE 217.259 ) ===] In the presence of the Council and Commission 2.   1997 budget - Section III (T04556) (T04556) BUD0074 COM(96)0300 C4-0350/96 + ENER Avis A McNALLY Eryl M. (PSE) (PE218.597 ) F BUDG Fond R BRINKHORST Laurens J (ELD) (PE218.328 ) - Consideration of amendments - Vote on and adoption of draft opinion 3.   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 ) - Consideration of amendments - Vote on and adoption of draft opinion 4.   Community policy in the field of telecommunications and postal services (T04820) (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) - Consideration of amendments - Vote on and adoption of draft opinion 5.   Chairman's announcements 6.   Any other business 7.   Date of next meeting (PE/V/OJ/96-19 ) END OF DOCUMENT. 
13466 !C13 !CCAT !G15 !GCAT  Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development [[ Monday 16 September 1996 ]] PUBLIC MEETING 0.1 0.2 1.   Adoption of draft agenda (PE218.449 ) ===] In the presence of the Commission 2.   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 R FUNK Honor.   (PPE) (PE218.445 ) + AGRI Fond FUNK Honor.   (PPE) (PE218.445 ) - Decision on procedure Decision on procedure following the new Council request for urgent procedure - Consideration of draft report (possibly) 3.   Other Commission proposals for which urgent procedure has been requested - (possibly) 4.   Any other business 5.   Date of next meeting in BRUSSELS (PE/II/OJ/96-20 ) END OF DOCUMENT. 
13467 !G15 !GCAT  *   (Note - contents are displayed in reverse order to that in the printed Journal)   *   COMMON POSITION (EC) No 51/96 adopted by the Council on 8 July 1996 with a view to adopting Decision No .../96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of ... establishing a Community action programme in the field of cultural heritage - the Raphael programme (96/C 264/11)   COMMON POSITION (EC) No 50/96 adopted by the Council on 8 July 1996 with a view to adopting Directive 96/.../EC of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the Annex to Directive No 93/7/EEC on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State (96/C 264/10)   COMMON POSITION (EC) No 49/96 adopted by the Council on 8 July 1996 with a view to adopting Directive 96/.../EC of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 89/552/EEC on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities (96/C 264/09)   COMMON POSITION (EC) No 48/96 adopted by the Council on 8 July 1996 with a view to adopting Council Decision No .../96/EC concerning a multi-annual programme for the promotion of energy efficiency in the Community - SAVE II (96/C 264/08)   COMMON POSITION (EC) No 47/96 adopted by the Council on 27 June 1996 with a view to adopting Decision No .../96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a support programme in the field of books and reading (Ariane) (96/C 264/07)   COMMON POSITION (EC) No 46/96 adopted by the Council on 27 June 1996 with a view to adopting Council Regulation (EC) No .../96 of ... on environmental measures in developing countries in the context of sustainable development (96/C 264/06)   COMMON POSITION (EC) No 45/96 adopted by the Council on 27 June 1996 with a view to adopting Council Regulation (EC) No .../96 of ... on HIV/AIDS-related operations in developing countries (96/C 264/05)   COMMON POSITION (EC) No 44/96 adopted by the Council on 27 June 1996 with a view to adopting Council Regulation (EC) No .../96 of ... on operations to aid uprooted people in Asian and Latin American developing countries (96/C 264/04)   COMMON POSITION (EC) No 43/96 adopted by the Council on 27 June 1996 with a view to adopting Council Directive 96/.../EC of ... on the systems of chartering and pricing in national and international inland waterway transport in the Community (96/C 264/03)   COMMON POSITION (EC) No 42/96 adopted by the Council on 27 June 1996 with a view to adopting Council Regulation (EC) No .../96 of ... amending Regulation (EEC) No 1107/70 on the granting of aids for transport by rail, road and inland waterway (96/C 264/02)   COMMON POSITION (EC) No 41/96 adopted by the Council on 27 June 1996 with a view to adopting Council Regulation (EC) No .../96 of ... amending Regulation (EEC) No 1101/89 on structural improvements in inland waterway transport (96/C 264/01) END OF DOCUMENT. 
13468 !C13 !C24 !CCAT !G15 !GCAT  *   (Note - contents are displayed in reverse order to that in the printed Journal)   *   Phare - wastewater-treatment-plant construction Within the framework of the European Union Phare Cross-Border Cooperation Programme Poland-Germany 1995 Zielona Gora Municipal Government invites contractors who meet the conditions and have sufficient experience and references to participate in the international, open tendering procedure Wastewater treatment plant-Zielona Gora works of civil engineering constructions - Project No PL 9502.02.01 (96/C 265/06)   Survey on current consumer requirements regarding the labelling of foodstuffs Open procedure (96/C 265/05)   Amended proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision establishing a Community action programme in the field of cultural heritage - the Raphael programme (1) (96/C 265/04) (Text with EEA relevance) COM(96) 333 final - 95/0078(COD)   Prior notification of a concentration (Case No IV/M.779 - Bertelsmann/CLT) (96/C 265/03)   Average prices and representative prices for table wines at the various marketing centres (96/C 265/02)   Ecu (1) 11 September 1996 (96/C 265/01) END OF DOCUMENT. 
13469 !G15 !GCAT  *   (Note - contents are displayed in reverse order to that in the printed Journal)   *   COMMISSION DECISION of 30 April 1996 concerning aid granted by Italy to the footwear industry (Only the Italian text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (96/542/EC)   DECISION No 1/96 OF THE EC-TURKEY ASSOCIATION COUNCIL of 2 September 1996 repealing Decision 5/72 relating to methods of administrative cooperation for implementation of Articles 2 and 3 of the Additional Protocol to the Ankara Agreement (96/541/EC)   COMMISSION DIRECTIVE 96/55/EC of 4 September 1996 adapting to technical progress for the 2nd time Annex I to Council Directive 76/769/EEC on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and preparations (chlorinated solvents) (Text with EEA relevance)   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1768/96 of 11 September 1996 temporarily suspending the issuing of export licences for certain milk products and determining what proportion of the amounts covered by pending applications for export licences may be allocated   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1767/96 of 11 September 1996 fixing the maximum export refunds for olive oil for the 19th partial invitation to tender under the standing invitation to tender issued by Regulation (EC) No 2544/95   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1766/96 of 11 September 1996 fixing the export refunds on olive oil   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1765/96 of 11 September 1996 fixing the import duties in the rice sector   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1764/96 of 11 September 1996 establishing the standard import values for determining the entry price of certain fruit and vegetables   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1763/96 of 11 September 1996 laying down transitional measures for the management of base areas in the new German Lander and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 1000/94   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1762/96 of 11 September 1996 amending Regulation (EC) No 2939/94 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 105/76 on the recognition of producers' organizations in the fishing industry   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1761/96 of 11 September 1996 fixing the representative prices and the additional import duties for molasses in the sugar sector   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1760/96 of 11 September 1996 fixing the maximum export refund for white sugar for the sixth 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 1759/96 of 11 September 1996 fixing the export refunds on white sugar and raw sugar exported in its unaltered state END OF DOCUMENT. 
13470 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !G15 !G158 !GCAT  The European Union's trade deficit with former Soviet states remained static last year, but new figures suggest demand is growing for a wider range of products from West.   Figures released on Thursday by Eurostat -- the EU's statistical office -- showed the 15-nation bloc posted a 5.3 billion European currency unit ($6.63 billion) trade deficit with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).   EU imports from the CIS were worth 23.2 billion Ecus in 1995 -- an 8.8 percent increase on the previous year.   Exports rose 11.5 percent to 17.9 billion Ecus.   Nearly a quarter of all EU exports to the CIS were taken up by manufactured products -- particularly industrial machinery -- but overall volume and value in this area declined by nearly 16 percent.   Experts noted, however, huge increases in the volume and value of EU-produced luxury goods.   Exports of perfumes, clothing, furniture and finished electronic goods such as stereos, cameras and personal computers all registered double-digit growth.   "This is the sign of a more sophisticated market," said a European Commission official.   "It suggests there is more money there for European producers to tap into."   Petroleum and related products were the biggest EU imports, accounting for 27 percent of trade and worth 6.2 billion Ecus.   This was a drop of around 12 percent, but CIS exports of unfinished and finished metal products soared by nearly 50 percent.   Russia continues to be the dominant EU trade partner within the CIS, but Ukraine -- which on Wednesday won praise from the European Commission for its market reforms -- increased its share.   Russia accounted for over 75 percent of EU exports and 86 percent of imports.   Kyrgyzstan remains the EU's least significant trade partner within the CIS, accounting for just 50 million Ecus of exports and 30 million Ecus in imports.   Germany grabbed the lion's share of trade-flow with the CIS, accounting for 40 percent.   Italy (18.5 percent) and France (12 percent) followed, while Portugal had less than one percent of imports and exports.   The figures only include trade with 12 EU states.   Details for Finland, Austria and Sweden -- which joined the union last year -- have not been included.   EU trade with the CIS by country in 1995:    EU Exports  EU Imports  Trade balance    Pct Ecus +- Pct Ecus +-  Ecus Pct   Ukraine 11.5 2.06 23.6 6.3 1.45 15.9 0.61 17.3   Belarus  4.6 0.83 43.5 2.3 0.53 24.9 0.29 21.7   Moldova  0.8 0.14 84.8 0.4 0.09 76.9 0.05 23.0   Russia  75.7 13.52 11.1 86.0 19.92 8.3 -6.40 -19.1   Georgia  0.5 0.10 8.7 0.1 0.02 34.7 0.08 64.9   Armenia  0.7 0.13 118.1 0.1 0.03 -9.8 0.10 58.9   Azerbaijan 0.7 0.12 45.1 0.2 0.05 113.3 0.07 42.4   Kazakhstan 2.1 0.37 -44.9 1.4 0.32 17.9 0.06 8.0   Turkmenistan 0.4 0.08 -47.2 0.7 0.15 -20.0 -0.07 -31.4   Uzbekistan 2.3 0.41 5.3 2.1 0.49 -5.7 -0.08 - 8.9   Tadjikistan 0.3 0.05 26.3 0.3 0.07 -20.0 -0.02 -19.9   Kyrgyzstan 0.3 0.05 12.5 0.1 0.03 49.6 0.02 20.3   CIS  100.0 17.86 11.5 100.0 23.16 8.8 -5.30 -12.9   ($1 = 0.80 Ecu) 
13471 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  A surprise pilots' strike forced Air France Europe, part of state-owned Air France group, to cancel about 40 percent of its flights on Thursday, an airline spokesman said.   Pilots stopped work after one of them was disciplined for refusing to take off on Wednesday in a protest over security.   In a statement, the airline said the strike began without notice at 11.30 p.m. (2130 GMT) on Wednesday when four pilots' unions walked off the job without prior notice.   The airline primarily serves France but has a fledgling network of flights across Europe, which were also grounded by the strike, the spokesman said.   The situation improved as the day wore on.   The protesting pilot, Jean-Louis Le Barraillec, had refused to fly from Biarritz to Paris after failing to have luggage in the plane's holds be checked by sniffer dogs or X-rays.   The airline said a state official had concluded such checks were unjustified, and the pilot had been punished after refusing to take off a total of 35 times this year, always for the same reason.   It said it was taking the pilots' unions to court for compensation as they had broken the legal requirement for a five-day notice to any strike.   The airline has been battered by strikes in recent months over plans to formally merge the airline, formerly known as Air Inter, with parent company Air France.   There is widespread opposition among airline workers to a restructuring plan that would shed some 950 jobs out of 11,000 over two years.   The merger is due to take place next year and is part of a plan to bring Air France Europe back to break-even within two years by axing loss-making routes and launching a shuttle service. 
13472 !E51 !E511 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  The euro, the combined European currency due in 1999, could represent a greater volume of trade than the U.S. dollar area and will eventually challenge its dominance in world financial markets, economists said on Thursday.   The challenge will come when uncertainty about the euro's credibility fades and investors adopt it as a reliable store of wealth, the economists said.   The euro currency area will have an economic weight at least equalling that of the dollar area, which would correspond to the importance of the euro in world trade, they argue.   A single currency Europe would be more resistant to instability in financial markets, while the U.S will be less able to rely on its dominance in attracting international funds.   Many economists also expect excess dollar reserves to hit the market when the European Central Bank (ECB) takes over the reins from national central banks in 1999 at the planned start of European economic and monetary union (EMU).   "Once the initial uncertainty is removed, the euro is expected to strengthen due to a fall in the demand for dollar reserves and a growing desire to hold a stable currency backed by some of the wealthiest countries in the world," said Adrian Owens, European economist at Julius Baer Investments in London.   With the reduction of intra-European Union exchange rates the need for reserve holdings will fall.   Two of the main reasons for holding reserve currencies are for central bank intervention and for trade.   These will no longer apply within much of Europe.   The economic weight of the euro area will help to back up the new currency, said Owens.   Based on OECD data from 1994, he estimates that if EMU goes ahead with just seven countries, the euro area will account for 27 percent of world exports, almost double than the 15 percent share of the U.S.   EMU with 10 participants, or all current members of the European exchange rate mechanism, would increase the percentage to 35 percent.   EMU incorporating all 15 European Union countries would give the euro area a share of 43 percent of world exports.   A euro area with 10 members would almost equal the U.S. in total output, Owens reckons.   All depends, of course, on whether investors will regard the euro as a credible currency.   The legal and institutional framework for a stability-orientated ECB policy has been set up, which should allow the euro to meet all the criteria for an international key and reserve currency.   Leading U.S. economist Fred Bergsten said recently the creation of the euro will trigger widespread portfolio diversification.   This will realign the world's major currencies and make the dollar at least the second leading key currency in the world almost from its inception, said Bergsten.   "That alone is bound to trigger a substantial portfolio diversification from the existing key currencies, particularly the dollar, into the new key currency, the euro," said Bergsten, director of the Institute of International Economics.   As the euro becomes increasingly acceptable as a medium of exchange, there will be a steady demand to convert dollar reserve holdings into euros, in particular from Asian central banks, which carry high levels of dollar reserves as a direct result of their foreign exchange intervention.   "It is hard to imagine that Asian central banks are entirely comfortable holding reserves in the dollar, which, on a trade-weighted basis, has declined on average some two percent per year for the past 10 years," said Nick Parsons, foreign exchange strategist at Banque Paribas in Paris.   The Bank of Japan (BOJ), which holds some 82 percent of its reserves in dollars, according to Paribas' estimates, is a prime example of how central banks have become saddled with huge dollar reserves through intervention in the currency markets.   In the last 18 months alone BOJ reserves have swollen by $55 billion as the authorities tried to stem and reverse the yen's RISE.   tHe yen hit a record high against the dollar last April.   The euro's creation would also allow for a European bond market equal in depth and liquidity to the U.S. Treasury market.   Since much of international dollar reserve holdings are in the form of an underlying asset, such as U.S. Treasury bills or government bonds, the presence of an equally deep and liquid bond market in the euro area would threaten that dominance.   -- London newsroom + 44 171 542 7792 
13473 !C13 !C24 !C31 !C312 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !GHEA !GSCI  British ministers were reviewing on Thursday the cull of 147,000 cattle to eliminate mad cow disease as the EU sent a clear message it would not accept a reduction in the number of animals to be slaughtered.   Prime Minister John Major confirmed on Wednesday that a review of the cull would be top of the agenda at Thursday's cabinet's meeting -- the first since the summmer break.   The government came under increased pressure from farmers and some Conservatives to reconsider its policy after an Oxford University report predicted last month that the mad cow epidemic would be over by the year 2001 even without the cull.   Despite the new findings, the European Commission warned that although it would consider changing its approach to dealing with the crisis, it would not be interested in talking numbers.   "We're still a little bit old-fashioned here at the Commission: we consider that all measures necessary should be taken to protect human health and that's why we have agreed with the British government a selective slaughter policy," spokesman Gerry Keily told BBC radio.   "We haven't said it can't be changed.   If there is a better approach, we will talk about changing it.   But we will not talk on the basis of numbers of cattle to be slaughtered.   That's not our priority.   The protection of human health is our priority."   Britain reluctantly agreed to the slaughter in exchange for a gradual lifting of a ban on exports of British beef and by-products imposed by the European Union.   The row over mad cow disease broke out in March after Britain acknowledged there could be a link between mad cow or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, the human equivalent to the brain-wasting disease.   The ban caused a serious rift between London and its European neighbours and resulted in British ministers blocking EU business for several weeks on the orders of Major until the cull agreement was reached.   The EU later suggested that the ban should be kept in place longer than planned following evidence that BSE can be spread from mothers to calves.   British newspapers said the cabinet was likely to reduce or abandon the cull in the light of the Oxford report.   Scientists claimed that without the cull there would be an estimated 7,000 cases of BSE in the next five years and the mass slaughter would only reduce it by 23 percent.   But Keily said 23 percent was not insignificant.   "If in future it is proven that there is really a risk for consumers, then consumers are going to ask: "Why wasn't something seriously done about it?"   said Keily.   He added that the EU would meet 70 percent of the 100 million pound ($155.5 million) cost of the cull.   British Agriculture Minister Douglas Hogg is due to meet European Farm Minister Franz Fischler on Monday to discuss the matter.   ($1=.6430 Pound) 
13474 !C21 !C31 !C312 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !M14 !M142 !MCAT  Russia's Norilsk Nickel, one of the world's largest nickel producers, kept metals traders on guard on Thursday after a short strike by unpaid workers raised long-term questions over future output and exports.   Interfax news agency said workers at some Norilsk Nickel metals group plants struck for two hours on Thursday over wage arrears, temporarily halting output.   The strike, the second at the company this year, unnerved industry players, who said Norilsk could either increase exports to generate cash to pay overdue salaries or cut back output and exports because of labour unrest.   "It's a minefield," said a nickel trader at a major Western commodities house.   "If you deal with these people very carefully, things will be okay -- but only if," the source said, adding that instability in Russia's coal industry could spread to Russia's non-ferrous metals sector.   Interfax said Norilsk workers would refuse to load metals for export from September 16 unless an agreement was reached with management over 800 billion roubles ($148.7 million) in wage arrears.   "The problem is serious and possibly long-term," said Ilya Korotkov, product manager at Russian metals exporter European Materials Agency, which exports small amounts of Norilsk output.   "They will try to export more to pay off salaries," he said, adding that exports could rise 10-15 percent in the second quarter of 1996.   "They don't have many other choices."   Russia is the world's largest miner of nickel ore and concentrate, and Norilsk, whose exports are key to balance in the market, is the world's second largest producer of refined nickel, a key ingredient in stainless steel.   The company also produces huge quantities of copper, cobalt, platinum and platinum group metals.   "They really have some severe problems with cash flows," said Olga Vinogradova, a metals analyst at United City Bank in Moscow, adding she had heard of some export delays, which traders had reported earlier this week.   "This strike is not going to have a positive impact on clients."   Sources said Norilsk was moving from pre-financing to Western export credits to boost profitability.   Benchmark nickel contracts on the London Metals Exchange are at around $7,530 a tonne, down from September highs of $7,850.   Sources said Norilsk, which reported a net profit for 1995 of 138 billion roubles and debts of 6.8 trillion roubles, all under Russian accounting standards, was facing one of its first major financial tests since privatisation.   Norilsk director Alexander Khloponin has said he wants to turn the company around and Interfax quoted him as saying he saw several ways to raise cash to pay salaries, including asset sales, more effective exports and more efficient production.   Norilsk produced 180,100 tonnes of nickel in 1995, up nearly 11 percent from 1994, and it expects 1996 production to rise by three percent.   But Russian nickel output, most of it at Norilsk, fell seven percent in August on July levels, according to state figures.   Trade sources said Norilsk, built in 1935 on a swamp 200 km (130 miles) north of the Arctic Circle, was strugging with its status as a cash-sucking firm that must fly in food and soap for workers.   "Workers don't have much there, and the least they expect is their salary," said a Russian metals source.   "But turning that place around is easier said than done."   ($1=5379 Rouble) 
13475 !E12 !E41 !E411 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Australian employment climbed in August, official data released on Thursday showed, but the news was tempered by a rise in the unemployment rate.   The result baffled economists and prompted contradicting forecasts for the next move in official interest rates.   Some said the data showed the economy gathering further strength while others said it revealed nagging weakness.   Employment rose by 37,900 in the month, well above market expectations for a rise of 11,000, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.   But the figure was boosted by the inclusion of 10,000 temporary workers hired for the national census held in August.   Despite the robust employment figures, the unemployment rate jumped to 8.8 percent from 8.5 percent in July.   Most economists had expected the August rate to remain unchanged.   "It's a bit baffling.   There is very strong employment growth and a higher unemployment rate," Bankers Trust Australia chief economist Chris Caton said.   "In a sense, you can read what you like into the August labour force data as to the relative strength or weakness of the labour market," Citibank chief economist Grant Bailey said.   Most economists did just that.   Those who said the data showed the economy was stronger and reduced the chance of a rate cut pointed to the fact that the increase was above expectations and marked the fifth consecutive monthly employment rise.   "In the face of today's employment number, the case for a rate cut crumbles," Societe Generale economists said.   Bain and Co associate director Ivan Colhoun added that even excluding the effect of the census workers, August jobs growth still approached 28,000.   "This is another strong number among a string of strong numbers recently," Colhoun said, noting it followed strong retail sales, housing finance and credit data.   "Most of this data precedes or is coincident with the last rate cut which the RBA described as a confidence booster," Colhoun said.   "It would seem the chances of another cut are somewhat less than some people are saying," he said.   However, those factoring in another rate cut in 1996 said the reasons behind a reduction of 0.5 percentage points to 7.0 percent in official rates on July 31 -- a moderating wages and inflation outlook and an unemployment rate stalled at 8.5 percent -- were still present in the economy.   "If wages are under control, inflation is low and the unemployment rate is high, a strong case can be made for lower interest rates this year," State Bank of New South Wales chief economist Hans Kunnen said.   Caton at Bankers Trust added: "Today's figures somewhat increase the likelihood that the economy will eventually need a further interest rate cut."   In Canberra, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor (RBA) Bernie Fraser, who retires next week, reiterated that the RBA was comfortable with inflation but concerned about unemployment.   "On inflation, we're a bit more confident about what might happen over the next six or 12 months than we are about what might happen to growth and employment," Fraser told a parliamentary committee. 
13476 !GCAT !GVIO !M14 !M143 !MCAT  The prospect of more U.S. military strikes in Iraq again highlights the industrialised world's sensitivity and vulnerability to any perceived threat to its supply of Gulf oil, Gulf crude traders said on Thursday.   World oil prices have shot to their highest level since the 1990-91 Gulf War on the latest crisis with Iraq as markets became spooked by renewed tension in the Gulf, which sits on nearly 70 percent of global oil reserves.   Middle East benchmark Dubai crude oil for October delivery was valued at $21.20 a barrel on Thursday, its strongest point since January 1991 when allied planes pounded Iraqi ground forces ahead of a ground offensive to liberate Kuwait, invaded by Iraq the previous August.   "Any trader is extremely sensitive to events that could influence exports from here," one Gulf trader said, adding that buyers were keen to secure supplies ahead of expected higher demand for heating fuel in the fourth quarter of the year.   U.S. Defence Secretary William Perry announced on Wednesday that U.S. "stealth" fighters were being sent to the Gulf, signalling that Washington was gearing up for another attack against Iraq in apparent retaliation for an Iraqi missile fired on Wednesday at two U.S. fighters on patrol over Iraq.   The West's enduring economic interest in the Gulf is the oil and gas pumped from the region's deserts and seabeds which firms lift under multi-million dollar supply contracts or from fields they operate.   Saudi Arabia, the world's leading oil producer and exporter, exports 1.2 million bpd of its crude to the U.S. while Japan relies on the Gulf to supply more than 70 percent of its crude imports.   Military activity in the Gulf theatre has a clear resonance for oil, shipping and insurance markets because the region, particularly Iraq's neighbours Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, is criss-crossed with oil and gas facilities that would light up the sky if hit by even a modest explosive.   Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman produce some 18 million barrels per day (bpd), roughly a quarter of total world output.   Though most traders said they did not expect exports from the region to be physically disrupted by U.S.-Iraq tension, nerves were on edge.   "No one is going to relax in this situation.   How can you read (Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein?"   a Gulf trader said.   The Kurdish crisis in northern Iraq and rising tension between the United States and Baghdad have also cast doubt on how quickly an Iraqi oil-for-food deal with the United Nations will be implemented.   A Baghdad-backed Kurdish faction has taken control of most of northern Iraq from a rival faction, sending hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing towards Iran.   Some firms had been banking on the 700,000 bpd of Iraqi oil expected under the export deal to meet part of their higher winter oil demand needs.   Market unease centres on the strategic waterway of the Strait of Hormuz through which 15 million barrels of Gulf crude oil and a range of refined products such as gasoline are carried by tankers each day to energy-thirsty consumers.   Without these supplies, pump prices would almost certainly rise unless governments released precious strategic stocks to fend off consumer protests and inflationary pressures. 
13477 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  A Kurdish militia said on Thursday it had seized northern Iraq with only limited military help from President Saddam Hussein and was planning no further deals with him.   Sami Abderrahman, the Number Two man in the Saddam-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) which conquered the region this week, brushed aside any expectations the Iraqi leader would extract a price for his support of the victorious faction.   "For him it was a great pleasure and honour to counter the Iranian incursion into Iraq.   The deal was limited military support for a limited period of time," Abderrahman told reporters.   Baghdad has said its attack on Arbil in northern Iraq on August 31, which launched the latest fighting, was aimed at backing the KDP against another militia which Saddam accuses Iran of backing.   Tehran denies any involvement.   "There are no negotiations with Baghdad now, nothing whatsoever," Abderrahman said KDP party headquarters in Salahuddin.   Neither was there any plan for KDP leader Massoud Barzani to meet Saddam.   Tens of thousands of Kurds have fled this week, many remembering the poison gas Saddam used against the region in 1988 and the loss of family and friends at his hands over the years.   Hundreds have returned, their fears eased.   Abderrahman said the KDP was doing all it could to protect members of the umbrella opposition Iraqi National Congress (INC).   The Washington Post reported on Monday that opponents of Saddam, belonging to the U.S.-financed INC, were holed up in a mountain hideout fearing for their lives.   "These people are not interested in the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.   They're interested in going to London, to Paris, to Washington as refugees," he said.   "We have done all we can to bring them here to make them safe.   We are not stopping anyone from leaving.   If anyone wants them, please have them come and get them by helicopter if they like."   The Post, quoting U.S. officials and Iraqi dissidents, said about 100 INC people were arrested by Iraqi secret police and apparently executed after Arbil was overrun.   Abderrahman said the Iraqi mukhabarat secret police entered Arbil the day of its capture and were ordered out two days later.   "They came in on the 31st and left on the 2nd.   They were told they have to leave and they left," he said.   The KDP official said his militia was keeping Iraqi security agents out.   He said he favoured continued Western protection from Iraq and other countries that attack Iraqi Kurdistan but said a decision on whether to continue a five-year-old allied air umbrella still rested with the United States.   "We need Western protection from the Iraqi government and from regional governments as well," he said in an apparent reference to Iran and Turkey, both of whom periodically enter Iraq in pursuit of their own Kurdish rebels.   KSS HSG JL 
13478 !GCAT !GDIP  Hitler's Nazis may have sold assets worth as much as $60 billion at today's prices to Swiss banks to finance their war effort, a German television documentary said on Thursday.   The report followed Britain's disclosure this week that when World War Two ended, Switzerland held $500 million worth of gold bought from the Nazis -- about $6.5 billion at today's prices -- and paid out less than a tenth to the Allied powers.   German NDR television's Panorama programme said the head of the currency department of the Nazi economic ministry, Landwehr, told the U.S. State Department in 1946 that 18 billion Reichsmarks' worth of assets flowed from Germany to Switzerland during the war.   In an advance release from Thursday's broadcast, Panorama said this was equivalent to at least 90 billion marks ($60 billion) at today's prices.   A U.S. State Department memorandum dated May 27, 1946, quoted Landwehr as saying this amount comprised not only gold bars but also the private fortunes of leading Nazis and illegal war funds set up by various branches of industry, Panorama said.   It said Landwehr had told an American officer who questioned him that Switzerland had been the only neutral country which continued to accept gold from the Nazis until early 1945.   Swiss banks agreed in May to set up an independent commission to search for accounts possibly left behind by Jews killed in the Holocaust.   But the Swiss government has not reacted directly to the revelations from Britain, except to point to a broader enquiry being launched into the role of Swiss banks and companies in Nazi business and expected to get legislative backing next year. 
13479 !G15 !G159 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Less than half the European Union's 370 million people are satisfied with the EU, a survey released on Thursday by the European Commission reveals.   The poll, conducted three times a year to measure people's awareness of the 15-nation bloc's organisations and treaties, showed just 35 percent of respondents satisfied with the EU.   However, 58 percent of people said they were optimistic when thinking of the EU, although 46 percent believed the European Commission could not be relied on to take decisions in the interests of citizens.   The poll, which tracked opinions of at least 800 households in each of the EU states, also revealed strong disagreement over the EU's ambitions for border-free travel.   Some 67 percent of Britons were against abolishing borders within the EU, while at the other end of the scale 62 percent of Spaniards thought it would be a good thing.   The EU average was 43 percent in favour and 40 percent against.   The Irish were the most consistently supportive of EU aims and institutions, with 67 percent saying they were satisfied with the bloc's democracy.   Just 31 percent of Austrians agreed -- against an EU average of 42 percent.   On social benefits, over half those questioned felt the EU could be competitive in world markets without reducing payouts.   Greece (72 percent) most strongly believed this but Denmark (43 percent) felt some reduction was inevitable.   A country-by-country examination of citizen satisfaction with national and EU institutions also revealed sharp contrasts.   Sweden topped the poll of Eurosceptics with 70 percent saying their were disappointed with the EU.   Britain (68 percent) was a close second, while almost as many Irish citizens felt the opposite.   Some 71 percent of EU citizens said they had heard of the inter-governmental conference (IGC) -- the EU's reworking of its treaties -- although 22 percent of them did not know what it meant. 
13480 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT !GCRIM  European Union transport commissioner Neil Kinnock said on Thursday the commission would go ahead with its decision to take Austria to court over excessive tolls on the Alpine Brenner route.   Kinnock told a business forum in the Austrian capital it was a question of ensuring a "fair and efficient" system of charging for the infrastructure.   "It is the only basis on which we reluctantly, but unavoidably, have had to take Austria to the court of European justice," he said.   Austria is accused of breaching EU legislation by doubling the night toll for trucks to 2,300 schillings on the route through the Brenner Pass in the southern Tyrol region.   Kinnock came under fire during the meeting from environmental Greenpeace activists brandishing slogans in protest against the commission's attempt to reduce the Brenner toll charge. 
13481 !C13 !C17 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT  Germany said on Thursday it would file a complaint with the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg regarding the European Commission's June decision to limit subsidies by Saxony to Volkswagen AG.   Economics Minister Guenter Rexrodt said the complaint would be filed on or before the September 16 deadline.   "Our appeal to the European Court is not opposed to our efforts to reach a solution through discussions with the Commission on the judgement of subsidies to east Germany," Rexrodt said.   Talks will continue, and Germany could withdraw its complaint if a mutually agreeable solution is found, he said.   The dispute centres on 91 million marks in aid to VW that the EU has called illegal, as it exceeded a limit of 540 million marks set by the EU in June.   The state of Saxony has already filed its own complaint in the matter, seeking clarity on what subsidies to firms operating in east Germany are exempt from EU limits.   The two sides said last week they had reached a compromise under which VW would be able to keep the excess subsidies it had already received, but would not be given an equal amount of funds yet to be granted.   In practice, this means the case could take at least two years to be finally settled by the EU courts.   -- Terence Gallagher, Bonn newsroom, 49 228 26097150 
13482 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  German rail unions and the German railway Deutsche Bahn AG said on Thursday that they reached agreement on a 1.3 percent wage increase from May 1997.   The wage agreement also allows for a one-off payment of 300 marks to all employees, with employees from former east Germany receiving an extra once-off payment of 250 marks on January 27 next year, Deutsche Bahn said in a statement.   Negotiations between employers and unions for the 180,000 Deutsche Bahn employees had resumed earlier on Thursday, based on a compromise reached by arbitrators.   Under the terms of the agreement, former east German employees will be paid 86 percent of wages paid to their west German counterparts from the start of 1998, rising from a current level of 84 percent.   The wage agreement will run until the end of April 1998.   --Frankfurt Newsroom +49 69 756525 
13483 !C13 !C17 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !G157 !GCAT  The French government has written to the European Commission outlining plans to soften terms of last year's state bailout of Credit Lyonnais which threatens to plunge the bank back into the red, the business daily La Tribune reported on Thursday.   The letter from Finance Minister Jean Arthuis "outlines the measures the French government plans to take to lift the financial burden that is strangling the state-owned bank," the newspaper said.   The finance ministry said it could not immediately comment on the report.   Meanwhile, unions representing employees at the bank have called a countrywide strike for Thursday to protest 5,000 job cuts planned by the bank to boost productivity.   The government and the bank, whose downfall was the biggest banking scandal in recent French history, have been in a race against time to revise last year's bailout before Credit Lyonnais releases its half year results on September 26.   At the root of the problem is a 119 billion franc ($23.1 billion) loan the bank made to a state-backed vehicle that took over 130 billion francs of its shaky assets in a cleanup of its balance sheet.   The government forced the bank to make the loan at below market interest rates as part of efforts to make it share in the pain of its state rescue, which was the second in two years.   The government now is proposing to either cancel the loan on Credit Lyonnais's books or allow the bank to charge a higher interest rate for it, the newspaper said.   In return, the newspaper said it was likely the bank would be forced to divest more of its European holdings in addition to the 35 percent of its foreign assets demanded by the European Commission in exchange for its approval of the last rescue. 
13484 !E21 !E211 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL !GWELF  The German upper house of parliament, in a widely expected move, on Thursday rejected some key parts of the Bonn government's austerity package.   The opposition Social Democrat-dominated Bundesrat lodged objections to Bonn's plans to cut sick pay and workers' protection from firing and to a host of pension and health system reforms.   But Chancellor Helmut Kohl said on Wednesday he was confident that a lower house majority could overrule the upper house and pass the bills into law on Friday.    SPD leader Oskar Lafontaine criticised the controversial bills, which would account for around one third of the total 70 billion marks of public spending cuts Bonn is seeking, saying they endangered Germany's famous social consensus.   "The country needs social reform, not a dismantling of society and a scrapping of workers' rights," he told the upper house.   He said changes to sick pay rules and the reduction in workers' protection from firing would not lead to the creation of a single new job.   -- Ashley Seager, Bonn newsroom, 49-228-2609750 
13485 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  An Atlanta man was indicted Thursday on conspiracy, securities and wire fraud charges that resulted in about $11.6 million in losses to seven brokerage firms.   Michael Morse, 53, was accused by a Manhattan federal grand jury of engaging in a practice known as "free-riding" in which he bought and sold securities without having adequate assets to pay for those transactions.   If convicted of all 10 counts in which he is charged, Morse faces a maximum sentence of 85 years in prison and maximum fines of $7.75 million.   The brokerage firms that executed his trades are CS First Boston Corp.; Goldman Sachs & Co.; Merrill Lynch Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc.; Morgan Stanley & Co.   Inc.; Oppenheimer & Co.; Prudential Securities Inc.; and Smith Barney Inc.   The charges relate to transactions between March 1992 and August 1994 in which Morse allegedly placed orders with the firms to sell securities he did not own and then used the proceeds of the sales to pay for offsetting purchases of the same security.   As part of the scheme, Morse allegedly provided false and inflated financial information to certain brokerages in connection with opening accounts under his control.   He then falsely represented to the firms that he owned the securities he sold, the indictment alleged.   In doing so, he allegedly shifted the risk of the loss to the firms that executed the trades. 
13486 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  By Alan Elsner, U.S. Political Correspondent   Two new polls gave President Bill Clinton a commanding lead over Republican Bob Dole on Thursday as the two camps began negotiations on the upcoming presidential debates.   A Los Angeles Times poll of likely voters gave Clinton 54 percent, Dole 37 percent and eight percent for Texas billionaire Ross Perot.   A Pew Research Centre survey of registered voters produced similar figures: Clinton 52 percent, Dole 34 percent, Perot eight percent.   Both surveys portrayed an electorate generally optimistic about the state of the economy and showed Dole's ambitious plan to cut income tax rates by 15 percent was not attracting wide support.   Looking at individual state polls, Clinton led in 35 states, 28 of them beyond the statistical margin of error.   Dole led in 14, only three beyond the margin of error.   Campaign officials on Thursday began negotiations on the format of the presidential debates, the first of which was tentatively scheduled for Sept. 25.   The key issues in the talks are how many debates to hold and whether to allow Perot to take part.   The top negotiator for Dole, former South Carolina Gov. Carroll Campbell, said after the brief meeting that he pressed the Clinton team for four presidential debates instead of the three that were tentatively scheduled, and two vice presidential match-ups instead of one.   "What we talked about was, we'd like to have four debates, four presidential debates," Campbell said.   "We'd like a debate between the two principles one-on-one."   A bipartisan commission proposed three presidential and one vice presidential debate.   The commission was to make a recommendation by Monday about Perot.   Campaigning in Kentucky, Dole said he welcomed the opportunity to face Clinton, but tried to keep expectations about his performance low.   "President Clinton is a very smooth talker, and I'll be facing him in debates one of these days," Dole said.   "I think if I show up, I win, because he is supposed to be so good, so good at a lot of things."   Dole also complained about Clinton's negative campaign advertisements, which he termed "character assassination."   "They'll say Bob Dole's a decent man and then comes the axe.   And it comes every day.   It comes every hour on your TV set.   Millions and millions ... of dollars in negative ads," Dole said.   "They're going to try to frighten all of you.   They're going to tell you that Bob Dole ... is an extremist."   Additionally, Dole said he may announce before the election who he would appoint to "two or three" cabinet jobs.   The Dole campaign dealt with a minor embarrassment when an unpaid consultant resigned after supermarket tabloids reported he and his wife had advertised for group sex.   The consultant, Roger Stone, said he was the victim of a dirty trick.   Clinton was on his 27th trip to California, a state that accounts for one-fifth of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the Nov. 5 election.   The 50-year-old president, vying to become the first Democratic president since Franklin Roosevelt to be elected to a second term, discussed education policy and was due to wind up at a glitzy Hollywood fundraising gala.   He led Dole in California by more than 20 points.   The Iraq crisis rumbled on, meanwhile, with Clinton administration officials continuing to threaten Iraqi President Saddam Hussein with military action and Republicans criticising Clinton's performance.   Former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker told the Senate Armed Services Committee that although Clinton appeared to be readying more strikes against Iraq, he should have hit harder in the first strike last week.   Baker also said Clinton failed to hold together the allied coalition that won the 1991 Gulf War and failed to avoid a power vacuum created by Kurdish civil war in northern Iraq "into which Saddam Hussein has now adroitly moved." 
13487 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GHEA  By Gail Appleson, Law Correspondent   The upstate New York county that includes Buffalo plans to be the first East Coast local government to sue the tobacco industry to recoup health care costs of smokers, its top officer said Thursday.   Dennis Gorski, Erie County Executive, said he has instructed the county attorney to make the suit a "top priority" and to file the case as a class action on behalf of other counties in the state.   A group of Democratic New York State assemblymen along with former state Attorney General Oliver Koppell told a news conference that the counties were taking the initiative because Attorney General Dennis Vacco has so far failed to file such a suit.   Koppell said that Nassau County, on Long Island, was also studying a similar move.   A total of 15 states have filed suits aimed at forcing tobacco companies to reimburse them for Medicaid costs.   New Jersey became the latest to take action with a suit earlier this week.   Koppell said that New York counties are following similar action in California where the attorney general has not filed suit.   In response, Los Angeles, San Franciso, San Jose and 10 other counties have sued the industry.   "It is disgraceful that counties of our state, with less substantial legal resources than those which reside in the Attorney General's office, are being forced to step into the vacuum caused by Mr. Vacco remaining on the sidelines," said New York Assemblyman Alexander Grannis.   "The state's chief legal officer is acting as if his first responsibilities in this matter are to the industry, rather than our citizens.   A spokesman for State Sen. Catherine Abate said she will introduce legislation on Friday to either force Vacco to file suit or explain to legislators why he has not.   Joe Mahoney, a Vacco spokesman, denied that the attorney general was ignoring the tobacco issue and that he would be making a "major announcement" in the next several days to "lay out what we are doing in this area."   "Dennis (Vacco) has said he is weighing his options and he has got a clear-cut strategy, aimed at reducing tobacco consumption," Mahoney said.   "In addition he has been working with other attorneys across this nation who want to use the possibility of a lawsuit as leverage." 
13488 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Republican Presidential Candidate Bob Dole on Thursday lashed out at what he called "character assassination" in negative advertising by President Bill Clinton's campaign.   "They don't have anything positive to say.   Character assassination.   They got a lot of characters," Dole said in response to a reporter's question on Clinton's advertising as he shook hands after an outdoor rally at Georgetown College.   In his speech earlier Dole repeated charges that Clinton was stealing his policy ideas and complained bitterly about the Clinton ads.   "They'll say Bob Dole's a decent man, and then comes the axe.   And it comes every day.   It comes every hour on your TV set.   Millions and millions ... of dollars in negative ads," he said.   "They're going to try to frighten all of you.   They're going to tell you that Bob Dole ... is an extremist."   Dole was stung in recent days by a new Clinton commercial, featuring parents who had lost a child, that criticised his opposition to federal family leave legislation.   "Bill Clinton is a serial killer of negative advertising," Dole's campaign spokesman Nelson Warfield said as the campaign distributed an analysis saying 97.6 percent of the 43,517 ads run by the Clinton campaign from March 27-Sept. 8 were negative in tone.   That made 362.6 hours of negative ads.   From Aug. 30 to Sept. 16, 99 percent of 4,242 ads were negative, the Dole release said.   As for Dole's own plans for negative advertising, Warfield said, "We're holding our cards close to the vest ... In this game so far, he (Clinton) has already played the negative card and he's done it with relish."   Warfield said the campaign had concluded it was time to speak out against the ads.   "It's like grains of sand building into a mountain.   There have been negative ad after negative ad dropped on the Dole effort by the Clinton campaign and they have reached the point where it's appropriate to speak out.   "As we draw close to the election day and the recidivist nature of Mr. Clinton's negative attacks becomes more apparent it's appropriate to draw that commentary," Warfield said.   In promoting his economic programme of tax cuts, Dole stressed its benefit to working families.   "If both parents want to work it ought to be because they want to, not because they're forced to just to pay higher and higher federal taxes," he said.   He also called on Clinton to release his medical records.   "I'm in great shape," the 73-year-old candidate said.   "My cholesterol is lower than his, my weight's lower.   My blood pressure's lower, but I'm not going to make health an issue in this campaign."   Dole said he welcomed the opportunity to face off against Clinton in a series of upcoming debates but tried to keep expectations for his performance low.   "President Clinton is a very smooth talker, and I'll be facing him in debates one of these days," Dole said.   "I think if I show up, I win, because he is supposed to be so good, so good at a lot of things."   Saying Clinton's many policy proposals had laid the groundwork for a big increase in government, Dole said Clinton would have to defend them in the debates.   "I can hardly wait for the debates so he can respond to some of these questions."   Dole said Clinton had appropriated his own idea for drug testing of criminal defendants.   "If it sounds good, if it polls good, he'll put it in his programme," he said.   Dole trailed Clinton in Kentucky, with eight electoral votes, by seven points in a poll taken in May, according to the Politics Now political monitoring service.   Dole was to campaign later in Ohio, a major Midwestern state where he also trailed Clinton in polls. 
13489 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The United States on Thursday pledged to defend Kuwait and other countries in the Gulf after Iraq warned Kuwait not to permit U.S. planes to use its territory as a base to attack Iraq.   "The United States expresses its commitment to the security of our friends in the Gulf and in view of Iraqi statements, repeats that commitment specifically with reference to Kuwait," State Department spokesman Glyn Davies said.   Secretary of State Warren Christopher made the pledge at a meeting on Thursday with envoys from the Gulf Cooperation Council -- Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates -- to discuss Iraq's threat to regional security, Davies said.   Baghdad warned Kuwait after U.S. defence officials said eight F-117A "stealth" fighter jets were flying to Kuwait, from where they could be used to strike at Iraq.   "The statements emanating from Baghdad this morning, with direct threats against Kuwait, illustrate what is at stake for the coalition of countries that confronts (Iraqi leader) Saddam Hussein," Davies said.   "His is a regime that has miscalculated in the past and risks repeating this error.   Our actions of the past week should make clear our purpose.   Iraq will pay a price for its threats to regional peace and security."   Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 led to the Gulf War six months later, in which a U.S.-led coalition drove Baghdad's forces back inside Iraq.   Both Davies and Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said they saw no sign at present of an Iraqi force build-up near Kuwait.   But Davies said Iraq's "gaze remains southward in a strategic sense".   He said U.S. policy was to maintain stability in the region, and "right now, stability equates to keeping Saddam Hussein bottled up within the borders of Iraq".   Later on Thursday U.S. defence officials said the United States will move the aircraft carrier Enterprise from the Adriatic Sea into the Red Sea within days, giving U.S. forces a second carrier in the region for possible air strikes against Iraq.   The Enterprise, with about 75 warplanes aboard, would move through the Suez Canal and be stationed in the Red Sea within striking distance of Iraq.   The aircraft carrier Carl Vinson was already in the Gulf southeast of Iraq.   Although the current crisis began with an Iraqi push into the Western-protected Kurdish region in northern Iraq, U.S. leaders said their main concern was that Saddam's ultimate aim might be to attack the oil-producing states to its south.   With the exception of Kuwait, the Gulf states expressed little public support for last week's U.S. cruise missile attacks on Iraq in response to the Iraqi intervention in the north.   Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday that if the United States had asked it to use bases there to launch missile attacks against Iraq last week it would have refused such a request.   Davies denied that Christopher's meeting with the Gulf envoys, originally called to seek financial backing for a U.S. nuclear power deal with North Korea, was aimed at soliciting stronger military and diplomatic support against Iraq.   "It was not an operational meeting.   The secretary of state was not in the business of negotiating landing rights," he said.   "We're not in the business of pounding the table and making demands of our coalition partners."   But another senior administration official said: "I think it's clear to all those folks that the type of threat they faced, which ultimately led to the Gulf War, is one that they understand very well and the sounds that came out of Baghdad ... toward Kuwait underscore the need for vigilance, and that's the policy were pursuing." 
13490 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The United States on Thursday rejected Iraqi warnings levelled against Kuwait and pressed ahead with preparations for a possible "robust" military response against its Gulf foe.   As eight F-117As "stealth" fighters prepared to leave their New Mexico base for Kuwait, Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said a second U.S. aircraft carrier might be sent to the Gulf to beef up a possible strike force against Iraq.   "We are posturing ourselves to be as flexible as possible," Bacon told reporters, adding that Iraq's President Saddam Hussein was "up to his old tricks again."   The United States stepped up attack preparations after Iraq fired an SA-6 missile at two U.S. jet fighters patrolling the "no-fly" zone in the north on Wednesday.   But the Pentagon said it had no reports of further attacks on U.S. planes on Thursday although Baghdad said Iraq had fired three surface-to-air missiles at U.S. and allied warplanes patrolling a no-fly zone in the south.   U.S. B-52 bombers have been sent to a British base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, within easy striking distance of Iraq, and Defence Secretary William Perry said U.S. forces in the Gulf would protect themselves and American interests with "robust" military action if necessary.   He called "totally unacceptable" an Iraqi statement that the basing of the radar-avoiding U.S. F-117A jets in Kuwait was "an act of war against the state of Iraq."   U.S.-Iraqi tensions began rising last week when U.S. planes and ships fired 44 cruise missiles at southern Iraqi air defences in retaliation for an Iraqi military action against Kurds in the north.   U.S. warplanes patrolling no-fly zones over Iraq "have very, what we call, robust rules of engagement" if they are challenged, Perry said.   "So everybody should understand that the United States will take all necessary and appropriate action to protect our forces and to protect our interests in that area."   Bacon said U.S. planners were considering an option to send the aircraft carrier Enterprise from the Adriatic through the Suez Canal and into the Gulf to join the carrier Carl Vinson.   The Enterprise carries some 75 warplanes, including F-14s newly-equipped to drop laser-guided bombs.   Despite Saddam's warnings to Kuwait, however, Bacon said U.S. intelligence had not seen any southward movement by Iraqi troops toward the southern neighbour it invaded in 1990.   Secretary of State Warren Christopher met on Thursday with envoys from the Gulf region and reaffirmed Washington's commitment to defend them against Iraqi aggression.   "The United States expresses its commitment to the security of our friends in the Gulf and, in view of Iraqi statements, repeats that commitment specifically with reference to Kuwait," State Department spokesman Glyn Davies said.   Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz warned Kuwait on Thursday against permitting the F-117s and other U.S. warplanes to use Kuwait bases for possible military strikes.   He said it was an act of war against Iraq.   "Those kind of rash statements are totally unacceptable," Perry told Pentagon reporters.   "Our forces are there in the first place because Iraq invaded Kuwait back in 1991, and have been there since then to provide deterrence for any future action of that sort."   Former Secretary of State James Baker, who helped organise the Western-Arab coalition that drove Iraqi forces out of Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War, said Washington should now "at least consider military targets in and around Baghdad and Republican Guard units north of the 36th parallel."   "I think they really only understand disproportionate force," Baker told the Senate Armed Services Committee.   The showdown with Iraq was becoming a U.S. election-year issue, with Republicans asserting that President Bill Clinton has been too weak in his responses to Iraqi provocations. 
13491 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT  Bundesbank President Hans Tietmeyer said on Thursday he was convinced a core European monetary union was possible if Germany and France continued their current policies.   Tietmeyer also said he was unaware and did not believe in reports that said Germany and France planned to water down criteria for European monetary union to make sure the project goes ahead as planned in January 1999.   Tietmeyer made the comments following a speech on monetary union in a question-and-answer session with the audience and later to journalists.   Asked to comment on reports that Bonn and Paris had reached a secret deal on EMU entry criteria, Tietmeyer said, "I know nothing of that but I do not believe it.   The German government has said that the criteria must be strictly adhered to."   Tietmeyer also said he believed Germany could reach the fiscal criteria outlined in the Maastricht Treaty in the 1997 budget, but added that Bonn would have to implement its full budget austerity plan, which will be voted upon on Friday.   But he declined to be specific on whether he expected the European Union to allow fiscal criteria to slightly exceed exact reference values in the Maastricht Treaty.   The treaty says a country's budget deficit cannot exceed three percent of Gross Domestic Product and debt cannot be more than 60 percent of GDP.   "What is decisive is whether countries can prove that they will be able to maintain fiscal discipline in the long term," Tietmeyer said.   He added that the credibility of the new currency would be undermined if "certain countries" were allowed to join from the start.   He declined to be more specific.   Referring to the chance of monetary union being introduced as scheduled, he said, "I am convinced that if Germany and France continue down their current path, then the precondition will be given for the creation of a core monetary union.   That would not be an infringement of solidarity, on the contrary."   He said that if a core group of countries pressed ahead, they would encourage other countries to join at a later date.   Tietmeyer said the probability of EMU happening on schedule was "very big" if Germany and France both fulfilled the requirements.   He described the two nations as decisive members without whom European monetary union made little sense.   "If the Germans are not in it, no one will be interested and a monetary union without France with Germany and only a number of smaller states would create a potential for conflict which I think could be problematic," Tietmeyer said.   But he said a delay in starting monetary union would be feasible if Germany and France could not initially take part.   Tietmeyer said he saw "positive signs" that the EU would agree on Germany's proposed stability pact, which envisages sanctions against member countries failing to enforce strict fiscal discipline after joining currency union.   He said prospective EMU members should acknowledge that membership involved a certain loss of national sovernigty.   "I remain steadfast with my theory that one must accept a political dimension of European monetary union," he said. 
13492 !GCAT !GENT  Oasis, Britain's biggest pop phenomenon since the Beatles, cut short their U.S. tour on Thursday amid reports the band is splitting up.   After having a blazing row with his brother Liam, songwriter and lead guitarist Noel Gallagher flew home after the 13-stop concert tour was abruptly ended.   Oasis' record company Creation -- 49 percent owned by Sony Music - confirmed the tour was over, saying "Oasis have hit internal differences."   "It is unlikely their immediate touring commitment will be fulfilled," it said in a brief statement which cast no light on the future of the group, which has sold 20 million records worldwide and is a leading light in the "Britpop" movement.   But a spokeswoman for Epic Records in New York, the band's U.S. label, denied British tabloid reports of a permanent split.   "There is no breakup," said company publicity director Lisa Markowitz.   Noel Gallagher, looking red-eyed and weary when he flew into London by Concorde supersonic jet, refused to say if this meant the end of the group.   Besieged by a phalanx of reporters and photographers, he maintained a stony silence and was whisked off by bodyguards to an undisclosed destination.   The brothers, who have a tempestuous relationship, had a major row on Wednesday after arriving in Charlotte, North Carolina.   The pop "bad boys" hit the headlines this month when Liam delayed his departure for the United States, saying he wanted to look for a new home in London with his actress girlfriend Patsy Kensit.   The band initially had to perform in the United States without Liam, who also pulled out of a concert in London just before the tour.   Liam joined the band later for the tour, which has drawn far from rave reviews.   They appeared at an MTV awards evening in New York where Liam spat and threw beer at the audience.   Last month the group played for 250,000 followers at the Knebworth open-air festival -- the biggest British paying audience for a single act in the history of rock and roll.   Oasis have been compared with the Beatles, who broke up in 1970.   Former Beatle Paul McCartney once said: "I take it as an amazing tribute that, 30 years on, these kids are copying what we were doing then."   The band has sold an estimated $250 million worth of albums since they signed their first record contract three years ago.   (What's the Story) Morning Glory has sold 9.5 million copies worldwide since its October 1995 release.   Debut album Definitely Maybe, released two years ago, has been in the British top 40 for more than 100 weeks. 
13493 !C13 !C23 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  British biotech specialist Xenova Group Plc said Thursday that a ground-breaking anti-cancer drug had cleared the first round of regulatory approvals.   The company said in a statement that XR5000, which it hopes will work in a variety of cancers including colon, skin, lung and breast, has successfully completed two Phase I clinical trials on cancer patients.   Xenova, whose shares are listed on the Nasdaq market, said intermediate, or Phase II, trials will begin shortly to determine the efficacy of XR5000 in patients with a wide range of cancers.   The Phase I trials were conducted in Britain and New Zealand by the Cancer Research Campaign on 72 patients with advanced cancer.   Phase II trials are expected to start before the end of 1996 on patients with the most common form of brain cancer, and with skin, breast and lung cancers.   Chief Executive Louis Nisbet said in a telephone interview that Xenova believes XR5000 offers clear advantages over existing cancer drugs and compounds in development.   Nisbet said it was capable of knocking out both forms of the enzyme which plays a key role in a cancer cell's ability to replicate.   "To date there have only been drugs that will hit one of the two, but ours hits both of them," Nisbet said.   Xenova said the drug was particularly effective against drug-resistant tumours, which account for 40 percent of all cancer cases and 90 percent of drug-treated cancer patients who have undergone chemotherapy.   Cells recognise they are being invaded by a drug and pump it out again, but they fail to recognise XR5000, Nisbet said.   The drug is different in action from the better-known generation of new cancer drugs, MMP inhibitors, of which British Biotech Plc's Marimastat is best known.   Xenova bases its quest for new drugs on sources such as fungi, bacteria and plants.   Nisbet said XR5000 is the group's lead drug.   It aims its to have its first product on the market "around the turn of the century, but it is very difficult to be precise."   Xenova was unchanged at $44.25 on the Nasdaq in afternoon trading. 
13494 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  A surprise pilots' strike forced Air France Europe, part of state-owned Air France group, to cancel about 40 percent of its flights on Thursday, an airline spokesman said.   Pilots stopped work after one of them was disciplined for refusing to take off on Wednesday in a protest over security.   In a statement, the airline said the strike began without notice at 11.30 p.m. (2130 GMT) on Wednesday when four pilots' unions walked off the job without prior notice.   The airline primarily serves France but has a fledgling network of flights across Europe, which were also grounded by the strike, the spokesman said.   The situation improved as the day wore on.   The protesting pilot, Jean-Louis Le Barraillec, had refused to fly from Biarritz in the French Basque region to Paris after failing to have luggage in the plane's holds be checked by sniffer dogs or X-rays.   The National Pilots' Union (SNPL) said Air France had been irresponsible in considering the checks were not needed.   It recalled that separatist Iparretarrak (Those of the North) guerrillas, who have been staging a low-level bombing campaign for years, were active in the Biarritz region.   The airline said a state official had concluded such checks were unjustified, and the pilot had been punished after refusing to take off a total of 35 times this year, always for the same reason.   It said it was taking the pilots' unions to court for compensation as they had broken the legal requirement for a five-day notice to any strike.   The airline has been battered by strikes in recent months over plans to formally merge the airline, formerly known as Air Inter, with parent company Air France.   There is widespread opposition among airline workers to a restructuring plan that would shed some 950 jobs out of 11,000 over two years.   The merger is due to take place next year and is part of a plan to bring Air France Europe back to break-even within two years by axing loss-making routes and launching a shuttle service. 
13495 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The United States on Thursday rejected Iraqi warnings against Kuwait and dismissed Iraqi claims of new missile attacks on U.S. planes, pressing ahead with preparations for a "robust" military response against its Gulf foe.   As eight F-117As "stealth" fighters prepared to leave a New Mexico base for Kuwait, Defence Secretary William Perry said U.S. forces in the Gulf would protect themselves and American interests with "robust" military action if necessary.   He called "totally unacceptable" an Iraqi statement that the basing of the radar-avoiding F-117A jets in Kuwait was "an act of war against the state of Iraq."   Perry spoke as tension grew between Baghdad and Washington following last week's U.S. cruise missiles attack on southern Iraqi air defences in response to Iraqi military action against Kurds in the north.   U.S. warplanes patrolling no-fly zones over Iraq "have very, what we call, robust rules of engagement" if they are challenged, Perry said.   "So everybody should understand that the United States will take all necessary and appropriate action to protect our forces and to protect our interests in that area."   Secretary of State Warren Christopher met on Thursday with envoys from the Gulf region and reaffirmed Washington's commitment to defend them against Iraqi aggression.   "The United States expresses its commitment to the security of our friends in the Gulf and, in view of Iraqi statements (expressing warnings to Kuwait), repeats that commitment specifically with reference to Kuwait," State Department spokesman Glyn Davies said.   The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Madeleine Albright, speaking at a U.S. Foreign Policy Town Meeting in Atlanta, said: "We will not be forced into overreacting, but we will respond forcefully."   "We will respond to Saddam Hussein on our own terms and at our own timing," she said, adding: "We will ensure that he pay a price whenever and wherever he steps outside the boundaries of a acceptable behaviour."   The Pentagon has already moved four B-52 bombers armed with cruise missiles to the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia to prepare for a possible strike after Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's forces fired an anti-aircraft missile at U.S. warplanes on Wednesday.   The Pentagon on Thursday said it had no reports of further attacks on U.S. planes although a Baghdad military spokesman said Iraq had fired three surface-to-air missiles at U.S. and allied warplanes patrolling a no-fly zone in the south.   Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz warned Kuwait on Thursday against permitting the F-117s and other U.S. warplanes to use Kuwait bases for possible military strikes.   "We consider this conduct on the part of the Kuwaiti regime a flagrant aggression against Iraq and an act of war against the state of Iraq," he said in a statement.   "Those kind of rash statements are totally unacceptable," Perry told Pentagon reporters.   "Our forces are there in the first place because Iraq invaded Kuwait back in 1991, and have been there since then to provide deterrence for any future action of that sort."   Former Secretary of State James Baker, who helped organise the Western-Arab coalition that drove Iraqi forces out of Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War, said the United States should now "at least consider military targets in and around Baghdad and Republican Guard units north of the 36th parallel."   Baker told the Senate Armed Services Committee: "Those would I think send the clearest message to the Iraqi people and to the Iraqi leadership that we really mean business and that we're serious."   "I think they really only understand disproportionate force."   The United States stepped up attack preparations after Iraq fired a Soviet-built SA-6 missile on Wednesday at two U.S. jet fighters patrolling the "no-fly" zone in the north.   Perry said on Wednesday that Iraq's air defence crews had been "playing some kind of a game, and they will very soon learn that we are not playing games." 
13496 !GCAT !GVIO  The United States on Thursday ordered bombers to deploy for possible air strikes against Iraq but an unbowed Baghdad replied by announcing it had fired three more missiles at Western air patrols.   Ignoring U.S. threats of a "disproportionate" response to any attacks, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's forces said they had fired for a second straight day on the Western aircraft that have enforced a "no-fly zone" for Iraqi aircraft in the north and south of Iraq since the 1991 Gulf War.   "Iraq will continue defending its national air space," Iraqi Information Minister Abd-al-Ghani Abd-al-Ghafur said before the latest missile firings.   "Iraqis and the Iraqi armed forces will meet any aggression."   Washington said it had no information on the latest reported Iraqi attack, but in response to a confirmed attack on Wednesday the United States announced it was readying F-117A stealth bombers and B-52 long-range bombers for retaliation.   "The determination of the United States in dealing with the problem of Iraq should not be underestimated," President Bill Clinton said.   The United States was assembling a stronger force than used last week to hit Iraq with 44 cruise missiles in retaliation for Baghdad's military involvement in northern Iraq, an area out-of-bounds to Iraqi forces for the last five years.   U.S. Defence Secretary William Perry said in Washington the U.S. forces building in the Gulf would use "robust" action to protect American interests.   U.S. officials said eight U.S. F-117A "stealth" fighters -- accompanied by aerial refueling tankers -- were leaving New Mexico later in the day on a non-stop 20-hour flight that would land them in Kuwait on Friday.   The radar-evading jets carry laser-guided 2,000-pound (908 kg) bombs that can hit targets such as concrete air defence command-and-control centres with extreme accuracy.   Four U.S. B-52 bombers, like those used in last week's cruise missile attacks on Iraqi air defences, were flown to a British base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia.   News that the "stealth" jets would operate from Kuwait -- the only Arab country to endorse U.S. missile attacks on Iraq -- drew a warning from Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz.   "We consider this conduct on the part of the Kuwaiti regime a flagrant aggression against Iraq and an act of war against the state of Iraq," he said.   The rising tension sent crude oil prices jumping to levels unseen since January 1991, the eve of the Gulf War when a U.S.-led coalition drove Saddam's forces from Kuwait.   Prices later eased but brokers said they would be strong throughout the crisis.   An increasingly confident Iraq on Thursday rejected some of the restrictions it had endured since losing the Gulf War.   Saddam's forces are banned from Kurdish north Iraq and Iraqi aircraft are not allowed into "no-fly zones" over both the north and south of the country.   U.S., British and French aircraft enforced the policies.   "There are new facts in the north of Iraq.   That area is no longer free for all," Iraqi presidential adviser Hamed Youssef Hummadi said in Ankara after the capture of the area this week by an Iraqi-backed Kurdish faction.   Hummadi urged Ankara to throw out the Western forces that had been using Turkish air bases to shield the Kurds: "The Kurds are now protected by their legitimate government in Baghdad."   Baghdad has revelled in the disarray in the Western alliance enforcing the post-Gulf War policies.   France would not endorse the U.S. attacks last week and called for consultation before Washington takes any further retaliation.   Although Sami Abderrahman, number two in the Iraqi-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), denied Saddam would extract a price for his support, Baghdad said northern Iraq was being quickly integrated back into the national economy.   Iraqi state-run media hailed the KDP victory as a prelude to the end of U.S. influence in northern Iraq.   Saddam has signed decrees for Kurdish areas that had been under Western protection for the past five years.   People in Baghdad said people and goods were flowing to the north without restriction, but fear of U.S. attacks sent their currency plunging from 1,000 to 1,300 dinars to the dollar. 
13497 !GCAT !GVIO  Iraq said on Thursday that its air defence units fired three missiles at Western warplanes patrolling the no-fly zone in its south.   "At 1415 hours (1015 GMT) our air defence systems confronted the aggressors' aircraft and one of our units in the southern sector fired three surface-to-air missiles against hostile targets, forcing them to flee," Iraqi state television, quoting an Iraqi military spokesman, said.   In Washington the Pentagon said it had no reports from its forces in the field that Iraq had fired missiles at U.S. and allied warplanes patrolling over southern Iraq on Thursday.   "We have no reports of any missile firings," said Navy Commander Joe March, a Pentagon spokesman, after the Iraqi state television statement.   Iraq has vowed to fire at U.S. and allied planes policing the two no-fly zones, one in its north and the other in the south.   The Iraqi spokesman said: "American aircraft and that of those assisting it penetrated Iraqi airspace from Saudi and Turkish territories..."   The statement on Iraqi television said the Western aircraft had carried out 15 sorties in northern Iraq and 47 in the south.   The Iraqi spoksman did not say whether or not the missiles hit the targets.   Iraq's Information Minister on Thursday said his country would continue to counter U.S. military aggression and would resist any U.S. attack on it.   "The aggressive American and their allies who have pursued the path of evil will not reap but further humiliation and disappointment," the spokesman said.   It was the second day in a row that Iraq said its air defence units fired missiles against U.S.-led allied planes.   U.S. defence officials confirmed Wednesday's attack, saying Iraqi forces launched missiles at U.S. fighter jets over northern Iraq but missed their targets.   Iraq's Wednesday attack against U.S. planes prompted Washington to say it would send eight F-117A stealth fighters to Kuwait and move B-52 bombers to a base in the Indian Ocean, gearing for another military strike against Iraq.   U.S. forces launched 44 cruise missiles last week against air defence targets in southern Iraq to punish Iraq for using its forces to help a Kurdish rebel fight against another rival in northern Iraq.   Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has ordered his armed forces to ignore the no-fly zones and fire on intruding aircraft. 
13498 !GCAT !GENT !GODD  Britain's most popular rock group Oasis cut short a troubled tour of the United States on Thursday amid reports the five-man band would split up.   An assistant to the editor of the Sun newspaper told Reuters a report on the band's demise would be in its Friday edition.   But a spokesman for Oasis would neither confirm nor deny that they were planning to split.   Oasis's record company Creation -- 49 percent owned by Sony Music -- left the band's future unclear.   "Oasis have hit internal differences on their tour of America, which has resulted in the tour being pulled (cancelled) two-thirds of the way through," a statement said.   "It is unlikely that immediate touring commitments will be fulfilled."   Songwriter and lead guitarist Noel Gallagher, 29-year-old brother of hot-tempered singer Liam, 23, was said to be flying home on Thursday.   Sun editor Stuart Higgins said: "We received several calls this morning saying there had been a fall-out between the two brothers and quickly established that it was more serious than anything that had gone before."   The brothers, who have a long history of arguing with each other, had a major row on Wednesday after arriving in Charlotte, North Carolina.   British pop's current "bad boys" hit the headlines this month when Liam delayed his departure for the United States, saying he wanted to look for a new home in London with his actress girlfriend Patsy Kensit.   The band initially had to perform in the United States without Liam, who also pulled out of a concert in London just before the tour.   Liam joined the band later for the tour, which has drawn far from rave reviews.   They appeared at an MTV awards evening in New York where Liam spat and threw beer at the audience.   Last month the group played for 250,000 followers at the Knebworth open-air festival -- the biggest British paying audience for a single act in the history of rock and roll.   Oasis have been compared with the Beatles, who broke up in 1970.   Former Beatle Paul McCartney once said: "I take it as an amazing tribute that, 30 years on, these kids are copying what we were doing then."   The band has sold an estimated $250 million worth of albums since they signed their first record contract three years ago.   (What's the Story) Morning Glory has sold 9.5 million copies worldwide since its October 1995 release.   Debut album Definitely Maybe, released two years ago, has been in the British top 40 for more than 100 weeks. 
13499 !GCAT !GVIO  Iraq and the United States were on a collision course on Thursday, with U.S. warplanes moving within striking distance and Baghdad saying it had fired three more missiles at Western air patrols.   Undeterred by U.S. threats of a "disproportionate" response, Iraq said it had fired for a second straight day on the Western aircraft that have enforced a "no-fly zone" for Iraqi aircraft in the north and south of Iraq since the 1991 Gulf War.   "Iraq will continue defending its national air space," Iraqi Information Minister Abd-al-Ghani Abd-al-Ghafur said before the latest missile firings.   "Iraqis and the Iraqi armed forces will meet any aggression."   But the United States said after Iraq fired on U.S. F-16s over northern Iraq on Wednesday that it was readying F-117A stealth bombers and B-52 long-range bombers for retaliation.   "The determination of the United States in dealing with the problem of Iraq should not be underestimated," President Bill Clinton said.   The United States was assembling a stronger force than used last week to hit Iraq with 44 cruise missiles in retaliation for Baghdad's military involvement in northern Iraq, an area out-of-bounds to Iraqi forces for the last five years.   U.S. Defence Secretary William Perry said in Washington on Thursday the U.S. forces building in the Gulf would use "robust" action to protect American interests.   U.S. officials said eight U.S. F-117A "stealth" fighters -- accompanied by aerial refueling tankers -- were leaving New Mexico later in the day on a non-stop 20-hour flight that would land them in Kuwait on Friday.   The radar-evading jets carry laser-guided 2,000-pound (908 kg) bombs that can hit targets such as concrete air defence command-and-control centres with extreme accuracy.   Four U.S. B-52 bombers, like those used in last week's cruise missile attacks on Iraqi air defences, were flown to a British base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia.   News that the "stealth" jets would operate from Kuwait -- the only Arab country to endorse U.S. missile attacks on Iraq -- drew a warning from Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz.   "We consider this conduct on the part of the Kuwaiti regime a flagrant aggression against Iraq and an act of war against the state of Iraq," he said.   The rising tension sent crude oil prices jumping to levels unseen since January 1991, the eve of the Gulf War when a U.S.-led coalition drove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's forces from Kuwait.   Prices later eased but brokers said they would be strong throughout the crisis.   An increasingly confident Iraq on Thursday rejected some of the restrictions it had endured since losing the Gulf War.   Saddam's forces are banned from Kurdish north Iraq and Iraqi aircraft are not allowed into "no-fly zones" over both the north and south of the country.   U.S., British and French aircraft enforced the policies.   "There are new facts in the north of Iraq.   That area is no longer free for all," Iraqi presidential adviser Hamed Youssef Hummadi said in Ankara after the capture of the area this week by an Iraqi-backed Kurdish faction.   Hummadi urged Ankara to throw out the Western forces that had been using Turkish air bases to shield the Kurds: "The Kurds are now protected by their legitimate government in Baghdad."   Baghdad has revelled in the disarray in the Western alliance enforcing the post-Gulf War policies.   France would not endorse the U.S. attacks last week and called for consultation before Washington takes any further retaliation.   Although Sami Abderrahman, number two in the Iraqi-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), denied Saddam would extract a price for his support, Baghdad said northern Iraq was being quickly integrated back into the national economy.   Iraqi state-run media hailed the KDP victory as a prelude to the end of U.S. influence in northern Iraq.   Saddam has signed decrees for Kurdish areas that had been under Western protection for the past five years.   People in Baghdad said people and goods were flowing to the north without restriction, but fear of U.S. attacks sent their currency plunging from 1,000 to 1,300 dinars to the dollar. 
13500 !C13 !C24 !C31 !C312 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT  Britain agreed on Thursday to review new scientific findings on "mad cow disease" with the EU Commission, stepping aside from a widely predicted clash with Brussels over a massive slaughter programme for its cattle.   The decision, taken at a meeting of cabinet ministers, ended speculation that London might be about unilaterally to scale down the cull which it had agreed with its EU partners as the price of a gradual ending of a ban on its beef exports.   "Ministers noted that the scientific findings represent new factors which must be reviewed with the Commission," said a statement issued by Prime Minister John Major's office.   The meeting looked at new scientific evidence suggesting that transmission of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy from cow to calf was likely to be extremely rare and analysis suggesting BSE, or mad cow disease, could die out in Britain in five years.   It said the new evidence should be evaluated in the light of the agreement at the EU summit in Florence in June that a ban on British beef exports should be gradually lifted "on the basis of objective scientific criteria".   Britain is committed to slaughter 147,000 cattle in order to eliminate BSE, after fears in continental Europe that the disease could be passed on to humans.   The government came under pressure from farmers and some Conservatives to reconsider the size of the cull after an Oxford University report predicted last month that the mad cow epidemic would be over by the year 2001.   Scientists claimed that if no cattle were slaughtered there would be an estimated 7,000 cases of BSE in the next five years.   The cull would reduce it by only 23 percent.   But the European Commission said earlier on Thursday that, although it would consider changing its approach to dealing with the crisis, it would not interested in talking cull numbers.   "We consider that all measures necessary should be taken to protect human health, and that's why we have agreed with the British government a selective slaughter policy," Commission spokesman Gerry Keily told BBC radio.   "We haven't said it can't be changed.   If there is a better approach, we will talk about changing it.   But we will not talk on the basis of numbers of cattle to be slaughtered.   That's not our priority.   The protection of human health is our priority."   Keily added a 23 percent reduction in cases of the disease was "not insignificant".   Britain reluctantly agreed to the slaughter in exchange for a gradual lifting of a ban on exports of British beef and by-products imposed by the European Union.   The row over mad cow disease broke out in March after Britain acknowledged there could be a link between mad cow disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, its brain-wasting human equivalent.   The export ban caused a serious rift between London and its European neighbours and resulted in British ministers blocking EU business for several weeks on the orders of Major until the cull agreement was reached.   British Agriculture Minister Douglas Hogg is due to meet European Farm Minister Franz Fischler on Monday to discuss BSE. 
13501 !C18 !C183 !CCAT !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  India's Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday upset a coalition partner by saying that the state would divest up to 74 percent of its stake in some non-core industry firms, the Press Trust of India said.   The PTI said that Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, who works within a 13-party leftist coalition, said the state would divest its holdings in the non-core, non strategic sector by up to 74 percent, without giving further details.   Under the current policy, the government can sell a stake of up to 49 percent in any state-run firm, excluding strategic industries, such as defence.   Chidambaram said the limit on divestment in core sector industries remained at 49 percent, but could be raised in the future.   D. Raja, a senior leader of the Communist Party of India, said Chidambaram was "overstepping" the limits of the United Front government's common minimum programme (CMP) and had "deviated" from its agreed provisions.   Raja, who helped draft the programme after the government came to power three months ago, said the thrust of the CMP was to revive the public sector not to dismantle it.   He said the government's steering committee should discuss the subject fully before proceeding further.   But a senior finance ministry official said Chidambaram was referring to a recommendation by a government committee on divestment and not a decision.   "The divestment committee has suggested that for some non-core industries divestment could go up to 74 percent," the official said.   That would leave the government with a 26 percent stake, which would enable it to block any special resolutions that it objected to, equity analysts said.   The government aims to raise 50 billion rupees ($1.4 billion) from divestments this year.   At the same conference, Industry Minister Murasoli Maran said freer entry for foreign direct investors would be particularly encouraged in the infrastructure and export earning sectors.   Earlier this week, the Financial Express newspaper reported that mining services, the basic metal and alloy industry, electricity generation and transmission were some of the industries where foreign equity stakes of up 74 percent would be given automatic government approval.   And the industry ministry also proposed expanding the list of industrial sectors -- currently only 35 are in this category -- in which foreign equity stakes up to 51 percent would be automatically approved by the government. 
13502 !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GDIP  France hopes Poland will join the European Union by the year 2000, President Jacques Chirac told the Polish parliament on Thursday in a ringing declaration of support for Warsaw's key policy goals.   "I hope that, by the year 2000, Poland will have joined our Union," Chirac told both houses of parliament, stating that talks on EU entry should begin in just over a year.   He also warmly backed Poland's desire to join the NATO defence alliance, saying the process should begin next year.   "The year 1997 should engage the process, in an irreversible way, of Poland's joining NATO," Chirac said in his speech, high point of a three-day visit which started on Wednesday.   "I hope this negotiation is rapidly concluded."   Poland, which escaped from Soviet domination with the 1989 fall of communism, hopes to bind itself to the West quickly and is eager for concrete, early dates from Western leaders.   The year 2000 target for EU membership is ambitious.   Brussels officials generally suggest 2002 as the first realistic date, given the time needed for negotiation and ratification.   But Chirac aides have said it can be done if Poland has a long transition period for tricky areas like agriculture.   Coming from France, long seen in Warsaw as cautious on EU expansion and a hindrance to NATO growth because of its aim to transform the pact, Chirac's words were sweet to Polish ears.   "There is very good news... There is such strong support for a fast scenario for our NATO and EU entry," Poland's chief negotiator with the EU, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, told Reuters.   "The date 2000 is very significant," he said, though adding that Poland saw it as a guideline rather than a firm promise.   The French president underlined that before the EU's expansion it had to complete its current inter-governmental conference to review and deepen its institutions.   "In this perspective, I propose that a European conference gather the 15 EU members and all candidate countries," Chirac said.   He added that this would not be a substitute for entry talks but a forum for political and economic consultations.   Chirac lent assurance that traditionally francophile Poland, which has relied heavily on German political support and economic ties, had another firm friend in Europe.   Referring to EU growth, he said: "In this, Poland will be France's natural partner, its sister in the East."   The president, accompanied in Poland by several top French industrialists seeking deals, called for tighter economic cooperation, saying: "We can and should do better."   Poland also won reassurances from German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who spoke with its President Aleksander Kwasniewski by telephone for 20 minutes before Chirac's speech began.   "In the NATO question, I am sure that in June or July (1997) there will be decisions taken on expanding NATO and the entry of Poland," Kwasniewski said after the discussion.   "In 1998 we will start talks on entering the EU," he said.   Kwasniewski said that he, Kohl and Chirac -- whose countries are linked in a cooperation framework called the Weimar Triangle, would meet in Warsaw early next year.   On NATO, Chirac proposed in his speech that at the 16-member alliance's next summit, expected next year, Poland and other candidates should be represented, as well as other European countries which would be future partners.   Chirac said it was vital that no countries should be left isolated or anxious over NATO's growth -- a reference to Moscow which sees a larger NATO as a threat to its security.   He said he wanted the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe to be reinforced into a real, Pan-European body.   On Thursday, Chirac oversaw the signing of government agreements on police cooperation and providing French expertise for Polish road building, but PAP news agency reported that a planned agreement on military cooperation was not yet ready.   Chirac was due to meet ex-president Lech Walesa on Friday, tour the historic southern city of Krakow and visit the nearby former Nazi death camp at Auschwitz. 
13503 !GCAT !GENT  Top-selling British pop group Oasis, currently on tour in the United States, are to split up, the editor of the tabloid Sun newspaper said on Thursday.   An assistant to Stuart Higgins, who edits Britain's biggest circulation newspaper, told Reuters the report would be in its Friday edition.   The paper said songwriter and lead guitarist Noel Gallagher, 29-year-old brother of hot-tempered singer Liam, 23, has broken off from the group's U.S. tour to fly home.   "We received several calls this morning saying there had been a fall-out between the two brothers and quickly established that it was more serious than anything that had gone before," Higgins said.   The brothers, who have always had a tempestuous relationship, had a major row on Wednesday after their show in Charlotte, North Carolina.   The band's record company said it would issue a statement later on Thursday.   British pop's current "bad boys" hit the headlines earlier this month when Liam delayed his departure for the United States, saying he wanted to look for a new home in London with his actress girlfriend Patsy Kensit.   The band initially had to perform in the United States without Liam, who also pulled out of a concert at a secret location in London just before the tour.   Liam joined the band later for the tour, which has drawn far from rave reviews.   They appeared at an MTV awards evening in New York and Liam spat and threw beer at the audience.   Last month, the group played for 250,000 followers at the Knebworth open-air festival -- the biggest British paying audience for a single act in the history of rock and roll.   The Manchester band also played to 80,000 fans on the shores of Loch Lomond in Scotland earlier in the summer.   Oasis have been compared with the Beatles, who broke up in 1970.   Former Beatle Paul McCartney once said: "I take it as an amazing tribute that, 30 years on, these kids are copying what we were doing then."   The band's album sales have been impressive since they signed their first record contract three years ago.   (What's the Story) Morning Glory has sold 9.5 million copies worldwide since its October 1995 release.   Debut album Definitely Maybe, released two years ago, has been in the British top 40 for more than 100 weeks. 
13504 !C24 !C42 !CCAT !E12 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL !GVOTE  Reviving Bosnia's stagnant industry could do as much as, if not more than, the country's first post-war election to glue rival ethnic factions together, industrialists say.   While Western governments talk of democracy, elections and common institutions to reforge links between Moslems, Croats and Serbs, few are digging in their pockets to help fire the economy.   But experts say establishing trade and commercial links between the three communities can do as much to dissolve past enmities as politicians sitting in the same assembly.   In the central Bosnian town of Zenica, tall red-brick chimneys tower over the rooftops like totems to the one-time industrial prosperity of former Yugoslavia.   Now the town's sprawling steel mill, the single biggest employer in Bosnia, could provide the motor to an economy desperate for a kickstart after 43 months of war and 10 months of peace.   Managers of Zeljezara Zenica are busy trying to reopen raw material supplies, transport routes and export markets to keep the lifeblood of Zenica pumping.   General manager Hamdija Kulovic regards the steelworks where he has worked for 22 years as a microcosm of the problems facing Bosnia, but also of the potential for its future.   "The Dayton peace agreement cannot work if the Bosnian economy is not sorted out," Kulovic said in an interview.   He and other managers recall warnings to the West by international mediator Carl Bildt not to turn an army of soldiers into an army of unemployed.   "Displaced people will not return to what was once their homes if there is no job to go to," said Kulovic.   At a planned full capacity of 1.3 million tonnes a year, the works would provide jobs for 12,300 people in the mainly-Moslem town and generate employment for hundreds of truck drivers and freight train workers across Bosnia and in Croatia, he said.   The knock-on effect would see the re-emergence of a host of service industries, with finished products stimulating new work in other industries such as high-tensile mesh for the construction sector and machine tools for manufacturing firms.   At its pre-war peak in the Yugoslav command economy, Zenica steelworks produced 1.8 million tonnes of finished steel a year.   The quality was high and the price competitive enough for almost half the total to be exported, to Germany, Italy, Turkey, Iran and China.   Kulovic wants to recapture those markets but needs $100 million to put the works back on its feet.   World Bank experts issued a positive report on the mill's potential and its workforce skills but no cash has yet emerged.   "The system is very slow.   We are not holding out much hope from them," Kulovic said.   "We cannot wait for long and just hope that foreign companies we've begun talking to might take an interest in helping us out."   Kulovic has already made contact with Bosnian Serbs in charge of the iron ore mines at Prijedor and Ljubija, 230 km (150 miles) northwest of Zenica.   The effort is being made although memories of war are still raw.   Some 385 Zenica steel workers were killed in fighting.   Despite two days of bombing in October 1992 and damage estimated at $15 million, the steel mill carried on working, albeit at only a fraction of its capacity.   Managers believe the steel works, built on a vast area of seven km by four km (four miles by 2.5 miles), can be restructured to compete in the modern world.   With iron ore supplies cut off, workers turned to recycling scrap metal and producing arms and ammunition -- 155mm shells and barrels for guns and howitzers.   The books still contain orders from abroad.   Rolling mill manager Safet Benbic ordered the doors of a huge furnace to be opened, showing 100 tonnes of steel ingots being fired, some for fashioning into parts bound for Italy.   A shaft made for a ship in Split lay inside the dusty warehouse and a propeller for the hydro-electric plant at Salakovac near Mostar was ready for shipping. 
13505 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Southeast Asian economic ministers took a swipe at United States policies on Thursday, condemning U.S. sanctions involving other countries and calling on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to stick purely to trade.   A joint press statement at the end of a meeting of the ministers from the seven ASEAN countries referred specifically to U.S. sanctions against Iran, Libya and Cuba.   "The ministers expressed strong concern on the extra-territorial application of the U.S. Sanctions Act which would undermine the multilateral trade system," it said.   ASEAN comprises Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines and Brunei.   Malaysia's Minister for International Trade and Industry Rafidah Aziz told a post-meeting news conference: "They (the Americans) are telling us what to do when they have quarrels with these people."   She said there was a danger that other countries might follow Washington's lead and damage world trade.   The ministers also noted with approval a call by Indonesian President Suharto earlier in the day for the WTO not to get side-tracked from purely trade issues at its inaugural ministerial meeting in Singapore in December.   "I would like...to emphasise that the World Trade Organisation should concentrate its attention more to concrete trade issues and not to divert its attention to issues beyond them," Suharto said in an opening address to the ministers.   The United States and some other Western nations have called for the inclusion of such issues as labour rights and conditions, corruption and competition policies in WTO talks.   Singapore's trade and industry minister, Yeo Cheow Tong, who will host the WTO gathering, told the news conference ASEAN was in agreement that the meeting should deal strictly with trade.   Labour issues, for example, should go to the International Labour Organisation.   The ministers said they had settled the most contentious regional issue of the meeting, the inclusion of rice and sugar in an ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) scheme to reduce or eliminate tariffs.   The ministers said AFTA was making good progress in meeting its deadline of 2003 for cutting most tariffs to zero-to-five percent.   Indonesia and the Philippines had declared rice and sugar sensitive products and were baulking at a previous agreement that tariffs on rice and sugar should be cut by 2010 -- they wanted the deadline extended to 2020.   Ministers said, however, the two countries had agreed to the original deadline of 2010 with the proviso that they could impose "appropriate" tariffs at that time.   On another agricultural matter, the ministers "expressed concern" over a new European Union preference scheme which they said placed ASEAN agricultural and fisheries products at a disadvantage.   The ministers on Wednesday, sitting as the AFTA council, reviewed progress towards developing free trade in the region.   On Friday, they will meet their counterparts from Australia, New Zealand and Japan to discuss bilateral trade and economic issues. 
13506 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  An increasingly confident Iraq on Thursday dismissed a planned Turkish anti-guerrilla security zone along the shared border and said Baghdad had guarantees that U.S. planes would not strike it from Turkey.   "There are new facts in the north of Iraq.   That area is no longer free for all," Iraqi presidential adviser Hamed Youssef Hummadi told reporters after two days of talks with Turkish officials.   He cited "Iraq's total rejection of Turkey's plan to establish a security zone in Iraqi territory" but said Baghdad was willing to cooperate with Turkey on border security.   Turkey wants to establish a cordon up to 10 km (six miles) deep inside Iraq to halt infiltration by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which uses bases there to fight its separatist guerrilla war in southeast Turkey.   But Hummadi said this week's conquest of northern Iraq by a Baghdad-backed Iraqi Kurdish group had filled the power vacuum that had allowed the PKK to operate there.   Hummadi, an adviser to President Saddam Hussein, said Turkey had assured him it would not let U.S. planes raid Iraq from a joint U.S.-Turkish base in southern Turkey.   "Turkey confirmed to us that the conditions by which the United States planes use Incirlik air base do not permit the United States to launch air strikes into Iraq," he said.   Washington has embarked on large military preparations after Iraqi forces fired a missile at Turkey-based allied aircraft flying over northern Iraq on Wednesday.   Incirlik base has been home since 1991 to a Western allied force that enforces a no-fly zone to protect Iraq's Kurds.   But cooperation between the victorious Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) guerrillas and Iraqi troops in Kurdish infighting has undermined the air shield and boosted Saddam.   "The Kurds are now protected by their legitimate government in Baghdad," Hummadi said.   Hummadi said Baghdad was open to ideas, other than a buffer zone, to protect the Turkish border.   "We are discussing solving the problems without any violation of Iraqi territory."   Arab countries have criticised the Turkish cordon plan as a dangerous precedent for outside powers to grab Iraqi territory.   Turkey says it would not keep troops in Iraq but monitor a "free-fire zone" from its own side of the 330-km (200-mile) border.   Troops would cross into Iraq after any rebels sighted.   In Baghdad, a government minister vowed that Iraq would defend itself against any U.S. military action and continue its defiance of U.S.-led allied no-fly zones.   U.S. and allied warplanes also police a no-fly zone to protect Shi'ite Moslems in the south of Iraq.   The United States fired 44 missiles at targets in southern Iraq last week in response to Baghdad's military support for the KDP, led by warlord Massoud Barzani. 
13507 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Iraq said on Thursday its armed forces would counter any U.S. military aggression and warned Kuwait against permitting U.S. warplanes to use its territory for attacks against Iraq.   "Iraq will continue defending its national airspace...Iraqis and the Iraqi armed forces will counter any aggression.   This is a natural right approved by international norms and agreements," Information Minister Abd-al-Ghani Abd-al-Ghafur told reporters.   Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz, in a statement carried by the official Iraqi News Agency (INA), told Kuwait that it would be committing "an act of war" if it allowed U.S. warplanes to use its territory for attacks on his country.   "We consider this conduct on the part of Kuwaiti regime a flagrant aggressive action against the Iraqi people and an act of war against the state of Iraq...and we are confident that fair experts in international law, Arabs or foreigners, would confirm this conclusion," Aziz said.   U.S. jets were moving into position for possible bombing raids against Iraq after Baghdad forces fired a surface-to-air missile at U.S. fighters over northern Iraq on Wednesday.   Eight U.S. F-117A jets have headed to Kuwait and four B-52s moved to a British air base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia to be in closer striking range to Iraq.   Diplomats and officials in Kuwait were unable immediately to confirm whether the stealth fighters had already arrived in Kuwait, which was liberated by a U.S.-led coalition from seven months of Iraqi occupation in the 1991 Gulf War.   The latest conflict between Iraq and the United States erupted last month when Baghdad sent tank-equipped troops to help a Kurdish rebel leader rout a rival in Iraq's north.   The United States retaliated by firing 44 cruise missiles last week at air defence targets in southern Iraq and extended the U.S.-led air-exclusion zone there to the outskirts of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.   President Saddam Hussein responded by declaring the West's no-fly zones null and void and ordering Iraqi anti-aircraft gunners and pilots to try and shoot down U.S. and allied warplanes that patrol the northern and southern zones.   On Wednesday Iraqi gunners fired anti-air missles against two U.S. planes policing the northern no-fly zone.   Ghafur pledged that there would be no backing down on Saddam's orders and dismissed U.S. warnings that Iraq should not shoot at U.S. planes nor repair installations damaged last week by U.S. cruise missiles.   "The no-fly zones are imaginary and have got nothing to do with international legitimacy...If the U.S. commits another folly (attack) that will mean further isolation for it at the U.N., at the Security Council and at the international level," Ghafur said.   He said President Bill Clinton was escalating tension with Iraq for electoral purposes.   U.S. presidential elections will be held in November.   "Both Clinton and (Republican presidential nominee Bob) Dole are racing to wage attacks on Iraq...It has become an election issue...The U.S. is passing through a period of moral degradation away from civilized behaviour," Ghafur said.   Aziz hit out at Kuwait and said it was continuing an "aggressive pursuit against Iraq.   It does everything, spends all the money it has to harm Iraq, conspires against it and threaten its security and safety via vicious, mean, and malicious methods, surpassing all limits," he said.   "The continuation of this aggressive, lowly and impudent behaviour on the part of the Kuwaiti rulers in the past years throws light on their conduct before August 2, 1990," Aziz said.   Iraq's official media on Thursday made no mention of U.S. warnings and state-run television and radio continued with their normal programmes.   "Every time there is an attack we know more and more about U.S. intentions.   We now completely realise it does not care about us at all.   It is fighting for its own global benefits," said a shop-owner in Rasheed street, Baghdad's main thoroughfare. 
13508 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz warned Kuwait on Thursday against permitting U.S. warplanes to use its territory for possible military strikes against targets in Iraq.   "We consider this conduct on the part of Kuwaiti regime a flagrant aggression against Iraqi people and an act of war against the state of Iraq," Aziz said in a statement carried by the official Iraqi News Agency (INA).   The United States is rushing bombers and warships close to Iraq in an apparent attempt for further military strikes in retaliation for Iraq's defiance of Western-imposed no-fly zones over its territory.   The Pentagon said on Wednesday it was moving eight F-117A "stealth" fighters to Kuwait to use them for raids on Iraq to punish it for firing a missile against its warplanes patrolling the northern air-exclusion zone on Wednesday.   Diplomats and officials in Kuwait were unable immediately to confirm whether the stealth fighters had already arrived.   Iraq's Information Minister Abd-al-Ghani Abd-al-Ghafur mocked U.S. warnings on Thursday and said Iraqi armed forces would resist any U.S. attack and would continue firing at intruding planes.   "Iraq will continue defending its national airspace.   Iraqis and the Iraqi armed forces will encounter any aggression.   This is a natural right approved by international norms and agreements," Ghafur said.   Aziz said: "The regime in Kuwait is continuing, using all means, with its aggressive pursuit against Iraq.   It does everything, spends all the money it has to harm Iraq, conspires against it and threatens its security and safety by vicious, mean, and malicious methods, surpassing all limits."   He said Kuwait would express "despicable happiness" whenever there was a "military aggression" against Iraq or the U.N. trade sanctions against it were renewed.   Aziz said while Arabs countries denounced U.S. cruise missile strikes against Iraq last week, Kuwait endorsed them.   The United States fired 44 cruise missiles against air defence targets in southern Iraq in retaliation for Baghdad's military interventions on the side of a Kurdish rebel leader.   Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990.   The United Nations responded by clamping sweeping trade sanctions on it, including a ban on its vital oil exports.   A U.S.-led multinational force ejected Iraqi troops from Kuwait after seven months of occupation in the 1991 Gulf War.   "The continuation of this aggressive, lowly and impudent behaviour on the part of the Kuwaiti rulers in the past years throws light on their conduct before August 2, 1990," Aziz said.   In Kuwait, a source close to the Kuwaiti government said senior officials and military officers met on Thursday to discuss growing tension over Iraq, Kuwait's northern neighbour.   Kuwait has defence agreements with the United States and the other four permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- Britain, China, France and Russia. 
13509 !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GDIP  France hopes Poland will join the European Union by the year 2000, President Jacques Chirac told both houses of the Polish parliament on Thursday in a ringing declaration of support for Warsaw's top policy aims.   "I hope that, by the year 2000, Poland will have joined our Union," Chirac said, stating that talks on EU entry should begin in just over a year.   He also warmly backed Poland's desire to join the NATO defence alliance, saying the process should begin next year.   "The year 1997 should engage the process, in an irreversible way, of Poland's joining NATO," Chirac said in his speech, high point of a three-day visit which started on Wednesday.   "I hope this negotiation is rapidly concluded."   Poland, which escaped from Soviet domination with the 1989 fall of communism, hopes to bind itself to the West quickly and is eager for concrete, early dates from Western leaders.   The year 2000 target for the EU is ambitious.   Brussels officials generally suggest 2002 as the first realistic date, given the time needed for negotiation and ratification.   But Chirac aides have said it can be done if Poland has a long transition period for tricky areas like agriculture.   Coming from France, long seen in Warsaw as cautious on EU expansion and an obstacle to NATO growth because of its aim to transform the pact, Chirac's words were sweet to Polish ears.   "There is very good news... There is such strong support for a fast scenario for our NATO and EU entry," Poland's chief negotiator with the EU, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, told Reuters.   "The date 2000 is very significant," he said, though adding that Poland saw it as a guideline rather than a firm promise.   Former defence minister Janusz Onyszkiewicz also praised the speech but said: "We would like to get a somewhat more concrete calendar for NATO expansion."   Chirac lent assurance that traditionally francophile Poland, which has relied heavily on German political support and economic ties, had another firm friend in Europe.   He called for boosting bilateral economic ties and, referring to EU growth, he declared: "In this, Poland will be France's natural partner, its sister in the East."   Poland also won reassurances from German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who spoke with its President Aleksander Kwasniewski by telephone for 20 minutes before Chirac's speech began.   "In the NATO question, I am sure that in June or July (1997) there will be decisions taken on expanding NATO and the entry of Poland to these structures," Kwasniewski told reporters after the discussion.   He added that he had asked Kohl to ensure candidate members were represented at forthcoming NATO meetings.   "In 1998 we will start talks on entering the EU," he said.   Kwasniewski said he and Kohl discussed the health of ailing Russian President Boris Yeltsin.   Sources close to Warsaw's presidential palace said both leaders were "deeply concerned".   Kwasniewski also said that he, Kohl and Chirac -- whose countries are linked in a cooperation framework called the Weimar Triangle, would meet in Warsaw early next year.   The French president underlined that before the EU's expansion it had to complete its current inter-governmental conference to review and deepen its institutions.   "In this perspective, I propose that a European conference gather the 15 EU members and all candidate countries," Chirac said.   He added that this would not be a substitute for entry talks but a forum for political and economic consultations.   On NATO, Chirac proposed that at the 16-member alliance's next summit, which is expected early next year, Poland and other candidates should be represented, as well as other European countries which would be future partners.   Chirac said it was vital that no countries should be left isolated or anxious over NATO's growth -- a reference to Moscow which sees a larger NATO as a threat to its security.   He said he wanted the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe to be reinforced into a real, Pan-European body. 
13510 !GCAT  The following stories were reported in Thursday's Daily Variety:   HOLLYWOOD - William Morris Agency executive Arnold Rifkin confirmed he was in talks to take Mark Canton's post at Sony Pictures Entertainment.   HOLLYWOOD - ABC has reached a six-episode deal for a new half-hour comedy from Spike Lee.   HOLLYWOOD - Movie writer Ron Bass, whose movies have earned more than $500 million worldwide, has a four-year producing and writing contract with TriStar Pictures.   HOLLYWOOD - Brillstein-Grey Communications reached a multiyear, multimillion-dollar TV development deal with producer Jay Daniel, who was pursued by many studios including DreamWorks and Universal.   NEW YORK - The Television Bureau of Advertising said second-quarter 1996 ad revenues for network, spot, local and syndicated TV rose 8 percent to $14.7 billion, while the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau said basic cable network ad take climbed 25.7 percent to $2.15 billion, in the same period.   --New York Newsdesk (212) 859-1610 
13511 !C21 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Air France Europe, the domestic and regional arm of state-owned Air France, was grounded on Thursday by a surprise strike after a pilot was disciplined for refusing to fly a plane in a protest over security.   "We are unable to guarantee service, so we are asking our customers not to come to the airport for their flights today," an Air France Europe spokesman told Reuters.   In a statement, the airline said the strike began without notice at 11.30 p.m. (2130 GMT) on Wednesday when four pilots' unions walked off the job without prior notice.   "There were a few flights this morning, but aircraft are no longer taking off," the Air France Europe spokesman said.   The airline primarily serves France but has a fledgling network of flights across Europe, which were also grounded by the strike, the spokesman said.   The pilots stopped work after the company disciplined a pilot who refused to fly from Biarritz to Paris after complaining of inadequate safety checks on passengers' baggage.   The airline said the pilot, identified only as Mr Le Baraillec, had been punished after refusing to take off a total of 35 times this year, always for the same reason.   The airline said Le Baraillec sought a systematic inspection of all luggage in the aircraft's holds.   It said a state official had concluded such checks were unjustified.   The airline has been battered by strikes in recent months over plans to formally merge the airline, formerly known as Air Inter, with parent company Air France.   There is widespread opposition among airline workers to a restructuring plan that would shed some 950 jobs out of 11,000 over two years.   The merger is due to take place next year and is part of a plan to bring Air France Europe back to break-even within two years by axing loss-making routes and launching a shuttle service. 
13512 !GCAT !GDIP  Palestinian President Yasser Arafat will cut short a visit to Japan on Thursday to attend an emergency meeting in Cairo of Arab foreign ministers, Japanese officials said.   Arafat arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday on a four-day visit to seek support from Japanese leaders for his peace efforts in the Middle East.   "He plans to leave Tokyo's Haneda airport at 10 p.m. (1300 GMT) tonight," a foreign ministry official told Reuters.   The meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo on Friday was called to seek a united stand on recent developments in Arab-Israeli relations.   Arafat had urged the meeting to implement resolutions adopted at a Cairo Arab summit in June.   His early departure will not significantly affect his scheduled meetings with Japanese government and business leaders.   He is due to hold talks with Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto late on Thursday before holding a news conference.   In a television interview screened earlier on Thursday, Arafat blamed Israel for the standstill in the Middle East peace process, calling its attitude a breach of an international agreement.   He repeated his call for the international community, particularly Japan, to push forward the peace process.   Arafat had a landmark meeting and handshake with new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week.   The meeting marked Netanyahu's formal acceptance of Arafat as a negotiating partner three years after the Palestinian president sealed a peace deal with a historic handshake with Yitzhak Rabin on the White House lawn.   The two leaders did not solve major problems such as Netanyahu's delay in honouring his predecessor's commitment to redeploy Israeli soldiers in the West Bank town of Hebron. 
13513 !GCAT !GENT  British pop superstars Oasis abruptly cancelled their U.S. tour and could now split up after brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher came to blows in a hotel fist-fight.   The tabloid Sun, which broke news of the bust-up, said on Friday that the feuding pair had to be pulled apart as they traded punches after a five-hour "summit meeting" in their hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina.   "The future of Oasis is unknown.   It is open-ended.   It is too early to say if the split is permanent.   We just don't know," Oasis spokesman Johnny Hopkins told the paper.   Noel Gallagher flew home alone to London on Thursday evening, looking red-eyed and depressed.   He refused to tell a barrage of reporters what was happening to the group that had helped lead a "Britpop" revival.   Oasis, whose first two albums have sold 20 million copies, were hailed as Britain's biggest pop phenomenon since the Beatles.   Their summer concerts drew a record crowd of 250,000.   Foul-mouthed and boastful, the bad boys of pop delighted in insulting the press and fellow stars.   Some fans blamed the apparent breakup on Liam Gallagher's affair with actress Patsy Kensit.   They cast her as the villain of the pop soap opera, echoing the anger directed at Yoko Ono when the Beatles broke up in the Seventies.   Liam Gallagher had boasted: "We are bigger than Jesus.   We will be as big as the Beatles, if not bigger."   But their 13-stop concert tour of the United States had met with mixed reviews in sharp contrast to the idolised Beatles, who never toured again after playing their last concert in San Francisco in 1966.   Noel Gallagher had said of the United States: "I don't give a f*** about America as long as they buy the f***ing records."   It could be the second big blow to hit British pop fans in less than a year.   Counsellors had to open special telephone help lines for distraught teenagers after the fresh-faced stars of the group Take That broke up.   Liam and Noel Gallagher, the driving forces behind Oasis, had been sparring partners since childhood.   Acrimony and walkouts abounded once the group shot to fame and Noel was the first to admit to the pressures of fame.   "You wanna try being me and Liam for an afternoon.   You'd slit your own throat, mate," he said in a magazine interview last month. 
13514 !GCAT !GENT  The first known film footage of The Beatles could fetch up to 70,000 pounds ($108,900) at an auction next week, Sotheby's said on Thursday.   But that price may be topped by the scrawled lyrics for "With a Little Help from my Friends" which the auctioneers believe may fetch as much as 80,000 pounds ($124,400).   The 35-second film clip of the group at a Liverpool club in February 1961 is one of 800 items of Beatles memorabilia being put up for sale next Wednesday and Thursday.   A stained piece of old paper, scribbled with blue, black and brown ballpoint pens, is the original handwritten lyric sheet for "With a Little Help from my Friends".   Provisionally entitled Bad Finger Boogie, the second line - "Would you throw a tomato at me" - is crossed out and the words "Would you stand up and walk out on me" are written in their place.   Giving a preview of next week's sale, Sotheby's director Jon Baddeley said of the Beatles' enduring appeal to collectors, "As always, they are still top of the pops." 
13515 !GCAT !GPOL  Quebec's lieutenant- governor, claiming he will not be just a figure head, said Thursday he could "theoretically" refuse to sanction a law calling for the separation of Quebec from Canada.   Jean-Louis Roux was sworn in as the Queen's representative in Quebec on Thursday and was later asked by reporters what he would do if he was presented with legislation from the Parti Quebecois government on separation.   He said: "It is theoretically possible that the lieutenant-governor refuse to sanction a law."   Such power has rarely been used by a lieutenant-governor and any such move to overrule legislation from an elected government would likely precipitate a constitutional crisis.   Roux, however, said he did not intend to be a figure head.   "I have a role to play and I will not be a figure head," Roux told reporters.   The job of a Lieutenant Governor, appointed by the federal government, is largely seen as symbolic under Canada's constitutional monarchy.   Roux, 73, a well known Quebec actor and former federal senator was a controversial appointment because of his avowed stand against Quebec separatism.   Last year, Roux said he would leave the province if Quebecers voted to leave in the October 30,1995 referendum on the separation of Quebec from Canada.   The separatists lost their referendum by a margin of one percent.   Roux has labeled Quebec's separatist Premier Lucien Bouchard "a fanatic" and called Quebec nationalism narrow-minded. 
13516 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The union representing workers at Inco Ltd's division in Thompson, Manitoba, said Thursday it has told its members to reject Inco's latest offer.   The members will vote on the offer on Friday, said Bob Desjarlai, president of local 6166 of the United Steelworkers of America.   But the offer that the union is voting on is not the company's final offer, said Dan McSweeney, an Inco spokesman.   The union's current three year contract expires at midnight on Sunday, September 15.   If no agreement is reached by that time, the 1,327 members are in a position to strike. 
13517 !E11 !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM !MCAT  The globalisation of markets and large-scale privatisation may have boosted local economies but they have also offered unprecedented opportunities for crime and corruption in developing countries.   Lawyers and enforcement officials attending the 14th annual Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime admitted on Thursady that "need and greed" had inspired widespread and entrenched corruption in developing countries.   But they charged that efforts to counter it were blocked by collusion and indifference in more developed nations.   Olukonyinsola Ajayi, a lawyer practising in Lagos, Nigeria, said International Monetary Fund (IMF)-backed structural adjustment programmes had promoted liberalisation and deregulation, but corrupt business practice had grown alongside.   When top officials "looted their national treasuries" and fled the country, the new governments trying to pursue them had had little help from Western governments or banks, he said.   "Developing countries have sought assistance from the West but have not had it.   They soon run into banking secrecy laws which protect clients and the state cannot recover the money."   B.V. Kumar, a senior revenue official in India, said the globalisation of equity markets and electronic technology had made it hard to keep track of holdings as funds could be moved around the world so rapidly.   He also pointed to privatisation programmes where the transfer of state assets to the private sector had been rife with irregularities.   "In India, some mutual funds find they have to subscribe to privatisation issues even if they are not thought to be profitable," he said.   David Chaikin, former senior assistant secretary in Australia's Attorney-General's department agreed Western nations tended to accuse developing countries of corruption, but ignored their own role.   The Philippine government of former President Ferdinand Marcos had been supported by the U.S. because it wanted the use of the Subic Bay naval base, he said.   Despite pleas to Western banks for help, only about $325 million of an estimated $10 billion salted away by Marcos had been recovered after his death, Chaikin added.   In Russia and eastern Europe, the liberalisation and deregulation launched by fledgling democracies had offered unprecedented opportunities for corruption and crime.   "(Corruption) is a dangerous obstacle to the future development of these countries -- resources are being misallocated and the public is getting cynical already," said Edison Heba, director in Albania's Prosecutor General's office.   Poland has produced some of the most spectacular economic growth and returns to investors among all emerging markets.   But Professor Emil Plywaczewski from Warsaw University estimates there are some 290 organised criminal groups in Poland with 4,000 members, some 100 of whom are foreigners, plus 300,000 professional criminals and a million petty thieves.   Several delegates said outdated legal systems in developing countries were ill-equipped to deal with the pressures of new world markets.   There is also no consensus about what constitutes corruption -- Bulgaria's penal code does not recognise it as a specific crime.   "It is seen as more a crime of the system than of the individual", said academician Emilia Kandeva-Spiridonova.   South African police officials noted that sanctions-busting, widely admired and even condoned domestically during the apartheid era, had "led to a blurring of the line between right and wrong" amongst the local business community.   Advocate Jan Swanepoel of South Africa's Office for Serious Economic Offences warned that crime and corruption were undermining business confidence and foreign investment and costing the country some 15.8 billion rand a year.   Some delegates also challenged the probity of international aid organisations operating in developing countries.   "The major donors are trying to force good governance on their aid clients but we believe many face battles against corruption themselves," said David Phillips, executive director of Crown Agents, a British consultancy working wordwide.   U.K.-based lawyer Arnold Rosen said international aid agencies should have anti-corruption provisions in their aid budgets.   The week-long conference, which ends on Friday, is being attended by over 800 delegates from 90 countries.   -- London newsroom +44 171 542 6414 
13518 !C21 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Britain's GMB trade union warned on Thursday that some 50,000 clothing, textile and footwear industry jobs could be lost by 2000, the bulk of them to North Africa, in particular Morocco.   Basing its figure on recent company announcements, the GMB called for government and employer action to save jobs.   Among the companies involved, it noted that Coats Viyella planned 12 UK factory closures and 7,750 jobs losses by 2000 and Claremonts was shedding 700 jobs in Glasgow.   Courtaulds has said non-UK production is to rise to 30 percent from 20 percent while non-UK output at Dewhirsts is to rise to 50 percent from 25 percent.   The GMB said pay in the sector is based on guaranteed minimum rates of around three stg per hour, but gross payments including productivity pay take it up to about four stg.   Pay for clothing workers in Morocco is 0.62 stg an hour, it added.   -- London Newsroom +44 171 542 7717 
13519 !C12 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GJOB  Unionized workers said Thursday they have filed a class-action lawsuit against Albertson's Inc., charging the rapidly growing grocery store chain pressures them to work overtime without pay.   The United Food and Commercial Workers Union, which represents 31,000 of the company's 85,000 employees, said seven of its members filed the lawsuit in King County Superior Court in Seattle, seeking back wages that could total millions of dollars.   A union official said employees were preparing a similar action in California, where the Boise, Idaho-based chain has about 165 of its nearly 800 stores.   Joe Peterson, a special assistant to UFCW international President Douglas Dority, was not certain how many employees were covered by the Washington state suit but said back pay sought easily would run into the "millions."   He said the union, which also filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, has sworn statements from more than 1,500 Albertson's employees contending they have been forced to miss breaks and pressured to work off the clock.   "The company has created conditions in its stores that foster off-the-clock work," Peterson said.   "We think the off-the-clock practices have helped them in their expansion plans and have given them a competitive edge over retailers who have obeyed the law."   A spokesman for Alberston's denied the charges, noting that the retailer had filed a federal lawsuit in Boise this week seeking to force the union to go through a contractual grievance process.   "We are always very concerned any time an allegation is made that any of our employees may have worked off the clock for any reason," said Michael Read, the company's director of public and governmental affairs.   "It's a top priority for us to be sure that every employee is treated fairly and is paid in full for every minute worked," he said.   He contended the lawsuit was part of a union campaign aimed at damaging the company's reputation and boosting efforts to organize non-union stores.   Read said 40 percent to 50 percent of the company's workers are unionized, with the UFCW by far the biggest union.   With about $13 billion in annual sales, Albertson's is one of the nation's biggest grocery chains and has an ambitious plan to open more than 350 new stores in the next five years. 
