Villages set ablaze in Kosovo
BELGRADE, March 23 — Fighting raged yesterday between government forces and the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army in the northern and central parts of Kosovo.

‘Serious security breach’ at US lab
WASHINGTON, March 23 — The US Energy Secretary Bill Richardson has confirmed there was a “serious breach” of security at the Los Alamos laboratory where the Chinese allegedly stole nuclear secrets contradicting President Bill Clinton’s claim that Beijing’s espionage was “unproven”.

India to be most populated
UNITED NATIONS, March 23 — India is poised to become world’s most populated country within the next 50 years, a UN estimate has said.

Missiles Ghauri, Shaheen on display
ISLAMABAD, March 23 — Pakistan’s military might was on full display during the National Day parade here this morning with the country’s much-vaunted long and medium-range missiles, Ghauri and Shaheen, on display for the first time.

WB loans: India rebuts US claims
WASHINGTON, March 23 — India today rebutted US claims that it had agreed to the postponement of development loans from the World Bank in the aftermath of the Pokhran nuclear tests.

Viagra’s first anniversary bash
NEW YORK, March 23 — The world’s first scientifically proven impotence medication is celebrating its birthday. The US authorities approved Viagra for sale in the USA a year ago on March 27, and the little blue pill began to conquer the world. Today, doctors in 72 countries around the world prescribe it.

Arafat begins US visit on low key
WASHINGTON, March 23 — The Palestinian leader, Mr Yasser Arafat, opened his official US visit here on a low key note by meeting the Secretary of State Ms Madeleine Albright, at her home.

Students protest against Habibie
JAKARTA, March 23 — Around 300 students staged a protest outside the military headquarters here today against President B.J. Habibie, accusing him of leading Indonesia to the brink of disintegration.

• Charles to cut Queen Mother’s expenses
• Paraguay leader shot dead

Villages set ablaze in Kosovo

BELGRADE, March 23 (AP) — Fighting raged yesterday between government forces and the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army in the northern and central parts of Kosovo. Several villages were ablaze and there were unconfirmed reports of mass killings near the town of Srbica.

A second round of peace talks in France failed last week after Serbs refused to sign a US-backed peace accord that gives the ethnic Albanians substantial autonomy. The plan also calls for 28,000 NATO troops including 4,000 Americans, to supervise the accord .

The Serbs have offered to accept a political agreement, but had insisted that peacekeepers should be a separate issue from other parts of the agreement, a position Washington rejects.

The North Atlantic Council, NATO’s top policy-making body, authorised Secretary-General Javier Solana yesterday to order air strikes on Yugoslavia if Mr Holbrooke’s bid failed.

Clashes in Kosovo escalated last weekend after international monitors withdrew following the collapse of the second round of peace talks.

Two persons were killed and four others seriously injured late yesterday when bombs exploded at two ethnic Albanian-owned cafes in the provincial capital, Pristina.

The ethnic Albanian-run Kosovo Information Centre said at least five villages were burnt in the northern Drenica region and Lapastica, the rebel headquarters for northeastern Kosovo yesterday.

KLA fighters ambushed the police yesterday near Srbica, triggering a gunbattle that lasted several hours, witnesses said.

Ethnic Albanian residents in Srbica said black-masked Yugoslav soldiers shot to death at least 16 unarmed people in a weekend campaign to crush separatist resistance. The Serb authorities, however, said the only Albanians killed in Srbica were seven KLA fighters, who died in battle.

A NATO fleet of warships and attack planes was ready for a possible bombardment of Yugoslavia, a mission that likely would begin with pilotless Cruise missiles fired at the nation’s air defence network.

Pak shows off claim on Kashmir

ISLAMABAD, March 23 (PTI) — Pakistan today for the first time included a tableau showing Kashmir as a part of its territory at a military parade here to mark the country’s national day.

The tableau bearing the banner "Kashmir banega Pakistan (Kashmir will become Pakistan)" was part of a joint services parade down Jinnah Avenue this morning.

Significantly, the tableau’s inclusion comes a month after Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif agreed to reduce tension and work towards a peaceful solution to the Kashmir problem.

Leading the tableau was a group of girls in traditional Kashmiri attire while the tableau itself bore several banners highlighting Pakistan’s position on the issue.

