Toyota Australia hopes to avoid plant closure: One of Australia's biggest car makers, Toyota Australia, said on Saturday it hoped to avoid closing its Melbourne plant after a ship load of spare parts arrived without being caught in the nation's waterfront dispute. A ship carrying 77 containers of spare parts arrived early on Saturday at a dock not hit by the nation-wide row between unions and Patrick Stevedores and the Liberal-National government. The containers were being unloaded without any problems, a Toyota spokesman said. ``We'll review our position on Monday and I think that if we can get all those containers off the dock, into the plant, sorted out, onto the line, it may well be that we can avoid these stand-downs,'' he said.Love finds a way at Yeltsin-Hashimoto summit: Russian president Boris Yeltsin lived up to his image as a hopeless romantic on Saturday when he and Japanese prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto brought flowers and presents to a couple whose wedding was disrupted bytheir summit at the same hotel. Yeltsin had barely arrived at this sea-side resort when heswept into the wedding reception, flanked by security agents and with Hashimoto and the two first ladies in tow. The room erupted with tipsy relatives cheering and yellingthe only Russian words they knew, "Khorosho" (Good!) and "Spaseba" (Thank you!). Yeltsin rose to the occasion, kissing the tiny, stunnedbride on both cheeks and bestowing a red and gold-wrapped gift box on the couple.
North and South Koreas blame each other for collapse of talks: The week-long high-level talks between North Korea and rival South over aid to impoverished Pyongyang collapsed on Saturday with the two sides blaming each other for the breakdown in their first direct contact in four years.``We could not break down the barrier of mistrust,'' Jeong Se hyun, chief negotiator of South Korean delegation told correspondents after North Korea decided to boycott the last round of talks in the Chinese capital. Talks ended without finalisinga date for resumption of talks between North and South Korea.
Duma to back Kiriyenko: A top legal aide to Russia's president said on Saturday he was sure parliament would back Boris Yeltsin's choice for prime minister, Sergei Kiriyenko, next week rather than face dissolution.``I'm a cautious person and I'm very sure that next Friday Kiriyenko will be approved and the state duma will not be dissolved but will continue its work,'' Yeltsin's Constitutional Court representative, Sergei Shakhrai told Reuters. ``It's a big internal, political and economic game.''
Americas leaders prepare to open landmark meet: Leaders of 34 American nations prepared to open a landmark summit in Chile's capital on Saturday to forge ahead with ambitious plans for the world's largest free-trade area in just eight years. Chilean president Eduardo Frei will inaugurate the summit of the Americas, launching talks for a free-trade zone from Alaska to Patagonia by the year 2005, combining almost a billion consumers andeconomies that add up to $10 trillion.
Annan asks Security Council to `permit' Iraq to purchase spare parts: Secretary General Kofi Annan has asked the Security Council to authorise Iraq to purchase 300 million dollars worth of spare parts and equipment to repair its deteriorating oil infrastructure. The recommendation, contained in a report to the council officially released on Friday, is based on the work of oil experts sent by the council to determine whether Iraq could export more oil under the expanded oil for food programme.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