13520 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  An attorney for the former owner of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc told a jury Thursday that the state of Delaware will be unable to prove its charges of perjury and evidence tampering against Giancarlo Parretti because it "cannot identify" who doctored the evidence or how.   In his opening statement, Eugene Maurer said both sides agreed that a document pivotal to the outcome of a 1991 trial to determine who had control of MGM had been altered to look as if it had been transmitted by fax.   But he said the jury should return a "not guilty" verdict unless prosecutor Paul Wallace can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Parretti "had a guilty or criminal mind...and knew" when he testified in 1991 that evidence submitted in the civil trial had been tampered with.   At issue is an April, 1991 letter to Parretti from the bank which financed his $1.3 billion buyout of MGM in 1990, Credit Lyonnais Bank Nederland NV, then a subsidiary of France's Credit Lyonnais.   The letter confirms an agreement with CLBN allowing Parretti to stay in charge of MGM until November 30, 1991 so that he could sell off some of MGM-Pathe's worldwide assets and use the proceeds to reduce his indebtedness to the bank.   For its part CLBN agreed not to trigger its voting rights over MGM- Pathe as long as Parretti kept his side of the bargain.   But in the 1991 trial CLBN said it shelved the original agreement and therefore did not transmit the confirming letter to Parretti.   The letter was doctored, the bank alleged, to make it look as if it had in fact been sent.   The bank took control of MGM in 1991 and in 1992 a Delaware grand jury indicted Parretti on criminal charges.   He faces a maximum total sentence of 10 years if found guilty. 
13521 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Ford Motor Co. and United Auto Worker negotiators continued to haggle over key contract issues Thursday, while analysts wondered about the next step by UAW President Stephen Yokich, known for his unconventional tactics.   "There's still some large nuts to crack," said Fred North, president of UAW Local 863 in Batavia, Ohio.   Although talks are said to being going well, a spokesman for Ford also said some major issues remained unresolved as a midnight Sept. 14 deadline drew closer.   "We still have some issues that have considerable difference between us and the union," said Ford spokesman Jon Harmon.   Company and union officials would not discuss specific stumbling blocks.   The most difficult issues include job security guarantees, union demands to limit outsourcing -- the practice of farming parts work to outside suppliers -- and company efforts to cut health care costs.   Last week, the UAW selected Ford as the lead company in this year's contract negotiations covering some 390,000 workers at all of Detroit's Big Three automakers.   In previous years, the UAW has taken its agreement with the target automaker and applied it as a pattern to the remaining two.   After finishing with Ford, UAW leaders are expected to move on to either General Motors Corp. or Chrysler Corp.   However, in a break with tradition, subcommittee meetings are continuing this week at both of those companies while the Ford talks are ongoing.   That has left analysts wondering if Yokich would move directly to a second company after finishing at Ford, or continue talks with the remaining two simultaneously.   "They may have already settled with Ford," said Dale Brickner, associate director of Michigan State's School of Labor and Industrial Relations.   "(Yokich) could do something really strange which would be to automatically extend all of the deadlines.   I wouldn't put it past him -- he's been doing some interesting and unique things in these negotiations."   Others in labor circles downplayed that scenario, however, because it would be too difficult to shift gears to another company before having the first agreement ratified by the 104,000 UAW members at Ford.   Meanwhile, analysts viewed GM's last minute offer to the UAW on Tuesday as a low-ball bid designed to send a message that the world's largest automaker will not accept terms dictated by Ford.   "I think their offer sent up a flare to the UAW," said Harley Shaiken, a professor of labor relations at the University of California at Berkeley.   "The GM offer was clearly meant to stake out a claim that GM remains involved and wants to go in a different direction."   Union officials quickly rejected the offer, which included annual lump sum payments of 3 percent in lieu of base wage increases, and a promise of lifetime employment for current workers, but no guarantees that the workers would be replaced if they retired.   GM also offered to start new hires at half the full $19-an-hour wage rate, reaching parity with veteran workers only after 10 years.   The last provision particularly rankled UAW officials, who say many workers are unhappy with the current pact, under which new workers earn 70 percent of full wages and reach parity after three years.   "GM is saying, 'We are going to look out for our interests and our interests only,'" said Eugene Jennings, a retired professor of management at Michigan State University.   Jennings said a Ford-negotiated contract that provides rich job guarantees and restrictions on shifting work to outside companies would likely meet stiff resistance from GM, posing a serious threat to maintaining an industry pattern.   "If he takes a pattern to GM that is totally unrealistic for GM, he's going to have to give in somewhat or pull a strike," Jennings said. 
13522 !C12 !C13 !C34 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Teleport Communications Group Inc said a it won an arbitration case over Bell Atlantic, setting terms of letting Teleport enter the telecommunications business in Pennsylvania.   The administrative law judge's decision is the first arbitration decision rendered in the country under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the company said.   Teleport said it expects a significant revenue opportunity in the switched access business and calls the terms "proper" for transport and termination of telecommunications signals.   Additionally, Bell Atlantic must provide Teleport a level of service which is equivalent to that which Bell Atlantic provides itself and its preferred customers, Teleport said.   The decision awaits a vote by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.   A decision is expected October 17, 1996.   Bell Atlantic was not immediately available for comment. 
13523 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  GTE Corp said on Thursday it recently started a stock-option program that will use more than 4.2 million shares of company stock.   The program also will include more than 80,000 U.S. employees previously not covered by stock-option grants, the telecommunications company said.   The stock options were granted on Sept. 5 to all employees not currently part of other stock-option plans at a market price of $38.5625 per share.   GTE said the stock option program replaces the company's employees' stock plan. 
13524 !C13 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  - The latest skirmish in a protracted legal battle between the Republican governor of Illinois and the Democratic mayor of Chicago centers a small airport on the city's downtown lakefront.   Mayor Richard Daley and his hand-picked Chicago Park District administration want to close Meigs Field on September 30 and build a $27 million, bond-financed nature park.    Gov. Jim Edgar, a regular user of the airport, wants to keep it open, contending that the facility, mainly used by corporate jets and private plane owners, is essential for the city and state economy.   "We're trying to stop the city from shooting itself in the economic foot," said Gary Mack, Edgar's spokesman.   The battle over Meigs Field is just the latest in several pending legal actions involving Chicago-area airports, which can be traced back to prodding by federal aviation officials looking to relieve air-traffic congestion in the region.    On Wednesday, the Chicago City Council voted in favor of the park plan.   That triggered the state's filing of a petition in the Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday seeking to block its demolition and authorize the Illinois Department of Transportation to take over the facility.   The state also joined a lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court by a group of pilots and plane owners seeking to keep the airport open.    "The fact that the state filed three separate lawsuits in three different forums on the same subject reflects desperation rather than confidence," said city corporation counsel Susan Sher in a statement.   The root of the wars can be traced to the failure of a Daley and Edgar-supported plan to build a $10.8 billion, largely bond-financed airport on the city's southeast side.   The plan, a response to federal pressure, died a quick death in the Illinois General Assembly in 1992.   Later that year, Edgar proposed building an airport in Peotone, a town about 35 miles southwest of Chicago.    Indeed, lawmakers in the Republican-controlled General Assembly introduced a bill last year seeking to create a state-dominated regional airport authority, which would own and control Chicago's airports, as well as build the Peotone facility.   That move was met with the expeditious signing of a bi-state regional airport authority pact between Chicago and Gary, Ind.   With the battle lines now crossing state lines, Edgar shot back with a lawsuit in U.S. District Court seeking to nullify the bi-state agreement.    Though legislative attempts at creating an in-state regional airport authority proved unsuccessful, lawmakers passed a bill requiring the Illinois auditor general to audit Chicago's airports.   On Monday, Chicago filed a lawsuit that contended the auditor's oversight only extended to the airports' use of state dollars, of which "only a miniscule amount" was received by the airports, according to the city's law department.   Meanwhile, other aeronautic-related lawsuits have been filed.   The Illinois Department of Transportation in July 1995 sued Chicago and the Federal Aviation Administration challenging Chicago's sharing of passenger facility charge revenues with the Gary Regional Airport.   Last October, three Republican-run Chicago suburbs near O'Hare Airport filed a lawsuit claiming the city had failed to seek or receive state approval for hundreds of millions of dollars of improvements to the airport since 1972.   In addition, Illinois filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court charging that Chicago breached its contract with the state that requires the city to operate Meigs Field for 20 years after the receipt of state improvement grants for the facility or until the useful life of those improvements has ended.   For its part, Chicago called the lawsuits "a waste of taxpayers money." 
13525 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Courtyard by Marriott, Marriott's hotel chain for business travelers, has agreed to make it easier for disabled customers to get rooms with special access, for the Justice Department said Thursday.   The settlement, which affects about 200 hotels nationwide resolved allegations by an Oklahoma couple that the Marriott International subsidiary had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.   Courtyard by Marriott, whose bigger rooms have separate seating areas that can be used for meetings, has agreed to modify its reservations policy to make it easier to get accessible rooms, guarantee their availability and hold them until all others have been occupied, the department said.   The case involved David Williams of Tulsa, who had reserved an accessible room in June 1993 at the Courtyard by Marriott in Memphis.   When Williams and his wife, who uses a motorized scooter, checked into the room, they found it was not accessible, even though the staff continued to insist it was.   The department said a mistake by a clerk resulted in the couple getting a room next door to an accessible one.   The hotel chain agreed to make sure that every Courtyard hotel maintains an updated list of accessible rooms and to pay $17,500 in damages and a civil penalty.   In another case, the Justice Department said a Comfort Inn in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., near Walt Disney World, agreed to make its facilities accessible for people with disabilities. 
13526 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Grand Casinos Inc said Thursday it was named by some of its shareholders as a defendant in a purported class action lawsuit, alleging the company violated certain provisions of the federal securities laws.   The company said it believes the suit is without merit.   It said it plans to defend itself vigorously against the action.     -- Chicago newsdesk 312 408-8787 
13527 !C13 !C23 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  Doctors at the Food and Drug Administration said in a letter to a medical journal published Thursday that some men using the Merck & Co. prostate drug Proscar had developed enlarged breasts.   They said in the letter to the New England Journal of Medicine that the FDA had received reports of gynecomastia, which is associated with breast cancer, in 214 men who were taking the drug as treatment to shrink enlarged prostates.   It said the reports to the agency showed that two of the men taking the widely used drug had developed beast cancer.   The doctors said that gynecomastia and drugs that cause it have been linked to breast cancer in men.   But they said that of the two men who were given a diagnosis of cancer after starting Proscar therapy, breast cancer was probably present in one before the treatment was started.   They added that whether such Proscar and breast cancer in men can be linked is at present unknown and continued obvervation was needed. 
13528 !C12 !C18 !C181 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  An attorney for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines urged a judge on Thursday not to dismiss its lawsuit to void an anti-takeover device adopted by its partner, Northwest Airlines Corp. (Corrects nature of KLM's request)   But Northwest attorneys asked Vice Chancellor Myron of the Delaware Chancery Court to dismiss KLM's lawsuit, saying a ruling now on its "poison pill" defense would be premature.   Steele said he will decide later on whether to dismiss the lawsuit, filed late last year    Approval of the poison pill by Northwest's Board was "a sham", KLM attorney Frederick A.O. Schwarz argued during a hearing Thursday.   He charged that Northwest directors had "already decided not to let KLM exercise its option" to increase its Northwest holdings from 18.8 percent to 24 percent.   The pill makes it prohibitively expensive for anyone to buy more than 19 percent of Northwest shares.   Northwest attorney Melvyn Cantor argued that a ruling now on the validity of the pill would be premature because KLM cannot exercise the option until 1998.   By then, he pointed out, KLM could decide not to exercise the option at all.    "Practically speaking, is this a matter that needs to be adjudicated today or can it wait?"   Cantor asked.   "Airline stocks are notoriously volatile...the (KLM) option is worth considerably less today than it was eight or nine months ago", Cantor said.   He held out the possibility that Northwest's board may grant KLM an exemption from the pill, as it did to a group of shareholders headed by Northwest Chairman Alfred Checci; or that it may issue more stock, thus diluting KLM's holdings below the 19 percent which would trigger the poison pill.    "KLM says it has no intent of making a takeover" of Northwest, Cantor said.   Schwarz asserted that seven Northwest directors, including Checci and co-chairman Gary Wilson, "have a huge financial interest in defeating (KLM's) option" and are trying to control KLM's "untrammeled right" to exercise its option.   In 1989, KLM contributed $400 million of the $700 million Checci and Wilson used to leverage a $3.6 billion buyout of Northwest.   In 1992, KLM acquired the option to buy five percent of Northwest shares in 1998 by lending Northwest $250 million. 
13529 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Hurricane Hortense remains as a strong risk to shipping as it moves northward during the next 48-72 hours.   It is expected to be well east of the central Bahamas islands today, east of the North Carolina coast Friday and early Saturday and near Nova Scotia Canada Sunday.   Maximum sustained winds are 115 mph at this time.   They should continue at about this level into Friday and weaken slightly thereafter.    Tropical depression 24w continues fairly weak in the western South China Sea near central Vietnam.   This system is only a minor risk to shipping but could bring some locally heavy rains to the Vietnam coast.   Tropical depression 25W has formed east of Guam.   Top winds are near 35 mph and strengthening is expected this period as the storm likely becomes a Tropical Storm and possibly a Typhoon as the system tracks west-northwestward.   Tropical depression 26W has formed in the Philippine Sea.   This system should remain weak and is only a slight risk to shipping.    Hurricane Fausto continues as a major risk to shipping in the region south of and near southern Baja during the next 24 hours.   Maximum sustained winds with this system are currently 120 mph and may increase to 130 mph within 24 hours.   This system is also a major risk to property in southern Baja and in north Sinaloa and south Sonora Mexico.   Baja should be hard hit by rains, wind and a coastal storm surge.   The impact in Sinaloa and Sonora should be due to flooding rains and mudslides.   Southern Baja is expected to be hit within 36 hours.   Landfall in mainland Mexico is about 48 hours away. 
13530 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Northstar Health Services Inc said on Thursday it filed a suit against former company Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Mark DeSimone to recover millions of dollars allegedly misappropriated.   The company said in a statement the suit also included claims against Northstar's former independent accountants and auditor, Richard Eisner & Co, for alleged negligent and reckless conduct of its audits from fiscal 1992 to 1994.    The suit sought to "recover several million dollars in damages for monies allegedly wrongfully diverted, misappropriated and converted from Northstar by the defendants in an ongoing pattern of fraudulent and deceptive conduct," the company said.   It was filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and alleged repeated acts of mail, wire and securities fraud, Northstar said.    The complaint also alleged that DeSimone manipulated Northstar's reported earnings, Northstar said.   He allegedly used "fictitious consulting revenues from 1992 to 1995 to maintain the price of Northstar's stock in order to enable him to reap several million dollars in profits on the sale of virtually all of his Northstar stock in 1994 and 1995," the company said.   The company said the auditor's conduct "enabled the defendants to perpetrate and continue their fraudulent scheme and has resulted in substantial damages to the company and its shareholders," Northstar said.    Northstar Chairman and CEO Thomas Zaucha said in a statement the lawsuit came after months of investigation by an independent committee of the company's Board of Directors.   The committee was organized on March 19 after KPMG Peat Marwick, L.L.P. cited "matters involving management integrity," Northstar quoted KPMG as saying.   These concerns led KPMG to resign from the company's nearly completed audit, Northstar said.   Northstar's board of directors then sought and obtained the resignations of DeSimone and Michael Pitterich as directors of Northstar Health Services, the company said.    DeSimone refused to comment on the lawsuit and Richard A. Eisner & Co was not immediately available for comment.   -- New York newsdesk 859 1610 
13531 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York has found NAI Technologies Inc and two of its senior officials to be not liable in a class action suit, the company said on Thursday.    NAI Technologies said the jury found the company, its chairman and chief executive officer, Robert Carlson and executive vice president and chief financial officer, Richard Schneider, not liable in the securities fraud class action suit, entitled "TDA Trading Corp v Carlson et al".   The company specializes in electronics. 
13532 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GHEA  Erie County, N.Y. plans to sue the tobacco industry to recoup health care costs of smokers in the first such action by an east coast county, state legislators said on Thursday.   A group of Democratic New York State assemblymen along with former state attorney general Oliver Koppell told a news conference that Erie County Executive Dennis Gorski said he will direct his county attorney to file the suit.   Erie County is in upstate New York and its largest city is Buffalo.    Los Angeles has also sued the tobacco industry.   "It is disgraceful that counties of our state, with less substantial legal resources than those which reside in the Attorney General's office, are being forced to step into the vaccum caused by Mr. Vacco remaining on the sidelines," said Assemblyman Alexander Grannis.   "The state's chief legal officer is acting as if his first responsibilities in this matter are to the industry, rather than our citizens.   A spokesman for State Sen. Catherine Abate said she will introduce legislation on Friday to either force Vacco to file suit or explain to legislators why he has not. 
13533 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  The preliminary estimate for insured property damage from Hurrican Fran is $1.6 billion, according to the Property Claim Services, a division of American Insurance Services Group Inc.   The industry group said Hurrican Fran caused damage in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio.   About 500,000 claims are expected from the hurricane, which made landfall Sept 5.   About 350,000 of these claims will come from North Carolina, the group said. 
13534 !C24 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Big Smith Brands Inc said on Thursday it would close its manufacturing facilities in Garnett, Kansas, and Monett, Missouri, next month, affecting 200 workers at the plants.   Big Smith Brands said a court ruling that effectively ended a licensing agreement with Caterpillar Inc led to the plant closings.   Caterpillar claimed that Big Smith breached its licensing agreement.    Big Smith, a maker of work clothes, said the U.S. District Court of Central Illinois found that Caterpillar was entitled to terminate the deal because Big Smith did not provide Caterpillar with agreements from some of its distributors required under the license.   Big Smith representatives were not immediately available to say whether the closings would require the company to take a charge against earnings.   "We spent six years turning the Cat label into a significant revenue stream for Big Smith," S. Peter Liebowitz, Big Smith chief executive officer, said in a statement.   The extent of that revenue stream was not immediately available.   Big Smith currently has 600 full-time employees at four manufacturing plants in the United States.   Big Smith said it would consolidate the Garnett and Monett operations into the company's Oklahoma and Carthage facilities.   The company said it would continue to distribute the Cat brand until the end of the year. 
13535 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Tudor Investment Corp said Thursday it had agreed to pay an $800,000 penalty in settling a civil proceeding by the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding a series of short sales it had conducted two years ago.   Tudor said the commission found that the sale of certain stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average in March 1994 failed to comply with the "uptick rule" governing such sales.   In addition to the penalty, it said it had agreed not to violate the uptick rule again.   "The settlement will not have any impact on investment funds managed by Tudor, nor will it adversely affect Tudor's business or financial condition," it said. 
13536 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Allergan Inc and Microtech Medical Systems have settled a patent infringement suit they filed against Staar Surgical Co, Allergan said on Thursday.   The settlement also covers a separate state court action license dispute they filed against Staar.   Allergan and Microtech Medical had charged Staar with infringing a patent for a surgical injector device which is owned by Microtech and licensed exclusively to Allergan's Medical Optics division.   The companies did not disclose terms of the settlement other than to say it "confirms the enforceability" of the patent and amicably settles the litigation.   Staar signed a final consent judgment and received a license to the Bartell patent on terms that were not disclosed. 
13537 !C17 !C171 !C172 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Ponder Industries Inc said Thursday it had filed a counterclaim and third-party complaint against the holders of its convertible debentures in order to avoid having to convert those debentures into common stock.    The company said its move was in response to a suit that was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York by a holder of its debentures who claimed that it refused to make a conversion.   It said its complaint included an action against its former placement agent for breach of fiduciary duties and negligence.   It did not name the agent.    The company, which is seeking more than $1 million in damages, suspended earlier this month conversions of its eight-percent convertible debentures dated April 26, 1996, pending an investigation into "unusual trading activity" in its common stock.   It said the unusual activity was coupled with an increase in conversions of the debentures at conversion prices linked to the market price of the common stock.   The company said an unknown number of debentures holders violated the anti-fraud and anti-market manipulations provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, among other things.   It said it was negotiating with representatives of the holders "toward a possible amicable resolution".   Ponder is an oil field service company that clears obstructions in oil and gas wells. 
13538 !C13 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GHEA !GJOB  N.Y. State Gov George Pataki plans to sign the Health Care Reform Act, which will phase out state-set rates for hospital, according to prepared remarks by the governor.   Pataki said that starting Jan 1, 1997, commercial insurers, Blue Cross plans, workers' compensation, self-insured funds, and private payers will negotiate with hospitals on the rates to be paid.   Pataki's spokeswoman handed out his statement before a news conference which was expected to begin shortly at Manhattan's Mount Sinai Hospital.    The act also provides $1.385 billion to help offset how much hospital spend training physicians, according to a new formula.   --Joan Gralla, 212-859-1654 
13539 !E13 !E131 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT  Portuguese Minister of Finance Antonio Franco said inflation poses the biggest problem for his country in meeting Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) criteria.   "The most difficult (EMU) criteria we will have to face is inflation," Franco said, speaking to investors here about Portugal's soon to be released 1997 budget.   He disclosed budget targets to be presented to the Portuguese parliament on October 15.   Franco forecast a drop in the annual inflation rate to 2.5 percent in 1997 from an expected 3.1 to 3.2 percent in 1996.    He estimated that 0.5 percent of the 1996 inflation figure was due to the "mad cow" scare in Britain, which boosted prices in Portugal's beef market.   Franco said positive market reaction to Portugal's positioning for EMU membership has been reflected over the past 10 months in the narrowing of yield spreads between Portuguese and German sovereign debt.   "The market is giving a positive response by the movement in (Portuguese) interest rates, which has been spectacular," Franco said.   Other budget targets given by Franco included a drop in the deficit as a percentage of gross domestic product to 2.9 percent in 1997 from 4.2 percent in 1996.   He said public debt as a percentage of GDP is expected to fall to 68.0 percent in 1997 versus an estimated 70.4 percent at the end of 1996.   He forecast 3.0 percent GDP growth in 1997, which is roughly 0.5 percentage point above the forecasts of most economists.   -- Roanne Daniels 212-859-1660 
13540 !GCAT !GSPO  Former world number one Nick Price declared himself ready to play 36 holes a day in the second Presidents Cup matches, which start here at Lake Manassas on Friday.   "I'm pretty sure I'll be able to go 36 holes a day," Price said on the eve of the event, which matches the United States against an International team comprising players from the rest of the world, excluding Europe, in a copycat of the Ryder Cup.   Zimbabwean Price, part of the star-studded International team, pulled out of the Canadian Open after the first round last Thursday, due to a stubborn sinus infection.   It was the fourth event he had withdrawn from in three months, and he spent last weekend in bed at his Florida home.   "I've been on antibiotics for six days," he continued.   "As each day has gone on, the stronger I'm feeling.   But I'm still not 100 percent."   Price's wife Sue gave birth on Monday to their third child, a daughter they have named Kim.   With Price able to play, the International team is at full strength, unlike two years ago, when Greg Norman, Ernie Els and Masashi "Jumbo" Ozaki missed the inaugural event.   Norman was ill last time, Els had a prior commitment to play in Europe, while Ozaki played in Japan.   They replace Brad Hughes, Fulton Allem and Tsukasa Watanabe, who had a mediocre combined record of three wins, one tie and eight losses last time against the victorious U.S. team which won 20-12.   Six of the International members are among the top 20 in the Sony world rankings.   Ten members of the U.S. team are in the top 20.   The major difference between the Presidents Cup and the Ryder Cup is that the Presidents Cup plays five foursome and five fourball matches on each of the first two days, whereas the Ryder Cup has four matches.   Also, if the Presidents Cup ends in a 16-16 tie on Sunday, a play-off will ensue between one player from each team, nominated by the captain.   The International team is captained by five-time British Open champion Peter Thomson, who was a late replacement for fellow Australian David Graham.   Graham, who captained the International team last time, was deposed after a player mutiny two months ago.   Although the International players have been tight-lipped, it is no secret that they were not impressed by Graham's captaincy, and were caught by surprise when he was reappointed.   The U.S. captain is venerable Arnold Palmer, who succeeds Hale Irwin.   Draw for Friday's morning fourballs: Fred Couples and Davis Love (U.S.) vs Greg Norman and Robert Allenby (International); Scott Hoch and Mark Brooks vs Ernie Els and Mark McNulty; Phil Mickelson and Corey Pavin vs Vijay Singh and Masashi "Jumbo" Ozaki; Mark O'Meara and David Duval vs Steve Elkington and Frank Nobilo; Tom Lehman and Steve Stricker vs Nick Price and Peter Senior.   Sitting out - Justin Leonard, Kenny Perry (U.S.), David Frost, Craig Parry (International). 
13541 !GCAT !GSPO  Bernhard Langer resorted to a broom-handled putter on Thursday in his latest effort to eradicate his career-long problem.   The transformation was immediate as he finished just two off the pace in the opening round of the Lancome Trophy.   Langer's three-under-par 67 was spiced with five birdie putts on the front nine, one from 18 feet and another from 15 feet.   Only a week ago the German missed the cut at the European Masters because he putted poorly.   "I finally had the guts to do it," said Langer.   He said had been thinking of the switch for some time after a succession of bad displays with his orthodox putter but unorthodox putting grip this year.   "I just want to score well.   I'll use anything to get the ball in the hole.   That is what the game is about," he said.   "It feels awkward but as long as it works reasonably, it stays in the bag."   Three times in his long career, Langer has overcome attacks of the "yips", an uncontrollable muscular spasm, while putting.   For the last few years he has done well with his unorthodox grip but even that has let him down now and he tried the long club in Florida earlier in the year.   "It was 46 inches long, too short, and I did not like it.   Now after considering it again I have one 48 inches long and that it what I am using," he said.   It is the same length as the one pioneered on the Tour by Ryder Cup team mate Sam Torrance and used by several other Europeans now.   "Why am I using it?   The other way was not working.   It has been on and off for a year," said Langer.   "I had the odd two or three rounds when I putted reasonably well but the majority of days I was not putting well.   "I felt I was giving away two to four shots a round.   That is too much."   Now he hopes the change will help him extend his present record of 17 successive years with at least one victory on the European Tour. 
13542 !GCAT !GSPO  Lineup for   Friday's four-balls at the Presidents Cup match play   tournament between the United States and the International   team (U.S. team listed first)   Four-Ball (best ball)   Fred Couples and Davis Love vs Greg Norman (Australia) and   Robert Allenby (Australia)   Scott Hoch and Mark Brooks vs Ernie Els (South Africa) and   Mark McNulty (Zimbabwe)   Phil Mickelson and Corey Pavin vs Vijay Singh (Fiji) and   Jumbo Ozaki (Japan)   Mark O'Meara and David Duval vs Steve Elkington (Australia)   and Frank Nobilo (New Zealand)   Tom Lehman and Steve Stricker vs Nick Price (Zimbabwe) and   Peter Senior (Australia) 
13543 !GCAT !GSPO  Leading first round scores in the Lancome Trophy on Thursday (British unless stated):   65 Jamie Spence   66 Colin Montgomerie, Jesper Parnevik (Sweden), Andrew Coltart,   Stuart Cage   67 Darren Clarke, David Howell, Howard Clark, Peter Baker, Ian   Woosnam, Eduardo Romero (Argentina), Bernhard Langer   (Germany)   68 Ross Drummond, Tony Johnstone (Zimbabwe), Miguel Angel    Jimenez (Spain), Paul Broadhurst, Sam Torrance, Costantino   Rocca (Italy), Padraig Harrington (Ireland), Mark Roe,   Steve Webster   69 Silvio Grappasonni (Italy), Seve Ballesteros (Spain), Barry   Lane, Antoine Lebouc (France)   70 Richard Green (Australia), Peter Mitchell, Ronan Rafferty,   Rodger Davis (Australia), Pedro Linhart (Spain), Chip Beck   (U.S.), Ross McFarlane, Adam Hunter, Gary Orr 71 Tim Planchin (France), Per Haugsrud (Norway), Wayne Riley   (Australia), Paul Eales, Gordon Brand jnr, Fernando Roca   (Spain), Fabrice Tarnaud (France), Per-Ulrik Johansson    (Sweden), Philip Price, Robert Coles, Richard Boxall, Marc   Farry (France), Jose Coceres (Argentina), Mark Davis, Steven   Richardson, David Higgins (Ireland). 
13544 !GCAT !GSPO  Second round results at the Czech Open women's tennis tournament on Thursday (prefix number denotes seeding):   8-Henrietta Nagyova (Slovakia) beat Katarzyna Nowak (Poland) 6-1 6-4   Lenka Cenkova (Czech Rep) beat Janette Husarova (Slovakia) 7-5 6-1. 
13545 !GCAT !GSPO  Britain's Jamie Spence controlled his explosive temper to leave the entire European Ryder Cup team trailing in the Lancome Trophy first round on Thursday.   Spence, who is seeing a psychologist about his temperament problem, fired a five-under-par 65.   "He helps me control my mind.   I have a hell of a temper on me and he helps channel the aggression into other areas," he said.   It's a long process working out why you get annoyed."   Nick Faldo, Europe's hero in their victory over the Americans last year, blocked countless shots to the right as he carded a three-over 73.   He will need a substantial improvement on Friday to make the halfway cut.   But Colin Montgomerie, on course to stay top of the Tour money list for a fourth successive year, sustained his superb recent form with a 66.   Closest rival Ian Woosnam returned a 67 despite a stiff neck for which he had immediate physiotherapy after his round.   Bernhard Langer, another Ryder Cup veteran, showed signs of a belated improvement to his poor season with a 67, aided by a broom-handled putter.   The German badly wants to extend his record run of a European tournament victory in each of the last 17 years.    Faldo bogeyed the first and third holes, recovered to level par by the 10th, but bogeyed the long 16th and double-bogeyed the short closing hole.   He hit his second shot at 16 into a grove against a tree right of the green and had to play a backward wedge to the fairway before chipping to 20 feet and two-putting.   His tee shot at the last found the lake beside the green.   "My apologies to the press.   I'm off to practice.   I'm blocking everything right," he said.   Montgomerie had to share second place with U.S.-based Swede Jesper Parnevik and Britons Stuart Cage and Andrew Coltart.   But he was pleased with his 66 after his record-breaking 61- 63 finish which won last week's European Masters in Switzerland but left him feeling mentally drained.   Montgomerie, having failed to realise his main aim of winning a major title this year, is so determined to retain the Order of Merit title he is adding to his schedule of late-season events.   "I'm playing well, so why not go for it?   I'm only 33, the rewards are great so I may as well take advantage of the opportunity," he said.   Starting at the 10th, he was two-under through 11 holes, then missed an 18-inch par putt at the fourth, his 13th.   "I was annoyed.   I don't like throwing shots away and you can't afford it in a field of this quality," he said.   He recovered immediately with a 20-foot birdie putt at the next, then birdied the last two holes with putts from 20 feet at the long eighth and another 20-footer on the last.   Parnevik, also starting at the 10th, had six birdies and two bogeys, holing four birdie putts of between 10 and 25 feet.   Woosnam, who trails Montgomerie by 60,000 pounds on the money list, said a sore neck he has been suffering from all week had stiffened up on the front nine.   He was one over for the front nine but took some aspirin and immediately improved with three successive birdies from the 11th and another at the 16th.   Three were the product of 12-foot putts and he saved par at the last from eight feet.   "I hope my neck and back are not like this for the rest of the season," he said, adding he will have more treatment before his second round on Friday morning.   Langer made five birdie putts with his new putter - the type pioneered by Sam Torrance - after switching to it when he missed last week's cut at the European Masters by putting poorly.   "As long as it works reasonably, it stays in the bag," said Langer, who bogeyed two holes on the back nine after poor drives.   Of the other Ryder Cup players, Howard Clark had 67, Sam Torrance and Costantino Rocca 68 and the captain for 1997, Seve Ballesteros, a 69.   The Spaniard's round followed his fourth-place finish last Sunday, his best since he won the 1995 Spanish Open 16 months ago.   "Certain parts of my game are not yet right.   I didn't play particularly well but I scored well," said Ballesteros, who bogeyed the first two holes of his round. 
13546 !GCAT !GSPO  Colin Montgomerie turned his game up a gear with three birdies in the last five holes to maintain his great form in the opening round of the Lancome Trophy on Thursday.   Fresh from his record-breaking European Masters victory in Switzerland on Sunday, when he shot 61-63 in the final two rounds, Montgomerie compiled a four-under-par 66 over the revised and improved layout near Versailles.   Afterwards the Scot said he was determined to win the European Order of Merit, which he leads, for a fourth successive time.   "It means a busy schedule, but I'm playing well, so why not go for it?   I'm only 33, the rewards are great so I may as well take advantage of the opportunity," he said.   He will almost definitely play the German Masters next month to boost his chances.   He currently leads Ian Woosnam by some 60,000 pounds ($93,000).    Montgomerie's round left him a shot behind British pace-setter Jamie Spence, who birdied four holes out of six on the front nine and then holed a 50-foot birdie putt at the 13th on the way to a 65.   U.S.-based Swede Jesper Parnevik joined Montgomerie in second place with a 66.   Other big names, including Nick Faldo, Woosnam and Bernhard Langer, were late starters.   Montgomerie, who began his round at the 10th, played indifferently for 10 holes and complained later that he felt mentally tired after his exertions last week.   But after missing an 18-inch putt to bogey the fourth -- his 13th -- he lifted his game immediately.   He sank a 20-footer for birdie at the next, reached the green at the long eighth and two-putted for birdie and closed with another birdie, again from 20 feet.   "The fourth was mental fatigue and I was annoyed.   It was a tap-in.   But I got it back at the next.   A 66 is okay and I still feel very confident," he said.   Spence has been working with a psychologist in recent weeks since he failed to qualify for the British Open.   "I have a hell of a temper in me and he is helping me control my mind by working out why it is I get so angry," he said.   Parnevik, runner-up in the 1994 British Open, has been in fine form for the last month on the U.S. Tour, where he is based and where he almost won the Greater Milwaukee Open two weeks ago.   He also started at the 10th and the highlights of his round were birdie putts of 12 and 25 feet at the first and second holes, followed by one of 15 feet at the sixth.   Ryder Cup captain Seve Ballesteros continued the form he showed in Switzerland where his joint fourth-place finish was his best since he won the 1995 Spanish Open 16 months ago.   Despite bogeys at his first two holes, he battled back to a one-under-par 69 with birdies at the last two. 
13547 !GCAT !GSPO  Ajax Amsterdam dispelled the gloom surrounding their early season domestic form on Wednesday night with a performance demonstrating they are capable of building another European Cup-winning team.   The champions' league group A match at the Abbe Deschamps ground was expected to launch Auxerre into their first European Cup with a victory.   Instead it produced an Ajax metamorphosis in a 1-0 Dutch win.   From a side who have slumped dramatically on the domestic front, Ajax coach Louis van Gaal coaxed a commanding performance to build on.   "Overall, I think we were rewarded for the way we played tonight, even if (Auxerre wings Bernard) Diomede and (Abdelhafid) Tasfaout managed to win some duels," said van Gaal.   He is not, however, going to be deluded into thinking the bad times are entirely over for a team who, since reaching the last two European Cup finals, have suffered an inordinate number of injuries to leading players plus the loss of four to Italian and Spanish clubs in the post-Bosman era.   Captain Frank de Boer said: "I don't think we can draw conclusions.   Tonight, we progressed with five players with only modest European Cup experience."   De Boer was referring to 19-year-old Mario Melchiot at the back, tricky Nigerian winger Tajani Babangida, midfielder Mariano Juan, a World Youth Cup winner with Argentina early in the year, and substitutes Rody Turpijn and Menno Willem.   The tall and spindly Melchiot had some difficulty with his man Lilian Laslandes in the second half when Auxerre took a more aggressive stance, but it was too little too late for the French champions, who are struggling to cover the loss to Deportivo La Coruna of French international midfielder Corentin Martins.   Babangida's electric running down the wing, which brought Jari Litmanen's early goal, was reminiscent of Marc Overmars, out of sorts on the other flank in his first European match since being cut down by injury in December.   De Boer said: "I think Auxerre made a mistake in giving Jari Litmanen too much freedom.   At home in the Netherlands, our rivals systematically block Jari, who is our free man."   Litmanen could have scored again in the second half and also launched both Babangida and Ronald de Boer into scoring positions from which they narrowly missed.   Auxerre goalkeeper Lionel Charbonnier also made some fine saves.   Van Gaal pointed out that a key difference in the way the two sides play is that while Frank de Boer stands in front of the Ajax back line of three, Auxerre's Australian libero Ned Zelic plays behind the defence.   Zelic, although troubled by Ajax's variety of movement, has admirably filed the gap left by Laurent Blanc, now with Barcelona, but his few telling sorties into Ajax territory indicated Auxerre should ecourage him to attack more.   The Austalian was only narrowly off target with a header and a long range shot in the second half. 
13548 !GCAT !GSPO  Reigning 500 cc world champion Michael Doohan hopes not only to retain his title at the Grand Prix of Catalonia this weekend but also put heir-apparent Alex Criville in his place.   Although second will be enough for Doohan to take his third consecutive championship -- and to be crowned by King Juan Carlos of Spain -- the Australian is keen to re-assert control over what was until recently his personal domain.   The Spaniard won in Austria and the Czech Republic and only rain at Imola saved Doohan from another last-lap Criville attack in the Italian Grand Prix.   Criville, who grew up close to the Montmelo circuit, will be backed by 140,000 locals in Sunday's race.   Similar support in the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez cost Criville victory when fans rushing on to the circuit made the Spaniard slow into the final bend, allowing the Australian to overtake.   Criville showed his inexperience when he fell trying to get back at Doohan but has matured rapidly over a season in which the championship has been reduced to a two-man race.   "The pressure comes from me, the fans just give me the incentive to do things better," said Criville, who was delighted to hear that King Juan Carlos -- himself the owner of several motorbikes -- will be at the race.   "It's an honour for me," said Criville.   The 57-point gap between the two Honda riders with only three grands prix left, including Sunday, means the Spaniard's realistic hopes for the championship must be postponed until next year.   Criville says he is in tip-top condition despite a minor scare on Tuesday, when he needed a stitch in his elbow after a mountain-bike accident.   In the 250 race, reigning champion Max Biaggi hopes to get back to business after falling at Imola, where German rider Ralf Waldmann went on to win and close the gap on the Italian to 12 points.   Japanese riders continue to dominate the hotly-contested 125 cc competition, with just three points separating Haruchita Aoki from Masaki Tokudome. 
13549 !GCAT !GSPO  Nick Faldo does not believe the European team will have a significant advantage over the Americans in next year's Ryder Cup just because they will be more familiar with the Valderrama course in Spain.   Europe are seen by many as favourites to keep the trophy they won back from the United States at Oak Hill last year.   The rationale is that European players have competed in the season-ending Volvo Masters there for a number of years while the Americans will scarcely have seen the course when they arrive for the match.   "Americans play a lot of courses like Valderrama," said Faldo, who now bases himself in the United States and plays their tour full time.   He won the U.S. Masters for the third time this year.   He said the Valderrama course itself, rated the best in Europe for many years, "might not bother the Americans much".   "But I think the elements might make a difference, like the breeze that can spring up there in the afternoon.   The Americans might not have the basic experience of things like that and local knowledge could make a difference," he said.   Faldo, one of the heroes of Europe's victory last year after his brilliant last-hole triumph over Curtis Strange in the singles, rarely plays in Europe now.   He has returned for the Lancome Trophy starting on Thursday and next week's Loch Lomond Invitational in Scotland.   He feels there is an adjustment to be made when he returns to Europe.   "You have to play more aggressively in America.   Ninety per cent of the time you have to go for the pin no matter where it is because other guys are going for it," he said.   "If you're a little bit off and you have to go for it, that is when you shoot bad scores.   "But as long as you are switched on and play smart you should be able to adapt." 
13550 !GCAT !GSPO  Collated results of European Cup Winners' Cup first round, first leg matches on Thursday:   In Eschen, Liechtenstein:    FC Vaduz (Liechtenstein) 0 Paris Saint-Germain (France) 4 (halftime 0-3)   Scorers: Paul Le Guen (12th minute), Julio Cesar Dely Valdes (40th), Leonardo (44th), Bernard Allou (73rd)   Attendance: 1,900   In Moscow:    Lokomotiv Moscow (Russia) 1 Varteks Varadzin (Croatia) 0 (1-0)   Scorer: Igor Cherevchenko (12th)   Attendance: 5,000   In Batumi:    Dynamo Batumi (Georgia) 1 PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands) 1 (1-1)   Scorers:   Dynamo - Amiran Mudjiri (21st)   PSV - Luc Nilis (penalty, 39th)   Attendance: 20,000   In Anjalankoski, Finland:   MyPa-47 (Finland) 0 Liverpool (England) 1 (0-0)   Scorer: Stig-Inge Bjornebye (61st)   Attendance: 5,500   In Aarhus:    Aarhus (Denmark) 1 Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia) 1 (1-0)   Scorers:   Aarhus - Lennart Bak (15th)   Olimpija - Kliton Bozgo (57th)   Attendance: 5,900   In Bistrita, Romania:   Gloria Bistrita (Romania) 1 Fiorentina (Italy) 1 (1-0)   Scorers:   Gloria Bistrita - Ilie Lazar (3rd)   Fiorentina - Gabriel Omar Batistuta (53rd)   Attendance: 10,000   In Sion:   Sion (Switzerland) 2 Niva Vinnitza (Ukraine) 0 (0-0)   Scorers: Christian Colombo (50th), Christophe Bonvin (85th)   Attendance: 6,500   In Chisinau:    Constructorul Chisinau (Moldova) 0 Galatasaray (Turkey) 1 (0-0)   Scorer: Adrian Knup (73rd)   Attendance: 7,000   In Bruges:    Cercle Brugge (Belgium) 3 Brann Bergen (Norway) 2 (3-1)   Scorers:   Cercle Brugge - Michael Gernsoe (6th), Dominique Vanmaele (27th), Alex Camerman (32nd)   Brann Bergen - Tor Andre Flo (38th), Claus Eftevaag (90th, penalty)   Attendance: 3,500   In Athens:   AEK Athens (Greece) 1 Chemlon Humenne (Slovakia) 0 (1-0)   Scorers: Daniel Lima Batista (45th)   Attendance: 25,000   In Graz:    Sturm Graz (Austria) 2 Sparta Prague (Czech Rep) 2 (1-0)   Scorers:   Sturm Graz - Ivica Vastic (8th), Roman Maehlich (85th)   Sparta Prague - Tomas Repka (57th), Lokvenc (72nd)   Attendance: 5,000   In Nimes:    Nimes (France) 3 Kispest Honved (Hungary) 1 (0-0)   Scorers:   Nimes - Cyril Jeunechamp (64th), Antoine Prejet (75h), Gregory Meilhac (87th)   Honved - Mihaly Toth (69th)   Attendance: 9,000   In Kaiserslautern:    Kaiserslautern (Germany) 1 Red Star Belgrade (Yugoslavia) 0 (0-0)   Scorer: Uwe Wegmann (59th)   Attendance: 26,000   In Reykjavik:    Reykjavik (Iceland) 0 Solna (Sweden) 1 (0-0)   Scorer: Krister Nordin (80th)   Attendance: 3,500   In Barcelona:   Barcelona (Spain) 2 AEK Larnaca (Cyprus) 0 (1-0)   Scorer: Ronaldo (18th, 77th)   Attendance: 23,000   In Lisbon:   Benfica (Portugal) 5 Ruch Chorzow (Poland) 1 (3-0)   Scorers:   Benfica - Osmar Donizete (24th), Joao Pinto (25th), Jamir Gomes (31st), Valdo Filho (68th, 89th)   Chorzow - Dariusz Gesior (73rd)   Attendance: 17,000 
13551 !GCAT !GSPO  Barcelona's expensive summer signing Ronaldo spared his new team's blushes by scoring both their goals in a disappointing 2-0 win over Cypriot minnows AEK Larnaca in the European Cup Winners Cup on Thursday.   Ronaldo, who will be 20 next week, scored in the 18th and 77th minutes as the the Spanish club, who have won the trophy three times, wasted countless chances.   The night was full of problems for Barcelona who were forced to switch the match from their Nou Camp stadium to the Montjuic Stadium, the main venue for the 1992 Olympics, shortly before kick-off because of pitch problems.   Cup holders Paris Saint-Germain had no problems against another small club, routing FC Vaduz of Leichtenstein 4-0 in their first defence of the trophy.   Defender Paul Le Guen headed PSG in front in the 12th minute and further goals followed from Julio Cesar Dely Valdes, Leonardo and substitute Bernard Allou.   Liverpool, looking to recapture their former European glories, overcame Finnish part-timers My-Pa 47 1-0 thanks to fierce 61st minute drive from Norwegian international defender Stig-Inge Bjornebye, marking his first European match for Liverpool with only his second goal in four years at the club.   Lokomotiv Moscow, reduced to 10 men in the 61st minute when Yevgeny Kharlachev was sent off for a second bookable offence, held on to beat Croatia's Varteks Varadzin 1-0 in Moscow.   Lokomotiv took the lead in the 12th minute when Igor Cherevchenko ran on to a perfectly-weighted pass down the middle, headed the ball down and shot home.   Kaiserslautern of the German second division dominated the second half against Red Star Belgrade and were unlucky to come away with no more than a 1-0 win.   Uwe Wegmann headed in a cross from Thomas Riedl in the 59th minute to mark the start of a sustained period of pressure from Kaiserslautern, relegated last season and now managed by former Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich coach Otto Rehhagel.   Kaiserslautern had plenty of chances to score more and Rehhagel said afterwards: "With a 2-0 win we would have had some peace of mind going to Belgrade.   Now we'll have to go through hell in front of 80,000 fans." 
13552 !GCAT !GSPO  Highlights of European Cup Winners' Cup first round, first leg matches on Thursday:   Paris Saint-Germain began their defence of the European Cup Winners' Cup with a leisurely stroll to a 4-0 first round, first leg victory over FC Vaduz in Liechtenstein on Thursday.   Defender Paul Le Guen put them in front with a header from an inswinging corner from the right by Brazilian Leonardo in the 12th minute.   The outclassed Vaduz part-timers' hopes of changing ends only one goal down were dashed with two more in the last five minutes of the first half, a header by Julio Cesar Dely Valdes and a dipping shot from the edge of the box by Leonardo.   Substitute Bernard Allou added a fourth goal midway through the second half with the holders attacking the goal in front of the giant cross built for the papal visit a few years ago in the tiny Eschen stadium.   - - - -   Lokomotiv Moscow, reduced to 10 men in the 61st minute when Yevgeny Kharlachev was sent off for a second bookable offence, held on to beat Croatia's Varteks Varadzin 1-0 in Moscow.   Lokomotiv took the lead in the 12th minute.   Igor Cherevchenko ran on to a perfectly-weighted pass down the middle, headed the ball down and shot home.   - - - -   Norwegian international defender Stig-Inge Bjornebye crowned his first European match for Liverpool by scoring the winning goal in their 1-0 win over My-Pa 47 in the Cup Winners Cup on Thursday.   Bjornebye, 26, who scored his first ever goal after four seasons at Liverpool last month, added a second when he smashed home a left-foot shot from the edge of the box after 61 minutes to give the English side a slender, but probably vital advantage for the second leg of this first round tie at Anfield in two weeks time.   But Liverpool, no longer the force they were in Europe when they won the Champions Cup four times between 1977 and 1984, struggled for periods against the Finnish part-timers, most of whom are students or workers in the local paper mill.   Liverpool went close in the first half with striker Robbie Fowler having a close-range shot scrambled off the line and fellow forward Stan Collymore seeing a near-post flick slide inches wide just before halftime.   My-Pa were by no means overawed by their opponents' reputation and produced several threatening breaks with striker Niclas Gronholm and defender Toni Huttunen both latching on to accurate long balls from a well-organised midfield.   Liverpool became increasingly dominant as the match progressed, and in the end were unlucky not to add two more with midfielders Jason McAteer and Michael Thomas both hitting the woodwork before the final whistle.   - - - -   French third division club Nimes, who qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup despite losing in the French Cup final to eventual champions Auxerre, delighted their fans by beating Kispest Honved 3-1.   Of the five French clubs playing at home this week in European club competitions, Nimes were the only winners.   Honved were reduced to 10 men just before halftime when defender Philip Tarlue was sent off for a second bookable offence.   Nimes went ahead after 64 minutes with a close-range effort from Cyril Jeunechamp.   Honved equalised five minutes later through Mihaly Toth, who capitalised on a blunder by Nimes defender Antoine Prejet.   But Prejet made amends by heading his side back in front in the 75th minute.   Substitute Gregory Meilhac put the issue beyond doubt with a spectacular volley three minutes from time.   - - - -   Kaiserslautern of the German second division dominated the second half against Red Star Belgrade and were unlucky to come away with no more than a 1-0 win.   Uwe Wegmann headed in a cross from Thomas Riedl in the 59th minute to mark the start of a sustained period of pressure from Kaiserslautern, relegated last season and now managed by former Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich coach Otto Rehhagel.   They should have gone further ahead minutes later when Belgrade keeper Milojevic failed to control a backpass.   Striker Juergen Rische pounced but could only fire a hasty shot over the goal.   He had another chance with a free header from four metres out, but directed the ball straight at the keeper with two minutes left.   "With a 2-0 win we would have had some peace of mind going to Belgrade," Rehhagel said.   "Now we'll have to go through hell in front of 80,000 fans."    - - - -   Sturm Graz failed to benefit from home advantage when they were held to a 2-2 draw by Sparta Prague in the first leg of their Cup Winners Cup first round tie.   Graz, who took the lead after eight minutes through man-of-the-match Ivica Vastic, were five minutes from defeat before Roman Maehlich equalized.   In between those two goals Sparta scored through Tomas Repka who headed an equaliser after 57 minutes and substitute Vratislav Lokvenc who headed the Czechs in front in the 72nd minute just two minutes after coming on as a substitute for Josef Obajdin.   Maehlich gave Graz some hope for the second leg with his late goal which was created by Vastic.    - - - - Benfica routed Ruch Chorzow of Poland 5-1 in their Cup Winners' Cup match, with four of their goals scored by Brazilian players and the first three goals coming in a seven-minute burst in the first half.   Benfica went ahead after 24 minutes when newly signed Brazilian Osmar Donizete scored from a cross by Romanian midfielder Nica Panduru and they doubled their lead a minute later when captain Joao Pinto headed home.   Six minutes later Brazilian midfielder Jamir Gomes slammed the ball through a gap in the defensive wall from a free-kick to make it 3-0.   Brazilian striker Valdo then added two more in the second half -- a long powerful shot from outside the box in the 68th minute and a free kick that bounced into the net off the crossbar in the last minute.   Chorzow's Swedish international striker Dariusz Gesior scolred his side's only goal with a 73rd minute header. 
13553 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of European Cup Winners' Cup first round, first leg matches on Thursday:   In Eschen, Liechtenstein:    FC Vaduz (Liechtenstein) 0 Paris Saint-Germain (France) 4 (halftime 0-3)   Scorers: Paul Le Guen (12th minute), Julio Cesar Dely Valdes (40th), Leonardo (44th), Bernard Allou (73rd)   Attendance: 1,900   In Moscow: Lokomotiv Moscow (Russia) 1 Varteks Varadzin (Croatia) 0 (1-0)   Scorer: Igor Cherevchenko (12th)   Attendance: 5,000   In Batumi: Dynamo Batumi (Georgia) 1 PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands) 1 (1-1)   Scorers:   Dynamo - Amiran Mudjiri (21st)   PSV - Luc Nilis (penalty, 39th)   Attendance: 20,000   In Anjalankoski, Finland:   MyPa-47 (Finland) 0 Liverpool (England) 1 (0-0)   Scorer: Stig-Inge Bjornebye (61st)   Attendance: 5,500    In Aarhus: Aarhus (Denmark) 1 Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia)   1 (1-0)   Scorers:   Aarhus - Lennart Bak (15th)   Olimpija - Kliton Bozgo (57th)   Attendance: 5,900 
13554 !GCAT !GSPO  Trinidadian Phil Simmons celebrated the award of a new two-year contract with Leicestershire on Thursday to shorten the odds on his side winning this season's English county championship.   Simmons claimed a career-best six for 14 as bottom club Durham collapsed to 126 all out to give Leicestershire maximum bowling points in their penultimate championship match.   They then accelerated to 253 for five at the close, a position of strength in one of the tightest title races in recent years, with Simmons unbeaten on 28.   Surrey, in second place a point behind Leicestershire before the start of play, endured a less successful day against Glamorgan in Cardiff as the home side reached 351 for nine.   Fourth-placed Essex were also on the receiving end of a big total as Sussex amassed 361 for eight, but fellow contenders Derbyshire did their best to keep the pressure on.   They were bowled out for 242 by Warwickshire, relying heavily on Chris Adams who scored 80, but Phil DeFreitas then struck back with four wickets to restrict the visiting side back to 131 for five.   Kent, also in with an outside chance if the leaders falter, piled up 376 for four against Hampshire with another West Indian, Carl Hooper, making 80 and Nigel Llong contributing an unbeaten 105.   Lancashire's Jason Gallian, named in the England A team to tour Australia where he grew up, made 113 for Lancashire as they made 337 for eight against Northamptonshire. 
13555 !GCAT !GSPO  Close of play scores on the first day of four-day English county championship matches on Thursday:   At Derby: Derbyshire 242 (J.Adams 80), Warwickshire 131-5 (N.Knight 54)   At Chester-le-Street: Durham 126 (P.Simmons 6-14), Leicestershire 253-5 (D.Maddy 82, B.Smith 70)   At Scarborough: Nottingham 187, Yorkshire 163-2.   At Northampton: Lancashire 337-8 (J.Gallian 113) v Northamptonshire   At Worcester: Gloucestershire 326-9 (M.Alleyne 149, M.Lynch 70; T.Moody 5-66) v Worcestershire   At Uxbridge: Somerset 289-5 (P.Holloway 109 not out, K.Parsons 72) v Middlesex   At Cardiff: Glamorgan 351-9 (A.Dale 90, M.Maynard 82) v Surrey   At Canterbury: Kent 376-4 (N.Llong 105 not out, C.Hooper 84, T.Ward 79, M.Ealham 54 not out) v Hampshire   At Chelmsford: Sussex 361-8 (A.Wells 122, I.Salisbury 69 not out, N.Lenham 55) v Essex 
13556 !GCAT !GSPO  England's rugby union players have been offered international contracts worth up to 70,000 pounds ($109,000) for the coming season, almost double what they earned last year.   Rugby Football Union officials hope the offer, which comes a week after the England squad boycotted a national training session, will persuade the team not to align themselves with the senior English clubs threatening a breakaway from Twickenham.   Win bonuses will also be paid for the first time with players on the replacements' bench or representing England A earning reduced fees.   To allow the squad time to decide, next week's scheduled England training session has been cancelled. 
13557 !GCAT !GSPO  Five Manchester United youngsters, including three England internationals, have signed up with the club until 2001.   The five involved are full-back Gary Neville, his brother Philip, fellow England international David Beckham, midfielder Nicky Butt and striker Paul Scholes.   Their average age is around 21.   Manager Alex Ferguson's capture of the five on lengthy contracts ends speculation that his foreign recruitment might force some of them out.   "One or two of the lads were not happy at the speculation they were reading in the newspapers that they were supposed to be going places," Gary Neville said on Thursday.   "There were other stories that David Beckham and me and Philip were having problems with agents and stuff like that.   It was a load of nonsense.   We were delighted to sign."   He added: "I would sign a 10-year contract if it was put in front of me.   I just want to play for Manchester United and no other club."   Gary Neville, Beckham, and Butt all played in Wednesday's 1-0 European Champions League defeat by Juventus. 
13558 !GCAT !GSPO  AC Milan remain favourites to lift a record-equalling sixth European Cup despite losing 3-2 at home to Porto in their opening Champions' League match on Wednesday.   British bookmakers Ladbrokes quoted the Italian champions at 2/1, compared with 11/8 before Wednesday's match, with defending European champions Juventus 3/1 from 4/1 following their 1-0 win over Manchester United.   United, chasing their first European Cup since 1968, were pushed out to 6/1 from 5/1, while 1995 champions Ajax were quoted at 5/1 after beating Auxerre 1-0 in France.   Porto came in to 10/1 from 25/1 following their success in Italy, joining Atletico Madrid and Borrusia Dortmund, who both won their opening matches.   Glasgow Rangers slipped to 28/1 from 20/1 after their 3-0 defeat at Grasshopper Zurich.   Auxerre, in their first-ever European Cup campaign, stood at 40/1. 
13559 !GCAT !GSPO  He ran for his life and became the first black South African to win Olympic gold.   Now he is running for his life again -- away from his own destitute community, agents out for a quick buck and frenzied media hunts.   The diminutive Josia Thugwane, a security officer at a coal mine near a bleak town east of Johannesburg, began his long run to fame with daily jogs -- following no regimen or training in particular -- up and down mine dumps.   But with his surprising marathon win on the last day of the Olympics in Atlanta and the ensuing promise of big money, the unassuming 25-year-old has lost the uneventful life he desires.   "Now I live a life running away from people," he told reporters.   "My life is too complicated these days with everybody suddenly interested in me.   I cannot even train anymore."   He told Johannesburg's The Star newspaper the pressure had made him doubt his own ability.   "It seems as if maybe what I've done I might not be able to do again...It makes me very frustrated because at the moment I cannot do the thing that made me what I am today."   Thugwane's Olympic win thrilled the country.   He was the proof everyone was seeking, that ordinary people kept down by apartheid could rise to new heights in today's South Africa.   But now he finds life harder than ever and laments being chased by autograph hunters and function organisers.   "I don't feel differently but I can see in the papers and the TV and at the functions that now I am a big celebrity," he said.   "But then I also get reminded of where I come from -- right down there at the bottom of society."   It was from his impoverished community in Emzinon and the shack he called home that Thugwane and his family have had to flee after he received death threats.   He knows who the threats are from but declines to say.   Local media have speculated they could be from jealous neighbours or from an armed gang who hijacked his car in March, wounding the athlete who thought for a while he would never run again.   "What surprises me most is where I stay with my family.   It's not our home," he said about the temporary rented house inside the secure mine complex where he works.   "I originally lived in the township...but I had to move because some people didn't like the great thing that I have done.   They threatened to kill me, that is why I moved.   I ran away and I'm living a different life now."   Thugwane did not realise at first he was actually sitting on a gold mine of lucrative sponsorships, endorsements and appearance fees.   As a result, the symbol of black South Africa's sporting coming of age was dumped in a potentially explosive legal battle with a mysterious agent who signed him up the morning after he won gold.   Athletics South Africa (ASA) Secretary General Banele Sindani told a news conference this week that Thugwane no longer wanted to be associated with the agent.   "After winning the gold medal I was confused.   To be quite truthful I am not educated.   An agent called Mr Poso just appeared with papers and asked me to sign," Thugwane said.   ASA has now assumed a guardianship role for him, saying it was important to plan his activities carefully.   "There are many dubious characters out there who only see dollar signs when they look at him," Sidani said. 
13560 !GCAT !GSPO  Gloria Bistrita (Romania) and Fiorentina of Italy drew 1-1 (halftime 1-0) in the first leg, first round of European Cup Winnners Cup competition played in Bistrita on Friday.   Scorers:   Gloria Bistrita - Ilie Lazar (3rd)   Fiorentina - Gabriel Omar Batistuta (53rd)   Attendance: 10,000 
13561 !GCAT !GSPO  Second round results in the Romanian Open men's tennis tournament on Thursday (prefix number denotes seeding):   Christian Ruud (Norway) beat Thomas Johansson (Sweden) 6-4 6-1   8-Jiri Novak (Czech Republic) beat Lionel Roux (France) 6-4 7-6 (7-3)   Andrei Pavel (Romania) beat Johan van Herk (Belgium) 6-2 6-2    Dinu Pescariu (Romania) beat 7-Gilbert Schaller (Austria) 4-6 6-4 6-2. 
13562 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of South American   Supercup and Conmebol Cup matches played this week:   Supercup first round, first leg:   In Buenos Aires:    Independiente (Argentina) 0 Flamengo (Brazil) 0   In Buenos Aires:    River Plate (Argentina) 2 Atletico Nacional (Colombia) 2   (2-1)   Scorers:   River Plate - Julio Cruz (14th minute), Roberto Montserrat   (35th)   Atletico Nacional - Francisco Monteiro (10th), Jairo Trellez   (57th)   In Buenos Aires:   Boca Juniors (Argentina) 1 Racing Club (Argentina) 1 (0-1)   Boca Juniors - Silvio Carrario (90th)   Racing Club - Fernando Quiroz (9th)   Standings (tabulated - played, won, drawn, lost, goals for,   goals against, points):    Boca Juniors  2 1 1 0 3 1 3    Racing Club  2 1 1 0 3 1 3   Argentinos Juniors 2 1 1 0 0 4 0   Note: Winner qualifies for second round.   All ties on a   home-and-away basis   Played Tuesday:   In Rivera, Uruguay:    Penarol (Uruguay) 1 Santos (Brazil) 2 (1-0)   Scorers:   Penarol - Oscar Aguirregaray (45th)   Santos - Jamelli (58th), Roberto (90th)   Conmebol Cup first round, first leg:   In Lima:    Alianza (Peru) 2 Emelec (Ecuador) 1 (1-0)   Scorers:   Alianza - Hamilton Careca (14th), Andres Gonzalez (78th)   Emelec - Oscar Juarez (66th). 
13563 !GCAT !GSPO  Finn Tommi Makinen is on the verge of his first world rally championship.   If Spain's Carlos Sainz and Swede Kenneth Eriksson, his nearest pursuers, fail on the four-day rally of Australia, which starts on Friday, Makinen could grab the crown with two events in hand.   Mitsubishi driver Makinen has stormed to victory in four of the six rounds of this year's championship and his team won conclusively in Australia last year.   Makinen, with 95 points, leads nearest rival Sainz, by 32.   If Sainz fails to finish, Makinen can afford to drop to third and still clinch the title, or even settle for sixth place if Eriksson drops out as well.   On current form, Makinen is favourite with his most dangerous rival likely to be world champion Colin McRae.   The Scot will have to go on the attack again despite three accidents in the last four rallies to give Subaru a fighting chance of retaining the manufacturers' title.   McRae and Eriksson, last year's victor, are backed by Italian newcomer Piero Liatti in the strongest line-up fielded by any team.   Subaru's confidence has been boosted by suspension improvements following recent tests in Australia.   Ford look to Sainz and Belgian Bruno Thiry but poor reliability recently has hampered the Escorts despite their growing speed.   If they fail to exploit their potential, the Fords may struggle to beat Britain's Richard Burns who could be a formidable opponent after victory on the Rally of New Zealand for Mitsubishi.   The rally is one of the most demanding in the championship.   High speeds, narrow roads bordered by dense forests and a uniquely slippery covering of gravel place a premium on nerve and previous experience.   Heavy rain earlier this week may force the organisers to shorten the 1,560km event. 
13564 !GCAT !GSPO  Australia suffered a blow in their bid to rejoin Davis Cup's elite world group on Thursday when injury forced the breakup of specialist doubles pair Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde for the tie against Croatia.   Captain John Newcombe said Woodbridge had withdrawn from next week's World Group qualifying tie in Split on September 20-22 to undergo minor surgery for an unspecified medical problem.   "It is a blow not to have Todd for the doubles, but we are fortunate to have a number of good doubles players on the team," Newcombe said in a statement released by Tennis Australia.   Woodforde and Woodbridge, the world's top-ranked pair, have won seven Grand Slam titles, including the defence of their U.S. Open crown last week.   Newcombe said Woodforde would probably team up with Pat Rafter in the doubles for the away tie on clay.   "Woodbridge saw a specialist who advised that, although the matter is not serious, it needed to be addressed," the statement said.   "He will be back in action within two weeks."   Croatia, expected to be led by big-serving world number four Goran Ivanisevic, are hosting the tie on clay, with the winner earning a berth in the Davis Cup world group next year.   Ivanisevic withdrew from the Romananian Open in Bucharest on Wednesday after suffering a shoulder injury, and it is not clear whether he will play in the tie.   Newcombe, who has hinted at quitting if his side fail to beat Croatia, said Jason Stoltenberg and Mark Philippoussis were likely to play the singles rubbers against Croatia.   Australia, winners of the Davis Cup 26 times, most recently in 1986, were relegated from the elite world group last year for the first time. 
13565 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of Tunisian first division   soccer matches played on Wednesday:    ES Sahel 2 JS Kairouan 0    ES Zarzis 1 CS Sfaxien 0   Standings (tabulated under played, won, drawn, lost, goals   for, against, points):    ES Sahel 2 2 0 0 5 0 6    Club Africain  2 2 0 0 5 1 6    Esperance ST  2 2 0 0 5 2 6    O Beja 2 1 1 0 5 2 4    AS Marsa 2 1 1 0 1 0 4    JS Kairouan  2 1 0 1 3 3 3    Stade Tunisien  2 1 0 1 3 4 3    CA Bizertin  2 1 0 1 3 4 3    ES Zarzis 2 1 0 1 1 2 3    CS Sfaxien 2 0 1 1 0 1 1    CO Transports  2 0 1 1 2 4 1    OC Kerkenah  2 0 0 2 2 5 0    O Kef 2 0 0 2 2 6 0    Stade Soussien  2 0 0 2 1 5 0 
13566 !GCAT !GSPO  Allen Iverson, the number one pick in the National Basketball Association draft, agreed to terms with the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday.   The 76ers announced that Iverson, an All-American guard at Georgetown University, will sign the contract on Friday at the Broad Street site of the new CoreStates Centre.   Terms were not disclosed but Iverson is slotted by the rookie salary cap to receive a three-year contract for a maximum $9.38 million.   Iverson was the first guard to be selected with the top pick in the draft since 1979 when the Los Angeles Lakers took Magic Johnson out of Michigan State.   The 6-0 (1.83 m) Iverson left Georgetown after his sophomore year.   Iverson will pair with Jerry Stackhouse, the third overall pick in the 1995 draft, in the Sixers backcourt.   Often compared to former Detroit Pistons star Isiah Thomas, Iverson averaged 25 points, 4.7 assists and 3.35 steals in 37 games for Georgetown last season.   Iverson led Georgetown to a 29-8 record and three NCAA Tournament wins in 1995-96.   The Hoyas advanced to the East Regional Finals before losing to Massachusetts.   Iverson was the first Georgetown player in John Thompson's 24 years as coach to leave school early.   The school has featured star players such as Patrick Ewing, Eric "Sleepy" Floyd, Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo -- who all went on to NBA careers.   Ewing was the first pick in the 1985 draft.   With Iverson agreeing to terms, just three first-rounders remain unsigned: forward Predrag Stojakovic, taken by Sacramento (14th); centre Efthimis Retzias, taken by Denver (23rd) and forward Martin Muursepp, taken 25th by Utah and traded to Miami. 
13567 !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  81 63 .563 -    BALTIMORE  79 66 .545 2 1/2    BOSTON  74 72 .507 8    TORONTO  67 79 .459 15    DETROIT  51 95 .349 31    CENTRAL DIVISION    CLEVELAND  86 58 .597 -    CHICAGO  78 68 .534 9    MINNESOTA  73 72 .503 13 1/2    MILWAUKEE  70 77 .476 17 1/2    KANSAS CITY  67 79 .459 20    WESTERN DIVISION    TEXAS 83 62 .572 -    SEATTLE  73 70 .510 9    OAKLAND  71 76 .483 13    CALIFORNIA  65 81 .445 18 1/2     THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12TH SCHEDULE    NEW YORK AT DETROIT    CALIFORNIA AT CLEVELAND     CHICAGO AT BALTIMORE    SEATTLE AT KANSAS CITY     OAKLAND AT MINNESOTA     MILWAUKEE AT TEXAS      NATIONAL LEAGUE    EASTERN DIVISION    W L PCT GB    ATLANTA  86 58 .597 -    MONTREAL  79 66 .545 7 1/2    FLORIDA  71 76 .483 16 1/2    NEW YORK  65 81 .445 22    PHILADELPHIA 59 87 .404 28    CENTRAL DIVISION    ST LOUIS  79 67 .541 -    HOUSTON  77 70 .524 2 1/2    CHICAGO  73 72 .503 5 1/2    CINCINNATI  73 73 .500 6    PITTSBURGH  59 85 .410 19    WESTERN DIVISION    LOS ANGELES  81 64 .559 -    SAN DIEGO  82 65 .558 -    COLORADO  75 71 .514 6 1/2    SAN FRANCISCO 60 84 .417 20 1/2     THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12TH SCHEDULE    PHILADELPHIA AT HOUSTON     ATLANTA AT COLORADO      FLORIDA AT MONTREAL     ST LOUIS AT LOS 
13568 !GCAT !GSPO  Moises Alou's two-run homer in the eighth inning lifted the Montreal Expos to a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs, salvaging the final game of a three-game series on Wednesday.   Montreal pulled within 1-1/2 games of the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres for the National League wild-card berth.   With the Cubs trailing 1-0 in the eighth, David Segui drew a one-out walk from Terry Adams (2-6) and Alou hit the ball over the left-centre field fence four pitches later for his 19th homer.   At Colorado, Ellis Burks and Steve Decker had two-run singles in a five-run third inning, and Andres Galarraga added his league-leading 43rd home run as the Colorado Rockies held off the Atlanta Braves 6-5 for their fourth straight win.   The Rockies broke the game open with five runs in the third off starter Denny Neagle (14-8).   Wright (4-2) allowed three runs and six hits over seven innings.   He walked five.   In Houston, Mickey Morandini had four hits, including an RBI double that snapped a tie and sparked a four-run fourth inning, as the Philadelphia Phillies outslugged the Houston Astros 10-8.   The Astros remained 2-1/2 games behind first-place St. Louis in the National League Central.   Houston, which has lost seven of 10, fell 4 1/2 games back in the race for the NL wild-card berth.   Morandini, Kevin Stocker and Jon Zuber each had two doubles for the Phillies, who won for just the sixth time in 17 games.   In Los Angeles, Ismael Valdes allowed two runs over seven innings and Mark Guthrie pitched out of a jam in the eighth as the Los Angeles Dodgers completed a three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds with a 3-2 victory.   Valdes (13-7) allowed five hits, walked three and struck out eight before tiring in the eighth.   Guthrie relieved with runners at second and third and none out and protected the one-run lead by stranding both men.   In New York, Lance Johnson had three hits and drove in a run to back Jason Isringhausen, who threw 6-2/3 scoreless innings and helped the New York Mets to a 3-1 win over the Florida Marlins.   The 204 hits by Johnson, who went 3-for-4 and is hitting .333, are the most in the National League since Tony Gwynn had 218 in 1987 for the San Diego Padres.   It was his 19th three-hit game of the season.   In San Francisco, Barry Bonds' second homer of the game, a two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth inning, lifted the San Francisco Giants to a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals and avoided a three-game sweep.   Bill Mueller walked on a 3-2 pitch from Alan Benes (13-9) to open the Giants' eighth before Bonds lined a 3-2 pitch over the right-field fence for his 39th homer.   It was his third multi-homer game of the season and 30th of his career.   "It's nice they had to pitch to me in those situations," Bonds said.   "I thought Benes might go around me on the 3-2, but he threw a pitch that was a little up and I was able to handle it.   I thought he'd walk me, he didn't, they lose."   In San Diego, Chris Gomez singled home Greg Vaughn with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the San Diego Padres to an 8-7 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.   San Diego, which is tied with Los Angeles for first place in the NL West, has won four in a row overall and nine of 10 at home.   Ken Caminiti's 34th home run, his second of the game, in the seventh off reliever Matt Ruebel brought the Padres within 7-6. 
13569 !GCAT !GSPO  The New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles won on Wednesday, keeping the Yankees' lead at 2-1/2 games in the American League East division.   Detroit left fielder Ruben Sierra's error on a Paul O'Neill flyball allowed two runs to score in the seventh inning as New York defeated Detroit 7-3.   With one out in the seventh and men on second and third, O'Neill lifted a 3-2 pitch by reliver Joey Eischen to left.   Ex-Yankee Sierra appeared to have it before allowing it to fall, giving New York a 5-3 lead.   In Baltimore, Eddie Murray's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th inning brought home Rafael Palmeiro with the winning run as the Orioles opened a 1-1/2-game lead in the wild-card race with a 7-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox.   Palmeiro started the 10th with a single and was singled to third by Bobby Bonilla.   After Cal Ripken struck out, Murray worked the count to 3-2 and fouled off two pitches before lifting a flyball to centre field.   In Cleveland, Jack McDowell allowed five hits over seven innings for his first win in more than a month and the Cleveland Indians reduced their magic number for clinching the American League Central to nine with a 2-0 victory over the California Angels.   McDowell (11-9) snapped a three-game losing streak.   He walked one and struck out seven.   In Detroit, left fielder Ruben Sierra's error on a Paul O'Neill flyball allowed two runs to score in the seventh inning as the New York Yankees defeated the Detroit Tigers 7-3.   In Kansas City, Joe Vitiello snapped an 0-for-17 slump with a two-run double and Jaime Bluma struck out Doug Strange with the tying runs on base in the ninth inning for his second save in as many games as the Kansas City Royals defeated the Seattle Mariners 4-2.   Doug Linton (7-9) allowed two runs and five hits over six innings.   "The first three innings I needed radar to find the plate," Linton said.   "I was getting away with stuff.   About the fourth inning I started hitting my spots."   At Minnesota, Brad Radke tossed a five-hitter for his second straight complete game and Paul Molitor had his 16th three-hit game of the season, leading the Minnesota Twins to a 7-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics.   Radke (10-14) allowed two runs and five hits with a walk and seven strikeouts in his third complete game of the season.   He has won five of his last six decisions.   The Twins scored two runs in the second off starter Willie Adams (3-3) to snap a 1-1 tie and take the lead for good.   In Toronto, third baseman Dean Palmer committed two errors on a line drive hit by Alex Gonzalez, allowing the go-ahead runs to score in a six-run seventh inning, as the Toronto Blue Jays downed the Texas Rangers 8-3.   Despite the loss, the Rangers had their magic number for clinching the American League West Division title reduced to 10 with the Seattle Mariners' loss to the Kansas City Royals.   In Boston, Bill Haselman hit a two-run homer to snap an eighth-inning tie and Tim Wakefield improved to 8-3 since the All-Star break as the Boston Red Sox halted a four-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.   Nomar Garciaparra led off the eighth with a triple to deep right-centre, chasing starter Cal Eldred.   Haselman then hit a 1-1 pitch from Doug Jones over the "Green Monster" in left field for his fourth homer to give the Red Sox a 3-1 lead. 
13570 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of Major League Baseball games   played Wednesday (home team in CAPS):    American League    BOSTON  4 Milwaukee  1    CLEVELAND  2 California 0    New York  7 DETROIT  3    BALTIMORE  7 Chicago  6 (10)    TORONTO  8 Texas  3    KANSAS CITY 4 Seattle  2    MINNESOTA  7 Oakland  2    National League    NEW YORK  3 Florida  1    Montreal  2 CHICAGO  1    SAN FRANCISCO 4 St Louis  2    COLORADO  6 Atlanta  5    Philadelphia 10 HOUSTON  8    LOS ANGELES 3 Cincinnati 2    SAN DIEGO  8 Pittsburgh 7 
13571 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of Major League   Baseball games played on Wednesday (home team in CAPS):    American League    BOSTON  4 Milwaukee  1    CLEVELAND  2 California 0    New York  7 DETROIT  3    BALTIMORE  7 Chicago  6 (10)    TORONTO  8 Texas  3    KANSAS CITY 4 Seattle  2    MINNESOTA  7 Oakland  2    National League    NEW YORK  3 Florida  1    Montreal  2 CHICAGO  1    SAN FRANCISCO 4 St Louis  2    COLORADO  6 Atlanta  5    Philadelphia 10 HOUSTON  8    LOS ANGELES 3 Cincinnati 2    SAN DIEGO  8 Pittsburgh 7 
13572 !GCAT !GSPO  The season appears over for Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Brett Butler, who suffered a fractured left hand Monday night, less than a week after his remarkable return from cancer surgery.   The 39-year-old Butler is expected to miss three to four weeks after he was struck on the hand by a pitch from Cincinnati's Giovanni Carrara in Monday's 5-4 win over the Reds.   But at a news conference on Wednesday, he left open the possibility he could return for the post-season.   "It's not an absolute that I'll retire," Butler said.   "One thing I've always wanted to do in baseball is go out on my own terms, and at this point it doesn't seem like I'm going to be able to do that.   "Now I've got to go through a little bit more adversity over the next three weeks or four weeks and try to reach back within that energy and try to pull out something else," he continued.   "I've gone through so much and now I've got to continue to do that."   Butler squared to bunt in the fourth inning when he was hit on the hand.   "It was just one of those freak things," he said.   "It had nothing to do with the cancer, it had nothing to do with plate safety."   Butler returned to the lineup September 6th after undergoing tonsil cancer surgery May 21st.   The cancer was limited to one of 50 lymph nodes, with the corrupted one being extracted.   The cancer was discovered during a tonsilectomy and Butler underwent 32 radiation treatments.   Butler is hitting .267 with eight RBI and eight stolen bases in 34 games. 
13573 !GCAT !GSPO  George Foreman, one of the greatest self-promoters in sports, pounced on the debacle of the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon fight last weekend to hype his next bout against a former kick-boxer in Tokyo.   The punching preacher insisted like a broken record that his fight against someone named Crawford Grimsley November 9 in Tokyo would help restore integrity to boxing.   But he apparently forgot to tell Grimsley, whom it seems would have difficulty spelling integrity.   Foreman ranted and raved about Tyson stopping Seldon at one minute, 49 seconds of the first round after some dubious punches, one of which appeared to have existed only in Seldon's imagination.   Foreman, 48, said he will fight Grimsley for the little-known and little-respected World Boxing Union heavyweight title.   Grimsley at first insisted he was 29 years old.   When confronted with a newspaper article reporting he was born in 1961, he still insisted on his age.   But then said he definitely was not born in 1961.   Only when pressed did he finally admit he was 34.   The reason he lied on Foreman's integrity show?   "I told everybody I was 29 is to avoid these type of questions," Grimsley said.   "Age is a perception of the public.   I perceive myself as a very young 34."   But Foreman, who said it was okay if anyone wanted to say he was 34, said, "if there's gonna be integrity in boxing it depends on me.   "This is a fight for integrity.   Win, lose or draw I'm gonna leave some integrity.   People are gonna say you gotta be a man to get into boxing."   The former heavyweight champion of the world took shots at all four of the opponents Tyson has faced since his parole from prison in March, 1995, after serving three years on a rape conviction.   "I know why I can't get a fight with Mike Tyson," Foreman said.   "They want someone to fall down -- the other fellow made the sign of the cross so much they thought it was a funeral, the guy from England," said Foreman, referring to Frank Bruno, who repeatedly crossed himself as he was entering the MGM Grand Arena last March to fight Tyson.   Bruno offered little resistance to Tyson, opting to throw futile punches and then hug him, until Tyson finally avoided his clutches and stopped him in the third round to win the World Boxing Council title.   "A big old boy like that boy from England afraid of Tyson," Foreman said.   "These guys have disgraced my beloved sport ... They don't even say 'I'm sorry about it.'"   Referring to Seldon falling down from a phantom punch and going on to lose his World Boxing Association title, Foreman said: "If someone were to fall because of a scraped elbow, I'm gonna fall and fight him on the canvas.   "I guarantee no young people gonna see someone swing and fall down without being hit," he said.   Foreman said he would tell Tyson to his face that "he should call a halt to (fighting inferior fighters).   If you want to be champ of the world and you fight like that you gotta get outta there.   "These guys don't care.   I'd tell him in the room right now, 'grow up, be a man.   Stop acting like a sissy,'" Foreman said.   Foreman said he plans to fight in Tokyo and somewhere in Europe and then in Houston.   He did not name any of his projected opponents. 
13574 !GCAT !GSPO  Benfica routed Poland's Ruch Chorzow 5-1 in their Cup Winners' Cup match, with four of their goals scored by Brazilian players, almost guaranteeing that the Lisbon side will pass through to the second round.   The first goal came in the 24th minute when newly signed Brazilian player Osmar Donizete shot the ball into the net from a left cross by Romanian midfielder Nica Panduru.   After Benfica's captain Joao Pinto scored with a header in the 25th minute, Brazilian midfielder Jamir Gomes slammed the ball through a gap in the defensive wall in a free kick in the 31st minute, giving Benfica a commanding 3-0 lead at half-time.   Brazilian striker Valdo scored two goals in the second half -- a long powerful shot from outside the box in the 68th minute and a free kick that bounced into the net from the crossbar in the last minute of the match.   Ruch Chorzow managed a consolation goal when Polish (corrects from "Swedish") international striker Dariusz Gesior scored with a header in the 73rd minute in a counter-attack. 
13575 !GCAT !GSPO  Brazilian Ronaldo scored twice to spare Barcelona's blushes as they squandered numerous chances in their 2-0 victory over AEK Larnaca in the first leg of their European Cup Winners' Cup first round tie on Thursday.   Ronaldo latched on to a through ball from Croatian midfielder Robert Prosinecki to score his first in the 18th minute.   But his individual efforts failed to stir the three-times winners, who continue to lack the coordination they had under Johann Cruyff.   Things changed midway through the second half when Bobby Robson made three substitutions and shortly afterwards Ronaldo beat the Cypriot defence to a cross from Sergi Barjuan to make it 2-0.   The game was played at the Montjuic Olympic stadium because of pitch problems at Barcelona's Nou Camp ground.    After consulting with the UEFA representative, the match referee and officials from the Larnaca club, Barcelona had made the decision to switch the venue just 12 hours before kick-off.   The Cypriots were kept in their half for 90 per cent of the game but had a fine opportunity to score just after the break when Barcelona goalkeeper Vitor Baia saved well from Klimis Alexandrou after a mistake by Luis Enrique Martinez.   The brief Larnaca revival brought whistles from the Barcelona fans who have seen their side struggle to find their form in the opening games of the Spanish league season.   Barcelona - 1-Vitor Baia, 3 - Abelardo Fernandez, 5-Gheorghe Popescu (4-Josep Guardiola, 71st), 7-Luis Figo (11-Angel Cuellar, 71st), 9-Ronaldo, 10-Giovanni, 12-Sergi Barjuan, 15-Laurent Blanc, 19-Juan Pizzi, 21-Luis Enrique Martinez, 22 - Robert Prosinecki (24-Roger Garcia, 71st)   AEK Larnaca - 1-Andreas Mavris, 2-George Theodotou (18-Nicos Georgiou, 76th), 3 - Neophytos Larkou, 4-George Constantinou, 5 - Angelos Misos, 6-Lovis Stephani, 8-Zoran Gundic (16-Demetris Panayiotou, 69th), 9-Goran Kopounovic, 10-Milenko Kovasevic, 11-Klimis Alexandrou, 12-Pavlos Marcou 
13576 !GCAT !GSPO  The all-male riders in the Tour of Spain were joined on Thursday by a mystery woman who joined the pack for 10 kilometres of the race's sixth stage.   The interloper, identified only as Maria del Mar and dressed in cycling gear, attached herself to the field soon after the beginning of the stage.   She was good-humouredly sheltered by several riders who foiled race judges' efforts to remove her. 
13577 !GCAT !GSPO  Result of the 210-km sixth   stage of the Tour of Spain between Almeria and Malaga on   Thursday:   1.   Fabio Baldato (Italy) MG five hours 40 minutes 46 seconds   2.   Dmitry Konyshev (Russia) AKI   3.   Nicola Minali (Italy) Gewiss   4.   Jann Kirsipuu (Estonia) Petit Casino   5.   Angel Edo (Spain) Kelme   6.   A Petacchi (Italy) Scrigno   7.   Marcel Wust (Germany) MX Onda   8.   Giovanni Lombardi (Italy) Polti   9.   Jeroen Blijlevens (Netherlands)   10.   Pascal Chanteur (France) Petit Casino   11.   Tom Steels (Belgium) Mapei   12.   Giuseppe Citterio (Italy) AKI   13.   Paulo Ferreira (Portugal) Maia   14.   Asier Guenetxea (Spain) Euskadi   15.   Stefano Faustini (Italy) AKI   16.   Biagio Conte (Itally) Scrigno   17.   Oscar Aranguren (Spain) Santa Clara   18.   Jurgen Werner (Germany) Telekom   19.   Tom Cordes (Netherlands) MX Onda   20.   Max Sciandri (GB) Motorola  all same time as Baldato   Leading overall positions (after six stages):    1.   Baldato 26 hours 24 minutes 20 seconds    2.   Laurent Jalabert (France) ONCE 11 seconds behind    3.   Giovanni Lombardi (Italy) Polti 22    4.   Jurgen Werner (Germany) Telekom 32    5.   Luca Pavanello (Italy) AKI 38    6.   Stefano Faustini (Italy) AKI 39    7.   Steffen Wesemann (Germany) Telekom    8.   Roberto Pistore (Italy) MG    9.   Sergei Uchakov (Ukraine) Polti all same time as Faustini    10.   Luca Colombo (Italy) AKI 45    11.   Melchor Mauri (Spain) ONCE    12.   Massimo Apollonio (Italy) Scrigno    13.   Valerio Tebaldi (Italy) Lotus  all same time as Colombo 
13578 !GCAT !GSPO  France, bidding to reach the Davis Cup final for the second time in six years, will be unchanged for their semifinal against Italy in Nantes from September 20 to 22.   The team that beat Germany in the quarter-final in Limoges comprised Cedric Pioline, Arnaud Boetsch, Guy Forget and Guillaume Raoux. 
13579 !GCAT !GSPO  Fabio Baldato captured the sixth stage of the Tour of Spain and the leader's yellow jersey on Thursday, timing his move superbly to emerge from the pack in a sprint finish.   The Italian started the day three seconds behind previous race leader Laurent Jalabert, but whittled the gap down to just one second after picking up bonus time in special sprint stages.   Russian rider Dimitry Konyshev made an early break for home at the end of the stage, only to see Baldato steal victory -- and a 12-second bonus -- at the finish line.   "This is the reward for the team's hard work.   Everything that comes next will be a plus," said Baldato, who now has an 11-second lead over Jalabert and stands 22 seconds ahead of Giovanni Lombardi in provisional overall standings.   The riders escaped the rain that caused problems earlier in the week, but were buffeted by wind all the way along the 210 km coast road from Almeria to Malaga.   Despite the conditions Italy's Marco di Renzo broke clear towards the 35-kilometre mark, and was joined shortly afterwards by Francisco Cabello, who was riding through his home province of Granada for much of the day.   The pair surged to an 18-minute lead before Jalabert's ONCE team closed the gap.   Until the final 25 kms it looked as if di Renzo and Cabello might even hang on, but Cabello was caught 12 kilometres out and di Renzo at the 10-kilometre mark as the Mapei team pushed for their second successive stage victory.   The Vuelta continues on Friday with the 150km seaside stage along the Costa del Sol to the resort town of Marbella. 
13580 !GCAT !GSPO  Stefan Edberg, who made his final grand slam appearance at the U.S. Open, heads the Swedish Davis Cup team to play the Czech Republic in Prague from September 20-22.   Edberg will be joined by Thomas Enqvist, Jonas Bjorkman and Nicklas Kulti. 
13581 !GCAT !GSPO  Fabio Baldato of Italy won the 210-km sixth stage of the Tour of Spain from Almeria on Thursday to take over the yellow jersey from previous race leader Laurent Jalabert of France. 
13582 !GCAT !GSPO  Barcelona have decided to shift Thursday's Cup Winners' Cup game with AEK Larnaca to the Montjuic Olympic stadium because of pitch problems at their Nou Camp ground.   The club announced the move just hours before kick-off after consulting with the match referee, UEFA official Gunter Mannig and representatives of the Cypriot club.   The decision was prompted by the prospect of heavy rain, which would have made play even more difficult on a pitch that cut up badly during last Saturday's league match.   The rain should also discourage some the Barcelona supporters from making the climb up to Montjuic, which holds only half the Nou Camp's 110,000 capacity.   Barcelona are expected to employ the American company that successfully relaid the turf at Atletico Madrid's Vicente Calderon ground ahead of Wednesday's Champions' League game against Steaua Bucharest. 
13583 !GCAT !GSPO  Hundreds of celebrating Porto supporters besieged Oporto airport early on Thursday to welcome home their conquering heroes who hours earlier had humiliated mighty AC Milan in the European Champions league.   Brazilian striker Jadel, whose two second half goals were the key to Porto's historic 3-2 victory, was carried shoulder-high to the team bus.   Hundreds of cars, packed with banner-waving fans, then formed a noisy and lengthy motorcade through the centre of the northern port city.   It was not just Porto's first victory over AC Milan for 17 years, it was the first time the Portuguese -- European Cup winners in 1987 -- had even scored against the Italians since their 1979 win, also in Milan's imposing San Siro stadium.   "Historic" claimed sports daily Record in a front-page headline, while the Bola newspaper was no less emphatic: "A bomb in San Siro," it wrote. 
13584 !GCAT !GSPO  Manchester United will have to rewrite the record books if they are to end their 29-year wait for a second European Cup.   Since the start of the Champions League in 1992 no team who have lost their opening match have gone on to lift the trophy.   Indeed, the only eventual winners who have yet lost a match in the league stage of the competition in the last four years are current champions Juventus, but their lone defeat to Borussia Dortmund last season was academic as they had already ensured their place in the last eight at the time.   There was no question of Juventus losing at the Stadio Delle Alpi to United when they opened their defence of the trophy with a 1-0 win over the English champions in a Group C match on Wednesday.   United did not have one serious goal attempt and Juventus goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi was a virtual onlooker without a save to make as the sharper, crisper Italians gave United a lesson in teamwork, application and movement.   The only goal came after 34 minutes when Juventus' new 6.0 million pounds ($10 million) signing from Lazio, the Croatian striker Alen Boksic who was the outstanding player on the field, lashed the ball past United 'keeper Peter Schmeichel from the edge of the penalty area.   Schmeichel made a series of good saves in the second half to keep United in contention but they were lucky not to lose by more after Juve skipper Antonio Conte had what looked like a perfectly legal goal ruled out for offside in the first half.   Boksic said afterwards: "Manchester United surprised me as I thought they would give us a lot more trouble.   But they never worried us in attack and we were able to control the middle of the field until the last few minutes."   United manager Alex Ferguson conceded that Juve deserved their success and said: "They are a very united team, a very hard team to beat.   We showed a lot of inexperience but we have the players to improve."   But if United are to become European champions for the first time since their sole victory in 1968 they will not only have to show far greater aggression but also improve on their recent unrewarding travels in Europe.   Since winning the European Cup Winners Cup in 1991, United have played 10 away European competition matches, failed to score in eight of them and scored only once in their last six matches. 
13585 !GCAT !GSPO  Manchester United will have to rewrite the record books if they are to end their 29-year wait for a second European Cup.   Since the start of the Champions League in 1992 no team who have lost their opening match have gone on to lift the trophy.   Indeed, the only eventual winners who have yet lost a match in the league stage of the competition in the last four years are current champions Juventus, but their lone defeat to Borussia Dortmund last season was academic as they had already ensured their place in the last eight at the time.   There was no question of Juventus losing at the Stadio Delle Alpi to United when they opened their defence of the trophy with a 1-0 win over the English champions in a Group C match on Wednesday.   United did not have one serious goal attempt and Juventus goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi was a virtual onlooker without a save to make as the sharper, crisper Italians gave United a lesson in teamwork, application and movement.   The only goal came after 34 minutes when Juventus' new 6.0 million pounds ($10 million) signing from Lazio, the Croatian striker Alen Boksic who was the outstanding player on the field, lashed the ball past United 'keeper Peter Schmeichel from the edge of the penalty area.   Schmeichel made a series of good saves in the second half to keep United in contention but they were lucky not to lose by more after Juve skipper Antonio Conte had what looked like a perfectly legal goal ruled out for offside in the first half.   Boksic said afterwards: "Manchester United surprised me as I thought they would give us a lot more trouble.   But they never worried us in attack and we were able to control the middle of the field until the last few minutes."   United manager Alex Ferguson conceded that Juve deserved their success and said: "They are a very united team, a very hard team to beat.   We showed a lot of inexperience but we have the players to improve."   But if United are to become European champions for the first time since their sole victory in 1968 they will not only have to show far greater aggression but also improve on their recent unrewarding travels in Europe.   Since winning the European Cup Winners Cup in 1991, United have played 10 away European competition matches, failed to score in eight of them and scored only once in their last six matches. 
13586 !GCAT !GSPO  Zimbabwe, replying to Sri   Lanka's first innings 349 all out, were 105 for six at the close   on the second day of the first test on Thursday. 
13587 !GCAT !GSPO  The president of the board of control for cricket in Sri Lanka, the one-day world champions, resigned on Thursday over a breach of protocol at the Singer world series final awards ceremony.   Sports minister S. B. Dissanayake was invited as chief guest at last Saturday's ceremony but was not called on to present the awards after the final in which Sri Lanka beat Australia.   The awards were made by the chairman of Singer in Sri Lanka, Hemaka Amarasuriya.   In his resignation letter, board president Upali Dharmadasa wrote: "I apologise most profusely on behalf of the board of control for cricket and myself for the embarrassment caused to you, both as an honourable Minister of State and as a person."   The minister had demanded an explanation from Dharmadasa. 
13588 !GCAT !GSPO  Sri Lankan left-arm fast bowler   Chaminda Vaas took three for 31 on Thursday to leave Zimbabwe   struggling at 75 for four at tea on the second day of the first   test.   A passing shower 10 minutes before the break drove the   players into the pavillion for an early tea.   Earlier Sri Lanka extended their overnight score of 290 for   seven to 349 all out with Kumara Dharmasena unbeaten on 42   scored in 99 minutes with four boundaries.   Zimbabwe lost Grant Flower to the first ball of the innings   to Vaas and three overs later Vaas struck again by having   captain Alistair Campbell caught at first slip by Roshan   Mahanama for 12.   Zimbabwe lost Andy Flower immediately after lunch for two   when he cover drove Kumara Dharmasena.   The ball hit Asanka   Gurusinha on his boot at short extra cover and ricocheted to   Arjuna Ranatunga at cover point.   Head umpire B.C. Cooray gave Flower out after consulting   square leg umpire Steve Bucknor.   Vaas then removed the obdurate Mark Dekker for 10 to reduce   Zimbabwe to 45 for four.   Guy Whittall (30) and Craig Wishart (12) took the visitors   to tea without any further loss. 
13589 !GCAT !GSPO  Zimbabwe, replying to Sri   Lanka's first innings 349 all out, were 75-4 at tea on the   second day of the first test on Thursday. 
13590 !GCAT !GSPO  Left-arm paceman Chaminda Vaas took two quick wickets on Thursday to reduce Zimbabwe to 21 for two at lunch on the second day of the first test against Zimbabwe.   Earlier Sri Lanka extended their overnight score of 290 for seven to 349 all out with Kumara Dharmasena unbeaten on 42 scored in 99 minutes with four boundaries.   Vaas struck with his first ball of the innings, forcing Grant Flower to edge a sharply rising delivery to wicketkeeper Romesh Kaluwitharana.   Three overs later Vaas dismissed Alistair Campbell for 12 when the Zimbabwe captain tried to steer the ball through the slips.   After Sri Lanka resumed their first innings Dharmasena and Vaas carried their eighth-wicket partnership to 74 before leg-spinner Paul Strang broke through.   Strang bowled Vaas for 34 when the batsman got an inside edge attempting a drive.   He then cleaned up the tail with a spell of three wickets in four balls for no runs to finish with five for 106 from 34.3 overs, his first five wicket haul in eight tests. 
13591 !GCAT !GSPO  Zimbabwe were 21-2 in reply to   Sri Lanka's 349 at lunch on the second day of the first test.   Scores: Zimbabwe 21-2; Sri Lanka 349. 
13592 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Angola's Joint Ceasefire Commission said on Thursday it was important that UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi be given "special, visible status" in post-war Angola.   "It (the commission) is of the opinion that this issue should be supported because the participation of UNITA in the management of state affairs is a guarantee of national reconciliation," said the United Nations special envoy to Angola, Alioune Blondin Beye.   "Although the government had made an offer in this respect which has been rejected, it is up to UNITA to counter-propose," Beye told a news conference after a five-hour meeting of the commission.   A clause providing for special status for Savimbi was written into the Lusaka Protocol, signed by the government and the former rebel movement to end two decades of civil war.   But a UNITA extraordinary congress rejected a government offer for Savimbi to become vice-president in a future unity government.   The Angolan government said the United Nations Security Council should take steps to press the opposition UNITA to speed up its implementation of the peace accords.   Angolan Foreign Minister Venancio de Moura, in Zimbabwe to brief President Robert Mugabe on developments, said UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi's refusal last month of the offer of vice presidency put obstacles in the country's rocky path to peace.   "It's now time for the (U.N.) Security Council itself to accuse Savimbi and take steps under its resolutions on Angola, incuding sanctions, to make Savimbi oblige with all provisions of the Lusaka protocol," de Moura said.   The joint commission, overseeing the implementation of the peace accord, also reported that the disarming of 62,000 former rebel fighters at 15 assembly camps was almost completed.   Beye told reporters that the last two assembly camps at Muchinda in the diamond area of Lunda Norte and at Ntuco in Zaire province would be closed on Sunday, September 15.   Troops that were late to arrive would however be allowed to enter the camps afterwards, he added.   The United States' special envoy Paul Hare, sent to Luanda on Monday by President Bill Clinton to check on delays in the implementation of the peace process, said before his departure on Thursday that "the process is on the right path". 
13593 !GCAT !GCRIM  Many South Africans would not coorporate with police to solve criminal cases, despite unacceptably high levels of crime, a survey commissioned by a non-governmental monitoring agency found on Thursday.   The survey, commissioned by the Institute for a Democratic Alternative for South Africa (Idasa), polled 500 people mostly on the Cape Flats, a mixed-race working class area of Cape Town wracked by gang violence, drugs and alcohol abuse.    "While majorities feel that cooperating with the police and courts would increase the chances of apprehending, charging and convicting criminals, significant minorities think it would make no difference," the survey report said.   "Moreover, majorities say they would not feel safe actually giving information to the police or testifying in court."   Idasa Public Information Sector manager Warren Krafchik said the survey focused on Cape Town because of recent events related to crime and policing.   Last month, militant Moslems in the grouping People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (Pagad), publicly shot and burned to death an alleged drug merchant and gang leader, Rashaad Staggie.    The group has given drug peddlars in the Cape an ultimatum to stop dealing or face the brunt of its anger.    "The survey was an effort to look at community perceptions towards the police, courts, crime and their responses to these," Krafchik told Reuters.   "We were concerned about the limited information base we have to debate these issues," he added.   A lack of faith in policing was underscored in the survey, which found that 75 percent of people polled felt there was at least "some" corruption within the police force.   Only four percent doubted there was corruption.   Fifty-two percent said some judges and prosecutors were also corrupt.   "Not only do people judge their law enforcement institutions poorly with regard to what they do, they also give it poor ratings with regard to how they do their jobs," said the report.   Despite this negativity, public response and support for Pagad's vigilantism was muted with 29 percent of people sampled in favour and 30 percent opposed.   However, 59 percent saw Pagad's campaign as effective in fighting drugs and gangsterism. 
13594 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) president, James Motlatsi, on Thursday expressed concern about the brevity of an inquiry into violence on South African mines.   "We are pleased (with the appointment of a commission), but we are not so sure that within 10 days he (Judge John Myburgh, who is to head the inquiry) would have done justice to the problem," Motlatsi told Reuters.   President Nelson Mandela on Wednesday appointed a judicial commission of inquiry to investigate recent violence on four mines run by Gold Fields of South Africa Ltd .   At least 30 miners have been killed and scores more injured in fighting on the mines, three of which produce gold and the other, platinum.   The commission would make recommendations within 10 working days on immediate steps needed to end the strife and carnage.   Analysts have attributed the violence to clashes between the 350,000-strong National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) which has a largely Xhosa membership and the smaller United Workers' Union of South Africa, aligned to the Zulu-led Inkatha Freedom Party.   Motlatsi said the violence on the mines had to be viewed in the context of the work practices of the gold mining industry as a whole.   "We have to look at what makes it possible for violence to take place?  ...The migrant labour and hostel system is a fertile soil for faction fights," Motlatsi said.   He said a peace rally would be held on Sunday at the West Driefontein mine -- Nicole Mordant, Johannesburg newsroom 27 11 482 1003 
13595 !GCAT  These are the main stories in the Angolan press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   - - - -   JORNAL DE ANGOLA   - A meeting between Angola's President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and Unita leader Jonas Savimbi will only take place once military issues have been resolved by both sides, a United Nations official said.   - Separatist FLEC-FAC guerrillas in Angola's northern Cabinda enclave denied in a statement in Brazzaville that its military chiefs held talks with Unita.   - Angola's national airline TAAG said it had cancelled 18 domestic flights since August 29 because state petroleum company Sonangol had failed to deliver fuel for its Fokker aircraft.   - Angola's National Bank has launched a publicity campaign to encourage people to use commercial banks and to save their money. 
13596 !GCAT !GPOL  South African constitution writers returned to the drawing board on Thursday, setting a tight agenda to revise by October 11 a draft rejected last week by the country's most powerful court.   The ambitious timetable could see the final blueprint for post-apartheid government ratified by the end of the year and in force from January 1, 1997.   "We need to ask ourselves, do we have the luxury of time?"   Constitutional Assembly (CA) chairman Cyril Ramaphosa told the assembly's multi-party management committee.   "It's important that there should be some constitutional certainty and we need it quite soon."   The 11-member Constitutional Court last week rejected aspects of a draft constitution designed to cement South Africa's transition from more than three centuries of white domination to the democracy introduced in April 1994.   Criticisms pointed mainly to inadequate provincial government powers, inadequate guarantees of independence for watchdog institutions and inadequate entrenchment of the constitution itself.   Though the court praised the overall document that was approved by parliament in May, business leaders cite the absence of a final agreement as one of the issues undermining investor confidence in South Africa's two-year-old democracy.   Conservative Zulu Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi's federalist Inkatha Freedom Party, which has boycotted the constitution writing, returned to the management committee, but a spokesman said no final decision had been taken to rejoin the process.   Peter Smith told Ramaphosa before the meeting that the IFP's national council would decide by September 22 whether to return, adding: "This is a foot in the door, we may be back."   He said in a formal statement to the committee: "The IFP suspended its participation in the Constitutional Assembly on the 25th of February last year.   My presence here today does not indicate that this policy has changed."   The IFP's power is based in one province, KwaZulu-Natal, and it pressed from the start of the constitution-writing process in 1994 for greater provincial autonomy than the ruling African National Congress was willing to concede.   Last year, however, the party quit the process in protest against the ANC's failure to implement a pre-election promise of foreign mediation of the constitutional dispute.   Ramaphosa, who accepted a post as deputy chairman of the black empowerment group New Africa Investments Ltd towards the end of the constitution-writing process, chivvied the committee into accepting the tightest possible agenda for its task.   Constand Viljoen, leader of the white-separatist Freedom Front, argued for a slower programme to ensure that the revision is done properly.   "Are we talking about sending a constitution back to the court which barely scrapes through or one that passes with flying colours?"   he asked.   Two multi-party sub-committees will work on amendments to the draft from September 24 and the full 490-member CA, comprising the full National Assembly and Senate, will meet to ratify their proposals on October 11. 
13597 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Zimbabwe press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   - - - -   THE FINANCIAL GAZETTE   - A junior Zimbabwe army officer says he intends to sue defence forces commander General Vitalis Zvinavashe for allegedly abusing his authority when he and other top officers awarded themselves unsecured loans of more than Z$2.7 million from a military-run benefit fund.   - Operations of Zimbabwe's national parks and wildlife department, a major link in the country's money-spinning tourism industry, face imminent collapse unless the government allocates additional funding, says a senior national parks official.   - Zimbabwe's World Solar Summit fund raising committee has scaled down the amount of money it needs to stage the meeting opening in Harare on Monday to Z$23 million from Z$55 million.    - - - -   BUSINESS HERALD   - Preparations for the November G15 summit meeting to be held in the Zimbabwean capital Harare, which will discuss the current international trading system and prospects for economic progress among developing countries, are well on course.   - Zimbabwe's Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (PTC), has given the winners of its cellular telephone tender, Siemens International of Germany, the green light to provide a pilot cellular phone for the World Solar Summit starting in Harare next week.   - Some workers at Zimbabwe's manpower development fund (ZIMDEF) have called for an independent commission of inquiry to investigate the operations of the organisation.   - Zimbabwe's tourism is set to become an even bigger earner of foreign currency with its annual earnings expected to reach the Z$4 billion mark by 1998.   - - - -   THE HERALD   - Zimbabwe and Iran should explore possibilities of joint ventures in several areas to strengthen the growing trade between the two countries, Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe said on Wednesday, on the eve of the expected signing of a trade agreement between himself and visiting Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.   - Zimbabwe's Post and Telecommunications Corporation plans to invest over Z$10 billion up to the turn of the century as it battles to clear a growing waiting list of prospective subscribers.   -- Stella Mapenzauswa, Harare Newsroom: +263-4 72 52 28/9 
13598 !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   - The taxpayer is to foot the bill for the failed AIDS awareness musical Sarafina 2 following a secret donor's withdrawal on Wednesday of a 10.5 million government bail-out.   - Standard Bank Investment Corporation Ltd has presented a challenge to competitors by cutting its prime overdraft rate to 19.25 percent from 19.50 percent from October 1.   The home loan rate is being reduced by a similar amount to 19 percent.   - The mining industry wage deal signed on Wednesday between the Chamber of Mines and the National Union of Mineworkers could represent the last agreement signed between the parties in the traditional bargaining forum.   - Anglovaal Industries Ltd lifted earnings before exceptional items four percent to 511.8 million rand for the year to June, reined in by tough conditions and rising foreign competition.   - Johannesburg Consolidated Investments Ltd is investigating building an iron ore plant in Africa costing up to two billion rand.   - An environmental dispute is looming over a proposed harbour development at one of South Africa's outstanding areas of natural beauty, Kosi Bay.   - - - -   BUSINESS REPORT   - Stanbic said on Wednesday it would cut its home-loan and prime lending rates by 0.25 percentage points, a surprise move given the tough money-market conditions, and one that could result in the larger banks following suit.   - The National Union of Mineworkers and the Chamber of Mines reached an agreement on wages and working conditions in South Africa's collieries and gold mines, thus averting a potential strike.   - Imperial Car Rental, South Africa's biggest car rental company, said it had signed a franchise with Europecar Interrent, the leading European car hire firm and had restructured its operations.   - Anglovaal Industries, the industrial holding group released disappointing results for the year to June 30 because of poor performances at its textile, food and snacks divisions, despite a strong showing by its engineering arm.   - Microsteel, a 100 million rand joint venture between Iscor Ltd and a group of anonymous Swiss financiers, was opened in Durban.   - - - -   THE STAR   - President Nelson Mandela alleged yesterday that the Sarafina 2 saga was a smoke screen for a bigger fight waged by multinationals opposed to Health Minister Nkosazana Zuma's programme to slash the prices of drugs.   - About 7,500 Gauteng medical staff and teachers have applied for retrenchment packages.   -- Johannesburg newsroom +27 11 482 1003 
13599 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  The prime ministers of the five-member central European trade pact CEFTA begin a two-day summit meeting on Friday with discussion on speeding up tarrif reductions and the group's possible expansion.   The countries in the Central European Free Trade Agreement -- Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic -- have already pledged to end duties on a wide range of goods, and phase out farm tariffs and subsidies by 1998.   But current chairman Slovakia and the Czech Republic are pressing for quicker results in implementing measures agreed at last year's summit in the Czech city of Brno.   "We shall have to agree on a more qualitative approach within CEFTA, because some customs measures which we agreed upon are not being fulfilled," said the summit's host Slovak Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar.   Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus also said last week that he was disappointed with the pace of agreed tarrif reductions, and listed agriculture as a particularly problematic area.   "We expected a more marked reduction in customs' rates and other methods of protection of the domestic markets," Klaus told journalists.   "But it shows that we are not able to fully persuade our partners."   From the beginning of this year, duties on products with low competition sensitivity, such as sea fish, flowers, citrus fruit, wheat and fodder were eliminated in four CEFTA countries, except for the newest member, Slovenia.   But Slovak Agriculture Minister Peter Baco compained after a farm ministers' meeting in Budapest last month that Slovenia was hesitant to cut duties on farm products because its economy was not ripe for such a move.   The summit in the resort of Jasna in Slovakia's Low Tatra mountains will also debate common approaches in seeking membership in the European Union, a point which has been ardently opposed by the lone-wolf Czech Republic.   "Hungary is looking to achieve a more common CEFTA approach to the EU, as membership applications draw nearer," Klara Fogadasi, Hungary's Trade Ministry spokeswoman, told Reuters.   "Currently different CEFTA members have different agreements with the EU and these need to be harmonised."   All CEFTA members do agree that since its inception, mutual trade within the group has significantly increased.   Czech trade with CEFTA partners grew to 12.7 billion crowns for the first half of 1996 from 6.7 billion crowns in the same period on 1995.   Slovakia's trade volume within the group grew last year to $6.6 billion from $5.3 billion in 1994, while Hungary said its inter-group trade was higher than that with all other countries.   Poland's trade within CEFTA grew to $2.9 billion last year from $1.7 billion in 1994.   CEFTA, formed in 1992 to replace the Communist-era trading bloc Comecon, will also look at the coordination of efforts to bring Baltic and Balkan countries into the fold.   The meeting will be observed by heads of government of Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Latvia and Lithuania who are all seeking association agreements with CEFTA followed by possible membership.   "There will be a lot of hard work regarding geographical expansion," Andrzej Wieczorkiewicz, a deputy minister who oversees Poland's CEFTA policy told Reuters.   Membership in CEFTA is conditioned on applicants satisfying World Trade Organisation rules and internal CEFTA regulations, including the access to all free-trade accords with all member countries. 
13600 !GCAT  DELO   - German President Roman Herzog started a two-day official visit to Slovenia on Wednesday by meeting Slovenian President Milan Kucan and Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek.   - Slovenian delegation on succession talks proposed the division of talks with other ex-Yugoslav republics into three phases to ensure negotiations continue without delays.   - Employees of daily Slovenec went on strike on Wednesday over unpaid salaries.   - Italian Mascarpone cheese taken off the shelves in Slovenian supermarkets, customers who recently bought the cheese will get their money back.   DNEVNIK   - Government says it will look into the situation at troubled machine-producer Litostroj.   More than 1,200 out of the company's 1,400 workers have gone on strike, demanding the resignation of general manager Joze Duhovnik.   - Political parties participating in the November general election should not spend more than 60 tolars ($0.44) per voter on their pre-election campaigns, parliament said on Wednesday.   REPUBLIKA   - Slovenia's appartment fund said on Wednesday 1,830 citizens had applied for appartment loans, applications exceed originally offered amount of one billion tolars by almost six times. 