Official APP news agency quoted Information Minister Mush Hid Hussain as saying shortly after inspecting the tableau a few days ago that "introduction of the Kashmir tableau in the Pakistan Day parade is part of government’s efforts to project and promote the Kashmiri cause."

Pakistan also displayed for the first time its much-vaunted long and medium range missiles, ‘Ghauri’ and ‘Shaheen’ capable of hitting targets in most parts of India at a military parade to mark its national day.

The surface-to-surface Ghauri missile capable of carrying nuclear or conventional warheads upto 700 kg upto a distance of 1500 km and the still to be tested Shaheen which can carry a 1,000 kg warhead up to 750 km were included in the parade.

Ghauri, the Pakistanis claim, was developed by Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan’s Kahuta Research Laboratory (KRL) ostensibly to counter India’s Prithvi missile.

But Western media quoting US intelligence reports said Pakistan received technology for Ghauri from Communist North Korea as it closely resembles Pyongyang’s Nadong missile.

‘Serious security breach’ at US lab

WASHINGTON, March 23 (PTI) — The US Energy Secretary Bill Richardson has confirmed there was a “serious breach” of security at the Los Alamos laboratory where the Chinese allegedly stole nuclear secrets contradicting President Bill Clinton’s claim that Beijing’s espionage was “unproven”.

“There was a serious breach of security at the Los Alamos laboratory, and the Chinese got nuclear secrets and damage was done,” he said confirming “Newsweek” report that the CIA had found evidence that the Chinese “have cracked even the most secret weapons laboratory”.

Mr Richardson, however, questioned the “Newsweek” report that “Chinese penetration of the laboratories appears to have been total” and termed it as “an over exaggeration”.

“There is a lot of hysteria over there that is unfounded. But we will get to the bottom with ongoing investigations of any future problems.”

Mr Clinton on Saturday said: “It is my understanding that the investigation has not yet determined for sure that espionage occurred...If anybody committed espionage. It is a bad thing, and we should take appropriate action.”

Meanwhile, Republican Senator Jon Kyl, member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on “Fox News” yesterday that he had asked FBI Director Louis J. Freeh to detail field officers to US weapons laboratories.

“We have got to change the culture of these laboratories. The atmosphere has to change to include counter-intelligence.”

Mr Richardson disputed the assertion in the media that all changes that he made, including the firing of Wen Ho Lee at the Los Alamos laboratory, was the result of a New York Times report.

“That is not the case,” he said, adding that “the President ordered us in February, 1998, to begin a counter-intelligence plan. We had been taking very aggressive steps. We were about to terminate this individual at Los Alamos. The story broke and it appeared we were reacting. We were not.”

India to be most populated

UNITED NATIONS, March 23 (PTI) — India is poised to become world’s most populated country within the next 50 years, a UN estimate has said.

India’s population will rise by more than 50 per cent to 1.53 billion from the present 1 billion by 2050, according to the world body’s population division estimate.

Even though in terms of absolute numbers India will rank highest, population growth rate of countries like Pakistan will be much higher, the report said.

Pakistan’s population was expected to grow by about 120 per cent, rising to 345 million from the present 156 million.

China, however, had registered a decline in population growth, from an average of 6.2 children per couple to below replacement level of 1.8 children, Director of UN population division Joseph Chamie said.

Nigeria’s population was also expected to climb to 244 million from the present 112 million while overall world population was expected to reach 9 billion, the UN estimates said.

Mr Chamie said the population of 30 countries, including Germany and Japan, was expected to decline.

Missiles Ghauri, Shaheen on display

ISLAMABAD, March 23 (PTI) — Pakistan’s military might was on full display during the National Day parade here this morning with the country’s much-vaunted long and medium-range missiles, Ghauri and Shaheen, on display for the first time.

The surface-to-surface Ghauri missile is capable of carrying nuclear or conventional warheads, weighing up to 700 kg, up to a distance of 1500 km while the yet untested Shaheen can carry a 1,000 kg warhead up to 750 km.

Ghauri, the Pakistanis claim, was developed at Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan’s Kahuta Research Laboratory (KRL) ostensibly to counter India’s Prithvi missile.

