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International News
March 2000
|
Japan's
handling of leadership crisis highlights flaws in democracy
April
10, 2000
TOKYO,
APR 9 (AP) - No campaign. No public debate. No raucous party
meeting.
With
the prime minister in a coma, the five leaders of the ruling
Liberal Democratic
Party gathered - in secret - and whittled down their
choices for a successor.
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more....
|
Greece
elections: dead heat race moves to ballot box
April
10, 2000
ATHENS,
APR 9 (AP) - Both parties claim victory is certain. The only
certainty, however, is that one will be right.
Greece's
cliffhanger election race reaches the ballot box Sunday.
The outcome will either
extend the dynasty of the Socialists or give their
conservative opponents only their second taste of power in the
past 19 years.
|
more....
|
Key
facts about Peru elections
April
10, 2000
UNDATED,
(AP) - Key facts about Peru, which holds elections to choose the
president and Congress
on Sunday:
ELECTION
: More than 14 million voters are registered to take part
in the presidential
election. President Alberto Fujimori, seeking an unprecedented
third five-year term, faces eight opponents. Only one candidate,
Alejandro Toledo, is considered a serious threat. A runoff
would be scheduled in late May or early June if no candidate
achieves a majority.
On
Sunday, voters also will choose a new 120-member unicameral
Congress.
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more....
|
Blair
says he will reduce public duties to help wife with the new baby
April
10, 2000
LONDON,
APR 9 (AP) - Prime Minister Tony Blair will not take full
paternity leave when
his fourth child is born next month, but will cut
back on engagements for a while to help his wife, Cherie, a
Sunday newspaper said.
"I
don't ever stop being prime minister," Blair was quoted as
telling the weekly
Observer newspaper. "Even when I am on holiday I do
several hours of work a day."
|
more....
|
Bolivia
declares state of siege, mobilizes soldiers and police
April
10, 2000
LA
PAZ, Bolivia, APR 9 (AP) - Bolivia's president declared a state of
emergency, sending police
with tear gas and rubber bullets into the streets
of Cochabamba, the country's third-largest city, to try to quell
demonstrators who hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at them.
Three
protesters were reported killed Saturday in separate clashes
with police, and Government Minister Walter Guiteras said
scores of protest
leaders were detained and confined to San Joaquin, a
remote town on the border with Brazil, 460 miles (740 kilometers)
from La Paz.
|
more....
|
Georgian
election : Shevardnadze favorite
April
10, 2000
TBILISI,
Georgia, APR 8 (AP) - President Eduard Shevardnadze was the
clear favorite as he
sought a second term in elections Sunday, but still
faced the prospect of being forced into a runoff against a
former Communist
leader.
Voting
began around dawn in the nation of 5 million people without
any immediate reports of problems.
|
more....
|
Regionalism
likely to prevail in South Korean parliamentary elections
April
10, 2000
SEOUL,
APR 9 (AP) - One candidate with a sword beheaded a crude
effigy symbolizing corrupt politics. One has held mock funerals,
with a coffin as a prop, for government sleaze. Another collects
garbage in Seoul to show his record is clean.
Ahead
of parliamentary elections on April 13, candidates from rival
parties snipe at each other and trumpet reformist credentials,
false or not. The
cacophony obscures a fundamental question: what do the
parties stand for and what are their differences?
|
more....
|
Vietnam:
An American remembers the war at home
April
10, 2000
UNDATED,
(AP) - Our high school graduation ceremony began in the best American
tradition.
Wearing
gowns and mortarboards, we gathered in the gymnasium, our
parents watching
proudly from the bleachers.
But
things didn't go according to plan. The corrosive effect of a
war being fought nearly
9,000 miles (14,500 kilometers) away was being
keenly felt at Metuchen High School in New Jersey.
|
more....
|
Group
of 77 to hold first summit of state heads
April
9, 2000
HAVANA,
APR 8 (AP) - Moammar Gadhafi of Libya and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat
are among at least 65 heads of state who will attend the first presidential
summit held here next week by the Group of 77 developing nations, organizers
announced Friday.
