W O R L D	Saturday, July 11, 1998
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Annan asks India, Pak to sign CTBT UNITED NATIONS, July 10 — The United Nations Security Council has urged India and Pakistan to refrain from further nuclear tests and sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and Non-Proliferation Treaty without “delay and conditions.” Gag order to stay in Paula case LITTLE ROCK, July 10 — A U.S. gag order prohibiting the release of secret court files in Paula Jones’ sexual-harassment lawsuit against President Bill Clinton will remain in place indefinitely, a Judge ruled... Yeltsin acts to ease crisis MOSCOW, July 10 — President Boris Yeltsin sought support from foreign leaders today to overcome a severe economic crisis, and said Russia could crush any “extremist” attempt to seize power...

Xue Wang, aged 12 (bottom), and Lisha Li (13), both from China, practise some of their contortion acrobatics on Thursday afternoon, at the Splendid China Florida theme park near Orlando, Florida. The two young girls are part of a travelling team of acrobats who will perform at the central Florida attraction. —AP

Can love cure cancer? BERNIE S. Siegel is a trained surgeon, and he believes love can cure cancer. Not only does he believe it, he says he has seen it happen thousands of times... No US ultimatum, says Israel JERUSALEM, July 10 — Israel today denied receiving an ultimatum from Washington over its proposal of a long-overdue Israeli troop withdrawal from the West Bank... Diplomatic war: Russia won’t take it lying down LONDON, July 10 — Russia may retaliate to South Korea’s decision to expel one of its diplomats... 20 burnt alive after bus collision MULTAN, July 9 (AFP) About 20 persons were burnt alive and 40 injured in Pakistan today as two buses loaded with passengers were engulfed by fire after a collision... Mubarak’s surprise visit to Libya DUBAI, July 10 — Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak paid a surprise visit to Libya yesterday to call on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who underwent surgery on his hip on Monday...

Annan asks India, Pak to sign CTBT UNITED NATIONS, July 10 (PTI) — The United Nations Security Council has urged India and Pakistan to refrain from further nuclear tests and sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and Non-Proliferation Treaty without “delay and conditions.” The council also strongly urged last night the two countries to “enhance” their dialogue on all outstanding issues, including those related to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The plea was made by the 15-member Council through its current President Ambassador Sergey Lavrov of Russian Federation in a statement after the council was briefed by Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs Alvaro De Soto who had recently visited South Asia to take stock of the situation following nuclear tests by India and Pakistan. Secretary General Kofi Annan circulated a letter to the council members expressing his intention to continue efforts to encourage both the countries to have substantive talks to resolve their differences on various issues. Referring to the proposed meeting between Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of SAARC summit in Colombo later this month, Dr Annan described the development as “encouraging”. Stating that the situation had been compounding by the long-standing causes of friction between India and Pakistan, he stressed on the need to address the situation in “earnest”. Dr Annan said the basic positions taken by India and Pakistan, referred to various communications received by him from New Delhi and Islamabad and explained the differences of perceptions, especially on Kashmir. Without making any new suggestion, Dr Annan’s letter stressed on the need for the two countries to start a dialogue. Regarding Kashmir, the UN chief said frequent firing across the Line of Actual Control had continued as had also the “irregular” warfare in the area. During his visit to Islamabad, Dr Annan said De Soto was “advised” that in recent months, there had been ‘’significant increase’’ in the level of hostilities as reflected in growing number of civilian casualties. He said since the adoption of the UN resolution, both governments had announced unilateral moratorium and India had stated its willingness to convert it into a de jure obligation. Pakistan, on its part, had indicated its readiness to engage “constructively” with India and other members of international community with the aim of formalising the moratorium and reaching an agreement with India on bilateral nuclear test ban or on a wider regional ban involving other countries in the region, Dr Annan said in his letter. Regarding the council call on India and Pakistan to immediately stop their nuclear weapons programme, Dr Annan said India had indicated in a statement by the Prime Minister on May 27 that it would be ready to enter into discussions with Pakistan and other countries on the “no first use” of nuclear weapons. But Pakistan, he said, recalled its proposal for a non-aggression agreement on the basis of a “just settlement” of the Kashmir issue. It suggested “perhaps, as a first step, the two countries could solemnly reaffirm their commitment to non-use of force as prescribed in the UN charter and undertake to create transparency in military preparations as also discuss further confidence building measures. Stating that it had not declared itself a nuclear weapon state, Dr Annan said Pakistan indicated that it was prepared to enter into bilateral and/or multilateral dialogue to evolve agreement for maintenance of strategic parity and stable deterrence between India and Pakistan reed level. Dr Annan said Pakistan also addressed the issue of a “conventional (arms) balance” between the two countries. On the issue of weaponisation, Dr Annan said, Pakistan assumed that some weaponisation had taken place and “felt that the two countries should be encouraged to restrain their build up of warheads to minimum and refrain from deployment of missiles.” It also said it could not accept a “situation of inferiority in missile capabilities,” Dr Annan told the Council. Regarding the export issue, Dr Annan said the Indian Prime Minister had committed to continue to observe stringent export controls on nuclear and missile-related technologies as well as those relating to other weapons of mass destruction. Pakistan, on its part, had declared that it had never and would not transfer sensitive technologies to other states or entities, he added.

