Russians capture Chechen town
GROZNY (Chechnya), Oct 4 — A witness in Grozny, the regional capital of Chechnya, today said artillery fire could be clearly heard in the centre of town from the direction of Shelkovskaya about 40 km away.


Accord for tripartite govt in Japan
TOKYO, Oct 4 — Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, Liberal Party leader Ichiro Ozawa and Buddhist New Komeito Party head Takenori Kanzaki met today and signed an agreement aimed at forming a tripartite coalition government. The agreement will pave the way for Mr Obuchi, who is also President of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to reshuffle his Cabinet tomorrow to launch the new coalition.

UNITA units close to Luanda
LUANDA, Oct 4 — The rebel movement UNITA has deployed several guerrilla units near the Angolan capital Luanda and could pose a threat to the city, Western diplomats have said.

Car crash murder bid: Draskovic
BELGRADE, Oct 4 — Serbian Opposition leader Vuk Draskovic said a car crash yesterday which he survived but which killed his brother-in-law and three bodyguards was an assassination attempt.

Indo-American society
NEW YORK, Oct 4 — An Indo-American Democratic Committee has been set up in the New York to give the growing Indian community more political visibility and ensure their greater influence in the decision making process.

Israeli passage for ‘wanted’ Palestinian
JERUSALEM, Oct 4 — Israel will let a wanted Palestinian pass through Israeli territory today despite the failure of talks on a "safe passage’’ corridor for Palestinians going between the West Bank and Gaza.

Troops 50 km inside Chechnya
Russians capture Chechen town

GROZNY (Chechnya), Oct 4 (Reuters) — A witness in Grozny, the regional capital of Chechnya, today said artillery fire could be clearly heard in the centre of town from the direction of Shelkovskaya about 40 km away.

A reporter said: "There seems to be a battle going on at full tilt." Earlier, Russia’s RIA news agency reported Russian federal troops had taken control of Shelkovskaya, located on the Terek river to the northeast of Grozny, the Defence Ministry could not confirm the RIA report.

The reporter said the Naursky district to the north of Grozny, where Russian news agencies had reported clashes between federal troops and Chechen forces, was quiet at present.

Earlier today, federal forces completed the formation of a security zone along Russia’s administrative border with Chechnya, officials have also tacitly confirmed that troops have moved on to Chechen territory in some areas as they try to isolate and defeat Islamic militants.

Russian warplanes have been hitting targets linked to the guerrillas in Chechnya, prompting as many as 100,000 people to flee to neighbouring regions. The reporter said large numbers of refugees were gathering today in the village of Znamenskoye in the northwest of Chechnya.

DPA adds: The commander of Russian forces advancing into Chechnya today gave first official confirmation of casualties in clashes with guerrilla fighters after last week’s deployment of government units in the republic.

Two soldiers died and eight were injured as troops moved into village of Dubovskaya in the Shyolkovskaya region of north east Chechnya, Lieut-Gen Gennady Troshev was quoted as saying by Itar-Tass news agency.

But there had been no major engagements with Muslim rebels, General Troshev said, and federal forces had now completed their task of occupying a security zone to safeguard neighbouring regions of Russia from attacks.

The Russian Ort state television station today said infantry and tanks had pushed 20 to 50 km deep into Chechen territory from three sides and had taken two more villages near the border with neighbouring Dagestan.

Following several days of aerial attacks, heavy Russian forces crossed the administrative border with the separatist republic last week, drawing warnings from many Russian politicians of a new war in Chechnya.

Since bombardments started last month, the flow of refugees from the republic increased to more than 100,000 women, children and old men.

The refugee situation was reported to be critical in the neighbouring republic of Ingushetia as the authorities struggled to cope with the influx.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin today said President Boris Yeltsin had approved a plan to resettle refugees from Chechnya in parts of the rebel region now controlled by the federal forces, Russian news agencies said.

The plan appeared to give credence to Russian media reports that Moscow effectively aims to cut Chechnya in two.

Tens of thousands of refugees are currently sheltering in neighbouring Ingushetia after fleeing Russia’s bombing campaign against Chechnya.

Mr Putin told Russian reporters after meeting Mr Yeltsin in the Kremlin that a state commission would be set up later today to oversee the resettlement of the refugees and help restore a semblance of normality to their lives.

