Deal to end Congo war signed
CAIRO, May 16 — African leaders have agreed in Libya on a peace deal that calls for a regional cease-fire and the first direct talks between Congo and its rebel fighters.

Bangla Opposition launches march
DHAKA, May 16 — Opposition parties in Bangladesh today launched a three-day long 500-km “road march” as part of a campaign to intensify pressure on Sheikh Hasina Government to resign and call early elections.

Pak envoy faces eviction
LONDON, May 16 — The Pakistani High Commissioner in London is facing eviction from his official residence after lawyers obtained a court order to reclaim money owed by his government, The Sunday Telegraph reported.

Martin to head UN mission to Timor
UNITED NATIONS, May 16 — Mr Ian Martin, a British human rights activist, has been selected by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to head the UN mission to East Timor.

Serbs shoot 12 in reprisal killing
LONDON, May 16 —Albanian Television has reported that Serbian forces had murdered 12 youths in a Kosovo village in reprisal for the killing of a Yugoslav soldier.

Barak set to win race for PM

TEL AVIV, May 16 (AFP) — Centrist candidate Yitzhak Mordechai announced today that he was withdrawing from the race for Israeli Premier, boosting the likelihood that Ehud Barak of the Labour Party will defeat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in tomorrow’s election.

“I reached the conclusion this morning that I should give up my candidacy,’’ Mr Mordechai told a press conference in Tel Aviv.

“Until the past few days I was convinced that I could attain the objectives I had set if I could become Prime Minister and with the help of my party,’’ he said.

“But this Sabbath, after talks with my family and friends, I decided to take this decision,’’ he said.

The dramatic announcement clears the way for far-right candidate Benjamin Begin to also quit the race, leaving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Ehud Barak as the sole candidates.

A fifth challenger, Arab-Israeli Azmi Bishara, pulled out the race last night.

Commentators said the withdrawals of Mr Mordechai and Mr Bishara would boost Mr Barak’s chances of winning the contest.

Mr Mordechai’s withdrawal also increases the chances that the race for Premier will almost certainly be decided tomorrow, without the need for a run-off, which had been scheduled for June 1, if none of the candidates received 50 per cent plus one vote.

Mr Mordechai, an ex-Defence Minister in Mr Netanyahu’s Government, had entered the race, saying that he had the best chance of unseating Mr Netanyahu.

This optimism was not reflected in the poll and in recent weeks he came under intense pressure from party colleagues and from Mr Barak to quit the race and not split the anti-Netanyahu vote.

PTI adds: Amid the Palestinian hope that Mr Benjamin Netanyahu would not be re-elected, Israel goes to the polls tomorrow to choose a Prime Minister who will decide the fate of the stalled peace process in the Middle East.

Monday’s poll clash between Likud Party chief and current incumbent Netanyahu and Opposition Labour chief Ehud Barak, would decide the way the peace process goes, given the difference in opinion between the two leaders on an independent Palestinian statehood.

The Palestinians, who held Mr Netanyahu responsible for the deadlock in the peace process, however, did not openly endorse Mr Barak fearing that any perceived interference in the Israeli polls may backfire and drive undecided voters into Mr Netanyahu’s camp.

While Mr Netanyahu had opposed Palestinian statehood, saying that it would endanger Israel’s security, Mr Barak advocated a “separation” between Israeli and Palestinian populations, a position closely associated with separate statehood for Palestine.

The two leaders also differed in regard to the status of Jerusalem, with Mr Netanyahu saying the future of the holy city, including its eastern sector which was claimed by the Palestinians, was non-negotiable and Mr Barak saying that he would keep Jerusalem united.

Vajpayee govt’s fall ‘hit’ Indo-Pak talks

ISLAMABAD, May 16 (PTI) — Indo-Pakistani bilateral talks would pick up pace only after a new government took over in New Delhi, according to Pakistani Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz.

The fall of the Vajpayee government on April 17 had thrown off gear bilateral discussions between the two countries to resolve outstanding issues and prevent a nuclear arms race in the subcontinent and “substantial progress” can be made only after a new government takes over, although some “technical” discussions would continue, Mr Aziz said.

Admitting that talks on a strategic restraint regime had been “interrupted” by the fall of the BJP-led government, Mr Aziz told reporters during Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Singapore visit that “it is only a temporary interruption and I hope whichever government comes, will pick up the tab and resume the dialogue process.”

“We’ll wait for the new government before arriving at any substantial agreement on that subject (of strategic restraint regime)”, Mr Aziz said, adding “we’ll probably have technical discussions in the interim period”.