13601 !GCAT  NARODNA OBRODA - Slovak oil exploitation and gas storage firm Nafta Gbely said it would expand its activities to Kazakhstan where it would provide complex technical service for one oil field.   - The World Bank has so far provided Slovakia with loans worth some $285 million.   - Overall trade turnover on the Bratislava Stock Exchange (BSE) totalled 9.98 billion crowns in August, a decrease of 9.9 percent from the previous month.   - Heavy-engineering company Povazske Strojarne said it would supply Japan's Mitsubishi with metal presses.   - So far 104,515 orders to sell privatisation bonds have been registered at the over-the-counter bourse RM-System.   The demand for the bonds remains insignificant.   HOSPODARSKE NOVINY - Nafta has called an extraordinary shareholders' meeting for September 26.   The agenda includes changes in company statutes and its supervisory board.   - Interbank money market dealers said NBS liquidity bills would be attractive only if their interest rate climbed to 12 to 13 percent, compared with the currently offered yield of 9.3 percent.   - The chemical industry accounts for about 20 percent - 82 billion crowns a year - of the country's overall industrial production, and for 24 percent of Slovak exports.   The industry is expected to increase its exports by 25 percent by the year 2000.   SME - Opposition Democratic Party leader Jan Langos said the the current unity of the parliamentary opposition was still fragile.   PRAVDA - Foreign Minister Pavol Hamzik is planning a visit to Moscow for November, at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Yevgenyi Primakov.   - Finance Minister Srgej Kozlik repeatedly critised the NBS for delaying the transfer of around two billion crowns of advance payments to the state budget for the first half of this year.   The NBS rejected the charges saying it had not made any profit that would require payments to the budget.   - The opposition Party of the Democratic Left (SDL) has become a member of the Socialist international.   -- Bratislava Newsroom, 42-7-210-3687 
13602 !GCAT  PRAVO - Health Minister Jan Strasky submitted a document outlining the current state of health care in the Czech Republic.   In it he proposes that patients pay 40 crowns daily for stays in hospital, five crowns for filling a prescription, 50 crowns for emergency room visits, 50 crowns for visits to a specialist without a recommendation and 100 crowns for housecalls.   - Vaclav Klaus met with Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari yesterday.   They discussed Europe and European monetary union.   After continuing on to Brno and Kromeriz for brief visit, the Finnish President and his wife returned to Finland.   - Defense Minister Miloslav Vyborny said that state funding of the military as a percentage of GNP is decreasing, and he wants this trend to reverse.   "While last year it was 2.6 percent, this year it is only 2.1 percent," he said.   - Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus and Minister of Trade and Industry Vladimir Dlouhy will attend the meeting of the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) signatory nations which will take place on September 13 and 14 in Jasna in the Low Tatra mountains of Slovakia.   - SPT Telecom intends to invest 130 billion crowns between 1995 and 2000, according to Telecom press spokesman, Evzen Stanek.   Telecom will invest 60 billion crowns of this from their own resources.   Strategic forces will contribute approximately 35 billion crowns while the remainder will be obtained from domestic and foreign banks.   - Wages in foreign firms in Prague are up to twice as much as wages for similar work in other parts of the nation.   - Skoda VW sold 55,095 automobiles to the end of August for a market share of 54.63 percent.   This is a decrease of 6.77 percentage points from the same period a year ago and a decrease of 1.04 percent over the previous month.   - In spite of decreases in production, Svit group managed to increase turnover to 1.4 billion crowns between January and July of this year.   While production and sales decreased by 10 percent over the previous year, the shoe manufacturer increased turnover by three percent.   HOSPODARSKE NOVINY - One of the recently-named owners of the PPF investment company, Stepan Popovic, stated that the company never concealed the ownership of the company.   - Poldi Ocel is intending to found Poldi Steel International, an international business syndicate, during the upcoming international trade conference scheduled to take place in Kladno on September 24.   - Ceskomoravske Doly, a mining company, expects turnover of 4.5 billion crowns with 21.8 million crowns net profit and output of 3.5 million tonnes of coal in 1996.   -- Prague Newsroom - 42-2-2324 0003 
13603 !GCAT  IZVESTIA   - Russian passenger airplane builders accuse state-owned carrier Aeroflot of undermining their business by turning to American-manufactured jets.   - The Russian government is due to nationalise Agroprombank shortly, others may be in the wings.   - Deputies of the Council of Europe deputies say they want to invite Chechen rebel commander Aslan Maskhadov and Russian security chief Alexander Lebed to Strasbourg to promote a stable and fair peace in the separatist republic.   SEVODNYA   - The state is tightening its grip on all major oil-producing companies.   - The Russian Central Bank says individual commercial banks may be in trouble but no systemic crisis is looming.   NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA   - Drafts of new low-denomination Russian banknotes due to be presented to the public in October prompt rumours that Russia will knock zeros off the rouble in some form of monetary reform.   ROSSIISKAYA GAZETA   - Foreign passenger jet producers take on their Russian competitors for a bigger share of the domestic market where Russian makers seem to be loosing ground to the opposition.   MOSKOVSKY KOMSOMOLETS   - Over 200 unique antique manuscripts seem to have vanished from Russia's State Library, the biggest in the country.   The disappearance was discovered in a routine check.   --Andrei Shukshin, Moscow Newsroom, +7095 941 8520 
13604 !GCAT  These are the main headlines on Hungary's Kossuth Radio midday news.   Reuters cannot vouch for their accuracy:   - Visiting King Juan Carlos of Spain encouraged a business gathering in Budapest to build Spanish-Hungarian economic ties.   - The State Audit Office found less than usual mistakes in the 1995 final state budget, but it still does not meet legal requirements.   - Serious defficiencies in the work of the Health Insurance's Homecare fund.   - Manifests distributed in Romanian cities protest against teh Hungarian-Romanian basic treaty (to be signed on Monday in Timisoara, Romania)   - Opposition party Smallholders said the state taking over the National Bank's 2,000 billion forints worth of debts is a specious solution to the problem.   - Head of opposition party Hungarian Democratic Forum will attend a rally against the Hungarian-Romanian basic treaty to be held in Timisoara.   -- Budapest newsroom +36 1 327 4040 
13605 !GCAT !GCRIM !GODD !GPOL  A Hungarian gypsy who was refused service in a restaurant in northwestern Hungary has won a landmark discrimination suit against the owner.   Gyula Goman won a libel case against restaurant owner Jozsef Berta of Gyor who had refused to serve him, saying "a gypsy cannot eat, drink or have fun here", the Hungarian news agency MTI said on Thursday.   Goman's lawyer, Imre Furmann, said the case was a landmark for Hungary, where gypsies often are treated as second-class citizens. 
13606 !GCAT !GENV !GVIO  Police held 12 activists on Thursday after they boarded an aircraft near the Belgian port of Ostend in a bid to block a shipment of plutonium to Scotland, the environmental activist group Greenpeace said.   Greenpeace spokesman Jon Walter said the group's activists were arrested after delaying the aircraft, due to transport 13.2 kilos of plutonium and 31 kilos of highly enriched uranium to Wick airport in northern Scotland, for an hour.   "But we don't know whether they are going to be charged or not," he told Reuters, adding that the action had ended peacefully.   There was no immediate comment from the Ostend police.   Greenpeace said the plutonium came from an abandoned experimental breeder reactor in the German town of Karlsruhe and was to be reprocessed at the Dounreay site in Scotland.   A Greenpeace statement accused the nuclear industry of seeking to turn commercial airports into part of their nuclear infrastructure.   "The civil aviation industry must stop this nuclear madness in the skies before any more transports take place," it said.   Greenpeace said only two days ago the International Atomic Energy Agency had approved the use of nuclear containers for air transport which can withstand a fall of just nine metres.   In contrast, U.S. legislation requires such containers to withstand a crash of 11,700 metres. 
13607 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  The majority of Greek brokers   expect the socialist PASOK party of Costas Simitis to prevail in   national elections on September 22 according to a poll by Flash   radio station.   Flash polled 64 of the total 66 Athens stock exchange member   firms asking the respective chief executive to name the   political party that would win the elections.   There were 54   responses from the sample of 64 brokerages.   The results have as   follows:    Brokers see win by: PASOK 21 -- New Democracy 3    To close to call: 20    Don't know/won't answer:  10   --George Georgiopoulos, Athens Newsroom +301 3311812-4 
13608 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  The last public opinion polls   ahead of national elections show a close race between the two   main parties and a strong performance by smaller parties:   RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL HELLAS poll   released by Star channel   National 3-10 September   Based on 2,500 people   Indicate the party you would vote for on 22 September:   Pasok 31.2%   ND 28.6   Political Spring  3.6   KKE 4.4   Synaspismos 4.4   Dikki 4.7   Other 2.8   Blank 2.5   Invalid 2.2   Don't know/undecd  4.1   None/abstain 4.1   Refused to answer  7.3   ICAP poll for Eleftherotypia   National 2-9 September   Based on 2,000 people   Which party would you vote for if elections were held today?   Pasok 31.9%   ND 29.9   Political Spring  6.2   KKE 4.9   Syn 4.8   Dikki 5.5   Other 2.5   Invalid/Blank 4.0   I wouldn't vote  1.1   Undecide 4.5   No answer 4.5   ICAP gives a margin of statistical fluctuation of +/- 2.084 for   Pasok and +/- 2.047 for ND's figures.   Eleftherotypia says there are 492,000 new voters since the last   elections (1993).   The base for these was 391 people, of the   total, ages 18 and up.   Whom would you vote for in these elections?   Pasok 22.3%   ND 10.2   Politiki Aniksi  14.1   KKE 8.4   Synaspismos 5.9   Dikki 5.1   Other 6.1   Blank/Invalid 8.7   I wouldn't vote  3.6   Undecided 11.8   No answer 3.6   DIMEL POLL   Published by Kathimerini   Conducted in greater Athens area   September 3-6   Whom would you vote for if elections were to be held today?   Pasok 27.33%   ND 28.84   Political Spring 5.15   KKE 6.80   Synaspismos  5.29   Dikki 5.48   Other 2.41   Blank 3.28   None 3.71   Undecided  10.98   No answer  0.74   Have you decided what party you'll vote for?   Yes 65.77%   Probably  15.37   Probably no  4.19   No 14.20   No answer  0.46   How probable is it that you will vote for Pasok again?   I don't know/no answer 1.17%   Very probable  49.42   Fairly probable  18.68   Not so probable  16.34   No chance 14.40   How probable is it that you will vote for ND again?   I don't know/no answer 0.00%   Very probable  60.80   Fairly probable  18.40   Not so probable  13.60   No chance 7.20   What are the issues most likely to influence your vote?   Economic 55.58%   National 24.24   Social 12.62   Other 4.21   Don't know/no answer 3.35   --Athens Newsroom +301 3311812-4 
13609 !GCAT !GENT  The British Sun newspaper said on Thursday the top-selling British pop group Oasis, currently on tour in the United States, are to split up.   An assistant to editor Stewart Higgins told Reuters the tabloid would be carrying the report in its Friday edition.    The paper said Noel Gallagher, brother of hot-tempered singer Liam, had broken off from the group's U.S. tour to fly home.   The brothers, who have always had a tempestuous relationship, had a blazing row on Wednesday after their show in Charlotte, North Carolina.   The band's record company could not immediately be reached for comment, but was expected to issue a statement later on Thursday.   The band hit the headlines earlier this month when Liam delayed his departure for the U.S., saying he wanted to look for a new home in London. 
13610 !C13 !C21 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !GHEA  British government ministers agreed on Thursday that new scientific findings on mad cow disease, or BSE, that suggest it will die out in five years should be reviewed with the EU Commission.   Prime Minister John Major's Downing Street office issued a statement making it clear that Britain will not unilaterally cut a planned cattle slaughter programme to eradicate the disease without first talking to Brussels.   "Ministers noted that the scientific findings represent new factors which must be reviewed with the Commission," the statement said.    The statement said a meeting of cabinet ministers considered "new scientific evidence on maternal transmission" of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy as well as "new scientific analysis of the rate of BSE eradication in Britain".   It said the new evidence should be evaluated in the light of the agreement at the EU summit in Florence that a ban on British beef exports should be gradually lifted "on the basis of objective scientific criteria".   "The Agriculture Minister (Douglas Hogg) will take forward discussions with the Commission and the agriculture industry in the days ahead," it added.   The ministers also agreed to accelerate the slaughter of cattle aged more than 30 months old, a policy which it said had the backing of farmers.   -- London Newsroom +44 171 542 4084 
13611 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  Britain's trade unions on Thursday rejected a call by left-wing miners' leader Arthur Scargill to fight every anti-union law brought in by the Conservative government, even if that meant going to jail.   Instead, the annual conference of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) backed a wide-ranging motion that would leave the bulk of the laws in place, with the hope that a future Labour government would give unions and members new workplace rights.   In a typically fiery speech, Scargill harked back to trade union heroes of the past who were not afraid to break the law and go to jail in support of their principles.   "With the best will in the world, we are not going to win the hearts and minds of the British working class with new-style videos and slick presentations," he said, dismissing the moderate "New Unionism" of TUC leader John Monks.   Scargill led Britain's miners in a lengthy, sometimes violent, but ultimately doomed strike against the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher in 1984-5.   He reminded delegates of their fight against the hated anti-union laws enacted in the 1980s and noted they had an unlikely supporter at that time.   "It's interesting that in the very early 1980s, the union movement was warned by a young barrister that we must be on our guard against anti-trade union laws, which were a concerted attempt to destroy the effectiveness of trade union action.   Tony Blair was absolutely right," he said.   Blair is now the leader of the Labour Party aiming to end 17 years of Conservative rule at an election due within eight months.   He angered the unions this week by suggesting arbitration could be used as a way to avoid strikes, particularly in the public sector.   As usual these days, Scargill, who last year left Labour in protest at Blair's moderation and set up his own Socialist Labour Party, won the loudest applause then lost the vote overwhelmingly.   The TUC leadership won the day with its support for the Labour Party's package of recognition rights, beefed up by a right to strike without fear of dismissal and full employment rights from the first day in a job.   "Refusing to cooperate with the law is not an option," said Bill Morris of the Transport and General Workers Union.   "After 17 years of hostile, draconian legislation, we face the very real prospect of making progress on employment rights."   Alan Johnson of the Communications Workers Union, which has called two more one-day postal strikes later this month in a dispute over work arrangements, used the debate to take a swipe at both government and Labour arbitration plans.   "There's no mileage in suggesting there's some type of antiseptic laboratory into which you can place a dispute, and out of which comes a clean, nice resolution," he said. 
13612 !GCAT  Following are some of the major events which occurred on September 19 in history.   1356 - English army led by The Black Prince, son of Edward III, defeated King John II of France in the Battle of Poitiers at the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years War.   1551 - Henry III, King of France from 1574 and last king of the Valois dynasty, born.   1802 - Lajos Kossuth, Hungarian revolutionary and briefly Governor of Hungary, born.   After defeat by the Austrians at Temesvar, he fled to Turkey where he was imprisoned.   1839 - George Cadbury, British social reformer who took over the family's chocolate business, born.   1851 - William Hesketh Lever, British soap and detergent entrepreneur who built the international firm Lever Brothers, born.   1867 - Arthur Rackham, British artist and illustrator, best known for his drawings in children's stories, born.   1876 - The first carpet sweeper was patented by inventor Melville Bissell, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, who later formed his own company.   1881 - James Garfield, 20th U.S. president, died after being shot on July 2, 1881.   He had been president only since March 4 that year.   1888 - The world's first beauty contest took place at Spa in Belgium.   The first prize was awarded to Bertha Soucaret, an 18-year-old Creole from Guadeloupe.   1893 - New Zealand became the first country to grant all its women the right to vote.   1905 - Thomas Barnardo, British pioneer in social work and founder of more than 90 homes for destitute children, died.   1911 - Sir William Golding, British author, born.   His first published novel "Lord of the Flies" became an international bestseller and was later filmed.   1918 - Turkish forces In Palestine were decisively beaten by the British under Edmund Allenby at the Battle of Megiddo.   1922 - Emil Zatopek, Czech athlete and middle distance runner, born.   He set 18 world records and won all 69 of his races between 1949-51.   1941 - The German army captured Kiev.   1945 - William Joyce, who broadcast Nazi propaganda to Britain during the war as Lord Haw Haw, was sentenced to death by a British court for treason.   He was later hanged.   1955 - Encircled by revolutionary forces, President Juan Peron of Argentina resigned and fled into exile.   1961 - Jamaica voted in a referendum to secede from the West Indies Federation.   1983 - The Caribbean islands of St Kitts-Nevis became an independent state.   1985 - Up to 12,000 people were estimated to have been killed and 40,000 people injured when an earthquake hit Mexico City.   The quake measured 8.1 on the Richter scale.   1989 - A DC-10 belonging to the French airline UTA exploded over the Sahara on a flight from Brazzaville to Paris, killing all 170 aboard.   1991 - The newly independent republic of Byelorussia changed its name to Belarus.   1991 - An EC peace conference on Yugoslavia broke up in The Hague when Serbia rejected the idea of foreign troops being used in peacekeeping.   1993 - The Polish Democratic Left Alliance of former Communists took the largest number of seats in parliament in Poland's general elections.   1994 - Thousands of U.S. troops swept ashore to launch an intervention aimed at restoring democracy. 
13613 !GCAT !GPOL  South Africa's Nationalist Party leader F.W. de Klerk wants to woo black voters and aims to win back power in eight years.   In an interview with The London Times newspaper published on Friday, he said: "We are confident that millions and millions of black voters share our values."   But he also stressed that Afrikanerdom will survive and every Afrikaner "knows that things would be far worse today if we hadn't made the changes that we did in 1990."   De Klerk, one of the architects of post-apartheid South Africa, led his Nationalist Party out of the government last May.   He was clear about his political aims: "Our aim in the next election is to bring the ANC under 50 percent and to win the election after that in 2004."   Returning to the attack against President Nelson Mandela's African National Congress, he said: "The ANC is still not a party.   It has lost its raison d'etre -- the anti-apartheid struggle -- and in the end it didn't even have the satisfaction of overthrowing apartheid.   "It was we who removed it.   Now it it is they who must face choices.   We have faced our moment of truth but for them the moment of truth still lies ahead." 
13614 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  A group of Protestant "Loyalist" women jeered Irish President Mary Robinson on Thursday when she paid a one-day visit to the British-ruled province of Northern Ireland.   They shouted at Robinson as she visited a women's centre to air their disgust at what they see as Ireland's support for IRA guerrilla attempts to end British rule.   The Irish President made light of the incident which she blamed on sectarian tension spilling over from a summer of violent demonstrations and counter-protests by the Protestant majority and Catholic minority.   It exploded on July 12 when violent Protestant protests forced police to scrap a ban on an Orange Order parade through a Catholic section of the rural town of Portadown.   "After the summer we have had it is not surprising that there are some fears, it is not surprising that there is some distrust," said Robinson.   She also had her first public meeting with Gerry Adams, president of the Irish Republican Army's IRA guerrilla wing, when she toured Catholic, Irish nationalist parts of Belfast.   Robinson said the meeting had no special significance.   A handshake with Adams behind closed doors two years ago caused outrage in the Loyalist community.   Robinson said her visit had no special political agenda but was part of her continued bridge-building efforts which have taken her to Northern Ireland several times in recent years.   Her main engagement was to attend a conference of European Methodist Churches.   Ireland's constitution lays claim to the province and its people but successive governments have backed attempts to forge a lasting political settlement.   Robinson, whose role in Irish politics is largely ceremonial, has called on the two communities to foster peace through community contact.   The province has been on edge since the IRA ended a 17-month ceasefire in February this year with attacks on British targets in London and Germany.   A parallel truce by Protestant guerrillas fighting to maintain British rule is still in force but spokesmen for the guerrillas say it is at risk because of the IRA campaign. 
13615 !C13 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  Britain on Thursday ordered a comprehensive probe to discover what caused the sinking of the Derbyshire, the largest British ship ever lost at sea.   Shipping minister Lord Goschen said an investigation carried out earlier this year into the 1980 tragedy of the 90,000-tonne bulk oil carrier in which 44 people died, had already established the location of the vessel's stern.   The Derbyshire sank in September 1980 on a voyage from Canada to Japan.   Families of the dead claim a design fault caused the huge ship to snap in two.   Its sister ship, the Kowloon Bridge, went aground off the south-west coast of Ireland in 1986 and then broke up.   Goschen said in a statement that the U.S. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution would undertake the detailed probe early next year in cooperation with European research institutions.   "It is likely to involve up to 40 days on site," he said.   The probe would include "a complete sonar and photographic survey of the entire site followed by detailed video and photographic examination of key parts of the wreckage".   An investigation launched shortly after the disaster concluded the Derbyshire was probably overwhelmed by the "forces of nature" in a typhoon.   "The evidence does not support any firmer conclusion," it said.   A 1994 search sponsored by the International Transport Workers Federation found the wreckage of the ship.   British judge Lord Donaldson then reported to the government, recommending a final examination of the site of the wreck. 
13616 !GCAT  Babies put in day-care centres before they are one year old can grow into pre-school terrors, an Italian psychologist said on Thursday.   They become uncooperative and competitive children, Dario Varin of the University of Milan reported.   "Contrary to expectations, the early group experience did not foster cooperative behaviour," Varin told a meeting of the British Psychological Society in Oxford.   He said the effect seemed only to happen when babies were put into very large classes, and another expert said smaller groups may work better.   Varin studied 89 children at an Italian nursery school.   Thirty-six of them had been enrolled at a day-care centre for at least a year while 56 had been cared for at home before joining nursery school.   The children, aged between three and six years, were given standardised behaviour tests and their parents were interviewed.   Those kept in day care, boys and girls alike, were less cooperative, snatched toys from other children, smiled less at other children and were less able to "resist temptation".   "This is consistent with much that we know about child development," said Olivera Petrovich, a developmental psychologist at Britain's University of Buckingham, who chaired the session that included Varin's report.   She noted that Varin's subjects were cared for in centres that kept children in groups of about 15.   "That's a very large group size for an infant or a toddler," she said.   "It is quite understandable that they simply do not have as good an opportunity as children raised in their own homes to establish stable relationships with their carers or with other children."   But Petrovich said working mothers should not feel guilty.   It was just important to make sure such babies got a lot of individualised attention.   "We know from a lot of related research on maternal deprivation that it really doesn't matter much whether it is the mother that looks after the child or a carer, provided the child has a chance to establish a stable relationship with the carer." 
13617 !GCAT !GCRIM  Republican prisoners on parole from Northern Ireland's top-security Maze prison will take part in a play this weekend inspired by hunger-striker Bobby Sands, who starved himself to death for a united Ireland.   A spokesman for the Northern Ireland prison service said the men had not been freed on parole specifically to take part in the play but had been allowed out under normal parole rules.   The group timed its application for parole to coincide with the staging this weekend of "The Crime of Castlereagh," a play based on poetry by Sands, who died in a hunger-strike to win political status for jailed Irish Republicans.   It has already been staged inside the Maze prison by a cast of its inmates, two of whom have since been freed and will be in the cast of Saturday's performance.   They will be joined by former associates from the Maze prison near Belfast where they are serving sentences for security offences linked to anti-British violence.   Sands is idolised by Irish Republicans, who want an end to British rule of Northern Ireland, for his fatal fast in a vain protest to win political prisoner status.   Castlereagh is the main holding station of the Royal Ulster Constabulary police force, which is despised by Republicans because they see it as a tool of continued rule by pro-British Protestants. 
13618 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  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     % %  % %  %    ICM  1,200 SEP 6-7  28 51 15 5  23    GALLUP 1,024 AUG24-SEP3 25.5 58.5 11 5  33    GALL 9000 8,803 JUL31-SEP3 26.9 53.3 13.8 6  26.4    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 
13619 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT !GDIP !GJOB  German and British business groups on Thursday urged the European Union to abandon its Employment Chapter on workers' rights, saying this type of regulation would hurt job creation and competitiveness.   (Corrects from social chapter to employment chapter in headline and first paragraph).   A joint statement released after a meeting between the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the Federation of German Industry (BDI) in Cologne, Germany said the two groups were united on in their views on European policy.   "Business rejects proposals for an employment chapter," the statement said.   It stressed that only national and local government could take steps to help the unemployed regain jobs.    "The BDI and CBI regret that their respective governments have not been able to prevent the EU from supporting the inclusion of a discussion on social standards in the agenda, (of the next Inter Governmental Conference)," the statement said.   "This harbours dangers for a liberal World Trade Organisation policy and the multilateral world trade order."   EU governments had to make critical decisions to improve European competitiveness and employment opportunities as well as ensuring its enlargement with members from East Europe, it said.   The statement urged the EU to remove "costly and burdensome regulations" which hurt investment, innovation and flexibility.    It also called for completion of the single market by removing existing trade barriers and liberalising markets which were still protected, such as public utilities.   The statement said business in both Britain and Europe needed to ensure that political decision-making focused on the economic and business and realities of European Monetary Union.   "The BDI and CBI emphasize that if a leading group of member states joins a single currency in 1999, this must not prevent other EU states from continuing to participate fully in the single market," the statement said.    German industry, as a leading investor in Great Britain, was anxious that British participation in EMU was not ruled out.   The statement said the BDI welcomed the lead which the UK gave on competitiveness in the EU, and pointed to the success of inward investment in Britain as a result.   Since 1990, foreign direct investment in Britain amounted to over 120 billion stg compared with just 15.5 billion during the same period in Germany, it said.   -- Mariam Isa +44 171 542 7708 
13620 !GCAT !GSPO  (Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors)   THE AUSTRALIAN   Former Hawthorn premiership rucksman Don Scott said his group had received 1,300 proxy votes against the merger with Australian Football League club Melbourne, taking the tally to 2,500 in just two days of mail.   Although anit-merger lobby Operation Payback's trust fund is continuing to grow, receiving A$95,000 in cash and cheques in the last two days, Don Scott warned supporters there was still a long way to go.   Page 36.   --   Carlton has made three drastic changes for tomorrow night's second semi-final against Brisbane at the Gabba, dumping two members of last year's AFL premiership side.   Matt Clape and Mil Hanna were overlooked while Brent Heaver was also axed.   Essendon made two changes for the first semi-final at the MCG tomorrow, overlooking Scott Lucas and injured Justin Blumfield.   Page 36.   --   Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O'Neill's attempts to side-step the British home unions to strike a deal with England to complete a Wallaby grand slam tour have failed.   The Four Home Unions Tour committee canned the idea on Wednesday, ending O'Neill's plans for a Test against World Cup quarter-final opponents England at Twickenham on December 7.   The Wallabies look set to adhere to their amended schedule and will play their final match against the Barbarians at Twickenham.   Page 35.   --   THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD   The NSW Rugby Union will know tonight whether it still interests the masses when it stages a finals double-header at the Sydney Football Stadium.   In a bid to attract larger crowds than last year's disappointing 8,790 spectators per final's match, the NSWU has moved the Friday night finals to the SFS.   Tonight the Randwick-Canberra elimination will be followed by Eastern Suburbs playing Eastwood in the preliminary semi-final.   Page 38.   --   Sydney City coach Phil Gould last night said St George's David Waite and Manly's Bob Fulton had both shown they were struggling to cope with finals pressure in a reply to accusations that the Roosters' injuries were part of a subterfuge to plan a surprise attack.   Gould expressed his annoyance at continuing allegations of gamemanship against the Roosters, saying the two teams don't want the pressures of being the favourites against a wounded side.   Page 38.   --   Mark Taylor and Shane Warne were both restored to the Australian cricket team's seventh tour of India yesterday although both are required to satisfy the national selectors in the next fortnight that they have completely recovered from surgery.   Warne is still recovering from surgery in May to the main knuckle of his right ring finger and Taylor is battling with back injuries.   Page 38.   --   THE DAILY TELEGRAPH   Cronulla has requested the league to check the legality of the special hand guard Broncos prop Andrew Gee will wear in tomorrow's elimination semi-final at the SCG.   Referees boss Mick Stone is set to examine the guard at the Bronco's hotel today and one of the touch judges will also examine the gaurd before kickoff on Sunday.   Provided the guard is not made of a rigid substance it will be deemed legal.   Page 112.   --   Todd Woodbridge has been forced to withdraw from next week's crucial Davis Cup tie in Split.   Australian team captain John Newcombe said yesterday that Woodbridge had pulled out of the World Group qualifying round clash with a minor medical problem which was likely to keep him out of action for two weeks.   Patrick Rafter is now favoured to pair up with Mark Woodforde at the Cup tie.   Page 105.   --   Australian coach Eddie Thompson will keep the Socceroos out of Johannesburg's high altitude before next week's international against South Africa.   The Socceroos will play their first match in the Simba Four Nations Cup against Ghana in Durban tomorrow at 1 p.m.   Sydney time.   Page 106.   --   HERALD SUN   The Australian Football League's Sydney Swans has issued a warning to other teams that it will not be trading its young players, Shannon Grant and Anthony Rocca.   The two players complete their two-year contracts this year and it is no secret Carlton and Collingwood have been scouting for the pair.   Sydney's board said, 'under no circumstances will we trade on required players'.   Page 120.   --   Facing a knee reconstruction, Hawthorn player Jason Dunstall may be sidelined for up to 12 months - a threat to his AFL football career.   After three minutes into the third quarter of last Saturday's qualifying final, Dunstall landed awkwardly on his left knee, tearing the anterior cruciate ligament and damaging the prosterior cruciate ligament.   At worst, Dunstall may decide not to play in 1998 if forced out of next year's season.   Page 118.   --   The Australian Football League sees soccer as a threat to its game, according to Soccer Australia chief David Hill.   Following a meeting with AFL operations manager Ian Collins, Hill was convinced AFL had singled out soccer as the sport it does not want its clubs involved with.   Hill believes the two sports can co-exist in a healthy way in Melbourne.   Page 118.   -- Reuters Sydney Newsroom 61-2 373-1800 
13621 !GCAT !GSPO  Victoria selectors on Thursday left former Australia pace bowler Merv Hughes out of their state squad for the coming Australian season.   Hughes, who took 212 wickets for Australia in 53 tests, did not play for his state last year and has been plagued by knee and back injuries over the past three years.   Selectors pruned their squad to 31 on Thursday and expect to cut it back further to 25 in the next two weeks.   Victoria coach John Scholes told reporters Hughes should prove his fitness at district level in a bid to regain state selection.   "I think it's very much in Merv's court at the moment," Scholes said.   "Merv has been unable to meet the required fitness standards of the squad at this time.   Everyone involved in Victorian cricket wants to see him back and we will do whatever we can to support his endeavours to regain fitness and form," he said.   Hughes, who turns 35 in November, told a news conference he had concentrated on promotional activities this year and that he understood the selectors' decision.   "It's not the end of the world," Hughes said.   "There were some requirements set down four months ago...and I haven't met those requirements, so it's only fair that the selection board omit me from the squad," he said.   -- Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 
13622 !GCAT !GSPO  HAMILTON, Sept 12 - Waikato rugby coach John Boe will ask referee Paddy O'Brien to police the gap in the lineouts during tomorrow night's Ranfurly Shield match against North Harbour at Rugby Park, NZPA reports.   Boe said he rated O'Brien highly as a referee and was confident the Southlander would do a good job, but he was concerned in recent games that lineouts were becoming something of a free-for-all.   "The refereeing of lineouts tomorrow night will be crucial and (referee) Paul Macfie in our last two games just hasn't policed the gap," Boe said.    "One big thing about Super 12 games is that all the referees did police that gap and the games were free-flowing as a result."   Waikato have worked hard on their lineout tactics at training, having lost a number of their own throw-ins in the last couple of games.   "Our scrum has been solid, but our lineout has been most inconsistent and there is no excuse.   We've got good jumpers and a good thrower," Boe said.    Possession will be crucial in tomorrow night's match, which doubles as an NPC first division clash, especially if the wet weather continues.   North Harbour will certainly test the home side's lineout abilities.   They have All Blacks Ian Jones and Blair Larsen jumping against Waikato's former international locks Mark Cooksley and Steve Gordon, as well as a strong tail including high-leaping flanker Liam Barry.    "We've played a lot this season without the ball and inevitably that leads to penalties.   We have to get at least 50 percent possession.   Our retention of possession was a lot better against Taranaki and our attack and defence also got a lot better," said Boe.   It is a moot point whether wet conditions will favour Waikato or North Harbour but Waikato officials are looking closely at whether to retain the colts' curtain-raiser if the rain persists.    "Our players would prefer a dry ground.   We've scored 13 tries in four NPC games and most of them have been out in the backs, so that says something," said Boe.   "North Harbour are probably a bit the same, although they did play quite well in these (wet) conditions last weekend and while we've trained a lot in them, we've hardly struck a wet game," Boe said.   Waikato finished their preparations with a short but intensive training session under lights at Te Awamutu's Albert Park last night.    "It was a good training.   We did everything we had to do, but only for half the time (about 50 minutes) because the guys are still a little bit sore and tired," Boe said. 
13623 !GCAT !GSPO  Australia on Thursday named opener and captain Mark Taylor and leg-spinner Shane Warne in a 14-man squad to tour India in October and November, but both players may be forced to pull out because of injury.   Taylor and Warne, who are both recovering from recent surgery, missed the recent tour to Sri Lanka and have yet to prove their fitness.   Australian Cricket Board chief executive Graham Halbish said: "Test selectors (will) monitor the fitness of a number of players in the lead-up to the team's departure on September 29".   Veteran fast bowler Craig McDermott, overlooked for this month's quadrangular limited overs tournament in Sri Lanka, failed to win a recall for the seven-week India tour.   Australia will play one test against India in New Delhi from October 10-14 and will join India and South Africa in a limited overs series.   Taylor, who underwent surgery three weeks ago to repair a damaged disc in his back, practised at the nets earlier this week for the first time since the operation.   Warne is recovering from an operation in May to repair ligament damage in the fourth finger of his right hand and has not bowled leg-spin in match conditions since leaving hospital.   Wicketkeeper Ian Healy, who deputised for Taylor in Sri Lanka, where the hosts easily beat Australia in the final, will revert to his normal role as vice-captain.   South Australia batsman Darren Lehmann was dropped from the squad to make way for Taylor's return at the top of the order.   Australia:   Mark Taylor (captain), Ian Healy, Michael Bevan, Damien Fleming, Jason Gillespie, Brad Hogg, Stuart Law, Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting, Paul Reiffel, Michael Slater, Shane Warne, Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh. 
13624 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of South Korean pro-baseball games played on Wednesday.    Hyundai 5  LG 1    Hanwha 8  Samsung  3    Lotte 8  OB 4   Standings after games played on Wednesday (tabulated under won, drawn, lost, winning percentage, games behind first place)    W D L PCT  GB    Haitai  67 2 49 .576  -    Hanwha  66 1 52 .559  2    Ssangbangwool 66 2 53 .554  2 1/2    Hyundai  65 5 53 .549  3    Samsung  54 5 62 .467  13    Lotte  51 6 59 .466  13    LG 48 5 68 .417  19    OB 47 6 68 .413 19 1/2 
13625 !GCAT !GSPO  New York Racing Association said it is asking the state to increase the racing season at Saratoga Race Course by three days to 36 days.   If approved, the new season would start July 23 and continue through Labor Day, for the longest thoroughbred season in Saratoga's history.   The town captures much of its revenues during the summer racing season.   --U.S. Municipal Desk, 212-859-1650 
13626 !GCAT !GSPO  Scoreboard at the end of the Sri Lanka's first innings on the second day of the first cricket test against Zimbabwe on Thursday.   SRI LANKA 1st innings (290 for seven overnight)    R. Mahanama lbw b Streak 4    S. Jayasuriya c Evans b Olonga 0    A. Gurusinha c Olonga b Strang 52    A. de Silva b Strang 35    H. Tillekeratne c A. Flower b Olonga  20    A. Ranatunga lbw b Streak 75    R. Kaluwitharana c and Streak 71    K. Dharmasena not out 42    C. Vaas b Strang 34    M. Muralitharan b Strang 0    J. Silva c and b Strang 0    Extras (lb-6, w-2, nb-8) 16    Total (all out 106.3 overs) 349   Fall of wickets: 1-4 2-4 3-53 4-105 5-128 6-270 7-271 8-345 9-349 10-349   Bowling: Streak 20-6-54-3, Olonga 17-3-57-2, G. Whittall 12-1-43-0, Strang 34.3-3-106-5, A. Whittall 13-3-40-0, Evans 6-0-27-0, G. Flower 4-1-16-0. 
13627 !GCAT !GSPO  Sri Lanka were 349 at the end of their first innings on the second day of the first cricket test against Zimbabwe on Thursday. 
13628 !GCAT !GPOL  ARGENTINA GOVERNMENT LIST (960912)    President (Re-elected 14 May 95)................  .  Carlos MENEM    Vice-President.................................Carlos RUCKAUF    - - - - - - -   PERONIST PARTY GOVERNMENT (Sworn in 8 Jul 95)    - - - - - - -   MINISTERS:    Cabinet Chief.................................Jorge RODRIGUEZ    Defence.......................................Jorge DOMINGUEZ    Economy, Public Works & Services..............Roque FERNANDEZ    Education.......................................Susana DECIBE    Foreign Affairs...............................  .  Guido DI TELLA    Health & Social Action..........................  Alberto MAZZA    Interior........................................Carlos CORACH    Intelligence Secretary........................Hugo ANZORREGUI    Justice.........................................  .  Elias JASSAN    Labour..................................Armando CARO FIGUEROA    Secretary General of the Presidency.............Alberto KOHAN    - - - - - - -    Central Bank President..............................Pedro POU    - - - - - - -     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) 
13629 !GCAT !GPOL  ISRAEL GOVERNMENT LIST (960912)    President........................................Ezer WEIZMAN   (Sworn in 13 May 93 for a 5-year term)    - - - - - - -   LIKUD-LED COALITION GOVERNMENT (Sworn in 18 Jun 96)   (For party affiliations see end of list)    Prime Minister.......................Benjamin NETANYAHU (LIK)   (Sworn in 18 Jun 96)   (Also Minister of Housing & Construction & Religious Affairs)    - - - - - - -   MINISTERS:    Agriculture & Environment..................Rafael EITAN (TZO)    Commerce & Industry.....................  Natan SHARANSKY (ISR)    Communications.............................Limor LIVNAT (LIK)    Defence...............................  Yitzhak MORDECHAI (LIK)    Education & Culture.......................Zvulun HAMMER (NRP)    Finance....................................  .  Dan MERIDOR (LIK)    Foreign Affairs..............................David LEVY (GES)    Health....................................  Tsahi HANEGBI (LIK)   (Also acting minister of Justice)    Housing & Construction.................... See Prime Minister    Immigration..............................Yuli EDELSTEIN (ISR)    Interior....................................  .  Eli SUISSA (SHA)    Internal Security.....................  .  Avigdor KAHALANI (THI)    Justice...................................See Health Minister    Labour & Welfare..............................Eli ISHAI (SHA)    National Infrastructure....................Ariel SHARON (LIK)    Religious Affairs..........................  See Prime Minister    Science..................................Binyamin BEGIN (LIK)    Tourism....................................  Moshe KATZAV (LIK)    Transport & Energy.........................Yitzhak LEVY (NRP)    - - - - - - -   PARTY AFFILIATIONS:   LIK -- Likud   NRP -- National Religious Party   THI -- The Third Way   SHA -- Shas   ISR -- Israel ba-Aliya   TZO -- Tzomet   NON -- Non-aligned   GES -- Gesher    - - - - - - -    Speaker of the Knesset..........................  .  Shevah WEISS    - - - - - - -    Central Bank Governor..........................  .  Jacob FRENKEL    - - - - - - -     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) 
13630 !GCAT !GPOL  MACAU GOVERNMENT LIST (960912)   Governor (Sworn in 10 May 91,    reappointed 15 Mar 96)................  .  Vasco ROCHA VIEIRA    - - - - - - -   UNDER SECRETARIES:    Economic Affairs.................................Vitor PESSOA    Education, Administration.....................  Dr Jorge RANGEL    Health & Social Affairs.......................Ana Maria PEREZ    Information Services, Tourism, Culture.....Salavessa da COSTA    Justice........................................Jorge SILVEIRA    Public Security (From September)...........  .  Brig Manuel MONGE    Public Works..............................Jose Manuel MACHADO    - - - - - - -     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) 
13631 !GCAT !GPOL  MADAGASCAR GOVERNMENT LIST (960912)    *********************************************************    * 5 Sept 96 - The constitutional court confirmed the *    * impeachment of President Zafy and ordered*    * the prime minister to take over his  *    * duties until a new head of state is  *    * elected.    *    * - - - - - - - - - - *    * 3 Nov 1996 - Presidential elections *    *********************************************************    President (Sworn in 27 Mar 93)..................Albert ZAFY**    (**SEE note above)    - - - - - - -   GOVERNMENT:    Prime Minister (Apptd 28 May 96)......  Norbert RATSIRAHONANA**    (**See note above)    - - - - - - -   MINISTERS:    Agriculture & Rural Development...............Evariste MARSON    Armed Forces..........................  .  General Marcel RANJEVA    Budget & Finance.  .   ........................Faraoudine MOHAMED   Culture, Communications & Institutional    Relations..............................Henri RAKOTONIRAINY    Economy & Private Investment................  Raparison RICHARD    Energy & Mines..................................Betiana BRUNO    Fisheries & Resources........................Abdoulanziz MADY    Foreign affairs.................................Jacques SYLLA    Higher Education.....................  Pierre RANDRIANANTENAINA    Industry Craft, Commerce..........Reboza Razafimbevalo JULIEN    Interior & Decentralization..............Manahira RANOHARISON    Justice....................................  .  Houssein ABDALLAH    National Education............................Fanony FULGENCE    National Police..........................  Leon Arsene BELALAHY    Population & Social Recovery.........Jean Remy RANDRIAMANJAKA    Posts & Telecommunication.............Ny Hasina ANDRIAMANJATO   Public Functions, Administrative Reform    & Employment.............................Raparison RICHARD    Public Health...............................  .  Damase ANDRIAMBA    Public Roads & Territorial Development....Sylvain ANDRIANAIVO    Public Works.................................Raoel Royal FILS    Scientific Research........................Roger ANDRIANASOLO    Social Affairs & Culture.............Francois DE SALES RADESA    Social Laws, Reforms & Work..............Henri RAKOTOVOLOLONA    Trade & Tourism..........................  .  Henri RAKOTONIRAINY    Transport & Meteorology..........................  Andre RASOLO    Tourism...............................  .  Elyett RASENDRATSIROFO    Youth & Sports............................Theodore RANJIVASON    - - - - - - -   SECRETARIES OF STATE:    Budget..................................Johnson RANDRIANIAINA    Economy & Planning............................Auguste PARAINA    Environment....................................  .  RABEMANANTSOA    National Gendamerie...............Colonel Andriamanantsoa GUY    - - - - - - -    Speaker of Parliament...................Richard ANDRIAMANJATO    - - - - - - -    Governor of Central Bank...................Gaston RAVELOJAONA    - - - - - - -   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) 
13632 !GCAT !GCRIM  The highest court in this western Canadian province ruled on Thursday that a glue-sniffing pregnant woman cannot be ordered into a detoxification programme despite the threat to her foetus.   In a case that aroused controversy in Canada about the rights of the unborn, the Manitoba Court of Appeal in a unanimous decision cited a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that a foetus is not a person.   A lower court had ordered the 22-year-old substance abuser into an addiction treatment programme on Aug. 6, but the decision was stayed by an appeals court.   The woman, who has not been identified, agreed to remain in treatment but left shortly afterward.   The Winnipeg Child and Family Services agency had sought court-ordered treatment for the woman, arguing that two of the woman's other three children were harmed by her addiction.   The agency said the woman's addiction also posed a threat to her unborn child, and questioned her mental health.   Two psychiatrists found the woman mentally competent.   A lawyer for the agency said it has not decided whether to appeal the ruling to a federal court. 
13633 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Chrysler Canada lead negotiator Ken Francese said on Thursday that negotiations with the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union may be on a collision course over outsourcing.   He told Reuters the carmaker's proposal and the union's counter proposal differed substantially.   "We've made what we think was a pretty fair outsourcing proposal that addresses their concerns and we've got a counter-proposal which we'll take a look at and quite frankly there is a pretty large gap between those two proposals," Francese said ahead of delivering Chrysler's economic proposal.    Asked if there was room for Chrysler's Canadian unit to make concessions on its most recent outsourcing proposal, Francese said: "We can't do anything that impacts our flexibility."   He said Chrysler Canada had been able to add union jobs in the past three years because of its outsourcing ability.   But CAW president Buzz Hargrove said the union was willing to go on strike if Chrysler did not accede to the union's demands over this issue.   "He (Francese) has to understand that we are going to have a strike on this issue," Hargrove told a news conference.    Hargrove said Chrysler's economic proposal today was unacceptable although it seemed to shy away from previous submissions on gain-sharing and a longer term contract.   He said Chrysler continued to believe it was doing nothing wrong on and that it delivered an economic package that attacked the union's health benefits without satisfying the union's demands on wages.   "He (Francese) is still of the opinion that they have done nothing wrong and that they must maintain the right to make unilateral decisions on what's best for the corporation," Hargrove said.    Outsourcing is the sale of plants or the transfer of work to outside contractors, whose employees are generally not members of the auto unions.   The existing labor agreements with the three North American automakers -- Chrysler, Ford's Canadian unit and General Motors Corp 's Canadian subsidiary -- expire on September 14.   The CAW has a strike deadline for September 17 if it does not reach a deal with Chrysler, its negotiating target.   -- Paul Casciato (416) 941-8100, or e-mail: paul.casciato@reuters.com 
13634 !GCAT !GWEA  Canada's Prairies were forecast to be frost free until Monday morning, Environment Canada said.   Western Alberta was forecast to see a slight frost Monday and Tuesday mornings, Environment Canada's 10-day frost outlook said.   A moderate risk of frost was forecast for western Alberta Wednesday to Friday mornings with a moderate risk the morning of Saturday Sept 21.   A slight risk of frost was forecast for eastern Alberta and western Saskatchewan for the morning of Saturday Sept 21.   -- Gilbert Le Gras 204 947 3548 
13635 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Canadian Pacific Ltd's CP Rail System unit plans to transfer 121 freight car repair jobs from its Weston Shops in Winnipeg and eliminate the remaining 125 union jobs, a union official said on Thursday.   "There will be 121 transferred, mostly to Calgary," Dennis Cross, head of Canadian Auto Workers Local 101 told Reuters by phone after leaving a meeting with CP Rail executives in Toronto.   "The rest will be eliminated."   Cross also said the company's Sudbury, Ontario repair shop would close and 40 of the operation's 90 jobs would be moved to other locations.   The remainder would be eliminated, he said.    Company officials were not immediately available for comment.   The job numbers do not include management and support staff, Cross said.   "This is going to be the second major location where CP is not going to have any shop to repair their freight cars," Cross said.   "They closed the shop in Winnipeg in March where they do the safety repairs and they started doing them in the main shop.   Now they're getting rid of the main shop."   A 400-employee component manufacturing operation will remain in Winnipeg, he said.    Cross said the moves come as the Canadian railway sector's safety record is under increasing public scrutiny.   "It's devastating to our people and couldn't come at a worse time," he said.   "We've seen a number of shop closures both on CN and CP in the last year and it's reflecting in their safety."   He said union statistics revealed that industry-wide derailments because of locomotive and car failures had increased by 45 percent since repair shop closures began.   -- Reuters Calgary Bureau 403 531-1624 
13636 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said on Thursday night his country was committed to helping develop post-apartheid South Africa, despite inevitable criticism by the United States.   Attending a state banquet hosted by President Nelson Mandela at the presidential guest house in Pretoria, Rafsanjani told his 300-strong delegation, South African Foreign Minister Alfred Nzo and former mineral and energy affairs minister Pik Botha:   "We are ready to assist you in development and I know that the United States will not be satisfied with this cooperation of ours, but those two nations (South Africa and Iran) that have struggled, that have triumphed...will never let America decide their fate and destiny.   "They can recognise their enemies from their friends," he said.   The Gulf state leader arrived in the country on Thursday evening at the end of a six-nation swing through Africa for a whistle-stop two-day state visit to bolster bilateral ties.   Mandela thanked him for the sacrifices his country had made to support the anti-apartheid struggle, saying:   "Iran refused to oil the system which the world regarded as a crime against humanity...I still feel obliged to say to the people of Iran: 'Thank you'."   South African government sources said earlier, however, that Mandela would have preferred Rafsanjani to pay a quiet courtesy call, because the top-level state visit would test Pretoria's relations with the United States.   But Mandela was persuaded by his foreign minister, Nzo, to give Rafsanjani the same red-carpet treatment for his two-day visit that he had received in other African states including his previous stop, Zimbabwe, one government source said.   Another said South Africa agreed to Rafsanjani's request for a visit to protect a potentially lucrative trade opportunity.   "Iran has promised to help us redress our trade imbalance with the Middle East both directly and by providing us with a gateway to the region," the source said.   The decision to allow a state visit from Iran's president drew immediate response from the U.S. administration, which has already urged Pretoria not to go ahead with a proposed deal to let Iran store oil reserves here.   "Iran's international behaviour, its support of terrorism, its efforts to destabilise moderate governments and its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction represent a threat to all peace-loving nations, including the United States and South Africa," said a U.S. embassy official in Cape Town.   "For this reason, we are concerned that the visit of President Rafsanjani should not signal a closer relationship between South Africa and Iran."   The foreign ministry said, however, that the U.S. did not lodge a formal protest against the visit, which Mandela's spokesman Parks Mankahlana said should not affect relations between South Africa and other Western countries.   "We are a sovereign state and have the right to choose our friends.   Those countries don't have the right to tell us who our friends are," he said.   In his address at the banquet, Mandela said he was heartened that good progress had been made in bilateral relations, adding: "More work is being done to further strengthen these relations, including the exploration of ways to redress the imbalance in the trade between our two countries."   South Africa historically depends on Iran for two-thirds of its crude oil, for which it pays about five billion rand ($1.12 billion) annually, while Iran last year bought South African goods worth only 145.7 million rand ($32.5 million).   ($1=4.5 rand) 
13637 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Angola's Joint Ceasefire Commission said on Thursday it was important that UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi be given "special, visible status" in post-war Angola.   "It (the commission) is of the opinion that this issue should be supported because the participation of UNITA in the management of state affairs is a guarantee of national reconciliation," said United Nations special envoy to Angola, Alioune Blondin Beye.   "Although the government had made an offer in this respect which has been rejected, it is up to UNITA to counter-propose," he told a news conference after a meeting of the commission.   A clause providing for special status for Savimbi was written into the Lusaka Protocol, signed by the government and the former rebel movement to end two decades of civil war.   But a UNITA extraordinary congress rejected a government offer for Savimbi to become vice-president in a future unity government.   The Angolan government said the United Nations Security Council should take steps to press the opposition UNITA to speed up its implementation of the peace accords.   Angolan Foreign Minister Venancio de Moura, in Zimbabwe to brief President Robert Mugabe on developments, said Unita leader Jonas Savimbi's refusal last month of the offer of vice presidency put obstacles in the country's rocky path to peace.   "It's now time for the (U.N.) Security Council itself to accuse Savimbi and take steps under its resolutions on Angola, incuding sanctions, to make Savimbi oblige with all provisions of the Lusaka protocol," de Moura said.   The joint commission, overseeing the implementation of the peace accord, also reported that the disarming of 62,000 former rebel fighters at 15 assembly camps was almost completed.   Beye told reporters that the last two assembly camps at Muchinda in the diamond area of Lunda Norte and at Ntuco in Zaire province would be closed on Sunday, September 15.   Troops that were late to arrive would however be allowed to enter the camps afterwards, he added.   The United States' special envoy Paul Hare, sent to Luanda on Monday by President Bill Clinton to check on delays in the implementation of the peace process, said before his departure on Thursday that "the process is on the right path". 
13638 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  South African President Nelson Mandela thanked Iran's President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on Thursday for the sacrifices his country made to support the anti-apartheid struggle.   The Gulf state leader arrived on Thursday evening at the end of a six-nation swing through Africa to make a two-day state visit.   "Iran refused to oil the system which the world regarded as a crime against humanity...I still feel obliged to say to the people of Iran: 'Thank you'," Mandela said in a speech prepared for delivery at a banquet in Pretoria in honour of Rafsanjani.   South African government had said Mandela would have preferred Rafsanjani make a quiet courtesy call, because the top-level state visit would test Pretoria's relations with the United States.   But Mandela was persuaded by Foreign Minister Alfred Nzo to give Rafsanjani the same red-carpet treatment he had received in other African states, including his previous stop of Zimbabwe, one government source said.   Another said South Africa agreed to Rafsanjani's request for a visit to protect potentially lucrative trade.   "Iran has promised to help us redress our trade imbalance with the Middle East both directly and by providing us with a gateway to the region," the source said.   The decision to allow a state visit by Iran's president drew an immediate response from the U.S. administration, which had urged Pretoria not to go ahead with a proposed deal to let Iran store oil reserves here.   "Iran's international behaviour, its support of terrorism, its efforts to destabilise moderate governments and its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction represent a threat to all peace- loving nations, including the United States and South Africa," said a U.S. embassy official in Cape Town.   "For this reason, we are concerned that the visit of President Rafsanjani should not signal a closer relationship between South Africa and Iran."   The foreign ministry said, however, the United States did not lodge a formal protest.   Mandela's spokesman Parks Mankahlana said the visit should not affect relations between South Africa and other Western countries.   "We are a sovereign state and have the right to choose our friends.   Those countries don't have the right to tell us who our friends are," he said.   Mandela said at the state banquet he was heartened that good progress had been made in relations between the two governments.   "More work is being done to further strengthen these relations, including the exploration of ways to redress the imbalance in the trade between our two countries," he added.   South Africa depends on Iran for two-thirds of its crude oil, for which it pays about five billion rand ($1.12 billion) annually.   Iran last year bought South African goods worth 145.7 million rand ($32.5 million). 
13639 !GCAT !GDIP  Iran and Zimbabwe on Thursday urged an end to foreign interference in the problems plaguing the Gulf where tensions between the United States and Iraq have been escalating over the past fortnight.   In a communique issued at the end of Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's two-day visit to Zimbabwe, the two countries' leaders called for peaceful settlements to disputes in the region.   The United States has said it will send "stealth" fighter planes to the Gulf region after Iraq fired a missile on Wednesday at allied planes policing northern Iraq.   But Iraq, undeterred, on Thursday said it fired three more missiles at Western planes, although the Pentagon said it could not confirm this.   "Both presidents urged for continued peace and security and non-interference in the Persian Gulf as an imperative need and called for the settlement of disputes in that region through peaceful negotiations," said the communique.   Asked at a press conference about the rising tensions between Iraq and the United States and the flood of Kurdish refugees into Iran, Rafsanjani said: "We have almost got used to hosting the Iraqi Kurds...We are doing it again.   We have to pay the burden of the bad attitudes that the Iraqis and the Americans are showing".   Thousands of Kurdish refugees have been streaming towards the Iranian border since Iraqi President Saddam Hussein sent troops into the largely Kurdish north of his country nearly two weeks ago to back one side in an inter-Kurdish struggle.   Rafsanjani declined further comment on the situation.   The Iranian leader and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe commended the signing of 12 cooperation agreements covering such areas as trade, oil refining, telecommunications and investment, saying they were signs of cordial relations.   "Before, our relations were more on political and revolutionary issues but our executive and practical cooperation have not been much.   "Fortunately, a prelude of vast cooperation between our two countries has been provided with this visit.   The speedy fashion in which the agreements were reached is a sign of cordial relations between our two countries," he said.   Mugabe said the pacts bore testimony to Iran's willingness to help Zimbabwe boost its economic development.   Rafsanjani later flew to South Africa where he winds up his six-nation African tour. 
13640 !GCAT !GCRIM  Armed bandits ambushed 25 Italian and American tourists in one of Africa's best-known game parks in Tanzania, opening fire on their vehicles and seriously injuring at least two, embassy officials said on Thursday.   About a dozen bandits staged the attack on the 25 tourists in the Serengeti National Park shortly before dusk last Sunday, they said.   No deaths were reported, but casualties included two women -- one Italian and one American -- who were evacuated by air to hospital in neighbouring Kenya with fractures caused by bullets.   "It was a very nasty incident," a U.S. embassy official in Nairobi told Reuters.   "People were clubbed with rifle-butts and that sort of thing," she said, declining to be quoted by name.   Tour operators who organised the trip to Serengenti were either unavailable for comment on Thursday or declined to discuss the attack, apparently fearing bad publicity for Tanzania's expanding wildlife tourism industry.   The tourists, travelling in at least four mini-buses, were waylaid at a small bridge in the park.   The bandits opened fire and stopped three of the vehicles.   They robbed the 19 Italians and six Americans of cash and valuables.   "They were pretty thoroughly cleaned out," the U.S. embassy official said of the American victims.   "One Italian lady was seriously injured and immediately flown to a Nairobi hospital," an Italian embassy official in the Tanzanian capital, Dar-es-Salaam, told Reuters.   The head of Tanzania's national parks confirmed the attack later on Thursday and said police were investigating.   "The investigation is going on and a thorough search is continuing," Director-General Lota Meramali told Reuters in Dar-es-Salaam.   But he denied the embassies' tally of 25 tourists, saying only 16 were on board the mini-buses.   Travel industry sources in Arusha, close to Serengeti, said they believed the attack was one of the worst involving tourists in the park.   "But this is not the first such incident.   Security is not good enough and we want to know what the authorities intend to do about it," one source, who also declined to be quoted by name, told Reuters. 
13641 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Madagascar has set November 3 for its presidential election following the confirmation last week of President Albert Zafy's impeachment by parliament.   A government statement issued late on Wednesday said the election was necessary after the high constitutional court on September 4 confirmed Zafy's impeachment by parliament in July.   Officials told Reuters on Thursday if there was no absolute winner after the first round of the presidential poll then a second round would be held, probably after a two-week break.   Political parties and presidential candidates would campaign from October 13 to November 2, parliamentary officials said.   Zafy, 70, last week lost the presidency he won in 1993 after parliament voted to impeach him because of his repeated violations of the constitution and acting against the interests of the people.   Prime Minister Norbert Ratsirahonana was named by the court as the island's interim president until the presidential poll.   Ratsirahonana planned a speech to the nation on Thursday night on his interim government's programme before the election.   He was expected to reshuffle the government on Friday, officials said.   Zafy had warned the interim leadership of trouble if it did not set a date for the election within a short time.   He has vowed to run in the poll, as permitted in the constitution.   The row with parliament was a result of growing opposition to Zafy, who won Madagascar's multi-party elections in 1993 and defeated former military ruler Didier Ratsiraka after 17 years in power.   Zafy has hit out at the head of the national assembly, Richard Andriamanjato, and the 99 deputies who voted for his impeachment.   Andrianmanjato and Ratsiraka, who lives in exile in Paris, have both said they plan to run for the presidency.   In an interview with the French daily Liberation published on Tuesday, Zafy said he expected to go through in a first ballot and to face Ratsiraka in a run-off for the presidency.   Zafy said all democrats on the Indian Ocean island opposed a return of Ratsiraka, and he expected most voters to back him as head of state.   "The bulk of them will follow me," he said.   Zafy had said the constitutional court was not empowered to decide whether to dismiss him and had refused to accept the parliament vote in July by 99-32 in favour of his impeachment.   Before his impeachment was upheld, presidential polls were not due until 1998, a year after parliamentary polls.   The impeachment capped three years of political instability on this Indian Ocean island with a population of 14 million.   The squabbling has frustrated efforts to get the economy moving.   Madagascar hopes to conclude debt-rescheduling and lending agreements this month with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. 
13642 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Burundi's military government has announced plans to restored parliament and lift the ban on political parties outlawed after a July coup which prompted regional states to impose an economic boycott.   But Belgium, the former colonial power, is making plans to help its citizens leave Burundi, where around 150,000 people have been killed in three years of civil war.   The Belgian embassy in Bujumbura said it was making arrangements in the light of deteriorating conditions in the country.   Details would be announced later, an embassy statement said.   Jean-Luc Ndizeye, spokesman for Tutsi military ruler Pierre Buyoya, said the government would hold a news conference at 4 p.m. (1400 GMT) on Friday to explain its plans for a revival of political life.   Buyoya, a retired major and former military ruler, suspended political parties and the national assembly after seizing power on July 25 from a president blonging to the Hutu majority.   Regional states cut transport links and oil supplies to the landlocked country and blocked exports of coffee, the main cash earner, listing the restoration of the assembly and unbanning of parties among conditions for the lifting of the embargo.   The sanctions were also intended to pressure Buyoya into talks with rebels from the Hutu majority, which makes up 85 per cent of the country's six million people.   Buyoya said he took power in an effort to prevent genocide and announced plans for up to three years of transitional government.   The army threw out Hutu President Sylvestre Ntibantunganya, who has been holed up in the U.S. ambassador's residence in the Burundian capital since shortly before the coup.   The United Nations has said it fears Burundi could go the way of its northern neighbour Rwanda, where up to a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in fighting and genocidal massacres in 1994.   The Burundi government and senior members of the Catholic church blamed Hutu rebels for an ambush in which the country's most senior Catholic churchman was killed on Monday.   Archbishop Joachim Ruhuna and two nuns were killed in the attack on the jeep near Burundi's second city, Gitega.   Four members of the entourage, including the driver, survived the attack.   The archbishop's body has not yet been found. 
13643 !GCAT !GPOL  Burundi's military government annnounced on Thursday parliament had been restored and that political parties were no longer banned, with immediate effect.   "I can confirm that parliament is restored and political parties are free to operate," Jean-Luc Ndizeye, spokesman for military ruler Pierre Buyoya told Reuters.    Ndizeye said the announcement was effective immediately.   Buyoya suspended political parties and the national assembly in the central African country after he siezed power in a coup on July 25.   Regional states imposed sanctions on Burundi in an effort to force a return to civilian rule, making the restoration of the assembly and unbanning of parties conditions for the economic sanctions to be lifted. 
13644 !GCAT !GCRIM  South African police chief George Fivaz said on Thursday his forces had set up over 100 undercover projects inside the country and abroad to infiltrate crime sydicates and wage a war drugs.   "A vast, secret and faceless war is being waged against the drug trade by the police in cooperation with other countries," Fivas said in a statement.   National radio reported the undercover projects were costing the government at least 40 million rand ($8 million) a year.   Plans were in place to increase the projects from 103 to more than 200 by the end of the year, Fivas said.   Thirty-seven of the current crime projects targetted narcotics syndicates, which were increasingly using South Africa as a transit point for drugs from Southeast Asia and South America, he said.   Another 66 projects were directed at hijacking and car theft syndicates, taxi violence and police corruption.   Crime has become a major priority for South Africa's first democratic government under President Nelson Mandela.   The wave of violent crime engulfing the country has prompted the ruling African National Congress to open a review on the death penalty.   Capital punishment is still on the statute books but the 11-judge Constitutional Court ruled last March that it was unconstitutional.   A two-thirds majority in parliament is required to amend the constitution.   ($=4.90 rand) 
13645 !GCAT !GDIS  Fourteen people, including 11 policewomen footballers, died when the bus they were in plunged into a river, a police statement said on Thursday.   It said the accident occured on Wednesday night along the Lagos-Benin expressway after a heavy downpour.   Police said the members of the Police Machine Football Team had been returning from a match in eastern Nigeria.   "As a result of the accident, 11 women players, two coaches and the driver, were all confirmed dead," it said.   The Lagos-Benin expressway is the main gateway to eastern Nigeria and accidents are common along the pot-holed road, which is currently undergoing rehabilitation in several sections. 
13646 !GCAT !GDIP  Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani arrived in Johannesburg on Thursday evening for a two-day state visit to drum up political support and business at the end of his six-nation African tour.   Rafsanjani was welcomed at the airport by South African President Nelson Mandela and other senior government officials amid pomp and ceremony.   South African government sources said earlier Mandela would have preferred Rafsanjani to pay a quiet courtesy call, because the top-level state visit could test Pretoria's relations with the United States. 
13647 !GCAT !GCRIM  The South African Police Service, in a bid to reduce suicides in the force, has launched a helpline for stressed-out officers trying to combat rising violent crime and cope with post-apartheid transformation.   Police Director Azwinndini Nengovhela said on Thursday the 24-hour helpline, initially only available in Gauteng province centred on the commercial capital of Johannesburg, would aim to help police officers cope with stress-induced problems.   "Morale needs to be boosted and this service is there to help members to air their complaints and to get counselling when they experience problems," he said in his statement.   Countrywide, official statistics show that police suicides have been increasing steadily since 1991 when in the whole year 65 officers killed themselves, compared with 170 last year.   Long disgraced in black communities for enforcing apartheid laws, policemen have become more accepted since Nelson Mandela became the country's first black president in 1994.   But spiralling crime, low pay and a high number of attacks on police pose new problems, Nengovhela said.   In the first six months of 1996, he said 32 officers had been killed and 86 wounded in a total of 290 attacks in the Gauteng region alone.   Seventeen officers committed suicide in the same period. 
13648 !C33 !CCAT !E21 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Sierra Leone, under pressure from the International Monetary Fund to cut public spending, has negotiated a reduction in the amount it pays private South African security firm Executive Outcomes.   Finance Minister Thiamu Bangura told reporters on Thursday that the government owed the company $18.5 million in back pay for providing security and mercenaries to help the army against rebels who took up arms in 1991.   "The national economy is in bad shape.   The IMF has been pressuring the government to cut the $4 million it has incurred since it took office (in March)," he said.   "Yesterday the government during negotiations with the IMF and Executive Outcomes reached an agreement with the Executive Outcomes to cut down the monthly salary pay which the government pays to the Executive Outcomes from $1,225,000 to below $1 million," he added.   He declined to disclose the new rate, but he said that Executive Outcomes had agreed to maintain the same number of men in the West African nation.   Diplomats say Executive Outcomes made unofficial deals with the former military government under which South African mining companies now operate inside Sierra Leone and which give Executive Outcomes good reason to remain.   President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah and his civilian government came to power in March after multi-party elections that ended four years of army rule.   Bangura said that the government had been able to pay Executive Outcomes only once since then.   Peace talks have stalled on the rebel demands for withdrawal of all foreign forces, including the mercenaries. 
13649 !GCAT !GDIP !GREL !GVIO  The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) condemned the killing of Burundi's senior Roman Catholic prelate and renewed its call for peace talks.   "The OAU firmly and strongly condemns this cowardly and awful crime as well as those who perpetrated it," it said.   "The blind violence...for the last three years will not at any rate help Burundians to resolve the prevailing crisis in their country," the OAU added in a statement.   It urged everyone sponsoring violence to stop and said the only solution to bloodshed in Burundi was negotiations among all parties.   Archbishop Joachim Ruhuna was killed in an ambush in the central province of Gitega on Monday with at least one nun.   The Tutsi-dominated army and Hutu rebels blamed each other for the attack. 
13650 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL !GVIO  South African prosecutors closed their case against former defence minister Magnus Malan on Thursday, saying they had proved he was guilty of murder for his role in an apartheid-era massacre.   Malan, the highest official to be tried for crimes related to apartheid rule, is accused with 15 others of being responsible for a 1987 massacre, alleged to have been part of a state plot, in which 13 people died.   All the defendants have pleaded not guilty to all charges.   Malan has repeatedly declared his innocence and has declined to request amnesty from Archbishop Desmond Tutu's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which is investigating atrocities committed by blacks and whites under 30 years of apartheid rule.   "(Malan's) association has been sufficiently proved to link him to the killings," Attorney-General Tim McNally said at the end of a three-day prosecution summary in a court in the Indian Ocean port of Durban, near where the massacre took place.   "We ask the court that the accused be found guilty on the main counts of murder and attempted murder."   Malan and eight other senior security officers have been accused of covertly planning, equipping and deploying a paramilitary force of some 200 Zulus aligned to the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in KwaZulu-Natal province in the mid-1980s.   A 10-member hit squad from the group is alleged to have attacked the home of a youth activist belonging to the African National Congress, the IFP's fiercest rival.   Six Zulus are on trial with Malan, accused of being part of the hit squad.   McNally said Malan had been "very actively involved" in setting up Operation Marion -- the code name given to the covert plan -- and had occasionally been involved in the five-year-long operation funded by the army.   He is on trial with three generals, a vice-admiral, a senior policeman, two military officers, the six Zulu men and an Inkatha official.   Another defendant was acquitted on Wednesday.   They are facing 13 counts of murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to murder, nine years after the attack in which 13 people, including six children aged from four to 10, women and elderly men, were shot dead.   The presiding judge said he was disappointed by McNally's summary of the case.   "I am somewhat disappointed at the lack of legal argument in the state's case," Judge Jan Hugo said as the first of seven defence counsels began its arguments against the charges facing the six black men accused of carrying out the massacre.   The seven-month-old trial, which has already cost the taxpayer about six million rand ($1.6 million) to defend the security force men, is expected to hear a verdict early in October.   ($1=4.40 rand) 
13651 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  The picturesque hills of this landlocked Central African country appear at first glance at peace, dotted with houses roofed with red terracotta tiles.   But this is the deception of northern Burundi, where even the children, some only slightly taller than the goats they herd, are potential recruits for Hutu rebels or the Tutsi-led army.   Along the road are people, few of them old, suspicious at the noise of vehicles -- afraid they bring violence or death.   Hutu rebels use the hills as their sanctuary from the Tutsi-dominated army, rushing down when the way is clear to ambush traffic on the roads and fleeing back before the army arrives.   More than 150,000 people have been killed in Burundi in massacres and the civil war between the army and rebels since the assassination of the country's first Hutu president in 1993.   Tiny squares of crops are patchwork on the lines of hills, which cascade to the horizon in the morning haze.   Women wrapped from head to toe in brightly coloured cloth work single patches of red earth too small to support a family.   Others walk with hoes on their shoulders past sweating boys berating grey and brown goats and long-horned cattle in long grass lining the road southwards from the border with Rwanda.   Men on bicycles wobble along with women sitting side-saddle on their carriers, before swerving out of the way of a beer truck which farther along the road is stopped at a checkpoint.   Civilians and some soldiers man the checkpoint, marked by a flimsy thin rope with rags dangling from it, strung between two chairs taken from the local school.   But anyone who failed to stop and drove through it would draw volleys of weapons fire.   Keeping an eye on the traffic, gendarmes in blue uniforms stand under banana trees, covered with a layer of red dust.   Purple and orange bougainvillaea blossoms bordered by coffee bushes snake around small shacks containing large families.   The only sounds are passing vehicles, the deep lowing of cattle and from time to time the noise of what are known as "internally displaced" -- people who fled their homes as rebels or soldiers attacked.   They are as miserable as refugees but have not crossed any national borders.   Farther south are their homes, burned to the ground, the fields deserted lying fallow.   Soldiers, with a morning buzz brought on by drinking their quota of beer, sing and dance on the backs of passing trucks.   Primus, Burundi's brew, is a major source of revenue for the Tutsi-led military government which seized power on July 25 and is largely cut off from the outside world by regional sanctions.   Regional leaders say the purpose of the embargo is to force the military and rebels into peace negotiations to stop the bloodletting threatening to turn Burundi into another Rwanda, where up to one million people were killed in genocide in 1994.   But both the rebels and the army still refuse unconditional talks, demanding the other side first lay down their arms. 
13652 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV  Royal Dutch Shell's Nigerian unit has launched a gas gathering project, the first in a series planned to eliminate flaring by 2008, a senior company official said on Thursday.   "We have commenced work on the gas gathering project in the Western Division which was approved for implementation early in the year," Chris Haynes, technical manager of The Shell Development Company of Nigeria, told visiting reporters.   The project, located in Odidi, near the mid-western town of Warri, is expected to cost $250 million and to collect 80 million cubic feet of gas per day for supply to customers in the Lagos area, he said.   "We have planned that the plant comes on stream in 1999.   The gas collected will be injected into the Escravos-Lagos pipeline for supply and distribution by the Nigerian Gas Company."   The Nigerian Gas Company is a subsidiary of state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp (NNPC).   Haynes said the Odidi project would gather gas flared only in the Western Division.   "This is because much of the gas flared in our Eastern Division will be routed to the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas plant once that comes on stream also in 1999."   Nigeria is constructing an LNG plant in Bonny, near the southeastern city of Port Harcourt.   On completion, the LNG plant is expected to reduce by 20 percent the volume of gas being flared by Shell.   Gas flaring is a sensitive issue in Nigeria, where communities in oil-producing areas constantly accuse multinational firms of environmental pollution.   The LNG project faced boycott threats following local and international pressure on Shell, the technical leader, to pull out in protest over Nigeria's hanging last year of nine minority rights activists for murder.   But Shell weathered the pressure to begin construction of the LNG plant in March, which is expected to produce 7.2 billion cubic metres of gas per year.   Haynes said apart from the Odidi project, other plans were being discussed between Shell and their partners which would involve an optimum use of gas to reduce flaring.   Chevron Corp is also executing a gas gathering project in Escravos, near Warri.   It involves gathering and processing 96 percent of the gas now being flared in the Escravos area.   The first phase of the Chevron gas project, involving the processing of about 150 million cubic feet of associated gas per day, is expected to come on stream in May 1997 at a cost of $569 million.   --Lagos newsroom +234 1 2630317 
13653 !C12 !C13 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GJOB  National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) president James Motlatsi on Thursday expressed concern about the time allowed for an inquiry into violence at South African mines.   "We are pleased (with the appointment of a commission), but we are not so sure that within 10 days he (Judge John Myburgh, who is to head the inquiry) would have done justice to the problem," Motlatsi told Reuters.   President Nelson Mandela on Wednesday appointed a judicial commission of inquiry to investigate recent violence at four mines run by Gold Fields of South Africa Ltd.   At least 30 miners have been killed and scores more injured in fighting at the mines, three of which produce gold and the other, platinum.   The commission would make recommendations within 10 working days on immediate steps needed to end the strife and carnage.   Analysts have attributed the violence to clashes between the 350,000-strong National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which has a largely Xhosa membership, and the smaller United Workers' Union of South Africa, aligned to the Zulu-led Inkatha Freedom Party.   Motlatsi said the violence had to be viewed in the context of the work practices of the gold mining industry as a whole.   "We have to look at what makes it possible for violence to take place?  ...The migrant labour and hostel system is a fertile soil for faction fights," Motlatsi said.   He said a peace rally would be held on Sunday at the West Driefontein mine.   --Nicole Mordant, Johannesburg newsroom 27 11 482 1003 
13654 !GCAT !GDIP  Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi left Mozamibque's capital Maputo on Thursday after an official two-day visit to boost bilateral cooperation.   Moi also discussed the conflicts in Burundi, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Somalia with Mozambican President Joaquin Chissano, Mozambique's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.   The ministry described relations between the two countries as "cordial and brotherly".   But on Wednesday a scheduled meeting between Moi and 20 Mozambican business leaders had to be called off after only four of the executives turned up.   The trip was Moi's first visit to Mozambique since a 1994 general election won by Chissano and his Frelimo party.   Prior to the vote, relations between Maputo and Nairobi had been cool because of the Kenyan government's alleged links to the former rebel movement Renamo. 
13655 !GCAT !GCRIM  Armed bandits ambushed 25 Italian and American tourists in one of Africa's best-known game parks, opening fire on their vehicles and seriously injuring at least two, embassy officials said on Thursday.   About a dozen bandits staged the attack in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park shortly before dusk last Sunday, they said.   No deaths were reported but casualties included two women, one American and one Italian, who were evacuated by air to hospital in neighbouring Kenya with fractures caused by bullets.   "It was a very nasty incident," a U.S. embassy official in Nairobi told Reuters.   "People were clubbed with rifle-butts and that sort of thing," she said, declining to be quoted by name.   Tour operators who organised the trip to Serengenti were either unavailable for comment on Thursday or declined to discuss the attack, apparently fearing bad publicity for Tanzania's expanding wildlife tourism industry.   The tourists, travelling in at least four mini-buses, were waylaid at a small bridge in the park.   The bandits opened fire and stopped three vehicles.   They robbed the 19 Italians and six Americans of cash and valuables.   "They were pretty thoroughly cleaned out," the U.S. embassy official said of the American victims.   "One Italian lady was seriously injured and immediately flown to a Nairobi hospital," an Italian embassy official in the Tanzanian capital, Dar-es-Salaam, told Reuters.   Officials of Tanzania's national parks service declined to comment.   The organisation's director-general gave a local news conference on Wednesday about the incident in the northern Tanzania town of Arusha, his staff said.   Foreign diplomats dealing with the case said the identity of the attackers was unknown.   Travel industry sources in Arusha, close to Serengeti, said they believed the attack was one of the worst involving tourists in the park.   "But this is not the first such incident.   Security is not good enough and we want to know what the authorities intend to do about it," one source, also declining to be quoted by name, told Reuters. 
13656 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  U.N. and other relief workers in Liberia are negotiating with rival factions to extend their search for pockets of starving civilians beyond the town of Tubmanburg, one of several areas cut off by civil war.   Relief workers discovered thousands of skeletal, pot-bellied children or old people in Tubmanburg at the weekend after striking a deal with rival factions and entering the town, 70 km (40 miles) northwest of Monrovia, for the first time since February.   Hundreds of hungry civilians emerged from the jungle along the road from Monrovia to Tubmanburg on Wednesday.   Aid workers said many more were reported to be converging on the town itself.   "People are coming in because they have heard about the food distribution," Daniela Deane of the World Food Programme said.   She said the plan was to sent assessment teams into Cape Mount in the southwest.   "We are just negotiating with the factions to get people in.   We are trying to go on Saturday."   Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF-Doctors Without Borders), which is also operating from neighbouring Ivory Coast, is planning a cross-border foray into central Liberia with emergency aid for hungry civilians there.   "Cape Mount is a big area...If security allows, teams will assess more areas in that region," Annelies Thiele, MSF Field Coordinator, said in Ivory Coast.   She said that MSF survey teams had discovered pockets of severe malnutrition in the centre of the country, particularly among those under five years old.   One report spoke of 12 people dying in one week in a village of just 300 people.   "We reached the village and the report was confirmed," she said.   MSF, which estimates that the death rate in some areas has risen to more than 20 times what is normal, plans to send in emergency aid by road from Guinea on Friday.   Deane said the U.N. was also hoping to send assessment teams into the southeast, where there have been unconfirmed reports of fighting between ethnic Krahn fighters and supporters of Charles Taylor, who launched the war in 1989.   Aid workers say a precise death toll for Tubmanburg, where ethnic Krahn hold sway, is difficult to pin down.   Locals speak of up to 16 people a day dying before help arrived.   One aid worker said five people -- four children and an elderly person -- died on Sunday, despite the arrival of food and emergency medicines and rehydration fluids.   Aid workers estimate that over 80 percent of the 35,000 population is seriously malnourished.   Civil war has killed well over 150,000 people in Liberia, which freed American slaves founded in 1847.   Ethnic rivalry pitting descendants of the original inhabitants against the descendants of the slaves was one underlying cause.   A peace deal clinched in August 1995 fell apart in April and May when faction fighting and an orgy of looting by rampaging gunmen killed hundreds of people in Monrovia.   Relief workers took advantage of peace moves among rival factions to negotiate safe passage to Tubmanburg.   West African leaders brokered a new deal in August and threatened individual sanctions against any faction leader who derailed it.   Under the deal, faction gunmen are to be disarmed by January with elections to follow in May. 
13657 !E12 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  South African Deputy Finance Minister Gill Marcus, speaking in the wake of a scandal over funding of an AIDS awareness play, called on Thursday for a review of the rules on anonymous donations to the government.   "A government committed to transparency and open governance with full accountability should not accept anonymous gifts in cash or in kind," she told parliament.   Marcus said the government might consider altering the rules to allow for confidentiality in exceptional circumstances, but only subject to strict conditions.   She was participating in a debate following President Nelson Mandela's angry announcement on Wednesday that an anonymous donor had withdrawn his 10.5 million rand ($2.3 million) offer to bail the government out of a funding crisis.   The donor had offered to pick up the tab for a travelling Broadway-style musical intended to promote awareness of the fatal AIDS virus, but withdrew in the face of intense media scrutiny and the possibility he would be identified.   The production was originally paid for with European Union donor funds, but these had to be recovered when the EU insisted it had not given permission.   Health Minister Nkosazana Zuma said on Wednesday the South African taxpayer would now have to foot the bill for the show, which was abandoned in June.   Marcus called for a review of rules on confidential donations and promised that recommendations "will be considered without delay by the Ministry of Finance so as to ensure that this unfortunate situation cannot recur".   She suggested the Auditor General and Public Protector, both independent parliamentary watchdogs, would both have to certify in advance that the grant was unconditional.   Both officers would be obliged to track the funds, applying "forensic auditing" to ensure they knew the real origin and destination of the money.   "In such circumstances, the political officebearer and the accounting officer concerned must be satisfied that there is no conflict of interest, impropriety, possibility of personal gain, business relationship or connection with the department concered such as to override the right to privacy," Marcus said. 
13658 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Sappi Ltd said on Thursday little progress had been made to end the strike deadlock at its Saiccor mill near Umkomaas in KwaZulu-Natal.    The group said in a statement its final offer to the union, which would have taken the minimum wage to over 1,800 rand per month and with bonuses to around 23,000 rand per annum was not accepted by the union.   "The union has demanded an average wage increase of over 19 percent and not 12 percent as quoted by union representatives in earlier press reports," Sappi said.   Production at the mill was continuing at a rate to meet all customer requirements, it added.   -- Johannesburg newsroom 27 11 482 1003 
13659 !GCAT !GENT !GPOL  A South African television drama about three boyhood friends won praise on Thursday as the most ambitious effort so far to capture the essence of life under apartheid.   The makers of "Homeland" hope their series will do far more than death-squad trials and truth commission hearings to help ordinary blacks and whites understand how apartheid operated and how it shaped each other's lives.   "Homeland is the first English South African serial which really rubs at the national core, shaving away at the deceit and betrayal which have scarred the nation," the Johannesburg Star newspaper said.   The 13-part series that began on Wednesday spans three decades and shows how two white boys and their black friend from a rare mixed Johannesburg suburb grow up and are driven apart.   Director Neal Sundstrom said he saw the story as "a catharsis for apartheid", and just a beginning.   "The Americans have made at least 40 movies about Vietnam and they still haven't exhausted the subject," he said.   Many South Africans, carefully segregated by race in all but a few "grey" neighbourhoods, remained largely ignorant about how people from other races lived.   The state-owned South African Broadcasting Corporation, which brought television to the country in 1976, hopes to sell Homeland abroad.   Images from the first episode, helping to recreate the atmosphere on the early 1960s, included British singer Cliff Richard, hula-hoops and the Sharpeville massacre. 
13660 !C21 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Anglo American Corp of South Africa Ltd, in conjunction with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), has set itself six months to improve productivity at its gold mines, the company said on Thursday.   All worker and management practices at Anglo's five mines will be reviewed in the next half year in a bid to enhance operational efficiency and job security, Bobby Godsell, chairman of the gold and uranium division, told a news conference.   "We have to prepare our industry for the 21st century with better skilled and better paid workers...producing more gold at lower costs," he said.   Anglo and the NUM said they recognized that unless operational inefficiencies were addressed, closing margins between costs and revenue would remain a constant threat to jobs in the South African gold mining industry.   Godsell said the aim of the review was to create a "mindset and willingness on the part of workers and management to tackle gold mining efficiently".   He added, "We want to change the way people interact on a daily basis on the gold mines, (looking at) how performance is measured, how information is shared, how discipline is applied."   Asked whether the review could lead to a slowdown in the downscaling of operations, Godsell said, "I would hope so."   In March this year Anglo announced the closure of one of its shafts at Free State Consolidated Gold Mine Ltd, Freddies No 9, amid falls in productivity and profitability.   Four other troubled Freegold shafts were given a reprieve, but Godsell said at the time the mine was still "far from out of the woods".   --Johannesburg newsroom 27 11 482 1003 
13661 !GCAT !GDIP  Iran's President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was due to arrive in South Africa on Thursday for a state visit that President Nelson Mandela and the United States would have wanted to be more low-key.   Government sources said Mandela would have preferred Rafsanjani to pay a quiet courtesy call at the end of his six-nation swing through Africa, because a top-level state visit would test Pretoria's relations with the United States.   But Mandela was persuaded by Foreign Minister Alfred Nzo to give Rafsanjani the same red-carpet treatment for his two-day visit as he received in other African states including his previous stop, Zimbabwe, one government source said.   Another said South Africa agreed to Rafsanjani's request for a visit to protect a potentially lucrative trade opportunity.   "Iran has promised to help us redress our trade imbalance with the Middle East both directly and by providing us with a gateway to the region," the source said.   South Africa historically depends on Iran for two-thirds of its crude oil, for which it pays about five billion rand ($1.12 billion) annually, while Iran last year bought South African goods worth only 145.7 million rand ($32.5 million).   But the decision to make it a state visit, which includes a formal dinner with Mandela, drew an immediate response from the U.S. administration, which has already urged Pretoria not to go ahead with a proposed deal to let Iran store oil reserves here.   "Iran's international behaviour, its support of terrorism, its efforts to destabilise moderate governments and its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction represent a threat to all peace-loving nations, including the United States and South Africa," said a U.S. embassy official in Cape Town.   "For this reason, we are concerned that the visit of President Rafsanjani should not signal a closer relationship between South Africa and Iran."   The foreign ministry said, however, the U.S. did not lodge any formal protest against the visit, which Mandela's spokesman Parks Mankahlana said should not affect relations between South Africa and other Western countries.   "We are a sovereign state and have the right to choose our friends.   Those countries don't have the right to tell us who our friends are," he said. 
13662 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Torrential rains lashed several areas in Sudan, destroying houses in the capital Khartoum and flooding eastern agricultural lands but there were no casualties, Sudanese newspapers said on Thursday.   They said the rains, which rose up to 59 millimetres (2.3 inches) in some areas, fell at dawn on Wednesday isolating several parts of Khartoum and uprooting trees.   A Saudi plane flying over the Darushab and Kadaro areas of Khartoum North alerted the civil defence to encroaching floods but the water diverted its path and drained in the Nile, the papers added.   The Sudan al-Hadith newspaper quoted the civil defence director, Major-General Babiker Ibrahim, as saying the situation was stable.   Some 15 people were killed and several houses destroyed in heavy rains in Geili north of Khartoum earlier this this month. 
13663 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIP !GENV  Zimbabwe hosts a two-day international conference next week aimed at marshalling political and business support for greater use of solar power and other renewable sources of energy.   Delegates to the September 16-17 World Solar Summit were streaming into the Zimbabwean capital Harare on Thursday, while organisers were frantically putting finishing touches to a meeting that has severely strained some of the city's social facilities.   Hotels are fully booked for the coming week, hire cars are scarce and President Robert Mugabe's cash-strapped government has been forced to rent some private homes and vehicles to accommodate an estimated 5,000 delegates from 100 countries, including 25 heads of state.   Hundreds of police from around the southern African state have been called into Harare -- sold by tourism promoters as Africa's Sunshine City -- to beef up security for the top leaders, including South African President Nelson Mandela.   The Zimbabwean government is under local political and international donor pressure to reduce its spending which accounts for about 40 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and which produced a budget deficit totalling 10.1 percent of GDP in the last financial year.   It is is appealing for financial donations, arguing the summit is an investment in the future.   Public response has been generally poor, but fund-raising organisers are confident they will get the Z$95 million (U.S.$9.3 million) the conference is expected to cost.   The organisers are not giving details on how much they have raised, including on whether the government's own Z$40 million (U.S.$3.9 million) allocation for new Mercedes Benz cars, is included in the total forecast cost.   Paul Kodzwa, secretary-general of the Zimbabwe organising committee, told reporters next week's summit would set the world on a solar energy superhighway.   "The whole idea is to mobilise political support at the highest level possible for the use of solar...and other renewable sources of energy," he said.   "This conference will garner that support and also business commitment to using these sources".   The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) -- which is co-hosting the summit -- says the world has no alternative but to adopt this programme, noting that solar, wind and other renewable sources of energy were cheaper, more environmentally-friendly and more accessible than oil and could boost economic growth.   Some 300 projects under UNESCO's new 1996-2005 World Solar Programme are due to be launched at the conference, which is also due to discuss the creation of an international solar fund.   ($1=10.24) 
13664 !GCAT !GVIO  The Tutsi-dominated army said on Thursday four people survived an ambush by Hutu rebels who killed Burundi's senior Roman Catholic prelate.   But an army spokesman said despite a search the body of 62-year-old Archbishop Joachim Ruhuna who was killed on Monday had not been recovered.   The Tutsi archbishop of the central province of Gitega was killed when a vehicle carrying him and six other people was ambushed at Murongwe commune just north of Bugendana village.   "A female accountant and two female students are alive and at Gitega (town), but they have not told their story yet," army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Isaie Nibizi told Reuters.   The driver of the vehicle also survived the attack despite being shot twice in the legs and left for dead, the army says.   He was sent home on Wednesday after his wounds were treated.   The only body from the ambush recovered so far is that of a Burundian nun from Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity religious order who was buried on Wednesday in Gitega town.   Nibizi said a search continued on Thursday in the Mubarazi river and surrounding countryside for the body of Ruhana, who witnesses saw burning in the car after the ambush, and a second nun.   Burundi's military government and the National Council for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD), the political wing of Burundi's main rebel movement, have blamed each other for the killings.   "We ask the rebels to give the body (of Ruhuna) back to us, so he can be buried with full honour," said Jean-Luc Ndizeye, spokesman for military leader Pierre Buyoya who seized power in a coup on July 25.   The CNDD says the army killed Ruhuna, who had received death threats after condemning extremists of both Burundi's Tutsi minority and Hutu majority and refused to travel with guards.   In Dar es Salaam on Thursday, a Tanzanian official said Burundi would not be allowed to attend any regional summit until it met the demands of leaders who imposed sanctions on July 31.   Regional leaders demand Buyoya, a retired army major, lifts a ban on political parties, restores the national assembly and opens immediate and unconditional peace talks with Hutu rebels.   Cyprien Majengo, director of information at the Tanzanian foreign ministry, said some countries wanted tougher sanctions and Buyoya had no credentials to act as a moderating force.   "He has destroyed his integrity completely since he has become a powermonger," said Majengo, adding it was inconceivable the Tutsi army should have any idea of hanging on to power.   Meanwhile a foreign aid official said Zaire was considering on Thursday whether to expel 200 ethnic Tutsis to Rwanda from the eastern Zairean town of Uvira, which borders on Burundi.   He said 220 Tutsis were moved on Wednesday from a compound of the U.N. refugee agency to a military camp in Uvira.   The Tutsis took refuge at the U.N. compound after more than 30 people were killed in fighting last week with the Zairean army.   "There is no doubt a campaign of ethnic cleansing is taking place...The (Zairean) military are letting the population get on with it," the aid official told Reuters by telephone from Uvira.   "These Tutsis don't speak the language of Rwanda, they no longer have any land in Rwanda and they have never visited Rwanda.   They don't want to go back," the aid official said.   Some 225,000 Rwandan and Burundian refugees languish in 12 camps near Uvira on the northwestern shore of Lake Tanganyika.   More than 150,000 people have been killed in three years of massacres and civil war between the army and Hutu rebels in Burundi, the southern neighbour of Rwanda where one million people, mostly Tutsis, were slaughtered in ethnic bloodshed in 1994. 
13665 !GCAT !GVIO  Armed police guarded a luxury complex built for Angolan politicians on Thursday after it was occupied by more than 200 destitute amputees protesting against the government's treatment of war veterans.   The "mutilados", ragged men with missing limbs who beg on the streets of the capital Luanda, occupied the new apartment blocks on Wednesday but were quickly evicted by police.   The complex, erected for the use of legislators in Angola's post-war government of national unity, was inaugurated three weeks ago by President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.   The protesting amputees were former members of the Angolan Armed Forces, victims of some of the millions of landmines sown across the country during its 20-year civil war that ended in 1994.   The Jornal de Angola newspaper quoted a police source as saying the disabled men were demanding basic housing before the rainy season begins. 
13666 !GCAT !GDIP !GENV !GPOL  Zaire says Rwandan refugees are destroying its eastern forest, putting the delicate ecological balance under strain and threatening the survival of rare species of plants and animals.   Environment Minister Raymond Tshibanda spotlighted the twin problems of poaching animals such rare mountain gorillas or dwarf chimpanzees and felling of trees for firewood for cooking.   He accused the outside world of ignoring the problem and urged all concerned to work together to ensure the early return of the refugees to their home country with dignity.   "There are various estimates of the scale of the damage the refugees have inflicted on our environment.   It's difficult to put a price on.   Rare species threatened with extinction are beyond a price," he told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.   "If the trees continue to be felled at the present rate the Virunga Park (home of the mountain gorillas) is in danger of losing half of its flora," he said.   More than one million Rwandan Hutus flooded into Zaire in 1994 fearing reprisals following the massacre by Hutu hardliners of hundreds of thousands of minority Tutsis and the civil war victory of Tutsi-led rebels.   Tshibanda said the international community had not kept its promises to help restore Zaire's ecosystem.   "We have noticed that the international community has little by little reduced its help.   We're heading towards a catastrophe."   He said aid workers had begun a programme to supply wood for cooking in Kibumba camp near the Virunga Park but they lacked the means to meet all the needs of the refugees.   "There are even refugees who make charcoal to sell in the camps," he said, adding that estimates of $80 million to $100 million were far below the real cost of putting right the damage.   Zaire has repeatedly called for the repatriation of the refugees.   "The solution to all these problems is the departure of the refugees.   All concerned parties must work for the repatriation of the refugees," Tshibanda said.   Zaire and Rwanda agreed last month to ensure the return of the refugees before presidential and parliamentry elections to wrap up Zaire's democratic transition next May.   Zaire's government started to expel refugees by force last year but dropped the idea under international pressure and on the orders of its veteran president Mobutu Sese Seko.   "This region is a powderkeg.   If things blow up, how are we going to ensure repatriation of the refugees with dignity?"   Tshibanda asked, before leaving for Switzerland, where he will take part in an international conference on tropical hardwood. 
13667 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Journalists at the headquarters of the Pan-African News Agency (PANA) in Senegal's capital Dakar went on strike on Thursday to demand payment of wage arrears and urged management to decide whether the agency had a future.   "PANA owes some of us between four and seven months of salary arrears," Peter Mwaura, spokesman for the striking journalists, told Reuters.   PANA, which began operations in 1983, receives information from national news agencies in African countries and circulates news in English and French.   The agency, which has 12 editors in Dakar and some 30 correspondents, has been facing financial problems for several years.   PANA Coordinator-General Babacar Fall said member countries owed contribution arrears of up to $31 million.   "Africa must make up its mind whether or not it wants PANA.   If it does it must pay for it," the striking journalists said in a statement.   "We have urged that a final decision be taken on whether to continue with PANA or to wind it up without further delay," the journalists said in letters to the PANA board of directors, the Organisation of African Unity, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), which backed a recovery plan initiated in 1993.   The plan aimed to make PANA independent and commercially viable through an expanded and diversified ownership structure but has so far failed to take off.   Set up under the auspices of the OAU, the agency has suffered from inadequate funding and weak and uncoordinated leadership, as well as the variable quality of the material from national news agencies which are often government-controlled. 
13668 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, boasting his country had now built a solid defence industry, warned would-be agressors against confronting the Islamic state.   "We have now built a solid defence industry and no one would find it beneficial to make a move on us," Rafsanjani told a banquet hosted by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday night.   He did not name Iran's likely opponents.   Rafsanjani, who is in Zimbabwe on the fifth leg of a six-nation African tour, said developed countries should pay back to the world's poorest continent the resources they took away from it through slavery and colonialism.   "Most Western countries owe Africa for their advancement -- they had to take advantage of Africa's resources and manpower through slavery to build their economies," he said.   "We should be honest with each other, we now talk about human rights and those countries should now pay their due by assisting African countries build their nations," he added.   At the banquet, Mugabe said Iran and Zimbabwe needed to work closely to push for the reform of the United Nations to make it more effective in dealing with world problems.   On Thursday morning, the two leaders and their delegations flew to the northern resort town of Victoria Falls for a second round of talks which officials say will culminate in the signing of trade and investment promotion and protection agreements.   Figures on trade between Iran and Zimbabwe were unavailable but officials said the southern African country exported tobacco, asbestos, tea, iron and steel to Iran while it imported electrical appliances and pharmaceutical products.   The two countries are also expected to sign protocols to boost cooperation in telecommunications, environment protection, oil refining and the fight against drug trafficking and conclude pacts which would allow Zimbabwean planes to use Iranian airspace in transit. 
13669 !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   - International Monetary Fund team expresses satisfaction with Ivory Coast at mid-term review.   - Jean-Paul Carteron, president of Trans-Montana Forum, says he plans to hold an economic forum in Ivory Coast in 1997.   LA VOIE   - Opposition Ivorian Popular Front criticises draft law before parliament widening search powers of security forces.   LE JOUR   - Residents evicted from building owned by SICOGI state housing agency in Abidjan's Koumassi district set fire to agency offices.   - Abidjan Catering International bids succesfully for Palm Club hotel complex, part of Palmindustrie privatisation.   -- Abidjan newsroom +225 21 90 90 
13670 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd said on Thursday it had agreed a 1996 wage deal with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), averting the threat of a strike from next week.    De Beers said in a statement that "A band" employees would receive a 9.5 percent increase and "B band" employees a 9.25 percent increase.   It said the question of compensating members for the abolition of the premium paid for public holidays which fall on a Saturday had been taken off the table and would be negotiated separately in a forum between the NUM and the three affected mines -- Koffiefontein, Kimberley and Finsch.   The diamond producer said it expected the wage agreement to be implemented with immediate effect.   The union had said on Wednesday that the majority of members whose votes had been counted had rejected an earlier De Beers offer and the union was therefore preparing to strike from September 17.   -- Johannesburg newsroom, +27 11 482-1003 
13671 !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   - Government agrees to pay 5.4 billion naira for the construction of a national assembly complex in Abuja.   - More universities reopen, as academic staff return to work after strike.   THE GUARDIAN   - Two more companies, PZ and Kew Metal Works sign agreements with the National Gas Company to use gas delivered from the Escravos oil field, which is currently being flared.   THISDAY   - Security problems top agenda at meeting of military governors of Nigeria's 30 states on Wednesday.   - Indigenous shipping companies wait for final approval from the head of state to allow them to take part in crude oil lifting.   ($1=80 naira)   --Lagos newsroom +234 1 2631943 
13672 !GCAT !GVIO  A Sudanese official was on Thursday quoted as saying an opposition group backed by Eritrea had killed three policemen in an attack in eastern Sudan last week.   The comments by governor of Kassala state, Abul Gasim Ibrahim Mohamad, confirmed the attack first reported by the military wing of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).   Mohamad told the independent Akhbar al-Youm that "a group from the opposition with assistance from Eritrea" launched an armed attack on a police post at 8 p.m. (1700 GMT) on September 5 in the area of Awad.   Three policemen and two of the attackers were killed, he said.   The newspaper said the attackers left behind their wounded but gave no figures.   Police forces pushed the rest of attackers beyond the border, Mohamad said.   Stability had returned to the area and the armed forces were in control of the eastern border, Mohamad said.   The Sudan Alliance Forces, NDA's military wing, said last week its men had attacked a position in the Awad al-Marba area, 15 km (nine miles) east of Kassala town.   "The operation left 15 dead and five wounded in the ranks of the Islamic Front and the position was held for a limited time.   Our forces returned safely to their positions," the group said in a faxed statement.   The National Islamic Front was nominally disbanded in 1989 but Sudanese continue to use the term for followers of Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi, the speaker of the Sudanese parliament and the ideological force behind the government.   Eritrea supports Sudanese groups fighting to bring down the Islamic government of General Omar Hassan al-Bashir.   Eritrean leaders say the Sudanese government is trying to destabilise the region. 
13673 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Gold Fields Namibia Ltd said it would resume mediation efforts with striking workers on Thursday after regaining control of all mine and smelter operations at Tsumeb on Wednesday.   A spokesman told Reuters by telephone from Namibia that around 1,000 non-striking workers out of a workforce of 2,500 had returned at the site in northern Namibia following the strikers' decision to surrender control.   The group's Tsumeb Corp Ltd (TCL) mines in northern Namibia and its copper smelter have been shut down since August 23 when Mineworkers' Union of Namibia members took control of key areas.   The lead smelter, which was shut down before the strike, has also been out of commission.   The strike is costing TCL some 80 tonnes a day in lost copper production and a similar amount in lost lead.   The company is now assessing damage to property, including the copper smelter which was extensively damaged and is likely to take six to eight weeks to repair.   The lead smelter did not appear to be damaged but will still take two to three weeks to restart.   TCL produced just under 30,000 tonnes of blister copper last year and 27,000 tonnes of lead.   Most of the lead was produced from bought-in material while copper output was from TCL mines.   -- Johannesburg newsroom +27 11 482 1003 
13674 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Madagascar will hold presidential elections on November 3 following last week's impeachment of President Albert Zafy, the government announced in a statement on Wednesday night.   Political parties and presidential candidates would be allowed to campaign from October 13 to November 2, parliamentary officials in the Indian Ocean island said.    Zafy, 69, was impeached last week for violating the constitution.   He was replaced by interim president Norbert Ratsirahonana until the election within two months.   Zafy had warned the interim leadership of trouble if they did not hold the elections within the short time frame.   He has said he will run in the poll again and hopes to regain power.   Parliament had invoked what it said were Zafy's repeated violations of the constitution and accused him of acting against the interests of the people.   The crisis was a result of growing opposition to Zafy, who won Madagascar's multi-party elections in 1993, defeating former military ruler Didier Ratsiraka after 17 years in power. 
13675 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  A team of war crimes investigators on Thursday opened a mass grave they believe will provide evidence to convict Serbs accused of massacring thousands of Moslems from the enclave of Srebrenica.   The team, led by Dr William Haglund, found piles of human bones, skulls and clothing at the edge of a pit they estimate to be some 28 metres (yards) long by 10 metres wide.   The grave is in Branjevo Farm in northeastern Bosnia, near the town of Pilica, where Drazen Erdemovic confessed to participating in mass killings of Srebrenica men last year.   A Bosnian Croat who fought with the Bosnian Serb army, he told the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague that he helped execute Moslem men who had been captured as they fled the U.N. "safe area" of Srebrenica after the Serbs overran it last July.   Haglund said his team had only just begun scraping away the topsoil, but had already found a number of bodies, including one with hands bound behind its back.   "In the past few days we've been doing surveys and measuring, to find the ends of the grave," Haglund told Reuters Television.   "Judging by dimensions it looks like it's going to be very large, but it's hard to say if bodies occupy the (whole) space," he said.   "One individual we can see is bound but we haven't managed to get it fully exposed."   The leaders widely regarded as responsible for the Srebrenica atrocities, former Bosnian Serb president Radovan Karadzic and his military commander Ratko Mladic, are still at large.   Haglund said the team was breaking off its work until after this weekend's Bosnia-wide elections, which observers say could erupt into nationalist violence. 
13676 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  Local police in a Serb- held town promised on Thursday to let Moslem refugees return to vote unhindered -- an apparent reversal of the trend towards nationalist threats of violence in the countdown to Bosnia's post-war elections this weekend.   "An agreement on security during the election has been reached on higher and local levels," a police officer in north Bosnian Serb stronghold of Doboj told Reuters.   "I am convinced there will be no incidents on Saturday."   Doboj, a strategic northern road junction and industrial town, had a Moslem-Croat majority before the war.   Most were expelled during the Serb conquest of northern Bosnia in 1992.   The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) which is running Bosnia's first post-war election, hopes it will produce a democratic nucleus capable of peacefuly rebuilding a united country.   The voting is to elect a supreme three-member presidency and parliament, separate assemblies for the Moslem-Croat Federation and the Serb Republic, and cantonal assemblies.   To add logistical and security complications to the polling, thousands of refugees displaced by almost three years of fighting, will return to their homes from all over the country and in neighbouring Serbia.   But Serb police in Doboj said they expected no problems from their former Moslem neighbours due to visit the town briefly on election day.   "Our people have been given strict instructions how to behave, not to respond to potential provocations," he said.   Doboj Moslems say only last Wednesday they had been told they could cross former frontlines and vote in their hometown.   Saban Klokic, who heads the local election commission in Doboj East, a municipality in federal territory where most of Doboj's Moslem refugees are located said 3,000 to 4,000 people could return.   "We are not afraid of incidents.   NATO will be there and the Serbs will keep quiet that day.   But try to go there on another day and you will get a blow on the head," he said.   But a member of Serb election commission in Doboj said the Moslems would be controlled.   "They can cast their ballots at any polling stations, but we designated two special stations for them, which are closer to the boundary with the federation," said commission official Milena Panic.   NATO forces, fearing the influx will spark violence, will be on full alert on polling day.   International observers say despite official orders, it may be virtually impossible to stop individuals from acting on their own.   The OSCE has indefinitely postponed municipal elections after irregularites in voter registration were reported.   The move has discouraged a large number of refugees from using their right to vote in their hometown, said Mujkanovic.   Panic said altogether 52,000 people were registered to vote in Doboj municipality.   But 19,000 of them would be Bosnian Serb refugees now living in Serbia, using an OSCE rule which allows refugees to vote in a place they "intend" to live.   Many of those Serbs are not from Doboj, an OSCE official said.   Election observers have accused Serbs of abusing the rules to cement political control over towns they captured in war.   The dominant Bosnian Croat party didn't even nominate candidates for the assembly in the Serb republic, although a large number of Croats lived in the region before the war.   "Moslems parties don't stand a chance here," a policeman said.   "Only Serbs can win," he said. 
13677 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO !GVOTE  Bosnia's rival Moslem and Serb parties held starkly contrasting rallies on Thursday evening capping the country's election campaign.   At least 50,000 jubilant supporters of Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic gathered in Sarajevo's Kosevo stadium to hear their hero address the Moslem party's rally in the capital.   Chanting "Alija, Alija" and "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great), men and women, some wearing traditional Moslem headscarves, enthusiastically cheered speaker after speaker of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA).   Izetbegovic, the man who lead Bosnia's Moslems through 3-1/2 years of brutal war, arrived at the podium, decked out in the green and white SDA colours, to prolonged applause.   "This is Bosnia where everyone can pray where he wants, where no one will be excluded because of his religion," he said in a speech notably lacking nationalist rhetoric.   "The SDA will guarantee the middle way, extremes are no good -- especially in Bosnia," he added, saying he would build a national front to reunify the country.   Across a short mountain pass in the ski resort village of Pale, the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) mirrored the SDA's rally with its own sharply contrasting climactic election gathering.   Several thousand SDS supporters heard vitriolic and xenophobic speeches describing Serbs as an heroic people who defended the Orthodox Christian faith in the West against an Islamic fundamentalist threat.   "God elected us to create a Serbian country this side of the Drina River.   You created it -- defend it on September 14," acting Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavsic told the crowd.   A Canadian Orthodox nun who calls herself "Sister Angelina' delivered a speech in English and Serbo-Croat in which she heaped scorn on the international community and Bosnia's Moslems.   "I call upon the Holy Trinity ever omnipotent...to irreversibly send a curse upon all politicians and journalists who constantly distort the truth about the holy and ever virtuous Serbs," she said.   But the Serbs have not held a monopoly on nationalist rhetoric.   Critics accuse Izetbegovic of increasingly narrow nationalism and say the SDA has tried to intimidate opponents during the campaign.   The austere 71-year-old Moslem leader said his people had been let down by the international community when the war began and would now insist on the right of return for refugees.   "It is all or nothing," he declared.   "There is no integral Bosnia without the return of refugees."   Bosnians will choose national, regional, and cantonal assemblies and a three-man collective presidency to consist of one Serb, one Moslem, and one Croat.   Hardline separatist Momcilo Krajisnik is the leading candidate of the semi-autonomous Serb Republic.   Later, Izetbegovic told state television he saw problems ahead if Krajisnik is elected to the collective presidency as seems likely.   "We expect great problems if the Serbs are to be represented by Krajisnik," he said in an interview.   "We are afraid of obstructions and blockades that could happen if, for example, Krajisnik came to the presidency."  .   Under the Dayton peace accords, the presidency is a key common institution designed to try and reunify the state, split into ethnic blocs by 43 months of war.   Under international rules governing the elections, no campaigning is permitted within 24 hours of polling.   Izetbegovic paid special tribute to women and those that were wounded during the war.   At the end of his speech he left the platform to meet a group of war victims in wheelchairs.   "I was operated on six times, now I know what I was fighting for, it was worth it," said Sejo who was wounded in the 1992 defence of Sarajevo after Serbs rebelled against Bosnian independence.   A woman soldier, Halida Bojadzi who lost both her sons in the fighting, said she would continue to fight for Bosnia for the rest of her life.   "I want Bosnia to be united and sovereign.   Bosnia is big enough for those who want to live in it.   All we want is democracy and freedom.   This evil must not be repeated," she said. 
13678 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Rival communities in the divided city of Mostar have ended a 30-hour confrontation which stoked tensions ahead of this weekend's post-war Bosnian elections.   Trouble began on Wednesday when up to 200 people from Moslem east Mostar crossed into the Croat-controlled west, saying they wanted to repair homes they had been forced to leave in 1993 during fighting between Moslems and Croats.   After refusing to move for more than a day, the Moslems returned to the eastern sector on Thursday under an agreement brokered by Sir Martin Garrod, who heads a European Union administration trying to unify the city.   "People went back... and (agreed that) rebuilding of houses will be made by mutual agreement between east and west Mostar, authorised by the EU," said Wolfgang Odendahl, local head of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).   Garrod had expressed deep concern about the standoff, when Moslem and Croat police faced each other near the "confrontation line" dividing the two communities.   Some officials said the action, which began as the main party in the west, the Croatian Democratic Union, held an election rally, had seemed well prepared.   But Odendahl said he believed it had nothing to do with the elections which the OSCE is organising.   "That was a group of refugees who are frustrated and who decided to take the matter into their own hands," he said.   Odendahl said he had been reassured that deputy Mostar mayor Safet Orucevic had not condoned the action.   "We have agreed, having in mind the upcoming elections, that we want to soothe all tensions," Orucevic told Bosnian state radio.   Under the agreement with Garrod and mayor Ivan Prskalo, a Croat, a pilot project will be staged under which refugees from both communities could return to their homes in the district of Podhum, where the confrontation took place.   The project would involve the EU and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.   "The UNHCR and the EU will repair these houses for those people and enable them to return to their homes," said Orucevic.   "Mayor Prskalo guaranteed there would be no destruction of the houses in their part of Mostar and we have given guarantees there will be no destruction of Croats' houses."   Moslems and Croats are officially allied in a federation and in some parts of Bosnia work well together.   But Mostar has long been a flashpoint and violence flared there early this year.   Garrod was not available for comment but earlier he had expressed concern.   "The situation is serious and is becoming worse every moment," he told reporters.   Garrod defended the right of all refugees or displaced persons in the area to return home.   "I am 100 percent for all the (displaced persons) returning to their homes in the whole of Mostar," he said.   But he added: "The correct time and place must be chosen for that and it must be done according to arranged plans.   Otherwise the situation becomes 10 times worse than it was and we get the situation like we have now in Mostar." 
