Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.inter From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: inter Wed, Mar 11 1992 Date: Wed, 11 Mar 92 05:46:04 EST Message-ID: 03-11 0000 DECISIONLINE: International News USA TODAY Update March 11, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network USA BACKS NATO TROOPS: The United States gave its blessings Tuesday to a proposal that would send NATO troops to regional conflicts in former Soviet republics, such as the one in Nagorno-Karabakh. The proposal, which would use NATO troops as peacekeepers, was floated in part to pressure Azerbaijan and Armenia to negotiate a settlement to their violent dispute. AZERBAIJANIS SHELL CAPITAL: Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, came under heavy shelling Tuesday, and a British diplomat traveling to the disputed enclave said he feared stances were hardening on both sides. More than 100 rockets were fired on Stepanakert from the Azerbaijani-populated city of Shusha, according to Russian news agencies, which reported casualties and damage. IRAQ URGES `FAIRNESS': Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said Tuesday Iraq's partial compliance with U.N. weapons inspectors should earn eased trade sanctions. Wednesday he confronts a frustrated Security Council. Aziz called for a "fair, professional" evaluation of Iraqi compliance. KUWAITI MEN URGED TO TAKE WIVES: Prompted by a surplus of unmarried women, a local charity is urging married men to take the plunge again. Among benefits for those who accept marriage: Loans of $2,800, free furniture, a free wedding hall, and a gift when the couple's firstborn arrives. Muslim law allows men to have up to four wives. U.N. IN YUGOSLAVIA: U.N. commander Satish Nambiar Tuesday pushed on with plans to deploy 14,000 peacekeepers in the newly independent state of Croatia despite a fresh spate of killings. Nambiar visited Zagreb while renewed fighting dogged his peace mission. Croatian radio said a Croatian soldier was killed and two others were wounded in attacks by the Serbian forces on the village of Posedarje. DE KLERK IS POSSIBLE TARGET: South African President F.W. de Klerk's high-profile campaigning against apartheid could make him a target for right-wing assassins, political analysts said Tuesday. Fears for de Klerk's safety were raised after a tear-gas attack on him in a Bloemfontein university canteen Monday night, apparently by rightists. NORIEGA DOESN'T TESTIFY: Manuel Noriega's defense rested Tuesday without calling him to testify at his federal drug racketeering trial in Miami. The ousted Panamanian dictator said his decision doesn't mean he has anything to hide. "I have sufficient recollection" to answer questions, he said. But he complained his testimony would be restricted "not to include political matters, issues of war and the invasion." SHIP MAKES IT TO IRAQ: A North Korean cargo ship suspected of carrying Scud missiles slipped unchallenged through a U.S. Navy net and into an Iranian port near the mouth of the Persian Gulf, the Pentagon said Tuesday. Pentagon spokesman Pete Williams said, "I can't tell you why" the ship was "lost" by the 22-ship U.S. task force that enforces a U.N. embargo against the shipment of arms to Iraq. CUBA BUILDING TUNNELS: Cuba's communist authorities are digging a network of tunnels beneath Havana and in other parts of the island to store arms and ammunition and to serve as bomb shelters in case of attack, news reports said Tuesday. Work brigades have spent weeks boring the so-called "People's Tunnels" in parts of the Cuban capital. BRITAIN WANTS TO SAVE ELEPHANTS: Britain pledged $1 million for elephant conservation in Africa. Environment Minister Tony Baldry announced the pledge at a conference in Kyoto, Japan, where five African countries withdrew plans to reopen the ivory trade. Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa withdrew their proposals for a limited resumption of trade in elephant products. DOW JONES OPENS ON UPSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Wednesday at 3230.99 after closing up 15.87 points Tuesday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 225.02, up 0.87. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 408.54, up 1.33. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 623.46, up 7.64. DOLLAR OPENS MOSTLY UP: The dollar opens mixed on Wednesday. It opens at 0.5830 British pounds, up from 0.5807; 5.6470 French francs, down from 5.6665; 1.6725 German marks, up from 1.6635; and 132.92 Japanese yen, up from 131.90. (As of 3 p.m. Tuesday. Source: First American Bank of New York.) International News Editor: Michele Coleman. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM