Matt Lawton hit a three-run homer off closer Mike Fetters with one out in the ninth to give Minnesota a 4-2 lead .


But Milwaukee tied it up in the bottom of the ninth on pinch-hitter Dave Nilsson 's two-run double .


CRICKET - ESSEX AND KENT MADE TO SWEAT IN TITLE RACE .


Essex and Kent both face tense finishes on Monday as they attempt to keep pace with title hopefuls Derbyshire and Surrey , convincing three-day victors on Saturday , in the English county championship run-in .


Essex need another 148 with five wickets in hand to beat Yorkshire after a maiden first-class century from Richard Kettleborough transformed a match which his side had seemed certain to lose .


Kent will also need to keep their nerve against struggling Nottinghamshire who will enter the final day 137 ahead with four wickets left in a relatively low-scoring match at Tunbridge Wells .


Derbyshire , nine-wicket winners over Worcestershire , and Surrey , who thrashed Warwickshire by an innings and 164 runs , can instead take the day off along with rivals Leicestershire , who beat Somerset inside two days .


Warwickshire captain Tim Munton is tipping Surrey to emerge on top , impressed by the positive influence of Australian coach Dave Gilbert , but Derbyshire 's Australian captain Dean Jones is conceding nothing as his side chase their first title for 60 years .


" We took three absolutely brilliant catches in this match and our catching all season has been pretty impressive .


Our catching will win or lose us the championship , " he said .


GOLF - LEADING MONEY WINNERS ON EUROPEAN TOUR .


European Tour after the British Masters won by Robert Allenby on


12. Frank Nobilo ( New Zealand ) 209,412


14. Padraig Harrington ( Ireland ) 202,593


15. Retief Goosen ( South Africa ) 195,283


16. Miguel Angel Jimenez ( Spain ) 184,180


18. Miguel Angel Martin ( Spain ) 182,533


RUGBY UNION - ENGLISH , SCOTTISH AND WELSH RESULTS .


SOCCER - WALES BEAT SAN MARINO IN WORLD CUP QUALIFIER .


Wales beat San Marino 6-0 ( halftime 4-0 ) in a World Cup soccer European group 7 qualifier on Saturday .


Scorers : Dean Saunders ( 2nd minute , 75th ) , Mark Hughes ( 25th , 54th ) , Andy Melville ( 33rd ) , John Robinson ( 45th ) .


SOCCER - UKRAINE BEAT NORTHERN IRELAND IN WORLD CUP QUALIFIER .


Ukraine beat Northern Ireland 1-0 ( halftime 0-0 ) in a World Cup soccer European group nine qualifier on Saturday .


RUGBY UNION - LYNAGH SEALS VICTORY OVER DWYER AND LEICESTER .


Former Wallaby captain Michael Lynagh began his career in English club rugby in impeccable fashion on Saturday to frustrate his old coach Bob Dwyer on his league coaching debut with Leicester .


Lynagh kicked five penalties and a conversion from his six attempts at goal to steer his multi-national Saracens side to a 25-23 home win and offer millionaire backer Nigel Wray an early return on his big investment in the north London club .


French centre Philippe Sella also enjoyed a good game alongside Lynagh , although the home team scored only one try through England scrum-half Kyran Bracken .


The new French connection at Harlequins also made a good start , Laurent Cabannes and Laurent Benezech scoring a try apiece in their side 's 75-19 victory over Gloucester .


Former England captain Will Carling , handed the kicking duties , finished with 20 points .


With the first day of the league season briefly shifting the spotlight away from the discord between the clubs and the Rugby Football Union , there were also emphatic victories for champions Bath , 56-13 winners over Orrell , and Northampton and narrow successes for Wasps and Bristol .


Saturday 's matches ( tabulated - played , won , drawn , lost , goals


after Saturday 's matches ( tabulated - played , won , drawn , lost ,


Postponed : East Fife v Clydebank , St Johnstone v


Postponed : Birmingham v Barnsley , Manchester City v Charlton


Playing Sunday : Queens Park Rangers v Bolton


CRICKET - ENGLISH COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP SCORES .


Results and close scores of four-day English county championship matches on Saturday :


At Portsmouth : Middlesex beat Hampshire by 188 runs .


Middlesex 199 and 426 , Hampshire 232 and 205 ( A. Fraser 5-79 , P. Tufnell 4-39 ) .


At Chester-le-Street : Glamorgan beat Durham by 141 runs .


At Chesterfield : Derbyshire beat Worcestershire by nine wickets .


Worcestershire 238 and 303 ( K. Spiring 130 not out , S. Rhodes 57 ; P. DeFreitas 4-70 ) , Derbyshire 471 and 71-1 .


Derbyshire 24 points , Worcestershire 5 .


At The Oval ( London ) : Surrey beat Warwickshire by an innings and 164 runs .


Warwickshire 195 and 109 ( J. Benjamin 4-17 , M. Bicknell 4-38 ) , Surrey 468 ( C. Lewis 94 , M. Butcher 70 , G. Kersey 63 , J. Ratcliffe 63 , D. Bicknell 55 ) .


At Headingley ( Leeds ) : Yorkshire 290 and 329 ( R. Kettleborough 108 , G. Hamilton 61 ; P. Such 8-118 ) , Essex 372 and 100-5 .


At Hove : Sussex 363 and 144 , Lancashire 218 and 53-0 .


At Tunbridge Wells : Nottinghamshire 214 and 167-6 ( C. Tolley 64 not out ) , Kent 244 ( C. Hooper 58 ; C. Tolley 4-68 , K. Evans 4-71 )


At Bristol : Gloucestershire 183 and 249 ( J. Russell 75 ) , Northamptonshire 190 and 218-9 .


MOTOR RACING - LEADING QUALIFIERS FOR VANCOUVER INDYCAR RACE .


Sunday 's Vancouver IndyCar race after final qualifying on


Saturday ( tabulate by driver , country , chassis , motor and lap


1. Alex Zanardi ( Italy ) , Reynard Honda , 53.980 ( 113.576


2. Michael Andretti ( U.S. ) , Lola Ford Cosworth , 54.483


3. Bobby Rahal ( U.S. ) , Reynard Mercedes-Benz , 54.507


4. Bryan Herta ( U.S. ) , Reynard Mercedes-Benz , 54.578


5. Jimmy Vasser ( U.S. ) , Reynard Honda , 54.617


6. Paul Tracy ( Canada ) , Penske Mercedes-Benz , 54.620


7. Al Unser Jr ( U.S. ) , Penske Mercedes-Benz , 54.683


8. Andre Ribeiro ( Brazil ) , Lola Honda , 54.750


9. Mauricio Gugelmin ( Brazil ) , Reynard Ford Cosworth , 54.762


10. Gil de Ferran ( Brazil ) , Reynard Honda , 54.774


SOCCER - CANADA BEAT PANAMA 3-1 IN WORLD CUP QUALIFIER .


Canada beat Panama 3-1 ( halftime 2-0 ) in their CONCACAF semifinal phase qualifying match for the 1998 World Cup on Friday .


Canada - Aunger ( 41st min , pen ) , Paul Peschisolido ( 42nd ) , Carlo Corrazin ( 87th )


Panama - Jorge Luis Dely Valdes ( 50th )


RUGBY UNION - SPRINGBOKS FINALLY BREAK ALL BLACK SPELL .


South Africa managed to avoid a fifth successive defeat in 1996 at the hands of the All Blacks with an emphatic 32-22 victory in front of an ecstatic Ellis Park crowd on Saturday .


They scored three tries in recording their highest total against New Zealand , salvaging some pride in a season in which the world champions have lost five out of eight tests .


It also ended a run of nine successive victories this year for New Zealand but arrived too late to prevent a 2-1 series defeat and an historic first All Black series triumph on South African soil .


Springbok scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen was his side 's inspiration , scoring their opening try and making the third for flanker Andre Venter from a quickly taken penalty to give his side a 29-8 lead after 54 minutes .


Fullback Andre Joubert scored the other , scorching in from 40 metres at the start of the second half to add to his three long-range penalties .


The All Blacks salvaged some pride by scoring two tries from centre Walter Little and scrum-half Justin Marshall in the final five minutes to close a gap which at one point stood at 24 points .


But they generally endured an off-day , highlighted by recalled fly-half Andrew Mehrtens who missed five out of eight kicks at goal .


Recalled fly-half Henry Honiball kicked the Springboks into a 6-0 lead after 10 minutes only to see Andrew Mehrtens launch a penalty from eight metres inside his own half to narrow the gap .


Mehrtens missed three further penalties and a conversion in the first 40 minutes which could have put his side ahead , but it was the Springboks who looked the more dangerous .


Their promise was realised when Joubert made a 40-metre break in the 25th minute and , although winger Pieter Hendriks appeared to knock on Joubert 's reverse pass , Welsh referee Derek Bevan allowed Van der Westhuizen to pick up and score under the posts .


Honiball converted and Joubert kicked a penalty before All Black hooker Sean Fitzpatrick scored a try from close range on the stroke of half-time to narrow the lead to 16-8 and hint at a comeback .


Instead Joubert kicked another long penalty and then raced around the outside of the defence to score the Springboks ' second try .


A quick penalty from Van der Westhuizen five metres from the All Black line set up the third try for Venter five minutes later and when Joubert kicked his third penalty the Springboks held an unassailable 32-8 lead going into the last quarter .


When the All Blacks did break through , it was too late .


Centre Walter Little followed up Mehrtens ' kick to score under the posts and scrum-half Justin Marshall forced himself over from a ruck close to the line in injury-time to give them some consolation .


South Africa - 15 - Andre Joubert , 14 - Justin Swart , 13 - Japie Mulder ( Joel Stransky , 48 mins ) 12 - Danie van Schalkwyk , 11 - Pieter Hendriks ; 10 - Henry Honiball , 9 - Joost van der Westhuizen ; 8 - Gary Teichmann ( captain ) , 7 - Andre Venter ( Wayne Fyvie , 75 ) , 6 - Ruben Kruge , 5 - Mark Andrews ( Fritz van Heerden , 39 ) , 4 - Kobus Wiese , 3 - Marius Hurter , 2 - James Dalton , 1 - Dawie Theron ( Garry Pagel , 66 ) .


New Zealand - 15 - Christian Cullen ( Alama Ieremia , 70 ) , 14 - Jeff Wilson , 13 - Walter Little , 12 - Frank Bunce , 11 - Glen Osborne ; 10 - Andrew Mehrtens , 9 - Justin Marshall ; 8 - Zinzan Brooke , 7 - Josh Kronfeld , 6 - Michael Jones ( Glenn Taylor , 53 ) , 5 - Robin Brooke , 4 - Ian Jones , 3 - Olo Brown , 2 - Sean Fitzpatrick ( captain ) , 1 - Craig Dowd .


RUGBY UNION - SOUTH AFRICA BEAT ALL BLACKS 32-22 .


South Africa beat New Zealand 32-22 ( haltime 16-8 ) in the final test match of their three-test series at Ellis Park on Saturday .


South Africa - Tries : Joost van der Westhuizen ( 2 ) , Andre Joubert .


Penalties : Honiball ( 2 ) , Joubert ( 3 ) .


New Zealand - Tries : Sean Fitzpatrick , Walter Little , Justin Marshall .


SOCCER - MAURITANIA DISSOLVES NATIONAL TEAM AFTER CUP EXIT .