13679 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL !GVIO  The NATO commander in Bosnia met Serb officials on Thursday in the headquarters of indicted war criminal Radovan Karadzic, who Serb sources said was almost certainly inside the building.   The commander, U.S. Admiral Joseph Lopez joined other senior Western diplomats to discuss discuss preparations for this weekend's post-war elections with Serb leaders.   NATO troops are under orders to arrest indicted war criminals such as Karadzic should they encounter him in the course of their duties, although they have refused to conduct man-hunts.   The International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia has charged Karadzic with crimes against humanity linked to the siege of Sarajevo and the slaughter of Moslem men from Srebrenica.   He bowed to international pressure and stepped down as president in July, enabling his ultra-nationalist party to stand in Bosnia's general elections on Saturday.   But he has yet to be extradited to The Hague to face war crimes charges.   Lopez was accompanied to the meeting in Karadzic's offices by Carl Bildt, the major powers' representative in Bosnia, and Robert Frowick, the American diplomat overseeing elections.   Television crews were allowed into the building briefly to film the envoys sitting at a table with Acting President Biljana Plavsic and Karadzic's advisor Jovan Zametica.   Asked if Karadzic was on the spot, a bodyguard for the Western delegation said, "I wouldn't be surprised."   The head of Karadzic's bodyguard unit walked through the corridor as the meeting got underway.   While NATO officialy says it will arrest Karadzic, diplomats admit privately that NATO has no intention of detaining him now -- a move which would provoke reprisals against peacekeeping troops deployed on Serb territory.   Earlier, reporters heard American soldiers guarding Lopez agree to Serb demands that they not carry automatic rifles in Karadzic's heavily-guarded headquarters.   After the talks, Bildt said he warned Plavsic that Serb politicians needed to be more careful about public statements which violate the principles of the Dayton agreement.   Dayton envisages Bosnia as a single state with Serb and Moslem-Croat entities, but Bosnian Serb leaders have been openly advocating sovereignty for the Serb republic throughout the election campaign. 
13680 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  The European Union administrator of Mostar said on Thursday tensions in the divided Bosnian city were getting worse because of a sit-in by Moslems in the Croat-controlled western sector.   A standoff began on Wednesday when up to 200 people from Moslem east Mostar crossed into the west, saying they wanted to repair homes they had been forced to leave in 1993 during fighting between Moslems and Croats.   Last year's U.S.-brokered Dayton peace agreement guarantees all Bosnian refugees the right to return home.   But the Moslem action stoked tension.   It began only three days before nationwide elections and the day the main party in west Mostar, the Croatian Democratic Union, staged a rally at a sports stadium in the city.   "The situation is serious and is becoming worse every moment," the head of the EU administration in Mostar, Sir Martin Garrod, told reporters.   Despite efforts by the EU, which is trying to unify the city, many of the Moslems camped out all night and were still there on Thursday afternoon.   Garrod defended the right of all refugees or displaced persons in the area to return home.   "I am one hundred percent for all the (displaced persons) returning to their homes in the whole of Mostar," he said.   But he added: "The correct time and place must be chosen for that and it must be done according to arranged plans.   Otherwise the situation becomes ten times worse than it was and we get the situation like we have now in Mostar."   Garrod held negotiations with the city's Croat mayor Ivan Prskalo and Moslem deputy mayor Safet Orucevic on Thursday, first separately and later together.   EU spokesman Dragan Gasic said the mayor had promised the houses would not be further damaged if the Moslems returned to east Mostar.   Failing that, the Croat side would repair any new damage.   "There is also a clear agreement in principle that they want and have to speak about return of refugees but they should start only after the elections," said Gasic.   Requests to return home should be made in writing and all deals should involve people from both communities.   Before 1993 the city was ethnically mixed but the fighting forced all Moslems to the east and Croats to the west.   Gasic said the mayor and deputy mayor still had to sell the agreement to their own communities.   An official at east Mostar television, which has covered the sit-in since the start, questioned whether the Moslems would ever go back to the east.   "They are repairing and cleaning their houses...They are not going back, they will stay there permanently," said tv bureau chief Emir Koso.   "Now they are working in shifts... They are just rebuilding the houses they own and that's all."   The Moslems spent the night in their homes, damaged in the war, or sleeping on the street.   They seemed to be well organised -- power lines for lighting were laid from the Moslem east within an hour of their arrival.   Croat and Moslem police looked on from their sectors, along with officers of an international police force run by the Western European Union (WEU).   In a statement carried by the Croatian news agency HINA, Prskalo promised to try to defuse the situation.   The EU peace efforts have included municipal elections in June when a mayor and deputy for the whole city were elected.   Before then, the Croat west and the Moslem east had separate mayors. 
13681 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  The Serb ultra-nationalist party that orchestrated the brutal siege of Sarajevo and ethnic expulsions expects Bosnia's elections to grant them the legitimacy they craved during the war, political analysts say.   Ending the campaign in a crescendo of nationalist rhetoric and mythology, the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) will hold a final rally on Thursday in the government seat of Pale, a mountain village outside Sarajevo.   The rally will resemble a celebration of what has long been considered a foregone conclusion to Saturday's internationally-organised elections.   SDS officials say they will win a clear majority in the Serb republic which, together with a Moslem-Croat federation, is supposed to form a Bosnian union.   Serb leaders see the poll as a way of legalising their authority over territory conquered and purged of hundreds of thousands of Bosnian Moslems and Roman Catholic Croats.   They have persuaded Serb voters to treat the election as a referendum on sovereignty.   "The elections are very important to the SDS.   They have been careful to meet all the deadlines and do not want any incidents on election day," said one Western diplomat, who asked not to be named.   During the 3-1/2 years of war, Western powers labelled the hardline leadership in Pale as war criminals running an outlaw state.   Yet the United States and its European allies, which organised and funded the election, will be granting an element of legitimacy to the same leadership when they recognise the outcome of the vote.   Much to the embarrassment of the West, Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has managed to maintain a prominent role in the election campaign, even though he was forced to resign his post as president and party chairman in July.   Karadzic, indicted twice by the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, has turned himself into a political martyr and party "godfather".   Adoring supporters wave his protrait at SDS rallies and cheer when politicians make references to him.   Political sources in Pale say the former Sarajevo psychiatrist continues to exert influence behind the scenes, directing the campaign from his Pale headquarters.   The Bosnian Serb assembly was scheduled to hold a final pre-election session in Pale on Thursday and officals said Karadzic would probably attend.   He and other party leaders keep tight control of the police force, media and finances in Serb territory, crushing any sign of dissent.   Political opponents lost their jobs or had their houses and offices bombed.   Refugees who tried to register to vote in pre-war homes in Moslem-Croat territory were denied humanitarian aid.   The Pale authorites, however, are keenly aware their victory would not be assured without the tacit approval of their patron, Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.   Analysts say Milosevic has chosen to allow the SDS to remain in power apparently because he wants to keep Bosnian Serb territory at arm's length, to avoid blame from the international community when things go badly and to stave off a possible influx of refugees.   After the election, the SDS will almost certainly block joint institutions whenever it believes its goal of sovereignty is threatened, political sources say.   SDS leaders will also be confronted with a myriad of post-war social and economic problems on their territory, one of the most isolated in Europe.   Most professionals have fled, leaving behind peasants living in abject poverty while an oligarchy thrives off the spoils of war.   Critics say the SDS victory will be a hollow one.   Apart from nationalism, the party offers no specific programmes and has yet to indicate it is ready to compromise with ethnic rivals to create a lasting peace.   "All the SDS has to offer is ghettoisation, the reduction of life to ethnic identity, national myths and a return to the past," Miodratg Zivanovic, leader of the opposition Social Liberal Party, recently wrote.   "It cannot offer a future." 
13682 !GCAT !GPOL  President Boris Yeltsin, on vacation outside Moscow, arrived back in the Russian capital on Thursday to meet the team of doctors who are preparing for his heart surgery, Kremlin spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky said.   He said the 65-year-old president was considering ways in which he might temporarily hand over some duties, including control over Russia's "nuclear button", although this would be only "for a short time around the operation".   "The doctors want to have a look at the dynamics, at how his health has changed," Yastrzhembsky said.   He denied a report that the doctors might set the date of the operation at the meeting.   He said Yeltsin was also visiting his wife Naina in a Moscow clinic where she is convalescing from a kidney operation.   Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, who would become interim head of state if Yeltsin had to step down permanently, was this week given some responsibility for key ministries, including defence and interior.   These normally report directly to Yeltsin.   But Yastrzhembsky left unclear to whom the president might temporarily hand over his powers, including the nuclear trigger.   "The president of the country is considering various models for one of the high officials of state to temporarily carry out the duties of the president of the Russian Federation, and whether this is necessary at all," the spokesman said.   He said Yeltsin realised the decision would set a precedent for Russia's new democracy.   The constitution says the prime minister takes over if the president is permanently incapacitated, but does not make clear what should happen if he is absent for a short period.   Yeltsin's absence as he prepares for what doctors say will be a bypass operation to relieve clogged cardiac arteries has prompted speculation of a power struggle in the Kremlin between Chernomyrdin and other senior officials.   Noting the passing of some responsibilities to Chernomyrdin this week, Yastrzhembsky stressed: "The president of Russia remains head of state and commander-in-chief."   He said the world would be informed if control over Russia's vast nuclear arsenal were briefly handed over.   Yeltsin, who had two heart attacks last year, said last week he had agreed to have an operation after doctors told him he faced the choice of surgical treatment or of resigning himself to a passive way of life.   He said the surgery would take place in Moscow by the end of this month.   Yastrzhembsky said a council of doctors would meet again before the end of the month, but could not say if that meeting would set the date of the operation.   Yeltsin virtually disappeared from public view between the two rounds of Russia's presidential election.   Aides initially said he was tired, before Yeltsin himself broke with a long tradition of Kremlin secrecy to say he would have an operation. 
13683 !GCAT  Here are highlights from Polish newspapers this morning.   RZECZPOSPOLITA   - Era GSM digital cellular phone subscribers will have to pay up to 1.69 zloty for one minute in peak hours and up to 0.89 zloty off peak, Era GSM representatives said.   - A short debate on the functioning of the government will take place today during which the Supreme Auditing Chamber (NIK) president will present results of the chamber's investigations of the health, privatisation, finance and foreign trade ministries.   - Solidarity trade unions at the Tarnowskie Gory based Zamet machines plant organised a two-hour strike yesterday and demanded a 60 zloty pay rise and an improvement in management.   - Former ombudsman Tadeusz Zielinski said that the new project of Poland's constitution submitted by the National Assembly's constitutional committee lacked the proper regulation of citizens' economic rights in a free market society.   - From July 22 to September 10 Poland's Agricultural Market Agency (ARR), the government agricultural market regulator, sold 30,000 tonnes of pork in tenders at the upset price of four zlotys per kilogramme to stem price growth.   - In 1997 prices will grow by 13 percent and the zloty will appreciate by 4.3 percent, Poland's Finance Minister Grzegorz Kolodko said.   - Fiat auto-maker will invest $800 million in Poland by 2002, half of which will go into new model production, Fiat Auto Poland President Diego Avesani said.   NOWA EUROPA   - In 1996's first seven months Polish companies made net profits of 5.6 billion zlotys, a 0.2 decline compared with last year's results in the same period, the Central Statistical Office (GUS) said.   - Fuel prices will not be freed this autumn as previously planned due to the unstable situation on Poland's fuel market, deputy industry minister Roman Czerwinski said.   - The municipal authorities of the city of Elblag, northeastern Poland, have bought eco-buses for the city transport company and decided to install an energy-saving street lighting system.   - ING Barings has warned against Finance Minister Grzegorz Kolodko's possible replacement with Planning Minister Miroslaw Pietrewicz, a move supported by the Polish Peasant Party (PSL).   If it were to happen, Poland's anti-inflationary policies would be in danger, ING Barings analysts said.   - The listed Optimus computer maker wants to introduce multi-medial educational software by Dorling Kindersley to be marketed through the company's sales network around Poland, Optmus president Roman Kluska said.   GAZETA WYBORCZA   - Poland's Business Centre Club representatives said the government's decision not to lower taxes is inconsistent with previously made agreements.   - Poland's Helsinki Committee human rights group has opposed the planned extradition of the Manduqeki couple to China where they will be prosecuted for financial crimes and will most probably face the death penalty.   - El-Net and Telekom Puchaczow telecommunications firms have tendered successfully for communication ministry licences to set up telecommunications networks in the Bydgoszcz and Lublin provinces, unofficial sources said.   - Steel buyers would have saved 10 billion zlotys last year had they avoided middlemen, a NIK report on steel trade said.   ZYCIE WARSZAWY   "We shall do everything we can to make Poland join the EU on the best conditions", France's President Jacques Chirac said yesterday during a meeting with Poland's President Aleksander Kwasniewski.   - Solidarity's political wing seeks to create a modern Christian-nationalist party.   About half the votes in the new party would be reserved for the trade union and the rest would go to other right-wing political bodies.   - "It is in Poland's political interest to promote Lithuania's aspirations to join NATO", former Lithuanian President Vytautas Landsbergis said during his visit to Warsaw yesterday.   PARKIET   - BGZ brokerage house will offer both shares and will guarantee the issue of a company participating in the National Investment Funds (NFI) privatisation programme.   - Creditanstalt Investment Bank recommended buying shares of Agros, BRE, Debica tyre-maker, BFK cable maker and Polfa Kutno drug maker in its September bulletin.   -- Warsaw Newsroom +48 22 653 9700 
13684 !GCAT !GPOL  President Boris Yeltsin will meet his doctors on Thursday, but the medical experts will not set a date yet for the president's forthcoming heart operation, spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky said.   Yastrzhembsky told reporters Yeltsin had arived in Moscow from his holiday home outside the capital and was visiting his wife Naina in hospital.   He would then meet his doctors.   Interfax news agency, quoting informed Kremlin sources, said earlier that the doctors might set the date for the surgery and finalise who would operate on the 65-year-old president at Thursday's meeting.   Yastrzhembsky said Yeltsin would have further checks from the council of doctors before the end of the month.   But he could not say if the doctors would take a decision on the date.   The president said last week he expected to have surgery late this month.   Doctors have said Yeltsin needs a bypass operation, in which a vein or artery is removed from a leg or elsewhere in the body and grafted in near the heart to improve blood supply.   Yeltsin, who had two heart attacks last year, said last week he had agreed to have an operation after doctors told him he faced the choice of surgery or resigning himself to a passive way of life. 
13685 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO  President Boris Yeltsin, on vacation outside Moscow, is expected to travel to the Russian capital on Thursday to meet the team of doctors who will operate on him for heart problems, Interfax news agency said.   Interfax, quoting informed Kremlin sources, said the doctors might set the date for the surgery and finalise who would operate on the 65-year-old president.   Doctors have said that Yeltsin needs a bypass operation, in which a vein or artery is removed from a leg or elsewhere in the body and grafted in near the heart to improve blood supply.   Yeltsin, who had two heart attacks last year, said last week he had agreed to have the operation after doctors told him he faced the choice of surgical treatment or of resigning himself to a passive way of life.   He said the surgery would take place in Moscow by the end of this month.   Yeltsin virtually disappeared from public view between the two rounds of Russia's presidential election.   Aides initially said he was tired, before Yeltsin himself broke with a long tradition of Kremlin secrecy to say he would have an operation. 
13686 !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 parliament is expected to start consultations today on a new coat-of-arms featuring a crowned lion after the socialist majority in parliament in July approved a controversial state symbol depicting an uncrowned lion.   -- Bulgaria's Privatisation Agency's (PA) selloff proceeds from the beginning of the year until September 6 totalled 10.6 billion levs, PA's executive director Vesselin Blagoev said.   @   -- Bulgaria's Transport Ministry is expected to dismiss on Friday the directors of the national carrier Balkan Airlines and replace them with Finance Ministry officials.   The company, which is on the government's list of indebted state firms banned from fresh bank credits, posted two billion levs loss since the beginning of the year, preliminary company data shows.   -- Bulgaria's socialist-dominated parliament overturned President Zhelyu Zhelev's veto of controversial amendments to the 1996 budget law.   @   The amendments are linked to a contract under which the state-owned gas company Bulgargas transfers debts owed to it by the Himco chemical plant, also state-owned, to the country's private business conglomerate Multigroup.   -- Bulgaria's Finance Ministry is expected to start issuing short-term treasury paper with an yield pegged to the inflation rate, a finance ministry official said.   STANDART   -- Police found 0.1 hectares sown with cannabis in Sofia worth some eight million levs, Interior Ministry officials said.   @   -- A fire in Bulgaria's biggest refinery Neftohim near the Black Sea port of Bourgas severely injured four workers on Wednesday but output was not affected, civil defence officials said.   -- Sixty percent of Bulgaria's Vratsa-based chemical fertiliser producer Himco will be offered for sale within a month, Privatisation Agency's director Vesselin Blagoev said.   -- South Korea's industrial giant Daewoo was in talks with Bulgaria's cabinet for the sale of a Bulgarian bank but the Bulgarian National Bank has not been informed about the talks so far, Industry Ministry officials said.   @   -- Bulgaria has exported 53,000 tonnes of ferrous metal scrap in the first eight months of 1996, Industry Ministry officials said.   KONTINENT   -- Bulgaria's defence ministry denied a report that Soviet nuclear warheads capable of striking Western targets had been stored at a secret military base near Sofia during the communist era.   @   -- Bulgaria needs some 77 billion levs for the autumn sowing of 1.2 million hectares of wheat and 300,000 hectares of barley, Agriculture minister Krastyo Trendafilov said.   -- Sofia Newsroom, (++359-2) 84561 
13687 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Bosnia's rival politicians entered a campaign blackout period on Friday as election organisers made final plans for the country's critical post-war poll.   Voters will cast their ballot on Saturday, in an election that its supporters say will stitch together a democratic base for reconciliation and reunification, but that critics insist is only going to legitimise the territorial divisions of war.   They will be choosing a collective three-man presidency, separate assemblies for the Serb Republic and Moslem-Croat Federation, and cantonal administrations.   Plans to add local councils to the list were shelved over allegations that Serbs had tried to stack key electorates with their own refugees.   Earlier on Thursday evening Bosnia's rival Moslem and Serb parties held starkly contrasting rallies in events designed to cap their respective election campaigns.   At least 50,000 jubilant supporters of Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic gathered in Sarajevo's Kosevo stadium to hear their hero address the Moslem party's rally in the capital.   Izetbegovic, the man who lead Bosnia's Moslems through 3-1/2 years of brutal war, stood at the podium, decked out in the green and white SDA colours, and told his audience that the SDA was the party of a unified Bosnia.   "This is Bosnia where everyone can pray where he wants, where no one will be excluded because of his religion," he said in a speech notably lacking nationalist rhetoric.   Across a short mountain pass in the ski resort village of Pale, the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) mirrored the SDA's rally with its own sharply contrasting climactic election gathering.   Several thousand SDS supporters heard vitriolic and xenophobic speeches describing Serbs as an heroic people who defended the Orthodox Christian faith in the West against an Islamic fundamentalist threat.   "God chose us to create a Serbian country this side of the Drina River.   You created it -- defend it on September 14," acting Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavsic told the crowd, before joining the Serb Parliament's last session ahead of the poll.   The contrasting rallies neatly underscored the deep divisions that remain in Bosnia, and the problems that the international community will face in wake of the election.   There is little doubt of the outcome -- the war-time political leaders have used their control of local media to saturate the campaign with nationalist messages designed to return them to power.   And all have used violence and intimidation of their political opponents as a back-up.   One SDS official was so confident, he offered a $100 bet that the party would win at least 70 percent of the vote.   As reports have poured in of electoral abuses by the dominant Serb, Moslem and Croat parties in Bosnia, U.S. spokesmen have progressively trimmed expectations of the vote, while continuing to insist it is essential.   They no longer predict that the election will be "free and fair", as stipulated by last November's U.S.-brokered Dayton pact which divided Bosnia into a Moslem-Croat federation and a Serb republic.   The phrase now is "democratic and effective".   But just how "effective" it will be remains to be seen.   No one really knows how these "democratic institutions" will function with people sitting side by side who once stared at one anther across battle fields.   To underline its interest in the outcome, Washington dispatched Dayton's negotiator, Richard Holbrook, who was due in Sarajevo later on Friday.   But some diplomats question whether even he can overcome problems still to come.   In an ominous hint of future trouble, Izetbegovic told state television he expected problems if Serb hardliner Momcilo Krajisnik is elected to a new collective president as is widely expected.   "We are afraid of obstructions and blockades that could happen if, for example, Krajisnik came to the presidency," Izetbegovic said.   And there is a precedent for Izetbegovic's concern.   A local election held in August in Mostar, divided between Moslems and Croats, was regarded as a dry run for Saturday's poll.   After months of wrangling, the council stumbles from crisis to crisis and the town remains deeply divided, with nationalist thugs and criminal gangs blocking any return to normality.   But perhaps the most ominous precedent is the last Bosnian election.   Soon after in 1992, the country plunged into the bloodiest conflict Europe has seen since the Second World War.   The West is counting on NATO's peace keeping contingent of 55,000 troops to keep a lid on any such repetition. 
13688 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO  Boris Yeltsin's doctors have swallowed their professional pride and said they will seek Western advice about his planned heart bypass operation.   Sergei Mironov, head of the presidential medical centre, said the team of doctors planning the operation knew the stakes were high in treating the 65-year-old Kremlin leader and that patriotism was not an issue.   "We can do a lot but, in this situation, a concrete resolution of this problem demands that we invite, at least for consultation, leading foreign specialists," he told NTV commercial television.   Yeltsin broke months of silence on his health, and Kremlin taboos, last week to announce he would have heart surgery.   But he said Russian doctors were capable of carrying it out.   Doctors said Yeltsin, who had two mild heart attacks last year, needed a bypass to increase blood flow to the heart.   NTV said doctors would meet to decide the date of the operation between September 27 and 29 and that the president himself would help decide who carried it out.   Yeltsin's operation has raised speculation about struggles for power within the Russian leadership and about control over Moscow's massive nuclear arsenal.   Presidential press spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky said Yeltsin was considering handing over the "red button" nuclear trigger to a deputy during the operation but did not say who would be chosen.   "The president of the country is considering various models for one of the high officials of state to temporarily carry out the duties of president of the Russian Federation, and whether this is necessary at all," Yastrzhembsky said.   He did not name Prime Minister Viktor Chernmomyrdin who, under the constitution, would become interim head of state if Yeltsin had to step down.   Chernomyrdin, 58, was given some responsibility this week for key ministries, including defence and interior, which normally report directly to Yeltsin.   But Yastrzhembsky said Yeltsin remained commander in chief and still controlled the nuclear arsenal.   If the "red button" were handed over, it would be only for a "a short time around the operation" and the world would be informed.   NTV said pioneering U.S. heart surgeon Michael DeBakey would join the team on the president's case.   But DeBakey, of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, said he had not been approached either to be a consultant or to operate.   "I am going to be in Moscow the week of September 22 for a symposium where I am giving a lecture but I have not been officially invited to consult or to participate in an operation on Mr Yeltsin," he told Reuters by telephone.   DeBakey, 88, performed the world's first successful bypass oepration in 1964.   His patients have included the Shah of Iran, the Duke of Windsor and Turkish president Turgut Ozal.   In 1972 and 1973 he travelled to Moscow to operate on the head of the Soviet Academy of Sciences Mstislav Keldysh.   Asked if he would see Yeltsin if approached, DeBakey said, "Of course, if I'm asked, I'd be glad to help in any way I can."   Yeltsin said last week he agreed to have an operation after doctors gave him the choice of surgery or a passive way of life. 
13689 !E21 !E211 !E212 !ECAT !GCAT !GWELF  Hungary is meeting IMF-agreed deficit targets despite a social security budget gap three times higher than agreed, the local IMF representative said on Thursday.   "We are concerned, from the point of view of our programme, with the overall fiscal deficit -- the combined deficit of the social security funds and the budget," Mark Allen, IMF senior representative in Hungary, told journalists before the release in Washington on Wednesday of the International Monetary Fund's annual report.   "We are confident that the combined deficit is under control," Allen said. "  ...This year the overall budget is tracking fairly closely where we hoped to be for the 1996 budget."   The IMF granted Hungary a $387 million standby loan in March, one of the key conditions being that the budget deficit be kept below four percent of Gross Domestic Product.   As part of its budget plan, the government approved a social security deficit target of 17.8 billion forints ($113.3 million), but the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday the figure was more likely to run to 50 to 60 billion forints.   The ministry said housing subsidies could add 10 to 15 billion forints more.   Allen, at a briefing for Hungary-based journalists embargoed until release of the annual report, said the IMF had been working hard to avoid a repetition of the Mexican financial crisis of 1994, which sent shockwaves through emerging market countries, especially Hungary.   "We are not expecting a crisis in Hungary.   On the contrary we think things are going well and we don't have a list in our back pockets of 10 countries where a crisis is about to happen," Allen said.   "What we can look at, though, are the risk factors that countries are running."   Allen said Hungary had agreed to join a new IMF service on the Internet, listing countries which subscribe to international standards for reporting of financial data.   The programme was devised following the Mexican financial crisis of 1994, which Allen said had shown the need for much closer scrutiny of economic data.   "We are very glad that Hungary together with a number of other countries has agreed to subscribe to the standards that will be quoted on this (Internet) bulletin board," he said.   Allen said another IMF team would visit next week to be briefed by the government on its 1997 budget plans.   The visit was of a technical nature and did not involve any negotiations, he added.   ($1=157.04 Forint) 
13690 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic said on Thursday he saw problems ahead if Serb hardliner Momcilo Krajisnik is elected to a new collective presidency as seems likely.   "We expect great problems if the Serbs are to be represented by Krajisnik," he told state television.   Bosnians go to the polls on Saturday to elect national and regional assemblies and a three-man collective presidency to consist of one Serb, one Moslem, and one Croat.   Krajisnik is the leading candidate of the semi-autonomous Serb Republic.   "We are afraid of obstructions and blockades that could happen if, for example, Krajisnik came to the presidency," Izetbegovic said.   Under the Dayton peace accords, the presidency is a key common institution designed to try to reunify the state, split into ethnic blocs by 43 months of war.   "The future presidency's work will depend on its composition, meaning which parties they represent and especially which ideas and what kind of attitude they have towards Bosnia," the 71-year-old Moslem leader said.   The candidate with the most votes will become the first chairman of the rotating presidency, but Dayton is not clear if he can still represent the country if the two others dissent.   "This is a subject of intensive talks with the signatories of Dayton and representatives of the contact group (of major powers)," he added. 
13691 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov said on Thursday the use of force in Iraq without the approval of the U.N. Security Council was unacceptable, Interfax news agency reported.   It quoted Primakov as saying, when asked about the situation in Iraq, that unilateral use of force by any state was "absolutely unacceptable" and that it must be sanctioned by the Security Council.   He said Russia "is doing everything possible to prevent factors arising which would provoke an escalation of tension in the region."   Russia has denounced last week's U.S. air strikes against Iraq.   Security chief Alexander Lebed has said Washington was behaving like a "bull in a china shop" and President Boris Yeltsin said in a television interview that he backed the government's opposition to the strikes.   Primakov said on Thursday Russia was doing all it could to ensure balanced fruitful relations with the United States.   "This is essential for us.   We know the role and place of the United States in the world.   But that does not mean we should be in a supporting role and repeat everything Washington does."   Russia has generally taken a softer line on Iraq than the United States since the end of the Gulf conflict, and has been pushing Washington and its Western European allies to lift crippling post-war sanctions against Baghdad.   Moscow fears the latest crisis could hurt its chances of recouping Baghdad's massive debt to the former Soviet Union because it is delaying a United Nations agreement to let sanction-squeezed Iraq sell some oil. 
13692 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Bosnia's rival Moslem and Serb parties held starkly contrasting rallies on Thursday evening, in events designed to cap the country's election campaign.   At least 50,000 jubilant supporters of Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic gathered in Sarajevo's Kosovo stadium to hear their hero address the Moslem party's rally in the capital.   Chanting "Alija, Alija" and "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great), men and women, some wearing traditional Moslem headscarves, enthusiastically cheered speaker after speaker of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA).   Izetbegovic, the man who lead Bosnia's Moslems through 3-1/2 years of brutal war, arrived at the podium, decked out in the green and white SDA colours, to prolonged applause.   "This is Bosnia where everyone can pray where he wants, where no one will be excluded because of his religion," he said in a speech notably lacking nationalist rhetoric.   "The SDA will guarantee the middle way, extremes are no good -- especially in Bosnia," he added, saying he would build a national front to reunify the country.   Across a short mountain pass in the ski resort village of Pale, the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) mirrored the SDA's rally with its own sharply contrasting climactic election gathering.   Several thousand SDS supporters heard vitriolic and zenophobic speaches describing Serbs as a heroic people who defended the Orthodox Christian faith in the West against a fundamentalist Islamic threat.   "God elected us to create a Serbian country this side of the Drina River.   You created it -- defend it on September 14th!"   acting Bosnian Serb President Biljan Plavsic, told the crowd.   A Canadian Orthodox nun who calls herself 'Sister Angelina' delivered a speech in English and Serbo-Croat in which she heaped scorn on the international community and Bosnia's Muslims.   "I call upon the Holy Trinity ever omnipotent... to irreversibly send a curse upon all politicians and journalists who constantly distort the truth about the holy and ever virtuous Serbs," she said.   But the Serbs have not held a monopoly on nationalist rhetoric.   Critics accuse Izetbegovic of increasingly narrow nationalism and say the SDA has tried to intimidate opponents during the campaign.   The austere 71-year-old (corrects from "50-year-old") Moslem leader said his people had been let down by the international community when the war began, but had once again placed their trust in guarantees to ensure full implementation of the Dayton peace accords.   But he insisted the right of return for refugees must be respected.   "It is all or nothing," he declared.   "There is no integral Bosnia without the return of refugees."   In Saturday's poll, both Izetbegovic and Serb hardliner Momcilo Krajisnik (corrects from "both Izetbegovic and Plavsic") are standing for the collective Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina.   The three-man presidency will rotate between a Moslem, Serb, and Croat, but the candidate with the most votes becomes the first holder.   "Tomorrow is a day of silence, I suggest you contemplate and afterwards come out and vote for the SDA," Izetbegovic concluded to thunderous applause.   Under international rules governing the elections, no campaigning is permitted within 24 hours of polling.   Izetbegovic paid special tribute to women and those that were wounded during the war.   At the end of his speech he left the platform to meet a group of war victims in wheelchairs.   "I was operated on six times, now I know what I was fighting for, it was worth it," said Sejo who was wounded in the 1992 defence of Sarajevo after Serbs rebelled against Bosnian independence.   A woman soldier, Halida Bojadzi who lost both her sons in the fighting, said she would continue to fight for Bosnia for the rest of her life.   "I want Bosnia to be united and sovereign.   Bosnia is big enough for those who want to live in it.   All we want is democracy and freedom.   This evil must not be repeated," she told Reuters. 
13693 !GCAT !GPOL  Poland's two ruling coalition parties, at odds over the recent sacking of a minister belonging to one group, decided on Thursday to meet on September 24 to discuss a coming cabinet reshuffle, PAP news agency said.   PAP quoted the spokesman of the bigger group, ex-communist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), Andrzej Urbanczyk, as saying that the two parties should decide on appointments in the reshuffled government until the meeting .   A dispute between the SLD and the smaller Polish Peasant Party over the reshuffle, which is to accompany a reorganisation of cabinet ministries, turned into a row last week when ex-communists forced a dismissal of the Peasant Foreign Trade Minister Jacek Buchacz.   The two parties continue to cooperate in the government but their relations in parliament are strained. 
13694 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  French President Jacques Chirac said on Thursday that France was committed both to Iraq's territorial integrity and to arrangements made by Western allies after the Gulf War.   But asked at a news conference in Warsaw how France would act during the latest tension between the United States and Iraq, Chirac left his options open.   "For the rest, we are in close contact with our partners, notably the Americans.   We will do what we think necessary if the situation were to evolve," said Chirac.   "You know what the attitude of France has been in recent days," said Chirac, on the second day of a three-day visit to Poland.   "First of all, France is committed to the territorial integrity of Iraq," Chirac said.   "France is equally committed to the arrangements put in place after the Gulf War by the allies to contribute to the stability and the protection of the region's people," the French president said.   Earlier in Paris, France's foreign ministry said it was deeply concerned at mounting tension after Iraq fired a missile at U.S. warplanes patrolling over northern Iraq and called for consultation among the Western allies before any response.   Paris was part of the Gulf War coalition that drove Iraqi invasion forces out of Kuwait in 1991 and has since helped patrol two no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq designed to protect civilian Kurdish and Shi'ite minorities.   However, it refused to join the United States and Britain in patrolling an enlarged exclusion zone after Clinton extended it northwards to the 34th parallel. 
13695 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO  Boris Yeltsin's doctors said on Thursday they will seek advice from the West about his planned heart bypass operation, during which the Russsian president may have to turn Russia's nuclear trigger over to a deputy.   NTV commercial television said the doctors would meet between September 27 and 29 to decide when the 65-year-old president would undergo the operation.   "In the present situation, I think that to make a concrete decision we will need to invite a leading Western specialist, at least for a consultation," Sergei Mironov, head of the presidential medical centre, told Russian Public Television.   Yeltsin broke months of silence on his health last week to announce he would have the heart surgery.   But he said Russian doctors were capable of carrying it out.   Doctors said Yeltsin, who had two mild heart attacks last year, needed a bypass to increase blood flow to the heart.   Presidential press spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky said Yeltsin was considering handing over the "red button", final authorisation for launching Russian nuclear weapons, to a deputy during the operation.   "The president of the country is considering various models for one of the high officials of state to temporarily carry out the duties of president of the Russian Federation, and whether this is necessary at all," Yastrzhembsky said.   He did not name Prime Minister Viktor Chernmomyrdin who, under the constitution, would become interim head of state if Yeltsin had to step down.   Chernomyrdin, 58, was given some responsibility this week for key ministries, including defence and interior.   These normally report directly to Yeltsin.   But Yastrzhembsky made clear this arrangement simply meant a temporary transfer to the prime minister of the "day-to-day running" of these ministries.   "The president remains head of state and commander-in-chief," he said.   Yeltsin also still controls Russia's nuclear arsenal and Yastrzhembsky said that, if the "red button" were handed over, it would be only for a "a short time around the operation".   The world would be told if it were transferred, he added.   NTV named pioneering U.S. heart surgeon Michael DeBakey as one who would join the team on the president's case.   But DeBakey, professor of surgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, told Reuters he had not been approached either to be a consultant or to perform the operation.   "I am going to be in Moscow the week of September 22 for a symposium where I am giving a lecture but I have not been officially invited to consult or to participate in an operation on Mr Yeltsin," he said by telephone.   DeBakey, 85, performed the world's first successful bypass oepration in 1964.   His patients have included the Shah of Iran, the Duke of Windsor and Turkish president Turgut Ozal.   In 1972 and 1973 he travelled to Moscow to operate on the head of the Soviet Academy of Sciences Mstislav Keldysh.   Asked if he would see Yeltsin if approached, DeBakey said, "Of course, if I'm asked, I'd be glad to help in any way I can."   DeBakey said he knew the Moscow Cardiological Institute very well.   "It is a very good hospital," he said, adding that he had helped train the centre's top bypass specialist Renat Akchurin.   Yeltsin said last week he agreed to have an operation after doctors gave him the choice of surgery or a passive way of life. 
13696 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  Three miners at a Siberian open cast coal mine were suffocated to death on Thursday by poisonous gas caused by a fire and five rescue workers were rushed to hospital after inhaling the fumes, the Emergencies Ministry said.   The ministry said the fire broke out in the early hours at Berezovsky mine some 240 km (150 miles) southwest of the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.   Accidents at Russian mines have increased in recent years following the general decline of the coal industry. 
13697 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Visiting King Juan Carlos of Spain told a meeting of businessmen on Thursday that Spanish companies should establish more business links with Hungary.   "Our bilateral relations have developed a great deal in the past few years but are still far from what they could be," Juan Carlos told Hungarian and Spanish businessmen on the second day of a three-day visit to Hungary.   The king praised the performance of the Hungarian economy and said Hungary was well on its way to becoming a developed country.   Attila Karoly Soos, state secretary for the Hungarian ministry of industry and trade, said Hungary was one of Spain's most important trading partners in eastern Europe.   But Spanish capital investment in Hungary to date amounted to only $40 million, compared with a total $14 billion capital inflow into Hungary, Soos said. 
13698 !C11 !C13 !CCAT !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  The United States and Baltic states signed an agreement on Thursday to cooperate on civil and military airspace management.   The accord concluded a three-day conference in Ljubljana, attended by 22 states, to help former communist states modernize and integrate their systems within Western Europe.   Slovenia, Romania and Albania signed the accord with the United States in January 1995.   "We are committed to a policy and strategy of independence, sovereignty and security for the Baltic States and the Regional Airsapce Initiative is a critical element in this process," said Frank Colson, executive director of the U.S. Defence Department.   After the break-up of the pre-1990 military and political alignment, central and eastern European states were left with antiquated air traffic control systems, poorly equipped air forces and with the military in control of the airspace. 
13699 !E51 !ECAT !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GDIP  European Union officials and Ukraine on Thursday signed a deal to give Kiev about $675 million in technical aid, some of which will help close down the Chernobyl nuclear plant.   The agreement was signed by European Commissioner in charge of relations with the former Soviet Union Hans van den Broek, who is now in Kiev on a three-day visit, and head of Ukraine's Agency for Reconstruction and Development, Roman Shpek.   "May I quote German Chancellor Helmut Kohl's remark during his recent visit to Kiev: "Ukraine needs Europe and Europe needs Ukraine,'" an EC press release quoted van den Broek as telling a conference on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and agriculture after the signing.   The funds -- nearly 540 million ECUs (about $700 million) -- are to be distributed over three years as part of the EU's so-called Tacis plan which seeks to bring the economies of Eastern Europe up to a par with Western Europe.   The cash will go towards boosting institutional reform and development, and supporting reforms, the private sector, the energy sector and the environment, van den Broek said.   He referred in particular to SMEs, whose accelerated development he described as "crucial" as they made up only 20 percent of gross national product against 60 to 80 percent in Western Europe.   "The Tacis Indicative Programme, signed this morning with Mr Shpek, reconfirms the commitment of the European Union to the development of this sector until the end of the century," he was quoted as saying.   He also said another 37.5 million ECU would go to Ukraine's energy sector, including 22 million ECU to close the Chernobyl plant by the year 2000.   Ukraine has a negative trade balance of $1 billion with the European Union and some officials have said protective measures should be adopted.   "That would be going in the wrong direction.   In our talks with Russia we also would be critical of this kind of measure, which they have taken against the EU," van den Broek told reporters.   Ukraine President Leonid Kuchma said recently Ukraine wants full-fledged membership in the European Union but ruled out that it would happen in the near future. 
13700 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Czech Foreign Minister Josef Zieleniec said on Thursday that a long-awaited Czech-German post-World War Two reconciliation treaty would not bring any change to laws which expelled millions of ethnic Germans.   Zieleniec told reporters he welcomed German Chancellor Helmut Kohl's statement on Wednesday that he hoped the sensitive document closing the book on the Nazi occupation of Czech lands and its aftermath would be signed by year's end.   But Zieleniec said there would be no tinkering with Prague's post-war laws which expelled and expropriated over 2.5 million ethnic Germans, known as Sudeten Germans, after the Czech lands were liberated from Nazi occupation in 1945.   "I want to say something clearly: the declaration will not at all mean not even a hint of a change of the Czech legal order," said Zieleniec.   "I am glad Mr. Chancellor spoke on this issue, it is a sign Czech-German relations are an important part of German political activity at present, and that these relations are in the focus of Germany's key politicians," he added.   Intensive bilateral talks on the declaration, now running for more than a year, have been held amid calls by politically powerful groups repesenting the expelled Germans for compensation from Prague.   The Czech government has given symbolic compensation to Czech victims of Nazi occupation, but the Bonn government has yet to offer compensation to the Czechs similar to payments made to victims of Nazism in other European countries.   The expelled Germans' groups, concentrated in southern Germany, have demanded the abolition of the post-war decrees issued by then-Czechoslovak President Edvard Benes.   Attempts to cancel the decrees by some individuals through Czech courts have failed.   Kohl pleaded for patience in his address to the Bundestag on Wednesday: "We want to conclude this agreement this year," he said, adding that he wanted it to be symbolically crowned by a speech in Bonn by a representative of the Czech government.   After a meeting with ministers on Thursday Czech President Vaclav Havel, who has spearheaded Prague's warming of relations with Bonn despite holding a mostly ceremonial position, said he agreed with Kohl.   "There's nothing left but to say that it is good that Mr. Chancellor (Kohl) would like to have the declaration signed by the end of the year." 
13701 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO  Doctors will set the date for Russian President Boris Yeltsin's heart operation at the end of this month and will ask foreign specialists to join the team of consultants, Russian television said on Thursday.   NTV commercial television said the doctors would meet between September 27 and 29 to determine exactly when the operation should be.   "The main sensation is that foreign doctors will take part in the consultation and possibly in the operation too," the commentator said.   Yeltsin said last week he had agreed to have heart surgery, but he said Russian doctors were capable of carrying out such an operation.   Doctors said the president needed a bypass operation to increase the flow of blood to his heart.   It named Texas-based heart specialist Michael DeBakey as one who would join the team.   But DeBakey, distinguished professor of surgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, told Reuters he had not been approached -- either to work as a consultant or to perform the operation.   DeBakey, 85, performed the world's first successful bypass operation in 1964.   "I am going to be in Moscow the week of September 22 for a symposium where I am giving a lecture, but I have not been officially invited to consult or to participate in an operation on Mr Yeltsin," he said by telephone.   DeBakey said he knew the Moscow Cardiological Institute well.   "It is a very good hospital," he said, adding that he had helped train the centre's top bypass specialist Renat Akchurin.   DeBakey has operated on several well-known figures, including late Turkish president Turgut Ozal.   Interfax news agency separately quoted Sergei Mironov, head of the presidential medical centre, as saying that no final decision had been taken on the date of Yeltsin's heart operation or on the team which would carry it out.   "We can already say that the operation will be conducted by Russian doctors, with major foreign specialists invited," Mironov said.   He said the doctors would meet several more times to work out details of the surgery and a timetable.   He did not say which foreign specialist would be invited, but Interfax cited "unofficial sources" as saying it would be a well-known cardiologist from Germany. 
13702 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO  Doctors will decide at a meeting to be held between September 27-29 when to operate on Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who said last week he had agreed to have heart surgery, NTV commercial television said on Thursday.   The television said a U.S. cardiologist would be invited to join the doctors' meeting and might participate in the operation itself.    Separately, Interfax news agency quoted Sergei Mironov, head of the presidential medical centre as saying that no final decision had been taken on the date of the operation or on the team which would carry it out.   "We can already say that the operation will be conducted by Russian doctors, with major foreign specialists invited," Mironov said.   He said the doctors would meet several more times to work out details of the surgery and a timetable.   He did not say which foreign specialist would be invited as a consultant.   But Interfax cited "unofficial sources" as saying it would be a well-known cardiologist from Germany.   Doctors have said Yeltsin will undergo a heart bypass operation. 
13703 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  Poland and France on Thursday signed an agreement on police cooperation to fight drug smuggling, illegal immigration and other crimes.   The signing was overseen by French President Jacques Chirac, on the first full day of his official visit to Poland, and by Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski.   "The agreement will allow special French police groups to operate in Poland and Polish ones in France," Polish Interior Minister Zbigniew Siemiatkowski told PAP news agency.   He added that under the agreement Polish police officers would soon be offered training in France.   The two countries also signed an agreement on cooperation in road construction, under which France will provide expertise for the east European country's $8 billion scheme to build 2,500 km (1,550 miles) of motorways over the next 15 year.   PAP reported that Poland and France had planned to sign a agreement on defence cooperation but the deal was not clinched.   The agency quoted Polish Foreign Minister Dariusz Rosati as saying more work was needed to complete the agreement. 
13704 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  Tens of thousands of Bosnian refugees, many of them elderly, will pile on to trains in the middle of Friday night and set off from Serbia to vote in Saturday's Bosnian elections.   Trains will leave Belgrade station at midnight, the Yugoslav commissioner for refugees Bratislava Morina told a news briefing on Thursday.   The Red Cross will provide every refugee with packed meals on the trains and each will be accompanied by medical teams.   "More old refugees have registered to vote than young people, which is why the medical teams are so important," said Morina.   Around 100 war-wounded soldiers will be taken back on special buses to cast their ballots.   The elections, dubbed by one organiser as "the most complicated elections of the century", have become a logistical nightmare involving transport of thousands of people across borders and into small towns on poor roads.   Truck drivers have been asked to keep off the roads at the weekend and NATO will supervise 19 chosen routes along which refugees will be protected as they travel to vote.   Morina said at least 60,000 refugees have registered to travel to the Bosnian Serb Republic to vote and around 10,000 are expected to go to the Moslem-Croat Federation, under the auspices of the Yugoslav authorities.   Many hundreds more will go to Bosnia with refugee associations which have organised transport back to particular areas.   "We have no precise information about how many buses will be going.   There are many families who have their own transport," Morina said.   It is unlikely any of those who were forced to flee will come face to face with their former aggressors, Morina said, because many towns will have polling stations in two places.   Refugees from Serbia will arrive in Bijeljina, just across the border in the Bosnian Serb Republic.   From there they will be taken on 100 buses to the towns where they have chosen to vote.   Most will be voting in the northern Bosnian town of Brcko, Morina said.   More than 85,000 refugees have already voted by postal ballots in Serbia. 
13705 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  U.S. envoy John Kornblum, one of the architects of the Dayton peace accords, flew into Sarajevo on Thursday to monitor this weekend's Bosnia elections warning all sides that partition was not on the agenda.   "The Dayton agreement is very clear and the interests of all of the people of Bosnia are clearly aimed at building a common state...partition is not part of the future," he declared on arrival at the war-battered airport.   Kornblum, assistant secretary of state for European and Canadian affairs, said Washington would spell this out to the winners of Saturday's poll -- virtually certain to be the same nationalist parties that led the country to and through war.   "Partition may be emotionally something that some people want to talk about but we have made very clear to them in the past, and we will continue to make clear, that that is not part of the future," Kornblum stated.   Before leaving Washington, the envoy said the United States would underscore the need for cooperation after the poll by offering incentives, including unspecified help for reconstruction.   Kornblum will be joined on Friday by the man who brokered the deal that ended the 3-1/2-year war, former assistant secretary of state Richard Holbrooke, to observe the event on behalf of President Bill Clinton.   Critics say the poll, coming so soon after the bitter war, risks legitimising a "de facto" partition of Bosnia along ethnic lines.   The Western allies, whose armies are policing the peace accords, insist they must go ahead if common institutions foreseen by Dayton to reunite the country are to be created.   In sharp contrast to the declarations of the international community, the two main parties, the ruling Moslem Party of Democratic Action (SDA) and the Bosnian Serb Democratic Party (SDS), exhibit only nationalist fervour at packed rallies.   Moderate opposition parties have been unable to campaign freely because of repeated violent attacks on their candidates and supporters by ethnic militants loyal to the main parties.   International organisers said on Tuesday they had fined the SDS $50,000 for campaigning in favour of secession and union with Serbia, but such penalties have so far had little impact.   With two days to go preparations for the countrywide poll -- the first since Moslems and Croats voted for independence from former Yugoslavia in March 1992 in a referendum boycotted by the Serbs -- moved up a gear on Thursday.   More independent international supervisors and monitors arrived in the country and officials put the finishing touches to polling stations, checking voting lists and ballot papers.   Supporters of President Alija Izetbegovic drove through Sarajevo in convoys decked out in the green and white flags of the SDA.   Many supporters wore green Islamic headbands, some inscribed with Koranic verses.   Kornblum and Holbrooke will fly around the country in different helicopters to try to visit as many polling stations and areas as possible.   "These elections will rise and fall on how they are conducted and whether the results are legitimate, credible results," Kornblum added.   The office of Carl Bildt, the international community's High Representative for Bosnia, said on Thursday the poll was a contest "between fascism and democracy" which could kill or revive a multi-ethnic society.   "We hear day after day that Serbs and Moslems and Croats cannot live together.   Really?   We prefer to say that fascists and democrats do not go well together," said Bildt spokesman Colm Murphy.   "The only impregnable internal frontier in this country in the future must be one between fascism and democracy...between extremism and moderation, hatred and tolerance, primitives and sophisticates," he told a news briefing. 
13706 !GCAT !GHEA  Romanian health authorities on Thursday declared an epidemic alert after more deaths from viral meningitis and a row over who has the right to shut schools at risk from the disease.   "We have a viral meningitis epidemic in Romania, but we are unable yet to say what kind of virus caused the disease," Health Minister Daniela Bartos told reporters 50 days after the first case was reported at the end of July.   The disease apparently entered the country with tourists returning from Cyprus.   More than 100 people fell ill with mild meningitis in the southern Cyprus coastal town of Limassol in July.   The death toll is now 24, all people aged over 60, and another 417 patients, including 49 children, have been hospitalised in Romania since the worst viral meningitis epidemic in a decade broke out.   The epidemic has led to a war of words between Bucharest's mayor, from the main opposition Democratic Convention bloc, and the local prefect, education and health ministers, all members of the ruling Party of Social Democracy.   Bucharest mayor Victor Ciorbea said on Wednesday he would delay the start of the new school year for two weeks to safeguard children from the disease in unsanitary schools.   But Bartos said the mayor had no right to postpone classes: "The start of schools will be delayed only one week in primary schools, not in high schools, and the final decision belongs to the education minister alone," she said.   Meningitis is spread through poor hygiene.   Three schools in Bucharest were found without sewers while in another 55 the sewers were almost inoperable.   Ciorbea designated 1.0 billion lei ($315,000) for an emergency programme to improve the poor sanitation in schools.   Illness from the virus normally lasts around a week.   It affects the gastro-intestinal tract, causing high fever, headaches and vomiting.   Last week the city hall ordered an increase in the water supply to three southern districts of Bucharest worst hit by the meningitis outbreak.   In 1986 Romania suffered an epidemic of the more dangerous bacterial meningitis, which has killed some 15,000 people in central Africa this year. 
13707 !GCAT !GPOL  Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov portrayed President Boris Yeltsin as a weak man on Thursday and said rumours were circulating that he had surrendered Russia's "nuclear button" to German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.   Zyuganov, having related the bizarre rumour at a Moscow news conference, then hastened to dismiss it as a symptom of uncertainty in the Kremlin.   Yeltsin, he said, should hand power to his Prime Minister before his heart operation this month.   Kohl paid a flying visit to Russia on September 7 and met Yeltsin at a hunting lodge outside the capital, where the president has been preparing for his operation.   "They say Kohl didn't meet Chernomyrdin and other Russian leaders...because he only came to remove the nuclear button from Russia," Zyuganov said.   "As a man I feel sorry for him (Yeltsin).   From the political point of view he should be able to take the necessary and correct decisions so that such malicious gossip does not arise."   Under the constitution, Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin is Yeltsin's interim replacement.   The Kremlin has already said.   broad powers would be temporarily ceded to the premier.   "If a man is ill and unable to carry out his work, he is obliged to untie the hands of the head of government so that he should have full control over all the ministers," said Zyuganov, who lost to Yeltsin in July's presidential election.   On Tuesday, the Kremlin leader ordered the ministers of defence, interior and other "power ministries" which normally report directly to the president to coordinate their activity with Chernomydrin during his holiday.   Kremlin spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky said on Thursday the 65-year-old president had come to Moscow to meet doctors and was considering ways in which he might temporarily hand over some other duties, including control over Russia's "nuclear button".   But he said this would be only "for a short time around the operation" and stressed that Yeltsin remained head of state and commander-in-chief.   The world would be told if control over the "button" -- one of three briefcases containing devices which jointly activate the nuclear arsenal -- were handed over.   The other cases are with the the chief of the general staff and the defence minister.   Yeltsin's revelation that he is to have a heart operation later this month and a breakthrough in the 21-month-old Chechnya conflict have provided fertile ground for criticism from the communists, stung by their election failure in July.   The communist leader said the deal to end the Chechnya conflict signed by Russian security chief Alexander Lebed and rebel chief-of-staff Aslan Maskhadov was treachery since it effectively handed the region to the separatists.   "Russia has been betrayed and sold out," said a statement by his National-Patriotic bloc.   "What were all those casualties for?"   it said, referring to the tens of thousands killed during Moscow's military campaign.   Zyuganov had been pinning his hopes on regional elections taking place between now and the end of the year.   But a communist-backed candidate was heavily defeated in the first vote in the southern Saratov region and Zyuganov was reluctant to predict his national-patriotic bloc's chances for the others. 
13708 !GCAT !GDEF !GPOL  President Boris Yeltsin is considering handing over the "red button", final authorisation for firing Russian nuclear weapons, to a deputy during his forthcoming heart operation, a spokesman said on Thursday.   Spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky said the 65-year-old leader would only surrender the nuclear trigger for a short time, but stressed that Yeltsin was still in full command and intriguingly did not say who might stand in for him.   Yeltsin returned to Moscow from his holiday home near the Russian capital for medical checks ahead of his heart surgery.   But there was no word on when the operation might take place.   "The doctors want to have a look at the dynamics, at how his health has changed," Yastrzhembsky said, denying a report that Yeltsin's doctors were ready to fix the date of the operation.   The president, who broke months of silence on his health and age-old Kremlin taboos by announcing last week he would have surgery late this month, also visited his wife Naina at the Moscow clinic where she is convalescing from a kidney operation.   Yeltsin's absence since his re-election on July 3 has fuelled speculation of a power struggle in the Kremlin involving notably Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, security chief Alexander Lebed and presidential chief-of-staff Anatoly Chubais.   Some analysts believe Yeltsin is deliberately playing off powerful figures against each other to maintain his own grip.   Yastrzhembsky said only that the president was considering transferring power to "one of the senior officials of state".   He made no mention of Chernomyrdin who, under the constitution, would become interim head of state if Yeltsin had to step down.   "The president of the country is considering various models for one of the high officials of state to temporarily carry out the duties of president of the Russian Federation, and whether this is necessary at all," the spokesman said.   The constitution says the prime minister takes over if the president is permanently incapacitated, but does not make clear what should happen if he is absent for a short period.   Chernomyrdin, 58, was given some responsibility this week for key ministries, including defence and interior.   These normally report directly to Yeltsin.   But Yastrzhembsky made clear this arrangement simply meant a temporary transfer to the prime minister of the "day-to-day running" of these ministries.   "The president remains head of state and commander-in-chief," he said.   Yeltsin also still controls Russia's nuclear arsenal and Yastrzhembsky said that, if the "red button" were handed over, it would be only for a "a short time around the operation".   The world would be told if it were transferred, he added.   Lebed, the 46-year-old former general who signed an ambitious but controversial peace with Chechen separatist rebels 12 days ago, repeated on Wednesday that he favoured a clear handover of presidential power to Chernomyrdin.   Chubais, 41, has said there is no need to hurry since Yeltsin was quite capable and he stressed that any transfer of power would be for only "a couple of days" at most.   Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov, the man Yeltsin beat in July to the great relief of Western leaders, urged the president to hand over to Chernomyrdin and criticised him for being unable to quash rumours about who was running the country.   "If a man is ill and unable to carry out his work, he is obliged to untie the hands of the head of government so that he should have full control over all the ministers," Zyuganov told a news conference.   "As a man I feel sorry for him," he added.   Yeltsin, who had two heart attacks last year, said last week he had agreed to have an operation after doctors gave him the choice of that or resigning himself to a passive way of life.   He said the surgery would take place in Moscow by the end of this month.   Yastrzhembsky said a council of doctors would meet again before the end of the month, but could not say if that meeting would set the date of the operation. 
13709 !C24 !C33 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV  Representatives of 60 Hungarian "green" groups said on Thursday they have joined a western boycott of Siemens AG products, as long as the German company helps build a Russian-type nuclear plant in Slovakia.   "This reactor can never be brought to satisfactory safety levels," Judit Halasz, of Hungarian environmental organisation "Levego Munkacsoport" (Air Workgroup), told Reuters.   Their 52 member organisations and eight other Hungarian "green" groups had also joined the boycott, she said.   Halasz added that their boycott appeal was also against products of Siemens subsidiaries such as Bosch and Osram.   An official of Siemens' Hungarian unit said continuation of Siemens participation in the Mohi project in Slovakia would assure higher quality work.   "The decision was taken by others, but as Siemens is among the leaders in nuclear safety and control equipment, our participation in the project would be beneficial," said Csaba Gergely of Siemens' press office.   He added that Siemens AG RVU would sign a contract next week with Hungary's Paks nuclear plant - which is of a similar type - to refurbish its safety systems.   Gabor Vamos, the safety director of Paks nuclear plant, which supplies 40 percent of Hungary's electricity and has a good safety track record, said it was hard to determine if a nuclear plant met western standards.   "Safety requirements differ from one country to the other and a French nuclear plant might not meet German standards and vice versa," Vamos said.   Gergely added that the boycott was unlikely to have a serious impact on Siemens' Hungarian sales.   "We mostly sell investment goods, and we think our clients can make their own judgment," he said.   In 1995, Siemens had 12.8 billion forints ($83.3 million) net sales in Hungary, up from 9.3 billion the year before.   ($ = 153.5 Hungarian Forints) 
13710 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Bosnia's elections on Saturday will highlight a contest "between fascism and democracy" that will eventually decide whether multi-ethnic life is buried or reborn, international overseers said on Thursday.   The office of Carl Bildt, High Representative coordinating Bosnia's postwar reconstruction, said many Moslems, Serbs and Croats were not wedded to ultra-nationalism despite its pervasive presence in election campaigning.   "We hear day after day that Serbs and Moslems and Croats cannot live together.   Really?   We prefer to say that fascists and democrats do not go well together," said Bildt's spokesman Colm Murphy, recalling long periods of peace here before 1992.   "The only impregnable internal frontier in this country in the future must be one between fascism and democracy...between extremism and moderation, hatred and tolerance, primitives and sophisticates," he told a news briefing.   Moderate opposition parties have been unable to campaign freely because of repeated violent attacks on their candidates and supporters by ethnic militants loyal to the main three nationalist parties.   Murphy said Bosnia's future after elections was cloudy, but any attempt at formal secession by Serb- and Croat-ruled territories would never win diplomatic recognition.   "Whatever the outcome of the elections, there will be no secession.   Secession is not an option, it is not on the cards and not on the agenda," he said.   Ninety-five percent of Serbs and 67 percent of Croats opposed a reunified Bosnia in a U.S.-sponsored pre-election poll, while 97 percent of Moslems -- the main victims of wartime conquest -- supported it, he said.   "Much is still missing -- the return of refugees, free movement across (internal) boundaries, a desire -- for now -- of entities to work together," Murphy admitted.   "Indicted war criminals are still at large and wield unsavoury influence.   "(But) it is time for each voter to reflect carefully on the last four years -- and to ask himself what he really wants for his own or her own children," he said.   The elections, designed to jump-start a process of reunification, are for a collective presidency, parliament, assemblies for a semi-autonomous Moslem-Croat Federation and a Serb Republic, and cantonal councils in both.   Tens of thousands of refugees will be bused on Election Day over ethnic lines to vote on territory from which they were expelled.   More than 700 buses have been requisitioned to take an expected 105,000 Moslem and Croat refugees into Serb territory along 19 designated routes secured by NATO peace troops.   They and U.N. police monitors will ensure local police, run by the hard-line nationalist Serb Democratic Party (SDS), honour promises to keep routes clear of barricades or hostile crowds.   U.N. spokesman Alex Ivanko said far fewer Serb refugees -- 7,000 in 55 buses -- had signed up to cross into Bosnian Federation territory to cast ballots.   Analysts said virtually all Serb refugees were manipulated by the SDS into registering to vote in former Moslem-Croat majority zones of the Serb entity in order to entrench ethnic partition. 
13711 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Bosnian Serb rivals are fighting a crucial political battle in northern Bosnia where Banja Luka is an alternative power centre for pragmatists opposed to separatist hardliners.   The region contains 70 per cent of the Bosnian Serb electorate and leans to Belgrade as an economic and political lifeline rather than the wartime government seat of Pale which is the hardliners' fief.   While hardliners loyal to ousted nationalist president Radovan Karadzic campaign on an openly separatist platform, the Banja Luka leaders urge cooperation with the peace process and the restoration of normal life.   That means restoring ties with the Moslem-Croat half of Bosnia and also with neighbouring Croatia, which separates the Banja Luka region from western Europe.   The city, the main industrial centre in the Bosnian Serb republic, supported the policies of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic throughout the war and has followed his own espousal of peace last year.   Given the north's allegiances, Karadzic's hardline Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) took a gamble by attacking Milosevic at election rallies as an unreconstructed communist who wanted to impose a socialist command economy on Bosnia.   "That is wrong tactics, but probably designed to appeal to the voters in rural areas," a Western diplomatic observer in Banja Luka said.   The town was largely ignored by Pale during the 43-month war although it has the only Bosnian Serb university and is headquarters of the powerful First Krajina corps as well as having industrial clout.   It was a bustling economic centre before the war with 60,000 workers and exports worth $400 million a year.   Pale on the other hand, is a mountain village and pre-war country retreat for rich Sarajevans.   Karadzic and most of the other war leaders fled there from Sarajevo in 1992 and never abandoned their ambition to return to the city as capital of the Bosnian Serb republic.   "Pale and Banja Luka are millions of miles apart in history, tradition and ideology," the diplomat said.   In stark contrast to the Pale leadership which has played heavily on xenophobia, Banja Luka politicians have frequently made clear their readiness to cooperate economically and poltically with their former foes.   "The choice is stark," said Mladen Ivanic a candidate for the future multi-ethnic Bosnian presidency.   "Either we remain a backward country besotted by history or move forward into the next century and prosperity.   To do this we must cooperate."   Banja Luka mayor Predrag Radic, who is running for the Bosnian Serb presidency, added:   "The (Pale) leaders have isolated themselves in their little mountain resort and alienated themselves from the impoverished majority of people.   They want to protect their own wealth while pretending to protect the national interest."   Radic is standing against acting Bosnian Serb president Biljana Plavsic, the SDS candidate and a fervent Karadzic ally, and Socialist Zivko Radisic.   Serb sources told Reuters on Thursday that Milosevic had persuaded Radic to stand down to give Radisic a better chance of winning but no official announcement had yet been made.   Diplomats believe Milosevic would prefer the SDS to win a small but containable victory in the parallel elections for a Bosnian Serb House of Representatives.   Belgrade's strategy would be to let the SDS take the blame for the trouble that would ensue if the election results on both sides effectively partitioned Bosnia.   That would leave his Socialists better placed to win the next round of Bosnian elections due in two years.   Milosevic is thought to be keen however to see Radisic as Bosnian Serb president with supreme command of the army. 
13712 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  A branch of the Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) ruled on Thursday the treasury did not have to refund to Stalexport the 75 million zlotys in interest on overpaid tax it claimed from the government.    In 1993 Stalexport received a refund of the tax it had overpaid in 1989-1990 because of exchange rate differences, but claimed the treasury still owed it 75 million zlotys in interest on the tax.   Regional tax authorities, who had already rejected Stalexport's claims twice, said the interest, if at all due, would amount to 58.2 million zlotys.   Stalexport appealed the rulings to the NSA.   "The NSA did not find any fault with the rulings of the tax office," the NSA said in the justification of the decision.   The tax office said the law which was in force when Stalexport paid the tax provided grounds for the refund of the tax, but not interest on it.   Stalexport says the tax office should take into account the 1994 changes in the law, which paved the way for interest refunds as well.   The company announced it would appeal the administrative court's ruling at the country's Supreme Court.   -- Wojciech Zurawski +48 22 653 9700 
13713 !GCAT !GPOL  Uzbekistan, polishing its human rights image, has broadcast a ground-breaking interview on state-controlled radio with a well-known dissident who took the opportunity to speak about lack of freedom.   Abdulmanob Pulatov, a human rights activist and member of the outlawed Birlik (Unity) Party, told Uzbek Radio on Wednesday evening that the Central Asian state had many human rights problems and he called for recognition of political prisoners.   The radio, monitored by the British Broadcasting Corporation, conducted the interview on the opening day of a seminar in the capital Tashkent on human rights institutions.   President Islam Karimov, addressing the seminar, said Uzbekistan was committed to defending human rights and building "an open democratic society".   He said institutions had to be strengthened to ensure that freedoms were protected and he supported cooperation with international human rights organisations, which have in the past criticised Uzbekistan for its tough stance against opposition.   Pulatov, who returned from four years in exile last month, thanked Uzbek radio for the interview.   He said he was optimistic about prospects for freedom of speech and of the press in Uzbekistan, although many problems existed.   "This is the first time in the past four or five years that I have had such an invitation from an Uzbek media representative," he said.   "Speaking about freedom of the press and of speech, we should say there are no such things here," he said.   But he believed progress had been made in other areas and referred to people being allowed to meet and exchange their views freely.   "However, these are first and very little steps," he said.   "We want at least 27 political prisoners to be recognised as political prisoners," he said, without giving details of the cases.   Pulatov's return to Uzbekistan from the United States, which followed an invitation by Karimov, was not announced by the Uzbek media.   He was the first dissident to return since the government began a crackdown on opposition figures in 1992. 
13714 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Chechen separatist leader Zelimkhan Yandarbiev said on Thursday he needed two or three days to finalise the line-up of a post-war regional government, Interfax news agency said.   It quoted Yandarbiyev as saying he expected other Chechen political and public groups to come up with candidates for the 14 ministerial portfolios they had been promised in a new government for the Caucasus republic.   The coalition government is being set up following a peace deal signed late last month between Moscow security chief Alexander Lebed and separatist chief-of-staff Aslan Maskhadov.   But politicians in Moscow have criticised the deal.   Some also oppose plans by the parliamentary assembly of the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe to discuss Chechnya's future status at a meeting to be attended by the two peacemakers.   President Boris Yeltsin's spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky said the plans were "rude interference in Russia's internal affairs".   "The question of future relations with the Chechen Republic will be decided by the president, the government and the legislature through talks," he told reporters.   "We deem it inappropriate to discuss this issue at an international forum."   Justice Minister Valentin Kovalyov criticised the peace deal, under which Russian troops will pull out of Chechnya and a decision on Chechnya's status will be postponed for five years.   "(Lebed) is unable to realise the meaning and consequences of the documents adequately," said Kovalyov, a communist ordered by President Boris Yeltsin to review legal aspects of the deal.   Lebed and Maskhadov had removed a clause which said Chechnya's future status should be decided on the basis of the Russian constitution and replaced it with vague mentions of "international law and peoples' rights for self-determination".   The constitution does not allow for any form of secession by units of the Russian Federation.   The justice ministry said the changes made by Lebed and Maskhadov turned the document into a political declaration of intent which could simply be the basis for further talks.   "Russia's territorial integrity is a priority of the state and it should be guaranteed beyond any doubt," Interfax quoted Kovalyov as saying.   Most top Moscow officials have said the political price of the deal had not yet been worked out, even though it brought an end to 21 months of fighting.   Moscow's influential Mayor Yuri Luzhkov has described the deal as capitulation.   The rebels have clearly seen the peace deal with Lebed as their victory in the 21-month war with Russia which has killed tens of thousands people.   Yandarbiyev has said that he saw the deferral as a time-out for Russia to find a face-saving way to let Chechnya go.   Troops, sent by Moscow in late 1994 to quell the separatist rebellion, have failed to take control of the whole of Chechnya and have suffered a series of humiliating defeats.   As Russian troops have started leaving Chechnya the rebels started replacing pro-Moscow local administrations with their own and introducing Islamic laws in the region.   The Russian commander in Chechnya, Lieutenant-General Vyacheslav Tikhomirov, joined a chorus of accusations that the rebels had failed to release all Russian prisoners of war, as set out in the agreement.   Tikhomirov said earlier this week that he had ordered a halt to a troop withdrawal from Chechnya until the separatists freed all Russian prisoners.   No schedule for the pullout has been made public so far and Russia has withdrawn only one tank battalion in a largely sympolic step. 
13715 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Bosnian elections scheduled for September 14 will be dominated by a handful of Moslem, Croat and Serb personalities who came to prominence during the 43-month war which ended in December.   A few international figures will also play important roles coordinating arrangements for the balloting.    BOSNIAN MOSLEMS   ALIJA IZETBEGOVIC - Candidate for the collective Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina.   As current President of Bosnia-Herzegovina and of the Moslem nationalist Party of Democratic Action (SDA), Izetbegovic is the country's most prominent Moslem leader.   Born in 1925 in Bosanski Samac, Izetbegovic spent virtually his entire life in Sarajevo except for two terms (totalling nine years) as a political prisoner under the former Yugoslavia.   Elected to the Yugoslav republic of Bosnia's pre-war collective Presidency in 1990, Izetbegovic won independence for his country in April or 1992, precipitating a 43-month war with Serb and Croat separatists who feared Moslem dominance.   Austere and reserved, Izetbegovic's critics say he has used the SDA party machine to harass and intimidate his opposition.   Loyalists view him as the father of the country.   Critics say he is a Moslem fundamentalist at heart or in the thrall of those who are.   HARIS SILAJDZIC - Candidate for the collective Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina.   Silajdzic, 50, served as Bosnia's foreign minister before becoming Prime Minister in 1993.   He resigned from his post and from the SDA in January of 1995 to form his own party and contest national elections.   Handsome, mercurial, intellectual and combative, Silajdzic is a solo artist rather than a team player.   The 50-year-old rebelled against SDA party discipline and what he saw as its flirtation with Moslem fundamentalism.   Easily the second most popular Moslem in Bosnia after Izetbegovic, Silajdzic is campaigning for a united, multi-ethnic Bosnia.   He appeals to those who want a change from the SDA, but change at the hands of someone tested and familiar.   FIKRET ABDIC - Candidate for the collective Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina.   Fikret Abdic won the most votes in Bosnia's last election but traded the job of president of the Presidency to Izetbegovic in exchange for placing one of his men in charge at the Ministry of Interior.   As the prosperous director of a large food processing business in the northeast of the country, Abdic had an independent financial and political base which he took with him when the Bosnian war started.   Forming his own autonomous province, Abdic worked with separatist Serbs and Croats against the Bosnian government and its troops.   The Abdic rebellion collapsed in 1995 and he and his people fled to Croatia where he still lives.   Abdic, viewed as a traitor by most Bosnians, is not expected to be a strong candidate.   But he and Silajdzic will siphon votes away from Izetbegovic, possibly handing a Serb the Chairmanship of the Presidency as the top vote-getter.    BOSNIAN CROATS   KRESIMIR ZUBAK - Candidate for the collective Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina.   Zubak, 49, is the current President of Bosnia's Moslem-Croat federation and virtually guaranteed to win the Croat seat on the new national collective Presidency.   He was wounded in 1992 while serving as a soldier in the Croat militia in Doboj.   Separatist Serb forces burned his family home in the town that same year.   Formerly a judge, Zubak is regarded as a relative moderate within the Croat nationalist HDZ party but a man without much of a political base outside the party.    BOSNIAN SERBS   RADOVAN KARADZIC - Former president of Bosnia's Serb republic and of its ruling Serb Democratic Party (SDS).   Karadzic, a former Sarajevo psychiatrist, helped to found the SDS in 1990.   He led separatist Bosnian Serbs through war and peace until being forced from public life in July of 1996 by international pressure on account of having been twice indicted by a U.N. tribunal for war crimes.   Karadzic was supposed to have been handed over to the tribunal but remains in seclusion in the Serb republic.   Although stripped of public and party office and denied the right to run in elections he almost certainly still wields influence on Bosnian Serb politics behind the scenes.   GENERAL RATKO MLADIC - Commander of the Bosnian Serb Army.   Mladic is also twice-indicted for war crimes but the international community has not been able to force him from power and NATO troops refuse to mount a manhunt for him.   A colonel in the Yugoslav National Army when the Bosnian war broke out, Mladic soon found himself in command of Bosnian Serb forces.   He is wildly popular in the Serb republic but most Bosnian Moslems and Croats revile him because of the siege tactics and brutal human rights abuses for which his troops became known.   Mladic maintains a low profile and is not running for office, but he still controls the army, the strongest single institution in the Serb republic.   BILJANA PLAVSIC - Acting President of the Serb Republic and candidate for the Presidency of the Serb republic.   Plavsic, 66, was a charter member of the SDS and the hardliner chosen to replace Karadzic as acting president of the Serb republic when he was forced from office in July 1996.   Known as the "Iron Lady" for snubbing Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, Plavsic is an ultra-nationalist with a record of fierce opposition to the Dayton peace accord.   She lacks practical authority within the government and support within the Army and some patriarchal Bosnian Serbs have a hard time accepting that a woman is running the country.   MOMCILO KRAJISNIK - President of the Serb republic's Assembly and SDS candidate for the new collective Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina.   Krajisnik, 52, is the main powerbroker in the Serb republic, a man with more clout than even Karadzic as a result of his tight control over police and local authorities and alleged contacts with war profiteers.   He served as speaker of the assembly in the pre-war (Yugoslav) republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina but resigned that position when the Bosnian war began in April of 1992 to become speaker of the Bosnian Serb assembly.   Krajisnik will almost certainly win the Serb seat on the new central government collective Presidency.   If the Moslem vote is split among several candidates he could emerge as top vote-getter among all candidates and the body's new Chairman.   ALEKSA BUHA - Chairman of the ruling nationalist Serb Democratic Party (SDS) and candidate for Speaker of the new National Assembly of the Serb republic.   Buha, 56, was picked as SDS party chairman when Karadzic was forced from office in July.   He is a loyal Karadzic supporter whose constant theme in speeches and writing has been the impossibility of co-existence among Bosnia's Orthodox Serbs, Catholic Croats and Moslems.    INTERNATIONAL OFFICIALS   ADMIRAL T. JOSPEH LOPEZ - Commander of NATO-led air, land and sea forces helping to implement the Dayton peace agreement in Bosnia.   Admiral Lopez, an American, will have been in the job for just six weeks when elections are held on September 14.   The international community will be looking to his 53,000 ground troops to help provide general security on election day.   The possibility that substantial numbers of refugees and displaced persons might try to cross de facto ethnic boundary lines to cast ballots in home towns from which they were "cleansed" during the war has NATO worried.   NATO will be aided in its security duties by as many as 1,600 unarmed U.N. police monitors.   CARL BILDT - High Representative to Bosnia for the international community.   Bildt, a fomer prime minister of Sweden, is the top international mediator in Bosnia and the man charged with overall responsibility for implementing the Dayton peace agreement.   Lacking any executive authority over Bosnia's formerly warring factions he is forced to rely on negotiation to move the process forward.   Bildt's deputy, Michael Steiner, a German, has spent much of his time trying to strengthen Bosnia's shaky Moslem-Croat federation which is generally viewed as the cornerstone of the Dayton agreement.   ROBERT FROWICK - Chief of Mission for Bosnia for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)   Frowick has needed all his experience as a seasoned U.S. diplomat to organise and supervise Bosnian elections, which is OSCE's primary role under the Dayton peace agreement.   Ambassador Frowick and OSCE Chairman Flavio Cotti decided in June to proceed with elections on September 14 despite the factions' failure then to create conditions which would permit a fair and free vote.   Frowick decided to postpone Bosnian municipal elections because of voter registration irregularities, among other problems.   The OSCE is gambling that the Bosnian people will seize the opportunity to cast a secret ballot to break the lock on power currently held by Bosnia's Moslem, Croat and Serb nationalist parties. 
13716 !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   - Opposition parties to hold a meeting on Thursday to decide whether to participate in October local elections.   Opposition has called on the government to repeal a law according to which electoral commission members who boycott the poll could be sentenced with up to nine years in jail.   - Parliament approved a change in a presidential decree, allowing opposition parties to occupy the post of vice chairman on all local electoral commissions.   - A 22-year-old Albanian man has been sentenced to 30 months in jail for sexually abusing a 14-year old boy.   - The opposition Socialists and two centrist parties say the situation prior to the local polls is similiar to that before the controversial May 26 general elections.   They claim President Sali Berisha of the ruling Democrats wants to force them to boycott the polls again.   - Some 17 foreign exchange offices have started up in Tirana, taking business away from street traders.   - Tirana appartment rents are rising.   - The first 15 contestants in a Miss Europe beauty pageant, to be held in Tirana on September 28, are to arrive in Albania on Thursday.   GAZETA SHQIPTARE   - The Council of Europe will oversee the monitoring of Albania's local elections.   - Police have arrested four drug dealers in Tirana.   - The main suspect in the killing of the director of Albania's prison service denies the charges in an interview to the paper.   - Police have intercepted a shipment of 3,000 bottles of raki, a local brandy, because of faked tax stamps.   - August inflation rose 1.9 percent.   RILINDJA DEMOKRATIKE   - Parliament passed a law allowing its members to take up posts in local government.   - Wheelchair factory financed by British non-governmental aid group Oxfam inaugurated in Tirana. 
13717 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  A prominent U.S.-based human rights group on Thursday accused Bulgarian police of using violence, intimidation and arbitrary arrest against street children, who are mostly of Gypsy origin.   In a report based on interviews with children in five Bulgarian cities including Sofia, Human Rights Watch also condemned the practice of sending troublesome minors to workhouse-style institutions where conditions are usually very hard.   "The street children are often exposed to harrassment and physical violence from the police both on the street and while in detention," the report said.   Children may be kept in detention for days on end and are sometimes subjected to sexual harrassment, it added.   The children are also vulnerable to racially motivated attacks from gangs of skinheads.   The police, who regard the children as a major source of petty crime, generally disregard the attacks, the report said.   Police officials said they would respond to the report's findings in the near future.   An estimated 14,000 children scrape a living on Bulgaria's streets by begging, pickpocketing and sifting through rubbish heaps.   Bulgarian media, which show little sympathy for the street children, say most live with their parents and are sent out each morning to locations like railway stations deemed lucrative for their activities.   Human Rights Watch urged the authorities to punish policemen who abuse the children, to make a special investigation of racial attacks, to scrap "workhouses" and to set up a separate judicial system for under-aged offenders.   The non-governmental group, which is privately funded and was established in the United States 20 years ago, monitors and promotes the observance of human rights accords worldwide. 
13718 !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  France hopes Poland will join the European Union by the year 2000, President Jacques Chirac told both houses of the Polish parliament on Thursday in a ringing declaration of support for Warsaw's top policy aims.   "I hope that, by the year 2000, Poland will have joined our Union," Chirac said, stating that talks on EU entry should begin in just over a year.   Chirac also warmly supported Poland's desire to enter the NATO defence alliance quickly, saying the process should begin next year.   "The year 1997 should engage the process, in an irreversible way, of Poland's joining NATO," Chirac said in his speech, high point of a three-day visit which started on Wednesday.   "I hope this negotiation is rapidly concluded."   Poland, which escaped from Soviet domination with the 1989 fall of communism, is determined to bind itself to the West as soon as possible.   It hopes for concrete, early dates from Western leaders for the process to ease fears it could be delayed.   The year 2000 target for the EU is ambitious.   Brussels officials generally give 2002 as the first realistic date, given the time needed for negotiation and ratification.   But Chirac says it can be achieved if Poland undergoes a long transition period for tricky areas like agriculture.   Coming from France, long seen in Warsaw as cautious about EU expansion and an obstacle to NATO growth because of its strong desire to transform the pact, Chirac's assurances were likely to be especially sweet to Polish ears.   They lent assurance that traditionally francophile Poland, which has relied heavily on German political support and economic ties, had another firm friend in Europe.   Chirac called for boosting bilateral economic ties and referring to EU growth, he declared: "In this, Poland will be France's natural partner, its sister in the East."   Poland also won reassurances from German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who spoke with its President Aleksander Kwasniewski by telephone for 20 minutes before Chirac's speech began.   "In the NATO question, I am sure that in June or July (1997) there will be decisions taken on expanding NATO and the entry of Poland to these structures," Kwasniewski told reporters after the discussion.   He added that he had asked Kohl to ensure candidate members were represented at forthcoming NATO meetings.   "In 1998 we will start talks on entering the EU," he said.   Kwasniewski also said that he, Kohl and Chirac -- whose countries are linked in a cooperation framework called the Weimar Triangle, would meet in Warsaw early next year.   The French president underlined that before the EU's expansion it had to complete its current inter-governmental conference to reexamine and strengthen its institutions.   "In this perspective, I propose that a European conference gather the 15 EU members and all candidate countries," Chirac said.   He added that this would not be a substitute for entry talks but a forum for political and economic consultations.   On NATO, Chirac proposed that at the 16-member alliance's summit next year, Poland and other candidates should be represented, as well as other European countries which would be future partners.   Chirac said it was vital that no countries should be left isolated or anxious over NATO's growth -- a reference to Moscow which sees a larger NATO as a threat to its security.   He said he wanted the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe to be reinforced into a real, Pan-European body. 
13719 !GCAT !GCRIM  A Briton pleaded guilty to charges of sexually abusing two boys in Albania, his lawyer told a Tirana court on Thursday.   "We fully accept the charge," said Delo Isufi.   Defendant Paul Thompson, 34, had orginially denied the charges.   Isufi asked the court for a shortened trial procedure, which could also result in a more lenient sentence.   Thompson, from Ashford, Kent, could face up to five years in jail if convicted.   The divorced father of two was arrested on August 25 in a hotel in the Adriatic resort of Durres, about 45 km (30 miles) west of Tirana.   Prosecutors said Thompson befriended the boys, aged 11 and 12, because they reminded him of his own children who live with his former wife in London.   Thompson was sentenced to 12 years' jail in the United States on similar charges in 1987 but had served only five years, prosecutor Dritan Ribaj said.   The age of consent for heterosexual and homosexual relations in Albania is 14. 
13720 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  As many as 2.9 million Bosnians are expected to vote on September 14 in the country's first national elections since a 43-month war ended here in December 1995.   The voters will include at least 641,000 refugees living in 55 countries according to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is supervising the elections with a mandate from the Dayton peace agreement which ended the fighting.   Eligible voters include those citizens of Bosnia aged 18 or over whose names appear on the country's 1991 census, subject to OSCE election rules.   Each voter will cast four colour-coded ballots.   Those voting from towns inside Bosnia's Serb republic, which administers 49 percent of the country, will cast ballots for a president and National Assembly.   They will also vote for a House of Representatives for Bosnia and for one of three seats on the country's collective Presidency.   Those voting from towns inside Bosnia's Moslem-Croat federation, which controls 51 percent of the country, will cast ballots for cantonal assemblies and for a federation House of Representatives.   They will also vote for a House of Representatives for Bosnia and for two of the three seats on the country's collective Presidency.   Refugee voting by absentee ballot began on August 28 and ends at midnight on September 3rd.   Those absentee ballots will be brought to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo by the OSCE for counting.   Some 4,400 polling stations will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (0500-1700 GMT) across Bosnia on election day.   About 1,200 OSCE supervisors drawn from 33 countries will oversee the voting and counting process.   Hundreds of foreign and domestic observers are expected to be accredited as well.   Counting centres established by local election commissions are responsible for counting the ballots under OSCE supervision.   Preliminary counts will be reported from the local election commissions to OSCE regional centres and from there to the Provisional Election Commission, the OSCE's supreme election body.   The Provisional Election Commission, based in Sarajevo, will report all results, verify whether the elections were valid and certify the results.   OSCE officials say that provisional results could be available by September 16 or 17.   Final, certified results might not be available for another week after the provisional tally is completed, depending on the nature and extent of any problems discovered during the counting process. 
13721 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Bosnia's three main nationalist parties, all formed in the run-up to 1990 elections, are expected to dominate the country's September balloting.   The three parties made common cause against the Yugoslav communist party in 1990 elections, split in the run-up to Bosnian independence and became enemies during the Bosnian war.   Analysts say there are two main opposition parties worth watching on September 14.   PARTY OF DEMOCRATIC ACTION (SDA) - Moslem nationalist party, led by Alija Izetbegovic, which dominates most of the 51 percent of Bosnia held by Moslem-Croat federation.   Izetbegovic formed the SDA in 1990 after being released from jail as a political prisoner.   During the Bosnian war the SDA preached multi-ethnicity and the need to maintain the integrity of the country's borders as a single, sovereign state.   In peace, the SDA has done little to promote the multi- ethnic ideal whose banner it once waved.   Control over police and state media on much of Moslem-Croat federation territory gives the SDA a huge advantage among Moslem voters in the elections.   Critics say the SDA is authoritarian at best and Moslem fundamentalist at worst.   SERB DEMOCRATIC PARTY (SDS) - Serb nationalist party which dominates the 49 percent of Bosnia known as the Serb republic.   The SDS was formed on July 12, 1990 and led by Radovan Karadzic for six years until he was forced from power by the international commnity on account of having been twice indicted for war crimes.   Karadzic was replaced as chairman of the SDS by Aleksa Buha.   The party maintains a mono-ethnic, anti-Dayton, separatist stance which it expects Serb voters to ratify.   The SDS has used its tight hold on the police, media and economy to silence any political opposition.   Analysts believe the SDS will win the vote in the Serb republic but possibly by a low margin.   If true, that could loosen its grip on the Bosnian Serb Parliament and lead to a softening of its policies.   CROAT DEMOCRATIC UNION (HDZ) - Croat nationalist party which dominates in the rocky western region of Bosnia known as Herceg Bosna.   The HDZ is the Bosnian wing of the nationalist party which has ruled neighbouring Croatia since 1990.   The Bosnian HDZ has its own party hierarchy but the real leaders are Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and Defence Minister Gojko Susak, a Bosnian Croat.   A Bosnian Croat militia loyal to the HDZ and armed by Susak carved out the breakaway state of Herceg-Bosna during Bosnia's war and drove out non-Croat inhabitants, mainly Moslems.   The HDZ rules Herceg Bosna like an extra-territorial province of Croatia although the fief is to be abolished shortly through a U.S.-brokered deal aimed at reintegrating Bosnia.   Running on an anti-Moslem platform of Croat sovereignty, the HDZ seems poised to sweep the elections in Herceg Bosna.   PARTY FOR BOSNIA HERCEGOVINA (SBIH) - Main opposition party on Moslem-Croat federation territory, led by former Bosnian prime minister Haris Silajdzic.   The SBIH campaigns in favour of a unitary, multi-ethnic Bosnia but depends almost entirely on Silajdzic's personal popularity for its appeal.   An Islamic scholar, Silajdzic is an articulate and convincing opponent of what some see as the SDA's drift towards Moslem fundamentalism.   Silajdzic has little hope of capturing the Moslem seat on the new collective Presidency but could draw enough votes from Izetbegovic to leave a Serb the top vote-getter and thereby Chairman of the body.   The former prime minister and his party are viewed as strong contenders for the 1998 elections.   SOCIALIST PARTY OF THE SERB REPUBLIC (SPRS) - Main opposition party in the Serb Republic.   Headed by Zivko Radisic, a career politician and former communist party member, the SPRS is the Bosnian Serb affiliate of Slobodan Milosevic's Socialist Party in neighbouring Serbia.   Milosevic spilt with the SDS over the Dayton peace deal, which he supported, and is thought to want a more reliable political party to deal with in the Serb republic.   Centred in Banja Luka and strongest to the west of Brcko, the party is counting on a strong vote from the several hundred thousand Bosnian Serb refugees living in Serbia who allegedly have been well-organized by Milosevic.   SPRS candidates have been harassed, attacked and removed from their jobs by the long arm of the SDS during pre-election campaigning. 
13722 !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.   NOVA MAKEDONIJA   - Macedonia will apply for membership of the U.N. Security Council.   President Kiro Gligorov to address the General Assembly.   - Macedonia is creating conditions for becoming an associate member of the European Union, it was concluded Tuesday in Skopje by the president of the West European Union Assembly Sir Dudley Smith and Macedonian Parliament Speaker Tito Petkovski.   - Opposition claims that 120 municipalities envisaged by the new territorial division law will only increase the bureaucratic machine and taxes for citizens who are already poor.   DNEVNIK   - Opposition Democratic party and Liberal party will decide on whether to participate in the local elections after the end of the parliamentary session on the territorial division law.   - Representatives of Macedonian political parties in western Macedonia demand the postponement of the territorial division law.   - The Association of Serbs and Montenegrins from Macedonia expects fast realisation of all agreements signed between Macedonia and Yugoslavia.   -- Skopje newsroom +389 91 201 196 
13723 !GCAT !GVIO  A tense standoff in the divided Bosnian city of Mostar lasted all night and into Thursday morning as a group of Moslems staged an overnight sit-in in the Croat-controlled western sector.   They had entered west Mostar on Wednesday, saying they wanted to repair homes they had been forced to leave in 1993 during fighting between Moslems and Croats.   "They are still on the spot, we are still trying to pursue negotiations," said Howard Fox, spokesman for the Western European Union (WEU) which runs an international police force in Bthe war-shattered city.   "Talks continued until 2 a.m.   Nothing changed overnight," he told Reuters.   "It's potentially a serious problem for Mostar."   Croat police accused the Moslems of staging a provocation before Saturday's elections and on the day that the main Croat party, the Croatian Democratic Union, held a rally in the city.   The Moslem group was put at up to 200 on Wednesday night but Fox said that according to his latest information the figure was 40 to 50.   The head of the European Union administration in Mostar, Sir Martin Garrod, led negotiations with the city's Croat mayor Ivan Prskalo and Moslem deputy mayor Safet Orucevic, as well as leaders of the Moslem group, Fox said.   "We are hoping to find a solution today," he said.   Eyewitnesses said the Moslems wanted to exercise their right to return to their homes.   This is guaranteed by the U.S.-brokered Dayton peace agreement but tensions remain high in Mostar despite EU attempts to unite the city.   The EU efforts have included municipal elections in June when a mayor and deputy for the whole city were elected.   Before then, the Croat west and the Moslem east had separate mayors.   The Moslems spent the night in their homes, damaged in the war, or sleeping on the street.   The gathering seemed to be well organised -- power lines for lighting were laid from the Moslem east within an hour of their arrival.   Bosnian state radio accused Croat police of beating the Moslems.   The Croat police denied the allegation and Fox said the WEU police had no confirmation of this. 
13724 !E41 !E411 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The number of jobless in Slovakia in July was 321,661 workers, or 12.5 percent of the workforce, up from 12.12 percent in June, the Slovak Statistical Bureau (SUSR) said on Thursday.    SLOVAK UNEMPLOYMENT RATE July '96 June '96 July '95    Jobless total  321,661 311,244 343,147    percentage of workforce 12.5  12.1  13.5   -- Bratislava Newsroom, 42-7-210-3687 
13725 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Workers at some of Russia's Norilsk Nickel metals group plants went on strike for two hours on Thursday to protest against wage arrears, and output was temporarily halted, Interfax news agency said.   It said workers at the flagship metals combine, at the Oktyabrsky ore mine and at an unidentified copper plant also struck.   The protests lasted from 9.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. (0200-0400 GMT).   Workers said they would refuse to load Norilsk metals output beginning September 16 unless an agreement was reached with management over wage arrears.    Interfax did not say how many workers had struck but said employees took the action to express dissatisfaction with talks with senior company officials on overdue salaries.   The agency quoted Anatoly Boretsky, head of a workers' strike committee, as saying workers would refuse to load metals from September 16 unless the situation was resolved.   Norilsk director Alexander Khloponin and other company officials flew to Norilsk, in the Far North, on Monday to negotiate what to do about the wage arrears.   Interfax said Khloponin had not yet determined the schedule according to which overdue salaries would be paid.   It quoted him as saying Norilsk saw several ways to raise cash to pay salaries, including selling assets, raising the effectiveness of metals sales on the external and domestic markets and increasing output efficiency.   It said the 120,000 workers at Norilsk's flagship metals combine were owed over 800 billion roubles in unpaid salaries.   -- Moscow Newsroom, +7095 941 8520 
13726 !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   - The chief of the Latvian Privatisation Agency, Janis Naglis, said the agency had received an application from Germany's Preussen Elektra to purchase Latvia's state-run energy company Latvenergo.   Final date for applications is October 15.   - Latvian Minister of Transportation Vilis Kristopans met unofficially with his Russian counterpart Anatoly Zaitsev to discuss abolition of tariffs on goods transported by rail to Latvian ports.   They agreed to form a group to try to attempt to resolve rail-related issues between the two countries.   - Five customs officers have been sentenced by District Court in Valmiera to imprisonment for bribery and abuse of power.   - Ukrainian Parliament has decided to postpone ratification of free trade agreement with Latvia.   Left-wing factions in Ukrainian Parliament said they would not vote for the agreement because of the imprisonment of former Latvian Communist chief, serving an eight-year sentence for his participation in the botched coup of August 1991.   DIENA   - Foreign Minister Valdis Birkavs announced on his return from Denmark that visa regulations between the two countries may be abolished before Christmas.   NEATKARIGA RITA AVIZE   - Foreign Minister Valdis Birkavs has begun discussing with two high-ranking U.S. State Department officials the so-called American plan for cooperation with the Baltics.   Latvia fears the plan may be offered as an alternative to NATO membership.   - After his visit to Iceland, scheduled for September 18, Prime Minister Andris Shkele is to go to the United States to deleiver a speech to the United Nations.   SM   - Latvian government is planning to impose taxes on pensions received from abroad.   -- Riga Newsroom +371 7226693 
13727 !GCAT  Lithuanian newspapers carried the following reports in their Thursday editions.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy:   LIETUVOS RYTAS   - Average life expectancy in Lithuania has fallen over the past five years from 71.5 to 69.3 years.   - The president of the Achema fertilizer company, Bronislovas Lubys, was appointed chairman of the newly formed Bank of Industry.   The Bank of Lithuania is expected to issue a license to the new bank within a few weeks.   RESPUBLIKA   - Latvian and Lithuanian officials continued talks in Vilnius on Wednesday in a bid to resolve a sea border dispute which has soured relations between the Baltic neighbours.   - Around 3,000 consripts will be enlisted in the Lithuanian army this autumn.   LIETUVOS AIDAS   - The Vilnius Municipality will continue negotiations with French Lyonnaise des Eaux to create a joint venture to reconstruct the city's water supply system.   -- Riga Newsroom +371 7226693 
13728 !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   - Bosnian refugee vote turnout in 55 countries is 75 per cent, OSCE's spokeswoman Agota Cooperman says.   - Pensions for April to be paid out in next few days, Bosnian Finance Minister Mirsad Kikanovic says.   DNEVNI AVAZ   - Bosnian parliament endorses President Alija Izetbegovic's report on collective presidency's work in last five years.   --Sarajevo newsroom, +387-71-663-864. 
13729 !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:   ADEVARUL   - Government decided to give state companies grants to pay their outstanding bills to electricity authority Renel RA.   - Eurobonds which National Bank launched on international capital markets were well received but their yield rose recently, with foreign investors expecting results of November polls, Merrill Lynch International president Winthrop Smith said in interview.   - UNCTAD will expand its technical assistance to Romania with two new projects involving foreign trade personnel trianing and creation of trade points.   - Companies operating in Romania's liquefied petroleum gas sector formed association to boost new markets.   - Lack of diesel oil causes delays in autumn harvesting and sowing works.   - Senate passed law on transformation of five regional private ownership funds into mutual funds starting November.   ZIUA   - Free trade zone in Danube port town of Giurgiu, expanding on some 154 hectares, will become operational in next week.   LIBERTATEA   - World Bank gave Romania loans worth $1.9 billion since 1991.   Projects worth another $1.0 billion are now under preparation.   CURIERUL NATIONAL   - As this year's sugar beet crops is not enough to meet sugar consumption after processing Romania will have to resort to imports of raw and refined sugar.   General:   ROMANIA LIBERA   - Deputies adopted law on control of dignataries' assets under which persons in public functions must declare their assets in 15 days, the declaration being confidential.   - Romania's last chance to join NATO and European Union was definitely ruined with Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu presiding a committee supporting President Ion Iliescu's candidacy for a new presidential term, says the newspaper.   - Iliescu allegedly accepted to run also on list of ruling Party of Social Democracy (PDSR) in the uppper house of Senate.   ADEVARUL   - Newspaper publishes draft of list with candidates of opposition Democratic Party (PD) for upper house of Senate and lower Chamber of Deputies.   EVENIMENTUL ZILEI   - Most of the voters' cards will be distributed in the polling stations on November 3 election day, said Adrian Duta, head of the government's technical department in charge of organising the polls.   - Prime Minister Nicolae Vacaroiu to run for upper Senate on list of ruling PDSR for southern county of Arges.   - Romania and Hungary not joining NATO together could destabilise the East European area, said presidential adviser Vasile Ionel.   - Opposition PD of former reformist premier Petre Roman and opposition Social Democratic Party (PSDR) were accepted as members of the Socialist International.   ZIUA   - Lawyer Doru Cosma says Iliescu's third candidacy for a presidential term can be contested also at the European Commission and Court for Human Rights after Romania's constitutional court accepted Iliescu's new candidacy.   - Two-page report with alleged corruption cases involving leading members of ruling PDSR who top the list of candidates for parliament given to President Iliescu to be validated.   VOCEA ROMANIEI   - Newspaper publishes constitutional court's decision which ruled last week to accept President Iliescu's candidacy for a new presidential term as constitutional.   CRONICA ROMANA   - Hungarian Reformist Bishop Laszlo Tokes asked Hungarian Prime Minister Gyula Horn to postpone the signing of the Romanian-Hungarian treaty scheduled for September 16 saying the Bucharest had no political will to respect the accord.   - National Unity Party asks President Iliescu to be suspended for having accepted the Romanian-Hungarian treaty.   DIMINEATA   - Newspaper publishes opinions by officers from the Military Information Department (DIM) of the Defence Ministry on Romania's integration with NATO.   ($=3,177 lei) -- Bucharest Newsroom 40-1 3120264 
13730 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Belgrade press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified them and does not vouch for their accuracy.   POLITIKA   - Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic meets International High Representative Carl Bildt.   Talks centred on the forthcoming Bosnia elections.   - Serbian oil industsry NIS Jugopetrol, has signed agreements with Sartid 1913, Viskoza, Zmaj and Ivo Lola Ribar worth $75 million within the scope of a $330 million barter deal with China.   - U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John Kornblum says sanctions against Yugoslavia will be lifted 10 days after the Bosnia elections as provided by the Dayton agreement.   - Montenegrin President Momir Bulatovic meets U.N. Secretary General Boutros-Boutros Ghali in New York.   - The basket of main foods for a four-member family cost 1,360 dinars in August, says federal statistics office.   - Serbia and Romania sign in Belgrade an agreement on the safeguarding the quality of border waters.   NASA BORBA   - Zastava weapons factory continues its 18th day of protest.   Workers to bring children with them today.   - A joint Serb state remains the ultimate goal, says acting president of the Bosnian Serb republic Biljana Plavsic.   - Serbian government appoints members of the three-member team to implement agreement on return of ethnic-Albanian students to schools in Kosovo.   - Serbian parliament to hold extraordinary session on September 18.   VECERNJE NOVOSTI   - Interview with British Ambassador in Belgrade Ivor Roberts: lifting of sanctions (against Yugoslavai) is not linked to Kosovo but to elections in Bosnia.   - Insurance firms will have to have a security fund of 1.27 million dinars from July 6, says secretary of the Yugoslav association of insurance organisations.   -- Belgrade newsroom +381 11 2224305 
13731 !GCAT  The following are reports carried by Estonia's newspapers on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these reports and does not vouch for their accuracy:   ALL NEWSPAPERS   - Chancellor of Justice Eerik Truuvali announced he would not run in the September 20 election presidential election race.   The Centre Party may nominate Siiri Oviir as a third candidate.   SONUMILEHT   - Prime Minister Tiit Vahi said Estonia will continue to press Russia to recognize the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty between Estonia and the Soviet Union.   EESTI PAEVALEHT   - Presidential candidate Arnold Ruutel has agreed to a televised debate with incumbent Lennart Meri ahead of the September 20 election.   - Secretary general of the Democratic Labour Party predicts leftist forces will gain power in Estonia in the near future.   - Unknown offenders desecrated 10 graves in the Rahumae Jewish Cemetery on Tuesday.   ARIPAEV   - The President of the Bank of Estonia is concerned that the country's GDP may only grow by one to two percent in 1996.   -- Riga Newsroom +371 7226693 
13732 !GCAT  Following are the main stories in Croatian newspapers on Thursday.   VJESNIK   - Is Croatia to join the Council of Europe soon?   - Zagreb - the pickpockets' favourite European captial.   VECERNJI LIST   - UNTAES no different from UNPROFOR, claim the refugees who are planning to hold a protest rally on Friday in Osijek.   - Who is the real owner of the Gavrilovic meat producing company?   - First body unearthed from the Ovcara mass grave.   - The government bill to be forwarded to the parliament: General amnesty as part of normalisation efforts.   SLOBODNA DALMACIJA   - Zagreb is cooperating, while at the same time Belgrade is rejecting all cooperation, says in an interview, Antonio Cassese, the president of the International War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague.   - We shall save and revive the islands, claims in an interview the development and reconstruction minister, Jure Radic.   -- Zagreb Newsroom, 385-1-4557075 
13733 !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  President Jacques Chirac was set to tell Poland's parliament on Thursday what he has already told its president -- that France wants the country in the European Union fast and backs its goal of joining NATO.   Soon after arriving in Warsaw on Wednesday for a three-day visit, Chirac told President Aleksander Kwasniewski that France supported Poland's rapid EU membership -- easing Polish worries that Paris was lukewarm on the issue.   "He (Chirac) expressed the hope that in three or four years Poland will be a member of the European Union, and said this will require efforts by all involved," Kwasniewski spokesman Antoni Styrczula said after the extended 45-minute talks.   "We will do everything in our power for Poland's entry into the European Union to take place as fast as possible and on the best possible terms," Styrczula quoted Chirac as saying, though the French leader also said the process would not be easy.   Chirac himself told a gathering of French Warsaw residents Poland was unique among East European candidates for the EU.   "Poland will be without doubt one of the first or the first to enter the EU.   It wants to be, and we hope it will," he said.   Chirac's comments, likely to be restated in his speech to both houses of parliament, will please Poles eager to hear dates for their EU entry, which they fear could be delayed.   Poland, which escaped Soviet domination with the 1989 fall of communism, is set on binding itself to the West quickly.   Brussels officials say 2002 is the earliest realistic date for the first east Europeans to join; Chirac aides argue Poland could enter sooner, but with a long transition before it joins the common agricultural policy or the single trade market.   Chirac also backed Poland's NATO bid, but stressed it should only join after the Euro-Atlantic defence alliance had been reformed to assume a new European focus and that NATO expansion should not offend or isolate Russia.   Kwasniewski agreed with Chirac's caution over isolating Russia, saying NATO was not aimed against any country and should form the basis of a new European security system.   But he stressed that countries, East and West, should understand that Poland had the right to sovereign decisions.   "Dialogue yes, Diktat no," Styrczula quoted Kwasniewski as saying in an apparent reassertion that Moscow should not be allowed to bloc Polish entry into the Euro-Atlantic pact.   Chirac is expected to back a call endorsed by the United States last week for an early 1997 summit of NATO nations, central European candidates and eastern partners including Russia, to provide a pan-European security framework to accompany NATO's enlargement.   The two presidents stressed the importance for Europe of their close bilateral relations as well as of their cooperation in the so-called Weimar Triangle also involving Germany.   Germany has so far been Poland's chief champion over European integration, as well as its largest trading partner.   The francophile Poles eagerly welcome signs that Paris -- hitherto seen in Warsaw as being preoccupied with conciliating Russia and focusing on the Mediterranean region -- is now keen to cultivate eastern Europe and especially their own country.   Both sides see strengthening their economic cooperation, which has fallen short of its potential, as a key goal and Chirac's delegation includes seven leading industrialists interested in investment in Poland's booming economy.   Chirac, accompanied by four ministers, is due to meet Prime Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, ex-president Lech Walesa and Roman Catholic primate Cardinal Jozef Glemp, as well as touring the former Nazi German extermination camp at Auschwitz. 
13734 !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   - King Juan Carlos of Spain yesterday conveyed his country's support for Hungary in the process of building democracy and a market economy as that marks the "road for Hungary to join in building a new Europe".   @   - Parliament held a sharp political debate yesterday on compensating Hungarian Jewry in connection with implementing the 1947 Paris peace treaty.   Smallholders President Jozsef Torgyan said the cabinet wants to impose on Parliament a law contrary to the interests of Hungarians.   - Young Democrat MP Zsolt Nemeth joined by Smallholders and the Democratic Forum called on the cabinet not to sign the Hungarian-Romanian basic treaty on September 16.   - Calvinist Bishop Laszlo Tokes sent an open letter to Prime Minister Gyula Horn asking him to postpone signing the Hungarian-Romanian basic treaty.   @   - The Hungarian Socialist Party was admitted to the Socialist International yesterday.   - Data through August indicates the central budget deficit could be as much as HUF 30-40 billion less than projected at year's end, and will not exceed 4 per cent of GDP, said Laszlo Csaba, deputy state secretary at the Finance Ministry.   - Industrial production was 8.3 per cent higher in July than a year earlier, 11.7 per cent above that of the previous month.   @   - Police will launch an official investigation into the current swimming scandal, as the making out of a false document amounts to forgery, said a police spokesman.   VILAGGAZDASAG   - The cabinet today is expected to debate a plan to construct a new metro line to be financed by Russia as part of its state debt.   - Hungary has emerged from the economic crisis of early 1995 and now has the second lowest investment risk rating in Eastern Europe, just behind the Czech Republic, according to an analysis by the Japan Bond Institute.   @   MAGYAR HIRLAP   - Romanian President Ion Iliescu will be present when Premier Horn and his Romanian counterpart sign the Hungarian-Romanian basic treraty in Timisoara next Monday, announced the Romanian foreign affairs spokesman.   - The state budget will help the National Bank turn a profit at year's end by accepting from it a HUF 2,000 billion chunk of foreign currency debt in exchange for forint debt, a top Finance Ministry official said.   NEPSZABADSAG @   - Parliament's defence committee approved plan allowing 300 NATO aircraft to fly through Hungarian air space from mid-September to mid-November en route to a NATO war game to be held in the region of the Aegean Sea.   - France's Michelin has won the privatisation tender for the rubber products company Taurus, this paper has learned from unspecified sources.   - Hungary ranks fifth among countries which export passenger cars to China, with a first-half tally of 1,940 Opel Astras by way of barter agreements, reported the China Daily.   NAPI GAZDASAG @   - Austrian exports to Hungary fell in the first half from the same perid of last year by more than 12 per cent to $741.5 million.   -- Budapest newsroom (36-1) 327 4040 
13735 !GCAT !GDIP  Romania and Hungary will draw a line under a centuries old ethnic dispute when they sign a friendship treaty next week, but nationalist distrust will linger in rival villages scattered across Transylvania.   Hungarians and Romanians each claim the region of mountains and rich valleys as the cradle of their civilisation and the historic pact to be signed in the western Romanian city of Timisoara on Monday will dampen the arguments but not end them.   "I survived a world war and 50 years of communism.   I'll survive the Romanian-Hungarian treaty too, but so will our problems," said 72-year-old Benedek Molnar as he sipped a beer in a bar in this largely Hungarian populated Transylvanian village.   Molnar is one of 1.6 million ethnic Hungarians, seven percent of Romania's population, whose status has led to years of argument between the uneasy neighbours that the treaty, agreed under Western pressure, should finally quiet.   Both countries were told that their ambitions to join the European Union and NATO depended on signing the long delayed treaty.   They found the courage to ignore internal opposition and agree a text that sidesteps the difficult issues separating them.   The Hungarians dropped the demand for ethnic autonomy that had raised fears of a Yugoslav-style secession in exchange for a guarantee of some protection for minority rights.   But the prickly issues of language rights in classrooms and courts, control of local police and freedom of cultural expression live on for the proud ethnic Hungarian community.   "The treaty?   Nothing but a piece of paper.   Politicians will sign it and we will read it.   So what?  ," said Molnar's pub mate Sandor Veres.   "Does the treaty mean we will have more rights?"   "I want to use Hungarian not only in the pub but also in a police station, if necessary," Molnar said.   "Why are my grandchildren not given a chance to learn in Hungarian at the university too, not only in primary school?"  , Veres said.   And many Romanians, brought up on the fierce nationalist diet dished up by late Stalinist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, see the Hungarians' real goal as the recovery of Transylvania.   "I can't say the treaty is bad but I think only my kids will see its effects, if any.   My question is whether it can stop Hungarians from taking back Transylvania," said Dan Hagiu, a member of the nationalist Romanian National Unity Party.   "Many Hungarians want it back, many of them still live in the past," he said in Zabala, another majority Hungarian village a short distance from Ozun.   Romanian nationalists accuse ethnic Hungarians of plotting to rejoin Transylvania to Hungary, which ruled it from 1867 to 1918 and occupied it again during World War Two.   Hungarians have lived in the area for centuries and the region abounds in traditional Magyar and German houses and fine Austro-Hungarian public buildings.   The treaty will rule out any territorial ambitions but can do little to stem the prejudices around the issue.   "Sometimes I have the frustrating feeling that Zabala is in Hungary.   They come here because they want our lands and forests," said Hagiu, pointing to the tree-lined hills above the village.   There is little nostalgia for Hungarian rule among Romanians, who remember the 19th century denial of basic rights and Hungarian fascists committing atrocities in World War Two.   The 1989 fall of communism gave Hungarians the freedom of expression to try to improve their standing but their demands for more rights, including autonomy, met stiff opposition and rekindled Romanian sensitivities over Transylvania.   Three people were killed and scores injured in ethnic clashes in the Transylvanian town of Tirgu Mures in 1991.   But such problems have eased as Romania's democracy has matured and the country has tried to present itself as a bulwark of stability in the Balkans compared to the deadly ethnic strife in former Yugoslavia to the south.   Although Romanian nationalist politicians carry weight in some areas their party has lost its place in the ruling coalition for opposing the treaty and may be further marginalised in November parliamentary elections.   With trade links growing and change in the air, the younger generation show little interest in keeping disputes alive.   "Neither me nor my Hungarian friends care about so-called ethnic problems.   We get along fine," said 17-year old Romanian Catalin Neacsu, a student in Tirgu-Secuiesc near Zabala.   Reluctantly the old can see their passions dying with them.   "Well, times are changing.   Some time ago, this pub had a radio set tuned to Budapest radio.   But nowadays young people are different.   Now they have that thing," he said pointing to a loudspeaker blaring out Western disco music. 
