TANJUG - March 31st, 2003

BELGRADE , Mar 31 (Tanjug) - Serbian Ministry of the Interior said Monday evening that the police investigating the assassination of Serbian Premier Zoran Djindjic are receiving daily fresh information clearly demonstrating that the assassination was part of a plot by the so-called patriotic forces, headed by war criminals and profiteers and instigators of the policy of crime from the ranks of parties in power under the regime of (former Yugoslav and Serbian president) Slobodan Milosevic.

Witnesses of the most monstrous crimes are testifying on strong ties between the alleged protectors of national interests of the Serb people and Milorad Lukovic, nicknamed Legija, former commander of the Special Operations Unit and some of its members, the statement says.

SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Former Bosnian Serb president Mirko Sarovic, who is currently chairing Bosnia's tripartite presidency, was directly responsible for illegal military exports to Iraq, an international report said on Sunday.

The exports -- sales by the state-owned Bosnian Serb company Orao of spare parts and services for Iraqi military aircraft -- broke a U.N. arms embargo. The affair came to light last October when NATO peacekeepers found evidence of the sales in a raid.

``The Republika Srpska (RS, Serb Republic) President, Mirko Sarovic, was politically responsible for VZ Orao trade with Iraq,'' said a report compiled by Western intelligence agencies and made available to Reuters.

``Sarovic bears significant responsibility for RS defense industry violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions against Iraq.'' The report, by a group of Western intelligence agencies code-named ``Tiger,'' was presented on Friday in Brussels to the Peace Implementation Council for Bosnia, the top international body involved in implementing peace in the Balkan country.

Sarovic has denied any responsibility for the sales.

International peace officials have said the arms exports represented a serious violation of international laws and the Dayton peace agreement that ended Bosnia's 1992-5 war. They asked local authorities for a full and detailed investigation.

The government of the Serb Republic, one of Bosnia's two autonomous regions, delivered a long report, but it failed to name those responsible or spell out systematic changes needed to prevent such violations in the future.

The authorities removed a number of senior military officials, including the defense minister and army chief of staff, as well as top Orao officials. A local prosecutor filed charges against 17 people involved in the affair.

But the Tiger report said these moves aimed to protect those responsible at the highest levels of government.

``The decision (to engage in illegal trade) was...likely made at levels in the RS government higher than the RS Ministry of Defense or the RS General Staff,'' it said.

The report said that according to the Bosnian Serb constitution, the president is the army commander in chief, ``in a real sense in control of the RS military establishment.''

ASHDOWN TO REMOVE PRESIDENT?

The top foreign peace envoy to Bosnia, Paddy Ashdown, has said he has international support for measures against the Bosnian Serb leadership over its involvement in the affair.

The measures are due to be announced on Wednesday, and local media have suggested he will sack Sarovic.

Ashdown, who has sweeping powers from the Peace Implementation Council to impose laws and sack officials seen as obstructing the peace process, has declined to say if he would remove the Serb president.

But his chief spokesman, Julian Braithwaite, said on Sunday that the British former politician would seriously consider the report's findings when making his decision.

``This (report) clearly established Mr. Sarovic's political responsibility for the Orao affair and the High Representative will take that into consideration,'' Braithwaite told Reuters.

The report also accused Bosnian Serb ex-Prime Minister Mladen Ivanic, who is now the Balkan country's foreign minister, of having known about the violations as a member of the Bosnian Serb Supreme Defense Council.

Ivanic also denies any responsibility.

``As Prime Minister, Mladen Ivanic was not directly in the VZ Orao chain of command, but did serve on the RS Supreme Defense Council,'' the report said.

Braithwaite said the report showed that the Supreme Defense Council had failed to exercise effective political responsibility and ``must take part of the blame.''

AS-SALIYAH, Qatar (AFP) - Some 200 members of Iraq's ruling Baath party were killed in a coalition attack at a gathering in the Basra region, US generals said.

"It was an attack against a Baath party assembly northeast of Basra yesterday (Friday) evening," Brigadier General Vincent Brooks, deputy director of operations at US central command, told a daily briefing here.

"It had about 200 members of the Baath party in attendance."

Brooks followed the remarks with footage showing a missile or bomb dropped on the building, which appeared to be blown to smithereens.

British troops besieging Basra said Saturday the Baath party apparatus in Basra was now their chief target.

"The targetting and eradication of the Baath party within Basra province is now our primary focus and military main effort," Colonel Chris Vernon told reporters in Kuwait City.

Full story here.

BELGRADE (Reuters) - The Serbian government on Saturday agreed to scrap a law blocking the extradition to the U.N. war crimes tribunal of any more nationals suspected of committing atrocities in the Balkan wars of the 1990s.

The decision now has to be submitted to parliament and voted on by deputies before it can be adopted.

Serbia's reformists want to change a controversial article governing the country's relations with The Hague-based court which stipulates only indictments submitted before the law came into force in April 2002 could be acted on.

The government is attempting to secure stability in the country following the assassination earlier this month of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic.

The government has blamed organized crime bosses for his murder and Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic told Beta news agency on Saturday he was convinced organized crime was also linked to the lobby opposed to the U.N. tribunal and had helped finance the protection of war criminals.

Reformist leaders who ousted former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in 2000 and handed him over to the U.N. court in 2001, said after a meeting of their top decision-making body on Saturday they would submit the proposal to scrap the law to parliament, Beta reported.

U.N. war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte had fiercely criticized the law blocking extradition of new suspects. She said in Belgrade earlier this month she would not ease pressure on Serbia to hand over war crimes suspects following Djindjic's assassination.

Del Ponte rejected suggestions by some Serbian politicians and commentators that the U.N. court's demands for cooperation from Belgrade were too onerous and could further destabilize the country.

Serbia and Montenegro Foreign Minister Goran Svilanovic has said he expected the war crimes court to issue up to seven new indictments against Serb nationals.

It was not immediately clear whether the seven new indictments included two indictments Del Ponte brought to Belgrade in October linked to the Srebrenica massacre by Serb forces of up to 8,000 Muslim men and boys during the Bosnian war in July 1995. The Srebrenica massacre was widely considered the worst atrocity in Europe since World War II.

Del Ponte has said there would be new indictments but has not said how many nor when they would be issued.

Top of Del Ponte's list are Bosnian Serb wartime commander Ratko Mladic and his erstwhile political master Radovan Karadzic.

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbian police demanded on Saturday that Mirjana Markovic, wife of former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic, return from Russia for questioning over the murder of a political rival or face an arrest warrant.

Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic said earlier police wanted to question the couple in connection with the discovery of the body of Ivan Stambolic, who disappeared while jogging in Belgrade shortly before Milosevic was overthrown in 2000.

Mihajlovic said an investigation showed Stambolic, a communist-era Serbian president and one-time ally of Milosevic who later became his political foe, had been abducted and shot dead by special police.

Milosevic has since been arrested and put on trial at the U.N. tribunal in The Hague, accused of war crimes in the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s.

The Serbian Interior Ministry said in its statement on Saturday it had evidence that Markovic left the country on February 23 and was in Russia.