Mauritania 's soccer federation dissolved the national team and suspended this season 's domestic championship on Saturday in the wake of the country 's failure to qualify for the African Nations ' Cup .


" Since Mauritania has been eliminated on all fronts and the next commitments are not for another two years , we have reason to take a break , " federation president Mohamed Lemine Cheiguer said .


The North Africans were held to a goalless draw by Benin on Friday after losing the first leg of their qualifying tie 4-1 .


SOCCER - MAURITANIA DRAW WITH BENIN IN AFRICAN NATIONS CUP .


Mauritania drew 0-0 with Benin in their African Nations Cup preliminary round , second leg soccer match on Friday .


SOCCER - YUGOSLAV LEAGUE RESULTS / STANDINGS .


Standings ( tabulate under won , drawn , lost , goals for , goals


Radnicki ( N ) - Spartak ( to be played on Sunday )


SOCCER - INCE EXPOSED BY GASCOIGNE 'S LATEST PRANK .


England 's irrepressible midfielder Paul Gascoigne was up to his old tricks on Saturday , pulling down his team mate Paul Ince 's trousers in front of an astonished crowd in Moldova .


Ince was clambering over a wall at the Republican stadium in Chisinau as Glenn Hoddle 's England players tried to escape heavy rain during an under-21 clash .


Gascoigne , whose compulsive practical joking has landed him in trouble in the past , tugged down the Inter Milan player 's trousers in front of a group of press photographers .


Hoddle , coaching the side for the first time , declined to comment on the incident .


England face Moldova in a World Cup qualifier in the same stadium on Sunday .


BASKETBALL - TROFEJ BEOGRAD TOURNAMENT RESULTS .


international basketball tournament on Saturday :


Benetton ( Italy ) 92 Dinamo ( Russia ) 81 ( halftime 50-28 )


Alba ( Germany ) 75 Red Star ( Yugoslavia ) 70 ( 42-41 )


BASKETBALLSOCCER - TROFEJ BEOGRAD TOURNAMENT RESULTS .


SOCCER - ROMANIA BEAT LITHUANIA IN WORLD CUP QUALIFIER .


Romania beat Lithuania 3-0 ( halftime 1-0 ) in a World Cup soccer European group 8 qualifier on Saturday .


Romania - Viorel Moldovan ( 21st minute ) , Dan Petrescu ( 65th ) , Constantin Galca ( 77th )


SOCCER - ARMENIA AND PORTUGAL DRAW 0-0 IN WORLD CUP QUALIFIER .


Armenia and Portugal drew 0-0 in a World Cup soccer European group 9 qualifier on Saturday .


SOCCER - AZERBAIJAN BEAT SWITZERLAND IN WORLD CUP QUALIFIER .


Azerbaijan beat Switzerland 1-0 ( halftime 1-0 ) in their World Cup soccer European group three qualifying match on Saturday .


BASKETBALL - BENETTON BEAT DINAMO 92-81 .


Benetton of Italy beat Dinamo of Russia 92-81 ( halftime 50-28 ) in a fifth place play-off in the Trofej Beograd 96 international basketball tournament on Saturday .


SOCCER - SWEDEN BEAT LATVIA IN EUROPEAN UNDER-21 QUALIFIER .


Sweden beat Latvia 2-0 ( halftime 0-0 ) in a European under-21 soccer championship qualifier on Saturday .


Scorers : Joakim Persson 81st minute , Daniel Andersson ( 89th )


SOCCER - BELARUS BEAT ESTONIA IN WORLD CUP QUALIFIER .


Belarus beat Estonia 1-0 ( halftime 1-0 ) in a World Cup soccer European group 4 qualifier on Saturday .


SOCCER - ENGLAND BEAT MOLDOVA IN UNDER-21 QUALIFIER .


England beat Moldova 2-0 ( halftime 1-0 ) in a European Under-21 soccer championship group 2 qualifier on Saturday .


Scorers : Bruce Dyer ( 39th minute ) , Darren Eadie ( 53rd )


SQUASH - HILL BRANDS WORLD CHAMPION JANSHER A CHEAT .


Controversial Australian Anthony Hill called Jansher Khan a cheat during his acrimonious defeat by the world number one in the Hong Kong Open semifinals on Saturday .


The match boiled over when Hill made to walk off court after what he claimed was a game-winning point in the third .


When the referee called Jansher 's return good and the decision was accepted by the player , Hill shrieked at the Pakistani : " You cheat . "


" He was standing right there and knew the shot was down so I called him a cheat , " said Hill , whose squash career has been blighted by fines and suspensions for unacceptable behaviour .


" He knew it was down and accepted what I called him because of that . "


Hill won the game on the next point and said later that Jansher was generally honest on court but played by the referee 's decision .


The Australian had upset Jansher 's rhythm with his mixture of gamesmanship and fluent stroke-making but eventually succumbed 15-7 17-15 14-15 15-8 .


" I changed my strategy against him today and had him rattled , " he added .


He is not as fit as he used to be be but was too good for me in the end .


I shook him a bit but he will come out next time and be a better player for it -- that 's Jansher . "


Jansher said that he was disturbed to be called a cheat . "


What he did was bad for squash , bad for the crowd and bad for the sponsors .


" We are trying to build up squash like tennis and players should not say things like that .


" I think the Professional Squash Association should look into this matter and deal with it properly .


I am not calling for him to be banned but they have to take some action . "


Jansher , bidding for an eighth Hong Kong Open title , plays second-seeded Australian Rodney Eyles in the final .


Eyles played his best squash of the tournament to beat fourth-seeded Peter Nicol of Scotland 15-10 8-15 15-10 15-4 .


Eyles , who defeated Jansher in the semifinals of the Portuguese Open in 1993 , said that he would like to win for the good of the game .


" I have nothing against Jansher but it will be great if I could beat him , " said Eyles . "


My biggest problem against Jansher is concentration .


I want to beat him so badly that I just cannot get it together . "


SQUASH - HONG KONG OPEN SEMIFINAL RESULTS .


Semifinal results in the Hong Kong Open on Saturday ( prefix number denotes seeding ) : 1 - Jansher Khan ( Pakistan ) beat Anthony Hill ( Australia ) 15-7 17-15 14-15 15-8 2 - Rodney Eyles ( Australia ) beat 4 - Peter Nicol ( Scotland ) 15-10 8-15 15-10 15-4


GOLF - PARNEVIK TAKES ONE-SHOT LEAD AT GREATER MILWAUKEE OPEN .


Jesper Parnevik of Sweden fired a course record-tying eight-under-par 63 Saturday to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the $ 1.2 million Greater Milwaukee Open .


Parnevik , who is seeking his first PGA Tour victory , moved to 19-under 194 for the tournament .


Parnevik tied the 18-hole record set by Loren Roberts in 1994 at the Brown Deer Park Golf Course and also equalled Saturday by Greg Kraft .


Nolan Henke , who led by two strokes entering the third round , carded a four-under 67 and was one stroke back at 18-under 195 .


He is striving for his fourth career PGA Tour victory and first since the 1993 BellSouth Classic .


Tiger Woods , who made the cut in his first tournament as a professional , shot a two-over-par 73 and was four under for the tournament .


The 20-year-old Woods , who turned professional Tuesday after winning an unprecedented third successive U.S. Amateur Championship , struggled on the front nine , bogeying the first and seventh holes and double-bogeying the par-four , 359-yard ninth hole .


After bogeying the 10th hole to move to four-over for the round , he rallied for birdies on 15 and 18 .


After Parnevik started off his round by parring the first hole and bogeying the second , the Swede birdied six of the next seven holes .


Parnevik continued to storm through the course , birdying three holes on the back nine , including two from 12 feet out on the 15th and 17th holes .


" I ca n't remember when I 've putted this well , " said Parnevik . "


I was disappointed when a 12-footer did n't go in .


I 've been fading my driver but today whenever I set up for a fade it went straight .


Whenever everyone 's making birdies , you never want to be even par . "


Henke had a bogey-free round and birdied four holes , including a 45-footer on the par-three 215-yard seventh hole and one from 12 feet out on the 12th hole .


" I did n't hit it very well today , " said Henke . "


Once he did , I knew I had to make birdies just to keep up .


I basically picked up where I left off yesterday afternoon .


" Right now , I ca n't put my finger on what 's wrong . "


Bob Estes shot a 67 for sole possession of third place at 15-under .


Steve Stricker , who tied for second at last week 's World Series of Golf , and Stuart Appleby were both five shots off the lead at 14 under .


Duffy Waldorf , who also tied for second at the World Series of Golf , carded a 70 to lead a group of six golfers at 13 under , including Kraft .


The top four on the PGA Tour money list all skipped the tournament .


TENNIS - SPAIN , U.S. TEAMS OPEN ON ROAD FOR 1997 FED CUP .


This year 's Fed Cup finalists -- defending champion Spain and the United States -- will hit the road to open the 1997 women 's international team competition , based on the draw conducted Saturday at the U.S. Open .


Spain travels to Belgium , while the U.S. team heads to the Netherlands for first-round matches March 1-2 .


The other two first-round ties will pit hosts Germany against the Czech Republic and visiting France against Japan .


The semifinals are July 19-20 , and the final September 27- 28 .


Life on the road this year did not slow the Americans , who will try to avenge their 3-2 defeat in the final last year when they host Spain on September 28-29 in Atlantic City .


" Last year we stood on the court after we had lost and we put out hands together and made it our committment to bring back the Cup , " U.S. captain Billie Jean King said at the draw . "


The United States edged Austria in Salzburg 3-2 in the opening round in April , and then blanked Japan 5-0 in Nagoya last month in the semifinals .


The victory against Japan marked the Fed Cup debut of Monica Seles , who became a naturalised U.S. citizen in 1994 .


Seles easily won both her singles matches and King is counting on the co-world number one to lead the team again .


" I told Monica we need her if we want to win , " King said .


Seles 's sore left shoulder and a wrist injury to Fed Cup veteran Mary Joe Fernandez have forced King to take a wait and see attitude regarding her squad for the best-of-five match .


Fernandez was forced to withdraw from the U.S. Open .


" We will wait until the last minute so we check with everybody and their injuries , " said King . "


What we like would be Seles , ( Olympic champion Lindsay ) Davenport and Mary Joe Fernandez . "


If she can get that threesome together , King will feel good about her chances against the Spain 's formidable duo of Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Conchita Martinez .


" To be a great coach you have to have the right horses and I got the right horses , " said King .


TENNIS - SATURDAY 'S RESULTS FROM THE U.S. OPEN .


Results from the U.S. Open Tennis Championships at the National Tennis Centre on Saturday ( prefix number denotes seeding ) :


Women 's singles , third round 1 - Steffi Graf ( Germany ) beat Natasha Zvereva ( Belarus ) 6-4 6-2 16 - Martina Hingis ( Switzerland ) beat Naoko Kijimuta ( Japan ) 6-2 6-2 Judith Wiesner ( Austria ) beat Petra Langrova ( Czech Republic ) 6 - 2 6-0


Men 's singles , third round 13 - Thomas Enqvist ( Sweden ) beat Pablo Campana ( Ecuador ) 6-4 6-4 6-2


TENNIS - DRAW FOR 1997 FED CUP WOMEN 'S TEAM TOURNAMENT .


