Communist Party ‘displeased’ with Zhu’s visit
BEIJING, April 13 — Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji’s ongoing trip to USA seems to have displeased the power-brokers within the ruling Communist Party, judging by the scant official media coverage he is getting here, a leading Hong Kong newspaper reported today.

Pak slammed on rights abuse
LONDON, April 13 — The United Nations Special Rapporteur has accused Pakistan law enforcement officials, the army, the para-military forces, the police and intelligence agencies of committing large-scale extra-judicial killing and slammed the government for not complying with specific allegations.

Clinton held guilty of contempt
LITTLE ROCK, April 13 — A US federal judge has ruled President Bill Clinton in contempt of court for giving “intentionally false” testimony about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky during questioning in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case.

Famine, disease take toll in Kosovo
Russia moves ICJ on air strikes

SKOPJE, April 13 (Reuters) — Several people have starved to death and disease is spreading among ethnic Albanians displaced in Kosovo by Serbian forces, according to reports reaching international monitors outside Yugoslavia.

The sources said that while NATO air strikes were progressively destroying or immobilising Serbian tank and artillery units, taking pressure off Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas, the plight of ethnic Albanian refugees trapped in combat zones appeared to be worsening.

The sources, quoting accounts received by satellite phone from refugee enclaves, said several internally displaced people had died of hunger and gave their names.

“There is a lack of food and drinking water. Incidents of typhoid, cholera, scabies and pulmonary infections have been increasing,” one western official, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters in neighbouring Macedonia.

“Ethnic Albanian leaders are asking for urgent humanitarian assistance, believing that the international media have overlooked the plight of internally displaced people,” the official said.

Foreign journalists covering the plight of about half a million Kosovo Albanian refugees who have fled into neighbouring countries have been barred from Kosovo since their expulsion from Serbia shortly after the air strikes began on March 24.

UNITED NATIONS (PTI): Russia has sought the opinion of the International Court of Justice on the US-led NATO air strikes on Yugoslavia without authorisation by the Security Council. But diplomats say it would be a futile exercise devoid of any practical value.

A draft resolution introduced by Moscow in the charter committee of the UN General Assembly does not name any country, organisation or area by name but a reading makes it clear that it is referring to Kosovo and bombing of Yugoslavia.

The draft points out the UN Charter does not authorise any member- state or regional organisation to use force against another member state without the authorisation of the Security Council.

The resolution was introduced by Russian Ambassador Sergey Lavrov. Diplomats say it would not have much effect on the current NATO bombings. Even if the matter was referred to the court, it could take a long time in formulating its opinion. Besides, the court does not have any enforcement powers.

Meanwhile, leading Russian analysts say Washington is itself carrying out the agenda of Yugoslav President Solobodan Milosovic by virtually clearing Kosovo of people with its bombing.

They say very few ethnic Albanians want to return to their homes after peace is restored. Even those Serbs who had not been happy with their President have begun to support him amid pounding of Yugoslavian sites.

“The big issue now is whether NATO recognises the futility of its military actions and gives up demand of stationing troops in Kosovo,’’ Kremlin’s Chief Advisor on Western Affairs Sergie Rogov says.

“How can the aggressors, engaged day and night in pounding civilian areas, be accepted as peacekeepers in Kosovo,’’ Mr Rogov asks.

Pointing out that the Serbs have succeeded in preserving its anti-air defence system, a key component of its military, he cautions NATO to think more soberly over implementation of the final state of its programme in Yugoslavia, using ground forces.

NEW YORK (PTI): Serbs may benefit from a spy deep inside NATO, ABC television network reported quoting unidentified US and NATO officials.

They say a Serb spy may be informing the Yugoslav authorities before some of the air strikes and cited three incidents in support of their contention.

A night before NATO bombed the Serb’s Interior Ministry in downtown Belgrade it was buzzing with activity. But the night it was bombed, the building was empty, the officials say. A second incident pertained to a bridge which had been targeted. Serbs suddenly sealed it off as if they suspected something was going to happen. The third incident mentioned by ABC was the bombing of military barracks. There was an urgent radio message asking everyone to vacate the barracks shortly before it was struck.

