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United
Airlines, mechanics reach temporary agreement
CHICAGO
(AP) — United Airlines announced a tentative contract agreement
with the union representing its 12,800 mechanics and aircraft cleaners
on Monday, less than 36 hours before a strike deadline.
The
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers confirmed
the tentative settlement. Details were not immediately disclosed.
The
announcement came on the fourth day of urgent talks following the
mechanics’ rejection of United’s contract offer last Tuesday.
The mechanics were preparing to walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. EST
Wednesday if no settlement were reached.
“Our
negotiating team and United’s labor committee of the board
of directors have accepted the terms of the IAM’s proposal,”
Jack Creighton, chairman and chief executive of United parent UAL
Corp., said in a prepared statement. “With the agreement, our
customers can be confident that United will continue to operate
without disruption.”
Negotiators
for the two sides held talks through the weekend in a hotel in suburban
Rosemont, Ill., near both O’Hare International Airport and
UAL headquarters.
United
said the tentative deal means its jets will continue to operate
without disruption.
European
Union imposes sanctions on Zimbabwe
BRUSSELS,
Belgium (AP) — The European Union, angered by Zimbabwe’s
refusal to let its observers freely monitor next month’s presidential
elections, imposed sanctions against the government of President
Robert Mugabe on Monday and ordered its observers to come home.
At
a meeting, the EU foreign ministers issued a statement saying Mugabe’s
government had “prevented the deployment of an EU election
observation mission.”
As
a result “targeted sanctions” were to be imposed, officials
said.
EU
spokeswoman Emma Udwin said “all 15 EU governments agreed it
was preferable to withdraw all the observers” and also impose
economic sanctions.
Officials
said the EU would cut off $110 million in development aid for the
2002-2007 period.
The
statement added that humanitarian aid for Zimbabwe would continue.
Milosevic
blames U.S. for breakup of Yugoslavia
THE
HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Slobodan Milosevic on Monday accused
the United States and other Western nations of deliberately breaking
up Yugoslavia, and denied knowledge of the massacre of thousands
of Bosnian Muslims at Srebrenica.
Ending
a 10-hour defense statement that stretched over three days, the
former Yugoslav president accused NATO countries of seeking to dominate
eastern Europe through the disintegration of multiethnic countries,
like the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia. He singled out the United
States and Germany for criticism.
After
his statement, the court heard testimony from the first prosecution
witness.
Milosevic’s
lengthy opening statement was less a defense than a tirade in which
he accused the West of most of the war crimes he is charged with.
“War
on the territory of Yugoslavia was incited by big Western powers,”
Milosevic said.
“The
goal of Western envoys was not to bring peace, but their interest
was destroying the country and ensuring a new colonialism.”
Milosevic,
the first former head of state to be indicted for war crimes while
in power, barely related to specific charges against him, and when
he addressed them he brushed them aside with a few curt sentences.
Man
caught in attempt to pass explosive into airport
LOS
ANGELES (AP) — An inactive Army National Guardsman was arrested
early Monday after trying to pass a nonfunctioning military explosive
through security at Los Angeles International Airport, police said.
A
screener became concerned after noticing the device, which resembled
an M-80 firecracker, said Los Angeles police Sgt. Greg Glodery.
A
Federal Aviation Administration official said the device was found
in the man’s carryon luggage.
The
man, whose name was not immediately released, was arrested at about
6:10 a.m. for investigation of possessing an explosive device. A
bomb squad later determined the device was inert, police said.
No
evacuations were ordered at Terminal 6, where the item was discovered,
Glodery said. The terminal serves Continental Airlines and portions
of United Airlines fleet.
Nepali
prime minister requests state of emergency
KATMANDU,
Nepal (AP) — Lawmakers knocked down a podium, scuffled with
guards and shouted for the government to resign Monday, blaming
it for failing to prevent a rebel attack that killed 137 people
in the deadliest assault in Nepal’s 6-year war.
Prime
Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba asked Parliament to extend a state of
emergency, saying it was needed to continue fighting the rebels,
who want to topple the Himalayan kingdom’s constitutional monarchy
and create a communist government.
Lawmakers
from the remote Achham district in northwestern Nepal where Sunday’s
attacks took place said the government had received warnings of
the pending assault and did not act.
The
guerrillas, who draw their inspiration from Chinese revolutionary
leader Mao Tse-tung, attacked government offices and a small airport
in Achham, killing 77 policemen, 55 soldiers, an intelligence officer
and four civilians.
Deuba
on Monday raised the death toll to 137 from 129, adding a policeman
and seven soldiers to the casualty list.
The
emergency measures restrict freedom of the press, assembly, expression
and movement and allow suspects to be detained for three weeks without
charge.
Man
detained for planning attack on U.S. embassy
VIENNA,
Austria (AP) — Police have detained a man of Arab origin suspected
of planning an attack against the U.S. Embassy in Vienna, an Interior
Ministry spokesman said Monday.
The
man, whose identity was not revealed, was taken into police custody
Feb. 10, said the spokesman, Rudolf Gollia. The suspect remained
in custody on Monday, as police continued their investigation, Gollia
said.
The
U.S. Embassy was closed last Wednesday in response to a suspected
threat, an embassy employee familiar with security measures said
while speaking on condition of anonymity.
Officials
from the embassy were unavailable for comment Monday because of
the holiday.
Police
in Austria say they placed the man in investigative custody after
receiving evidence that he might have been linked to a purported
attack, but declined to say what type of information they received.
Since
the Feb. 10 arrest, however, police have uncovered no evidence that
the suspect was involved in any embassy plot.
The
threat marks the second scare in recent months involving a U.S.
installation in Austria.
Afghanistan
unveils new redesigned flag Monday
KANDAHAR,
Afghanistan (AP) — Singing, dancing and sobbing into each other’s
arms, warlord and royalist partners in today’s reshaped Afghanistan
raised their country’s new flag Monday over the southern city
that saw the Taliban’s first and last stands.
On
a sunny, music- and color-filled morning, sights of the celebration
in Kandahar gelled as a snapshot of Afghanistan’s hopes at
this turning point — whether disappointed or fulfilled in the
future.
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