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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 29, 1998)
i Thursday, October 29,1998 page 2 economists concerned i despite budget surplus WASHINGTON (AP) - Even as President Clinton triumphantly con firmed die first budget surplus in 29 years on Wednesday, economists began warning the ever-better news will fade along with the economy and the stock market “Today we learn, after decades of deficit that this past year we had a surplus»of exactly $70 billion,” Clinton said at die White House. It’s the first surplus since 1969 and represents a remarkable turn around from die record $290 billion deficit in 1992 and even from 1997’s $22 billion in red ink. A booming stock market flood ed the government with a 12 percent increase in income-tax receipts, which caused the greater-than-pre dicted surplus. And strong job growth incr eased payroll-tax revenue and reduced the government’s spending on welfare and unemployment ben efits. But now world financial turmoil is expected to cut in half the rate of U.S. economic growth to a lacklus ter 2 percent most of this year and next. And the stock market, after ^dunging from midsmmnerJiighs, doesn’t appear likely to return to double-digit percentage gains any time soon. Britain, Argentina at peace over disputed Falklands LONDON (AP) - With a hand shake symbolizing reconciliation and the simple laying of a wreath, \ Britain and Argentina began Wednesday to heal the wounds left f by their 1982 war over the still-dis ■ puted Falkland Islands. Carlos Menem, the first Argentine president to visit Britain officially since the war, placed the wreath of blue and white flowers — the color of the Argentine flag - before a plaque at St. Paul’s Cathedral listing the 255 British soldiers slain in the 74-day conflict He then clasped hands on the cathedral’s steps with Prince Andrew, the son of Queen Elizabeth II Who flew combat missions as a helicopter pilot during the war over m me windswept soum Atlantic arcru pelago. Menem’s six-day visit has been billed by both governments as one for reconciliation, not recrimina tions, with the focus on booming trade and generally good relations with Argentina’s democratically elected government “We can agree to disagree,” Argentine Foreign Minister Guido Di Telia said before the wreath-lay ing ceremony, referring to the Falklands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas. “This idea of agreeing to disagree is a very British idea.” The ceremony was intended to deflect from the dispute over the Falklands, whose 2,200 populace is of British descent. The Argentine president had lunch with the queen Wednesday and was scheduled to meet Thursday with Prime Minister Tony Blair. Hurricane Mitch lingers in Honduras, killing 32 LA CEIBA, Honduras (AP) - TT-? ___I • li._1 iilAllviUlv 1TUIVU 111 11D wmil through the western Caribbean on Wednesday to punish Honduras with 120 mph winds, sweeping away bridges ^-flooding neighbor- * hoods and killing at least 32 people, p Mitch was drifting west at only 2 mph over the Bay Islands, a Honduras tourist area popular with American scuba divers and beach combers. The storm was only 30 miles off the coast, and hurricane-force winds stretched 105 miles from the storm’s center. That meant the Honduran coast and a good portion of the interior was under hurricane conditions for more than a day. “The hurricane has destroyed almost everything,” said Mike Brown, a resident of Guanaja Island who was within miles of the eye of the hurricane. “Few houses have remained standing.’* At its peak Tuesday, Mitch was classified as the fourth-strongest Caribbean hurricane this century with 180 mph winds. By Wednes day afternoon, the 350-mife-wide storm still packed a punch-Jjutits sustained winds were down to 120 mph. uQuestions? Comments? wnwn tim VJ1D80Q mrmmnrl^n mdlnn --««* * A-saaisiE ^ssz T^^s800 Associate News Editor: Brad Davis Of S-mM <fcl6.unLedU. Assignment Editor: Kasey Kober Opinion Editor: Cliff Hicks General Manager: DanShattil Sports Editor SamMcKewon Pnbiicationa Board Jessica Hofmann, A&E Editor: Bret Schulte Chairwoman: (402)466-8404 Copy Desk Chief: Diane Broderick Prof—tonal Advtoer Don Walton, Photo Chief: Matt Miller (402) 473-7248 Desiga Chief: Nancy Christensen Advertising Manager Nick Putsch, Art Director: Matt Haney (402)472-2389 Online Editor: Gregg Steams Aat Ad Manager: Andrea Oeltien Dfontoos Editor Jeff Randall Cl—Wtold Ad Manager Mami Speck Fax number (402) 472-1761 World Wide Web: www.unl.edu/DaiyNeb TheDaily Nebraskan (USPS 144-000) is published by the UNL Publications Board, Nebraska Union 34,1400 R St, Lincoln, NE 68588-0448, Monday through Friday duming the academic year weeWy during the summer sessions.The pubic has access to the Publcations Board. Readers are encouraged to submit story ideas and comments to the Dtiy Nebraskan by caling (402) 472-2588. Subscriptions are $55 for one year. Postmaster Send address changes to the Dtiy Nebraskan, Nebraska Union 34,1400 R St, Lincoln NE 68588-0448. Periodfca! postage paid at Lincoln, NE. ALL MATERIAL C0PYWGHT1W6 THE DAILY NEBRASKAN LONDON (AP) - The High Court ruled Wednesday that Augusto Pinochet is immune from prosecution in British courts and ordered die British govern ment to pay the forma: Chilean dicta tor^ legal costs of $560,000. The court threw out two Spanish arrest warrants, acted upon by British authorities. The warrants sought Pinochet’s extradition to face charges of murder; kidnapping and torturing polit ical opponents during his 17-year dicta torship. In his ruling, Lord Chief Justice Thomas Bingham said it was “of course a matter for acute public concern that those who abuse sovereign power to commit crimes against humanity should not escape trial and appropriate punishment” But nothing, including the charter that established the International War Crimes Tribunal at Nuremberg in 1945, invalidated the principle “that one sov ereign state will not impugn another in relation to its sovereign acts,” Bingham said In Madrid, lawyers trying to extra dite Pinochet to Spain criticized the British court but said they remained hopeful that an appeals court would eventually overturn the ruling. Virginia Diaz, an attorney who has worked closely on the case, argues that international law clearly rules out immunity in cases of crimes against humanity. «-— We are not talking about a little bit of corruption, but the killing, torture and disappearance of thousands of people ” • Virginia Diaz attorney “We are nottaflang about a little bit of corruption, but the killing, torture and disappearance of thousands of peo-* pie,” Diaz said. To the joy of Chilean exiles, howev er, the court ordered that Pinochet remain in custody until an appeal by British prosecutors to the House of Lords. The Crown Prosecution Service said it will file an urgent appeal on the immunity question Monday, the dead line given by the court . Bingham said he was giving British prosecutors die opportunity to appeal because of the “obvious public impor tance and international interest... as to the outcome” of the case. Pinochet’s lawyers immediately applied for the release on bail of the 82 year-old former leader, who has been held under arrest since Oct 16 and is recuperating from spinal surgery per formed Oct 9. A hearing was scheduled for Friday Lawyers for the Spanish magistrate had alleged that Pinochet was responsi ble for up to4,000murders, including at least one in the United States, and had sent agents to Spain to kill opponents there. Pinochet, who came to power in 1973, stepped down in 1990, but remained commander-in-chief of the army until Match. hi Washington, D.C., human rights groups called on the U.S. government Wednesday to give Spanish investiga tors any materials it has that link Pinochet directly to act§ of international terrorism The, U.S. administration has taken no position on die Pinochet case. Many months ago, the Justice Department began providing documents to the Spanish government The British government, which has defended its hatidling of the case, refused comment because the matter is still before the courts. Glenn readies for orbit , CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - The stakes are higher than ever for NASA as it counts down the final ~ hours to John Glenn’s heralded return to orbit today, and the man in charge of space flight knows it “As a person responsible for this mission, I feel an awesome responsi bility and apprehension that every thing goes well. This is special,” said Joe Rothenberg, director of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. As always, Rothenberg said, NASA has done everything possible to ensure the safety of space shuttle Discovery and its seven-member , crew. But the fact that one of them