World
With at least 16 people reported dead in clashes with police, with looters emptying stores and supermarkets (above), and his own residence under siege by angry demonstrators, Argentine President Fernando de la Rua declared a state of emergency. The declaration suspends constitutional guarantees and allows de la Rua to assume special powers for 30 days. Amid the unrest, his widely unpopular economy minister, Domingo Cavallo, resigned, apparently clearing the way for such measures as declaring a moratorium on meeting payments on the government's $132 billion debt. (Story, page 1.)
Israeli forces pulled out of a Palestinian-controlled zone in the West Bank city of Nablus and two other villages to give Yasser Arafat an opening to crack down harder on militants. But in Gaza City, at least seven people were hurt by gunfire as Arafat's police tried to break through a crowd of supporters protecting the home of a senior Hamas leader. A Hamas spokesman denied suggestions that the movement had decided to suspend attacks on Israelis. (Related story, page 1.)
Except for security guards, all persons carrying guns were ordered off the streets of Afghan-istan's capital for tomorrow's inauguration of the new interim government. Meanwhile, at the UN, the Security Council was nearing final action on the resolution needed to authorize deployment of a British-led international peacekeeping force
(Related story, page 7.)
Negotiators for feuding Muslims and Christians agreed to a deal on Indonesia's Sulawesi island aimed at ending three years of violence that have resulted in more than 1,000 deaths. The accord succeeded where four previous attempts had failed, and the Jakarta government said it hoped to use the pact as a model for conflict resolution in other volatile areas, especially the Moluccas.
After granting just under 1,000 requests for amnesty, South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission ceased operations, although it still owes a final report to President Thabo Mbeki. The panel, whose mission was to reconcile the grievances of both blacks and whites in the wake of apartheid, served for six years. Still pending are thousands of requests for financial reparations that, if honored, could cost a special presidential fund $375 million.