BEIJING, CHINA : Chinese Defence Minister Chi Haotian greets his Russian counterpart Igor Sergeyev in Beijing on Thursday. AP/PTI

A-G's clean chit to Suharto
JAKARTA, Oct 23 — "The police have to ask where the chickens are because how can someone be accused of stealing chickens when the stolen chickens are nowhere to be found?"

Typhoon claims heavy toll

MANILA, Oct 23 (AP) — Eighty persons (86 according to ANI) were confirmed dead today as typhoon "Babs" pummelled the northern Philippines with heavy winds and rain, submerging parts of Manila and forcing many businesses to close for the second day.

At least 53 persons were killed in landslides on Catanduanes Island, where the typhoon first hit land yesterday, office of Civil Defence Director Renato Arevalo said. Seventeen others died in landslides in nearby Camarines Sur province, he said.

Roads throughout the central and northern Philippines were flooded or blocked by landslides. Many people were rendered homeless after strong winds tore the roofs or walls off their simple bamboo houses.

Tens of thousands of persons were also stranded as ports were shut and ships forbidden to sail.

In the hard-hit Bicol region, one of the Philippines’ poorest areas, more than 100,000 persons were forced to flee their homes, Red Cross officials said. Nearly 10,000 jammed the town of Matnog waiting for ferry service to the nearby Samar Island.

The fatalities included six by drowning, two hit by falling trees, another who died of shock, and a fireman pinned to death after his van overturned on a slippery road, officials said.

A group of gold miners believed trapped in a flooded mine tunnel in the town of Aroroy on Masbate Island were later able to escape to safety, the police said.

In Manila, President Joseph Estrada ordered government offices to close at noon today, with the exception of disaster relief agencies. He also ordered the forced evacuation of slum dwellers living near swollen rivers.

Over 15,700 persons were evacuated from the low-lying areas in the capital, officials said.

"Despite the situation, some people still refuse to leave their homes to guard their property," said Jesusa Villanueva, principal of a school being used as an evacuation centre.

Some people, cradling chickens and dogs, stood on the roofs of their houses, a few possessions piled next to them. Others used tyre tubes to float towards safer ground.

Hundreds of people living along a seawall near the US Embassy were evacuated because of high waves. In suburban Marikina, about 4,500 persons living on the bank of the swollen Marikina river were also moved to evacuation centres.

At least 12 domestic flights and one international flight were cancelled.

After skirting Manila, Babs veered north towards the area devastated last week by super typhoon Zeb, which killed at least 74 persons in the Philippines and 43 more in Taiwan and Japan.

In Nueva Ecija province, more than 50 persons crowded onto the roof of a house in the town of Gapan to escape Babs’ floodwaters.

About 88,000 hectares of paddy crop were destroyed in the province.

Babs also pounded areas around the Mount Pinatubo volcano with heavy rain unleashing 1.5 meter-high avalanches of volcanic material from the mountain’s slopes. Most of the material was carried safely away by swollen rivers.

At midday, the storm was centred over the Lingayen Gulf in Pangasinan province, 200 km north of Manila, weather officials said. It had sustained winds of 120 kph, with gusts up to 150 kph, and was on its way out to the South China Sea.

Russia approves crash budget

MOSCOW, Oct 23 (AFP) — The Russian Government yesterday approved a crash fourth quarter Budget with a deficit it desperately hopes will be financed through a loan recently frozen by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The IMF, which began another round of Moscow talks with government officials on Wednesday, has pressed for a tight Russian Budget policy and a parliament-backed, comprehensive crisis package before it releases at even a part of the $ 4.3 billion September tranche.

Finance Minister Mikhail Zadornov said the government has adopted a trimmed fourth quarter 1998 Budget that may please fund officials enough to till in the deficit gaps.

“If they agree, the deficit will be financed by this money and emissions will be less,” Mr Zadornov told a press conference. “I think our data will be persuasive enough.”

