She said the train was travelling at 54 mph when it crashed into the truck , which was crossing the tracks onto a dirt road in the rural area bordering the Northfield Mountains .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B-LOC I-LOC O


Paralympics an example for gloomy France-Juppe .


Prime Minister Alain Juppe on Tuesday hailed handicapped athletes who took part in Atlanta 's Paralympic Games as an example for gloom-stricken France .

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" What we hear every morning is gloom , resignation and scepticism ...


You are the opposite , " Juppe told a successful French team at Paris airport as he welcomed them back from the games which followed the July-August Olympics .

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by the disease of scepticism , gloom and resignation , you would not be here .


You are a true example for the nation , " he said .


The French team won 95 medals in Atlanta , 35 of them gold .


Opinion polls consistently show French voters pessimistic and fed up as the economy stagnates and unemployement lingers at near-record levels .

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French shares ended fractionally weaker as unease about union unrest slated for the autumn and a weaker franc got the better of a slight rise on Wall Street .

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The blue-chip CAC-40 index ended 2.43 points or 0.12 percent lower at 2,017.99 points after a brief foray into positive territory when the New York stock market opened higher .

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The broader SBF-120 index closed 1.19 points or 0.08 percent lower at 1,421.90 points .


Market turnover was 3.8 billion francs , about average for the quiet August period , including 2.6 billion on the most actively traded CAC-40 shares .

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The Socialist CFDT union warned of " tension and conflict " when France returns to work after the summer break and called for a drive to create up to 500,000 jobs in nine months .

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A teachers ' union , the Federation Syndicale Unitaire ( FSU ) , called for members to protest against job cuts expected in the government 's austerity budget due to be unveiled in September .

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Anxieties over the budget niggled the currency markets where the franc lost around half a centime from Monday 's late European levels to 3.4211 per mark .

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Index heavyweights Elf and Rhone Poulenc both ended slightly weaker while active Eurotunnel was unchanged on nearly a million shares traded .

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" People are morose and it 's not the post-holiday period or the budget or company results that are going to lift anyone 's spirits , " a broker said .

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* UIC , part of insurer GAN , slid 12.19 percent to 55.1 francs after reporting a net attributable first-half loss of 758 million francs after the close on Monday .

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Markets were disappointed by a recapitalisation of 800 million francs which commentators said was larger than expected .


* Supermarkets group Carrefour gained 2.19 percent to 2,616 francs after brokers Cheuvreux de Virieu confirmed the stock on their buy list , a fund manager said .

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* Reinsurance group Scor gained 2.1 percent to 202 francs on news that British insurer Prudential had sold its Mercantile & General reinsurance business to Swiss Re .

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* Conglomerate Bollore lost 2.4 percent to 521 francs after a morning trading suspension during which it said it had approved plans to buy out its 73.83 percent owned transport unit Scac Delmas Vileujeux ( SDV ) and invited shareholders to tender their shares .

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* Alcatel Alsthom fell 1.7 percent to 395.0 .


* Opthalmic products manufacturer Essilor gained 2.6 percent to 1,328 francs after Oakley Inc of the United States said it had been granted an option to buy the non-prescription lens production unit of Gentext Optics Inc , an Essilor International subsidiary .

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PRESS DIGEST - Sri Lankan Newspapers - August 27 .


Following are some of the main stories in Tuesday 's Sri Lankan newspapers :


Bomb blast in TELO office in Trincomalee kills one , wounds six .


One officer and a soldier killed in accidental clash between two groups of soldiers near Chavakachcheri in Jaffna .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B-LOC O B-LOC O


Army sentries thought a group of soldiers approaching them were Tamil rebels and opened fire .


TULF leader M. Sivasiththamparam says it is meaningless to talk to UNP about peace package and that the government should submit peace plan to parliament very soon .

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Bread and flour prices have been raised with immediate effect but government will provide relief to underpriviledged sections of society .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


Excise Commissioner W.N.F. Chandraratne denies allegations that new guidelines in issue of liquor licences are aimed at forcing large number of liquor licence holders out of business for political reasons .

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Tamil Tiger rebels have sent 12 female suicide bombers to stage simultaneous attacks on President Chandrika Kumaratunga 's motorcade in Colombo .

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Cultural Ministry planning to spend large sum of money to buy silver crown believed to have been worn by ancient king and now in Australia .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B-LOC O


Government closes Ruhunu University indefinitely after big clash between two groups of students in which eight were wounded and hospitalised .

O O B-ORG I-ORG O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


Mother Teresa turns 86 but still in danger .


Mother Teresa spent her 86th birthday in a Calcutta hospital bed on Tuesday as tributes to the legendary missionary poured in from around the world .

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Doctors said that later in the day they would try to wean the Nobel Peace Prize laureate from the respirator that has aided her breathing for the past six days .

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" Her condition seems to be better , but the danger remains as long as she is on respirator , " an official at Woodlands Nursing Home said . "

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She is conscious but her breathing is irregular . "


The revered Roman Catholic nun was admitted to the Calcutta hospital a week ago with high fever and severe vomiting .

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She later suffered heart failure and was diagnosed with malaria .


Her fever has since abated and the heart failure has been brought under control , but her heart continues to beat irregularly , doctors said .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


" Unless she breathes on her own , I would advise you to keep your fingers crossed , " said a doctor who was familiar with her case but not part of the six-member team treating Mother Teresa .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B-PER I-PER O


The nun 's birthday prompted greetings , bouquets and prayers from around the world .


Pope John Paul II and Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy sent her get-well messages , the Press Trust of India said .

B-PER I-PER I-PER O O B-MISC O O B-PER I-PER O O O O O O B-ORG I-ORG I-ORG I-ORG O O


Happy Birthday to our Dearest Mother , " read a placard at the Shishu Bhavan children 's home in central Calcutta run by Mother Teresa 's Missionaries of Charity .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O B-ORG I-ORG O O O O O B-LOC O O B-PER I-PER O B-ORG I-ORG I-ORG O


On Monday , both houses of India 's parliament wished the nation 's adopted sister a happy birthday and speedy recovery from her illness .

O O O O O O B-LOC O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


Prayers continued in Calcutta , one of the world 's poorest cities , where Mother Teresa 's Missionaries of Charity runs several homes for the poor and destitute .

O O O B-LOC O O O O O O O O O O B-PER I-PER O B-ORG I-ORG I-ORG O O O O O O O O O


Street children , some of them born to prostitutes , held prayers on the street . "


She is like a goddess , " said Raju , 8 , who has a mother but no father .


The Statesman newspaper quoted 40-year-old Mangala Das , paralysed from her waist down and a resident of the Prem Dan ( Gift of Love ) home for the destitute , as saying she and her friends had been praying incessantly for Mother Teresa 's recovery .

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Tarak Das , 70 , was picked up from a Calcutta footpath a week ago by passers-by who took pity on him and brought him to Nirmal Hriday ( Immaculate Home ) .

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I have never seen her , but I can only bless her for what she has done for people like me , " Das told The Statesman .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B-PER O B-ORG I-ORG O


Mother Teresa 's condition improved on Sunday as her fever abated , and on Monday she was able to scribble notes to doctors and nuns .

B-PER I-PER O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


Thousands in Calcutta , where she founded her Missionaries of Charity religious order in 1949 , prayed for her recovery .

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Ministers of the communist government of West Bengal state and people of different religions joined Catholics to pray for Mother Teresa 's recovery at Mother House .

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" We joined the prayer to express our solidarity with her work for the cause of the poor and downtrodden , " said Nanda Gopal Bhattacharya , a communist minister in West Bengal .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B-PER I-PER I-PER O O O O O B-LOC I-LOC O


Islamists can meet in London , minister .


British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind said on Tuesday that his government would only take action against a planned conference of Islamist groups in London if British law was broken .

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" People who wish to hold conferences of course do n't need to seek permission from the government in Britain , " Rifkind , in Pakistan for a visit , told Reuters . "

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As long as they obey our laws then that is not something the government would normally interfere with . "


The Islamist conference , due to be held in London on September 8 , has caused concern in countries such as Algeria and Egypt , which are fighting armed Islamic militants .

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British Jewish groups have also protested because they say members of Algeria 's Islamic Salvation Front ( FIS ) and the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas are on the guest list .

