Russia to defy NATO oil embargo
MOSCOW, April 26 — Russia will continue to deliver oil sold under contract to Yugoslavia despite an embargo imposed by NATO, the Fuel and Energy Ministry spokesman said.

Israel may annex parts of West Bank
JERUSALEM, April 26 — Israel would regard a unilateral Palestinian declaration of independence on May 4 as cancellation of the Oslo interim peace agreements and take tough measures in response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today.

2.5 mt of plutonium missing
WASHINGTON, April 26 — The USA authorities have lost track of more than two tonnes of plutonium held in US nuclear laboratories, Newsweek said in its edition to be published today.

Egypt frees over 1,000 militants
CAIRO, April 26 — The Egyptian authorities today released more than 1,000 Islamic militants from prison in the biggest conciliatory gesture since fundamentalist violence erupted in 1992, police sources said.

4 Shias killed on Muharram eve

ISLAMABAD, April 26 (PTI) — At least four Shia Muslims have been killed and two others injured in Pakistan forcing the authorities to step up security arrangements on the eve of Muharram tomorrow to pre-empt any sectarian flare-up.

Unidentified gunmen opened fire last night on a group of sleeping Shia Muslims in the frontier town of Dera Ismail Khan killing four people and injuring two, reports said.

The incident forced the authorities to take unprecedented security measures including deployment of Army and para- military contingents in sensitive areas across the country besides undertaking large -scale precautionary arrests.

Muharram has always led to serious tension between the majority Sunni community and the minority Shias resulting in a number of deaths in the country.

Two hand grenades were thrown at a Shia procession in Karachi last week that killed one person and injured 14. At least 15 people were wounded when another Shia procession came under attack in Multan.

President Muhammad Rafiq Tarar and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have urged the people to maintain communal harmony and observe Muharram in a peaceful manner.

The authorities have been holding meetings with the religious leaders of both the communities to quell tension while Army and paramilitary forces are holding flag marches in the major cities of the country.

Activists of militant Sunni outfits — Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi — and the Shiite Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan have been taken into custody as a preventive measure.

Russia to defy NATO oil embargo

MOSCOW, April 26 (Reuters) — Russia will continue to deliver oil sold under contract to Yugoslavia despite an embargo imposed by NATO, the Fuel and Energy Ministry spokesman said.

“We cannot deepen the already difficult position of the Serbian people, and we will fulfil our international obligations,” Mr Oleg Rumyantsev told Reuters today.

“As far as our official position is concerned, Russia, notwithstanding the oil embargo on Serbia, will continue the official line already stated by Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.

“Russia’s oil supplies to Yugoslavia were a small fraction of the giant producer’s exports but represented a major single contribution to the Balkan nation’s supply.

But oil analyst Ruslan Nickolov of Nomura Securities in London pointed out that even if the volumes were tiny. These could still have a disproportionate impact. “It doesn’t need a lot of diesel fuel to supply the Yugoslav fighting machine for three years to spark a very serious international incident,” he said.

He added that if NATO were to try to stop or search a Russian ship carrying even a small volume of oil products. “Then I dare not think about what the consequences may be.

“The option of confrontation remains open to both sides. Obviously taking this to the brink of a war is not the preferred one. But at some point both NATO and Russia will have to consider whether to react forcefully or to remain calm”, he added.

Meanwhile, cracks have started appearing in NATO ranks over the oil blockade against Yugoslavia. France has said searching ships in international waters would be an act of war. Italy has expressed similar reservations over NATO’s proposed move.

However, Britain, which has taken a hawkish stand on the oil embargo issue, is determined to see it through even at the expense of angering Russia. Yugoslavia, whose refineries have been destroyed in the bombings, imports oil mostly from Russia, Greece and Ukraine.

After running into opposition from some member states, NATO officials today modified their plan to ‘visit and search’ ships instead of a ‘stop and search’ operations, which would have triggered international condemnation.

NATO officials maintained that Russia would be informed well in advance about the plans and there would be exchange of information between the two sides so that ‘a confrontation does not occur in the Adriatic Sea.’

PARIS (PTI): NATO fighter aircraft targeted the last remaining bridge across the Danube in the Serbian city of Novi Sad early this morning even as the Atlantic alliance moved a step towards searching ships carrying oil for Yugoslavia.

Official Yugoslav news agency Tanjug said NATO aircraft fired several missiles at the last of the industrial city’s three bridges across the river to have remained in use. The bridge links Belgrade and Central Europe.

Meanwhile, NATO embarked on new efforts today to secure Russian cooperation in seeking a diplomatic settlement with Yugoslavia on the West’s terms.

