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U.S. says Arafat accepts "parameters" of deal Wednesday, 3 January 2001 15:33 (ET) U.S. says Arafat accepts "parameters" of deal By ELI J. LAKE and KATHY GAMBRELL WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. officials said Wednesday that Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat had accepted in principle the "parameters" for further negotiations on a Middle East peace deal, with some reservations. Arafat met twice Tuesday with President Clinton. But other sources in Arafat's inner circle deny that their leader accepted anything. Palestinian Authority Planning Minister Nabil Shaath told United Press International over the telephone from Cairo, Egypt, that Arafat would make ...

Hillary Clinton: First to be sworn in Wednesday, 3 January 2001 1:53 (ET) Hillary Clinton: First to be sworn in NEW YORK, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Ever since Sen.-elect Hillary Rodham Clinton won a seat in the U.S. Senate representing New York, she said she will neither seek nor expect any special treatment. But at her swearing-in ceremony Wednesday, she'll jump to the head of the line. Security concerns of having President Bill Clinton attend his spouse's swearing in ceremony on Capitol Hill propelled Hillary Clinton from 97th place to number one, jumping ahead of the other newly-elected Senators ...

Attorney General criticizes peace talks Monday, 1 January 2001 18:56 (ET) Attorney General criticizes peace talks By JOSHUA BRILLIANT TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- Israel's Attorney General Eliakim Rubinstein criticized Prime Minister Ehud Barak on Monday for continuing peace talks with the Palestinians even though Barak lost his majority in parliament, resigned, and is seeking a new mandate. Israeli attorney generals are government appointees but they are expected to be independent minded. Rubinstein had outlined his reservations before the cabinet. He then wrote Barak a detailed letter that was leaked Monday, playing into the hands of the ...

German women will take up combat roles Monday, 1 January 2001 16:50 (ET) German women will take up combat roles By DOUGLAS BAKSHIAN LUXEMBOURG, Jan 1 (UPI) -- The New Year is bringing a new era for women in Germany's military where combat roles will now be allowed for females. Starting this week women volunteers will no longer be limited to medical or musical units. Instead, they can serve in any career field. Germany's military opened its ranks because of a ruling by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg one year ago. The court upheld a complaint by ...

California cops wary of new drug law Monday, 1 January 2001 15:26 (ET) California cops wary of new drug law LOS ANGELES, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- Undercover narcotics officers vow to continue working the mean streets of California as usual in 2001 despite a new state law that may keep many of the people they arrest out of jail. Proposition 36, approved by the state's voters in November, mandates drug treatment rather than jail for defendants charged with simple drug possession. The aim is to get small-time users into treatment so they may kick their budding habit before it ...

NATO troops being tested for cancer Monday, 1 January 2001 2:01 (ET) NATO troops being tested for cancer Washington, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- NATO armies have begun testing soldiers for cancer following a number of deaths allegedly linked to the use of depleted uranium ammunition by U.S. pilots in Kosovo, the British Guardian newspaper reported Monday. France, Spain, Belgium and Portugal are studying the health of soldiers who served in Kosovo in order to test for radiation. Italy's military prosecutor is examining five deaths which some scientists link to ammunition used during the 1999 bombing of Serbian military targets ...

Israel to sign criminal court treaty Sunday, 31 December 2000 21:51 (ET) Israel to sign criminal court treaty TEL AVIV, Israel, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- The Israeli government Sunday decided to sign the International Criminal Court Treaty, reversing an earlier decision not to do so. A statement the Prime Minister's Office issued late Sunday night said that a ministerial committee, headed by Prime Minister Ehud Barak, authorized Israel's ambassador at the United Nations to sign the paper "following clear legal clarifications that the signing would not harm the interests of Israel." The Haaretz newspaper said the army and the ...

Taiwan: No problem with one China Sunday, 31 December 2000 16:08 (ET) Taiwan: No problem with one China TAIPEI, Taiwan, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian said Sunday he was willing to accept the one China principle, which has been a bone of contention between the island and mainland China. "One China has never been a question under the Constitution of the Republic of China," Chen said in a televised speech on New Year's Eve. Taiwan's government refers to itself as the Republic of China, while mainland China, which considers Taiwan a renegade province, is known as ...

Report: Flaws in Cal print files Sunday, 31 December 2000 16:17 (ET) Report: Flaws in Cal print files LOS ANGELES, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- An estimated half of the roughly 70 million digitized thumbprints contained in a database maintained by California's Department of Motor Vehicles are distorted to the point that they are of little use to law enforcement investigators, it was reported Sunday. The Orange County Register reported that the problem is extensive enough that it would take millions of dollars and as many as four years to correct the glitches and purge the bad prints from the ...

Social justice groups gear up for demonstrations Sunday, 31 December 2000 14:01 (ET) Social justice groups gear up for demonstrations By KATHY GAMBRELL, Washington reporter WASHINGTON, Dec. 31, (UPI) -- Organizers of inauguration day protests are calling the day President-elect George W. Bush takes his oath of office "I-20", and are hoping to draw hundreds of thousands of demonstrators from around the country to trek to Washington for a mass demonstration. "There is an enormous amount of spontaneous organizing going on all over," said Brian Becker, co-director of New York-based International Action Center. Becker said that while large organizations ...

