As European leaders appealed for restraint, the Macedonian army shelled villages occupied by the rebels near the border with Kosovo and Serbia for the fourth day.There are unconfirmed reports that seven civilians have been killed in the fighting so far, and about 3,500 civilians, “predominantly women and children” according to Macedonian authorities, are still caught in the crossfire. About 1,000 refugees have fled across the border into Kosovo, according to the United Nations refugee agency there. But most of those still under fire refused the offer of a safe escort out of the area from the International Red Cross yesterday, although a small group did leave.The EU says it backs the territorial integrity of Macedonia and its right to use proportionate force against guerrillas from Kosovo. However, it believes that a declaration of war could prove disastrous in terms of allaying fears of the Albanian minority in Macedonia, which is campaigning for greater rights.Mr Solana is expected to offer the EU’s continued support to the Macedonians, including their military efforts to end rebel attacks from Kosovo. But he will also stress the need to proceed with internal political reforms.”A declaration of war is not a step the EU would like to see at this time,” said Hans Dahlgren, of Sweden’s Foreign Ministry, when European ministers met at Nyk?g over the weekend.Under the Macedonian constitution, such a step would need to be approved by a two-thirds majority of parliament, and some EU officials see the current debate as a sop to Slav public opinion which was incensed by the recent murder of eight soldiers. “We want a state of peace not a state of war” said one EU diplomat, who described the current atmosphere as “hysterical”.The Macedonian government is divided over whether to declare a state of war. Ljubco Georgievski, the Prime Minister, said a state of war was “probable” after an emergency meeting of the national security council on Saturday.

However, the President, Boris Trajkovski, is known to oppose the move. Because of the need for parliamentary assent, the earliest the country can declare war is Tuesday.A state of war would enable the government to rule by decree. Macedonia, the only country to secede from Yugoslavia without bloodshed, has never been at war before. There were fears of civil war when the Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA) occupied the hills overlooking Tetovo, in March. But, although many young Albanians said then that they backed the guerrillas, few joined up and there was no civilian resistance when the Macedonian army forced the rebels into retreat. Albanians make up a quarter to a third of the population.Now, though, there are signs of opinion hardening and polarising between the country’s two ethnic communities.

Last week saw the first civil strife, as homes were set on fire in two nights of anti-Albanian riots.. Relatives of those who died in the Oklahoma City bomb attack reacted with anger yesterday when the renowned novelist and commentator Gore Vidal confirmed he would be attending the execution of Timothy McVeigh as one of the bomber’s “friend witnesses”. Relatives of those who died in the Oklahoma City bomb reacted with anger yesterday when it emerged the renowned novelist and commentator Gore Vidal would be attending the execution of Timothy McVeigh as one of the bomber’s “friend witnesses”.Vidal confirmed that he would be attending the execution ­ due to take place on 16 May ­ and write about the event for Vanity Fair magazine. He said while he thought the experience would be awful he was going to “bear witness” as a historian.The writer ­ a staunch opponent of the death penalty ­ was invited by McVeigh after the two started exchanging letters in 1988. Vidal was first contacted by McVeigh when he read aVanity Fair article by the novelist called “The War at Home”, which claimed the federal government was trampling on the Bill of Rights.McVeigh is allowed to select six witnesses. He has selected five and has requested that his family not attend He has declined for a spiritual adviser to be present. There will also be 10 witnesses from among the relatives of the victims, 10 media witnesses and several official federal witnesses.All will watch the execution by lethal injection at a federal prison at Terre Haute, Indiana.

Several hundred more relatives and survivors of the bombing will watch the execution on a live closed circuit television feed in Oklahoma City.But relatives of the 168 who died in the 1995 bombing said Vidal’s presence would be wrong. Tom Knight, whose stepdaughter was among the victims, said: “We’re letting this get out of hand. It’s ludicrous.”Kathleen Treanor, whose four-year-old daughter was killed, said: “If [McVeigh] has no friends and does not want his family there, then those seats should go empty.”Vidal has admitted that he is, in part, going to witness the circus-like atmosphere that has surrounded McVeigh’s progression towards execution. He said yesterday he didn’t consider himself a friend of McVeigh ­ “It’s difficult to be a friend or family member if I don”t even know the man” ­ but that he was interested “in his view of justice”. He said there were a number of things he and McVeigh agreed uponVidal also said he had a particular interest in the story because his grandfather was the first US senator from Oklahoma.. George Bush is facing a fresh battle with environmentalists over plans to open up millions of acres of pristine forests to logging and mining companies.

Environmental clashes
January: Bush says the energy crisis could necessitate drilling for oil in Alaska. Proposal expected in imminent report from energy task-force.March: President announces reversal of policy requiring power plants to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.March: Restrictions on arsenic in drinking water are overturned. March: Regulation making gold and silver surface miners responsible for environmental damage is overturned.March: Administration confirms it will not ratify Kyoto treaty.April: Administration says it wants to stop independent control of endangered species protection.George Bush is facing a fresh battle with environmentalists over plans to open up millions of acres of pristine forests to logging and mining companies.The Bush administration intends to amend legislation that prevents the building of access roads through more than 58 million acres of federally owned forests. The protection was introduced by Bill Clinton last January in one of the last measures enacted before he left office.The US Secretary of Agriculture, Ann Veneman, has said she will seek to amend Mr Clinton’s policy to allow communities who live near the forests more input into how they are used. Logging firms, state governments and other groups have filed six lawsuits to challenge the Clinton restrictions.But activists said yesterday they would fight any measures that could take away the legal protection. The environmental group Friends of the Earth said the “pollution president had taken another chop at America’s environmental health ­ this time quite literally to the national forests”.FoE’s president, Brent Blackwelder, added: “In Bush’s grand tradition of trying to seem like a compassionate conservative he’s not killing the roadless rule outright.