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.
