E. Timor referendum set for Aug 8
JAKARTA, April 27 — Indonesian President B.J. Habibie said today that he accepted a UN-brokered autonomy peace package for the troubled East Timor and his government would sign it on May 5.

Yeltsin replaces First Dy PM
MOSCOW, April 27 — Russian President Boris Yeltsin named Interior Minister Sergei Stepashin as one of two first Deputy Prime Ministers today, the Kremlin said.

Anwar’s trial on sodomy count KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 — Former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, convicted two weeks ago of corruption, will now stand trial for an act of sodomy which he is alleged to have committed seven years ago, the prosecutors announced today.

KUALA LUMPUR : A close-up photo of jailed former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim taken by the police department on Sept. 27, 1998, several days after the former police chief beat him up while he was in custody. This photo was made out of photos appeared in an official report "Royal Commission To Investigate Injuries of Anwar Ibrahim while in Police Custody" that was released Tuesday, April 27, 1999 in Kuala Lumpur. AP/PTI

NATO can’t impose oil embargo: Moscow

MOSCOW, April 27 (PTI) — Russia today warned NATO that the imposition of oil embargo on Yugoslavia would deepen the Balkan crisis as Moscow would act accordingly.

“NATO and European Union embargo against Yugoslavia have force only for the member-states of these organisations and do not have any legal implications for Russia... which will act accordingly,” Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov announced after meeting US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott here.

Mr Talbott arrived here yesterday to discuss the Kosovo crisis following the understanding reached on telephone between US President Bill Clinton and President Boris Yeltsin.

According to Mr Ivanov, his talks with Mr Talbott were “important, constructive and useful”, but warned that such decisions (oil embargo) could aggravate the situation.

“The UN Security Council must decide sanctions and embargos and nobody should take decision which could aggravate the situation”. Mr Ivanov told a news conference after his one-and-a-half hour long meeting with the US leader.

After his talks with former Premier Viktor Chernomyrdin, also today, Mr Talbott said his talks were in a “constructive spirit and in line with the telephone conversation of the US and Russian Presidents”.

“The two countries will continue to work together to return the Kosovo process into the political stream,” he said.

Before meeting Mr Talbott, Mr Chernomyrdin had a hour-long telephone talks with the US Vice-President Al Gore.

Mr Chernomyrdin travelled to Belgrade last week to negotiate a plan with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic for resolving the Kosovo crisis and selling it to NATO.

The stakes are high for him as a breakthrough in Kosovo would lead to rise in his popularity in the run-up to the parliamentary and presidential polls in Russia.

Meanwhile, a brace of NATO missiles struck a tower block housing the headquarters of President Slobodan Milosevic’s Socialist Party (SPS) today, the second attack within a week on the building, Tanjug News Agency said today.

The building formerly housed the headquarters of the League of Communists which ruled the former Yugoslavia. Now it houses several popular private TV and radio channels, including Kosava Radio and TV owned by Milosevic’s daughter Marija.

Belgrade has also despatched a letter to the Security Council, criticising the latter’s failure to act quickly.

“Nothing has been done thus far to condemn or halt this brutal aggression against Belgrade or to stop threats to international peace and security and protect the charter of the UN which was flagrantly violated by NATO,” Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic’s letter to Mr Annan said.

Yugoslavia had made a request on March 17 for an urgent UN meeting, but the council was yet to take any action.

WASHINGTON (AFP): NATO will not use force to stop ships at sea carrying oil to Yugoslavia under a “visit and search’’ regime due to be approved, a top NATO general said.

“The visit and search regime does not give us the right to force anyone to abandon his course so we cannot stop a merchant vessel by the use of force,’’ said General Klaus Naumann, chairman of NATO’s military committee.

General Naumann told reporters the “visit and search’’ regime drawn up by General Wesley Clark, NATO’s Supreme Commander would be approved later by the NATO military committee.

The General said the maritime regime, the most controversial of the measures NATO is contemplating to enforce a NATO and EU oil embargo on Yugoslavia, was designed to have a deterrent effect on shippers.

LONDON (ANI): Kosovo refugees have said that Serbian forces are holding a group of women and children to use them as a “human shield” to protect their ammunition store at Prizren in Kosovo.

Mr Kris Janowski, a spokesman for the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, quoting refugees arriving in Albania, alleged that women and children were separated from a group of about 60 men who crossed the border into Albania on Friday.

“Some people allege that these women and children are being held in a three-storey building in Prizren, where the first storey is being used to store ammunition for troops, the second storey as living quarters for the military and the top floor is full of hostages,” Mr Janowski said.

USA offers Arafat a way out

GAZA CITY (Gaza Strip), April 27 (AP) — On the eve of a crucial decision about statehood, Palestinian leaders yesterday indicated they favour continued peace talks with Israel over a unilateral declaration of independence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on May 4.

