Copyright 2000 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.
Chicago
Sun-Times
August 31, 2000, THURSDAY, Final
Markets Edition
SECTION: NEWS; NEWS; Pg. 3
LENGTH: 604 words
BODY:
Berenson moved to different prison
Lori Berenson, the American woman
jailed for treason in Peru, is being moved to a prison in the Peruvian capital,
local television reported today. Television images broadcast by Peruvian channel
Cable Television News showed a police motorcade escorting a van carrying
Berenson to an airport in the southern city of Arequipa, 475 miles southeast of
Lima, where she has been serving a life sentence. The move comes three days
after Peru's top military court announced it had overturned the sentence imposed
on Berenson, paving the way for a new trial in civilian courts.
Russian
tower repair may take a year
Russia's top construction official
predicted today that it will take at least a year to repair the landmark
television tower that was severely damaged in a 26-hour fire Sunday. The
government has not yet decided how much it will spend on renovating the
Ostankino tower, but the Cabinet today earmarked an initial allotment of $
600,000, Russian media reported.
American hostage said to be seriously
ill
An American held by Muslim rebels in a southern Philippine jungle is
seriously ill, U.S. officials said today. They appealed for his release on
humanitarian grounds. U.S. government officials say Jeffrey Schilling has
serious medical problems and needs regular prescription medicine. Abu Sayyaf
guerrillas announced Tuesday that they had abducted Schilling, of Oakland,
Calif. They threatened to behead him if the United States rejects their demands,
including the release of several Arab terrorists in American jails.
Albright assails Myanmar's government
Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright urged Myanmar's military government today to allow opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi to travel outside the capital on a political organizing
trip. "I am appalled at the actions of the Burmese regime in denying Suu Kyi the
freedom to travel in her own country," Albright said. Suu Kyi, 55, the winner of
the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her pro-democracy campaign in
Myanmar -- formerly known as Burma -- was stopped along with
14 members of her party Aug. 24 as they attempted to travel outside the capital,
Yangon.
Geraldo wants to run for N.Y. mayor
Geraldo Rivera wants
to run for mayor of New York City, and he doesn't mind if that makes people
laugh. "I expect the first reaction to be, 'Geraldo as mayor, ha ha,' " Rivera
told The New York Times. But the television journalist, who anchors a talk show
on CNBC, says he is serious about an independent campaign for mayor. "I think
the city needs someone from the outside," Rivera, 57, said today on NBC's
"Today." The election will be held in November 2001.
Clinton vetoes
federal estate tax repeal
President Clinton vetoed a
Republican bill Thursday that would repeal the federal estate tax, calling it an
example of giving in to the temptation to spend too much of the projected
federal budget surplus. "I believe that prosperity imposes its own difficult
choices, because there are so many temptations to do things that seem easy that
will have adverse consequences," Clinton said.
Postal workers get stamp
of approval
Postal workers have gotten a "bad rap" from widespread
reports of violence at post offices, says a new report from an independent
commission that says the agency actually is one of the safest places to work in
this country. "Going postal is a myth, a bad rap, nonsense," commission chairman
Joseph Califano said today. "Postal workers are no more likely to physically
assault, sexually harass or verbally abuse their co-workers than employees in
the national work force."
LOAD-DATE: August 31, 2000