Russian troops have been moving into northern Chechnya, a low-lying region relatively sympathetic to Moscow, in a bid to consolidate a security zone round the rebel region. Russia accuses Chechnya of harbouring Islamic militants.

Accord for tripartite govt in Japan

TOKYO, Oct 4 (DPA) — Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, Liberal Party (LP) leader Ichiro Ozawa and Buddhist New Komeito Party head Takenori Kanzaki met today and signed an agreement aimed at forming a tripartite coalition government.

The agreement will pave the way for Mr Obuchi, who is also President of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), to reshuffle his Cabinet tomorrow to launch the new coalition.

The ldp and lp formed an alliance last year. While the ldp-lp coalition already commands a majority in the House of Representatives, the new Komeito’s participation would give the ruling bloc a majority in the House of Councillors as well.

Mr Obuchi said earlier in the day he was pleased with a policy agreement struck yesterday by the three parties.

‘‘I’m really thrilled,’’ Mr Obuchi told reporters in Tokyo. ‘‘If the heads of the three parties can reach a (final) agreement, I’d like to (prepare for) the launching of a new Cabinet.’’

In yesterday’s talks, the secretaries general of the three parties reached a compromise on a plan to slash 50 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives — the key stumbling block for the three parties to strike a policy deal.

Of the 50, the parties agreed to eliminate 20 proportional representation seats first by enacting a relevant law at the extraordinary Diet session expected to be convened in November, and put it into practice from the next general election, which must be held by October next year.

The three secretaries general also agreed that an additional reduction of 30 seats will be made mainly in single-seat constituencies in accordance with the results of a national census slated for the fall of 2000.

The lp had initially insisted on reducing all 50 from the proportional representation seats, while the New Komeito opposed the idea, because more than half of its lower House members are elected through that voting method.

Mr Obuchi initially planned to start the coalition last Friday but postponed its launch after Japan’s worst nuclear accident occurred on Thursday at a uranium processing plant in Tokaimura.

Meanwhile, Japan’s power authorities today said they would launch nation-wide safety checks on all nuclear facilities.

Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said he believed that the government should review safety measures for nuclear facilities to prevent a repeat of Thursday’s accident.

"While reflecting on the accident, I believe the government has to review safety measures for nuclear power generation,’’ Mr Obuchi told the visiting Governor of Ibaraki Prefecture where the accident at a uranium processing plant took place.

"I have instructed the government ministries and agencies to work on measures to prevent the recurrence of the accident and enhance their crisis management,’’ he said.

The move follows growing public criticism of the Central Government for lax supervision that many consider a big factor in Thursday’s accident in Tokaimura, 140 km northeast of Tokyo.

The Science and Technology Agency, in charge of the nation’s nuclear fuel policy, said it would inspect later this week scores of facilities handling nuclear fuel across the country to ensure they were "properly’’ operating.

Critics charge that the agency could be held responsible for failing to ensure the operator of the Tokaimura Uranium Processing Plant was enforcing proper safety procedures to prevent the accident.

Fifty-five persons, mainly plant workers and emergency personnel who responded to the accident, were exposed to the radiation. Three remained in serious condition with some experts saying their chances of survival were slim.

Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Industries also said it would carry out safety checks on all of the nation’s 51 nuclear reactors that supply some 37 per cent of the nation’s electricity needs.

Officials of JCO Co Ltd, the operator of the Tokaimura Uranium Processing Plant, have said the company had illegally revised a government-approved manual to allow its workers to use stainless steel buckets to transfer a Uranium solution into a mixing tank.

PML leader revolts against Sharif

ISLAMABAD, Oct 4 (PTI) — A senior PML member has virtually declared an open revolt against Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif by publicly saying that he was working for his removal from the posts of Prime Minister and party President.

‘‘I am interested in removing the Prime Minister from both the party and the country’s highest slots," Mian Muhammad Azhar, a powerful politician of Punjab province and former Governor of the state, told newspersons here yesterday.

He, however, denied he was working to bring a no-confidence motion against Mr Sharif.

Mian Azhar, who was removed from post of party Vice-President recently for openly criticising top party brass, accused Mr Sharif of promoting "sycophancy" and said his differences with Mr Sharif arose when he raised problems of party workers.

He said he had summoned a meeting of PML workers in Lahore on October 7 to discuss the situation in the country.

