N. Korea threatens to abandon N-deal
TOKYO, Aug 24 — North Korea today threatened to abandon, an agreement freezing its nuclear programme because of the USA’s failure to live up to the bargain.

3 injured as ships collide
LONDON, Aug 24 — At least three passengers were injured when a cruise ship with 2,400 persons on board collided with a container cargo vessel in the English Channel early this morning.

Russian troops enter Dagestan villages

MOSCOW, Aug 24 (Reuters) — Russian federal troops began moving into mountain villages in Dagestan today after rebels who had held out for two weeks against a fierce Russian assault said they had withdrawn.

A spokesman for the regional security council said three villages, Tando, Rakhata and Ashino, had already been occupied by Russian forces by 10 a.m. this morning (11.30 IST).

He said only two villages, Ansalta and Shodroda, remained to be taken, but Russia was still not yet certain that the rebels had pulled out as they claimed.

“There is an order circulating on the internet from (rebel leader Shamil) Basayev saying that they have withdrawn, but it is still not confirmed.’’

The rebels, led by Chechen warlords, said yesterday that they were pulling out of their positions in Dagestan, apparently bringing to an end Russia’s worst security crisis since the 1994-96 Chechen war.

They had seized villages in the province on August 7 and had held out against Russian air and artillery strikes.

A Defence Ministry spokesman in the Dagestani regional capital Makhachkala confirmed that Tando had been cleared, but said Russian forces were still bombing rebel positions near other villages.

The rebels’ announcement of a withdrawal could mark an important victory for Russia’s new Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who said exactly two weeks ago that he would crush the revolt within two weeks.

He came to office three days into the rebellion, which his predecessor had said could split Dagestan off from Russia if it were mishandled.

The revolt brought a steady stream of shocking images of war to Russian television for the first time since the Chechen conflict. It raised painful questions about the federal government’s ability to maintain peace and stability in the eight republics of the troubled north Caucasus.

Russian officials had vowed to destroy the rebels completely, and if many guerrillas have instead managed to withdraw safely, some in Moscow may see this as a defeat.

Rain may fuel spread of disease
Turkish quake toll nears 18,000

ANKARA, Aug 24 (Reuters) — The confirmed death toll in Turkey’s earthquake jumped to 17,997 at 11 a.m. (GMT), the main crisis centre said today.

In a statement carried by the state-run Anatolian News Agency, the centre said 42,442 people were injured. Thousands of others were feared still buried under the rubble of apartment blocks destroyed by the earthquake a week ago.

Meanwhile, foreign rescue teams today wound up their search in Turkey after hopes of finding more survivors from last week’s earthquake faded.

Foreign teams were nowhere to be seen in the wrecked city of Golcuk, despite yesterday’s discovery of a toddler by an Israeli team in nearby Cinarcik.

“International search and rescue operations are over today,” said Sergio Piazzi of the U.N. Office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs in Geneva. “Yesterday they found somebody alive — the Israelis found a boy — but these are now individual cases.”

As gentle rain fell over the disaster area in the northwest of the country this morning, the official death toll jumped by more than 2,000 overnight to 14,360.

The United Nations has said the final death toll could reach 40,000 and Turkey has asked the U.N. for 45,000 body bags — an indication it too believes the toll will rise.

A putrid smell hung over the coastal city of Golcuk and heavy overnight rain turned the roads and tent cities into a quagmire.

While the rain brought some relief from the scorching heat, health officials feared water washing over rotting bodies under the rubble and into the streets could spread disease.

Much of the lime and disinfectants sprayed over the rubble and streets has been washed away.

French doctors worked at a tent city and another team of French firefighters attempted to repair a water pipe. But where only a day ago, rescuers gingerly pored over the rubble with hi-tech equipment in search of survivors, today only cranes and bulldozers rumbled over the debris.

Relief teams largely turned their attention to distributing food and setting up tents for some 200,000 homeless.

The crisis centre said nearly 18,000 buildings had been damaged across the country’s industrial belt south of Istanbul.

More than 27,000 tents have been erected in the region, but today the United Nations urged countries returning to Turkey to repatriate their rescue workers to bring even more tents.

The crisis centre said chlorine had been added to water to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

There was a plentiful supply of medicine and that 14 mobile hospitals were operating in the region.

In Golcuk some houses tilt at precarious angles over the muddy streets. Top floors of apartment buildings now rest neatly on the crumpled lower floors.

The last of more than 2,000 foreign search and rescue workers and their sniffer dogs are expected to leave Turkey on tomorrow, the United Nations said.

The few rescuers that remained complained that their efforts were hampered by a lack of official supervision and direction.

“We don’t know this disaster area so we need to be informed about it but most of the information is misinformation,” said Jose Leon Garay, head of a Mexican rescue team in Golcuk.

Sharif may ‘opt’ for presidential system

ISLAMABAD, Aug 24 (PTI) — The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has warned that the country will head for a presidential system if Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is not removed by March 2000.

Issuing the warning, former Law Minister and PPP chief co-ordinator Iftekhar Gilani told reporters in Peshawar that the Pakistani federation was facing “dangers of extreme nature” and he was certain that Mr Sharif would opt for the presidential system after March, 2000, when his party would gain majority in the Senate also, ‘Dawn’ reported.

