- guardian.co.uk, Wednesday April 19 2000 01.35 BST
Jörg Haider, de facto leader of Austria's far-right Freedom party, admitted yesterday that his dream of becoming chancellor had shattered under the weight of international pressure.
Breaking his silence since his resignation as party chief seven weeks ago, Mr Haider, 50, told the Kleine Zeitung that he had been unjustly portrayed as the "scum of the earth".
Other EU states imposed sanctions on Austria in February when the Freedom party was sworn into government with the People's party.
Kate Connolly, Prague
343 immigrants found off Italy
Italian naval authorities intercepted a ship carrying 343 illegal immigrants yesterday after a distress call was sent out about a pregnant woman on board.
The ship was escorted to the port of Reggio Calabria, from where the passengers, who were mostly Kurds, were taken to detention centres, a port official said.
The pregnant woman was taken to hospital and the vessel's six crew were arrested.
AP, Reggio Calabria
Man held for jeep killings
The Indian police have arrested a key suspect for the murder of an Australian missionary and his two sons in the eastern state of Orissa last year, officers said yesterday.
According to the police, villagers stopped sheltering Abhi Ram Mohanta, 30, earlier this month after the arrest of the alleged ringleader of the mob that burned to death Graham Staines and his young sons as they slept in their jeep.
AP, Bhubaneshwar
16 Tamil Tigers die in raids
Sri Lankan troops killed 16 guerrillas during raids on Tamil Tiger hideouts, officials said yesterday.
The attacks on Monday on the Jaffna peninsula were aimed at driving the rebels back into the jungles, defence ministry spokesman Major Asiri Idunil said. The guerrillas stepped up their attacks in November to take back their former stronghold.
AP, Colombo
Envoy quits as tension grows
A leading Russian envoy in Chechnya resigned yesterday amid tension over the move towards a negotiated settlement in the region.
Bislan Gantamirov, a convicted embezzler, announced his resignation as signs that Moscow might be preparing to negotiate with the Chechen president, Aslan Maskhadov, strengthened. Mr Gantamirov has always opposed such talks.
Amelia Gentleman, Moscow
4.2m S Africans have HIV
South Africa's ministry of health said yesterday that an estimated 4.2m people, just under 10% of the population, were infected with HIV.
The figures were extrapolated from a national survey of women attending public antenatal clinics, which showed that 22% of the pregnant women tested were HIV positive.
Reuters, Johannesburg
Cuba hits back at UN vote
The UN Commission on Human Rights yesterday adopted a resolution denouncing Cuba for repressing political dissent and religious groups.
The resolution, put forward by the Czech Republic and Poland, was backed by the United States. Cuba's Communist party said 100,000 Cubans would be marching on the Czech embassy in Havana.
Reuters, Geneva
Belgian rail crash injures 15
About 15 people were injured yesterday when two trains collided in Belgium.
Television reports said a passenger train apparently derailed by a concrete block on the track was hit by a freight train near Charleroi. Three of the victims were seriously hurt.
AP, Brussels