Draw for the women 's 1997 Fed Cup team tennis championships , as conducted at the U.S. Open on Saturday :


World Group I , first round ( March 1-2 )


( semifinals July 19-20 , and finals September 27-28 )


World Group II , first round ( March 1-2 )


The United States beat El Salvador 3-1 ( halftime 1-0 ) in an international soccer friendly on Friday .


U.S. - Joe-Max Moore ( 3rd minute , 88th on penalty kick ) , Eric Wynalda ( 61st )


BASEBALL - MAJOR LEAGUE STANDINGS AFTER FRIDAY 'S GAMES .


standings after games played on Friday ( tabulate under won ,


lost , winning percentage and games behind ) :


BASEBALL - MAJOR LEAGUE RESULTS FRIDAY .


Baseball games played on Friday ( home team in CAPS ) :


BASEBALL - KEVIN BROWN LOWERS ERA AS MARLINS BEAT REDS .


Major league ERA leader Kevin Brown threw an eight-hitter and Devon White 's RBI double snapped a fifth-inning tie as the Florida Marlins beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-1 for their seventh straight win Friday .


Brown ( 14-10 ) tied Todd Stottlemyre of the Cardinals for the National League lead with his fifth complete game and lowered his major league-leading earned run average from 1.96 to 1.92 .


He struck out eight and did not walk a batter .


Brown threw 119 pitches and won for the third time in as many starts against the Reds this season .


" Bolesy ( Florida manager John Boles ) told me yesterday , ' You have to go nine tomorrow , ' " Brown said .


" In the early innings , I was struggling , I was just trying to make it from pitch to pitch .


I gave up a lot of hits in the early innings and I was n't thinking about the seventh , eighth or ninth .


I was n't satisfied with any of my pitches and I did a better job of moving the ball around in the later innings . "


" He has a devastating sinker , " observed Reds manager Ray Knight . "


The guys say it moved more than everyone in the league .


I remember Nolan Ryan saying in ' 91 or ' 92 that he was the best young pitcher coming around in a long time and he saw ( Tom ) Seaver and ( Jerry ) Koosman when they were starting . "


In Philadelphia , Delino DeShields 's triple in the top of the 12th off Jeff Parrett ( 2-3 ) scored Chad Curtis and lifted the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 7-6 victory over the Phillies .


Los Angeles won for the seventh time in eight games .


Darren Dreifort ( 1-1 ) picked up the win after allowing a hit and a walk over 2 1/3 scoreless innings .


Todd Worrell worked the 12th to earn his league-leading 37th save .


The Phillies have dropped five of their last six overall , and nine of 11 at home .


Billy Ashley belted a three-run homer for Los Angeles .


In Chicago , the Braves and Cubs split a doubleheader .


In the first game , Ryne Sandberg snapped an eighth-inning tie with an infield single and Kevin Foster ( 6-2 ) outdueled Atlanta 's Tom Glavine ( 13-8 ) for his third straight win , 3-2 .


Foster , a .333 hitter , helped his own cause in the second with a two-run single .


The Braves took the second game when Chipper Jones singled home the tying run in the top of the ninth and Andruw Jones took advantage of a poor throw to score the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly for a 6-5 victory .


Cubs shortstop Jose Hernandez committed three of Chicago 's four errors .


Mike Mordecai singled , doubled and homered for Atlanta , which has won 14 of its last 19 games and has the best record in the majors , 84-50 .


In Montreal , Scott Sanders allowed one hit over eight innings and Wally Joyner hit a two-run single in a four-run third as the San Diego Padres blanked the Expos 6-0 for their sixth straight win .


Sanders ( 8-4 ) struck out 10 and walked three to win his fourth straight .


He allowed a leadoff double to David Segui in the second , and won for the seventh time in eight decisions .


The right-hander retired 14 batters in a row from the second inning through the seventh .


Mike Oquist allowed one Montreal hit in the ninth .


Montreal lost for the ninth time in 14 games .


In New York , Marvin Benard 's two-run homer snapped a tie and Shawn Estes came one out away from his first complete game as the San Francisco Giants beat the Mets 6-4 .


Benard , hitting .467 ( 14-for-30 ) against the Mets this season , hit his first pitch from Pete Harnisch ( 8-10 ) in the seventh over the right-field fence to put the Giants up 4-2 .


Estes ( 3-4 ) was lifted for closer Rod Beck after yielding a single with two out in the ninth .


Beck allowed a two-run double to Alvaro Espinoza , who collected a career-high four RBI , but struck out Brent Mayne for his 31st save .


The loss was the Mets ' eighth straight , their longest slide since September 1993 , and dropped them to 0-4 under new manager Bobby Valentine .


In St Louis , Tom Pagnozzi had three hits and three RBI and Alan Benes scattered six hits over six-plus innings as the Cardinals beat the Colorado Rockies 7-4 .


Benes ( 12-8 ) allowed three runs , walked three and struck out three for the win .


St Louis defeated Colorado for just the second time in 12 meetings dating back to last season .


Ray Lankford went 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles for the Cardinals , who won for just the third time in 11 games .


Eric Anthony hit a pair of solo homers for the Rockies .


In Pittsburgh , Sean Berry tied a career high with six RBI and Donne Wall fired a seven-hitter for his first major-league shutout as the Houston Astros routed the Pirates 10-0 .


It was the third time Berry had six RBI in one game .


Wall ( 9-4 ) struck out four and walked none to post his second complete game of the season and third straight win .


Refusing to go quietly in the night , Stefan Edberg extended his stay at his 14th and last U.S. Open when Bernd Karbacher , trailing and hurting , quit in the fourth set of their second-round match Friday .


The 30-year-old Edberg , a former two-time Open champion , had wrestled control of the match away from Karbacher when the German , hampered by a left hamstring injury , decided he could n't continue under the stadium lights at the National Tennis Centre .


I 'll take it , " Edberg , who has announced that this will be his last Grand Slam event , said of the 3-6 6-3 6-3 1-0 victory .


Ironically , Karbacher two years ago ended Ivan Lendl 's Grand Slam career here when the former champion had to retire in the middle of their first-round match .


After seeing the trainer come out early in the third set , Edberg was not surprised by Karbacher 's decision not to go on .


" I knew he had problems with something , " Edberg said . "


Edberg had his own problems early in the match as the Swede battled to acclimate himself to the nighttime conditions while Karbacher was ripping passing shots and blasting serves past him .


" I did n't really feel good to begin with , I had problems finding the timing on the ball , seeing the ball , " said Edberg , who upset Wimbledon champion and fifth-seeded Richard Krajicek in the first round .


" This was one of these matches where I did n't play up to my standard .


Edberg 's tenacity paid off in the second set .


Edberg lost his own serve twice , but he rallied for three breaks of his own , the last to wrap up the set .


" That 's where the match sort of changed , " said Edberg . "


I think once I got that second set , I felt a lot better about my game . "


Edberg is starting to feel pretty good about postponing his swan song a lot longer .


" It does n't look all that bad , " Edberg said of his path through the draw starting next with a match against Krajicek 's Dutch countryman Paul Haarhuis .


However , the 1991 and 1992 champion is not ready to start making plans to be in next week 's final .


" I 'm always being realistic , " said Edberg . "


Like I said many times , I think it 's a very little chance , but nothing is impossible .


If I play great tennis , that could take me a long way .


" A lot of things can happen , like tonight . "


BOXING - PRINCE NASEEM RETAINS WBO FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE .


Britain 's Naseem Hamed retained his WBO featherweight title on Saturday when Mexico 's Manuel Medina was retired by his corner at the end of the 11th round .


SOCCER - AUSTRIA DOMINATE SCOTLAND IN WORLD CUP QUALIFIER .


Austria dominated their World Cup group four qualifier against Scotland on Saturday with wave after wave of attacks but were unable to penetrate the visitors ' defence and had to settle for a goalless draw .


Scotland , who thrashed Belarus 5-1 in their opening group four match , were unable to repeat their performance .


Austria 's best chance came in the 63rd minute with Stephan Marasek of SC Freiburg taking advantage of a scramble in the Scottish penalty area but his shot narrowly passing the left-hand post .


They also went close a minute before the interval when a promising attack saw the ball fall to Markus Schopp but he hit his shot wide .


Everton 's Duncan Ferguson went close for Scotland in the 65th minute when he forced Austrian goalkeeper Michael Konsel to a diving save .


Two Scotland players were shown yellow cards , captain Gary McAllister for bringing down Andreas Heraf and Ferguson for arguing against the referee 's decision .


" The result is acceptable , " Scottish coach Craig Brown told reporters . "


We 'd hoped not to lose and we tried not to play for a draw but the Austrian defence was simply too good . "


SK Rapid 's Dietmar Kuehbauer , who gave an impressive performance , said the team started off well but let the game slip after the first 30 minutes .


" Somehow it seemed there were less than 11 players on the pitch .


The Scots are not really a great team and we should have won , " he said .


Austrian coach Herbert Prohaska said his team had displayed great fighting spirit but sometimes lacked ideas .


Austria : Michael Konsel , Markus Schopp , Peter Schoettel , Anton Pfeffer , Wolfgang Feiersinger , Stephan Marasek , Dieter Ramusch ( Andreas Ogris 77th ) , Dietmar Kuehbauer , Anton Polster ( ( Herfried Sabitzer 68th ) , Andreas Herzog , Andreas Heraf .


Scotland : Andrew Goram , Craig Burley , Thomas Boyd , Colin Calderwood , Colin Hendry , Thomas McKinley , Duncan Ferguson , Stuart McCall , Alistair McCoist ( Gordon Durie 75th ) , Gary McAllister , John Collins .


BOXING - JOHNSON WINS UNANIMOUS POIUNTS VERDICT .


American Tom Johnson successfully defended his IBF featherweight title when he earned a unanimous points decision over Venezuela 's Ramon Guzman on Saturday .


SOCCER - FRANCE LAUNCH 1998 WORLD CUP BUILD-UP WITH 2-0 WIN .


Euro 96 absentee Nicolas Ouedec and Youri Djorkaeff scored the goals as 1998 World Cup hosts France beat Mexico 2-0 in a friendly international on Saturday .


The victory extended to 29 matches France 's unbeaten run under coach Aime Jacquet , their Euro 96 semifinal elimination having come in a penalty shoot-out , but was marred by the sending-off of Chelsea central defender Franck Leboeuf .


Leboeuf was dismissed two minutes from time for a second bookable offence , fouling Mexican substitute Ricardo Pelaez who minutes earlier had also been shown the yellow card for pushing the Chelsea defender in the back .


Both goals came early in the second half after France had surprised the Mexicans with three half-time substitutions .


After a sterile first half , France injected more sting in midfield with the introduction of Juventus 's Zinedine Zidane .


This allowed Djorkaeff to play further up and his cross from the right fell for Ouedec , who has joined Espanyol of Barcelona from Nantes since missing the European championship finals through injury , to score after a mistake by midfielder Joaquin del Olmo .


Within four minutes Ouedec was returning the compliment for Djorkaeff , playing a one-two with the Internazionale Milan forward down the middle to set him up for a cross shot past diving goalkeeper Osvaldo Sanchez .


