Nation/World 7 World briefs Agiers, Algeria Fiiacker surrenders peacefully A hijacker thought to be armed with grenades surrendered today after releasing all passengers and crew members aboard an Air Algeria et authorities said. The man, who was not identified, sought a postponement of Algerian elections scheduled for the end of 2016. The hijacker gave himself up after several years of negotiations with Interior Minister Airport sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the hijacker had been among the passengers on the flight to Houari Bouri Boumoussa in Algerians From Bechar in southwest Algeria. After the talks with the interior minister, the hijacker released 24 passengers, mostly women and children. He freed about two dozen other passengers shortly afterward. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia U.S. troops continue withdrawal The United States is trying to maintain its withdrawal of roughly 3,000 troops a day from the region while awaiting a permanent cease-fire, military officials said yesterday. More than one-quarter of the U.S. troops have departed and the number remaining has already dropped to under 400,000 from a peak of 540,000, the U.S. Central Command said. The U.S. VII Corps, up to 100,000 troops, is in occupied Iraq. It will remain until the United Nations approves a formal cease-fire, which could come as early as this week. The 1st Infantry Division, based at Fort Riley and the 3rd Armored Division from Germany are patrolling the demarcation line established by a temporary cease-fire agreement March 3. Mexico City Radio broadcasts Easter service Cuban radio broadcast an Easter service for the first time since Fidel Castro's Communist forces took power 30 years ago, apparently easing the official policy of atheism. It was only the second time a religious service was broadcast on state-run radio, the official Prensa Latina news agency said in a dispatch monitored in Mexico City. The first was last March. The broadcasts signal a thaw in church-state relations after decades of official atheism. Communist Party leaders also are considering worshipers of various faiths into the party. From The Associated Press Iraq claims recapture of two northern cities The Associated Press NICOSIA, Cyprus - Kurdish rebels said Iraqi forces backed by helicopter gunships, warplanes and artillery pounded two provincial capitals day after but had not managed to capture the cities. Iraq, however, claimed it had chased the rebels out of the northern cities of Dohuk and Erbil and said government troops were welcomed by cheering residents. It was impossible to verify either side's claims. It was impossible to verify either side's claims. The Kurdish rebellion flared in northeastern Iraq five weeks ago, when the Persian Gulf War ended with a rout of Saddam's forces by the U.S.-led allied coalition. At the same time, Shiite Muslims revolted in the south. Forces loyal to Saddam launched a major offensive last week against the Kurdish insurgents, who had captured nearly all of their historic homeland. Government troops on Thursday recaptured the oil center of Kirkuk, and yesterday they appeared in southern Iraq. She said that burned corpses, cars and trucks still littered the streets, and that many buildings were damaged. Wafa Amr reported from the city. Iraqi authorities accused the rebels of going on a rampage of murder, looting and destruction while carrying out the attack. The insurgents, however, have accused Saddam's troops of atrocities against civilians, and have blamed the war on his own. But the United States has said it will not intervene in the civil war, although it has shot down Iraqi military planes that have taken to the air over Baghdad. The U.S. forces have not shot down helicopter gunships. The Iraqi News Agency said yesterday that the Baghdad government, in a message to U.N. Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar, ordered military operations of its airspace by U.S. and Saudi warplanes. Iraq also complained in the message that U.S troops occupying southern Iraq were plundering civilians. Warsaw Pact alliance ends U.S.S.R., five satellite nations to sever military ties University Daily Kansan / Monday, April 1, 1991 The Associated Press VIENNA, Austria ā€” The once-mighty Warsaw Pact, a symbol of the Cold War and Soviet domination, shipped into history yesterday as a military alliance. One Hungarian newspaper called the occasion "the winning of the Third World War." The end of the Warsaw Pact comes less than 18 months after demonstrators climbed alot sections of the Berlin Wall in protests that began the collage of Communism across the Soviet bloc. The ties that bound the Soviet Union's military to the eastern European satellites for 36 years were to be faded. Eastern European officials said that the end of the six-nation pact will lead to changes in the Western NATO alliance, and that the former EU nations would seek new security agreements. "its importance lies not only in the fact that we became independent, but it also gives us a chance to establish a good, new type of relationship with our country," said Minister Geza Jeszensky on state radio. But the end of the pact was barely noted in the other pact nations ā€” Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania and Bulgaria ā€” which already had been erased by easing themselves away from Moscow's control. Albania left the pact in 1962, and East Germany coexist to exist following German reunification in 1990. The 16-mission North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Warsaw Pact members signed a non-NATO treaty. In the Soviet Union, Gen. Pyrat Lushev and Gen. Vladimir Lobov yesterday gave up their titles as Warsaw Pact commander and chief of staff, respectively. But Lobov said in a Tass interview that he hoped the Soviets would continue cooperating with their Eastern European neighbors. The Warsaw Pact continues to exist as a political organization, but the Eastern European countries have urged that it fully end by early next year. Lobov said the Warsaw Pact committee of defense ministers, its joint command, and its military, scientific and technical council all were scheduled to be disbanded. The pact had not functioned as a military alliance for months. Its generals and other officials have been leaving Moscow since the signing of the treaty, which ended on Feb. 25 setting today's deadline to disband. The Eastern European countries have gotten a start on building a new security system in East-West Europe. Attention Students, Faculty, and Staff, Nominations are now being accepted for the Graduate Student Teaching Award. The KU Endowment Association and the Graduate Student Council are sponsoring five awards to recognize excellence in teaching by graduate students at the University of Kansas. Anyone may nominate a graduate teacher by writing to the Graduate Student's department or program. Your letter should be submitted to their department by no later than Thurs,April 4. For further information, please call the Graduate Student Council, 864-4914, or the Graduate School, 864-3301. HIGHLAND BODY SHOP 1437 N.W. Tyler -- Topeka 232-4307 Nā†‘ 24 HWY We Work With ALL Insurance Companies FREE ESTIMATES GLASS REPAIR Expert Color Matching NEW AFC Paint Booth WRITTEN GUARANTEE Fast Courteous Service WE WELCOME LAWRENCE CUSTOMERS Texaco's Money Machine. 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