NATION
Bringing in the Sheik
Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman has finally been indicted for conspiring with 14 of his followers to wage what prosecutors last week called a “war of urban terrorism.” The group allegedly orchestrated February’s World Trade Center bombing and plotted to attack other New York City landmarks. Though at first the radical cleric could not be directly linked to the acts, a federal grand jury indicted him under a seldom-used sedition law.
Sanctions Against China
The U.S. prohibited the sale of nearly $1 billion in high-technology goods by American firms to China over the next two years as punishment for China’s violations of international arms-control agreements. After months of deliberating by intelligence officials, the U.S. found that China had indeed sold sensitive missile technology to Pakistan, a charge that Beijing had repeatedly denied.
Elite U.S. Troops to Somalia
President Clinton dispatched 400 of the Army’s elite Rangers to Somalia, beefing up the U.S. presence there following a series of attacks on American troops that killed four. Defense Secretary Les Aspin said U.S. forces will stay until the Somali capital is calm, rebel leaders give up their heavy weapons, and a national police force is in place.
Dad Was an SS Man
Newly discovered documents reveal that the father of General John Shalikashvili served in a Nazi Waffen SS unit. Shalikashvili, nominated by President Clinton to become Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, did not comment on the information; a White House spokeswoman said it was “not relevant.”
Wetlands Compromise
In familiar fashion, the Clinton Administration has devised a split-the- difference plan — this one dealing with the nation’s wetlands — that has something to please and displease everyone. The policy will protect all of Alaska’s more than 100 million acres of marshes, riverbanks and the like and close loopholes that would have let developers build in otherwise protected areas. But the compromise will also permit farmers who filled in their wetlands before 1985 to keep working their land.
Detroit Officers Found Guilty
Former police officers Larry Nevers and Walter Budzyn were convicted of second-degree murder last week in the fatal beating of motorist Malice Green. The ex-officers are white; Green was black.
Denny Recounts His Tale
White truck driver Reginald Denny took the stand last week in the trial of the black men accused of dragging him from his truck at a Los Angeles intersection and beating him almost to death. Because of his injuries, Denny says, he remembers nothing of the actual beating.
Trade-Pact Rebellion
Defying President Clinton, David Bonior, third-ranking Democrat in the House, said he would use his majority whip’s office to organize opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement, which would eliminate tariff barriers between Canada, Mexico and the U.S. Democrats are already badly split on the pact.
Marching for King’s Dream
Attorney General Janet Reno linked arms with the Rev. Jesse Jackson; Coretta Scott King appeared with her four children; and tens of thousands took to the streets of Washington last Saturday in commemoration of Martin Luther King’s historic march 30 years ago. Said n.a.a.c.p. executive director Ben Chavis: “The color of your skin still limits your chances in society. Dr. King’s dream still remains unfulfilled.”
WORLD
Aid Convoy Reaches Muslims
A U.N. convoy carrying 175 tons of food and medicine reached the besieged Muslim quarter of Mostar in Bosnia-Herzegovina after being held up by Croats. But for three days the trucks were prevented from leaving the town by frantic Muslims, who feared a Croat attack should the convoy depart. U.S. airdrops added to the relief effort for the city’s 55,000 Muslims, cut off for two months by a Croat blockade.
Israel Mulls a Giveback
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres suggested that Israel and the Palestinians were near agreement on a plan for limited Palestinian autonomy in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho. The arrangement would include the withdrawal of Israeli troops from population centers in those two places. Peres says he is hoping for “a breakthrough” during the round of peace talks that begins this week.
Nicaraguan Hostages Freed
More than 70 hostages were released in Nicaragua after being held by two rival ; groups for nearly a week, ending a tragicomic crisis that raised fears of a new civil war. Shortly after former anticommunist contra guerrillas freed some 38 members of a peace commission, a group of former Sandinista soldiers let go 34 politicians they had seized, including the Vice President. Both sets of captors were virtually guaranteed immunity from prosecution as well as consideration of their demands for land, loans and other aid.