At the end of a three-day Atlantic alliance summit in Washington, held to celebrate the organisation’s 50th anniversary, US President Bill Clinton pledged to protect the seven nations bordering Yugoslavia.

“If Belgrade challenges its neighbours as a result of the presence of NATO, we will respond,” he told a meeting between the alliance and the leaders of the frontline states which border Yugoslavia’s constituents, Serbia and Montenegro.

As the summit ended, a first crack appeared in Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic’s government. Deputy Prime Minister Vuk Draskovic, a dissonant voice who is not in Milosevic’s inner circle, told a Belgrade television station: “Not only did NATO not crack in Washington, but it became stronger.”

He said he expected a West-Russia compromise soon over Kosovo at the United Nations and he urged Belgrade to accept it.

India to raise Pak nexus at talks

BEIJING, April 26 (PTI) — India will convey its serious concern to China over Beijing’s clandestine aid to Pakistan’s India-oriented defence programmes, diplomatic sources said even as senior officials from the two countries met here today in a bid to repair Sino-Indian ties in the aftermath of last year’s nuclear tests.

"We will forcefully raise with China (at the 11th round of the joint working group (JWG) meeting on Sino-Indian boundary question) all our concerns, including the Beijing-Islamabad nexus against India and China’s attempts to isolate India amongst the developed nations on the nuclear issue, sources said.

New Delhi would seek concrete evidence from Beijing to support Chinese assertion that all clandestine assistance to Islamabad’s India-oriented defence programme had been halted, they said.

Foreign Secretary K. Raghunath is leading the Indian side to the two-day meeting. The Chinese side is led by Vice-Foreign Minister Yang Wenchang.

The sources took serious note of the recent statement of senior leader Li Peng who, during his recent trip to Islamabad, sought to defend China’s defence aid to Pakistan saying it did not threaten any neighbouring country.

The sources also pointed out to reports in the Pakistani media about a recent secret visit to Beijing by top nuclear scientist Dr Samar Mubarakmand days before Islamabad test fired Shaheen missile, believed to be an upgraded version of the Chinese M-11 missile.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Secretary, Mr K. Raghunath said India has a “positive and forward looking approach” towards its relations with China and said it wanted to develop “trust and confidence on the basis of expanding understanding on issues of mutual concern”.

“India seeks friendly, good neighbourly, cooperative and mutually beneficial relations with China. We wish to develop trust and confidence on the basis of expanding understanding on issues of mutual concern which affects our bilateral relations”, he stated at the two-day meeting of India-China Joint Working Group (JWG) on border and other issues which began here today.

Issues relating to bilateral ties as also recent developments in the region besides, security and nuclear disarmament-related matters were also discussed at the meeting.

Earlier, during the hour-long meeting Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan had with Mr Raghunath, the Chinese leader conveyed his greetings to external Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and said he looked forward to a visit by him to China.

Israel may annex parts of West Bank

JERUSALEM, April 26 (DPA) — Israel would regard a unilateral Palestinian declaration of independence on May 4 as cancellation of the Oslo interim peace agreements and take tough measures in response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today.

The Premier specifically did not rule out an Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank still controlled by Israel.

He told Israel radio that the Israeli Government had decided it would react to an independence declaration by taking various measures, “among them extending Israeli law to the (occupied) territories”.

Palestinian President Yassir Arafat has said he was ready to declare a Palestinian state in parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip controlled by Palestinians on May 4, when the interim agreements with Israel expire.

The Israeli Ha’aretz newspaper reported today the USA is to send Arafat a letter expressing US support for “accelerated” final status talks between Israel and the Palestinians, aimed at reaching a deal within one year.

The paper, quoting “sources close to the letter”, said it was aimed at persuading members of the Palestinian Central Council to support delaying the independence declaration.

The Central Council is due to met in Gaza tomorrow to decide whether Arafat should go ahead with the declaration.

The paper went on to quote “Israeli sources” as saying that Israel would not oppose extending the deadline for one year, even though the Israeli position was the final status talks could be considered over when the two sides reached an agreement.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, who met Netanyahu and Arafat in separate meetings on Friday, said Russia supported extending the interim agreements for a specific but limited period of time.

Most world leaders with whom Arafat has consulted have also advised the Palestinian leader to delay declaring independence until at least after the Israeli elections on May 17.

Ha’aretz reported today that Netanyahu and Israeli Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon had met secretly with Ahmed Quria (Abu Ala), Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC).

