Primakov meets Azeri president: prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov discussed improving economic ties among ex-Soviet republics during a meeting with Azerbaijan President Geidar Aliyev on Saturday. AP repoi U from Moscow.

Aliyev, in Moscow for a meeting of the leaders of the 12 nations which make up the Commonwealth of Independent States, told Primakov he wants stronger ties with Russia and the CIS. the ITAR-Tass news agency said. The pair also discussed the situation in Kosovo and Russia's demand for an end to NATO airstrikes. Azerbaijan, seeking closer ties to NATO, has proposed contributing troops if the alliance deploys a peacekeeping force in Kosovo.

Chopper crash kills 3 in Russia: a militaryTielicopter crashed in southern Russia on Saturday, killing all three crew members, a news report said. AP says from Moscow.

The helicopter crashed after taking off from the village of Kumtorkal, located in the Caucasus republic of Dagestan, the Interfax news agency said. Investigators said the helicopter hit a power line. Interfax reported.

900 Thai officials on blacklist: Nearly 900 people from the ranks of the civil service, military and police have been placed on a narcotics blacklist that will be turned over to investigators, a newspaper said Saturday. AP reports from Bangkok.

The blacklist is part of a government effort to halt the spread of drug dealing among state employees. The Bangkok Post quoted a Narcotics Control Board officer. Chartchai Suthiklom. as saying the names of 871 state officials suspected of involvement in drugs would be handed over to police once further information was gathered.

Five die from food poisoning: Five people died from food poisoning after a fish meal in the northern Vietnamese province of Thai Binh, a spokesman at the provincial hospital said yesterday. AFP reports from Hanoi.

The five died immediately after their dinner on Wednesday when they ate a tetrodon. a local species of seafood, the spokesman said, adding that medical authorities had traced the poison to the fish. Food poisoning deaths are not uncommon in Vietnam where hygiene standards are often ignored.

Dengue fever claims 383 in Vietnam: Dengue lever killed 383 people in Vietnam last year, nearly 70 per cent more than the death toll from the disease a year earlier, a government official said Saturday. AP reports from Hanoi.

The Ministry of Public Health official said 234,866 people contracted the disease last year, up from 107.000 in 1997.

US lyricist Jesse Stone dead: Jesse Stone, a major influence on 20th century popular music who wrote "Shake. Rattle and Roll" and helped develop many of Atlantic Records' biggest hits, had died. He was 97. AP reports from Altamante Sparings.

Stone died Thursday after a long illness. As a writer, producer and arranger at Atlantic. Stone worked with artists such as Ray Charles, Big Joe Tuener. the Drifters and the Clovers. Among his other famous songs were "Idaho" and “Money Honey".