Israel ordered to lift siege against Arafat
JERUSALEM — In response to pressure from the United Nations, Israel lifted its siege of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s compound Sunday after almost two weeks.
Israel’s top security officials have agreed to lessen the military force used on Arafat’s Ramallah headquarters by moving troops 40 yards outside the compound and reinstating a curfew from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. for residents.
Palestinian authorities called the move “cosmetic” and said that the Israelis are trying to deceive the United Nations.
The Israeli cabinet forum decided to keep troops at Ramallah because it said it believes there are wanted militants in the compound. Arafat denies there are any militants in the compound.
President George W. Bush said he is pleased with the actions Israel is taking and wants both parties to live up to their past promises.
Man receives death penalty for poisoning
NANJING, China — An owner of a snack shop was given the death penalty Monday for poisoning his competitor’s breakfast foods.
The rat poison Chen Zhengping used resulted in 38 deaths in Nanjing. Most of the victims were students and transient workers who consumed the sesame cakes, glutinous rice and fried dough sticks Chen poisoned at a soymilk restaurant in Tangshan.
Chen was arrested on Sept. 15, the day after the poisonings. The China Daily reported that 500 medical personnel were called to deal with the victims of the poisoned food.
U.N. negotiates with Iraq for inspection
VIENNA, Austria — U.N. officials completed the first day of negotiations with Iraq on Monday to finalize the details of returning arms inspectors to Iraq.
United States and British diplomats said they want new ground rules for the inspectors.
The United Nations said it wants to finish negotiations and make all the arrangements before the inspectors go into Iraq so there will not be conflicts when the inspectors are working.
President George W. Bush has said he has reservations about Iraq’s promises and wants the United Nations to approve a new mandate that would require Saddam Hussein to allow inspectors to begin work within seven days. He has also said America would take action on its own if the United Nations fails to act.
Dockworkers locked out on West Coast
LOS ANGELES — The Pacific Maritime Association, which represents major shipping lines and port terminal operators, locked out dockworkers at 29 West Coast ports Sunday, stopping import and export activity at ports along the West Coast.
West Coast trading accounts for about half of all U.S. trade activity and the lockout could cost the economy $1 billion a day.
The association said it locked out the dockworkers because they were basically striking while on the job by slowing down work.
President George W. Bush is urging both sides to reach a settlement so the dockworkers can return to work.
Bulgarian student arrested in airport
ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey — A student was arrested Monday at Atlantic City International airport while trying to pass through security with a pair of scissors and two box cutters in his backpack.
Nikolay Volodiev Dzhonev, a 21-year-old student from Bulgaria, had a summer visa allowing him to work in Atlantic City. He was on his way to Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Airport workers found the scissors stuck in a bar of soap and the box cutters in a lotion bottle.
Dzhonev said that he had placed the items that way so they wouldn’t harm anything else in his bag and that he was flying to visit a friend in Myrtle Beach before going home to Bulgaria.
Children dying from Middle East conflict
LONDON — Amnesty International released a report Monday concluding that children are dying in increasingly greater numbers as a result of the violence between Israelis and Palestinians.
“Both the Israel Defense Forces and Palestinian armed groups show an utter disregard for the lives of children and other civilians,” the report, entitled “Killing the Future: Children in the Line of Fire,” said.
The study also found that over the past two years, 250 Palestinian and 72 Israeli children have been killed.
“About 70 percent of the (Israeli) victims were killed by Palestinian suicide bombings and others were killed in shootings and other bomb attacks on cars or public buses,” the report said.
Pagaent disqualifies Pakistani woman
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Organizers of the Miss International pageant in Tokyo disqualified a contestant Monday after discovering she had falsely identified herself as Miss Pakistan.
Pakistan, a largely Muslim country, prohibits beauty pageants and officials said her participation brought shame to the country and denigrated Islam.
A spokesman for the International Culture Association said that the association was unaware Pakistan had not formerly entered a candidate until Pakistani officials contacted the group. The woman was disqualified immediately.
Neelum Noorani, 21, pulled out of the competition on her own as well after press reports about her participation were released in Pakistan.
Rice says Iraq trained al Qaeda
WASHINGTON — President George W. Bush’s National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said Monday Saddam Hussein has assisted al Qaeda terrorists in Baghdad.
Rice’s statements have been the most specific to date regarding the link between al Qaeda and Iraq.
She has claimed that Saddam sheltered terrorists and also helped train some in chemical weapons development.
Rice said she has learned this information from interviews with captives from the war on terrorism.
She also said that this does not mean that Hussein was involved with the Sept. 11 attacks, but that he does have a history with al Qaeda.
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle has said that Bush is using this information for his own political gain and to gain support for action against Iraq. Daschle has said the president should apologize to the American people for exploiting the war on terrorism.
Guiliani says he will execute bin Laden
NEW YORK — Former New York mayor Rudolf Giuliani said in his new book that he would personally execute Osama bin Laden if given the chance.
Giuliani even wrote a letter to President George W. Bush asking permission. “I am sure he thought I was just speaking rhetorically,” Giuliani wrote. “But I was serious. I had the strong feeling … I was the most appropriate person to do it.”
October 03, 2002