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Rifkind said it was for the home secretary ( interior minister ) to act by denying visas to participants if he felt there was reason to believe that they might break the law .

B-PER O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


" Our policy has to be fundamentally based on respect for the rule of law and insistence that it be observed , " he said .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


Rifkind was in Pakistan at the start of an Asian tour that will also take him to India , Sri Lanka , Japan and Mongolia .

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Afghan leader tells U.S. Congressman of peace plan .


Afghan government military chief Ahmad Shah Masood briefed visiting U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher on Tuesday on a peace plan for his wartorn country .

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A spokesman for Masood said he had told the California Republican at a meeting in northern Kabul that President Burhanuddin Rabbani 's government favoured talks with all Afghan factions to set up an interim government .

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The factions should agree to appoint a transitional leader , draft a new constitution , collect heavy weapons , create a national army and hold free elections in which the transitional leader would be barred from standing , he added .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


Rohrabacher flew into Bagram military airbase north of Kabul in a Red Cross plane on Tuesday after meeting northern opposition militia leader General Abdul Rashid Dostum .

B-PER O O B-LOC O O O O B-LOC O O B-ORG I-ORG O O O O O O O O O O B-PER I-PER I-PER O


Masood 's spokesman Amrollah ( one name ) said Rohrabacher had recently visited Italy , Saudi Arabia and Pakistan as part of a mission to promote peace in Afghanistan .

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" We are certainly serious more than before to find a solution to the Afghan problem and support every U.N. plan , " Amrollah quoted Rohrabacher as saying .

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However , a spokesman for Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar , a long-time rival of Masood , expressed concern at signs of renewed U.S. interest in Afghanistan .

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" America wants to block the establishment of a strong Islamic government in Afghanistan and the U.S. intends to neutralise the Afghan peace process initiated by the Afghans themselves , " said the spokesman , Hamid Ibrahimi .

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" A great game has been started in Afghanistan as America feels that Tehran and Moscow have got stronger in the Afghan picture -- something Washington wants to change , " he said .

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Rohrabacher was expected to visit neutral faction leaders in the eastern city of Jalalabad and meet leaders of the rebel Islamic Taleban militia in the southern city of Kandahar .

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Afghan guerrilla factions have been locked in a bloody power struggle since the fall of the communist government in April 1992 .

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Hekmatyar , once Rabbani 's main rival , made a peace pact with him and rejoined the government as prime minister in June .

B-PER O O B-PER O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


Pakistan state bank sells 1.38 bln rupees of bonds .


The State ( central ) Bank of Pakistan auctioned three- , five- and 10-year federal investment bonds worth 1.38 billion rupees on Tuesday .

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The bank said it had accepted bids of 250 million rupees at par for three-year bonds , 3.5 million rupees at par for five-year bonds and 1.126 billion at par for 10-year bonds .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


The auction is set for settlement on Thursday .


In the previous auction on July 11 , it accepted bids worth 300 million rupees at par for three-year bonds , 44.5 million rupees at par for five-year bonds and 782.6 million rupees at par for 10-year bonds .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


Nepal offers to talk to Maoist insurgents .


Nepal 's centre-right coalition government has offered to meet the country 's hardline Maoist communists for talks in a bid to end an insurgency in Nepal 's western districts , officials said on Tuesday .

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The Maoists oppose multi-party democracy and want to establish a communist state .


But the Nepali government said the insurgents must give up violence before it negotiates with them .


" They ( the insurgents ) should first give up their violent activities , " Home ( Interior ) Minister Khum Bahadur Khadga said .

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About 54 people have died in Maoist insurgent activity and in police action against them since February , officials said .

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Nepali opposition parties have accused the police of having killed more people than the insurgents .


Some human rights groups have criticised the government 's handling of the situation .


In a speech in parliament on Tuesday , Khadga challenged the Maoist communists to " win the people 's confidence " and win election to parliament .

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On Monday , he had offered to talk to leaders of the United People 's Front Nepal ( Bhattarai ) , the Maoist faction which leads the insurgency .

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" The government is ready to guarantee security of the Maoist representatives who want to take part in peaceful dialogue , " Khadga said .

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A multi-party democracy was set up in Nepal six years ago , after a popular movement by the centrist Nepali Congress party jointly with the Communist United Marxist-Leninist ( UML ) party .

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The Nepali Congress leads the three-party coalition government while the UML is the main opposition party .

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Indian soy prices end steady ahead of holiday .


Indian soybean prices on Tuesday remained steady at 12,900-13,100 rupees per tonne in plant delivery condition , dealers said

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They said arrivals were poor due to the festival season .


Markets in central India would be closed for a local religious holiday on Wednesday .


Soyoil prices fell on increased selling against poor demand .


Soyoil solvent was down by 400 rupees per tonne and soyoil refined was down by 400 rupees .


Soyoil refined fell by 200 rupees on weak undertone .


Soymeal yellow was $ 276-277 and soymeal black was $ 246-248 per tonne in export .


Rapeseed extraction was $ 115 per tonne in export .


Export demand was good but availability was limited .


Rapeseed extraction was 3,850 rupees FOR Bedibunder and was 3,800-3,825 rupees FOR Bhavnagar .


Soyoil solvent plant delivery 30,300-30,400


Soyoil solvent market delivery 30,700-30,800


Soyoil refined plant delivery 32,700-32,800


Soyoil refined market delivery 32,900-33,000


Soymeal ( in rupees per tonne , free on rail-FOR )


Bangladesh Speaker says he received death threats .


The Speaker of Bangladesh 's parliament , Humayun Rasheed Choudhury , said he had received death threats from anonymous callers after opposition parties threatened to boycott proceedings chaired by him .

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He told the Bengali newspaper Banglabazar Patrika on Tuesday that such threats were possibly coming from " those who want to push the country into chaos and unrest . "

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The callers said his life could be cut short , the newspaper said .


The speaker was not immediately available for comment .


Choudhury , a former foreign minister and veteran diplomat , was appointed speaker of the 330-member parliament on July 13 , a month after general elections returned the Awami League of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to power after 21 years .

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Choudhury also was president of the 41st session of the U.N. General Assembly in 1986-87 .

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Former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia , now the opposition leader in parliament and head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party ( BNP ) , said her followers might boycott assemby sessions chaired by the " partisan " speaker .

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" The ruling Awami league is making parliament ineffective and the speaker is contributing to that by not allowing the opposition MPs enough time to speak , " she told a rally in northern district of Bogra on Monday .

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Hasina , speaking to a group of engineers in Dhaka on Monday , accused the BNP of resorting to " terrorism " as part of its plan to create instability and chaos in the country .

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and we will deal with such designs sternly , " the prime minister said .


Bangladesh June M2 up 3.8 pct m / m , up 8.2 pct y / y .


Bangladesh 's M2 money supply rose 3.8 percent in June to 456.8 billion taka after a 0.27 percent rise to 439.9 billion in May , central bank officials said .

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The year-on-year rise was 8.2 percent to June , 1996 .


HELIBOR INTEREST RATES LARGELY UNCHANGED .


were largely unchanged at the Bank of Finland 's daily fixing on


The key three-month rate was steady at 3.40 percent .


Barrick Gold Corp said on Tuesday its takeover offer for Arequipa Resources Ltd was successful , with 93 percent of the 36.3 million shares not already owned tendered under the bid , which expired overnight .

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" We are pleased that Arequipa shareholders ahave chosen so overwhelmingly to accept this offer .


We now have the opportunity to realize the potential of Arequipa 's excellent assets , " Barrick chairman and chief executive Peter Munk said in a statement .

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The C$ 30-a-share deal means Barrick will own Arequipa 's attractive Pierina gold deposit in Peru .

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Barrick said details involving the allocation between Barrick shares and cash will be available shortly .


Barrick 's offer of C$ 30 a share or part cash , part share offer was Barrick 's second attempt to swallow the small Vancouver-based gold prospector .

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Toronto-based Barrick , the world 's third largest gold producer , sweetened its July 11 bid to C$ 30 a share from C$ 27 on August 16 after a fresh batch of drill results from the Pierina deposit .

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Experts have speculated the deposit has potential reserves of up to 12 million ounces .


More drilling results are expected soon .


The Barrick bid took observers by surprise , since Arequipa 's exploration was still in its early stages .

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Arequipa shareholders had the option to choose C$ 30 cash or 0.79 Barrick shares plus 50 cents for each Arequipa share .