The
presidents of Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, Cambodia
and Indonesia have confirmed their attendance. Kim Yong Nam,
president North Korea's parliament and the country's ceremonial
head of state, will come to
Cuba for the summit and an official visit,
the North's media reported.
|
more....
|
Israel
formally asks to be included in European regional group
April
9, 2000
UNITED
NATIONS, APR 8 (AP) - After years of behind-the-scenes negotiations,
Israel has formally asked to join the U.N. regional group
of European, North American and other countries in a bid to have
more representation at the United Nations, diplomats said Friday.
Israeli
Ambassador Yehuda Lancry wrote to the chairman of the so-called
Western European and Others Group asking it consider Israel
to be a full member on a temporary basis. The letter was received
Friday by the New Zealand mission, which currently heads the
group, diplomats said.
|
more....
|
Bosnian
voters choose local officials in ballot
April
9, 2000
SARAJEVO,
APR 8 (AP) - Bosnian voters are choosing about
3,300 local officials in an election whose outcome may
determine
whether the United States and the Europeans continue efforts
to rebuild the nation, still led by the same ethnic groups that
dragged the country into war.
International
officials who administer the country under the 1995 Dayton
Peace Accords have indicated that support for Bosnia may evaporate
if ethnic parties opposed to a multiethnic society retain their
hold on power.
|
more....
|
Bush
reaches out to Hispanics, gay Republicans
April
9, 2000
LOS
ANGELES, APR 8 (AP) - George W. Bush repudiated the immigration
policies of former Gov. Pete
Wilson Friday, telling Spanish-speaking women
he understood why poor Mexicans want to move here. He also reached
out to gay Californians, saying he would meet with members of
a gay Republican group.
Courting
the Hispanic vote in California, the presumptive Republican
presidential nominee spoke in Spanish occasionally as he addressed
a crowd of hundreds of women. When he spoke at a news conference
later, a Mexican flag was directly behind him, flanked by the
U.S. and California flags.
|
more....
|
U.N.
threatens further sanctions against Taliban
April
9, 2000
UNITED
NATIONS, APR 8 (AP) - The Security Council threatened further sanctions
Friday against Afghanistan's Taliban militia to compel it to agree to U.N.
demands to end fighting and handover Osama bin Laden for trial in the
bombing of two U.S. embassies.
In
a statement adopted after an open debate on Afghanistan, council
members blasted the Taliban for the unabated violence and worsening
humanitarian conditions in the country.
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more....
|
Arafat
says peace talks with Israel are a waste of time
April
9, 2000
RAMALLAH,
APR 8 (AP) - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said Friday
that peace negotiations with Israel are a waste of time and called for
deeper U.S. intervention to pressure Israel to make concessions.
But
a state department spokesman said no American proposals were expected
at this point.
|
more....
|
Bureaucrats’
brace for possible disaster on Mount Usu
April
9, 2000
DATE,
Japan, APR 8 (AP) - Dozens of bureaucrats sit crammed in a stuffy room,
answering phones, typing on computers and smoking cigarettes. Aides rush
about with stacks of papers as a voice drones over a loudspeaker with the
schedule for an upcoming meeting.
It's
crisis management in Japan - a country governed by consensus,
where every agency expects to have its say.
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more....
|
INS doled out far too many high-tech visas last
year
April
8, 2000
WASHINGTON,
APR 7 (AP) - Auditors have concluded federal officials mistakenly
doled out more visas for skilled foreign workers last year
than the government previously estimated.
An
analysis by KPMG Consulting determined the U.S. Immigration and
Naturalization Service exceeded the congressionally mandated limit
by 21,888 to 23,385 visas for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30.
|
more....
|
Former
Pakistani premier Sharif sentenced to life in prison
April
8, 2000
KARACHI,
APR 7 (AP) - Pakistan's former prime minister was sentenced
to life in prison but escaped the death penalty, almost six
months after he unsuccessfully tried to fight off a coup by blocking
the army chief's plane from landing in Pakistan.
An
anti-terrorist court on Thursday convicted Nawaz Sharif of hijacking
and terrorism for the events of Oct. 12, when he refused to
let a commercial airliner carrying Gen. Pervez Musharraf land in
the southern city of Karachi.
The army deposed Sharif that day, and Pakistan's
new army rulers brought charges against the ousted leader.
|
more....
|
Ford
to sell hybrid electric SUV in 2003
April
8, 2000
DEARBORN,
Michigan, APR 7 (AP) - Ford Motor Co. will sell a version of
its Escape small sport
utility vehicle powered by gas and electricity
in 2003, with fuel economy close to 40 miles (64 kilometers)
per gallon in city driving.