13736 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  A more powerful Hurricane Hortense headed toward the open Atlantic Ocean on Thursday after dousing Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic with deadly flood waters that killed about two dozen people.   Hortense's maximum sustained winds strengthened to 130 mph (209 kph), making it a powerful Category 3 hurricane, the third within a month after Edouard and Fran.   Forecasters said Hortense was not expected to strike the U.S. mainland because of a cold weather front pushing it north, although there was an outside chance it might brush Cape Cod, Massachusetts, this weekend.   But some of the tiny southern islands in the long Bahamas archipelago were pelted with rain and gusty winds as Hortense moved past.   The airport on the southeastern island of San Salvador was shut down until Saturday.   At 5 p.m.   EDT (2100 GMT), Hortense's centre was at latitude 25.1 north and longitude 72.0 west, about 730 miles (1,175 km) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and moving north near 12 mph (19 kph), the National Hurricane Centre said.   Hortense was expected to keep moving toward the north and then to turn toward the north-northeast, a track that would keep it away from land until moving into the cool waters of the northern Atlantic, where it would weaken and become extra-tropical sometime this weekend, forecasters said.   Hortense's official death toll in Puerto Rico reached 14 on Thursday, mostly from raging floods and mudslides, with the discovery of two more bodies, police said.   Up to eight people were still missing, officially.   One of the bodies recovered on Thursday was the last member of a family of six, all of whom were killed when raging river waters swept away their home in the southeastern town of Guayama.   "We're expecting the number of dead and missing to rise," said police spokeswoman Maribel Hernandez.   "We are just now getting into towns that were inaccessible."   A spokesman for the Puerto Rico Civil Defence said there were 7,864 people still in shelters.   He said 35 percent of the island remained without power and 34 percent lacked potable water by Thursday, three days after Hortense arrived.   President Bill Clinton declared Puerto Rico a disaster area on Wednesday.   The death toll in the Dominican Republic also seemed likely to rise.   The official figure was eight, but Civil Defence reported 12 people missing in the northeastern coastal region brushed by Hortense.   "They are searching and I must admit that the situation in the region is certainly critical," said Eugenio Cabral, director of the Civil Defence.   One of the dead in San Rafael de Yuna, a coastal village near La Romana, was a 17-day-old baby, according to a fire department spokesman.   Three provinces -- Altagracia, Nagua and Samana -- were declared to be in a state of emergency as swollen rivers burst out of their banks and sent flood waters down mountains and valleys.   "Entire families have disappeared," said Amable Aristy Castro, president of the Dominican Senate.   After leaving the Dominican Republic, Hortense passed the low-lying Turks and Caicos Islands, a British colony of about 13,000 residents, overnight on its way to the Bahamas.   Officials in the Turks and Caicos said damage was essentially limited to minor roof failures and downed utility poles and that no casualties had been reported.   "Life is almost back to normal, everybody's cleaning up this morning and waiting for the restoration of electricity," said law office worker Cheryl Francis-Faessler on Grand Turk, which lies at the east end of the chain. 
13737 !GCAT !GDIS !GENV  A more powerful Hurricane Hortense headed toward the open Atlantic Ocean on Thursday after dousing Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic with deadly flood waters that killed about two dozen people.   During the night, Hortense's maximum sustained winds strengthened to 115 mph (185 kmh), making it a dangerous Category 3 hurricane, the third within a month after Edouard and Fran.   Forecasters said Hortense was not expected to strike the U.S. mainland or the central Bahamas thanks to a cold weather front pushing it north, although there was an outside chance it might brush Cape Cod, Massachusetts, this weekend.   But some of the tiny southern islands in the long Bahamas archipelago were pelted with rain and gusty winds as Hortense moved past.   The airport on the southeastern island of San Salvador was shut down until Saturday.   At 11 a.m.   EDT (1500 GMT), Hortense's centre was at latitude 24.3 north and longitude 72.0 west, about 785 miles (1260 km) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, moving north-northwest at 10 mph (16 kph), the National Hurricane Centre said.   A gradual turn to the north was expected on Thursday and Friday but forecasters said U.S. East Coast beaches would begin to experience large swells by the weekend.   Hortense's official death toll in Puerto Rico reached 13 on Thursday, mainly because of raging floods and mudslides.   "We're expecting the number of dead and missing to rise," police spokeswoman Maribel Hernandez said.   "We are just now getting into towns that were inaccessible."   A spokesman for the Puerto Rico Civil Defence said there were eight missing in addition to the dead and 7,864 people were still living in shelters.   He said 35 percent of the island remained without power and 34 percent lacked potable water by Thursday, three days after Hortense arrived.   The death toll in the Dominican Republic also seemed likely to rise.   The official figure was eight but Civil Defence reported 12 people missing in the northeastern coastal region brushed by Hortense.   "They are searching and I must admit that the situation in the region is certainly critical," said Eugenio Cabral, director of the Civil Defence.   One of the dead in San Rafael de Yuna, a coastal village near La Romana, was a 17-day-old baby, according to a fire department spokesman.   Three provinces -- Altagracia, Nagua and Samana -- were declared to be in a state of emergency as swollen rivers burst out of their banks and sent flood waters down mountains and valleys.   "Entire families have disappeared," said Amable Aristy Castro, president of the Dominican Senate.   After leaving the Dominican Republic, Hortense passed the low-lying Turks and Caicos Islands, a British colony of about 13,000 residents, overnight on its way to the Bahamas.   Officials in the Turks and Caicos said damage was essentially limited to minor roof failures and downed utility poles and no casualties had been reported.   "Life is almost back to normal, everybody's cleaning up this morning and waiting for the restoration of electricity," said law office worker Cheryl Francis-Faessler on Grand Turk.   President Bill Clinton declared Puerto Rico a disaster area on Wednesday.   As Hortense headed for the open, cooler waters of the Atlantic, forecasters said it was unlikely to strengthen.   "Hortense has strengthened quite a bit, but we don't think it will get that much stronger," John Kaplan of the National Hurricane Centre in Miami said.   "It's too early to let down our guard yet, but it looks like Florida, Georgia and the southeastern coast is in pretty good shape." 
13738 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  A stronger, more powerful Hurricane Hortense headed toward the open Atlantic early on Thursday after dousing Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic with deadly floodwaters that killed at least 22.   During the night, Hortense's maximum sustained winds strengthened to 115 mph (185 kmh), becoming a dangerous Category Three hurricane, the third one this month after Hurricanes Edouard and Fran.   Forecasters said the storm was not expected to strike the U.S. mainland or the central Bahamas, thanks to a cold weather front pushing Hortense north.   But some of the tiny southern islands in the archipelago were pelted with rain and gusty winds as Hortense skirted near.   At 5 a.m.   EDT (0300 GMT), Hortense's center was at latitude 23.4 north and longitude 71.6 west, about 100 miles (160 km) north of the Caicos, moving north-northwest at 10 mph (16 kph), the National Hurricane Center said.   The storm was becoming more defined, having developed an eye as it gained strength, but appeared to be headed into the open Atlantic, forecasters said.   At least eight deaths were reported on Wednesday night in the Dominican Republic's eastern province of Altagracia after swollen rivers burst out of their banks, sending floodwaters down mountains and valleys.   Amable Aristy Castro, president of the Dominican senate, said some of the deaths occurred in Higuey, where he lived.   "Entire families have disappeared" in the village of Palmarito, he said in a telephone interview.   Local officials declared the area an emergency zone after Higuey was hit by winds of 75 mph (120 kph) and up to 20 inches (50 cm) of rain on Wednesday.   The Duey River, on the eastern side of Higuey, destroyed houses and fields, said Catholic Bishop Ramon de la Rosa y Carpio.   Tourist resorts in Bavaro and Punta Cana were cut off by flooding from the river, reported local Radio Popular.   The resorts are popular among European and Canadian tourists.   The flooding deaths pushed the Spanish-speaking nation's total storm death toll to 10, including two fishermen who were lost at sea as Hortense approached on Tuesday and presumed dead.   Hortense battered the low-lying Turks and Caicos Islands throughout the night as the storm moved toward the Bahamas.   Early information about damage in the Turks and Caicos, a British colony of about 13,000 residents, was sketchy because of poor communications.   A wind gust of 101 mph (163 kmh) was reported in the Turks before telephone lines blew down.   "Just now, it appears that the eye is passing just to the north of Grand Turk ... We're at a very active part of the thing right now," said an employee at Blue Water Diving Ltd. on Grand Turk Island as Hortense's winds and pouring rains lashed his shop and just before telephone service was cut off.   The island had been without electric power for hours.   In Puerto Rico, the death toll rose to 12, mostly due to raging floodwaters and mudslides.   At least two people remained missing on Wednesday evening, police said.   President Bill Clinton on Wednesday declared Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States, a disaster area.   Homeowners and business owners in Guyama, Loiza, Ponce and Toa Baja will be eligible for low-interest loans and assistance.   "Hortense has strengthened quite a bit, but we don't think it will get that much stronger," said John Kaplan of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.   "It's too early to let down our guard yet but it looks like Florida, Georgia and the southeastern coast is in pretty good shape."   By Saturday evening, Hortense was expected to be off the coast of Massachusetts, forecasters said, but it remained unclear whether the storm would actually strike the coast there.   Among the deaths in Puerto Rico were two women swept away by the swollen Guayami River.   Their bodies were found in the southeastern town of Guayama some 10 miles away, police said. 
13739 !GCAT !GDIS !GENV  Hurricane Hortense strengthened as it headed for the Bahamas on Wednesday after dumping more rain on Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, where floods and mudslides claimed at least 22 lives.   By afternoon, Hortense had strengthened to a Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds up to 110 mph (177 kph) and a defined eye as it battered the low-lying Turks and Caicos Islands and moved toward the Bahamas.   Forecasters at the National Hurricane Centre in Miami warned that Hortense was likely to strengthen overnight, possibly becoming a dangerous Category 3 hurricane.   Early information about damage in the Turks and Caicos, a British colony of about 13,000 residents, was sketchy because of poor communications.   "Just now, it appears that the eye is passing just to the north of Grand Turk ... We're at a very active part of the thing right now," said an employee at Blue Water Diving Ltd. on Grand Turk Island as Hortense's winds and pouring rains lashed his shop and just before telephone service was cut off.   The island had been without electric power for hours.   President Bill Clinton on Wednesday declared Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States, a disaster area.   Homeowners and business owners in Guyama, Loiza, Ponce and Toa Baja will be eligible for low-interest loans and assistance.   Forecasters said they did not expect Hortense to brush Florida or Georgia later in the week because a large cold weather front moving off the North American coast would keep it east of the U.S. coastline.   In Puerto Rico, searchers in helicopters circled flood-ravaged areas trying to find people missing after Hortense slammed the U.S. territory with record rainfall.   The National Weather Service said a flood watch was in effect for the island until 6 p.m.   EDT (2200 GMT), with up to another three inches (7.5 cm) of rain expected.   At 8 p.m.   EDT (2400 GMT), Hortense's centre was at latitude 22.6 north and longitude 71.2 west, about 65 miles (105 km) northeast of the Caicos, moving northwest at 12 mph (19 kph), the National Hurricane Centre said.   The storm was becoming more defined, having developed an eye as it gained strength.   "All indications right now have the storm continuing to move to the northwest today, then turning to the north," said Michelle Huber at the hurricane centre.   "We do expect it to gain energy and strength over the open waters."   Hortense's death toll in Puerto Rico rose to 12 by Wednesday evening as the national police in San Juan learned of additional fatalities throughout the island.   Two bodies -- possibly two members of a family of six swept away by the swollen Guayami River -- were found in the southeastern town of Guayama 10 miles (16 km) away, police said.   They said the death toll could go higher as information came in from communities isolated by impassable roads and no telephone service.   Most of the deaths were blamed on fast-rising water that flooded communities and triggered dangerous mudslides.   One 3-year-old boy died when his bedroom was crushed by a mudslide that sent rocks and debris into the family's home.   At least two other people were missing, police said.   In the Dominican Republic, at least eight people in an eastern province of the Dominican Republic died because of floodwaters unleashed by the hurricane, the president of the nation's senate, Amable Aristy Castro, said.   Two fishermen were also lost at sea during the storm and presumed dead, civil defence officials said.   Hortense left behind an estimated $13.4 million of damage to public housing on the island, and caused $5.6 million in problems in aquaducts and sewers, said Gov. Pedro Rossello.   Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. commonwealth was without electricity on Wednesday evening, he said. 
13740 !GCAT !GVIO  Newly elected Ecuadorean President Abdala Bucaram said on Wednesday that unidentified gunmen fired on a car carrying his 14-year-old son but the boy was not injured.   "My son, Abdala Jr., was travelling to the doctor to be checked up when the security car was shot at," Bucaram told reporters.   "The police managed to repel the attackers."   One of the assailants was injured in the neck when security forces fired back, Bucaram said.   It was unknown how many assailants were involved.   The populist president, who took office last month after winning a July runoff election said it was unclear if the assault was an attempt to kill or kidnap the youth.   Police fanned out across the port area of the coastal city of Guayaquil, 250 miles (420 km) south of the capital Quito, where the gunmen fired on the vehicle.   Police were unable to provide more details of the attack.   Bucaram, whose candidacy was opposed by the business community for his flamboyant nature and attacks on free market reforms, accused "groups with power" that may have been affected by measures he implemented since taking office.   "Now they harass my family, but let me say I will be relentless in finding the criminals and in investigating the people or groups behind this," he said.   Since his inauguration, he has dispatched the military to patrol the customs offices to root out corruption and restricted the sale of alcohol to crack down on crime.   Bucaram said security was extremely tight around his house in Guayaquil to protect himself, his wife and four children.   Since talking office, Bucaram has decided not to move into the presidential palace in Quito, preferring instead to stay in a hotel in the capital during the week and return to his home in Guayaquil, Ecuador's financial hub, on the weekend.   "I thought that security for my children was exaggerated but now I see I will have to take my own precautions," he said.   A self-proclaimed saviour of the poor and opponent of the political establishment, the lawyer from the center-left Roldosista Party edged a rightest reformer in the July 7 vote.   Bucaram, 44, helped win his third presidential bid by captivating the poor with his fiery attacks on the reforms that have yet to benefit many in this Andean nation and on a discredited political establishment seen as corrupt. 
13741 !E11 !E14 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The Latin American economy will grow about 3 percent this year, higher than last year but not nearly enough to reduce severe unemployment or the gulf between rich and poor, a U.N. report said Thursday.   Higher exports, a sharp rise in foreign investment and the lowest inflation since 1972 will all make this year much better for the region's economy than last, said the report by the U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLA).   But stronger growth hasn't translated into any appreciable change in Latin America's gaping social inequalities, it said in a report.   "We estimate that the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean will grow about 3 percent in 1996, resuming a pattern of moderate expansion after a weak performance in 1995," said the report.   Wages in most countries are stagnating and "the sharp inequalities that mark most countries in the region show no sign of diminishing," it said.   Growth for the region as a whole will rise to 3 percent this year from 0.4 percent in 1995, with Chile leading the way at 7 percent and Argentina and Mexico posting modest recoveries after disastrous performances in 1995, it said.   Brazil, with the region's largest economy, saw its economy grow 2.7 percent in the second quarter of the year and greater stability will help it grow about 3 percent for the whole year, said the report.   Roughly similar growth rates can be expected this year in Argentina, Peru and Colombia, and about 3.5 percent in Mexico, said ECLA, which is based in the Chilean capital Santiago.   Some Central American countries and Bolivia may see even stronger growth, while Venezuela is the only large Latin American country whose economy will probably shrink this year, said ECLA.   One of the most notable features of the regional economy this year was soaring long-term foreign investment, which the report called "an unexpected phenomenon."   "Barring some unforeseen event, the net total inflow of capital will surpass $50 billion, a figure which easily doubles the 1995 figure and approaches the highest levels in the early 1990s," said the report. 
13742 !GCAT !GVIO  Seven people were killed on Thursday in the latest round of violence sweeping across Colombia's northwest banana-growing region of Uraba, authorities said.   Military spokesmen said four of the victims were killed in an attack by unidentified gunmen on the "Rancho Alegre" and "Puerto Alegre" banana plantations in a rural area of the municipality of Apartado.   The three others included Gildardo Durango, leader of a state labor union who was gunned down by unidentified assassins near the bus terminal in the town of Chigorodo, the spokesmen said.   Leftist guerrillas and right-wing paramilitary groups have killed with impunity in Uraba for years as they fight for control over lucrative contraband and drug smuggling routes through the region, which is on the Caribbean coast near Colombia's border with Panama. 
13743 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  In a fresh setback for President Ernesto Samper, Colombia's chief prosecutor said Thursday he had reopened a drug corruption investigation of his right-hand man, Interior Minister Horacio Serpa.   The announcement by Prosecutor-General Alfonso Valdivieso came hours after judicial authorities said criminal charges against Serpa stemming from his role in the financing of Samper's election campaign had been dropped on a technicality.   The Supreme Court annuled proceedings against Serpa, former Foreign Minister Rodrigo Pardo and ex-Communications Minister Juan Manuel Turbay on grounds that the correct legal steps had not been followed in the case against them.   But Valdivieso, an anti-drug crusader respected by the United States, responded to the ruling with a terse statement saying the case against the trio had been reopened with immediate effect and that he would take personal charge of it.   "The evidence already gathered retains full validity," the statement said.   Samper has been dogged for more than a year by charges that he used millions of dollars in Cali cartel drug money to finance his 1994 campaign.   Samper was cleared by Congress in June of any political or criminal wrongding in connection with his campaign.   But Vice President Humberto de la Calle reignited the country's prolonged political crisis Tuesday by announcing his resignation and urging Samper to follow in his footsteps.   De la Calle said Samper's alleged ties to drug traffickers had undermined the government's credibility.   Samper picked Carlos Lemos Simmonds, a former interior minister now serving as Colombian ambassador to Britain, to replace De la Calle, a presidential spokesman said. 
13744 !GCAT !GCRIM  For the third time in two months, a judge has set the hour and day for the execution of two men convicted of raping and killing a 4-year-old girl, a judge said on Thursday.   "We have set for tomorrow at 6 a.m. (1200 GMT) the execution of the death sentence," Execution Judge Gustavo Gaitan Lara told reporters.   The execution was first scheduled for mid-July after President Alvaro Arzu denied clemency to Roberto Giron and Pedro Castillo Mendoza, convicted of the April 1993 murder of Sonia Marisol Alvarez.   A series of appeals delayed the execution, until it was scheduled again for last Tuesday.   But 90 minutes before the scheduled execution, three supreme court magistrates suspended the firing squad, saying Gaitan had not properly notified the prisoners of the denial of their last two appeals.   Gaitan said international human rights organisations were pressuring Guatemala's legal system and he threatened to bring legal proceedings against anyone who held up the execution again.   Guatemala, the last country in Central America with a death penalty on the books, has not carried out a court-ordered execution for 13 years. 
13745 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  Argentina's Peronist government dismissed a protest blackout planned for Thursday night and a second general strike on Sept. 26 as "frivolous" initiatives from an "impotent" opposition.   "I can't see the sense of blackouts or strikes.   They're not part of the solution, they're part of the problem,' said President Carlos Menem's chief of staff, Alberto Kohan.   "A blackout doesn't solve anything, it shows impotence to come up with proposals."   The Radical Party and centre-left Frepaso coalition have joined forces for the first time in a national campaign to get Argentines to switch off their lights and bang pots and pans for five minutes at 8 p.m. (2300 GMT), in a dark, noisy protest against economic austerity measures.   The largest trade union federation, the CGT, has pulled out of the protest but vowed on Thursday to stick to its 36-hour general strike at the end of September against austerity plans that include cuts in family allowance and higher taxes.   Unions want measures to combat 17.1 percent unemployment.   The CGT was until recently a close ally of Menem and Labour Minister Armando Caro Figueroa said on Thursday he was still open to dialogue to avert the strike.   But new CGT chief Rodolfo Daer said he was "disappointed" in the president he helped to return for a second term in elections in May 1995.   Daer, whose union held a strike last month, said Menem had overseen a "deep inequality among Argentines with businessmen, scientists, intellectuals, artists, workers and pensioners all living in a country where the future is uncertain."   One Peronist group promised to answer the blackout with fireworks and lasers.   Kohan recalled Radical leader Rodolfo Terragno was the Radical government's Public Works minister in the "energy crisis" of 1989, when Argentina was often plunged into darkness because of failures in the national grid.   Terragno released thousands of balloons into the sky over Buenos Aires' landmark obelisk in a noon protest, saying they symbolised "the frustrations of Argentines."   Each balloon carried a promise made by Menem during seven years in power, such as a commitment a year ago to "pulverize unemployment."   After warnings from energy officials that the blackout and sudden surge of demand for power five minutes later could make the grid collapse, experts advised residents to unplug all domestic appliances and only turn them back on gradually.   "If your light bulb explodes, don't plug anything in," was the helpful advice from the National Technology University. 
13746 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDEF !GPOL !GVIO  A judge who ordered the arrest of Colombia's army chief was criticised on Thursday for giving in to pressure from leftist guerrillas mounting their most serious offensive in decades.   The judge in southern Caqueta province served the warrant against Gen. Harold Bedoya after the army refused to lift barricades blocking a demonstration by thousands of peasants opposed to the compulsory eradication of coca plantations.   Colombian landowners and political commentators said leftist rebels linked to cocaine traffickers had leaned on the judge to order the general's arrest.   "Who was behind the warrant?   It's not difficult to guess because it's no secret that these are regions where the local authorities and the peasants are operating under pressure from the narcoguerrillas," the influential Colombian Cattlemen's Federation said in a statement.   Alejandro Ramirez, the local judge in the town of Albania, issued the arrest warrant against Bedoya last week.   The general faces 30 days in prison for defying an earlier order to remove the barricades.   President Ernesto Samper ordered an inquiry on Wednesday into the judge's decision, which was under review by a higher court.   The government said the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country's largest left-wing guerrilla organisation, was behind the peasant demonstration.   The legal controversy came in the middle of one of the bloodiest offensives since the FARC and another rebel group, the National Liberation Army, were founded in the mid-1960s.   In two weeks of rebel attacks more than 120 people were killed, most of them soldiers.   More than 60 soldiers were being held as "prisoners of war" by the FARC.   El Tiempo, Colombia's leading daily, attacked the judge decision as absurd.   "What could be more inconceivable and absurd than jailing the commander of the army in the middle of this war?"   the newspaper's deputy director Enrique Santos said in a column.   "... of all the Machiavellian plots by drug traffickers and guerrillas, the sanction ordered by the judge of Albania beats all previous records by far," he wrote on Thursday.   The Colombian Cattlemen's Federation said the country's economy and legal system should be put on a war footing to meet the demands of an effective counterinsurgency campaign.   The government, buffeted by the wave of leftist guerrilla violence, has called for a hefty increase in defence spending in its 1997 budget, government sources said on Thursday.   They said most of the increase would go toward military spending, with more than $420 million coming from a proposed sale of war bonds to rich Colombians next year. 
13747 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Cuba on Thursday criticised calls by Spain's Conservative prime minister for political changes on the island, saying his comments showed "a great lack of knowledge about Cuban reality."   During visits to Mexico and the Dominican Republic last week, Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar publicly called for democratic reforms and free elections in Cuba, where Cuban President Fidel Castro heads a one-party communist system.   "The declarations made suggest a great lack of knowledge about Cuban reality," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marianela Ferriol told a weekly news briefing.   Recalling that relations between Spain and Cuba were traditionally friendly, she added, "When someone talks about something he doesn't know about, he runs the risk of making a mistake, and I think that's the case with Mr. Aznar."   The unusually tart response appeared to reflect the Cuban government's unhappiness over the visibly tougher policy toward Cuba adopted by Aznar's Conservative government since it took office four months ago.   Aznar and Foreign Minister Abel Matutes, while firmly opposing new U.S. sanctions aimed at curbing foreign investments in Cuba, including those by Spaniards, have stepped up calls for democratic changes and greater respect for human rights in Cuba.   The new Spanish government, arguing that the previous Socialist administration of Felipe Gonzalez was soft on Havana on these issues, has also moved to change its ambassador in Cuba. 
13748 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  Argentina's government said Thursday its plan to reform the labor market will not be introduced by presidential decree but will be sent to Congress for approval.   Asked after a government cabinet meeting whether there were any plans to introduce the measures by presidential decree, Vice President Carlos Ruckauf, said "not at all."   According to Ruckauf, Labor Minister Armando Caro Figueroa, plans to send the labor reform package to Congress next week.   Increased flexibility in the labor market is seen necessary to reduce Argentina's unemployment, currently at 17.1 percent.   -- Patrick Adam, Buenos Aires Newsroom, 541 3180654 
13749 !C17 !C174 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS !GENV  Cattle herds in the northern state of Nuevo Leon have fallen by half in the last two years, mainly to pay off bank debts, an industry leader said on Thursday.   "It's not that they've died, rather they've been sold to pay the banks.   They've been sold for survival," said Arturo de la Garza Tijerina, president of the Nuevo Leon Ranchers' Association in an interview with Reuters.    De la Garza said that the drought in northern Mexico was just an aggravating factor, rather than the main reason why numbers had fallen by half to 250,000 head of cattle.   "The drought has been drastic ... but the financial drought has been worse.   It hasn't been resolved, and there's no end in sight to it," he added.   Without citing exact figures, de la Garza estimated that ranchers' past-due loans had increased 300 percent in the last two years, and criticised what he said was a lack of vision to revive production.   "We can't live on emergency programs forever," he said, adding that the federal government needed to intervene to aid ranchers in Nuevo Leon, which borders the U.S. state of Texas.   -- Debora Montesinos, Monterrey newsroom +528 342-9475 
13750 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The Argentine government, embarrassed by its failure to convene a key vote on new taxes, downplayed speculation of internal rifts on Thursday and vowed the lower house of Congress will approve them next week.   The lack of quorum in Congress on Wednesday night further delayed implementation of the plan that authorities argue is critical to head off a $6.6 billion budget deficit this year.    The ruling Peronists, who have a clear majority in the Chamber of Deputies, were unable to muster a quorum when 14 of them failed to appear and opponents remained outside.   Top officials sent clear messages on Thursday that they want all Peronist legislators and representatives of provincial parties to attend the vote now planned for next Wednesday.   "Yesterday we didn't have the numbers to approve the economic package, but we expect to on Wednesday," Vice President Carlos Ruckauf told reporters.   "The support of the party and of the legislators to the president was clear."    President Carlos Menem, in a cabinet meeting Thursday, expressed his "annoyance" to Peronists there and instructed them "to work immediately to ensure there is quorum next week," one official who attended the session told Reuters.   "Menem reminded them that these are urgent measures and they have to be approved," he said.   The Peronist Party executive committee and legislators huddled in an extraordinary session Thursday and emerged pledging their "full support" to the government policies.    Authorities want to narrow a widening budget deficit with the measures that include a hike in income tax on companies and high-salary earners and a 12 percent rise in gasoline levies.   News of a further delay in the bill, which has been watered down in recent weeks to avert a social backlash at time of 17.1 percent unemployment, weakened the stock market, with the blue-chip index off one percent early in the session.   "Economically, it is not important they're misbehaving, " said analyst Christopher Ecclestone.   "But I don't know what it means in the long term -- either Menem will have to use a big stick with them or he is moving into the lame duck phase."    Opposition parties urged Argentines to switch off their lights for five minutes Thursday evening and bang pots and pans to show their disapproval of the economic policies.   The largest labor federation, CGT, has called a 36-hour general strike on Sept. 26, the second in two months, to protest the new taxes and cuts in family allowance benefits.   Some of those absent from the chamber Wednesday night were either sick, travelling or opposed to the measures.   "I was there but I was in the bathroom, with diarrhea," Deputy Luis Barrios told ruling party whip Jorge Matzkin.   "Absentees have given me all kinds of excuses," Matzkin added with a smile, "but no one had ever told me he had been in the bathroom with a loose stomach."   -- Buenos Aires Newsroom, 541 318-0618 
13751 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GDEF !GPOL !GVIO  The Colombian government, buffeted by a recent wave of leftist guerrilla violence, has called for a hefty increase in defense spending in its 1997 budget, government sources said Thursday.   They said the government had asked Congress to raise the 29.4 trillon peso ($28.07 billion) budget unveiled in July by 900 billion pesos ($859.3 million) and that most of the increase would go toward military spending.   With the increase, the military will account of 14 percent of government expenditures, a government economic official told Reuters.    More than $420 million of the hike in spending on the country's security forces will come from the proposed sale of war bonds to rich Colombians next year to help finance the country's war against guerrillas, according to a finance ministry source.   The war bond proposal, which has not yet been approved by Congress, would require any individuals or businesses with a net worth of more than 88.8 million pesos ($85,000) to buy five-year bonds, which will be issued in denominations of 500,000 pesos ($480) and carry an annual interest rate of 6 percent.    Finance Minister Jose Antonio Ocampo has said the bonds, which could eventually be bought and sold on secondary markets, would be redeemed at 20 percent above their face value if they were used to purchase assets -- including real estate holdings -- confiscated from Colombian drug lords.   About 100 soldiers and police have been killed since Aug. 30 in one of the bloodiest rebel offensives since the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and National Liberation Army -- Colombia's two leading rebel groups -- were founded in the mid-1960s.   The offensive, and seizure of more than 60 soldiers as "prisoners of war," has sparked widespread fears about the growing threat posed by Latin America's largest and oldest insurgency and the Colombian military's apparent inability to counter it.   "They (the military) have shown no capacity to respond to the surge in rebel activity so far," one Western military attache said. 
13752 !GCAT !GPOL  Peru's President Alberto Fujimori moved Thursday Energy and Mines Minister Daniel Hokama to the key post of presidency minister left vacant last week by Jaime Yoshiyama.   Fujimori swore in Hokama at Government Palace without naming a replacement at the Energy and Mines ministry. 
13753 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Argentine Vice President Carlos Ruckauf said Thursday he was confident the Chamber of Deputies next week will approve the government's proposed tax hikes.   Late Wednesday, the lower house of Congress failed to muster a quorum to discuss the proposal because of the absence of some Peronist Party members and the opposition.   "Yesterday we didn't have the numbers to approve the economic package but we expect to on Wednesday," said Ruckauf after a meeting of the Cabinet.   "The support of the party and of the legislators to the president was clear."   Ruckauf said lagislators and governors will work together "because what we are trying to achieve is a lower budget deficit, which will make economic recovery quicker and lead to lower unemployment."   -- Patrick Adam, Buenos Aires Newsroom, 541 3180654 
13754 !GCAT !GOBIT !GPOL !GPRO  Ernesto Geisel, the former military president who paved the way for Brazil's return to democracy, died of cancer on Thursday at the age of 88, a hospital spokeswoman said.   Geisel was president from 1974 to 1979, the fourth of five army generals who ran Brazil during a 21-year dictatorship that began when the military seized power in a 1964 coup.   Within the armed forces Geisel was considered a dove who put an end to the brutal crackdown his predecessors launched against the military regime's political opponents.   The son of German immigrants who settled in the south of Brazil, he was widely credited with laying the groundwork for the return to civilian rule in 1985.   Geisel gradually ended political repression by restoring civil rights, lifting press censorship and allowing political exiles to return to the country, steps that led to the return to democracy under his successor Gen. Joao Figueiredo.   Geisel ruled the South American country during a period of increased prosperity and fast-paced growth known as the "Brazilian Miracle."   He opened up Brazil to foreign investment, though the country's foreign debt doubled to over $43 billion during his five years in office. 
13755 !GCAT !GPOL  Efforts to curb Guatemala's long-standing militarism will reach the schoolyard on Sunday with the government's ban on high school marching bands in the Independence Day parade.   A decree that has stirred deep controversy says that for the annual parade on Sept. 15, goose-stepping, uniformed "war bands" are out while mural painting and poetry are in.   Education Minister Arabella Castro said she wanted to promote a culture of peace when she issued the ruling, in the spirit of the peace talks that it is hoped will end a 36-year civil war by the end of this year.   "Marching in full dress uniform is not the way for children to be creative in relation to the peace of their country, in relation to their symbols, their forests, their flora and fauna," Castro said on a radio talk show this week.   In past parades thousands of teenagers in white gloves and uniforms decorated with gold braid goose-stepped for eight hours in the capital, ignoring rain or intense sun as their sergeants snapped out orders.   Detractors said they fostered militaristic attitudes many Guatemalans hoped to leave behind.   Supporters say cancelling the 50-year-old tradition is a blow to patriotism and that school bands foster discipline.   In a poll by the newspaper Prensa Libre, 59 percent of Guatemala City residents said they did not agree with the parade ban.   But Castro had her own idea of patriotic projects.   She said the students should paint murals, decorate schools and write poems instead.   The government of President Alvaro Arzu has surprised Guatemalans by the speed with which it has sought to restore peace to a country long racked by violence and disappearances in a war that has killed about 100,000 people.   Arzu said this week that peace talks under way in Mexico City would lead to an agreement on Sept. 19 to curb the army's power and define its role in peacetime ahead of a full peace accord due to be signed by year-end. 
13756 !C41 !C411 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  Economist Carlos Massad said he will take over as president of Chile's Central Bank for a year and a half, possibly staying beyond that.   Massad, after meeting Finance Minister Eduardo Aninat, said he will finish former president Roberto Zahler's term as president to late 1997.   "After that, we'll see," he told reporters.   "My designation as council member and president is to complete Zahler's period, which will end in late 1997," Massad told reporters.    He clarified that President Eduardo Frei will name the Central Bank president from among the five council members, despite local reports that the five will elect the president.   Asked if that meant he would be president, Massad said yes.   Frei and Aninat said in July, when the president nominated Massad, that they intended the former health minister to be central bank president and had the council's support for the move.    Massad was approved by Congress late Tuesday as a council member to replace Zahler, who resigned in June after charging the rest of the board granted too many concessions to private banks in negotiations over their debts with the Central Bank.   Massad, who served as Central Bank president in the late 1960s, said he agreed with the 1997 economic targets set by the board's four current members.   The board projected inflation next year at 5.5 percent and economic growth at 5.5 to six percent.   "I'm very satisfied with them (the targets).   I think they are appropriate," he said.    Some economists have said the 5.5 percent inflation goal looks too low to reach, particularly with uncertainty over oil prices as Chile relies on imports for about 85 percent of its oil needs.   The rise in oil prices was worrisome for this year's inflation figures, but the 6.5 percent annual target for 1996 is not yet in danger, Massad said.   "The Central Bank must be studying this issue, but I wouldn't say the target is threatened, and if it were I would say we would have to make additional efforts to reach it," he said.   -- Roger Atwood, Santiago newsroom +56-2-699-5595 x211 
13757 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  Bogota's international airport was evacuated on Thursday after potentially explosive methane gas was detected in underground pipes, Colombian radio reported.   Officials ordered the El Dorado airport's buildings and runways to be completely cleared at mid-day because of the risk of explosion, according to RCN radio.    All flights in and out of Bogota were suspended as a result of the alert, RCN reported, but no immediate details were available about whether incoming flights were being rerouted to other airports.   Radio said the methane gas may have been caused by a build-up of waste.   The odor was first detected in pipes in the toilets at the main terminal building.   Officials could not be reached for comment but were quoted by radio as saying there was a risk of explosion both in the terminal and on the runways. 
13758 !GCAT !GENT !GODD !GPRO  Although a few pounds (kg) heavier than when she won her crown, reigning Miss Universe Alicia Machado insists she is in good enough shape to hold on to her title.   "Yes, I have put on weight, I acknowledge that," Machado said in an interview on local television network Venevision late on Wednesday.   Clearly heavier than the 112 pounds (51 kg) she boasted when she won the crown in Las Vegas in May, the 19-year-old Venezuelan said a hectic travel schedule had led to a weight gain of about 11 pounds (5 kg).   "But I can represent my country perfectly well with or without the extra five kilos," she said.   Reports that Machado had grown chubby led to rumours last month that the Miss Universe organisation had threatened to strip her of her crown unless she went on a crash diet.   Those close to the beauty queen suggested she had succumbed to a passion for pasta and cakes.   Miss Universe organisers quickly denied the reports.   "Legally, they cannot remove my crown," Machado said.   The five foot 7 inch (1.73 meter) blonde, who now lives in Los Angeles, said she hoped to make a career in the movies when her term as Miss Universe ends next May. 
13759 !GCAT !GPOL  The Brazilian Senate temporarily halted Thursday's voting session to honour former military president Ernesto Geisel, who died in the morning aged 88.   Votes on a bill exempting exports from the so-called ICMS tax and on a bill allowing the Central Bank to restructure its Brady bond portfolio would resume after senators' speeches in remembrance of Geisel, Senate President Jose Sarney said.   -- Michael Christie, Brasilia newsroom 55-61-2230358 
13760 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  South Korean President Kim Young-sam left Brazil on Thursday and flew to Peru, the last stop on a 12-day Latin American tour, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.   Kim's visit to Brazil, the first by a South Korean head of state, led to predictions of a flood of South Korean investment in Latin America's largest economy.   Kim told his Brazilian counterpart Fernando Henrique Cardoso he expected Korean firms to invest some $5 billion in Brazil over the next three years, almost double the $3.3 million total Korean investment to date in the whole of the region.   Before Brazil, the Korean leader visited Guatemala, Chile and Argentina.   His tour of the region followed a similar trip by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto of Japan.   Diplomats say the visits by Kim and Hashimoto reflected renewed faith in the economies of Latin America following widespread success at banishing the hyperinflation of the 1980s. 
13761 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  The ports of Cabo San Lucas, Teacapan and La Paz have been closed to all shipping because of Hurricane Fausto, an official at the Ports Superintendency told Reuters.    The Ports Superintendency also said the port of Manzanillo was closed to small shipping because of the hurricane.   "Extreme precautions are recommended to shipping for navigation on the Pacific coasts from Nayarit to Sinaloa and Baja California Sur," the superintendency said.   Hurricane Fausto was located at 0700 Mexican time/1200 GMT 145 nautical miles south of Cabo San Lucas moving northwest at 10 knots.   Maximum sustained winds at its centre were 105 knots with gusts of 125 knots.   -- Maria Luisa Aguilar, Mexico City newsroom, 525 728 9553 
13762 !C13 !C42 !CCAT !E21 !E211 !E41 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Argentina is studying the possibility of cutting taxes that affect exporters in return for committments to create jobs, Industry Secretary Alieto Guadagni said.   Guadagni was quoted by the Clarin daily Thursday as saying that the government was looking for more ways to boost jobs besides the cuts in employer taxes.   "It has been demonstrated that the cut in employers' contributions has not meant in all cases either greater revenues or more jobs," Guadagni said.   He said the government will also send a bill to Congress to reverse some reductions or suspensions of export rebates.   Guadagni also said that the government will modify rules on car imports to make sure importers enter the real value of imports into their books.   -- Patrick Adam, Buenos Aires Newsroom +541 318-0654 
13763 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  Brazil's Senate was due to vote Thursday on a bill to eliminate a 20 percent surcharge on port tariffs, the deputy in charge of the bill said.   Dep.   Beto Mansur said the so-called ATP surcharge is levied under an existing law to raise money for the modernization of state-owned ports.   His bill has already been approved by the Chamber of Deputies.    If approved by the Senate, the bill would eliminate the surcharge, making exports more competitive, reducing the cost of doing business in Brazil and allowing public ports to compete more fairly against private ports.   Mansur said the money raised through the ATP was rarely passed back into the ports.   He said that in 1995, Brazil's main port, Santos, raised $34.5 million but only $13 million was ploughed back into modernization.   --William Schomberg, Brasilia newsroom 55-61-2230358 
13764 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The Argentine Senate has approved the extension of the key Fiscal Pact law, allowing the federal government to keep revenue from a proposed increase in fuel taxes without having to share it with the provinces.   The law's extension, passed late Wednesday by 42-14, stipulates how the federal government and the provinces will divide up revenue from a government tax package that has yet to pass the lower house of Congress.   The Senate extended Fiscal Pact law, also known as the "co-participation law", until December 31, 1998.    The law will have to be passed by the Chamber of Deputies, where legislators failed Wednesday to reach quorum to discuss the government's tax package.   The following are features of the bill passed by the Senate:   * All revenue from a 46-percent increase in diesel fuel tax will be funneled into the government's pensions system.   * Twenty-one percent of the revenue from a 12-percent increase in gasoline tax will go to the pension system, while 79 percent will be shared with the provinces.   * All revenue from a 10-percent tax on new diesel cars will go to finance the state pensions system.   * Revenues from an already existing 0.5-percent wealth tax will be shared between the provinces and the central government.   * Income tax revenues will be kept by the central government, except for $460 million which will go to the provinces and $120 million for the state pension system.   The extension of the Fiscal Pact law also provides for the provinces to keep revenues from a tax on gross income and a levy on commercial transactions until December 31, 1998.   These taxes provide a substantial portion of their income.   -- Daniel Helft, Buenos Aires Newsroom + 541 318 0663 
13765 !GCAT  These are the highlights of the main Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro newspapers this morning.   GAZETA MERCANTIL   -- MALAN ANNOUNCES FUND FOR SOCIAL PROJECTS   Brazilian Finance Minister Pedro Malan said the government was looking into setting up a fund with privatization receipts to finance social projects.   -- REAL INTEREST RATES REACH HIGHEST LEVEL THIS YEAR   The reduction in inflation highlights the high level of Brazilian interest rates.   The August IDP-DI inflation index was at 0.004 percent, compared with real interest rates at 1.97 percent for the month, the highest this year.   -- INFLATION SLOWING TO ZERO WITH HELP FROM SERVICES   Brazil's main inflation indices are converging towards zero and some have already recorded a deflation in prices because prices of services are stabilizing.   O GLOBO   -- GOVERNMENT TO PAY DAMAGES TO FAMILIES OF EX-GUERRILLAS   A special Justice Ministry committee for politically motivated deaths and disappearances voted in favor of paying compensation to the families of the former guerrillas Carlos Lamarca and Carlos Marighela who died at the hands of the military.   -- DEPUTIES APPROVE BILL ON ILLEGAL POSSESSION OF FIREARMS   Brazil's lower house of Congress has passed a bill which makes the illegal possession of firearms a criminal offense.   -- FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ALLOCATES 380.2 MLN REAIS TO RIO   The 1997 federal government budget allocates 380.2 million reais for infrastructure, housing, construction and agriculture projects in the state of Rio de Janeiro.   FOLHA DE SAO PAULO   -- DEPUTIES APPROVE BREAKING BANKING SECRECY   Brazil's lower house of Congress has passed a bill setting up a financial transaction tax which implies that banks will have to break their code of secrecy.   -- HALF OF BRAZIL'S FARM LAND OWNED BY 2 PCT OF PROPERTIES   Two percent of Brazil's large landholdings own half of the country's farm land, of which 62.4 percent is not being used, according to government figures.   Reuters has not verified the stories and cannot vouch for their accuracy.   -- Simona de Logu, Rio de Janeiro newsroom, 5521 507 4151 
13766 !C31 !C312 !CCAT !E51 !E512 !ECAT !G15 !G158 !GCAT  The European Union and Mexico will begin a pilot programme aimed at boosting Mexico's agricultural and construction material exports across the Atlantic, officials have said.   "The technical assistance project will cost $1.75 million and will be applied in the next 15 months," Eric Galvin, a European Commission delegate in Mexico, told a business forum on Wednesday.   Seafood, agroindustrial products and arts and crafts also will come under the program, Galvin said.   "It can't be opened up to all sectors, but we have identified the problem areas that have impeded the growth of Mexican exports to Europe," Galvin said.   Mexican exports to the European Union grew by 20 percent in 1995 over 1994 to $3.38 billion, an EU report said.   But Mexican imports from the European Union in 1995 were double that figure at $6.72 billion, a drop of 25.7 percent from 1994. 
13767 !GCAT !GDIS !GENV  A stronger, more powerful Hurricane Hortense headed toward the open Atlantic early on Thursday after dousing Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic with deadly floodwaters that killed at least 22.   During the night, Hortense's maximum sustained winds strengthened to 115 mph (185 kmh), becoming a dangerous Category Three hurricane, the third one this month after Hurricanes Edouard and Fran.   Forecasters said the storm was not expected to strike the U.S. mainland or the central Bahamas, thanks to a cold weather front pushing Hortense north.   But some of the tiny southern islands in the archipelago were pelted with rain and gusty winds as Hortense skirted near.   At 11 p.m.   EDT (0300 GMT), Hortense's centre was at latitude 22.9 north and longitude 71.3 west, about 75 miles (120 km) northeast of the Caicos, moving northwest at 12 mph (19 kph), the National Hurricane Centre said.   The storm was becoming more defined, having developed an eye as it gained strength, but appeared to be headed into the open Atlantic, forecasters said.   At least eight deaths were reported on Wednesday night in the Dominican Republic's eastern province of Altagracia after swollen rivers burst out of their banks, sending floodwaters down mountains and valleys.   Amable Aristy Castro, president of the Dominican senate, said some of the deaths occurred in Higuey, where he lived.   "Entire families have disappeared" in the village of Palmarito, he said in a telephone interview.   Local officials declared the area an emergency zone after Higuey was hit by winds of 75 mph (120 kph) and up to 20 inches (50 cm) of rain on Wednesday.   The Duey River, on the eastern side of Higuey, destroyed houses and fields, said Catholic Bishop Ramon de la Rosa y Carpio.   Tourist resorts in Bavaro and Punta Cana were cut off by flooding from the river, reported local Radio Popular.   The resorts are popular among European and Canadian tourists.   The flooding deaths pushed the Spanish-speaking nation's total storm death toll to 10, including two fishermen who were lost at sea as Hortense approached on Tuesday and presumed dead.   Hortense battered the low-lying Turks and Caicos Islands throughout the night as the storm moved toward the Bahamas.   Early information about damage in the Turks and Caicos, a British colony of about 13,000 residents, was sketchy because of poor communications.   A wind gust of 101 mph (163 kmh) was reported in the Turks before telephone lines blew down.   "Just now, it appears that the eye is passing just to the north of Grand Turk ... We're at a very active part of the thing right now," said an employee at Blue Water Diving Ltd. on Grand Turk Island as Hortense's winds and pouring rains lashed his shop and just before telephone service was cut off.   The island had been without electric power for hours.   In Puerto Rico, the death toll rose to 12, mostly due to raging floodwaters and mudslides.   At least two people remained missing on Wednesday evening, police said.   President Bill Clinton on Wednesday declared Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States, a disaster area.   Homeowners and business owners in Guyama, Loiza, Ponce and Toa Baja will be eligible for low-interest loans and assistance.   "Hortense has strengthened quite a bit, but we don't think it will get that much stronger," said John Kaplan of the National Hurricane Centre in Miami.   "It's too early to let down our guard yet but it looks like Florida, Georgia and the southeastern coast is in pretty good shape."   By Saturday evening, Hortense was expected to be off the coast of Massachusetts, forecasters said, but it remained unclear whether the storm would actually strike the coast there.   Among the deaths in Puerto Rico were two women swept away by the swollen Guayami River.   Their bodies were found in the southeastern town of Guayama some 10 miles away, police said. 
13768 !GCAT !GCRIM  Manuel Rodriguez Lopez, one of Mexico's leading drug traffickers and accused point man for contacts with Colombia's Cali cartel, was placed under house arrest, Mexican authorities said on Wednesday.   Rodriguez is being charged with drug trafficking, money laundering and a host of other charges, the Mexican Attorney General's Office said in a statement.   A judge has confined Rodriguez to his home in La Paz on the southern end of the Baja California peninsula, the authorities said.   Rodriguez was the main contact with Jose Castrillon Henao, identified as a leader in the Cali cartel that supplies much of the world's cocaine, the statement said.   Castrillon is being tried on drug-trafficking charges in Panama.   Mexican authorities said they identified nearly $15 million worth of property belonging to Rodriguez, including six fishing boats, a luxury yacht, a helicopter, a small plane, six real estate properties and three cars. 
13769 !GCAT !GPOL  Mexico's Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) said on Wednesday it has been accepted as a full member of Socialist International.   The leftist opposition party, which first ran in elections in 1988, has been an observer party for the past seven years, the PRD said in a communique.   All of the Socialist International parties from Latin America voted for accepting the PRD, the communique said.   Mexico's ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) also was seeking membership into the Socialist International during the worldwide group's current meeting in New York.   A secretary at PRI headquarters in Mexico City said the party would have no report on whether it was accepted until its representatives in New York return to Mexico on Thursday. 
13770 !GCAT !GDIS !GENV  At least eight people died on Wednesday in an eastern province of the Dominican Republic because of floodwaters unleashed by Hurricane Hortense, the president of the nation's senate said.   Amable Aristy Castro, the senate leader who lives in Higuey on the eastern side of the Dominican Republic, said he was informed that several rivers had overflowed their banks, killing at least eight people.   At least 20 inches (50.8 cm) of rain fell on some parts of the Dominican Republic after Hurricane Hortense skirted the coast, weather forecasters said.    Some of the victims were on the outskirts of Higuey, in the Altagracia province, about 90 miles (150 km) from the capital, he said.   "Entire families have disappeared" in the town of Palmarito, Amable Aristy said in a telephone interview.   The information was confirmed by Catholic church sources, who said that parish priests in the flooded area were seeking help.   Local officials declared the area an emergency zone after Higuey was hit by winds of up to 75 mph (120 kph) and strong rain on Wednesday morning.   The Duey River, on the eastern side of Higuey, destroyed houses and fields, said Catholic Bishop Ramon de la Rosa y Carpio.   Among the eight victims were two Haitian nationals, he said.   Tourist resorts in Bavaro and Punta Cana were cut off by flooding from the river, reported local Radio Popular.   The resorts are popular among European and Canadian tourists.   The total storm death toll in the Dominican Republic stood at 10, including two fishermen who were lost at sea and presumed dead. 
13771 !GCAT !GPRO  Her mother jumps and cringes at the bang of firecrackers from the religious procession, but 12-year-old Mirian Esquivel is so intent on loading her camera she doesn't flinch.   Amid a mayhem of firecrackers, trumpets and waves of incense, Mirian calmly closes her camera, ducks under a rope, walks into the heart of the parade and snaps photos of 30 penitents swaying under the weight of a religious float.   Photography is serious work and a road out of poverty for Mirian and her two fellow photographers, sisters 11-year-old Marta and 13-year-old Rosario Lopez, who were on one of their weekly photo outings on the streets of Guatemala City.   Five years studying photography with news photographer Nancy McGirr has transformed the lives of these poor girls whose families live by scavenging in the Guatemala City rubbish dump.   The photographs and creative writings of Marta, Rosario, Mirian and eight other children are featured in "Out of the Dump," a book released early this year.   McGirr began working with the children from the dump after her own photographs of street children inspired her to help them get into school and off the street.   When she saw photos from McGirr's project, children's writer Chris Franklin proposed the book.   A lot of the children had never been to school but Franklin taught them creative writing so they could write prose poems to accompany the photographs.   The material in the book is three years old.   Mirian was nine when she took her self-portrait as a Spanish dancer, in a dress retrieved from the dump.   "That was a long time ago," said the skinny girl in a hand-me-down dress and tennis shoes as she paged through the book.   "We lived there in the dump.   We ate in the dump.   We collected stuff to sell and that's what we lived on."   Mirian's photograph of a group of shadowy people and dogs on a pile of garbage, called "The day we found the dead body in the dump," and her pessimistic poem about men and women, tell powerful truths about a life she has begun to leave behind as the photography project has given her a chance to study.   Her poem "Women and their children" is inspired by her mother, Julia Esquivel, a humble woman with a toothless grin who has given birth to 14 children.   "Women always have a lot of children because they fall in love when they're only fifteen years old.   When they're sixteen they start to have babies," reads Mirian's poem.   "Since men want other women, they leave the ones with children and go off with new women... If the men stayed with their families, they wouldn't work anyway and the women would have to work harder."   Mirian, Marta and Rosario still live in shacks near the dump but now they are in school every day, and studying photography on Wednesdays and Saturdays.   They each have a camera donated by Konica and shoot one roll of film a week.   They are also learning to do interviews and put together a newspaper, how to use a computer and send electronic mail, and how to choose good photos.   Looking at the book, Mirian points out children who have dropped out of the project.   "He got into drugs," she said of one.   "He died," she said of another who drowned.   Mirian plans to stick with the project, which has taken her on once-impossible trips to Holland and Alabama for photo exhibitions.   "We don't want to leave the project because there aren't many opportunities for other children," she said.   "We couldn't go to school before.   We had no money."   She says kids in the project -- there are now more than 30 involved -- who do not want to be photographers can pay for a university education with the money from taking photos or teaching photography.   Mirian says she gets strange looks when she uses her camera.   "They stop and look at us surprised and say we must be kidnapped children or maybe adopted children," she said.   Mirian's work has changed.   Her new still-life photographs and shots of old buildings reflect her love of "taking photos of mysterious things."   But she thinks her audience may be more stuck in the past than she is.   "We just had an exhibition of new photos but people didn't buy," she said.   "Actually people like the old photos."   The book was published by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, a children's book division of William Morrow & Company Inc. 
13772 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Argentina's ruling Peronist Party blamed the opposition on Wednesday for blocking an attempt to vote on tax increases deemed critical to head off an estimated $6.6 billion budget deficit.   The president of the lower house of Congress, Alberto Pierri, decided to end the session after failing to obtain a quorum for four hours.   The Peronists claim they had 119 deputies on hand but opposition members failed to enter the chamber, depriving them of the 130 needed for a quorum.   The Peronists have 132 members in the lower house.   Radical Juan Pablo Baylac said his opposition party "at no time said it would help form quorum" and added that passage is "the responsibility of the ruling party".   The head of the Peronist bloc in the lower house, Jorge Matzkin, criticized the opposition for "hiding behind the curtains to prevent passage of laws the country needs to overcome the fiscal deficit."   The bill, which includes a proposed 12 percent increase in gasoline tax and a hike in income tax, is now set to be debated next week.   -- Gary Regenstreif, Buenos Aires Newsroom, 541 318-0618 
13773 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Authorities asked the mayor of this Mexican border city to step down on Wednesday following allegations linking him to the theft of money, weapons and drugs seized in narcotics raids.   Mayor Ramon Galindo, of the conservative opposition National Action Party (PAN), allegedly ordered the destruction of an audit conducted by the city Treasury which found that drugs, weapons and cash confiscated by police were missing.   "We would like him to step down now voluntarily and temporarily pending the outcome of a state investigation into the scandal," said Jose Luis Rodriguez, a city council member.   "That way he can also resign without a mess and further scandal if it turns out to be true," he said.   The mayor said he was innocent and would not step down.   "There is no possibility under the sun that I, Mayor Ramon Galindo, will step down from this job," the mayor said.   "This is nothing but a political blow."   A former city employee accused Galindo of involvement in the theft of the items.   Court officials have confirmed that about two pounds of marijuana, several guns and an undisclosed amount of cash disappeared from an evidence room in the local court house that was overseen by a friend of the mayor.   The Chihuahua state legislature announced on Tuesday that a subcommittee was investigating the matter.   The move against Galindo followed the effective resignation of another PAN mayor in the western state of Jalisco earlier this month.   Daniel Ituarte Reynaud, mayor of the town of Zapopan, was on leave of absence amid corruption charges and officials said he was not likely to return. 
13774 !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The arrival of a quiet and conciliatory technocrat to Argentina's Economy Ministry has turned Thursday's cabinet meetings at the presidential residence into a decidedly more harmonious affair.   Newcomer Roque Fernandez's predecessor, Domingo Cavallo, was the high-profile and powerful architect of economic reforms until President Carlos Menem jettisoned him after one too many clashes with himself, cabinet colleagues and the ruling Peronist Party.   Fernandez, a bespectacled former central bank chief, prefers a low profile and is described by party officials as more consultative and averse to confrontation.   "Fernandez actually listens to ministers in cabinet.   Cavallo never did," said an aide to a senior cabinet minister.   "And he consults more with legislators, which they like."   One governor said that in an hour-long meeting Cavallo would speak for 50 minutes and leave 10 for the rest.   In short, 49-year-old Fernandez is the antithesis in style, but shares Cavallo's views on policy issues.   Indeed, Fernandez's seemingly single-minded austerity drive has drawn criticism from the church, business and labour unions alike after little more than a month in the job.   But Peronists, tired of locking horns with Cavallo, at least sense more cabinet cohesion.   When asked if relations between the Economy Ministry and Congress had improved, Jorge Matzkin, Peronist whip in the lower house said: "They are more mature and civilised."   "There is a change in style, not policy," Matzkin, a cabinet meeting regular, told Reuters.   "Treatment and respect count.   With Cavallo, there was a dispute over political power.   We won't have that with the new minister because of his education and aspirations."   Fernandez, a University of Chicago PhD, former International Monetary Fund (IMF) economist and adviser to the World Bank, acknowledges he is far more comfortable in the number-crunching world of economics than the deal-making spheres of politics.   "I know nothing of politics," he said candidly.   "Clearly Cavallo and I are different.   But nothing fundamental has changed.   The president still holds the same convictions and if there were tensions with Congress before, there is no political split now."   However, there could be a downside to this lack of political savvy at a time when deft skills are needed to push unpopular policies past Congress and powerful lobbies.   Just two weeks after taking office in late July, Fernandez launched a tax package, including new fuel taxes and extending value-added tax, aimed at raising $4.5 billion a year from next year and boosting this year's revenues by $1.6 billion.   This came hot on the heels of Cavallo's reductions in family allowance benefits and in tax breaks for food vouchers.   It further inflamed the labour movement, which is planning another general strike on September 26 and 27 following one in August.   It probably contributed to the worst approval ratings the Peronists have received since Menem first came to power in 1989.   A Gallup poll in late August showed 70 percent of those surveyed disapproved of Menem and his economic policies.   "Mr Fernandez's honeymoon lasted exactly one week," said Wall Street brokers Bear Stearns.   The measures were welcomed by the IMF which set Argentina a $2.5 billion deficit goal for the whole year, but watched it hit that target by mid-year.   Investment houses have advised their clients cautiously to take few positions and adopt a wait-and-see attitude.   Business leaders, while welcoming fiscal discipline, worry the measures will scotch chances of recovery from recession.   The opposition was less generous.   "With all due respect, you are a troglodyte (cave dweller)," Radical Party deputy Jesus Rodriguez told Fernandez in one debate.   Economic consultant Rodolfo Rossi, who preceded Fernandez as central bank president, said the new minister's measures "lacked political tact" for failing to accompany tax increases with public spending cuts or measures to foster growth.   "He does not have the political clout or charisma of Cavallo," Rossi said.   "He also does not have the global grasp of the economy.   Perhaps he knows the fiscal and monetary, but not the other elements."   Fernandez showed his conciliatory colours by changing his mind on revenue-sharing arrangements after meeting provincial governors.   His political inexperience was also exposed.   After he announced the tax plan, Menem scrapped some of his measures, exempting state-grant schools, entertainment and books from taxes to avert a backlash for limited extra income.   Fernandez was accused of insensitivity by acknowledging that he needs $15,000 a month living expenses while Argentina struggles to get out of recession and 17.1 percent of its people are out of work.   Days later, he offended many by saying he had to study in Chicago because he had learned nothing at an Argentine university.   He also has confessed that he fell short on better explaining his austerity measures to the public.   Manuel Mora y Araujo, a leading pollster, urged Fernandez to learn to market his measures like car firms market auctions -- or else.   "Their clients are not their colleagues, who understand the product.   They are the citizens and the politicians, who understand their own demands and see the product -- economic policy -- as a means to satisfy them," Mora y Araujo said.   "Today Argentines ask only to understand why in paying more taxes in one or two years they will be better off than now.   If the minister does not define his product in these terms, society won't buy it and his fate will, in short, be totally in the hands of politicians." 
13775 !GCAT !GVIO  Terrified troops are turning their guns on themselves rather than risk capture by Colombia's left-wing guerrillas, one survivor of a recent rebel onslaught said Wednesday.   In last Friday's attack on a base in southeastern Guaviare province, which left 24 soldiers dead, Argemiro Contreras, battled against Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels for 10 hours before fleeing into the jungle.   In an interview with the Caracol radio network, he said some of his companions had committed suicide, adding: "You take that decision so the subversives don't take you alive.   If you fall into their hands you'll be tortured."   "I saved up five bullets -- that was my reserve.   I thought about killing myself because I was desperate but the gun wouldn't fire.   I ran in the jungle until I found some of my companions."   The battle at the base in La Carpa came a week after FARC guerrillas overran another military camp in southern Putumayo province, killing 27 and taking more than 60 prisoner.   The attacks were part of a two-week rebel offensive, the worst in decades, in which more than 120 soldiers, police, guerrillas and civilians died.   Some military analysts suggested the army lost its grip on the situation.   That view was reflected on Wednesday, when Conservative Party legislator Manuel Ramiro Velasquez called for Defence Minister Juan Carlos Esguerra to resign, blaming him for the upturn in violence.   Esguerra rejected the demands saying he would not surrender at the "height of the battle."   He said he was "staking his honour" on a successful counterinsurgency campaign.   In the radio interview, Contreras criticised his superiors and blamed the death of his colleagues on errors made by the chain of command.   In past weeks the army also came under fire from the parents of teenage conscripts, who applied for court orders from their sons to be transferred out of conflict zones.   The government sought to issue war bonds to raise up to $600 million in additional military financing to step up the fight against the FARC and two other guerrilla groups. 
13776 !GCAT  (Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors)   THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW   In the wake of the release of a A$714 million net profit for the first half, down from A$735 million a year earlier, RTZ-CRA yesterday warned that metal prices could experience further sharp falls.   The company's senior executives said the collapse in global copper prices cut A$242 million from the group's earnings and movements in the Australian dollar slashed a further A$42.5 million.   Page 1.   --   Telstra will today announce a record net profit of around A$2.4 billion for 1995/96 and reveal details of one of Australia's largest corporate downsizings.   The telecoms carrier intends to cut its 76,000-strong workforce by one third by June 30, 1999, reserving more than A$1 billion for staff redundancies in its 1996/97 accounts.   Page 3.   --   AWA Ltd has off-loaded all remaining non-gaming divisions, announcing also the departure of managing director John Dougall.   New AWA head John Rouse announced the asset sales and unveiled another annual result decimated by abnormal losses.   Chief financial officer Colin Henson said the latest asset sales marked the end of AWA's divestment programme.   Page C33.   --   Ampolex Ltd posted an annual net loss of A$26.5 million after abnormal write-offs and write downs of A$44.9 million.   Ampolex, now controlled by U.S. oil and gas giant Mobil Corp, yesterday revealed the A$1.8 billion takeover wrangle had cost the group neary A$15 million to defend.   The takeover remains troubled by an outstanding legal dispute with GPG Nominees and County NatWest over the conversion ratio of Ampolex's convertible notes.   Page C34.   --   Burns Philp and Co Ltd seems to have lost one of its last remaining Australian institutional supporters, with NRMA Investments believed to have off-loaded eight million shares at a five percent discount to the market price.   First Pacific Stockbrokers handled eight million Burns Philp shares yesterday at A$1.70 each, which market sources said went to several overseas investors.   Now only a handful of Australian institutions remain on Burns Philp's register.   Page C34.   --   Colonial Mutual has given the strongest indication yet that it will raise fresh capital when it lists on the Australian Stock Exchange next year.   The group has also committed to paying 100 percent franking credits in it first year as a listed company an intends to dispatch at least 50 percent of earnings in dividends.   Page C35.   --   THE AUSTRALIAN   Stocks in Australia's heavyweight resources companies continued to slide yesterday, with BHP shares slipping for the third day in succession to take the fall in the company's value this week past A$1.6 billion.   CRA shares dropped 47 cents to A$17.83 and shares in gold, copper and uranium giant WMC Ltd slumped 13 cents to A$8.20, a fall of 28 cents since Tuesday.   Page 19.   --   Outgoing Reserve Bank Governor Bernie Fraser told a federal parliamentary committee yesterday that the Wallis inquiry into the financial system would find it difficult to come to grips with the complexities of the Australian financial system and make sensble recommendations in the short time allotted for the inquiry, whihc is scheduled to report to Treasurer Peter Costello by March 31 next year.   Fraser and incoming Reserve Bank Governor Ian Macfarlane also rejected suggestions that bank earnings were too hgh.   Page 19.   --   Despite recording a three percent drop in maiden interim profit to A$714 million, RTZ-CRA is confident its A$5 billion portfolio of future projects and rising production volumes across vital operations, including its various copper, gold and iron ore assts, can lift performance.   RTZ-CRA's group turnover dropped 10 percent to A$5.176 billion for the six months to June 30.   Page 19.   --   Set for another year of growth with expansion of its gold operations and diversification into nickel, Resolute Samantha Ltd yesterday announced a 202 percent increase in full-year earnings to A$33.6 million, fuelled by increased gold production from 125,00 ounces to 241,800 ounces and increased sales revenue from A$76.28 million to A$156.68 million.   Page 20.   --   Australis Media Ltd, believed to have accepted changes to the equity component of its A$363 million recapitalisation plan in order to win the support of its U.S. bondholders, will today release an update on new participants in its modified rescue package andannounce a poor 1995/96 profit result.   Page 21.   --   Although Commonwealth-owned investment bank AIDC Ltd yesterday announced a 57.6 percent increase in annual net earnings to A$45.4 million, boosted by strong earnings growth from equity investments such as Optus Communications, the bank signalled the possble sale of some of its 9.5 percent stake in Optus when the carrier is floated later this year.   Page 21.   --   THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD   Weak copper and other metal prices has sent the earnings of the world's largest resources company, RTZ-CRA, tumbling to A$714 million in the June half year.   The 22.9 percent fall in earnings came as the sell-off in leading mining stocks on the share maret gained momentum.   Concern about the company's immediate outlook sent shares down another 47 cents to A$17.83 after starting the week at A$19.70.   Page 25.   --   Digicall announced yesterday that Vodafone, which operates Australia's third digital mobile phone network, has taken security over all its assets enabling Digicall to gain access to the remaining A$5.2 million of a A$15 million National Australia Bank loan.   Vodafone already had security over Digicall's biggest asset, its 100,000 subscriber base and now has a charge over other assets, including the leases on Digicall's 65 shops.   Page 25.   --   In order to meet US accountancy standards Perth-based engine technology developer Orbital Engine continues to clear its balance sheet of intangibles, resulting in a A$69.8 million loss in the June 30 year.   Intangible write-offs, including all costs at Oribtal's Tecumseh manufacturing plant in the U.S., contributed to the bulk of the A$62.1 million in abnormal losses booked in the year.   Chief financial officer John Beech said Orbital intended to eliminate the remaining A$334 million in intangibles over the next three years.   Page 25.   --   Ten Network's profit growth of the past three years has finally slowed due to a soft economy and the loss of advertising market share to its two commercial television rivals.   The Network announced yesterday its annual pre-tax profit rose by 49 percent to A$151.1 million, up from A$101.4 million in the previous year.   Ten's annual revenue is estimated to be between A$435 million and A$460 million.   Page 25.   --   A A$25 million deal to sell three businesses to Plessey Corp of South Africa has seen AWA become a pure gaming and wagering company.   The sale to Plessey of the AWA Centre at North Ryde, containing the traffic, communications and aerospac divisions, completes AWA's sell-off of its various operations and leaves it with a robust gambling group headed by its highly successful Keno game.   The deal also sees the resignation of managing director John Dougall and coincided with the group posting a A$14.26 million loss.   Page 27.   --   Pay TV group Australis Media Ltd is expected to announce today the approval from its U.S.-based junk bond holders to proceed with a $US150 million debt raising, a move required to keep the struggling company afloat.   In order to gain the full approval, Ausralis has been forced to raise a further $US15 million ot $US20 million in equity.   The group's full-year financial results are expected to be released with the approval announcement.   Page 27.   --   THE AGE   While the government is refusing to budge on the main principles, Treasurer Peter Costello is expected to make some minor concessions on the controversial budget tax reform that companies say is unworkable and will cost millions of dollars to comly with.   The business community is uniting to fight the reform, with blue-chips such as BHP and Coles Myer supporting a campaign spearheaded by tax and accounting associations.   Page 21.   --   Contributions from affiliations enabled the Ten Group to record a 29.2 percent jump in earnings before interest and tax, bolstering Ten's plans for a A$1 billion sharemarket listing.   The long-mooted float promises to consolidate huge profits for the netork's saviours, which include advertising executive John Singleton, funds manager Brian Sherman and Laurence Freeman and majority owner CanWest CWW.  TO which resurrected Ten with a A$90 million injection four years ago.   Page C1.   --   The Treasury has told the Wallis inquiry that financial regulation should be deregulated and it wants the Reserve Bank's protection of bank deposits should be abolished.   In a submission released last night, the Treasury offered no definitive model but suggested as an option that four regulators be merged into two, under a common board with overall responsibility for regulating the financial system.   Page C1.   --   Global mining giant RTZ-CRA yesterday announced a 22 percent slump in June-half profit from $A889.9 million to US$552 million as a result of the collapse in copper price.   The profit decline was largely anticipated following the beating copper took after the Sumitomo trading scandal but the loss to RTZ-CRA was amplified by the group's problems at its new 280,000-tonne copper smelter at Bingham Canyon in the United States.   Page C1.   --   British-based BTR Plc has slashed dividends, including those attached to the Australia-issued BTR A shares, and initiated a restructuring after reporting an interim loss of A$70 million.   BTR directors said conditions remained difficult, with automotive, polymer products and building materials businesses recording flat or lower results from 16 percent higher interim sales revenues of 940 million pounds.   Page C3.   -- Reuters Sydney Newsroom 61-2 373-1800 
13777 !GCAT  (Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors)   THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW   Addressing a House of Representatives Committee, outgoing Reserve Bank Governor Bernie Fraser said yesterday that the Government could cut unemployment to as low as five per cent and the economy could grow faster without risking a resurgence of inflation and a blowout in the current account deficit.   Page 1.   --    In its submission to the Wallis inquiry into the financial system, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has expressed concerns over allowing mergers between major banks, claiming mergers between big banks and takeovers of regional banks could undo the competitive gains produced by deregulation, limiting choices, price levels and services.   Page 1.   --   Communications Minister Richard Alston last night rejected suggestions that the Federal Government should intervene in the cable rollout of Optus and Telstra and support a publicly owned cable network, but he did agree in principle to a "round-table"    meeting to seek a solution to the cable problem.   Page 3.   --   The airport sales legislation was passed in the Senate yesterday, after an amendment was made to extend the cross-ownership rules to Perth Airport, in response to intense lobbying from West Australian Premier Richard Court and other State politicians at first weekend's WA Liberal Party conference.   Government advisers BZW indicated that the limits imposed on Perth were unlikely to hamper either the pricing or the level of interest in the Perth privatisation.   Page 4.   --    THE AUSTRALIAN   Facing a rise in the unemployment rate to 8.8 per cent and Opposition criticism for failing to set a jobs target, Prime Minister John Howard yesterday attacked the Labor Opposition, accusing it of refusing to accept responsibility for "the worst unemploymnt since the Great Depression".   Page 1.   --   Outgoing Reserve Bank Governor Bernie Fraser yesterday predicted that inflation this year will be lower than the 2.75 per cent forecast in the Budget, in his final Parliamentary Committee appearance.   Fraser agreed with Budget predictions    that Australia ws set for a sixth year of economic growth at 3.5 per cent in 1996-97.   Page 1.   --   The Abortion Providers Federation of Australasia will join the Australian Catholic Health Care Association and the Catholic Bishops Conference as a friend of the court in Wednesday's hearing of Australia's first abortion test case, after the High Court aproved the abortion clinics' quickly prepared application to join the case.   Page 3.   --    Concerned that the expected long list of speakers could hold up Government business, the Government has arranged a special sitting of Federal Parliament, probably on October 11, to allow members to debate the private members Bill which seeks to overturn te Northern Territory's voluntary euthanasia law.   Page 3.   --   THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD    Prime Minister John Howard yesterday described Australia's unemployment rate as "disastrously high", but he refused to commit his Government to an unemployment objective and rejected assertions by retiring Reserve Bank Governor Bernie Fraser that an unemployment rate of 5-6 per cent was achievable.   Page 1.   --   New ABC chairman Donald McDonald yesterday blamed a late move towards enterprise bargaining and a complex and extensive management structure for reforms that will now cost jobs, but he indicated administration and duplication would be hit before cuts are made to the national broadcaster's programs.   Page 1.    --   The Sydney Organsiing Committee for the Olympic Games will launch Sydney 2000's official logo tomorrow in the presence of Prime Minsiter John Howard and New South Wales Premier Bob Carr.   The logo, featuring two boomerangs in flight which form a running ahlete, will be emblazoned on about A$60 million worth of official Games merchandise over the next four years.   Page 1.   --    After serving four years in jail for killing his estranged wife and now being denied access to his children, Gregory Kable is set to mount a massive compensation claim against the New South Wales Government, which passed a special bill, the Community Protction Act, in 1994 to keep Kable behind bars because he sent threatening letters to the family looking after his children.   Page 3.   --   THE AGE    According to Employment Minister Amanda Vanstone the Government knows it won't get re-elected if unemployment doesn't fall, but the Coalition yesterday refused to deny that the rate could go above nine per cent.   Unemployment figures released yesterday reealed the rate rose to 8.8 per cent.   Page A1.   --   Moving one step closer to its goal of restoring a AAA rating by the turn of the century, the Kennett Government's Budget received an endorsement from international ratings agency Standard and Poor's yesterday, with Victoria's long-term rating being lifted to AA-plus.   Page A1.    --   Victorian Transport Minister Alan Brown yesterday launched Transporting Melbourne, a comprehensive transport blueprint aimed at incorporating roads, public transport and local government planning under one design.   However, the State Opposition and the Pulic Transport Users Association said the plan was a potential environmental catastrophe, under which public transport would be forsaken for road development.   Page A1.   --    A report released yesterday by the Australian Broadcasting Authority details the television viewing choices of children.   According to the report, if children were given A$1 million to make a program that their peers thought was the "best thing ever", the would be most likely to model it on The Simpsons or Home Improvement.   Page A1.   -- Sydney Newsroom 61-2 373-1800 
13778 !GCAT  **BIRTHDAYS**   The surgeon who introduced ether anaesthesia, DAVID THOMAS, was born in 1813.   A migrant from Britain, he arrived at Port Phillip, swam ashore, walked six miles in darkness and finally found "Fawkner's Pub".   The British commander of the Australian and New Zealand troops in Europe during World War I, WILLIAM BIRDWOOD, was born in 1865.   He was also commander at Gallipoli, where he swam daily at Anzac Beach.   Australian artist GEORGE LAMBERT was born in 1873.   English writer J.B. PRIESTLEY was born in 1894.   French actress CLAUDETTE COLBERT (LILY CLAUDETTE CHAUCHOIN) was born in 1905.   South Australian aviator CHARLES 'JIMMY' MELROSE, who broke the record for a solo flight around Australia, was born in 1913.   He died in an air crash.   British author, ROALD DAHL, who wrote children's books, was born in 1916.   He also wrote macabre tales for adults and the screenplay for the film "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang".   American jazz singer MEL TORME, known as "The Velvet Fog", was born in 1925.   US singer RANDY JONES of the Village People was born in 1952.   US singer JONI SLEDGE of Sister Sledge was born in 1956.   UK drummer and son of RINGO STARR, ZAK STARKEY, was born in 1965.    **EVENTS**    1759 : General WOLFE, British military commander, was   killed in battle defeating the Marquis de MONTCALM and the French forces on the Plains of Abraham, near Quebec.   The victory led to British supremacy in Canada.    1788 : New York became the first federal capital of the   United States.    1922 : The highest recorded shade temperature, 58 degrees   Celsius, 136 Fahrenheit, was recorded at Al Aziziyah, Libya.    1923 : Melbourne's zoo was in mourning for the loss of   its famous orang-utan MOLLIE.   She was brought from Borneo at the turn of the century and proved a favourite among zoo visitors.    1926 : Twenty-six people were killed and 42 injured in a   rail disaster in New South Wales.   The mail train from Moree to Sydney collided with a runaway goods train.   The accident happened between Murrurundi and Blandford.   Upon impact the goods train trucks cleared the first two carriages and came crashing down on the compartments behind.   Many of the passengers were children returning to school.   After the collision the wool in the goods carriages caught on fire and made the rescue effort even more difficult.    1942 : In World War Two the German army began its all-out   attack on Stalingrad against stiff Soviet resistance.    1943 : Australia had its first two women Members of   Federal Parliament.   Widow of the late Prime Minister, JOSEPH LYONS, ENID LYONS won a Tasmanian seat in the House of Representatives.   A school-teacher Miss DOROTHY TANGNEY won a Western Australian senate seat.   The election of the country's first female MPs came 41 years after women were given the vote in national elections.    1945 : War-time censorship of radio broadcasts in   Australia ended.    1955 : LITTLE RICHARD recorded a sanitised version of   "Tutti Frutti" in Los Angeles.    1957 : The 1998th performance of "The Mousetrap" made it   Britain's longest-running play.    1958 : One of Australia's cycling greats was killed while   riding his bike.   RUSSELL MOCKRIDGE was run over by a bus on the outskirts of Melbourne during a 140-mile road race.   He had won Empire and Olympic gold medals.   He was only 30.    1960 : Sir DONALD BRADMAN was elected unopposed as   chairman of the Australian Cricket Board of Control.    1970 : Australia's MARGARET COURT became only the second   woman in tennis history to complete the testing Grand Slam of the four major tennis championships when she won the United States Open title.   The 27-year-old from New South Wales was ranked number one in the world.    1970 : While in Mexico for the World Cup, English   football captain BOBBY MOORE was accused of stealing a diamond bracelet from a shop.    1982 : In Darwin LINDY and MICHAEL CHAMBERLAIN went on   trial for the murder of their baby daughter AZARIA.   The couple said a dingo took their nine-week old baby from their tent at Ayers Rock on 17th August 1980.   The crown alleged that Mrs CHAMBERLAIN cut the baby's throat while sitting in the front seat of the family's car.   LINDY CHAMBERLAIN was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder while her husband was found guilty of being an accessory after the fact.   MICHAEL was given an 18 month suspended sentence.   The convictions were quashed in 1988 after a lengthy appeal process.    1985 : The World Health Organisation announced that   AIDS was now a worldwide epidemic.    1989 : A British banking computer error gave customers   almost $4 billion in just half an hour.    1989 : One of South Africa's biggest anti-apartheid   demonstration took place in Cape Town.   Twenty thousand people of all races marched on the city hall in protest against the police killing of 23 protestors during the recent whites-only election.    1993 : Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation   signed a peace agreement outlining a plan for Palestinian self-rule in the occupied territories.   (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 
13779 !GCAT  DOMINION   Front page - Finance Minister Bill Birch predicts big   surpluses   Candidate for NZ First party quits, blames former MP   Michael Laws   China warning over Dalai Lama's NZ visit   Editorial - Fiji review of constitution did a good job   Business - Energy-Direct share value rises $1m after sale   Electro Power makes $2.1m net profit   Direct Capital Partners' $6.03m profit   Ansett NZ profit triples for year to $9.05m    Colonial shows 52pc leap   Brierley's Thistle float open to Kiwis   Sport - Lomax adds to Endacott's woes   Counties to appeal Lidgard's two-week suspension   Approval likely for women's boxing   Auckland Stars force basketball decider   England cricketer Matthew Maynard to play cricket for Otago   Michael Campbell keen to erase Paraparaumu golfing memories   CHRISTCHURCH PRESS   Front page - Candidates go in NZ First ruckus   Dalai Lama - message of love, laughter   US prepares for Iraq raids   Chch call to get-tough with young offenders   Business - Thistle offer to Kiwi investors   Colonial profit up 50 percent   Direct Capital declares dividend   Competitors trim Helicopter Line profit   Sport - S Canty rugby coach sacked   NPC games seen as trials   Allenby heads open field   Auckland Stars back in NBL final   Tua's next bout scheduled for Town Hall   NEW ZEALAND HERALD   Front page - Michael Laws cited as NZ First reels in turmoil   Black market fishing ring busted in Auckland   Kiwi's debts include $4m to pre-paying passengers   Apologies after Aborigines kick up stink   Editorials - Govt puts cards on the table and opens books   Sport - Waikato resolute in first defence   Prop banned for two years for steroid use   TV mogul wades in for help with basked yachtie Joe Spooner   Allenby set to complete star billing   Stars and Nelson fight out third match in Auckland   Northland cop the bad breaks   Business - Transmark bid insulting says shareholder   Treasury quick to lower economic growth forecasts   Dealers look to easing as bill rates fall   Helicopter profit drops, issues payout warning   Telecom runs into turbulence   NZ shares and bonds poised for strong performance   Newmarket Prop Trust falls short   Asset sales help Col Motors 
13780 !C18 !C183 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  Australia's conservative government has won parliamentary approval for its A$2 billion sell-off of the country's main airports.   "The way is now clear for the government to implement the first phase of its election commitment to the leasehold sale of federally-owned airports," Transport Minister John Sharp said in a statement.   Parliament's upper house, the Senate, approved the sell-off bills on Thursday, followed by final approval by the lower house, the House of Representatives, on Thursday night.   "Passage of these bills is a milestone in the transition from federal to private operation of Australia's major airports," Sharp said.   The Liberal-National government advertised nationally on Thursday for bidders for 50-year leases for the first round of airports on offer -- Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.   Adelaide airport may also be sold in 1996/97.   In its 1996/97 budget, released on August 20, the government said the remaining airports were due to be sold in 1997/98, with the possible exception of the country's busiest gateway, Sydney airport, and a planned second airport for Sydney.   The sale of the two Sydney airports is being delayed pending noise and environment studies.   Several domestic and foreign investors have publicly declared their interest in bidding for the first round of airports.   -- Canberra bureau 61-6 273-2730 
13781 !E14 !E141 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Labour costs increased by 2.3 percent from the June 1995 quarter to the June 1996 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said on Friday.    The rise followed increases of 2.5 percent and 2.1 percent for the years to December 1995 and March 1996, SNZ said.   Labour costs rose by 2.5 percent in the private sector and by 2.1 percent in the public sector from the June 1995 quarter to June 1996.   -- Wellington Newsroom (64-4-4734746) 
13782 !GCAT !GVIO  Papua New Guinea said on Thursday it had rescued seven soldiers hiding in the jungle on Bougainville and recaptured a refugee care centre taken by secessionist rebels on Sunday in a battle that killed at least 12 soldiers.   However, the death toll from Sunday's fighting remains unclear, with no sign of five soldiers reportedly captured by rebels or of another eight still missing on the island.   "We have made contact with the seven soldiers and we have reoccupied the position at the Kangu Beach care centre," Papua New Guinea Chief-of-Staff Colonel Jack Taut told Reuters from the capital Port Moresby.   "We have located the grave which we believe contains the (dead) soldiers.   We will not know the death toll until we investigate the burial site and retrieve the bodies," he said.   About 40 soldiers attacked the Kangu Beach centre on southern Bougainville on Wednesday night, meeting heavy resistance from about 120 Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) rebels, Taut said.   Taut said one soldier and a government-backed resistance fighter had been killed in the battle, but he had no information about rebel casualties.   The Kangu Beach death toll is the worst since the armed rebellion began eight years ago.   PNG Prime Minister Sir Julius Chan has described the rebel attack as "barbaric" and a major setback to peace on Bougainville.   The conflict on the resource-rich island, 800 km (500 miles) northeast of Port Moresby, is the South Pacific's longest running armed conflict.   Thousands have died from fighting or preventable diseases.   The Kangu Beach care centre, one of a number of refugee centres for some 70,000 Bougainvilleans, was being guarded by 32 troops when rebels attacked on Sunday.   Colonel Taut said the care centre would be moved to nearby Buin and the Kangu site fortified.   "We are going to hold this position now," Taut said.   The rebels, who control the island's central region, said 13 soldiers were killed and five captured in the battle on Sunday.   But Chan said 12 soldiers had been reported killed.   The PNG Defence Force commander has blamed the Kangu casualties on the army's dual role on Bougainville of caring for refugees and fighting rebels. 
13783 !GCAT  NIHON KEIZAI SHIMBUN   Japan's leading steel company NKK Corp plans to buy a 10 percent stake in a joint venture to build an iron manufacturing plant in Brazil.   The new company is expected to turn out one million tonnes of crude steel annually.   It hopes to begin operation within two to three years.   ----   Oki Electric Industry Co Ltd's parent current profit is expected to fall by 79 percent to about 10 billion yen from a year earlier in the business year to March 31, 1997, compnared with a forecast of 20 billion yen.   This is due to a sharp decline in memory chip prices.    ----   NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc (NTT Do Co Mo) plans to raise its capital investment for the business year to March 1997 by about 80 billion yen to 400 billion yen, helped by strong sales of cellular phones.   ----   Toyota Motor Corp and three other companies are to invest in a Japan's first satellite digital broadcasting company, PerfecTV, which will start satellite broadcasts next month.   PerfecTV, which is capitalised at five billion yen, is currently equally owned by five companies.   They are Itochu Corp, Mitsui & Co Ltd, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp, Sony Corp and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd.    Mitsubishi Chemical Corp plans to license technology for the production of raw materials for resins to leading German chemical manufacturer BASF AG's South Korean venture.   ----   Fujitsu Ltd is considering promoting sales of handy terminals (HT) outside Japan from the business year starting April 1, 1997.   The HT can be used to collect and exchange data.   ----    Iwatani International Corp plans to set up a joint venture to sell gas and related equipment for semiconductor production in Japan, in cooperation with leading U.S. industrial gas maker Praxair Inc.   The new company will be owned 51 percent by Praxair and 49 percent by Iwatani, which plans to invest 450 million yen, and will be established in November. 
13784 !GCAT !GVIO  The Philippines expects to sign a ceasefire accord next week with another major Moslem guerrilla group after signing a peace pact recently with the country's biggest Moslem rebel force, a top official said on Thursday.   The expected signing on September 19 of the ceasefire agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will be followed by peace talks with the group within 10 days, Presidential Executive Secretary Ruben Torres said.   Manila last week signed a peace deal with the mainstream Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) ending a 24-year war for Moslem self-rule in the south that killed 125,000 people.   The MILF was formed as a breakaway group in the late 1970s by then MNLF commander Hashim Salamat after a rift with MNLF chairman Nur Misuari, who signed last week's peace accord.   The military had said the rift was caused by a power struggle between two groups.   The MNLF originally fought for an independent Moslem state but abandoned its goal and settled for regional autonomy.   The MILF and two smaller guerrilla groups demand an Islamic state.   The military estimates MNLF strength at about 16,000.   It puts MILF strength at between 6,000 and 8,000 but some army officers regard the group as more dangerous than the MNLF because of its hard-line stance.   The other factions, including the extremist Abu Sayyaf group which the military has blamed for a spate of bombings and kidnappings in the southern islands, are believed to number only a few hundred.   "We expect that by the 19th of September we will be signing an agreement (on a ceasefire) with the MILF," Torres told reporters after returning from the southern island of Mindanao where he said he met Ghadzali Jaffar, MILF vice chairman for political affairs.   The signing will be held in Cagayan de Oro, a largely Christian city in Mindanao.   "We will work out safety and immunity guarantees for (MILF) leaders who will be negotiating so they will be free to move around," Torres said.   Manila's peace deal with Misuari has enraged some Christians, who fear Moslem political ascendancy in Mindanao, which Filipino Moslems regard as their ancestral homeland although they are now outnumbered 3-to-1 by Christians.   Armed forces chief General Arturo Enrile said the military would launch a house-to-house search if Christian vigilantes opposed to the peace deal with the rebels defied orders to surrender their weapons.   President Fidel Ramos has said the vigilantes are illegal and ordered the army to disarm them, using force if necessary.   Some vigilante leaders say they have 3,000 armed men under their command.   Newspaper reports quoted others as saying there were as many as 10,000 vigilantes. 
13785 !GCAT !GDIS  Three people were killed and four injured in a coal mine explosion near Cebu city in the central Philippines on Thursday, a mining company official said.   Nine other miners working in a mine shaft at the time of the blast scrambled out to safety, Roque Medalle, manager of the Manguerra Mining and Development Corp, which owns the mine, said in a radio interview.   "A spark might have triggered the explosion.   What we are trying to establish now is what caused the spark," Medalle told private radio station DYDD.   Medalle said he was making the rounds of the mine site when "I heard an explosion" from the mouth of the shaft.   He said the blast appeared to have come from a depth of some 400 metres (about 1,300 feet) inside the mine.   The mine, owned by a Filipina businesswoman, is located in Dalaguete municipality, about 85 km (55 miles) southeast of Cebu city. 
13786 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  A group of Hong Kong legislators handed in a banner with 17,000 signatures to the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday, urging Beijing to send warships to guard disputed islands in the East China Sea.   "The Diaoyu islands are ours," Frederick Fung, a member of Hong Kong's Legislative Council, said as he punched his fist into the air during a meeting with ministry officials.   The uninhabited islands, known in Japanese as the Senkakus and in Chinese as the Diaoyus, are also claimed by Tokyo and Taipei, Beijing's political rival since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.   "We hope China will send troops to the Diaoyu islands to protect Chinese fishermen," Fung, who is also chairman of the Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood, told reporters after the meeting.   "China should station troops on the Diaoyu islands...demand Japan immediately withdraw from the Diaoyu islands," he said.   The signatures on huge banner were collected in the British colony of Hong Kong, which reverts to Chinese rule in mid-1997.   Wang Guisheng, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, met six petitioners, including Fung and two other Hong Kong legislators after the petitioners unfurled the banner outside the ministry building.   Fung quoted Wang as saying China understood the emotions of Hong Kong Chinese and that China had lodged strong protests with Japan and was awaiting Tokyo's response before deciding what to do next.   Daily protests have been staged in Hong Kong for more than a week, urging Beijing to take tougher action to protect its territory.   A dispute over the islands erupted in July after the right-wing Japan Youth Federation erected a lighthouse and a war memorial on the islands to try to bolster Tokyo's claim.   The row intensified this week when Japanese rightists sailed to the islands and repaired the makeshift aluminium lighthouse, which was damaged by a typhoon last month.   Tokyo has effectively supported the group's moves, mobilising patrol boats to repel private Taiwan vessels that have tried to reach the islands in recent days.   On Wednesday, more than 100 Chinese nationalists from Beijing and six provinces wrote to China's top military leaders urging them to send warships to the islands to tear down the structures built by the Japanese rightists.   On Tuesday, Beijing lodged a strong protest with Tokyo and called in its charge d'affaires in Beijing, warning of serious damage to bilateral ties if Japan failed to stop its rightists from setting foot on the islands.   China said Japan must not allow the structures built by the nationalists to remain on the islands.   Japan's persistent moves to assert sovereignty over the islands have angered Chinese in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, uniting the region despite political differences.   The islands lie east of China's southeastern Fujian coast, west of Japan's Okinawa island and northeast of Taiwan.   Tokyo's claim dates to 1895, when Japan defeated China and seized Taiwan and other territories.   China has claimed sovereignty over the islands for centuries.   Japan returned Taiwan to China after surrendering at the end of World War Two in 1945, but Beijing and Taipei split in 1949. 
13787 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Palestinian President Yasser Arafat on Thursday won from Japan an aid pledge and its promise to seek ways to assist Middle East peace before cutting short a visit to attend an emergency meeting of Arab states.   At a news conference after meeting Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, Arafat blamed Israel for the standstill in the Middle East peace process, and repeated his call for the international community, particularly Japan, to push the process forward.   "We're not asking for the moon.   We're only asking for an implementation of an international agreement," he said.   Hashimoto told Arafat in an afternoon meeting that Japan would consider what it could do to help bring peace to the Middle East, and pledged to extend $3 million in emergency aid to help improve infrastructure in Gaza, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official told reporters.   The aid would be disbursed through the U.N. Development Programme, the official said.   Japan extended the same amount to the Palestinians in the last fiscal year, which ended in March.   Arafat arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday for what was orginally supposed to be a four-day visit to seek support for his peace efforts in the Middle East.   He was leaving on Thursday evening to attend an emergency meeting in Cairo of Arab foreign ministers, which was called to seek a united stand on recent developments in Arab-Israeli relations.   Arafat had urged the meeting to implement resolutions adopted at a Cairo Arab summit in June.   "The ministerial conference is to follow up the resolution of the Arab Summit Conference, especially the implementation of agreements between the Palestinians and Israelis," he said.   Arafat had a landmark meeting and handshake with new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week.   The meeting marked Netanyahu's formal acceptance of Arafat as a negotiating partner three years after the Palestinian president sealed a peace deal with an historic handshake with Yitzhak Rabin on the White House lawn.   "I met Netanyahu to push forward the peace process, but I'm sorry to say everything is frozen," Arafat said.   "The Israelis must not miss this historical chance for Middle East peace, otherwise the reaction will be very, very negative," Arafat said.   "And patience has limits."   The Palestinians want implementation of the 1993 Oslo agreement on an Israeli troop redeployment in Hebron and other areas of the West Bank, and the opening of a passage for Palestinians to travel between the West Bank and Gaza.   Israel has stressed that self-rule in the Gaza Strip and West Bank cannot go ahead unless its security needs are satisfied.   Arafat said the Palestinians were paying for peace with some of his people on the verge of starvation, as Israel's refusal to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and West Bank was strangling the Palestinian economy.   "If you're speaking about security, how are you going to get security when the neighbour is starving?"   Arafat said.   "We're not neighbours only, we're overlapping neighbours and everything happening here will affect there." 
13788 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Southeast Asian economic ministers and business leaders took a swipe at United States policies Thursday, condemning U.S. sanctions involving other countries and calling on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to stick purely to trade.   A joint statement at the end of a meeting of the ministers from the seven ASEAN countries referred specifically to U.S. sanctions against Iran, Libya and Cuba.   "The ministers expressed strong concern on the extra-territorial application of the U.S. Sanctions Act which would undermine the multilateral trade system," it said.   ASEAN comprises Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines and Brunei.   Malaysia's Minister for International Trade and Industry, Rafidah Aziz, told a post-meeting news conference: "They (the Americans) are telling us what to do when they have quarrels with these people."   She said there was a danger that other countries might follow Washington's lead and damage world trade.   The ministers also noted with approval a call by Indonesian President Suharto earlier in the day for the WTO not to get sidetracked from purely trade issues at its inaugural ministerial meeting in Singapore in December.   "I would like...to emphasise that the World Trade Organisation should concentrate its attention more to concrete trade issues and not to divert its attention to issues beyond them," Suharto said in an opening address to the ministers.   Singapore's trade and industry minister, Yeo Cheow Tong, who will host the WTO gathering, told the news conference ASEAN was in agreement that the meeting should deal strictly with trade.   Labour issues, for example, should go to the International Labour Organisation.   Meanshile, in Batam, Indonesia, a wide-ranging position paper by the ASEAN-U.S. Business Council said: "Unilateral economic sanctions, or the threat of such sanctions, do not achieve the desired improvements in human rights and workers' rights."   The council, a private group aimed at boosting interest and investment in the region, presented the paper to ASEAN and American government officials and business leaders who meet annually to discuss security, political and economic issues of mutual interest.   The United States and some other Western nations have called for the inclusion of such issues as labour rights and conditions, corruption and competition policies in WTO talks. 
13789 !GCAT !GDIP  China said on Thursday it had made representations to the United States over a planned visit to Taiwan by U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers.   "We hope that the U.S. will earnestly respect the principles" of its past pledges, Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang told reporters.   Shen did not detail the representations.   "We have had frequent assurances from the U.S. side in the past that the United States will not have official relations with Taiwan and that includes the sending of high level officials to the island," Shen said.   Summers was scheduled to arrive in Taiwan on Sunday for trade talks on Monday, Taiwan's Board of Foreign Trade said.   The two sides will discuss global, regional as well as bilateral issues in the economic and financial fields.   The Taiwan delegation would be headed by vice economics minister Hsu Ke-sheng.   Monday's meeting would be the second minister-level dialogue between the two sides after Washington, aiming to strengthen economic and commercial ties with Taiwan, approved an adjustment in its policy towards the island in September 1994.   The first such dialogue was held in Washington in 1995.   Washington switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei in 1979, keeping only unofficial ties with Taiwan.   Taiwan and China have been separated since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.   Beijing insists that Taiwan is a rebel province that is not entitled to formal relations with other states.   WK 
13790 !GCAT !GVIO  The Philippine government, which signed a peace pact last week with the country's biggest Moslem rebel group, expects to conclude a ceasefire accord next week with a rival guerrilla faction, a top official said on Thursday.   The signing of the ceasefire agreement with the breakaway Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will be followed by peace talks with the group, Presidential Executive Secretary Ruben Torres said.    "We expect that by the 19th of September we will be signing an agreement (on a ceasefire) with the MILF," he told reporters after returning from the southern island of Mindanao where he met MILF leaders.   Manila last week signed a peace deal with the mainstream Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) formally ending a 24-year war for Moslem self-rule in the south that killed 125,000 people.   The MILF was formed as a breakaway group in the late 1970s by then MNLF commander Hashim Salamat after a rift with MNLF chairman Nur Misuari, who signed last week's peace accord.   The military had said the rift was caused by a power struggle between two groups.   The military estimates MNLF strength at about 16,000 and that of the MILF at between 6,000 and 8,000.   Two smaller guerrilla factions, including the extremist Abu Sayyaf group, are also operating in Mindanao and adjacent islands. 
13791 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  A Chinese government spokesman said on Thursday he was unaware of political censorship on the Internet but management of the computer network by the state was normal.   Asked about reports of growing efforts by Beijing to block access to sensitive sites on the Internet's World Wide Web, Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang said that techniques for managing the global network were constantly being updated.   "Every country has some management of the (computer) network and the methods are constantly being updated and changed," he told reporters.   "It should be said this is relatively normal."   Network users have said that Beijing was stepping up domestic controls on sensitive sites such as those of dissident groups and Tibetans on the Internet's World Wide Web.   China has no public policy of restrictions on sites on the Internet, but officials say known pornographic sources are routinely blocked.   "We have the ability to control them," said an official of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications who declined to be identified.   "We have measures to protect our nation's security."   Industry experts put the number of signed-up Internet users in China at around 100,000, but say the sheer pace of growth make reliable statistics hard to come by. 
13792 !GCAT !GDIP  A group of Hong Kong legislators urged China on Thursday to send warships to guard disputed islands in the East China Sea, while Japan called for calm from rival claimants Beijing and Taipei.   In Taipei, Taiwanese fishermen hurled rotten fish at Japan's visa office and burned Japanese flags to protest against Tokyo's expulsion of Taiwan fishing boats near the islands, known in Chinese as the Diaoyus and in Japanese as the Senkakus.   Shouting "Japanese dogs, get out!"   and wielding banners that read "Against Japanese pirates," some three dozen fishermen and opposition politicians demanded Japan halt all activities asserting sovereignty over the uninhabited islands.   A long-dormant dispute over the islands erupted in July when the rightist Japan Youth Federation erected a lighthouse and a war memorial on the islands to bolster Tokyo's soverignty claim.   The row intensified this week after Tokyo, effectively supporting the rightists, sent patrol ships to repel private Taiwanese vessels that tried to approach the islands.   Japanese rightists sailed to the islands and repaired the makeshift aluminium lighthouse, which was damaged by a typhoon last month, touching off anti-Japanese protests by Chinese in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and mainland China.   In Beijing, six Hong Kong petitioners, including three legislators, unfurled a huge banner outside the Chinese Foreign Ministry and later handed it to ministry officials.   The banner urged China to get tough with Japan and was signed by 17,000 residents of Hong Kong, a British colony that reverts to Chinese rule in mid-1997.   "The Diaoyu islands are ours," Frederick Fung, a member of Hong Kong's Legislative Council, said as he punched his fist into the air during a meeting with ministry officials.   "We hope China will send troops to the Diaoyu islands to protect Chinese fishermen," said Fung, who is also chairman of the Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood.   "China should station troops on the Diaoyu islands...demand Japan immediately withdraw from the Diaoyu islands," he told reporters after the meeting.   Japan called for calm in the face of mounting popular pressure for a military response.   "The media in Hong Kong and Taiwan have created a perception that the Japanese government and the private group are working together," a Japanese Foreign Ministry official told Reuters.   "We want them to understand that that is not true."   The Japanese rightists said they built the lighthouse at the centre of the dispute to ensure the safety of ships sailing in the East China Sea.   On Tuesday, Beijing lodged a strong protest with Tokyo and called in its charge d'affaires in Beijing, warning of serious damage to bilateral ties if Japan failed to stop its rightists from setting foot on the islands.   A group of more than 100 Chinese nationalists on Wednesday urged China's top military leaders to send warships to the islands to tear down structures built by Japanese rightists.   Beijing and Taipei, rivals since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, agree the islands have been China's for centuries and dispute Tokyo's claim, which dates to China's forced cession of Taiwan and the Diaoyus after its defeat by Japan in 1895.   A spokesman for a group of anti-Japanese activists in Beijing said they would go ahead with a protest at the Japanese embassy next week despite opposition by Chinese authorities.   Also, Six Taiwanese ex-convicts have formed a "dare-to-die" squad and vowed to destroy the Japanese-built lighthouse even if it costs them their lives, a Taipei newspaper said. 
13793 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The Philippine House of Representatives passed a long-awaited tax reform measure on Thursday but a senior government official immediately condemned it as a failure.   After months of deliberation, the lower house passed the bill just after 3 p.m. (0700 GMT) on Thursday, the last day of business before a two-week recess.   The bill, a major component of a crucial tax reform package, imposes a specific excise tax on certain categories of beer and cigarettes but allows a controversial ad valorem element to remain on other categories.   Finance Undersecretary Milwida Guevarra said the bill failed to carry out the reforms the government had been seeking to a widely abused system and would not raise as much revenue as had been anticipated.   The government had initially sought to scrap the ad valorem system of imposing taxes on beer and cigarettes after complaining that major producers of these commodities were abusing it and avoiding paying millions of pesos in taxes.   The specific system is based on retail prices while the ad valorem is based on manufacturers' prices.   The government has accused some companies of setting up dummy marketing concerns and selling its products to them at much reduced prices, thus reducing their taxbills.   Guevarra said the pricing structure proposed in the House measure would effectively mean that a specific tax would be applied on beer.   But the pricing structure on tobacco products meant that the ad valorem method would still be applied to brands which "generate about 94 percent of the cigarette tax revenues", she said, meaning there was still a large potential to avoid taxes.   "With the beer, the reforms we were sponsoring were adopted.   But for cigarettes, it's still going to be ad valorem," Guevarra told Reuters.   "The issue is more of social justice and equity in our capacity to put (in place) a reform that is correct, that will be simple for us and rid itself of tax avoidance opportunities," she said.   The proposed House tax scheme on cigarettes is expected to generate revenues of 3.4 billion pesos in the first year, while that on beer will create 518 million pesos, Guevarra said.   The government had originally estimated that reformed excise taxes would generate more than six billion pesos in the first year.   She said she hoped the Senate will correct the tax formula on cigarettes when it discusses the House proposals after it returns from recess on September 23.   Debate on excise taxes has stalled a comprehensive tax reform package that the government has estimated will generate additional revenues totalling more than 13 billion pesos in its first year.   The Asian Development Bank in a report earlier this week said the Philippines urgently needed to start generating new revenues as government finances had so far been propped up by the proceeds of privatisations.   With most major state enterprises now sold off, privatisation proceeds were drying up and needed to be replaced with more sustainable sources of revenue, the bank said in a report. 
13794 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  Three people were killed and about a dozen were unaccounted for in a coal mine explosion on Thursday outside Cebu city in the central Philippines, radio reports said.   The private radio station DYDD said "about 19" miners were working at the site when the explosion occurred.   There was no immediate official confirmation of the report.    The explosion occurred at a coal mine of the Filipino-owned Manguerra Mining and Development Corp, the report said.   The mine is located in Dalaguete municipality, about 85 km (55 miles) southeast of Cebu city.   Rescue operations were under way, the radio said. 
13795 !GCAT !GCRIM  A crackdown on smuggling through ports in China's booming Shanghai city has netted 98 million yuan ($11.8 million) worth of contraband cigarettes, state media said on Thursday.   Shanghai customs officials seized 25,690 cartons of smuggled cigarettes during the campaign against smugglers who had tried to sneak them past customs disguised as chemical fibre, the China Business Times reported.   In 1995, Chinese customs officials seized 250,000 cartons of smuggled cigarettes worth a total 656 million yuan, while legal cigarette imports were just 46,000 cartons, the China Business Daily said in a separate report.   Commerce officials had vowed to crackdown harder on smuggled foreign brands sold in markets and on the streets of Chinese cities, the newspaper said.   The mass influx of contraband imports had reduced market share of domestic brands, it said, adding that almost half the cigarettes in China's tobacco markets were foreign brands.   "There is no doubt that law enforcement in the domestic market should be strengthened," it quoted an official of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce as saying.   The administration would launch a nationwide crackdown on sales of smugggled foreign cigarettes, the official said.   Smuggled foreign cigarettes found in markets would be confiscated and serious offenders would be punished, he said, but gave no further details.   China customs cracked 13 big cigarette smuggling cases in the first quarter, seizing 20,000 cartons of illegal imports worth 74.36 million yuan, the China Business Daily said.   ($1=8.3 yuan) 
13796 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Southeast Asian nations ended annual talks with the United States on Thursday, endorsing Washington's presence in the region but differing on other issues, delegates said.   "There was very strong and universal ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) support for continuing U.S. engagement and commitment to this region," U.S. Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Winston Lord said.   Speaking at the conclusion of the two-day 13th ASEAN-U.S. Dialogue, Lord said the American presence was seen as contributing to stability and prosperity in the region.   Dialogue co-chairman and head of political affairs at Indonesia's foreign ministry, Izhar Ibrahim, had opened the two-day meeting by expressing ASEAN concern at U.S. aid cutbacks.   Ibrahim told reporters that despite the many differences between the two sides, they also shared many common views.   "We think this is normal in such kinds of dialogues but the most important thing is that both sides feel that these divergences should not be an obstacle in our common efforts to strengthen and to promote the relationship at all levels," he said.   Both Lord and Ibrahim said the meeting discussed regional security issues such as the Korean peninsula, the South China Sea, Cambodia and Burma as well as forthcoming meetings of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Manila and the World Trade Organisation in Singapore.   Environmental, social and cultural issues were also touched on, they said.   On Wednesday, ASEAN members criticised U.S. laws imposing economic sanctions on companies which traded with Cuba, Iran or Libya.   "ASEAN, in general, expressed its concern about the U.S. law," Ibrahim told reporters at a special briefing on Wednesday.   "We believe it does not conform with the principles of international law because it is actually a law of the United States which may have a negative impact on relations between other countries," he said.   On Thursday, a joint paper by ASEAN and U.S. business representatives delivered to dialogue participants called on Washington not to use unilateral sanctions to further human rights and labour issues.   "Unilateral economic sanctions, or the threat of sanctions, do not achieve the desired improvements in human rights and workers' rights," said the statement, delivered to the dialogue by George David, the president of United Technologies Corp, and Tan Sri Azizan Zainul Abidin, the head of Malaysia's Petronas.   Lord later told a news conference that regulations arising from the sanctions legislation had not yet been formulated and he could not say whether any action would be taken against Petronas for proposed investment in Iran's oil industry.   Lord also said that dialogue participants had agreed the next meeting of the forum would be held in the United States but no venue or date had yet been set.   ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. 
13797 !C33 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIP  Legislators of Taiwan's biggest county voted on Thursday to exclude Japanese firms from local contracts in protest against Japan's assertion of sovereignty over a chain of East China Sea islands, officials said on Thursday.   The Taipei County resolution also called on the county to boycott all Japanese goods, a county official told Reuters.   Both sanctions would stand until a mounting dispute over the islands is resolved, he said by telephone.   "The Taipei county council passed a resolution urging Taipei county residents to boycott Japanese goods and will exclude Japanese firms from bidding for any county government construction projects," the official said.   The county government would strictly screen applications for construction bidders and exclude all Japanese-funded firms.   Taipei county, which surrounds but does not include Taiwan's capital Taipei, is the largest county on the island and includes densely urbanised sections as well as farmland.   It was not immediately clear how much contract construction work might be affected by the resolution.   The state-funded Central News Agency quoted county council members as saying Taiwan's central government was too weak in its handling of the dispute with Japan.   A festering dispute over the Diaoyu islands, called the Senkakus in Japanese, erupted in July after the right-wing Japan Youth Federation erected a lighthouse there, angering rival claimants Taiwan and China.   The row intensified in recent days after Tokyo, effectively supporting the rightists, sent patrol ships to repel private Taiwan vessels that tried to approach the islands.   Both Beijing and Taipei have angrily denounced Japanese actions, but appear to have resisted popular pressure for a military response for fear of offending a major economic partner in both economies   The row has sparked anti-Japanese protests among Chinese in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and mainland China, with many citizens angrily urging Beijing and Taipei to use their navies to stand up against Japan and defend Chinese sovereignty.   Taiwanese fishermen on Thursday hurled rotten fish at Japan's Taipei visa office and burned Japanese flags on Thursday to protest Tokyo's expulsion of Taiwan fishing boats near the uninhabited islands. 
13798 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP !GENV  Taiwan on Thursday hailed a U.S. decision to end a punitive three-year watch on the island for its role in illicit wildlife trade and promised further efforts in wildlife protection.   The United States in August 1994 imposed a ban on $25 million worth of imports of Taiwanese wildlife products and lifted the ban in June 1995 after less than a year as Taipei showed improvement in wildlife protection.   But Washington kept Taiwan on a punitive watch list of potential offenders.   Taiwan was infamous for its trade in the black market for tiger bone and rhinoceros horn, highly valued among Asians for medicinal uses.   Both species are highly endangered.   In a report on Taiwan's efforts, U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt said on Wednesday the limited trade ban had succeeded in spurring Taiwan to increase seizures of unlawful shipments and stiffen penalties against traffickers.   Babbitt ordered Taiwan removed from the watch list.   "The foreign ministry is delighted and welcomes the move," Taiwan's official Central News Agency said.   "The government will continue its efforts on wildlife protection." 
13799 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  British Defence Minister Michael Portillo held talks with Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and Defence Minister Tony Tan after arriving on Thursday at the start of a two-day visit.   No details of the discussions were immediately available.   "Singapore welcomes the U.K.'s continued engagement in the region," a Singapore defence ministry statement said.   The British official had earlier discussed London's desire to become a member of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Regional Forum (ARF), the main body discussing security issues in the region.   The 19-member ARF is made up of the seven countries in ASEAN plus China, Japan, Russia, the European Union (EU), Laos, Cambodia, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, South Korea and the United States.   The members of ASEAN are Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.   The ARF's task is to resolve potential conflicts in the Asia-Pacific region.   Although a member of the ARF through the EU, Britain wants its own seat in the group.   The ARF will hold its next round of talks in Kuala Lumpur in 1997. 
