Dutch Environment Minister Jan Pronk will be named special UN

Dutch Environment Minister Jan Pronk will be named special UN envoy for sustainable development, the Dutch press reported on Saturday. In this temporary position Pronk will lead preparations for the World Conference on Sustainable Development set to take place in Johannesburg in 2002, according to the Volkskrant daily. -- AFP

Vietnam's government has approved a plan for telecommunications development that will allow new companies to compete with the current state monopoly, state-controlled media reported Saturday. The 10-year strategy, approved by the government on Thursday, envisions the new companies taking a market share of 25 percent to 30 percent by 2005 from Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Corp., the Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper said. -- AP

Three new cases of mad cow disease have been discovered in three regions of Switzerland, Swiss veterinary authorities said Saturday, raising the 2001 toll of infections to 29. -- AFP