The
Escape hybrid electric is the first such vehicle for which an American
automaker has announced production plans, and the largest hybrid
vehicle so far.
|
more....
|
President
preaches corporate diversity
April
8, 2000
WASHINGTON,
APR 7 (AP) - As he has with preachers and lawyers, U.S. President
Bill Clinton urged corporate executives Thursday to diversify
their ranks - and predicted he will live to see a woman and
a non-white American occupy the White House.
Clinton
gathered dozens of executives at the White House as part of
his One America initiative to seek greater opportunity for minorities.
In response, 25 companies are each pledging at least dlrs
1 million annually over the next 10 years to encourage women and
minorities to pursue high-tech careers.
|
more....
|
Japan's
new premier sets economy as top goal
April
8, 2000
TOKYO,
APR 7 (AP) - Japan's new prime minister set reviving the country's
sagging economy as his top priority in his first address to
Parliament on Friday and pledged not to backslide on market reforms.
Prime
Minister Toshiro Mori, elected by Parliament on Wednesday to
succeed the ailing Keizo Obuchi, also vowed to attend to the country's
high unemployment rate and bolster Japan's global
standing.
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more....
|
European
Union leaders to meet with Russian President Putin
April
8, 2000
MOSCOW,
APR 7 (AP) - Chechnya was expected to be a major issue at talks Friday
between two top European Union officials and President Vladimir
Putin on laying the groundwork for a EU-Russia summit in May.
Jaime
Gama, the foreign minister of Portugal, and Javier Solana, the
union's foreign policy chief, were to meet with Putin and Foreign
Minister Igor Ivanov to formulate plans for the summit to be held
in Moscow.
|
more....
|
Singapore
tells its citizens to be kind
April
7, 2000
SINGAPORE,
APR 6 (AP) - The Singapore government is launching yet another
campaign to instill certain moral values in its citizens, and this time it's
urging them to be kinder to plants, animals and each other.
Kindness
Week is meant to create a "more gracious society, a more
gentle society," Noel Hon, chairman of the Singapore Kindness Movement,
said on Wednesday.
|
more....
|
Nawaz
Sharif sentenced to life in prison
April
7, 2000
KARACHI,
APR 6 (AP) - Ousted Premier Nawaz Sharif escaped the death
penalty Thursday but was sentenced to life in prison for refusing to allow a
passenger plane carrying the army chief to land in Pakistan, a confrontation
that occurred as the army toppled Sharif's government.
Sharif
was charged with hijacking and terrorism after refusing to allow
the passenger aircraft returning Gen. Pervez Musharraf to Pakistan to land
in the southern city of Karachi. The standoff in the air over Karachi
occurred in the midst of the Oct. 12 coup. The army seized power after
Sharif dismissed Musharraf and replaced him with a junior general.
|
more....
|
Japan's
new prime minister pressed for elections
April
7, 2000
TOKYO,
APR 6 (AP) - In selecting Yoshiro Mori as the country's new prime minister,
Japan's ruling party had hoped to end a succession crisis created by the
sudden collapse of Keizo Obuchi.
But
on Mori's first day in office, it appeared the crisis was anything
but over.
|
more....
|
Greenland glaciers could be particularly hard-hit by global
warming
April
7, 2000
UNDATED,
APR 5 (AP) -Worried about the effects of global warming, scientists who have
been watching the West Antarctic ice
sheet for years for signs of melting now say the bigger threat comes from
glaciers in Greenland.
Scientists
fear that a rise in the Earth's average temperature could
make the oceans rise and swamp low-lying coastal cities in the coming
century.
|
more....
|
Ruling party chief named prime minister, replacing
comatose Obuchi
April
6, 2000
TOKYO,
APR 5 (AP) - Ruling party chief Yoshiro Mori was elected Japan's
prime minister Wednesday,
ending a political crisis that began when Keizo
Obuchi collapsed with a stroke that has left him in a coma.
Mori,
a former trade minister, won solid majorities in both houses
of Parliament following his installment earlier in the day as president
of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
|
more....
|
Bill
Gates, Alan Greenspan attending White House conference
April
6, 2000
WASHINGTON,
APR 5 (AP) - With advice from billionaire Bill Gates and Federal
Reserve chief Alan Greenspan, President Bill Clinton is exploring
the idea that computers and the Internet are the best tools
ever available to combat world poverty.