Jacquet , beginning the 22-month countdown to France 's hosting of the World Cup finals , said : " We have an identity ( as a team ) which we are going to work on . "


France - 1 - Bernard Lama ; 2 - Lilian Thuram ( 14 - Sabri Lamouchi 87th ) , 5 - Laurent Blanc , 8 - Marcel Desailly ( 12 - Franck Leboeuf 46th ) , 3 - Bixente Lizarazu ; 4 - Christian Karembeu , 7 - Didier Deschamps , 10 - Youri Djorkaeff , 6 - Reynald Pedros ( 13 - Robert Pires 46th ) ; 9 - Nicolas Ouedec ( 17 - Florian Maurice 64th ) , 11 - Patrice Loko ( 15 - Zinedine Zidane 46th )


Mexico - 1 - Osvaldo Sanchez ( 12 - Alfonso Rios 78th ) ; 13 - Pavel Pardo , 2 - Claudio Suarez , 5 - Duilio Davino ( Becerril 46th ) , 4 - German Villa ( 16 - Gomez 86th ) ; 14 - Joaquin del Olmo , 6 - Raul Rodrigo Lara ( 11 - Cuauhtemoc Blanco 65th ) , 8 - Alberto Garcia Aspe , 7 - Ramon Ramirez ( 15 - Jesus Arellano 71st ) ; 18 - Enrique Alfaro ( 17 - Francisco Palencia 78th ) , 10 - Luis Garcia ( 19 - Ricardo Pelaez 69th ) .


SOCCER - FRANCE BEAT MEXICO 2-0 IN FRIENDLY .


France beat Mexico 2-0 ( halftime 0-0 ) in a friendly soccer international on Saturday .


Scorers : Nicolas Ouedec ( 49th minute ) , Youri Djorkaeff ( 53rd )


SOCCER - BELGIUM SCRAPE PAST TURKEY DESPITE CROWD TROUBLE .


Belgium kicked off their 1998 World Cup campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over 10-man Turkey in a tense match marred by Turkish crowd trouble shortly after the break .


Turkish fans , upset at their team 's 2-0 first-half deficit , ripped apart dozens of plastic seats and threw them over the fence .


Riot police took 10 minutes to restore order .


The police were given an unexpected hand by second-half substitute Sergen Yalcin who rekindled Turkish hopes in the 61st with a splendid half-volley which stunned Belgian goalkeeper Filip De Wilde .


But Yalcin , who had come on just four minutes earlier , turned from hero to villain barely two minutes after his strike when he was sent off after spitting at an opponent and arguing with English referee David Elleray .


Marc Degryse had opened the scoring for Belgium after 13 minutes , whacking a low 10-metre drive into the net after an incisive pass by defender Dirk Medved from the edge of the penalty area .


Brazilian-born Luis Oliveira then gleefully slipped the ball past goalkeeper Rustu Recber from the right of the area to make it 2-0 seven minutes before the interval , Turkey 's best first-half effort proving to be a vicious 30-metre shot by Ogun Temizkanoglu which De Wilde tipped over .


The visitors , seeking to restore some pride after failing to score a single goal in Euro 96 in June , repeatedly ripped through the left side of the home defence but De Wilde was able to block several sharply-angled efforts .


With only the group seven winners qualifying automatically for the 1998 finals in France , Belgium could not afford a slip-up at home and they frantically chased a decisive third goal .


But they were almost upset 12 minutes from time when De Wilde fumbled a hard Arif Erdem shot and Orhan Cikirikci almost pounced on the loose ball .


Belgium 's best second-half effort came three minutes later when Degryse put the ball over the bar from close range with Recber beaten .


Belgium - 1 - Filip De Wilde , 2 - Bertrand Crasson , 3 - Dirk Medved , 4 - Pascal Renier , 16 - Geoffrey Claeys , 6 - Gunther Schepens ( 15 - Nico Van Kerckhoven , 81st ) , 10 - Enzo Scifo , 7 - Gert Verheyen ( 14 - Frederic Peiremans , 62nd ) , 9 - Marc Degryse , 8 - Luc Nilis , 11- Luis Oliveira ( 18 - Gilles De Bilde , 88th ) .


Turkey - 1 - Rustu Recber , 4 - Hakan Unsal ( 14 - Sergen Yalcin , 57th ) , 2 - Recep Cetin , 3 - Ogun Temizkanoglu , 5 - Alpay Ozalan , 7- Abdullah Ercan , 6 - Tolunay Kafkas , 10 - Oguz Cetin ( 13 - Arif Erdem , 57th ) , 11 - Tayfun Korkut , 9 - Hakan Sukur , 8 - Saffet Sancakli ( 17- Orhan Cikirikci , 76th ) .


Belgian coach Wilfried Van Moer said he had not expected Turkey to be so strong and fast .


" We started panicking a bit after the Turkish goal ...


we suffered , " said Van Moer , who succeeded Paul Van Himst as coach in April .


It was Belgium 's first victory under Van Moer after two draws in friendlies against Russia and Italy .


SOCCER - SUMMARY IN THE SPANISH FIRST DIVISION .


Summary of game played in the Spanish first division on Saturday : Deportivo Coruna 1 ( Corentine Martins , 22nd minute ) Real Madrid 1 ( Roberto Carlos 79th ) .


SOCCER - RESULT IN SPANISH FIRST DIVISION .


SOCCER - BELGIUM BEAT TURKEY 2-1 IN WORLD CUP QUALIFIER .


( halftime 2-0 ) in a World Cup group seven soccer qualifier on


Belgium - Marc Degryse ( 13th ) , Luis Oliveira ( 38th )


SOCCER - AUSTRIA DRAW 0-0 WITH SCOTLAND IN WORLD CUP QUALIFIER .


Austria and Scotland drew 0-0 in a World Cup soccer European group four qualifier on Saturday .


BOXING - KNOCK-OUT SPECIALIST MILLER DEFENDS TITLE .


A powerful right hook followed by a straight left gave defending champion Nate Miller a seventh round knock-out win over fellow American James Heath in their WBA cruiserweight title bout on Saturday .


Miller , who went into the contest with a record of 24 knock-out wins in 32 fights , took charge from the opening bell and had his opponent on the canvas inside 90 seconds when he landed a deft left-hook to the head .


Heath did score with two brusing lefts to Miller 's head in the third round but failed to put his opponent under any real pressure .


Miller raised the pace of the contest at the start of the fifth round and , once he started to get his right-left combinations working for him , the fight was never likely to go the distance .


SOCCER - DUTCH DRAW 2-2 WITH BRAZIL IN FRIENDLY INTERNATIONAL .


Brazil ( half-time 0-1 ) in a soccer friendly on Saturday .


Netherlands - Ronald de Boer ( 52nd minute ) , Van Gastel


Brazil - Giovanni ( 14th ) , Marcello Goncalves ( 55th )


BOXING - MILLER DEFENDS WBA CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE .


American Nate Miller successfully defended his WBA cruiserweight title when he knocked out compatriot James Heath in the seventh round of their bout on Saturday .


HORSE RACING - TATTERSALLS BREEDERS STAKES RESULT .


Stakes , a race for two-year-olds run over six furlongs ( 1,200


1. Miss Stamper 3-1 joint-favourite ( ridden by David Harrison )


Distances : Three lengths , two-and-a-half lengths .


Winner owned by John and Beryll Remblance and trained in


SOCCER - KLINSMANN TO RETIRE AFTER 1998 WORLD CUP .


German international striker Juergen Klinsmann has said he will retire after the 1998 World Cup in France .


" For myself , personally , I 've planned things so that that will be the end of me , " the 32-year-old national team captain was quoted as saying by the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung on Saturday .


Klinsmann said he believed Germany could win in France with the same nucleus of players which won the European championship in England this summer .


" I think it can be done , " he said , " especially as experience is becoming more and more valuable in sport .


I think we can do it with the same body of players .


Coach Berti Vogts has called up a virtually identical squad for next week 's friendly against Poland -- Germany 's first match since Euro 96 .


SOCCER - GERMAN CUP SECOND ROUND RESULTS .


Duisburg 1 Luebeck 0 ( after extra time )


SOCCER - ROMANIA BEAT LITHUANIA IN U-21 QUALIFIER .


Romania beat 2-1 ( halftime 1-1 ) Lithuania in their European Under-21 soccer match on Friday .


Romania - Cosmin Contra ( 31st ) , Mihai Tararache ( 75th )


Paper says Thatcher 's office consulted astrologer .


A British newspaper said Margaret Thatcher was so shaken by an IRA attempt on her life when she was prime minister in 1984 that an astrologer was asked to warn her against future threats .


The Sunday Telegraph quoted Majorie Orr as saying she did a horoscope chart for Thatcher , a Libran , after she narrowly escaped death in the Irish guerrilla bombing of a hotel during the Conservative Party conference more than a decade ago .


Orr said Thatcher 's press secretary Bernard Ingram asked her to telephone if she saw any threatening indications in the future .


" Bernard Ingham told me that if I ever heard anything that indicated danger I was to let him know , " Orr said .


She added that the horoscope was purely for security purposes and she was never consulted about political moves .


Ingram was quoted as telling the newspaper he thought astrology was " a load of rubbish " and that he could not recall asking Orr to keep a watch on Thatcher 's stars .


Thatcher , dubbed the " Iron Lady " for her driven , forceful personality , was never known to have an interest in the occult and in fact has a university degree in chemistry .


Former U.S. president Ronald Reagan 's wife , Nancy , admitted in her biography My Turn that she regularly consulted an astrologer to help her plan her husband 's schedule .


Reuters historical calendar - September 7 .


Following are some of the major events to have occurred on September 7 in history .


Daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn , she was queen of England 1558-1603 .


One of the great monarchs who presided over a period of English assertion in Europe in politics and the arts .


1706 - French troops under Duke of Orleans besieging Turin were defeated by the Austrians under Prince Eugene , the French army was destroyed and they ceased trying to capture northern Italy .


1714 - The Treaty of Baden was signed between the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI and France , ending War of Spanish Succession .


Charles ceded Alsace and Strasbourg to France and got back Breisach , Kehl and Freiburg .


1812 - Russian army under General Kutuzov was defeated at heavy cost by Napoleon at the battle of Borodino 70 miles west of Moscow .


1822 - Brazil proclaimed independence from Portugal and Pedro I became first Emperor of Brazil in December 1822 .


1836 - Scottish politician Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman born .


As Liberal prime minister 1905-1908 he granted self-government to the Transvaal .


He also got the House of Lords to pass his Trades Disputes Act which gave labour unions more freedom to strike .


1860 - Giuseppe Garibaldi leading his " Red Shirts " seized Naples in the Italian war of liberation against the Austrians .


1901 - In China , the Boxer Rising which attempted to drive out all foreigners officially ended with the signing of the Peking Protocol .


This imposed an indemnity to be paid to the great powers for Boxer crimes .


1909 - Elia Kazan born as Elia Kazanjoglus .


A U.S. stage and screen director , he is best known for " Viva Zapata " and " On the Waterfront " .


British actor of stage and screen in films from 1948 .


Best known for appearances in " Ice Cold in Alex " , " Lawrence of Arabia " and , as Cardinal Wolsey , in " Anne of a Thousand Days " .


U.S. physicist who discovered the two zones of radiation encircling the earth to which he gave his name .


He succeeded to the throne in 1951 on the abdication of his father Leopold III .


1940 - In World War Two the German airforce under Hermann Goering began its " Blitz " bombing campaign on London .


Over 300 people were killed on this day alone .


1969 - Scottish motor racing driver Jackie Stewart won the Italian Grand Prix to secure his first world championship .


