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International News
April
11 to 17,2000
April
1 to 10,2000
March 2000
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Russian parliament
to consider nuclear test ban in closed session
April
21, 2000
MOSCOW,
APR 19 (AP) - Russia's upper house of parliament on Wednesday easily
ratified the long-delayed START II nuclear arms reduction
treaty, which would halve U.S. and Russian warhead stockpiles and clear the
way for further massive cuts.
The
lower house, the State Duma, approved the treaty last week at the
urging of President Vladimir Putin, after years of resisting ratification.
The upper house, the Federation Council, generally follows the government's
wishes and had been expected to approve the treaty with little delay.
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more....
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After winning in
Geneva, China appears conciliatory to US
April
21, 2000
BEIJING,
APR 20 (AP) - After defeating a U.S. effort to censure China for human
rights abuses before a U.N. commission, Beijing on Thursday held out the
prospect of renewed talks with Washington on protecting civil liberties.
Chinese
Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi said China hoped to resume
an official dialogue on human rights with the United States if Washington
first takes "concrete actions" in that direction.
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more....
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Italy: President
starts search for D'Alema successor
April
21, 2000
ROME,
APR 20 (AP) - Emboldened by gains in local races and eager to parlay
those victories into national power, Italy's conservative opposition is
pushing for early elections now that Premier Massimo D'Alema has quit.
The
decision belongs to President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, who accepted
D'Alema's resignation Wednesday.
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Poll finds most
Americans want trigger locks, stricter enforcement
April
21, 2000
WASHINGTON,
APR 20 (AP) - Three-fourths of Americans, including a majority
of gun owners, favor requiring guns to be sold with trigger locks, an
Associated Press poll found. People had mixed feelings about whether tougher
gun laws or stricter enforcement was the most effective way to cut violence.
The
poll found that 43 percent thought stricter enforcement was more
likely to cut gun violence, while 33 percent said enacting tougher gun laws
was a better approach. A fifth of those polled said neither option was best.
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more....
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Russia
stresses ASEAN ties, better Indo-Sino relations
April
21, 2000
MOSCOW,
APR 20 (AP) - Russia's foreign policy goals in Asia include seeking closer
ties with ASEAN and helping to improve relations between China and India, a
senior official said Thursday.
Sergei
Ivanov, secretary of the Russian Security Council, said better relations
between India and China would boost regional stability, trade and other
forms of regional cooperation, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.
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more....
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Russia's
upper house of parliament approves START II
April
20, 2000
MOSCOW,
APR 19 (AP) - Russia's upper house of parliament on Wednesday easily
ratified the long-delayed START II nuclear arms reduction
treaty, which would halve U.S. and Russian warhead stockpiles and clear the
way for further massive cuts.
The
lower house, the State Duma, approved the treaty last week at the
urging of President Vladimir Putin, after years of resisting ratification.
The upper house, the Federation Council, generally follows the government's
wishes and had been expected to approve the treaty with little delay.
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more....
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Britain's
unemployment unchanged at 4 percent
April
20, 2000
LONDON,
APR 19 (AP) - Britain's unemployment rate held steady at 4 percent in March,
based on the number of people claiming unemployment benefits, the government
said Wednesday.
Britons
without jobs numbered 1,148,800, down by 7,700 from February, according to
the Office of National Statistics.
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more....
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All
131 confirmed dead in plane crash in southern Philippines
April
20, 2000
SAMAL,
Philippines, APR 19 (UNB/AP) - All 131 people on board an Air Philippines
passenger plane that crashed Wednesday in the southern Philippines have been
confirmed dead, making it the country's worst aviation disaster, airline
officials said.
The
plane, flight 541 from Manila, was unable to land on its first approach to
Davao city because another plane was on the runway, air traffic controllers
said.
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more....
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Bank
of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi Trust agree on merger
April
20, 2000
TOKYO,
APR 19 (UNB/AP) - The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ltd. and Mitsubishi Trust and
Banking Corp. agreed Wednesday to set up a joint holding company, creating
the world's fifth-largest financial group.
The
two banks will form the holding company by April next year, officials said.
The alliance would have 87 trillion yen (dlrs 837 billion) in deposits and
other assets, the world's fifth-largest.
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more....
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Labor
group threatens nationwide strike in Korea
April
20, 2000
SEOUL,
APR 19 (AP) - A militant labor umbrella group threatened to organize a
nationwide strike next month to protest plans to sell Daewoo Motor Co. to a
foreign buyer.
