Captain of ill-fated tanker out on bail
Huge oil slick nears French coast
PARIS, Dec 23 — a French court released on bail the Indian captain of the ill-fated Erika tanker, which sank off the French coast on December 12, but asked him not to leave the country until investigations are completed into the incident even as authorities battled to bring the devastating oil slick left in its wake under control.

Pakistan ‘to sign’ CTBT
ISLAMABAD, Dec 23 — The military regime in Pakistan has reportedly decided to sign the CTBT by mid-January following extensive “behind the scenes informal diplomacy” with the USA but has made it clear that it reserves the right to carry out more nuclear tests if India rejects the treaty, a leading daily here reported today.

Chandrika flies to London for treatment
COLOMBO, Dec 23 — Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who was sworn in yesterday for a second term in office, has left for London for treatment for an eye injury sustained during a failed assassination bid by the LTTE on Saturday, amid reports of heavy fighting in Jaffna.

Ferry with 600 on board sinks, 591 rescued
CEBU, (Philippines), Dec 23 — A ferry carrying hundreds of passengers returning home for the Christmas holidays sank early today in the central Philippines, killing at least nine persons.

Astronauts fix Hubble
CAPE CANAVERAL, Dec 23 — Spacewalking astronauts from the shuttle Discovery made critical repairs to the Hubble space telescope yesterday and the $ 3 billion observatory should soon be able to turn its eye on the universe again.

4 killed in Korean plane crash
LONDON, Dec 23 — A Korean cargo plane carrying inflammable chemicals crashed shortly after take-off from Stansted airport, 40 km north of London, killing all four crew members aboard the ill-fated flight.

43 killed in clashes in Indonesia
JAKARTA, Dec 23 — Muslim and Christian mobs ignored presidential pleas for peace and engaged in bloody clashes in Indonesia’s troubled Spice Island, killing 43 persons, news reports said today.

Shooting plan foiled
CLEVELAND, Dec 23 — Four teenage boys have admitted to plotting a Columbine-style attack to kill anyone who crossed their pat, prosecutors said.

Chechnya almost ‘under control’

SOUTHERN CHECHNYA, Dec 23 (AP) The Russian forces battled rebels along Chechnya’s borders today, trying to prevent them from breaking through to neighbouring regions despite Moscow’s claims that the rebels were almost finished.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin claimed that practically all of Chechnya was under Russian control. Opening a Cabinet meeting in Moscow, Mr Putin said that Chechen civilians were helping the Russian forces evict the rebels from their settlements.

He said that after more than three months of fighting, “almost all territory of Chechnya is now controlled by the federal forces,” the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. The military were merely fighting “pockets of resistance,” he said.

Overnight, Russian troops crushed, what the military called, an attempt by rebels to break through to the neighbouring region of Dagestan to carry out sabotage. Approximately 40 Chechen militants clashed with Russian troops near the village of Zandak, on Chechnya’s border with Dagestan, but were beaten back, the Defence Ministry said. Four rebels were killed, and a large cache of weapons and ammunition was confiscated, the military said.

Russian aircraft bombed two rebel bases in the southern mountains of Chechnya yesterday, while ground troops struggled to contain about 350 rebels trying to break out of the village of Serzhen-Yurt, on the edge of the mountains. Thirtyfive militants were killed and 10 Russian soldiers were wounded, the military said, according to the Interfax news agency.

Russian planes and helicopter gunships also pounded targets on the outskirts of the capital Grozny.

MOSCOW (Reuters): U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott today said on Thursday that Russia had broken international norms during its military campaign in the breakaway region of Chechnya.

“We want very much to see Russia deal with what is a global problem...Of extremism and terrorism, but to see that Russia deals with that problem in a fashion that meets international norms. And the feeling is that this standard has not been met,” Mr Talbott told reporters after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov in Moscow.

Captain of ill-fated tanker out on bail
Huge oil slick nears French coast

PARIS, Dec 23 (PTI) — a French court released on bail the Indian captain of the ill-fated Erika tanker, which sank off the French coast on December 12, but asked him not to leave the country until investigations are completed into the incident even as authorities battled to bring the devastating oil slick left in its wake under control.

Sources said, Krun Mathur, who has been in a Paris prison since his arrest on December 15, was ordered by the investigating judge yesterday to surrender his passport and not leave France, until a probe against him on charges of “endangering lives of the crew and maritime pollution” are completed.

Mathur’s bail application was earlier posted for December 28 at the appeals court but his lawyers requested the court to advance his hearing. Indian officials were not allowed to see him immediately after his arrest. They were allowed to meet him only on Monday after persistent efforts.