Four years later , after winning his third world crown , he announced his retirement .


1986 - Bishop Desmond Tutu was enthroned as Archbishop of Cape Town , South Africa .


He was the first black head of South Africa 's Anglicans .


1990 - The United States won Saudi and Kuwaiti pledges to help pay for forces in the Gulf .


Iraq ordered many restaurants to close indefinitely to save food in face of a blockade .


1990 - British historian Alan John Percivale ( A.J.P. ) Taylor died .


He won acclaim for the insights that he gave into the events which shaped modern Europe and was one of Europe 's leading authorities on the great conflicts of the 20th century .


1993 - Six former Soviet republics , Russia , Belarus , Kazakhstan , Uzbekistan , Armenia and Tajikistan , signed framework agreement to keep the Russian rouble as their common currency .


1994 - The Stars and Stripes flag was lowered for the last time over U.S. army headquarters in Berlin , formally ending the American presence in the once-divided city after nearly half a century .


A convicted British paedophile was arrested on Saturday , two days after escaping from custody during a supervised day trip to a zoo , police said .


Trevor Holland , a 52 year-old with who has been convicted twice of gross indecency with children , was captured after being spotted in Worthing , a town on England 's southern coast .


" A member of the public recognised Holland in a newsagent shop as he was reading the headlines about himself , " a police spokesman said .


Police launched a nationwide search on Thursday after he disappeared during an unsupervised trip to the toilet while visiting a popular zoo and theme park south of London .


Holland was moved to a more secure centre earlier this year after a similar incident .


His escape at the zoo caused outrage in Britain .


A child sex scandal in Belgium in which two eight-year-old girls were murdered and two other sexually abused girls were rescued has focused new attention on the problem .


Scottish Labour Party narrowly backs referendum .


British Labour Party leader Tony Blair won a narrow victory on Saturday when the party 's Scottish executive voted 21-18 in favour of his plans for a referendum on a separate parliament for Scotland .


Blair once pledged to set up a Scottish parliament if the Labour won the next general election , which must be held by May 1997 .


But many activists were dismayed when he abruptly decided earlier this year to hold a two-question referendum on the issue , asking Scots if they wanted a separate parliament and if it should have tax-raising powers .


Many party members argued that a general election win would demonstrate popular support for a separate parliament and others said a single question referendum would suffice .


Prime Minister John Major says the 300-year-old union of the Scottish and English parliaments will be a main plank in his Conservative Party 's election platform .


Conservatives have only 10 of the 72 Scottish seats in parliament and consistently run third in opinion polls in Scotland behind Labour and the independence-seeking Scottish National Party .


Britain condemns Iraq involvement in Arbil attack .


Britain on Saturday condemned Iraqi involvement in an attack on the Kurdish city of Arbil and said it was in close touch with its allies .


In no way can Iraqi involvement be seen as helpful , " said a Foreign Office spokesman .


U.N. officials said that a Kurdish rebel faction backed up by Iraqi tanks , heavy artillery and helicopters had taken control of half of the city after heavy fighting .


Arbil lies within the so-called safe haven set up at the end of the 1991 Gulf War on the suggestion of British Prime Minister John Major to protect Iraqi Kurds from attack by the Iraqi military .


The area is patrolled by U.S. , French and British planes .


" We are in close touch with all our allies , " said the Foreign Office spokesman .


He declined to give any further information .


Seven Iraqi men appeared in court on Saturday charged with air piracy following the hijacking to Britain of a Sudanese airliner with 199 people aboard .


The seven , including a carpenter and a businessmen and whose ages ranged from 25 to 38 years old , were ordered to be held in jail until another hearing next week .


No pleas were entered at the preliminary hearing .


They were accused of taking over Flight 150 which was flying from Khartoum , Sudan , to Amman , Jordan .


All the hostages were freed on Tuesday after the plane landed at Stansted airport , north of London .


The men have claimed political asylum in Britain saying they were persecuted while in Iraq .


Their court appearance means they will face trial and possible imprisonment in Britain before their applications for asylum are considered .


Under English law the maximum sentence for hijack is life imprisonment but there has been widespread speculation that the seven will receive lesser sentences .


After a search of the aircraft following the hijack , police found only knives and fake explosives .


Opposition group says Iraqis advance in north Iraq .


An Iraqi opposition group in exile said on Saturday it had received reports that Iraqi forces were shelling and advancing on the Kurdish town of Arbil in northern Iraq .


A London-based spokesman of the Iraqi National Congress said Iraqi artillery was shelling the city and Iraqi tanks had advanced to within 10 km ( six miles ) of Arbil , the administrative centre of the Kurdish rebel-controlled region of northern Iraq .


" At 4.50 a.m. Iraq time ( 0050 GMT ) Iraqi forces began an artillery attack on the outskirts of Arbil , " the spokesman , who asked not to be identified , told Reuters in a telephone call .


There was no independent confirmation of the report which the spokesman said came from the organisation 's members in Arbil .


He said damage and casualties in the city were heavy and Kurdish forces were defending the city .


President Bill Clinton on Friday ordered the U.S. military to ready itself for any possible action as Washington turned up the heat in an escalating crisis over Iraqi troop movements in northern Iraq .


On Thursday , Iraq accused Iran of aggression and said it reserved the right to retaliate for Tehran 's alleged deployment of troops into northern Iraq , where fighting broke out between the two main Iraqi Kurdish rebel groups two weeks ago .


Two die in Algeria restaurant blast - radio .


Two people were killed when a hand grenade exploded in a restaurant near Algiers late on Friday , Algerian radio reported on Saturday .


The report , monitored by the British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC ) , quoted security services as saying six other people were injured in the blast in the town of Staouelli .


An estimated 50,000 people had been killed in political violence in Algeria since 1992 , when army-backed authorities cancelled a general election that Islamic fundamentalists had been expected to win .


Baseball-Results of S. Korean pro-baseball games .


Results of South Korean pro-baseball games played on Friday .


Standings after games played on Friday ( tabulate under won , drawn , lost , winning percentage , games behind first place )


S. African Afrikaners still seek own territory .


South African right-wing Afrikaners on Saturday revived their campaign for a form of self-rule , identifying a sparsely-populated area in Northern Cape province as the best place for a home of their own .


Constand Viljoen , leader of the Freedom Front party , told a news conference in Pretoria self-determination for Afrikaners could begin at local government level .


" Certain powers can be delegated from the provincial level , towards the sub-regions , " he said .


" We think that the Afrikaner model within this new , multi- ethnic society of South Africa will have to develop experimentally with world thinking in this regard . "


Viljoen broke with other right-wing whites in 1994 by taking part in the country 's first all-race elections in April of that year , saying the only way to attain self-determination was by cooperating with President Nelson Mandela 's majority African National Congress .


Some right-wingers demanded sovereignty in their own territory in the run-up to the elections , saying the alternative was war .


Viljoen has hailed clauses in South Africa 's new constitution as making possible a form of self-rule for the Afrikaners , descendants of the country 's Dutch , German and French settlers .


According to state television , Viljoen told the news conference the self-rule model should be introduced in parts of the Northern Cape provinces where a majority of people -- whites and mixed-race Coloureds -- speak Afrikaans .


Rwandan refugee group calls for calm over census .


A Rwandan refugee lobby group called on Saturday for calm in refugee camps in eastern Zaire during a census from Sunday to be conducted by aid workers .


The Rally for the Return of Refugees and Democracy in Rwanda ( RDR ) urged the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees to avoid any " policing approach " and to calm refugees by explaining the aims of the operation .


" The RDR appeals to all refugees to prepare themselves calmly for the demands of the census agents because it will be in their ultimate interest , " the group said in a statement .


It said refugees feared census takers would use indelible ink to mark them so they could be detected by Rwandan government troops and mistreated if they were forced back into Rwanda .


U.N. officials said more than 1,000 aid workers will take part in the census from Sunday until Tuesday of the estimated 727,000 refugees in camps around the eastern Zairean border town of Goma .


Only about 100 refugees a week are returning voluntarily to Rwanda in contrast to the 600 babies born in the camps weekly .


Zairean Prime Minister Kengo wa Dondo said at the end of a visit to Rwanda last week that the Zairean and Rwandan governments agreed on an " organised , massive and unconditional repatriation " of the 1.1 million Rwandan refugees in Zaire .


He said the repatriation would be carried out swiftly and would be enormous , starting with the closure of refugee camps .


RDR said it feared forced expulsions would start in days .


Zairean troops expelled 15,000 refugees in August last year .


Many of the 1.1 million Rwandan Hutu refugees in Zaire and nearly 600,000 in Tanzania refuse to go home , saying they fear reprisals for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda of up to a million people by Hutus .


NATO monitors Moslem move towards tense village .


NATO said it was closely monitoring the movement of about 75 Moslem men towards the village of Mahala in Bosnia 's Serb republic on Saturday , two days after a violent confrontation with Serbs .


" I have to report this morning that we have in fact received reports ...


that up to 75 Moslem men are believed to be approaching Mahala , " NATO spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Max Marriner said in Sarajevo .


Marriner said that NATO troops had set up a checkpoint on the road between Tuzla and Mahala to establish the identities and intentions of the men headed towards the village .


Mahala is a Moslem village on Bosnian Serb republic territory .


Moslems were driven from the village during the 43- month Bosnian war and most of their houses were destroyed .


Some Moslems began returning to rebuild their properties earlier in the week .


Fights and shooting broke out between the Moslems and Serb police on Thursday and NATO troops finally brought restored order .


A Reuters reporter who entered Mahala on Saturday morning found it tranquil but NATO troops and U.N. police were seen on the ground and NATO helicopters flew overhead .


Chechens exuberant but cautious on peace deal .


Crowds of pro-independence Chechens greeted a newly-signed peace deal by singing , dancing and firing guns in the air on Saturday , but the celebrations held a trace of uncertainty .


More than a thousand women , children and men gathered in a field to the north of the town of Urus-Martan on Saturday to wait for a column of rebels to withdraw from the capital Grozny about 25 km ( 12 miles ) away .


The men fired weapons into the air as groups of women danced .


Adults in the crowd carried posters of former Chechen leader Dzhokhar Dudayev -- who declared independence in 1991 -- and children , carrying photographs of him , called " Troops out ! "


Russian military officials have expressed fears that the rebels and their supporters will see the deal signed by Russian peace envoy Alexander Lebed in the early hours of Saturday as a military victory for the separatists .


It involves the withdrawal of Russian troops sent to Chechnya in December 1994 to crush the separatists and a postponement of the issue at the heart of the conflict -- the status of the mainly-Moslem North Caucasus region .


But the people in the crowd on Saturday , who had turned out in support of the rebels , did not seem sure that the war was over .


" We hope for the best , that it really has ended so we can live in peace .


It 's our only dream , " said a 30-year-old woman , Mubatik Dagayeva .


Aiza Dudayeva , with her 10-year-old son beside her , shared the guarded optimism . "


We really want the war to end , we hope and believe that our sons and brothers will win , " said Dudayeva , adding that she was from Urus-Martan .


Urus-Martan is a traditionally anti-separatist pocket in Chechnya and Moscow-backed leader Doku Zavgayev , who has been sidelined in the peace deal , has warned that it and places like it could become centres of civil war if Russian troops leave .