13800 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  A senior Philippine finance ministry official on Thursday condemned a House of Representatives bill on excise taxes, saying it failed to accomplish the reforms the government wanted.   Finance Undersecretary Milwida Guevarra told Reuters that the bill, passed earlier on Thursday after months of wrangling, retained ad valorem taxes on cigarettes.   The government had wanted to scrap the current ad valorem system on both beer and cigarettes, replacing it with a specific excise tax that would be simpler to enforce and allow less room for fraud.   "With the beer, the reforms we were sponsoring were adopted.   But for cigarettes, it's still going to be ad valorem," Guevarra said.   "The issue is more of social justice and equity in our capacity to put (in place) a reform that is correct, that will be simple for us and rid itself of tax avoidance opportunities," she said.    Guevarra said the Lower House pricing formula imposing either a specific tax or an ad valorem tax, whichever is higher, will lead to ad valorem taxation for nearly all high and medium priced cigarettes.   "(These) generate about 94 percent of the cigarette tax revenues," she said.   She said the House bill set out a low specific tax on cigarettes so the ad valorem system will eventually win out.   On beer, the specific excise tax rates set out by the House are higher than the ad valorem rate and so they will win out.   House Speaker Jose de Venecia said in a statement the new tax system on cigarettes and beer would mainly be specific but an ad valorem element would be added to higher priced brands.   The proposed House tax scheme on cigarettes is expected to generate revenues of 3.4 billion pesos in the first year, while that on beer will be 518 million pesos, Guevarra said.   The government had originally estimated that reformed excise taxes would generate more than six billion pesos in the first year.   She expressed hope the Senate will correct the tax formula on cigarettes.   The Senate is expected to take up the bill after September 23.   Congress is closed on Thursday for a break.   -- Manila newsroom 63 2 841-8937, fax 8176267 
13801 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday met Chinese Premier Li Peng at the start of a five-day visit which officials said they hoped would boost economic and defence ties.   Hasina held talks with her Chinese counterpart after a welcoming ceremony outside Beijing's Great Hall of the People.   Bangladeshi officials had said she would discuss issues ranging from trade and investment to defence cooperation.   The visit is Hasina's first overseas trip since taking office in June.   She is scheduled to meet President Jiang Zemin and Defence Minister General Chi Haotian on Friday.   Dhaka and Beijing were expected to sign at least four agreements during the visit on avoiding double taxation, investment and a loan from China, Bangladeshi officials said.   Officials said Chinese exports to Bangladesh grew to $500 million in fiscal 1995-96 (July-June) from $120 million in 1991-92.   China's imports from Bangladesh were just $26 million in 1995-96, down $20 million from the previous year. 
13802 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  A long-time French resident of Laos was killed along with four local men in an ambush by unidentified assailants on a highway leading to the northern city of Luang Prabang, a French diplomat said on Thursday.   Claude Vincent, 57, who ran a travel agency business in Vientiane and had lived in Laos for the past 30 years, was travelling with six others in a minibus when the incident took place on Wednesday.   They were going to the resort town to prepare for annual boat races there.   "It is confirmed the incident occurred on Wednesday.   There were seven on board the minibus.   Five were killed, including the driver, a security man and two local staff and Claude," an official at the French embassy told Reuters.   "The remaining two escaped, with one of them injured and hospitalised in Vientiane," he added.   Lao military police stationed in the area, which is populated by small pockets of Hmong rebels fighting the communist rulers of the country, arrived at the scene after the incident which occurred on the highway about 120 km (75 miles) north of Vientiane.   Police or government officials in Vientiane were not available for comment immediately.   The embassy official could not confirm if the attackers were Hmong rebels or bandits.   Vincent was born in the French port of Le Havre in 1939.   He leaves behind a Lao wife and three children and a funeral service was being arranged in Vientiane later, the embassy official said. 
13803 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Chinese officials have told anti-Japanese activists to halt a campaign for military action over a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea, a leading campaigner said on Thursday.   Activists wanted to carry out a protest outside the Japanese embassy next week as planned, despite warnings from officials of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and other departments, organiser Tong Zeng said in a telephone interview.   Anti-Japanese activists have been calling for tough action over the islands, called the Senkakus in Japanese and the Diaoyus in Chinese, after the July construction of a lighthouse on one of them by a rightwing Japanese youth group.   "The officials asked us to stop...they told me to go on a business trip," Tong said.   "I will not go."   Li Dingguo, a fellow organiser of recent petitions to military leaders that have called for the Japanese lighthouse to be destroyed, had accepted an order from his work unit to leave Beijing, Tong said.   Construction of the lighthouse reignited a simmering dispute over ownership of the islands, and caused fury in Beijing, Hong Kong and Nationalist Taipei, which also claims sovereignity.   While China's Communist Party-controlled media quickly condemns any perceived signs of resurgent Japanese militarism, Beijing has in the past suppressed unofficial protests against Tokyo and campaigns for Japanese compensation for war victims.   Tong, whose high-profile anti-Japanese campaigns last year led authorities to confiscate his passport, said he was tired of being sent out of the capital and was determined to stay.   Many other activists were ready to take part in the planned protest outside the Japanese embassy, he said, adding that he would report to President Jiang Zemin the actions of the departments that had ordered a halt to the campaign.   "They do not represent the opinion of the highest levels," he said.   "I am not afraid. 
13804 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Hong Kong students and community groups added their voices on Thursday to the growing chorus of protests against Japan's claim to a group of islands, which Beijing says belong to China.   A group of university students petitioned the Japanese Consulate after staging an overnight sit-down protest outside the mission over the disputed islands, which Japan calls the Senkakus and which China calls the Diaoyu Islands.   Twenty student representatives from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, one of eight local universities, burnt a Japanese flag and a paper mock-up of a Japanese warship outside the consulate in Hong Kong's Central district.   The students planned a rally on campus later in the day.   About 30 representatives of various community groups staged a separate protest, crushing underfoot a model of a Japanese lighthouse erected by Japanese rightwingers on the islands, and presented the consulate with a petition.   "We urge the Chinese government to send warships to take back the islands if the dispute cannot be resolved with peaceful means," group spokesman Daniel Leung told reporters.   The uninhabited islands lie 300 km (190 miles) west of Okinawa island and 200 km (125) miles east of Taiwan. 
13805 !GCAT !GDIP  A visit to New Zealand by Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, will damage relations between Wellington and Beijing, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday.   Shen Guofang also told reporters that a meeting between New Zealand Prime Minister Jim Bolger and the Tibetan leader was an interference in China's internal affairs.   "We have paid great attention to his (the Dalai Lama's) meetings with New Zealand leaders," Shen told a regular news briefing.   "This clearly interferes in China's internal affairs and will definitely affect relations between China and New Zealand."   The Dalai Lama, winner of the 1989 Nobel peace prize, has led a peaceful campaign for real autonomy for the remote Himalayan region.   China insists the Dalai Lama is leading a pro-independence cause and routinely objects to leaders of other states meeting him.   "The Dalai Lama is not a purely religious figure.   He has shown his greatest interest in splitting the nation," Shen said.   Beijing maintains it has ruled Tibet for centuries but many Tibetans dispute this, and the region has been rocked by periodic outbursts of separatist violence.   The Dalai Lama and thousands of his followers fled into exile in India after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.   Shen said he hoped that both the New Zealand and Australian governments would respect Beijing's position on Tibet.   The Dalai Lama recently visited Australia where he also met senior government officials. 
13806 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Six Taiwanese ex-convicts have formed a "dare-to-die" squad, vowing to destroy a Japanese-built lighthouse on a disputed East China Sea island even if it costs them their lives, a Taipei newspaper said on Thursday.   The paroled criminals, all former navy divers, say they will try to swim past Japanese patrol boats near the Diaoyu islands to bomb the structure, the China Times Express reported.   "The six are prepared to die, and will launch their mission as soon as details are worked out," Tung Nie-tai, head of a private prisoners' rehabilitation centre to which the six men belong, told the mass-circulation newspaper.   The report said the "dare-to-die" mission would be funded by a local gangster eager to help Taiwan assert its sovereignty over the islands, called the Senkakus in Japan.   Tung was quoted as saying the squad had signed "death agreements" that would pay each of their families T$600,000 (US$21,800) if they perished during the mission.   Tung and his centre could not be reached for comment.   A long-dormant dispute over the Diaoyus erupted in July after the right-wing Japan Youth Federation erected a lighthouse on one, angering rival claimants Taiwan and China and sparking popular protests in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.   The Diaoyu row has escalated in recent days after Tokyo sent patrol ships to repel private Taiwan vessels that tried to approach the islands, and the rightist group returned to repair the lighthouse. 
13807 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Legislators of Taipei county, Taiwan's biggest, voted on Thursday to exclude Japanese firms from county contracts to protest Japan's assertion of sovereignty over a chain of East China Sea islands, officials said.   A resolution passed by the legislator also called on the county to boycott all Japanese goods, a county official told Reuters by telephone.   Both sanctions would stand until a mounting dispute over the islands is resolved, he said.   "The Taipei county council passed a resolution urging Taipei county residents to boycott Japanese goods and will exclude Japanese firms from bidding for any county government construction projects," the official said.    Taipei county, which surrounds but does not include the Taiwan capital Taipei, is the largest county on the island and includes densely urban sections as well as some farmland.   It was not immediately known how much contract construction work might be affected by the resolution.   A festering dispute over the Diaoyus, called the Senkakus in Japanese, erupted in July after the right-wing Japan Youth Federation erected a lighthouse on one, angering rival claimants Taiwan and China.   The row intensified in recent days after Tokyo, effectively supporting the rightists, sent patrol ships to repel private Taiwan vessels that tried to approach the islands.   The row has touched off anti-Japanese protests in Chinese communities in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and mainland China.   Taiwanese fishermen on Thursday hurled rotten fish at Japan's Taipei visa office and burned Japanese flags on Thursday to protest Tokyo's expulsion of Taiwan fishing boats near the uninhabited islands. 
13808 !GCAT !GPOL  Thailand's beleaguered Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa was under pressure on Thursday from coalition partners to quit or hand over the premiership to another senior politician.   Banharn faces a no-confidence motion in parliament on September 18.   The motion accuses him of economic mismanagement, incompetence and plagiarism involving a thesis for his master's degree in law.   The premier has denied the accusations, vowing to fight them in parliament and said he is confident he will win the vote with support from all six coalition government partners.   Banharn's coalition, which commands 209 seats in the 391-seat parliament, has been hit by a spate of bad economic news.   This includes simmering inflation and sluggish exports which slumped to just 3.8 percent growth in the seven months to July against 26.2 percent a year earlier.   In addition, the stock market plunged to a three-year low on Monday.   Leaders of some coalition partners in his 13-month-old administration have put pressure on Banharn to step aside, suggesting he either resign, dissolve parliament or hand over the premiership to someone else.   Chalerm Yoobumrung, the leader of the small Muanchon party in the coalition and a close ally of defence minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, called on Banharn late on Wednesday to consider relinquishing power.   "There are two choices; dissolve the house or resign but I suggest that we change the prime minister," said Chalerm, who is justice minister.   Political analysts said this opened the way for other coalition partners to abandon Banharn and it could result in the dissolution of parliament before next week's confidence debate.   But a spokesman for the senior coalition partner, the New Aspiration Party (NAP), which has 57 seats in parliament, said the party would vote for Banharn.   "The NAP will vote for him, even if he cannot clear himself of the accusations in order to uphold political etiquette, but the party will tell him after the vote whether he should resign or dissolve the house," party spokesman Suraphon Danaitangtrakul told reporters after an NAP meeting.   NAP leader and defence minister General Chavalit, said by political analysts to have an eye on the premiership, has hinted that his party could withdraw support for Banharn, putting further pressure on Banharn to consider bowing out.   "Even if we raise our hands for him, we will tell him later that we cannot stay with him," Chavalit, who has also told his party to prepare for a snap election in case parliament is dissolved, said late on Wednesday.   Deputy Prime Minister Montri Pongpanich, who heads the junior coalition partner the Social Action Party, said he believed Banharn might have lost too much public faith.   "I sympathise with the prime minister because the public do not believe him, no matter how well he tries to explain himself," he said.   "I agree with General Chavalit that members of parliament should prepare themselves now (for a snap election)." 
13809 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  Hong Kong launched a major security operation on Thursday to clear thousands of Vietnamese illegal immigrants from a camp on a remote island in a first step towards sending them home.   The operation will see 5,100 detained "boatpeople" shifted out of the Tai A Chau island camp to a higher-security detention centre in the rural New Territories area.   Prison authorities moved out the first batch of 400 by boat without incident on Thursday.   They were the advance party, given the task of cleaning up the Whitehead detention centre ready for their campmates from the island to move in next week.   The transfer will go into top gear next Monday when the government plans to start moving 500 inmates daily until the operation is complete.   Later, they will be repatriated.   Hong Kong has been consolidating its detention centres and shutting camps that once brimmed with tens of thousands of detainees who had entered the British colony illegally -- many on flimsy boats -- after fleeing Communist-ruled Vietnam.   The Tai A Chau camp will be shut down.   China has insisted that Britain must empty the boatpeople camps before London hands the territory back to Beijing at midnight next June 30.   Other southeast Asian countries have also sent Vietnamese asylum seekers packing back to Vietnam in recent months.   Hong Kong has almost halved its boatpeople population this year to little more than 12,000 through forced and voluntary returns.   Hong Kong views them as economic migrants and not as refugees fleeing political persecution.   Forced repatriation sparked fierce riots at Whitehead in May when inmates resisting deportation set the camp ablaze and tried a mass escape.   They were quickly rounded up. 
13810 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  China called on Japan on Thursday to stop encouraging right-wing activities on disputed South China Sea islands or risk an escalation of the diplomatic row.   However, it stopped short of spelling out what action it would take over the islands -- claimed by Beijing, Tokyo and Taipei -- adding that it would exercise restraint.   "Japan should recognise the seriousness of the matter and take actions to stop these...illegal activities," Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang told a regular news briefing.   "If Japan continues to encourage them the situation will be even more serious," he said of the right-wing activists.   "The ball is in Japan's court."   A long-dormant dispute over the islands, called the Diaoyus in Chinese and the Senkakus by Japan, erupted in July after the right-wing Japan Youth Federation erected a lighthouse on one of the islets.   Friction mounted earlier this month after Japanese coast-guard ships barred private Taiwan boats from reaching the area while the rightist group repaired the typhoon-damaged structure.   Beijing and Taipei have assailed Japan's protection of the rightists' activities and ordered Tokyo to keep people away from the islands that lie east of China's southeastern Fujian coast, west of Japan's Okinawa island and northeast of Taiwan.   Chinese in the British colony of Hong Kong have also closed ranks, ignoring other political disputes and voicing support for Beijing's claim to the islands.   On Tuesday, Beijing lodged a strong protest with Tokyo and called in the charge d'affaires in Beijing, warning of serious damage to ties if Japan failed to stop right-wingers from setting foot on the islands.   Asked by reporters whether Beijing would consider stronger measures, Shen said: "We hope this issue will be handled with restraint."   Japan on Thursday urged China, Taiwan and Hong Kong to deal calmly with the territorial dispute.   A group of more than 100 Chinese nationalists on Wednesday urged China's top military brass to send warships to the disputed Diaoyu islands to tear down structures built by Japanese rightists.   The response of China's military commission, which is headed by Communist Party chief and state president Jiang Zemin, was not immediately available.   Hong Kong activists, members of the pro-democracy Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood, were in Beijing to present to Chinese authorities a petition signed by 17,000 people urging the government to get tough on Japan's claim to the islands.   In Taiwan on Thursday, fishermen hurled rotten fish at Japan's Taipei visa office in protest over Tokyo's actions in the dispute. 
13811 !GCAT !GVIO  The Philippine army will launch a house-to-house search if Christian vigilantes opposed to a peace deal with Moslem rebels defy orders to surrender their weapons, the armed forces chief said on Thursday.   "We will do everything to prevent any blood-letting," General Arturo Enrile said after vigilantes vowed to fight back if the military tried to disarm and disband them.   "If it's necessary then we will do it (launch house-to-house searches).   But first we will persuade them.   I am hopeful that they will be persuaded," Enrile told reporters.   President Fidel Ramos has said the vigilantes are illegal and ordered the army to disarm them, using force if necessary.   Some Christians fear the peace deal, which ended a 24-year separatist war that killed more than 120,000 people, would lead to Moslem political ascendancy in the southern islands.   The country's five million Moslem minority regard the south as their ancestral homeland although they are now outnumbered 3-to-1 by Christians.   Some vigilante leaders say they have 3,000 armed men under their command but newspaper reports quoted others as saying there were as many as 10,000 vigilantes.   Rebel chief Nur Misuari, head of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), is to take his oath of office before Ramos on Friday after winning Monday's election for the governorship of a semi-autonomous region comprising four Moslem provinces.   --Manila newsroom (632) 841-8936 
13812 !GCAT !GCRIM  China declined to comment on Thursday on a U.S. call to release a former senior Chinese official who has been held under house arrest since completing a jail term in May.   "This is a judicial matter," Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang told a regular news briefing when asked about the U.S. protest to Beijing over its treatment of Bao Tong.   Bao, 63, was freed from prison on May 27 after serving a seven-year sentence for his role in the 1989 pro-democracy protests in China, but he has been held since then at a dormitory of the State Council, or cabinet, near Beijing.   A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said officials were unaware of Bao's case or his circumstances.   In Washington, State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said this week that Washington had protested against Bao's detention without recourse to judicial representation and without access to his family.   "We've called upon the Chinese government to let him return home so he can seek proper medical care and he can be a free person," Burns said.   "We very much hope that the Chinese government will take action to redress this."   Burns said Washington was very concerned about Bao's treatment and had raised the matter at the highest levels of the Chinese government.   Bao, a former aide to former Communist Party chief Zhao Ziyang who was sacked after the 1989 student-led demonstrations, was convicted of "counterrevolutionary incitement" and the leaking of state secrets.   Diplomats in Beijing say he is a source of anxiety for China's leaders, who fear he may reveal details of his dealings with the highest party echelons in the weeks before the bloody 1989 crackdown on demonstrators. 
13813 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Kuwait on Thursday rejected Iraq's warning against allowing U.S. warplanes to use its bases for possible military strikes and stressed its right to take security measures.   Kuwait's Information Minister Sheikh Saud Nasser al-Saud al-Sabah said in a statement his country "rejects this threat and relies on international law...and relies on Security Council resolutions that guarantee the protection of the sovereignty of Kuwait and all its territory."   The minister also stressed that Kuwait is "a state with sovereignty and has the right to take all precautions that safeguard its security, safety, sovereignty and the well being of its citizens."   He said Kuwait "is acting in light of its painful experiences at the hands of the Baghdad regime..." Iraqi troops occupied Kuwait in August 1990, leading to the Gulf War six months later when U.S.-led coalition forces drove Iraqi troops out of Kuwait.   Sheikh Saud's remarks came shortly before eight U.S. F-117A "stealth" fighters took off from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico for the Gulf to beef-up U.S. forces for possible new military action against Iraq.   The radar-avoiding jets left at about 2:30 p.m.   New Mexico time 2030 GMT on a 20-hour, non-stop flight that will take them to a base in Kuwait late on Friday.   U.S. Defence officials said the U.S. will also move the aircraft carrier Enterprise from the Adriatic Sea into the Red Sea within days, giving U.S.forces a second carrier in theregion for possible air strikes against Iraq.   Earlier in the day, Baghdad warned Kuwait after U.S. defence officials said the stealth jets were flying to Kuwait, from where they could be used to strike at Iraq.   U.S.-Iraqi tensions began rising last week when U.S. planes and ships fired 44 cruise missiles at southern Iraqi air defences in retaliation for an Iraqi military action against Kurds in the north.   The United States, meanwhile, pledged to defend Kuwait and other countries in the strategic, oil-rich Gulf after the Iraqi warning.   "The United States expresses its commitment to the security of our friends in the Gulf and in view of Iraqi statements, repeats that commitment specifically with reference to Kuwait," State Department spokesman Glyn Davies said. 
13814 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDEF !GVIO  An Israeli court on Thursday levelled charges against four Lebanese kidnapped by Israel after they allegedly betrayed another Lebanese man who newspapers said spied for the Jewish state.   The Tel Aviv District Court, releasing partial details of the indictment, said the four Lebanese were charged with conspiring to aid "the enemy" during wartime and passing information with the intent of damaging Israeli security.   Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said last month the four, whose identities have not been publicly disclosed by Israeli authorities, had abducted a Lebanese agent for Israel's Mossad spy service and "handed him to the enemy".   Israel's domestic news agency Itim said on Thursday the four defendants were being represented by two Israeli lawyers and that their case would be heard by the president of the Tel Aviv District Court.   Attorney David Adani, appointed to defend the four, told Israel's Channel Two television the case was without precedent:   "There has never been a precedent like this where a man is charged with assisting the enemy...while he himself was a citizen of the state defined as an enemy," he said.   Itim gave no date for further court proceedings.   News of their kidnapping by Israeli forces in south Lebanon and arrest was disclosed after Israel's High Court, in a July ruling, rejected their appeal against detention.   "The four appellants are residents of Lebanon.   They were arrested on February 22, 1996, by Israeli security forces in Lebanon's territory, the security zone, and were brought on March 17, 1996, to the territory of the State of Israel," said the High Court ruling obtained by Reuters last month.   Israel carved out a 15-km (nine mile) wide occupation zone in south Lebanon in 1985 when it withdrew the bulk of its 1982 Lebanon invasion force.   The zone is policed by Israel's surrogate South Lebanon Army militia (SLA).   The High Court made only a glancing reference to why the four were detained by Israel, saying: "From information brought before the minister (then prime minister Shimon Peres) and to the court it arose that the four appellants took part, each in his own way, in kidnapping a Lebanese citizen."   Yedioth reported four days after Israel snatched them, that the pro-Syrian Lebanese newspaper as-Safir said intelligence personnel of the Lebanese army had kidnapped a Mossad agent named Ahmed Halek from south Lebanon and taken him to Beirut.   Yedioth quoted as-Safir saying Halek had detonated a car bomb at a pro-Iranian Hizbollah group stronghold in Beirut in December that killed four people.   It said he was sentenced to death by a Lebanese court martial. 
13815 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  The sad rearguard of Iraqi opposition forces financed by the United States to overthrow Saddam Hussein now live in fear in a seedy hotel praying for international deliverance from their foe.   "We are living desperate moments.   Death awaits us if the world does not answer our screams," said a 38-year-old unshaven, bleary-eyed member of the Iraqi National Congress (INC) holed up at the Al Khadra hotel in Salahuddin in northern Iraq.   About 250 members of the INC managed to escape the city of Arbil, 30 km (19 miles) to the south on August 31, when Saddam Hussein's troops backed the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) to take the city from a rival Kurdish group.   Iraqi army agents infiltrated Arbil and began searching house-to-house for members of the INC, formed in 1992 with U.S. funding to topple the government of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.   "We spend our days listening to the news of the world on the radio.   We are the sons of the 1991 uprising against Saddam Hussein from the middle and the south of Iraq.   We have no contact with the outside world.   No telephone.   Saddam could come for us at any moment," said the INC member.   The INC's membership included some 1,500 people in Arbil, of whom at least 250 are missing and feared dead in the aftermath of the attack and subsequent government sweep.   INC president Ahmad Chalabi said in a statement released in London that he was holding talks with the United States on the safety of those stranded in northern Iraq.   "They put their lives at risk to oppose Saddam's dictatorship and they must not be abandoned.   They are currently in grave danger from Saddam's brutal secret police," Chalabi said.   He said the INC had found "sympathy and concern" for their cause in Washington and steps were being taken to guarantee the safety of its members in northern Iraq.   He did not elaborate.   The 250 INC members, mostly men, at the Al Khadra withdrew from Arbil under fierce fire and settled into the hotel, which they had been using as an office for several years.   They said they had no knowledge of any plan to rescue them.   "We will not move from here except as a group and only then with some sort of international guarantee for our safety," one of them, Al Sali, 32, told Reuters on Thursday.   "We would rather fight and die here or commit suicide than fall into the hands of Saddam and be tortured.   But no one has contacted us about an evacuation.   We are cut off from our leaders in London.   Even the Red Cross said they couldn't help."   A U.S. administration official, speaking to the Washington Post this week, defended the decision not to try to rescue the INC members, saying the CIA had merely financed the group and not directed its activities inside Iraq.   Some seek relief from the Al Khadra's small, smoke-filled rooms, littered with overflowing ashtrays and empty, fly-infested tea glasses, by sleeping on the grass of the hotel's walled-in lawn, bunched under one of its few trees.   A boy and a young man "guard" a gate, sharing a Kalashnikov rifle.   An anti-aircraft machinegun is propped against a wall.   "We have some light weapons and ammunition, but all of our heavy weapons were lost or captured in Arbil," said Ahmed Nasari, 33.   "We could defend ourselves for a few minutes, and then Saddam would have us."   INC members say they have not asked Massoud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party -- which worked with Saddam to capture Arbil -- for help because they do not trust it.   KDP officials bristle at the suggestion they have been derelict in their obligations to the INC.   "They are not interested in overthrowing Saddam Hussein, they are interested in going to London, or Paris or Washington as refugees," Sami Abderrahman, a KDP politburo member, retorted in Salahuddin on Thursday.   "We are not stopping anyone from leaving.   If anyone wants them, please have them come and get them, by helicopter if they like.   The truth is they have been abandoned by their leaders."   As to the fate of the 250 people who disappeared in Arbil on the day KDP-Iraqi forces attacked, Abderrahman shrugged.   "It was a difficult 24 hours in which many things happened.   We lost some of our people too...We have done all we can to bring them (INC) here and to make them safe.   They are not our problem," he said. 
13816 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Kuwait on Friday defended its decision to allow U.S. stealth warplanes to use its bases for possible military strikes against Iraq, stressing its right to take security measures in face of Baghdad's "jungle mentality".   "It was a make-or-break decison," said a senior Kuwaiti official.   "When a friend offers to help defend your country you do not turn him down."   The official was speaking after eight U.S. F-117A stealth bombers took off for a Kuwaiti air base from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico to beef-up U.S. presence in the region for possible new military action against Iraq.   The radar-evading jets are expected to land at a Kuwaiti base on Friday night.   Baghdad warned Kuwait on Thursday against the deployment but tiny Kuwait rejected what it called threats by its former 1990-91 occupier.   Information Minister Sheikh Saud Nasser al-Saud al- Sabah declared on Thursday that Kuwait rejected Iraq's "jungle mentality."   Kuwait is "a state with sovereignty and has the right to take all precautions that safeguard its security, safety, sovereignty and the well being of its citizens."   Several regional states, including Washington's key regional ally and Gulf Arab heavyweight Saudi Arabia, said they had not received any requests from Washington for the use of air bases but some indicated they would have turned them down anyway.   But Kuwait appeared unaffected by the lack of support by Gulf War Arab allies for Washington's cruise missile strikes last week against Iraqi targets.   "Every country makes its own statement on its position," said the senior Kuwaiti official.   "We are not eliminating any possibilty," he added when asked if Kuwait was worried Baghdad might once again attack it.   Sheikh Saud's statement saluted "the firm stand of the brotherly and friendly states towards the Iraqi regime's threats and highly values the commitment and loyalty of the (Gulf War) international coalition states led by the United States and their compliance with joint defence accords with Kuwait."   Kuwait has defence accords with the United States and the other four permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- China, Russia, France and Britain.   Reiterating a general Gulf Arab stand, the statement blamed Iraq's President Saddam Hussein for the suffering of the Iraqi people who have been living under crippling U.N. sanctions since Baghdad's troops seized Kuwaiti in August 1990.   "Kuwait sympathises with the Iraqi people...and it did not hesitate to offer humanitarian aid to the Iraqi people in the north and the south of (Iraq)," the statement added. 
13817 !GCAT !GPOL  Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he seeks to modify an agreement to hand over parts of the West Bank town of Hebron to the PLO and will not be bound by time limits to implement the pullback.   "We are not seeking to toss out the agreement on Hebron," Netanyahu said in an interview with Israel's Jerusalem Post newspaper published on Friday, "We are seeking modifications."   Israel is committed to pull its troops back from Hebron, the only West Bank city with Jews living in it, under a peace deal reached between the PLO and the dovish Labour party government Netanyahu ousted in May elections.   But redeployment was delayed after Moslem suicide bombings killed 59 people in Israel in February and March.   Netanyahu, who opposed the Hebron deal, has said he wants to revise the plan to safeguard Jewish settlers in the heart of the city.   "We are seeking modifications that will enable the Jewish community, the oldest Jewish community in the world, to live relatively normal lives and live in greater safety and greater security," he told the newspaper.   About 400 Jewish settlers live in heavily armed compounds amidst 100,000 Palestinians in Hebron, a flashpoint of violence.   Palestinians view the troop withdrawal as a litmus test for Netanyahu's intentions on Middle East peace moves and reject any renegotiation of the signed Hebron agreement.   Netanyahu has rolled implementation of the redeployment plan to joint Israeli-PLO committees, where he hopes to patiently secure changes in the agreement.   "There will be modifications which I think are important," he told the newspaper.   "I don't want to put a stopwatch to our negotiations with the Palestinians."   "They (Palestinians) need to understand that our preference is generally constructive," Netanyahu said.   "If in the application of the agreements you collapse security, then you collapse the agreements," he told the newspaper.   Palestinians, who view the presence of militant settlers in the city centre under Israeli army watch as the chief threat to their security, have demanded the Hebron plan be implemented immediately without any changes.   Earlier in the week, Jewish settlers seized two Arab-owned stores and annexed them to their enclave, sparking Palestinian protests.   In 1994, a Jewish radical gunned down 29 Arab worshippers in Hebron's Tomb of the Patriarchs, sacred to both Jews and Moslems. 
13818 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The United States has rejected Iraqi warnings levelled against Kuwait and has dispatched eight Stealth fighters and a second aircraft carrier for a possible "robust" military response against its Gulf foe.   An unbowed Iraq fired three anti-aircraft missiles in southern Iraq on Thursday, but the Pentagon said the missiles were "fired blindly" and did not come anywhere near allied warplanes patrolling a no-fly zone.   Rising tensions sent oil prices jumping to levels unseen since January 1991, the eve of the Gulf War when the U.S.-led coalition drove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's forces from Kuwait.   The American military buildup came as France said it was deeply concerned about mounting tensions in the Gulf and Russia said the use of force in Iraq without approval of the U.N. Security Council was unacceptable.   Baghdad has revelled in the allies' disarray.   The United States was assembling a stronger force than used last week to hit Iraq with 44 cruise missiles in retaliation for Baghdad's military involvement in northern Iraq, out-of-bounds to Iraqi forces in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War.   Iraqi troops on August 31 intervened on the side of a Kurdish faction to help it wrest control of a key city in the north from a rival Kurdish group.   News that Stealth jets would operate from Kuwait -- the only Arab country to endorse the U.S. missile attacks on Iraq -- drew a warning from Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz which was strongly rejected by Washington and Kuwait.   Reacting to Aziz's accusation that Kuwait was committing "an act of war", Kuwait's Information Minister Sheikh Saud Nasser al-Saud al-Sabah said his nation was "acting in light of its painful experiences at the hands of the Baghdad regime."   Washington called Aziz's statement "totally unacceptable".   Iraqi troops occupied Kuwait in August 1990, leading to the Gulf War six months later when U.S.-led coalition forces drove Iraqi troops out of Kuwait.   Ignoring U.S. threats of a "disproportionate" response to any Iraqi attacks, Saddam's forces fired for a second straight day on Western planes that have enforced the "no-fly zone".   "The determination of the United States in dealing with the problem of Iraq should not be underestimated," President Bill Clinton said.   Defence Secretary William Perry said U.S. forces in the Gulf would use "robust" action to protect U.S. interests.   Washington has pledged to defend Kuwait and other Gulf countries against possible attacks from Iraq and said the aircraft carrier Enterprise, with about 75 warplanes aboard, would move into the Red Sea within striking distance of Iraq.   Eight U.S. F-117A "Stealth" fighters took off on Thursday from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico to a base in Kuwait.   The radar-evading jets carry laser-guided 2,000-pound (908 kg) bombs that can hit targets such as concrete air defence command-and-control centres with great accuracy.   Four U.S. B-52 bombers, like those used in last week's cruise missile attacks on Iraqi air defences, have been sent to a British base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia.   Baghdad has savoured the splits in the Western-led alliance enforcing the post-Gulf War policies.   France, which last week did not support an enlarged "no-fly" zone in the south announced by the United States after the Iraqi incursion, said it was deeply concerned at the mounting tension.   Russia said the use of force in Iraq without approval of the U.N. Security Council was unacceptable.   Last week Russia blocked a Security Council resolution that would have criticised Baghdad for its incursion into its Kurdish north.   The U.N. Security Council on Thursday said it was still behind the oil-for-food deal for Iraq that has been on hold since Baghdad sent troops into the largely Kurdish-inhabited area of northern Iraq.   But the council was too divided on the latest crisis in Iraq to issue a formal statement telling Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to implement the oil-for-food plan as soon as possible as Italy had proposed. 
13819 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Kuwait on Thursday rejected Iraq's warning against allowing U.S. warplanes to use its bases for possible military strikes and stressed its right to take security measures.   Kuwait's Information Minister Sheikh Saud Nasser al-Saud al-Sabah said in a statement his country "rejects this threat and relies on international law...and relies on Security Council resolutions that guarantee the protection of the sovereignty of Kuwait and all its territory." 
13820 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Helicopters and forces from Gulf Arab states arrived in Kuwait on Thursday for military exercises, Bahrain's official Gulf News Agency reported, but the exercises did not appear to be related to the crisis with Iraq.   The agency said a number of helicopters from the air forces of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states arrived at a Kuwaiti air base for exercises that will be held between September 14-19.   The agency said the manoeuvers were part of a GCC program of joint exercises.   The GCC is a military, political and economic alliance that groups Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. 
13821 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Eight NATO ships, with a total complement of 1,700 crew, docked on Thursday in the Moroccan port of Casablanca.   The North Atlantic Alliance Organisation fleet arrived for a six-day visit to Morocco, the first by a NATO fleet to the North African country, officials said.   The NATO force staff led by Captain Konstantinos Nikitiadis met Casablanca's Navy Base commander Belkacem Ait Moha and city governor Hamouda el Caid, they added.   The ships were part of the Standing Naval Force Mediterranean, which was inaugurated in 1992 when it replaced the NATO Naval On Call Force Mediterranean, a force available to the Supreme Allied Command in Europe since 1969.   Captain Nikitiadis described the forces' visit to Morocco as a get "to know and to be known" mission.   The fleet, comprised of Greek, German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish and American frigates, will leave next Tuesday for the Mediterranean island of Sicily. 
13822 !GCAT !GCRIM  Cypriot police said on Thursday a psychiatric hospital patient was suspected of murdering two fellow patients and attempting to kill a third.   "We have received a confession concerning two murders and one attempted murder," police spokesman Glafcos Xenos told Reuters.   In one week in August, two male patients were found strangled with bedsheets at the psychiatric hospital in the Athalassa suburb of the capital Nicosia.   Both deaths were considered suicides until staff found another patient strung with a bedsheet from a ceiling fixture but still alive, who claimed a fellow patient had tried to kill him. 
13823 !GCAT !GDIP  Ministers from Libya, Tunisia and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) arrived in Cairo on Thursday evening for two days of meetings of Arab foreign ministers starting on Friday.   The meetings will focus on the obstacles to progress towards Middle East peace but the tension between Iraq and the United States is bound to come up too, diplomats say.   The Libyan minister for Unity Affairs, Jomaa al-Fezzani, told reporters at Cairo airport that Libya "denounces the unjustified U.S. attacks and threats" against Iraq.   The other arrivals were Tunisian Foreign Minister Habib Ben Yahia and Farouk Kaddoumi, the head of the PLO'S political department or foreign minister.   The other ministers are expected on Friday. 
13824 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP !GPOL  Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides has called for demilitarisation talks with Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash to defuse tension in the divided and heavily militarised island.   In a letter made public on Thursday, Clerides said only talks focused on demilitarising the Mediterranean island would help stop hostilities that have left three people dead over the last month.   "In my opinion, a convincing step which we can take together and which will truly and permanently defuse tension is to discuss the issue of demilitarisation," Clerides said in his letter, which was sent to Denktash on Wednesday.   The letter came in response to an earlier public call by Denktash for a meeting between the two leaders.   Two Greek Cypriot protestors were killed by people on the Turkish Cypriot side of the island in separate incidents along the U.N.-controlled buffer zone last month.   Earlier this week, a Turkish Cypriot sentry was found shot dead at his post close to the ceasefire line, and another injured.   Turkish Cypriots have blamed Greek Cypriots for the killing, but the Cyprus government has denied any involvement.   Clerides has proposed disbanding the Greek Cypriot national guard, a 10,000 strong army and the withdrawal of some 30,000 Turkish troops occupying the northern third of the island to be replaced by an international peacekeeping force.   Cyprus has been divided since Turkey occupied its northern part in 1974 in the wake of a short-lived coup engineered by the military government then ruling Greece.   Only Turkey recognises the Turkish Cypriot breakaway state formed in 1983.   The dispute is a constant source of tension between NATO allies Turkey and Greece. 
13825 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Kuwaitis voiced anger and annoyance on Thursday after former occupier Iraq warned Kuwait not to permit U.S. planes to attack Iraq from Kuwaiti territory.   But members of the country's large Asian guestworker population displayed some nervousness, saying they were receiving anxious calls from relatives back home.   "Frightened?   Never.   I am one of the people who stayed in Kuwait during the (1990-91 Iraqi) occupation," said Hussein al-Kandari, an education ministry employee.   "It is all in God's hands, but I am not frightened," said Kandari, a large, bearded figure in white Arab robes shopping for jumbo shrimps at a fish market.   Eight U.S. F-117A jets were to head to Kuwait on Thursday and four B-52s moved to a British base in the Indian Ocean to be in closer striking range of Iraq.   Many residents fled Kuwait to neighbouring Saudi Arabia when Iraq's troops stormed over the border in August 1990 to begin a seven-month occupation that was ended by the 1991 Gulf War.   "He does not intimidate us but we should prepare for him," said Waleed al-Damkhi who works at Kuwait's airport, referring to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.   Damkhi said there were no signs of an exodus.   "I am 2,000 percent confident about the army's capacities with the help of brothers and friends (allies)," said Damkhi.   Travellers said the atmosphere at Kuwait airport was calm and traffic levels were normal.   People did not rush to petrol stations, banks or supermarkets -- scenes that would have been expected in the jittery period after the Gulf War.   The government's position on the standoff is more open than it was before invasion day in 1990, when people woke up to find Iraqi troops roaming the streets of Kuwait City.   The information ministry is preparing a centre at a large hotel to keep the press informed of developments.   Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Saad al-Abdulla al-Sabah urged members of the Supreme Defence Council to stay on alert in the face of growing tension with Iraq.   State radio warned Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in a commentary: "The lesson this time will be severe, it will be the last lesson, after which the regime will never stand."   Most Kuwaitis were angry that Saddam was still around to pose a threat.   "They (allies) should have finished him in 1991," said Saleh al-Saeed, listening to the news in his car.   "My car is full of gasoline and I have dollars for emergencies," shrugged George, a Lebanese vendor.   But some expatriates were worried.   "I would definitely leave if he (Saddam) strikes.   I am not a national," said Egyptian nurse Muna Ali.   "Of course I am frightened.   He is a reckless man.   He could strike again."   "Please tell us of any news as soon as you can," a worried-looking Filipina hotel employee told a journalist.    The minister also stressed that Kuwait is "a state with sovereignty and has the right to take all precautions that safeguard its security, safety, sovereignty and the well being of its citizens."   The minister said Kuwait "is acting in light of its painful experiences at the hands of the Baghdad regime..." Iraqi troops occupied Kuwait in August 1990, leading to the Gulf War six months later when U.S.-led coalition forces drove Iraqi troops out of Kuwait. 
13826 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Morocco has called on the U.N. Security Council to resume identification of inhabitants of the disputed Western Sahara so that a referendum on the territory's future can be held.   In a letter released on Thursday, it urged the U.N. Security Council to ignore what it called "the persistence of the other party" -- the independence-seeking Polisario Front -- in refusing to take part in the identification process, and for the U.N. to return to registering potential voters.   The letter from Rabat's permanent U.N. envoy said: "This power (to organise voter identification) is not shared with anyone...no party has the right to dictate new rules on identification methods."   The Moroccan envoy, Ahmed Snoussi, in the letter carried by the official news agency MAP, accuses the Polisario of failing to cooperate with the U.N. and adds "the Security Council would have to take appropriate measures against it."   Efforts to hold the referendum, originally set for January 1992, six months after a ceasefire, have been bogged down by disputes over who should be eligible to vote.   Polisario accuses Morocco of trying to pack voter lists while Morocco says it wants all people of Saharan origin to vote.   Many of the inhabitants of the former Spanish territory are nomads and thousands of others have fled some 17 years of fighting before the September 1991 ceasefire.   Registration of potential voters was suspended in December 1995 and in a report to the Security Council last month, 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."   Snoussi's letter also complained that Boutros-Ghali had not even mentioned repatriation of "detainees in Tindouf" -- the southwestern Algerian town where thousands of Saharans live and which is controlled by the Polisario.   According to the International Red Cross, about 2,000 Moroccan servicemen are prisoners of the Polisario.   Snoussi termed their return "the most urgent and important humanitarian question", and called for U.N. priority action. 
13827 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Prime Minister Abdul-Karim al-Kabariti said in televised remarks on Thursday that Jordan was pained by developments in neighbouring Iraq but could not intervene to ease the situation.   Kabariti, in an interview with the London-based Middle East Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) to be broadcast later on Thursday, implicitly criticised Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's grip on power and lack of public freedoms.   "What is happening in Iraq is painful and hurts the souls of all Arabs and Moslems," said Kabariti, a fierce critic of Saddam since Jordan's King Hussein began calling for change in Baghdad following top Iraqi defections in August 1995.   "Jordan is for the unity of the Iraqi people and territory," he said in the interview, a text of which was faxed to Reuters.   "But as the same time, we can't do anything vis-a-vis what is happening there as long as there is a style (of leadership) in Iraq that does not allow its people...and all its sects to express themselves in a free and democratic way so that they can agree on a method to preserve Iraq's safety and sovereignty."   Shortly after he spoke, Iraq said that its air defence units fired three missiles at U.S. and allied warplanes patrolling the no-fly zone in the south.   Washington said it had no reports that Baghdad had fired missiles.   Jordan has vowed not to let any party use its territory to attack Iraq but declined to condemn specifically the U.S. air strikes against southern Iraq earlier this month. 
13828 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Thursday that Egypt would sign a global nuclear test ban treaty approved by the United Nations if Israel signed it too.   "We'll sign when Israel signs," Mubarak told reporters after meeting members of his cabinet.   Both Egypt and Israel voted in favour of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) at the United Nations on Tuesday, despite Cairo's reservations that the treaty should include provisions for nuclear disarmament by the five declared nuclear states, the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China.   Egypt has also for years been pushing Israel to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, saying the Jewish state's alleged nuclear arsenal gave it an unfair regional advantage.   Egyptian officials have said they would press at next week's annual meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency for studies and workshops on its proposal to declare the Middle East a zone free of nuclear weapons. 
13829 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The following is a chronology of main events in Iraq's confrontation with the United States since the end of the 1991 Gulf War.   February 1991 - U.S. and allied forces drive Iraqi forces from Kuwait.   Later in the year U.S., British and French planes start patrolling Iraq's northern skies to shield Iraq's Kurds from attack by Baghdad.   Dec 27, 1992 - U.S. F-16 fighter shoots down an Iraqi MiG in the no-fly zone in southern Iraq.   January 1993 - In major confrontation, U.S. and allied planes blast Iraqi military targets over several days in retaliation for alleged violations of ceasefire terms.   June - U.S. warships fire 23 cruise missiles at Baghdad, destroying Iraqi intelligence service headquarters wing.   Missiles kill six people.   Attack ordered to avenge alleged Iraqi plot to kill former U.S. president George Bush.   July and August - U.S. planes strike at anti-aircraft missile sites in series of missile attacks in no-fly zones over southern and northern Iraq.   October 1994 - Iraqi Republican Guards move into southern Iraq near border with Kuwait.   United States and Britain send forces towards Kuwait.   Aug 31, 1996 - President Bill Clinton places U.S. forces in the Gulf on alert after Iraqi troops supporting the Kurdistan Democratic Party capture northern Iraqi city of Arbil from rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.   Sept 3 - U.S. forces fire 27 sea- and air-launched missiles at targets in southern Iraq.   U.S. says strikes are warning to Iraq to comply with Gulf War ceasefire resolutions.   Saddam orders his forces to ignore the no-fly zones and shoot down intruders.   Sept 4 - United States launches second wave of cruise missiles at Iraqi military targets in what America says is effort to destroy Iraq's ability to attack aircraft enforcing an expanded no-fly zone in southern Iraq.   Sept 5 - Iraq says United States fired new set of missiles against military bases and civilian, but Washington denies there has been any attack.   Sept 6 - U.S. military official says allied planes had increased sorties over the extended no-fly zone in southern Iraq and had encountered limited Iraqi ground radar activity.   Sept 7 - Iraq says it fired missiles at U.S. planes policing no-fly zones but missed.   United States says it cannot confirm that Iraq has fired surface-to-air missiles.   Sept 10 - The United States says Iraq is repairing air defence sites hit by U.S. cruise missile attacks a week earlier.   Sept 11 - Iraq fires one SAM-6 surface-to-air missile at two U.S. F-16 jets policing a no-fly zone over northern Iraq.   Sept 12 - The United States reports it was moving F-117A stealth bombers and B-52 long-range bombers into position to prepare for possible air strikes against Iraq.   Baghdad announces it fired three missiles at allied planes policing the northern and southern no-fly zones. 
13830 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  Saddam Hussein has wrested back control of northern Iraq for the first time in five years, isolated Washingon from most of its Gulf War allies, and defiantly withstood two waves of punitive missile strikes.   The Iraqi leader could be forgiven for sitting back to relish his success and gloat at his opponents' disarray.   But instead, Saddam appears ready to risk all by goading the United States once more into military action.   Undaunted by overwhelming U.S. weapons superiority, he told Iraqi pilots and anti-aircraft gunners to shoot down Western planes flying over his country and declared invalid the "no-fly zones" they have been patrolling.   So why is Saddam still spoiling for a fight?   To the West, Saddam's defiant rhetoric may be one more sign of his unshakeable belligerence.   But Iraqi exiles in Jordan said that challenging the no-fly zones, set up by Western allies after Iraq's 1991 Gulf War defeat, was crucial to erasing Saddam's memory of military humiliation at the hands of the U.S.-led military coalition.   "He is trying to regain his dignity and his sovereignty," said Saad al-Bazzaz, a former editor of the government daily newspaper al-Jumhouriya who fled Baghdad four years ago.   "If I were in his position I would stop and wait.   But his mentality is different.   He doesn't believe in limited success," said Bazzaz.   "First he returned to Kurdistan.   Now he has to break the no-fly zone."   Iraqi opposition figures in Jordan, frustrated by the limited international response to Saddam's foray into Kurdish territory, said the U.S. strikes last week had emboldened the Iraqi president to further test Washington's resolve.   "The U.S. reaction was weak, and the missiles didn't touch his troops in the north," said a member of the Iraqi National Accord, the first Iraqi opposition group to be formally established in Jordan.   "Based on that experience, Saddam thinks that any new blows would not be serious," he added.   "He won a strategic victory in the north... and emerged unscathed," said another exile. "  (But) the most important thing for him is to be seen to be standing up to the might (of America)."   Western diplomats said they were not surprised by the latest display of brinkmanship from Saddam, who led Iraq into a ruinous eight-year war with Iran before his 1990 invasion of Kuwait.   "He's made illogical and unpredictable decisions before," said one.   "In this case, he's just following up a pledge to resist the no-fly zones."   That pledge led Iraqi gunners on Wednesday to fire on U.S. F-16 jets overflying northern Iraq, unleashing an exchange of bellicose threats between Baghdad and the Pentagon.   U.S. Defence Secretary William Perry said the attack would draw a "disproportionate" response.   Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz on Thursday said Kuwait's readiness to let U.S. planes fly from its territory was "an act of war".   Later on Thursday, Iraq said its air defence units fired three missiles at U.S. and allied warplanes patrolling the no-fly zone in the south, forcing them to flee.   But the opposition groups said anything less than an all-out U.S. strike against Saddam's hold on power would just encourage him to keep chipping away at Western resolve to hold him at bay.   "He will do his best to shoot down an American plane, and he doesn't care about the cost," Bazzaz said. 
13831 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Kuwait has thrust itself into a confrontation between Baghdad and Washington by agreeing to host U.S. stealth warplanes for possible strikes against Iraq, calculating that its former occupier is too weak to retaliate.   The agreement reported by U.S. officials is an unusual step for a vulnerable country that traditionally avoids trouble by staying out of the limelight and relying on powerful friends.   Eight U.S. F-117A jets were due to head to Kuwait on Thursday and four B-52s have moved to a British base in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for closer striking range of Iraq.   Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz told Kuwait on Thursday it would be committing an act of war if it allowed U.S. warplanes to use its territory for attacks on his country.   But the wealthy desert state, owner of 10 percent of the world's oil reserves, clearly has evidence that its large northern neighbour, weakened by six years of military and economic sanctions, is in no shape to do much to retaliate.   In any case, Kuwait cannot afford to deny a favour to its strongest Western friend, diplomats say.   "The Kuwaitis know the difference between getting political heat and getting (seriously hurt)," a military analyst said.   "You have to understand that a lot of these guys have not forgotten what it was like to be occupied.   If the U.S. has the resolve to come to the region to take action, the Kuwaitis have the resolve to take the risks to help them," the expert said.   Another military analyst said: "Kuwait must have made an appreciation of the situation and concluded the (stealth) agreement was an acceptable risk."   The U.S. jets were moving into position for possible bombing raids against Iraq after Baghdad forces fired a surface-to-air missile at U.S. fighters over northern Iraq on Wednesday.   Diplomats and Kuwaiti military officers said the only immediate risk from Iraq was a Scud missile attack.   They note that U.N. officials dismantling Iraq's weapons of mass destruction have repeatedly said they have not been able to account for 16 of the missiles in Iraq's arsenal.   An Iraqi Scud attack on Kuwait would provoke serious and prolonged military action against Iraq by Kuwait's Western allies, diplomats and U.S. military officers have said.   Kuwait has received some of the Scud-busting Patriot missiles ordered from the United States, but Patriots are not a fool-proof method of downing Scuds, analysts say.   "Scuds are something you cannot really do much about," a military expert said.   "We'll see them, but usually it will not be in time to do anything much about them."   Diplomats said other factors that may have helped Kuwait decide to accept the risk of hosting the stealths include a quiet situation in southern Iraq and a strong infrastructure of allied support built up since the 1991 Gulf War.   "We have no indication of any significant troop movements in the south," a diplomat who watches southern Iraq said on Thursday.   Other diplomats said Iraq was rotating units within the south and conducting some security operations but the activity was routine and unremarkable.   Iraq's "words did not read to me like a threat to do anything right now.   It was a warning shot.   The crucial factor is not stealths being in Kuwait.   The important thing is what they are used for," a diplomat said.   "I think it will be targeted strikes, like before.   If they really want to finish the job (topple Iraqi Ppresident Saddam Hussein), they have to put in ground troops and have some of his own units rebel.   Air alone won't do," a diplomat said. 
13832 !GCAT !GVIO  Iraq said on Thursday that its air defence units fired three missiles at U.S. and allied warplanes patrolling the no-fly zone in the south.   "At 1415 hours (1015 GMT) our air defence systems confronted the aggressors' aircraft and one of our units in the southern sector fired three surface-to-air missiles against hostile targets, forcing them to flee," the Iraqi state television, quoted an Iraqi military spokesman, said.    Iraq has vowed to fire at U.S. and allied planes policing two no-fly zones, one in its north and the other in the south.   The spokesman said: "American aircraft and that of those assisting it penetrated Iraqi airspace from Saudi and Turkish territories..."   Iraq's Information Minister on Thursday said his country would continue to counter U.S. military aggression and would resist any U.S. attack.   "The aggressive American and their allies who have pursued the path of evil will not reap but further humiliation and disappointment". 
13833 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  The Kurdish militia leader now running northern Iraq said on Thursday the West's failure to spell out goals for the Kurds drove him into the arms of Saddam Hussein.   "All the time I have the fear that there has been no clear-cut decision in the West how to solve the Kurdish question," said Massoud Barzani, 50, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).   "Tell us frankly and publicly if you will accept us to declare a free and independent Kurdistan, then we can end all relations with Iraq," he told reporters near his Salahuddin headquarters.   Some 3.2 million people, most of them Kurds, live in northern Iraq under a U.S.-led air force umbrella set up in 1991 to protect them from Saddam, the Iraqi president who in 1988 attacked them with poison gas.   Barzani brushed aside expectations that Saddam would extract a price for helping the KDP launch its nine-day sweep through northern Iraq with an August 31 attack on Arbil, then a stronghold of the KDP's main rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).   "If Iraq had asked for a price we would not have asked for their help or accepted it," Barzani said.   Asked whether he would negotiate with Saddam, Barzani said: "The future will determine that...We have not thought about it."   He said he hoped a recent coolness in relations with Washington would end and that contacts with the State Department were "continuous".   He said the KDP would arrest Iraqi security agents should they reach Iraqi Kurdish territory.   "We are sent to be the enemy of Iraq and to live inside Iraq at the same time.   This cannot be a success," he said.   He said the Kurds needed protection also from neigbouring Iran and Turkey, which frequently cross the border in pursuit of their own Kurdish rebels.   "If the Kurdish question is going to be dealt with with regional powers, then we prefer to deal with Iraq.   We prefer to live in our own land and die in our land," he said.   Barzani said all the parties of Iraqi Kurdistan would be invited to a series of meetings next week on the reconvening of parliament and elections.   He said Turkey's idea of setting up a security zone to repel attacks from inside Iraq by the Turkish Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) was doomed to failure.   "We are not ready to accept any foreign country to come and occupy our own land," Barzani said.   He said the West had failed to do anything to protect his militia from what he said was a 250-km (150 mile) Iranian incursion in July in support of the PUK.   "Do they protect us or not?   Is our future guaranteed?  ...Is there any concrete thing?   We would like to know.   If they protect us in their words but do nothing for us this is very ambiguous and we want to make it clear." 
13834 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The U.S. aircraft carrier Enterprise began steaming from the Adriatic Sea toward the Gulf on Thursday to join another American carrier and prepare for possible air strikes against Iraq, the Pentagon said.   The Enterprise, with about 75 warplanes aboard, will move through the Suez Canal within days and sail through the Red Sea to the Gulf to join the U.S. aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, which is already in the Gulf, defence officials said.   Enterprise warplanes include F-14 fighters recently modified to carry accurate laser-guided bombs.   They strengthen a force that includes four B-52 bombers now based on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia and eight U.S. "stealth" fighters sent to Kuwait from the United States on Thursday.   Defence officials, who asked not to be identified, earlier said that U.S. planners had decided to shift the Enterprise to waters off Iraq in a precautionary measure as tensions built between Washington and Baghdad.   "The Enterprise would bring more air power to the region," Defence Department spokesman Ken Bacon told reporters earlier in announcing that the United States was considering moving the carrier. 
13835 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The United States on Thursday sent F-117A "stealth" fighters to Kuwait and moved a second aircraft carrier toward the Gulf, pressing ahead with preparations for a possible new military strike against Iraq.   "We are posturing ourselves to be as flexible as possible," Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon told reporters, adding that Iraq's President Saddam Hussein was "up to his old tricks again."   Defense Secretary William Perry rejected Iraqi warnings against Kuwait and said the United States was prepared to use a "robust" military response against Saddam, who continued to defy Western control over two no-fly zones in his country.   The Pentagon confirmed a report from Baghdad that Iraqi forces fired three anti-aircraft missiles into the air over southern Iraq, but said the missiles were apparently fired blindly and came nowhere near U.S. and allied warplanes.   Eight U.S. F-117As "stealth" fighters left Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, at 2:30 p.m. local time (2030 GMT) on Thursday on a 20-hour non-stop flight that would put them in Kuwait late on Friday.   The Navy said that the aircraft carrier Enterprise was leaving the Adriatic Sea and would pass through the Suez Canal within days, sailing through the Red Sea into the Gulf to join the aircraft carrier American Carl Vinson.   Each carrier carries about 75 warplanes.   Enterprise warplanes include F-14 fighters recently modified to carry accurate laser-guided bombs.   U.S. B-52 bombers have been sent to a British base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, within easy striking distance of Iraq, and Perry said U.S. forces in the Gulf would protect themselves and American interests with "robust" military action if necessary.   The United States stepped up attack preparations after Iraq fired an SA-6 missile at two U.S. jet fighters patroling the no-fly zone in the north on Wednesday.   The Army announced on Thursday that it would move two Patriot anti-missile batteries to the Gulf region with about 150 soldiers in coming days.   Patriot missiles were used as a defense against Iraqi Scud missiles during the 1991 Gulf War.   Perry called "totally unacceptable" an Iraqi statement that the basing of the radar-avoiding U.S. F-117A jets in Kuwait was "an act of war against the state of Iraq."   U.S.-Iraqi tensions began rising last week when U.S. planes and ships fired 44 cruise missiles at southern Iraqi air defenses in retaliation for an Iraqi military action against Kurds in the north.   U.S. warplanes patrolling no-fly zones over Iraq "have very, what we call, robust rules of engagement" if they are challenged, Perry said.   "So everybody should understand that the United States will take all necessary and appropriate action to protect our forces and to protect our interests in that area."   Despite Saddam's warnings to Kuwait, however, Bacon said U.S. intelligence had not seen any southward movement by Iraqi troops toward the southern neighbor it invaded in 1990.   Secretary of State Warren Christopher met on Thursday with envoys from the Gulf region and reaffirmed Washington's commitment to defend them against Iraqi aggression.   Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz warned Kuwait on Thursday against permitting the F-117s and other U.S. warplanes to use Kuwait bases for possible military strikes.   He said it was an act of war against Iraq.   "Those kind of rash statements are totally unacceptable," Perry told Pentagon reporters.   "Our forces are there in the first place because Iraq invaded Kuwait back in 1991, and have been there since then to provide deterrence for any future action of that sort."   Former Secretary of State James Baker, who helped organize the Western-Arab coalition that drove Iraqi forces out of Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War, said Washington should now "at least consider military targets in and around Baghdad and Republican Guard units north of the 36th parallel."   "I think they really only understand disproportionate force," Baker told the Senate Armed Services Committee.   The showdown with Iraq was becoming a U.S. election-year issue, with Republicans asserting that President Bill Clinton has been too weak in his responses to Iraqi provocations. 
13836 !GCAT !GHEA !GSCI  In the latest glimpse into the basic biology of hunger, scientists have learned that a brain hormone identified less than a year ago can suppress the appetite without causing stress or similar side effects.   The research, by scientists at the Salk Institute of Biological Studies and the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, will appear on Friday in the journal Science.   The experiments with the hormone, called urocortin, were performed on rats.   But much more research needs to be done before scientists can know if the discovery holds out hope for controlling human obesity or treating eating disorders like anorexia.   About one in three Americans is overweight.   One problem is that urocortin cannot be taken in pill form because it cannot get from the bloodstream to the brain.   The lab rats had it injected into their their cerebrospinal fluid.   Drug development for humans will focus on finding a small molecule that will mimic this hormone or developing ways of blocking receptors for urocortin in the brain, said Salk scientist Wylie Vale, an expert on brain hormones.   "Hunger and appetite aren't a one-step process.   It's complicated," he said.   "The brain is integrating information about temperature, body fat levels, messages from the stomach and intestines, blood sugar, how much light is outside, what clothing you are wearing, whether you've exercised, are you under stress ... ," he said.   Urocortin, discovered by Vale's Salk team last November, appears related to another hormone, corticotropin releasing factor, or CRF, which plays a role in stress and in the relationship between stress and appetite loss.   But according to the new rat research, urocortin has a stronger effect on hunger and appetite than CRF does, without triggering stress reactions.   Whether the rats were stressed could be seen by measuring hormones and movement and observing behaviour.   In one experiment, the rats were not fed for 24 hours.   Then one group of rats was injected with urocortin, and a control group was not.   The rats that had the injection ate much less than those that did not receive the hormone.   And the bigger the dose of urocortin the bigger the drop in food consumption.   The effect of the hormone was also studied on rats that were not deprived of food all day.   Those that had the injection of the hormone ate the same number of meals as those that did not get the treatment.   But their meals were smaller.   That result is similar to the pattern seen in humans taking the new drug Redux, strengthening the evidence that urocortin is an anti-appetite agent.   Redux works on a neurotransmitter, serotonin, that also plays a central role in clinical depression.   Vale, whose research is backed by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, said several pharmaceutical companies were already doing related research on receptors for brain hormones.   A colleague is also working on animal models in which the receptors for urocortin and CRF are knocked out. 
13837 !GCAT !GDEF !GPOL  The U.S. Senate set aside ratification of a long-delayed chemical weapons treaty on Thursday amid assessments it would be saddled with unacceptable amendments or defeated.   Officials said they still hoped for Senate action this year, but the Senate was due to adjourn at the end of this month and there seemed virtually no chance of approval before that time.   The Chemical Weapons Convention, signed by the United States and other countries in 1991, has been under intense fire by conservatives, including Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms, a Republican from North Carolina.   It would ban the acquisition, development, production, stockpiling, transfer and use of chemical weapons.   Approval would require a two-thirds majority of the Senate.   President Bill Clinton reacted swiftly to the postponement while on the campaign trail in Rancho Cucamonga, California.   "I ask you to join with me in asking the Senate to resolve the remaining questions, put partisanship aside and put America on the side of a safer world, without poison gas being exposed to our citizens, or our soldiers," he told a rally.   Noting that the treaty was negotiated by Republican President George Bush and was submitted to the Senate three years ago, he said that "bitter partisan debate" that had broken out in recent days threatened to derail it.   White House spokesman Mike McCurry told reporters Clinton had put in calls to a half-dozen senators on Wednesday seeking to address the concerns of some Republicans.   The Senate debate that was to have started on Thursday was postponed with administration acquiescence after, according to senators on both sides of the issue, the treaty started to lose Republican support.   Sen. Joseph Biden, a Delaware Democrat who was to have helped steer the pact through the Senate, said in an interview supporters believed they had the votes until Republicans received a letter on the treaty from presidential candidate Bob Dole.   Opponents led by Helms were proposing two amendments that supporters said would have killed the treaty.   One asserted that the United States could not ratify until so-called "rogue" states such as Iran and Libya signed on.   The other would require unattainable assurances on verification.   Biden said it had become clear that either the amendments would be approved or the treaty would have become the first arms control pact to have been defeated.   Helms said the postponement was due to "arithmetic -- they started counting heads and saw where they were."   Biden predicted that if Clinton were re-elected the treaty would pick up enough Republican support to win approval early next year, free from presidential election politics.   John Holum, head of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, did not rule out action this year and said delay until next year could mean the United States would not be an "original party" to the treaty.   This status, conferring certain rights, would go to states that ratify within six months of the date that 65 states have ratified.   So far 63 states have ratified the treaty.   Appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, Bush's Secretary of State James Baker warmly endorsed the treaty.   But an array of conservatives, including top aides to former President Ronald Reagan, strongly opposed it in a letter to Senate Republican Leader Trent Lott.   In an article in USA Today, Helms said the treaty would do nothing to protect Americans from the threat of poison gas, would improve "rogue" nations' access to chemical agents, impose new regulations on U.S. businesses and expose them to unprecedented inspections by international regulators. 
13838 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The United States on Thursday pressed ahead with preparations for a possible new military strike against Iraq, sending F-117A "stealth" fighters to Kuwait and ordering a second aircraft carrier near Iraq.   Defense Secretary William Perry rejected Iraqi warnings against Kuwait and said the United States was prepared to use a "robust" military response against Iraq's President Saddam Hussein, who continued to defy western control over two no-fly zones in his country.   The Pentagon confirmed a report from Baghdad that Iraqi forces fired three anti-aircraft missiles into the air over southern Iraq, but said the missiles were apparently fired blindly and came nowhere near U.S. and allied warplanes.   Eight U.S. F-117As "stealth" fighters left Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, at 2:30 p.m. local time (2030 GMT) on Thursday on a 20-hour non-stop flight that would put them in Kuwait late on Friday.   Defense officials, who asked not to be identified, said the United States would also move the aircraft carrier Enterprise from the Adriatic Sea into the Red Sea within days, giving U.S. forces a second carrier in the region for possible air strikes against Iraq.   The Enterprise, with about 75 warplanes aboard, would move through the Suez Canal and be stationed in the Red Sea within striking distance of Iraq.   The aircraft carrier Carl Vinson is already in the Gulf southeast of Iraq.   "We are posturing ourselves to be as flexible as possible," Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon told reporters, adding that Saddam was "up to his old tricks again."   U.S. B-52 bombers have been sent to a British base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, within easy striking distance of Iraq, and Perry said U.S. forces in the Gulf would protect themselves and American interests with "robust" military action if necessary.   The United States stepped up attack preparations after Iraq fired an SA-6 missile at two U.S. jet fighters patrolling the no-fly zone in the north on Wednesday.   The Army announced on Thursday that it would move two Patriot anti-missile batteries to the Gulf region with about 150 soldiers in coming days.   Patriot missiles were used as a defense against Iraqi Scud missiles during the 1991 Gulf War.   Perry called "totally unacceptable" an Iraqi statement that the basing of the radar-avoiding U.S. F-117A jets in Kuwait was "an act of war against the state of Iraq."   U.S.-Iraqi tensions began rising last week when U.S. planes and ships fired 44 cruise missiles at southern Iraqi air defenses in retaliation for an Iraqi military action against Kurds in the north.   U.S. warplanes patrolling no-fly zones over Iraq "have very, what we call, robust rules of engagement" if they are challenged, Perry said.   "So everybody should understand that the United States will take all necessary and appropriate action to protect our forces and to protect our interests in that area."   Despite Saddam's warnings to Kuwait, however, Bacon said U.S. intelligence had not seen any southward movement by Iraqi troops toward the southern neighbor it invaded in 1990.   Secretary of State Warren Christopher met on Thursday with envoys from the Gulf region and reaffirmed Washington's commitment to defend them against Iraqi aggression.   Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz warned Kuwait on Thursday against permitting the F-117s and other U.S. warplanes to use Kuwait bases for possible military strikes.   He said it was an act of war against Iraq.   "Those kind of rash statements are totally unacceptable," Perry told Pentagon reporters.   "Our forces are there in the first place because Iraq invaded Kuwait back in 1991, and have been there since then to provide deterrence for any future action of that sort."   Former Secretary of State James Baker, who helped organize the Western-Arab coalition that drove Iraqi forces out of Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War, said Washington should now "at least consider military targets in and around Baghdad and Republican Guard units north of the 36th parallel."   "I think they really only understand disproportionate force," Baker told the Senate Armed Services Committee.   The showdown with Iraq was becoming a U.S. election-year issue, with Republicans asserting that President Bill Clinton has been too weak in his responses to Iraqi provocations. 
13839 !GCAT !GENT !GSCI  Archaeologists have discovered the original Jamestown Fort built in 1607 on the site of the first permanent English settlement in North America, Virginia governor George Allen said on Thursday.   "We have discovered the birthplace of America," Allen said in a statement.   The dig team also found the remains of one of the first English settlers.   Archaeologists have been searching for two years for the remains of the wooden fort built by Captain John Smith, who earned lasting fame from his relationship with Indian maiden Pocahontas.   In recent weeks, palisade walls have been excavated.   More than 1,000 artifacts were discovered from England, Spain, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal and China.   "We are all reminded that on this unequalled hallowed ground, the foundation of free people and free enterprise was begun.   From this birthplace our spirit formed a great state, nation and ideals emulated by people across the world," Allen said.   He was speaking at a ceremony complete with actors in period dress and with a full-scale replica of a settler's ship anchored off-shore.   Archaeologists on Wednesday announced they had discovered the remains of an early settler at Jamestown.   The Virginia newspaper Daily Press quoted forensic anthropologist Doug Owsley of the Smithsonian Institute as saying the skeleton was of a white male in his early 20's.   "It was a violent death," Owsley was quoted as saying.   He had a wound to his right leg caused by a musketball and also a defect in his right shoulder which could also be from a musketball, Owsley said.   He dated the death to the settlement's earliest period.   The remains were believed to be of an important figure as he was buried in a coffin, which was rare in early settlements, Oswley added. 
13840 !GCAT !GCRIM  The FBI on Thursday refused to say whether Olympics security guard Richard Jewell was still a suspect in the investigation into the deadly pipe-bomb explosion at the Atlanta Summer Games.   Federal investigators had repeatedly identified Jewell, 33, as one of several suspects in the July 27 attack, which left two people dead and more than 100 injured.   But, amid a spate of media reports describing several new suspects not connected to Jewell, FBI special agent Jay Spadafore said he could not comment on the security guard's role in the case.   "I can't comment on that," he told Reuters.   Asked if the change in the FBI's public relations approach also signalled a change in status for former police officer Jewell, Spadafore said: "We're just not confirming anything."   CBS News said on Wednesday the FBI probe of the bombing had gained pace with investigators focusing on a single suspect and possible accomplices with no ties to Jewell.   Other news organisations later quoted unnamed sources as saying new suspects could be linked to the citizens' militia movement.   Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick, asked at the weekly Justice Department briefing about the CBS report, said, "We have said all along that we have more than one suspect and we are continuing to say that."   Attorney G. Watson Bryant, who leads Jewell's legal team, said he hoped the latest suspects would receive better treatment than that given his client, who has been hounded for weeks by FBI investigators and the media.   "I hope they (the FBI) have learned something from the punishment that they've given to our guy.   I also hope that they don't continue to keep our guy as a suspect simply to deflect attention from the real suspect in this case," he told Reuters.   Jewell's criminal lawyer, Jack Martin, filed a new motion in U.S. District Court this week asking that sealed FBI documents detailing the basis of suspicion against his client be made public.   A similar request was filed on Sept. 3, which the Justice Department opposed.   All motions have been sealed.   Martin said the FBI continued to shadow Jewell's movements, but cast the news of other suspects as a reason for hope.   "We're hopeful, cautiously optimistic and fully expect that at some time the FBI will be able to find out who really did this and that Mr. Jewell will be fully exonerated," he said.   First hailed as a hero for finding the bomb, Jewell has maintained his innocence since he was named by the Atlanta Journal newspaper as a suspect in the bombing.   Many other news reports also named Jewell as a suspect and his property was searched by the FBI but charges were never filed against him.   Jewell's attorneys have repeatedly appealed to federal law enforcement officials to say he was innocent.   His mother, in a tearful appeal to President Bill Clinton, asked the government to clear her son's name.   But no such clearance has come.   Federal officials believe Jewell's case could be handled like high-profile investigations involving public officials.   In such cases, Justice Department officials sometimes say publicly whether there are plans to prosecute a particular individual.   Jewell's attorneys were not immediately available for comment. 
13841 !GCAT !GDEF !GPOL !GVIO  Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Arlen Specter blamed senior U.S. defence officials on Thursday for failure to prepare adequately against a June 25 truck bombing in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 American servicemen.   "My conclusion is that there was no intelligence failure, but in fact there was a failure of ranking DoD (Department of Defence) officials to follow up on a well-known and obvious terrorist threat," Specter told the Senate.   Shortly after the bombing Specter had said it raised the question of whether Defence Secretary William Perry should resign and he told reporters on Thursday "it's a bigger question now than it was then."   The truck bomb blew off one end of a multi-story apartment building at the Khobar Towers military housing complex near Dhahran, killing the 19 servicemen and injuring dozens of others.   Specter said there were more than 100 general U.S. intelligence reports during the year before the bombing on the threat to U.S. forces in the Gulf and very specific alerts on the danger of a car bomb at Khobar Towers.   He said they included a Defence Intelligence Agency report on June 17, eight days before the bombing, that said of Khobar Towers: "a pattern appears to be developing that warrants increased security efforts."   "Notwithstanding these warnings," Specter told the Senate, "improved security efforts were not undertaken by the Pentagon, by ranking military, civilian DoD authorities."   The Defence Department confirmed a Washington Post story that Perry did not read the report.   But it said he did not have to read it because it was a summary of intelligence reports and of security measures that Perry knew about.   Defence officials said dozens of security improvements were made at Khobar Towers, particularly after a bomb attack in Riyadh last November that killed five Americans.   Specter made the Senate floor statement in releasing a committee staff report on intelligence warnings.   It said the senior U.S. intelligence official in Saudi Arabia briefed military commanders on April 20, 1995, on "Iranian plotting against U.S. military personnel in Saudi Arabia."   Intelligence agencies had concluded in March that Iranian operatives' activities in Saudi Arabia "contained the potential for execution of terrorist acts" and that weapons and explosives had been moved in apparently to support terrorist acts.   The staff report stopped short of concluding Iran was involved specifically in the Khobar Towers bombing. 
13842 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole on Thursday said he may announce before the election who he would appoint to "two or three" cabinet jobs.   "If the American people can judge the kind of people Bob Dole will choose as opposed to the kind of people Bill Clinton has already chosen ... I think it would be a sharp, sharp contrast," Dole told a forum of women business leaders and political activists at a campaign stop.   "This may happen before the election, maybe we've dropped out two or three possibilities there," Dole said.   Dole also promised his cabinet would be diverse.   "There will be a lot of diversity in my cabinet ... I have a lot of respect for people who are smarter than I am, and there are (many) them around, but it doesn't intimidate me to reach out to people," he said.   In disclosing the possibility of early cabinet choices, Dole kept up a subtle attack on the character of Democratic incumbent Clinton, on a day when Dole also responded fiercely to Clinton's campaign advertising, which he called "character assassination."   But Dole also was stung by a minor embarrassment when an unpaid consultant resigned after supermarket tabloids reported the consultant and his wife had advertised for group sex.   The consultant, Roger Stone, said he was the victim of a dirty trick.   Referring to the Democrratic ads, Dole said: "They don't have anything positive to say.   Character assassination.   They got a lot of characters."   He was answering a reporter's question on Clinton's advertising as he shook hands after an outdoor rally at Georgetown College in Kentucky.   In his speech earlier Dole repeated charges that Clinton was stealing his policy ideas and complained bitterly about the Clinton ads.   "They'll say Bob Dole's a decent man, and then comes the ax.   And it comes every day.   It comes every hour on your TV set.   Millions and millions ... of dollars in negative ads," he said.   "They're going to try to frighten all of you.   They're going to tell you that Bob Dole ... is an extremist."   Dole was stung in recent days by a new Clinton commercial, featuring parents who had lost a child, that criticized his opposition to federal family leave legislation.   "Bill Clinton is a serial killer of negative advertising," Dole's campaign spokesman Nelson Warfield said as the campaign distributed an analysis saying more than 97 percent of ads run by the Clinton campaign have been negative.   As for Dole's own plans for negative advertising, Warfield said, "We're holding our cards close to the vest ... In this game so far, he (Clinton) has already played the negative card and he's done it with relish."   Warfield said the campaign had concluded it was time to speak out against the ads.   "As we draw close to the election day and the recidivist nature of Mr. Clinton's negative attacks becomes more apparent it's appropriate to draw that commentary," Warfield said.   In promoting his economic program of tax cuts, Dole stressed its benefit to working families.   "If both parents want to work it ought to be because they want to, not because they're forced to just to pay higher and higher federal taxes," he said.   He also called on Clinton to release his medical records.   "I'm in great shape," the 73-year-old candidate said.   "My cholesterol is lower than his, my weight's lower.   My blood pressure's lower, but I'm not going to make health an issue in this campaign."   Dole said he welcomed the opportunity to face off against Clinton in a series of upcoming debates, but tried to keep expectations for his performance low.   "President Clinton is a very smooth talker, and I'll be facing him in debates one of these days," Dole said.   "I think if I show up, I win, because he is supposed to be so good, so good at a lot of things." 
13843 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP !GVIO  Eight U.S. F-117A "stealth" fighters took off from Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, for the Gulf on Thursday to strengthen U.S. forces for possible new military strikes against Iraq, defence officials said.   The radar-avoiding jets left at about 2:30 p.m.   New Mexico time (2030 GMT) on a 20-hour, non-stop flight that will carry them to a base in Kuwait late on Friday.   The single-seat planes, designed to drop accurate 2,000-pound (908 kg) laser-guided bombs will be refueled in the air en route by big U.S. air Force tanker aircraft.   The Defence Department refused to say where the jets were going, but administration officials said on Wednesday that Kuwait had agreed to base the jets there.   Air Force officials said U.S. aerial refueling tanker planes from McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas, and McGuire AFB, New Jersey, would accompany the F-117As and refuel them on separate legs of the long flight.   In Baghdad Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz warned Kuwait on Thursday against permitting U.S. warplanes to use its territory for possible military strikes against targets in Iraq.   The United States also based B-52 bombers at a British air base on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in preparation for possible raids on Iraq as tensions escalated between Washington and Baghdad.   Defence Secretary William Perry said on Wednesday the United States did not ask Saudi Arabia to accept the stealth fighters, which use a bat-wing design and composite construction materials to make them almost invisible to radar.   The stealth jets were based in Saudi Arabia during the 1991 Gulf War and used with devastating accuracy against Iraqi targets.   They fly slower than the speed of sound, but drop laser-guided bombs which can hit concrete Iraqi air defence command-and-control centres and other targets with high accuracy.   Despite the Air Force's proud "fighter" tag, the radar-avoiding jets are not fighters.   They are small bombers which fly slower than the speed of sound, much too slow to engage in aerial combat with other modern jets.   The swept-wing jets have a wingspan of 43-feet (13.3 meters) and use a combination of high-tech building materials and sharp design angles to absorb and or radar beams so that ground gunners and missile emplacements cannot see them.   Built by then-Lockheed Corp, and first deployed in 1982, the F-117A was the world's first "stealth" aircraft.   The United States recently deployed larger batwing B-2 stealth bombers designed to carry big loads of bombs and cruise missiles. 
13844 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA !M14 !M141 !MCAT  U.S. Agriculture Department chief meteorologist Al Peterlin said Tuesday current temperature trends do not indicate an early frost in the U.S.   "It's a threat, but I don't see any reason to deviate from the normal frost dates yet," Peterlin said.    Peterlin said Canada had not experianced an early frost.   "They've had a couple of spotty frosts but not had a widespread season-ending frost," the weatherman said.   He said USDA uses forecasts by National Weather Service.   "It's the long-range forecast with the most skill that we've seen," Peterlin said of NWS's six- to 10-day report, but cautioned, "It is an outlook and outlooks change."   The weatherman noted that for crops overall the past three to four weeks were positive, with warmer temperatures and reasonable moisture. 
13845 !GCAT !GDIS !GENV !GPOL  The White House said Thursday that President Clinton has asked Congress for $400 million in emergency funds to fight forest fires.   In a statement released in California, where Clinton was campaigning for re-election, the White House also said the president has also released $50 million for temporary housing for flood victims in various parts of the country.   Large wildfires struck nearly every Western state this year, while a series of floods struck much of the country, including the states of Florida, Oregon, Washington and Idaho. 
13846 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPRO  Detectives investigating the shooting that critically wounded rap music star Tupac Shakur have interviewed the record company head who was with him but he could not provide any clues, police said Thursday.   Police, scratching for leads in the shooting, also offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the gunman who opened fire on Shakur's car from a white Cadillac in Las Vegas last Saturday night, hitting him four times.   Shakur, one of the most notorious performers of hardcore "Gangsta" rap, remained in critical condition in the intensive care unit of a Las Vegas hospital, a hospital spokesman said.   Marion "Suge" Knight, 31, co-founder of Los Angeles-based Death Row Records that specialises in "Gangsta" rap, went to the Las Vegas police department Wednesday night accompanied by three lawyers, police spokesman Phil Roland said.   Police had wanted to interview Knight for several days.   Shakur was a passenger in a black BMW driven by Knight when they were ambushed at a traffic light enroute to a nightclub after watching the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon world heavyweight title fight.   Knight, grazed in the head by a bullet fragment, suffered only minor injuries.   Knight was unable to give detectives any information that would help uncover the motive for the shooting, police said, nor could he help identify possible suspects.   "He didn't get a look at anything.   He didn't know what the suspects looked like.   We're still at step one -- no suspects, no motive, no real leads," Roland said.   According to Roland, Knight said the shooting happened too quickly for him to notice much.   "He said he had his head turned when the shots were fired.   Then he tried to help Tupac, who he knew had been shot," he said.   Shakur, a 25-year-old singer and actor, had his right lung removed during one of two operations after the shooting.   No stranger to trouble, Shakur has spent much of the last 2-1/2 years in court, prison or hospitals.   In November 1994 he was shot five times while being robbed of $40,000 in jewels in the lobby of a Manhattan recording studio.   In February 1995 he was sentenced to jail for involvement in a sexual attack on a 21-year-old woman in a New York hotel room.   He spent eight months behind bars until he was released pending his appeal.   Shakur is best known for raw lyrics laced with violence, sex and profanity.   His latest album, "All Eyez on Me," released this year, celebrates his own outlaw image. 
13847 !GCAT !GDIP  Turkey's new Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan "talked too much" when he was in the political opposition but since taking office has demonstrated a more pro-Western stance on issues, Ankara's ambassador to Washington said on Thursday.   In a startlingly candid analysis of the domestic political situation in his country, Nuzhet Kandemir also said Erbakan's Welfare Party probably would garner less support in the next election because voters now realise it cannot deliver on all its promises.   "Mr Erbakan when he was in the opposition used to talk too much...This is in his character," the envoy told reporters at a luncheon.   But despite a perceived anti-Western leaning, Erbakan got parliament to renew the Turkey-based Operation Provide Comfort programme of U.S.-led air flights and humanitarian aid in northern Iraq and has honoured new military ties with Israel, Kandemir said.   "It means the words used when one is in the opposition and the actions taken when one is in a responsible position are different and this difference is quite obvious in the case of Mr. Erbakan," he said.   The prime minister, an Islamist, is "taking big risks politically by just doing it," the envoy said.   Kandemir insisted the coalition government Erbakan heads "is not against the United States as everyone is tempted to believe" and will not tranform Turkey into a fundamentalist state.   Hardliners in the Welfare Party will try to impose their fundamentalist beliefs on the system "but Turkey is now strong enough to fight against these kinds of tendencies," he said. 
13848 !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  President Clinton intends to nominate Jeffrey Frankel, an economics professor at the University of California, Berkeley, as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers.   In a statement released in California, where Clinton was campaigning for re-election, the White House said that Frankel would replace Martin Baily, who recently joined a research group within the McKinsey and Co. consulting firm.   The White House said Frankel is a specialist in international economics, finance and macroeconomics who previously served as a visiting scholar at the U.S. Federal Reserve Board and at the International Monetary Fund.   The three-member CEA advises the president on economic policy. 
13849 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GDEF !GPOL  House-Senate negotiators approved a near $245 billion defense appropriation bill Thursday that they said is $9.4 billion more than President Clinton requested.   They predicted Clinton would accept the bill despite earlier threats to veto the huge increase.    Negotiators said Defense Secretary William Perry told them two weeks ago he would recommend approval of an increase of about $9 billion, though they said the administration has not said specifically that it would accept the bill negotiators approved Thursday.   Even so, Sen. Ted Stevens, an Alaska Republican, and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bob Livingston, a Louisiana Republican, used the same words: "The president will not veto this bill."   The bill includes $325 million more than Clinton requested for anti-missile defense research to speed up construction of such a defense for U.S. cities.   It includes more money for planes, ships and other weapons than Clinton requested.   It also would fund a three percent raise in military pay. 
13850 !GCAT !GDEF !GVIO  A group of 150 U.S. soldiers left the Fort Bliss army base in Texas on Thursday to man Patriot anti-missile batteries being deployed in the Gulf as U.S. forces prepared military strikes on Iraq.   Defence officials said the soldiers were part of the Air Defence Artillery Brigade and would be responsible for manning two Patriot anti-missile batteries also being deployed to the Gulf region.   Patriot missiles were used during the 1991 Gulf War as defence against Iraqi Scud missiles.   Defence officials in Washington, asking not to be identified, said the two Patriot batteries would go to Saudi Arabia.   Earlier on Thursday, eight U.S. F-117A "stealth" fighters took off for the Gulf from the Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico to strengthen the U.S. attack forces being assembled.   Fort Bliss spokesman Tom Collins said the deployment of the Patriot batteries and the 150 men was ordered on Wednesday after Iraq fired missiles at U.S. jets.   Another three missiles were fired by Iraqi forces on Thursday but the Pentagon said they went nowhere near Western warplanes patrolling the skies. 
13851 !C13 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GHEA !GJOB !GPOL  New York Gov. George Pataki on Thursday signed a healthcare bill that will force hospitals to compete for patients, likely triggering layoffs, a blow the bill aims to cushion by helping to pay for retraining workers.   While the new legislation more than doubles the state's health insurance program for the children of working poor to 251,000 by December 1999, about 200,000 still will have no health coverage, an issue health associations plan to pursue.   "That obviously has to be the next step but this is a giant step-up in program expansion," said Dr. Louis Cooper, who leads the American Academy of Pediatrics.   He also heads the Pediatrics Department at St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital.   The new bill became law at a news conference held at Mount Sinai Hospital, one of the swiftest teaching and research hospitals to react to growing competition.   In June, it said it planned to merge with New York University Medical Center.   New York legislators and health associations said that the impact of the new bill, which phases out a system under which the state set how much hospitals were paid for treating patients, will have to be monitored carefully.   The city has several hospitals that are renowned for their medical schools and research, which also have a tradition of caring for indigent and uninsured patients.   They are vulnerable, as are smaller ones already under pressure.   Some modifications might be required, the officals said, as there is a risk that large companies, like insurers and big employers, with which hospitals on January 1, 1997, will start negotiating rates, might have too much clout.   These were not immediate issues on Pataki's horizon, as he ocused on the benefits that will result from ending the 12-year system of setting hospital rates in Albany.   "We are just extremely confident that this new healthcare reform bill is going to increase accessibility, increase affordability and enhance the quality of care that is delivered to all New Yorkers."   A key part of the bill should help protect New York City's teaching hospitals, as it provides $1.385 billion to help hospitals pay for training physicians.   This measure should help New York state avoid a difficulty that other hospitals have experienced.   "We know from the experience in other states, particularly California, that teaching hospitals get clobbered there when they negotiate with health maintenance organizations," said Ken Raske.   He is the president of the Greater New York Hospital Association.   Hospital and association officials said it was premature to estimate how deeply hospitals will have to cut costs in order to stay competitive, though they said they expected revenues will fall.   Dennis Rivera, president of local 1199 of the National Health and Human Services Union, said that while any estimates were preliminary, as many as 30,000 workers, including hourly and salaried employees, through-out the state might be "displaced."   The union represents 117,000 workers, out of about 350,000 in the state.   New York City likely would lose about half of these workers, he said, noting the bill provides up to $100 million to help them learn new skills, so that they can find jobs with new providers, like clinics, that are expected to open up.   Pataki and the legislators who attended the news conference all said that the bill was achieved in a bi-partisan fashion, though Assemblyman Dick Gottfried, D-New York City, who chairs the Health Committee, had some cautions.   Gottfried told reporters the new bill should strengthen the safety net and medical training.   "I'm very concerned though that opening up the hospital system to market forces as this legislation does is going to subject the health care system and New Yorkers who depend upon it to a lot of strain, a lot of pressures to ratchet down care and services."   Still, the president of Mount Sinai Hospital, expects his institution to fare well, partly due to the aid for graduate medical education, retraining and charity care.   "We're very optimistic that we will emerge from this stronger than going in," said John Rowe.   --U.S. Municipal Desk, 212-859-1654 
13852 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Republican Bob Dole's presidential campaign called on Thursday for four one-on-one televised debates with President Bill Clinton before the November election but was cool to including Ross Perot.   At the first meeting of representatives of Dole and Clinton to discuss arrangements for televised presidential debates, the top negotiator for Dole, former South Carolina Gov. Carroll Campbell, said he had pressed the Clinton team for four presidential debates.   This would be one more than the three now tentatively scheduled.   He also asked for two vice-presidential matchups instead of one.   "President Clinton is a world-class debater, someone who can charm the birds out of the trees.   We will be hard pressed to understand why the president would not want to debate Bob Dole one-on-one four times," Campbell said in a statement.   The Dole campaign pointedly did not mention Perot.   Campbell said the participation of Perot or consumer advocate Ralph Nader was not discussed.   The meeting concluded when Perot's national campaign coordinator, Russell Verney, tried to join the discussion.   Afterward Verney said the negotiators for the Clinton team -- Commerce Secretary Mickey Kantor and Washington lawyer Vernon Jordan -- had been cordial but the Dole team had given him the cold shoulder.   "I received a warm welcome from Secretary Kantor and Vernon Jordan, with introductions, and received no response from the Dole representatives," he said.   Kantor said he welcomed participation by Perot, the candidate for the upstart Reform Party.   He did not refer to Nader, the consumer activist candidate of the environmental Green Party.   Perot's participation could take support from Dole, while Nader's presence might weaken Clinton.   Current plans call for three presidential debates, on Sept. 25 in St. Louis, Oct. 9 in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Oct. 16 in San Diego.   Plans are for a single vice-presidential debate, on Oct. 2 in Hartford, Connecticut.   Clinton aides said the president was to address the United Nations on Sept. 24 and was considering asking for a change in the date of the first debate to give him more time to rehearse.   A Clinton campaign official, who declined to be identified, said before the meeting that the Dole team's desire for more debates was a product of desperation.   "The further behind they are (in public opinion polls), the more debates they'll want.   Next week they may want 10," the official said.   The Commission on Presidential Debates, which oversees the televised events, was not represented at Thursday's meeting but previously said it will decide by Monday whether to invite Perot to participate.   Perot is on the ballot in all 50 states, while Nader is on ballots in 21 states and the District of Columbia.   Perot received 19 percent of the popular vote in his 1992 presidential bid but did not get a single electoral vote.   His standing in recent polls was around 5 percent. 
13853 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Turkey's ambassador to Washington on Thursday warned the United States against further military strikes against Iraq and called for a new diplomatic-oriented strategy toward Baghdad.   The envoy, Nuzhet Kandemir, also said that Ankara is providing aircraft to help the United States airlift 2,500 Americans, Kurds and Iraqi dissidents out of northern Iraq.   From the start of the recent crisis, Ankara has worried that new U.S. air strikes on Iraq would worsen regional tensions and with Washington planning further attacks, "we hope that these kinds of punitive strikes, particularly disproportionate ones, will not take place," he told reporters at a luncheon.   "Once they take place, we do not know what will be the reaction of (Iraqi President) Saddam (Hussein).   Saddam is an unpredictable person" and could respond with a major attack on U.S. interests, Kandemir said.   "I do not believe that with a few cruise missiles or stealth bombers Saddam is likely to change his mind since he didn't do it for so many years" as the United States and its Gulf War allies enforced tough restrictions Iraq, he said.   The crisis erupted two weeks ago when Iraq moved troops into northern Iraq to help a major Kurdish faction pummel its Kurdish rival.   The United States, concerned about Saddam's new aggression, retaliated with missile strikes against air defence targets in southern Iraq.   Amid fresh signs of Saddam's resistance, Washington this week stepped up preparations for new larger-scale air strikes.   Turkey has not been alerted to any new assault on Iraq, and as a NATO ally, would expect notification if an attack was imminent, Kandemir said.   Since force and tough U.N. demands seem to have failed to tame Saddam -- and the current strategy cannot be sustained forever -- the world should try a new approach, Kandemir said.   "It is far better to have Iraq within the community of nations and to have them abide by the U.N. and international rules and procedures," he said.   "The carrot will be that they (Iraq) will be treated properly within the community of nations -- as a member of the United Nations, as a signatory of a number of international agreements, (instead of being) set aside (and) penalised," he continued.   "We have to start thinking in terms of some other ways of getting them under control."   Kandemir also disclosed that Turkey is providing aircraft to help the United States airlift 2,500 Americans, Kurds and Iraqi dissidents out of northern Iraq.   He denied Ankara had refused a U.S. request to use aircraft at Incirlik air base in Turkey carry out the missile strikes.   Washington never asked, he said.   "Unfortunately in some of the (U.S.) newspapers today there are complaints about the lack of cooperation from the Turkish side ... This is not true at all," he said.   He said Ankara has been in consultation with the United States and knew early on that certain people involved in the U.S. effort in northern Iraq to provide humanitarian aid to Kurds and mount an opposition to Saddam would have to be evacuated.   "From the very beginning we have been asked by the American administration to provide them with military planes, which we did -- C-130s ... We are still providing them with any assistance that might be needed," the envoy said.   He said the operation is still under way and likely to last a few more days.   Any delay on Turkey's side resulted because the operation is complicated and "we could not have started such a big and sensitive operation without knowing the details and talking to each other," he said.   The initial contingent evacuated to the Turkey-Iraq border involved Americans, including State Department and CIA officials.   Others were private humanitarian relief workers and Iraqis working with the Americans to overthrow Saddam.   Kandemir acknowledged Turkish concern that some of those trying to escape from Iraq may have been PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) guerrillas, who Ankara considers terrorists.   Iraqis being evacuated "will be interviewed by us and probably by the American authorities ... and we are told they will be taken to the United States," he said. 
13854 !GCAT !GCRIM !GHEA !GPOL !GREL  The nation's eight active Roman Catholic cardinals held an unprecedented prayer service at the Capitol Thursday to urge lawmakers to overturn President Clinton's veto of a bill banning certain late-term abortions.   Calling the "partial birth abortion" legislation to be debated by Congress this month a defining moral issue, the cardinals denied they were playing politics by holding the highly public prayer service so close to the election.   Cardinal Bernard Law, archbishop of Boston, said the Catholic church actively worked against the welfare reform bill recently signed by Clinton and pushed for health care and other social initiatives.   "The U.S. bishops ... more than any other group speak out consistently on behalf of life, family and the poor," Law said.   "We are here because what we face in partial birth abortion is an unparalleled yielding to the culture of death."   Bill supporters do not now have enough support in Congress to override the president's veto, which could make the coming vote likely symbolic, congressional aides said.   The abortion rights group Catholics for a Free Choice held its own news conference to charge that Catholic leaders were concentrating on abortion at the expense of other social issues such as housing, education and race relations.   "What saddens many Catholics is that the bishops continue to squander their moral authority on a virulent and vehement single-issue effort," said Frances Kissling, president of Catholics for a Free Choice.   The bishops held their prayer vigil and a news conference behind the West Front of the Capitol under threatening skies.   Elementary students milled about in the crowd, some carrying large signs graphically depicting the abortion procedure.   The legislation has become an issue in the presidential campaign as Clinton and Republican nominee Bob Dole compete for Catholic voters.   Dole supports the measure.   Clinton called the procedure "disturbing" and said he could not support it on an elective basis.   He said he had to veto the bill because it did not meet the constitutional requirement to protect the life and health of a woman.   A two-thirds vote of Congress is needed to override a presidential veto.   Passage marked the first time Congress had voted to outlaw a specific abortion procedure since the Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973.   The bill would outlaw a rare procedure performed in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy in which a fetus is partly delivered feet first, the skull collapsed and brains removed.   More than 90 percent of all abortions in the United States are performed in the first trimester of pregnancy.   The National Abortion Federation estimates that fewer than 600 abortions each year are performed in the third trimester.   Abortion rights supporters say the technique is needed to protect women who face health risks or are carrying a fetus with severe deformities and must terminate a wanted pregnancy. 
13855 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  The judge in the Oklahoma City bombing case on Thursday said prosecutors could not until further notice interview an FBI crime lab investigator and self-described whistle blower who may have information helping the defence.   "Counsel for the government in this criminal proceeding are restrained from conducting any interview of Dr. Frederic Whitehurst until further order of the court," U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch said in granting a temporary restraining order to stop the interview.   Whitehurst is believed to have information about operational problems at the FBI crime laboratory in Washington which could help McVeigh.   McVeigh's lawyers charged in a court filing that the meeting could have resulted in intimidating Whitehurst.   Whitehurst will also be interviewed for the Oklahoma City trial in a formal deposition at which attorneys for all sides will be present.   The judge stopped a "mandatory" meeting that prosecutors wanted to hold with Whitehurst alone or with his attorney, who would have been obliged to sign an agreement not to disclose details of the meeting.   A U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman said prosecutors represent the FBI and want to talk with Whitehurst as they would any other FBI agent who was to be deposed.   She said prosecutors on Monday will file a response to the judge's order.   She declined to characterise Whitehurst's role in the Oklahoma City bombing case or what areas the prosecutors wanted to discuss.   Whitehurst's complaints about the FBI lab have been disclosed in confidence to the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Inspector General, which is conducting a probe, Whitehurst's attorney said in a court filing.   In the past, Whitehurst had also complained about lab operations in the World Trade Centre bombing case. 
13856 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  The Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to ban handgun ownership by people convicted of spousal and child abuse, and House Democrats urged Speaker Newt Gingrich to permit a vote soon.   The Senate had already approved the handgun ban unanimously as part of anti-stalking legislation, but the bill was sent to President Clinton without the handgun rule because the House had not voted on the ban.   Federal law prevents convicted felons from owning handguns, but in cases of spousal and child abuse the conviction is often a misdemeanor, not a felony.   "Unfortunately, for many women and children who suffer in silence, home is a place of danger and death," said Sen. Frank Lautenberg, a New Jersey Democrat and author of the amendment.   "There is no reason why wife beaters and child abusers should have guns," he said.   He presented FBI data that showed nearly 3,500 women and children would die this year as victims of abuse by men and 65 percent of the women would be killed by firearms.   The measure passed on a voice vote of 92-2, with Democrats Howell Heflin of Alabama and Jeff Bingaman casting the only dissenting votes.   However, the handgun amendment was attached to a fiscal 1997 spending bill covering the Treasury Department and White House, which faces difficulty winning final Senate approval. 
13857 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Hurricane Hortense's maximum sustained winds reached 130 mph (209 kph) as it headed north through the Atlantic on Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said.   At 5 p.m.   EDT (2100 GMT), Hortense's center was near latitude 25.1 north and longitude 72.0 west, or about 730 miles (1,174 km) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and moving north near 12 mph (19 kph).   That motion was expected to continue during the next 24 hours.   Forecasters said they expected Hortense to continue to move north and eventually to turn toward the north-northeast, keeping the powerful storm from threatening the U.S. coast and eventually taking it over cool north Atlantic waters where it would lose strength. 
13858 !GCAT !GCRIM !GODD  A 71-year-old grandmother who tried to hold up a petrol station to pay her taxes was sentenced on Thursday to three years probation and ordered to wear an electronic monitor for a year.   Mary Ruth Blanco pleaded guilty to attempted robbery in a botched holdup at a petrol station in Pomona.   Prosecutors dropped a charge of using a gun in the commission of a crime.   Superior Court Judge David Milton sentenced the white-haired woman to three years probation and gave her a choice of one year in jail or a year of electronic monitoring.   She chose the electronic bracelet.   Wearing a knit cap, Blanco pointed a gun at a gas station clerk on May 4 and demanded money.   He refused to hand over any cash and she drove off, but he took down the license number of her pickup.   In July a tearful Blanco apologised to the clerk in court and said she had been suffering from an alergic reaction to an anti-depressant drug.   She said she was a diabetic and had to care for her daughter, son-in-law and baby granddaughter.   She said the incident was sparked by a notice from the federal tax collection agency claiming half her husband Raymond's pension check.   Then their mortgage company threatened to forclose on their house over unpaid property taxes.   Since her case made national headlines, Blanco received an outpouring of sympathy and cash from Americans and has managed to pay off many of her bills. 
13859 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  A Jewish group on Thursday called for a halt in disbursement of millions of dollars in Nazi gold still in the New York Federal Reserve Bank and Bank of England vaults because the money was not earmarked for Holocaust victims or their survivors.   The British Foreign Office revealed this week that the two national banks had more than 14,000 pounds (7,000 kilos) of confiscated Nazi gold in their vaults and that it was being disbursed by a three-nation commission to various countries.   "We demand that the gold be turned over to the victims of the Nazis who have been excluded by dastardly deals conducted under the table," said World Jewish Congress vice president Kalman Sultanik.   After the war, Britain, France and the United States set up the Tripartite Gold Commission to administer the return of gold that was looted by the Nazis during the Second World War and recovered by the Allies.   More than 50 years after the war, the commission has distributed about 99 percent of its holdings to 10 countries from whom the Nazis looted gold.   Meanwhile, an international controversy has erupted over whether Switzerland managed to keep the bulk of Nazi gold deposited in that country during the war.   The British Foreign Office said this week that when the war ended, Switzerland held $500 million worth of gold bought from the Nazis -- about $6.5 billion at today's prices -- and paid out less than one-tenth to the Allied powers.   Swiss banks agreed in May to set up an independent commission to search for accounts possibly left behind by Jews killed in the Holocaust.   But the Swiss government has not reacted directly to the revelations from Britain, except to point to a broader inquiry being launched into the role of Swiss banks and companies in Nazi business and expected to get legislative backing next year. 
13860 !GCAT !GVIO  The Pentagon on Thursday confirmed Iraqi claims that Iraqi forces fired three anti-aircraft missiles in southern Iraq, but said the missiles were "fired blindly" and did not come anywhere near allied warplanes patrolling a no fly zone.   "We used 'national technical means' (satellites or spyplanes) and determined that the missiles had been fired," said Air Force Col. Doug Kennett, a Pentagon spokesman, hours after Iraq said its air defense units fired three missiles at Western warplanes patrolling the zone.    "At 1415 hours (6:15 a.m.   EDT) our air defence systems confronted the aggressors' aircraft and one of our units in the southern sector fired three surface-to-air missiles against hostile targets, forcing them to flee," Iraqi state television, quoting an Iraqi military spokesman, said.   Kennett confirmed the report after several earlier U.S. denials of the firings, but said no U.S. or other warplanes were in the area when the firings occurred. 
13861 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The United States on Thursday expressed concern over the arrest of Chinese democracy activist Fu Guoyong and called on Beijing to release him and other dissidents.   Fu was detained in July in Taiyuan in central Shanxi province, but the news was only released on Wednesday by his family.   Police were quoted as saying he had engaged in illegal political activities, but no charges are known to have been filed.   State Department spokesman Glyn Davies said he wanted "to express our concern at this detention as well as those of others in similar circumstances."   "We continue to monitor the situation and we urge the Chinese government to release without delay all those imprisoned solely for the peaceful expression of their political or social views or for practicing their religious beliefs," Davies told reporters.   Fu, 29, had previously been sentenced to two years of labour reform for his role in the student-led pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square which ended in a bloody military crackdown June 4, 1989.   It was the second time in three days that the United States had called on China to free a political detainee.   On Tuesday the State Department urged Beijing to release Bao Tong, a former senior Chinese official who has been held under house arrest since completing a jail term in May. 
13862 !C42 !CCAT !E14 !E141 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The economic forces that caused a stagnation in real wages in America for more than a decade are likely to persist and bring harder times for workers caught by the trend, a study released Thursday said.   The study released by the Competitiveness Policy Council said that families were working harder and that despite recent modest improvements in pay, hourly wages for American workers are about $1.20 below their 1973 peak.   One of the authors of the new report, Larry Mishel, research director at the Economic Policy Institute, told a conference that an expected move by the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates will hurt low wage workers just as they are starting to make some headway in improving real incomes for the first time in years.   "Just as workers are getting to the table, they want to pull the chair back," Mishel said.   Washington consultant C. Fred Bergsten, who is Chairman of the Competitiveness Council, noted that for the last two years unemployment has been below the 6 percent rate that many economists believed would spark a round of wage increase demands and inflaton.   With no indication that inflation is about to take off, Bergsten said he saw no case for the Fed to raise interest rates.   Many economists believe Federal Reserve policymakers will soon raise interest rates, possibly as early as their next meeting, scheduled for Sept. 24.   The report called "Running in Place" said that other forces driving wages lower -- fewer workers belonging to unions, trade liberalisation and a shift of employment to low wage service industries -- are likely to continue.   That trend, the report said, suggests hard times ahead for for the groups of workers that have already experienced difficulties in recent years.   The study found that workers with less than a college degree, some three out of four, have suffered the greatest declines in incomes.   The council, which commissioned the study, is a bipartisam federal advisory board that includes business executives, labour union officials, government officials and academics. 
13863 !GCAT !GCRIM  A federal court judge reluctantly declined Thursday to force a Colorado athletic body to bend its rules on age to permit a 20-year-old with Down's syndrome to play high school football.   U.S. District Court Judge Zita Weinshienk said it was not appropriate for the court to act as a rule maker for the Colorado High School Activities Association.   She declined to grant a temporary restraining order against the group.   The association's bylaws say high school athletes are not eligible to play in the school year that begins in the fall if they turn 19 before Aug. 1.   But Weinshienk several times made clear where her sympathies lay, saying "there's no question (that) if I were calling the shots, I wouldn't have a moment's hesitation" in allowing Gabriel Lane to play football at Greeley Central High School, about 50 miles north of Denver.   Lane is honorary captain of the football team, but he has already missed two games and the season ends Nov. 1.   He sued the association under the Americans With Disabilities Act, which calls for disabled people to be integrated into society's daily activities.   The athletic association's lawyer, Alex Halpern, told the judge that the age rule existed throughout the United States and was designed to protect younger high school athletes from being injured by older players.   But Lane, who is 5 feet 3 inches (158 cm) tall, would only take part in one or two plays a game, his lawyer, John Culver, argued.   "He's slower than other people his age.   He's slower than other people who play football," Culver said.   He said he would follow Weinshienk's suggestion and ask the association to change its rule. 
13864 !GCAT !GSCI  Archaeologists have found the remains of one of the first English settlers in North America while digging for a fort built by Captain John Smith in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607.   The Virginia newspaper Daily Press quoted forensic anthropologist Doug Owsley of the Smithsonian Institute as saying the skeleton was of a white male in his early 20's.   "It was a violent death," Owsley was quoted as saying.   He had a wound to his right leg caused by a musketball and also a defect in his right shoulder which could also be from a musketball, Owsley said.   He dated the death to the earliest period of the 1607 settlement, based on artifacts discovered around the grave.   The remains were believed to be of an important figure because he was buried in a coffin, which was rare in early settlements, Oswley said.   Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in North America.   Archaeologists have been searching for two years for the remains of a wooden fort built by Captain John Smith, who earned lasting fame from his relationship with Indian maiden Pocahontas. 
13865 !GCAT !GENT !GOBIT !GPRO  Movie actress Joanne Dru, a heroine of countless Hollywood Westerns including the classics "Red River" and "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon", has died, her brother's spokesman said on Thursday.   She was 74.   The agent for U.S. game show host Peter Marshall said Dru died at her home in Beverly Hills on Tuesday night.   She had been suffering from lymphedema.   Dru, whose first husband was singer and actor Dick Haymes, complained that she was type-cast in Westerns and that when the genre declined in the 1960's, her career waned as well.   "Once you're typed, you're lost," she told Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper in 1957.   After her first film "Abie's Irish Rose" in 1946, Dru was spotted sunbathing by legendary director Howard Hawks, who immediately put her under contract for "Red River".   A year after "Red River", she appeared in John Ford's "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" in 1949, opposite John Wayne.   "Right after I made 'Red River', all I had submitted to me was Western subjects," Dru once told the Los Angeles Times.   "It seemed to be settled that this was the kind of picture that I should play in."   Despite her admitted fear of horses and the physical punishment of filming on location, Dru appeared in many other Westerns, including Ford's "Wagon Master", "Light in the Forest" with Fess Parker, "Return of the Texan" with Dale Robertson, "The Warriors" and "Durango".   She appeared in a few non-Westerns, including "Pride of St. Louis".   On television she appeared in some "Playhouse 90" productions and in the short-lived Western series, "Guestwood Ho!"   Dru, born Joanne LaCock in Logan, West Virginia, moved to New York with her widowed mother and began her career as a model and singing in Broadway chorus lines.   After divorcing Haymes, she married actor John Ireland and later married developer C.V. Wood.   She had two children, six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. 
13866 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  Republicans heaped criticism on President Bill Clinton's Iraq policy on Thursday, with former Secretary of State James Baker accusing Clinton of a "failure of leadership."   Vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp appealed to Clinton to "explain to the American people his policy goals in Iraq," saying Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is succeeding in his own goals.   Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi said there is "growing concern on the Republican side" about Clinton's Iraq policy.   "What's the policy?"   he told reporters.   "What's the endgame?   What has been done or not been done over the past several months?"   "We have made our objectives very clear," insisted U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Madeleine Albright.   She said U.S. goals are the same ones Republican President George Bush had during the 1991 Gulf War: "Not to allow Saddam Hussein to be a threat to the neighbourhood and not to allow him to cross the borders."   Speaking on CNN's "Talk Back Live," Albright threw some of the criticism back at Republicans, saying the Bush administration should have treated Saddam more sternly before he was emboldened to invade Kuwait in 1990.   "We have learned a lesson from those years," she said.   Baker, who was secretary of state during the 1991 Gulf War, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Clinton should have hit Iraq harder in cruise missile strikes last week.   "I don't think that our response was strong enough," Baker said.   "Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, only understands force.   And more to the point, it only seems to understand overwhelming force."   "We ought to at least consider military targets in and around Baghdad and Republican Guard units north of the 36th parallel," Baker said.   "Those would, I think, send the clearest message to the Iraqi people and to the Iraqi leadership that we really mean business and that we're serious."   The United States launched 44 cruise missiles against Iraqi air defences in the southern no-fly zone early last week.   The aim was to punish Iraqi forces for attacking the Iran-aided Kurdish faction in the north and to eliminate Iraqi missiles threatening allied planes enforcing the no-fly zone in the south.   Clinton also expanded the no-fly zone to Baghdad's southern border.   Baker accused Clinton of failing to hold together the allied coalition that won the Gulf War.   He said Clinton also failed to avert a power vacuum created by a Kurdish civil war in northern Iraq "into which Saddam Hussein has now adroitly moved."   "This represents a defeat for U.S. policy that, like the demise of the coalition, is attributable at least in part to a failure of leadership," Baker said.   Kemp charged Saddam has succeeded in his goals -- extending his control over northern Iraq, fracturing the U.S.-led alliance, driving a wedge between America and Europe, encouraging radical Arab factions in their hatred of the United States, and continuing development of deadly weapons.   "Saddam Hussein's goals are clear," he said.   "Bill Clinton must tell us what our goals are and how we can achieve them." 
13867 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Los Angeles County's Board of Supervisors approved on Thursday $90.6 million in cuts in a bid to balance the fiscal year 1996-1997 budget.   The cuts were approved by a vote of 5-to-0.   The county faced a $58 million fund balance shortfall in the general fund, a $20 million countywide cost allocation gap in addition to other funding problems, according to county chief administrative officer David Janssen.   In order to resolve the $90.6 million problem, the board agreed to certain departmental cost reductions and to the partial transfer of revenues from the mental health account.    The shortfall will also be addressed with countywide reductions in salaries and employee benefits.   The Board of Supervisors was expected to act on other budget matters later Thursday. 
13868 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole widened his lead over President Bill Clinton in the latest Texas voters' poll released on Thursday.   Dole was supported by 49 percent of voters surveyed compared to 38 percent for Clinton and five percent for Reform Party nominee and Texan Ross Perot, the newspaper said.   The poll of 803 likely voters was conducted on Sept. 6-8 by Mason-Dixon Political/Media Research Inc. and had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points, the newspaper said.   A poll conducted by the firm in July showed Dole leading the president by a 46-39 percent margin in Texas, with Perot favoured by five percent of the voters surveyed.   Perot, a Dallas billionaire, has been steadily falling out of favour with home-state voters.   Only 12 percent of the voters polled last weekend said they viewed the Texan favourably. 
