Foreign Desk
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

WESTERN EUROPE
NORWEGIAN CLAIMS TO HAVE INFILTRATED MOSSAD
OSLO, Norway – In a rare public claim, a leading Norwegian pro-Palestinian Arab activist said yesterday she infiltrated the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad as a double agent in the 1980s. Karin Linstad was a founding member of the Norwegian Palestine Committee and is married to a high-profile Norwegian Muslim, Trond Ali Linstad, who converted to Islam in the 1980s. Ms. Linstad said she decided to reveal her former role because she is being identified as an agent in the Norwegian book “War and Diplomacy,” being published next week.
– Associated Press
BRITISH RAIDERS HUNT FOR IRA CHIEF
DUBLIN, Ireland – British detectives raided businesses and homes in England yesterday in hopes of discovering a paper trail that could lead to the reputed chief of the Irish Republican Army. For three decades, anti-terrorist police have monitored and arrested Thomas “Slab” Murphy but never charged him with a crime. Police identify him as a multimillionaire fuel smuggler and the chief of staff of the outlawed IRA. Anti-racketeering agencies in the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland say they suspect Mr. Murphy has built a massive portfolio of stocks and property.
The United Kingdom Assets Recovery Agency – a unit armed with powers to seize the cash, homes, cars, and investments of members of Northern Ireland’s paramilitary groups – announced it was investigating a property portfolio in Manchester, in northwest England, that involves about 250 residences and businesses worth an estimated $55 million.
– Associated Press
CHARLES AND CAMILLA TO VISIT AMERICA AS A MARRIED COUPLE
Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, will visit America next month for the first time since their wedding in April, the British Embassy said yesterday. The royal couple’s first official overseas tour will include stops in New York and San Francisco, and a dinner at the White House. The trip will also include a meeting with the U.N. secretary-general, Kofi Annan.
Prince Charles and Camilla will discuss the economic relationship between America and Britain, as well as a range of cultural and environmental issues, the embassy said. The prince last visited America to attend President Reagan’s funeral in June 2004. – Special to the Sun
BRITISH PRISONERS TO GET VOTE
LONDON – Prisoners in British jails could be given the vote after the European Court ruled yesterday that laws disenfranchising them were a breach of their human rights. In London, ministers promised a review but said that not all 70,000 prisoners in the country would get the vote. The British government’s defeat at the Human Rights Court in Strasbourg, by a majority of 12 votes to five, means that Parliament will have to change the law.
– The Daily Telegraph
SIX KILLED DURING MELILLA BORDER CLASH
MELILLA, Spain – Hundreds of African immigrants rushed guard posts surrounding the Spanish enclave of Melilla, and the official Moroccan news agency reported yesterday that six Africans were killed in clashes with Moroccan security services. Spain then said it would send 70 Africans who arrived illegally from Morocco back to that country. Spain says it is acting under a never-enforced 1992 agreement with Morocco that lets it send back immigrants arriving from that country even if they are not Moroccan.
– Associated Press
GERMANS HAGGLE OVER CHANCELLOR POSITION
BERLIN – Conservative leader Angela Merkel pushed her demand to serve as the next chancellor while the current one, Gerhard Schroeder, clung to his competing claim as they readied yesterday for tough talks aimed at ending Germany’s political crisis. The two prepared to meet for a round of negotiations along with the chairman of Mr. Schroeder’s Social Democrats, Franz Muentefering, and Mrs. Merkel’s fellow conservative leader, Edmund Stoiber.
Both sides warned that the haggling could last through Sunday. If Mr. Schroeder and Mrs. Merkel can decide who will back off, both parties are to hold leadership meetings Monday that could endorse the beginning of formal talks on a “grand coalition” of Germany’s two biggest political parties.
– Associated Press
EASTERN EUROPE
RUSSIA DISMISSES SPECULATION ON NUCLEAR TALKS
MOSCOW – Russia’s foreign minister yesterday dismissed speculation that Moscow might join talks between Iran and European negotiators on Tehran’s disputed nuclear program. “From the very beginning of the trio’s work in its talks with Iran, Russia has closely interacted in this process and this cooperation is continuing now,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters. “We are ready to make our contribution to this process, working in parallel, to achieve a result that is in everyone’s interest.”
His comments followed a meeting earlier in the day with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei. Their talks addressed ways of resuming the talks between Britain, Germany, and France, negotiating on behalf of the European Union, and Iran, which collapsed in August after Iran resumed uranium reprocessing work.
– Associated Press
CENTRAL AMERICA
DEATH TOLL FROM FIVE DAYS OF STORMS RISES TO 211
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – Rescuers pulled at least 40 more bodies from a landslide in Guatemala yesterday. Five days of bad weather, exacerbated by Hurricane Stan’s sweeping ashore on Tuesday, have contributed to the misery in the region. The recovery of the bodies pushed the death toll in the entire region to 211. The figure includes 14 people killed earlier this week in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Costa Rica, and 13 people who died in Mexico, 65 in El Salvador with the remainder in Guatemala.
– Associated Press
CARIBBEAN
AMERICANS WARNED AGAINST VISITING PORT-OF-SPAIN
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad – The American Embassy has warned American citizens to avoid the downtown area of the capital for four days next week following a series of bombings that have all occurred around the same time of the month. Americans in Trinidad and Tobago should avoid downtown Port-of-Spain from October 9 to October 12, and should take general precautions at all times, an embassy spokesman said yesterday.
– Associated Press
SOUTHERN AFRICA
MBEKI ACCUSED OF MALTREATING KHOI-SAN
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -The ancient Khoi-San people have accused South Africa’s government of implying that they are not African at all but mixed race “bastards.” Chief Elwin White said the refusal by President Mbeki’s government to grant his 5,000-strong community official status as the country’s earliest inhabitants was insulting. The Khoi-San’s plight had been made worse because they were denied job opportunities and often relocated away from their traditional homes, Chief White said. A government spokesman said he was “mystified” by Chief White’s allegations.
– The Daily Telegraph
CENTRAL AFRICA
PREPARATIONS BEGIN FOR CONGOLESE ELECTION
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo – The headquarters of the Independent Electoral Commission in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, resembles the country it is meant to serve. The commission’s offices are a ruined shell where bewildered, exhausted people must struggle to achieve the impossible.
A country that calls itself a democratic republic has an unelected, hereditary president. Joseph Kabila inherited the presidency from his father, Laurent, who was assassinated in 2001. Holding the polls has not been a priority for Mr. Kabila’s government. But peace accords specify that a new, elected government must be inaugurated by June 30 next year.
Congo’s population could be 50 million or 75 million, depending on which estimate is chosen. What is certain is that only 12 million are registered to vote and at least 20 million names need to appear on the electoral roll to make the polls credible. Voter registration began on June 20.
– The Daily Telegraph
SOUTHEAST ASIA
BALI RESTAURANTS WARNED A MONTH BEFORE BOMBING
BALI, Indonesia – Restaurants on a Bali beach hit by terrorists were warned a month ago that they could be targets following the discovery of a partially made bomb at a nearby hotel, but village leaders delayed plans to bolster security, an official said yesterday.
Cafes along Jimbaran Bay were told in August to station guards and to check bags and cars entering the area, but the village decided to wait until after a Hindu holiday celebrated on the resort island Wednesday – four days after the deadly October 1 attacks by three suicide bombers, police Captain D. Dharmada told the Associated Press. Captain Dharmada added that police had stepped up security, but there was a limited number of officers.
– Associated Press