News Currents
WAR IN THE GULF The Kuwaiti army came home to Kuwait City in triumph Wednesday, cheered on by crowds weeping with joy. Apparently only pockets of Iraqi resistance in the city remained to be defeated.... US marines seized the international airport outside Kuwait City after a battle that destroyed more than 100 Iraqi tanks, a senior US military official said Wednesday.... Seven US and two French soldiers were killed by explosions while searching a captured Iraqi fort and airfield in Iraq, France's top soldier, Gen. Maurice Schmitt, said Wednesday in Paris.... The battle to liberate Kuwait was described Wednesday as a ``rout'' (Story, Page 3) as coalition forces continued to destroy Iraqi tanks and other armored equipment.
UNITED STATES
President Bush has given full public backing to Colombian President C'esar Gaviria, whose policy of giving immunity from extradition to drug lords sought in the US has been widely criticized by US officials. Gaviria was in Washington through Wednesday, and the two countries signed agreements to boost trade and to share evidence in drug cases.... USX Corporation Tuesday agreed to pay $41.8 million to resolve a class-action laws uit in which the oil and steel giant was accused of discriminating against black job applicants. USX continued to deny that it had discriminated in any way against the 8,000 plaintiffs. The Supreme Court had declined to hear the case last year.... San Francisco, responding to California's worsening drought, Tuesday approved a rationing plan that will force a 45 percent cut in water use.... Solicitor General Kenneth Starr urged the Supreme Court Tuesday t o give the police broad legal powers to board buses routinely during scheduled stops and randomly search a passenger's luggage - with permission - for illegal drugs.
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
More than 20,000 Philippine protesters marched to the government palace Wednesday and accused President Corazon Aquino of betraying her promises to ease poverty, stamp out corruption, and widen democracy. Organizers said the protest was ``the people's answer'' to Monday's official celebration of the 1986 popular revolt that swept Aquino to power. Recent polls showed Aquino's popularity had dropped to an all-time low.... Australia's first high school run by and f or Aborigines was opened Wednesday in Sydney. Non-Aboriginal children will also be welcomed and the school curriculum will emphasize Aboriginal culture and studies.... A Japanese diplomatic mission has ended an 11-day visit to Cambodia, apparently making little progress in efforts to speed up a settlement to the civil war.... South Korea will apply to join the UN this year if North Korea continues to oppose joint admission, the fo reign ministry said Wednesday.... Radiation leaked from a Japanese nuclear waste safety testing facility, marking the country's third nuclear accident this month. The accident at Tokai Mura took place Saturday but was not revealed until Wednesday. (See story on page 5.)