13869 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPRO  Chemicals heir John E. duPont was likely to start his murder trial without two defence lawyers who were seeking permission Thursday to withdraw from the case, officials said.   DuPont is charged with murdering Olympic champion wrestler David Schultz in January, but the trial has been held up while authorities determine whether the defendant is competent.   Attorneys Richard Sprague and William Lamb filed petitions with Judge Patricia Jenkins Wednesday, saying duPont had fired them.   The district attorney did not object to the withdrawal.   The Philadelphia Daily News reported Thursday that the lawyers said DuPont saw them leave a psychiatric meeting Monday with a prosecution expert and accused them of plotting against him with the CIA.   DuPont also claims to be the Dalai Lama for North America.   Jenkins has not ruled on the petitions but promised to have a decision by Monday.   If Sprague and Lamb leave the defence team, the trial may not start Sept. 30 as scheduled, and a hearing next week on duPont's competence may be postponed.   DuPont, 58, had been a coach and wrestling enthusiast at Villanova University and later built an Olympic-scale training centre on his Foxcatcher Farm estate.   He hired Schultz to be his coach.   Prosecutors have decided that DuPont will not face the death penalty for the shooting of Schultz.   DuPont remains in Delaware County Jail after defence lawyers lost an attempt to move him to a psychiatric hospital. 
13870 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Eight U.S. F-117A "stealth" fighters took off from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico on Thursday on their way to the Gulf to beef-up U.S. forces for possible new strikes against Iraq, defence officials said.   The radar-avoiding jets left at about 2:30 p.m.   New Mexico time 2030 GMT on a 20-hour, non-stop flight that will take them to a base in Kuwait late on Friday.   They will be refuelled in the air en route by an Air Force tanker aircraft. 
13871 !GCAT !GSCI  Crickets flying through a summer night may face a tough choice -- seek companionship or turn into bat food.   "Crickets have to make a yes-or-no decision in a hurry, and ones that waffle become bat bait," said Cornell University researcher Robert Wyttenbach, whose experiment on cricket perception appears appears on Friday in the journal Science.   The choice comes because crickets must differentiate between two key sounds of the cacophony of the night, according to Wyttenbach, who gave the insects a perception test originally designed for human babies.   One is a low-frequency chirp made by other crickets.   The other is ultrasound that helps bats track down, or "echolocate," their evening snacks.   Making a beeline for the other crickets might mean finding a mate, but not if it means failing to steer far enough away from the bats, according to Cornell neurobiologist Ronald Hoy.   Hoy established part of this scenario years ago, showing that crickets can detect bats' ultrasound.   In this study, scientists figured out how the insect chooses between good sounds and bad.   That process is called "categorical perception," which "may be a basic and widespread feature of sensory systems, from humans to invertebrates," the researchers wrote.   Tethered crickets were put in a cricket flight chamber where, thanks to a fan and some wired-in sound, they thought they were flying.   The scientists played sounds at 20kHz -- bat frequency -- over and over again until the crickets got blase.   They then tried to get the bugs back to normal behaviour by playing a variety of sounds at other frequencies.   They found that 16 kHz was the dividing line.   Above that frequency, crickets responded to a "foe."   Below, they deemed a "friend." 
13872 !GCAT !GSCI  In the latest glimpse into the basic biology of hunger, scientists have learned that a brain hormone identified less than a year ago can suppress the appetite without causing stress or similar side effects.   The research, by scientists at the Salk Institute of Biological Studies and the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, will appear on Friday in the journal Science.   The experiments on the hormone, called urocortin, were performed on rats.   Much more research needs to be done before scientists know whether the discovery can be harnessed to help control human obesity or treat eating disorders like anorexia.   Urocortin, discovered by Salk scientists last November, appears related to another hormone, corticotropin releasing factor, or CRF, which plays a role in stress and in the relationship between stress and appetite loss.   But according to the new rat research, urocortin has a stronger effect on hunger and appetitite than CRF does, without the stress factor.   In one experiment, lab rats were not fed for 24 hours.   Then one group of rats was injected with urocortin.   A control group was not.   The rats that had the injection ate much less than those that did not receive the hormone.   And the bigger the dose of urocortin the bigger the drop in food consumption.   The effect of the hormone was also studied on rats that were not deprived of food all day.   Those that had the injection of the hormone ate the same number of meals as those that did not get the treatment.   But their meals were smaller.   That result is similar to the pattern seen in humans taking the new drug Redux.   Unlike CRF, urocortin did not induce stress or anxiety in animals, suggesting that there is at least a possibility that drugs could be developed to mimic or raise the hormone levels without these side effects. 
13873 !C22 !CCAT !GCAT !GODD  Plastic replacement testicles for neutered dogs are selling briskly in the United States and Canada and the manufacturer plans to market its unusual product -- called Neuticles -- in Britain.   Since they were launched in March, Neuticles have been implanted in 817 American dogs, said CTI Corp president and Neuticles inventor Gregg Miller, of Buckner, Missouri.   "We're doing six to 10 U.S. implants per day," he said, adding that sales campaigns in Britain -- where pets are revered -- and South Africa are planned.   "People are aghast when they hear about Neuticles to begin with.   If you're not a dog owner, it seems silly," Miller said.   But he said implants may help reduce a growing unwanted pet population by encouraging squeamish owners to go get their pets neutered.   "Before you only had one option ... With these, the dog looks the same.   He feels the same.   He doesn't even know he's been neutered," Miller said.   Jelly bean-shaped Neuticles come in five sizes -- suitable for dogs from Chihuahuas to Great Danes -- and range in price from $28 for an extra-small pair to $32 for large.   They are implanted into the scrotum in a two-minute procedure immediately following removal of the natural testicles.   "We think it's kind of silly but if this is going to be something that encourages owners to have their dogs neutered, then fine," said Martha Armstrong, spokeswoman for the Humane Society of the United States in Washington.   Dr. Alan Lipowitz, a Minneapolis-based veterinarian and an officer of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, said it was not known whether dogs suffer psychologically from neutering.   "But if it makes the owner feel better and doesn't do any harm to the dog, then good," he said.   A former journalist and candy company owner, Miller got the idea for Neuticles after his bloodhound Buck lost his doghood.   "I felt bad, Buck felt bad," he said.   "It dawned on me that this 200-year-old procedure needed to be updated."   Miller contacted veterinarian Dr. Richard Holder.   "When I first told him my idea, he said I was crazy," Miller said.   But Holder agreed to develop the implantation procedure and, after 3-1/2 years of research, Neuticles are a reality.   No complications have been reported and veterinarians around the country are ordering the product.   Implants for cats are under development, Miller said.   "This is big news in the veterinary industry," he said.   "We even have 'I love Neuticles' bumper stickers available." 
13874 !GCAT !GODD !GWEA  The United States is in the middle of its annual hurricane season, an event forecasters say leads to a flood of queries over the unusual names often given to big storms.   "The calls are very specific -- why Hortense?   -- and are only from Americans," said Eirah Gorre-Dale, spokeswoman for the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) in Geneva, Switzerland, during a telephone interview on Thursday.   Hortense grew into a powerful Category 3 hurricane this week.   Its name comes from the Latin word meaning garden.   The hurricane was blamed for about two dozen deaths in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic where it was called "Hortensia", a common name in Latin America.   The WMO, which has its headquarters in Geneva, picks and assigns names alphabetically to powerful storms.   Hortense, for example, will be followed by Isidore, a Spanish male name derived from the Greek words for fertility and gift.   In 2001, Allison will be the first and Wendy the last.   Storms spinning across the Atlantic carry Dutch, French, Spanish and English names to coincide with the ethnic populations in North America, the Caribbean, Central America and South America, which are often in the storms' paths.   "The names chosen are names fairly commonly used in all of these countries," said Don Vickers, also from the WMO.   "Any one hurricane may affect any one of these countries."   Gorre-Dale said some callers asked forecasters if they could get a hurricane named after a grandson or granddaughter.   "Would you want a hurricane named after you?   I wouldn't," she said.   Gorre-Dale's daughter Jasmine was named after a hurricane in 1994, but her mother is quick to say this was a coincidence and not due to her influence.   The history of naming hurricanes goes back hundreds of years.   Until the 20th Century, hurricanes were named after the particular saint's day on which the hurricane occurred.   The practice of assigning female names to hurricanes and tropical storms was widely used during the Second World War and continued until 1979, when men's names were added. 
13875 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV !GPOL  Supporters of a flow control/interstate waste proposal expressed disappointment on Thursday after U.S. House-Senate negotiators cut it from a fiscal 1996 funding bill for U.S. energy and water programs.   "As long as I have breath and am in the Senate, I will continue to fight for the right of Hoosiers to say 'no' to out-of-state trash," a bitter Indiana Sen. Dan Coats, R, said in a press statement.   "My reaction is disappointment," Diane Shea, associate legislative director for energy and environment at the National Association of Counties, said in a telephone interview.   House-Senate conferees dropped the provisions during a marathon drafting session yesterday following objections from Rep. John Myers, R-Ind., chairman of a key subpanel of the House Appropriations Committee.   Myers said it would be inappropriate to attach such "authorizing" language to an annual appropriations measure.   Shea said she was surprised that Myers took such a "hard line" approach on adding the measure.   "More local governments will be hurting.   The disintegration of local systems will continue.   It's already started, and it can't go anywhere but down," Shea said.   Shea said backers of the provisions need to find another bill to which they can attach the language.   "We need to look at what other appropriations bills are yet to be passed."   Coats said, "We have resolved the issue in the Senate, passing anti-trash legislation twice in the 104th Congress alone, and five times since I've been in the Senate.   This problem is a House problem."   Coats had engineered the surprise Senate vote this summer where flow control/interstate waste language was tacked on to the energy and water funding bill.   Flow control refers to the ability of states and localities to dictate where locally generated trash can be sent for disposal.   Coats' amendment was the same flow control-solid waste language approved by the Senate in May 1995.   That provision would protect for 30 years billions of dollars of tax-exempt revenue bonds issued to construct trash plants.   --Vicky Stamas, 202-898-8314 
13876 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  By Alan Elsner, U.S. Political Correspondent   Two new polls gave President Bill Clinton a commanding lead over Republican Bob Dole on Thursday as the two camps began negotiations on the upcoming presidential debates.   A Los Angeles Times poll of likely voters gave Clinton 54 percent, Dole 37 percent with 8 percent for Texas billionaire Ross Perot.   A Pew Research Centre survey of registered voters produced similar figures: Clinton 52 percent, Dole 34 percent, Perot 8 percent.   Both surveys portrayed an electorate generally optimistic about the state of the economy and showed Dole's ambitious plan to cut income tax rates by 15 percent was not attracting wide support.   Looking at individual state polls, Clinton led in 35 states, 28 of them beyond the statistical margin of error.   Dole led in 14, only three beyond the margin of error.   Campaign officials on Thursday began negotiations on the format of the presidential debates, the first of which was tentatively scheduled for Sept 25.   The meeting was not expected to produce any firm decisions and further talks were anticipated next week.   The key issue was whether Perot should be allowed to participate.   A bipartisan commission proposed three presidential and one vice-presidential debates.   The commission was to make a recommendation by Monday about Perot.   Campaigning in Kentucky, Dole said he welcomed the opportunity to face Clinton but tried to keep expectations about his performance low.   "President Clinton is a very smooth talker, and I'll be facing him in debates one of these days," Dole said.   "I think if I show up, I win, because he is supposed to be so good, so good at a lot of things."   Dole also complained about Clinton's negative campaign advertisements, which he termed "character assassination."   "They'll say Bob Dole's a decent man and then comes the axe.   And it comes every day.   It comes every hour on your TV set.   Millions and millions ... of dollars in negative ads," Dole said.   "They're going to try to frighten all of you.   They're going to tell you that Bob Dole ... is an extremist."   The Dole campaign dealt with a minor embarrassment when an unpaid consultant resigned after supermarket tabloids reported he and his wife had advertised for group sex.   The consultant, Roger Stone, said he was the victim of a dirty trick.   Clinton was on his 27th trip to California, a state that accounts for one-fifth of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the Nov. 5 election.   The 50-year-old president, vying to become the first Democratic president since Franklin Roosevelt elected to a second term, discussed education policy and was due to wind up at a glitzy Hollywood fundraising gala.   He led Dole in California by more than 20 points.   The Iraq crisis rumbled on, meanwhile, with Clinton administration officials continuing to threaten President Saddam Hussein with military action and Republicans criticising Clinton's performance.   Former Secretary of State James Baker told the Senate Armed Services Committee that although Clinton appeared to be readying more strikes against Iraq, he should have hit harder in the first strike last week.   Baker also said Clinton failed to hold together the allied coalition that won the 1991 Gulf War and failed to avoid a power vacuum created by Kurdish civil war in northern Iraq "into which Saddam Hussein has now adroitly moved." 
13877 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP !GVIO  The United States will move the aircraft carrier Enterprise from the Adriatic Sea into the Red Sea within days, giving U.S. forces a second carrier in the region for possible air strikes against Iraq, U.S. defense officials said on Thursday.   The Enterprise, with about 75 warplanes aboard, would move through the Suez Canal and be stationed in the Red Sea within striking distance of Iraq.   The aircraft carrier Carl Vinson is already in the Gulf southeast of Iraq.    The defence officials, who asked not to be identified, said U.S. planners had decided to shift the carrier to the area as a precautionary measure as tensions built between Washington and Baghdad.   Enterprise warplanes include F-14 fighters recently modified to carry accurate laser-guided bombs.   They would beef up a force that includes four B-52 bombers sent to the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia and eight U.S. "stealth" fighters ordered to Kuwait from the United States.   "The Enterprise would bring more air power to the region," Defence Department spokesman Ken Bacon told reporters earlier in announcing that the United States was considering moving the carrier. 
13878 !GCAT !GHEA !GWELF  New York State's new healthcare bill, signed into law by Gov. George Pataki on Thursday, aims to increase competition among the providers of health care by phasing out state set reimbursement rates.   Following are highlights of the measure:   --Starting January 1, 1997, lets commercial insurers, Blue Cross plans, workers' compensation, self-insured funds and private payers negotiate rates with hospitals.   --Provides $1.385 billion to help hospitals pay for graduate medical education.   --Pays hosptals $738 million to treat uninsured, indigent patients, according to a new formula.   --Adds an 8.18 percent surcharge to inpatient and outpatient hospital bills and services to fund a $1.3 billion pool to reimburse hospitals for uncompensated care and pay for some public health programs.   --Expands state Child Health Plus insurance for children of the working poor by four years, from birth to 18 years old, instead of stopping coverage at 14 years of age as previously.   --Gives $20 million to rural healthcare facilities.   --Provides $50 million to retrain hospital employees to help them find new jobs in the industry.   --U.S. Municipal Desk, 212-859-1650 
13879 !C18 !C183 !CCAT !GCAT !GENT !GENV  A few years ago, the Pittsburgh Zoo was struggling with dwindling attendance and was being run by a city facing a budget crisis and unable to meet its funding requirements.   To save itself, the zoo spun itself off from the city and into private hands, making Pittsburgh part of an unlikely but popular new trend in municipal finance -- a wave of zoo privatisations that has stretched across the country.   "Ten years ago, 60 percent of accredited zoos in the country were run by municipalities or county governments," said Barbara Baker, president and chief executive officer of the Pittsburgh Zoo.   Today, she said, 60 percent of the nation's 172 accredited zoos are privately run.   Baker, a former zoo veterinarian who also has a master's degree in business, said her office constantly receives phone calls from zoo officials across the country who are interested in privatisation.   "It's a growing trend," she said.   "Governments are re-evaluating what they can afford to do and what they should be involved in."   The Pittsburgh Zoo became privately owned in January 1994 and since then has more than doubled its working budget.   Capital projects have expanded, educational programmes have grown and attendance has soared.   Bob Luffy, chairman of the Zoological Society of Pittsburgh, which now runs the zoo, said the zoo's outlook was sharply different before 1994.   "Things were pretty bleak.   Had the city continued to run it, the place would have physically deteriorated.   There would have been no capital funding, no new programmes," he said.   Pittsburgh began considering privatising the zoo four years ago, when it faced a budget crisis.   At that time, the zoo's annual budget was $3.2 million.   The city provided $1.1 million of that amount and the zoo was relying on falling attendance for the rest, Baker said.   The zoo also received no funding from the county government, although most of its visitors lived outside city limits.   "The city questioned who should run the zoo," Baker said.   "We were not a top priority."   To convince city officials the zoo should be privatised, Baker had a secret weapon -- a banana.   She tracked a banana from the time it was ordered through city contractors to the time it was delivered to the zoo and then calculated the cost.   "Do you know how many people touched the paperwork for one banana?   Thirty-eight," she said.   "And the overhead cost was well over $300.   It was cheaper for us just to go to (a produce distributor) and buy it ourselves."   The 77-acre zoo is now run by the Zoological Society, which formerly existed as a separate fund-raising body for the zoo.   The society has 61 board members.   Since privatisation, the zoo's annual budget has grown to $7 million.   Most of the budget is drawn from attendance but the zoo also receives part of a 1 percent county sales tax.   Full-time staff has increased to 83 people from 45 and new projects include a Children's Zoo that opened last year.   Attendance has swelled to more than 725,000 people so far this year, vs. 450,000 for all of 1990.   The zoo has also increased the number of endangered species it has on site.   Kevin Bell, director of Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, said privatisation among zoos will likely continue because of the success zoos are experiencing once they are no longer under government auspices.   Lincoln Park Zoo was privatised last year.   "It's been amazing to see the speed at which we can now get jobs done," he said.   Lincoln Park Zoo charges no admission, raising money instead through fundraising and a fixed subsidy from the Chicago Park District, which formerly ran the zoo.   The zoo is now run by the Lincoln Park Zoo Society, an entity similar to the Zoological Society in Pittsburgh.   Before the zoo became privately owned, Bell said, "we were growing in the number of educational programmes we offer.   The Chicago Park District told us it would be hard for them to keep up with the funding we needed."   Bell said the zoo is now able to contract out many services, including landscaping and building management, which has saved money.   "We're able to do a lot more for a lot less," he said. 
13880 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  The U.S. Senate on Thursday put off a planned debate on the long-delayed ratification of the chemical weapons treaty, apparently at the request of the Clinton administration, which had feared defeat on the issue.   The Chemical Weapons Convention, signed by the United States and other countries in 1991, would ban the acquisition, development, production, stockpiling, transfer and use of chemical weapons.   Republican Party leadership sources said the treaty was withdrawn at the request of the administration because it feared it would not get the required two-thirds majority.   They said the treaty would not be revived for Senate consideration before Congress adjourns around the end of the month to campaign for elections on November 5.   Anulment of a June agreement to consider the treaty before September 14 was announced to the Senate by Republican Leader Trent Lott.   Lott and the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Jesse Helms, were the treaty's leading opponents in the Senate.   Opposition to the treaty had been building before the scheduled debate.   Senate defeat of the convention would have been the first for an arms control treaty.   In an article in USA Today, Helms said the treaty would do nothing to protect Americans from the threat of poison gas and would improve "rogue" nations' access to chemical agents, impose new regulations on U.S. businesses and expose them to unprecedented inspections by international regulators. 
13881 !GCAT !GDIP  Turkey is providing aircraft to help the United States airlift 2,500 Americans, Kurds and Iraqi dissidents out of northern Iraq, Ankara's ambassador to Washington said on Thursday.   The envoy, Nuzhet Kandemir, also said that since force seems to have failed to tame Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the world should try a new strategy such as offering to treat Iraq "properly within the community of nations."    "Unfortunately in some of the newspapers today there are complaints about the lack of cooperation from the Turkish side ... This is not true at all," Kandemir said at a lunch he hosted for Washington-based reporters.   He said Ankara had been in full consultations with the Americans and knew early on in the current crisis with Baghdad that certain individuals involved in the U.S. effort in northern Iraq to provide humanitarian aid to Kurds and mount an opposition to Saddam would have to be evacuated.   "From the very beginning we have been asked by the American administration to provide them with military planes, which we did -- C-130s ... We are still providing them with any assistance that might be needed," the envoy said.   He said the operation is still underway and is likely to last a few more days.   Any delay on the Turkish side resulted because the operation is complicated and "we could not have started such a big and sensitive operation without knowing the details and talking to each other." 
13882 !C13 !C18 !C181 !C34 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Lawyers for the Lexis-Nexis division of Anglo-Dutch publishing and information group Reed Elsevier on Thursday filed a motion to intervene in opposition to approval for Thomson Corp's $3.4 billion acquisition of West Publishing Co.   Gary Reback, of the Palo Alto law firm Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, said the motion was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia this morning.   "We're seeking here to intervene in the case and oppose the entry of the settlement," he said, adding the merger would combine the two largest U.S. legal publishers.    The action is an 11th hour attempt to pressure Thomson, since its acquisition has already proceeded after the Justice Department and seven state attorneys general agreed to settlement, contingent on diverstiture and licencing actions, of an antitrust suit they had filed in federal district court.   Under that accord in mid-June, Thomson agreed to sell more than 50 legal publications valued at more than $275 million and to license to all comers the page numbering system for which West has copyright at a "significantly lower" cost than that paid by electronic distributor Lexis-Nexis.    Legal experts said that while courts generally rubber stamp consent decrees, the action may force the Thomson group to follow through diligently on the settlement stipulations.   The court filing draws attention to what it describes as "a striking disjunction" between the Justice Deparmtment's allegations and the Proposed Final Judgment remedies.   It argues the proposed decree does not adequately preserve existing competition and that in some cases the divestitures only involved certain assets rather than business units.   Lawyers for Thomson were not immediately available for comment on the filing.    The Taxpayer Assets Project, a Ralph Nader group monitoring use of government resources, was among several groups which filed to participate as a friend of the court in the Nexis-Lexis action.   James Love, director of the Taxpayer Assets Project, said in the consent decree that "even the divestitures were less than meet the eye."   "We found that there were elements of really important key parts of the products they were supposed to divest which were not going to be divested," he said.   "They kind of gutted the usefullness of the products themselves..."   "The licensing terms were just outrageous," he added.   "In a lot of ways we think, like I think other people, that we're better off without the consent order than with the consent order," he said.   "The consent order gives the appearance that the government's acting to protect against anti-competitive practices.   We don't think that's the case." 
13883 !GCAT !GENV !GHEA  Scientists believe thousands of pelicans that died at a California wildlife reserve may have been killed by avian botulism caused by eating infected fish.   So far 6,266 pelicans have died at the Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge in the Imperial Valley, some 150 miles (240 km) east of San Diego.   In all 8,672 birds of 51 species died in the past month.   Toni Rocke, an animal epidemiologist for the National Wildlife Health Research Centre in Madison, Wisconsin, found the deadly botulism in 40 percent of 70 fish sampled from the inland sea, a spokeswoman said.   "Dr. Rocke is positive right now in saying the source of botulism in pelicans is the fish," said Susan Saul, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.   "What we don't know is whether the pelicans are eating sick fish, dead fish or live fish to get the botulism."   Avian botulism has been known to kill waterfowl that eat maggots found in dead fish, but pelicans do not eat maggots or dead fish.   They generally eat only live fish.   How the fish acquired the toxin, "we don't know," Saul said. 
13884 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  The United States has deployed a growing patchwork of troops and military hardware to the Gulf area surrounding Iraq, including more than 250 land-based and sea-based warplanes.   About 20,000 U.S. military personnel are now stationed in the area, including roughly 11,000 sailors and marines aboard 21 warships in the Gulf, defense officials said.   Saudi Arabia is host to about 5,000 U.S. military personnel and Kuwait to as many as 3,000.   About 1,200 are based at Incirlik in Turkey along with about 60 U.S. aircraft to support the "no fly" zone over northern Iraq.   U.S. aircraft are also temporarily based in Jordan.   The backbone of the U.S. presence in the Gulf is the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, which carries 81 combat and support aircraft.   Among the embarked aircraft are 20 F/A-18C "Hornet" multi-role fighters, 18 F-14D "Tomcat" air superiority fighters, 12 A-6E "Intruder" attack jets, four EA-6B "Prowler" electronic combat jets and four E-2C "Hawkeye" Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft.   The Pentagon is considering sending a second aircraft carrier, the Enterprise, now in the Adriatic off Bosnia, to the Gulf region, a Pentagon spokesman said on Thursday.   Of the other 20 Navy warships in the Gulf, six can fire Tomahawk cruise missiles, the weapon used in punitive attacks last week after an Iraqi onslaught on a Kurdish faction.   In addition, eight Army and Marine "prepositioned" ships are in the Gulf, one of them with enough hardware to equip a Marine Expeditionary Force of 17,500 personnel, a Pentagon spokesman said.   Eight radar-evading F-117A "Nighthawk" stealth fighters designed to drop 2,000-pound (908 kg) laser-guided bombs with great accuracy, were leaving for Kuwait on Thursday from their base in New Mexico.   The Pentagon has already moved four B-52 bombers with cruise missiles to the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia.   Military experts said U.S. forces in the region were not shaped for ground combat in Iraq, but for smaller missions, including patrolling the zones in the north and south where the United States and its allies are preventing Iraqi warplanes from flying.   Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Piers Wood, who is chief of staff of the private Center for Defense Information, said U.S. forces had been deployed in the Gulf mainly as a symbolic deterrent to Iraq.   Wood said he expected President Bill Clinton's military response to Iraq's latest actions to be limited by heightened election-year sensitivity to any U.S. losses or international reaction to any Iraqi civilian casualties.   "I think we're going to be limited to using F-117s at night in remote areas" to minimize the political fallout at home and abroad, he said. 
13885 !C11 !C13 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIP  Construction of two North Korean nuclear reactors will start within weeks under a pact in which Pyongyang froze its suspected development of nuclear weapons, the head of a U.S.-led consortium said on Thursday.   But Stephen Bosworth, executive director of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO), said the group was having difficulty finding money to supply North Korea with heavy fuel oil, a key part of the 1994 Geneva agreement signed by the United States and North Korea.   "We plan to be in a position that we can mobilize our contractor and begin some physical work at the site within the next several weeks, certainly before the onset of harsh winter weather in North Korea in November and December," Bosworth told reporters in a telephone news conference.   Under the $4.5 billion deal, Washington promised the isolationist communist state two light-water reactors generating 1,000 megawatts of power each by approximately 2003 if Pyongyang froze and ultimately dismantled its existing nuclear program.   North Korea was assured interim energy in the form of 500,000 metric tons of heavy fuel oil per year for heating and electricity.   Light-water reactors are less suitable for producing weapons-grade plutonium than the graphite-moderated reactors built by North Korea.   Earlier this year Pyongyang accused the U.S. Congress of trying to cut $12 million from Washington's $25 million annual commitment to KEDO for the purchase of heavy fuel oil, and it threatened to scrap the nuclear deal.   Bosworth acknowledged that at the end of July KEDO was $14 million short of the money needed to supply the oil called for by Oct. 21.   But he said he expected the consortium to find the money.   The overall cost of the project is not yet known.   "In all candor, we continue to have acute problems in financing, particularly the acquisition of the heavy fuel oil.   ... This has been in some ways the largest single source of anxiety for us in KEDO over the past several months," Bosworth, a former U.S. ambassador, said.   KEDO, operated by the governments of the United States, South Korea and Japan, was formed under the nuclear agreement and has since added Australia, Canada, Chile, Finland, Indonesia and New Zealand as members.   Bosworth said the European Community was also discussing joining.   He said the complicated, politically sensitive dealings with North Korea had been "businesslike."   "So far, at every seeming impasse, we've been able to negotiate a mutually acceptable solution," he said.   Bosworth said the North Koreans were full participants in KEDO and while it was not an alternative to talks between North and South Korea or a substitute for them, "it is at the moment the one place where North Koreans and South Koreans are dealing with one other."   The two countries have been bitterly divided since the 1953 Korean War. 
13886 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO  An unpaid consultant to Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole was forced to resign on Thursday after two supermarket tabloids reported he and his wife had advertised for group sex.   Consultant Roger Stone was a member of Dole's "Clinton accountability team," whose job was to point out inconsistencies in the president's record.   "We don't expect him to be associated with the campaign any further," Dole campaign spokesman Nelson Warfield said.   The National Enquirer and the Star said Stone used the Internet and a "swingers' magazine" called Swing Fever to find couples or single men to join him and his wife for group sex.   Clinton's top political strategist, Dick Morris, resigned from the president's campaign two weeks ago when the Star reported he had a year-long liaison with a prostitute with whom he had shared confidential White House information.   The latest edition of the Star said Stone and his wife, Nydia, a former model, used a Washington post office box number for an advertisement in several swingers' magazines.   The National Enquirer said the couple posted an advertisement on their Internet web site with a revealing picture of Mrs. Stone.   Stone said he was victim of a dirty trick.   He said the pictures of his wife came from her days as a model and the bare-chested photo of him came from a bodybuilding magazine.   Warfield noted Stone's denial but said the reports were troubling and reflected behaviour Dole could not condone.   "Stone volunteered as a surrogate discussing Bill Clinton's record but was never on the payroll.   Obviously the news accounts of these tabloid charges would extinguish his effectiveness in that role," he said. 
13887 !GCAT !GPOL  House Democrats stepped up pressure on the ethics committe Thursday to release a report on a special counsel's investigation into possible federal tax violations by House Speaker Newt Gingrich.   The committee got the report from special counsel James Cole last month.   Republican members of a subcommittee looking into ethics complaints against Gingrich called it a "draft discussion document" with no conclusions or recommendations.   But Democrats, in a news conference and on the House floor, demanded that it be made public, noting that Gingrich pushed for full disclosure in the investigation of Democratic Speaker Jim Wright that led to Wright's eventual resignation.   Democratic Whip David Bonior, who has repeatedly attacked Gingrich on ethics issues, accused the committee of abuse of power, saying its strategy was to keep the report hidden until Congress adjourns around the end of the month.   But Bonior declared: "We will not let that happen.   If this report cleared the speaker's name, don't you think they would release it in a heartbeat?"   The bipartisan ethics committee named Cole eight months ago to investigate whether Gingrich violated tax laws by using tax-deductible charitable contributions for political purposes through a course he taught at two Georgia colleges.   Democrats sought to raise the issue in speeches before the House began its day's business but Republicans used the rules to block them.   The Democrats brought it up again after Congress had quit for the day.   Ten Democrats, led by Bonior, appeared at a news conference to push for release of the Cole report.   If the committee did not disclose it "we can only assume a coverup of massive proportions," Rep John Lewis, D-Georgia said.   Representative Porter Goss, a Florida Republican and chairman of the ethics subcommittee on the Gingrich affair, told the House committee rules barred disclosure at this stage. 
13888 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  A critical new report on teacher training became campaign fodder for President Bill Clinton on Thursday as he tried to lock up a prize that would take him a long way toward re-election, California's 54 electoral votes.   The report, released in Washington earlier in the day by a bipartisan commission headed by North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt, found that one-fourth of U.S. teachers need more training and should meet higher standards.   It urged improvements in "painfully slipshod" teacher recruitment and retention, tougher licensing and certification standards, and better, more streamlined ways of removing incompetent teachers and rewarding good ones.   Clinton in response directed Education Secretary Richard Riley to inform states within 90 days of federal funds available to help them act on the recommendations.   He also ordered the Education Department to establish a clearinghouse for information on how to improve teaching skills and to issue annual "report cards" on teacher training and performance.   In a veiled swipe at Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole, who blasted teacher unions in his Republican convention speech, Clinton added: "We should be lifting our teachers up, not just bashing them and finding ways to be critical.   Lawyer Mark Johnson, a local Republican party activist, tried to block the rally, arguing that using a school for a political event violated state law.   But a judge on Wednesday threw out his request for an injunction.   Clinton said his administration would push for a ten-fold increase in "charter schools" established by teachers, principals and parents who obtain a public charter.   And he announced a $1.25 million award to fund more such schools in California.   There are 300 throughout the United States now.   The appearance in the heart of California's prosperous Central Valley farmbelt was the first event of a day-long campaign swing in a state that alone accounts for one-fifth of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the Nov. 5 election.   It was Clinton's 27th visit to California since he took office in January 1993, and the latest independent statewide poll showing him leading Dole in the state by 23 percentage points indicated his cultivation of the country's most populous state was paying off.   With less than eight weeks to go before the voting, Clinton was also in a formidable position nationwide.   Since his pre-Democratic convention whistlestop train trip, he has campaigned in 14 states that account for 220 of the 270 electoral votes he needs to defeat Dole.   He leads in the polls in all 14, by double-digits in most.   The 50-year-old Clinton, who is seeking to become the first Democratic president since Franklin Roosevelt to be re-elected, was to wind up his latest political foray on Thursday with a Los Angeles fundraising gala expected to lure some of Hollywood's richest stars. 
13889 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GDEF  The eight sleek black F-117A "stealth" fighters being sent to Kuwait for possible U.S. military strikes on Iraq are small, slow and lethal.   Despite the Air Force's proud "fighter" tag, the radar-avoiding jets are not fighters.   They are small bombers that fly slower than the speed of sound, much too slow to engage in aerial combat with other modern jets.   The F-117s, which flew from Saudi Arabian bases against Iraqi targets in the 1991 Gulf War, are designed primarily to drop 2,000-pound (908 kg) laser-guided bombs with pinpoint accuracy.   The 65-foot-long (20.3 metre) jets, which cost $45 million each and are flown by a single pilot, were ordered to fly from Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, to Kuwait and were expected to arrive late Friday.   The swept-wing jets have a wingspan of 43-feet (13.3 metres) and use a combination of high-tech building materials and sharp design angles to absorb or deflect radar beams so that anti-aircraft gunners and missile batteries cannot see them.   Built by the then-Lockheed Corp. and first deployed in 1982, the F-117A was the world's first "stealth" aircraft.   The United States has recently deployed larger batwing B-2 stealth bombers designed to carry both big loads of bombs and cruise missiles. 
13890 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Attorney General Janet Reno urged Congress on Thursday to approve quickly $1.1 billion requested by President Bill Clinton in additional funds to fight the growing threat of terrorism.   "As weapons of mass destruction become more accessible, we face the potential of even more catastrophic acts," Reno told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing.   "And as our society has become more dependent on computer networks for commerce and communication, we become more vulnerable to cyber attacks on the information infrastructure that could cause massive disruption or destruction."   Clinton asked for the extra funds on Monday as part of a plan to tighten security at airports and federal buildings and expand anti-terrorism law enforcement efforts.   Reno said the money would be used to double FBI agents assigned to counter-terrorism, establish a computer investigations and threat assessement centre and increase the number of U.S. attorneys responsible for prosecuting terrorism cases.   "All of these measures are critical to enhancing our ability to prevent terrorist acts before they occur, to improving our own security and to investigating and prosecuting terrorists when acts do occur," she said.   Reno also asked Congress to approve expanded wiretap authority for the FBI and other federal agencies and to study the use of chemical "taggants" to identify and trace explosives.   The expanded wiretap authority is opposed by conservative and civil liberties groups and the National Rifle Association opposes taggents.   Reno was asked about the progress of investigations into the bombings at the Atlanta Olympics and a U.S. military barracks in Saudi Arabia and the crash of TWA Flight 800, but she had little new to report.   She said 80 percent of the Boeing 747 that exploded on July 17 had been recovered from the Atlantic Ocean off New York's Long Island but no conclusions had been reached on whether the blast was caused by sabotage or mechanical failure.   All 230 people on board the flight were killed.   "We will not give up," she said.   She also said the United States was continuing to work with Saudi authorities on the bombing in Dharhan that killed 19 U.S. airman in June.   A security guard has been identified as a suspect in the Aug. 3 Atlanta bombing that killed two people but no charges have been filed.   Reno said she wanted to increase the number of FBI agents stationed in other countries to help gather intelligence on extremist groups and foreign criminal gangs. 
13891 !C13 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV  A coalition of taxpayers and environmentalists Thursday urged Congress to put the brakes on 22 "wasteful and environmentally destructive" highway projects on the drawing boards in 15 states.   Taxpayers for Common Sense, Friends of the Earth and U.S. Public Research Interest Group said in a 32-page report entitled "Road to Ruin" that halting the projects would save $10 billion in federal tax dollars.   "Wasting billions of dollars on these unneeded projects makes no sense.   It's time for the government to pull over for directions," Ralph De Gennaro, executive director of Taxpayers for Common Sense, said at a press briefing.   The projects include a planned highway expansion in the congressional district of powerful Rep. Bud Shuster, R-Pa., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Commmittee, according to the report.   The U.S. Route 220/322 expansion in Centre County, Pa. "would cost $288 million (and) is designed to ease traffic jams after Penn State football games, which take place on a handful of Saturdays in the Fall," the coalition said.   A spokesman for Shuster was unavailable for comment.   Another planned project in Sedona, Ariz., called Red Rock Crossing, would "shave minutes off the drive to a golf course but spoil a popular landscape used in dozens of Westerns," the coalition said in its 32-page report.   Other projects cited in the report are Carolina Bays Parkway along the South Carlina coast; Route 6 Expressway in eastern Connecticut; I-287 expansion in Westchester County, N.Y.; and Barney Circle Interstate Highway in Washington, D.C.   Also sited are the Montgomery County, Md., Inter-County Connector; Route 50 Corridor in Loudoun County, Va.; Western Transportation Corridor and Corridor H Highway in northern Virginia; U.S. Route 29 Charlottesville Bypass in central Virginia; Grand Parkway in Houston, Tex.; I-69 Highway Expansion in southwest Indiana; U.S. 23 Extension in eastern Michigan; Stillwater Bridge in Stillwater, Minn.; U.S. Highway 12 in Dane County, Wisconsin; Devil's Slide Bypass in San Mateo County, Calif.; Hatton Canyon Freeway in Carmel, Calif.; Route 710 Highway in South Pasadena, Calif.; new U.S. Forest Service timber roads; and Darien Gap Link in Panama and Columbia, which is designed to complete the Pan-American Highway from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, the coalition said.   --Vicky Stamas, 202-898-8314 
13892 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  The Pentagon sees no evidence that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is moving military forces toward Kuwait, a spokesman said on Thursday.   "We do not see signs that he (Saddam) is moving forces toward Kuwait since the threats earlier today by Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz," Defense Department spokesman Ken Bacon said at a briefing.    "If we saw signs that he were moving troops, we would be very concerned and we would respond.   I am not aware of troop movements taking place now," Bacon said at a briefing.   "Saddam's primary emphasis right now seems to be moving their SAM (surface-to-air missile) sites around."   Aziz, in a statement carried by the official Iraqi News Agency, warned Kuwait that it would be committing "an act of war" if it allowed U.S. warplanes to use its territory for attacks on his country.   Eight U.S. F-117A "stealth" fighters were sent to Kuwait on Thursday for possible strikes against Iraq.   "Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi leadership understand our enforcement of the no-fly, no-drive zone in the south," Bacon said.   "The threats made against Kuwait today by Iraq illustrate exactly why we have to maintain deterence in the area and why we have to be vigilant."   The U.S. enforces, south of the 32nd parallel, a zone through which Iraqi forces are forbidden to fly or drive.   It is designed to prevent Saddam from building up his ground forces in the south. 
13893 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  A bill extending permanent Most Favoured Trade status to Cambodia cleared Congress on Thursday and went to President Bill Clinton for signature.   The House voted to approve the measure after accepting Senate language noting that Cambodia had made progress toward democracy and expansion of its economy and that extension of Most Favoured Nation status would assist in further democratic progress and adherance to world trade principles.   Under Most Favoured Nation staus, Cambodia's exports to the United States would receive the same tariff treatement given to the exports of most of America's trading partners. 
13894 !GCAT !GDEF !GPOL !GVIO  Algeria's chief Islamic opposition party in exile called on Thurday for a referendum on the army's role as a step toward ending civil strife that threatens the stability of southern Europe and North Africa.   The outlawed Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) said its jailed president would urge Islamic guerrillas to observe a ceasefire if military-backed authorities agreed to a vote.   In an open letter to the "military/security establishment of Algeria" released at a news conference in Washington, FIS said the referendum should simply ask, "Do you accept the interference of the army in politics: Yes or No."   "If this proposal is accepted, the FIS can assure the Algerian people the Mujahedin (warriors) loyal to the original line of the Jihad (holy war) and of the FIS will not reject an appeal for a ceasefire ... in order to allow the organisation of the referendum," it said.   Anwar Haddam, president of the FIS parliamentary delegation abroad, said the group's imprisoned president, Abbassi Madani, would call for such a ceasefire if Algerian authorities let the proposed referendum take place.   "We have always been ready to do that if the military accepts a real political solution.   It is the military who have always tried to avoid the main issue," he told Reuters.   More than 50,000 people may have died in Algeria's political violence since a 1992 military coup foiled a likely FIS victory in parliamentary elections.   The open letter coincided with Algerian government preparations for a weekend political conference that would chart reforms without the participation of radical Islamists. 
13895 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  The United States on Thursday reaffirmed its commitment to defend Kuwait and other countries in the Gulf after Iraq warned Kuwait not to permit U.S. planes to use its territory as a base to attack Iraq.   "The United States expresses its commitment to the security of our friends in the Gulf and in view of Iraqi statements, repeats that commitment specifically with reference to Kuwait," State Department spokesman Glyn Davies said.    Secretary of State Warren Christopher made the pledge at a meeting earlier on Thursday with envoys from the Gulf Cooperation Council -- Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates -- to discuss Iraq's threat to regional security, Davies said.   Baghdad warned Kuwait after U.S. defense officials said eight F-117A "stealth" fighter jets were flying to Kuwait from where they could be used to strike at Iraq.   "The statements emanating from Baghdad this morning, with direct threats against Kuwait, illustrate what is at stake for the coalition of countries that confronts (Iraqi leader) Saddam Hussein," Davies said.   "His is a regime that has miscalculated in the past and risks repeating this error.   Our actions of the past week should make clear our purpose.   Iraq will pay a price for its threats to regional peace and security." 
13896 !GCAT !GPOL  As Bill Clinton and Bob Dole slug it out over the big issues, another battle is raging at Ricky's Pit Bar-B-Que in Kansas City, where politics may have swayed the president's choice in barbecue.   Clinton, whose love for the Southern staple is legend, reportedly snubbed Ricky's, which is on the Kansas side of the border-straddling city, in favour of Gates Bar-B-Que across town in Missouri, where the Democrats are in power.   Ricky Smith, who own's Ricky's, blames politics: "Kansas is a Republican state and he gets no votes from our part of town.   On top of that, (Kansas City, Missouri, Democratic Mayor Emanuel) Cleaver and (Gates Bar-B-Que owner Ollie) Gates are buddies and Cleaver spoke at the Democratic convention."   Smith said Clinton, a Democrat, began eating his barbecue long before he became president.   Gates Bar-B-Que confirmed it had delivered a "Presidential" platter of beef, ham, turkey and ribs to a hotel that hosted a fund-raising luncheon for Clinton, who was in town for a meeting of Southern governors.   No one mentioned that Kansas is also Dole's home state.   ---   Meanwhile, Dole was supposed to be "Listening to America" at a campaign event in Wilmington, Delaware, but he wound up listening to former Republican presidential rival Steve Forbes -- and listening and listening and listening.   The multimillionaire publisher was supposed to be host of the question-and-answer session with carefully screened Dole supporters.   Instead, he took centre stage, answering questions himself for 33 minutes before Dole got a chance to speak.   At one point, Forbes told the audience, "Bob will be responding later," and a clearly unhappy Dole broke in to say, "Not much later."   ---   The Dole campaign, whose poll numbers are less than stellar, appears to be engaging in a kind of political numerology, favouring the number 15.   Dole's new book, "Trusting the People," will sell for $15.   His economic plan calls for a 15 percent tax cut.   Running-mate Jack Kemp's old football number was 15.   The number of letters in the campaign duo's names is 15.   And the numbers in the election year '96 add up to -- of course -- 15.   ---   Every candidate has some skeletons in the closet but very few have cancer-curing space aliens.   That is the predicament of Lynne Plaskett, who is running for city council in Orlando, Florida.   Going public with her extraterrestrial experience "is more important than my personal career as a politician," Plaskett told the Orlando Sentinel.   "If this costs me my election, I think that would be very sad."   Plaskett missed a council meeting Aug. 15 to appear on "The Maury Povich Show," which airs this week.   Instead of helping decide where to build a $50 million justice centre or whether to allow a hazardous-waste site in town, Plaskett told a studio audience how space aliens cured her of cancer.   ---   Organisers of an upcoming series of televised presidential debates might do well to monitor the situation in Alaska, where a public television video of a debate before the state's U.S. Senate primary has become a runaway hit.   The two-hour tape has become a cult classic, according to officials at Anchorage public television station KAKM, which has sold hundreds at $10 each, with requests coming in from as far away as Ohio and New Mexico.   The video showcases an eccentric field trying to unseat the 28-year incumbent, Republican Ted Stevens.   One candidate accused big corporations and the Federal Reserve of stealing his rights to the U.S. Treasury seal.   Another told voters to stock up on salmon because moose behaviour indicated a hard winter.   The eventual Democratic nominee accused the state's legal establishment of conspiring to make her husband fail the Alaska bar exam over 20 times.   "It's pretty cheap if somebody is into politics and wants a chuckle," KAKM programme director Dick Enders said. 
13897 !GCAT !GDIP  U.S. officials, reacting to a report on Australian television, said on Thursday that President Bill Clinton may go to Australia in November but that no plans have been made.   Clinton is expected to go to Manila for the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in late November.   Other stops he might make during that trip are unclear, said U.S. officials who asked to remain unidentified.   Nine Network television in the Australian capital of Canberra said Clinton would arrive in Canberra on Nov. 21 before spending time in Sydney and then the Great Barrier Reef in tropical Queensland.   Asked about the report, one official said he would not rule out the possibility of an Australian trip, but said "none of this has made any of our tentative lists here yet."   "It's no secret that he would like to visit Australia in the near future and doing it during APEC is a definite possibility, but it's not a done deal at all," the official said. 
13898 !E21 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  - The stage is being set in Ohio for a possible takeover of the beleaguered Cleveland school system by Mayor Michael White.   Late last week a bill was introduced in the legislature that would allow Cleveland's mayor to operate the schools in lieu of a board of education.   A legislative aide to State Rep. William Batchelder, R-Medina, one of the bill's sponsors, said lawmakers expect the measure to be refined with input from various interests.   On Wednesday, White reportedly said he would consider the proposal.   A spokesman for White was not available to comment.   Cleveland Plain Dealer quoted White as saying the current school system was "broken."   In fact, continued budget deficits led the Ohio Department of Education to take control of the schools in March 1995.   Last month, a U.S. District Court judge in Cleveland ordered that a 13.5 property tax mill operating levy be placed on the November ballot despite objections from Cleveland's school board.   According to state education officials, the $67.5 million the levy would raise a year is needed to pay off about $87 million of operating debt due to mature in December and in June 1997.   Under a new Ohio law set to take effect next week, Cleveland's schools would qualify for a fiscal emergency, according to the Ohio Auditor's Office.   The law sets up a system for identifying districts in fiscal stress and overseeing districts that qualify for a fiscal emergency.   Batchelder's aide said the takeover bill is patterned after Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's takeover of the Chicago Public Schools.   A 1995 state of Illinois law gave Daley the power to appoint the school board.   Since that time, Daley's appointees to the school board have been credited with streamlining operations, balancing the budget and launching a five-year, $806 million bond-funded capital improvement program.   --Karen Pierog, 312-408-8647 
13899 !GCAT !GENT  The British rock band Oasis has cancelled its remaining U.S. concert tour because of "internal differences" but has not split up permanently, band representatives said on Thursday.   Hyped as Britain's most popular music group since the Beatles, the five-member Oasis cancelled an appearance near Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday reportedly after an argument between brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher.   Oasis' managers released a statement saying the group's three-week, 13-stop concert tour of the United States had been "pulled" with four dates remaining.   The tour was to have ended in Tampa, Florida, on September 18.   "Oasis have hit internal differences on their 9th tour of the U.S. which has resulted in the tour being pulled two-thirds of the way through," the statement said.   "It is unlikely their immediate touring commitment will be fulfilled."   Speculation about a possible breakup was rampant after Britain's tabloid newspaper, The Sun, prepared to report a blazing argument between songwriter and lead quitarist Noel Gallagher and his brother, singer Liam Gallagher.   An assistant to The Sun editor Stewart Higgins told Reuters the tabloid would report in its Friday editions that the band was breaking up.   But a spokeswoman for Epic Records in New York, the band's U.S. recording label, denied the story.   "There is no breakup," said the company's publicity director, Lisa Markowitz.   She said Noel and Liam were returning to England but could not confirm reports that Noel had arrived home by Thursday afternoon.   The band made headlines in Britain earlier this month when Liam delayed his departure for the United States, saying he wanted to look for a new home in London.   Concert promoters in Atlanta, where Oasis was to have performed on Friday, said most of the band had arrived with their sound and light equipment by the time news of the tour cancellation broke.   Wallace Barr, an executive with Landmark Entertainment, said his company would grant refunds to ticket-buyers but added that final word on the cancellation had not been announced formally to concert organisers.   Oasis was scheduled to go from Atlanta to West Palm Beach and Orlando, Florida, before ending up in Tampa.   A spokeswoman for Independence Arena in Charlotte said the Oasis concert was moved to a South Carolina venue and then cancelled after the band refused to perform. 
13900 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole on Thursday was seeking to strike some sparks for his struggling campaign but spent much of the time trying to douse his opponent's rhetorical fires.   Speaking at an outdoor rally at Georgetown College here, Dole repeated his standard charge that President Bill Clinton was stealing his policy ideas and complained fiercely about a series of critical advertisements unleashed by Clinton.   "They'll say Bob Dole's a decent man and then comes the axe.   And it comes every day.   It comes every hour on your TV set.   Millions and millions ... of dollars in negative ads," Dole said.   "They're going to try frighten all of you.   they're going to tell you that Bob Dole ... is an extremist."   Dole has been stung in recent days by a new Clinton ad criticising his opposition to a federal family leave law.   In promoting his economic programme of tax cuts, Dole on Thursday stressed its benefit to working families.   "If both parents want to work it ought to be because they want to, not because they're forced to just to pay higher and higher federal taxes," he said.   He also called on Clinton to release his health records.   "I'm in great shape," the 73-year-old candidate said.   "My cholesterol is lower than his, my weight's lower.   My blood pressure's lower, but I'm not going to make health an issue in this campaign."   Dole said he welcomed the opportunity to face off against Clinton in a series of upcoming debates but tried to keep expectations for his performance low.   "President Clinton is a very smooth talker, and I'll be facing him in debates one of these days," Dole said.   "I think if I show up, I win, because he is supposed to be so good, so good at a lot of things."   Saying Clinton's many policy proposals had laid the ground work for a big increase in government, Dole said Clinton would have to defend them in the debates.   "I can hardly wait for the debates so he can respond to some of these questions."   Dole said Clinton had appopriated his own idea for drug testing of criminal defendants.   "If it sounds good, if it polls good, he'll put it in his programme," he said.   Dole trailed Clinton in Kentucky, with eight electoral votes, by seven points in a poll taken in May, according to the Politics Now political monitoring service.   Dole was to campaign later in Ohio, a major Midwestern state where he also trails Clinton in polls.   Included in the trip is a visit to a family gravesite in Montpelier, Ohio. 
13901 !GCAT !GCRIM  The alleged head of a Mexican drug cartel suspected of shipping up to a third of the cocaine consumed in the United States will stand trial next week on drug-trafficking, bribery and money-laundering charges.   Juan Garcia Abrego faces up to life in prison if convicted on charges of smuggling billions of dollars worth of cocaine and marijuana across the U.S. border over the past 15 years.   Prosecutors say Abrego amassed a $15 billion personal fortune and used a private army to protect his drug shipments.   "He was the shipping arm of the (Colombian) Cali cartel.   He was their UPS (United Parcel Service)," an FBI agent, who asked not to be named, said after Abrego's arrest in Mexico.   One of the FBI's 10 most wanted criminals when he was captured in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey last January, Abrego hinted he would be willing to cooperate with prosecutors after he was unceremoniously shoved into a plane and flown to Texas to face prosecution.   But experts said Abrego, whose nickname was "El Senor" -- "The Man" -- had been unwilling or unable to detail government corruption in Mexico or the inner workings of Colombia's Cali drug cartel to cut a deal with prosecutors.   "He knows a lot of people in Colombia so it's possible he could offer a lot of information on that front," said Houston lawyer Lawrence Finder, a former federal prosecutor familiar with the case.   "He also could finger corrupt law-enforcement agents the U.S. is working with now in Mexico."   In a 28-count indictment, prosecutors said Abrego's Gulf cartel smuggled tonnes of marijuana and cocaine into the United States, sometimes even bundling one-kilogram bricks of cocaine onto human "mules" and smuggling them into Texas.   The cartel allegedly laundered billions of dollars in drug proceeds, including about $62 million seized in U.S. banks and $30 million transferred to Swiss and Grand Cayman banks by a personal banker at American Express Bank International.   The object of a three-year international manhunt, the portly Abrego was captured on Jan. 14 scaling a fence after an elite unit of drug agents raided his ranch near Monterrey.   He was flown first to Mexico City, where he said he was roughed up and injected with a near-overdose of sedatives before being bundled onto a private jet and flown to Houston for trial.   Abrego, who pleaded not guilty, said he remembered the flight only vaguely and had little memory of an interrogation by FBI agents because of the heavy dose of sedatives.   "I remember that I was in an office, vaguely," Abrego said through a translator during a preliminary hearing this week.   "The only thing that I remember was being fed something."   FBI agent Lawrence Hensley said Abrego waived his rights to a lawyer during the interrogation and admitted to being involved in international drug trafficking.   The trial was expected to last 10 weeks.   Prosecutors said they would build their case on 51 months of wiretapped telephone conversations, stacks of shipping ledgers and business records and the testimony of convicted drug traffickers willing to trade evidence against Abrego for reduced sentences.   They also plan to introduce bank records detailing cash laundered through the Swiss and Cayman banks.   Those records, which surfaced in the earlier trial of Abrego's private banker, Antonio Giraldi, first exposed suspected ties between Abrego and Raul Salinas de Gortari, brother of former Mexican President Carlos Salinas.   During Salinas' administration, Abrego allegedly spread $50 million a month in political payoffs while his cartel grew into one of the world's leading drug-smuggling operations.   Abrego also was allegedly linked to the 1994 murder of a senior Mexican politician.   Raul Salinas was accused of ordering the murder and is awaiting trial in a Mexican jail.   Despite the prospect of a life sentence and the forfeiture of at least $275 million in alleged drug profits, Abrego will not cooperate with U.S. prosecutors, defence attorney Roberto Yzaguirre said in an initial court appearance. 
13902 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  By Alan Elsner, Political Correspondent   Bill Clinton leads by a wide margin in U.S. presidential election polls but many analysts are not yet persuaded his political coattails will be long enough to bring Democrats back to power in Congress.   Republicans won control of both houses of Congress for the first time in 40 years in 1994.   They hold a narrow 20-seat majority in the 435-member House of Representatives and a 53-47 edge in the Senate.   Recent polls, in which Clinton leads Republican Bob Dole by 15-to-20 percentage points, show a narrower but growing Democratic advantage of from four to 14 points when voters are asked who they will vote for in congressional races.   Political analyst Charles Cook said that if elections were held now Democrats would win back the House.   "But the current Democratic momentum will not likely hold at this level so my bet is that Democrats will pick up 10-15 seats, just short of the 20 they need to recapture the House," Cook said.   Senate races are less influenced by the presidential contest since candidates tend to be well-known figures who spend millions of dollars on their own political advertising.   Additionally, Democratic prospects were hit by a number of retirements of prominent senators in key states.   But Republicans did not help themselves by nominating a number of hardline conservative candidates and could now be facing a net loss of two or three seats.   Much will obviously depend on the scale of Clinton's expected victory over Dole.   "If Clinton wins by eight points or less, both houses stay Republican.   If it goes to 14, all bets are off," said Gregory Valliere of the Washington Research Group, which provides non-partisan political analysis for Wall Street institutions.   But Jennifer Laszlo, a political consultant who has worked both for Democrats and Republicans, said Clinton's influence did not have to be that great for Democrats to win.   "The coattails don't have to be all that long.   Minimal coattails would be enough," she said.   In the House, almost 80 Republicans are potentially vulnerable.   Some 47 won election in 1994 with 55 percent or the vote or less.   The rest hold districts carried by Clinton in the 1992 presidential election.   Valliere said the biggest danger for Republicans would transpire if Clinton remained 12 or more points ahead of Dole the weekend before the election.   Republican voters could then become so demoralised that many would not bother to vote.   History from past elections suggests that incumbents with double-digit leads in September have gone on to score routs on Election Day, which this year falls on November 5.   Dole addressed Republican lawmakers on Wednesday, urging them to ignore the polls and stick together.   But many Republicans skipped his rally, and there is growing danger congressional candidates will soon give up on Dole and strike out on their own.   His aides insist he is still fighting for every state but Dole will soon have to start making hard choices about where to spend his limited campaign funds.   He is widely expected to cede California, where he trails by 20 points, and focus on states he can win.   The problem with that is that California holds at least eight vulnerable Republican House members, all of whom are hoping for a vigorous presidential campaign to boost their own chances of survival.   Even in conservative Indiana, the Republican candidate for governor blamed Dole for the fact that he was trailing his Democratic opponent.   "I'm not getting the lift that normally a Republican in a presidential year would get," Steven Goldsmith told the Indianapolis Star newspaper.   "My numbers are obviously repressed by Dole."   Clinton has expended little effort campaigning for a Democratic Congress.   He devoted only one sentence to it in his speech to the Democratic convention.   Instead, he is campaigning as a bulwark to the Republicans in Congress led by the unpopular House Speaker Newt Gingrich.   "He's absolutely right to do that," said Laszlo.   "Voters don't like Gingrich but they're not thrilled at the prospects of Democrats regaining control of Congress.   If Clinton starts talking about a Democratic Congress, it will hurt every Democrat across the board," she said. 
13903 !C17 !C174 !CCAT !E21 !E212 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIS  NEW YORK, Sept 12 - Moody's Investors Service on Thursday said it does not expect any impact on local ratings in North Carolina and Virginia from Hurricane Fran.   "The affected municipalities generally have established economic bases that should recover in a reasonable period from the storm's short-term disruption," Moody's analysts said in a report.   Most of the communities maintain good finances and liquidity to support extraordinary expenses, such as Fran, the report said.   The likelihood of substantial federal and state assistance also helps mitigate credit concerns.   The communities that received the most damage-- Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach, New Hanover County, Raleigh and Wake County, North Carolina, and Danville and Pittsylvania County, Virginia, were among the areas declared federal disaster areas and are entitled to Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) moneys.   State Emergency Preparedness Offices are already coordinating with federal officials for funding, and most of the property damage caused by Fran is expected to be covered by private insurance.   Those who are not fully covered by private insurance will most likely seek low interest loans from the federal government.   The approximate 100 debt ratings of municipalities in the affected areas in the eastern half of North Carolina, southwest and central Virginia are composed primarily of general obligation and essential purpose revenue bonds, as well as certificates of participation where the pledge to make debt service payments are absolute and unconditional.   Moody's will continue to monitor issuers' recovery from Hurricane Fran's damage. 
13904 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  Banks ranking in the top 100 student loan lenders contributed $2.3 million to congressional candidates through June 1996, with 72 percent going to Republicans, Citizen Action reported Thursday.   Citizen Action charged that the contributions were to support a Republican plan to end the government's new direct student loan program in favor of a larger subsidized program of private bank loans to college students.   Sen. Paul Simon, D-Ill., said the new direct loan program enacted in 1993 saved 10 million students an average of $190.   The end of this program would shift $75.3 billion in student loans to private lenders, Citizen Action said. 
13905 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Negotiators for Ford Motor Co and the United Auto Workers union resumed their discussions Thursday and are not expected to reach an agreement today as not all issues have yet been resolved, a company spokesman said.   Industry sources have said the two sides have made significant progress and could be ready to finish discussions ahead of the contract expiration time of midnight Saturday, September 14.   Although progress continues to be made, Ford spokesman Jon Harmon said Thursday there are some issues that have not yet been resolved.    "We still have some issues that have considerable difference between us and the union," he said.   The talks, taking place at Ford's Dearborn headquarters, reconvened at the subcommittee level about 0730 EDT/1130 GMT, he said, approximately 12 hours after they finished Wednesday night.   Ford officials have said previously they expect to have a new contract agreement by the deadline.   Harmon said that has not changed, noting negotiators from both sides plan to be at Ford headquarters Saturday.    Last week, the UAW selected Ford as the lead company in this year's contract negotiations covering some 390,000 workers at all of Detroit's Big Three automakers.   In previous years, the UAW has taken its agreement with the target automaker and applied it as a pattern to the remaining two.   After finishing with Ford, UAW leaders are expected to move on to either General Motors Corp or Chrysler Corp.   However, in a break with tradition, subcommittee meetings are continuing this week at both of those companies while the Ford talks are ongoing.   And it is not clear if UAW President Stephen Yokich would move directly to a second company after finishing at Ford, or continue talks with the remaining two simultaneously. 
13906 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GDEF !GPOL  The U.S. House of Representatives Thursday passed a $20 billion spending bill for energy and water programs for the 1997 fiscal year, providing $700 million more than last year.   Almost half the funding would cover Energy Department's nuclear weapons activities and nuclear waste cleanup.   Approving the compromise spending bill, the House voted to provide the Energy Department $3.9 billion for nuclear weapons activities like disposal, up $450 million from last year, and provide $5.45 billion for nuclear waste cleanup programs.   DOE is in charge of managing US nuclear weapons and cleaning up all radioactive waste left from the manufacturing of those weapons over the last 50 years.    The final spending bill included $38 million to fund the Energy Department's advanced light water nuclear reactor program, which was $20 million more than the House had originailly approved but $2 million less than the Senate and the Clinton administration had wanted.   The bill also funded Army Corps of Engineers construction projects at $1.1 billion, which was $277 million more than last year.   The final bill also cut spending for the administration of the Energy Department, reflecting lawmakers' charges that Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary had wasted money on extensive foreign travels. 
13907 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The Pentagon said it had no reports from its forces in the field that Iraq had fired missiles at U.S. and allied warplanes patrolling a no-fly zone over southern Iraq on Thursday.   "We have no reports of any missile firings," said Navy Commander Joe March, a Pentagon spokesman, after Iraqi state television quoted a military spokesman in Baghdad as saying three surface-to-air missiles had been fired at "hostile targets," forcing them to flee. 
13908 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  Investigators are optimistic they will discover what caused TWA Flight 800 to crash once they recover all the plane's wreckage from the Atlantic Ocean, Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick said on Thursday.   She said at the weekly Justice Department news briefing investigators have retrieved about 80 percent of the Boeing 747, which exploded on July 17 just minutes after taking off from Kennedy International Airport, killing 230 people.   "There is optimism among the investigators that when we have the full plane up we will know what the cause was," she said, adding that an announcment will be made once a conclusion has been reached on what brought down the plane.   Investigators have been probing whether a bomb, missile or mechanical failure caused the Paris-bound airliner to crash.   Gorelick acknowledged it remained possible the cause might never be found, but said, "I do not have the sense from the investigators on the ground there that they believe that is where we will end up."   She called it a difficult investigation because the wreckage was scattered at the bottom of the ocean in so many pieces.   The Washington Post reported on Thursday that investigators were considering blowing up an empty Boeing 747 on the ground to study the damage in an effort to pinpoint what might have caused the TWA crash.   Gorelick declined comment on the report, but said, "It is not uncommon in explosive cases to try to take a couple of theories and test them out by replicating an explosion.   We have done that in many, many cases." 
13909 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  A top Justice Department official said on Thursday the White House and politics have played no role in the federal government's criminal investigation into the tobacco industry.   "Let me tell you fervently there has not been any communication between the White House and this department on the subject of the criminal investigation involving tobacco.   Zero," Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick said.   "I am completely confident that case has been handled as it should be," Gorelick said at the weekly Justice Department news briefing.   The Justice Department's fraud unit earlier this year expanded the focus of the investigation to cover allegations the industry withheld information and lied to federal agencies about the addictive nature of tobacco and industry practices.   The probe previously centred on allegations that the heads of the major cigarette companies committed perjury when they testified before Congress in 1994 that nicotine was not addictive.   Gorelick said the case had been referred to the Justice Department by members of Congress.   "We pursued it in the ordinary course," she said, declining to comment on details of the pending investigation.   In 1994, Democratic Representative Martin Meehan of Massachusetts and others asked for an inquiry into whether the tobacco industry illegally withheld information about the dangers of tobacco from Congress, federal agencies and the public.   Before the Democratic convention last month, President Bill Clinton announced restrictions on tobacco advertising and sales to adolescents.   Republican rival Bob Dole was politically embarrassed earlier this year when he questioned whether nicotine was addictive.   As part of the Justice Department probe, grand jury subpoenas have been issued demanding documents and testimony from a number of employees at Philip Morris Cos, the world's largest cigarette maker. 
13910 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  In the 1996 U.S. presidential election, a fierce struggle is underway for the votes of "soccer moms" -- suburban women who are financially stressed and fighting to balance the demands of work and kids.   It's not clear who first coined the term "soccer moms," but it has become the hot political catchphrase of the year.   Most seem to be leaning towards President Bill Clinton.   They can be found in suburban parks and sports fields many evenings at this time of year, watching their sons and daughters play a game America is rapidly claiming as its own.   On a warm late-summer evening in this Philadelphia suburb, a half-dozen youth soccer games are underway in a field whose parking lot is jammed with minivans and four-wheel-drives -- the workhorse family vehicles of choice throughout America.   "You've got me at a good time," said Debbie DiFilipo, a 38-year old nurse, sitting on a blanket and watching her daughters scamper after the ball.   "I'm stressed to the max.   I'm overloaded today."   "I got home 15 minutes ago.   I threw dinner down the kids' throats.   Got their homework out of the way.   Fed the dog, fed the cat.   I've got a son at another field and two daughters here," she said.   Her politics?   "I'm not going to vote for (Republican Bob) Dole," she said.   "I think he's old ... in a lot of ways."   "Not that I think Clinton's a piece of cake," she added.   Although the number of "soccer moms" is hard to pinpoint, said pollster John Zogby, "we are focusing on that group because that's a group that under normal circumstances could go either Republican or Democrat."   "Whoever wins that, kind of wins a medal for the year, if not the election," Zogby said.   In a Reuters survey conducted by Zogby in early August, Clinton held a 48 to 29 percent lead over Dole among women, and 51 to 22 points among working women.   In the suburbs, Clinton led 42 points to 31 overall.   Compared to other voting blocs, suburban middle-class women tend to be more socially liberal and concerned with issues such as child care or parental leave.   But their view of government activism often stops short of support for welfare programmes, Zogby said.   Marlton, in the southern end of the presidential battleground state of New Jersey, is a town of about 34,000 people, with a 1994 median household income of $57,000.   In 1992 election, it chose Republican incumbent George Bush over Clinton by 6,524 votes to 6,165, with independent Ross Perot drawing 3,264.   This year, DiFilipo's sentiments were echoed by several other Marlton mothers interviewed at the soccer matches.   Many were highly sceptical of Dole, citing his age of 73 and his emphasis on cutting taxes that many said was unrealistic or unrepresentative of their needs.   Some said Clinton seemed more in touch with their concerns, but they had their doubts about him too.   "I voted for Clinton (in 1992), but I'm not that big a supporter of him either," said Lois McFadden, a 39-year-old court reporter and mother of three.   "I guess the economy hasn't come around well enough.   The taxes haven't come down."   Neverthless, she said, she had ruled out voting for Dole, whom she described as "too old and too right-wing."   Dole did have the support of Nina Gilbert, 45, a mother of two who said abortion is a key factor in her political decisions and who criticised Clinton's character.   "I'll vote for anybody but Clinton, but probably Dole," Gilbert said, watching her daughter try out for a Catholic school team at a field down the street.   She also said she thought the Republicans should get credit for trying to wrestle with long-term economic problems such as old-age programmes.   Laura Olt, a 37-year-old secretary, said she had been impressed by enthusiasm shown at the Republican convention.   But she said she decided after viewing post-convention commercials that she would vote for Clinton, because Dole was too narrowly focused on cutting taxes.   "We need somebody who's going to be helping take care of the kids -- child care, health care.   And they (the Dole campaign) are pushing a tax cut," she said.   Most of the soccer moms interviewed said they were unaware that they had become the political flavor of 1996.   "It's interesting to know they think we might matter," McFadden said "God knows there are enough of us out here." 
13911 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPRO  O.J. Simpson will sit at the defence table surrounded by some of America's best legal minds.   His accusers will call him a wife beater and a murderer.   A jury of 12 will decide his fate.   In many ways, the drama about to unfold in a crowded Santa Monica courtroom may seem strikingly familiar but no one should expect a rerun of last year's sensational trial.   The script, the setting and even the cast of characters have been changed for Simpson's civil trial, which gets under way on Tuesday nearly a year after the former football star was cleared of criminal charges in the 1994 murders of his ex-wife and her friend.   Inside the courtroom, cameras and microphones have been banned, blacking out the proceedings to millions of TV viewers who followed every twist and turn of Simpson's first trial.   Outside, a gag order muzzling all trial participants means attorneys will not be battling with sound bites or family members tearfully proclaiming Simpson's guilt or innocence.   This time, Simpson's money -- not his freedom -- will be on the line as he defends himself against wrongful death lawsuits brought by the victims' families.   While he cannot be punished with jail time, he could be forced to pay millions of dollars in damages if the jury finds him responsible for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.   But Goldman's father, Fred Goldman, has repeatedly maintained his lawsuit is not about cash but about assigning blame for two brutal killings.   Simpson, who has steadfastly maintained his innocence, opted not to take the witness stand at his criminal trial, but this time he will be forced to testify.   "He could win or lose depending on his testimony," said Robert Pugsley, a professor at Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles.   The victims' families lack the resources of the district attorney's office, which spent millions unsuccessfully prosecuting Simpson.   But they have a major advantage -- rules of civil procedure that make it easier to prove "liability."   The plaintiffs will prevail if they can convince jurors there is a 50.1 percent probability -- a "preponderance of the evidence" -- that Simpson committed the murders.   It is a far cry from the burden faced by criminal prosecutors, who had to prove guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt."   And the verdict need not be unanimous -- just nine of 12 jurors are required for a judgment for or against Simpson.   Another factor likely to weigh against Simpson is that the case is being tried in affluent Santa Monica, all but ensuring the jury will be whiter and wealthier than the mostly black panel that acquitted him last Oct. 3 in downtown Los Angeles.   Polls show an overwhelming majority of whites believe Simpson got away with murder, while most blacks support the verdict that freed one of America's top black celebrities.   Jury selection gets under way on Wednesday, beginning a painstaking process of picking 12 regular jurors and eight alternates.   Given the extraordinary publicity surrounding the criminal trial, said Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson, "It's going to be almost impossible to find people who haven't made up their minds already."   Taking aim against Simpson will be a battery of nine attorneys representing the Goldman and Brown families.   Prosecutors were accused of botching the criminal case.   Now the families hope to right those wrongs with evidence about the famous slow-speed freeway chase and Simpson's history of domestic violence.   Flashy defence attorney Johnnie Cochran, who led Simpson's "Dream Team" in the criminal trial, has stepped aside in favour of Robert Baker, a veteran civil lawyer with strong credentials in wrongful death suits.   Baker, who has assembled a team of five lawyers, wants to introduce many of the same theories of police racism and conspiracy that helped Simpson beat the criminal charges.   Presiding over the trial is Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki, a no-nonsense jurist who banned cameras to prevent a repeat of what he called the "circus atmosphere" of the criminal trial. 
13912 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry said on Thursday Iraqi warnings against Kuwait were "totally unacceptable" and U.S. forces building in the Gulf would use "robust" action to protect American interests and friends.    Perry spoke after Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz warned Kuwait on Thursday against permitting U.S. warplanes to use Kuwait bases for possible military strikes against Iraq.   Aziz said Kuwait had declared war on Iraq by agreeing to accept the new basing of U.S. F-117A stealth fighters.   "Those kind of rash statements are totally unacceptable," Perry told reporters at the Pentagon.   "Our forces are there in the first place because Iraq invaded Kuwait back in 1991, and have been there since then to provide deterrence for any future action of that sort."   Speaking in response to questions at a photo opportunity with visiting Slovenian Defense Minister Jelko Kacin, Perry again warned Iraq not to challenge U.S. warplanes patrolling no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq.   "They (U.S.) forces have very robust rules of engagement.   So everybody should understand that the United States will take all necessary and appropriate action to protect our forces and to protect our interests in that area," Perry said. 
13913 !GCAT !GCRIM  Victor Gomez, formerly Chemical Bank's principal trader in Mexican pesos, pleaded guilty on Thursday to making unauthorised trades that resulted in a $70 million loss to the bank in 1994.   Gomez, 35, pleaded guilty in federal court to a 13-count indictment charging him with bank fraud and making false entries in bank records.   He faces a possible maximum sentence of 30 years on each count and fines of $1 million on each count.   U.S. District Judge Michael Mukasey set a sentencing date of Dec. 13.   Gomez had been arrested on March 20 by Scotland Yard at his home is Chesham, outside of London.   The indictment against him charged that in November and December 1994 Gomez took unauthorised positions in Mexican pesos exceeding $200 million.   He admitting hiding the positions by entering fictitious offsetting trades into Chemical's computer systems.   The secret positions caused the bank to lose about $70 million when the peso was suddenly devalued on Dec. 20, 1994, and subsequently fell further.   In pleading guilty, Gomez said that he had intended for the trades to be profitable.   "At no time did I intend to victimise Chemical Bank," he told the judge.   Gomez's trading was discovered by the bank at the end of 1994 and it publicly announced the losses on Jan. 3, 1995.   Chemical Bank has since merged with Chase Manhattan Corp. 
13914 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  Maine's Secretary of State William Diamond said he expects record turnout at the polls Nov 5 when state voters will approve or reject two measures that would restrict timber harvesting.   In the last presidential election, 73 percent of Maine's voters cast their ballots.   While one of the clear-cutting measures drafted by the Green Party would ban the practice entirely, one that was proposed by the Gov. Angus King would restrict it to a 75-acre swath instead of the current 250-acre limit.   A group of citizens is planning to oppose the referendum to ban clearcutting, among other issues, though it does not expect to set up a formal organization next week, according to Mary Adams, an unsuccessful Republican candidate for governor.   --U.S. Municipal Desk, 212-859-1650 
13915 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  No country outside former Yugoslavia has more riding on next Saturday's Bosnian elections than the United States, whose Dayton accord ending the four-year Balkan war stands or falls by their success.   U.S. officials have fended off rising criticism from both ends of the American political spectrum that their enthusiasm for the vote has more to do with President Bill Clinton's wish to be re-elected than with the interests of the Bosnians.   Instead, Washington has vigorously promoted the poll as a unique chance to create new institutions for a multi-ethnic Bosnia, setting the country at last on the road to peace.   But, as reports have poured in of electoral abuses by the dominant Serb, Moslem and Croat parties in Bosnia, U.S. spokesmen have progressively trimmed expectations of the vote, while continuing to insist it is essential.   They no longer predict that the election will be "free and fair", as stipulated by last November's U.S.-brokered Dayton pact dividing Bosnia into a Moslem-Croat federation and a Serb republic.   The phrase now is "democratic and effective".   U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher has openly admitted the vote will fall short of Western standards, given that it is taking place in a country ravaged by years of ethnic strife.   In a further move to head off charges likely to be heard after the elections that they were a sham, Christopher's spokesman Nicholas Burns argued this week that they were never intended to be a "final examination" for Dayton.   "They were never designed to be the end of the process.   In fact, in a very real sense, they're the beginning of the process," Burns told reporters.   None of this has convinced critics, who say the main reason the administration wants to go through with the poll is that to call it off could be a serious blow to Clinton in U.S. presidential elections less than eight weeks away.   It would throw into confusion the Dayton peace process, touted as one of Clinton's main foreign policy triumphs, and blow away a December deadline for U.S. troops in the international peace implementation force IFOR to return home.   Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger wrote this week that the elections were "turning into a travesty" and that the Clinton administration was "impaled upon the horns of a self-inflicted dilemma".   "It supports the Bosnian election as a means of withdrawing our troops, while that withdrawal is being prevented by the electoral process itself, because troops will be needed to police both the election and its outcome," he said.   Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole has called for a postponement, saying the election would be a fraud that would "make a mockery of our principles and commitment to democracy."   The Human Rights Watch group says the elections are "about creating an illusion so that an American presidential election can go smoothly".   The main criticism has been that, as a result of pressure and intimidation, the election will entrench in power nationalist parties bent on the complete partition of Bosnia.   The administration's response has been that there is no alternative to the elections, flawed as they may be.   U.S. officials served notice this week that, whatever happened in the election, no ethnic group would be allowed to secede from Bosnia.   The warning was directed mainly at the Serbs, who have heralded the vote as a means of realising their aim of creating an independent state.   "There is not going to be any secession and the Serbs know that," said John Kornblum, assistant secretary of state for European affairs.   Burns said on Wednesday the United States would not connive at blatant fraud in the election, where the chief U.S. observer will be Richard Holbrooke, the tough-minded official who negotiated the Dayton pact.   "We're not willing to sanction a sham.   And if a sham takes place, we'll call it so," Burns said.   But if Washington declares the elections phoney, what then?   One key question is whether any follow-on force to IFOR, almost certainly requiring a U.S. contingent, will be created to continue to keep the peace in Bosnia after December, should the situation continue to be unstable.   U.S. officials say there can be no decision on this until the Bosnian election results have been asessed.   Cynics are already joking that a decision is likely Nov. 6 -- the day after the U.S. presidential elections. 
13916 !GCAT !GVIO  A Kurdish faction defeated by Baghdad-backed rivals said its forces came under attack from its foes and Iraqi artillery on Thursday as they tried to regroup.   The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) said 10 of its guerrillas were killed as they beat back militia of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) backed by Iraqi artillery near Mawar, east of Sulaimaniya.   In a statement released in Paris, PUK said it also repulsed a KDP attack near Choman and fighting was continuing.   PUK guerrillas were defeated in a 10-day drive through northern Iraq by the Baghdad-backed KDP.   The KDP campaign began on August 31 with the taking of the Iraqi Kurdish capital, Arbil, and ended last Monday with the seizure of Sulaimaniya, the PUK's last bastion.   In an earlier statement, PUK called its retreat a strategic redeployment and vowed to fight on against its KDP foes and Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.   It said it "decided on a strategic redeployment of forces to spare the long-suffering Kurdish people another round of massive armoured and artillery attacks by the (Baghdad) regime".   It voiced bitterness that the United States and its allies had failed to fulfil repeated promises of protection to the Kurds.   "When the moment finally came when Saddam saw fit to change all that, his aggression went unchallenged," it said.   The United States launched air strikes at Iraq after Iraqi tanks backed the attack on Arbil, in violation of a safe haven set by Western allies to protect Kurds from attack by Baghdad following the 1991 Gulf War and Saddam's brutal crackdown on a Kurd rebellion.   "The PUK has instructed its forces to redeploy to various locations inside Iraqi Kurdistan, regroup and reorganise," the statement said.   "The decision to redeploy was a very difficult one, but it was made...to avoid giving the aggressors a pretext to exact revenge upon civilians," it said.   Tens of tousands of Kurds have fled from advancing KDP forces, and Iran said on Wednesday it was sheltering 39,000 refugees.   PUK said more than 20 of its associates were summarily executed by KDP forces in Bashmagh, near the Iranian border, in a campaign to frighten refugees from returning.   It said KDP militia had taken over hundreds of homes and evicted their owners in Arbil, Sulaimaniya and other towns.   It accused Iraqi forces of dismantling print works in Arbil and taking them to Mosul and Baghdad, as well as looting computers and laboratory equipment from Arbil university "in scenes reminiscent of the rape of Kuwait".   "Yet, the struggle continues, and this is a new day in the long march of the Kurdish people towards freedom," PUK said.   "We will adopt a new strategy to maintain the struggle to reverse the terrible situation brought about by (the KDP's Massoud) Barzani's treacherous collusion with the tormentor of the Kurdish people, Saddam Hussein," it said.   Saddam has issued a general amnesty for Kurds and lifted a five-year blockade of the Kurdish region in northern Iraq.   Barzani has issued his own amnesty to Jalal Talabani's PUK forces and said that once he admits defeat new elections must be organised in which PUK would be eligible to participate. 
13917 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The U.N. Security Council on Thursday said it was still behind the oil-for-food deal for Iraq that has been on hold since Baghdad sent troops into the largely Kurdish-inhabited area of northern Iraq.   But the council was too divided on the latest crisis in Iraq to issue a formal statement telling Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to implement the oil-for-food plan as soon as possible as Italy had proposed.   Instead, the president of the council, Alfredo Lopes Cabral of Guinea-Bissau, said he was authorised to tell Boutros-Ghali "that it should be left to the judgment of the secretary-general whenever (his) conditions are met."   Under the plan, Iraq would be able to sell $2 billion worth of oil over six months, on a renewable basis, to buy food, medical supplies and other civilian needs for its people under six years of stringent U.N. trade sanctions.   "The humanitarian consideration should override every other consideration," said Italy's ambassador Francesco Paolo Fulci, who had urged a formal statement.   Britain's ambassador Sir John Weston said it was for the secretary-general to judge when conditions allowed him to go ahead.   "There is no need for the council to say anything now."   But Fulci said Boutros-Ghali should move as soon as possible because "people cannot continue to die while we are talking, going to dinner dances," even if this was the fault of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.   Despite numerous council discussions, no diplomat or U.N. official has given any hint on what criteria would be necessary for the plan to go ahead or whether the United States would seek to block it.   Diplomats said a formal statement would have revealed the divisions in the council again on whether to condemn Baghdad for its incursion into the northern Kurdish provinces.   "It would be difficult for the United States and others to agree to a formal statement and not say why the oil-for-food deal is delayed," said one envoy.   For four days last week Russia blocked a resolution that would have criticised Saddam for his incursion into the northern provinces, without mentioning the U.S. retaliatory air strikes.   Moscow insisted the resolution criticise all military action in Iraq.   The oil-for-food plan, approved by the Security Council, has stalled since Saddam sent in troops to support one faction in an inter-Kurdish struggle.   Boutros-Ghali announced on September 1 that, because of a lack of security in the region, he was delaying the dispatch of U.N. staff needed to supervise the plan, which until then had been expected to go into effect within a few weeks.   Under council resolution 986, authorising the plan, it is up to Boutros-Ghali to decide when the situation permits him to complete those arrangements and begin implementing it.   The programme was intended to ease the effects of sanctions imposed on Iraq since its August 1990 invasion of Kuwait.   In related action, the United Nations and France's Banque Nationale de Paris signed an agreement under which the bank will handle escrow funds from the oil-for-food deal, the United Nations said.   The bank has to apply to the United States Treasury Department for an exemption to sanctions against Iraq to open an escrow account in New York to handle the funds when the plan is implemented. 
13918 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Justice Minister Jacques Toubon triggered a fresh outcry on Thursday for saying that far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen could not be prosecuted under French law over a comment that inequality between races was "a fact".   Toubon said the statement, which Le Pen has repeated several times in various forms over the past few days, could not be punished under existing laws, and he would soon ask parliament to tighten the laws against spreading xenophobia and racism.   "The words in question do not appear to constitute a violation of the penal code or of press laws, as the principle of equality contained in the Declaration of Human Rights is not directly included in law," Toubon said in a statement.   Legal experts were quick to dispute his interpretation of the law.   Pierre Mazeaud, head of the National Assembly's laws committee, said it was up to courts to interpret the law and he believed the government, or any citizen, could sue Le Pen, the leader of the anti-immigrant National Front.   The mayor of the immigrant Lyon suburb of Vaulx-en-Velin said he was suing Le Pen because the statement could fuel tension in his mixed-race community.   French laws punish inciting racial hatred by up to a year in prison, fines of up to 300,000 francs ($60,000) and five years' ineligibility for public office.   The National Front welcomed Toubon's statement, but said his intention to stiffen the law would curb freedom of expression and "reinforce the hateful Thought Police".   The Movement against Racism (MRAP) said Toubon's decision to rule out legal action pulled the rug from its own announcement that it would prosecute Le Pen and "added insult to injury towards the various nationalities living on our soil".   Eric Raoult, junior minister for territorial planning, urban affairs and integration, said that Le Pen was "turning into a Nazi" while his National Front party "has become fascist".   An unrepentant Le Pen said in a television interview on Wednesday, "I don't see why saying one does not believe in racial equality is a violation of human dignity."   Fresh controversy broke out as one of four skinheads held for the 1990 desecration of a Jewish cemetery in the southern town of Carpentras apologised to the Jewish people and said in a letter released to the press he had "been under the influence of the National Front hate and xenophobic proclamations".   The Front denied any contact with the Carpentras skinheads.   In yet another controversy, the National Front planned a demonstration on Saturday in the southern port city of Marseille after a 15-year-old French youth of North African descent was arrested in the fatal stabbing of a white Marseille youth.   Even before the arrest, the Front had denounced the attack as "a crime against France, committed by immigrant thugs of North African origin".   Both the murder victim's father and Marseille mayor Jean-Claude Gaudin criticised the politicisation of the crime.   The row over the National Front's role in French politics occurred amid discussion of election law reforms expected to help the Front break into the National Assembly, where it now has no seats, in the 1998 general elections.   Prime Minister Alain Juppe had last week proposed a reform in election law that political analysts said would enable the Front to win a sizeable bloc of seats in the National Assembly.   Le Pen, whose slogan is "France for the French" and who once dismissed Nazi gas chambers as "a mere detail in the history of World War Two", won 15 percent of the vote in last year's presidential elections. 
13919 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDEF !GVIO  A Spanish high court judge has called on more than 100 members of the Argentine armed forces to give evidence about the "dirty war" conducted under their country's 1976-83 military dictatorship.   Judge Baltasar Garzon is investigating the disappearance of more than 400 Spaniards in Argentina during the dictatorship, when the authorities kidnapped and killed thousands of people suspected of radical leftist political activities or sympathies.   In documents released on Thursday, the judge asked the Argentines to appear in court to give evidence on their alleged involvement in the disappearance of the missing Spaniards.   The armed forces chiefs who lead the 1976 coup, General Jorge Videla, Brigadier General Orlando Agosti and Admiral Emilio Massera, were among those named in the court documents obtained by Reuters.   The attorneys who filed the suit said they would seek international arrest warrants through Interpol if the accused refused to testify.   Garzon launched the probe in July after determining that Spain had authority to try the case.   He has also called on all of the victims' families to testify.   His court order on Thursday approved the creation of a special judicial police body to coordinate the search for information on the missing Spaniards.   In Argentina, the main military chiefs who directed the campaign of kidnapping, torture and murder against left-wing opposition were tried and imprisoned in 1985 and then pardoned and freed in 1989 by current President Carlos Menem. 
13920 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  Hundreds of African and Asian immigrants occupied a Paris police office on Thursday to demand residence permits for 350 of them, witnesses said.   After several hours the protesters peacefully left the building, where police screen applications for residence permits, after receiving assurances that their demands would be considered.   Their spokesman said the 350 were nationals from 21 countries, and 150 of them were Asians.   Signalling a continuing hard line on illegal immigrants, the Interior Ministry said 57 Romanians were deported to Bucharest on a chartered flight on Thursday, and 14 Tunisians were sent home by ship this month.   The latest deportations took to more than 8,800 the number of foreigners expelled from France this year, an increase of 24 percent over the same period last year, the ministry said.   Thursday's protest took place in a heavily immigrant northern district, not far from the Saint Bernard church where some 300 Africans, 10 of them on a hunger strike, were holed up for two months to demand residence permits.   Police evicted them in August.   The government has flown home eight of the Saint Bernard protesters and said the others had no legal right to stay in France but their cases would be reviewed individually on humanitarian grounds.   Many immigrants say they once enjoyed residence rights but were plunged into illegality when laws were stiffened in 1993 to curb immigration.   The Consultative National Human Rights Commission asked the government on Thursday to review implementation of the laws in order to grant residence permits to several categories of foreigners whose legal situation was unclear.   They included foreigners who have a French spouse, foreign spouses and children of legal foreign residents, parents of French-born children, illegal residents who have a job and have blended well in French society, students and ill persons.   It said the law also should be reviewed to allow residence permits for foreigners whose request for political asylum had been rejected but who would face serious danger if they were sent back to their home country. 
13921 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !G15 !G158 !GCAT  The European Union's trade deficit with former Soviet states remained static last year, but new figures suggest demand is growing for a wider range of products from West.   Figures released on Thursday by Eurostat -- the EU's statistical office -- showed the 15-nation bloc posted a 5.3 billion European currency unit ($6.63 billion) trade deficit with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).   EU imports from the CIS were worth 23.2 billion Ecus in 1995 -- an 8.8 percent increase on the previous year.   Exports rose 11.5 percent to 17.9 billion Ecus.   Nearly a quarter of all EU exports to the CIS were taken up by manufactured products -- particularly industrial machinery -- but overall volume and value in this area declined by nearly 16 percent.   Experts noted, however, huge increases in the volume and value of EU-produced luxury goods.   Exports of perfumes, clothing, furniture and finished electronic goods such as stereos, cameras and personal computers all registered double-digit growth.   "This is the sign of a more sophisticated market," said a European Commission official.   "It suggests there is more money there for European producers to tap into."   Petroleum and related products were the biggest EU imports, accounting for 27 percent of trade and worth 6.2 billion Ecus.   This was a drop of around 12 percent, but CIS exports of unfinished and finished metal products soared by nearly 50 percent.   Russia continues to be the dominant EU trade partner within the CIS, but Ukraine -- which on Wednesday won praise from the European Commission for its market reforms -- increased its share.   Russia accounted for over 75 percent of EU exports and 86 percent of imports.   Kyrgyzstan remains the EU's least significant trade partner within the CIS, accounting for just 50 million Ecus of exports and 30 million Ecus in imports.   Germany grabbed the lion's share of trade-flow with the CIS, accounting for 40 percent.   Italy (18.5 percent) and France (12 percent) followed, while Portugal had less than one percent of imports and exports.   The figures only include trade with 12 EU states.   Details for Finland, Austria and Sweden -- which joined the union last year -- have not been included.   EU trade with the CIS by country in 1995:    EU Exports  EU Imports  Trade balance    Pct Ecus +- Pct Ecus +-  Ecus Pct   Ukraine 11.5 2.06 23.6 6.3 1.45 15.9 0.61 17.3   Belarus  4.6 0.83 43.5 2.3 0.53 24.9 0.29 21.7   Moldova  0.8 0.14 84.8 0.4 0.09 76.9 0.05 23.0   Russia  75.7 13.52 11.1 86.0 19.92 8.3 -6.40 -19.1   Georgia  0.5 0.10 8.7 0.1 0.02 34.7 0.08 64.9   Armenia  0.7 0.13 118.1 0.1 0.03 -9.8 0.10 58.9   Azerbaijan 0.7 0.12 45.1 0.2 0.05 113.3 0.07 42.4   Kazakhstan 2.1 0.37 -44.9 1.4 0.32 17.9 0.06 8.0   Turkmenistan 0.4 0.08 -47.2 0.7 0.15 -20.0 -0.07 -31.4   Uzbekistan 2.3 0.41 5.3 2.1 0.49 -5.7 -0.08 - 8.9   Tadjikistan 0.3 0.05 26.3 0.3 0.07 -20.0 -0.02 -19.9   Kyrgyzstan 0.3 0.05 12.5 0.1 0.03 49.6 0.02 20.3   CIS  100.0 17.86 11.5 100.0 23.16 8.8 -5.30 -12.9   *Eurostat, Statistics in Focus - External Trade (ISSN 1024-6878); Catalogue number CA-NO-96-008-EN-C.   ($1 = 0.80 Ecu) 
13922 !GCAT !GREL  Leaders of the World Council of Churches, which links more than 400 million Christians in over 100 countries, were told on Thursday the body was in deep financial crisis and would have to scale back activities.   The gloomy forecast for the Geneva-based ecumenical body, which joins Anglican, Lutheran, Orthodox and other non-Roman Catholic churches, was delivered by General Secretary Konrad Reiser to the WCC's steering Central Committee.   With a decline in revenue of nearly 50 per cent since 1991, Reiser said, "income is no longer sufficient to maintain the present level of activities of the WCC".   With a touch of wry humour, the German former pastor said that until recently few could have anticipated that the theme for the council's 1998 Assembly "Turn to God, Rejoice in Hope" would "so soon be addressed to the WCC itself".   The council has wide-ranging programmes to help the poor in developing countries and takes part in war- and disaster-relief operations as well as helping to resettle the world's growing population of refugees.   Reiser insisted that despite the funding problem the organisation remained viable and its basic mandate to promote cooperation between different denominations was not in jeopardy.   But he said the decline in income from around $98 million six years ago to a projected $50 million next year meant more job losses were inevitable at its Geneva headquarters, where staff has already been cut by 20 per cent from 270 in 1992.   By next year, Reiser told the 156-member Central Committee, the current 237 staff would have to be reduced to 190 and even this number might have to be cut further.   Without giving details, the WCC general secretary blamed the crisis partly on unfavourable exchange rates and losses on investments and forward currency contracts.   Exchange rates have been a problem over the past four years for all the many international organisations based in Geneva, one of the world's most expensive cities, as the Swiss franc has soared in value against most other major currencies.   Echoing an impassioned circular letter he issued to all member-bodies in July, Reiser also rebuked many churches in the WCC -- over 40 per cent of its membership -- who paid nothing into its coffers despite an agreed annual levy of $800.   The fact that such a high percentage failed to make contributions, he said, "is one indication of the level of commitment."   And another senior WCC official, Central Commmittee Moderator Catholicos Aram I of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Lebanon, revealed that three quarters of total income came from four countries -- Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United States.   During Cold War years, the WCC was often criticised by some Western and especially U.S. political figures for grants to some movements, including the African National Congress in South Africa, which they saw as communist-influenced.   But the council always insisted money was carefully funnelled into humanitarian projects to relieve suffering caused by racism and was not intended to support violence. 
13923 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  The United Nations on Thursday took credit for convincing Burundi's military leaders to restore parliament and lift the ban on political parties outlawed after their July coup.   U.N. officials said the change in the military's attitude, announced in the Burundi capital of Bujumbura, followed frequent contacts by Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Assistant Secretary-General Lansana Kouyate with Buyoya and others in Burundi and in the region.   "As a result of these diplomatic efforts, Mayor Buyoya has, effective immediately, lifted the ban on political parties and restored the National Assembly," said a U.N. statement issued by a spokesman to the secretary-general.   "The secretary-general believes that these are extremely positive steps and hopes that they will be followed by others," the statement said, adding: "He reamins fully committed to his efforts to restore stability to the country and to the achievement of lasting national reconciliation."   Jean-Luc Ndizeye, spokesman for Buyoya, said the government would hold a news conference on Friday to explain its plans for a revival of political life.   Buyoya, a retired major and former Tutsi military ruler, suspended political parties and the national assembly after seizing power on July 25.   He ousted the coalition government headed by elected Hutu president Sylvestre Ntibantunganya, who has been holed up in the U.S. ambassador's residence in Bujumbura since then.   Neighboring African states cut transport links and oil supplies to the landlocked country and blocked exports of coffee, the main cash earner.   They listed the restoration of the assembly and unbanning of parties among the conditions for lifting sanctions.   The sanctions were also intended to pressure Buyoya into talks with rebels from the Hutu majority, which makes up 85 per cent of the country's six million people.   The United Nations has said it fears Burundi could go the way of its northern neighbor Rwanda, where up to a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in fighting and genocidal massacres in 1994. 
13924 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Northern League leader Umberto Bossi on Friday sets out on a three-day journey from the icy mountain source of the River Po to promised "independence" for Italy's rich north.   The fiery separatist, despite increasingly loud warnings from government, intends to proclaim a "Republic of Padania" in the eastern lagoon city of Venice on Sunday after a "March to the Sea" along the 625 km (405 mile) river.   The journey will be punctuated by rallies along the river which the movement hopes will draw more than one million supporters of their bid to break away from Rome.   But the first, highly symbolic event, comes far away from the League's heartland in the industrial cities.   On Friday evening, against a backdrop of snowy peaks and raging mountain torrents high in the western Alps near the border with France, Bossi will fill two flasks of Venetian glass with water from the Po and take a soil sample.   A flat rock, jutting out over the source of the river that bisects northern Italy, has been prepared for the leader who has likened himself to the Scottish warrior "Braveheart" and whose party symbol is a knight with a raised sword.   A black plaque with the words "Padania-Po-15 09 96" has been placed on a granite slab by the rock platform.   After his appearance at around 1600 GMT, Bossi is then due to address a gathering further down the mountain before heading for Turin and a firework display on the Po.   At the same time, political opponents plan rival demonstrations in support of Italian unity.   What was once dismissed as a summer sideshow by many has taken on a more alarming tone, with government leaders pointing to neighbouring Yugoslavia as a warning.   Bossi's most prominent dissident from the League, former parliamentary Speaker Irene Pivetti, cautioned this week that to dismiss Bossi was a mistake.   "He is now serious about what he is doing.   He really does want secession," she said.   Bossi's reply on Thursday was to expel her from the parliamentary party.   Inhabitants of the small village of Crissolo, the starting point for the winding road up to Pian del Re, generally expressed little excitement about Friday's ceremonies.   The village, which has hosted the Giro d'Italia cycle race in previous years, is no stranger to mass invasion by the media and public but is also no League hotbed.   Roadside graffiti leading up to Pian del Re at 2,040 metres altitude, expressed the locals' divided emotions.   "Italy United," reads one slogan painted on the road, with an obscenity scrawled immediately beneath it.   Were Bossi to be arriving by road, rather than the helicopter he intends to use if the weather permits, he would see slogans declaring "Down with Bossi" and "League=Hitler" mingling with others declaring "Padania=Freedom".   "To be quite honest, I am a little concerned," said Crissolo shopkeeper Paulo, who declined to give his surname.   "When we have the Giro its a great party.   But I'm not so sure that those coming here are going to be so minded."   The weather could ultimately dampen the occasion however, with some weather forecasts predicting violent thunderstorms and heavy rain in northern Italy for Friday afternoon. 
13925 !GCAT !GCRIM  Jean-Michel Nihoul, previously charged only with criminal association in the Belgian scandal of child abduction, sexual abuse and murder, had the charge of kidnapping added on Thursday, Belga news agency said.   Belga said Public Prosecutor Michel Bourlet had informed it that Nihoul was now officially linked to the abduction on August 9 of 14-year-old Laetitia Delhez.   Laetitia was rescued six days later along with Sabine Dardenne, 12, from a makeshift concrete dungeon in the basement of a house in the Charleroi suburb of Marcinelle owned by convicted child rapist Marc Dutroux.   Sabine had been abducted on May 28.   Both children had been sexually abused.   Belgium has been racked with grief and anger for nearly a month as first the two youngsters were rescued and then the bodies of four more were found in two different locations -- both connected with Dutroux.   Police have stepped up the hunt for seven other missing children.   Nine people are currently under arrest in connection with the linked cases of child abduction and car theft.   Dutroux and associate Michel Lelievre have been charged with abduction and illegal imprisonment and Michelle Martin, Dutroux' second wife, has been charged as an accomplice.   Nihoul's former companion Annie Bouty -- seemingly the link to Belgium's other scandal of political assassination -- is charged with criminal association, as are two other men.   Chief detective Georges Zicot and businessman Gerrard Pinon have been charged in the related case of car theft. 
13926 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, whose hopes for re-election face the prospect of a U.S. veto, received a renewed expression of support on Thursday from the 22-member Arab group.   At a lunch in Boutros-Ghali's honour, the group's current chairman, ambassador Gaafar Allagany of Saudi Arabia, reiterated the backing for a second term voiced by the Arab League at a summit in Cairo in June.   The secretary-general's five-year term expires at the end of this year and he has announced his intention of seeking re-election.   But Washington said in June the United Nations needed new leadership and threatened to use its veto if necessary to block the veteran Egyptian diplomat.   A secretary-general is appointed by the 185-nation General Assembly on the recommendation of the 15-member Security Council whose five permanent members -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France -- each has a veto. 
13927 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Delegations representing Morocco and the Polisario Front, at loggerheads over the future of Western Sahara, recently met for the first time in more than three years in Geneva and Tangier, Polisario's New York representative said on Thursday.   Bujari Ahmed, who said he was not present at either encounter, told Reuters the outcome of the meetings was "not very encouraging 100 percent," but he could provide no details.   A U.N.-organised referendum was to have been held in January 1992 to decide whether Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, should be incorporated into Morocco, which controls most of the territory, or become independent, as sought by Polisario.   A U.N.-monitored ceasefire, which ended a brushfire war, has been in effect since September 1991.   But the referendum has been repeatedly postponed because of differences over who should be allowed to vote.   A recent report by U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said it was unlikely the voter identification process would be resumed any time soon.   Ahmed said the Geneva meeting took place in mid-August and was attended by Moroccan Interior Minister Driss Basri and by Polisario's chief negotiator on the U.N. peace plan, Bashir Sayed.   He said the second meeting was held in Tangier some time last week, with the participation of Morocco's Prince Mohamed, son of King Hassan II.   Sayed again headed the Polisario delegation.   Ahmed said the last time the two sides met was in July 1993 in Laayoune, the capital of Western Sahara.   He said the current situation was "very dangerous because we cannot accept a ceasefire without any political process."   Asked about prospects for further meetings, he said: "We hope." 
13928 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  A French news magazine said on Thursday that two shipments of a Russian-made gas that could be used in military warheads passed through the Cyprus port of Limassol bound for Syria last December.   The weekly Le Nouvel Observateur quoted Israeli and U.S. intelligence services as the sources for its seven-line report.   It said the gas could be used in chemical warheads for Scud-type missiles that could be assembled in Syria with technology supplied by North Korea.   It gave no further details. 
13929 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  The Kurdish faction defeated by Iraq-backed rivals called its retreat a strategic redeployment and vowed on Thursday to fight on against its foes and Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.   The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) said in a statement released in Paris it "decided on a strategic redeployment of forces to spare the long-suffering Kurdish people another round of massive armoured and artillery attacks by the (Baghdad) regime".   PUK guerrillas were defeated in a 10-day drive through northern Iraq by the Baghdad-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).   The KDP campaign began on August 31 with the taking of the Iraqi Kurdish capital, Arbil, and ended last Monday with the seizure of Sulaimaniya, the PUK's last bastion.   The United States launched air strikes at Iraq after Iraqi tanks backed the attack on Arbil, in violation of a safe haven set by Western allies to protect Kurds from attack by Baghdad following the 1991 Gulf War and Saddam's brutal crackdown on a Kurd rebellion.   "The PUK has instructed its forces to redeploy to various locations inside Iraqi Kurdistan, regroup and reorganise," the statement said.   "The decision to redeploy was a very difficult one, but it was made...to avoid giving the aggressors a pretext to exact revenge upon civilians," it said.   Tens of tousands of Kurds have fled from advancing KDP forces, and Iran said on Wednesday it was sheltering 39,000 refugees.   PUK voiced bitterness that the United States and its allies had failed to fulfil repeated promises of protection to the Kurds.   "When the moment finally came when Saddam saw fit to change all that, his aggression went unchallenged," it said.   "Yet, the struggle continues, and this is a new day in the long march of the Kurdish people towards freedom," it said.   "We will adopt a new strategy to maintain the struggle to reverse the terrible situation brought about by (the KDP's Massoud) Barzani's treacherous collusion with the tormentor of the Kurdish people, Saddam Hussein," it said.   Saddam has issued a general amnesty for Kurds and lifted a five-year blockade of the Kurdish region in northern Iraq.   Barzani has issued his own amnesty to Jalal Talabani's PUK forces and said that once he admits defeat new elections must be organised in which PUK would be eligible to participate. 
13930 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  German authorities on Thursday for the first time put an electronic Internet page on a list of banned publications.   But they had little immediate hope of preventing the page being transmitted as one of the major providers giving access to the network said it would not block it.   The BPJS, the federal office assigned to protect juveniles from dangerous publications, put on its "index" of banned publications a computer-accessible World Wide Web site run by Canadian-based right-wing apologist Ernst Zuendel.   The banning order, as reproduced on Zuendel's own page, said the site "propagates Nazi or extreme right-wing ideology by denying Nazi crimes and so attempts to raise the status of the Nazi regime and its ideology by perverting history..."   Distribution of such material is a criminal offence on Germany and officials are frustrated that it is available on the Internet originating from World Wide Web sites in North America, out of the reach of German justice.   BPJS officials conceded off the record that the ban, which takes effect on September 28, was a political signal which was unlikely to succeed in getting the pages closed down.   A spokesman for T-Online, the online service of telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom and one of Germany's major providers, said: "We do not intend to block the page."   German authorities are currently investigating a number of online services but have not so far managed to pin responsibility for the contents of the Internet -- a network of interlinked computers providing access to millions of different electronic pages -- on to the providers.   "We only provide an infrastructure for our clients," said T-Online spokesman Juergen Homeyer.   "After all, Telekom isn't responsible for the telephone conversations carried out on the lines it provides."   Nevertheless, last December CompuServe Inc voluntarily blocked worldwide access to some sexually explicit online forums after German authorities began investigating it in connection with the distribution of child pornography. 
13931 !GCAT !GDIP  Security Council members on Thursday deplored the recent killing of a Turkish Cypriot soldier and the wounding of another, council President Alfredo Lopes Cabral said.   He was speaking to reporters after closed-door consultations on a number of issues, including a briefing on the situation in Cyprus by Under-Secretary-General Chinmaya Gharekhan, a senior aide to Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.   Referring to a shooting incident last Sunday on the Mediterranean island, virtually partitioned between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, he said: "The members of the council have ... mandated the president of the council to deplore, on their behalf, the killing of one Turkish Cypriot soldier and the wounding of another soldier, and to emphasise the need for both parties to refrain from any action which could contribute to the escalation of the situation."   Turkish Cypriots and Turkey blamed Greek Cypriot soldiers for last Sunday's shooting near the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone that separates the two sides.   Last month two Greek Cypriots were killed during anti-Turkish demonstrations on the demarcation line. 
13932 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  The U.N. Security Council on Thursday said it was still behind the oil-for-food deal for Iraq that has been on hold since Baghdad sent troops into the largely Kurdish-inhabited area of northern Iraq   However, while supportive of the deal, the council decided not to issue a formal statement telling Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to implement the oil-for-food plan as soon as possible.   Instead, the president of the council, Alfredo Lopes Cabral of Guinea-Bissau, was authorised to tell Boutros-Ghali personally on behalf of the council that he should implement the plan when conditions in Iraq permit.   Under the plan, Iraq would be able to sell $2 billion worth of oil over six months, on a renewable basis, to buy food, medical supplies and other civilian needs for its people under six years of stringent U.N. trade sanctions.   "The humanitarian consideration should override every other consideration," said Italy's ambassador Francesco Paolo Fulci, who had urged a formal statement in an effort to send a signal to the Iraqi people that they had not been forgotten.   Britain's ambassador Sir John Weston said it was for the secretary-general to judge when conditions allowed him to go ahead.   "There is no need for the council to say anything now."   But Fulci said Boutros-Ghali should move as soon as possible because "people cannot continue to die while we are talking, going to dinner dances."   Another aim was to reassure "our public opinion", concerned over "the very cruel situation in which innocent people are finding themselves," even if this was also the fault of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, he said.   Despite numerous council discussions, no diplomat or U.N. official has given any hint on what criteria would be necessary for the plan to go ahead or whether the United States would seek to block it.   Diplomats said a formal statement would have revealed the divisions in the council again on whether to condemn Baghdad for its incursion into the northern Kurdish provinces.   "It would be difficult for the United States and others to agree to a formal statement and not say why the oil-for-food deal is delayed," said one envoy.   For four days last week, Russia blocked a resolution that would have criticised Saddam for his incursion into the northern provinces, without mentioning the U.S. retaliatory air strikes.   Moscow insisted the resolution criticise all military action in Iraq.   The oil-for-food plan, approved by the Security Council, has stalled since Saddam sent in troops to support one faction in an inter-Kurdish struggle.   Boutros-Ghali announced on September 1 that, because of a lack of security in the region, he was delaying the dispatch of U.N. staff needed to supervise the plan, which until then had been expected to go into effect within a few weeks.   Under council resolution 986, authorising the plan, it is up to Boutros-Ghali to decide when the situation permits him to complete those arrangements and begin implementing it.   The programme was intended to ease the effects of sanctions imposed on Iraq since its August 1990 invasion of Kuwait.   In related action, the United Nations and France's Banque Nationale de Paris signed an agreement under which the bank will handle escrow funds from the oil-for-food deal, the United Nations said.   The bank now has to apply to the United States Treasury Department for an exemption to sanctions against Iraq in order to open an escrow account in New York to handle the funds when the plan is implemented. 
13933 !C17 !C31 !C312 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  European Union Thursday signaled subsidized wheat sales may soon resume after being suspended since last year because of record prices, traders said.   But it could be days, possibly weeks, before subsidized exports actually take place as changes to EU regulations must first be made official, they cautioned.   At its weekly meeting the EU grain panel scrapped a daily 10 Ecu tax applying to soft wheat and durum wheat exports since mid-July, replacing it with a zero refund.   EU also voted a regulation that will prevent traders from offering to pay a tax to export EU wheat through the weekly grain tender system.    European Union has been under trade pressure to restore wheat subsidies as world prices fell in recent weeks on prospects of promising crops.   "The Commission has given the signal tax days are over.   Now the big question is when will the new regulation abolishing the tax tender system come into effect," a trader said.   The daily system works on a first-come-first-served basis with bids subject to a European Commission veto within three working days.   Weekly grain bids must be reviewed by all member states and can be limited to specific areas.   Since last December, traders have been able to offer to pay taxes and/or refunds to export wheat through the weekly tender system.    But the Commission was reluctant to restore wheat subsidies as long as some operators were willing to pay a tax.   "We all know we are in a wheat refund market, they are now getting bureaucratically in a position to sell their wheat with a refund," one trader said.   One member country official said the new regulation scrapping the tax tender system was mainly aimed at "preventing some exporters to block all wheat exports,"   But he saud this did not mean the EU planned to part with large tonnages of wheat nor grant substantial refunds.    Thursday, traders massively bid through France to export wheat under licences carrying a refund but the Commission granted only demands placed in Greece and Denmark for 4,500 tonnes of wheat with a minimum tax of 0.05 Ecus per tonne.   In a separate tender it granted 22,800 tonnes of EU free-market soft wheat for export to African, Caribbean and Pacific nations with a 5.50 Ecu refund.   That decision is however widely seen as a favour treatment to nations linked with the EU through a special trade pact.   EU slapped its wheat exports with a tax last year when stocks were low and prices at an all-time high but all that has changed as the world's main wheat producers Canada, the United States, Australia and EU all now face huge crops.   Prospects the EU may soon restore subsidy on its wheat exports prompted U.S. farm officials to recently threaten a trade war if EU subsidies distorted the market. 
13934 !CCAT !GCAT !GPRO  Britain's Duchess of York is taking up a career as a journalist for French magazine Paris Match, which she once sued for printing pictures of her topless with a male friend, the magazine said on Thursday.   "The Duchess of York joins our roving reporters.   She is taking up a new passion: journalism," the mass circulation glossy magazine said under a photo of Duchess Sarah Ferguson dressed in black and sitting barefoot on a sofa.   "Fergie, a free, intelligent, happy woman, has known how to maintain the happiness of her children and her links with Prince Andrew," the magazine said.   She and Prince Andrew, second son of Queen Elizabeth, divorced in May.   Paris Match said she would provide "several exclusive interviews and reports every year with the great people of the world."   It did not say how much she would earn.   In 1992, the Duchess and her friend John Bryan won 700,000 francs ($130,000) in damages after Paris Match published intimate photographs of them cavorting together at a Mediterranean villa.   A court ruled the photographs violated France's strict privacy laws.   The photos showed the duchess topless with Bryan in front of her then two pre-school age children.   And last July, Paris Match ignored Princess Diana and the Duchess of York's complaints of harassment by photographers to print pictures of the pair relaxing at a villa in the south of France.   "Di and Fergie without men," the weekly headlined its cover.   The Duchess of York, who has written children's books about a friendly helicopter, has been criticised by British media for lavish spending on a jet-set lifestyle. 
