News Briefs
July 1, 1996
Web posted at: 10:00 p.m. EDTIraq oil-for-food plan 'unacceptable,' US says
UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- The United States objected to Iraq's oil-for-food plan Monday, saying Iraq intends to use the money for war reparations not humanitarian aid.
The agreement, signed at the end of May between Iraq and the United Nations, would allow for a limited quantity of oil to be sold for the purchase of food, medicine and other humanitarian needs.
The United Nations will make the ultimate decision on the plan, before Iraq can resume exports. However, the U.S. objection could hold up the deal.
"A plan that is nothing but a way to drive trucks through loopholes is unacceptable to the United States," U.S. Ambassador Madeleine Albright said.
Israeli police crack down on Palestinian workers
MACCABIM, Israel (CNN) -- Israeli police conducted a massive sweep Monday of Palestinian workers who cross illegally into Israel. Police captured about 100 workers and 20 Israeli employers accused of violating Israel's four-month closure of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Police scoured the area in patrol cars and jeeps, on horseback and in helicopters, looking for suspects. Israel has not allowed Palestinian workers in the area since February because of a series of deadly suicide bombings in Israel.
Israeli authorities carry out such crackdowns periodically, though Monday's was billed as one of the most extensive.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Radiation spill at Chernobyl not harmful, official says
KIEV, Ukraine (CNN) -- A small amount of radioactive dust was accidentally released during repair work at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, raising radioactivity levels inside the plant five times higher than normal, the station's director said Monday. But he said no workers absorbed excess radiation, adding that the release did not reach the "emergency level" as defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The contamination was discovered Friday evening and was cleaned up by Saturday, the director said. It was not immediately clear what caused the spill.
Chernobyl's reactor No. 4 was the site of the world's worst nuclear accident in April 1986.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
- Chernobyl survivors recall a decade of death and denial - April 26, 1996
- 10 years later, Chernobyl mysteries linger - April 26, 1996
Ex-Communists lose big in Mongolia election
ULAN BATOR, Mongolia (CNN) -- Mongolia's opposition Democratic Union Coalition scored a landslide victory in parliamentary elections, toppling the Communists and their successors who have ruled for 75 years. The size of the Democrats' victory, capturing 48 seats out of 76 seats in parliament, up from just six in the 1992 elections surprised diplomats and the opposition itself.
Sunday's parliamentary election was the second one Mongolia has held under a post-Communist constitution adopted in 1992 after Democratic protests ended Communist rule in 1990.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Mrs. Clinton begins goodwill tour of Europe
BUCHAREST, Romania (CNN) -- U.S. first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived in Romania on Monday for a 24-hour visit marking the first leg of a seven-nation tour of central and eastern Europe. In Bucharest, where thousands of people greeted Mrs. Clinton, she placed a wreath before a commemorative cross for those killed during the 1989 revolution that threw out communism.
She is to meet with President Ion Iliescu during her stay and will visit a clinic for child AIDS sufferers. She is also to give a speech at a nursing school founded through U.S. assistance.
Mrs. Clinton will also visit Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Estonia and Finland on her 11-day trip, which is intended to symbolize U.S. support for fledgling European democracies. All but Finland were once communist.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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