It said it had sent a subpoena to Markovic through a lawyer summoning her to return to Serbia immediately for questioning.

``If she does not answer in the shortest possible time an international warrant for her arrest will be issued,'' the statement said.

Police said on Friday they were looking for Markovic because of well-founded suspicion she was involved in Stambolic's murder, which they said was politically motivated.

Police looked for Markovic, an influential figure during her husband's turbulent rule, in her Belgrade home on Friday and in the couple's home town of Pozarevac. Belgrade media said she was believed to be on the run.

Police took in for questioning three senior officials of Markovic's neo-communist Yugoslav Left party on Saturday, and released one later, the Yugoslav news agency Beta reported. The agency said that on Friday police also detained the security guards of Markovic's Belgrade home.

Caution: Should be considered armed and dangerous and an escape risk. If you have any information concerning this person, please contact your local police station or the nearest Serbian embassy or consulate.

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) -- Police found the remains of a former Serbian president and blamed the killing Friday on the same elite police unit suspected in the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic.

The body of Ivan Stambolic, who had been missing for nearly three years, was discovered Thursday in a lime-covered pit on a northern Serbian mountain, Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic said. He had been shot twice.

Police said they want to question Slobodan Milosevic, the former Yugoslav strongman now on trial for war crimes.

He and Stambolic -- who led Serbia during the communist era -- were bitter foes and it is widely believed Milosevic had Stambolic removed in the October 2000 Yugoslav presidential elections. Milosevic lost that vote and was toppled in a popular revolt after refusing to concede defeat.

Police also said they want to question Milosevic's influential wife, Mirjana Markovic, in connection with Stambolic's death. A police source said they were searching for her, suggesting she was on the run.

Stambolic disappeared Aug. 25, 2000, while jogging in a Belgrade park. He was one of the most prominent victims of a series of high-profile abductions and murders toward the end of Milosevic's 13-year rule.

The discovery of his body follows the arrest earlier this week of 15 members of an elite police force suspected in Djindjic's assassination, including the alleged triggerman, deputy commander Zvezdan Jovanovic.

Mihajlovic said four of those arrested were also behind Stambolic's killing. The unit, set up during Milosevic's rule, was disbanded on Wednesday.

Djindjic was shot to death March 12 as he stepped out of his armored car in downtown Belgrade. Authorities believe the assassination was organized by the criminal group Zemun Clan.

The ringleader, Milorad Lukovic, was once the commander of the elite police unit. He remains at large.

As prime minister, Djindjic engineered Milosevic's extradition to the Netherlands-based U.N. tribunal where the former president now is on trial for genocide and other war crimes. Afterward, Djindjic spearheaded efforts to crack down on the underworld, which made him many enemies.

Late Thursday, Serbian police killed two high-profile members of the clan who were also said to be top suspects in the Djindjic killing.

The two, Dusan Spasojevic, 35, and Mile Lukovic, 34, were gunned down in a shootout with the police in a Belgrade suburb where they had been hiding for days, armed with machine-guns and hand grenades. Mile Lukovic was not related to Milorad Lukovic.

Police have rounded up more than 3,000 suspects in the investigation that followed the assassination. About a third of them remain in custody.

Milosevic's regime forged ties between paramilitaries he sent to fight in the 1990s Balkan wars and underworld gangs.

The paramilitaries were later given a free hand to join the elite police unit while maintaining their links to crime and drug trafficking rings, authorities say. These ties continued even after Milosevic's ouster.

Stambolic's association with Milosevic dates back to the 1960s when the two started climbing the rungs of power in the Communist Party, which ruled Yugoslavia until the country started falling apart in 1991.

By 1980, Stambolic was president of Serbia, the country's largest republic -- and Milosevic's mentor. Then, in 1987, Milosevic staged a coup, purging Stambolic and replacing him both as Serbian president and head of the republic's Communist Party.

Over time Stambolic became one of Milosevic's most prominent critics. In a 1991 open letter, he predicted that the nationalistic policies of his erstwhile protege in Kosovo and elsewhere would destroy Yugoslavia and plunge Serbia into isolation.

Stambolic's son said the discovery of Stambolic's unmarked grave offered the family some relief.

``I cannot begin to imagine the horror my father had to go through,'' said his son, Veljko Stambolic. ``We demand further prosecution of Milosevic, his wife and others who ordered this murder.''

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbian police are looking for former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic's wife Mirjana Markovic and she is believed to be on the run, Belgrade media reported on Friday.

Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic earlier said police wanted to question the couple in connection with the discovery of the remains of communist-era Serbian President Ivan Stambolic, an ally-turned-foe of Milosevic.

He said the investigation showed that Stambolic, who disappeared while jogging in Belgrade, was killed by special police shortly before Milosevic was ousted in 2000. Milosevic is currently standing trial at the U.N. war crimes tribunal.

The Tanjug news agency and state television both said police were searching for Markovic, who was an influential if hated figure during her husband's turbulent rule.

Tanjug, quoting ``reliable sources,'' said she was on the run. Television said police had been at her Belgrade home as well as in the couple's home town of Pozarevac.

Neither government officials nor a representative from Markovic's neo-communist Yugoslav Left party were immediately available to comment on the reports.

Forensic scientists believe they have found the largest mass grave ever discovered in Bosnia. Several hundred Bosnian Muslims are thought to be buried at the site in the east of the country.

They are said to be victims of the Srebrenica massacre which took place towards the end of the Bosnian war in 1995.The grave is situated in dense woodland, a few kilometres from the town of Zvornik, close to the border with Serbia. The area is known as Crni Vrh, or Black Peak.

The International Commission for Missing Persons, the lead agency in discovering mass graves in the Balkans, says the site could contain as many as 600 people. That would make it twice as large as any other mass grave found in Bosnia.

Full story here.

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro - Police shot and killed two major suspects in the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic as they resisted arrest late Thursday, the government said.

Dusan Spasojevic and Milan Lukovic were leaders of the Zemun Clan, a crime gang that has been accused of masterminding the March 12 assassination of Djindjic, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

"The suspects resisted arrest and opened fire on police officers ... they were killed in an ensuing shooting" in the town of Barajevo, 17 miles south of the capital, the ministry statement said.

Full story here.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Using missiles and warplanes, allied forces struck Iraqi state-run television early Wednesday, and the station's signal was knocked off the air.

After a series of explosions along with the sound of low flying aircraft, smoke was seen next to the information ministry and the Iraqi TV building.

The signal from Iraqi Satellite TV, which broadcasts 24 hours a day outside Iraq (news - web sites), went off the air around 4:30 a.m. (8:30 p.m. EST Tuesday), according to monitors in Britain.

Iraq's domestic television service does not normally broadcast at that time, so it remained unclear if that signal was knocked out.

At the Pentagon (news - web sites), a U.S. military spokeswoman said coalition aircraft struck the Iraqi state-run television channel. Damage assessment was not complete, she told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Full story here.

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbian police have arrested Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic's suspected assassin, a deputy commander of a war-hardened special police unit set up during the rule of Slobodan Milosevic, the government said on Tuesday.

