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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 1996)
'5#£i6jE?S?ii:V2? ■• > PAGE 2__»_ . _MONDAY; NOVCZiER 25,1996 Jet__ Three hijackers jr^iisetftoletthfe'pflot j lai|^eepite>hfei insis tence that the plaCne was out of fuel. MORONI, Comoros Islands (AP) —Rescue workers pulled bodies from the partially submerged wreckage of a hijacked Ethiopian jetliner Sunday, covered the dead with white sheets and ferried them to shore in small boats. The Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767 with 175 people aboard ran out of fuel and crashed in the Indian Ocean on Sat urday after three hijackers, battling the pilot for control of the plane, refused to let him land at a neartjy airport. Officials said 52 people survived tjie crash and 123 others were-feared dead. T\vo hijackers were arrested and the third was presumed to have died in Ihecrash." Island residents'and tourists risked the rough waters to search for victims and to rescue injured passengers from the sea about 500 yards from shore. Co-pilot Yonas Mekuria said the hi jackers refused to allow the pilot to land at the airport in Moroni, about five miles from the crash site, even though he was insisting the plane was running out of fuel. “He wanted to go there, but they wouldn’t let him,” Mekuria said. “It was pretty bizarre. I didn’t know what they were doing. They were interfer ing with procedures, grabbing at the in struments. They snatched the radio from the jack.” In his fast message to the passen gers, Capt. Leuf Abate said he had lost one engine, the plane was out of fucl and he was going to ditch in the ocean. “People were screaming, some were praying,” said Bisrat Alemu, an Ethiopian passenger who was going to Nairobi. The hijackers commandeered Flight 961 shortly after it took off from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on a flight to Abidjan, Ivory Coast with stops in Nairobi, Kenya; Brazzaville, Congo; and Lagos, Nigeria.' . Bisrat said the hijackers began to yell inside the aircraft, then stormed onto th$ flight deck. Shortly after they took control, the hijackers made an announcement in Ambaric.the Ethio pian language. .-'I-* “They said, 'We escaped from prison. We are against the government. We are hijacking the plane. We have an explosive. If anybody moves, we’ll explode it,’” Bisrat said. The three hijackers were armed with something they said was a bomb, an ax and a fire extinguisher. Mekuria, the co-pilot, said one ap peared drunk and carried a bottle of whiskey that he apparently looted from the duty-free cart on the plane. He said the hijackers’ only demand was that they be flown to Australia. The Boeing 767 crashed around midday near the Galawa Beach Hotel, a tropical resort 25 miles north of the capital, Moroni, on the main island of Grande Comore. A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, said Sunday that four Americans were aboard the air craft, three of whom survived. The U.S. consul-general in Bombay, India, Frank-Huddle, and his wife, Shania, were among the survi vors, said Carrie Newton, the duty of ficer at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India. Further information on the condi tion of the survivors or identities were unavailable. Jacques Fai vre, French head of civil defense on the Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, said a team of 17 divers assisted in the search effort Sunday. “I’m not on site, but I think there’s not much hope” of finding more survi vors, he said. Other survivors also were expected to arrive in Nairobi on Sunday. Presidents to have summits Clinton, Chinese leader agree meeting was positive I j %MANILA, Philippines (AP)+— I -Trying to gate* a, stormy relationship, President Clihtdn and Chinese Presi dent Jiang Zemin agreed Sunday to exchange presidential visits over the next two years. Clinton raised U.S. concerns over human rights, but did not press Jiang about specific cases. According to spokesman Mike McCurry, Clinton told Jiang: “It’s important that we work to remove irritants in our relationship, but we need to be as honest and can did in dealing with our differences as we can with respect to human rights.” In a reversal, the administration said it would not set any conditions for 1 the summits* as progress pin dis putes over hftfrian rights; trade m ? weapon sak&.AJea*fing^ufrtatf fights group expressed dismay. “In the rush to engagement, concern about human rights is being left be r-'1 hind ” said Human Rights Watch-Agia disai^xJiiitmen^^^tnajOT setback fof human rights