Despite Mian Azhar’s open tirade against Mr Sharif and other top leaders of the ruling party he has not been expelled till now to avoid a split in the party.

Media reports recently claimed the two-and-half-year old Sharif government faced a political coup engineered by a group within the ruling party through a no-confidence motion.

Mr Azhar alleged the country was moving towards one-party rule, in an obvious reference to the fact that most decisions were being taken by Mr Sharif and his brother Shahbaz.

"In a democracy everyone has the right to speak his mind, but here we have a leadership that is averse to criticism. Sharif only likes to listen to sycophants," he said.

UNITA units close to Luanda
From Lara Pawson

LUANDA, Oct 4 — The rebel movement UNITA has deployed several guerrilla units near the Angolan capital Luanda and could pose a threat to the city, Western diplomats have said.

"Two UNITA commando units are known to have been operating between Cacuaco and Caxito," a diplomatic source told Reuters yesterday.

Cacuaco is only a few kilometres north of Luanda’s main port and has a market popular among expatriates who go there for fruit and vegetable supplies.

Several Westerners said they had been advised against visiting Cacuaco in the last few days.

UNITA, is at war with the government of President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos. Nearly a million people have died in the conflict.

The diplomats said the UNITA guerrilla units had between 15 and 50 men apiece and were reported to be carrying light arms.

Their information could not be independently verified, but 10 days ago 20 persons were killed when two civilian trucks were ambushed south of Caxito.

The attacks took place on September 24 at night. A relative of one of the victims said his cousin had been travelling to Caxito from Luanda to sell rice and vegetables.

"She was killed but I spoke with survivors," the relative, who asked not to be named, said. "Some of them were made to carry their goods on their heads, into the hills, by the attackers."

Since then, security sources in Luanda report that armed men had been stopping civilian vehicles in Cacuaco and along the main road to Caxito.

A Western diplomat said the threats were related to the military situation in the central highlands, around UNITA’s headquarters of Andulo and Bailundo.

Regional military sources said Angolan Government forces had cut off Bailundo from Andulo, an important rebel base 120 km to the north-east. They said fighting was continuing outside Bailundo’s perimeter. — Reuters

Car crash murder bid: Draskovic

BELGRADE, Oct 4 (Reuters) — Serbian Opposition leader Vuk Draskovic said a car crash yesterday which he survived but which killed his brother-in-law and three bodyguards was an assassination attempt.

Mr Draskovic, leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), suffered only minor injuries when the car he was travelling in collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction which suddenly swerved onto the wrong side of the road.

"It is an assassination attempt. Those who organised it should consider what will happen to them,’’ Mr Draskovic told studio B television. He did not elaborate. "By the grace of god I was the only one left alive,’’ he said in a broken voice.

SPO lawyer Borivoje Borovic earlier told studio B the police was searching for the driver of the truck involved in the crash, which occurred near the municipality of Lazarevac, around 60 km south of central Belgrade.

Mr Draskovic was the only survivor of the group of five men travelling in two separate cars. An SPO statement had earlier described the car crash as an accident.

Mr Draskovic, (52) leads one wing of the divided Opposition. He served briefly in the Yugoslav Government as Deputy Prime Minister. He was fired at in April because of policy disagreements during NATO’s 11-week air war against Yugoslavia.

The SPO has so far refused to join daily demonstrations against Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic organised by the Alliance for Change, the other wing of the opposition.

Mr Draskovic has described the street rallies as a waste of time, warning that they could lead to civil war, saying that instead Mr Milosevic should be defeated at the ballot box. He has also warned that Mr Milosevic is ready to use force to stay in power.

Hundreds of riot police later blocked a march by some 15,000 protesters, forcing them to return to the square. But there was no repeat of the violence earlier in the week when the security forces clubbed demonstrators.

Indo-American society

NEW YORK, Oct 4 (PTI) — An Indo-American Democratic Committee (IADC) has been set up in the New York to give the growing Indian community more political visibility and ensure their greater influence in the decision making process.

Speaking at the inaugural meeting yesterday, its president, Mr Stanley Kalathara, said the committee would work to promote interests of the Democratic Party of President Clinton. The move assumes significance in view of the US presidential poll in 2000.