The fourth quarter Budget is based on expenditures of 130 billion roubles ($ 7.6 billion) and revenues of 65 to 75 billion roubles ($ 3.8-4.4 billion).

Mr Zadornov estimated that government may have to print up to 20 billion roubles this autumn to cover outstanding wage arrears and overdue pension payments.

He said Russia faces a Budget deficit of 5.5 per cent of gross domestic product this autumn.

The IMF team further wants to see a point-by-point anti-crisis package whose development had been stalled as Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov’s government continues to debate its specifics.

Mr Primakov’s team initially told the fund it would not have a plan ready until New Year.

Mr Zadornov said that the fund would be able to study monetary, fiscal and economic proposals during the mission’s week-long stay in Moscow.

“The chief purpose of IMF visit is to discuss our economic measures for the fourth quarter and for 1999,” one of Russia’s top negotiators with the IMF, Deputy Finance Minister Oleg Vyugin, said in an interview.

“In other words, we are looking at an adaptation period to the crisis of 15 months,” Mr Vyugin told the Vremya daily.

“The IMF understands our current situation and the inevitability of the loosening of our monetary policy’’.

Council resolution partisan: India

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 23 (PTI) — India has questioned the grounds and language of the UN Security Council resolution deploring New Delhi’s nuclear tests and accused it of "overstepping" its mandate and functioning under "dubious legality" to suit partisan ends of its five permanent members.

"On what basis did the council limit its concern to an arbitrarily defined geographical sub-region when nuclear weapons have a global reach and impact and the security concerns of India extend well beyond the sub-region," Indian Ambassador to UN Kamlesh Sharma asked referring to the resolution urging India and Pakistan to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) "without delay and without conditions".

"This tantamounts to coercion and a clear violation of the fundamental principle that a state must freely consent to be bound by a treaty, a right protected by the law treaties," he told the 185-member UN General Assembly yesterday.

Stressing that non-proliferation was a global issue and could not be segmented according to political preferences, he asked: "How could the council call on a country not to develop ballistic missiles when it has not asked others to do so, including those who have several thousand of these weapons.

He said he was yet to receive a satisfactory response to a letter he had sent when the council took up consideration of Indian nuclear tests asking for clarification on why the council thought it necessary to meet on the issue.

Besides, India was denied the opportunity to participate in the discussion on the draft resolution in violation of an article of the UN charter, he said.

The article says "any member state of the United Nations which is not a member of the Security Council may participate, without vote, in the discussion on any question brought before the Security Council whenever the latter considers that the interests of that member are specifically affected."

It was one more instance of the council acting in a manner that was neither open nor transparent, the Indian Ambassador added.

WASHINGTON: India is a nuclear weapon state and needs no recognition of this reality by anyone, former Director of the Indian Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, Dr K Subramaniam, has said.

He said how to cope with that reality was not India’s problem. It is a problem for the five permanent members of the UN Security Council who framed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty on the unrealistic assumption that for all time to come they would have a monopoly of nuclear weapons.

Mr Subramaniam, in a chat with Indian correspondents, here yesterday said it makes no sense for India to consider signing the CTBT even on the basis of certain reciprocal measures, so long as the USA and the Russian Duma do not ratify it.

When the Cabinet accepted a treaty, it is more or less taken for granted that it would be ratified. Therefore, it should wait until the USA, Russia and China have ratified what they have signed.

US plan to overthrow Saddam draws flak

WASHINGTON, Oct 23 (PTI) — A top US military general has criticised a recent law authorising President Bill Clinton to provide military assistance worth $ 97 million to Iraqi opposition groups saying, any forcible attempt to overthrow President Saddam Hussein would destabilise the region.

Marine Corps Gen Anthony Zinni, Chief of the US Central Command with responsibility for West Asia told reporters yesterday that the opposition groups which were to get the money and arms were in no position to mount a “viable” opposition to Saddam Hussein.

He warned that under current conditions any attempt to forcibly remove the Iraqi leader could “dangerously fragment the country and destabilise the region.”

