FBIS Okinawa Press Service Log: Xinhua English 16 April

This document is a press service log from FBIS Okinawa, dated April 16, 1992, summarizing various international news reports filed on April 15, 1992. The log covers several geopolitical developments. In Nigeria, the government announced a ban on civil servants using official cars and state-financed housing to reduce public spending. In the Middle East, Turkish Interior Minister Ismet Sezgin initiated talks with Syrian officials to address tensions regarding alleged Syrian support for Kurdish unrest in Turkey. In Russia, President Boris Yeltsin rejected the government's resignation offer. In Mozambique, the Renamo rebels reaffirmed their commitment to discussing the country's constitution with the government during ongoing peace negotiations in Rome. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced plans to provide 25 to 30 billion U.S. dollars in assistance to Russia and 14 other former Soviet republics over four years, as stated by Managing Director Michael Camdessus. Environmental efforts were noted in Geneva, where experts from 56 countries agreed to accelerate the phase-out of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halons by 1996. In Washington, it was reported that U.S. President George Bush intended to issue an executive order to impose sanctions against Libya. Finally, in London, Defense Secretary Malcolm Rifkind announced that Britain would send 260 army medical personnel to Yugoslavia as part of a United Nations peace-keeping force.