PARIS: French Prime Minister Alain Juppe and former defence minister Francois Leotard publicly buried the hatchet on Wednesday after a row over the wiretapping of two former senior aides to Leotard.

Leotard, leader of the Union for French Democracy (UDF), junior partner in the ruling centre-right coalition, shook hands demonstratively with Juppe after a lunch for coalition leaders at the prime minister's office. But participants said the public gesture followed a brief clash between the two men behind closed doors.

Deby wins poll

N'DJAMENA: President Idriss Deby has won Chad's first multi-party presidential election, defeating southern general Wadal Abdelkader Kamougue. Deby, a northern Moslem who seized power in 1990 with political support from former colonial power France, won just over 68% of the vote from the July 3 runoff.

Cattle killed

SKOPJE: Agriculture authorities in Macedonia slaughtered cattle suspected of carrying foot-and-mouth disease in an effort to stop an epidemic spreading. The Veterinarian Department said it had already slaughtered about 1500 cattle since discovering the outbreak around Skopje and Veles 10 days ago.