Chavez warns US not to interfere in TV issue

CARACAS -- President Hugo Chavez warned the United States and the Organization of American States yesterday not to interfere after they expressed concern about a government raid on a private television station fiercely opposed to his leftist rule. Chavez also ordered a criminal probe into Globovision two days after the Conatel state telecommunications watchdog raided the 24-hour news station and confiscated transmission equipment. (Reuters)

GERMANY

Rebels vow to defy probusiness reform

BERLIN -- Left-wing rebels in Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's party said yesterday they would defy his probusiness reform measures in parliament, raising doubts as to whether the government can survive a crucial vote Oct. 17. Schroeder said last week he was staking his future on his reform legislation, threatening to quit if his coalition of Social Democrats and Greens fails to back in parliament the plans he says are vital to boost the economy. A leading leftist, Ottmar Schreiner, said he and other SPD deputies would vote against their own government, in the showdown unless Schroeder scraps spending cuts that would hit poor families and people out of work. (Reuters)

RUSSIA

Kremlin choice said to be headed for win

GROZNY -- Chechens voted for a president yesterday in an election condemned by critics as a sham but promoted by the Kremlin as a step toward ending a decade of violence and chaos. Authorities said no official results would be available until today, but Russian news agencies quickly reported that Kremlin-appointed Chechnya administration chief Akhmad Kadyrov appeared headed for victory, as was widely expected. The Chechen prime minister, Anatoly Popov, said preliminary results indicate that Kadyrov won some 80 percent of the votes cast in 12 of 20 regions in Chechnya, ITAR-Tass reported. A candidate needs more than 50 percent to win the election outright and avoid a runoff. (AP)

CAMEROON

First oil tanker leaves port in Africa oil effort

YAOUNDE -- The first tanker set off from a Cameroon port with crude from a massive $3.7 billion pipeline, officials said yesterday, launching an ambitious World Bank project aimed at developing West African oil as an alternative to Mideast supplies. The United States has pushed development of West Africa's industry. The 665-mile pipeline from landlocked Chad to the Atlantic ports of Cameroon represents the World Bank's largest investment in sub-Saharan Africa. (AP)

OMAN

Two women reelected in first vote open to all

MUSCAT -- Two women were reelected to an 83-member advisory council, according to preliminary results, in the country's first elections open to all citizens rather than a handpicked elite, the Interior Minister said yesterday. Early results showed Lujaina bint Mohsen Haider al-Za'bi, a businesswoman, had won 1,127 votes, while Ruhaila bint Amor al-Riyami, a former Ministry of Education employee, garnered 741 votes. Women in Oman are veiled and largely segregated from men except in their homes. (AP)

AUSTRALIA

Tests suppress sperm, researchers report

SYDNEY -- Researchers said yesterday they had conducted a successful experiment using two hormones to suppress sperm production, which they said could lead to the first injectable male contraceptive. Men in the trial of 55 couples received hormone treatment over the course of a year using a combination of the male hormone testosterone and progestin, which is used in female contraceptive pills, scientists from Sydney's ANZAC Research Institute and the Prince Henry Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne said. None of the men's partners became pregnant during the trial, and none showed any side effects. (Reuters)