2/29/00
- Police
accused over deaths of Indians
2/28/00
- Mexico-Russia
talks in Moscow
2/25/00
- Honduras
and Nicaraguans clash again
2/21/00
- Indian immigrant
is Canadian province's premier
2/20/00
- Tensions
flare between Honduras and Nicaragua
Police
accused over
deaths of Indians
JOHN GRAY in Toronto
Darrell Night's good fortune was that when he reached
the door of the power plant on the northern outskirts of
Saskatoon, a night watchman heard his cries and gave
him shelter from the deathly cold that paralyses the
Canadian Prairies in winter.
Mr Night was lucky. Within a week two other Indians
were found in the stubble fields close to the power
plant, and they had not been so lucky.
Both were frozen solid.
The discovery of the two bodies persuaded Mr Night it
was perhaps not all coincidence. So he decided to tell
his story, and the story he told suggested that members
of the Saskatoon police department might be guilty of
murder.
Mr Night said he was arrested by two police
constables, handcuffed and driven beyond the city limits.
The police took off his handcuffs, stripped him of his
jacket, and told him to walk back to town. The
temperature was minus 18 Celsius.
The bodies of the two native men discovered near the
power plant, Rodney Naistus and Lawrence Wegner,
had no jackets. Wegner had no shoes.
In Saskatoon, the surprise was that police chief David
Scott acted as quickly as he did. Two veteran police
constables were immediately suspended from the force
for 30 days while a police task force investigated the
deaths.
The two constables who were working in the early
hours of the morning when Mr Night was allegedly
abandoned in the cold were also on duty when Naistus
disappeared.
The police chief said: "We're trying to figure out if there
is a link or if it's just a coincidence."
The task force will also investigate the deaths of two
other Indians who died in the last month within hours of
being released from police custody. One man died at
home, the other froze to death outside.
Saskatchewan Indian leaders said Indians were
routinely abused by police.
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The Mexican foreign minister, Rosario Green,
has held talks in Moscow with the acting
Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and other
senior officials.
They discussed a wide range of issues,
including economic cooperation and a proposed
visit to Russia by the Mexican President,
Ernesto Zedillo.
Mr Putin said Russia was very interested to
learn more about how Mexico coped with its
economic problems. Earlier today, Mrs Green
and her Russian counterpart, Ivan Ivanov,
signed a joint declaration on the fight against
drug trafficking and organised crime.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
Honduras and Nicaragua have again
accused each other of initiating an
exchange of gunfire between patrol
boats from both countries.
The Nicaraguan authorities said the
clash occured when a Honduran navy
vessel entered Nicaraguan waters in
the Gulf of Fonseca in the Pacific
Ocean.
They said the boat then retreated,
firing heavily at two Nicaraguan
vessels.
But according to the Honduran
government , the Nicaraguans opened
fire first.
No damage was reported on either
side.
It's the second such incident in recent
days, and comes amid tense relations
between the two Central American
neighbours as the result of a
maritime border dispute in the
Caribbean Sea.
From the newsroom of the BBC World
Service
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TORONTO: Ujjal Dosanjh, 52, an immigrant
from India, has become the new
premier of the British Columbia
province in Canada in what is seen as a
historic development in a country
that has been trying to promote a
multi-cultural society.
At a three-day convention, Dosanjh
was elected leader of the British
Columbia New Democratic Party (NDP)
on Sunday, polling 769 votes against
549 for his rival, Agriculture Minister
Corky Evans. British Columbia has
a population of 3.6 million, of
whom 120,140 are of South Asian descent.
As the leader of the ruling party,
he automatically became premier, a
historic development in Canada which
has never before had a premier from a
minority community in any of its
10 provinces.
Honduras and Nicaragua have
accused each other of initiating an
exchange of gunfire on Saturday
between patrol boats of both
countries.
A Nicaraguan army spokesman said
Honduran boats opened fire on a
Nicaraguan patrol that had
intercepted them on Nicaraguan
waters.
He called the attack a provocation.
But a Honduran Foreign Ministry
spokesman said an Honduran boat
was attacked by a Nicaraguan patrol
in Honduran waters.
No casualties resulted from the
incident.
Honduras has filed a complaint
against Nicaragua with the
Organisation of American States.
Both countries deployed troops along
their border last December, following
the approval by the Honduran
congress of a treaty with Colombia
recognizing Colombian sovereignty
over an area that Nicaragua also
claims.
From the newsroom of the BBC World
Service
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