Gag order to stay in Paula case LITTLE ROCK, July 10 (AP) — A U.S. gag order prohibiting the release of secret court files in Paula Jones’ sexual-harassment lawsuit against President Bill Clinton will remain in place indefinitely, a Judge ruled. U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright put off opening the case file after Mr Clinton’s lawyers yesterday asked her to maintain a secrecy order intended to prevent the release of potentially embarrassing information gathered while the lawsuit was alive. If the judge ultimately decides to open the file, the President could ask an appeals court to stop her. Ms Wright, who said on June 30 that the secrecy order would expire on Friday, pushed back the effective date of her order until Monday. Even then, she said, no documents would be released until she rules again. Ms Wright believes there is no reason to keep most documents in the case under seal, citing various leaks. She gave both sides until Friday to raise objections. No objection has been raised by lawyers for Mrs Jones, whose lawsuit was dismissed on April 1. In court papers filed yesterday, Mr Clinton’s lawyers said the Judge may not be aware there was much evidence collected, but not submitted to the court, that also would be unsealed under the order. Also, the President argued, lifting a gag order imposed last fall as the media requested would allow Mrs Jones, reporters and others to publicise secret material for profit or political gain. “It’s an old song: We’ve heard it before,” said Mr David Pyke, one of Mrs Jones’ Dallas lawyers. If Mrs Jones was really wanting to profit from this and not pursue it in court, she could have sought to profit from it a long time ago, and she hasn’t.” Mrs Jones’ lawyers had planned to decide yesterday whether to respond to the Judge’s June 30 order, Mr Pyke said, but they now have 14 days to respond to Mr Clinton’s motion to keep the case under wraps. A dozen media organisations, including the Associated Press, asked the Judge to unseal the record in February as allegations of a possible presidential affair and cover-up surfaced. The Judge denied the request, but the appeals court asked her to reconsider after she tossed out Mrs Jones’ lawsuit. Should the Judge maintain her decision to lift the gag order, Mr Clinton’s lawyers said she should at least conduct an item-by-item review of all material after the parties in the lawsuit and other parties involved have a chance to present arguments.

Yeltsin acts to ease crisis MOSCOW, July 10 (Reuters) — President Boris Yeltsin sought support from foreign leaders today to overcome a severe economic crisis, and said Russia could crush any “extremist” attempt to seize power. Mr Yeltsin, who has said the crisis might be dangerous socially and politically, also decided to stay in Moscow next week and take his summer holiday later. “Russia needs strong authority rather than a strong hand,” he said in televised remarks to senior military officers at a ceremony at the Kremlin. Mr Yeltsin said the officers were “a reliable support” both for Russia and for him personally. “We have enough force to cut short any extremist plans to seize power,” he said, adding, “they will fail.” The 67-year-old leader is known for his acute sense of political danger, and his burst of activity indicated Mr Yeltsin saw an urgent need for his personal intervention. In a separate development, the Federation Council or Upper Chamber of Parliament voted overwhelmingly to support in principle the government’s anti-crisis proposals.

