CUBAL (Angola): At least seven people have starved to death over the last two months at Ganda in Benguela province in central Angola, following a food shortage hitting the region.

Chieftains at Ganda said victims of famine include children and the elderly from a group of refugees from the nearby areas of Chicuma, Casseque and Ebanga, all under control of UNITA rebels.

Plane shot down

LIMA: Peruvian air force fighters shot down a twin-engine plane over the country's northeast jungle region where cocaine traffickers are known to operate, an air force statement said yesterday. The small aircraft which had no visible registration number was intercepted on Monday over the town of Puerto Rico-Rio Ene, 400 kilometers east of Lima, the statement said. It was not known how many people were aboard .

US smoking ban

WASHINGTON: President Bill Clinton intends to issue an executive order this week banning smoking in most US Federal government offices, senior administration officials said yesterday. ``The final language has not been nailed down, but it will happen this week,'' one official said of the directive, which would apply to all government buildings, except those used by Congress and the courts.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.