News In Brief

A devastating earthquake jolted western Turkey, where early reports said more than 1,100 people were killed and more than 10,000 injured in Istanbul and other cities. The magnitude of the quake was reported between 6.7 and 7.8. Its epicenter was near the large industrial city of Izmit, 65 miles southeast of Istanbul. The Anatolian news agency also reported damage in Bursa and Ankara, Turkey, as well as in neighboring Bulgaria. Germany sent sniffer-dog patrols to search for survivors. International rescue teams from Germany and the US have already been deployed to offer aid. Above, a child lies on a bench in front of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, where many families spent the night outside, fearful of aftershocks.

Hizbullah militants reportedly killed an Israeli soldier and injured six others in Israel's occupation zone in southern Lebanon. The Iranian-backed Hizbullah claimed responsibility, claiming vengeance for Monday's murder of a senior guerrilla officer. Meanwhile, Palestinian and Israeli negotiators were scheduled to meet in Jerusalem to discuss such outstanding issues as borders, refugees, Jewish settlements, and the future of Jerusalem.

Remarking that "a prime minister could only lose" by dividing the presidential office and the Cabinet, Russian President Boris Yeltsin warned newly confirmed Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of straying from Kremlin policies. Putin, a former KGB spy, is the fifth prime minister Yeltsin has appointed in 17 months. Putin's ousted predecessor, Sergei Stephasin, plans to run for parliament in

December.

The Philippines stepped up airport security after the US warned of possible security breaches by Islamic fundamentals. Officials in Manila said the US did not identify a specific Islamic group or the nature of the threat at airports in Manila, Cebu, and the island of Mindanao, where Muslim rebels are fighting for an Islamic state.

An immediate cease-fire was called between Rwanda and Uganda to end three days of fighting between their troops in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

After a brief period of relative calm, violence returned to Algeria with the killing of 29 people by radical Islamic militants near the border with Morocco. Moderate militants signed a peace deal with the government in June, and the pulse of a violence-weary nation will be tested during a Sept. 16 referendum on the peace deal. An Algerian newspaper reported that the militants were using Morocco as a base.

Photographers are not to blame for the Paris road crash that killed Princess Diana, a French prosecutor said. Herv Stephan dropped all charges in the two-year-old case. The prosecutor's office blamed the crash on the driver's loss of control. Within two weeks, an investigating magistrate will make a final decision on whether to send anyone to trial.

(c) Copyright 1999. The Christian Science Publishing Society

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