Commentary: Money changes everything Sunday, 31 December 2000 13:09 (ET) Commentary: Money changes everything By JAMES CHAPIN, UPI Political Analyst WASHINGTON, Dec. 31st (UPI) - Immediately upon Al Gore's concession to George W. Bush, Bill Clinton moved with astonishing speed to make Terry McAuliffe, "his best friend and wallet," as New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd calls him, the new head of the Democratic National Committee. Although McAuliffe protested that it was not a "coronation," black and Hispanic leaders protested and are running a symbolic protest candidate, former Mayor Maynard Jackson of Atlanta, who argued, "I don't think we ...

Peacekeeper illnesses spark depleted uranium tests Saturday, 30 December 2000 21:39 (ET) Peacekeeper illnesses spark depleted uranium tests LONDON, Dec. 31 (UPI) - Thousands of European troops who have served with NATO forces in Kosovo are to undergo medical tests for radiation exposure following incidences of cancer deaths and disclosure that some U.S. forces during the conflict used depleted uranium munitions, it was reported Sunday. France, Italy and Belgium are to begin the medical screenings this week, The Sunday Telegraph said, and Portugal and pain will follow suit. Portugal also plans to send a team of scientists to Kosovo ...

Commentary: Putin's Lucky Year Saturday, 30 December 2000 19:28 (ET) Commentary: Putin's Lucky Year BY ARIEL COHEN WASHINGTON, December 30 (UPI) -- A year ago, Vladimir Putin emerged on the Russian and world scene amid the flames of the Chechen war. This "little victorious war" had roots in some real Islamic extremism, but primarily it was engineered to secure Putin's election as Russian president. One year later, many Russians are happier with their president than with Boris Yeltsin, his predecessor, and Russia is being taken more seriously around the world. Is this just Putin's luck or are there larger ...

Pakistan goes to polls; women to share power Saturday, 30 December 2000 18:35 (ET) Pakistan goes to polls; women to share power ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- For the first time since the military takeover more than a year ago, Pakistanis are preparing to go to the polls Sunday to elect local government representatives. The polls, however, are also unique because the military government has reserved 33 percent seats for women, which has never been done in the region before. During the first phase, elections will be held in the three districts of Sindh province in the south, ...

Norton seen as ANWR expert Saturday, 30 December 2000 18:24 (ET) Norton seen as ANWR expert ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Advocates of development in Alaska generally see Colorado Attorney General Gale Norton, President-elect George W. Bush's pick as secretary of the interior, as a knowledgeable friend who will play a key role in the potential battle looming over oil exploration in the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve. The Anchorage Daily News said Saturday that reaction to Norton's nomination has generally been mixed, with environmentalist wary and pro-development forces pleased. "Based on the information at hand, she looks like ...

Russian lawmaker sues foreign tobacco companies Saturday, 30 December 2000 15:15 (ET) Russian lawmaker sues foreign tobacco companies MOSCOW, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- An ultra-nationalist lawmaker in Russia's State Duma has filed a lawsuit against Philip Morris and British American Tobacco, accusing them of violating Russian consumer laws, Moscow's Sevodnya daily newspaper reported Saturday. Alexei Mitrofanov, a deputy from the camp of flamboyant nationalist leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, said the two companies had failed to indicate on the cigarette packs the country of origin, although "their cigarettes are being produced either in Russia or in third countries." Mitrofanov branded that ...

PG&E says gas supply in doubt Saturday, 30 December 2000 14:31 (ET) PG&E says gas supply in doubt SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Between 15 and 20 natural gas suppliers have started refusing to sell their ethereal wares to Pacific Gas & Electric Company due to uncertainty over the financial health of California's utilities, PG&E confirmed. In a statement issued Friday night, PG&E said it had secured enough gas to last its Northern California customers through January, however the rest of the winter remained in doubt. PG&E, which along with Southern California Edison, has been clamoring for permission ...

US wont answer Palestinian questions Saturday, 30 December 2000 10:35 (ET) US wont answer Palestinian questions By SAUD ABU RAMADAN GAZA, Dec. 30 (UPI) - Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Saturday that the United States refused to respond with clarifications the Palestinians had asked for few days ago concerning the US proposals. Erekat told reporters that the United States had first asked the Palestinian authority to respond to the proposals before US responds to the clarifications the Palestinian authority had asked for. "How can we accept the US proposals before we receive the (clarifications) and before seeing the ...

General Dynamics offers Russia arms contract Saturday, 30 December 2000 0:34 (ET) General Dynamics offers Russia arms contract MOSCOW, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- A U.S. defense contractor, General Dynamics, has offered Moscow an unprecedented contract to produce high-technology armor for U.S. tanks, the Russian Itar-Tass news service reported Friday. The contract would pay for what is known as active armor for 3,000 Abrams tanks as well as other platforms, according to sources identified as both military and diplomatic. The two types of armor, called "Arena" and "Canopy," would have be tested at U.S. firing ranges, a requirement that has ...

Commentary: Next Pentagon chief a supporter of Iraqi resistance Friday, 29 December 2000 23:23 (ET) Commentary: Next Pentagon chief a supporter of Iraqi resistance By ELI J. LAKE WASHINGTON, Dec. 29 (UPI)-With the appointment of Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense, President-elect George W. Bush has done the Iraqi resistance a great service. On Thursday Bush gave the keys to the Pentagon to an ardent supporter of the Iraqi National Congress, the umbrella group for the panoply of Iraq's at times disunited rebels, many of whom live in exile, but who strongly believe that American training and weapons are ...