Chretien in plea to US over landmines ban

Jean Chretien, has made a special pitch to President Bill Clinton to drop US objections to an international ban on landmines, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Prime Minister said yesterday.

Mr Chretien telephoned Mr Clinton on Thursday to stress that the coming week is the last chance to make changes in the proposed treaty being hammered out in Oslo. From next Friday, countries will only be able to approve it or reject it but not change its wording. "He definitely doesn't want Clinton to let the opportunity pass," a Canadian spokeswoman said. "Time is pressing and it has come to an urgent point." Reuters - Ottawa