A letter from President Bill Clinton to the Palestinian leadership apparently included a plan that would offer Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat a way out of a pledge to unilaterally declare an independent Palestinian state on May 4, the end of a five-year interim period outlined in the Oslo accords.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he would annex disputed territories if Arafat declared independence, a situation that could kill the ailing peace process and precipitate violence. The USA, the European Union and Arab states have urged Arafat to back down from his pledge.

The letter arrived a day before Arafat was to convene a senior PLO body, the 124-member Palestinian Central Council, to make the final decision on statehood. The Palestinian parliament recommended extending the deadline, a signal that Arafat was likely to do so as well.

John Herbst, the US Consul to Jerusalem, delivered the letter to Arafat’s Gaza headquarters late yesterday. Herbst did not talk to reporters, but US officials indicated it backed the one-year extension, although it stopped short of supporting statehood.

“It should be done within the framework of sometime over the next year,” White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said in Washington of the final status talks.

Mr Lockhart, in a prepared statement, cautioned against “unilateral actions,” including Israeli settlement in the West Bank.

A senior Israeli official said Israel had informed the USA it would agree to a one-year extension.

A statement from the Palestinian leadership, issued after the letter was delivered, said Arafat considered it “positive” and “pushing the direction of peace forward.”

By dragging out the debate, Arafat would avoid giving campaign fodder to Netanyahu while blunting the disappointment of many Palestinians, who expected dramatic action on May 4.

In Rome, Israeli Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon threatened to annex some of Palestinian their territories if they unilaterally declare an independent state when the Oslo peace accords expire next month.

Boundary issue needs proper handling, says China

BEIJING, April 27 (PTI) — China today strongly advocated that the vexed boundary dispute with India would be "properly handled" and the two countries work towards enhancing mutual understanding and respect.

"China hopes the two sides will develop mutual respect and properly handle the border issue between the two countries," Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi said when asked to comment on the outcome of the 11th round of talks of the joint working group (JWG) on the boundaries issue, which was concluded earlier today.

"The two countries have held 11 rounds of talks and have discussed a lot of topics," Sun said in reply to a pointed question without elaborating.

There was no immediate official comment from the Indian side today at the conclusion of the two-day talks at the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The Indian side to the JWG was led by Foreign Secretary K. Raghunath. The Chinese side was led by Vice-Foreign Minister Yang Wenchang.

China had suspended the JWG session last year protesting the May nuclear tests.

During the sessions of the JWG held yesterday, the two sides discussed issues relating to the bilateral relations as also recent developments in the region. India and China also discussed issues relating to the security and nuclear disarmament, diplomatic sources said.

Yesterday, the Indian Foreign Secretary met Chinese Vice-Premier Qian Qichen and Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan separately.

During the meetings, Mr Raghunath reiterated that India had a "positive and forward-looking approach" to relations with China.

"India seeks friendly, good-neighbourly and cooperative and mutually beneficial relations with China," he said.

"We wish to develop trust and confidence on the basis of expanding understanding on issues of mutual concern which affect our bilateral relations," he told the Chinese side.

Qian commented that China attached "great importance" to developing relationship with India based on the five principles of peaceful co-existence.

"So long as both sides intensify their dialogue, deepen mutual understanding and seek solutions to divergence through peaceful negotiations, bilateral ties will surely improve," Qian, former Chinese Foreign Minister, said.

During his meeting with Mr Raghunath, Foreign Minister Tang said India and China should approach the JWG meeting in a positive spirit on the basis of expanding on the common points to find solutions to issues on which the two sides had different views.

BBC presenter murdered

LONDON: Jill Dando, one of Britain’s best-known broadcasters, was shot dead yesterday on her doorstep in west London. A single shot to the head killed the woman who was familiar to millions as the self-confident presenter who asked for the public’s help in tracking down criminals on the BBC’s Crimewatch programme.

The sudden and violent death of Ms Dando brought tributes from the Queen and the Prime Minister, from the police, who valued her cheerful assistance, and her journalistic colleagues who admired her easy-going nature and lack of self-importance.

Ms Dando, (37), who was due to marry gynaecologist Alan Farthing in September, was pronounced dead at Charing Cross hospital in west London shortly after 1pm yesterday. The police had been called to her home in Gowan Avenue in Fulham at 11.47am, when two neighbours heard her screaming and found her slumped on the ground suffering from head wounds. First reports suggested she had been stabbed but later neighbours said a bullet had been found in the door of her house, where she lived alone and which she had sold in anticipation of her marriage.

A smartly-dressed, clean-shaven white man had been seen running down the street in Fulham around the time of the attack, apparently carrying a mobile phone, although police now accept that this is likely to have been a handgun. He was described by witnesses as dark-haired and in his late thirties or early forties and about 5 feet 11 inches tall.

Speculation focused immediately on a possible motive for the attack. Because of her fame and high profile, the possibility that she had been targeted by a stalker was seen as a potential motive.