The government also decided to disband the Unit for Special Operations (JSO), a crack division that fought in the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s under then Yugoslav leader Milosevic, now standing trial at the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

The arrest and the unit's disbandment were the most dramatic developments yet in the massive hunt for the crime bosses held responsible for the March 12 killing of the reformist leader, which sparked fears of renewed instability in the Balkans.

New Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic, an ally of Djindjic, identified the suspect as Zvezdan Jovanovic and said he was a deputy commander of the JSO, based near the northern town of Kula and believed to number a few hundred members.

The Interior Ministry said separately that ballistic analysis showed that Jovanovic had used a Heckler Koch G3 sniper rifle found by police in the capital to shoot Djindjic.

The government said after an extraordinary session it had ordered JSO personnel to hand in their arms and uniforms.

It has previously named former JSO commander Milorad Lukovic, also known as Legija, as one of the crime gang leaders believed to have planned the assassination. He and other alleged ringleaders remain at large.

The government has accused a powerful drug cartel linked to Milosevic-era state security officials and led by Legija and others of organizing the killing in a bid to spread chaos.

Djindjic, who played a key role in the ousting of Milosevic in 2000 and enraged nationalists by sending him to The Hague the following year to stand trial, was shot dead by a sniper outside the main government building in Belgrade.

CRACKDOWN ON ORGANIZED CRIME

He fought to transform the impoverished republic from an international pariah to a Western-style democracy, and vowed to clamp down on the organized crime that flourished during Milosevic's turbulent decade in power.

Catching the assassin would be a major breakthrough for the authorities, who launched a sweeping crackdown on crime after Djindjic's murder almost two weeks ago.

``Police have identified the person whom they have the well-founded suspicion fired at late Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic,'' Zivkovic said in a brief statement.

``He was arrested yesterday and has been detained for further investigation,'' said Zivkovic, who took office last week.

He said another JSO member had been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the murder and its commander had been removed from his position and detained because of connections with the crime group behind the killing, known as the Zemun gang.

``The investigation does not end here...it will be concluded only after all those involved in the murder have been arrested and brought before justice,'' Zivkovic said.

Senior police officials later went to the JSO base in Kula to implement the government's decision. But unit members still guarded the premises late on Tuesday, a Reuters reporter said.

The division mounted a week of protests in 2001 including blocking roads with armored cars, complaining they had been manipulated into arresting two Serb war crimes suspects.

The government declared a state of emergency after Djindjic's assassination, giving police extra powers to hold people and raid houses. Police have since detained more than 1,000 people in their war on organized crime.

AS SAYLIYA CAMP, Qatar (Reuters) - The British military said on Tuesday it believed citizens of Basra were rising up against President Saddam Hussein, but an Iraqi minister denied a revolt was underway in Iraq's second city.

Asked if he could confirm British television reports about a possible uprising, British chief of staff Major General Peter Wall said: ``There are early indications that (a revolt) just might be started and we will be very keen to capitalize on it.''

``We have a duty to reinforce that but we've got to make sure we do that in a sensible way and don't do anything hotheaded that we might come to regret,'' he told reporters at Central Command, battle headquarters for U.S.-led forces, in Qatar.

Richard Gaisford, a television journalist with Britain's ITN reporting from just outside Basra, said British forces had bombed the ruling Baath Party offices in the city.

``They have completely destroyed the Baath party headquarters,'' Gaisford told Sky News. ``They've dropped a 2,000 pound bomb on the building... It's totally destroyed it.''

Citing military intelligence officers with British forces, Gaisford said British troops outside Basra were also targeting mortars used by Saddam's forces to quell a ``popular uprising.''

There was no independent confirmation of a revolt.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he had not heard the reports, but said he could imagine that forces loyal to Saddam were shooting deserters in Basra and said anybody trying to revolt was very courageous and he hoped they succeeded.

Global equities bounced higher on the reports of an uprising and oil, gold and U.S. bond prices fell as investors bet a revolt could shorten the time taken by the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam.

Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf denied the reports. ``I want to affirm to you that Basra is continuing to hold steadfast,'' he told Arabic language Al Jazeera television, monitored in Dubai.

The Shi'ite people of Basra rose up against Saddam's Sunni-dominated government after the 1991 Gulf War, but their revolt was rapidly smashed. U.S.-led forces had been hoping the Shi'ite south would welcome their invasion this time round.

But the Iraqi paramilitary group known as Saddam's Fedayeen, or men of sacrifice, has put up fierce resistance in the south.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair told a news conference the U.S.-led forces would not fail the Shi'ites this time.

HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

British troops have taken over responsibility for southern Iraq, including Basra, as U.S. forces press on toward Baghdad in their campaign to topple Saddam.

Major General Wall said of the reported uprising: ``We don't know what has spurred them, we don't know the scale of it. We don't know where it will take us.''

``We aren't seeing anything. We're just hearing reports that there are people who are appearing on the streets in significant numbers and who are essentially being less compliant with the regime than they are normally.''

U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Richard Myers said after the experience of the crushed rebellion of 1991, he could imagine citizens would be reticent about rising up.

Earlier, Colonel Chris Vernon, a British military spokesman in Kuwait, told a news conference that British forces arrayed around Basra had attacked precise Iraqi targets during the day and had captured a top official of Saddam's Baath party there.

Vernon later said two British tank crew members were killed by ``friendly fire'' from another British tank near Basra, taking the number of British servicemen listed as dead or missing in the U.S.-led war on Saddam to 22. Only two of those have been killed in combat with Iraqi forces.

Vernon said the British did not want to launch a full-scale attack on Basra for fear of inflicting huge civilian casualties. Instead, U.S. and British commanders wanted locals to take matters into their own hands.

SOUTHERN IRAQ (AP) -- Hordes of Iraqi soldiers, underfed and overwhelmed, surrendered Friday in the face of a state-of-the-art allied assault. An entire division gave itself up to the advancing allied forces, U.S. military officials said.

The division -- the 51st Infantry Division, with 8,000 men and as many as 200 tanks, a key unit in the defense of the southern city of Basra -- was the largest defection in a day when Saddam Hussein's forces showed signs of crumbling.

The surrendering soldiers were not the fabled and well-fed Republican Guardsmen who anchor Saddam's defense -- for the most part, these were a rag-tag army, many of them draftees, often in T-shirts. Their small arms could accomplish little against opposing forces wielding 21st century weaponry.

``A lot of them looked hungry. They haven't been fed in a while,'' said one U.S. military official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

He spoke after U.S. Marines and their allies took control of the strategic port city of Umm Qasr and with it, Iraq's access to the Persian Gulf. The out-classed Iraqis fought with small arms, pistols, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

Authorities said the nation's southern oil fields would be secured by day's end.

At the same time, the Army's 3rd Infantry Division surged 100 miles into Iraq. The Army's 101st Airborne Division joined the fight. Much more was to come -- an extraordinary land-based armada of allied weaponry and troops was caught in an enormous traffic jam in Kuwait, ready to strike when it could cross the border.

There were pockets of resistance, some of it stiff; a second combat death was reported Friday, a member of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force who was wounded while battling a platoon of Iraqi infantry.

