EVENTS
CUBAN FLIGHT TO U.S. CONTINUES The flow of Cubans from their Communist-ruled homeland to the waters off Florida continued Aug. 22 despite the US decision to turn the refugees away. Coast Guard officials said 1,293 were rescued Aug. 21, the highest one-day total since the Mariel Boatlift in 1980 when 125,000 Cubans reached southern Florida over several months. The Coast Guard said it has rescued 7,856 Cubans in August and 12,887 in 1994 as of Aug. 22. US Defense Secretary William Perry urged Cubans not to take to the sea. The United States has changed its policy for Cubans so rafters picked up at sea are taken to the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay on Cuba rather than being released to friends and relatives in Florida. Leaflets over North Korea
In the first overt sign of a power struggle in North Korea, a report Aug. 23 said leaflets calling for the ouster of Kim Jong Il have been scattered in the diplomatic district of the capital of Pyongyang. Kim Jong Il is the designated successor to his father, Kim Il Sung, who died July 8, after leading the reclusive, Stalinist country for nearly 40 years. The strength of Kim Jong Il's power has been unclear. Queen ends Canadian trip
Queen Elizabeth wound up a 10-day trip to Canada after a weekend marred by threats. On her last stops Aug. 22, she was greeted by enthusiastic crowds. But over the weekend, at her previous northern stop in Yellowknife, the reception was far chillier. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said two bomb threats were made against the queen. Zaire limits crossings
Fearing more chaos and confusion, Zaire Aug. 23 limited the number of Rwandan refugees crossing its border in Bukavu to those who could be taken by truck to UN camps. With up to 50,000 frightened Rwandans heading toward the border and only 20 trucks available to receive them, resettling the refugees could take a month, a UN spokesman said. Recent rains have turned the camp into a sea of mud, and relief officials acknowledge that it may be difficult to move food, water, and emergency supplies to the refugee camp. Typhoon strikes China
Typhoon Fred killed more than 700 people in China's eastern Zhejiang Province and caused damage estimated at $1.16 billion, officials said Aug. 23. The typhoon pounded the coastal region over the weekend, collapsing thousands of houses and destroying river embankments. Simpson evidence
DNA test results have armed prosecutors with their strongest evidence yet against O.J. Simpson. Now the question is whether they will be allowed to use it. Tests show that the genetic makeup of Simpson's blood matches the makeup of blood drops that led from the bodies of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, prosecutors said in papers filed Aug. 22. California's appeals courts have been divided on the admissibility of DNA evidence.
