Iraq's protest
BAGHDAD, Aug 5 (AP) — Iraqi President Saddam Hussein today froze cooperation with international weapons inspectors to protest against eight-year-old UN economic sanctions. Mr Hussein after a meeting with senior officials decided to completely suspend cooperation with the UN special commission,’’ which is charged with carrying out the inspections, and with the international atomic energy agency, a government statement said. Mr Hussein said he would exempt UN monitoring activities in Iraq from his decision on the condition that UN personnel carry out the monitoring strictly respecting Iraq’s sovereignty, security and its people’s dignity.’’

Haryana rocked
NEW DELHI, Aug 5 (PTI) — An earthquake of slight intensity was recorded in the Haryana-Rajasthan region today afternoon, met office here said. The quake measuring 2.4 on the Richter scale and with its epicentre at 28.07 degree north latitude and 76.94 degree east longitude occurred at 1.14 p.m., it said.

Gold biscuits seized
NEW DELHI, Aug 5 (PTI) — Customs officials have seized 200 gold biscuits weighing over 23 kg valued at Rs 1 crore at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, the Air Cargo Customs Preventive Unit said here today. The gold had been consigned from Dubai to a non-existent firm and the import documents in respect of the consignment showed a fictitious address as well as bogus telephone numbers causing suspicion of the unit leading to its seizure, a custom press note said. Efforts were on to identify the culprits and unearth the conspiracy behind the smuggling bid, Air Cargo Preventive and Baggage Assistant Commissioner Anand Shah said.

Lanka fighting
COLOMBO, Aug 5 (UNI) — Troops destroyed a Sea Tiger base and killed 15 Tamil Tiger militants in scattered skirmishes in northeastern Sri Lanka in the past two days that also left one policeman dead, the military said today. A military communique said the troops conducted a "limited operation’’ at Chundiukulam, a coastal bird sanctuary on the mainland, Southeast of Jaffna peninsula, and destroyed a Sea Tiger base. The Sea Tigers are the naval wing of the LTTE.

17 killed
ALGIERS, Aug 5 (AFP) — Seventeen persons were killed in two attacks by armed Islamic groups in Algeria overnight, the security services said today. Ten persons died and three were injured at Tagdempt, near Tiaret, 300 km south-west of Algiers. Seven persons were killed in Beni Mester, in the south-western Tlemcen region. The security forces said both attacks were carried out by "terrorists" — armed Islamic groups which have been fighting the government since January, 1992, when the military-backed regime cancelled elections that the Islamic salvation front was poised to win.

Deputy PM

CANBERRA, Aug 5 (Reuters) — Australian Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer stepped down as leader of his National Party today in an attempt to quell party disunity in the face of rising political threat from far right MP Pauline Hanso told reporters after the party meeting. Australia’s Prime Minister is party-elected, not popularly elected, and the premier traditionally annoints his coalition party leader as deputy.

Mass graves
VIENNA, Aug 5 (Reuters) — Austrian and German newspapers said today graves containing over 500 bodies had been found near the Kosovo town of Orahovac, scene of a battle between Serbian forces and separatist ethnic Albanians in July. The Austrian daily Die Presse said eyewitnesses had led its correspondent yesterday to a rubbish tip, situated some 700 metres from the town on the road to Suva Reka, where bodies were still being buried. "Shocked gravediggers believe they counted more than 567 people, 430 of them children, in one of the (graves)," Die Presse said.

Prison deaths
BEIJING Aug 5 (AFP) — Ten persons have died in the wake of protests at a Tibetan prison in May, the London-based Tibet Information Network (TIN) said in a report received here today. "Reports of at least 10 deaths at Drapchi prison in Lhasa following the protests on May 1 and 4 have reached TIN despite unprecedented efforts by the Chinese authorities in Lhasa to block the flow of information from Tibet," the network said in its report. A monk and a layperson were reportedly shot dead, while five nuns and three monks also died during the week following the protests, TIN quoted unofficial reports as saying.