News In Brief
A heated new dispute involving rivals India and Pakistan erupted as the former's Air Force strafed suspected guerrillas in disputed Kashmir. Pakis-tani officials said ordnance had fallen on its territory, calling the incident a "very grave escalation," and reserving the right to respond. Indian authorities denied the claim. They said the attacks were aimed at "Afghan mercenaries" who'd set up positions four miles inside Indian territory with the support of Pakistani forces. The rivals have fought two wars over Kashmir since 1947. Above, Air Commander Subash Bhojwani (r.) and Brig. Gen. Mohan Bhandari, the director-general of military operations, brief journalists in New Delhi on the attacks.
Yugoslavia, like the NATO alliance and the UN, wants ethnic-Albanian refugees to return to Kosovo, a senior official in Belgrade said. Newly appointed minister for refugees Bratislava Morina told state TV that Kosovars "from both Albania and Macedonia should be brought back - and that's not a small number." Without being specific, she indicated her government was prepared to compromise its position on the refugee issue. The Milosevic government has long insisted that only those who can prove they are Yugoslav citizens can be allowed back into Kosovo. But international aid organizations say many Albanians fled without citizenship documents or had them confiscated by Serb border police.
China is on the brink of putting a man in space on its own, official news reports from Beijing said. They said the country's first manned launch "may" be made before Oct. 1, the 50th anniversary of the Communist takeover. China has been working on developing an orbiting vehicle and training its own astronauts for 30 years.
The scheduled date for a referendum on autonomy for East Timor may be postponed if UN fact-finders determine that conditions there are not suitable, Indonesia's foreign minister noted. Ali Alatas said that assessment would be made by June 13. Violence between separatist-minded Timorese and those who wish to remain allied with Indonesia has been frequent since the Aug. 8 vote was set. Indonesia later proposed advancing it to Aug. 7, a Saturday, out of respect for the territory's predominantly Roman Catholic population.
A full-blown trade war between the US and Canada appeared unlikely after negotiators reached a tentative deal on the thorny issue of magazine advertising. According to reports from Ottawa, a compromise will allow Canadian ads in editions printed by US publishers but aimed at Canadian readers. But they will peak at 18 percent of the total ad lineage per issue, to be phased in over three years. Canadian publishers complain that they lose revenue because of the so-called "split run" magazines. The US threatened trade sanctions if Canada's Parliament passed a bill that would fine the US publishers.
Police investigating the worst serial-killing case in Australian history found the remains of a 10th victim, as searching continued for a possible 11th. All of those found so far were in a suburb of Adelaide or in a town 90 miles north. Welfare checks issued to some of the victims continued to be cashed after their deaths, police said. Three suspects - considered unusual in serial-murder cases - are in custody and awaiting hearings.