LONDON (ANI) : Britain has said that its warplanes can now bomb Yugoslav targets accurately through the clouds, opening up new tactics for NATO in its air offensive against President Milosevic’s forces.

NATO strikes, which continued into their 21st day today, have often been hampered by cloudy skies, but the new methods should help to combat that, Sir Charles Guthrie, the British Chief of the Defence Staff, was quoted as saying.

Talking to newspersons here, Sir Charles said: “We can drop two types of bombs — cluster bombs which have 147 bomblets in them and 1,000-pound bombs. They can both be dropped through the clouds. We can drop them at high medium or low level”.

Meanwhile, Germany has put forward a Kosovo peace plan under an OSCE-led international force that will replace the Serbian forces in the troubled province. Britain’s Guardian newspaper said the international force would also include Russian troops.

Pak to test missile in day or two

ISLAMABAD, April 13 (PTI) — Pakistan is all set to test-fire its own long-range missile within a day or two in response to India’s Agni-II test and has apparently informed India about its intentions under the terms of the historic Lahore accord.

India’s acting High Commissioner here, Mr Sharat Sabharwal, was summoned by the Pakistani Foreign Office this evening and spent nearly an hour with senior Pakistani Foreign Ministry officials, according to reliable sources here.

No details of Mr Sabharwal’s meeting with Pakistani officials are available, with Foreign Office personnel here refusing to say anything on the issue. The officials, however, did not deny that Mr Sabharwal had been summoned.

Reliable sources, however, claimed that the Indian diplomat was summoned to inform him about Pakistan’s intentions to test-fire its own missile, as per an agreement reached between the two nations during the Lahore summit.

Pakistan is expected to test-fire its long-range missile either on Wednesday or Thursday but till now there is no information on whether it will be an upgraded version of its Ghauri missile, Ghauri-II, or the Shaheen missile.

Earlier, the Pakistan Prime Minister today vowed to give "necessary" response to India’s Agni-II test firing even as its close ally China and the USA asked Islamabad to exercise restraint.

"We do not believe in a match (with India) but we will certainly do what we deem necessary," the Prime Minister Mr Nawaz Sharif, told reporters in Lahore.

"We do not wish to enter the arms race but we are not oblivious of our responsibilities either," he was quoted as saying, with local media reporting that scientists had already reached separate sites for the launch of Ghauri-II and Shaheen missiles and were awaiting the "final green signal" from the government.

In Washington, US State Department spokesman James Folley asked Islamabad to show restraint in reaction to a suggestion by former Pakistan Army Chief Jehangir Karamat asking the Sharif government to be "realistic" and not to go for retaliatory missile test firings.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi said Pakistan should not go for tit-for-tat missile tests and have a "meaningful dialogue" with India.

Russia not to dilute stand on J-K, arms

MOSCOW, April 13 (PTI) — Russia said today it would not budge from its stand of no third-party mediation in the Kashmir issue and no sale of arms to Islamabad during the visit of Pakistan Premier Nawaz Sharif to Moscow later this week.

“There will be no dilution of the Russian stand on Kashmir and the sale of arms to Islamabad,” a senior Russian Foreign Ministry official told PTI as preparations are under way for the first-ever Moscow visit of a Pakistani Prime Minister in 25 years.

Sharif is scheduled to visit the Russian capital from April 19 to April 21 for talks with President Boris Yeltsin and Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov.

“The Kashmir issue is most likely to be taken up by the Pakistani Premier during his talks in Moscow. In this connection we would like to convey to him that Russia is against internationalising the issue and reiterates that India and Pakistan should resolve their outstanding issues through a political dialogue on the basis of the 1972 Simla agreement,” a Russian official, directly involved in the preparations of the visit told PTI on condition of strict anonymity.

“We are aware that during his talks Mr Sharif is likely to explore the possibility of buying dual-purpose military hardware. We have no intention to change our earlier stated stand on the sale of arms to Islamabad,” the Russian official stressed when asked to comment on Pakistan’s keen interest in seeking latest Russian military hardware and arms.

Washington: The USA has asked Pakistan to “show restraint” and not test any more missiles in response to India’s test-firing of Agni ii.

State Department spokesman James Foley, reacting to former Pakistan Army chief Gen Jehangir Karamat’s suggestion to be “realistic” over the nuclear and missile capabilities of India and Pakistan, expressed concern over New Delhi’s Agni II test and asked Islamabad to show restraint.