He expressed hope that Pakistan and India would reach an agreement on preventing a nuclear arms race in the South Asian region following an understanding reached at Lahore during summit meeting of the Prime Ministers of the two countries.

Significantly, the Indian government had offered to continue high-level discussions on all bilateral issues as the elections are over five months away.

UK plot ‘fuelled’ Pak crackdown on Press

ISLAMABAD, May 16 (PTI) — The recent crackdown on the press in Pakistan could have been prompted by reports of an alleged “British conspiracy” to destabilise the Nawaz Sharif government, media reports quoting “informed sources” say here.

Sharif, despite emerging as the most powerful Prime Minister in Pakistan’s history, feels insecure as he has been made to believe by some of his aides that the British security establishment has launched a drive against his government in retaliation to the government’s actions against some of the British-financed power projects in the country.

“Some of the close associates of the Prime Minister have convinced him that in order to settle scores, the British security establishment has launched a secret drive to destabilise his two-year-old government,” ‘The News’ English daily claimed, quoting informed sources within the government.

The paper said yesterday the retaliation was a fallout of Sharif government’s actions against two major power projects - Hubco and Kapco - in which Britain’s national power had large stakes.

The conspiracy theorists claimed a recent decree passed against the Sharif family by the London High Court in a default case and then the move by the BBC to make a film on the alleged corruption of the Sharif family was part of the, “British plot”, the paper said.

The sources also said the Prime Minister had been warned that “if the conspiracy and its perpetrators were not crushed on a war footing, it might lead to an overthrow of his government and argued that the forthcoming film on BBC would be the first step towards that as it would bring international disrepute to his government.”

Incidentally, almost all journalists who had been made targets in recent weeks, including Friday Times Editor Najam Sethi and columnist Hussain Haqqani had been interviewed by the BBC team in the last week of April, the paper said.

The government had also fired off a complaint letter to the BBC chief alleging the Premier news channel was giving a one-sided picture of the Pakistani government and society in its coverage.

The London High Court had passed a decree against the Sharifs in March ordering payment of $ 32 million to a British finance company, Al-Towfeek, Investment Limited, the newspaper said.

The decree was passed ex-parte because the Sharif family, which had taken a loan from Al-Towfeek, refused to contest the case in London while challenging the jurisdiction of the London court in a Pakistani court, it said.

The Sharifs had also told the Pakistani court that being Muslims they are prevented from paying interest to the company because interest was Prohibited in Islam, the news said. Sethi had spoken out against the Sharifs on this issue during his interview to the BBC, the report said.

Deal to end Congo war signed

CAIRO, May 16 (AP) — African leaders have agreed in Libya on a peace deal that calls for a regional cease-fire and the first direct talks between Congo and its rebel fighters.

The agreement was reached yesterday in the Libyan coastal city Sirte, where Congolese President Laurent Kabila and Rwandan Vice-President Paul Kagame participated in an African summit. It was the first time the two had met since Congo’s war against Rwandan-backed rebels began nine months ago.

“A nearing of the points of view was achieved between the parties of the conflict, and the base of understanding between them was broadened,” read a statement issued at the summit’s end. The statement was broadcast on Libyan television, monitored here.

Under the agreement, participants confirmed an earlier peace deal brokered by Libyan leader Moammar between Congo and Uganda. That deal called for a cease-fire, a withdrawal of Rwandan and Ugandan troops and the deployment of African peacekeepers. Rwanda and Congolese rebels were not party to that agreement.

It was not clear whether the rebels would be amenable to yesterday’s agreement. Rebel leaders had expressed skepticism about the Libyan-brokered proposal with Uganda, saying no agreement was possible without their participation.

According to the statement broadcast at the end of the summit, yesterday’s agreement also called for a cease-fire between all “warring parties in the region.”

The statement said Congo has agreed to hold “direct talks with all the opposition elements.”

The agreement also calls for foreign ministers of the parties concerned to meet in Lusaka at an unspecified date. That meeting would include Congolese rebel representatives, it said.

KIGALI: A Congolese rebel faction backed by Uganda has said it captured a northwestern town after it was abandoned by government forces loyal to President Laurent Kabila.

Mr Jean-Pierre Bemba, who heads the rebel Congolese liberation movement, said yesterday that his forces took Businga, 1,100 km northeast of Kinshasa, without fight on Friday.

Mr Bemba, speaking on a satellite phone from northern Congo, said he would continue advancing on Gbadolite, former Zairian dictator Mobutu Sese Seko’s home village on the border with the central African republic, 110 km north of Businga.

