The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, December 04, 2000, Page 2, Image 2
News Digest Iraqi halt on oil exports comes to an end ■The pricing dispute ceases, resuming the current contract with other producing markets. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq said Sunday it would resume its oil exports to fulfill its existing con tracts, backing away from a halt it called two days earlier in a dis pute with the United Nations overpricing. Iraq, the third largest produc er in OPEC, stopped production Friday, blaming the United Nations’ refusal to authorize a new payment arrangement for exports under the oil-for-food program. The halt, however, did not disrupt oil markets as many had feared. The United States has said it would tap its reserves to counter any Iraqi cut-off and Saudi Arabia - by far OPEC's largest producer - hinted it could do the same, citing the need to keep the market stable. The announcement of Baghdad’s turnaround was made Sunday by Oil Minister Amer Mohammed Rashid. “The Iraqi oil policy has been always aimed at stability of the world oil market. Iraq has absolutely no intention to termi nate or hinder the exports of its crude in the world market,” Rashid said at a news confer ence. He said Iraq is working with U.N. oil overseers to export the full quantity of oil agreed to under the current six-month phase of the oil-for-food deal. This phase is due to end Tuesday, but because of the disruption, pumping will now be extended until sometime in January. Rashid said Iraq has no condi tions for resuming exports. Peter Gignoux,' head of the petroleum desk at Salomon Smith Barney in London, said Iraq’s decision "doesn’t surprise me at all.” Gignoux noted that with oil prices still hovering above $30 a barrel even after falling more than a dollar Friday, Iraq would be missing out on a handsome revenue stream if it continued to halt its crude exports. “At the end of the day, they can't bear not to take advantage of these higher prices,” said Gignoux. Friday’s suspension was “an excuse to push themselves fur ther out of the (embargo) box,” he added. Iraq has been under U.N. sanctions since it invaded Kuwait in August 1990 and was forced out seven months later by a U.S.-led international coali tion. The current dispute came when Iraq made its monthly pro posal last week for prices on its oil exports. The U.N. sanctions committee must approve the prices. Then under the oil-for food deal, profits from Iraqi exports go into an escrow bank account used to buy food, medi cine, humanitarian goods and to pay reparations for die invasion. Rehnquist, court hear from Gore, Bush lawyers THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON—In his long Supreme Court career, Chief Justice William Rehnquist has tangled with presidential politics three times before - in the Watergate, Paula Jones and President Clinton impeachment cases. This time, Rehnquist will try to forge unanimi ty on legal issues underpinning a 2000 presidential election that revealed a nearly evenly divided elec torate. Rehnquist and the other eight justices heard from lawyers for Republican George W. Bush and Democrat A1 Gore on Friday. The issue before the court - whether the Florida Supreme Court over stepped its authority by extending the time for counties to certify their votes - will not decide the disputed election, but a ruling against Gore could add significant pressure for him to concede. Rehnquist is an enthusiastic conservative whose ideology often is on display on the bench. His combative questions for Gore lawyer Laurence Tttbe raised some eyebrows at Friday's hearing. But even those who disagree with Rehnquist say he has been able to set aside bias when con fronted with politically sensitive cases. “He’s someone who, with all his clearly felt ide ological views, can see both sides of the question,” said Perry Dane, law professor at Rutgers University and a former law clerk to Justice William Brennan, Rehnquist’s liberal nemesis on the court for nearly two decades before retiring in 1990. Rehnquist, 76, was a junior justice and among the most conservative when the court issued its unanimous 1974 ruling that forced Richard Nixon to turn over his Oval Office tapes. In that case, Rehnquist recused himself before the case was decided 8-0. Rehnquist, who was nominated to the bench by Nixon, had dealt with the tapes issue ear lier in his career as a Justice Department lawyer. Rehnquist had risen to chief justice by the time the court issued its unanimous 1997 ruling that Paula Jones could sue Clinton for sexual harass ment In that ruling, Rehnquist’s legal reasoning was apparently persuasive enough to attract the court's two Clinton nominees, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. TODAY Partly cloudy high 39, low 18 Weather TOMORROW Partly cloudy high 35, low 16 c Man. V» °l HnSHr _ <n ^^^»*l*tant Quastions? Comments? Ask for the appropriate section editor at (402)472-2588 ore-mail: dn@unl.edu Managing Editor: M-PJIa_ CuilOfZ Opinion Editor: Sports Editor: Arts Editor: Copy Desk Co-Chief: Copy Desk Co-Chief: Photo Chief: Art Director Design Chief: Web Editor: Web Editor General Manager Publications Board Chairman: Professional Adviser Advertising Manager Ad Manager Ad Manager Manager Mjfl Assistant Ad frlf