But often, the opponent advanced with a white flag in hand, instead of a rifle.

Within a few hours of crossing into southern Iraq, the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit encountered 200 or more Iraqi troops seeking to surrender. One group of 40 Iraqis marched down a two-lane road toward the Americans and gave up.

Another group of Iraq soldiers alongside a road waved a white flag and their raised hands, trying to flag down a group of journalists so they could surrender.

Forty to 50 Iraqi soldiers surrendered to a Marine traffic control unit. They came down the road in the open back of a troop vehicle, their hands in the air for about a mile before they reached the Marines.

Their decision to give up the fight was not unexpected, or unprompted; for months, Iraq has been bombarded with messages from the Americans, urging its soldiers to refuse to fight.

At a Pentagon news conference Friday, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld called upon Iraq's military to ``do the honorable thing, stop fighting that you may live to enjoy a free Iraq, where you and your children can grow and prosper.''

How many Iraqis aside from the 51st Division had surrendered? No one knew for sure. Rumsfeld said he knew of a few hundred, and others who just quit fighting. ``A lot of people just leave and melt into the countryside,'' he said.

Rumsfeld said the allied forces were advancing, and now controlled ``a growing portion of the country of Iraq.'' The captured territory included two airfields in western Iraq.

Lt. Cmdr. Mark Johnson, a pilot returning to the USS Kitty Hawk from a mission over southern Iraq, said it appeared that Iraqi forces were withdrawing in front of advancing U.S. forces. He could see columns of Marines moving but ``there was nobody coming south to meet them.''

Time and again, he said, he was told to ignore targets like missile launch sites because U.S. troops had passed without any opposition.

The ground campaign appeared to be moving faster than planned. Units reached locations in Iraq 24 hours ahead of their expected arrival time, according to several reporters attached to those units.

The Army's 3rd Infantry Division was following a path through the desert west of the Euphrates River, avoiding populated areas. It appeared that strategists sought to minimize civilian and military casualties by flanking most Iraqi units, and going straight for the Republican Guard around Baghdad.

The bulk of the allied force hadn't even entered Iraq yet.

There was a huge traffic jam at the border -- thousands of vehicles parked in parallel rows, nothing but columns of trucks, humvees, oil tankers, flatbed tucks, armored vehicles and vehicles of every stripe, from horizon to horizon. The traffic was so bad that it took 6 1/2 hours for one unit to go 51 miles, in swirling dust.

Crossing the border Friday morning, the 3rd Battalion of the 7th Marine Infantry faced little resistance. Tanks attached to the battalion attacked five Iraqi tanks just north of the border, destroying them easily.

The battalion passed the brown, stone rubble of several buildings it had shelled just minutes before -- the air still held the acrid smell of explosives -- and at least five enormous pictures of a smiling Saddam Hussein, some with him wearing a robe, others with him in a headscarf, that stood intact at the border post.

They reached the town of Safwan, where speakers warned Iraqis to stay out of the Marines' way. A few ventured outside: A man on the side of the road bearing a white flag. Another in a long, gray robe, prostrate on the ground, apparently in prayer.

``I never thought I'd see this place,'' said Cpl. Matt Nale, 31, of Seattle. He stuck his head out of the top of an Amtrack armored personnel carrier, looked around, smiled and repeatedly nodded with wonder.

The Marines later took control of positions mostly abandoned by Iraq's 32nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade, blowing up a few abandoned tanks and armored personnel carriers and engaging in short firefights with a few Iraqi soldiers who had stayed back to defend their headquarters and barracks or were unable to flee in time.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq ordered Cable News Network (CNN), the U.S. television news channel, to leave Iraq on Friday and accused it of being a propaganda machine.

CNN, on air, said it was "sad to learn" that its four-strong team in Baghdad was being expelled.

"CNN has been ordered out of Iraq...because they have become a propaganda tool to spread lies and rumors," said an information ministry official who declined to be identified.

Overnight, CNN ran extensive live pictures of U.S. military units racing across the southern Iraq desert after they invaded the country and headed toward Baghdad, with little resistance.

Iraqi government officials, at a news conference, said such pictures being shown on Western TV networks were fabrications.

Full story here.

BELGRADE , March 20 (Tanjug) - The Serbia-Montenegro Foreign Ministry on Thursday handed over to Iraqi Ambassador Sami Sadoun Al-Kinani a note declaring two Iraqi diplomats at the Iraqi Embassy in Belgrade personae non grata because of their actions in violation of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations.

The Ministry ordered them and their families to leave the territory of Serbia and Montenegro within 72 hours, the Serbia-Montenegro Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

WASHINGTON - U.S. forces launched a strike against "targets of military opportunity" in Iraq (news - web sites), President Bush (news - web sites) said Wednesday night. He described the action as the opening salvo in an operation to "disarm Iraq and to free its people."

Bush spoke after the U.S. military struck with cruise missiles and precision-guided bombs against a site near Baghdad, where Iraqi leaders were thought to be, U.S. government officials said. There was no indication whether the attack was successful.

The strikes used Tomahawk cruise missiles and precision-guided bombs dropped from F-117 Nighthawks, the Air Force's stealth fighter-bombers, military officials said.

Full story here.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The main frequency of Iraqi state radio appeared to be taken over by the U.S. military as U.S. planes began bombing Baghdad at dawn on Thursday.

Full story here.

BELGRADE (Reuters) - New Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic took office on Tuesday vowing to hunt down the killers of his reformist predecessor and close ally Zoran Djindjic last week.

In a move likely to allay fears of a power vacuum in the volatile Balkans, the 250-seat legislature voted by 128 deputies for and 100 against to appoint the 42-year-old pro-Western politician as new premier of impoverished Serbia.

Zivkovic, like Djindjic a leading opponent of Slobodan Milosevic during the bloodstained 1990s, told parliament that police searching for the assassins had so far detained more than 750 people in a sweep targeting 155 known crime gangs.

``The most important thing for the Serbian government is to find the killers, or the inspirers of Zoran Djindjic's murder, the fight against organized crime,'' he later told reporters.

The government, which last week declared a state of emergency giving police extra powers to hold suspects, says gangster bosses linked to Milosevic-era state security officials ordered the assassination in a bid to create chaos.

It has also imposed media restrictions, telling news organizations to follow its line. Culture Minister Branislav Lecic on Tuesday announced the closure until further notice of tabloid daily Nacional and Identitet, a small tabloid weekly.

It banned distribution in Serbia of a Montenegrin daily.

``The reasons for such an action are, above all, in what they have written,'' Lecic told reporters.

Police said late on Monday they had arrested two alleged leaders of the Belgrade criminal group which the government says organized the murder. But suspected ringleaders, including a former special police commander, remain at large.

Djindjic, who played a key role in toppling then Yugoslav leader Milosevic in 2000, was shot by a sniper outside the main government building in Belgrade on March 12. The murder triggered fears of renewed instability in Serbia.

REFORMS TO CONTINUE

Zivkovic's appointment signaled the ruling DOS coalition's determination to continue pro-market economic reforms launched after it ousted Milosevic, even though many ordinary people feel they have so far failed to improve their lives.

