EVENTS
US PLEDGES $250 MILLION TO PEACE ACCORD US Secretary of State Warren Christopher announced Sept. 20 that he and Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen will convene a global conference aimed at raising billions of dollars to help implement the historic Israeli-PLO peace accord. The meeting of foreign finance ministers from Europe, the Gulf states, and Japan along with representatives from Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization will be held in the next few weeks, most likely in Washington. The World Bank has estimated the peace plan will require $3 billion in aid over 10 years. Mr. Christopher said the US share would initially be a two-year package worth $250 million. Homeless program unveiled
Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros unveiled a $20 million pilot program Sept. 20 aimed at halting the endless drifting from shelter to shelter common among homeless people. Under the new plan, homeless people would be put in touch with job training, medical treatment, and temporary housing facilities away from shelters, so ultimately they can secure a permanent home on their own. The program will have a test run in Washington next year and be introduced later in other cities. Adviser to Aideed captured
US airborne Army Rangers captured the chief aide to fugitive warlord Mohamed Farah Aideed Sept. 21. About 50 Rangers arrested Osman Atto and three other Aideed supporters, said UN spokesman, Maj. David Stockwell. Major Stockwell described Atto as a wealthy Somali businessman and the principal adviser and financier to General Aideed. Georgia clashes continue
Georgian troops battled separatist fighters Sept. 21 just outside Sukhumi, the government-held capital of the breakaway region of Abkhazia. At least 27 people were killed when an airliner was shot down while trying to land in the besieged city.
The week-long fighting shattered a truce called in July following intensive battles that killed more than 3,000 people and left most of Abkhazia in separatists' hands. The fall of Sukhumi would be a major blow to the Georgian government, which has been beset by ethnic conflicts and economic turmoil since breaking from the Soviet Union in 1991. Nuclear agency convenes
North Korea's refusal to submit to outside nuclear inspections was high on the agenda of the International Atomic Energy Agency's governing board meeting in Vienna Sept. 21. Sources at the board meeting said Director Hans Blix reported no progress in persuading North Korea to comply with a nuclear safeguards agreement it signed in 1992. North Korea denies it is developing nuclear weapons, but it has long resisted international inspections as too intrusive. Cambodia gets new charter
Cambodia's National Assembly adopted a new Constitution Sept. 21, clearing the final hurdle for Prince Norodom Sihanouk to return to center stage as the country's monarch. The Constitution takes effect Sept. 24 when Prince Sihanouk, as head of state during the interim period, is to sign the document. The Constitution provides the king with powers over the executive, judiciary, and legislative branches of government. Hosokawa goes to New York
Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa renewed his pledge Sept. 21 to reform Japan's scandal-ridden politics by the end of this year and deal with the country's ``economic emergency.'' Mr. Hosokawa plans to attend a UN session in New York and meet with President Clinton over the weekend. Hosokawa said he looked forward to discussing thorny economic issues with Mr. Clinton as ``two leaders of the same generation calling for change.'' Nicaraguans strike
Bus, truck, and taxi drivers went on a nationwide strike Sept. 20 to oppose President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro's efforts to raise vehicle taxes and fuel prices. On Sept. 1, Mrs. Chamorro raised the price of gasoline to about $2.30 per gallon and imposed a new property tax on vehicles that averages $33 a year. The transport industry is demanding the elimination of this levy and the rollback of gasoline prices.