But on Saturday the people gathered just outside the town seemed to be united in favour of the separatists .


Two columns of rebels appeared in jeeps and cars , firing their guns in the air , as the crowd rushed towards them .


Mouldi Mamatuyev , in his late 20 's , dressed in black and carrying a machine gun , was welcomed by his mother and sister .


" Two sons have come back , " said his mother Nurbika Mamatuyeva . "


Mamatuyev joked that his sister Lisa was a rebel too , and she responded by grabbing hold of his gun and shouting the Chechen war cry " Allahu Akhbar " ( God is Greatest ) and " Freedom for Chechnya ! "


The fighter , sitting next to a man dressed in green and carrying a grenade-launcher , said that the strict Islamic law adopted by the rebels during the conflict was now needed to impose peace .


" The war has ended if everything works out , if there is law there will be power .


Only Sheriat ( Islamic law ) can end the war . "


Polish group to bid for Ruch newsstand chain - paper .


A Polish consortium including the Bank Rozwoju Exportu SA ( BRE ) plans to rival France 's Hachette in bidding for Polish state-owned press distribution chain Ruch SA , Zycie Warszawy daily said on Saturday .


Zycie Warszawy said its own publisher , mineral water firm Multico , and a group headed by Polish businessman Zygmunt Solorz were forming a consortium which would offer about $ 120 million , with finance provided by BRE .


The consortium wanted 40 percent of Ruch 's shares , the state would get 20 percent of Ruch and 40 percent would be offered on the Warsaw stock exchange .


" This division would guarantee a dispersal of capital , preventing anyone from taking total control over Ruch and dictating market conditions , " the paper quoted one of the initiators of the move as saying , without giving a name .


A consortium of press distributor Hachette and Polish publishers group UWP are seeking more than than 50 percent of Ruch and French President Jacques Chirac is likely to support its case when he visits Poland in September , the daily said .


News-stand chain Ruch , which controls about 65 percent of Poland 's press distribution market , had a net profit of 16.2 million zlotys on sales of 2.7 billion zlotys in 1995 .


It has about 17,000 news-stands and was the country 's sole press distributor before the 1989 fall of communism .


Zycie Warszawy said the new , open consortium , which also included several listed Polish firms , would on Monday inform Privatisation Minister Wieslaw Kaczmarek of its plans .


It aims to invest $ 200 million in Ruch over five years -- more than the sum Ruch says it needs to upgrade its outlets .


Initially Poland offered up to 75 percent of Ruch but in March Kaczmarek cancelled the tender and offered a minority stake with an option to increase the equity .


Two consortia -- UWP-Hachette and a consortium of a Polish SPC group and Swiss firms -- placed initial bids .


But after the change of tender conditions Swiss investors pulled out and SPC decided to bid jointly with UWP-Hachette .


Kaczmarek said in May he was unhappy that only one investor ended up bidding for Ruch , in which the government was initially offering up to 35 percent of shares with an option to extend the holding after investment promises are fulfilled .


Three Russian soldiers killed in gun attack .


Three Russian servicemen were killed on Saturday when unidentified gunmen attacked guards at an anti-aircraft installation outside Moscow , Interfax news agency said .


It quoted military officials as saying the attack took place in Sergiyev Posad 70 km ( 45 miles ) from the capital .


The officials said the attackers had seized two Kalashnikov assault rifles and disappeared .


Attacks on servicemen aimed at seizing their guns have become frequent in Russia where the number of violent crimes committed with the use of fire arms is growing .


Cuban novelist Jose Soler Puig dies at 79 .


One of Cuba 's most acclaimed authors , Jose Soler Puig , died at the age of 79 , the official newspaper Granma reported on Saturday .


Puig 's first novel , " Bertillon 166 , " was published in 1960 , a year after the Cuban revolution brought President Fidel Castro to power .


The book , which has been translated into 40 languages , deals with a day in the life of Santiago de Cuba , Puig 's native city , under the pre-Castro government of Fulgencio Batista .


The titles of his other novels translate as " In the Year of January " ( 1963 ) , " The Collapse " ( 1964 ) , " Sleeping Bread " ( 1975 ) , " The Decaying Mansion " ( 1977 ) and " A World of Things " ( 1982 ) , followed by " The Knot , " " Soul Alone " and , most recently , " A Woman . "


Granma called " Sleeping Bread " Puig 's " greatest gift to the modern novel in our America . "


The author said in an interview shortly before his death that his own experiences had lent his books their strong sense of realism . "


The stories have been given to me by people . "


In the same interview , published by Prensa Latina on Saturday , Puig was asked if he feared death . "


Death is not a punishment -- death is the end of life 's punishment , " he said .


U.N. Ambassador Albright arrives in Chile .


The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations , Madeleine Albright , arrived in Chile late Friday for talks on various Security Council issues with Chilean officials as part of a five-nation Latin American tour .


Albright will meet Foreign Minister Jose Miguel Insulza Monday for talks on issues currently up for debate on the council , of which Chile is a non-permanent member , a U.S. embassy statement said .


The two will also discuss various issues affecting relations between the United States and Chile , local officials said .


Albright , who arrived from Uruguay , will rest most of the weekend in Chile , officials said .


Her official programme will begin on Monday , and she will leave that day for Bolivia to attend a Latin American summit meeting in the city of Cochabamba .


Her tour will also include Honduras and Guatemala .


Mexican army attacked in Michoacan state - report .


A group of heavily-armed men attacked a military convoy in the western Mexican state of Michoacan on Friday , killing one soldier and wounding two , radio reports said .


Radio Red quoted local police in the town of Tacambaro , Michoacan , 80 km ( 50 miles ) south of the state capital Morelia , as saying 40 to 50 armed men attacked the convoy .


Gonzalo Montoya , a police commander in Tacambaro , told Radio Red the group was armed with AK-47s and other high-powered assault rifles and wore military-style fatigues .


Montoya said he thought the attackers were criminals linked to drug trafficking or kidnapping in the area . "


We often see people dressed in military-style clothing here , " he said .


The attack comes a day after rebels of the self-styled Popular Revolutionary Army ( EPR ) launched coordinated attacks in at least three Mexican states , killing up to 14 people and wounding about 20 .


China said to fear dissidents more than criminals .


The detention of veteran dissident Wang Donghai showed China 's determination to crush any vestige of dissent during the current profound transitions in the nation 's leadership , a human rights activist said on Saturday .


Xiao Qiang , executive director of the New York-based group Human Rights in China , said Wang 's arrest on Friday appeared to be part of the national " Strike Hard " campaign that has imprisoned thousands and sent hundreds to their death .


Although supposedly aimed at criminals , dozens of human rights activists have been detained in the campaign , which is meant to strengthen the Communist Party 's grip on power as senior leader Deng Xiaoping nears death , Xiao said in an interview .


" China is going through this power transition period .


The authorities are apparently extremely afraid of any political and social discontent , " said Xiao , in Manila to attend an Amnesty International conference on human rights in China .


He said one of Wang 's apparent offences was to write a public letter in May suggesting that a free press and an independent judicial system were vital if the government really meant to stamp out rampant corruption .


Xiao said crushing legitimate dissent was only making the problem worse and one day China would pay a high price .


" Those issues are not going to go away by repression .


You only make things more hidden but potentially more explosive , " he said .


Wang was arrested in the east China city of Hangzhou by security officers who told the dissident 's family he would be sent to a study class -- a euphemism for coercive ideological reform .


Wang , 45 , was sentenced last month to one year 's " re-education by labour " but was released because of ill-health .


Xiao said conditions in the labour camp were so brutal they drove another activist sentenced with Wang to attempt suicide .


Police beat Wang and his colleague , Chen Longde , and encouraged other camp inmates to attack them as well , Xiao said .


Manila hails Indonesia , OIC for peace deal support .


Philippine president Fidel Ramos expressed gratitude to Indonesian president Suharto and the Organisation of Islamic Conference ( OIC ) on Saturday for supporting talks that ended a conflict with local Moslem rebels .


" I extend the deepest gratitude ... to your excellency for your untiring and invaluable friendship and support , " Ramos told Suharto in a letter .


The full text of the letter was released to reporters on Saturday .


Jakarta served as the host to the series of negotiations which culminated in the initialling of the agreement last Friday .


The formal signing of the peace agreement is scheduled on Monday in Manila .


Ramos said the peace agreement " shall bring down the curtain on a long and storied era of strife in Philippine history . "


The war claimed more than 125,000 lives in the southern Mindanao island over a quarter of a century .


Burma 's Suu Kyi says military rulers abuse law .


Burma 's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi hit out at the government on Saturday for recent arrests and jailing of activists , saying the military abused the law to try to crush the democracy movement .


" The main purpose of this press conference is to make it known to the world that the authorities are misusing the law all the time in order to try to crush the democracy movement , " Suu Kyi told reporters at her Rangoon home .


Suu Kyi said at least 61 democracy supporters had been arrested since May , and about 30 of them had been sentenced , most to long prison terms .


In May the government launched a sweeping crackdown on the democracy movement , detaining over 260 members of Suu Kyi 's National League for Democracy ( NLD ) ahead of a party congress .


Most were released but several dozen remain in custody .


The Burmese government last week confirmed the recent sentencing of nine democracy activists who were arrested in the May crackdown , including Suu Kyi 's assistant Win Htein .


The military government , which in May said it had detained the politicians to prevent anarchy , said the activists were charged with attempting to destroy the peace and stability of the state .


But Suu Kyi disagreed with the methods , saying officials often arrested NLD supporters in the middle of the night , then did not give them the opportunity to defend themselves in trials .


" When our people are tried , they are tried in a very secretive way .


Their families are not told , " she said .


Suu Kyi , who spearheads a campaign for sanctions on Burma 's government , was under house arrest for six years without being tried before being released in July 1995 .


Several other leading members of the NLD have served prison terms .


The NLD party won a landslide victory in a 1990 election but the State Law and Order Restoration Council ( SLORC ) , which assumed power in 1988 after crushing pro-democracy demonstrations , never recognised the poll .


" This lack of rule of law is an indication that the authorities are not interested in fair play , " she said . "


They are using a travesty of the law to try and crush our movements and to sentence our people to long terms in prison without proper trial . "


Suu Kyi said once the activists were sentenced , they suffered inhuman conditions and lack of rights in prison .


" Almost all of the prisoners start suffering from various health problems after a couple of years in jail , " she said . "


Some of our people have been in prison for five to six years . "


Most political prisoners are held in Rangoon 's Insein Prison .


Some who have been released have recounted torture methods like sleep and food deprivation and physical abuse .


" If there are any more instances of death in custody it will be further proof that a prison sentence for political prisoners is sometimes almost the same as a death sentence , " Suu Kyi said .


Hla Than , an elected member of parliament for the NLD , died in early August after being at Insein for six years .


His death came five weeks after James Leander ( Leo ) Nichols , a close friend of Suu Kyi and Danish honorary consul , died while serving a prison term at Insein .


Suu Kyi said the government had increased its repression tactics on the democracy movement because it feared the growing popularity of the movement .


But she said she and the NLD would not stop their efforts to bring democracy to Burma even if it meant more arrests of party members or even herself .


Dow Chemical in China ethylene venture .


The Dow Chemical Co of the United States will invest $ 4 billion to build an ethylene plant in Tianjin city in northern China , the China Daily said on Saturday .


The plant will have annual production of 400,000 tonnes , the newspaper said .