He said the government would remain ``on the same path, with the same tasks and unchanged goals'' but also gave an indication of the challenges ahead by announcing a cut in this year's economic growth forecast to 3.5 from 5.0 percent.

He named senior Djindjic ally Cedomir Jovanovic as a deputy prime minister, but otherwise kept the cabinet unchanged.

``It is a positive sign. The government has remained intact and is rallying behind a new leader,'' said Balkan analyst Marcus Cox of the European Stability Initiative think tank.

He said it would be difficult to fill Djindjic's shoes. The slain premier was widely regarded as a very skilled political operator even though he lacked the popularity and nationalist appeal of his rival, ex-Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica.

But if Zivkovic succeeded in keeping the disparate coalition together ``that puts him in a strong position,'' Cox said.

Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia and other opposition parties have called for a broad-based government after the assassination, and voted against Zivkovic's appointment.

Among prime suspects still at large is a battle-hardened ex- special police commander, Milorad Lukovic, also known as Legija.

Police on Monday raided the home of the once-feared warlord Arkan and arrested his widow, folk music star Ceca, suspected of having close links with Legija and another key suspect.

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands followed the funeral procession on Saturday of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, assassinated by a sniper believed to be acting on the orders of gangster bosses.

It was the biggest crowd Serbia had seen since a mass uprising led by Djindjic and other reformers toppled Slobodan Milosevic (news - web sites) in October 2000, after a decade of Balkan wars and international ostracism for the impoverished republic.

The mourners joined the slow procession of the slain leader's body through chilly streets from Saint Sava cathedral to Belgrade's New Cemetery, where it was laid to rest with military honors in the Alley of the Great Men.

Western leaders including European Commission (news - web sites) President Romano Prodi and German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer were among those who paid last respects, under tight security, to the man they credit with ending Milosevic's authoritarian rule.

It was the biggest funeral in Belgrade since Communist dictator Josip Broz Tito died in 1980.

Full story here.

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Tens of thousands gathered in silence at Belgrade's Saint Sava cathedral on Saturday for the funeral of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, assassinated by a sniper believed to be acting on the orders of gangster bosses.

Western leaders including European Commission President Romano Prodi and German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer were among those who paid tribute, under tight security, to the man they credit with toppling Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.

Djindjic's widow and their two children, government ministers, black-robed religious leaders, army top brass and other dignitaries filed by Djindjic's coffin, which lay in the huge church draped in the red, blue and white Serbian flag.

As the Orthodox funeral ceremony took place inside the cathedral, masked and black-clad anti-terrorist troops were on guard outside where tens of thousands of ordinary Serbs paid their respects.

Serbian Orthodox bishop Amfilohije said the reformist leader had begun a renewal of Serbia and ``reached out a hand of reconciliation and peace'' to Europe and the world. ``But he was killed by a brother's blind hatred,'' he told the congregation.

Hailed by the West as a pro-democracy reformer but a hate figure for hardline Serb nationalists, Djindjic was gunned down in the courtyard of the main government building on Wednesday.

Special police armed with automatic rifles were among the security forces deployed for the biggest funeral in Belgrade since Communist dictator Josip Broz Tito died in 1980.

After the funeral service a procession began to carry Djindjic's body to Belgrade's New Cemetery, where it was to be laid to rest with military honors in the Alley of the Great Men.

``Serbia Remembers Forever,'' said a front-page headline in the Vecernje Novosti newspaper, next to a photograph of Djindjic's widow Ruzica standing with a portrait of her late husband, grey-haired but youthful-looking, at a government memorial service on Friday.

MILOSEVIC-ERA POLICE ACCUSED

The government imposed a state of emergency after Djindjic, 50, was killed. Authorities have pointed the finger at a powerful Belgrade criminal gang and at Milosevic-era police.

Djindjic played a key role in the overthrow of ex-Yugoslav President Milosevic in 2000. He later enraged nationalists by sending Milosevic to the U.N. tribunal in The Hague to face charges of war crimes in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo.

The reformist leader had promised to crush the crime gangs that flourished during Milosevic's bloodstained rule, and which were allegedly linked to his secret service.

Police said late on Friday they had detained more than 180 people and seized large amounts of weapons and drugs but that key figures remained at large.

The force issued a public appeal for information about eight suspects, including an ex-commander of a special police unit that fought in the Balkan wars of the 1990s.

As their sweep through the underworld continued, a source in Djindjic's party and local media said a reformist ally of his was likely to be nominated for his post on Sunday.

They said the Democratic Party -- the largest in the governing bloc -- was expected to name former Yugoslav Interior Minister Zoran Zivkovic, 42, as prime minister-designate. The parliament must approve any nomination.

Such a move would signal the ruling coalition's determination to push on with the Western-backed economic and political reforms spearheaded by Djindjic, and could ease fears of a power vacuum in the Balkan republic.

The assassination leaves Serbia with neither a prime minister nor elected president -- the latter post left vacant because election turnouts last year were too low to be valid.

Among key suspects at large is Milorad Lukovic, or ``Legija,'' a former head of the ``Red Berets'' -- a special police unit which saw action in the wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo.

Caution: Should be considered armed and dangerous and an escape risk. If you have any information concerning this person, please contact your local police station or the nearest Serbian embassy or consulate.

The Bulgarian Interior Ministry is investigating a Serb link in the murder of Bulgarian businessman Iliya Pavlov, Interior Ministry Chief Secretary Gen. Boyko Borissov announced upon departing for the Hagues.

He drew parallels between the murder of Pavlov and the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic Wednesday - both have been gunned down with the same type of weapon with one shot in the heart.

I am not saying that there is definitely a Serb link in the murder of Iliya Pavlov but it is our duty to investigate this version as well, General Borissov pointed out.

Iliya Pavlov, the president of Bulgaria's biggest industrial holding, MG Corporation and a prominent Bulgarian billionaire, was shot dead near the central office of MG Corporation on Friday night, a day after he testified in the murder trial of a former Prime Minister, Andrei Lukanov.

Colonel Valeri Grigorov, Customs Border Chief, announced that Serbia's Interior Ministry has requested information from Bulgaria's Interior Ministry on 300 young men, aged between 20 and 30, who entered Bulgaria , immediately after the assassination of Djindjic.

Note: More on assassination of Bulgarian billionaire Pavlov here.

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) -- Police hunting for the assassins of Serbia's prime minister rounded up more than 70 suspected mob figures Thursday and detained two of Slobodan Milosevic's former senior security chiefs.

The arrests came a day after Zoran Djindjic, 50, was gunned down in Belgrade. The prime minister had made enemies for his pro-Western stance and for declaring war on the organized crime that flourished both under and after former Serb leader Milosevic, now in the Netherlands on trial for Balkan war crimes.

In their first statement since the assassination, police said the arrested suspects had links to an underworld group targeted by Djindjic's anti-corruption campaign.

The government has accused Zemun Clan -- a shadowy crime group including former paramilitaries loyal to Milosevic -- of masterminding the attack on Djindjic and several other unsolved murders.

