Chechen rebels issue ultimatum

Moscow - Chechen rebels gave Moscow a 72-hour ultimatum yesterday to hand over a Russian officer accused of the rape and murder of a young Chechen woman, or face new deadly strikes against its troops. A warlord demanded the immediate handover of Col Yury Budanov, arrested and charged by Russian forces of raping and murdering the 18-year-old woman in March, according to a rebel spokesman He added that Mr Basayev was also demanding the release of 200 Chechen women and 250 children from prison. The Chechen threat came two days after a wave of suicide bombings killed at least 33 people.