Meanwhile, France inducted hundreds of military as well civilian personnel to combat the oil slick now threatening to hit the coast by Christmas Eve. French, Spanish Dutch and British ships are battling to remove the oil slicks spread over an area of 300 km.

Despite a week-long effort, clean-up crews have only been able to retrieve 1,000 tonnes from an estimated 10,000 tonnes of oil discharged into the sea as the Maltese-registered Erika tanker broke into two in the Bay of Biscay.

French officials said coastal pollution was unavoidable. Meteorological officials said the oil slick will first hit the island of Yeu, 20 km off the western coast of France by Christmas Eve and in the next few days touch the mainland seriously threatening marine life.

Twenty-six Indian crew of the tanker were saved by rescue teams. Shortly afterwards, French police arrested the captain. The court refused him bail last week drawing fire from the Ship Masters Association which said he was being made a scapegoat for the accident.

Indian consular sources said yesterday that the captain was in a good condition.

Ensure fair trial of Sharif: USA

LONDON, Dec 23 (PTI) — The USA has asked the military regime in Pakistan to ensure that deposed Premier Nawaz Sharif gets “fair treatment and full due process in any court proceedings” and said it would “break the self-defeating cycle of recrimination of the past.”

In a letter addressed to Mr Hasan Sharif, son of the ousted Pakistani Premier, US President Bill Clinton’s National Security Adviser Samuel R Berger said the “President is very concerned that your father and the other detainees receive fair treatment.”

“We have made that clear — both privately and publicly — to Gen Pervez Musharraf, chief executive,” Mr Berger said in a letter.

“I told the General’s special envoy, Shabzada Yaqub Khan, on November 5 of the President’s concern that the legal process be fair and the objective be justice, not revenge. I urged that General Musharraf break the self-defeating cycle of recrimination of the past,” he said.

“US Ambassador (to Pakistan) William B Milam has made similar points directly to General Musharraf. Our public comments have been equally clear calling for all detainees to be treated impartially and in accordance with international standards. We have demonstrated our interest in the fairness of the ongoing trial of your father by sending an officer of our Consulate-General in Karachi to attend and report on the proceedings,” he said.

Mr Berger said he was happy that Mr Nawaz Sharif’s wife Kulsoom, and other family members had now been released from their detention in Lahore.

“Of course, no person should be held in detention without knowing the charges against them, and we will continue to stress that point,” he said.

“You can be sure that we will continue to make our human rights concerns a high priority in our contacts with the government,” Mr Berger said.

Meanwhile, Britain also asked the military authorities to “respect the safety and legal rights” of those detained.

“We have also urged former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his co-defendants be given a free, fair and transparent trial before a civilian court,” Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Peter Hain told Gordon Prentice in a written reply in the House of Commons on Monday.

Pakistan ‘to sign’ CTBT

ISLAMABAD, Dec 23 (PTI) — The military regime in Pakistan has reportedly decided to sign the CTBT by mid-January following extensive “behind the scenes informal diplomacy” with the USA but has made it clear that it reserves the right to carry out more nuclear tests if India rejects the treaty, a leading daily here reported today.

The decision to sign the CTBT next month was okayed at a crucial joint meeting of the National Security Council, the highest decision making body of the military regime in Pakistan, and the federal Cabinet here yesterday, English daily “Pakistan Observer” said.

In fact, the official announcement after the meeting last evening also gave ample hints that the General Musharraf-led regime had made up its mind over signing the CTBT.

The statement quoted Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar, as saying while briefing the meeting on the CTBT, that the treaty only prohibits nuclear tests and does not affect possession or enhancement of nuclear capability or production of fissile material. This, analysts said, was an obvious move to clear the way for signing of the CTBT.

The Foreign Minister also clarified that the treaty would not come into force until signed and ratified by all 44 states that have either nuclear weapons or nuclear reactors, including New Delhi and Islamabad. “Thus, if India does not sign, Pakistan would retain the right to conduct tests”.

Chandrika flies to London for treatment

COLOMBO, Dec 23 (PTI) — Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who was sworn in yesterday for a second term in office, has left for London for treatment for an eye injury sustained during a failed assassination bid by the LTTE on Saturday, amid reports of heavy fighting in Jaffna.

Mrs Kumaratunga left yesterday, soon after she was sworn in at a hurriedly arranged function at her official residence within hours of the Election Commission announcing her re-election. She was accompanied by daughter, Yasodhara, currently studying medicine in UK, official sources said.

The sources said she would receive treatment in London unless advised specialised treatment elsewhere. India had also offered medical assistance to her soon after the blast on December 18 that killed 21 others.

Meanwhile, the LTTE, which has rejected all overtures for peace, stepped up its military offensive in Jaffna peninsula. Reports from Jaffna said heavy sounds of artillery explosions could be heard near the Elephant Pass area.

Ferry with 600 on board sinks, 591 rescued

CEBU, (Philippines), Dec 23 (AP) — A ferry carrying hundreds of passengers returning home for the Christmas holidays sank early today in the central Philippines, killing at least nine persons.

At least 591 of the 606 passengers and 52 crew members on the MV Asia South Korea have been rescued but dozens of persons were still missing, said Maj General Santos Gabison, chief of the military Central Visayas command. Nine bodies have been recovered, he said.

Officials said rescue efforts were being hampered by rough seas in the area, 480 km southeast of Manila.

One cargo ship’s crew was able to immediately rescue 40 people, most of them children.

The ferry left central Cebu City for Iloilo City late yesterday but sank near Bantayan island off the northern tip of central Cebu island, said Defence Secretary Orlando Mercado.

Most of the survivors were rescued by three cargo ships, MV John Dexter and MV Hidago II and the MV Kerr, Gabison said. The passengers included two Canadian women, the Coast Guard said.

A Nepalese student, Gurung Sundip, said 12 of his Nepalese classmates — eight women and four men — at the Cebu Doctors College boarded the ferry. There was no word about them. Another group of 138 students and five of their teachers from the Western Institute of Technology were also on the ferry on their way home to Iloilo City from an educational tour in Cebu. At least three of the teachers have been rescued.

Astronauts fix Hubble

CAPE CANAVERAL, Dec 23 (Reuters) — Spacewalking astronauts from the shuttle Discovery made critical repairs to the Hubble space telescope yesterday and the $ 3 billion observatory should soon be able to turn its eye on the universe again.

“A beautiful sight out here,” astronaut Steve Smith said once he had manoeuvred his bulky spacesuit out of Discovery’s air lock.

The four-storeyed telescope rose like a colossus from Discovery’s cargo bay, shimmering silver and gold, secured to a platform that served as a giant workbench.

Although two more spacewalks are scheduled for repairs and improvements on the 10-year-old telescope, yesterday’s was by far the most important.

Smith and fellow astronaut John Grunsfeld replaced six navigational gyroscopes, four of which were broken and had rendered the Hubble useless to astronomers since mid-November.

After its launch on Sunday, Discovery chased Hubble for two days before astronauts plucked the observatory from the orbit with the robot arm and secured it in the cargo bay.

Since then, the shuttle and the satellite have flown together 370 miles 595 km above earth. The astronauts will release the Hubble on Christmas day.

The Hubble rescue mission has been a top priority for NASA since February, when the telescope was on the brink of failure. Discovery’s crew was hastily assembled and the mission patched together in record time.

Scientists say the Hubble’s images, unclouded by the atmosphere and exposed over days or weeks, are the best astronomical pictures ever taken. It has captured sights as distant as galaxies 10 billion light years away and as close as sandstorms sweeping across Mars.

On the two remaining space walks, astronauts will install a new “brain” in the Hubble by swapping its old computer for a new one, and they will give the telescope a new guidance sensor.

The four spacewalks originally planned for this mission were trimmed to three as NASA ran up against a deadline for returning Discovery to earth and having all its systems turned off by December 31 to eliminate the possibility of Y2K problems.

Two days were also trimmed from the original 10-day mission after mishaps, breakdowns and safety concerns delayed liftoff.

Discovery returns to earth on December 27.

4 killed in Korean plane crash

LONDON, Dec 23 (PTI) — A Korean cargo plane carrying inflammable chemicals crashed shortly after take-off from Stansted airport, 40 km north of London, killing all four crew members aboard the ill-fated flight.

Three bodies have been recovered so far from the wreckage of the plane, a Boeing 747 Jumbo jet headed for the Italian City of Milan, which crashed two minutes after take-off at IST yesterday, airport sources here said.

The plane ploughed into an open field snapping power lines and plunging nearby areas into darkness, a fire service official said. Residents said they had been advised to stay indoors.

In Seoul, official news agency Yonhap confirmed the plane was carrying about 61 tonnes of inflammable material, including 199 kg of special cargo which included 94 kg of paint, 16 kg of benzene and 89 kg of other chemicals.

Yonhap quoted Korean air spokesman Han Sang Bum as saying he did not rule out the possibility of the cargo triggering the crash. He, however, said Korean air, which has been under government sanctions for its poor safety record, had strictly adhered to all international rules.

Witnesses of the crash said they heard a massive explosion before the plane exploded into a ball of fire lighting up the night sky.

Passengers at the airport said the impact of the explosion as the plane went down was felt even at the main terminal. “There was a trembling noise and the whole building shook,” said Louise Cockburn (27), a car rental sales agent.

Meanwhile, Korean Air Lines Co was today banned from opening new international routes and the government vowed to probe its operations after the carrier lost another plane in a cargo crash in Britain.

43 killed in clashes in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Dec 23 (AP) — Muslim and Christian mobs ignored presidential pleas for peace and engaged in bloody clashes in Indonesia’s troubled Spice Island, killing 43 persons, news reports said today.

Yesterday’s bloodshed on the Buru Island was among the worst since sectarian violence erupted across the Maluku province 11 months ago.

The newspaper, Kompas, quoted the police as saying about 40 persons were injured and 150 houses burnt.

The paper quoted a resident, identified as Salampessy, as saying no police or troops intervened to stop the carnage.

There were no further details.

The violence came two weeks after President Abdur Rahman Wahid visited the province and called for reconciliation and religious tolerance.

According to official statistics, more than 700 persons have been killed this year in fighting among Christians and Muslims in Malaku.

Buru is about 200 km west of the provincial capital Ambon, which, in turn is about 2,400 km east of Jakarta.

Shooting plan foiled

CLEVELAND, Dec 23 (AP) — Four teenage boys have admitted to plotting a Columbine-style attack to kill anyone who crossed their pat, prosecutors said.

The plot was averted when a student tipped off school officials that the teens planned to open fire on October 29, the day of the school’s homecoming dance and football game, they said yesterday.

Officials closed the school and, while the police found no weapons or bombs in the building, it confiscated a total of eight guns from the houses of two of the suspect.

The police also found two maps that showed positions for each shooter in the school and a list of possible students to recruit for the planned massacre.

Andy Napier and Benjamin Balducci, both 15, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, said Cuyahoga County prosecutor William Mason. Adam Gruber, 14, and John Borowski, 15, pleaded guilty to inducing panic.

22 Iraqis executed
DUBAI: Twentytwo Iraqis were executed by the state security services in a Baghdad prison, the opposition Iraqi Communist Party (ICP) said in a statement received here on Wednesday. The executions took place in September in the Abu Gharib prison some 30 km to the west of the capital, the ICP said, without specifying if those executed were members of the opposition. — AFP

Dog saves child, dies
BUENOS AIRES: A dog saved his four-year-old master from a swarm of bees by covering him with his body and then died from the stings, the Argentine police said on Wednesday. Kharin Toloza was playing with his dog Chocolate in Valie Viejo, northwestern Argentina, when he was attacked by the insects. The dog jumped and stayed on top of the boy, who was taken to hospital but was declared out of danger after receiving just a few stings. The dog died. — Reuter

80-year-old shoots lover, kills self
POSADAS (Argentina): An 80-year old Argentinian shot and wounded his 25-year old lover and then committed suicide after learning she planned to leave him, police said on Wednesday. Pedro Silva had employed Brazilian citizen Loreci Meci Casa as a live-in maid earlier this year, and neighbours reported that the two soon began a stormy affair despite the 55-year age difference, the police in the sub-tropical northern Argentine province of Misiones said. Silva shot Meci Casa in both arms with a revolver and then committed suicide by shooting himself. — Reuters

13 pirates face death sentence
BEIJING: A Chinese court sentenced 13 men to death on Wednesday for clubbing 23 seaman to death and throwing their bodies overboard in China’s biggest piracy case in 50 years, a court spokesman and newspapers said. The pirates were all Chinese, except for an Indonesian identified in Chinese newspapers as Suoni Wei, and have 10 days to appeal. The pirates posed as Chinese paramilitary police and hijacked the 10,373 GRT (gross registered tonnage) bulk carrier “Cheung Son” in November 1998, newspapers said. They clubbed 23 Chinese sailors to death and threw their bodies overboard tied to weights, newspapers said. — Reuters

Town wins $ 264 million lottery
MADRID: Residents of the Southern Spanish town of Elche on Wednesday won 43.5 billion pesetas ($ 264 million) in the Christmas lottery, regarded as the world’s biggest. The jackpot, known as “El Gordo” (the fat one), fell to the number 65,379. It was twice as big as the annual budget of the town of 165,000 residents near Alicante on the Costa Blanca, representatives of the Nationala Lottery Organisation said. The Christmas lottery, established in 1763, is believed to be the oldest in the world. — DPA