in China but it wasn’t unexpected” He called it telling that Clinton did ootfnention any dissidents byname. The timing and sequence of die presidential summits will be deter mined later. McCuny said the two lead ers agreed the sensitive relationship between the two nations “needs regu lar high-level visits.” One state visit will be during 1997. The second will be in 1998. Vice Presi dent A1 Gore will lead off the good will visits by going to Beijing in the 1 “vijjj Wetfclf Was a'gObdmeeting and I think -that the next steps are appropriate.” He said he was “very much” looking for ward to visiting China. Chinese^Foreign Ministry spokes as “friendly, positive and constructive” — the most-glowing terms used, by Beijing to describe contacts with Washington in at least 18 months. The last president tovisit China was George Bush in February 1989. Jiang had been seeking reciprocal visits to bolster his standing in the struggle over the successor to Deng Xiaoping as China’s supreme leader. White House officials described the meeting’s mood as serious and busi nesslike, sprinkled with light moments. Jiang, for instance, commented on Cjinton’^lha^se voice and suggested On a major trade issue, a senior U.S. official said there was no concrete progress on China’s push to join the World Trade Organization, the Geneva-based group that sets the rules for global trade. The United States has blocked the effort, arguing that China has not done enough to dismantle trade barriers. Mother Teresa hospitalized CALCUTTA, India (AP) — Mother Teresa was in stable condition at a Calcutta hospital Saturday and re sponding well to medication for heart {rouble, her heart doctor said. { The 86-year-old Nobel laureate slept most of the day, said Dr. ASim Bardhan, cardiologist at the Wood lands Nursing Rone where Mother Teresa hras taken Friday. Doctors have been allowing her fruit juice and stew, and administering antibiotics and drugs to stabilize her heartbeat, Bardhan said. It was the fourth time this year that the Roman Catholic nun has been ad mitted to the hospital. The latest hos pitalization came after she complained of chest pains early Friday. Mother Teresa has been diagnosed with acute left ventricular heart failure — a failure of one of the four cham bers of the heart to properly pump blood, causing an irregular heartbeat and weak blood pressure. On Friday, about 150 nuns and vol unteers from her order, the Missionar ies of Charity, assembled at her home and prayed for her quick recovery. S5SmS=SSSSSSSS=I french twist International film starring Victoria Abril p 14; DN PITS CALENDAR Any submissions for the Events Calendar, published every Monday, should be sent to Nebraska Union 34, Attn: Kelly Johnson, 1400 R Street, Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448. Phone: 472-2588 Fax: 472-1761 l Monday, Nov. 25 Animal Science Graduate Student Assoc. Turkey Sale Pickup Day For more information call: Dana Allen, 472-5237 Wednesday, Nov. 27 I Thanksgiving Break begins Thursday, Nov. 28 Happy Thanksgiving Saturday, Nov. 29 Ma Saison Preferee, by Andre Techine Opening night Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater 11th and R Streets 7 and 9:15 p.m. For more information call: 472-5353 Editor: Doug Kourra Layout Editor: Nancy Zywiec 472-2588 Night News Editors: Bryce Glenn Managing Editor: Doug Peters Jennifer Milke Assoc. Nows Editors: Paula Lavigne Antone Oseka Jeff Randal Art Dirsctor: Aaron Steckefcerg Opinion Editor: Anne Hjersman General Manager: DanShattH AP Wire Editor: Kelly Johnson Advertising Manager: Amy Struthers Copy Desk Chief: Julie Sobczyk Asst Ad Manager: Tracy Welshans Sports Edttor: Milch Sherman CtasaHfed Ad Manager: HfRny Clifton AAE Edttor: Joshua GHIin Publications Night Edttor: Beth Narans Board Chahnan: Travis Brandt Photo Director: Tanna Kinnaman Professional Don Walton Web Edttor: Michelle Coffins Advisor. 473-7301 FAX NUMBER: 472-1781 The Daily Nebraskan (USPS144-060) is published by the UNL Publica tions Board. Nebraska Union 34.1400 R St.. Lincoln. NE 68588-0448. Monday through Friday during the academic year; weekly during summer sessions. Readers are encouraged to submit story ideas and comments to the Daily - Nebraskan by calling 472-2588. The public has access to the Publications Board. Subscription price is $55 for one year. Postmaster: Send address changes to the Daily Nebraskan. Nebraska Union 34.1400 R St.. Lincoln. NE 68588-0448. Second-class postage paid at Lin coln Neb ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 1998 DAILY NEBRASKAN .. ... ' ' ■ ■■■ ■ —..... 4