Friday, April 9, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section A·Page 7
Nation/World
Refugees urged to return home
Serbs declare end to 14-month war
The Associated Press
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia — Yugoslavia urged refugees to return home yesterday, declaring "peace has prevailed in Kosovo" and saying its 14-month war against ethnic Albanian separatists was over. But Western officials feared those same refugees would be used as human shields against NATO attacks.
As the United States pledged that NATO would press ahead with the bombing campaign against Yugoslavia, a former Cypriot president arrived in Belgrade to try to win
freedom for three captured U.S. soldiers. His task could prove difficult: A hard-line Serbian vice premier ruled out any release as long as the NATO bombardment continued.
On the 16th day of the U.S.-led air assault, hopes for the prisoners' release were mixed with concern about thousands of ethnic Albanian refugees whose fate was unknown a day after Yugoslavia sealed off its borders and stopped their flight out of Kosovo.
The Yugoslav government, which said it had been observing a unilateral cease-fire in Kosovo since Tuesday for Orthodox Easter, claimed the refugees were voluntarily heading back to their homes in the province.
homes in the province.
Spyros Kyriapou, currently the
speaker of the Cypriot parliament, said that he planned to meet Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic today and that the Americans might be freed during the long Orthodox Easter week. He called on NATO to reciprocate with a cease-fire during the holiday, something the alliance has refused.
Vice Premier Vojislav Seselj, leader of the influential Serbian Radical Party, told reporters yesterday that releasing the Americans was out of the question.
U. S. State Department representative James P. Rubin said only an unconditional release would be acceptable.
President Clinton insisted that NATO could still win in Kosovo without sending in ground troops and
expressed hope yesterday that the three servicemen would be freed.
NATO warned that Yugoslavia's state-run radio and television network could be one of its next targets.
Alliance representative Jamie Shea said some Yugoslav television facilities already have been hit.
"It has filled the airwaves with hate and with lies over the years and especially now. It is therefore a legitimate target," Air Commodore David Wilby told reporters at NATO headquarters.
NATO allies have dismissed Yugoslavia's claims of a unilateral ceasefire, saying the bombing campaign will continue until Milosevic allows the return of all refugees, withdraws all troops and accepts a peace plan for Kosovo.
Test to help ensure Y2K-friendly skies
The Associated Press
DENVER — Saturday night, the Federal Aviation Administration will try the first live test of its Year 2003 air-train computer fixes.
Late Saturday and early Sunday, the agency plans to split the computers controlling air traffic around the airport and spin the clock ahead to Jan. 1, 2000 in half of the systems.
The same time change will be made in flight computers aboard an FAA Lear Jet flying over Grand Junction, in western Colorado; Denver, on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains; and Colorado Springs, located to the south.
During the four-hour test, technicians will check computer software changes designed to solve the Y2K problem. Early computer programs used a two-digit format to read dates, and there has been widespread concern about problems when the year changes from "99" to "00," which computers may construe as 1900 instead of 2000.
For safety's sake, the FAA plane and the small amount of commercial traffic expected during the midnight hours will be tracked by air-traffic control systems not participating in the exercise.
Afterward, the computers will be rejoined and tapes from both sides will be sent to the agency's technical center in Atlantic City, N.J., for comparison. The results will be released next week.
"This is an extremely important test to the national airspace system," said Ray Long, head of the FAA's Y2K program. Long said he didn't anticipate problems, but if they were encountered, "That's why you do testing."
Each year, more than 600 million people — and billions worth of goods and mail — travel through U.S. skies with the aid of the FAA's computerized air traffic control system.
Although there may be some glitches, the FAA is confident planes will not fall out of the sky.
Stock-trading Internet hoax increases company's worth
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Wall Street always has trafficked in rumors that sometimes turn out to be wrong. But as an online hoax demonstrated this week, the lightning speed of the Internet can give a falsehood a big head start on the
Someone made up a story about Pair Gain Technologies, made it look like it came from the financial news giant Bloomberg, and posted it Wednesday on a Web site where surfers can make their own pages. The hoax boosted the company's stock price 31 percent before the story was debunked.