Can love cure cancer? from Nick Morgan BERNIE S. Siegel is a trained surgeon, and he believes love can cure cancer. Not only does he believe it, he says he has seen it happen thousands of times. His book, “Love, Medicine and Miracles” is a bestseller in the USA. So just how many people does he claim to have helped cure themselves of cancer? “I used to keep a list so patients could get in touch with each other,” he says. “Now there are so many I don’t keep it any more. The number of people who are alive today when they were told they were incurable by conventional medicine is incredible. There are tens of thousands all over the world. People come to me at seminars and say, ‘you inspired me’, and I say, ‘the inspiration was in you. I only brought it out’.” What separates Siegal from many of his New Age counterparts is that he is a trained surgeon. He says he went into medicine 30 years ago “for healthy reasons. I wanted to help people and it was very painful for me to be involved in things I couldn’t cure.” An entry in his diary of the time reads: “At times it seems the world is dying of cancer. Every abdomen you open if filled with it. Your stomach hits the floor, and the horror sweeps over you as you see the future. How many faces must you look into and say, ‘I’m sorry, it’s an inoperable tumour’?” Siegel recalls addressing a conference of paediatricians. “Many walked in late, excitedly explaining that an ‘interesting case’ — a child nearing diabetic coma — had been admitted. I realised with a shock what a distance that attitude put between the doctors and their ‘case’, who happened to be a very sick, frightened child with distraught parents.” Siegel got involved with his patients. He asked them not to address him as doctor but by his first name, then he removed his desk so there was no barrier between doctor and patient. In 1978 he went to a workshop held by oncologist O Carl Simonton and his then wife, psychologist Stephanie Mathews. It was called “Psychological factors, stress and cancer.” We were told of a study where, of 159 cancer patients who were expected to live less than a year, 19 per cent had got rid of their cancer completely and the disease was regressing in another 22 per cent. Those who eventually did succumb had, on average, doubled their predicted survival time.” Siegel started a therapy group called exceptional cancer patients, using Simonton’s principles, suddenly, his patients started to recover. “Even if what you most hope for — a complete cure — doesn’t happen, the hope itself can sustain you to accomplish many things in the meantime. Refusal to hope is nothing more that decision to die.” He recounts the 1957 case of Wright, who had a lymphosarcoma. Doctors gave him a week to live. “However, says Siegel, “the patient had great hope, especially when he heard of a new wonder drug called Krebiozen.” After 10 days on the drug, Wright was so much better that he was discharged. But months later Krebiozen was discredited. Wright lost his faith in the cure and the symptoms returned. He returned to work for two months. But when an announcement appeared in the press that Krebiozen was worthless, Wright lost his faith for a second time. He died within two days. “The placebo effects are felt by between a third and a quarter of patients. They will get better if they believe they are taking an effective medicine. This is the same principle as nearly all so-called primitive medicine users incorporate into their belief systems, whether it be water from Lourdes or faith healing from religion or magic from a witch doctor. “I’m not arguing that Western medicine be abandoned for earlier kinds, but I am asking that we become open to the healing gift within us.” — The Guardian, London

No US ultimatum, says Israel JERUSALEM, July 10 (AFP) — Israel today denied receiving an ultimatum from Washington over its proposal of a long-overdue Israeli troop withdrawal from the West Bank to break the 16-month deadlock in the peace process. “There is no pressure of this sort on Israel”, Cabinet Secretary Danny Naveh said, insisting that the Jewish state had done all that had been asked of it and that it was the Palestinians who needed to make changes. “There can be no pressure for the very good reason that everything depends on the Palestinians”, Mr Naveh insisted. Mr Naveh was reacting to an Israeli television report last evening that us secretary of State Madeleine Albright had refused to initiate a new round of talks with the Israeli Government on its proposals to relaunch the peace processs. Ms Albright had rejected an Israeli request for us special envoy Dennis Ross to return to the region for further talks, the television report said.

Diplomatic war: Russia won’t take it lying down lLONDON, July 10 (ANI) — Russia may retaliate to South Korea’s decision to expel one of its diplomats. Reports reaching here from Moscow quoted Russian Foreign Ministry official Vladimir Rakhmanin as saying that the Russian Government was seriously thinking about the expulsion. Reports from Seoul quoted a South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying that his government wanted a meeting between the two foreign ministers to discuss the recent retaliatory expulsion of diplomats. Relations between the two countries have worsened this week after Russia expelled South Korea’s counsellor in Moscow, Mr Cho Sung-Woo, on alleged espionage charges. South Korea retaliated by asking a Seoul-based Russian diplomat to leave.

