Wedding scam fools Dutchmen AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — Five men hoping to tie the knot with a Thai woman discovered at the airport they were all waiting for the same bride — a suspected con artist who never showed up. The jilted men were all victims of a Bangkok-based scam in which one woman placed personal advertise ments in Dutch newspapers under dozens of different names, the daily De Telegraaf newspaper reported Thursday. Claiming she wanted to marry a Dutchman, the woman sent photos and poured her heart out in letters to anybody who answered her ads, one victim said. As the long-distance romances blossomed, the woman’s letters began to include requests for cash, including $625 to cover the cost of a flight to Amsterdam. With wedding bells ringing in their ears, the Dutch men didn’t hear any alarm bells — until they ran into each other at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport and began comparing notes. ■ A water shortage from Hurricane Pauline has left thousands thirsty. Mexico (AP) — Standing in huge, snaking lines along Acapulco’s sweltering, dust-caked streets, thou sands of people pleaded Thursday for one of life’s most basic necessities: water. The shortage of clean water has become critical since Hurricane Pauline tore through southern Mexico last week, killing at least 230 people. Officials are trucking in tens of thousands of gallons a day, but it is not enough to quench the thirst of an increasingly desperate population of 1.5 million. Thousands of people lined up to pick up half-liter bottles of water at a distribution center in the Parque las Lajas neighborhood on Thursday. Some came as early as 3 a.m. To pre vent unrest, a soldier with an auto matic rifle stood guard at the front of the line. Paula Tomatzin, a 27-year-old taco vendor, made it to the front of the line but was turned away by a worker. She had an iodine mark on her right hand, showing that she had already picked up her daily ration. “It’s not enough for my whole family. I need more. I have three little children and they don’t have enough to drink,” she begged. It didn’t work. Tomatzin walked away, head hanging low. The relief center’s director, Juan Jose Alarcon, said it was tough to turn people away, but many hadn’t gotten any water yet. He was supposed to stop handing out water at 5:30 every afternoon, but he kept the center open an extra couple of hours Wednesday because the lines were still long. Even then, he had to turn people away. “Shamefully, most of Acapulco is without water,” he said. “There is a great need.” The deadly flash floods unleashed by Hurricane Pauline on Oct. 9 man gled water pipes throughout the city and heavily damaged the two main aqueducts that carry river water to Acapulco’s water purification plants. The smaller of the aqueducts was repaired Wednesday, and by Thursday, 30 percent of city residents had running water for at least part of the day, said Eleno Garcia Benavente, an official with the National Water Commission. Crews delivered an extra 1.3 mil lion gallons a day in bottles and tanker trucks. But in many neighbor hoods, there simply wasn’t any. In the western suburbs, women piled up sacks of flood-muddied clothes and took hourlong bus rides to a river where they could bathe and do their washing. Downtown, people scooped water from an open, gurgling manhole. On the banks of the fetid Camarones River, people dug holes in the mud, let the sediment sink and scooped up liquid from the top. Some were drinking it. “It isn’t good to drink, but we’re thirsty,” said Selene Toribio Abellanera, 21. “We adults can han dle it, but children aren’t as strong, and we have to look for bottled water for them.” She had waited five hours to get that bottled water - a ration of about 1 Vi quarts for her family of four. Already, waterborne diseases have begun to appear. Officials said Thursday that Acapulco had eight confirmed cases of cholera, a bacter ial infection that causes diarrhea, dehydration and sometimes death. Doctors warned of a possible epidem ic. Hundreds of water trucks stopped wherever lines of people, buckets in hand, had formed. Although officials forbid anyone to sell water, some peo ple were hawking jugs of water for $ 1 each; $5 for those without an c mpty jug to trade in. Juan Carlos Angel, driving a truck from Pepsico’s Electropura dri iking water subsidiary, unloaded thre>: jugs for a man on die sidewalk who forked over $3. A policeman looked cn and did nothing. “It’s up to the company,” said the officer, Marcos Rodriguez. “I don’t know what arrangement they have with the government” Garcia Benavente, the National Water Commission official, said the driver would be punished. Microsoft Save big, and gel Microsoft Office 97 Professional Academic Edition for $199* Better yet, save really big—up to 73%—and get Office 97 plus two years of upgrades hassle-free, for Just an additional $100.* Saving the world is tough enough without worrying about saving your last dime. That’s why we created the Microsoft Office 97 Academic Upgrade Program. For a limited time, you can get Office 97 Professional Academic Edition, plus two years of major upgrades, for just $299.* That’s up to a 73 percent savings off the U.S. estimated retail price. Just look for specially marked boxes of Office 97 at your campus reseller today. It’s the worry-free way to keep up with the latest technology — and keep your wallet healthy and green. Nebraska Bookstore/University of Nebraska 1300 Q Street, Lincoln, HE. 68508 402-476-0111 . - . ■ . - . ' a iE, i * All paces listed are U.S. estimated retail prices. Reseller prices may vary. t Based on the U.S. estimated retail price of $599 fix Office 97 Professional Edition, plus 1.3 as the average number of upgrades in a two-year period (estimated full retail upgrade is $399). Offer good in the 50 United States and the District of Columbia only. Offer expires February 28.1998. © 1997 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft* a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.