It gave no further details of the venture .


Tianjin boasts a range of infrastructure facilities , attracting several multinational oil companies to invest in recent years .


Caltex Petroleum Corp plans to build a lubricants blender in a bonded zone in Tianjin , the newspaper said .


Multinational firms including Mobil , Shell and Caltex , were also attracted to Tianjin due to China 's rising demand for lube and oil-based products , the newspaper said .


N. Korea urges S. Korea to return war veteran .


North Korea demanded on Saturday that South Korea return a northern war veteran who has been in the South since the 1950-53 war , Seoul 's unification ministry said .


" ...I request the immediate repatriation of Kim In-so to North Korea where his family is waiting , " North Korean Red Cross president Li Song-ho said in a telephone message to his southern couterpart , Kang Young-hoon .


Li said Kim had been critically ill with a cerebral haemorrhage .


The message was distributed to the press by the South Korean unification ministry .


Kim , an unrepentant communist , was captured during the Korean War and released after spending more than 30 years in a southern jail .


He submitted a petition to the International Red Cross in 1993 asking for his repatriation .


The domestic Yonhap news agency said the South Korean government would consider the northern demand only if the North accepted Seoul 's requests , which include regular reunions of families split by the Korean War .


Government officials were not available to comment .


South Korea in 1993 unconditionally repatriated Li In-mo , a nothern partisan seized by the South during the war and jailed for more than three decades .


Chinese police have detained veteran dissident Wang Donghai , the New York-based pressure group Human Rights in China said on Saturday .


Police in Hangzhou , capital of the eastern province of Zhejiang , told Wang 's family that Wang would be sent to a study class , a euphemism for coercive ideological reform , the group said .


Police gave no reason for detaining Wang on Friday and would not let his family meet him or say where he was being held , the group said .


Police also would not say why Wang was being sent to a study class -- a holdover from the chaotic 1966-76 Cultural Revolution -- or say when he would be released , the group said .


Wang 's family and Hangzhou police could not be reached for immediate comment .


The group demanded Wang 's release and said his detention was a dangerous signal China was returning to its Cultural Revolution days .


Last month , Wang , 45 , a veteran dissident of the 1979 Democracy Wall movement , was ordered to serve one year of " re-education through labour " , but released because of poor health .


Re-education through labour is an administrative punishment with a maximum of three years that can be imposed by police without recourse to prosecutors or the courts .


Wang was jailed for two years for organising street protests after the military crushed pro-democracy demonstrations by students at Beijing 's Tiananmen Square on June 4 , 1989 , with heavy loss of life .


Chinese authorities appeared to be using administrative punishment more frequently to take dissidents out of circulation without having to go through a more complicated judicial process to impose criminal sentences , Western diplomats have said .


China police detains dissident Wang Donghai .


Chinese police have detained dissident Wang Donghai , the New York-based pressure group Human Rights in China said on Saturday .


Police detained Wang on Friday and would not let his family meet him or say where he was being held , the group said .


The pressure group said Wang would be sent to a study class , often a euphemism in China for ideological reform .


Wang 's family could not immediately be reached for comment .


Wang was jailed for two years for organising street protests after the military brutally crushed pro-democracy demonstrations by students at Beijing 's Tiananmen Square on June 4 , 1989 , with heavy loss of life .


Hong Kong jails 88-year-old drug trafficker .


An 88-year-old army veteran was jailed for 15 years by a Hong Kong court for drugs trafficking after he admitted he had stashed heroin under his mattress , a newspaper said on Saturday .


" I am sorry to my ancestors for five generations , " Chen Chun-yeh told the High Court after sentencing on Friday , the Hong Kong Standard said . "


Tell my sons to collect my bones , " he said after hearing he was likely to die behind bars .


Chen , a former army secretary of the Chinese Nationalist regime which fled from mainland China to Taiwan in 1949 , pleaded guilty to trafficking 42 kg ( 92 pounds ) of drugs that could have been turned into 25 kg ( 55 pounds ) of heroin .


The ex-officer admitted stashing heroin under his mattress .


China cities to ban disposable plastic containers .


Two Chinese cities are to ban the use of disposable plastic containers as part of efforts to fight pollution , the China Daily said on Saturday .


Authorities in Wuhan , capital of the central province of Hubei , would punish those who sell or use disposable plastic containers from September 1 , the newspaper said .


The city 's industrial and commercial departments would confiscate disposable plastic containers and police would prevent new ones from entering the city , it said .


Wuhan consumes more than 200 million disposable plastic containers a year , the newspaper said .


The boomtown of Guangzhou , capital of the southern province of Guangdong , would ban disposable plastic containers by the end of 1996 , it said .


Guangzhou uses up 500,000 such containers each day , the newspaper said .


Iraqi Kurds say Iranian troops enter north Iraq .


Iranian troops on Saturday entered Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq in the wake of an assault backed by Baghdad into the region , an Iraqi Kurdish group told Reuters .


They have occupied the area to the depth of 40 km ( 25 miles ) .


They have established a headquarters in Chuman , " Faik Nerweyi of the Kurdistan Democratic Party ( KDP ) told Reuters by telephone from Ankara .


Nerweyi said he did not know the size or nature of the Iranian force in northern Iraq , but said KDP fighters had been easily outgunned in the area close to the Iranian border and had quickly withdrawn further west .


" They were far too strong , " he said .


Nerweyi said he did not know if there were any casualties .


A U.N. official in Baghdad said the KDP , backed by Iraqi tanks , heavy artillery and helicopters had taken control of the main northern Iraqi city of Arbil after fighting on Saturday .


U.S. President Bill Clinton has authorised the repositioning of U.S. firepower in the Gulf region in response to the Iraqi attacks .


The KDP charges that the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan , which took control of Arbil in fighting in December 1994 , has backing from Iran .


The PUK accuses the KDP of collaborating with Baghdad .


Northern Iraq has been under Iraqi Kurdish control since after the 1991 Gulf War .


U.S.-led allied planes based in Turkey are intended to protect the Kurds from Baghdad .


Ceasefire monitors to meet in south Lebanon .


A committee monitoring the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas will meet in south Lebanon on Sunday to discuss an Israeli complaint against the Islamic group , the Israeli army said .


Representatives of the five nations making up the committee -- Israel , Lebanon , Syria , France and the United States -- will meet at 11 a.m. ( 0800 GMT ) in Naqoura , the coastal headquarters of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon ( UNIFIL ) .


" The committee will meet following a complaint by Israel over an incident in which two Lebanese residents were injured by Hizbollah fire in the Sikhin village ...


on August 29 , " an Israeli army spokeswoman said on Saturday .


The monitoring committee was set up to deal with violations of an April 25 ceasefire understanding that ended 17 days of fighting between Israel and the guerrillas .


The understandings forbid firing from or at civilian targest but do not rule out guerrilla attacks on Israeli troops and their local militia allies in south Lebanon .


Around 1,000 Israeli troops patrol a 15 km ( nine-mile ) south Lebanon occupation zone which the Jewish state carved out in 1985 to prevent attacks on its northern bordder .


Hizbollah ( Party of God ) gunmen have waged a guerrilla war to oust Israel from the area .


KPD confirms Iraqi military aid-U.N. official .


Kurdistan Democratic Party ( KDP ) of Massoud Barzani said that it was being backed by Iraqi heavy armour and artillery in a battle with rival Kurds for the city of Arbil , a senior U.N. official in Baghdad said .


" They have confirmed to us that Iraqi troops are taking part in the attack on Arbil ...


We got the information from KDP leaders in KDP headquarters in Saladdin , " the official , who asked not to be identified , told Reuters .


Fire destroys restaurant in Bahraini village .


A fire has completely gutted a Turkish-operated restaurant in a Bahraini village , residents said .


They said a fire broke out at Shul'ala restaurant in the early hours on Saturday in al-Daih village , five km ( three miles ) west of the capital Manama .


It was not immediately clear what caused the fire or if there were any casualties .


Government officials had no immediate comment .


Iraq 's Aziz says Baghdad aiding KDP against rivals .


Iraq 's Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz said on Saturday Iraqi troops were fighting in northern Iraq to aid Kurdish rebel leader Massoud Barzani against rival forces .


" The leadership has decided to provide support and military aid to Mr Massoud Barzani and his comrades to enable them confront the vicious aggression ...


from ( Patriotic Union of Kurdistan chief ) Jalal Talabani , " Aziz said in a statement carried by the official Iraqi News Agency ( INA ) .


Aziz said Iraq 's military intervention , the first on such scale since the U.S. and allies decided to protect Iraqi Kurds against Baghdad , was in response to a plea from Barzani to President Saddam Hussein to back him militarily and save his people from attacks by Iran and Talabani .


He said Barzani sent a message to Saddam on August 22 in which he said : " The conspiracy is beyond our capability therefore we plead with your excellency to order Iraqi armed forces to interfere to help us to evade the foreign threat and put an end to Talabani 's treason and conspiracy . "


U.N. relief officials said they were not aware that the tanks advancing on Arbil were manned by Iraqi troops as they advanced from KDP-controlled areas and raised KDP flags .


U.N. denies reports of Iraqi tank assault on Arbil .


United Nations relief officials said on Saturday the fighting in Arbil in northern Iraq was between rival Kurdish factions and they were not aware of any Iraqi military advance on the city .


" KDP ( Kurdistan Democratic Party ) is trying to overtake the city .


We have in no way seen any Iraqi troops in the city or in its approaches , " a U.N. relief official told Reuters .


These are the leading stories in the Tunisian press on Saturday .


Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy .


- After Tunisia called on France to respect Tunisian immigrants ' dignity , France says it welcomes legal Tunisian residents .


- Tunisia 's exports of spare parts amounted to 220 million dinars in 1995 .


- Trade talks between Tunisia and the Palestinian Authority .


- Speaker of parliament Habib Boulares arrives in Tripoli to represent President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali at the Libyan revolution anniversary celebrations .


Automakers , U.S. agency plan air bag safety ads .


Automakers , suppliers , insurers and the federal government 's auto safety agency Saturday launched a $ 10 million safety awareness campaign aimed at reducing the number of children killed accidentally by air bags in cars and trucks .


Officials said they will work with law enforcement agencies , pediatricians and media to warn parents about the dangers that air bags pose to children and adults not wearing seatbelts .


Since 1993 , 24 children have been killed by the explosive force of automotive air bags , which inflate at speeds up to 200 miles per hour .


The first portion of the campaign involves pickup trucks equipped with billboards that were driving along some of the nation 's busiest interstate highways during the Labor Day weekend , including Interstate 95 on the East Coast , Interstates 80 and 90 in the Midwest and Interstate 5 in California .


The boards read : " Air Bag Safety : Everyone Buckled , Kids in Back . "


Janet Dewey , executive director of the industry-funded National Automobile Occupant Protection Campaign , said most of the injuries to children occurred because they were not wearing seatbelts .


A child 's chances of being killed in a car accident , whether the vehicle was equipped with an air bag or not , is reduced by 29 percent when they are in the rear seat , she said .


The auto industry was about three to six years away from introducing " smart " air bags with the ability to detect the size and position of an occupant and adjust inflation pressures accordingly .


Current air bags were designed to halt the forward momentum of an average-sized , unbelted adult male , not a small child .


Automakers petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to allow them to introduce air bags that inflate less aggressively to help reduce unwanted injuries .


