ANKARA (AFP) - Turkey said yesterday one of its nationals was feared dead and 61 others remained unaccounted for after the tidal wave disaster in Asia. A Turkish diplomat said one person was notified as dead by a friend, and that Turkish diplomats in the region were seeking official confirmation. «It is highly likely that this person is dead but we have not been able to officially confirm it yet,» said the diplomat, who did not wish to be identified. He added that since Wednesday, authorities had managed to establish contact with 14 Turkish nationals, but said 61 people remained unaccounted for.

ANKARA (AFP) - Turkey's National Security Council, the country's top consultative body, called on the EU yesterday not to impose any conditions on Ankara when it starts membership talks with the bloc next year. Among the EU conditions is a demand for Turkey to sign a key diplomatic accord seen by some as amounting to de facto recognition of Cyprus, and possible permanent restrictions in the future on the free movement of Turkish nationals in the bloc. «The council notes the importance of carrying out (membership) negotiations without any discrimination or conditions against Turkey,» the council said in a statement, without elaborating.

Sarajevo authorities announced yesterday they will name a street after Susan Sontag, «a true friend» who helped Sarajevans during the 1992-95 Bosnian war. Sontag, 71, a prominent author and activist, died in New York on Tuesday from complications of leukemia. During the 1992-95 Bosnian war, Sontag on numerous occasions visited Sarajevo and lobbied for the end of the siege of the Bosnian capital. (AP)

The Bosnian-Serb Parliament on Wednesday accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Dragan Mikerevic over international sanctions for the Serb-run entity's failure to arrest war crimes fugitives. Bosnian-Serb President Dragan Cavic now has 10 days to name a new prime minister. (AFP)

NATO-led peacekeepers warned yesterday against the use of any kind of fireworks during New Year's celebrations near their military bases and public areas in Kosovo. The caution came as the year's end festivities drew near and the noise of firecrackers filled the streets of the province's capital, Pristina. «We want people to celebrate in the way that they are accustomed to, however, for military forces they (the fireworks) can sound like gunfire,» said Tech. Sgt. Dean Miller, a spokesman for the peacekeepers in the province. (AP)