EVENTS
WORLD REACTS TO US BOMBING OF IRAQ The United States is getting mixed reactions from its missile attack on Iraqi intelligence headquarters. British Prime Minister John Major said the attack was "entirely justified," while the leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, John Smith, expressed "grave doubts" about its legality. France's Foreign Affairs Ministry said it "understands the reaction of the US." Russia said the United Nations charter allows for such action. Middle East and Muslim nations reacted differently. Iran's Tehran radio said
President Clinton ordered the attack to "compensate for his waning popularity." Malaysia's foreign minister expressed regret, saying, "No peace-loving country could condone such an action." And Egypt says Washington should deal just as severely with Serb aggressors in Bosnia. Haiti's leaders meet
Haiti's exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide met yesterday with Lt. Gen. Raoul Cedras, the military leader who ousted him, on New York's Governors Island. General Cedras promised supporters he would leave the talks with good news, even though the meeting's goal would effectively end his grip on Haiti's affairs.
The talks may last a few days and will be mediated by a UN special envoy. Diplomats said the agenda is expected to cover a date for Fr. Aristide's return, arrangements for the military to relinquish power and dismiss some of its key commanders, and the resignation of the police chief of Port-au-Prince. On hand for the talks will be representatives from the United States, Canada, France, and Venezuela, who have been meeting informally for months to find a solution to the crisis. Nigerians must vote again
Nigeria's military ruler, President Ibrahim Babangida, on Saturday ordered a fresh attempt at presidential elections, but a top politician said every would-be candidate could be barred from the process on new technicalities.
General Babangida annulled the results of the June 12 election but has said the Army will install an elected president and government Aug. 27, on schedule. Politicians previously banned from taking part in the process would be allowed to join in the new election process, he added. But the Army's new conditions for eligibility eliminated the two candidates in the aborted June 12 poll. African summit meeting
African leaders meet in Cairo today for the 30th anniversary summit of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), searching for a role in a new world order in which their continent is becoming increasingly marginalized.
Many nations are struggling to move from one-party rule and socialism to democracy and free markets and are experiencing conflict as autocrats cling to power and populations resist painful economic change.
OAU leaders will focus on two ideas to help Africa assert itself: a "mechanism for conflict prevention, management, and resolution;" and the African Economic Community, a scheme to tie together existing regional economic groupings and stimulate trade. `We Shall Overcome again
Singing the civil rights anthem "We Shall Overcome," thousands of people marched in Detroit on Saturday to commemorate the 30th anniversary of a freedom walk led by Martin Luther King Jr.
After marching at the head of an estimated 125,000 people on June 23, 1963, King delivered the first version of the "I have a dream" speech that electrified the nation later that summer in Washington. Speakers said Saturday they hoped to recapture the spirit of the 1963 march in new civil rights efforts. Roy Campanella, catcher
Roy Campanella, the power-hitting Brooklyn Dodgers catcher whose Hall of Fame career was ended by an automobile accident after the 1957 season, died Saturday night.
Campanella joined the Dodgers in 1948, a year after Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier. During a 10-year major league career with the Dodgers, Campanella was named the National League's Most Valuable Player in 1951, 1953, and 1955.
