World briefs 8/8/02

Annan names Mideast humanitarian envoy

UNITED NATIONS -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed the former head of the U.N. World Food Program his personal humanitarian envoy in the Middle East on Wednesday to help alleviate the plight of the Palestinian people.

Catherine Bertini's appointment follows what Annan called "a severe and mounting humanitarian crisis" in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Senior Israeli officials have promised to improve the humanitarian situation in the territories, acknowledging that the latest military occupation of the West Bank had made it difficult for Palestinians to work, shop and seek medical aid.

Bertini, an American, will travel to the region this weekend to assess "the nature and the scale of the humanitarian crisis" and determine a response to keep it from getting worse, Annan said in a statement.

Tokyo stocks rally, dollar higher against yen

TOKYO -- Tokyo stocks rallied Wednesday for the first time after five straight sessions of losses, buoyed by the dollar's strength against the yen and Wall Street's rebound overnight.

The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average closed up 333.38 points, or 3.51 percent, at 9,834.40 Wednesday. The index dropped 203.91 points, or 2.10 percent, to 9,501.02 Tuesday.

The dollar bought 120.76 yen at 5 p.m. (4 a.m. EDT) Wednesday, up 0.30 yen from late Tuesday in Tokyo but below its late New York level of 120.85 yen.

On the stock market, the Nikkei which often takes its cue from Wall Street rebounded as investors welcomed an upturn in U.S. equities and a weakening yen.

Gains were widespread. Among notable advancers were high tech blue chips Sony, Canon and Kyocera, which had taken a beating earlier this week from the Nasdaq's fall. Auto makers, including Honda, Toyota and Mazda, also benefited from the yen's slip.

Officials find 30 more bodies in refugee camp

KAMPALA, Uganda -- Authorities have found 30 more bodies at a refugee camp attacked and burned by rebels in northern Uganda, bringing the death toll to 55, an army spokesman said Wednesday.

The bodies, believed to be those of Sudanese refugees, were found Tuesday by soldiers sent to the U.N.-run camp after the attack Monday, said Lt. Paddy Ankunda. In addition, two policemen also were confirmed killed, he said.

Ugandan officials earlier reported the deaths of four soldiers, 11 rebels and eight refugees, including two children.

Bushra Malik, a spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said the United Nations expected the final death toll to be "high." She did not elaborate.

The rebels attacked the camp in Acholipii, 185 miles north of Kampala, driving off 100 Ugandan soldiers and forcing the camp's 24,000 residents to flee. The attackers, who looted the camp and set fire to anything they couldn't carry away, also abducted four people.

Tajikistan dam break causes 24 deaths

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan -- A dam holding water in a lake in the Pamir Mountains of eastern Tajikistan broke Wednesday, flooding a village and killing at least 24 people, emergency officials said.

The dam collapsed as a result of a mudslide near the village of Dasht in the Roshkalinsky region about 185 miles east of the Tajik capital Dushanbe, the Ministry of Emergency Situations said.

Water and mud engulfed the village after the dam broke early Wednesday, carrying away houses and their inhabitants, destroying 75 homes and leaving about 550 people without housing. There were children among the dead, the ministry said.

Greek terror group claims stolen military arms

ATHENS, Greece -- A caller claiming to represent the embattled November 17 terrorist group said Wednesday it had guns that were stolen from a military armory last week.

An anonymous caller contacted the newspaper Eleftherotypia and said, "We repeat: we have the weapons. November 17," according to the paper, which has received many of the group's past declarations.

-- From wire reports