Nigerian Steps Aside
Nigeria’s President and military commander General Ibrahim Babangida turned over power to a mostly civilian interim government, ending his eight-year rule. The new head of government is Ernest Shonekan, 57, a businessman and lawyer who chaired the transitional council created in January to return the country to democracy. Most members of the interim government have close ties to Babangida, and many believe he will continue to rule behind the scenes.
Japanese Mea Culpas
In his first major policy speech since his election Aug. 6, Japanese Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa promised a fundamental restructuring of the country’s political system and pledged to reduce Japan’s trade surplus. He also apologized for Japanese aggression during World War II.
Russian Mea Culpa
Russian President Boris Yeltsin, visiting Poland’s Katyn Forest, paid tribute to the more than 4,000 Polish officers massacred there by Soviet secret police in 1940. Moscow owned up to the atrocity only in 1990.
Iraqi Envoys Seek Asylum
Two Iraqi ambassadors sought asylum in Britain, protesting what they called the “reign of terror and misery” of Saddam Hussein. Both Hamed Al-Jubouri, who retired two weeks ago as ambassador to Tunisia, and Hisham Al-Shawi, ambassador to Canada, also joined the Iraqi National Congress, an umbrella organization of anti-Saddam groups.
Billion-Dinar Bank Note
Yugoslavia’s national bank announced it would issue a 1 billion-dinar note in an effort to keep pace with the country’s inflation, estimated at roughly 20% a day. The new note is worth about $3.
BUSINESS
Health-Care Fraud
Showing a new zeal for cracking down on health-care fraud, government agents raided the offices of National Medical Enterprises, one of the U.S.’s largest operators of hospitals, and subpoenaed Medicare and Medicaid billing records of at least half a dozen of the country’s largest blood-testing-laboratory owners.
New, Improved Nintendo
Nintendo and Silicon Graphics unveiled plans to market a virtual-reality game that would allow players to enter and manipulate a 3-D world. The companies hope to sell the product, called Project Reality, first to arcades in malls, then to consumers at a price under $250. Atari, one of Nintendo’s competitors, has a similar game it plans to introduce later this year.
Cable Companies’ Defeat
Telephone companies may send TV programming over their lines, says a federal court in Virginia in response to a lawsuit brought by Bell Atlantic. The decision overturns a U.S. law on constitutional grounds and opens up the possibility of an all-out war between local phone and cable companies as the Baby Bells move to start their own cable-TV systems.
Cable Companies’ Victory
The four broadcast TV networks failed yet again to show cable who’s boss when they backed down from their demand that cable systems pay the networks to carry their programs. A new federal law gave networks the right to demand compensation, but the cable companies refused to pay cash, threatening to drop the network shows entirely. Instead the four networks got the cable companies to agree to carry the new cable channels they each propose to launch.
Financial Markets in Paradise
Mortgage rates reached their lowest levels since 1968, and 30-year Treasury bonds fell to 6.08%. The Dow Jones industrial average continued to make record highs.
SCIENCE
NASA Loses Another One
The billion-dollar Mars Observer was supposed to map the Red Planet’s surface from space and study its climate as it prepared the way for a series of future landings, including at some point a human mission. But just as the space probe was about to go into Mars orbit, nasa lost communication with it, rendering the satellite useless. Engineers suspect faulty transistors on Observer are to blame.
Ozone Optimism
Thanks to rapid international action, the amount of ozone-eating chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere is dropping faster than anyone expected; the chemicals should peak around the year 2000, then decline. On the other hand, unfortunately, the chemicals are currently destroying ozone faster than anyone expected.
MEDIA & THE ARTS
More Blues for NYPD Blue
Sixteen abc affiliates have declared Steven Bochco’s latest prime-time series, NYPD Blue, too blue for their airwaves, and are refusing to carry it. The police show has attracted attention because of its violent and sexually explicit content.
Cold Country, Hot Film
Jurassic Park is heating up screens in Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik. It drew 31,964 people in 10 days. That’s 32% of the city’s population and 12% of all Icelanders.
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