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Shares were to be pro-rated if more than 14.4 million were requested .


Penn Treaty terminates acquisition pact .


Penn Treaty American Corp said Tuesday it terminated a previously announced non-binding letter of intent to purchase Merrion Insurance Company Inc , a New York licensed company .

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In announcing its decision , Penn Treaty said it " will continue to actively pursue entering into the New York long-term care market through licensing or by acquisition . "

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It explained the " addition of a New York license will enable Penn Treaty American Corp to conduct business in all 50 states , following the company 's acquisition of Health Insurance of Vermont , a Vermont domiciled insurer , scheduled to close on August 30 , 1996 . "

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VNU details first-half operating profits .


Publisher VNU gave the following breakdown of its first-half results :


NOTES - Sales and operating profit are given in millions of guilders .


Commercial TV includes pro rata share of sales and operating profits in Dutch group HMG and Belgium 's VTM .

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AOL Europe forms online advertising agency .


The joint venture between America Online ( AOL ) and Bertelsmann AG has formed a new company to sell advertising space on AOL in Europe , a Bertelsmann official said on Tuesday .

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The new company is called AdOn GmbH and is located in Hamburg , Bernd Schiphorst , president and chief operating officer of Bertelsmann 's New Media business division said on the sidelines of an AOL news conference at the CeBIT Home consumer electronics fair in Hanover .

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Jan Buettner , managing director of AOL Germany , said AdOn was in the formation phase and would " get off the ground next year , bringing in advertising from around Europe . "

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He would give no forecasts on advertising revenue .


AOL is the leading global commercial online service with some six million subscribers worldwide .


It has around 200,000 subscribers in Europe , with two thirds of that number in Germany alone .

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In Europe , the service is available in Germany , France and Britain .

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It will be available in Austria and Switzerland later this year and in Scandanavia and the Benelux countries next year .

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-- William Boston , CeBIT newsroom , 0172 6736510


All passengers freed from Sudanese hijack plane .


All passengers held hostage aboard a hijacked Sudanese Airways plane diverted to London 's Stansted airport carrying 199 passengers and crew have been freed , an airport spokeswoman said on Tuesday .

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Eyewitnesses said six crew members had also been allowed to leave the aircraft .


Airport spokeswoman Rona Young confirmed that all the passengers had left the aircraft .


Police said a number of crew members had left the aircraft and said details would be given at a news conference expected to be held in the next few minutes by the local police chief .

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The passengers were released in batches during the course of the morning after the Airbus A310 landed at Stansted , having been diverted from Cyprus .

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The aircraft was hijacked on a flight from Khartoum to Amman by six or seven men , who police say may be Iraqis .

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Swiss Bank Corp sets warrants on DTB-Bund-Future .


Swiss Bank Corp says it has issued 60 million American-style call and put warrants , in six equal tranches , on the DTB-Bund-Future March 1997 .

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WARRANTS STRIKE ISS PRICE PREMIUM GEARING


DBRS confirms Power Corp , Power Financial ratings .


Dominion Bond Rating Service said on Tuesday it confirmed the ratings on Power Corp of Canada 's senior debt and preferred shares at A ( high ) and Pfd-2 , respectively , with stable trends .

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DBRS said it also confirmed Power Financial Corp 's senior debentures , cumulative preferred shares and non-cumulative first preferred shares , series B , at AA ( low ) , Pfd-1 and Pfd-1 ( low ) , all with stable trends .

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Turkey 's Kurd rebels kill two , take three hostage .


Kurdish guerrillas killed two people and took three hostage after stopping two intercity buses at a roadblock in eastern Turkey , security officials said on Tuesday .

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They told reporters a group of Kurdistan Workers Party ( PKK ) guerrillas stopped the buses at a roadblock on the road linking the eastern provinces of Erzincan and Sivas on Monday night and forced the passengers to get out .

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The rebels killed one of the drivers and a passenger after checking the identities of the passengers , they said .

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The officials said the rebels set ablaze two buses and released all but three passengers .


More than 20,000 people have been killed in the 12-year-old conflict between Turkish troops and PKK guerrillas fighting for autonomy or independence from Turkey .

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Egypt confiscates paper for " mad rulers " article .


Egypt has banned and confiscated 10,000 copies of the Cyprus-based Arabic monthly newspaper al-Tadamun because of an editorial suggesting mental health tests for Arab leaders , the editor-in-chief said on Tuesday .

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Mohamed Abu Liwaya , said Information Ministry censors had told him to send all the copies of the August edition back to Cyprus at his own expense .

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He told Reuters the reason was his own front-page editorial , entitled " A Chronic Mental Illness " in which he attacks compliant Arab leaders for serving U.S. and Israeli interests .

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" The Arabs demand that our Arab leaders undergo a compulsory examination by a team of psychiatrists to see how sound their mental capacities are , " the editorial said .

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" Because our leaders have started to behave with extreme hostility towards the interests of their peoples to court the goodwill of the Americans and the Zionists , " he added .

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The censorship office denied they had confiscated the newspapers but declined to say when they could go on sale .


IPO FILING - Transkaryotic Therapies Inc .


Company Name Transkaryotic Therapies Inc


Lead Underwriter Morgan Stanley and Co Inc


Underwriters over-allotment 375,000 shrs Shares to be purchased by Hoechst Marion Roussel Inc 357,143 Business : developed two proprietary technology platforms , gene activation and gene therapy .

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Use of Proceeds : Research , preclinical and clinical product development , and general corporate purposes .


AMTRAK train hits truck , derails in Vermont .


An Amtrak train struck a logging truck early on Tuesday and derailed , Vermont state police said .

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A state police spokeswoman said there were reports of minor injuries as a result of the derailment near Roxbury , a small town on the edge of the Northfield Mountains some 15 miles southwest of Montpelier , the state capital .

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Further details were not immediately available .


Wife of gun victim Brady praises Clinton .


Sarah Brady , whose Republican husband was severely disabled in an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan , took centre stage at the Democratic National convention on Monday night to praise President Bill Clinton 's gun control efforts .

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With her husband James sitting in a wheelchair to the side of the podium , Mrs. Brady called the handgun control bill that a Democratic Congress passed and Clinton signed in 1994 a major step in controlling firearm violence in the United States .

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The Bradys walked on to the stage , he on her arm and with the aid of a cane , to a rousing reception from the convention .

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Their teenaged son sat in a VIP box with first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and watched as his father returned to his wheelchair .

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" Jim , we must have made a wrong turn .


This is n't San Diego ( site of the Republican convention ) , " Mrs. Brady joked to her husband , who was serving as Reagan 's press secretary when he was shot .

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" Sarah , I told you this is the Democratic convention , " he responded to his wife , who before the shooting had worked for two Republican congressmen and the Republican national party .

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" Since the Brady Law went into effect on February 28 , 1994 ( it ) has stopped more than 100,000 convicted felons and other prohibited purchasers from buying a handgun .

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Today , and every day , the Brady Law is stopping an estimated 85 felons from buying a handgun , " Mrs. Brady said .

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We should , as President Clinton proposed today , stop people convicted of domestic violence from buying a handgun .

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Jim and I join with you tonight in saluting the great job that President Clinton has done in fighting crime and gun violence . "

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" He 's a hunter and a sportsman , but he understands the difference between a Remington rifle and an AK47 .

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And he knows that you do n't go hunting with an Uzi .


Mr. President you deserve our thanks . "


Jim Brady then gave a big thumbs to the audience .


was shot in the head in 1981 by gunman John Hinckley , who tried to kill Reagan in a deranged bid to impress Jodie Foster , an actress he never met but with whom he was obsessed .

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The Brady bill , calling for a waiting period before someone could buy a gun so a background check could be made , was first introduced in Congress in 1987 but it took seven years to pass because of opposition from the National Rifle Association gun lobby .

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Latest opinion polls on German political parties .


Here are the latest opinion polls tracking national support for Germany 's main political parties :


AUGUST 1996 CDU / CSU SPD FDP Greens PDS

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OFFICIAL RESULTS OF THE OCTOBER 16 , 1994 GENERAL ELECTION :


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NOTE : Elect Res = Electoral Research Group ( Forschungsgruppe Wahlen )

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Most hostages freed from hijacked Sudanese plane .