The General said, “I don’t think these questions have been thought over or answered. If they have been no one has asked me (as the person who has to implement the decision) about it. I will be honest with you: I don’t see the parts that make it sensible.”

General Zinni said that Iran posed a greater long-term threat to US security than Iraq under Mr Saddam Hussein. Iran, he said, was “on track” to developing nuclear weapons within five years.

Under the legislation approved earlier this month and signed by Mr Clinton, the Administration is authorised to provide weapons and equipment to an Iraqi opposition group or groups that can demonstrate broad-based representation, a record of support for democracy and a commitment to peaceful international relations.

The Clinton Administration has 90 days to designate the groups eligible to receive the assistance.

CAIRO (AP): An important Iraqi defector gave valuable information to the USA about a business network run by Saddam Hussein’s family aimed at bypassing UN economic sanctions, dissidents and officials have said. Mr Abbas al-Janabi, who was the personal secretary of Saddam’s elder son, Odai, defected to the West last spring and spent three months in the USA being debriefed by CIA officials, Iraqi dissidents said on Thursday.

New world court ‘must take up’ terrorism

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 23 (PTI) — India has expressed concern over non inclusion of international terrorism in the jurisdiction of the proposed international criminal court and called for immediate corrective action.

Addressing a United Nations committee yesterday, Indian delegate Prem Singh Chandumajra urged the preparatory commission drawing up rules of procedure and evidence for the proposed court to recommend inclusion of international terrorism in the review conference.

Terrorism, he said, is the most condemnable form of international crime, “threatening the integrity and political and social fibre of states and taking toll on lives of innocent civilians.”

“We would like to emphasise that the preparatory commission should, on a priority basis, prepare proposals for a provision on terrorism, including its definition and elements of crime of terrorism,” Mr Chandumajra added.

He said the commission should submit proposals to the review conference and work for inclusion of acceptable provisions on terrorism in the statute of the proposed court.

It is ironic that the statute treats offences such as murder as international crimes, but refuses to treat the first use of nuclear weapons as international crime even though it would result in the annihilation of a great mass of humanity, Mr Chandumajra said.

Bid to limit impeachment probe fails

WASHINGTON, Oct 23 (PTI) — President Bill Clinton’s lawyers have failed in their efforts to limit the scope of the impeachment inquiry in discussions with the House Judiciary Committee and only caused more acrimony.

Mr Clinton’s lawyers yesterday reportedly sought to limit the inquiry by demanding what “high crimes and misdemeanours” (grounds for removing a President) meant should be clearly defined, and only those witnesses who are relevant to that definition be called, sources here said.

Consensual sex should be outside the scope of the inquiry, the lawyers said.

The presidential lawyers also sought to limit the time of the inquiry till the end of November. The committee’s target is the end of December.

The committee’s Communications Director Paul McNulty said at a joint press conference: “let me remind you, the last three federal judges were impeached for lying in some form and false statements, and we will look at those precedents to be sure.”

White House special counsel Gregory Craig retorted: “It is like attacking a man who is blindfolded and handcuffed. These are not fair procedures.”

He accused the committee of proceeding without telling the President what he was charged with.

After the 100-minute meeting between the two sides, Mr Craig said Mr Clinton might take his “fight for fairness to the American people.”

Mr McNulty responded by saying: “The President had eight months to tell the truth (to the American people).”

On the demand of Mr Clinton’s lawyers what standard the committee is going to follow should be defined, Mr McNulty said: “The standard is `high crimes and misdemeanours’, but the real question is - what are the facts?”

He accused the White House and committee Democrats of wanting the panel to “stop the inquiry dead in its tracks” for a theoretical, academic discussion on what impeachable crimes were.

A-G's clean chit to Suharto

JAKARTA, Oct 23 (ANI) — "The police have to ask where the chickens are because how can someone be accused of stealing chickens when the stolen chickens are nowhere to be found?" Attorney-General Muhammad Ghalib, who is leading the investigation into the wealth of former Indonesian President Suharto, said today. There was no firm evidence to suggest that General Suharto was corrupt.

