Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 1989)
r* NT £% Cl C Associated Press NelSraskan X ^1 %m> w w O' JL^ JL Jwqg iJ w Edited by Diana Johnson Thursday, January 19,1989 jjr AFGHANISTAN J - tiV -—-- JeH Reiner/Daily Nebraskan Soviets leave Afghan borders ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Fully equipped Soviet troops leit Afghanistan by die planeload dur ing the past week, but the aircraft also left tons of new arms and am munition for the Kabul govern ment. diplomatic sources said Tuesday. Western diplomats, speaking in i miabad on the condition that hcv not be dentified, said that at th urrent pace the Red Army s ii drawal would Iv completed by i! ,>d of the month. However, lor political rea ilie Russians may wish to keep military presence in Kabul j up o 1 eh. 15. said vine source. V ow pledged in a L.N. sponsored accord last year to re move all i)l its more than lOO.(XX) combat troops from Afghanistan in nine months from May 15. IdXX. But the country's ruling Marx ists still have not reached a settle ment with Moslem rebels known as mujahcdecn. or holy warriors, who have battled them for more than a decade. Diplomats said takeoffs and landings of Soviet II.-7b transport plane sat Kabul airport numbered about 40 between Jan.l) and 14. or double the usual rate. Armed Soviet troops m full kit were seen boarding the planes but onK after Afghan troops unloaded large quantities 01 mimnry cquip mem and ammunition. As many as IX SS-I “Stud missiles were transported from the airporl during the period, accord ing to reports from diplomats and Western journalists. Soviet armor has been digging into new- positions north of the Hindukush mountains along the snowbound Salang Road which runs some 240 miles from Kabul north to the Soviet Union, the sources said. They said that judging by con voy s arriving hi Kabul. Sov ict-Af ghan forces apparently have been able to keep the route open despite harassment by the mujahedecn. Balloonist will drift over racinc lOk'.o - % iapanese computer , ’>.fF'vv 11 all,‘tfipt'the firsi <olo s Pucjfjv JJh; i .(i .1 hdimri b^j i i a ’ I*disie'iew.andflicial involved in die profe.' ".mo W ednesilav Fun i. v va .vid utke off on Teh. 11 from Voki-aaiiia south of Tokyo and fly to a location yet to be dec ided on the West Coast of the United Stales said ku/u\uki Kodama. one ol 20 people working on the project. \iwa plans to complete the 4.S00 milc trip in three to lour days. In 11>NI, a four-man crew from Japan and the United States crossed ihe Pacilie Ocean in a balloon, but Kodama said ibis would be ihe first lime anyone has tried n alone. Niw a. 18. spent about $787,000 to build the balloon, and quit work at a computer company in November to prepare for the flight. Deficit shows drag on budget WASHINGTON - The U.S. trade deficit ballooned to SI2.5 billion in November, the biggest imbalance in five months, the government said Wednesday in a report many private economists and even the Reagan administration viewed as a disap pointing indication ol how deep the country’s trade problems are. The Commerce Department said the trade gap was 22 percent larger than October's S 10.3 billion del ic it. reflecting a surge in imports, particu larly for business capital govxls. and a slight drop in exports. “We have a serious competitive ness problem in this country. " said Lawrence Chimerinc, head ol the WEFA Group, an economic consult ing firm in Bala Cynwyd, Pa. “There's a limit to how much you can improve by culling costs and Hrivinu the dollar lower. At the White House, spokesman Marlin Filzwalcr said the November performance was of concern but "we trust this is an aberration and does not change the overall trend.' Even w ith the November deterio ration, the trade delicti lor the lirM 11 months of 088 was running at an annual rate of SI 37.3 billion, almost '() percent below the all-time imbal ance of SI 70.3 billion set in 087. Departing Commerce Secretary C. William Verity, a top administra tion trade expert, said the November report was disappointing evidence that the country 's trade problems are far from being solved. He said the rapid pace of improvement in the lirst part of 087 had leveled oil in recent months. "All of this means that we have a long way to go.’ Verily said in a statement. "We must continue to improve our efficiency and quality ai home and pursue our efforts to reduce trade barriers abroad.” In brighter economic news, the Federal Reserve Board reported that U.S. industry operated at 84.2 per cent of capacity in December, the highest rate in nine years. Much of the increase reflected the boom U.S. manufacturers have en joyed in export sales as the weaker dollar made their products competi live once more on overseas markets. However, analysts said the No vember trade report showed that until Americans' appetite for imports is curbed, the trade imbalance will remain stuck in the SI30 billion-a year range, further increasing the country's dependency on foreign investment as Americans hand over billions of dollars every year to for eigners in exchange for cars, televi sions and other imported products. President-elect Bush faces the problem of trying to improve Amer ica ’s trade balance in order to keep the economic recovery anve. diii analysis said he musiaccomplish that task without erecting more trade bar riers and further worsening global trading tensions. “The trade report is disturbing. It is evidence that for the last seven months we haven’t