Armed hijackers believed to be Iraqis released 140 people on Tuesday from a Sudan Airways plane carrying 199 passengers and crew that landed in London after being diverted on a flight from Khartoum to Amman , police said .

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Police spokesman Roger Grimwade said the six or seven hijackers remained on board the aircraft , which arrived from Cyprus at 4.30 a.m. ( 0330 GMT ) .

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He said they had made various requests to police negotiators but stepped back from earlier suggestions that the hijackers had asked to speak to a British-based Iraqi police named as Mr Sadiki .

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The hijackers , who have said they want to seek asylum in Britain , are believed to be armed with grenades and possibly other explosives , according to police .

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They earlier threatened to blow up the aircraft .


The Airbus A310 was diverted first to Cyprus , then to Britain .

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British Data in merger talks with Mentmore .


Mentmore Abbey said on Tuesday that merger discussions were taking place with the board of British Data Management , an information resource management and archive storage company .

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But it noted in a brief statement : " However , it is too early to say at this stage whether or not terms can be agreed . "

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Mentmore Abbey , the UK stationery and housewares business formerly known as Platignum , said it was making the statement in response to recent newspaper articles linking the two groups .

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Shares in Mentmore Abbey edged two pence higher to 81.5 pence , valuing the group at just under 30 million stg .

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British Data Management 's shares slipped 0.5 pence to 179.5p , valuing that company at around 45 million stg .

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Hijacked Sudan plane lands at a London airport .


A hijacked Sudan Airways plane carrying 199 passengers and crew landed at Stansted airport just outside London early on Tuesday morning after flying from Cyprus , eyewitnesses said .

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The Airbus 310 Flight 150 , which was hijacked on Monday evening on its way from Khartoum to the Jordanian capital Amman , landed at 4.30 a.m. ( 0330 GMT ) after a flight of more than four hours .

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At least one of the unidentified hijackers was apparently armed with grenades and TNT and threatened to blow the plane up in Cyprus unless it was refuelled so they could fly to Britain to claim political asylum .

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" They will surrender the passengers there and surrender themselves , " police spokesman Glafcos Xenos told reporters at Cyprus 's Larnaca airport .

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Security was tight at Stansted airport , which is about 30 miles ( 50 km ) northeast of the capital .

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Stansted has been designated as the preferred option for handling hijackings in southern England because it is more remote than Heathrow and Gatwick , London 's two major airports , and handles less air traffic .

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Hijacked Sudan plane expected at London 's Stansted .


A hijacked Sudan Airways plane with 199 passengers and crew on board was expected to land at London 's Stansted airport later on Tuesday morning , a police spokeswoman said .

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That is where the plane is being directed to , " Ruth Collin of Essex police , the force responsible for Stansted , said .

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Stansted , London 's third-busiest airport after Heathrow and Gatwick , is located about 30 miles ( 48 km ) northeast of the capital .

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British officials said they would much prefer to deal with a hijacking at Stansted because of its relatively remote location and because air traffic would be less badly disrupted there than at Heathrow or Gatwick .

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They said police and the emergency services were implementing a well-rehearsed contingency plan to handle the hijacking .


The armed hijackers of the Airbus 310 Flight 150 , which is expected to arrive about 4 a.m. ( 0300 GMT ) , have said they intend to surrender and seek political asylum in Britain .

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The plane was hijacked on its way from Khartoum to the Jordanian capital Amman on Monday evening and landed at Larnaca airport in Cyprus to refuel .

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The identity and number of the hijackers was not known .


One of them negotiated through the pilot in English .


The pilot said several hijackers appeared to be placed around the plane .


Painted parrot scam lands Australian in jail .


A conman who painted common Australian parrots with dye to make them look like rare birds worth thousands of dollars was jailed for fraud on Tuesday .

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Denham Peiris painted six green parrots , worth about A$ 100 ( US$ 79 ) a pair , with a cinnamon hair dye and traded them as Indian Ringneck Parrots , valued at A$ 14,000 a pair .

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Peiris , 32 , of Perth , was sentenced in the Western Australian District Court to two years in jail for fraud after trading three pairs of impostor birds for 21 parrots worth a total of A$ 28,000 .

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" Everyone was fooled , " said pet shop owner Shane Drew , who unknowingly traded the disguised birds .

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" I 'd already had three local breeders have a look at them and sent photos and videos of the birds to the eastern states for authentication -- they said they 're nice birds , " Drew told reporters outside court .

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" After I was told they were dyed , I checked them over again .


It was a perfect paint job except for one feather under a wing of one bird that was only half dyed , " Drew said .

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Drew said Peiris , a bird enthusiast , would have succeeded with the fraud if he had not tried to trade a fourth pair of bogus birds after an associate had told police of the scam .

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If not for the informant , the painted parrots ' true colours would not have been known for six months , he said .

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" They moult in the summer , so five or six months down the track , I would have looked like the guilty party , " Drew said .

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NZ motorist 's arrest brings free flight to Tonga .


A New Zealand motorist got an unexpected free flight to Tonga on Tuesday after being caught drinking and driving .

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The man drew attention to himself in the North Island town of Tauranga while trying to reverse his car out of a pothole on Saturday night .

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He spun the wheels so much that the tyres caught alight and smoke began pouring from under the bonnet , the New Zealand Press Association reported .

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Police arrested the man and charged him with drink-driving , but then iscovered he was wanted by the Immigration Service as an overstayer .

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The man was due to catch a flight to Nuku'alofa in Tonga later on Tuesday .


The following is the result of central bank securities ( SBPUs ) auction on Tuesday at 0800 GMT :

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Total ( in billion rupiah ) 38.43 218.50


Seoul embassies warned of terrorist attacks .


South Korea has told its overseas missions to step up security since its embassy in the former Yugoslavia received a threat over Seoul 's crackdown on radical students , the foreign ministry said on Tuesday .

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A letter to the Belgrade embassy on Monday under the name of the Macedonian Communist Party demanded South Korea release detained student leaders , a ministry spokesman said .

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" The letter said the party would assault the embassy , other South Korean-related facilities and Korean nationals unless our authorities released arrested students , " he said .

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Nearly 400 members of an outlawed student group were arrested after violent protests demanding reunification with communist North Korea were crushed by riot police at a Seoul university this month .

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Authorities branded the violence , in which a police officer was killed , as an act of terror .


" The ministry has ordered the embassy to take urgent security measures against possible terrorist attacks , " the official said , asking not to be named .

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It had called for similar precautions at other overseas missions , including those in Canada and Bangladesh where leftist groups have staged protests over the crackdown .

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Nuclear pact will be a step to disarmament-China .


China on Tuesday reaffirmed its support for a global nuclear test ban treaty blocked by India last week , saying the pact would be an important step in achieving total nuclear disarmament .

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" Although the final draft of the treaty probably did n't totally satisfy any country , it was in general balanced , " the official People 's Daily newspaper said in a commentary .

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India blocked the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty ( CTBT ) at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva , saying the pact did not contain a clause committing the five declared nuclear powers to a timetable for nuclear disarmament .

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New Delhi 's stance , which was seen as effectively thwarting 2-1/2 years of negotiations at the Conference on Disarmament , drew widespread but generally muted foreign criticism .

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India has also pledged to oppose any forwarding of the draft treaty to the United Nations General Assembly .

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China said many countries had compromised to complete the treaty and that the issue of a disarmament schedule could be discussed in future negotiations .

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" The completion of the test ban treaty would be an important and practical step in the gradual process of achieving total nuclear disarmament , " it said .

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China has pledged support for the pact since reaching a deal with the United States that made international inspections of nuclear sites more difficult than in earlier drafts of the accord .

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The newspaper said China advocated the complete ban and destruction of nuclear weapons but that there was little hope other nuclear powers would soon adopt the same stance .

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" Some nuclear powers stubbornly uphold policies of nuclear deterrence based on first use of nuclear weapons , " it said .

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China held on July 29 what it said would be its last nuclear test before a self-imposed moratorium that took effect the following day .


China was the last declared nuclear power to announce a halt to testing .


Japan declares food poisoning threat receding .


The government said on Tuesday that the threat from a mysterious killer germ , while still requiring vigilance , appears to be receding in the western Japan city of Sakai , where the epidemic hit the hardest .

