News In Brief
The "trial of the century" in Belgium opened, with former NATO chief Willy Claes and 11 other defendants accused in a 198889 plot to trade military aviation contracts for kickbacks to two leading political parties. The deals involved Italian and French companies that allegedly provided the parties with more than $2 million in "gifts" so close to the awarding of the contracts that they could only be bribes. Claes, who was economics minister at the time, went on to become NATO secretarygeneral in 1994, but quit the post a year later as the allegations intensified.
Indonesia's armed forces chief reversed course and sent troops back into volatile Aceh Province three days after fulfilling a promise to withdraw them. The move came in response to spreading violence in the separatist region, which caused hundreds of ethnic Chinese to flee and left buildings ablaze. There was no word on how long the troops would remain.
The first general strike by Air Canada pilots in 61 years shut down the carrier's operations, and no bargaining sessions were scheduled between the two sides. The 2,100 pilots seek higher pay and improved working conditions. The carrier's last offer when contract talks broke down was for a 9 percent hike over two years. The strikers want 12 percent.
Due to its higher birth rate,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], India will overtake China as the world's most populous country by 2050, a UN agency projected. A report by the Fund for Population Activities said India contributes about 20 percent of the 80 million people being added to the world each year. China currently has an estimated 1.2 billion people,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], to India's 975.8 million.
A likely new US target for terrorist bombers may be its embassy in Kuwait, a spokesman there said. A taped message on the embassy's telephone line told callers "appropriate security precautions" were being taken" because of information that an attack similar to those last month in Kenya and Tanzania "may be being planned." Meanwhile, an unsigned note in English that was found aboard an arriving flight from Dubai also warned that the US embassy in the Philippines "will be bombed on Sept. 4" tomorrow."The words are very clearcut. The socalled conflict is over for the Republican movement." Moderate nationalist leader John Hume, on Sinn Fein's declaration Tuesday that sectarian violence in Northern Ireland 'must be for all of us a thing of the past.'
Those of you planning one of those weddings in which you exchange vows while parachuting from an airplane or underwater in scuba gear: How will you look back on it in later life? Well, consider the case of Dorothy Ludwick. Last week they returned for their 50th anniversary. And does she remember the occasion fondly? No. She'd rather have had a traditional church ceremony. In fact, she still won't even look at their wedding album.
Speaking of 50th anniversaries, George and Ruth Selby hoped to spend theirs at New York's WaldorfAstoria Hotel, where they honeymooned in 1948. But their $15anight room now rents for $435. Still,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], the Delray Beach, Fla., couple were told they'd be welcome at the old rate if they could produce the receipt from their first visit. They did. And it was, said Mrs. Selby, "like going back in time."
The Day's List
US Shoppers Find Some Good Values in Canada
With the Canadian dollar at historic lows against its US counterpart,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], a recent survey compared prices in Trail, British Columbia, with those a twohour drive away in Spokane, Wash. At the time of the survey,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], one US dollar was valued at about $1.50 Canadian, but the exchange rate didn't translate into good buys on all products. For instance, Big Macs, an RCA stereo TV, and gasoline cost considerably more in Canada. Comparative prices on a few of the good buys (in US dollars,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], plus sales tax):
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