But Western media, quoting US intelligence reports, said Pakistan received technology for Ghauri from the communist North Korea as it closely resembled Pyongyang’s Nadong missile.

WB loans: India rebuts US claims

WASHINGTON, March 23 (PTI) — India today rebutted US claims that it had agreed to the postponement of development loans from the World Bank in the aftermath of the Pokhran nuclear tests.

“This is the first time anyone has said that India voluntarily agreed to the postponement of development loans for now in the wake of the nuclear tests or she agreed that the concerns expressed by the USA were legitimate”, India’s Executive Director at the World Bank Surinder Singh said.

Mr Surinder Singh’s US counterpart at the World Bank, Mr Jan Piercy had claimed that it was the decision of India and the World Bank that resulted in development loans to India not being put up for the vote after the Indian nuclear tests last May.

“Mr Piercy’s statement was absolutely wrong,” Mr Surinder Singh said adding that “the decision to postpone development loans to India certainly did not have our support and it is not right to say that the postponement was done at our request or even with our consent”.

Presenting India’s position, he on the contrary said the World Bank loans should not have been postponed and added that the World Bank operations should be based only on economic considerations and the decision to postpone loans due to the nuclear tests were not based on these considerations.

Viagra’s first anniversary bash

NEW YORK, March 23 (DPA) — The world’s first scientifically proven impotence medication is celebrating its birthday. The US authorities approved Viagra for sale in the USA a year ago on March 27, and the little blue pill began to conquer the world. Today, doctors in 72 countries around the world prescribe it.

Men who need help with their virility pay in dollars, marks, yen, roubles, shekels or whatever currency is demanded to get their love drug. Now they don’t need an injection, a pump or any other kind of help to get an erection effortlessly and painlessly. Experts agree: Viagra has triggered a sexual revolution among the older generation.

Pharmaceutical company Pfizer which makes the pill saw its turnover shoot up by $ 1 billion within a year. Pfizer’s profits for 1998 were up 27 per cent on the previous year. Never before has any drug become so popular quite so fast.

At the express wish of the government in Beijing, Pfizer is currently carrying out clinical tests on Chinese citizens. India and Indonesia, the world’s most populous countries after China have also not decided yet whether to approve the drug.

In theory, the impotence drug should help women too. Viagra relaxes muscles and so increases the flow of blood to the genitals. In men the effect is to promote erection of the penis, while in women the increased blood flow could cause the clitoris to swell.

But an early study on the effects of Viagra on women was not very encouraging. The scientific journal, “Urology”, reported in its March edition that a test of 33 women showed Viagra was no more effective than a placebo.

With men at least, the drug has a proven success rate of 70 per cent. Taken one hour before they hope to have intercourse the chemical helper is said to be effective for an average of about four hours. For some men this has proven to be too much. According to the US Federal Drug Administration, Viagra has been linked to the deaths of at least 133 users in the USA.

Among those now suing Pfizer is a man from New York, who had a heart attack after taking Viagra before sex. In Britain, a man who took the drug committed suicide. In Israel, the wife of a 70-year-old man is bringing a suit because he separated from her after discovering the drug.

Arafat begins US visit on low key

WASHINGTON, March 23 (AFP) — The Palestinian leader, Mr Yasser Arafat, opened his official US visit here on a low key note by meeting the Secretary of State Ms Madeleine Albright, at her home.

Mr Arafat, who is on a whirlwind tour of Europe and the US to drum up support for Palestinian statehood, spent two hours in talks with Ms Albright at her Georgetown home.

“I thought this would be a nice way to welcome him,” Ms Albright said, although she refused to be drawn on the substance of their discussion.

The Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs, Mr Martin Indyk, and special West Asia co-ordinator Mr Dennis Ross, also attended the meeting.

The subject of Palestinian statehood is expected to dominate the agenda when Mr Arafat meets President Bill Clinton later today.

Students protest against Habibie

JAKARTA, March 23 (AFP) — Around 300 students staged a protest outside the military headquarters here today against President B.J. Habibie, accusing him of leading Indonesia to the brink of disintegration.

The Jakarta University Student Communication forum (FKSMJ) also pressed the military in a press statement to take on responsibility for keeping the country united.