Israeli passage for ‘wanted’ Palestinian

JERUSALEM, Oct 4 (Reuters) — Israel will let a wanted Palestinian pass through Israeli territory today despite the failure of talks on a "safe passage’’ corridor for Palestinians going between the West Bank and Gaza.

Four hours of talks on establishing a safe passage route ended in deadlock yesterday.

But Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak agreed to a personal request made by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to allow Gaza-based Palestinian Police chief Razi Jabali travel to the West Bank to attend his father’s funeral, Mr Barak’s office said.

Mahatma’s statue
NEW YORK: A statue of Mahatma Gandhi, sculptured by renowned American sculptor Antanio T. Mendez, has been unveiled in Suffolk in New York state. The statue, to be installed in front of the Suffolk County building, was unveiled jointly by the County Executive Robert J. Gaffney and Indian Consul General Sashi U. Tripathi on Sunday. — PTI

German author dead
MUNICH: German bestselling author Heinz G. Konsalik, best known for a string of unflinchingly realistic World War II novels set on the Russian front, has died aged 78 after a long illness, a relative confirmed on Saturday. Konsalik wrote 155 books and translated them into 42 languages and boasted total sales of 83 million copies. The author, who suffered from diabetes, had been receiving medical treatment for some time. — DPA

Yehudi Menuhin’s violins
LONDON: Violins and bows owned and played by Yehudi Menuhin, one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century, will by sold by noted auctioneer Sotheby’s here on November 16. The collection is estimated to raise about .5 million, Director of Sotheby’s Musical Instrument Department Tim Ingles said on Saturday. Menuhin, who died in Berlin in March, assembled his collection of instruments and bows over a period of 70 years. — PTI

Costly kiss
TAURANGA (New Zealand): A man who tried to kiss his wife following an argument ended up in hospital after she allegedly bit part of his tongue off, a report said on Monday. The police from the North Island’s East coast town of Tauranga said the severed tongue and the victim had been taken to hospital but it was not known if he had undergone surgery to have the two centimetre piece attached. The man’s 45-year-old wife was arrested and was to appear in court on Wednesday charged with injuring with intent. — AFP

Blasphemy charge
BEIRUT: An investigating Magistrate has recommended that a Lebanese singer be tried on blassphemy charges for quoting the Quran, according to media reports. The singer, Marcel Khalifa, a Maronite Catholic with communist leanings who gained fame for his passionate Arab songs during the 1975-90 civil war, is accused of insulting Islam by quoting the Quran in his song ‘‘I am Yussef, oh Father.’’ The song was written by the Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish. — AP

‘Oktoberfest’ ends
MUNICH: Oktoberfest, the world’s biggest beer party, concluded its two-week tribute to Bavaria’s favourite beverage with huge and rowdy crowds drinking record amounts of the golden brew. Festival organisers said 6.5 million visitors from all over the world who crowded the festival’s tents and beer gardens downed 5.8 million litres, breaking the record of 5.6 million litres set in 1997. A total of 291 persons were arrested on assault charges and another 352 too inebriated to walk were carried away. — Reuters

Abkhazia President
MOSCOW: The breakaway Georgian province of Abkhazia defied the authorities in Tbilisi by staging its first presidential elections, with the sole candidate winning 99 per cent of the vote, according to results released today. Vladislav Arsinba, won approval from 99 per cent of 210,000 Abkhazian voters who took part in Monday poll, Russia’s Interfax news agency said, quoting officials in the provincial capital Sukhumi. — DPA

19 killed
JOHANNESBURG: Nineteen persons were killed and 47 injured when a bus ferrying passengers to the former Transkei rolled down an embankment into Kei river at eastern Cape Province on Sunday, the police said on Monday. The accident took place between the towns of Bisho and Butterworth with the police saying speed and negligence was the cause of the accident. The accident has taken place against the backdrop of stringent new measures introduced by the South African government early last week to check rising incidents of bus mishaps. — PTI

Arms training for leaders
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister has put out his cigar, stepped out of his office and picked up an AK-47, answering President Saddam Hussein’s call for senior officials to participate in military training. Mr Tariq Aziz, along with the Vice-President, Mr Taha Yassin Ramadan two of the most powerful men in Iraq — were among the ministers and senior ruling party officials who Al-Qadissiya newspaper said began their military training on Saturday in Baghdad. — AP