``I assure you we will arrest all responsible and liquidate anyone who resists arrest,'' said Dusan Mihajlovic, Serbia's interior minister.

Acting Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic said more than 70 people were detained, among them former state security chief Jovica Stanisic and his deputy, Franko Simatovic, who was led from his Belgrade home by three hooded policemen with machine guns.

Before being ousted in late 1990s, Stanisic, then head of Serbia's secret service, and Simatovic, who formed a dreaded paramilitary unit known as the Unit For Special Operations, led Milosevic's paramilitary campaigns in Croatia and Bosnia.

The two were believed to have maintained significant influence in the police and in mob circles even after the former Yugoslav president's ouster in 2000.

Still at large, despite a manhunt, were the main Zemun Clan suspects, including group leader Milorad Lukovic, who succeeded Simatovic as commander of the Unit for Special Operations. The group committed atrocities against civilians during the 1990s wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo.

Lukovic and his associates also are suspected of being behind attacks on Milosevic's opponents during the former dictator's rule -- the attempted murder of opposition leader Vuk Draskovic in 1999 and the 2000 abduction of former Serbian President Ivan Stambolic, not been seen or heard from since.

Arrest warrants for Lukovic and other underworld bosses were to have been signed on the day of Djindjic's assassination.

Across Belgrade, citizens and politicians mourned the prime minister, who played a key role in ousting Milosevic in October 2000 and extraditing him to the U.N. war crimes tribunal the following year.

Hundreds of Belgraders lined up in front of the government building, laying flowers and lighting candles at the spot where Djindjic was killed as he stepped from his armored car. Not far away, Djindjic's Democratic Party held a memorial service, pledging to continue his reformist policies.

An initial investigation showed there were three attackers who wore dark blue overalls with yellow labels. One was armed with a sniper rifle, the other two with handguns, police chief Milan Obradovic said.

The three fired at Djindjic through the open window of a room on the second floor of a nearby building and then fled on foot, he said. The snipers were not identified.

Serbian authorities gave police and army a free hand in the investigation, introducing a state of emergency that allows suspects to be arrested without a warrant and detained for up to 30 days without charges.

Armed with assault rifles, police at checkpoints throughout the capital searched cars and drivers. The army also pledged to help in the investigation, amid fears the country could plunge into violence in a possible power struggle for Djindjic's successor.

The government said Thursday the chairmanship of the Cabinet would be rotated until parliament elects a new prime minister. Covic, one of five deputy prime ministers, took the helm only initially.

The party of former Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica, Djindjic's political foe, criticized the state of emergency, calling it an ``extreme and potentially hazardous measure.'' It called for the formation of a transitional government.

There also were concerns that Djindjic's death could jeopardize Serbia's cooperation with the West and block badly needed foreign investment. But finance minister Bozidar Djelic said the reforms would continue.

Djindjic's funeral was scheduled for Saturday.

MOSCOW (AP) -- Aslan Dzhabrailov says he wasn't supposed to be seen again, dead or alive.

He says Russian troops in Chechnya dragged him from his bed last month and tortured him, then ignited explosives under him and his dead brother, apparently to erase the evidence. Had the explosives gone off, the men's remains would have been unrecognizable.

In what would be a grisly twist to the pattern of alleged military abuses in Chechnya's 3 1/2-year war, residents and human rights campaigners say fragments of blown-up bodies are being found all over the war-ruined region. Rather than put a stop to human rights violations, the military appears to be doing its best to hide them, critics say. Some even see signs of a coordinated campaign of killing Chechens.

``Lately, near a pipeline not far from our village, (Chechen) policemen have been finding people's blown-up remains,'' said Murzabek Saidulayev of Belgatoi, about 18 miles south of Grozny, the capital. ``That's where the federals (troops) like to blow up corpses. They drive there in armored personnel carriers.''

Lawmaker and rights campaigner Sergei Kovalyov theorizes that the intent is to make it difficult for independent investigators to connect the corpses to the soldiers who allegedly arrested them. Bodies blown up beyond recognition can more easily be blamed on the rebels, he says.

Kovalyov traveled to the United States and Britain last month to press for action, but was told ``quiet diplomacy'' was preferable. He says that isn't working.

President Vladimir Putin and other officials have repeatedly called on troops to obey the law during security sweeps that civilians say often lead to disappearances.

Last year the military ordered arresting troops to fully identify themselves and inform relatives of detainees' whereabouts. But rights advocates say the order is ignored and most likely meant to appease critics.

The pattern of blown-up bodies, and the fact that remains of people from different parts of Chechnya are found in the same place, point to a centralized system of violence, Kovalyov said.

``What comes to mind immediately are death squads. ... The question of genocide could be raised,'' he added.

Igor Botnikov, a Kremlin spokesman on Chechnya, scoffed at the charges, saying he would ``leave those words on Mr. Kovalyov's conscience.''

Asked if the charges were worth checking, he said all allegations of military abuse are investigated.

Independent verification is impossible because violence and government restrictions prevent Western journalists from working unimpeded in Chechnya.

Dzhabrailov, 23, spoke to The Associated Press on condition his location not be revealed because he feared reprisals. The details of his story match the patterns Kovalyov's allies at the Russian human rights group Memorial have documented.

His head bandaged and his face covered in bruises, Dzhabrailov said masked troops stormed his house in the village of Pobedinskoye, 9 miles west of Grozny, at dawn on Feb. 16. They pulled him and his brother Valid, 30, from their beds, and -- ignoring the pleas of their mother and sister -- handcuffed them, put sacks over their heads and drove for about an hour until they heard gates opening.

He said he heard helicopters and believed he was at Khankala, the military's main base in Chechnya.

Dzhabrailov was separated from his brother and brought to a basement, where he remained chained to a pipe for a day and a half. Masked men visited him periodically, jabbing his kidneys with guns and breaking his nose with flashlights.

They demanded Dzhabrailov confess to having fought with the rebels. Dzhabrailov said he was never involved in fighting.

In the evening, he said, an unmasked man came, silently put a bag over Dzhabrailov's head and led him to a vehicle.

``A cold body lay under me,'' he said.

After a long ride, the men removed the corpse from the truck and dragged Dzhabrailov onto the ground, his head still covered. He said he heard a shot and a bullet took off some skin above his ear.

Dzhabrailov said he heard the men put something underneath him and the corpse and light it with a cigarette lighter.

Then the truck left, and Dzhabrailov freed himself and extinguished the lit fuse.

He looked at the corpse next to him and recognized his brother's mangled body by his clothes.

BELGRADE , March 12 (Tanjug) - At the Serbian government's proposal, acting Serbian president Natasa Micic on Wednesday declared a state of emergency in the country, on the occasion of the assassination of Serbian Premier Zoran Djindjic.

"I accept the Serbian government's proposal to declare the state of emergency in order to preserve the safety of people and property and carry out a decisive battle between the state organs and organised crime," Micic told reporters at the Serbian government.

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) -- In Serbia's darkest hours, Zoran Djindjic stood up to the Balkans' worst dictator and single-handedly engineered Slobodan Milosevic's extradition to the U.N. war crimes tribunal.