"Technology
can be the greatest equalizing force our society or any
other has ever known," Clinton said.
|
more....
|
Sharif
supporters say no protests regardless of hijacking verdict
April
6, 2000
ISLAMABAD,
APR 5 (AP) - Despite calls by the wife of deposed premier
Nawaz Sharif to hold demonstrations if her husband is found guilty
in a hijacking trial, his supporters said Wednesday they won't
take to the streets.
Antiterrorist
court Judge Rehmetullah Hussein Jaffri will hand down
the verdict Thursday. If Sharif is found guilty he could be sentenced
to death.
|
more....
|
Europeans carry their economic, political message to Africa
April
6, 2000
CAIRO,
APR 5 (AP) - Europe came to Africa calling for democracy, human
rights and good governance and promising to help overcome the continent's
economic crisis - and found itself accused of paternalism.
While
many African leaders cringed at the fiery rhetoric of Libyan
leader Moammar Gadhafi during this week's Africa-Europe summit
in Cairo, he said out loud what more than a few had in their hearts:
"Africa needs food and medicine, it does not need lessons in
democracy."
|
more....
|
Anwar
unleashes verbal assault against Malaysia's PM
April 6, 2000
KUALA LUMPUR, APR 5
(AP) - Jailed politician Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday unleashed a verbal
assault against Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in a last-bid effort to
force the country's leader to testify in his sensational sex trial.
"Dr. Mahathir
must appear in this honorable court," the ousted deputy prime minister
wrote in an 18-page sworn document filed in court Wednesday. "He is
truly the mastermind behind the evil conspiracy to ruin me."
|
more....
|
Singapore
to open broadband network to greater competition
April
6, 2000
SINGAPORE,
APR 5 (AP) - Singapore will open its broadband network to greater
competition in an effort to turn the city-state into a regional multimedia
center, a Cabinet minister announced Wednesday.
Currently,
only government-linked Singapore Telecommunications and
Singapore Cable Vision offer broadband services, a high-speed method of
delivering cable television, Internet access and interactive television.
|
more....
|
IMF adapts tougher auditing standards for loans
April
6, 2000
WASHINGTON,
APR 5 (AP) - The International Monetary Fund, seeking to respond
to growing calls for reform, adopted tougher auditing standards
for countries seeking to borrow money.
The
agency's 24-member executive board approved a requirement Tuesday
that countries seeking loans will have to agree to publish annual
financial statements of their central banks that have been reviewed
by outside auditors using internationally accepted auditing standards.
|
more....
|
Japanese
cabinet resigns, ruling party chief expected to replace comatose Obuchi
April
5, 2000
TOKYO,
APR 4 (AP) - Japan's Cabinet rushed to resolve the country's leadership
crisis Tuesday, resigning en masse and setting in motion the
selection of a ruling party stalwart to replace ailing Prime Minister
Keizo Obuchi.
Yoshiro
Mori, secretary-general of the Liberal Democrats, was expected
to be named premier Wednesday, and a new Cabinet - with Obuchi
as the only change - could be installed by the end of the day.
|
more....
|
European-African
summit to focus on rights, governance
April
5, 2000
CAIRO,
APR 4 (AP) - Eager to capitalize on the suspension of sanctions
against his country, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi met with
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder Tuesday morning on the fringes
of a summit of African and European nations.
Afterward,
Schroeder said the meeting was "cordial and productive."
Details on the content of their discussions were not immediately
available.
|
more....
|
Mahathir
files affidavit in effort to avoid testifying in Anwar trial
April
5, 2000
KUALA
LUMPUR, APR 4 (AP) - Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Tuesday
filed a combative, 14-page affidavit that outlined why he should
not be forced to testify in the sodomy trial of his ousted deputy,
Anwar Ibrahim.
Mahathir
said he should not have to take the witness stand in the highly
sensational sex trial because he had never conspired to fabricate
evidence against his one-time protege.
|
more....
|
Robert
Frost's `The Road Not Taken' seen as America's most popular
April
5, 2000
WASHINGTON,
APR 4 (AP) - Americans favor "The Road Not Taken."