The incident caught the attention of regulators and reminded investors, especially impulsive day traders, that the speed and simplicity of the Internet also can wreak havoc.
"I think we'll see more cases of Internet fraud," said John Delaney, cochairman of the new media practice at Morrison & Foerster, a New York law firm. "The Web means that scoundrels are able to disseminate fraudulent information far more widely and much more quickly."
No one yet knows the source or the
motives behind the fraudulent report on PairGain, which appeared on Angelfire.com, the personal Web-page site.
The report said PairGain, a Tustin, Calif., maker of telecommunications equipment, would be acquired by an Israeli firm, ECI Telecom, for $1.35 billion, or about twice its current market value.
Traders jumped on the hot tip, buying up shares and touting the stock in chat rooms run by the online service Yahoo! The report appeared credible, with quotes from company officials, and the page was a near-perfect replica of Bloomberg's site.
PairGain shares, which closed at $8.50 Tuesday, rose as high as $11.12 1/2 on Wednesday before company officials said the report was untrue, and the page was yanked from the Internet. The stock settled back to close at $9.37 1/2, on volume of 13.7 million shares. On an average trading day, about 2 million shares of PairGain change hands.
PairGain and Bloomberg officials said yesterday that they had turned the matter to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which wouldn't confirm details of any investigation.
Premier denies spying on U.S.
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Clinton and Chinese Zhu Rongjie met at the White House yesterday, then
sparred — sometimes
g o o d — naturelly
at a joint
news conference that ranged from trade to h u m a n
rights.
Clinton: China has taken some steps backward in human rights.
Zhu denied that China's spies have s t o l e n se r from
American research laboratories or that its agents funneled campaign contributions to Democrats. He said he would help the Americans investigate such reports — "so long as you can provide some clues."
"I don't believe such a story," he said of the allegations of Chinese espionage at top-secret American research laboratories.
He added pointedly: "Don't underestimate the ability of the Chinese people to develop their own technology."
"It is troubling that in the past year China has taken some steps backward on human rights and arrested people" for expressing their views, Clinton said, calling on China to give greater latitude to the Dalai Lama.
own technology.
In opening remarks, Clinton said that in their private talks, the two sides had made progress on thorny trade issues. Despite China's efforts at political reform, it must "give citizens greater freedom" to enhance their lives, he said.
Zhu gave short shrift to such talk. "President Clinton mentioned all of these in his opening remarks. I think we have
enough time to argue about these questions, so I don't want to delve into them now," he said.
But when talk turned to Taiwan, Zhu invoked Abraham Lincoln as a "model" to justify China's policy of refusing to rule out military force to reuile with that island.
"Abraham Lincoln, in order to maintain the unity of the United States and oppose the independence of the southern part, resorted to the use of force and fought a war for that, for maintaining the unity of the United States," he said.
Clinton stood by, a bemused expression on his face, as he heard his Chinese guest's words translated into English.
the president said that he had raised the allegations of Chinese espionage and campaign contributions in a private meeting Wednesday night and that Zhu had given him the same answer he gave reporters yesterday.
As for trade issues, Clinton stressed that the two leaders had made progress, and said he hoped obstacles blocking China's entry into the World Trade Organization could be cleared away by year's end.
Zhu said his visit should not be measured by the number of agreements the two sides reach.
"What is the key is that the PRC (People's Republic of China) delegation has the opportunity to meet people in different walks of life," he said.
The two men met privately earlier in the day after a formal welcoming ceremony at the White House. There, Clinton said the United States could best achieve its hopes for the next century through creation of a "strategic partnership" with China on issues such as nonproliferation, free trade and the mutual embrace of political freedom."
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843-3826
841-PLAY
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