‘Runaway Bride’ opens in top slot
LOS ANGELES, Aug 2 — Julia Roberts scored her second hit movie of the summer as the romantic comedy “Runaway Bride’’ opened in the top slot at the North American weekend box-office, followed closely by the low-budget horror movie “The Blair Witch Project’’.

Split threat to Yugoslavia
MOSCOW, Aug 2 — Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic has threatened to split from Yugoslavia unless its partner Serbia adopts economic and political reforms, the Interfax news agency has said.

Ex-driver was ‘victim of Anwar’s sodomy’
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 2 — A former family driver of Malaysia’s sacked Deputy Premier Anwar Ibrahim testified in a local court today that he had been sodomised by Anwar 10 to 15 times beginning from 1992.

2 get jail for subversion
BEIJING, Aug 2 — A Chinese court today handed out stiff jail terms to two key members of an “illegal” political party for plotting to subvert the state political power, an official report said.

Israeli pullback offer rejected

JERUSALEM, Aug 2 (AP) — The Palestinians today rejected Israel’s proposal to resume a West Bank troop pullback in October, saying such a delay raises concerns that Israel’s new Prime Minister is trying to wriggle out of some of his peace commitments.

The sense of the first real crisis between the new players emerged after yesterday’s meeting between the Palestinians’ chief negotiator Saeb Erekat and Barak’s envoy, Gilead Sher.

Mr Erekat complained that Mr Sher only reiterated what the Israeli premier had told Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat a week earlier — that Israel would like to skip over one of two West Bank troop pullbacks mandated by the Wye River accord so as to avoid friction with Jewish settlers.

The Palestinians have repeatedly turned down the proposal and insisted on an immediate implementation of the Wye accord, under which Israel is to hand over 13.1 per cent of West Bank land.

Palestinian legislator Ziad Abu Ziad said at yesterday’s meeting, the Israelis proposed beginning the first Wye pullback in October — Israeli media gave the starting date as October 1 — and then to withdraw from 5 per cent of the West Bank.

Later Mr Arafat accused Israel of evading accurate and complete implementation of the Wye River peace deal.

The Wye accord states that Israel should hand over 13.1 per cent of the West Bank to Palestinians.

However, last week Mr Barak said Israel wanted to combine the final pullout with the final status talks, an idea already rejected by Mr Arafat.

Reuters adds: Mr Barak today showed his first public sign of frustration over Palestinian refusal to accept his proposal to delay a pledged Israeli handover of West Bank land.

In a statement underlining a crisis atmosphere, Mr Barak’s office accused the Palestinians of “reacting with rigidity” to his plan to fold into a permanent peace pact, the final stage of a three-phase West Bank pullback agreed under an interim accord.

“Surprise is being expressed in the Prime Minister’s office that the Palestinians are refraining from examining with us a more successful implementation of the Wye River memorandum by wrapping it into talks on a permanent settlement,” the statement said.

The Wye deal obliges Israel to make a series of troop withdrawals phased over 12 weeks from 13 per cent of the West Bank in parallel with Palestinian steps against Moslem militants and other security measures.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Parliament has voted to widen the number of Cabinet posts in the government, a move Prime Minister Ehud Barak hopes will give him the broad backing he needs to accelerate peace talks with the Arabs.

According to the new legislation, 24 ministerial seats is the new maximum size of a ruling coalition, Knesset (Parliament) spokesman Giora Pordes said on Sunday.

Mr Barak had argued that the previous law limiting the number of ministerial posts to 18 was not large enough to satiate his broad coalition composed of seven parties with a wide range of ideologies.

CAIRO (DPA): Leaders of two Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) factions, following a two-day meeting, announced that they have agreed to expand their national dialogue and include other PLO factions that oppose the Middle East peace process.

“We agreed to consider the dialogue between the Fatah movement and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) to be an entrance for a comprehensive dialogue between all other factions of the PLO,” said Mr Zakareya Al-Agha, a member in committee of the dialogue.

Mr Al-Agha told reporters following the talks between the PLO Fatah mainstream headed by Palestinian leader Yassar Arafat and the PFLP leaders that both agreed to form a joint committee to resume their meetings in the next few weeks.

NATO’s Clark clashed with UK Gen

NEW YORK, Aug 2 (Reuters) — US Gen Wesley Clark, who is stepping down early as the NATO Commander, clashed with Gen Mike Jackson, British Commander on the ground in Kosovo, after the alliance’s victory there, Newsweek reported.

The dispute arose, according to the report, after Russian troops unexpectedly set up camp at Kosovo’s Pristina airport while the NATO and Moscow were still negotiating a role for Russia’s forces in the province.

Without citing sources, the US magazine said General Clark “was so anxious to stop the Russians from stealing a march to Pristina airport that he ordered an airborne assault to take the field before them” but General Jackson refused his orders.

Newsweek yesterday said General Clark subsequently asked US Adm James Ellis Jr, head of the NATO’s southern command, to order helicopters to land on the airport’s runways to keep Russian Ilyushin transport planes from using them. Admiral Ellis balked, saying General Jackson would not like that, according to the magazine.

When both generals appealed to political leaders back home for support, Newsweek continued, General Jackson got it and General Clark did not, meaning that his orders as supreme commander had effectively been overruled.

The airport stand-off was ultimately resolved through negotiations when the NATO and Moscow agreed that the Russians, traditional allies of the Serbs, would not have control of its own sector in Kosovo, but would be divided among the American, French, and British sectors of the province.

Taliban confirm Laden’s presence

MOSCOW, Aug 2 (UNI) — The Taliban have acknowledged that one of the world’s most wanted fugitive, Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, continues to live in a safe haven in Afghanistan, but did not disclose his whereabouts.