Classified Ad Uy^Cireulation Sarah Baker Bradley Davis Kimberly Sweet Samuel McKewon Matthew Hansen Dane Stickney Lindsay Young Danell McCoy Heather Glenboski Melanie Falk Andrew Broer Gregg Steams Tanner Graham Dan Shattil Russell Willbanks, (402)436-7226 Don Walton, (402)473-7248 Nick Partsch, (402)472-2589 Nicole Woita Nikki Bruner imtiyaz Khan Fax Number: (402) 472-1761 E(ortd Wide Web: www.dailyneb.com Jhe Daily Nebraskan (USPS144-080) ~ lished by the UNL Publications Board o\ 20 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St, _ ^ Lincoln. NE 68588-0448, Monday fn3lrcl*ah Friday during the academic year; U weekly during the summer sessions. TnPfNblic has access to the Publications Board. m -Readers are encouraged to submit story ideas arraCOTnments to the Daily Nebraskan by calling (402)472-2588. Subscriptions are $60 for one year, ostmaster: Send address changes Daily Nebraskan, 20 Nebraska Union, ^1400 R St,Lincoln, NE 68588-0448. ! postage paid at Lincoln, NE | ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 2000 DAILY NEBRASKAN MmUraman/Newsmakers Membefso(thel(kinux Ban saluteasted ocbs Satuniay as othef members finish erectingrton Fountain Square in Qndnnati,Ohia. Ten KKK members put up the crass umterpofice guard as several antHQan protesters yM at them. The Ban hasapermfttokeep the cross, wtwh they say isarefigious symbol for Christi^ on the square until December 10**1. Mexico's president sets goals ■ In his first days in office, Fox pledges to greet returning immigrants and hopes to open the U5.-Mexkx) boarder. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MEXICO CITY — President Vicente Fox pledged Sunday to travel to the U.S. border soon to personally greet Mexicans returning home, providing an example of how he believes immi grants should be treated. During a meeting with Mexican American leaders, Fox repeated his vision of an economically strong, stable Mexico with jobs for its people and wages that eventually could compete with those in the United States. "The dream is that each kid, each young person, each of our children could stay with his family on this side of the border, could stay here in Mexico,” he said. His comments were greeted with tears and cheers of “It can be done!” Fox urged those attending the event to invest in Mexico, promising that their dollars will be used to create job opportunities for relatives left behind. And he said his government would study ways to make sure money from Mexican immigrants in the United States arrives cheaply and safely. Although he briefly mentioned his plan to work toward opening the bor ders between the United States and Mexico, Fox focused more on what he planned to do for Mexican-Americans in his first days in office. Mexican Foreign Secretary Jorge Castaneda pledged to set up U.S. con sulates that will work more closely with Mexicans in the United States and "lis ten more to immigrants to try to bring them more services.” Fox promised to travel soon to the country’s border with the United States and shake the hands of immigrants coming home - providing an example of how he feels returning immigrants should be treated. Those returning to Mexico some times encounter mixed feelings on the part of Mexican officials who may resent the fact they left the country. Before becoming president, Fox served as governor of Guanajuato state, which has one of the highest rates of migration north. Later Sunday, he was scheduled to continue a three-day inauguration cel ebration with stops in Metepec and Guadalajara. He entered the crowd of Mexican Americans earlier Sunday like a movie star, with many straining to take his photo or get his autograph. He spent several minutes shaking the hands of sometimes tearful fans, and stopped to give a bear hug to actor Edward James Olmos. John Arneson, a Dallas attorney who attended the event, said he was impressed with Fox, but wondered how much the new leader could accomplish during his term. “I don’t know that he can do every thing in six years,” he said. Still, Fox’s government was opti mistic. Three days after taking office, government-sponsored commercials showed people throwing away heavy door locks and reporting drug dealers to authorities, an example of how Fox plans to crack down on widespread crime. At the end of the commercial is a jab at the outgoing ruling party, which - until Fox - had held the presidency since its creation in 1929. “Already it’s not like it was before,” the commercial promised. Barak's chances for re-election are in the air THE ASSOCIATED PRESS JERUSALEM—As Prime Minister Ehud Barak plotted his re-election campaign Sunday, die embattled Israeli leader said President Clinton's departure from office next month was not a deadline for a peace deal After 18 months in office focused on the goal of bring ing home a final peace agree ment with the Palestinians, Barak now faces early elec tions next spring and may need the success of at least a partial peace deal to per suade voters to re-elect him. In violence Sunday, two Israeli soldiers were stabbed, one of diem in the neck, at a roadblock just north of Jerusalem. The stabbing prompted a shooting exchange between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gun men, and three Palestinians were wounded, according to army radio. TWelve Palestinians