— The Guardian, London

E. Timor referendum set for Aug 8

JAKARTA, April 27 (ANI) — Indonesian President B.J. Habibie said today that he accepted a UN-brokered autonomy peace package for the troubled East Timor and his government would sign it on May 5.

“I have accepted the whole draft without any changes, to be signed on May 5,” Habibie told newsmen at the resort Island of Bali.

He said the agreement would be signed by Foreign Ministers of Indonesia and Portugal in New York. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan had already signed it.

“There are certain things that will be done by the UN,” Mr Habibie said without specifying as to what was to be done by the UN.

He said a referendum for East Timor’s autonomy would be held on August 8 and the results would be presented to the People’s Consultative Assembly on August 29.

The Indonesian President was speaking following his talks with Australian Prime Minister John Howard on the East Timor crisis.

Yeltsin replaces First Dy PM

MOSCOW, April 27 (Reuters) — Russian President Boris Yeltsin named Interior Minister Sergei Stepashin as one of two first Deputy Prime Ministers today, the Kremlin said.

A Kremlin spokesman said by telephone that Mr Stepashin, who replaces the former Governor of the Leningrad region, Mr Vadim Gustov, would keep his existing post as well.

Until recently Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, had said he was happy with his deputies and rejected calls to sack some of them. He threatened to resign if any were dropped.

The criticism of his cabinet has been aimed at Communist allies, primarily the other First Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Yuri Maslyukov, and Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Kulik. Mr Gustov does not belong to that group.

Russian Government officials have also advocated creating senior post in the government that would coordinate actions by other officials in fighting crime and corruption.

Mr Yeltsin, who met his strong ally Mr Stepashin, told him to keep on track in carrying out the latest anti-graft campaign. The appointment signalled a tough new approach in dealings with Russia’s breakaway region of Chechnya.

Anwar’s trial on sodomy count

KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 (AP) — Former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, convicted two weeks ago of corruption, will now stand trial for an act of sodomy which he is alleged to have committed seven years ago, the prosecutors announced today.

Attorney-General Mohtar Abdullah told high court judge Abdul Wahab Patail that prosecution for an additional four sodomy charges and one charge of corruption would be postponed.

Mr Abdul Wahab said the court would reconvene on May 4 to determine the trial date and most likely the trial would begin the same month.

Big-kill aim
LITTLETON (Colorado): The two students who killed 13 people at Columbine High School wanted to kill at least 500 classmates and teachers, attack neighbourhood homes and then hijack a plane and crash it into New York city, investigators said. The investigators also said they planned to question an 18-year-old girl about whether she purchased any firearms used in the rampage. Jefferson County Sheriff John Stone earlier told reporters the goal of the alleged killers, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, was to strike during the busy lunch hour to go for a big kill.’’ — AP

PM’s office attacked
DHAKA: Suspected anti-government rebels hurled countrymade bombs at Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s office in downtown Dhaka on Monday injuring one person, the police sources said here today. Eight unidentified persons travelling in a minibus stopped in front of Hasina’s office in the Tejgoan area of the city and hurled bombs at the office before speeding away, the police said. Ten people have been rounded up in this connection from Tejgoan and nearby Bijoy Sarani. — PTI

Calves cloned
TOKYO: Two calves cloned from cells found in cow’s milk have been born in northern Japan, officials said. The births last week at the Snow Brand Dairy Company’s research centre in Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido were the first ever using colostrum, the milk produced in the first week after a cow has delivered, the company has said in a statement. The extraction of cells from milk does not require making an incision in the donor cow and reduces the risk of infection, Snow Brand said. — AP

Extradition treaty
SEOUL: South Korea and Thailand have signed a bilateral extradition treaty, under which one country should extradite criminals to the other who are charged for crimes punishable by more than one year in prison. The treaty was signed on Monday by South Korea’s foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Hong Soon-Young and Thai Deputy Prime Minister Supachai Panitchpaki at Chongwadae after the summit talks between President Kim Dae-Jung and visiting Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai.— Oana-Yonhap

Elephants get vodka
ALMATY: Four performing elephants were give 5 litre shots of vodka to relieve stress after a 20-day train journey to Kazakhstan’s financial centre Almaty, the head of the city’s circus said. The elephants, belonging to a Moscow-based circus, had to make a 4,000-km journey across Siberia from Russia’s easternmost port of Vladivostok. Bureaucratic hitches made the usually arduous journey even longer and more stressful. — Reuters

78-year-old robber
POMPANO BEACH (Florida): A 78-year-old man, with a criminal record dating back to the 1930s, was jailed as a suspect in a string of South Florida bank robberies. Forrest Silva Tucker was arrested on Thursday by Broward county Sheriff’s deputies following a slow-speed chase. He was being held without bond on charges of bank robbery and reckless driving. — AP