Mr Ghalib said several decrees concerning business projects signed by General Suharto, which have been scrapped since the former president resigned due to allegations of corruption, had been "noble" in their intention, but may have been manipulated to serve other ends. "Do not blame the President," Mr Ghalib said.

President Suharto resigned on May 21 amid a deepening economic crisis, mass protests against his 32-year rule and mass riots in Jakarta that left almost 1,200 people dead.

Estimates of the Suharto family’s wealth run as high as $40 billion — almost as much as the international community is pumping into Indonesia this year to keep the stricken economy from collapse.

Mr Ghalib’s credentials have also been criticised. After Suharto made a rare television appearance in September to deny having even one cent in foreign bank accounts, Mr Ghalib said he had no reason to doubt the statement.

Pinochet’s trial: decision next week
MADRID: A Spanish court will decide next week if the Spanish legal system is competent to put former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet on trial, legal sources said on Friday. The national court, which is tasked with trying serious crimes like terrorism, will meet on October 29 to issue its ruling. — AFP.

No apology
CANBERRA: The Australian Government will never apologise to aborigines for a past assimilation policy which removed tens of thousands of children from their families, Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Herron said on Friday. Herron’s comment came as newly re-elected Prime Minister John Howard launches a push to desire to achieve black and white reconciliation by 2001, when Australia celebrate its centenary of nationhood. — Reuter

Indians for Unifil
UNITED NATIONS: An Indian infantry battalion will join the UN interim force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to replace a Norwegian battalion being withdrawn at the end of November, according to an exchange of letters. The Security Council approved the move after being notified in a letter from Secretary General Kofi Annan. — Reuters

Death for Aum man
TOKYO: A Japanese court on Friday sentenced a founding member of the Aum Supreme Truth Cult to death for the murder of four persons including an anti-sect lawyer, his wife and baby son. “The accused’s criminal responsibility is too heavy to give leniency,” said presiding Judge Megumi Yamamuro. It was the first death sentence meted out to Okazaki, a member of the Aum doomsday cult, which spread Nazi-invented sarin gas through Tokyo’s subway in March 1995, killing 12 persons and injuring thousands. — AFP

Controversy at UN
UNITED NATIONS: The appointment of Geri Halliwell, a former member of the Spice Girls pop group, as United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Goodwill Ambassador has caused some grumbling at UN headquarters. Some senior UN officials have expressed disapproval of the choice by the UN agency, and complained that the UNFPA acted independently without consulting colleagues here, UN sources said on Thursday. — AFP

Clinic for fat pets
LONDON: Cats and dogs in Scotland suffering from obesity can now join a slimming course at an Edinburgh veterinary clinic to tackle their weight problem. The over-pampered pets are placed on an individualised diet, given an exercise programme and must attend the clinic twice a week to hop on the scales and check their weight. Just like some of their human owners, pets are developing heart problems from eating too much rich food and not taking enough exercise. “Overweight pets are not happy pets,” according to a spokesman for the company which runs the clinic. — AFP

Arms control
LONDON: Political instability in Russia and the tit-for-tat nuclear tests by India and Pakistan hampered efforts to tighten arms control, the IISS think tank said in its annual report published on Friday. Implementation of the Start II Treaty on nuclear arms reductions has been delayed by Russia’s inability to ratify the accord like the U.S. congress did two years ago. “The reasons for the delay are political rather than military,” the International Institute for Strategic Studies said. — AFP

CIA budget raised
WASHINGTON: The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been provided with another $ 1.8 billion in a supplementary budget in an omnibus Bill which President Clinton has signed, congressional sources said here on Thursday. The budget for the CIA, which received secret “emergency assistance” last April, as a whole has been increased by seven per cent to $ 29 billion of which the agency normally gets about one-tenth. — AFP