The congress should be held every five years but it hasn't been held since 1985 he says

"The congress should be held every five years but it hasn't been held since 1985," he says. "So there is no new official thinking within the party to tackle the future economy This is what is missing. We need another party congress, because thinking in the party is already moving towards accepting a market system. We are ready for a more objective debate."He wants a thorough banking reform, a unification of exchange rates, a separation of the Syrian Central Bank from the ministry of economy - steps which will not harm the regime But Dr Sukkar understands the danger of going too far. "I wanted to maintain the socialist umbrella because I wanted a revolution of the existing economic system rather than a different system.

If I had said 10 years ago that I wanted to turn Syria into a Korea, it would have been rejected immediately."In 1991, Syria encouraged private-sector investment from abroad Private joint-stock companies were formed There were tax exemptions for exporters. One strength of Syrian economic reform, according to Dr Sukkar, is that it was not imposed by the World Bank or the IMF in return for political concessions. But the reform of the public sector has not been followed through."The problem is we don't know what's the next step; we don't have a total framework. Nothing has been announced, there is no agreement within the system We don't know what is the new thinking of the Baath party. There is no reconciliation between the ideology and the new changes taking place in the world."President Assad, Dr Sukkar says, "has followed a step-by-step approach, creating new thinking through the media. He tries to create consensus and thus he creates facts on the ground."Economic reform, Dr Sukkar feels, would be easier if the country did not feel threatened. "The United States has been using Israel as a tool to maintain peace in the region, creating alliances like that between Israel and Turkey.

If these threats are removed, we'll make a more peaceful transition from central planning to market economy.". Two car bombs exploded five hours apart in Algiers, killing seven people and wounding 54, including 10 seriously. The first bomb exploded in the Boulevard des Martyrs, killing six people and wounding 44, 10 of them seriously. This was followed by a blast 150 metres from Algeria's independence war Martyrs Memorial. Reuters - Algiers. In the closing arguments in the wrongful death case against OJ Simpson, lawyer Daniel Petrocelli pointed at the former football star and told jurors: "There's a killer in this courtroom." "That's the man who attacked them, confronted them and who killed them." Mr Petrocelli raised images of blood, gloves and shoes that he said were indisputable proof that Mr Simpson killed his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.Mr Simpson was acquitted of murder in 1995. He is being sued for damages by the victims' relatives, who believe he is the killer."Did Mr Simpson explain why his blood and DNA were found next to the victims?" Mr Petrocelli asked. "Did he explain why his glove was found? Not one word." AP - Santa Monica, California.

Royal Bank of Scotland is spearheading a revolution in banking with the launch this spring of the first fully fledged Internet service in Britain. RBS's initiative steals a march on high street rivals, most of which are still experimenting only with a direct-linked home banking service. With its dramatic cost advantages over traditional forms of branch and telephone banking, many analysts expect Internet banking to be the way of the future. "Internet banking is going to develop much faster than most people imagine. In cost terms alone it is an irresistible force," said Claus Nehmzow, principal at Booz Allen & Hamilton, a consultancy firm which conducted a recent study on Internet banking.TSB has offered home banking since last year, and Barclays is working towards the launch of a similar service shortly.