EASTERN EUROPE

COLD WAR KILLING LINKED TO COMMUNIST-ERA SECRET SERVICE

SOFIA, Bulgaria – A journalist investigating one of the most notable Cold War assassinations – the 1978 killing of the Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov with a poison dart concealed in an umbrella – said yesterday he had found new evidence confirming the hit was planned and carried out by Bulgaria’s communist-era secret service.

In his new book, the result of six years of archive research and interviews with high-ranking officials and investigators, Hristo Hristov also accused Bulgaria’s post-communist authorities of covering up evidence in the case.

“My research made it clear that the former communist intelligence is responsible for Markov’s murder,” Mr. Hristov said in an interview. “It was never proven because of the continuous refusal of Bulgarian authorities to cooperate.”

Markov, a renowned writer and journalist, fled communist Bulgaria in 1969 and settled in London, where he worked for the Bulgarian-language service of the British Broadcasting Corp. Markov died in 1978 after an unidentified man fired a poison-laced pellet into him from a special mechanism concealed in an umbrella. British investigators long have suspected Bulgarian agents in the murder.

– Associated Press

TWO EXPLOSIONS HIT PETROL STORAGE DEPOT

NOGINSK, Russia – Two explosions ripped through a petroleum storage depot outside Moscow early yesterday, killing two workers, injuring another, and forcing the evacuation of hundreds from nearby homes and a hospital, emergency officials said.

Preliminary investigations indicated a technical problem sparked the explosions at the depot in the town of Noginsk, about 35 miles east of Moscow, a spokesman for the Emergency Situations Ministry, Sergei Vlasov, said.

The blasts ripped through a chemical laboratory at the depot at about 5:50 a.m., he said. Two tanks of petroleum products inside the lab caught fire and the blaze spread to four nearby rail cars containing oil products.

Two laboratory workers were killed and one was in critical condition, Mr. Vlasov said. Russian TV video showed firefighters spraying foam over a wide area of industrial equipment and thick black smoke rising from burning rail cars. Amateur home video broadcast on NTV showed balls of flame shooting hundreds of feet into the air.

– Associated Press

WESTERN EUROPE

BLAIR MAY BLOCK E.U. TALKS OVER FARM SUBSIDIES

Tony Blair is ready to walk away from the negotiating table in Brussels tomorrow and block a deal on the E.U. budget unless other leaders agree to rethink the way the E.U. is financed. British officials predicted yesterday that there would be deadlock, with Mr. Blair determined to maintain Britain’s $5.5 billion a year rebate until France and others agreed to consider reductions in costly farm subsidies.

On the eve of the two-day summit, the British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, told MPs the only way to resolve the crisis was through a “fundamental review” of E.U. expenditure, not through removing Britain’s rebate. “Until and unless such a rebalancing of spending takes place, the U.K.’s rebate remains fully justified and we will, if necessary, use our veto to protect it, ” Mr. Straw said.

The Luxembourg prime minister and current holder of the rotating E.U. presidency, Jean-Claude Juncker, said it was unlikely that an agreement could be reached. He said Britain was outnumbered 24 to one in its defense of the rebate, and any deal would be impossible without a “correction” of the “British cheque.” But he appeared to give ground on Britain’s central argument that E.U. leaders reopen a three-year-old deal on farm subsidies.

Mr. Juncker said the Common Agricultural Policy should be on the table even though President Chirac of France told his cabinet the 2002 farm accord must be fully respected. The Irish prime minister, Bertie Ahern, said after meeting with Mr. Blair that the only area of E.U. finances that was non-negotiable was the CAP. That agreement was already closed and it would be “dishonorable” to farmers if it was reopened.

– The Daily Telegraph

EAST ASIA

CHINA TO ANNOINT NEW LEADER OF HONG KONG

Hong Kong’s new leader will be officially anointed today without a vote after his two would-be opponents, thwarted by the heavily weighted election system, pulled out of the race.

Donald Tsang, the territory’s former second-in-command, announced he had won 710 nominations or declarations of support from the 796-strong election committee. That meant neither of the other candidates could get the 100 nominations needed to force a contest.

The post of chief executive is his reward for 30 years spent grafting his way up the Hong Kong administration while showing unquestioning loyalty to three very different masters.

For his service as financial secretary to the British-led administration, he was knighted on the eve of the handover to China in 1997. He was then promoted to chief secretary, implementing the often unpopular policies of Tung Chee-hwa, the shipping billionaire from Shanghai appointed first chief executive by Beijing.

Despite his colonial links and his Catholicism, banned in China, he has also won the confidence of the Communist Party in Beijing, toeing the line on delaying the introduction of full democracy to the territory, and even the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

Beijing chose Mr. Tsang – he has not formally renounced his title, but never uses it – after Mr. Tung resigned in March, citing poor health. As the most popular figure in Hong Kong, the central leadership felt it had to give him the job in the hope of reconciling the population to its rule.

– The Daily Telegraph