were injured in another dash with soldiers and Jewish settlers in the West Bank village of Hussan, near Bethlehem, eyewitnesses and hospital officials said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army, although earlier the army said residents of Hussan threw stones and firebombs at Israeli cars on the Hussan bypass road, slightly injuring one woman. Also, the Israeli army arrested a Palestinian sus pected of involvement in the bombing of a school bus in the Gaza Strip two weeks ago, army radio reported. The bombing killed two Israeli adults. Sunday was one of the few days without a fatality since the violence erupted more than two months ago. Almost300 people have been killed overall, most of them Palestinian. At Sunday’s cabinet meeting, Barak lashed out against those in his own party who have pressured “Every attempt to dictate dates to the prime minister is bad for Israel and damages how the peace process should be conducted.” Ehud Barak Israeli Prime Minister him to come to an agreement before Clinton leaves the White House on Jan. 20, at the end of his second and final term. “Every attempt to dictate dates to the prime minister is bad for Israel and damages how the peace process should be conducted,” Barak told his ministers. Barak is being squeezed on all sides. He faces early elections he had hoped to avoid, growing public dis may over his failure to halt the violence and a potential revolt from within his party. Israeli media reports have said that a leading fig ure from Barak's Labor party, parliament speaker Avraham Burg, may challenge Barak for party leadership if no peace deal is in sight by the end of Clinton's term. In the quest to revive the moribund peace talks, Barak has suggested quickly nego tiating a phased peace plan that would recognize a Palestinian state but put off the most sensitive issues, such as control of Jerusalem. However, the Palestinians have demanded a comprehensive agreement that creates a Palestinian state in all, or virtually all, of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip - areas Israel captured during the 1967 Mideast War. World/Nation The Associated Press ■India Rescue workers find 46 killed aftertwo-traincolflsion NEW DELHI — Railroad workers using blowtorches and cranes to remove die wreckage of two trains that collided in north western India found six more bodies under the debris Sunday, bringing the death toll to 46, a news agency said. Rescue workers continued to cut through the mangled remains of the coaches a day after the Amritsar-bound Howrah Mail Express collided with a freight train in dense fog at Sarai Banjara, a small town in the state ofPunjab. Forty-six bodies had been found and taken to nearby hospi tals, United News of India report ed. Another 150 people were injured in die pre-dawn collision. ■New York Pepsi Co, Quaker boards approve purchase deal NEW YORK—PepsiCo Inc. has agreed to buy Quaker Oats Co., the maker of Gatorade and Cap’n Crunch cereal, for $13.4 billion in stock, a source close to die talks said Sunday. The boards of both compa nies approved the deal over the weekend, and an announcement is expected today, the source told The Associated Press on condi tion of anonymity. Gaining control of Gatorade would give Pepsi Co the domi nant brand in the $2.5 billion sports drink market, which has been growing faster than colas. ■ Michigan Man to appeal conviction of outdated cursing law GRAND RAPIDS—Another Michigan man has run afoul of a century-old law that prohibits cursing in the presence of women and children. Jeffery Richards, 27, is sched uled for a pretrial hearing today on charges of assault disturbing the peace and using indecent language. Earlier this year, a judge ruled that the 102-year-old law is con stitutional and upheld the con viction of another man who swore in front of children after tumbling out of a canoe. Richards is accused of using foul language in front of children on a school bus on Nov. 2. Richards said he used a mild obscenity only because he believed his daughter was being manhandled and verbally abused by the driver. He is appealing the conviction. ■Florida Solar wings become newest attachment to space station CAPE CANAVERAL — Two astronauts attached the world's largest, most powerful set of solar wings to the international space station on Sunday. The future of space station construction hinged on the astronauts’ ability to install the solar panels, which will provide much needed power to the newly inhabited outpost Space shuttle Endeavour astronauts Joe Tanner and Carlos Noriega guided the $600 million solar wings onto space station Alpha and then bolted them down. They had spent more than three years training for the mis sion, and everything went according to plan. ■Nebraska Buffett Gates hope to bring recognition to game of bridge OMAHA — Billionaires Warren Buffett and Bill Gates say they would like to see more young people take up one of their passions: bridge. The two hit the card tables again Sunday for an Omaha bridge tournament in which the wealthy pair were participating. While neither man - both of whom rank among Forbes maga zine’s five wealthiest people - claims to have wagered more than $28 in a game, Buffett won dered aloud if a high stakes tour nament would bring more recog nition to die game.