N Korea slams US over suspected nuclear site: North Korea on Wednesday bitterly accused the United States of taking a hardline stance over Pyongyang's suspected nuclear site and said Washington was pushing the situation to the "brink of war". "Now that the US imperialists, having thrown off the mask of `dialogue' and `negotiation', are bringing the situation to the brink of war, we solemnly declare that our revolutionary armed forces will never pardon thechallenge of the US imperialist aggression forces but answer it with an annihilating blow," said a spokesman for the General Staff of the North Korean People's Army (KPA). In a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) monitored in Tokyo, the North Korean spokesman said Pyongyang was ready to respond to any attacks by the United States.

Dutch defend EMU stability programme: The Dutch government on Wednesday defended its stability programme as sufficient to meet the budgetary goals set for members of Europe's single currency. "The Dutch stability programme was passed by European finance ministers as adequate," finance ministry spokesman Marco Zoon said. EU finance ministers meeting in Brussels said in a statement late on Tuesday the Dutch programme appeared less ambitious than it had been in the past. They counselled the Dutch to achieve better budgetary results to bolster the safety margin preventing its deficit from breaching the EMU threshold of three per cent of GrossDomestic Product (GDP). But the finance ministry countered on Wednesday that the Dutch budget deficit was comfortably below three per cent. It is pegged at 1.3 per cent of GDP this year, and set to fall to around one per cent in 2002.

AXA Colonia sees 98 premiums down: German insurance group AXA Colonia AG said on Wednesday it expected its net profit to rise in 1998 from last year's 260 million marks despite a predicted decline in gross premium income. AXA Colonia also said in a statement it expected a further improvement in profits in 1999. The insurer said it expected 1998 group premium income to fall by 1.6 per cent to 10.46 billion marks ($6.20 billion). AXA Colonia said it forecast property and casualty insurance premiums to decline by 6.5 per cent to 4.345 billion marks, while life insurance premiums were expected to rise 2.6 per cent to 3.837 billion marks. Health insurance is forecast to show 9.2 per cent growth this year with premiums reaching 875 million marks. Gross premium income fromother types of insurance is expected to fall 3.2 per cent to 1.4 billion marks. AXA Colonia is controlled by the French insurance group AXA.

Estrada to intercede to keep Pal-Cathay deal alive: Philippine president Joseph Estrada today said he would ask Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd to reconsider its decision to pull out of talks to acquire a stake in troubled Philippine Airlines (PAL). Estrada said talks for an alternative deal with Northwest Airlines of the United States had apparently failed and Hong Kong-based Cathay appeared to be the best ally for Pal. ``I can ask Cathay Pacific to reconsider their decision,'' Estrada said in response to reports that Cathay Pacific was ending disussions on acquiring some 40 per cent of PAL. ``There are still some options left. We just don't give up easily,'' he said.