EVENTS
US, RUSSIA, EUROPEANS MEET ON BOSNIA After studying computer-generated maps for the division of Bosnia into ethnic sectors, envoys from Russia, Europe, and the United States attempted May 24 to revive the Bosnian peace talks. The so-called ``contact group'' of representatives from Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States were to meet in Geneva with mediators Lord Owen and Thorvald Stoltenberg, officials said. They were expected to cross the border into France to hold talks with representatives of the Bosnian government, Bosnian Serbs, and Croats at Talloires, near Annecy. In Paris, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe announced that France would host the meeting in the resort on Lake Annecy to see whether the warring sides are interested in a peace accord. Rwanda battles go on
Small-arms fire crackled around the hotel in Kigali, where a UN envoy was expected May 24 for talks on pacifying Rwanda, but UN officials were optimistic the visit would go ahead. Security concerns forced special-envoy Iqbal Riza to abort a trip by road to the capital the day before. He met rebel leaders in their stronghold in northern Rwanda but then returned to Uganda when rival factions failed to guarantee his safety on the dangerous land route to Kigali.French Open combat Crisis talks in Moscow
Crimean Deputy Prime Minister Yevgeny Saburov joined crisis talks on May 24 between Russian and Ukrainian prime ministers, Interfax news agency said. Prime Ministers Viktor Chernomyrdin and Yefim Zvyagilsky were meeting in a second day of talks. Both sides agreed on May 23 to invite Mr. Saburov along. Little progress has been made in easing tensions between Russia and Ukraine. A key element at issue is division of the Black Sea Fleet. Tobacco industry sued
Mississippi filed a lawsuit May 23 asking tobacco companies to reimburse the state for millions of tax dollars spent on tobacco-related health care. State officials call the lawsuit the first of its kind. It asks that 13 tobacco companies, six tobacco wholesalers, and several trade associations and public relations consultants be ordered to reimburse the state for money spent treating smoking-related illnesses. Yemen missile attack
North Yemen said May 24 its forces will retaliate for a missile attack on the capital in which an official said 13 people were killed. Southern Yemen, which has seceded from its union with the north amid civil war, denied its forces fired on Sana. Aden radio claimed the northern leadership ``fabricated the explosion'' to cover for plunging Yemen into war. The statement implied northern forces fired on their own capital. Arafat makes legal move
PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat took a first step toward asserting legal authority over the West Bank town of Jericho and the Gaza Strip with an order canceling laws enforced by Israel during 27 years of occupation. An announcement by Arafat published in two Jerusalem-based Palestinian newspapers instructed civilian and religious courts in Gaza and Jericho to operate under the laws that existed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip before Israel seized the territories during the 1967 Middle East war. The measure took effect May 20.