“He is well-protected (in Afghanistan),” Moscow radio quoted a spokesman for the ruling Taliban in Kabul as saying.

The militia has rejected the USA demands to extradite Laden, but he has been prohibited from engaging himself in political or “other “ activities, the spokesman added.

WASHINGTON (AFP): US officials haven’t given up hope of tracking down Laden, the Saudi Arabian millionaire suspected of masterminding several terrorist attacks against the USA.

“We haven’t killed him but we have clearly reduced his ability to do things,” said Mr Robert Oakley, a former US State Department Ambassador for Counter Terrorism, noting that Laden had not taken any American lives in the past year.

Meanwhile, a special anti-terrorist unit grouping various US intelligence and security services have been created to work on dismantling Laden’s organisation, which is known as the Al-Quaida.

‘Runaway Bride’ opens in top slot

LOS ANGELES, Aug 2 (Reuters) — Julia Roberts scored her second hit movie of the summer as the romantic comedy “Runaway Bride’’ opened in the top slot at the North American weekend box-office, followed closely by the low-budget horror movie “The Blair Witch Project’’.

“Runaway Bride’’, Roberts’ reunion with her “Pretty Woman’’ co-star Richard Gere and that film’s director, Garry Marshall, grossed about $ 34.5 million for the Friday-to-Sunday period, Paramount Pictures said.

Gere plays a reporter who travels to a small town to do a story on — and inevitably fall in love with — Roberts’ character, a hardware store owner who has left several grooms at the altar.

“The public was ready for a film like this, something that appealed to an older, female audience,’’ Mr Wayne Lewellen, President of distribution at Paramount, said.

“The Blair Witch Project’’, a creepy mock documentary revolving around movie footage shot by three disappeared film students, grossed $ 28.5 million in its first weekend of wide release. Its per-screen average of $ 25,885 is the highest ever for a movie in wide release, according to the film’s distributor, Artisan Entertainment.

The movie cost about $ 35,000 to 40,000 to make, and was acquired for $ 1 million at this year’s Sundance film festival by privately-held Artisan, which has gone on to spend about $ 15 million on prints and advertising. After 19 days of its release, it has earned $ 35.4 million. Artisan President Amir Malin said the movie could end up with $ 115 million.

Somewhat overshadowed by the top two movies was “Deep Blue Sea’’, a shark horror that opened at number 3 with a creditable $ 18.6 million. Since opening on Wednesday, it has pulled in $ 24.7 million. Directed by Renny Harlin, the film is about genetically altered sharks on rampage at an underwater research facility. Starring as shark bait are Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Rapaport and Saffron Burrows.

Split threat to Yugoslavia

MOSCOW, Aug 2 (AFP) — Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic has threatened to split from Yugoslavia unless its partner Serbia adopts economic and political reforms, the Interfax news agency has said.

Mr Djukanovic arrived in Moscow yesterday for talks with Russian leaders on political reforms in Yugoslavia and financial aid for Montenegro.

He said the republic had proposed an economic package to Belgrade aimed at integrating Yugoslavia into Europe in the best interests of the whole republic.

“If Serbia refuses our platform and continues on the path it is currently following, Montenegro will look at other ways to protect its national interests”, he added.

Mr Djukanovic has long objected to Montengro’s junior status within the Yugoslavia republic, insisting that it be treated on an equal footing with Serbia. He had previously threatened a referendum on independence if he did not get what he wanted.

Ex-driver was ‘victim of Anwar’s sodomy’

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 2 (DPA) — A former family driver of Malaysia’s sacked Deputy Premier Anwar Ibrahim testified in a local court today that he had been sodomised by Anwar 10 to 15 times beginning from 1992.

Azizan Abu Bakar, who worked as a driver for Anwar’s wife, said the first time he was sodomised by Anwar was in 1992 at a bungalow in the resort town of Port Dickson, about 90 km south of Kuala Lumpur. Anwar had also sodomised him about 10 to 15 times at luxury hotels in the capital and in the guest room at the Deputy premier’s official residence.

Anwar (51) is being jointly tried, together with his Indonesian-born adopted brother, of sodomising Azizan from between January to March 1993 at the Tivoli Villa luxury condominiums in Kuala Lumpur.

2 get jail for subversion

BEIJING, Aug 2 (PTI) — A Chinese court today handed out stiff jail terms to two key members of an “illegal” political party for plotting to subvert the state political power, an official report said.

Zha Jianguo and Gao Hongmin were sentenced to nine and eight years, respectively, in prison and deprived of political rights for two years by Beijing’s number one intermediate court for plotting to overthrow the Communist Party-led government in November, 1998, Xinhua said.

The two were vice-chairmen of the Beijing branch of the China Democracy Party.

Sex charge
TEHERAN: A German businessman, on bail after being charged with having illicit relations with a foreign woman, was returned to prison after officials said they feared he would flee Iran, Iran’s state news agency IRNA has said. Helmut Hofer was jailed in Evin prison on Sunday for having ties with suspicious foreign elements and out of fear he might escape Iran. — Reuters

23 killed in B’desh
DHAKA: At least 23 persons were killed as a truck on which they were travelling skidded off a highway and plunged into a flooded canal in north eastern Bangladesh on Monday. The state run radio said the accident took place near the town of Ghatail, 120 km north-east of Dhaka. The truck was headed for the farming town of Sarishabari further north. —DPA

17 killed
BOGOTA: A three-day siege by hundreds of Leftist rebels who blasted a small town with home-made missiles has killed at least 17 persons, including nine police officers and four children, officials have said. Eight policemen were wounded and seven taken prisoner in the weekend attack, which ended on Sunday, by the Leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. — AP