" Even if changes are made to airbags today , we 'd still have 20 million vehicles on the road with current technology , " Dewey said . "


The public has n't been getting the message . "


Two die as New Hampshire motel explodes and burns .


An explosion leveled Rochester 's one-story Lilac Falls Motel , killing two people , fire officials said Friday .


" It was an explosion , and then it got involved in fire .


As far as I know , it 's been to four alarms -- more trucks , more people , " said Don Penney of the Rochester Fire Department said .


Eyewitnesses told Boston television stations they saw a gasoline truck parked behind the Lilac Falls Motel and smelled gasoline shortly before the explosion .


Fire department officials said they were investigating the cause of the blast and searching for any more casualties .


Officials did not immediately identify the victims .


Local hospital officials said a few firemen were treated for smoke inhalation but there were no other injuries .


Car kills two trying to avoid Texas drag race .


An illegal drag race on a Dallas street turned deadly when another vehicle veered into the crowd , killing two people and injuring a dozen more , police said Saturday .


Organisers tried to block off traffic while preparing the drag race late on Friday , but an allegedly drunk driver was unable to slow down in time and ran into a group of spectators as he swerved to avoid one of the cars that was to take part in the race .


A 26-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman were killed .


The driver , aged 51 , was arrested and charged on two counts of intoxicated manslaughter .


A police spokesman said the straight , flat stretch of road was often used illegally as a drag strip by Dallas youths .


U.S. warplanes , ships in Gulf await Clinton order .


More than 300 U.S. warplanes and 20 ships were available on Saturday in case President Bill Clinton ordered the use of U.S. force against Iraqi military action in northern Iraq , U.S. defense officials said .


They said 200 fighter planes , including 79 on the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson , were already in the Gulf ; the aircraft carrier Enterprise was in the eastern Mediterranean with 79 more , and an air expeditionary force with up to 40 more was ready to fly from the United States if ordered .


" Yesterday the president ordered the Department of Defense to take prudent planning steps to have forces ready to deploy to the region should he direct us to do so , " Pentagon spokesman Doug Kennett said . "


We have taken those prudent planning steps . "


Clinton said on Saturday he had ordered U.S. forces in the Gulf to go on high alert and was reinforcing them in response to Iraqi attacks on Kurdish dissidents in northern Iraq .


" These developments ... cause me grave concern , " Clinton said at a campaign stop in Troy , Tennessee .


But he added , " It is premature at this time , and I want to emphasize that , highly premature to speculate on any response we might have . "


The U.S. defense officials said military flights to enforce no-fly zones in both northern and southern Iraq doubled over the weekend .


Clinton said Iraqi military forces overran the city of Arbil , which has been held since 1994 by Kurdish rebels who Baghdad says are backed by Iran .


There were unconfirmed reports that Iran had sent troops into northern Iraq in response to Iraq 's attack .


U.S. plans rely heavily on U.S. air attacks on Iraqi forces , but there are also 23,000 U.S. troops in the region , according to defense officials .


In addition to the 158 F / A-18 , F-14 and other fighter planes on the aircraft carriers Vinson and Enterprise , the Air Force air expeditionary force of 30 to 40 F-15 and F-16 fighter planes and fuel tankers is ready to fly from three U.S. bases in the United States , they said .


The expeditionary force would include nearly 1,000 Air Force personnel in ground and support crews , they said .


The 23,000 U.S. military people already in the Gulf consist of 15,000 sailors and Marines , 6,000 U.S. servicemen based primarily in Saudi Arabia and 2,000 U.S. troops in the area for military exercises .


Most of the Marines are on three ships in the Tarawa Amphibious Readiness Group .


The Carl Vinson leads a battle group that includes seven other ships , and there are nine other U.S. ships in the Gulf for a total of 20 .


Two missing Belgian teenagers found unharmed .


Two Belgian teenage girls missing since Thursday have been found unharmed , police said on Saturday .


" The girls , Rachel and Severine , have been found .


They are unharmed , " a police official in Liege said .


He declined to say whether the girls had been kidnapped or whether they had gone away of their own accord .


Late on Friday , the two girls -- Rachel Legeard , 18 , and Severine Potty , 19 -- were reported missing after failing to return home from a shopping trip to the eastern town of Liege on Thursday .


Earlier , police declined to comment on whether it suspected a link with the Marc Dutroux case , the paedophile kidnap , sex abuse and murder scandal which has rocked Belgium in the past two weeks .


Algeria restaurant bomb kills seven - newSpaper .


A bomb explosion in a restaurant west of Algiers on Friday killed seven people , an Algerian newspaper said on Saturday .


Algerian security forces said in a statement that two people were killed and six were wounded when a home-made bomb ripped through a restaurant in the coastal town of Staoueli .


But Le Matin newspaper , quoting witnesses , said the bomb killed seven people and wounded 20 .


Liberte newspaper said the bomb was hidden in a bag in front of the restaurant and that a booby-trapped car was defused near the restaurant shortly before the bomb went off .


A week ago a home-made bomb exploded in a market in the western coastal town of Bou Haroun , 65 km ( 40 miles ) from Algiers .


Newspapers said it killed two women and five children .


Algerian newspapers quoted the Human Rights National Observatory ( ONDH ) , a government-appointed watchdog , as saying earlier in August that about 1,400 civilians had been killed in bomb attacks blamed on Moslem guerrillas in the past two years .


An estimated 50,000 people have died in Algeria 's violence pitting Moslem rebels against government forces since early 1992 when the authorities cancelled a general election in which radical Islamists had taken a commanding lead .


Iran agents stormed German diplomat 's home -- Bonn .


Iranian security forces burst into the home of a German cultural attache in Tehran a month ago and seized his guests for questioning , Bonn 's foreign ministry said on Saturday .


A spokesman said he could substantially confirm a report in the news weekly Der Spiegel , which said Iranian secret police burst in while attache Jens Gust was entertaining six Iranian writers and their wives .


Gust was threatened with violence , then locked into a room to be interrogated on suspicion of " promoting activities hostile to the state " while his guests were taken away , the magazine said .


The ministry spokesman said the German embassy immediately made a sharp protest to the Tehran government .


The Iranian ambassador was also summoned to the ministry in Bonn to hear a sharp protest and " disapproval of this glaring breach of the principles of international law " , he added .


Iran subsequently said it regretted the incident , which it said had been the result of a misunderstanding .


All those detained appeared to have been freed , the spokesman said .


Relations between the two countries are currently under strain because of the testimony in a Berlin court of former Iranian president Abolhassan Banisadr .


Banisadr , an avowed opponent of the Tehran government who now lives in exile , accused top Iranian leaders of personally ordering the assassination of three exiled Kurdish leaders in a Berlin restaurant in 1992 .


Iran has asked Germany to extradite Banisadr , who is due is due back in Berlin next Thursday to continue his testimony .


Banisadr , who received political asylum in France after fleeing there in 1981 , told Der Spiegel he did not plan to ask for a guarantee of safe conduct .


If Germany were to extradite him , he said , it would " lose face before the whole world " .


German prosecutors have already accused Iran 's intelligence minister Ali Fallahiyan of ordering the killing of the Kurdish leaders .


Iran , which denies the allegations , urged German authorities to disregard Banisadr 's testimony and said it could hurt relations .


Italy 's Dini meets Burundi negotiator Nyerere .


Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini on Saturday met former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere , the international negotiator for Burundi , the ministry said .


Nyerere arrived in Rome this week on a private visit and held talks with the U.S. special envoy to Burundi , Howard Wolpe , and the Sant ' Egidio Community , an Italian Roman Catholic organisation which has been monitoring Burundi closely .


" ( Nyerere ) informed Minister Dini of the latest developments in the ( Great Lakes ) region , with particular respect to Burundi following the military coup d'etat on July 25 , " the ministry said in a statement .


Nyerere was due to be presented with an " Artisans for Peace " prize by the Lay Volunteers ' International Organisation on Sunday .


The U.N. Security Council on Friday condemned the coup by retired Tutsi major Pierre Buyoya and for the first time said in a resolution it intended to pressure Buyoya into unconditional negotiations with all parties and factions " without exception " .


Buyoya on Saturday dismissed its threat of an arms embargo against Burundi and flatly ruled out talks with Hutu rebels .


Some 150,000 people -- mostly civilians -- have died in Burundi since 1993 when the country 's first democratically elected Hutu president was killed in an attempted army coup .


Nato declines comment on fighting in Iraq .


The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 's spokesman on Saturday declined all comment on reports of armed conflict in northern Iraq .


But a NATO official told Reuters : " We are watching the situation closely . "


Earlier on Saturday , an Iraqi Kurd leader said both Iraqi troops and Kurdistan Democratic Party ( KDP ) forces were attacking the city of Arbil in northern Iraq .


More automatic weapons stolen in Belgium .


More than 10 weapons , including automatic Kalashnikov rifles , were stolen from an arms store in Belgium , police said on Saturday .


A policeman in the southern Belgian town of Chatelet told Reuters that thieves used a car to ram the window of an arms store in neighbouring Chatelineaux last night .


It was the second arms robbery this week .


On Tuesday , thieves stole about 40 forearms from a shooting range in southern Belgium , including Kalashnikov , Uzi and Fal automatic weapons .


No trace of two missing teenagers in Belgium .


Belgian police said on Saturday they had found no trace of two teenage girls reported missing during a shopping trip three days ago .


" There is no trace so far , the enquiry is continuing , " a Liege police official told Reuters .


Late on Friday , Liege police said in a statement that on Thursday , Rachel Legeard , 18 , and Severine Potty , 19 , had gone shopping to the eastern town of Liege on Thursday , where Legeard 's wallet had been stolen .


After reporting the theft to the police , they took a bus home and reportedly got off the bus before arriving in their home village of Nandrin .


Police declined to comment on whether it suspected a link with the Marc Dutroux case , the paedophile kidnap , sex abuse and murder scandal which has rocked Belgium in the past two weeks .


Controversial IRA film screened at Venice festival .


Dublin-born director Neil Jordan says he never lost more sleep over a film than over " Michael Collins " , his controversial epic about the IRA which has its premiere on Saturday at the Venice Film Festival .


The film , starring Liam Neeson and Julia Roberts , recounts the life of Michael Collins , the Irish Republican Army 's Director of Intelligence who fought for Irish independence from 1919 to 1921 .


Although not due for release in Britain until early next year , some politicians have already said they feared it would fan sectarian tensions in British-ruled Northern Ireland .


Jordan defends his decision to make the film , whose screenplay he wrote himself after years of research , saying it was " more about history than any political statement " .


" The film spares neither the Irish nor the British in its depiction of the savagery of the time , " Jordan said in a statement released by Warner Bros . "


How often has independence been achieved without bloodshed ?


Jordan , whose 1992 film " The Crying Game " also came under fire for what was perceived as a sympathetic portrayal of the IRA , said Collins was more than just a revolutionary .


" He developed techniques of guerilla warfare later copied by independence movements around the world , from Mao Tse-Tung in China to Yitzak Shamir in Israel , " Jordan said .


" Collins would never be a proponent of contemporary terrorism as practised today .


He was a soldier and a statesman and , over time , a man of peace . "


Leeson , the Northern Ireland-born actor who was nominated for an Oscar for best actor for his performance in " Schindler 's List " , plays the lead role in Jordan 's film .