Two
years ago, poet laureate Robert Pinsky launched a campaign to discover
America's favorite poem. He received nearly 18,000 written, videotaped and
recorded suggestions, and has found the most popular one - Robert Frost's
"The Road Not Taken."
|
more....
|
Judge
approves sex discrimination lawsuit against five CBS stations
April
5, 2000
MINNEAPOLIS,
APR 4 (AP) - A U.S. federal judge approved class-action status
for a sex discrimination lawsuit on behalf of female technicians
at five CBS television stations.
The
1996 lawsuit accuses CBS of discriminating against its female technical
employees at stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis
and Green Bay, Wisconsin.
|
more....
|
Obuchi
hospitalized, Cabinet minister named acting premier
April
4, 2000
TOKYO,
APR 3 (UNB/AP) - After keeping the crisis from the public for nearly a full
day, a senior Cabinet minister announced Monday he had taken over as Japan's
acting premier as Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi was in a coma following a
stroke.
Obuchi,
62, was in a coma and required an artificial respirator Monday
after being admitted at Tokyo's Juntendo University Hospital early
Sunday. He was under intensive care, Chief Cabinet secretary Mikio
Aoki said.
|
more....
|
Britain
introduces new measures to deter asylum-seekers
April
4, 2000
LONDON,
APR 3 (UNB/AP) - Britain on Monday introduced tough new measures aimed
at deterring asylum-seekers, including giving them food vouchers
instead of money, and imposing fines of 2,000 pounds (dlrs 3,180)
on truckers who smuggle illegal immigrants.
Asylum-seekers
- now concentrated in London and nearby south England
ports - will also be compulsorily moved to centers around the
country while their applications are considered.
|
more....
|
Senior
aide to Radovan Karadzic arrested by NATO troops
April
4, 2000
PALE,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, APR 3 (UNB/AP) - NATO peacekeepers on Monday
detained a senior aide to
former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic,
the highest-ranking suspect yet to be arrested for alleged war
crimes.
Witnesses
to the arrest of Momcilo Krajisnik (MAWM-chill-aw KRAH-yee-shnik)
said NATO troops with the Bosnian peacekeeping force detained
him after blowing open a door to his home in Pale, southeast
of Sarajevo, with explosives. The French defense ministry in
Paris said French troops made the arrest.
|
more....
|
Malaysia creates first human rights
commission
April
4, 2000
KUALA
LUMPUR, APR 3 (UNB/AP) - Malaysia announced on Monday the members
of its first national Human Rights Commission, saying the panel
headed by a ruling party politician reflected the nation's commitment
to human rights.
Foreign
Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the 13-member panel of judges,
politicians, academics and representatives from non-governmental
groups was set up "so the human rights of each
citizen
will be protected."
|
more....
|
World's
urban people to outnumber rural population by 2007
April
1, 2000
UNITED
NATIONS, Mar 311(BSS): The world's urban population is growing so fast that
by the year 2007 city dwellers will outnumber rural residents for the first
time in history, the UN Population Division says.
And
in 40 years - at current growth rates - the world urban population will
double, to about 5.8 billion. There are now six billion people on the globe.
|
more....
|
Singapore
tells its citizens to be kind
April
7, 2000
SINGAPORE,
APR 6 (AP) - The Singapore government is launching yet another
campaign to instill certain moral values in its citizens, and this time it's
urging them to be kinder to plants, animals and each other.
Kindness
Week is meant to create a "more gracious society, a more
gentle society," Noel Hon, chairman of the Singapore Kindness Movement,
said on Wednesday.
|
more....
|
Nawaz
Sharif sentenced to life in prison
April
7, 2000
KARACHI,
APR 6 (AP) - Ousted Premier Nawaz Sharif escaped the death
penalty Thursday but was sentenced to life in prison for refusing to allow a
passenger plane carrying the army chief to land in Pakistan, a confrontation
that occurred as the army toppled Sharif's government.
Sharif
was charged with hijacking and terrorism after refusing to allow
the passenger aircraft returning Gen. Pervez Musharraf to Pakistan to land
in the southern city of Karachi. The standoff in the air over Karachi
occurred in the midst of the Oct. 12 coup. The army seized power after
Sharif dismissed Musharraf and replaced him with a junior general.
|
more....
|
Japan's
new prime minister pressed for elections
April
7, 2000
TOKYO,
APR 6 (AP) - In selecting Yoshiro Mori as the country's new prime minister,
Japan's ruling party had hoped to end a succession crisis created by the
sudden collapse of Keizo Obuchi.