The talks did not succeed, however, in their aim of reviving parts of the Wye plantation land-for-security agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, which the sides signed in October, and the implementation of which Israel suspended by December. 

2.5 mt of plutonium missing

WASHINGTON, April 26 (AFP) — The USA authorities have lost track of more than two tonnes of plutonium held in US nuclear laboratories, Newsweek said in its edition to be published today.

Citing Department of energy figures, the magazine said more than £ 5,000 (2.5 tonnes) of plutonium could not be accounted for.

Some 2,400 pounds (about 1.25 tonnes) of that is missing from the Rocky Flats weapons factory near Denver, Colorado, according to Newsweek.

The department insists none of the plutonium was stolen, but suggested the missing amount is due to “inventory differences,” stemming from the material getting stuck in pipes and manufacturing tools.

However, the department’s latest declassified report rated security at three prominent installations — Los Alamo, Lawrence Liverore and Oak Ridge — as “marginal’’providing only” questionable assurance”, that the material was safeguarded closely enough.

Prince Charles hails Sikhs' contribution

LONDON, April 26 (AP) — Prince Charles paid tribute to the Sikh religion and culture and its contribution to British life.

Sikh values have a universal appeal, said the Prince, speaking at the celebrations yesterday marking the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Khalsa.

He spoke a traditional greeting in Punjabi to an audience of more than 4,000 Sikhs gathered at London's Royal Albert Hall. He was applauded as he spoke a traditional greeting in Punjabi.

"This is only one of many celebrations taking place, from Glasgow to the House of Commons, and in the Midlands, where so many Sikhs live", said Prince Charles, wearing a garland of yellow flowers presented to him by Simran Singh (6). "But for me, since I am only able to join you once, it is a particular pleasure that there are people from all over the country here today".

Government leaders, the Anglican Bishop of London and the Chief Rabbi also attended the event to honour the anniversary. Britain is home to about 500,000 Sikhs.

Egypt frees over 1,000 militants

CAIRO, April 26 (AFP) — The Egyptian authorities today released more than 1,000 Islamic militants from prison in the biggest conciliatory gesture since fundamentalist violence erupted in 1992, police sources said.

The interior Minister Gen Habib El-Adli, ordered the release of the prisoners, all members of Egypt’s main Islamic militant group Jamaa Islamiyaa, after it renounced violence last month.

The only significant group left in Egypt is the Islamic Jihad, which vowed to continue its campaign of violence after nine of its fugitive leaders were condemned to death.

A victim of Viagra
TAIPEI: A mainland Chinese woman has blamed viagra for her recent deportation from Taiwan. According to news reports on Sunday, the woman was betrayed by her 73-year-old husband, who informed the police she was working illegally on the island. The woman, aged 41, wept as she told the police that her elderly husband found another woman after he secretly started taking viagra. — DPA

FBI informer
WASHINGTON: The wife of Wen Ho Lee, who was fired from a US nuclear laboratory on suspicion he may have passed classified data to China, volunteered China-related information to the FBI, Newsweek magazine reported. From 1985-91, the magazine said, Mrs Sylvia Lee reported to FBI agents about visiting delegations of scientists from China, Mr Lee, a native Chinese speaker, held a support-staff job at the Los Alamos Nuclear Lab. — AFP

Mafia scholarships
TAIPEI: As a sort of mafia scholarship, Taiwan’s gangs are paying the tuition of some university students in exchange for service as accountants or other skilled professionals after graduation, media reports have said. Gang fronts operating as finance companies will pay school fees and monthly stipends for needy students, newspapers and television said on Sunday, quoting from a police report on gang recruiting tactics. — AP

US attack
WASHINGTON: US warplanes have dropped bombs and a missile on anti-aircraft radar sites in the northern no-fly zone of Iraq on a statement from the US military said on Monday. “Between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Iraqi time on Sunday, operation northern watch aircraft detected Iraqi radar posing a threat to coalition aircraft,” it said. — Reuters

Malaysia’s new king
KUALA LUMPUR: Sultan Salahuddin of Selangor was sworn in on Monday as Malaysia’s 11th King under a five-year rotational system dating back to independence in 1957. — AFP

Benazir’s office
ISLAMABAD: Faced with the prospect of immediate arrest if she returns home, convicted former Premier Benazir Bhutto has put off plans to return to Pakistan and decided to set up an office abroad to oversee her party’s ongoing anti-government stir.Ultra modern communication equipment have been installed at the Asifa house in Dubai which belongs to Benazir and senior Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders have been asked to visit the temporary office for consultations, PPP sources here informed. — PTI