Today's Stories: Colombia's Uribe denies drugs cartel links At least 256 confirmed dead in Paraguayan supermarket fire Pinochet's son released from detention, banned from leaving Chile

Uribe has trumpeted his war against the cocaine trade Uribe is alleged to have been a "close friend" of Pablo Escobar

The magazine quoted from the 1991 report that Mr Uribe was a "close personal friend" of the Medellin cartel kingpin Pablo Escobar, killed in 1993.

But Bogota dismissed the allegations as an attempt to smear the president.

'Dedicated to collaboration'

The Newsweek article says the defence department intelligence document - dated September 1991 - contains a list of more than 100 "thugs, assassins, traffickers and shady lawyers" employed by Escobar.

At number 82, the document reportedly says, is: "Alvaro Uribe Velez - a Colombian politician and senator dedicated to collaboration with the Medellin cartel at high government levels.

"Uribe was linked to a business involved in narcotics activities in the US... Uribe has worked for the Medellin cartel and is a close personal friend of Pablo Escobar Gaviria."

The document also reportedly claims Mr Uribe's father was killed because of his son's links to drugs traffickers and that Mr Uribe opposed a US-Colombia extradition treaty.

In a statement, Mr Uribe's office insisted his father was killed by leftist Farc guerrillas for resisting kidnap. It points out that Mr Uribe has authorised a record 170 extraditions to various countries as president.

But the statement did not specifically rebut allegations that Mr Uribe was a close friend of Escobar or had links to the Medellin cartel.

Mr Uribe, who celebrates two years in the presidency this week, is now viewed as a close US ally.

In Washington, a spokesman for the state department said it "completely disavowed" the allegations.

"President Uribe's record is one of a strong opponent of drug trafficking," said Robert Zimmerman, deputy spokesman on Western Hemisphere affairs.

The Colombian government was criticised last week for granting three warlords from the country's most notorious paramilitary group, the AUC, immunity from arrest to address Congress.

The president's policy to crush leftist rebels - which includes mass round-ups of suspected rebel collaborators and lenient sentences for paramilitaries who renounce trafficking and violence - has been criticised by human rights groups.

Despite that, after four decades of devastating civil war, many Colombians are pleased with Mr Uribe's hardline stance against the guerrillas.

Mr Uribe's office pointed out that similar allegations were made against Mr Uribe in the run-up to his election in 2002.

Colombians elected him in a landslide victory despite those allegations.

At least 256 confirmed dead in Paraguayan supermarket fire
At least 256 people were killed and hundreds of others injured Sunday in a fire that swept through a supermarket on the outskirts of Paraguay's capital Asuncion, the Paraguayan government confirmed Monday.

The government said the death toll was expected to rise, according to reports reaching here from Asuncion, capital of Paraguay.

The fire broke out at a time when the supermarket was crowded with Sunday midday shoppers. The reports said nearly 1,000 people had been inside the shopping center, which is part of the complex that also houses offices and an underground parking lot.

Police said firefighters and police are recovering bodies and rescuing the injured from the complex.

Police said two explosions were heard moments before the fire broke out. The blasts were likely to be caused by gas leak of the gas canisters in the supermarket and subsequently ignited the devastating blaze that consumed a significant part of the supermarket within the shopping complex.

Officials said there are concerns that the 30-meter-high complex might collapse.

The shopping center belongs to the Ycua Bolanos chain and includes several fast-food outlets in addition to the store.

Witnesses said that doors within the complex had been deliberately closed so that people could not leave without paying, and that this had hampered people seeking to escape.

The owner of the complex has surrendered himself to the police in the wake of the blaze, but denied categorically that there had been an order to close the complex's doors.

Hundreds of fire fighters, emergency workers, doctors, military servicemen and volunteers rushed to the site and fought the fire. The blame was controlled three hours later and was extinguished at about 6:00 p.m. local time.

The rescuers were still recovering bodies from the debris, and nearly 130 bodies have been identified but many others cannot be identified because of being badly burned. Local media said the deaths would reach 300 as more corpses were being retrieved.

Paraguayan President Nicanor Duarte has visited the scene and vowed to minimize the impact of the disaster.

Argentina and Spain have offered Paraguay emergent medical aid.
 

Pinochet's son released from detention, banned from leaving Chile
The son of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was released Saturday after two days in detention, but he was banned from leaving the country when the authorities were continuing to investigate whether he was involved in an illegal sale of vehicles.

Prosecutor Vinko Fodic said Augusto Pinochet Hiriart was released after he was formally accused of forging license plates, illegally receiving vehicles and bearing arms in an illegal way.

Appearing in court Saturday, Pinochet Hiriart said he is "convinced that I will be able to prove that I am innocent. I am a man of honor."

He was detained Thursday at the Infirmary of the Penitentiary of Curico, 180 km south of Santiago, where he will have to check in every 15 days at the local court.

Pinochet Hiriart and two others were accused of using forged license plates and receiving a stolen car. But none of them has been indicted.

Pinochet Hiriart was also accused by Fodic of illegal possession of a gun, after a revolver was found at his residence. The Colt 32-caliber revolver was registered in the name of his father, and it was illegal to keep a gun in the home of someone other than the official owner.

The legal problem for Pinochet Hiriart came after his father was being investigated for his 8 million US dollars in secret accounts at Riggs Bank in the United States.

Pinochet, 88, was implicated in a drawn-out legal battle over charges of human rights abuses during his 17-year rule from 1973 to 1990.

The trial for Pinochet was cut short in 2001 when he was diagnosed as mentally incompetent.