Beyond the farm

For the week preceding this Saturday, October 7th, 1995, here's what happened Beyond the Farm:

Hurricane Opal, representing the first time the hurricane season had been active enough to reach the letter "O" since storms began to be named in 1950, went ashore in the Florida panhandle Oct 4th. Officials advised residents to remain in their homes after traffic on outbound interstates slowed below the rate of advance of the storm. With 144 mph winds, the storm killed at least eighteen people and destroyed $1.8 billion worth of property in four states before losing strength. By Oct 6th, many residents were begging to return to their homes, but authorities could still not yet allow it in several areas.

In the Balkans:

• Bosnian Prime Minister Harris Silajdzic met Russian Foreign Minister Kozyrev in Moscow Oct 2nd and achieved an agreement to reopen a petroleum pipeline from Russia to Sarajevo.

• Croatian Serbs in the Slavonia region of Croatia announced Oct 3rd that they were no longer interested in independence and would join a federal government system in Croatia.

• A cease-fire agreement was reached in Bosnia Oct 5th. The agreement, due to take effect Oct 10th, would be a prelude to peace talks to begin in the United States Oct 30th.

• The UN decided Oct 5th to reduce its troop strength in Bosnia by 9,000 to 21,000.

• Bosnian President Alijah Izetbegovic announced Oct 7th that the cease-fire would probably not go into effect on schedule since the pre-condition of the Serbs restoring utility service to Sarajevo probably could not be met.

They're Talking About It:

In Shorts:

• General Sani Abacha in Nigeria announced Oct 1st that he will remain in power in that country until democratic elections are held in 1998. Most political prisoners were released after Abacha's speech, but the nation's last democratically-elected President, Moshood Abiola, remains in jail and will be prosecuted for treason.

• One hundred Jewish settlers protested the PLO-Israeli peace agreement, blocking the Jerico Bridge, Oct 1st.

• Socialists regained control of Portugal in elections Oct 1st, winning just seven parliamentary seats short of a majority.

• A 6.0 earthquake in Turkey killed 63 Oct 1st.

• Fighting intensified in Liberia Oct 2nd between the ULIMA faction, led by General Kroma, and the NPLF faction, led by Charles Taylor.

• The sixteen-nation South Pacific Forum voted Oct 2nd to drop diplomatic relations with France over their nuclear testing policy; France conducted its second test at Fangataufa Atoll the same day.

• A 5.7 earthquake hit Colombia near Bogota Oct 2nd. Troop movements were reported the next day, but it was unclear if they were really for relief efforts or to maintain stability in light of corruption charges against the government.

• Peace talks between the Mexican government and the Chiapas rebels finally restarted Oct 2nd as Subcommander Marcos of the rebels promised to turn his organization into a political one.

• President Clinton ordered a compensation plan developed for victims of radiation testing during the Cold War Oct 3rd.

• A coup attempt in Sierra Leone failed Oct 3rd.

• 135 Tamil Tiger rebels died in the most violent fighting to date in Sri Lanka Oct 3rd.

• Explosions were reported on the Comoros Islands Oct 3rd as French forces intervened on the behalf of the overthrown government. Mercenary Bob Denard surrendered Oct 4th and was imprisoned in France Oct 7th, while Prime Minister Mohamed Caabi el Yachroutou presided over a new government Oct 6th.

• The Pope arrived in New York Oct 4th and spoke in front of 125,000 to 250,000 (reports vary) in Central Park Oct 7th.

• The Israeli Knesset passed the recent peace agreement with the PLO by a slim 61-59 margin Oct 4th.

• The Clinton administration announced Oct 5th that it would allow news organizations to open bureaus in Cuba, then announced Oct 6th that travel restrictions on Cubans, including Fidel Castro, would be relaxed. The moves prompted heavy criticism from Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-KS) who wants to take a tough line on Cuba.

• Also in a speech for domestic consumption Oct 6th, President Clinton made it clear that he believes the US must contribute troops to NATO peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia as a key member of that alliance.

• A bomb went off in a trash can in Paris Oct 6th, injuring 13. On Oct 7th, the Algerian group GIA claimed responsibility for the recent spate of bombings in France.

• Irish poet Seamus Heaney won the Nobel Prize for Literature Oct 6th.

• NATO Secretary General Willy Claes came under fire Oct 7th for possible corruption while a member of the Belgian government; he may have to resign.

• The space shuttle Columbia again had troubles and could not be launched Oct 7th; it was the fourth aborted takeoff on the present mission.

• An earthquake in Sumatra, Indonesia registering 7.0 on the Richter scale killed 100 Oct 7th.

Finally:

And that's what happened Beyond the Farm.

Beyond the Farm is designed to provide a reasonably short summary of a week's events for people who would otherwise have no chance to keep up with current events. It may be distributed/forwarded/posted anywhere. Comments, criticisms, and requests for e-mail subscription additions or deletions should be e-mailed to "lance.gleich@leland.stanford.edu." "http://www.stanford.edu/~lglitch/btf/btf.html" on the World Wide Web for back issues. Congratulations on keeping up with the world around you!