Bangla Opposition launches march

DHAKA, May 16 (PTI) — Opposition parties in Bangladesh today launched a three-day long 500-km “road march” as part of a campaign to intensify pressure on Sheikh Hasina Government to resign and call early elections.

“This march is to highlight the government’s incompetence and failures,” Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Khalida Zia said as she led a convoy of some 400 vehicles carrying party supporters.

“This is a march for justice, democracy and fair governance and elections. Let us all make the concerted move and give a push to oust the inefficient government,” she told party supporters at Paltan Maidan here.

Ms Khaleeda Zia, a former Bangladesh Premier, warned of giving a call to the people to march towards Dhaka from all parts of the country in a bid to force the Awami League Government to resign if it did not accept their demands.

She alleged the Awami League Government failed to protect the border and the country’s sovereignty was “at stake.”

“We are now in the streets to launch an agitation against the government to save the country from ruination. We will launch more agitations in the coming days and God willing we will succeed,” she said.

Pak envoy faces eviction

LONDON, May 16 (AFP) — The Pakistani High Commissioner in London is facing eviction from his official residence after lawyers obtained a court order to reclaim money owed by his government, The Sunday Telegraph reported.

The paper said the firm, Ian Guyster, had not been paid £ 120,000 ($ 1,95,000) for investigating the business dealings of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

It added that the firm was applying for a sale of the £ 4.2 million ($ 6.8 million) seven-bedroom residence to cancel the debt.

Ian Guster investigated Bhutto and her husband, Asif Zardari for six months after the collapse of Ms Bhutto’s administration in 1997, said the paper.

Martin to head UN mission to Timor

UNITED NATIONS, May 16 (PTI) — Mr Ian Martin, a British human rights activist, has been selected by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to head the UN mission to East Timor.

A formal announcement on the appointment of Mr Martin, a former Secretary-General of Amnesty International, was expected shortly, diplomatic sources said here.

Some 800,000 East Timorese were to decide whether they favoured autonomy within Indonesia or wanted independence; in a vote slated for August 8.

Serbs shoot 12 in reprisal killing

LONDON, May 16 (Reuters) —Albanian Television has reported that Serbian forces had murdered 12 youths in a Kosovo village in reprisal for the killing of a Yugoslav soldier.

The youths, aged 12 to 16, were put to death in the village of Izbice near the town of Srbica, the television, monitored by the BBC, said yesterday.

Move on President’s pay
WASHINGTON: House leaders have initiated legislation to raise the pay of the US President from $ 200,000 to $ 400,000. The decision to double the pay of the President after the next election — the incumbent’s salary cannot be increased — came in the backdrop of a steep increase in the salaries of chief executives in Singapore, Hong Kong and Switzerland, who were now being paid more than the US President. — PTI

Price of wearing a scarf
ANKARA: The President has endorsed a government decision to revoke the Turkish citizenship of a lawmaker who caused a stir by wearing an Islamic head scarf to Parliament. The government stripped Ms Merve Kavakci of her citizenship because she concealed she had taken up US citizenship on March 5, a month before she was elected to Parliament. By law, Turks are required to seek permission before getting dual citizenship. Ms Kavakci, a deputy of the Islamic Virtue Party, was expected to lose her seat in Parliament.She has the right to appeal. — AP

Death for incest
TEHERAN: An Iranian man who was found guilty of repeatedly raping his two teenaged daughters has been sentenced to death for incest and adultery. The Conservative Gods newspaper reported on Saturday. The elder daughter (18) died after both girls set fire to themselves, the paper said. The younger daughter (15) who survived the suicide attempt, told the judge that she was five months’ pregnant with her father’s child and wanted to have an abortion. The father had taken advantage of his wife’s enforced absence working in the fields to abuse his children, the paper said.— AFP

Grand Mufti changed
RIYADH: King Fahd of Saudi Arabia named Sheikh Abdel Aziz bin Abdullah al-Sheikh to the post of grand Mufti on Saturday, replacing the late Sheikh Abdel Aziz bin Baz as the kingdom’s senior cleric. King Fahd, in a royal decree read out on state television, said Sheikh Abdel had been named “grand Mufti of the kingdom, Chairman of the Council of Ulemas (religious scholars) and head of the Department of Islamic Jurisprudence and studies with the rank of Minister.” — AFP

Camilla’s son on cocaine
LONDON: The son of Prince Charles' mistress and a close friend of the heir to British throne’s own son Prince William has admitted to the Sunday Times that he had taken cocaine, the paper said. Tom Parker Bowles (24) son of Camilla and a godson of Prince Charles, was cautioned for possession of cannabis and the rave drug "ecstasy" four days ago, the paper said. — AFP