But
on Mori's first day in office, it appeared the crisis was anything
but over.
|
more....
|
Greenland glaciers
could be particularly hard-hit by global warming
April
7, 2000
UNDATED,
APR 5 (AP) -Worried about the effects of global warming, scientists who have
been watching the West Antarctic ice
sheet for years for signs of melting now say the bigger threat comes from
glaciers in Greenland.
Scientists
fear that a rise in the Earth's average temperature could
make the oceans rise and swamp low-lying coastal cities in the coming
century.
|
more....
|
Ruling party chief named prime minister, replacing
comatose Obuchi
April
6, 2000
TOKYO,
APR 5 (AP) - Ruling party chief Yoshiro Mori was elected Japan's
prime minister Wednesday,
ending a political crisis that began when Keizo
Obuchi collapsed with a stroke that has left him in a coma.
Mori,
a former trade minister, won solid majorities in both houses
of Parliament following his installment earlier in the day as president
of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
|
more....
|
Bill
Gates, Alan Greenspan attending White House conference
April
6, 2000
WASHINGTON,
APR 5 (AP) - With advice from billionaire Bill Gates and Federal
Reserve chief Alan Greenspan, President Bill Clinton is exploring
the idea that computers and the Internet are the best tools
ever available to combat world poverty.
"Technology
can be the greatest equalizing force our society or any
other has ever known," Clinton said.
|
more....
|
Sharif
supporters say no protests regardless of hijacking verdict
April
6, 2000
ISLAMABAD,
APR 5 (AP) - Despite calls by the wife of deposed premier
Nawaz Sharif to hold demonstrations if her husband is found guilty
in a hijacking trial, his supporters said Wednesday they won't
take to the streets.
Antiterrorist
court Judge Rehmetullah Hussein Jaffri will hand down
the verdict Thursday. If Sharif is found guilty he could be sentenced
to death.
|
more....
|
Europeans carry their economic, political message to Africa
April
6, 2000
CAIRO,
APR 5 (AP) - Europe came to Africa calling for democracy, human
rights and good governance and promising to help overcome the continent's
economic crisis - and found itself accused of paternalism.
While
many African leaders cringed at the fiery rhetoric of Libyan
leader Moammar Gadhafi during this week's Africa-Europe summit
in Cairo, he said out loud what more than a few had in their hearts:
"Africa needs food and medicine, it does not need lessons in
democracy."
|
more....
|
Anwar
unleashes verbal assault against Malaysia's PM
April 6, 2000
KUALA LUMPUR, APR 5
(AP) - Jailed politician Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday unleashed a verbal
assault against Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in a last-bid effort to
force the country's leader to testify in his sensational sex trial.
"Dr. Mahathir
must appear in this honorable court," the ousted deputy prime minister
wrote in an 18-page sworn document filed in court Wednesday. "He is
truly the mastermind behind the evil conspiracy to ruin me."
|
more....
|
Singapore
to open broadband network to greater competition
April
6, 2000
SINGAPORE,
APR 5 (AP) - Singapore will open its broadband network to greater
competition in an effort to turn the city-state into a regional multimedia
center, a Cabinet minister announced Wednesday.
Currently,
only government-linked Singapore Telecommunications and
Singapore Cable Vision offer broadband services, a high-speed method of
delivering cable television, Internet access and interactive television.
|
more....
|
IMF adapts tougher auditing standards for loans
April
6, 2000
WASHINGTON,
APR 5 (AP) - The International Monetary Fund, seeking to respond
to growing calls for reform, adopted tougher auditing standards
for countries seeking to borrow money.
The
agency's 24-member executive board approved a requirement Tuesday
that countries seeking loans will have to agree to publish annual
financial statements of their central banks that have been reviewed
by outside auditors using internationally accepted auditing standards.
|
more....
|
Japanese
cabinet resigns, ruling party chief expected to replace comatose Obuchi
April
5, 2000
TOKYO,
APR 4 (AP) - Japan's Cabinet rushed to resolve the country's leadership
crisis Tuesday, resigning en masse and setting in motion the
selection of a ruling party stalwart to replace ailing Prime Minister
Keizo Obuchi.
