Megaphone (Georgetown, Tex.), Vol. 92, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 1997 Page: 2 of 10
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News
—
- •
Compiled from InfoBeat
Online By Andrew Bell
Megaphone reporter
Global
Fund planned to com-
pensate Holocaust vic-
tims
Experts from around
the world gathered Tuesday
to clarify the fate of tons of
Nazi gold, some of it taken
from Holocaust victims, and
to set up a fund to compen-
sate survivors for half a cen-
tury of suffering. British For-
eign Secretary Robin Cook
said the three-day conference
aimed “to get at the truth, to
set the record straight as the
best way of making sure this
never happens again.” Cook,
acknowledging the suspicion
from survivors and their
families about what hap-
pened to Nazi gold after
World War II, said the confer-
ence would establish a special
fund to help the 300,000 re-
maining survivors of the Ho-
locaust.
South Korea sets IMF
bailout signing for
Wednesday
South Korea said it
would sign a bail-out deal
with the International Mon-
etary Fund Wednesday morn-
ing, capping a day of confu-
sion over the fate of a pack-
age to shore up the world’s
11th largest economy. Fi-
nance Minister Lim Chang-
yuel said Tuesday negotia-
tions had been completed
and the South Korean and
IMF teams were working on
the wording of the final docu-
ment. Details of the agree-
ment were not officially pub-
lished but state-run Korea
Broadcasting System said the
total package would be US$50
billion with $20 billion com-
ing from the IMF and the re-
mainder from other countries
UN Council to delay any
increase in oil-food deal
The Security Council
intends to approve the Iraqi
oil-for-food deal this week at
its current levels but also to
consider raising revenues in
the future, depending on a re-
view of the plan, U.S. Ambas-
sador Bill Richardson said
Tuesday. But it appeared un-
likely that anything would be
done to increase the amount
of oil that Iraq is allowed to
sell in order to buy food and
medicine in the near future.
Richardson and others said
that Secretary-General Kofi
Annan first had to file a re-
view on improving the plan,
which the head of the pro-
gram, Benon Sevan, said was
working badly and provided
far too few basic goods.
NATO sees retooled, big-
ger alliance, Bosnia role
NATO looked to its
future Tuesday and saw a
leaner, more flexible alliance
with a role in Bosnia probably
into 1999, three new mem-
bers from eastern Europe that
same year, and an undimin-
ished threat from Iraq. De-
fense ministers of the 16-
member organization met at
NATO headquarters for two
days of talks and achieved
what Secretary-General Javier
Solana said was extraordinary
progress on issues at the core
of the NATO agenda. The al-
lies also agreed they would
not be reducing their force
commitment in Bosnia over
the next six months, and set
in motion plans to draw up a
range of options beyond the
expiry date.
National
Reno rejects outside
counsel for Clinton,
Gore
Attorney General
Janet Reno said Tuesday in-
sufficient evidence exists for
an independent counsel to
investigate White House
fund-raising phone calls by
President Clinton and Vice
President A1 Gore. Gore said
he was pleased with Reno’s
decision while Clinton said,
“The attorney general made
her decision based on a care-
ful review of the law and the
facts ...” The move provoked
a firestorm of criticism from
expressed outrage at the de-
cision and denounced it as an
effort by Reno to protect
Clinton and Gore. Republican
Party Chairman Jim
Nicholson even called for
Reno to resign.
Kentucky community
wonders why boy turned
killer
Counselors stood by
Tuesday at Heath High School
in West Paducah, Ky., to help
classmates of three girls killed
in a bloodbath Monday that
the principal said could have
been worse if not for the he-
roics of one student. Princi-
pal Bill Bond said the 17-year-
old student, Ben Strong, con-
fronted and held the shooter
after he emptied a .22 caliber
handgun into an early-morn-
ing prayer group, and possi-
bly prevented him from grab-
bing two loaded shotguns and
100 rounds of ammunition
nearby.
Louisiana judge decerti-
fies implant class action
A Louisiana state
judge ruled Tuesday a lawsuit
against Dow Chemical Co for
its alleged part in the devel-
opment of silicone breast im-
plants could not be a class
action. The decision was a
blow for thousands of Louisi-
ana women who said the im-
plants had made them sick
and a victory for the chemi-
cal giant because it narrowed
the scope of the suit and pos-
sibly the financial liabilities.
State District Court Judge
Yada MaGee said there were
too many individual issues in
the cases to qualify as a class.
She said the eight women who
were class representatives
could continue their legal ac-
tion against Dow, which went
to trial earlier this year
DA approves meat irra-
diation to fight contami-
nation
U.S. regulators ap-
proved the use of irradiation
to kill food-borne diseases in
beef, lamb and pork Tuesday
amid worries by consumer
groups the procedure may be
oversold as a solution to re-
cent outbreaks of food con-
tamination. After a record
U.S. recall of 25 million
pounds of tainted hamburger
in August, the meat and food
packaging industries lobbied
hard for Food and Drug Ad-
ministration approval of tiny
doses of gamma rays or X-
rays to kill bacteria and para-
sites in beef. Irradiation is
widely used to control insects
and disease in fruits,' veg-
etables, grains and spices.
The FDA approved its use
with poultry seven years ago,
but few chicken processors
have invested in it.
Gore wins a round, but
suffers serious blows
Battered by months
of questions and controversy,
Vice President A1 Gore has
won a key round in the fight
for his political future — but
the blows to his image have
him staggering. Attorney
General Janet Reno ended a
controversial review Tuesday
and declared she did not feel
there was enough evidence to
require a special prosecutor
to investigate telephone
fund-raising practices of
President Clinton and Gore.
Although Clinton can ill af-
ford yet another independent
counsel looking into his past
actions, for Gore such an in-
vestigation could have
amounted to a kiss of death
for his own dreams of the
presidency
Local
Economic Outlook Bright
Good news for
Austinis economy. Nation-
ally-known economist Ray
Perryman gave his forecast
for Austin. He says Austinis
economy should see 5 per-
cent growth in the next five
years. That’s mainly because
of hi-tech manufacturing.
Here’s more good news for
you. Perryman says look for
an almost five percent jump
in personal income.
Crackdown Slows Border
Crossings
The illegal immigra-
tion crackdown on the Texas-
Mexico border seems to*be
working. Or at the very least,
Operation Rio Grandeis caus-
ing a shift in where people try
to get across the border ille-
gally. The border patrol
started cracking down on the
Rio Grande Valley in August.
Texas put 230 extra border
patrol agents on duty. Lights
and infrared cameras were
installed to discourage night-
time crossings
Bank Held Up
Austin police are
looking for a bank robber.
Police say a man entered
Guaranty Federal Bank on
West Stassney in south Aus-
tin shortly after two Tuesday
afternoon. He handed a note
to the teller, said he had a
gun, and demanded money.
No one was hurt. If you have
any information about the
robbery, call police
Switzer Sentenced In
Gun Case
A high-profile sports
figure admits he broke the
law. Dallas Cowboys coach
Barry Switzer pleaded guilty
Tuesday to carrying a gun il-
legally. A Fort Worth court
fined Switzer $3,500 plus he’s
on probation for one year. He
also has to do 80 hours of
community service. You may
remember Switzer took a
loaded pistol into an airport
in his carry-on bag. Cowboys
pwner Jerry Jones already
fined Switzer $75,000 for
making the Cowboys look
bad.
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Megaphone (Georgetown, Tex.), Vol. 92, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 1997, newspaper, December 4, 1997; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth634859/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Southwestern University.