13935 !GCAT !GDIP  Britain's highest-ranked European Union official says criticism of the European Court of Justice by his countrymen is counter-productive and ill-founded.   Sir Leon Brittan, the EU's trade commissioner, will tell the European Union of Women in a speech to be delivered in London on Friday that eurosceptics were undermining the possibilty of reforming the court along the lines they wanted.   In the speech -- a copy of which was made available on Thursday -- he will say there was a "very serious risk that the debate will be distorted by ... the ill-founded fury of some eurosceptics".   Brittan, a former Conservative Party stalwart who served as home secretary before being appointed to the EU's executive, is a vociferous critic of eurosceptics within and outside his former party.   "Far from constantly burrowing into British sovereignty, the (European) court spends much of its time keeping Europe's hands -- and indeed its own hands -- off British affairs," he says.   Brittan's defence of the court comes in a week in which some British media have been fiercely critical of a judgement it made regarding televison broadcasts.   Some British newspapers interpreted a court ruling clarifying who was responsible for granting satellite licences to broadcasters as opening the doors to a wave of pornography from mainland Europe.   "The truth is the ruling does exactly the opposite," says Brittan.   Another example of how the court allowed individual countries to decide their own fate concerned the debate in 1992 over Sunday trading in Britain, he says.   "The House of Lords asked the European Court to rule (on the matter)," he says.   "The European Court replied that it was none of Europe's business and should be decided by British judges instead.   "Britain's partners are called to heel for breaking laws that harm our exports far more often than the other way around," he says.   "Those critics who clamour for the court to be disobeyed are inviting others to do the same."   Brittan says there were suspicions in Brussels and elswhere in Europe that Britain's real aim was "to emasculate" the court.   "With such interference in the background, no proosals for reform will get anywhere -- however moderate or sensible they may be -- and the sceptics themselves will be to blame." 
13936 !C13 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT !GCRIM  Belgian Telecommunications Minister Elio di Rupo said on Thursday he wanted the September 27 Telecommunications Council to discuss ways to keep child-sex pornography off the Internet.   He said he had asked the Irish presidency to place the item on the agenda.   "Given the extreme complexity of the problem, Elio Di Rupo is convinced that a solution at least at European level must be considered in all urgency," his office said in a statement.   He said he had already won support from French Telecommunications Minister Francois Fillon during a meeting on Thursday. 
13937 !GCAT !GDIP !GREL  Pope John Paul, due to visit France next week, has lost popularity in a country that was once a bastion of Roman Catholicism, an opinion poll showed on Thursday.   The Sofres survey, for the conservative Le Figaro Magazine, found that 53 percent of those polled had a good opinion of the Pontiff, down from 79 percent in 1986.   Twenty-six percent had a bad opinion, up from just six percent 10 years ago.   The French people have drifted away from papal injunctions against birth control, abortion and homosexuality.   And the Polish Pope has lost his lustre as an anti-Communist crusader since the fall of the Berlin Wall.   The Pope is to visit the western city of Tours, Brittany and the Vendee, and Reims in eastern France from September 19-22.   About 80 percent of French people are Roman Catholics but Church attendances have slumped in recent decades.   The poll also showed that about 80 percent of the 1,000 people polled, from August 28-30, did not believe the Pope's visit would damage France's secular traditions or pose a threat to those who disagreed with his moral teachings.   Dozens of anti-papal groups, ranging from ecologists to feminists, have called for a rally on September 22 in Paris to denounce his teachings and to express worries that the Pope is trampling a 1905 law separating church and state. 
13938 !GCAT !GDIP  The Security Council on Thursday was unable to agree on an Italian-drafted statement concerning the oil-for-food deal, thought unncessary by most other council members.   Instead the president of the council will tell Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali he should report to the council when he believes conditions in Iraq permit him to implement the oil-for-food deal, Britain's ambassador Sir John Weston said.   But there was no indication of when that would be in light of the current crisis between Iraq and the United States.    "It is for the secretary-general to judge for when conditions permit him to go ahead and report to the council," Weston said.   "There is no need for the council to say anything now."   Diplomats said that one reason members did not want a formal statement on the subject was because the United States and others would then demand that the council explain why there was a delay in implementing the plan.    This, they said, would mean mentioning Iraq's incursion into Kurdish areas and possibly the American air strikes -- a subject on which the council could not agree last week.   Russia would not allow a statement to be adopted that would criticize Iraq without mentioning the United States also.   The oil-for-food deal allows Iraq to sell $2 billion worth of oil in order over six months in order to buy badly needed food and medicine for its people. 
13939 !C12 !C15 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Belgian Kredietbank NV said on Thursday that an internal audit carried out following recent allegations of tax evasion at its sister bank Kredietbank SA Luxembourgoise had revealed no involvement of tax evasion in its own accounts.   "We have found no indication whatsoever of involvement in fraudulent fiscal manipulations," Kredietbank chief executive officer Marcel Cockaerts told a news conference on the bank's first half earnings.   He added the bank had also had contact with Belgium's regulatory Banking and Finance Commission about the allegations.   Cockaerts said the bank had not been approached by judicial authorities.   "We are not aware that any judicial investigation is under way," he said.   He said the bank had not made any provisions in connection with the Luxembourg allegations.   "In the current state of the affair there is no need to make provisions," he said.   -- Brussels Newsroom +32 2 287 6810, Fax +32 2 230 7710 
13940 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Bank of France governor Jean-Claude Trichet said the credibility of the European single currency would be supported by the stabilty of exchange rates between seven countries in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, minutes of a parliamentary finance committee said.   Trichet testified at a closed-door committee hearing on Wednesday and the minutes were released on Thursday.   "As regards entry to the single currency, he said he hoped the biggest number of countries possible could be in the first 'train'," the minutes quoted him as saying.    "However he said respect for the (Maastricht) criteria was in everyone's interest."   In the absence of an appropriate drop in inflation differentials, the single currency could create serious difficulties for competitiveness, while France, Germany and the Netherlands would suffer from higher interest rates due to the lower credibility of the euro.   "He insisted on the fact that the credibility of the single currency was largely supported by the stability seen for nine and a half years in exchange rates of seven countries in the European Monetary System Exchange Rate Mechanism (France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and luxembourg, Denmark and Austria)," they said.   -- Myra MacDonald, Paris Newsroom +33 1 42 21 53 81 
13941 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  Bosnian Vice-President Ejup Ganic said on Thursday he was unhappy with the conditions for Bosnia's elections on Saturday but that they would go foward because they were mandated by the U.S.-brokered Dayton peace accord.   "We are not happy with the conditions for the elections because not all the conditions set by the OSCE have been satisfied and many essential points are missing," Ganic told a news conference with Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini.   The OSCE -- Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe -- is overseeing the elections.   "But we will go ahead because the Dayton agreement requires these elections and these elections are organised by the international community and the quality of these elections are prescribed by the international community and, of course, responsibility will be shared respectively," he said.   Ganic, a Moslem, did not cite specific examples of conditions over which he was unhappy.   Voters in the two Bosnian entities created by the accord -- a Serb republic and a Moslem-Croat federation -- will elect joint institutions for Bosnia on Saturday.   Ganic, who was in Rome to sign a memorandum of understanding with Dini to speed up investments between Italy and Bosnia, said a successful election depended on the international community supporting these institutions, which had to start functioning immediately after the voting.   "We hope the international community after the elections will support joint institutions and continue to support the community of Bosnia-Herzegovina," he said.   He also said he would like more economic help from Europe.   "We are poor.   We don't have gold.   We don't have uranium...but we are striving for democracy." 
13942 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Bank of France governor Jean-Claude Trichet said the credibility of the European single currency would be supported by the stabilty of exchange rates between seven countries in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, minutes of a parliamentary finance committee said.   Trichet testified at a closed-door committee hearing on Wednesday and the minutes were released on Thursday.   "As regards (to) entry to the single currency, he said he hoped the biggest number of countries possible could be in the first 'train'," the minutes quoted him as saying.   "However, he said respect for the (Maastricht) criteria was in everyone's interest," the minutes added.   In the absence of an appropriate reduction in inflation differentials, the single currency could create serious difficulties in terms of competitiveness.   France, Germany and the Netherlands would suffer the reverse effect of higher interest rates due to the reduction in the credibility of the euro.   "He insisted on the fact that the credibility of the single currency was largely supported by the stability seen for nine and a half years in exchange rates of seven countries in the European Monetary System Exchange Rate Mechanism ( including France, Germany, Benelux, Denmark and Austria)," the minutes said.   -- Myra MacDonald, Paris Newsroom +33 1 42 21 53 81 
13943 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Finnish finance minister Sauli Niinisto said on Thursday the key question in deciding whether to link the markka to Europe's Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) remained whether a link was crucial to joining EMU.   "The fundamental question is of course to decide whether an ERM link is a criterion or not," Niinisto told parliament, referring to entry criteria for the third stage of Economic and Monetary Union.   "And we might, of course, have to answer the question that ... as our affairs regarding EMU criteria are in good shape, why would the markka not be linked to the ERM system, if that is regarded as a criterion?"   he said.   Niinisto repeated that the government will make its ERM decision this autumn, but did not elaborate on the timetable.   "The government's clear obligation to parliament is to see to it that the convergence criteria, to the extent that they are in the hands of the government, will be fulfilled," he said.   Only in this way would parliament have a real choice when deciding whether Finland should join the single currency, he added.   The Finnish parliament is expected to rule in autumn 1997 for or against being in the third phase of EMU from the start.   "The criteria are moderately well under control," Niinisto said.   The government's recently updated convergence programme said Finland would meet three of four convergence criteria in 1997, and would be very close on the fourth -- gross public debt in relation to gross domestic product.   The convergence programme did not mention ERM.   Niinisto has said an ERM link is a "yes" or "no" issue, not a matter of convergence.   The Maastricht treaty refers to exchange rate stability for two years prior to the start of the third phase of EMU.   Niinisto's remarks to parliament did not make clear on what grounds the government would decide whether ERM was an EMU criterion.   He later told Reuters that the view had strengthened last spring that ERM was a criterion, but did not elaborate.   Niinisto said he would inform the parliamentary groups of all parties in the house on EMU-related issues from September 19, or on the following Thursday.   This series of briefings would continue into October, he said.   But he told Reuters this timetable was in no way connected with the government's timetable for a decision on ERM.   Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen briefly joined the debate, saying there was cause for companies and households alike to be prepared as it seemed clear that the third phase of EMU would start on schedule in January 1999.   Lipponen also said Finland would make its EMU decisions independently. 
13944 !C18 !C181 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT  The European Commission said on Thursday it was vetting the proposed merger of television units Ufa, which belongs to German publishing giant Bertelsmann AG, and CLT, controlled by Luxembourg group Audiofina.   It said in a statement the deal apparently fell under the merger regulation 4064/89 which bans creation or strengthening of dominant positions.   The Commission investigation is only routine for the moment, since all large mergers and takeovers which affect the territory of the Union must get its blessing before becoming reality.   But, the EU has been extremely vigilant at maintaining competition in a field drastically changed by the advent of new technologies, including digital television, and the rapid progression of pay TV channels.   Competition Commissioner Karel Van Miert has warned that he would "run a fine tooth comb over the deal" between Bertelsmann and CLT.   The Commission blocked three media corporate agreements in the last two years of a total five merger prohibitions since 1990, when it received its extensive powers from the national governments of the Union.   One of them, the Holland Media Groep joint venture between CLT's RTL 4 SA and Dutch broadcaster Veronica, was recently revived after being considerably changed to respect competition rules.   The announced merger between France's Canal Plus and Dutch satellite TV company Nethold, which is jointly held by Richemont SA and MCL-Multi-Choice Ltd, is also expected to be submitted to the EU's authority.   Audiofina and Bertelsmann said in a joint statement in July that their alliance was necessary "to keep other international media groups from gaining dominant positions, notably in the German market".   Before the alliance with Bertelsmann, CLT was 97-percent owned by Audiofina which in turn is controlled by CLMM, a joint subsidiary of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert and France's Havas. 
13945 !GCAT !GCRIM  A Belgian court on Thursday freed insurance investigator Thierry Dehaan, an acquaintance of detective Georges Zicot who has been charged with theft and fraud in a case connected to the country's child sex scandal.   "The court has decided to release Thierry Dehaan provisionally -- it's what we asked for," Dehaan's lawyer, Marc Neve, told Belgian radio.   Dehaan was arrested on charges of fraud related to stolen vehicles.   But the court renewed charges against Zicot and businessman Gerard Pinon, Belgian radio said.   All three were arrested on August 25, and their charges must be regularly renewed as a formality if they are to remain in detention.   Marc Dutroux is the chief suspect in a child sex ring and murder scandal that has shaken the country.   He has also been linked with organised car theft.   Police are investigating the child sex and stolen car rings jointly.   Pinon is charged with receiving stolen vehicles.   Zicot -- a specialist in tackling vehicle theft -- was arrested for alleged truck theft, insurance fraud and document forgery.   Talking of his client, Dehaan's lawyer added, "In our eyes there was no trace of guilt.   What he did was in the framework of his job.   All the necessary answers were given to the questions that were asked (about him) at the start."   Neve added that Dehaan had spent a difficult time in jail.   "He was held near Dutroux -- he was devastated."   A total of nine people are currently under arrest -- seven in relation to the child sex ring investigation and two -- Zicot and Pinon -- in connection with the stolen car ring.   The seven include Dutroux himself -- on charges of kidnapping and illegal imprisonment of children -- and his second wife Michelle Martin, charged as an accomplice.   Dutroux has also admitted murdering another accomplice, Frenchman Bernard Weinstein, and on August 15 led police to the bodies of two eight-year-old girls buried in his garden.   The remains of two teenage girls were later found in another house where Weinstein used to live and where Dutroux was a frequent visitor. 
13946 !GCAT !GCRIM  Italian police burst in on a dawn "summit" of suspected Naples mobsters on Thursday and arrested seven people on suspicion of organised crime offences.   A police spokesman in the town of Torre Annunziata, one of the most crime-ridden areas of the Naples region, said sniffer dogs and helicopters were used in the operation.   Police said the seven men under arrest were suspected leaders of the Gallo clan of the Camorra, the local equivalent of the Sicilian Mafia.   Two pistols and two radio receivers set to police frequencies were seized in the raid, police said. 
13947 !C11 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Credit Lyonnais employees massed outside the bank's burned-out headquarters bank on Thursday to vent their anger at plans for thousands of job cuts.   "Bankers, crooks, hands off our jobs," shouted the demonstrators in front of the state-owned bank whose near-downfall from an expansion binge created the biggest banking scandal in recent French history.   Police estimated the crowd outside the ornate 19th century office building gutted in a fire earlier this year at 1,000.   The protest, which halted traffic on a busy central Paris thoroughfare, was part of a countrywide day of protest that included walkouts and demonstrations against 5,000 job cuts planned by the troubled bank to boost productivity.   The bank, under strong pressure from the conservative government of Prime Minister Alain Juppe to boost profits, said only 15 percent of the staff took part in job actions while unions claimed the participation rate was 30 percent.   The bank said some 40 branches out a total of 2,000 were closed by the protests.   The job cuts, to be carried out by the end of 1998, would reduce its payroll in France to 30,000 from 35,000.   The bank has said it hopes to avoid compulsory job losses through use of early retirement, a move to part-time work and cuts in working hours.   Meanwhile, the finance ministry denied a newspaper report it had submitted a plan to the European Commission to soften the terms of last year's bailout of Credit Lyonnais.   The bank is in talks with the government on easing terms of the 1995 state rescue to prevent it plunging back into the red after it eked out a 13 million franc ($2.52 million) profit last year.   The bank ran up 21 billion francs of losses between 1992 and 1994 as a result of its expansion that turned it briefly into the world's biggest bank outside Japan.   "We're being asked to pay for the sins of the past with our jobs," said one Credit Lyonnais data centre employee who did not want to give his name.   Later the demonstrators wound their way through the rest of the financial quarter, halting outside each of the country's main banking institutions to protest over what are expected to be thousands of job losses in a shake-up of the overstaffed sector.   Staff at property lender Credit Foncier, which is due to be wound down after racking up billions of francs in losses, applauded the demonstrators from the windows of their building.   ($1=5.161 French Franc) 
13948 !GCAT !GSCI  Commercial satellites should be used more widely to detect drug crops and trace landmines, experts told a U.N. space forum this week.   Up to now the vast potential of satellites had been only fully tapped by governments for military use, space experts attending the four-day conference in the south Austrian city of Graz said.   But satellites could play a much greater role in saving and improving life on earth, and developing countries in particular needed to be more open to such technology, they said.   "Developing countries have great difficulty accepting modern space technology," Willibald Riedler of Graz technical university said.   "By using weather satellites 100,000 lives in Bangladesh could have been saved," he said, referring to recent floods.   Experts are also exploring the use of satellites equipped with microwaves to trace landmines in war-torn regions.   "Mines are being laid faster than they can be cleared," Nancy Borman, a U.N. spokeswoman in Vienna told Reuters.   "Using satellites could make it safer and more all-encompassing than going over the ground inch by inch with humans."   Up to 110 million active mines are now deployed in over 60 countries, according to U.N. statistics.   Landmines kill around 400 people a month and maim an estimated 1,200 more.   "The advantages of satellite coverage are that it is global, non-intrusive and can cover large areas very quickly," said Murray Macdonald of engineering firm Macdonald Dettweiler & Associates.   Research still had a long way to go, she said.   Satellites that can pick up and analyse plant species have already been used to monitor opium crop production in areas of Lebanon and Afghanistan which are either inaccessible or politically unstable.   "It's an effective way of monitoring whether an opium crop has really been eradicated or reduced," the U.N.'s Borman said.   John Latham of the Food and Agriculture Organisation in Rome said a project to track the growth pattern of poppy fields, the source of opium, was also under way.   "In the next two years there will be dramatic changes in the resolution capacity of satellites, which will significantly enhance our ability to identify opium crops," Latham added.   But the detection of cannabis and coca plants -- two other major sources of illicit drugs -- was still a long way off, as they can be more easily disguised by other plants and may be harvested more frequently, he said. 
13949 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT !GJOB !GWELF  The European Court of Justice told Spain's social security agencies on Thursday that EU regulations on benefits for migrant workers should be considered when calculating migrant workers' invalidity pensions.   A Spanish national who worked first in Spain, then 21 years in Germany, was incapacitated while working in Germany.   Germany awarded an invalidity pension, but calculated the award without taking into account time worked in Spain.   The Spanish agency awarded a benefit on account of total and permanent incapacity for work caused by illness other than occupational disease, calculated by apportioning insurance periods in Spain with those recorded in Germany.   Lafuente Nieto challenged the National Social Security Institute's (INSS) award, and its method of calculation.   The European court reviewed social security legislation for migrant workers in effect in July, 1990 (Council regulation 1408/71) to clarify when awards should be based on an average amount, or actual earnings and contributions.   The court said "migrant workers must not suffer a reduction in the amount of their social security benefits as a result of having availed themselves of their right of free movement."   The difficulty arises in calculating benefits when two member states involved use different methods.   The court said Spain's INSS should have taken into account that Nieto made contributions to Germany and that he was not obliged to do so in Spain, under Spanish legislation for calculating the average basis for contributions.   The court added a proviso that Nieto's obligation to make contributions in Germany did not mean INSS's average basis calculation must rest on the amount of contributions paid in Germany.   "It merely implies that, in such a situation, that basis must be the same for the person concerned as if he remained under the obligation to pay contributions under the legislation concerned," the court said.   ***   EXCERPTS FROM THE JUDGMENT   (Court translation into English.   Original language of the case: Spanish)   "Social Security - Invalidity - Articles 46 and 47 of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 - Calculation of benefits"   Case C-251/94   12 September 1996   Reference from the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de la Comunidad Autonoma del Pais Vasco (Spain) for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that court between   Eduardo Lafuente Nieto   and   Instituto nacional de la Seguridad Social (ONSS) and Tesoreria General de la Seguridad Social (TGSS)   on the interpretation and validity of article 47(1) of Council regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons, to self-employed persons and to members of their families moving within the Community, as amended and updated by Council regulation (EEC) No 2001/83 of 2 June 1983 (OJ 19983 L 230, p. 6) and as adapted by Annex I, Part VIII, of the Act concerning the Conditions of Accession of the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties (OJ 1985 L 302, p. 170), and on the interpretation of article 46(2) of that regulation   ---   THE COURT hereby rules   1.   Article 47(1)(e) of Council regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons, to self-employed persons and to members of their families moving within the Communitiy, as amended and updated by Council regulation (EEC) No 2001/83 of 2 June 1983 and as adapted by Annex I, Part VIII of the Act concerning the Conditions of Accession of the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties, covers a system for calculationg invalidity benefits on an average basis for contributions, as laid down by the Spanish legislation.   2.   Article 47(1)(c) of regulation No 1408/71, interpreted in accordance with the objective laid down by article 51 of the EEC (now the EC) Treaty, implies that, in a situation such as that at issue in the main proceedings, calculation of the average basis for contributions rests solely on the amount of contributions paid under the legislation concerned, and the theoretical amount of the benefit thus obtained is to be duly revalorized and increased as if the person concerned had continued to work under the same conditions in the member state in question.   3.   Article 46(2)(c) of regulation No 1408/71 does not cover the calculation of invalidity benefits under a scheme such as that provided for by Spanish legislation, whereby the amount of benefit does not depend on the length of the insurance periods. 
13950 !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Bank of France governor Jean-Claude Trichet warned parliament's finance committee against too vehement a domestic debate on interest rates, finance committee minutes released on Thursday said.   Trichet testified at a closed-door finance committee hearing on Wednesday.   Trichet had emphasised that short, medium and long-term market rates were fixed not by the Bank's Monetary Policy Council (CPM), but by international capital markets.   "He deduced from that that too 'vehement' a domestic debate on French monetary policy was immediately projected abroad and was paid for in terms of interest rates," the minutes said.   The independent Bank of France has come under fire from some politicians for failing to cut rates fast enough in the face of weak economic growth.   Trichet said that if short-term market rates were slightly less favourable in France than in some other countries, "this was not due to the faint-heartedness of the CPM, but probably because there still existed a small residual risk premium, required by investors themselves, in whom even more confidence had to be instilled."   "Mr Jean-Claude Trichet emphasised that the Bank of France did not have any mechanical lever to decree administratively and automatically a fall in interest rates, since this could only come from increased confidence among international investors," the minutes added.   He also ruled out any depreciation of the franc, which he said would lead to higher interest rates.   "...It was completely contradictory to want at the same time a weak currency and low interest rates.   He said the franc could not be considered an overvalued currency, given the size of the trade surplus and the current account surplus," the minutes added.   Nominal and real interest rates supported growth and employment.   "He said conditions for a return to growth were in place, on condition there was a pyschological lift and recovery in investment fuelled by an end to destocking and a return to stock-building."   He also reiterated that structural reform appeared essential, the minutes said.   -- Myra MacDonald, Paris Newsroom +33 1 42 21 53 81 
13951 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  A Spanish high court judge investigating Argentina's "dirty war" accused more than 100 members of the Argentine armed forces on Thursday of involvement in the disappearance of hundreds of Spaniards.   Judge Baltasar Garzon asked the Argentines, including former dictator General Jorge Videla, to appear in court in documents released on Thursday.    The Spanish court launched the probe in March, seeking justice for more than 400 Spaniards who vanished in Argentina when it was under military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983.   General Orlando Agosti and Admiral Emilio Massera, who along with Videla were rulers during the dictatorship, were also named in the court documents obtained by Reuters.   The attorneys who filed the suit said they would seek international arrest warrants through Interpol if the accused refused to testify. 
13952 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  French Defence Minister Charles Millon called on Thursday for a European general chosen by the Western European Union defence grouping to be appointed deputy to NATO's American Supreme Allied Commander in Europe (SACEUR).   Millon made the call in a speech to the Dutch Clingendael Institute in The Hague.   The text was made available in Paris.   His suggestion was one of a series of proposals by Paris to boost Europe's role in the U.S.-dominated alliance and enable France to return to full membership.   Foreign ministers of the Atlantic alliance agreed in Berlin last June to recognise a European defence identity within NATO but the allies are negotiating how to put that political goal into practice.   "Europe's defence identity must be asserted...with (more) command responsibilities at different military levels.   The appointment of a European general proposed by the WEU as deputy to SACEUR is therefore essential," Millon said.   "Throughout the NATO chain of command, from top to bottom, European components necessary for action by the Europeans must be identified.   The WEU's role will be to manage these elements in preparation for action, and in action itself," he said.   Millon said the aim was to facilitate the use of NATO assets by European partners in operations approved by the alliance, but in which the United States chose not to participate.   The French want the Europeans to take command of assets such as airlift, airborne surveillance and logistics once the North Atlantic Council approves missions such as the initial European engagement in Bosnia from which the U.S. long stayed apart.   Washington, backed by Germany, argues that SACEUR must retain control, saying Congress will never agree to hand over U.S. military assets that were not under American command, especially with American personnel involved.   Millon said the European Council should take the basic political decision to order European military operations -- an idea strongly opposed by Britain.   Diplomats said many of his suggestions would be anathema to U.S. military commanders, wary of losing control of key alliance positions even though President Bill Clinton has welcomed greater responsibility by Europe in its own defence.   Millon said the role of NATO's military committee, grouping national armed forces chiefs, should be increased, a move that might curb the power of the U.S.-dominated Supreme Allied Headquarters Europe (SHAPE).   Prime Minister Alain Juppe said this week that France, which walked out of NATO's military wing in 1966, hoped to return to full integration in a reformed alliance soon.   He set no date but linked Paris's full participation to the implementation of plans to create a European defence identity within the alliance expected to be crowned by a NATO summit next year.   Diplomats say France has since been discreetly negotiating with Washington, Britain and Germany over its return to the military structure as part of a fundamental shake-up of NATO's command structure to reflect the end of the Cold War and the change in the nature of the threat.   Millon also called in The Hague for east and central European states to join a west European defence industry bodies. 
13953 !C42 !CCAT !E21 !E211 !E41 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !GCAT !GJOB  European employers urged the EU on Thursday to create a true single market for firms, saying different national fiscal systems resulted in companies paying too much tax and hindered much-needed business integration.   The Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederation of Europe (UNICE) said that according to an in-house study sent to the European Commission, EU-based multinationals were incurring unnecessary costs because of an inappropriate tax environment.   At stake is the practice in some EU states of taxing interest and royalty payments between companies of the same group but located in different EU states; the absence of common rules allowing for profits in one country to be offset against losses in another; legal obstacles preventing the creation of integrated European-scale business units.   UNICE said different rules on loss compensation was what cost firms most, but it was difficult to estimate how much they would save from harmonised legislation.   "The savings quoted range from a few millions to tens of millions of Ecus (dollars)," it said in the study which covered 30 multinationals in the Union.   With the advent of the European single market in 1993 and the abolition of all remaining barriers to trade within the 15-nation bloc, long-established European multinationals have tended to rationalise their activities by creating a central management structure and grouping production where it is cheaper and more efficient.   If the EU had adopted its long-debated European company statute (ECS) proposal, European multinationals would have been able to become a single legal structure taxable in one country only -- which is logical as the EU is now supposed to have one, not 15, markets.   But in the absence of a European company structure, the only alternative is to convert existing operations in different member states into branches of a unit's head office.   "In practice this turns out to be prohibitively costly," the UNICE study said.   The current situation also put European multinationals at a disadvantage with newcomers, Jos Westerburgen, chairman of the fiscal affairs group of Unice, told a news conference.   This is because new multinationals simply have to pick the best locations for their central management and production.   The ECS was proposed more than 20 years ago, but progress has always proved impossible due to the thorny question of worker participation in running a company, with Germany trying to impose its model EU-wide.   UNICE's other complaint concerned withholding taxes, for example on interest paid by a foreign branch for a loan granted by its parent company.   The money is eventually paid back under existing bilateral agreements designed to avoid double taxation, but this involves cumbersone and costly formalities, UNICE said. 
13954 !C33 !CCAT !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  The United Nations and the Banque Nationale de Paris are signing an agreement Thursday under which the bank will handle funds resulting from the planned "oil-for-food" deal with Iraq, U.N. spokesman Sylvana Foa said.   "Once that contract is signed, the bank will apply to the United States Treasury Department for an exemption to the sanctions (against Iraq) in order to open an escrow account in the United States to be able to handle the funds that we expect to be coming in once 986 is actually implemented," she said.    Security Council resolution 986, of April 1995, is the basis for the "oil-for-food" deal, signed in May this year, under which Iraq would be able to sell $2 billion worth of oil over six months, on a renewable basis, to buy food, medicine and other civilian necessities.   The aim is to help mitigate the effect on ordinary Iraqis of economic sanctions imposed since Baghdad's 1991 invasion of Kuwait.   But the "oil-for-food" scheme is currently on hold after Iraqi President Saddam Hussein sent his troops into the Kurdish-populated north of the country at the end of August to back one faction in an inter-Kurdish struggle.   This prompted Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to announced September 1 that he was postponing the dispatch to Iraq of U.N. monitors to oversee the "oil-for-food" plan, because of a lack of security in northern Iraq.   It will be up to him to decide when conditions permit the scheme to go ahead.   Foa said the contract with the Banque Nationale de Paris was being signed by Under-Secretary-General Joseph Connor, a U.S. citizen who heads the U.N. department of administration and management.   "If only the situation on the ground would calm down and conditions for security were a little bit better, we could actually get on with our work," she added, alluding to implementation of the "oil-for-food" plan. 
13955 !C13 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday it would set up a system to monitor human forms of mad cow disease in parts of Europe outside the existing European Union surveillance network.   Meeting in the Danish capital, WHO Regional Committee for Europe called on member states to implement recommendations aimed at preventing the spread of mad cow disease and variants found in sheep, mink, mules, deer, elk and cats.   Together with several human forms of the brain-wasting disease, they are collectively known as Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs).   Scientists say the mad cow disease -- Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) -- may be linked to a human equivalent, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.   A panic broke out in March after Britain acknowledged there could be a link between the two diseases, prompting a European Union ban on British beef products. 
13956 !G15 !G155 !GCAT !GDIP  Rumours circulated in European Union capitals on Thursday that a summit in Dublin next month to discuss the bloc's future would be cancelled because too few EU leaders want it.   Ireland, due to host the special summit as EU president, shot down talk of a cancellation, but diplomats in Brussels said the rumours reflected divisions within the bloc over the meeting's timing and usefulness.   "The summit is going ahead, period," a spokesman of the Irish EU presidency said.   Other Irish officials were at Dublin Castle, sizing up the venue for telephones.   Leaders are supposed to meet in Dublin on October 5 for informal talks on the progress of the EU's inter-governmental conference (IGC) -- negotiations on a new treaty to pave the way for new members from eastern Europe.   Formal talks have been under way since March, but critics charge that they have become bogged down, with countries reading out a series of wish lists.   Any notion that the IGC, due to run until mid-1997, will mark a significant step in Europe's political intergration has long gone.   Officials say, however, the new treaty can still help prepare the bloc for a future with a dozen or more new members.   Such issues as the size of the European Commission, voting weights in decision-making and how to take effective foreign policy decisions are all on the table.   The special meeting was called for by EU leaders at their Florence summit at the suggestion of French President Jacques Chirac.   It is to jump-start the talks and spur negotiators on to agree a draft treaty to be handed to EU leaders at another summit in Dublin, in December.   But diplomats said very few countries were keen on having a special summit without any real feel for what it would do.   Ireland spent most of August trying to get its partners to accept a date -- settling on October 5 only last weekend.   "The question of usefulness has been posed all along," one EU diplomat said.   "In Florence it was Chirac who was the only one pushing for it.   Then (German Chancellor Helmut) Kohl added his voice."   The French and German foreign ministers are to meet in Paris on October 2 to discuss a joint approach to the summit.   Another diplomat said Britain, the Netherlands, Italy, and some of the bloc's Nordic countries were the most lukewarm to the summit.   Ireland itself was less than enthusiastic.   "Those dissatisfied with the way the treaty is being negotiated at the moment don't see the need for the summit," the diplomat said.   "Those who have publicly expressed the need for a quicker pace of negotation are more enthusiastic."   Britain, the country least keen on further EU political integration, has a special reason for disliking the October 5 summit.   It comes just three days before the ruling Conservative Party, torn over Europe, holds its annual conference.   British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind has publicly questioned the usefulness of the summit, but a British spokeswoman in London said she knew of no plans for the Dublin meeting to be shelved. 
13957 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The United Nations refugee agency pledged on Thursday to assist Iran with the inflow of tens of thousands of Kurdish refugees from northern Iraq.   In a statement, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees also said it was releasing emergency funds to buy and transport relief items as soon as UNHCR staff in western Iran have verified the number and needs of refugees crossing over.   On Wednesday, Iran said it was sheltering 39,000 Kurdish refugees who fled the takeover this week of northern Iraq by a Baghdad-backed Kurdish faction.   "We stand ready to assist in any way," Sadako Ogata, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, was quoted as saying.   The Geneva-based agency praised Tehran's "track record" in giving asylum to millions of desperate refugees from Afghanistan and Iraq starting in the 1980s.   Iran is currently home to two million refugees (1.4 million from Afghanistan and 600,000 from Iraq) -- making it the largest host country in the world, according to UNHCR.   "The Iranian government has a remarkable track record in giving asylum to many desperate people in recent years and UNHCR is keen to help it come to the aid of these latest refugees," Ogata said.   "We will move swiftly once we have had access to them and have established their needs," she added.   UNHCR, which last week began drawing up contingency plans in case of a Kurdish exodus from northern Iraq, is poised to redeploy staff and vehicles from its Afghan repatriation programme in eastern Iran, according to the statement.   The agency has stockpiles of food, medicines and shelter material in the region as well as in Amsterdam.   On Wednesday, a joint U.N. assessment mission in Iraq reported that around 15,000 people were camped in valleys and villages north of the town of Penjwin, near the Iranian border.   Another team on Thursday was trying to assess displacement of people in the area to the south of Penjwin, it added.   Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have left Iraq's biggest Kurdish city Sulaimaniya on Monday, just before it fell to the Baghdad-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).   The majority have sought temporary shelter in surrounding villages, according to UNHCR. 
13958 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  Police should be better paid and trained so as to motivate them to combat sexual exploitation of children, a United Nations rights investigator said on Thursday.   Ofelia Calcetas-Santos, a Filipina lawyer who serves as the U.N. special rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, also said that most countries were woefully behind on anti-pornography legislation.   The U.N. expert announced she was making a two-week mission to the United States in November -- partly to investigate young people's access to explicit child pornography via the Internet.   She said momentum to combat all forms of child abuse must be sustained after the first-ever World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, held in Sweden last month.   "Stockholm is only the opener," Calcetas-Santos told a news conference in Geneva.   "We have barely scratched the surface on this thing.   We should not let the interest, the awareness, flag," she added.   The U.N. investigator took part in the week-long meeting which coincided with discovery of a murderous paedophile ring in Belgium.   So far investigators have unearthed the bodies of four abducted young girls and confiscated paedophile porn tapes.   Tales of police incompetence, lack of communication and rivalry between different judicial regions have prompted calls for a complete review of the justice system there, as did the arrest in a related inquiry of a chief police detective.   Calcetas-Santos revealed some of the recommendations of her next report to the General Assembly, to be given in November.   "The first thing is a review of the compensatory package for law enforcement officers.   In a lot of countries they are the lowest in the bureaucratic strata and therefore they justify internally their corruption by saying "You treat us like dirt' or "what do you expect us to do, we have to raise our family, we have to supplement our very meagre income," she said.   "Second is training of law enforcement officers has to be among the top priorities in the agenda of any government -- training on how to deal with children."   Police need to be sensitised not to treat the child as a criminal, but as a victim, according to the U.N. investigator.   "That means training of policemen and training of all the actors in the criminal justice system -- from the policemen and law enforcement officers to the prosecutors, the lawyers, the social workers assisting (victims) and last but not least the judges themselves," she said.   Calcetas-Santos said that training should lead to more effective law enforcement and successful prosecution.   "A high level of visibility of activity in the prosecution in pursuit of cases will discourage abusers from working in the area of the state limits," she added.   Child pornography was serious, the rapporteur said, adding: "Pornography is one field which is running away from all of us.   "Some countries still have to make any legislation on possession.   And of course if there is no legislation on possession, it is not illegal.   "The development generated by the new media is such that practically every government -- all the states -- are behind, even in the field of legislation."   Traditional legislation covers children mainly depicted in printed material, according to Calcetas-Santos.   "But now, all of a sudden, we wake up to cyberspace.   The development in cyberspace has to be addressed very seriously...This is further complicated by constitutional issues in a lot of countries."   The U.N. investigator said that her U.S. itinerary was still being finalised, but would include Washington and New York.   "I want to see the impact of the Internet and modern technology on young people in a country where this technology is readily available.   I have to see it in the context where the computer is part of everyday life." 
13959 !G15 !G155 !GCAT !GDIP  Rumours swirled around European Union capitals on Thursday that the European Council in Dublin next month to discuss the bloc's future would be cancelled because too few leaders wanted it to go ahead.   Ireland, the host of the special summit as EU president, shot down talk of a cancellation, but diplomats in Brussels said the rumours reflected divisions within the bloc over the meeting's timing and usefulness.   "The summit is going ahead, period," a spokesman of the Irish EU presidency said.   Other Irish officials were at Dublin Castle sizing up the venue for telephones.   Leaders are supposed to meet in Dublin on October 5 for informal talks on the progress of the inter-governmental conference (IGC).   Formal talks have been under way since March, but critics charge that they have become bogged down, with countries reading out an endless stream of wish-lists.   Any notion that the IGC, due to run until mid-1997, will mark a significant step in Europe's political integration has long gone.   Officials say, however, the new treaty can still help prepare the bloc for a future with a dozen or more new members.   Such issues as the size of the European Commission, voting weights in decision making and how to take effective Common Foreign and Security Policy decisions are all on the table.   The special meeting was called for by EU leaders at the Florence European Council at the suggestion of French President Jacques Chirac.   The idea was to jump start the IGC and spur negotiators to agree a draft treaty to be handed to EU leaders at the second European Council in Dublin, in December.   But diplomats said very few countries were keen on having a special summit without any real feel for what it would do.   Ireland spent most of August trying to get its partners to accept a date -- settling on October 5 only last weekend.   "The question of usefulness has been posed all along," one EU diplomat said.   "In Florence it was Chirac who was the only one pushing for it.   Then (German Chancellor Helmut) Kohl added his voice."   The French and German foreign ministers are to meet in Paris on October 2 to discuss a joint approach to the summit.   Another diplomat said Britain, the Netherlands, Italy, and some of the bloc's Nordic countries were the most lukewarm to the summit.   Ireland itself was less than enthusiastic.   "Those dissatisfied with the way the treaty is being negotiated at the moment don't see the need for the summit," the diplomat said.   "Those who have publicly expressed the need for a quicker pace of negotiation are more enthusiastic."   Britain, the country least keen on further EU political integration, has a special reason for disliking the October 5 summit.   It comes just three days before the ruling Conservative Party, torn apart over Europe, holds its annual conference.   British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind has publicly questioned the usefulness of the summit, but a British spokewoman in London said she knew of no plans for the Dublin meeting to be shelved. 
13960 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  A keyword search of the World Wide Web for "pedophiles" (sic) produces 1,000 items, one for "pedophilia" 2,000.   Searching deeper finds thousands more -- and by no means all give advice on how to protect children.   That is one reason why the Belgian government, facing a national scandal over the discovery of a child abduction, sexual abuse and murder gang is calling for an urgent Europe-wide solution.   "The amount of strong pornographic pictures, including bestiality, that is exchanged is enormous," Marc Van Achter of Antwerp Judicial Police's computer crime unit told a conference in Brussels on Wednesday.   One Web site is the Pedosexual Resources Directory which advertises itself as an impartial information point about sex with children, but goes into great detail about everything.   Belgian Telecommunications Minister Elio Di Rupo said on Thursday he would present the cabinet with his preliminary ideas for cooperating with the justice ministry in tackling the spread of paedophile porn on the Web.   But, with the fingers of the Web spread across the planet, Di Rupo also acknowledged that no country could act in isolation, and he therefore called in a statement for urgent and concerted European action.   Belgium has been reeling for the past month from the discovery of the bodies of four young girls and the rescue of two others -- victims of a gang seemingly led by convicted multiple rapist Marc Dutroux.   The seizure of hundreds of pornographic video tapes and quantities of magazines has woken the country to the horror in its midst to which it had turned a blind eye in the past.   The sheer quantity of the material seized, and the fact that Dutroux and an accomplice were known to have visited the Czech Republic and Slovakia several times, have led to the conclusion that there must have been overseas links.   The Web is one such channel for paedophile material -- the more attractive to its users in that policing and regulation are virtually unknown and because anonymity can be assured.   The amount of pornography -- including paedophile material -- available on the system is astounding.   Different web sites and news groups offer information on sex with children -- boys and girls -- as well as pictures and contacts.   Many of these sites carry warnings that the material to be viewed is hard core and may break the law.   But that would tend to attract rather than repel all but the faintest-hearted of browsers.   One net service supplier has estimated that one news group alone, Alt.  sex.  pedophilia, has 3,000 active users.   "Recent statistics from one of the biggest (internet service) providers in Belgium showed that around 95 percent of accesses to newsgroups concerned sex.   It's very clear that people are only interested in that and nothing else.   It's a very big problem," Van Achter said.   Claude Lelievre, the childrens' ombudsman for Belgium's francophone community, told Belgian radio it would be extremely difficult to censor all the millions of bits of information washing across the web every day.   Using smart censorship chips to filter out information containing certain key words is certainly possible, but generally they would only work on a terminal-by-terminal basis.   In any case a change in a word and they could be bypassed.   Lelievre says self-censorship is the only effective way.   He wants posters to be clearly displayed in the country's growing number of cybercafes to warn browsers away from porn sites. 
13961 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Talks between trades unions and employers over the renewal of contracts in Italy's huge engineering and metalwork sector broke down on Thursday, making strike action inevitable, union leaders said.   Unions have already called an eight hour stoppage for September 27 in what could make the start of an autumn of serious labour disputes for Italy's centre-left government.   Unions and management met during the day to try to settle their long-standing differences over wage demands, but the talks were quickly abandoned.   "We are further apart than ever and have no plans for any further meetings," said Luigi Angeletti, leader of the UILM union -- one of the big three labour groups which together represent some 1.5 million workers.   "The September 27 strike is now unavoidable," he added.   "And if the employers don't budge, we will definitely hold more strikes until they do."   The one-day stoppage is the first called by metalworkers' unions since 1990, It could halt production at some of Italy's largest companies, including car maker Fiat, information group Olivetti and state shipbuilder Fincantieri.   Unions have demanded an overall wage rise of 10.1 percent over the next two years, which includes compensation for lost purchasing power in the period 1994-96 caused by higher than expected inflation.   Union sources have said they might be prepared to accept a nine percent pay hike, but management made no counter offer at Thursday's meeting.   The chairman of the Italian employers' federation, Confindustria, said he saw no way forward.   "I'm more pessimistic about this than I was a week ago," Giorgio Fossa told reporters at a news conference.   Employers argue that the recent unexpected slowdown in the economy, which saw gross domestic product fall by 0.5 percent quarter-on-quarter between April and June, has prevented any generous pay awards.   "It's not that we don't want to renew contracts, it's just that with (that type of) pay increase, factories risk closing in a few months time because they can't afford to stay in the market," Fossa said.   Unions say that companies enjoyed record earnings last year thanks to an export boom fueled by a dramatic lira depreciation.   "The economy obviously isn't that solid but it is not as bad as (Fossa) makes out.   The companies have the necessary resources to meet our demands," UILM's Angeletti said.   Prime Minister Romano Prodi's government has not intervened in the dispute but is keen for wage moderation as it battles to keep inflation on a downward path.   The metalworkers' dispute is seen as a test case for a batch of other pay negotiations this year involving around five million workers in a number of sectors, including the building, telecommunications, road hauliers and service sectors.   The Treasury is trying to cut inflation to obtain an easing in interest rates that Italy has to pay on its huge budget deficit.   Inflation in August fell to 3.4 percent year-on-year after 3.6 percent in July. 
13962 !C13 !C24 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !GHEA  The European Commission reacted calmly after the British government said on Thursday that new scientific data on mad cow disease should be reviewed jointly.   Two British reports have shown that the disease, known as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), can be passed from cow to calf and that the epidemic would disappear within five years even without a cull.   "We have always said that evidence on maternal transmission needs to be taken into account and we have asked the scientific committee to evaluate this," Commission agriculture spokesman, Gerard Kiely, told Reuters.   "We have always said that the priority should be the protection of human health and the rapid eradication of BSE has an important role to play in ensuring that objective is reached," he added.   On Wednesday, the Commission warned that a British programme to slaughter 147,000 cattle most at risk from mad cow disease was an essential part of an agreement to lift a worldwide ban on British beef.   The warning followed British media reports that Britain was about to unilaterally scale down the cull.   In a statement, the British government said the new evidence should be evaluated in the light of the agreement struck at the June European Council in Florence that the British beef ban should be lifted "on the basis of objective scientific criteria".   British Agriculture Minister Douglas Hogg is expected to push the reports at Monday's farm Council in Brussels.   EU veterinary scientists agreed last week to study the evidence on maternal transmission and report back in two weeks.   An EU multi-disciplinary committee, bringing together human and animal health, food and cosmetics experts, is also due to discuss the latest scientific data on Monday.   But EU officials said a review of selective slaughter programmes had barely begun and could take many weeks. 
13963 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT !GJOB  The European Commission is preparing to launch a debate on how to apply European Union rules on working hours and rest periods to truck drivers, sea fishermen, doctors in training and others who are now excluded.   The Commission is expected to issue a white paper within the next few months on extending the Working Time Directive (93/104/EC), which limits the average work week to 48 hours and mandates four weeks paid annual leave and at least one day off a week.   However, it will not act before the European Court of Justice issues a much-anticipated ruling on a British challenge to the existing rules, Commission spokeswoman Barbara Nolan said.   That decision is expected by mid-October.   Britain charged that the EU improperly adopted the directive in 1993 as a health and safety measure under Article 118 of the EU treaty with a qualified majority vote, instead of under Article 100 on the rights of employed persons requiring unanimity.   The Commission has always been unhappy that EU ministers exempted more than nine million workers from the Working Time Directive -- in the road, rail, inland waterways and air transport sectors, workers at sea and doctors in training.   Some 6.5 million of the excluded workers are in the road transport sector, said Nolan, spokeswoman for Social Affairs Commissioner Padraig Flynn.   While it might be difficult to apply the directive to transport workers who must spend long periods away from home, the Commission does not think that justifies excluding all of their colleagues, she said.   "Why should a clerk who works for the railways be excluded from health and safety legislation on the number of hours they work?"   she said.   The Commission is also worried about the implications for patients of overworked junior doctors, although she said that in many EU states they are not actual employees so would not be covered by the rules.   The Commission is a long way from proposing legislation, however, and at this stage is only seeking advice from trade unions, employers and others on how to proceed, she said.   The paper will be issued after the Commission has analysed the Court of Justice's ruling on the original directive, which could take some weeks or months, she added.   Britain suffered a preliminary setback to its challenge in March when an advocate general at the Court of Justice rejected its complaint.   His opinion, which is influential but not binding, said the rules were properly adopted as a health and safety measure since that concept should be interpreted broadly to cover the general "working environment".   The directive includes provisions that restrict night work to eight hours, set a minimum daily rest period of 11 consecutive hours and require a rest break where the working day is longer than six hours.   But it exempts a range of workers including managers, journalists and hospital workers from some of the provisions. 
13964 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  Belgian magistrates investigating the 1991 murder of leading politician Andre Cools know the names of his two Tunisian assassins, Belgian television BRTN said on Thursday.   BRTN said the names had been revealed in an anonymous letter to the judiciary and that their identities had been confirmed by other sources.    BRTN reported the identity of the two men, who allegedly lived in Sicily, was confirmed by coincidence by tax investigators who had raided the house in which they were staying in Belgium at the time of the crime.   Cools was shot dead on July 18, 1991, outside his mistress's house near the eastern Belgian city of Liege.   Six people, including a former government minister, have been charged in connection with his murder.   Lawyers acting for some of the accused said on Wednesday the Sicilian-based Tunisian hitmen were paid 750,000 Belgian francs ($25,000).   The Liege judiciary was not immediately available to confirm BRTN's report. 
13965 !E41 !ECAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT !GJOB  The European Commission is preparing to launch a debate on how to apply European Union rules on working hours and rest periods to truck drivers, sea fishermen, doctors in training and others now excluded.   The European Union executive is expected to issue a "white paper" within the next few months on extending the Working Time Directive, which limits the average working week to 48 hours and says everyone should have four weeks paid leave a year and at least one day off a week.   But it will not act before the European Court of Justice issues a much-anticipated ruling on a British challenge to the existing rules, Commission spokeswoman Barbara Nolan said.   That decision is expected by mid-October.   Britain charged that the EU improperly adopted the directive in 1993 as a health and safety measure which meant it only needed a majority vote by EU ministers, by-passing British attempts to block it.   The Commission has always been unhappy that the ministers exempted more than nine million workers from the directive -- in the road, rail, inland waterways and air transport sectors, workers at sea and doctors in training.   Some 6.5 million of the excluded workers are in the road transport sector, said Nolan, spokewoman for Social Affairs Commissioner Padraig Flynn.   While it might be difficult to apply the directive to transport workers who must spend long periods away from home, the Commission does not think that justifies excluding all of their colleagues, she said.   "Why should a clerk who works for the railways be excluded from health and safety legislation on the number of hours they work?"   she said.   The Commission is also worried about the implications for patients of overworked junior doctors, although she said that in many EU states they are not actual employees so would not be covered by the rules.   The Commission is a long way from proposing legislation, however, and at this stage is only seeking advice from trades unions, employers and others on how to proceed, she said.   The paper will be issued after the Commission has time to analyse the Court of Justice's ruling on the original directive, which could take some weeks or months, she added.   Britain suffered a preliminary setback to its challenge in March when an advocate general at the court rejected its complaint.   His opinion, which is influential but not binding, said the rules were properly adopted as a health and safety measure since that concept should be interpreted broadly to cover the general "working environment".   The directive includes provisions that restrict night work to eight hours, set a minimum daily rest period of 11 consecutive hours a day and require a rest break where the working day is longer than six hours.   But it exempts a range of workers including managers, journalists and hospital workers from some of the provisions. 
13966 !C31 !C312 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  The European Union on Thursday scrapped a 10 Ecu per tonne tax applying since mid-July to daily exports of EU soft and durum wheat, grain trade sources.   The EU's cereals management committee replaced the tax with a zero refund, allowing the prefixing of export licences, they said.   --Paris newsroom +331 4221 5432 
13967 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  The German government on Thursday joined Turkey in attacking a Kurdish-language satellite television station which broadcasts from western Europe to the Middle East.   A parliamentary written answer, reported by the parliamentary news service HIB, said British-based Med-TV was a "propaganda mouthpiece" of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which wants independence or autonomy in southeast Turkey.   Med-TV denies all links with PKK and its guerrillas although members of the party participate in televised debates.   It says it is independent and has millions of viewers.   The German government, however, said that countless news and political programmes on Med-TV reported the actions, ideology and aims of the PKK "uncritically and without comment".   "The borders of objective reporting are regularly violated (in Med-TV broadcasts)," the government said, in its reply to a question from deputies of the Party of Democratic Socialism.   Top functionaries from the PKK, which is outlawed in Germany and Turkey, were given airtime on a regular basis to spread their views, it said, according to HIB.   "According to the German government, the PKK uses Med-TV as a "mouthpiece for its propaganda'," the HIB report said.   Ankara, which forbids broadcasts in Kurdish in Turkey, also says Med-TV is a mouthpiece for Kurdish guerrillas.   Nearly 19,500 people have been killed in Turkey in the PKK's 12-year campaign. 
13968 !GCAT !GDIP  Palestinian President Yasser Arafat will visit Bonn next week for talks with German President Roman Herzog and Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel, the German foreign ministry said on Thursday.   Arafat will meet Kinkel and Herzog next Thursday for talks about the Middle East peace process.   Afterwards he and Kinkel will give a joint press conference.   The Palestinian president is also due to address the regional state parliament of Hessen during his visit to Germany from September 19 to 21 and meet representatives from organisations that sent humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. 
13969 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  George Magnus, chief economist at Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS), said on Thursday that European financial markets were facing a path of surprises and shocks in the run-up to a single currency in 1999.   Magnus told reporters that he expects Europe's governments to eventually relax the Maastricht criteria for joining the single monetary system.   But the more the criteria are relaxed the more investors will seek refuge in the Swiss franc, on worries that the future Euro will not be as hard a currency as the German mark.   "The bigger the fudge (of Maastricht criteria), the more likely inflows will go into the Swiss franc," Magnus told reporters at UBS' representative office here.   "They will fudge the criteria because it is only Luxembourg that will qualify," he added.   Magnus also said UBS was advising investors to consider building up positions in British bonds as the current risk premium could fall following a likely change in government next year and a warmer relationship toward European cooperation.   Despite the prospect of economic convergence in Europe and stability in the long run, Magnus said markets were likely to go through a period of unstability in the next several months.   "Nobody says you cannot have volatility up to December 31, 1998," Magnus said, adding: "Over the next several months we will probably see unsettled market conditions, despite the long-term stable conditions."   Market instability is likely to focus on the French franc and interest rates, he added.   Magnus likened the situation in Europe as it heads towards the single Euro currency to off-piste skiing in the Alps, where the skier knows the point of departure and ending, but the path between can be filled with surprises and shocks.   Although bond market yields of currencies that are expected to join the single currency in 1999 have been converging, Magnus said some deconvergence is likely next year.   "This is the off-piste journey when you don't know what twist and turns will come," Magnus said, adding that an expected rise in the yield of German Bunds next year and a declining dollar was not a good background for European bonds to converge.   Uncertainty over whether the future single currency, the Euro, will be as hard a currency as the mark will benefit both the German mark and the Swiss franc.   The continued strength of the Swiss franc has baffled some economists as the Swiss National Bank (SNB) has been generous in adding liquidity to Swiss money markets to take off the pressure and lowered the discount rate to 1.5 percent.   But investors have continued to put funds into Swiss francs due to its safe-haven status outside the European Union, but also because inflationary expectations are so low that current interest rates are attractive enough, Magnus said. 
13970 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  U.N. Security Council members are meeting Thursday to try and settle on a statement telling Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to speed implementation of the oil-for-food accord with Iraq.   However, efforts led by Italy to draft a statement have been stymied by the U.S. delegation, which has added amendments blaming Iraqi President Saddam Hussein for delaying the humanitarian oil for aid plan, an Italian spokesman said.    Sebastiano Cardi said the purpose of the statement was to formally support the humanitarian plan, despite the upheavals in northern Iraq, and U.S. amendments would have to be debated before this could happen.   "We want the secretary-general to know the council supports going ahead with the memorandum of understanding when he deems conditions permit," said Cardi.   Cardi said he hoped differences could be worked out to achieve the Italian goal.   "The proposal for a presidential statement has big support, except for amendments by the U.S.," he said.    "I don't know if we will get a presidential statement, but we should try to proceed," said the diplomat, noting the U.S. wants to lessen the weight of the statement by making the draft a letter to the Secretary-General, and not a presidential statement.   Cardi said U.S. amendments have met specific objections from the Russian and Chinese delegations.   Just last week, the Russians blocked a British proposal to condemn Iraq for its military strikes in Iraq, leaving the council silent on the issue.    A U.S. spokesman said the council would try and work out an agreement on the Italian draft through consultations and in the Security Council.   The council began deliberations at 1100 EDT/1500 GMT.   Boutros-Ghali called off implementation of the oil plan on September 1, after Iraqi military forces captured the town of Arbil, in the northern, mostly Kurdish part of Iraq.   Saddam's forces entered the region after the Iraqi-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) requested assistance in fighting rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) forces.   Since the suspension of the oil deal, the United Nations has continued work on technical details of finalizing the accord, but the actual placement of key monitors on the ground have been delayed indefinitely, until conditions are safe.   The Italian diplomat said council discussions on the presidential statement may not be completed Thursday, and could go into Friday.   -Patrick Connole, New York Energy Desk, + 1 212 859 1828 
13971 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT !M12 !MCAT  French bond futures hit a new contract high as fixed-income markets took comfort from weaker than expected U.S. economic inflation data ahead of the Federal Reserve's next policy meeting on September 24.   French interest rate futures and short-dated bonds extended recent gains amid growing optimism that European monetary union deficit targets will be met and that Germany may have room to cut interest rates again.   The stability of the franc, which continued to be helped by a stronger dollar against the mark, also proved a positive backdrop for French capital markets.    Traders said there was buying of two-year BTANs, continuing the sizeable fund buying already seen throughout the week, and that PIBOR contracts were boosted by a series of orders coming out of London.   Comments from Bundesbank council-member Klaus-Dieter Kuehbacher that there was potentially room for lower German rates, including the discount rate, helped PIBOR contracts.   One trader said a number of investors short of the December PIBOR contract were rolling over their short positions into the March contract.   Another said the focus was on a steepening of the PIBOR curve given that the front months looked cheap.    Iain Lindsay, senior bond analyst at Credit Lyonnais, said "There's a growing 'feel-good' factor for convergence, the whole tide seems to have turned.   The impact would be most marked at the short end as it has the most convergence to do."   The spread between December PIBOR and December Euromarks narrowed to 75 basis points on Thursday from 78.   The spread between two-year French and German bond yields narrowed one basis point.   Andrew Davies, analyst at London Bond Broking said bonds had been helped by benign U.S. producer price data and expectations for a 25 basis point U.S. rate rise were pessimistic.    Traders and analysts said they were surprised the open interest was still so high in the September contract given that it expires on Monday.   Amar Douhane, analyst at Fimat, said there was a theory that some buyers of the September contract were planning to hold the contract to expiry to take delivery of the 8.25 percent 2004 bond, currently much in demand.   The yield on the 2004 bond fell four basis points to 5.97 percent while the yield on the 6.50 percent 2006 remained unchanged at 6.37.   The 8.25 percent 2004 bond is also by far the cheapest to deliver for the December contract as well.    Another trader said there was talk a hedge fund was extremely short of cash bonds and was planning to hold 30,000 lots of the September contract to expiry and take delivery of the bonds.   Douhane at Fimat said the first main objective for the December bond contract was 123.50 with an intermediate resistance at 123.24.   The contract settled at 122.86 on Thursday.   As expected the Bank of France left its intervention rate unchanged at 3.35 percent at its money market tender on Thursday.    There was good demand for Ecu-denominated OATs and BTANs at Thursday's auction.   The Treasury said it sold 470 million Ecu of bonds with an overall bid to cover ratio of 3.7.   -- David Clarke, Paris Newsroom +331 4221 5542 
13972 !C13 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  The European Union's cereals management committee in Brussels is discussing scrapping a daily 10 Ecus per tonne tax that has applied since mid-July to wheat exports, grain trade sources said on Thursday.   Some operators expect the EU grain panel to replace the tax with a zero refund.   The panel is also discussing granting malt exporters a daily refund of some 32.50 Ecus per tonne, they said.   --Paris newsroom +331 4221 5432 
13973 !C13 !C31 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT  Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock said on Thursday the European Commission would go ahead with its decision to take Austria to court over the level of tolls on the Alpine Brenner route.   Kinnock told a business forum in the Austrian capital it was a question of ensuring a "fair and efficient" system of charging on the route to Italy.   "It is the only basis on which we reluctantly, but unavoidably, have had to take Austria to the European Court of Justice," he said.   Austria is accused of breaching EU legislation by doubling the night toll for trucks to 2,300 schillings ($215) on the route through the Brenner Pass in the southern Tyrol region.   Kinnock came under fire during the meeting from Greenpeace environmental activists brandishing placards in protest against the Commission's attempt to reduce the Brenner toll. 
13974 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  As Belgians try to come to terms with the twin traumas of political murder and paedophile abduction, the lack of a strong common identity or national symbols is being felt ever more keenly.   Daily revelations since the middle of August about a gang who snatched, molested and killed young girls and the Mafia-style killing of former minister Andre Cools have sapped public confidence in the political and legal establishment.   "A people has woken up...and is shouting about its anger and its lack of confidence in the judiciary," Marc Uyttendaele, professor of public law at the Free University of Brussels wrote in the daily Le Soir this week.   The other leading French-language paper, La Libre Belgique, asked despairingly in an editorial: "What is happening in our country?   We thought we were free from major crime and organised corruption.   Who can we turn to?"   Even former Prime Minister Wilfried Martens, who led Belgium for through most of the 1980s, told Dutch television: "I am sad and disappointed in my country."   Ironically, Martens was the architect of the radical devolution of power to the French and Flemish communities which has stripped the national government of much of the authority taken for granted in other states.   So it was left to King Albert, one of the few true national figures, to make an unprecedented public statement this week calling for reforms to the legal system and promising that the investigations would be carried out to the full.   The national angst has been deepened by the portrait of Belgium presented in the international media, keenly watched and commented on, as a lawless state where mafia corruption infects politics and paedophiles enjoy police protection and lavish social security benefits.   The image of Wallonia, the French-speaking south where the two scandals erupted, is even worse: a region in industrial decline, without hope, where an army of marginalised unemployed will turn their hand to any illegal trafficking.   Such portrayals are resented.   "There are irrational mass movements," Evelyne Lentzen, an analyst with the Centre for Socio-Political Information and Research, said in an interview on Thursday.   "But justice works, the police work and politicians play their part... This state still has the capacity to act, even though it has become more fragile."   Some Flemish politicians, especially those on the far right, have nonetheless claimed the system is only corrupt in the crime-ridden south and called for a further separation of north and south.   The fragmentation of political power is not generally regarded as the cause of today's scandals.   But political commentators say giving autonomy to regional authorities did result in judges treating their areas as their private fiefs and entailed a lack of central control and supervision.   Justice Minister Stefaan De Clerck has promised reforms to the legal system -- there are currently 23 separate district public prosecutors to investigate crimes.   Some law-and-order structures date back to the 19th century.   He also aims to curb rivalry between Belgium's three police forces and change the political nature of judicial appointments, factors which Lenzten says are at the root of the current crisis of confidence.   Belgium has judicial police, who investigate crimes for prosecutors, the Gendarmerie, a federal police force under the control of the interior ministry, and local police, operating in towns and cities under the control of mayors.   Various reshuffles of reponsiblity have led each force to guard its turf, so that in the child sex case, police failed to relay key information to each other while magistrates sometimes took no account of police informers. 
13975 !G15 !G153 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  A European Union award of 4,500 tonnes of free market soft wheat at a minimum tax of 0.05 Ecus per tonne in its main tender values a tonne of French wheat for late September at $177.68 per tonne, Reuters calculates.   This calculation, which should be regarded as an estimate only, has been updated with late prices and a tax level reported at 0.05 Ecus.   It is based on the following assumptions gathered from market sources and Reuters data.    Rouen-delivered soft wheat (Sep) 875.00 francs/tonne    Carrying charge (2nd-half Sep)  14.54 francs/tonne    Fob charges/other charges  27.50 francs/tonne    Tax (at 6.61023 French green rate) 0.33 francs/tonne    Spot franc/dollar 5.1630 francs/dollar    Implied fob price in dollars  177.68 dollars/tonne.   The same formula suggests an untaxed French fob price of $177.62 per tonne.   --Paris newsroom +331 4221 5432 
13976 !C13 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  The European Union on Thursday granted licences to export 4,500 tonnes of free-market soft wheat at a minimum tax of 0.05 Ecus per tonne through its main tender programme, grain traders said   In a separate tender the EU granted licences to export 22,800 tonnes of free-market soft wheat at a maximum refund of 5.50 Ecus per tonne to African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.   The EU's cereals management committee also agreed the export of 316,000 tonnes of free-market barley at a maximum refund of 24.97 Ecus per tonne and 5,100 tonnes of free-market oats at a maximum refund of 25.95 Ecus per tonne.   In the intervention tender, the EU sold 107,185 tonnes of German intervention barley at a minimum price of 102.49 Ecus per tonne for export to non-EU countries, grain traders said.   The cereals management committee also sold 26,809 tonnes of German intervention rye at a minimum 97.53 Ecus per tonne.   --Paris newsroom +331 4221 5432 
13977 !C41 !C411 !CCAT !GCAT !GFAS  Christian Dior, one of France's most legendary fashion houses, kept the industry guessing on Thursday over its choice of a new designer, but it looked like it would be Britain's John Galliano.   "John has a strong chance of being offered the job," a Galliano spokeswoman told Reuters.   "Nothing is official."   Asked whether Galliano would accept the job if it were offered to him, she told Reuters: "Yes, I think so.   It would be an incredible opportunity."   Rumours have swept the Paris fashion crowd since the house announced in July that Italian designer Gianfranco Ferre was leaving after nine years.   Galliano was appointed barely a year ago at Givenchy, which is owned by the same firm as Dior, luxury giant LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton.   The hip and romantic son of a plumber has successfully turned Givenchy's prim, ladylike fashions into wild, intricate and sexy clothing sought by supermodels and screen stars alike.   If Galliano left Givenchy, where he now produces four collections a year as well as his own ready-to-wear line, that firm would have to begin its own search for a new designer.   "It seems to me it would be impossible to design for three houses, it's too many collections a year," the Galliano spokeswoman said.   The ultimate decision is up to LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault who chose Galliano for the position at Givenchy.   The name of a replacement will be made public between now and October's ready-to-wear shows, when Ferre presents his final collection for Dior.   But in the frenetic run-up to an announcement, every trendy, inventive designer has been mentioned as a possibility.   Media reports that Arnault met U.S. designer Marc Jacobs twice in Paris in June sent tongues wagging that he would be the lucky man.   A Dior spokeswoman on Thursday confirmed the meetings but would only say: "When you're looking for someone, you meet people."   The only person who has categorically denied being interested in the job is Vivienne Westwood, who figured in rumours throughout August.   A former school teacher credited with inventing punk, Westwood said she was flattered by the hearsay but dismissed it out of hand.   The choice of either Galliano or Westwood, both madly inventive, would be consistent with Arnault's desire to have the most talented of the fashion pack in his empire.   It was he who recognised the talent of Christian Lacroix -- the current star of haute couture along with Galliano -- and put up the money to open his fashion house.   The Dior job is not a small one.   Whoever gets it will design the four yearly fashion collections which, while only a small part of the firm's sales, give all its other products -- watches, perfumes, pocket books, eyeliner and panty hose -- the brand image that makes them sell.   The French may grudgingly admit that Britain, Italy and New York are gaining on Paris fashion, but the idea of a foreigner leading one of the most "French" of the French fashion houses has stirred up anti-British sentiment among some chauvinists. 
13978 !C13 !C21 !C24 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !G153 !GCAT  The European Court of Justice rebuffed on Thursday attempts by Italian raw tabacco producers to get increased quotas from the Italian government.   Three tobacco producers challenged the EU quota system as invalid, and claimed damages were incurred from Italy's incorrect implementation of the quota rules.   The producers are seeking higher quotas from the Italian government.   Answering claims of undue burden on tobacco producers, the court said that "contrary to the arguments put forward by applicants in the main proceedings, the administrative burden which the system of cultivation certificates imposes on processing undertakings is largely offset by the advantages which the system affords them."   The court upheld a flat-rate calculation system of reserves based on tobacco variety, and did not require the Italian government to take full account of actual losses suffered by producers.   The court said member states have a considerable margin of discretion in fixing cultivation certificates, but must allocate these certificate quotas under a system based on objective criteria.   ***   (Court translation into English.   Original language of the case: Italian)   "Common market organization - Raw tobacco - Council regulation (EEC) - No 2075/92 - Commission regulation (EEC) No 3477/92"   In Joined Cases C-254/94, C-255/94, and C-269/94   12 September 1996   References by the Tribunale Amministrativo Regionale del Lazio (Italy) for preliminary rulings in the proceedings pending before that court between   Fattoria Autonoma Tabacchi   and   Ministero dell'Agricoltura e delle Foreste   Azienda di Stato per gli Interventi nel Mercato Agricolo (AIMA)   Consorzio Nazionale Tabacchicoltori (CNT)   Unione Nationale Tabacchicoltori (UNATA) and   Ditta Mario Pittari   and between   Lino Bason and others   Ministero dell'Agricoltura e delle Foreste   Azienda di Stato per gli Interventi nel Mercato Agricolo (AIMA) and   Unione Nazionale Tabacchicoltori (UNATA)   and between   Associazione Professionale Trasformatori Tabacchi Italiani (APTI) and others   and   Ministero dell'Agricoltura e delle Foreste   Consorzio Nazionale Tabacchicoltori (CNT)   Unione Nazionale Tabacchicoltori (UNATA)   Ditta Mario Pittari   on the interpretation of Council regulation (EEC) No 2075/92 of 30 June 1992 on the common organization of the market in raw tobacco(OJ 1992 L 215, p. 70) and on the validity and interpretation of certain provisions of Commission regulation (EEC) No 3477/92 of 1 December 1992 laying down detailed rules for the application of the raw tobacco quota system for the 1993 and 1994 harvests (OJ 1992 L 351, p. 11)   ---   THE COURT hereby rules   1.   Examination of the questions raised has disclosed no factor of such a kind as to affect the validity and interpretation of certain provisions of Commission regulation (EEC) No 3477/92 of 1 December 1992 laying down detailed rules for the application of the raw tobacco quota system for the 1993 and 1994 harvests.   2.   Article 9(3) of regulation No 3477/92 does not preclude the establishment, in advance and according to a system of flat-rate calculation, of reserves varying according to the varieties of tobacco, which are intended for distribution among producers who have suffered a fall in production as a result of exceptional circumstances, without taking full account of the losses actually suffered by individual producers.   3.   The third indent of article 2, in conjunction with article 21, of regulation No 3477/92 does not preclude national rules not allowing a single cultivation certificate or a single production quota to be given to a producer group founded with the aim of promoting and facilitating the cultivation of tobacco by its members, while at the same time undertaking the first processing of tobacco on its own premises.   4.   Article 9(3) of Council regulation ((EEC) No 2075/92 of 30 June 1992 on the common organization of the market in raw tobacco must be interpreted as meaning that processing undertakings may be divided into seven distinct groups, on condition that the processing quota is determined according to the rules of calculation prescribed for the group to which the sub-category in question belongs.   Article 9(1) of regulation 3477/92 must be interpreted as meaning that producers may have different rules for calculating the processing quota applied to them depending on the processing undertaking to which they delivered during the reference period. 
13979 !G15 !G153 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  The European Union on Thursday granted licences to export 4,500 tonnes of free-market soft wheat at a minimum tax of 0.05 Ecus per tonne through its main tender programme, grain traders said   In a separate tender the EU granted licences to export 22,800 tonnes of free-market soft wheat at a maximum refund of 5.50 Ecus per tonne to African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.   The EU's cereals management committee also agreed the export of 316,000 tonnes of free-market barley at a maximum refund of 24.97 Ecus per tonne.   It also awarded 5,100 tonnes of free-market oats with a maximum refund of 25.95 Ecus per tonne.   --Paris newsroom +331 4221 5432 
13980 !G15 !G156 !G158 !GCAT !GENV  A joint European Union and World Bank programme to save Brazil's endangered rain forests is to get more money, the European Commission said on Thursday.   Under the so-called PPB, a pilot programme established by Brazilian authorities in collaboration with the Commission and the World Bank in 1990, fresh funding of roughly 10 million Ecus ($125 million) is being prepared, brining total EU contributions to 56.6 million Ecus.   "New contributions are currently being prepared in support of the Environmental Education and Directed Research sub-components," the Commission said.   The programme, which aims to combat deforestation by aiding the public sector in environmental policies, is the result of an accord reached with the Group of Seven industrialised nations in 1990.   The EU's current direct financial contribution is 46.3 million Ecus.   ($1 = 0.80 Ecu) 
13981 !C31 !C311 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  The European Union will raise duties on transatlantic imports of maize to 64.85 Ecus a tonne, from 59.48 Ecus, effective Friday, the European Commission said.   Duties on nearby maize imports will rise to 74.85 Ecus a tonne, from 69.48 Ecus.   Other grain import duties remain unchanged.    EFFECTIVE FROM SEPTEMBER 13 IN ECUS PER TONNE    NEARBY ORIGIN (1) DISTANT ORIGIN (2) DATE OF    CURRENT PREVIOUS CURRENT PVS  CHANGE    DURUM WHEAT  15.29  8.55  5.29 0.00 06SEP96    COM WHT HIGH QUAL 31.94 21.82 21.94 11.82 03SEP96    MEDIUM QUALITY 41.22 35.48 31.22 25.48 07SEP96    LOW QUALITY  48.04 48.79 38.04 38.79 01SEP96    BARLEY 74.17 68.38 64.17 58.38 03SEP96    RYE 74.17 68.38 64.17 58.38 03SEP96    SORGHUM  88.28 82.49 78.28 72.49 03SEP96    MAIZE 74.85 69.48 64.85 59.48 13SEP96    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 131.62 132.19 130.20 108.21 161.71 102.85    Gulf -  12.17  7.34 16.80  -  -    Great    Lakes 13.46  -  -  -  -  -   Gulf of Mexico-Rotterdam 8.99 Ecus per tonne Great Lakes-Rotterdam 17.73 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. 
13982 !GCAT !GDIP  Norway said on Thursday it had agreed with Israeli and Palestinian authorities to let a team of Norwegian observers stay in the West Bank city of Hebron an extra month until mid-October.   Deputy Foreign Minister Jan Egeland said Israeli and Palestinian authorities asked Norway on Wednesday for a one-month extension of the observer agreement, which expired on Thursday.   "We have agreed to the request," Egeland told Reuters.   "We believe the international force has had a positive influence on the situation in Hebron and has led to fewer incidents of confrontation between Israeli settlers and Palestinians and Israeli forces and Palestinians."   An original Norwegian group of 40 observers was reduced to 22 following a rise in tensions in Hebron.   Egeland said the force would be rebuilt to 40 with 11 new observers travelling to the city in the next few days.   The observers are the only international monitors present in the sensitive area where 450 Jewish settlers live among 100,000 Palestinians.   Israel had committed itself to redeploy its troops from most parts of Hebron under a self-rule deal signed last year with the PLO.   But the redeployment has been held off by the new Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which took office in June.   Norway recently said it would seriously consider withdrawing the force because of the stalled peace process and the unstable situation in the area.   Egeland said however Norway agreed on the extension because the two parties had promised to reach a new agreement on an international observer group and on Israeli redeployment.   "But it is not in Norway's interest, nor in the interest of the peace process, to maintain this temporary agreement," Egeland said.   "We strongly urge the two parties to agree both the timing and nature of the Israeli redeployment and to agree on the mandate for a new international observer group."   Norway first provided a temporary observer force in Hebron under an agreement signed on May 9 with the Israeli government of Shimon Peres and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).   That deal gave Israel and the PLO three months to agree the redeployment of Israeli troops in Hebron.   Peres was ousted later in May and replaced by the new hardline government of Netanyahu.   Since then the peace process appeared to have stalled until last week's meeting between Netanyahu and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.   Netanyahu has said his government will honour agreements signed by his predecessor but insists there must be adjustments to the Hebron deal, which was originally due to be implemented in March.   The Israeli leader, who was elected on a pledge not to trade occupied Arab land for peace, has come under pressure from within his government not to accept the Hebron deal. 
13983 !GCAT !GVIO  The rebel Taleban Islamic militia took more eastern Afghan territory in a three-pronged attack on Thursday, entering the pro-government province of Laghman.   But beleaguered President Burhanuddin Rabbani, in a speech in the capital Kabul, vowed to fight it out, calling Taleban, which captured the main regional town of Jalalabad on Wednesday, "enemies of Afghanistan".   Reporters visiting Jalalabad, capital of strategic Nangarhar province, saw the city firmly under the control of Taleban, whose fighters told citizens through loudspeakers fitted on vehicles that they had come to enforce Islam and peace.   Taleban sources said the militia, which took Jalalabad without much fighting, was now advancing in three directions -- to Kunar province in the northeast, to Laghman in the northwest and to the strategic town of Sarobi in the west.   The militia overran Behsud district northeast of Jalalabad and the Darunta base in the northwest, witnesses said.   Rabbani's government in Kabul said its forces had recaptured the strategic Hisarak district in the west of Nangarhar and part of Azra district in adjoining Logar province, cutting off Taleban's supply route from southern Afghanistan.   There was no independent confirmation of this report.   But a Pakistan-based Afghan news service said government troops made some gains in Azra after heavy jet bombing.   "We will fight it out with Taleban foreign puppets even if they reach the presidential palace and put up ladders to enter it," the official Kabul Radio quoted Rabbani as saying in a speech to Islamic scholars.   Markets in Jalalabad were shut after a bombing raid by a government jet.   Very few civilians were on the streets -- and no women, who had been told by Taleban to stay indoors.   The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued an appeal in Kabul, urging warring factions to spare civilians.   ICRC mission deputy chief Thomas Gurtner said the committee was "very concerned" about the lives of Jalalabad's population.   "We would like to appeal to all sides of the war to spare the civilians," his statement said.   United Nations Under-Secretary for Political Affairs Marrack Goulding and special peace envoy Norbert Holl arrived in Kabul on Thursday for talks with Afghan leaders.   A government jet made three runs over Jalalabad airport, dropping two bombs, and was greeted with anti-aircraft fire, witnesses said.   Three people were injured but there was no damage to the runway.   Taleban forces advanced 25 to 30 km (15 to 18 miles) west of Jalalabad, seizing Sarkhakan town, and were about 40 km (25 miles) from the strategic government-held town of Sarobi in Kabul province, Taleban sources told the Afghan Islamic Press, a Pakistan-based news service.   They said the militia fighters had crossed the Kabul river to enter Laghman province and captured Chahrbagh town, famous for its date palm gardens.   A spokesman for Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar said in Kabul the government troops captured Hisarak on Thursday morning in an attack from Tizin and Jagdalak areas in Kabul province.   Government troops also captured Azra district, southwest of Hisarak, but high ground overlooking Azra bazaar was still held by Taleban, he said.   Taleban had taken Azra and Hisarak earlier this week to pave the way for their assault on Jalalabad.   Afghan Islamic Press also quoted a Taleban spokesman as saying the militia had forced government troops to withdraw from their base at Darunta, known for a hydro-electric project there.   Hekmatyar's spokesman, Hamid Ibrahimi, acknowledged that Taleban captured the government mountain base of Shamshad in Nangarhar near the Pakistan border on Wednesday night.   Taleban, which controls more than half of Afghanistan and seeks to topple Rabbani, seized most of Nangarhar province in a sweep on Tuesday and Wedneday and vowed to enforce Islamic Sharia law there. 
13984 !GCAT !GVIO  Afghanistan's rebel Taleban Islamic militia said on Thursday it had taken more eastern territory and entered the pro-government Laghman province after Wednesday's capture of the main regional town of Jalalabad.   President Burhanuddin Rabbani's government in Kabul said its forces had recaptured the strategic Hisarak district in the west of Nangarhar province, of which Jalalabad is the capital, and part of Azra district in adjoining Logar province, cutting off Taleban's supply route from southern Afghanistan.   There was no independent confirmation of reports from either side.   The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued an appeal in Kabul, urging warring factions to spare civilians.   ICRC mission deputy chief Thomas Gurtner said the committee was "very concerned" about the life Jalalabad's civilian population.   "We would like to appeal to all sides of the war to spare the civilians," his statement said.   United Nations Under-Secretary for Political Affairs Marrack Goulding and special peace envoy Norbert Holl arrived in Kabul on Thursday for talks with Afghan leaders as part of U.N. efforts to bring peace to the war-shattered country.   A Pakistan-based Afghan news service said government troops made some gains in Azra after heavy bombing.   A government jet bombed Jalalabad airport but there were no casualties or damage, the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) said.   Taleban forces advanced 25 to 30 km (15 to 18 miles) west of Jalalabad, seizing Sarkhakan town, and were about 40 km (25 miles) from the strategic government-held town of Sarobi in Kabul province, it quoted Taleban sources as saying.   They said the militia fighters had crossed the Kabul river to enter Laghman province and captured Chahrbagh town, famous for its date palm gardens.   Taleban sources earlier said the militia had advanced north of Jalalabad early on Thursday and captured Behsud district.   A spokesman for Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar said in Kabul the government troops captured Hisarak on Thursday morning in an attack from Tizin and Jagdalak areas in Kabul province.   Government troops also captured Azra district, southwest of Hisarak, but high ground overlooking Azra bazaar was still held by Taleban, he said.   Taleban had taken Azra and Hisarak earlier this week to pave the way for their assault on Jalalabad.   AIP also quoted a Taleban spokesman as saying the militiia had forced government troops to withdraw from their base at Darunta, known for a hydro-electric project there.   Hekmatyar's spokesman, Hamid Ibrahimi, acknowledged that Taleban captured the government mountain base of Shamshad in Nangarhar near the Pakistan border on Wednesday night.   Taleban, which controls more than half of Afghanistan and seeks to topple Rabbani, seized most of Nangarhar province in a sweep on Tuesday and Wedneday and vowed to enforce Islamic Sharia law there.   The militia seized Jalalabad hours after government troops took control from a previously neutral council.   Later the militia fighters advanced on the 75-km (45-mile) eastern highway to Pakistan.   An Afghan government spokesman accused Pakistan on Wednesday of conspiring and aiding the Taleban attack, signalling a return to frosty relations between the two governments.   A Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman rejected the charge as unfounded and said Islamabad had been trying to promote intra-Afghan talks to bring peace to the war-shattered country.   Pakistan evacuated eight staff members of its consulate on Wednesday to try to stop the pre-announced Taleban advance, a staff member said. 
13985 !GCAT !GVIO  Tamil Tiger rebels opened fire on a civilian bus in eastern Sri Lanka on Thursday, killing at least 11 civilians, including two children, and wounding 27 others, survivors and defence officials said.   "I saw an unarmed man stop the bus while gunmen appeared on both sides of the road and came firing towards us," bus conductor Lasantha Peiris told reporters flown to the scene.   "I jumped off and ran into the jungle with some other passengers," he added.   "I could hear people screaming and gunshots."   The bus was ambushed at about 10.30 a.m. (0400 GMT) on the way from Amparai, 200 km (125 miles) east of Colombo, to the hill town of Kandy, he said.   "When they started shooting, I covered my three children and my wife and ducked behind the seat," another survivor, H.R. Podi Appuhamy, told Reuters.   "After the shooting ended we fled into the jungle."   The floor of the bus was streaked with blood while most of its windows were shattered by bullets.   "The rebels raked the bus with gunfire and then hurled grenades," a police officer in Amparai told Reuters.   He added the death toll could rise because six of the wounded were in critical condition.   The victims were members of the majority Sinhalese community and minority Moslems.   Six of the victims were women.   The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels, fighting for an independent homeland for minority Tamils in predominantly Sinhalese Sri Lanka, withdrew after police commandos from a nearby camp moved into the area, police said.   A military spokesman said the attack occured near the spot where Tamil rebels massacred 30 Sinhalese Buddhist monks and four civilians in a similiar attack in June 1987.   Fifteen Buddhist monks were wounded in that attack.   Military officials said earlier that rebels had attacked a state oil depot in the Indian Ocean island's eastern Batticaloa district on Wednesday but there was no damage to oil tanks.   Six policemen guarding the oil depot owned by the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation were wounded in the attack by the rebels, they said.   No other details were given on the oil depot attack, which came almost a year after LTTE rebels attacked and blew up two state oil storage depots in Colombo killing more than 20 people.   On Wednesday, a military spokesman said the Sri Lankan navy sank seven Tamil Tiger rebel boats off the northeastern coast this week, killing dozens of rebels.   The navy said it suffered no casualties in the attacks.   The navy has stepped up patrols in the northern waters to counter a growing threat from the rebel "Sea Tiger" naval wing, officials said.   The government estimates more than 50,000 people have died in the ethnic war, now in its 14th year. 
13986 !GCAT !GVIO  Angry mourners threatened "blood for blood" vengeance on Thursday as they buried 30 Bengali-speaking settlers killed by tribal rebels in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts, local officials said.   The officials said Home (Interior) Minister Rafiqul Islam and three other ministers flew in to the Hill Tracts to attend the burial, which had been delayed by mourners.   "The burial took place amid tight security, bubbling tension and repeated vows by friends of the dead to retaliate," one official told reporters.   "Some were calling for a blood-for-blood revenge," he said.   Hundreds of people, most of them members of the opposition Jatiya Ganatantrik Party, demonstrated in Dhaka on Thursday evening, calling for "stern government action to curb the Hill Tracts insurgency".   "The government must take action to break the teeth of the rebels," said party chief Shafiul Alam Pradhan.   The government has ordered a probe into the killings of the settlers by Shanti Bahini (peace force) guerrillas.   Officials said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had asked Islam to find out what had led to the "extreme tragedy."   Local officials said many tribespeople opposed the killings by the guerrillas, who seek autonomy for the 5,500 square-mile (14,200 sq-km) Hill Tracts bordering India and Burma.   The guerrillas, most of them Chakma tribesmen, want some 300,000 Bengali settlers expelled from the region, which they consider a tribal homeland.   The rebels abducted 37 settlers on Monday night from a village in the Rangamati district, police said.   Army troops recovered 30 bodies on Wednesday morning.   Two of the abducted settlers managed to flee, although they had been shot and wounded.   Five were missing, and soldiers backed by helicopters were searching for them, police said.   "This is the biggest massacre in many years," one defence source told Reuters on Wednesday.   "Most of the bodies have been beheaded and a few bore gunshot marks," one police officer said.   Officials and journalists at Rangamati, about 60 km (40 miles) from where the killings occurred, said tension continued to build in the region on Thursday.   Schools and markets in Rangamati have remained closed and many residents have fled their homes, one journalist said.   Tuesday's killings occurred despite a ceasefire reached between the rebels and the government two months ago.   It is due to expire on September 30.   The Shantis took up arms in 1973 after Bangladesh rejected their demand for autonomy.   They opposed the presence of non-tribal settlers, accusing them of grabbing tribal land and threatening tribal culture.   Officials say more than 8,000 rebels, soldiers and civilians had been killed in the insurgency, which has forced thousands of tribal families to flee to northeast India.   Home Minister Islam said on Thursday the government was ready to hold peace talks with the rebels as part of its plan for "political settlement" of the Hill Tracts problems.   "Nothing can be achieved by terrorism.   Deaths will not bring any solution," he told residents at Rangamati.   "The government is ready for peace, but it's not at all prepared to give in to pressure." 
13987 !GCAT !GDIS  Five people died and 12 were injured on Thursday in an explosion at a firecracker factory in southern India, police said.   Factory workers in Embakkottai village in Tamil Nadu state were handling explosive material in bulk when it caught fire due to friction, police in the state capital Madras said.   Four workers died on the spot and the fifth died in hospital, they said.   Embakkottai is near Sivakasi, a major manufacturing centre for fireworks and matches. 
13988 !GCAT !GVIO  Tamil Tiger rebels opened fire on a civilian bus in eastern Sri Lanka on Thursday, killing at least 11 Sinhalese, including two children, and wounding 27 others, military and police officials said.   The bus was ambushed at about 10.30 a.m. (0400 GMT) on the way from Amparai, 200 km (125 miles) east of Colombo, to the hill town of Kandy, they said.   "The rebels raked the bus with gunfire and then hurled grenades," a police officer in Amparai told Reuters, adding the death toll could rise as six of the wounded were in critical condition.   Six of the victims were women.   The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels, fighting for an independent homeland for minority Tamils in predominantly Sinhalese Sri Lanka, withdrew after police commandos from a nearby camp moved into the area, the officials said.   Military officials said earlier that rebels had attacked a state oil depot in the Indian Ocean island's eastern Batticaloa district on Wednesday but there was no damage to oil tanks.   Six policemen guarding the oil depot owned by the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation were wounded in the attack by the rebels, they said.   No other details were given on the oil depot attack, which came almost a year after LTTE rebels attacked and blew up two state oil storage depots in Colombo killing more than 20 people.   On Wednesday, a military spokesman said the Sri Lankan navy sank seven Tamil Tiger rebel boats off the northeastern coast this week, killing dozens of rebels.   The navy said it suffered no casualties in the attacks.   The navy has stepped up patrols in the northern waters to counter a growing threat from the rebel "Sea Tiger" naval wing, officials said.   The government estimates more than 50,000 people have died in the ethnic war, now in its 14th year. 
13989 !GCAT !GVIO  Tamil Tiger rebels opened fire on a civilian bus in eastern Sri Lanka on Thursday, killing at least 10 Sinhalese and wounding 27 others, military and police officials said.   The bus was ambushed at around 10.30 a.m. (0400 GMT) on the way from Amparai, 200 km (125 miles) east of Colombo, to the hill town of Kandy, they said.   "The rebels raked the bus with gunfire," a police officer told Reuters, adding the death toll could rise as many wounded were in critical condition.   The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels, fighting for an independent homeland for minority Tamils in predominantly Sinhalese Sri Lanka, withdrew after police commandos from a nearby camp moved into the area, the officials said.   Military officials said earlier that rebels had attacked a state oil depot in the Indian Ocean island's eastern Batticaloa district on Wednesday but there was no damage to oil tanks.   Six policemen guarding the oil depot owned by the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation were wounded in the attack by the rebels, they said.   No other details were given on the oil depot attack, which came almost a year after LTTE rebels attacked and blew up two state oil storage depots in Colombo killing more than 20 people.   On Wednesday, a military spokesman said the Sri Lankan navy sank seven Tamil Tiger rebel boats off the northeastern coast this week, killing dozens of rebels.   The navy said it suffered no casualties in the attacks.   The navy has stepped up patrols in the northern waters to counter a growing threat from the rebel "Sea Tiger" naval wing, officials said.   The government estimates more than 50,000 people have died in the ethnic war, now in its 14th year. 
13990 !GCAT  Following are some of the main stories in Thursday's Pakistani newspapers: (Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy).   DAWN   - Pakistan has called upon importing countries to faithfully implement special provisions embodied in the agreement on textile and clothing in favour of least developed and cotton producing countries.   - The pre-tax profit of 11 out of 15 private banks rose by 36.82 percent during January-June 1996 compared to the year-ago period.   - The Privatisation Commission is looking for financial advisers for the privatisation of five thermal power generation plants.   - Sectarian violence escalated on Wednesday in Kurram Agency in northwestern Pakistan with death toll in two days of clashes rising to 25.   - Jalalabad, capital of Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar, fell to Taleban militia on Wednesday without any resistance from government forces.   - A provincial assembly member of the ethnic Mohajir National Movement, Feroza Begum, broke ranks with her party and joined the Sindh province cabinet as a minister.   BUSINESS RECORDER   - Mohajir National Movement will observe a general strike in Karachi on Saturday in protest against what it said unconstitutional act of forcing and terrorising one of its Sindh provincial assembly deputy to accept a ministerial post.   THE NATION   - The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources has announced a 4.0 percent increase in the price of petrol, diesel, kerosene oil and furnace oil because of the devaluation of the Pakistani rupee against the dollar.   The increase will be effective from September 21.   - Secretary general of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League party and former finance minister, Sartaj Aziz, has said the devaluation of the Pakistani rupee against the dollar reflects failure of the government's fiscal policies.   THE NEWS   - Pakistan has said it will pull out of the Comprehensive (nuclear) Test Ban Treaty if any state conducts a nuclear explosion.   - Pakistan has rejected allegations from the Afghan government that it has interfered in Afghanistan or that Taleban militia had moved to Jalalabad from Pakistani side of the border.   - Two women relatives of nine people killed by an army major in Tando Bahawal, in Sindh province, in 1992 were seriously injured when they tried to burn themselves after the expiry of their deadline to hang the main accused, whose execution has been stayed by the Supreme Court.   -- Islamabad newsroom 9251-274757 
13991 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the Bangladesh press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   ---   DAILY STAR   International donors at a meeting in Paris this week pledged $1.9 billion in development loans and grants to Bangladesh for fiscal 1996-97 (June-July).   ---   THE INDEPENDENT   A Bangladesh police team has gone to Thailand to bring back a retired army officer who is an accused in the killing of four national leaders in jail in 1975.   Major (rtd) Bazlul Huda has also been awaiting deportation by Thai government on charge of shop lifting.   A Bangladeshi scientist has invented a genetic engineering technique for gene insertion into jute tissue to develop insect and disease free jute plants.   ---   BANGLADESH OBSERVER   Bangladesh opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia has complained of "repressive" measures by the ruling party on her party workers, and urged police and administration to remain "neutral".   ---   FINANCIAL EXPRESS   Bangladesh plans to offload government's equity holdings in state-owned enterprises.   The government is planning to set up a specialised bank for the growth of small and cottage industries, Commerce and Industries Minister Tofael Ahmed said.   -- Dhaka Newsroom 880-2-506363 
13992 !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: 11-3326806, 11-3326813; Fax:+91-11-3351006 Internet: biznis.  news@forums.  sprintrpg.  sprint.  com    -------oo0oo-------    Top Stories   The Times Of India   U.S. WARNS INDIA AGAINST CONDUCTING NUCLEAR TESTS   The United States has warned India and the other countries who have opposed the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty (CTBT) against conducting nuclear tests.   U.S. said it would amount to defying the will of the international community and the great powers of the world.   The U.S. State department spokesman Nicholas Burns expressed disappointment over India's refusal to sign CTBT.   He said India had taken a difficult position against the will of the international community.   U.S. would implement CTBT irrespective of India's stand, he added.   U.S. President Bill Clinton has said that US will try to dispel India's concern over CTBT.   U.S. could find a way for the Indians to have their security concerns met, Clinton assured.   - - - -   The Hindustan Times   GUJARAT LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY SUMMONED   The Gujarat legislative assembly has been summoned to meet on September 18.   The state assembly was indefinitely adjourned on September 3, by the deputy speaker.   The state chief minister Suresh Mehta will now have a chance to prove his majority on the floor of the House on that day.   The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state has been in deep crisis ever since a break away faction of 46 BJP legislators decided to part ways with it.   The ruling faction still claims to enjoy the support of 94 of its original tally of 120 legislators.   - - - -   Indian Express   APPEAL AGAINST TRANSFER OF BOFORS PAPERS DISMISSED   The Swiss cantonal court at Geneva has rejected two appeals challenging the release of crucial documents in the Bofors gun deal case to India.   With this, India would now be able to get early release of the documents relating to the kickbacks allegedly paid in the Bofors gun deal.   These documents include details of beneficiaries, bank entries and other transactions in the Swiss bank accounts of individuals belived to have been involved in the deal.   - - - -   Financial Express   MARGINAL SOPS IN FINANCE BILL   Finance Minister P. Chidambaram moved the Finance Bill, 1996/97 (April-March) for consideration in the parliament.   He announced exemption of sick units and industries in backward areas from a new minimum alternate tax and minor changes in some customs and excise duties.   He said the effect of these changes would lead to a net revenue loss of 940 million rupees.   The minister also raised the import duty on colour picture tubes and rayon grade wood pulp by five percent in response to the demand by the domestic manufacturers.   - - - -   FIIS' PARITY WITH DIRECT INVESTORS ASSURED   Finance Minister P. Chidambaram allayed fears of any discrimination between the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and the foreign direct investors.   He assured that all capital flows were welcome.   Stating that it was a global trend for FIIs to indulge in speculative activities, the minister said foreign direct investors would have to show long term commitments for promoting development by bringing in technology, creating new markets and providing the competitive edge to Indian products globally.   - - - -   AGRICULTURE EXPORTS SHOOT UP BY 94 PCT IN APRIL-JUNE   The country's agricultural exports is likely to surge to record levels in fiscal 1996/97 (April-March).   This is suggested by the trends available in the first quarter of the year.   Exports surged by 94.15 percent to 42.05 billion rupees in April-June 1996 from 21.66 billion rupees in April-June 1995.   According to the commerce ministry, India's export prospects have improved following the promise made by the developed countries to remove non-tariff barriers and reduce subsidies.   - - - -   BOMBAY BOURSE INDEX PLUNGES 52 POINTS   Prices of pivotals fell as both the domestic and foreign funds turned sellers.   Stock market sources said punters brought down the prices in anticipation of a let down on MAT (minimum alternate tax) by the finance minister.   The 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange sensitive index lost 52.12 points on lacklustre trading to close below the 3400 mark at 3382.71 points.   The 50-share National Stock Exchange index lost 10 points over the previous close to finish at 990.    The Economic Times   TELECOM DEPARTMENT SCRAPS OPTIC FIBRE CABLE TENDER   The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) would soon float a tender to procure 21,000 kms of optical fibre cables.   Communications Minister Beni Prasad Verma said the earlier tender had been scrapped as the bidders had formed a cartel.   In case companies did the same again, DoT might float a global tender, he said.   - - - -   POWER FIRMS MUST WAIT AND WATCH   The Union power secretary advised power companies to wait for a new liquid fuel policy to be announced shortly, before going for the power purchase agreements for naphtha based projects.   The issue of naphtha as a feedstock for power projects was the most talked about issue at the two-day summit - Destination India - held at Delhi.   There was considerable confusion among power industry players over the future usage of naptha as feedstock, with various departments of the government questioning the economic sense of naptha usage.   - - - -   BILL SEEKS TO RESTRICT INTER-CORPORATE LOANS The Companies act amendment Bill, currently being introduced in parliament, seeks to restrict companies from making inter-corporate loans.   This also seeks to debar companies from investing in other companies if they have defaulted on payment of fixed deposit interest or principal.   On the issue of non-voting shares, it clarifies that existing voting capital will not be allowed to be converted into non-voting capital.   Further, the bill proposes to allow all companies to issue redeemable preference shares for a period of 20 years, as against an earlier norm of 10 years.   - - - -   The Observer   NEED FOR CONSENSUS ON REFORMS STRESSED   The Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has called for a consensus on economic reforms.   This would help broaden the foreign direct investment (FDI) to more areas, including the consumer good sector, the minister said.   Seeking more FDI in core sectors of telecommunication, power, roads and port, he urged the foreign companies to invest in these sectors.   - - - -   COAL INDIA TO RAISE FOUR BLN RUPEES FROM BONDS   The state-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) plans to raise four billion rupees through bonds from the capital market during fiscal 1996/97 (April-March).   This will help CIL to partly finance its expansion plans.   The Credit and Rating Information Services of India Ltd (CRISIL) has already accorded A-plus rating to CIL's bonds programme.   The company expects better response from the market as it had restructured its capital base in February this year.   Currently, CIL's accumulated losses stand at around one billion rupees.   But, CIL expects to post a profit of around 5.01 billion rupees in 1996/97.   - - - -   Business Standard   SWEEPING CHANGES IN LAND CEILING LAW ON ANVIL   The government is considering granting industry status to the real estate and housing industry.   It is also planning sweeping changes in the Urban Land Ceiling Act to bridge the gap between demand and supply.   Minister of State for Urban Affairs and Employment D. Venkateshwarlu said the government would open dialogues with state governments for revamping the Land Acquisition Act and to make these state legislations complementary to the Union land legislations.   - - - -   SHRI SHAKTI IN PACT WITH AMOCO FOR LPG TERMINAL   Hyderabad based company Shri Shakti LPG (liquified petroleum gas) Ltd has tied up with US-based Amoco for setting up an LPG terminal at the new Mangalore port.   The company has also tied up with South Korea-based Daewoo for setting up infrastructure and to market LPG as an automobile fuel in the east coast.   Amoco and Daewoo plan to pick up 25 percent equity stake each in Shri Shakti LPG.   Amoco has entered into a long term supply contract for LPG from the Middle East.   - - - -   Business Line   COMPREHENSIVE CHANGES IN ELECTRICITY ACT PLANNED   The federal government plans to amend the Electricity Supply Act for the improvements in the power sector.   The power sector developments are being studied for finding ways to review the role of the Central Electricity Authority.   The government has appointed a consultant to suggest amendments to the Act.   This was stated by the Union power secretary at a business seminar held in Delhi.   The secretary said changes in the Act were necessary to provide for captive power generation by industries.   - - - - 
13993 !GCAT !GVIO  Gunmen killed the leader of a Pakistani Shi'ite militant group, Murid Abbas Yazdani, in the capital Islamabad on Thursday night, police said.   The unidentified gunmen entered Yazdani's house in western Islamabad at 10.45 p.m. and shot him dead, a police official said.   "I have no further details."   Yazdani was the Salar (commander) of the Shi'ite Sipah-i-Mohammad group.   His murder follows reports of 25 deaths in two days of clashes between the minority Shi'ite and majority Sunni Moslems in the northwestern town of Parachinar.   A curfew is in force in Parachinar, near the border with Afghanistan, after the first gun-battles there on Tuesday, which were sparked by a clash between the rival student groups of the two sects at a local school.   The leader of Shi'ite Tehrik Nifaz Fiqh-e-Jafari, Syed Hamid Ali Moosvi, said Yazdani's murder was "a conspiracy of anti-Pakistan and anti-Islami forces" and called for calm.   "The present worrying situation would not have arisen if the government had taken steps to stop the current bloodshed and terrorism," he said in a statement.   Sunni-Shi'ite disputes over Islamic beliefs have often spilled into violence and Tuesday's clash follows a series of sectarian attacks this year in the central province of Punjab and the southern province of Sindh.   Eighteen people were killed in a sectarian clash on August 18 when gunmen attacked a Shi'ite meeting in southern Punjab.   Sunnis dominate Pakistan's population of about 130 million people, of which Shi'ites constitute about 15 percent. 
13994 !C18 !C183 !CCAT !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  India's Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday upset a coalition partner by saying that the state would divest up to 74 percent of its stake in some non-core industry firms, the Press Trust of India said.   The PTI said that Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, who works within a 13-party leftist coalition, said the state would divest its holdings in the non-core, non strategic sector by up to 74 percent, without giving further details.   Under the current policy, the government can sell a stake of up to 49 percent in any state-run firm, excluding strategic industries, such as defence.   Chidambaram said the limit on divestment in core sector industries remained at 49 percent, but could be raised in the future.   D. Raja, a senior leader of the Communist Party of India, said Chidambaram was "overstepping" the limits of the United Front government's common minimum programme (CMP) and had "deviated" from its agreed provisions.    Raja, who helped draft the programme after the government came to power three months ago, said the thrust of the CMP was to revive the public sector not to dismantle it.   He said the government's steering committee should discuss the subject fully before proceeding further.   But a senior finance ministry official said Chidambaram was referring to a recommendation by a government committee on divestment and not a decision.   "The divestment committee has suggested that for some non-core industries divestment could go up to 74 percent," the official said.   That would leave the government with a 26 percent stake, which would enable it to block any special resolutions that it objected to, equity analysts said.   The government aims to raise 50 billion rupees ($1.4 billion) from divestments this year.   At the same conference, Industry Minister Murasoli Maran said freer entry for foreign direct investors would be particularly encouraged in the infrastructure and export earning sectors.    Earlier this week, the Financial Express newspaper reported that mining services, the basic metal and alloy industry, electricity generation and transmission were some of the industries where foreign equity stakes of up 74 percent would be given automatic government approval.   And the industry ministry also proposed expanding the list of industrial sectors -- currently only 35 are in this category -- in which foreign equity stakes up to 51 percent would be automatically approved by the government. 
13995 !GCAT !GVIO  The leader of the biggest political party in troubled Kashmir escaped a grenade attack which injured six people during an election rally on Thursday, Indian police said.   National Conference party leader Farooq Abdullah was addressing the rally in Muran village, 32 km (20 miles) south of the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir state, Srinagar, when the grenade exploded behind the rostrum, they said.   Four policemen and two civilians were injured in the blast, which occurred within metres (yards) of Abdullah, police said.   One person was arrested following the attack.   Militants were suspected, police said.   Abdullah was state chief minister in 1990 when a separatist rebellion erupted in the Himalayan province.   His party is widely expected to win the first state assembly polls since 1987, being held this month, and Abdullah is tipped to become chief minister.   The National Conference, a regional party, is the only political grouping putting up candidates in all of the state's 87 constituencies.   On Wednesday, suspected militants threw a grenade at the home of Mufti Mohammad Syed, former federal home (interior) minister and a regional Congress party leader, in Bijbehara town, 40 km (25 miles) south of Srinagar.   No one was injured.   During the election campaign which began in late August, at least 20 political activists have been killed and 12 candidates have escaped bids on their lives.   The first day of polling in the four-stage assembly elections took place last Saturday.   Fresh voting is set for September 16, 21 and 30.   The results are expected in the first week of October.   Dozens of militant groups are fighting for either independence or merger with neighbouring Pakistan.   Police and hospital officials say more than 20,000 people have died in insurgency-related violence since the separatist revolt erupted in 1990.   India accuses Pakistan of arming and training guerrillas.   Islamabad says it provides only moral and diplomatic support. 
13996 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Pakistan on Thursday welcomed the nuclear test ban treaty endorsed by the United Nations but said Islamabad would not sign it because of perceived dangers from arch-foe India, which opposes the document.   A foreign ministry spokesman told reporters that Pakistan joined other countries in adopting the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) because it was in line with Islamabad's "commitment to promoting the goals of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation".   But Pakistan says it will not sign the treaty unless India does.   The two countries have fought three wars since they gained independence from Britain in 1947, two of them over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.   The U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday adopted and opened for signature a treaty that would ban nuclear explosions forever.   The vote on the resolution was 158 in favour, three against -- India, Libya, Bhutan -- and five abstentions.   All five declared nuclear powers -- the United States, Russia, France, Britain and China -- support the document but the treaty does not come into force until 44 states with nuclear potential sign it.   "Pakistan cannot be oblivious to threats to its security which are intensified by India's position on the nuclear test ban treaty," the spokesman said.   "We reserve the right to respond adequately to any nuclear escalation by India," he said.   "Pakistan, in view of its security concerns, cannot accept unilateral commitments."   India exploded a nuclear device in 1974 but says it has not built the bomb.   Experts believe both India and Pakistan could quickly assemble nuclear weapons.   India has called the treaty discriminatory because it would permit the nuclear powers to perfect their weapons with non-explosive techniques, and objected to a provision that would require India to ratify the accord for it to take effect.   New Delhi has insisted that the five delared powers agree to dismantle their arsenals over a set time.   "Its (India's) opposition to CTBT is essentially due to its political ambitions and technological considerations rather than moralistic arguments over nuclear disarmament," the Pakistani spokesman said.   "It is evident that India's opposition to the treaty emanates from its nuclear ambitions and its reluctance to forgo further development of its nuclear and ballistic missile programme, which poses a real threat to the security of its neighbours." 
13997 !GCAT !GVIO  The latest rebel victories in Afghanistan have further isolated President Burhanuddin Rabbani's government in Kabul, cutting key land routes to neighboring countries, analysts said on Thursday.   The powerful Taleban Islamic militia on Wednesday seized control of most of the strategic eastern province of Nangarhar, including the provincial capital Jalalabad, and the main land route to neighbouring Pakistan.   Afghan and military analysts said more trouble lay ahead for the Kabul government, mainly from Taleban, which now controls more than half of the war-shattered country.   Taleban forces already have 16 of the 32 Afghan provinces under its control, including those providing road links with Pakistan in the south and with Iran in the west.   Wednesday's capture of Jalalabad made them masters of the main eastern road link with Pakistan.   Northern provinces with road links to the neighbouring Central Asian states are controlled by another foe of Rabbani, General Abdul Rashid Dostum.   "Now the Kabul government is at the mercy of its opponents as far as the supplies from the land routes are concerned," an Afghan analyst said.   Dostum opened the northern Salang Highway to Kabul last month after peace talks with his former ally, Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.   But Afghan sources in Pakistan said Dostum had left open his options by not making a formal peace deal with Kabul, and could close the route again any time to press his old demand that Rabbani step down in favour of a neutral administration.   While Dostum has not created many military problems for Rabbani in recent months, analysts said the Taleban forces were likely to strike at two more pro-government eastern provinces, Kunar and Laghman.   Kunar, which borders with Pakistan, is ruled by a fundamentalist Islamic group called Salfis.   Its leader, Maulvi Samiullah Najabi, was named a cabinet minister when Hekmatyar took over as premier in June after the peace pact with Rabbani.   Laghman, which is between Kunar and Kabul provinces, is controlled by Hekmatyar's own Hezb-i-Islami party.   The latest government reverses have put a strain on the new friendship between Rabbani and Hekmatyar, Afghan sources said.   Hekmatyar had promised to strengthen the government in return for regaining the premiership, which he lost when he and Dostumn united in January 1994 in an abortive coup against Rabbani.   They instead were ousted from Kabul.   But since June, Taleban has seized more Hezb-controlled and neutral territories and has rained rockets on Kabul almost daily, having besieged the capital since last October.   "Hekmatyar's importance for Rabbani has descreased with the fall of Jalalabad," an analyst said.   "The economic situation will further worsen, and differences between Hekmatyar and Ahmad Shah Masood will intensify."   Masood is Rabbani's top commander.   The fall of Jalalabad has ended the only neutral council, or shura, that ruled there and sometime provided a balance between the rivals.   With its troubles at home increasing, Kabul has renewed its charges that Islamabad has aided Taleban, something that could reverse the recent warming of their once frosty relations.   An Afghan government spokesman has accused Pakistan of "hatching the conspiracy for Taleban puppets to wage war in Jalalabad".   Pakistan rejected the charge and said it had been trying to promote intra-Afghan talks to help bring peace there.   The allegations have also clouded a planned visit to Kabul next week by Pakistan's top Foreign Ministry official, Najmuddin Sheikhj, to reopen Islamabad's embassy there.   The mission has been shut since protesters burned its building a year ago.   The Taleban emerged in 1994 as a new force in Afghanistan, led by Moslem religious students who vowed to sweep away the Mujahideen guerrilla groups that had fought Soviet occupation from 1979 to 1989.   Teleban captured the southern city of Kandahar and reached the gates of Kabul in February 1995, dislodging Hekmatyar from his Charasyab base south of Kabul. 
13998 !GCAT !GDIP  Palestinian President Yasser Arafat will visit Islamabad on Friday to hold talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Thursday.   He said Arafat would come here for a working visit while on his back from Japan to Cairo, where he is to attend an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers. 
13999 !GCAT !GDIS  Fourteen people died in an explosion at a firecracker factory in southern India on Thursday, the Press Trust of India (PTI) said.   The explosion occurred when a firecracker caught fire while being made, the news agency said.   It said an unknown number of workers were injured in the blast in the Sivakasi district of Tamil Nadu state.   Sivakasi is a major manufacturing centre for firecrackers and matches, where the sprawling cottage industry illegally employs small children.