“Make peace my Indonesia, stop the nation’s disintegration,” read a red-coloured poster.

The students claimed Mr Habibie had failed to control ethnic and sectarian violence that has claimed hundreds of lives since the end of last year.

Paraguay leader shot dead

ASUNCION (Paraguay), March 23 (AP) — Gunmen fatally shot Paraguay’s Vice-President as he went to his office this morning, radio reports and a governing party senator said.

There were few details of the attack, but radio reports said Mr Luis Maria Argana was entering his office at the city centre when gunman opened fire at 8 a.m. (local time).

A senator from the ruling Colorado Party, Mr Juan Carlos Galaverna, later told reporters that Mr Argana was mortally wounded and died after the shooting.

Charles to cut Queen Mother’s expenses

LONDON, March 23 (AFP) — Britain’s Prince Charles has been given the task by the royal family of persuading his grandmother to cut back on her lavish lifestyle after she ran up a huge overdraft, a newspaper report has said.

The Sunday Express said Prince Charles had devised a plan to pay off an overdraft of £4 million ($6.4 million) run up by the 98-year-old queen mother at the Royal Bank Coutts.

Citing unidentified royal aides, it said this included staff cutbacks, mothballing one of the queen mother’s five homes — the Castle of Mey in the North of Scotland — and selling rarely-used cars.

3 million die of TB
PARIS: Tuberculosis kills one person every 10 seconds worldwide, a rate equivalent to a jumbo jet crashing every hour, the head of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUARLD) has said. The disease has also become the biggest killer of people infected with the AIDS virus. The IUATLD estimates that one third of the world’s population is infected with TB and up to three million people die of the disease annually. — AFP

Papal visit
JERUSALEM: Pope John Paul intends to make a historic visit to the Holy Land next March to mark the start of Christianity’s third millennium, the Israeli Tourism Ministry has said. A ministry spokeswoman announced on Monday the planned visit to Israel and Palestinian self-rule areas after talks in Jerusalem between Tourism Minister Moshe Katzav and a senior Vatican official, Cardinal Roger Etchegaray. Israel’s state-owned Channel One Television said in addition to Jerusalem, the Pope would spend a day each in Israeli Nazareth and Palestinian Bethlehem. — Reuters

Engineered sheep
WELLINGTON: Scottish researchers who created Dolly, the world’s first cloned sheep, won permission on Tuesday to breed thousands of genetically-engineered sheep capable of producing a human protein in their milk. PPL Therapeutics’ New Zealand Manager, Mike Aitkenhead, said commercial production of the protein, alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT), had the theoretical potential to prolong the lives of thousands suffering from respiratory diseases such as cystic fibrosis and congenital emphysema. — AFP

Pilots ground fleet
KATHMANDU: Striking pilots of the Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC) force grounded the entire fleet of the Nepali national carrier here for the ninth consecutive day on Tuesday even as they came under a virulent attack from the tourism sector. Four tourism-related organisations jointly accused the agitating RNAC pilots of trying to closed down the 40-year-old Nepali flag carrier through their impetuous action of resorting to the strike and not settling for a compromise on their demand. — UNI

First woman CJ
WELLINGTON: New Zealand on Tuesday named its first woman Chief Justice — Sian Elias. Prime Minister Jenny Shipley said in a statement Ms Elias would take up her appointment in May on the retirement of Chief Justice Sir Thomas Eichelbaum. — AFP

Murder case
NICOSIA: A district court in the Israeli capital, Tel Aviv, on Monday charged an American Jewish teenager Samuel Scheinbein with the premeditated murder of another youth. Sheinbein, 18, was accused of killing and dismembering Alfred Tello, 19, in Maryland in 1997. If convicted, Sheinbein could get a life-term. — ANI

Encephalitis outbreak
KUALA LUMPUR: A team of American health experts arrived in Malaysia on Monday to help the South-East Asian nation contain the deadly encephalitis virus which has killed more than 50 persons. Researchers from the Atlanta-based centres for disease control and prevention will set up their own office and laboratory in the Malaysian Health Ministry, a US Embassy official said. The experts, invited to Malaysia by the ministry, arrived even as soldiers continued to shoot thousands of pigs for the third day. — AP