Once the autocratic ruler was toppled, Serbia's prime minister spearheaded democratic reforms meant to pull the republic -- long ostracized by the world -- back into Europe's mainstream.

Two fatal bullets fired Wednesday ended the life and aspirations of Djindjic, the man who personified Serbia's hopes for a better future.

Too stunned yet to start its grieving, some Serbs promptly pronounced Djindjic as the country's ``own Kennedy'' after the admired and assassinated U.S. president.

Born Aug. 1, 1952 to the family of a Yugoslav army officer in Bosanski Samac in neighboring Bosnia -- then part of the former Yugoslavia's six-state communist federation, Djindjic was raised and educated in Belgrade. He studied in the philosophy department of the capital's university, then a hotbed of liberal opposition to Tito's communist regime.

In 1977, he left to earn a doctorate in philosophy at Heidelberg, Germany. His academic career continued abroad, mostly at German universities.

A passionate anti-communist, Djindjic joined the Democratic Party since its founding days and took over its helm in 1994. Milosevic's autocratic rule already had plunged the former country into a series of ethnic wars that wreaked Europe's worst carnage since World War II.

In 1997, together with the Zajedno or ``Together'' coalition, Djindjic led three months of anti-Milosevic protests that daily challenged the dictator's police on Belgrade streets and caught the attention of freedom-fighters world over.

In 1999, Djindjic succeeded in uniting Serbia's fledgling pro-democracy movement and propelled the rise of Vojislav Kostunica in a popular uprising. It swept Milosevic from power in October 2000.

After Kostunica succeeded Milosevic as Yugoslavia's president, Djindjic emerged as the second most-powerful man in the country, becoming Serbia's prime minister after the pro-democracy alliance's convincing victory in December 1999 elections.

Djindjic's pro-Western government worked hard to bring the country into Europe's mainstream. For many Serbs, hopes of joining the European Union -- and the promise of Western investment, open borders and free trade -- was seen as the only way out of their misery of 60 percent joblessness, low living standards and staggering inflation.

Once in the prime minister's office, Djindjic accused Kostunica of nationalist rhetoric, pessimism and lack of determination to carry out changes after Milosevic's ouster.

Kostunica countered by saying Djindjic sought to turn Serbia into a ``Colombia-style'' mafia state, and he criticized the prime minister's suave public image, entourage of bodyguards and upscale lifestyle.

Djindjic was aware his pro-Western stance led to shaky popularity in Serbia, where nationalism still prevailed and where many were indoctrinated by Milosevic's reign into believing the West essentially anti-Serb. But he calmly pledged to continue on his reform path, and he declared an open war on the rampant organized crime that had engulfed the region.

Kostunica and Djindjic finally split, with Djindjic outmaneuvering Kostunica when what remained of Yugoslavia was transformed last month into a new, loose union renamed Serbia and Montenegro.

Djindjic's term was due to expire in 2004. It was not immediately clear who might succeed him.

Despite their bitter animosity, Kostunica deplored Djindjic's assassination, saying that while they disagreed on many issues, the shots that took Djindjic's life were ``proof that terrorism must be condemned and fought relentlessly, everywhere.''

Djindjic is survived by his wife, Ruzica; a son, Luka; and a daughter, Jovana.

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbia's government was seeking to impose a state of emergency Wednesday following the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, said Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic.

"The Serbian government has proposed the imposition of a state of emergency on the whole territory of the republic of Serbia," Covic told reporters after a government emergency session. The measure must be approved by parliament.

A senior official of Serbia's ruling coalition said the government, which confirmed Djindjic's death, had appointed Covic as acting prime minister.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush offered condolences Wednesday to Serbians mourning the loss of their pro-Western prime minister, Zoran Djindjic.

``Prime Minister Djindjic will be remembered for his role in bringing democracy to Serbia and for his role in bringing Slobodan Milosevic to justice,'' White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

Bush, he said, ``expresses his sorrow to the people of Serbia.''

Djindjic saw Serbia's fate as linked to the West and favored greater cooperation with the U.N. war crimes tribunal, where Milosevic, the former president, is now standing trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro - Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic — who spearheaded the revolt that toppled former President Slobodan Milosevic (news - web sites) in October 2000 — was assassinated Wednesday by gunmen who ambushed him outside the government complex.

Djindjic, 50, died of his wounds in a Belgrade hospital after having been shot in the abdomen and back, said Nebojsa Covic, a deputy prime minister. The Cabinet, meeting in emergency session, held a minute of silence. Witnesses said two suspects were arrested.

The government building where Djindjic was ambushed was sealed off by heavy state security, and three ambulances were parked in front. Police carrying machine guns and wearing bulletproof vests stopped traffic in downtown Belgrade, searching through cars and checking passengers.

Full story here.

Bucharest, 11 March 2003 (RFE/RL) -- Some 3,000 protesters gathered today in Bucharest to demand that the government open the files of the communist-era secret police, the Securitate.

The protesters joined hands to form a chain around the vast palace of late Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu, the building that now houses parliament.

The demonstrators, including self-described victims of the former regime, said Romanians have a right to know the identities of the Securitate's former agents and informers. Many protesters expressed anger that former Securitate agents continue to hold high positions in government.

Legislation was passed in 1999 allowing for the secret-police files to be opened, but the measures have not been implemented because of resistance from the current intelligence service and some members of government.

WASHINGTON - In a flashy debut for its biggest non-nuclear bomb, the Air Force on Tuesday dropped a 21,000-pound behemoth onto a test range in Florida, hoping the test would rattle nerves in Iraq as well. The bomb test was declared a success.

A Massive Ordnance Air Blast, or MOAB, weapon is prepared for testing at the Eglin Air Force Armament Center on Tuesday, March 11, 2003. The Air Force tested the MOAB, the biggest conventional bomb in the U.S. arsenal on Tuesday, March 11, 2003, in Florida.

Full story here.

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) -- Five Iraqi diplomats were expelled from Romania over the weekend for ``activities incompatible with their status,'' diplomatic jargon for spying.

The Foreign Ministry anounced the expulsions Monday but did not name the diplomats. In a brief statement sent to The Associated Press, the ministry said the diplomats were asked to leave last Saturday.

``The decision was taken after concluding the incompatibility of the activity of these people regarding the provisions of the Vienna Convention for diplomats,'' the statement said.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Costin Dobran later told the AP that Iraq's ambassador to Romania, Majid Saad Hamid, had not been expelled. Nobody was answering the phones at the embassy.

Last week the United States expelled two U.N.-based Iraqi diplomats and said Washington had identified 300 Iraqis in 60 countries -- some operating as diplomats out of Iraqi embassies -- whom it also wanted expelled.

U.S. officials said the alleged Iraqi agents could attack American interests overseas. Iraq has denounced the U.S. request and called it ``a frantic campaign'' by the CIA.

The Foreign Ministry in Bucharest said it was a ``purely Romanian operation.'' Prime Minister Adrian Nastase also denied that there had been any pressure or messages from the United States, private Realitatea TV reported.