20 burnt alive after bus collision MULTAN, July 9 (AFP) — About 20 persons were burnt alive and 40 injured in Pakistan today as two buses loaded with passengers were engulfed by fire after a collision, the official APP news agency reported. The buses collided near the central city of Multan, it said, adding that 40 persons managed to scramble out but suffered burns and other injuries. The police said a bus heading towards the southern city of Vehari ploughed into another at the town to Tibba Sultanpur, 40 km southeast of Multan.

Mubarak’s surprise visit to Libya DUBAI, July 10 (UNI) — Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak paid a surprise visit to Libya yesterday to call on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who underwent surgery on his hip on Monday. Regional news agencies said Mr Mubarak had advance permission to make the air journey from the United Nations Security Council Committee that oversees sanctions against Libya. Television pictures showed Col Gaddafi sitting on a wheelchair welcoming Mr Mubarak. They also showed the Egyptian doctors holding a meeting with the Libyan doctors who carried out the surgery on Col Gaddafi. The Libyan leader reportedly injured his hip while exercising. Media reports from Cairo said it was the first time the UN had given permission for such a flight. Previous waivers had been only for humanitarian purposes, they said, quoting UN officials.

Global monitor Ex-MP’s apology to Sikhs LONDON: A former Conser-vative member of Parliament, David Evans has tendered an unqualified apology to Sikhs in the Birmingham Crown Court for branding them as guilty of car bombings in the city 13 years ago, which left 21 people dead. Seven Sikh youths had been charged and they served a prison term of seven years instead of the total of 16 years. In the course of last year’s parliamentary elections, David Evans in an address had labelled the youths as guilty. This hurt them. They moved the Crown Court. — PTI 60 die in floods TASHKENT: More than 60 persons have been found dead after a flood raced through a populous valley in Uzbekistan, Uzbek emergency services have said. A spokesman said yesterday the toll could rise further as rescuers picked through the remains of villages shattered by Wednesday’s flash river flood in the Fergana valley which rises eastward out of Uzbekistan toward mountainous Kyrgyzstan. The worst hit was the town of Shakhimardan, he said. — Reuters US envoy to Pak WASHINGTON: US President Bill Clinton has announced his intent to nominate career diplomat and former Dhaka envoy William Milan to be the next Ambassador to Pakistan. Mr Clinton made this announcement yesterday. Milan, currently chief of mission at the US Embassy in Monrovia, Liberia, has also served as US Ambassador to Bangladesh, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for international development and finance and other posts. — Reuters Coppola to get $ 60 m LOS ANGELES: A California jury has awarded film director Francis Ford Coppola $ 60 million in punitive damages, including interest in a lawsuit against Warner brothers, over the film “Pinocchio”. The jury last week had already awarded Coppola $ 20 million in actual damages in the lawsuit, which accused the studio of thwarting his plans to make a live-action version of the Pinocchio story. — AFP Test for leukaemia LONDON: A new test that gives doctors an inside view of a cancer cell may help improve chemotherapy treatment for patients with Leukaemia and other blood cancers, researchers said on Friday. Scientists at the Leukaemia Research Fund who developed the technique said the blood test will reduce the time it takes to determine if the treatment is working and may help alleviate unpleasant side effects. — Reuters UN population award UNITED NATIONS: A group of Ugandan elders credited with helping reduce the practice of female genital mutilation and the head of Jamaica’s family planning board have been jointly awarded the 1998 UN population award. The award, which was presented here yesterday, was set up by the UN General Assembly. Each winner received a diploma, a gold medal and an equal share of the $ 15,000 prize money. — Reuters Missile for US forces FORT WORTH (Texas): The US military was formally issued with a new generation of air-to-ground missile in a ceremony at a military airfield in Fort Worth on Thursday. Some 24,000 of the new missile, dubbed the joint standoff weapon, are to be issued to the US air force, navy and Marines. With a greater range than its predecessors, the new missile would revolutionise air battles and provide greater security to men and women serving in the US armed forces, said Admiral Michael Johnson. — DPA

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