Predicting the “gravest hour” for the country if Mr Sharif was not removed by March next, he said Parliament then would be totally controlled by the Punjab province with no PPP senators remaining to question the government. “In such an event (the ruling PML getting majority in both Houses of Parliament) Nawaz Sharif would opt for the presidential system about which he talked to me on a number of occasions while I was still his supporter,’’ Mr Gilani, a supreme court lawyer who at one time was very close to Mr Nawaz Sharif, was quoted by the paper as saying.

Mr Sharif’s plans to enforce Shariah laws in Pakistan had been blocked due to opposition in the Senate after it had already been passed by the National Assembly (lower House) with an overwhelming majority in October last year.

The government, in fact, refrained from introducing the constitutional amendment bill in the upper House for fear of defeat and it is expected that the bill will be brought before the Senate after the government attains a comfortable majority following Senate elections in April 2000.

The PPP leader, while criticising the concentration of all powers with the federal government, demanded more autonomy for the smaller provinces saying, “Experience shows that only those federations are strong where power has been decentralised.’’

‘Loss may lead to guerrilla war’

DIET, East Timor, Aug 24 (Reuters) — A leading opponent of East Timorese independence said today that a narrow loss in next Monday’s ballot on the future status of the troubled territory would lead to a renewed guerrilla war.

Mr Tito Raptista, Chairman of United Front for East Timor Autonomy, said supporters of autonomy would be prepared to wage a guerrilla war if 40 per cent of voters chose autonomy and 60 per cent chose independence.

“If we lose 40 per cent it is enough to fight a 100 years more. We will live as guerrilla in the mountains,” said Mr Baptista.

UNTE is an umbrella organisation that groups all main parties opposed to East Timor’s secession from Indonesia.

Some 450,000 East Timorese have registered to vote in next Monday’s ballot, in which they will be asked to choose whether to accept or reject wide-ranging autonomy within Indonesia.

If the autonomy package is rejected, Jakarta has undertaken to give independence to the former Portuguese colony, ending more than 23 years of often brutal Indonesian rule.

Mr Baptista, speaking on the fringes of a pro-Jakarta rally of some 3,000 persons said that mistakes had been made in the part, but promised that they would be rectified under autonomy.

“During the 20 years of integration we have a lot of mistakes, corruption, nepotism, violation of human rights, know it. But under autonomy we will amend everything that was bad over the past 23 years,” he said.

He accused the UN Mission in East Timor (UNAMET), which is organising the $ 53-million vote of partiality towards independence.

His comments were echoed by Mr Akbar Tandjung, the Chairman of Indonesia’s Golkar ruling party.

But he said the Golkar would accept the result of the vote.

N. Korea threatens to abandon N-deal

TOKYO, Aug 24 (AFP) — North Korea today threatened to abandon, an agreement freezing its nuclear programme because of the USA’s failure to live up to the bargain.

Washington was delaying construction of a Light Water Reactor (LWR) as stipulated in the 1994 deal, said the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper, according to Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency.

“Since the USA considers the implementation of the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea)-US agreed framework as drinking poison, there is no need for the DPRK to be bound to it,” said the dispatch, monitored here.

3 injured as ships collide

LONDON, Aug 24 (PTI) — At least three passengers were injured when a cruise ship with 2,400 persons on board collided with a container cargo vessel in the English Channel early this morning.

The container vessel, which is on fire, has also suffered a huge gaping hole in the front following the collision at Kent.

The injured passengers of the cruise ship "Norwegian Dream" remained on board until the ship docked at Dover.

Fire-fighters are trying to put out the blaze in the cargo container, Eric Musson, a coastguard at Dover said.

"A few people went to the doctor’s office to check for minor scratches, but it was nothing serious," Norwegian cruise Line President Geir Aune said.

Sentence for cursing
STANDISH (Michigan): A Michigan man,convicted of cursing in front of children when his canoe overturned, was sentenced to perform four days of community service and either pay a fine of $ 75 or spend three days in jail, according to news reports. Timothy Boomer (25) immediately announced that he would appeal the sentence in hopes of having it, like his canoe, overturned.He was charged and convicted in June. — DPA

Ship sinks
COLOMBO: A Turkish cargo ship in route to China sank off southern Sri Lankan coast on Monday, the Colombo Radio said, adding that all 27 crew members, including two Indians were rescued. — PTI

Gates’ charity
SEATTLE: Bill Gates, the world’s richest man, and his wife have donated another $ 5 billion to his charitable foundation, bringing their total donations this year to $ 15 billion, according to officials.The extra cash brings the foundation’s total assets to more than $ 17 billion. — AFP

30 drowned
LAGOS:More than 30 persons drowned in the Argungu river in Nigeria’s Northwest Kebbi state at the weekend when the boat in which they were travelling capsized following a strong tidal wave, state-run Nigerian national television reported on Monday. —AFP

2 Iraqis killed
BAGHDAD: The US and British warplanes killed two persons on Monday in an attack on a northern Iraqi town, Iraq’s armed forces said. The US military sources,however, said the allied planes shot at an Iraqi military radar station after being fired upon by Iraqi guns. — AP