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The food poisoning epidemic caused by the O-157 colon bacillus in Sakai appears to be " settling down " , Health Minister Naoto Kan was quoted by a government spokesman as telling the cabinet .

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The O-157 colon bacillus has been found responsible for a widespread food poisoning epidemic that has killed 11 people and made over 9,500 ill this year .

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Sakai , near the regional commercial centre of Osaka , has been hit hardest by the deadly bacteria , with nearly 6,500 , mostly schoolchildren , affected by the disease .

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Two children in Sakai have died from complications associated with the bacteria .


Kan told a cabinet meeting on Tuesday that no new victims have been reported since August 8 , indicating that the peak has passed , at least for Sakai .

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Sakai officials agreed with the assessment , but said it was too early to feel relieved .


" There are still patients hospitalised and problems which must be dealt with , " a city spokesman said , citing the issue of whether to allow children infected with the bacteria but not showing symptoms to attend school from September .

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Health authorities believe school lunches were the source of the food poisoning in Sakai , but researchers have been unable to pinpoint the exact source of the infection .

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The outbreak has prompted authorities to tighten sanitary standards at slaughterhouses and meatpacking plants and sparked calls for an overhaul of the nation 's school lunch programme .

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The ministers agreed at Tuesday 's cabinet meeting to step up inspection measures for school lunches in September and October , when schools around the country resume .


Japan 's Agriculture Ministry also announced that it will compile hygiene guidelines based on U.S. government methods of checking the safety of farm produce to prevent another outbreak of the epidemic .

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As of Monday , 31 children were still hospitalised in Sakai city , of whom six were in serious condition .

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Japan aluminium shipments surge 8.9 pct in July .


Japanese shipments of aluminium mill products in July surged 8.9 percent over the same month last year to 224,609 tonnes , while production rose 6.4 percent to 222,457 tonnes , according to preliminary data released on Tuesday by the Japan Aluminium Federation .

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The surge reflected strong demand from the beverage can and housing construction sectors , federation officials said .


Figures released two weeks ago from Japan 's seven largest mills already showed that Japan 's can sheet output reached its highest monthly level ever in July , reflecting above-average temperatures that sparked a jump in beer consumption .

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A federation official added that the half-year through September 1996 also appeared likely to set a new record for can production , despite cooler temperatures in August .


July inventories stood at 75,632 tonnes , down 2.6 percent from the prior month .


July foil output was off 0.2 percent year-on-year at 11,525 tonnes , while foil shipments fell 0.8 percent to 11,244 tonnes .


June mill output data were revised slightly downward to 210,622 tonnes from the preliminary 210,683 , while shipments were revised marginally upward to 213,989 tonnes from 213,845 .


Final figures for June pegged can stock shipments at 40,144 tonnes , up 2.4 percent year-on-year .


Shipments to the auto sector fell 5.5 percent to 15,286 tonnes , while the construction sector rose 2.4 percent to 79,390 tonnes .

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Exports dipped 3.7 percent to 18,867 tonnes .


China thanks Gabon for support on human rights .


China has publicly thanked Gabon for its strong support at the United Nations Human Rights Commission , where Beijing has come under attack from Western nations for its human rights record .

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China 's President Jiang Zemin offered his gratitude in a meeting on Monday with visiting Gabon President Omar Bongo , the official Xinhua news agency said .

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Jiang also acknowledged the Central African nation 's support for China 's stance on Taiwan , which Beijing views as a renegade province , while Bongo was quoted as thanking China for economic and technological aid , the agency said late on Monday .

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In April , China quashed a draft resolution by the U.N. Human Rights Commission expressing concern over continuing reports of Beijing 's violations of fundamental freedoms .

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After the defeat of the resolution , drafted by the European Union and the United States , China 's Foreign Ministry thanked 26 countries for backing its motion for " no action " on the document .

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It was the sixth year in a row that China avoided censure at the U.N. 's main human rights forum .

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China has been accused of a wide range of human rights abuses , often in violation of its own legal code , in an effort to silence dissent .

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A Xinhua commentary earlier this year said a plot by the West to force its human rights standards and values on other countries was doomed to failure .

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Taiwan 's Cooperative Bank cuts prime lending rate .


Cooperative Bank of Taiwan , one of the island 's leading state-run banks , said it was cutting its prime lending rate by 0.05 percentage point , effective on Tuesday .

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The bank said in a statement it was cutting its prime lending rate to 7.35 percent from 7.40 percent .


It also would cut its three-month-to-three-year time deposit rates by between 0.05 and 0.10 percentage points .


The moves made Cooperative the first major bank to cut rates in response to a call on Friday from central bank governor Sheu Yuan-dong .

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In the central bank 's latest bid to jumpstart Taiwan 's sluggish economy , Sheu ordered a reduction of up to a half-percentage point in banks ' reserve requirements and called on commercial banks to pass on the savings in the form of interest rate reductions .

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Palestinians to strike over Jerusalem demolition .


Palestinian leaders in Jerusalem called on Tuesday for a two-hour strike to protest what they called Israel 's war on Arab East Jerusalem after police demolished a building there .

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Israeli police demolished a 10 metre ( yard ) by 20 metre structure in Jerusalem 's Old City they said had been built with funding from the Palestinian self-rule Authority for use as a social club .

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Police used a huge crane to lift a bulldozer over the Old City 's walls to reach the building amidst narrow alleys , witnesses said .

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Bystanders at the scene said work had begun on the building in 1991 and it had yet to be completed when the Israeli police bulldozed it .

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The Palestinian Authority was set up under the 1993 PLO-Israel interim peace deal .

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" There has been a call for a general strike between one ( 1000 GMT ) and three o'clock , " Palestinian lawmaker Ahmed Hashem Zighayer told Reuters .

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" This is a war that has been declared on us and we want our people to come and see the site where they declared the war . "

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's government , which took office in June , has said it will not allow the Authority , set up under a 1993 interim peace deal to control parts of the Gaza Strip and West Bank , to operate in Jerusalem .

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Israel 's previous government held the same position but in general turned a blind eye to Palestinian Authority activity in the city .

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Tuesday 's demolition came a day after PLO officials said they had bowed to Netanyahu 's demand they close offices in Jerusalem .

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They said two of the three offices Israel wanted closed had been shut .


Netanyahu has made closure of the three offices a condition for resuming peace negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organisation ( PLO ) .

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Israel captured Arab East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it .

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It says it will never cede any part of the city .


Palestinians want East Jerusalem as capital of a future state .


The city is up for negotiation at final peace talks which have yet to resume under Netanyahu .


SEC adopts rules to improve investor access to best stock prices .


The Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday approved rules designed to give stock market investors a better chance at getting the best price available for their orders .

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The so-called order handling rules , which were proposed last September , were approved in a 4-0 vote .


The new rules will require specialists at stock exchanges and market makers on Nasdaq to allow customers to view price quotes from other electronic trading systems that may not be readily available to them .

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The rules will also require that customer limit orders be displayed with prices better than those available in quotes publicly available at the time .

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Specialists and market makers are companies or individuals recognised as qualified to maintain an orderly market in a stock .


In a limit order , investors specify the price at which they are willing to buy or sell , as opposed to a market order executed at prevailing prices .

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" These rules are intended to empower all investors , by allowing their orders to compete on a level playing field , and by providing the disclosure they need to make informed decisions , " said SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt .

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The SEC 's goal , he added , was to create " one system where one price could be available to everybody . "

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The director of the SEC 's division of market regulation , Richard Lindsey , said Wall Street firms will probably need to spend about $ 7 million to carry out the improvements called for by the new rules .

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In proposing the rules last year , the SEC noted that while technology has improved , commonplace practices still existed that worked against investors ' best interests .

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It noted that customers whose orders were not displayed lost the chance of getting the best possible price available in the market .

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It also cited the potential problem of a two-tiered market in which market makers quote one price to public investors while quoting better prices in private systems , thus robbing investors without access to " hidden " quotes the benefit of the best available prices .

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Earlier this month , the SEC settled charges of alleged malpractices on Nasdaq when the parent of the Nasdaq market , the National Association of Securities Dealers , agreed to spend $ 100 million over five years to upgrade its oversight of brokers ' trading practices .

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The SEC dropped a third proposal that would have allowed investors with market orders to trade at a better price if there were shifts in prices before their orders were executed .

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The agency said it would monitor effects of the two new rules before considering the " price improvement " proposal again .

