EX-MAYOR OF ST. PETERSBURG HAS HEART SURGERY IN FRANCE.

Anatoly Sobchak, who lost his post as mayor of St. Petersburg in an election last year, is recovering from a heart operation in a Paris hospital. Sobchak’s decision to seek treatment abroad aroused speculation, since he has been summoned by the police to testify in connection with an investigation into alleged corruption by officials while he was mayor of Russia’s second city from 1991 to 1996. But the city prosecutor said Sobchak has not been charged with any offense and that there was therefore no question of his being prevented from leaving the country. Sobchak said he went to France for treatment since doctors in St. Petersburg had been offered bribes to kill him on the operating table. (NTV, Reuter, November 10)

Investigators Probe Link Between Thefts and Depot Explosion.