Foreign Minister Mircea Geoana said the expulsions were made over the weekend without any problems. He said Romania's secret services were involved in the operation but gave no details about accusations made against the Iraqis.

Geoana said last week that Romania had closed its embassy in Baghdad amid growing fears of a U.S.-led war to rid Iraq of its alleged weapons of mass destruction. The embassy had four diplomats.

On Monday, Australia said an Iraqi diplomat accused of being an Iraqi intelligence officer had been ordered to leave the country by Wednesday. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer rejected criticism that his government had succumbed to U.S. pressure in deciding to expel Iraqi diplomat Helal Ibrahim Aaref, accused of being an Iraqi intelligence officer. He was ordered to leave the country by Wednesday.

``We certainly conferred with the Americans on this,'' Downer told reporters in Canberra. ``And they have asked us to look into the activities of Iraqi diplomats.''

But, he added, ``The U.S. doesn't instruct Australia. Australia is an independent country.''

A U.S. Embassy spokeswoman said Australia and the United States shared intelligence and made similar assessments on the Iraqi diplomat's activities.

Downer said the Australian Security and Intelligence Organization had discovered that Aaref, who has spent four months in Australia, was working as an Iraqi intelligence officer and was believed to be associated with Iraq's feared secret police, the Mukhabarat.

In December 2001, Romania expelled an Iraqi diplomat for spying, acting under pressure from the British authorities.

Romania had excellent relations with Iraq during the regime of the late dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, which ended with his overthrow and death in 1989. Iraq has one of the most lavish embassies in the Romanian capital, a reminder of the good relations in communist times.

However, in recent years, as Romania has moved to join NATO and the European Union, relations have deteriorated between the two countries.

Iraq has an unpaid debt to Romania worth $1.7 billion, which dates back to before 1989.

Romania is among 10 former communist countries that support the tough U.S. stance on Saddam Hussein and nearly 4,000 U.S. troops are based in the Black Sea port of Constanta, in preparation for a possible war against Iraq.

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) -- International officials froze assets linked to top war crimes fugitive Radovan Karadzic on Friday, in a strike against the support network that helped the Bosnian Serb wartime leader evade arrest for years.

Bosnia's top international official, Paddy Ashdown, ordered that bank accounts and assets of two alleged Karadzic associates, Momcilo Mandic and Milovan Bjelica, be frozen in Bosnia and abroad.

``If you want to kill this poisonous tree, you need to go after its roots,'' Ashdown said, referring to the network. ``I warned people: if you are helping Radovan Karadzic, life is about to get tougher. And today it has.''

The two suspects allegedly led a network that supported Karadzic by raising money through criminal activities, such as corruption in the public utilities and tax evasion.

Ashdown said Mandic was widely regarded as the financial controller of Karadzic's secret network, while Bjelica was Karadzic's main communications link to the outside world.

NATO-led peacekeepers in Bosnia -- called SFOR -- raided Bjelica's offices as the announcement was made and seized documents. Ashdown also removed Bjelica from his position as chairman of the municipal assembly of Pale, Karadzic's former stronghold.

The peace accord that ended Bosnia's war gives the top international official the power to fire local politicians.

At a news conference in Pale, Bjelica denied he had any links with Karadzic.

In Washington, the U.S. government put two Bosnian businesses on its blacklist, ManCo Oil Co. and Privredna Banka Sarajevo, which Mandic owns. The Treasury Department said ManCo Oil provided funding for Karadzic and the bank was used to launder money.

In what appeared to be a related move, the peacekeepers entered the Bosnian Serb parliament building and the Bosnian Serb army headquarters in Banja Luka and searched offices at both sites. The troops were seen taking six large bags of documents out of the parliament building.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia, Clifford Bond, announced that Washington had ordered the freezing of any property and interests Mandic and Bjelica might have in the United States.

The U.S. government also urged other countries, including Greece and Serbia and Montenegro, to do the same. Mandic is known to have property in Belgrade.

Authorities in Bosnia believe Mandic and Bjelica, have assets in Bosnia, Serbia and Greece, and according to Bond, the governments in Belgrade and Athens had been formally approached and asked to take action on the matter.

Authorities also said the two could have assets elsewhere, but did not name any countries. But no assets are known to be held in the United States, and the U.S. statements today appeared to be largely symbolic, aimed at encouraging other countries to freeze any suspect funds.

Karadzic was indicted in 1995 by the United Nations war-crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, for genocide and other war-crimes committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war. Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has been on trial for more than a year at the court on charges of genocide and war crimes.

Bosnia's top human rights court has awarded unprecedented compensation to relatives of victims of the Srebrenica massacre. It has ordered the current Bosnian Serb authorities to pay around 1.8 million euros ($2m).

The panel of mainly international judges said the Bosnian Serb authorities had failed to tell the truth about the fate and whereabouts of the victims and were therefore in breach of the European Convention of Human Rights.

Full story here.

A prominent Bulgarian billionaire has been shot dead in the capital Sofia, a day after he testified in the murder trial of a former Prime Minister, Andrei Lukanov.

Iliya Pavlov, the president of Bulgaria's biggest industrial holding, MG Corporation, was shot on Friday afternoon outside his office and died shortly afterwards in hospital.

"Iliya Pavlov was killed by a single bullet that hit close to his heart," Bulgarian Interior Minister Georgi Petkanov said, adding that his several bodyguards were unhurt.

Mr Pavlov, 43, was thought to be the richest man in Bulgaria, worth about $1.5bn (£933m). His company employs about 10,000 people.

Full story here.

Italian police have arrested a wanted Mafia crime boss in what they say is a major blow to the organisation. Salvatore Rinella, 49, was arrested in an apartment in the Sicilian city of Palermo after several years on the run. Rinella has already been convicted and sentenced to life in prison for murder for a killing in 1979.

Full story here.

PODGORICA , March 7 (Tanjug) - Montenegrin Association of Independant Writers on Friday invited novelists, scientists, media, and other corresponding associations in the republic to adopt a declaration on the use of Montenegrin language.

The invitation was submitted to Montenegrin MPs, who were suggested to give the initiative that the the language of the Montenegrin people be called by its national name in the Montenegrin Constitution.

Official lists of those who co-operated with communist-era secret police will be published on 20 March, the Czech Interior Ministry has said.

The secret police (StB) is thought to have carried out more than 230 executions, jailed about 280,000 people on political charges, and confined around 7,000 people in mental institutions against their will.

The StB used a complex network of spies and informants to build cases against supposed dissidents.

A list of the names of about 160,000 alleged collaborators was made public over a decade ago by the former dissident and political prisoner Petr Cibulka, who said he received them from a source with access to StB records.

Full story here.

One of the few independent Russian newspapers to take a critical approach to the Kremlin has closed down.

Journalists at the Novye Izvestiya newspaper published a letter on the front page of Friday's final edition, saying they were no longer able to write what they believed to be necessary.

In the last two years there has been a string of closures of opposition media in Russia.

The immediate reason for the closure of Novye Izvestiya was the refusal of its journalists to work there any more. They claim that a reshuffle of the paper's staff carried out recently by the board of directors was done so that the paper would project a more pro-Kremlin line.

Full story here.