Army closes in on Sharif, kin arrested
Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau, set up by the military government, arrested the younger brother of ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday in connection with ``unpaid bank loans,'' a military spokesman said.

India's talkathon with US finally begin to fructify
Some 18 months and nine rounds into an Indo-US talkathon that acquired deptth and urgency following India's nuclear tests, the two countries have reached a broad range of agreements that will lay the foundation for a more solid and engaging relationship in the new millennium starting with a Presidential visit early next year.

Hillary under pressure to pull out of senate race
Hillary Clinton faces heavy pressure this week to launch her candidacy officially for the New York senate or else pull out of the race, after opinion polls revealed declining support among core voters.

  Iraq halts oil-for-food programme
  Anwar saga clouds prospect of another ruling party triumph
  Earthquakes jolt southern Taiwan
  Jaswant heads for Japan to improve bilateral ties
  AIDS still gaining momentum -- UN
  Protester take aim at WTO meeting in Seattle
  BBC expose on Milan modelling draws fire in Italy
  Archer's fortunes go from bad to worse
  Russians pound rebel bastion in Chechnya
  At a glance
  French cavers rescued safely after 10 days underground
  Periscope on Pakistan
  I'll hand over Chandrika to LTTE -- Oppn leader
  Mannesmann AG to speed up split of group
  Vodafone CEO appeals to Mannesmann shareholders
  Holzmann to begin insolvency process after talks fail with creditors
  Oil prices ease after surging to nine-year high
  Peddle pusher -- Chinese company tests frontier of e-commerce
  China's bid to cut import tariffs may lead to influx of foreign meat
  Refining margins in Asia to be up by end-2000 -- CSFB
  Slump in copper prices to hit Freeport Indonesia hard
  Microsoft must disinvest Internet Explorer, says consumer group
  Shanghai sets up $120m venture-capital fund
  CMGI plans $1 bn fund