MEXICO CITY: Pope John Paul II signed a document that calls on Roman Catholic churches to confront the problems faced by countries of the Americas, ranging from poverty to drug trafficking and euthanasia. The document also addresses such key issues as the death sentence, foreign debt and abortion. Known as an ``exhortation,'' the document was adopted by a meeting of bishops from Latin America and North America in 1997, but had not been officially published to date. It notably underlines the immense difficulties faced by street children, the problems that confront immigrants and the suffering of indigenous people. In the documents, the American bishops also expressed deep concern over the debt burden that weighs down many countries in Latin America.WASHINGTON: A US federal court today ordered Monica Lewinsky to talk to Senate prosecution managers in President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial in the sex-and-perjury case. The judge ordered Lewinsky, who is at the centre of the scandal involvingClinton, to talk to Henry Hyde, lead prosecutor in the Senate impeachment trial, and his team of house managers. The House managers had wanted to talk to Lewinsky before deciding whether she should be summoned as a witness. It is a common practice in congressional committees to interview a prospective witness privately before deciding whether the person should be called to testify as a witness. This is to prevent a witness from turning hostile and embarrassing those who have summoned him or her. Meanwhile, Democratic Senator Robert Byrd plans to move a motion tomorrow to ask the Senate to dismiss the whole case.COLOMBO: Suspected LTTE cadres blasted three power transformers in the heart of the Sri Lanka this morning even as campaigning for the key provincial council election in the north-western province has ended on a peaceful note. Lankan police have launched a massive hunt to nab the culprits. Three power transformers were destroyed at Kotehena in Northern Colombo disrupting power supply. Twosimilar explosions had destroyed on Monday power transformers in nearby Petiah area, which like Kotehena has a large presence of Tamils.
