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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 1993)
News Digest Extremist votes worry Russians MOSCOW — President Boris Yeltsin appeared to win approval of his new constitution Monday, but extreme nationalists and Communists made a strong showing in Russia’s first multiparty elections since the 1917 Revolution. The preliminary results from Sun day’s election raised the prospect that a voter backlash could create a pari 1a mentary opposition bloc nearly as bitter and uncompromising as the one that led Yeltsin to dissolve the old parliament in September. Reformers clearly were worried by the extremists. Most prominent is ul tranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who advocates expanding Russia’s borders and once threatened to take back Alaska from the United States. “We are prepared to cooperate with all constructive forces, but it is not likely that we shall cooperate with fascists,” said Economics Minister Yegor Gaidar, leader of the main pro Yeltsin alliance, Russia’s Choice. At a Kremlin election-night party, Zhirinovsky smiled triumphantly, slapping a supporter’s back and rais ing his glass in a toast. The fete at the election center was open to all candi dates. As snow fell across much of Russia, voters went to the polls to ratify the new constitution and elect the new Federal Assembly. In preliminary results from the Far East and Siberia, Zhirinovsky’s party was leading with 21 percent of the vote. Russia’s Choice was second with 19 percent, followed by the Commu nist Party with 12 percent and a pro reform party led by Grigory Yavlinsky Avith 11 percent. Yeltsin aides said nearly 60 percent of the voters favored the proposed constitution, which would guarantee human rights and strengthen presi dential powers. The main question had been wheth er 50 percent of the voters would participate in the referendum on the constitution, the minimum turnout to make it valid. It was close, with 52 percent voting, according to election officials. The light turnout reflected Russians’ weariness with politicians and disap pointment that two years of frec-mar ket reforms have failed to raise living standards. They arc unhappy about the collapsing economy, growing crime and a sense the country has lost its way as a great power. Yeltsin, voting with his wife, Naina, near their Moscow apartment, said he was optimistic. *If the constitution fails, Yeltsin will be left in a legal vacuum, with no rules to guide the new'parliament and no solution in his quest for stronger, clearer presidential powers. The result would not be an immedi ate crisis, but a continuation of Rus sia’s political instability. The most likely course would be for the new parliament to revise and adopt the draft constitution, at least as a tempo rary charter. Preliminary results of the parlia mentary elections were not expected until Monday. But nationalists,Com munists and leaders of the conserva tive farm lobby predicted they would win up to half the 450 seats in the more powerful lower house, the State Duma. That could saddle Yeltsin with near ly the same bitter opposition he faced before he dissolved the old parlia ment. The elections are the first test of Yeltsin’s popularity since October, when hard-line lawmakers refused to disband, and their supporters ram paged through the streets. Yeltsin or dered the military to storm the barri caded parliament building. Rabin, Arafat delay troop withdrawal CAIRO, Egypt — Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat failed Sunday to resolve disputes over the plan to start withdrawing Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip and Jericho before Mon day’s deadline, delaying the pullout. They said they would talk again in 10 days, and the delay wouldn't en danger the Israeli-PLO accord. But their announcement was greet ed with anger and bitterness in the occupied territories. Palestinians there said the agreement had failed its first test, and some predicted the violence would worsen. The Israeli prime minister told re porters the main dispute was over how much territory Israel will vacate around the West Bank town of Jericho and who will control border crossings from the area to come under Palestin ian control. - 44 No doubt, not to start (Israeli with drawal) tomorrow is a point, but 10 days is not a long time. —Arafat, the PLO chairman -»» “These were the main things about which we have yet to reach agree ment,” Rabin said. After the nearly two-hour meeting, Rabin and Arafat agreed to meet again in about 10 days. Rabin said negotia tors from both sides would continue meetings during that period. “No doubt, not to start (Israeli with drawal) tomorrow is a point, but 10 days is not a long time,” said Arafat, the PLO chairman. Rabin said the delay would allow negotiators “to define much more clearly the vital interests to Israeli security and vital interest to the Pales tinians.” Negotiations have seen repeated collisions between Israel’s demand for security and the PLO’s desire to reduce the Israeli presence to a mini mum to convince Palestinians under occupation that the Israelis really would leave. Both Rabin and Arafat remained committed to the historic accord signed by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in Washington Sept. 