PERSIAN GULF

SAUDI MEN BEHEADED FOR SODOMY Three Saudi men were beheaded in southwestern Saudi Arabia yesterday after being convicted of kidnapping and sodomizing a young boy after a drinking spree, the Interior Ministry said.

The three were found guilty of consuming alcohol in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, kidnapping a young boy, and sodomizing him in the desert, a ministry statement reported by the official Saudi Press Agency said.

They were beheaded in the southwestern Asir province.

Yesterday’s execution brings to nine the number of people executed in the kingdom this year. Last year at least 52 people, mostly drug smugglers, were beheaded. Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam under which people convicted of drug trafficking, murder, rape, and armed robbery are executed. Beheadings are carried out with a sword in public.

– Associated Press

IRAN THREE YEARS FROM A-BOMB WASHINGTON – Iran has informed British, French, and German officials it could produce weapons-grade uranium within a year and a nuclear weapon no more than three years after that, an American undersecretary of state, John Bolton, said yesterday.

“These Iranian assertions give the lie to their public contention that their nuclear program is entirely civil and peaceful in purpose,” Mr. Bolton said in an interview. Mr. Bolton, who plays a leading role in American efforts to contain the spread of nuclear and other dangerous weapons, said Iran was making veiled threats in an effort to head off U.N. consideration of sanctions or other forms of punishment.

America is expected to request U.N. Security Council action if the International Atomic Energy Agency condemns Iraq at a board of governors meeting September 13 in Vienna. Mr. Bolton said the administration was consulting with British, French, and German officials, as well as with Russia, Japan, and other governments, in preparation for the IAEA meeting.

– Associated Press

MIDDLE EAST

SHARON, ARAFAT DEFY DEMANDS FROM BACKERS JERUSALEM – Embattled leaders Ariel Sharon and Yasser Arafat rebuffed demands from their backers yesterday, holding steadfast to positions posing great political risk: Mr. Sharon insisted he will press on with efforts to pull out of Gaza despite a stinging rebuke from his party, while Mr. Arafat refused to sign reform legislation.

The internal power struggles foreshadowed difficulties for Mr. Sharon’s plan to evacuate all 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza and four in the West Bank, as well as hopes for meaningful reform of the corruption-plagued Palestinian Arab administration and its security forces. The political struggles played out against a backdrop of violence. Israeli soldiers shot and killed an 18-year-old Palestinian Arab in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, witnesses and hospital officials said.

Two others were wounded, including a 13-year-old boy. Witnesses said the shooting was unprovoked. The army said soldiers fired at two Palestinian Arabs in an off-limits zone, hitting one. Also, Palestinian Arab terrorists fired five homemade rockets from the Gaza Strip at the Israeli town of Sderot, slightly wounding a 10-year-old boy, Israeli rescue workers said. More than 30 others were treated for shock, they said.

– Associated Press

CENTRAL EUROPE

HUNGARY’S PRIME MINISTER OUSTED BUDAPEST, Hungary – Moving to end a political crisis with its government coalition partner, the Socialist Party yester day effectively ousted Prime Minister Medgyessy from office and said it would nominate his replacement next week.

The Socialists said they had accepted Mr. Medgyessy’s offer to resign, apparently reacting to his threat earlier in the day to step down unless the junior coalition partner – the Alliance of Free Democrats – reaffirmed its confidence in him.

Mr. Medgyessy said he would resign August 27, but the Socialists’ rush to find a successor just hours after his announcement was a sign the coalition parties wanted to set up a new government right away.

Mr. Medgyessy’s ouster followed his attempt on Wednesday to dismiss the economics minister, Istvan Csillag.

Mr. Csillag was nominated by the Free Democrats, who hold four ministry positions and 20 seats in the 386 seat Parliament. Despite its relatively small parliamentary representation, the party is an essential part of the coalition, which holds a 10-seat majority over the center-right opposition.

– Associated Press

SOUTHEAST ASIA

BURMA DEMOCRACY LEADER DIES YANGON, Burma – Kyi Maung, a former army officer who became a leading member of Burma’s pro-democracy movement but later fell out with its leader, died yesterday. He was 85. Mr. Kyi Maung died of a heart attack, his widow said.

Along with Aung San Suu Kyi, with whom he had a falling out, Kyi Maung was a founder in 1989 of the National League for Democracy, and as a party vice chairman played a prominent role in its activities. As result, he also spent several years in jail.

He was a victorious candidate for Parliament in a 1990 general election won by the NLD, and as a top party leader would probably have played a prominent role in the government had the military handed over power.

But the junta refused to allow Parliament to convene, and stepped up repression of the party, which continues to this day, with Ms. Suu Kyi under house arrest.

– Associated Press

CAUCASUS

GEORGIAN ARMY BATTLES WITH SEPARATISTS TSKHINVALI, Georgia – Explosions and gunfire echoed over this regional capital yesterday as government troops battled South Ossetian separatists over key hills outside town, after a week of near nightly clashes that escalated into some of the worst fighting in a decade. Georgian Interior Minister Irakly Okruashvili said government forces captured hills overlooking a key road that links ethnic Georgian villages with the rest of Georgia, but officials in the breakaway region disputed that claim.

Both sides said government troops began pulling back after nightfall, and Georgia’s president offered to withdraw all forces if fighting stops.

South Ossetia’s military chief said three civilians were killed by Georgian shelling of Tskhinvali yesterday, while Georgian officials reported three soldiers died overnight and claimed to have killed eight “Cossack mercenaries.”

– Associated Press

WESTERN EUROPE