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The agency also proposed rule changes that would require continuous " bid " and " ask " quotations from exchange specialists and market makers who trade more than 1 percent of a stock during any quarter on Nasdaq .

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The SEC 's limit order display rule will mean a major change for Nasdaq , where such orders have never been displayed .

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The president of the Nasdaq , Alfred Berkeley , was to hold a news conference Wednesday afternoon to elaborate on the new rules ' effects on the market , the second largest in the world .

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ITALIAN CABINET APPROVES TELEVISION DECREE .


The Italian cabinet on Wednesday granted a reprieve for media mogul Silvio Berlusconi 's Mediaset television empire with a decree extending the current legal framework for television stations until January 31 , 1997 .

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The decree plugs a legal void in which magistrates could have forced the former prime minister to take one of the three stations he controls off the air because of a court ruling that no single proprietor should be allowed to keep three channels .

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Passengers injured in train collision in Linz .


A passenger train collided with a locomotive at a main railway station in Linz on Wednesday and police said around 10 people were injured .

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Austrian television reported earlier that more than 20 had been hurt in the accident at the station in Linz , 300 km ( 180 miles ) west of Vienna .

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" One locomotive was stationary and the passenger train collided into the back of it , " a police spokesman in Linz told Reuters by telephone .

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The express passenger train travelling from Steyr , southeast of Linz , with around 80 people on board , hit the back of a service locomotive used to shunt wagons into sidings .

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The police spokesman said he was not sure whether any more passengers were still trapped in the wreckage .


Doctors and medical staff from a hospital across the road from the station were at the scene of the accident within minutes and were able to treat the injured quickly , he added .

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Greater damage was averted as the driver of the passenger train had time to apply his emergency brakes before the collision occurred , a state railways spokesman told Austrian news agency APA .

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Saskatchewan Wheat Pool eyes hog market .


Canada 's largest grain handling firm said Wednesday it expects to forge a partnership with hog farmers by 1997 with a view to expanding the company 's scope into pork production .

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" Saskatchewan is well positioned to take advantage of growing world markets for pork , " Saskatchewan Wheat Pool chief executive Don Loewen said in a company statement .

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SWP said it was analyzing potential partnerships with hog farmers and expected the first deal to be in place in 1997 .

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The end of Canada 's rail freight subsidy last year caused a shift in feed grain production to the eastern Prairie .

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Analysts said livestock production would likely shift to the eastern Prairie rather than feed grains being shipped to the western Prairie .


SWP said it may develop pork production systems that provide farmers with large integrated units , and it may consider contracting programs between producers and packers which would operate within the existing hog market framework .

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Saskatchewan Pork International Marketing Group has an export monopoly but some Saskatchewan farmers earlier this month called for an open market in hogs .

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ATHLETICS - ROVERETO INTERNATIONAL MEETING RESULTS .


international athletics meeting on Wednesday :


1. Ludmila Ninova ( Austria ) 6.72 metres


1. Chandra Sturrup ( Bahamas ) 11.34 seconds


1. Sergey Makarov ( Russia ) 85.26 metres


1. Osmond Ezinwa ( Nigeria ) 10.13 seconds


1. Davis Kamoga ( Uganda ) 45.15 seconds


1. Mariacarla Bresciani ( Italy ) 3.85 metres


1. Ana Fidelia Quirot ( Cuba ) 1 minute 58.98 seconds


1. Wolfgang Kreissig ( Germany ) 2.20 metres


2. Kostantin Matusevitch ( Israel ) 2.20


1. Oksana Ovchinnikova ( Russia ) 58.94 metres


2. Natalya Torshina ( Kazakhstan ) 55.99


2. Alessandro Lambruschini ( Italy ) 7:47.78


GOLF - BRITISH MASTERS FIRST ROUND SCORES .


first-round scores in the rain-affected British Masters golf


championship at Collingtree Park on Wednesday ( Britain unless


69 Jose Coceres ( Argentina ) , Raymond Russell , Robert Allenby

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( Australia ) , David Gilford , Stuart Cage , Mike Clayton

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( Australia ) , Mark Roe , Emanuele Canonica ( Italy )

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70 Francisco Cea ( Spain ) , David Howell , Peter Hedblom


71 Steven Bottomley , Ove Sellberg ( Sweden ) , Joakim Haeggman

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( Sweden ) , Stephen Ames ( Trinidad and Tobago ) , Klas Eriksson

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( Sweden ) , Roger Chapman , Mark Davis , Pierre Fulke ( Sweden ) ,

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Martin Gates , Anders Haglund ( Sweden )


72 Niclas Fasth ( Sweden ) , Michael Jonzon ( Sweden ) , Chistian

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Cevaer ( France ) , Thomas Bjorn ( Denmark ) , Tony Johnstone

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( Zimbabwe ) , Padraig Harrington ( Ireland ) , Pedro Linhart

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73 Ross McFarlane , Domingo Hospital ( Spain ) , Seve Ballesteros


( Spain ) , Paul Broadhurst , Greg Turner ( New Zealand ) , Mike

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Harwood ( Australia ) , Brenden Pappas ( South Africa ) , Peter

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Teravainen ( U.S. ) , Jean Van de Velde ( France ) , Oyvind Rojahn

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( Norway ) , Stephen McAllister , Neal Briggs


Note : 77 players to complete their first rounds on Thursday


CYCLING - KELLY WINS WORLD TIME TRIAL TITLE .


Shane Kelly of Australia retained the world one-kilometre time trial title at the world track championships on Wednesday , with a track record time of one minute 2.777 seconds .

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Kelly averaged 57.345 kph to beat Soren Lausgberg of Germany by eighteen hundredths of a second .

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The bronze medal went to another German , Jan Van Eijden , in 1:04.541 .

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CYCLING - VAN HEESWIJK WINS SECOND STAGE OF TOUR OF NETHERLANDS .

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the 195-km second stage of the Tour of the Netherlands between

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1. Max van Heeswijk ( Netherlands ) Motorola 4 hours 39 minutes

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3. Sven Teutenberg ( Germany ) U.S. Postal


7. Michel Zanoli ( Netherlands ) MX Onda


10. Kaspars Ozers ( Latvia ) Motorola all same time


Leading overall placings after two stages :


8. Gianluca Corini ( Italy ) Aki same time


10. George Hincapie ( U.S. ) Motorola same time


CYCLING - VAN HEESWIJK WINS TOUR OF NETHERLANDS SECOND STAGE .

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Leading results and overall standings after the 195 kilometre second stage of the Tour of the Netherlands between Haarlem and Almere on Wednesday .

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1. Max van Heeswijk ( Netherlands ) Motorola 4 hours 39 minutes six seconds .

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10. Kaspars Ozers ( Latvia ) Motorola all same time .


Leading overall standings after second stage .


10. George Hincapie ( U.S. ) Motorola same time .


world track cycling championships on Wednesday :


Chris Boardman ( Britain ) 4:13.353 seconds ( world record ) caught


Boardman 4:14.784 caught Edouard Gritson ( Russia )


Francis Moreau ( France ) 4:16.274 beat Heiko Szonn ( Germany )

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Andrea Collinelli ( Italy ) 4:17.551 beat Michael Sandstod


Alexei Markov ( Russia ) 4:19.762 beat Mariano Friedick ( U.S. )


1. Shane Kelly ( Australia ) 1 minute 02.777 seconds


7. Dimitrios Georgalis ( Greece ) 1:05.022


10. Graham Sharman ( Australia ) 1:05.406


13. Christian Meidlinger ( Austria ) 1:05.850


14. Darren McKenzie-Potter ( New Zealand ) 1:06.289


15. Masanaga Shiohara ( Japan ) 1:06.615


16. Jean-Pierre Van Zyl ( South Africa ) 1:07.258


1. Marty Nothstein ( U.S. ) , last 200 metres in 10.982 seconds .


1. Silvio Martinelli - Marco Villa ( Italy ) 34 points , in a

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2. Scott McGrory - Stephen Pate ( Australia ) 25


3. Andreas Kappes - Carsten Wolf ( Germany ) 23


4. Kurt Betschart - Bruno Risi ( Switzerland ) 22


5. Gabriel Curuchet - Juan Curuchet ( Argentine ) 15

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6. Peter Pieters - Tomas Post ( Netherlands ) 14


7. J immi Madsen - Jens Veggerby ( Denmark ) 14

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8. Isaac Galvez-Lopez - Juan Llaneras ( Spain ) 11


9. Wolfgang Kotzmann - Franz Stocher ( Austria ) 5


10. Christophe Capelle - Jean-Michel Monin ( France ) 2


CYCLING - BOARDMAN FULFILS WORLD RECORD PREDICTION .