13. It called on Israel to start withdraw ing by Monday and complete the with drawal by April 13. STATE WIRE Fire still smoking in Minden M1NDEN — Firefighters re mained at the scene Sunday as grain smoldered after a grain elevator explosion that killed a Franklin man and injured two others. “There is still danger of an ex plosion and collapse,” said a Kearney County Sheriffs dispatch er, who declined to give her name. “There still is fire in there they can’t get to because of structural damage and the danger it would pose to those trying to put the fire out.” Firefighters could be at the scene for days, officials said. Russell D. Anglemycr, 49, was working inside theelevator at fann ers’ Co-op Grain and Supply when the explosion occurred about 10:20 p.m. Saturday, authorities said. Anglemycr was killed, and two other elevator employees were in jured. One was treated and released with bumps and bruises while the other was being treated tor broken bones, sheriff s officials said. The State Fire Marshal’s office was investigating the explosion, but officials said they believed it was caused when gases built up inside the elevator shaft and ignit ed. Wrongdoing wasn’t suspected, said County Attorney Dave Wondra. “It’s an accident. It was an explo sion,” he said from his home Sun day afternoon. Traffic was diverted in a 10-block radius around the elevator. The final performance of the Minden Christmas pageant, which is performed near the elevator, was canceled to avoid safety and traffic problems, officials said. The pageant attracts anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 people in this south-central Nebraska town of nearly 3,000. Minden is about 15 miles southeast of Kearney. Wondra said that in the 16 years he’s lived in Minden, he was un aware of a similaroccurrcnce • I-—---' Mission restores confidence in NASA, future programs CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The overhaul of the Flubble Space Tele scope shows NASA is capable of giv ing “100 percent” commitment to a project, astronauts on the shuttle Endeavour said Sunday. Although NASA won’t know until tests arc done whether the optical repairs to the Hubble Space Tele scope worked, the astronauts’ ability to install 11 new parts with ease has boosted morale at the space agency and has demonstrated that a space station can be built. “We’re going to have to wait six weeks to two months to get the final results,” payload commander and chief spacewalker Story Musgrave said. “But in a nutshell, what was it all about? It was NASA had the courage to go for it all.” An unprecedented amount of train ing and testing went into the flight, without turf battles or second-guess ing by budget cutters. “It’s very important when we think ahead to the future and to space sta tion and any other project that NASA’s undertaking, to realize the reason for the successorthis mission... is NASA went for it 100 percent,” astronaut Jeffrey Hodman said. “Everybody was behind this mis sion,” Hoffman said during a news conference from orbit. The astronauts were scheduled to return to Earth Monday after 1 1 days in space. NASA aimed for a 12:26 a.m. EST landing at the Kennedy Space Center. NASA said the Hubble Space Tele scope, orbiting 369 miles high, ap peared to be in good condition. The astronauts released the SI.6 billion telescope Friday after five lengthy spacewalks in the shuttle’s cargo bay to install the new parts. Hubble was launched in 1990 with an improperly ground mirror that pre vented it from focusing on the more remote objects in the universe. NASA wanted desperately to vindi cate itself for that costly mistake and to show the world, especially critics in Congress, that despite problems it still can accomplish its goals. -—-1 1126 "P" street OPEN: H S 106 & Sun 15 Let Nebraska Spirit custom decorate that special Christmas gift with embroidery, sewn-on lettering and hand painting. We carry a full line of sportswear products like sweatshirts, t-shirts, jackets, caps and more. Have a Merry Christmas!!!!!!! Special^ NEBRASKA T-SHIRTS.STARTING AT $6.99 NEBRASKA SWEATSHIRTS.STARTING AT $9.99 NEBRASKA CAPS.STARTING AT $3.99 BIG X Champions & Orange Bowl T-shirts $13.95 • BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE * NEBRASKA SWEATSHIRT NEBRASKAT-SHIRT ‘ 12oz. SuDerWeight * 7oz. IronWeight * 90% cottoa-10%polyester '100% cotton Get 2 for only $39.99 Get 2 for only $19.99 SPORTSWEAR REG. 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Bruce Kroese Publications Board Chairman Doug Fiedler 4M-e407 Professional Adviser Don Walton 473- 7301 FAX NUMBER 472-1761 The Daily NebraskanfUSPS 144 080) is published by the UNL Publications Board. Nebraska Union 34,1400 R St , Lincoln, NE 68588 0448, Monday through Fnday during the academic year; weekly during summer sessions Readers are encouraged to submil story ideas and comments 1o ine Daily Nebraskan by phoning 472-1763 between 9 a m and 5 p m Monday through Friday The public also has access to the Publications Board For information, contact Doug Fiedler, 436 6407 Subscnption pnee is $50 for one year Postmaster bend address changes to the Daily Nebraskan, Nebraska Union 34, 1400 R St .Lincoln, NE 68588 0448 Second class postage paid at Lincoln, NE ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 1993 DAILY NEBRASKAN