However, he allayed fears of any war between India and Pakistan. In fact, he insisted, the possession of nuclear weapons and delivery vehicles would ensure peace between the two neighbours.

Agni-II test ‘won’t affect’ Sino-Indian talks

BEIJING, April 13 (PTI)— China today said India’s Agni-II missile test would not hamper the scheduled Sino-Indian border talks this month and restated Beijing’s commitment to improve relations with New Delhi in the post-Pokhran phase.

“China attaches importance to improving relations with India and is ready to do that,” Mr Sha Zukang, Director-General of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Department of Arms Control and Disarmament, told PTI here.

Asked whether China would further postpone the proposed meeting of the joint working group (JWG) on the Sino-Indian border issue, Mr Sha replied that it would be held as scheduled.

“It has been agreed by the two sides that the 11th round of JWG meeting will be held in Beijing this month,” he said, signalling Beijing’s willingness to resume bilateral contacts since the deep chill in Sino-Indian relations after the May nuclear tests.

China had earlier suspended the JWG meeting last year after India conducted the Pokhran-II.

Mr Sha, China’s top disarmament official, said India had notified China on April 9 about its intentions to test-fire the over 2,000 km range Agni-II intermediate range ballistic missile ‘in the coming days.’

Asked whether China would take counter measures in the wake of India testing the nuclear-capable Agni-II missile, he said: “We have noticed Indian Prime Minister’s remarks that this test is not meant for aggression against any nation.”

Communist Party ‘displeased’ with Zhu’s visit

BEIJING, April 13 (PTI) — Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji’s ongoing trip to USA seems to have displeased the power-brokers within the ruling Communist Party, judging by the scant official media coverage he is getting here, a leading Hong Kong newspaper reported today.

Domestic industries were also concerned over the opposition to China’s bid to enter the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and Mr Zhu might lose face if he returned from the USA empty-handed, South China Morning Post reported.

In contrast, the Chinese media gave wide coverage to the recent visit of China’s top legislator Li Peng to Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Though Mr Zhu is Chinese Premier and head of government, in the all-powerful Communist Party hierarchy, he is ranked third, after former Premier Li and President Jiang Zemin.

The Chinese newspapers had not reported the huge concessions China had offered to the USA at the last minute during intense negotiations in Washington ahead of the Clinton-Zhu meeting at the White House.

According to western media reports, China has offered substantial concessions in telecommunications, banking, insurance, high technology, travel and tourism and large tariff cuts in imports of cars, chemicals and wood and paper so as to clinch the WTO deal with the USA.

The Sino-US agriculture agreement, signed during Mr Zhu’s visit, received just two lines of coverage in Sunday’s edition of the People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, with no details of its contents.

Pak slammed on rights abuse

LONDON, April 13 (PTI) — The United Nations Special Rapporteur has accused Pakistan law enforcement officials, the army, the para-military forces, the police and intelligence agencies of committing large-scale extra-judicial killing and slammed the government for not complying with specific allegations.

“Many of the victims include members of political parties, including the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM)”, Special Rapporteur Asma Jehangir said.

Large-scale and wanton summary or arbitrary executions of women was still going on in the country, she said in a special report submitted before the ongoing 55th session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission.

The report said despite previous strong objections launched with the Pakistan Government, reports were constantly coming in of police and para-military forces and members of armed terrorist groups, acting with full support and protection of the government and indulging in widespread wanton killings.

The report said radical Islamic groups funded, trained and equipped by elements of army-run intelligence, were indulging in group warfares, thus endangering civilian lives and rights all over Pakistan and asked the government there to disarm these renegade groups.

Clinton held guilty of contempt

LITTLE ROCK, April 13 (AP) — A US federal judge has ruled President Bill Clinton in contempt of court for giving “intentionally false” testimony about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky during questioning in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case.

The judge’s finding, a civil rather than criminal ruling, orders Mr Clinton to pay Mrs Jones “any reasonable expenses, including attorneys’ fees, caused by his wilful failure to obey this court’s discovery orders.”

US district judge Susan Webber Wright yesterday said she would delay enforcement for 30 days to give Mr Clinton an opportunity to ask for a hearing or file a notice of appeal.