Britain 's Chris Boardman fulfilled his prediction that he would break the world 4,000 metres world record in the world track cycling championships on Wednesday .

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Boardman clocked four minutes 13.353 seconds to slice more than six seconds from the previous world mark of 4:19.699 set by Olympic champion Andrea Collinelli of Italy in Atlanta in July .

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Collinelli qualified in second place , also beating his old record in 4:17.696 .


" I was very nervous before the start but then I was amazed by the speed of my ride , " Boardman said . "

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Who knows what will happen in the later stages ? "


Boardman , 28 , did not contest the Olympic pursuit because of its proximity to the Tour de France in which he led the French GAN team .

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However , he took a bronze medal in the Olympic road time-trial and then returned home to prepare for the world track series in the Manchester indoor velodrome .

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He adopted the " superman " riding position with arms at full stretch perfected by fellow Briton Graeme Obree , the 1995 world champion , and taken up in Atlanta by Collinelli .

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Obree was forced to pull out of his title defence because of a viral infection .


Qualifiers for Wednesday evening 's quarter-finals :


7. Michael Sandstod ( Denmark ) 4:24.427


CYCLING - BOARDMAN BREAKS WORLD 4,000 METRES RECORD .


Britain 's Chris Boardman broke the world 4,000 metres cycling record by more than six seconds at the world championships on Wednesday .

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Boardman clocked four minutes 13.353 seconds in the qualifying round of the individual pursuit event to beat the previous mark of 4:19.699 set by Andrea Collinelli of Italy at the Atlanta Olympics on July 24 .

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SOCCER - ENGLISH FIRST DIVISION RESULTS / STANDINGS .


Standings ( tabulated under played , won , drawn , lost , goals


CRICKET - ENGLISH COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP SCORES .


day of four-day English County Championship cricket matches on


At Portsmouth : Middlesex 199 in 60 overs ( K. Brown 57 ;

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At Chester-le-Street : Glamorgan 73-3 v Durham .


SOCCER - FOWLER AND MCMANAMAN OUT OF ENGLAND SQUAD .


England soccer manager Glen Hoddle confirmed on Wednesday that the Liverpool pair of Steve McManaman and Robbie Fowler would miss England 's World Cup qualifying match against Moldova on Sunday .

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The two men , both suffering from back injuries , joined the England squad at training but it was soon clear they had no chance of making the flight to Kishinev on Friday .

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" They had some scans and X-rays yesterday and they 're out , " said Hoddle .


" The more important thing for me was to get them down here and have a chat .


To go another five weeks without that chance would have been foolish , " he added .


Hoddle , who has already lost the services of midfielder Darren Anderton and defender Steve Howey , delayed naming any replacements .

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There was also concern over injuries to Paul Gascoigne , Les Ferdinand and David Batty .

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HORSE RACING - JOCKEY WEAVER RECEIVES 21-DAY BAN .


Leading rider Jason Weaver received a 21-day ban from the disciplinary committee of the Jockey Club on Wednesday .

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Weaver had been reported after being found guilty of irresponsible riding at the provincial track of Pontefract 10 days ago .

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It was his fourth riding offence this season .


Although five days of the ban were suspended until January 1 , Weaver will miss next month 's big St Leger meeting , including the ride on top stayer Double Trigger in the Doncaster Cup .

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Weaver shot to prominence in 1994 when he won the English 2,000 Guineas on Mister Baileys in his first ride in a classic .

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ROWING - REDGRAVE MAY SEEK FIFTH OLYMPIC GOLD .


Britain 's Steven Redgrave said on Wednesday he might change his mind and go for a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal at the 2000 Games in Sydney .

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Redgrave is one of only five athletes who have won gold medals at four successive Olympics .

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He shared victory with Matthew Pinsent in the coxless pairs at the Atlanta Games and said at the time that would be his last shot .

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But he has had second thoughts since then . "


Some say that 's too old for an athlete , " he said .


" But I 'll be 38 by Sydney and that 's not too old .


It 's whether I have got the enthusiasm for the training over the next four years .


CRICKET - BOTHAM DISMISSES GATTING IN FIRST CLASS DEBUT .


Liam Botham demonstrated his father Ian 's golden touch on Wednesday shortly after making his county debut for Hampshire .

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Botham dismissed Mike Gatting with his seventh ball when the former England captain pushed a half-volley to square-leg on the first day of the four-day match against Middlesex at Portsmouth .

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Earlier Botham arrived in Portsmouth from Southampton only to be told his services would not be required .

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He then drove 40 kms back to play for the second XI to learn that John Stephenson had dropped out of the Middlesex match in the meantime with a shoulder injury .

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Botham dashed back to Portsmouth and took the field as the thrid over began .


Ian Botham began his test career in 1977 by dismissing Australian captain Greg Chappell with a long hop and went on to become his country 's most successful all-rounder ever with 5,200 runs , 383 wickets plus 120 catches in 102 tests .

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RUGBY UNION - CARLING LEFT OUT OF ENGLAND TRAINING SQUAD .


Former England captain Will Carling along with Jeremy Guscott , Rory Underwood and Dean Richards have been left out of England 's first training squad of the season .

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The quartet , who possess 244 international caps between them , were also omitted from a summer training camp but will still be in contention when the northern international season starts later this year .

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" Their qualities are well known to the selectors and they will , of course , be considered when the season gets underway , " the Rugby Football Union said in a statement on Wednesday .

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Hideo Nomo allowed a run in seven innings for his fifth win in seven road starts and Greg Gagne capped a three-run fourth with a two-run homer as the Los Angeles Dodgers claimed a 5-1 victory the Montreal Expos on Tuesday .

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With their fifth straight win , the Dodgers moved a half-game ahead of the Expos at the top of the wild card hunt behind Nomo ( 13-10 ) , who allowed six hits and walked four with six strikeouts .

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In San Francisco , Mike Williams allowed two runs in 7-1/3 innings and Benito Santiago and Ruben Amaro had RBI hits in the first inning as the Philadelphia Phillies edged the San Francisco Giants 3-2 .

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Williams ( 5-12 ) , who snapped a personal three-game losing streak , allowed five hits , walked two and struck out five .

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It was also Williams ' first win in three career decisions against San Francisco .

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In Pittsburgh , Al Martin 's run-scoring single snapped a fifth-inning tie and Denny Neagle outdueled John Smoltz as the Pittsburgh Pirates edged the Atlanta Braves 3-2 .

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The Braves led 2-1 entering the fifth , but the Pirates pushed across two runs against Smoltz ( 20-7 ) .

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Neagle ( 14-6 ) beat the Braves for the third time this season , allowing two runs and six hits in eight innings .

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In St Louis , Gary Sheffield and Devon White each drove in two runs and Mark Hutton scattered four hits over six innings to lead the Florida Marlins past the St. Louis Cardinals 6-3 .

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White added a solo homer , his 11th , off reliever Mark Petkovsek with one out in the fifth , giving the Marlins a 6-0 lead .

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In New York , Steve Finley 's three-run homer capped a four-run eighth inning and gave the San Diego Padres a 4-3 victory over New York , spoiling Bobby Valentine 's debut as Mets ' manager .

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The rally made a winner out of reliever Willie Blair


Tony Gwynn and Wally Joyner had two hits apiece , helping the Padres to their third straight win .

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First-place San Diego has won seven of its last eight games and improved to 34-20 against NL East opponents .

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In Houston , Tony Eusebio 's eighth-inning sacrifice fly capped a comeback from a five-run deficit that gave the Houston Astros a 6-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs .

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The Astros trailed 5-0 after three innings , but scored three runs in the fourth and one in the sixth before taking the lead in the eighth .

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In St Louis , Gary Sheffield and Devon White each drove in two runs and Mark Hutton scattered four hits over six innings to lead the Florida Marlins past the St. Louis Cardinals , 6-3 ,

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Sheffield , who was benched Monday , delivered a double down the left-field line in the first , scoring Luis Castilla and Alex Arias to put the Marlins ahead to stay .