made any prog ress on the trade adjustment proc ess,*’ said Bruce Steinberg, senior economist at Merrill Lynch m New York. The November deficit was the largest since a SI.V2 billion June imbalance. November’s deficit re flected a big jump in imports, which shot up to S.UJ.7 billion, Sl .b billion above the October level and the sec ond highest level on record. Export" fell bv S6.V) million to S27.2 billion. -1 I Cosmos feel few ills after orbit Mum Two cosmonauts who 'pen' \ > ■ ir in space sullered fewer ph; *. a l effects than ex peeled, and there dv noi appear to i he any bar; ers tn even longer missions, S.v. iet space specialists aiu Unlay ‘ Longer (lights we believe, are quite possible, and we think they will b * carried out Anatoly Grigoryev, director of the Institute of Bio-Medual Problems of the Soviet Health Ministry, told a news conference. Grigoryev said cosmonauts Musa Manarov and Vladimir Ti tov, w ho returned to Earth on Dec 21 alter a year in space, suffered some atrophy of their call muscles and some loss of calcium, as have ot' cr cosmonauts. But because of exercise and training developed by Soviet sci entists, the effects suffered by Manarov andTito were less severe than their predecessors', he said. Titov, Manarov and French cosmonaut Jean-Loup Chretien aiso attended the new s conlerence. Chretien spent a month on the Mir orbiting space complex before re turning wnh Titov and Manarov, w ho hold the space endurance rec ord. Titov said he and Manarov no ticed some atrophy of their leg muscles in the weightless condi tions aboard the Mir complex. He said he had been afraid about the effects of the long period of weightlessness when he re lumed to Earth, “but our ideas were bleaker than reality . We feci quite well, better than expected." Scientists said results of tests done on Titov and Manarov still are being analyzed. In response to a reporter’s ques lion. Alexander Dunayev. head ol the GlavkoMnoN space agency, said Soviet officials still hail not decided whether the second flight of the space shuttle Buran will be manned or unmanned. He said technological and eco nomic disagreements about Buran s next flight had not been settled and that a date for the sec ond Bight was not set. Glavkosmos is the space agency charged with development of space engineering for the econ omy. Buran was launched Nov. 15 on a three-hour, 20 mtnuic unmanned flight. But the Soviet press has re ferred several limes to an internal debate about the shuttle program. Soviet space officials for years scorned the U S. shuttle program as inefficient before unveiling a similar-looking craft. Americans doubt Bush s pledge tax NEW YORK - Most Americans think well of George Bush and hold high expectations lor his presidency, but an overwhelming majonty be , licvcs he will abandon his pledge of no new taxes, a national poll has found. Six in 10 respondents to the Media General-Associated Press survey said Bush, who made his *$fead my lips - no new taxes” pledge a corner stone of his campaign, should not seek a tax increase. But 71 percent said they expect him to do so. Nonetheless, Bush, who takes his oath Friday as the 41st president, won high marks for his Cabinet choices and his preparations for office since the election. He was viewed favorably by 59 percent of those surveyed, precisely the same approval rate President Reagan received in a Media General AP poll last spring. Twenty-five per cent rated Bush unfavorably; the rest withheld judgment. In another favorable comparison with his popular predecessor, expec tations lor Bush’s presidency came close to the ratings of Reagan's per formance in a Media General-AP conduc ted in the fall. Forty-eight percent in the new poll said Bush will be a good president and 13 percent saul excellent. Simi larly, this fall 47 percent said history would view Reagan as a good presi dent, 20 percent excellent. The new poll was conducted by telephone Jan. 4-12 among a random sample of 1,162 adults nationwide. It has a three-point margin of sampling error. ^bough the survey found con s lieRole levels of unfannlianty with Bush's nominees for his Cabinet, 45 percent said their overa1’ impression ^as that the Cabinet was a good one, and an additional 8 percent called it excellent Nebraskan Editor Curt Wagner Night News Editors Victoria Ayotta 472-17to c hr la Carroll Managing Editor Jana Hlrt Librarian Anna Mohrt Assoc News Editors La# Rood Art Directors John truce Bob Nelson Andy Manhart Editorial Page Editor Amy Edwards General Manager Dan Shall It Wire Editor Olana Johnson Production Manager Katherine Pollcky Copy Desk Editor Chuck Green Advertising Manager Robert Bates Sports Editor Jelt Apel Sales Manager David Thiemann Arts A Entertainment Circulation Manager Eric Shanks Editor Mlcki Haller T he Dai'y Nebraskan(USPS 144 080) is published by thoUNL PuWicauons Board N>? braska Union 34,1400 Ft St. Lincoln, NE. Monday through Friday during the academ.c year, weekly during summer sessions Readers are encouraged to submit story deas and comments to the Da.ly Nebraskan 0y phoning 472-1 /63between9 a m and 5 p m Monday through Friday The public also has access to the Publications Board For information, contact Tom Macy. 475 9868. Subscription price is $45 for one year Postmaster Send address changes to the Daily NoOraskan. Neoraska Union 34,1400 R St..Lincoln, NE 68588 0448, Second class postage paid at Lmcoin, NE ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 1989 DAILY NEBRASKAN