Yoshiro
Mori, secretary-general of the Liberal Democrats, was expected
to be named premier Wednesday, and a new Cabinet - with Obuchi
as the only change - could be installed by the end of the day.
|
more....
|
European-African
summit to focus on rights, governance
April
5, 2000
CAIRO,
APR 4 (AP) - Eager to capitalize on the suspension of sanctions
against his country, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi met with
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder Tuesday morning on the fringes
of a summit of African and European nations.
Afterward,
Schroeder said the meeting was "cordial and productive."
Details on the content of their discussions were not immediately
available.
|
more....
|
Mahathir
files affidavit in effort to avoid testifying in Anwar trial
April
5, 2000
KUALA
LUMPUR, APR 4 (AP) - Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Tuesday
filed a combative, 14-page affidavit that outlined why he should
not be forced to testify in the sodomy trial of his ousted deputy,
Anwar Ibrahim.
Mahathir
said he should not have to take the witness stand in the highly
sensational sex trial because he had never conspired to fabricate
evidence against his one-time protege.
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Robert
Frost's `The Road Not Taken' seen as America's most popular
April
5, 2000
WASHINGTON,
APR 4 (AP) - Americans favor "The Road Not Taken."
Two
years ago, poet laureate Robert Pinsky launched a campaign to discover
America's favorite poem. He received nearly 18,000 written, videotaped and
recorded suggestions, and has found the most popular one - Robert Frost's
"The Road Not Taken."
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Judge
approves sex discrimination lawsuit against five CBS stations
April
5, 2000
MINNEAPOLIS,
APR 4 (AP) - A U.S. federal judge approved class-action status
for a sex discrimination lawsuit on behalf of female technicians
at five CBS television stations.
The
1996 lawsuit accuses CBS of discriminating against its female technical
employees at stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis
and Green Bay, Wisconsin.
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Obuchi
hospitalized, Cabinet minister named acting premier
April
4, 2000
TOKYO,
APR 3 (UNB/AP) - After keeping the crisis from the public for nearly a full
day, a senior Cabinet minister announced Monday he had taken over as Japan's
acting premier as Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi was in a coma following a
stroke.
Obuchi,
62, was in a coma and required an artificial respirator Monday
after being admitted at Tokyo's Juntendo University Hospital early
Sunday. He was under intensive care, Chief Cabinet secretary Mikio
Aoki said.
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Britain
introduces new measures to deter asylum-seekers
April
4, 2000
LONDON,
APR 3 (UNB/AP) - Britain on Monday introduced tough new measures aimed
at deterring asylum-seekers, including giving them food vouchers
instead of money, and imposing fines of 2,000 pounds (dlrs 3,180)
on truckers who smuggle illegal immigrants.
Asylum-seekers
- now concentrated in London and nearby south England
ports - will also be compulsorily moved to centers around the
country while their applications are considered.
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Senior
aide to Radovan Karadzic arrested by NATO troops
April
4, 2000
PALE,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, APR 3 (UNB/AP) - NATO peacekeepers on Monday
detained a senior aide to
former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic,
the highest-ranking suspect yet to be arrested for alleged war
crimes.
Witnesses
to the arrest of Momcilo Krajisnik (MAWM-chill-aw KRAH-yee-shnik)
said NATO troops with the Bosnian peacekeeping force detained
him after blowing open a door to his home in Pale, southeast
of Sarajevo, with explosives. The French defense ministry in
Paris said French troops made the arrest.
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Malaysia creates first human rights
commission
April
4, 2000
KUALA
LUMPUR, APR 3 (UNB/AP) - Malaysia announced on Monday the members
of its first national Human Rights Commission, saying the panel
headed by a ruling party politician reflected the nation's commitment
to human rights.
Foreign
Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the 13-member panel of judges,
politicians, academics and representatives from non-governmental
groups was set up "so the human rights of each
citizen
will be protected."
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World's
urban people to outnumber rural population by 2007
April
1, 2000
UNITED
NATIONS, Mar 311(BSS): The world's urban population is growing so fast that
by the year 2007 city dwellers will outnumber rural residents for the first
time in history, the UN Population Division says.
And
in 40 years - at current growth rates - the world urban population will
double, to about 5.8 billion. There are now six billion people on the globe.
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