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At Colorado , Hal Morris and Eric Davis each homered and John Smiley scattered six hits over 6 2/3 innings as the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Colorado Rockies 4-3 , snapping a four-game losing streak .

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The Reds took a one-run lead in the second inning when Morris led off with his 10th homer off starter Armando Reynoso ( 8-9 ) .

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They increased their bulge to 4-0 in the third when Barry Larkin drew a one-out walk , Kevin Mitchell singled and Davis launched his 22nd homer over the right-field wall .

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RUGBY UNION - NEW ZEALAND RECALL MEHRTENS FOR FINAL TEST .

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The New Zealand rugby selectors recalled fly-half Andrew Mehrtens on Wednesday when they announced their team for the third and final test in Johannesburg on Saturday .

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He returns in place of Simon Culhane who broke a wrist in the All Blacks ' series-clinching victory in Pretoria on Saturday .

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Mehrtens played in the last TriNations test in Cape Town but missed the first two tests in the current series after tearing a cartilage in his knee while training , an injury which needed a small operation .

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Lock Ian Jones and wing Jeff Wilson have also been named in the team despite doubts over their fitness .

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Jones has a knee injury while Wilson is suffering from a viral infection .


Blair Larsen or the uncapped Glenn Taylor are on standby to replace Jones and , with Jonah Lomu out of action with a shoulder injury picked up in Tuesday 's drawn match against Griqualand West , Eric Rush is favourite to play should Wilson fail to recover .

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15 - Christian Cullen , 14 - Jeff Wilson , 13 - Walter Little , 12 - Frank Bunce , 11 - Glen Osborne ; 10 - Andrew Mehrtens , 9 - Justin Marshall ; 8 - Zinzan Brooke , 7 - Josh Kronfeld , 6 - Michael Jones , 5 - Ian Jones , 4 - Robin Brooke , 3 - Olo Brown , 2 - Sean Fitzpatrick ( captain ) , 1 - Craig Dowd .

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HOCKEY - BONNET TAKES OVER AS SOUTH AFRICAN COACH .


Former South African captain Giles Bonnet was named by the South African Hockey Association on Wednesday as the new coach of the men 's national side .

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Bonnet , who has been coaching the Kwazulu-Natal provincial team , takes over from Englishman Gavin Featherstone who took South Africa to 10th place in the Olympic Games in Atlanta .

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Featherstone , a former Britain captain , has accepted a coaching position with a women 's team in Ireland .

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CRICKET - GIBBS GETS INTERNATIONAL CALL UP .


Western Province batsman Herschelle Gibbs was the only uncapped player in South Africa 's 14-man squad named on Wednesday for a quadrangular one-day series in Kenya next month .

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Kenya , South Africa , Pakistan and Sri Lanka will take part in the series .

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National coach Bob Woolmer said Gibbs , 22 , had been rewarded for a tremendous tour of England with the South African A team earlier this year .

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" I 've known Herschelle since he was 11 years old and he showed in England how he has matured .

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His 170 against the MCC was an innings of supreme class against the best bowling attack we faced all tour , " Woolmer told a news conference .

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" We were not able to consider Jacques Kallis , Paul Adams and Shaun Pollock due to injury and the replacements have all come from the A tour and it 's great that they are all in form . "

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Spin-bowling all-rounders Nicky Boje and Derek Crookes replace Pollock and Adams , while Gibbs comes in for his Western Province colleague Kallis .

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Squad : Hansie Cronje ( captain ) , Craig Matthews ( vice-captain ) , Dave Richardson , Brian McMillan , Gary Kirsten , Andrew Hudson , Pat Symcox , Jonty Rhodes , Allan Donald , Fanie de Villiers , Daryll Cullinan , Derek Crookes , Herschelle Gibs , Nicky Boje .

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BASKETBALL - OLYMPIAKOS BEAT RED STAR 71-57 .


Olympiakos of Greece beat Yugoslavia 's Red Star 71-57 ( halftime 40-34 ) in the first match of an international club basketball tournament on Wednesday .

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Partizan ( Yugoslavia ) , Alba ( Germany ) , Dinamo ( Russia ) and Benetton ( Italy ) are also taking part in the event which continues until Saturday .

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SOCCER - RUSSIA AND BRAZIL DRAW 2-2 IN FRIENDLY .


( halftime 1-0 ) in a friendly soccer international on Wednesday .


Russia - Yuri Nikiforov ( 18th minute ) , Vladislav Rodimov

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Brazil - Donizetti ( 47th ) , Ronaldo ( 85th )


SQUASH - HONG OPEN FIRST ROUND RESULTS .


Kong Open on Wednesday ( prefix denotes seeding ) :


2 - Rodney Eyles ( Australia ) beat Zarak Jahan Khan ( Pakistan )

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4 - Peter Nicol ( Scotland ) beat Julian Wellings ( England ) 15-8

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Derek Ryan ( Ireland ) beat 5 - Simon Parke ( England ) 15-11 15-11

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7 - Chris Walker ( England ) beat Julien Bonetat ( France ) 15-12


Jonathon Power ( Canada ) beat Ahmed Barada ( Egypt ) 11-15 8-15

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Amr Shabana ( Egypt ) beat John White ( Australia ) 10-15 15-9


Paul Johnson ( England ) beat Tony Hands ( England ) 12-15 15-11


Zubair Jahan Khan ( Pakistan ) beat Faheem Khan ( Hong Kong ) 12-15

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BASKETBALL - FORMULA SHELL WIN GAME ONE IN PHILIPPINES .


Result of game one of the Philippine Basketball Association second conference finals on Tuesday :

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Formula Shell beat Alaska Milk 85-82 ( 36-46 )


( Formula Shell leads best-of-seven series 1-0 )


SOCCER - ISRAELI FIRST DIVISION RESULTS .


soccer matches played over the weekend and Tuesday :


Hapoel Kfar Sava 0 Hapoel Zafririm Holon 1


Hapoel Ironi Rishon Lezion 3 Hapoel Taibe 1


Hapoel Beit She'an 0 Hapoel Beit She'an 1


TENNIS - SELES HAS WALKOVER TO U.S. OPEN THIRD ROUND .


Second seed and co-world number one Monica Seles advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships without hitting a ball on Wednesday .

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Seles , the 1991 and 1992 champion who dropped just one game in her opening match , was scheduled to play Laurence Courtois of Belgium Wednesay night .

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But tournament officials announced about four-and-a-half hours before the match that Courtois had pulled out due to a left knee bone inflammation , moving Seles into the next round on a walkover .

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TENNIS - SERIOUS MEDVEDEV IS HAVING FUN AGAIN .


Outspoken Andrei Medvedev exchanged his reputation as the clown prince of tennis on Wednesday for a new no-nonsense attitude that has made life on the courts fun again .

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" I think I 'm much more focused on what I have to do , and that 's playing tennis , " Medvedev said after routing Frenchman Jean-Philippe Fleurian 6-2 6-0 6-1 in the opening round of the U.S. Open .

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It was Medvedev 's sixth victory in a row after winning his first tournament of the year last week at the Hamlet Cup .

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" I realised this year , that without putting 99.9 percent of your mind into tennis , I do n't think you can successful , " said the 22-year-old Medvedev .

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" The whole day I 'm thinking abnout tennis .


I felt that all the other things I was doing the years before , they were distracting me , they were not helping me at all . "

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For Medvedev that meant confining his post-match comments to tennis and not going off on tirades about about peripheral issues such as the poor quality of food in the players lounge , an entertaining rant that took his mind off the task at hand .

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" I know what I 'm here for , " said Medvedev , who lost in the second round of the Open the last two years after reaching the quarters in 1993 , the same year he tried his hand as a restaurant critic .

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" I 'm not here to fight the press or talk about the food or entertain the people off the court .

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I have much more fun on the court , " he said .


Just three years ago Medvedev was one of the world 's best , with a ranking of six after reaching the French Open semifinal and winning three tournaments .

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But Medvedev 's ranking slowly began to drop last year as he struggled with a wrist injury .


The Ukrainian finally hit a low of 44th two months ago .


" It 's somewhere where I would n't like to stay very long , " Medvedev said of his current ranking of 36 . "

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It 's a part of the penalty that I have to accept . "