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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1999)
Israel, Palestine express optimism ■ Negotiators attempt to solve disagreements in secret location as Albright prepares visit. JERUSALEM (AP) —In a last minute rush before Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s arrival, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met in a secret location Tuesday to try to resolve disagreements blocking the way to peace in the region. Israeli envoy Gilead Sher and Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat have already made some progress on deadlines for an Israeli troop with drawal from parts of the West Bank. And both men have expressed opti mism that a deal may be set before Albright arrives in the region Thursday. Egyptian officials, meanwhile, predicted a signing ceremony in Alexandria that day, attended by Albright. Beginning Tuesday after noon, the negotiators met in an undis closed location and were likely to con tinue int&early this morning. At issue is the implementation of the Wye River land-for-security agree ment under which Israel must with draw from at least 13 percent of the West Bank in three stages in exchange for Palestinian security measures. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has pressed the Palestinians to accept some changes in the agreement, which was signed at the White House last October by Barak’s predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu carried out the agree ment’s first stage, withdrawing from 2 percent of the land, but then suspended the accord in December, citing Palestinian noncompfiance. In recent talks, Erekat and Sher agreed that the next pullback — from 7 percent of the West Bank — would take place at the beginning of „ September. But they still have been at odds over a deadline for a third with drawal. The negotiators also disagree on the number of so-called Palestinian security prisoners — those involved in anti-Israeli activity — to be released. The Palestinians demand that 650 be freed, while the Israelis say only a little more than 300 of the prisoners would meet acceptable release criteria. “We have asked Mrs. Albright to intervene on the issue of prisoners, and she promised to intervene,” Erekat said. Albright’s aides have said she would prefer not to get involved in details and instead wanted to discuss preparations for talks on a permanent peace accord. Israeli television analyst Ehud Yaari reported that Barak wants an agreement out of the way by Thursday so that Albright can focus on reviving Israel-Syria talks. Israel and the Palestinians are still apart on a new deadline for the final peace accord, known as the final status agreement. The Palestinians seek April 2000 as a target date, while Israel has proposed December 2000 as a new deadline. The accord was to have been com pleted in May 1999, but serious negoti ations have not yet begun. On the table will be complex issues such the final borders of the Palestinian entity, the status of Jerusalem, the fate ofmillions of Palestinian refugees and the future of Jewish settlements. Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said after a meeting between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat that an implementation agreement might be signed in Alexandria on Thursday. “The two sides will intensify their negotiations in the next few hours in an attempt to reach a final formula,” Moussa said. Israeli Cabinet Minister Haim Ramon said the two sides were close on most issues. “The gap is now very, very narrow, and I believe we will bridge this gap in the next day or two,” he said. The positive atmosphere, however, was threatened by the discovery of the bodies of a slain Israeli couple near the West Bank border. Police said Tuesday they suspected the couple was killed in a random attack by Palestinians with political motives, but added the assailants were not necessarily sent by a militant group. The killings took place near the Megiddo forest, a popular nature reserve straddling Israel and the north ern West Bank. U.S. State Department spokesman James B. Foley condemned the killings but cautioned that authorities have yet to determine whether the violence was a political or criminal action. Poll: Young workers say good jobs scarce WAbrilJNO IUIn (Ar) — Despite the lowest unemployment rate in nearly three decades, many young workers feel they’re missing out on the nation’s prosperity because their jobs fall short in pay, benefits and chances for advancement, according to a poll released Tuesday by the AFL-CIO. “They see today’s jobs as failing to meet the most basic needs: health care, retirement security and time to spend with family,” said AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney. The labor federation commis sioned the poll as part of a campaign to woo young workers to join unions. The telephone survey of 752 young working adults, ages 18 to 34, was conducted June 10-15 by Peter D. Hart Research Associates. For comparison purposes, some ques tions were also asked of 401 workers ages 35 and older. The overall margin of error was plus or minus 4 percent age points. Among those ages 18 to 34, fewer than half— 45 percent — rated the economy as excellent or good, com pared with 58 percent of those over age 35. v More than 90 percent of young workers said they believe large cor porations, top management and stockholders are doing well. But 42 percent said the economic situation facing their own families is either “just fair,” “not so good” or “poor.” Even though it is easier to find work than at any time since the 1960s, 55 percent of young workers said tbenew jobs available are mostly low-payiag. Mon; than half of young workers — 58 percent — said employers are