The ruling stemmed from Mr Clinton’s sworn statement in the Jones case that he didn’t have a sexual relationship with Lewinsky.

The judge said in her ruling, “the record demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence that the President responded to plaintiffs’ questions by giving false, misleading and evasive answers that were designed to obstruct the judicial process.”

“The court takes no pleasure whatsoever in holding this nation’s President in contempt of court,” the judge said.

Schroeder SDP chief
BONN: Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was elected chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) by a special party Congress on Monday, one month after the surprise resignation of Mr Oskar Lafontaine. Mr Schroeder was elected by 370 delegates, or 76 per cent against 102, 15 abstained. The result was among the lowest ever garnered by a candidate aspiring for the party leadership in Germany’s post-war history. Mr Schroeder, ran unopposed. — AFP

4 killed, 50 hurt
WUPPERTAL (Germany): Four persons died and 50 others were injured on Monday when a German monorail train packed with commuters fell from its suspension rail and plunged 10 metres into a river. State prosecutors suspected the accident might have been caused by maintenance work being carried out on the historic Schwebebahn, or hanging railway, which opened in the Ruhr valley town of Wuppertal almost a century ago. — Reuters

Egypt may get F-16s
WASHINGTON: The US Defence Department on Monday announced the possible sale of 24 F-16s and related equipment to Egypt in a deal worth $ 1.2 billion. The aircraft are C and D block-40 models, 28 engines, 24 special radars and upgrades for capability to fire harpoon. Anti-radar missiles are also to be included in the deal, as well as technical assistance. — DPA

Architecture prize
LOS ANGELES: England’s Sir Norman Foster, whose creations include the world’s largest airport in Hong Kong and the British Museum’s Great Court, has won the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the discipline’s highest honour. The prestigious award, which includes a $ 100,000 grant and a bronze medallion, honours a living architect whose work demonstrates a combination of talent, vision and commitment. — AP

8 days sans food
GRANTS PASS, (USA): An 83-year-old woman who got lost on a drive home from the post office, spent eight days without food and water before she was found in a remote valley. Joann Beebe, who was discovered in her car on Sunday by a group of target hunters, was hospitalised in a serious condition, recovering from hypothermia, dehydration and frostbite. — AP

Satellite launched
CAPE CANAVERAL (Florida): A European broadcasting satellite roared into orbit on Monday aboard a Lockheed Martin Atlas rocket. The Eutelsat satellite, valued at more than $ 200 million, should begin operating by June. It will replace an older spacecraft for the Eutelsat Telecommunications Satellite Organisation. — AP

Rickshaws in Paris
PARIS: Tourists waved, motor cyclists smiled, and even the police greeted the new velotaxis, plastic tricycle rickshaws that made their debut here on Monday. Vaguely reminiscent of New York’s yellow cabs, the velotaxis offer visitors a scenic view of Paris for a moderate price. The hour-long ride passing by the Orsay and Louvre museums, the Opera and Place Vendome, costs 130 Francs ($ 23) with a maximum of two adult passengers and a child. — AP

CIA ex-chief
WASHINGTON: The U S Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is considering stripping its former director John Deutch of security clearance for his callous handling of “sensitive” information which included reports on Iraq and a terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia, “Newsweek” has reported. The weekly said Deutch had been investigated for repeatedly on the terrorist attack on Khobar towers in Saudi Arabia, on Iraq and a memorandum he had sent to President Bill Clinton. — PTI

Magician’s feat
NEW YORK: Looking fit but slightly wobbly, magician David Blaine climbed out from the coffin buried 6 feet deep that had been his home for seven days. Hundreds of spectators cheered on Monday when the 3-tonne tank of water that covered his transparent coffin was lifted, and Blaine sat up and smiled. I saw something very prophetic ... a vision of every race, every religion, every age group bonding together, and that made all this worthwhile,’’ he said. — AP

King honoured
ABU DHABI: Jorden’s King Abdallah II received Abu Dhabi highest honorary award here, the official WAM news agency said. The emirates showed their support for the new king, who succeeded his father, King Hussein, in February, by depositing US $ 150 million in Jordan’s central bank last month. — AFP