The
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the nation's second-largest umbrella
labor group, which claims a membership of 600,000, said it would start an
indefinite strike on May 31.
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more....
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Washington police
avoided 'another Seattle' - but at what price?
April
19, 2000
WASHINGTON,
APR 18 (AP) - For three days, thousands of protesters
paralyzed the heart of the U.S. capital and sorely tested the resolve of
police, but failed to shut down meetings of the two international
institutions they accused of giving short-shrift to the poor.
With
residents and commuters reclaiming the streets Tuesday, the time
for taking stock is setting in: What is the cost to the city's image of the
alternately patient-then-stern posture adopted by police? What legal costs
will result from widespread arrests on minor charges such as parading
without a permit?
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more....
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China's
economic growth up
April
19, 2000
BEIJING,
APR 18 (AP) - China on Tuesday reported economic growth and prices up in the
first three months of the year, but it wasn't clear whether a 2-year-old
slump was finally bottoming out.
Growth
accelerated to 8.1 percent, while consumer prices crept up 0.1 percent, the
State Statistical Bureau said. It said growth for the full year could beat
last year's 7.1 percent - the lowest in 10 years.
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more....
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Dalai Lama calls
for Tibetan autonomy, not independence
April
19, 2000
TOKYO,
APR 18 (AP) - The Dalai Lama said Tuesday that he
only wants autonomy for Tibet, not independence from China.
The
exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, in Japan for a weeklong visit,
urged China to stop oppression in his homeland.
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U.S.-Russian
negotiators weigh arms-cut prospects
April
19, 2000
GENEVA,
APR 18 (AP) - U.S. and Russian arms negotiators held more meetings Tuesday
as the two countries sought to lay the groundwork for further strategic arms
cuts, officials said.
U.S.
officials refused to comment on a first round of talks Monday on START III,
which would cut nuclear arsenals even further.
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more....
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Croatia:
U.N. war crimes tribunal experts dig at alleged mass grave site
April
19, 2000
GOSPIC,
Croatia, APR 18 (AP) - Investigators for the U.N. war crimes tribunal began
digging Tuesday at a suspected mass grave site outside this central Croatian
town, searching for bodies of ethnic Serbs allegedly killed during the 1991
Serbo-Croat war.
Between
60 and 120 people - mostly Serbs, but also some Croats disappeared in late
1991 and were presumed killed and buried near Gospic, 100 kilometers (60
miles) southwest of the capital, Zagreb.
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more....
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Scientists
find way to look behind the sun
April
19, 2000
WASHINGTON,
APR 18 (AP) - Scientists have found a way to peek behind the sun to see
whether dangerous solar storms are brewing that could affect Earth.
The
process may make it possible to predict the appearance of sunspots before
they rotate around from the far side of the sun, giving time to protect
Earth satellites and other systems that may be damaged by the radiation.
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more....
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Thousands
march to protest Washington Finance Summit
April
18, 2000
WASHINGTON,
APR 17 (AP) - Thousands of marchers failed to stop world finance
leaders from meeting, but paraded through the capital in a show
of celebration and anger that provoked one ugly episode - a surging
crowd met by a stinging cloud of irritants fired by police.
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Festive
street theater with giant puppets coexisted Sunday with pushy
confrontations between police and protesters agitating about the
plight of the poor and "decadence" of the rich. Protesters accuse
the World Bank and IMF of destroying the environment with dams
and similar projects, allowing sweatshops and imposing harsh debt-repayment
programs that weaken developing countries.
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more....
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Japan
eager to listen to developing countries at G-8 summit
April
18, 2000
TOKYO,
APR 17 (AP) - Japan would welcome the presence of representatives from
developing countries at the G-8 summit in July, an official said
Monday.
"We
are glad to hear their views and interests," said Kazuhiko Koshikawa,
the chief spokesman for Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.
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more....
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China
warns Hong Kong media again on Taiwan coverage
April
18, 2000
HONG
KONG, APR 17 (AP) - China reiterated a warning Monday to the Hong Kong
media against advocating views supporting Taiwanese independence,
stirring concerns that press freedoms have come under threat
here.
"It
is inappropriate and not right to advocate and disseminate views
of independence for Taiwan," the Chinese foreign ministry said
in a statement.
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