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Thursday, January 13, 1994
NATION/WORLD
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Clinton visits Russia to advise parliament
The Associated Press
MOSCOW — With President Clinton arriving yesterday to bolster Russian democracy, Russia's new parliament was already degenerating into a free-for-all of bickering, name-calling and threats.
A dozen anti-American demonstrators who stood in a light snow outside the U.S. Embassy said Clinton shouldn't even bother coming to Moscow.
"Clinton — we don't need your advice" said one demonstrator's sign.
Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin are scheduled to hold three days of talks on nuclear weapons, the possible expansion of NATO and the sorry state of the Russian economy.
Clinton also planned meetings with leading politicians, including Yeltsin's opponents, to get a firsthand look at Russia's emerging democracy.
His guest list did not include ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, whose racist statements and outrageous comments about
reclaiming former czarist lands have made him an outcast in Western circles.
Yeltsin's pro-reform supporters, who once hoped to control parliament, now find themselves in the minority and on the defensive.
There were signs of a split in their ranks yesterday, with a leading pro-reform group threatening to withdraw support from Yeltsin if reformers lose out in a Cabinet reshuffling.
Democratic Russia, which claims tens of thousands of supporters across the country, is one of several groups that last year formed Russia's Choice. Democratic Russia's leaders said they would "have to reconsider the question of support for the president's and the government's course" if conservative ministers remain in the Cabinet and reformers are dropped.
The Cabinet has been sharply divided for months between ministers who want to push ahead with free-market reforms and those who want to scale reforms back to ease the economic pain they are causing.
Arlington, Va.
Repaired Hubble to begin conducting black hole search
The repaired Hubble space telescope has vision keen enough to finally prove the existence of black holes by measuring the velocity of stars being sucked into the center of galaxies, experts say.
Astronomers at a national meeting of the American Astronomical Society said the December space shuttle mission to correct the blurred vision of the $1.6 billion Hubble has been successful and the orbiting telescope will soon be able to conduct an unprecedented search for black holes.
"The search for black holes is a top priority for the Hubble space telescope, and our efforts have been frustrated by the (blurred image)," said Gary Bower of the Space Telescope Institute.
Asked if the repair effort corrected Hubble's view sufficiently to now prove the existence of black holes. Bower said, "Yes, it will."
The Hubble has been undergoing a checkout since its repair in December, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is to formally announce today whether the fix-it job was successful.
Astronomers who have gotten reports on the work, however, indicated yesterday at a national meeting of the American Astronomical Society that the Hubble now has 20-20 eyesight.
At a news conference yesterday, Bower said that the Hubble would be able to provide final proof about the existence of black holes by measuring how fast stars were being pulled into the center of galaxies by immense gravitational force.
THE NEWS in brief
EGYPT Israel and PLO recess talks
The talks are due to reconvene Monday.
Israeli and PLO delegates recessed talks on Palestinian self-rule yesterday, saying they had made progress on transferring civilian control of the Gaza Strip and Jericho but remained divided on security issues.
The tasks are the one to accomplish today.
During the round of talks ending yesterday, Israeli officials said the Palestinians were not contesting the offer of a 22-square-mile Jericho area, one-fifth of what they initially demanded, but are now demanding corridors from the area to two holy sites and a Dead Sea beach.
MOGADISHU, Somalia
U.S. sharpshooters withdraw
The U.S. military command in Somalia has pulled most of its smipper troops off Pakistani U.N. posts in a dispute over how aggressive sharpshooters should be in firing at armed Somalis.
The Americans accuse the Pakistani of withholding fire for fear of provoking the locals. The Pakistanis say they're doing their job with care and the Americans may be taking too many risks.
italy said yesterday that it will begin withdrawing its soldiers this month. The United States, France, Belgium and Sweden are among other countries that have announced withdrawals.
Pakistan recently said it would reinforce its troops to compensate for the withdrawals.
San Antonio Trial begins for cult followers
The government opened its trial yesterday against 11 Branch Davidians by telling jurors that David Koresh expected disciples "to kill for God." The defense blamed a faltering agency that "declared war on its citizens."
The trial of the 11 cult members charged with murdering four federal agents in a gun battle in February opened with details of bullets blazing amid horrified women and children.
Prosecutors also maintained that Koresh's followers killed their wounded after the raid by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
"People who were too wounded to fight were executed, put out of their misery," Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Jahn told jurors.
Four ATF agents were killed and 16 wounded in the Feb. 28 shootout at the cult's compound near Waco, Texas, when more than 100 officers tried to search for guns and arrest Koresh on weapons charges. Six Branch Davidians are believed to have died in the assault.
Compiled by The Associated Press.