is the 77-year-old Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth and a senator for the past *14 years, has upped the ante if anything goes wrong. v*. *5 i; “Wouldit beany different from any mission? Sure/’ Rothenberg said. “Because like having a teacher on board, it really has got very high ^ visibility and an awful lot of people would look at it as something hap pening to an American hero ami we were part of the process. There’s no question about that.” Glenn was sb beloved by America after his 1962 flight, in fact, that President Kennedy reportedly instructed NASA not to fly him again _ - he didn’t want to risk the astro naut's life. Glenn never got to ask Kennedy if this was true; the presi dent was dead by the time Glenn heard about it Schoolchildren around the coun try will be watching Glenn’s return to space, just as youngsters watched on Jan. 28, 1986, when schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe was aboard Challenger. She and the six others on board were killed when the shuttle blew up 73 seconds into flight Up to a quarter-million people are expected to converge on the area for a glimpse of the launch. That doesn’t count the 3,800 reporters expected for liftoff, or the 70 mem bers of Congress, or JPresid.ent Clinton and hiamitqpra^e. Everything seemed.to jbe in NASA’s favor heading into die final hours - the countdown was hum ming along and perfect launch weather was forecast Glenn spent Wednesday, his last day on Earth for the next VA weeks, reviewing flight plans and greeting well-wishers. Global population expected to nse uminu jnaiiuins (Ar; - ine world’s population is expected to increase nearly everywhere on the globe next year- even in Africa, where AIDS is crating life expectancies dra matically, according to U.N. figures released Wednesday. Even though fertility continues to decline as the 21 ^ century approaches, the number of people on Earth is expected to hit 6 billion in 1999, the UN. Population Division said. Last year; AIDS killed 2.SmiUkm people worldwide, while 30 million were left infected by HIM the virus that causes the disease. According to the U.N. figures, 91 percent of AIDS deaths occurred in 34 countries, 29 of them in sub-Saharan Africa. But in tnezvAmcan countnes mt iardest by AIDS, die population will remain die same or keep climbing Pecause fertility in these countries is ligh, according to the UN: estimates. The spread of AIDS is hawing pop ulation repercussions: Children bom today in those 29 African countries will have an average life expectancy of \1 years rather than 54 years, the United Nations said. The estimates are prepared every two years by die Population Division if the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. According to the estimates, world population was 5.9 billion in mid-1998 md was growing by 1.33 percent per year, an average of 78 million people. Deodorant kills British 16-year-old MANCHESTER, England (AP) - A 16-year-old boy obsessed with smelling nice died after months of repeatedly spraying his entire body 'with deodorant, a coroner ruled Wednesday. Jonathan Capewell had 10 times the lethal dosage of propane and butane in his blood when he suffered a heart attack and died July 29, coro ner Barrie Williams said. Risbelievetithe fumes built up in his body following months of “high” “His personal hygiene led him to use mofe than was formal in a con fined space, which limits ventila tion,” said the coroner, who recorded Jonathan’s father, Keith Cdpewell, said hi$. son would cover hi# efitire body With deodorant at least twice a day. “When we told him he was using toer much, he said he just wanted to smellgood;” Capewell said. 4:“Eyen when we were in a room ^dfwnstairs we couldn’t just smell it, .jjapcoultLiaste it,” the father said, “ifdu wouldn’t have thought that chuld haws been the cause for some one to die. What a price to pay for smelling nice.” ^ Sue Rogers of the British Aerosol Manufacturing Association said she had never heard of a similar incident. “It is extraordinarily unusual and terribly tragic,” she said. “The aerosols have warnings about spray ing in confined areas and well-venti lated places, but these are for flam mability risks, not about accidental inhalation.” The boy’s mother, Louise, called for better warnings on deodorant cans. “You just get up in the morning and spray it on, but who expects it to kill you?” she said.