falling sfiort when it comes to sharing profit$%ith employees. A similar percentage, 55 percent, said compa nies aren’t doing enough to provide family-friendly workplace policies. And only about four out of 10 young workers said they are covered by an employer-sponsored health plan or ^retirement plan their compa ny confributes to, compared with about six out of 10 older workers. It’s ndt that most young workers are born pessimists or expect to advance without paying some dues, the poll found. Among those 18 to 24,62 percent said they believe that with education and hard work a person can do well and get ahead. However, that drops to 52 percent by the time workers reach their eittly 30s. * Amtrak delays debut of high-speed train WASHINGTON (AP) — Equipment problems will force Amtrak to delay the introduction ol its high-speed Acela train service from late this year to sometime nexl year, a government source said Tuesday. The national railroad, which is banking much of its future on the suc cess of high-speed trains between Boston, New York and Washington, hopes to blunt the letdown by announcing other improvements that will allow existing trains to run slight ly faster in the interim, the source told The Associated Press on the condi tion of anonymity. Amtrak refused to commenl Tuesday on its plans. The railroad has scheduled a news conference foi today. The cause for the delay is unclear. The 150-mph Acela bullet train was hampered in testing earlier this yeai by “wheel hunting” problems. Ai speeds of 130 mph to 145 mph, the wheels began shaking from side to side, analysts said. The wheels, a French design, were then reshaped to fit more close ly with the American-made track. Another problem is that the trains were built about 4 inches too wide to take complete advantage of their tilt system, which is designed to keep passengers in their seat as the trains race through curves. That means the trains will be limited to a tilt of 4.2 degrees instead of 6.8 degrees. 4 The tilt mechanism is also com plicated, presenting a maintenance challenge. ^ One test train has been running since March for up to 16 hours a day on a 13-mile track at the Transportation Technology Center, located outside Pueblo, Colo. The other has been tested more recently outside Philadelphia. The delay is a setback for Amtrak. It held a lavish unveiling ceremony in New York in March, when it promised that the trains would start running by the end of the year. Then in June it put an Acela train on view at a new main tenance building in Washington. Another celebration is planned for the first trip. Acela is part of a $2 billion plan to revive Amtrak and promote high speed rail as a solution to the nation’s highway and air traffic congestion problems. The railroad is spending $710 million to buy 20 eight-car train sets from Bombardier-Alstom, a consor tium with roots in the French TGV bullet train. The trains were set to be fully operational by the fall of 2000. allowing Amtrak to arrange its sched ule so they could run at full speed. A trip between Boston and New' York would be cut from four hours, 30 minutes to just over three hours. The New York-to-Washington leg has been projected at 2'A hours, a savings of up to 30 minutes over the current schedule. With those travel times from city center to city center, Amtrak hoped to compete with airline shuttle services. Amtrak President George Warrington said in March he also hoped Acela would lay the groundwork for similar service in the South, Midwest, California and the Pacific Northwest. “For years our critics have sat on the sidelines waiting for the high speed rail program to fade. We will continue to disappoint them,” Warrington said. “In fact, we are using the lessons learned on high speed rail to improve all our services across this country. Acela will be a catalyst for America’s 21st century rail renaissance.” Amtrak said it hoped Acela would generate $180 million in new profit, necessary if the railroad is to keep its promise and wean itself from a gov ernment subsidy by 2002. Amigos burglars used stdlen equipment, police say Equipment from a stolen Nebraska Department of Roads truck was used in the Monday morning burglary of an Amigos restaurant, police said. Lincoln Police Officer Katherine Finnell said equipment from the miss ing truck was found inside the restau rant at 26th Street and Highway 2 after the foiled burglary attempt. Police said burglars attempted to cut into the restaurant’s safe with a blowtorch taken from the Department of Roads truck. The cost of the lost equipment was estimated at $6,000, police said. Police did not hav^ an estimated value for the 1989 orange GMC truck, which remains missing. Sgt. Robert Kubicek said the truck was stolen sometime over the week end. A janitor arriving at 5 a.m. Monday to clean the restaurant interrupted the crime and, after being knocked down and beaten by the burglars, was forced into a bathroom. The janitor remained in the bathroom until employees arrived to open the restaurant at 7 a.m. Monday. uiiauic iu uicaK iiuo me saie, me burglars took the janitor’s watch and caused $250 damage, police said. Popeye’s, Dairy Queen target of burglaries, sustain damage A pair of burglaries Monday night at neighboring restaurants caused damage, police said. A Dairy Queen restaurant at 722 W. O St. and a Popeye’s Chicken at 745 W. O St. both suffered broken windows in the incident, police said. Neither restaurant reported missing property or cash. Police responded to a call from employees at 7:15 a.mi Monday, Finnell said, and found windows at both restaurants smashed by rocks. Kubicek estimated the damage suffered by Popeye’s Chicken at $700 and that of the Dairy Queen restau rant at $600. 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