At a glance

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Megat Junid Megat Ayon was the mastermind behind sexual allegations against ousted deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, a witness said on Tuesday. Azmin Mohamad Ali, Anwar8217;s then private secretary, said his sister Ummi Hafilda Ali admitted in June last year she did not write the letter sent to Premier Mahathir Mohamad in August 1997 containing the allegations. 8220;Ummi told me the letter was drafted by Datuk Megat Junid. She also said if I planned to take legal action, I should take action against Datuk Megat Junid because he is the conspirator behind the letter,8221; he said. The prosecution case rests largely on a letter Ummi wrote to Mahathir in August last year, alleging Anwar had an affair with Azmin8217;s wife Shamsidar, and that he sodomised his driver Azizan.

LONDON: British Prime Minister Tony Blair8217;s Government firmly allied itself with the British urban majority in a fierce battle over rights of access to the English countryside.Blair8217;s Environment Minister Michael Meacher said he would introduce new laws to open up four million uncultivated acres of mountain, moor, heath and downland to walkers, 12 per cent of the total area of English countryside. A new system of local access forums to reach consensus on local rights of way was unveiled. Landowners who continued to obstruct the public on land where a right of way was agreed upon would face prosecution, said Meacher. He told the House of Commons the measures would 8220;enable everybody to experience the wonders of wildlife and beautiful landscapes8221;. The new laws would come into force before the general election in 2001 or 2002, he pledged.