EVENTS
N. KOREA REJECTS CALL TO OPEN A-PLANTS: North Korea rejected yesterday a resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency urging it to open all its nuclear facilities to international inspections. The IAEA, the UN's nuclear watchdog, Friday called on North Korea to allow it access to all information and relevant locations. The West suspects North Korea may have diverted enough material from its reactor at Yongbyon to produce one or more nuclear devices. But this can only be established by a full inspection of the facility. Pyongyang denies having nuclear arms aspirations. Meanwhile, in Geneva, North Korean and US negotiators sought yesterday to put their talks back on track toward easing nuclear tensions in the Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang complained about US naval maneuvers off the Korean coast. The talks resumed Friday after a six-week break. Sinn Fein leader in US
Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has begun a two-week US tour aimed at building American support for a peace settlement in Northern Ireland palatable to Irish republicans. Mr. Adams said Sinn Fein, the Irish Republican Army's political organization, would consider a coalition government with the British, who currently rule Northern Ireland as a province. Sen. Edward Kennedy joined Adams at a news conference Saturday in Boston.
US-Japan trade talks
Top US and Japanese negotiators, facing a deadline for possible trade sanctions, reported no breakthrough after a fourth day of talks Saturday. But US Trade Representative Mickey Kantor and Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono tentatively agreed to meet again on Wednesday in New York and ordered aides to keep the talks going at a lower level until then.
UN Rwanda disagreement
Two United Nations agencies were at loggerheads yesterday over a report by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees that Tutsi soldiers of the new Rwandan government were systematically killing Hutus. The UN Rwanda Emergency Office, which is coordinating UN operations in the central African country, said the report was based on rumors.
Philippine mudflows
Philippine army helicopters yesterday plucked scores of people from treetops and the roofs of their houses as mudflows from Mt. Pinatubo buried more than 1,000 houses and killed at least 23 people. President Fidel Ramos flew over devastated areas in Pampanga Province and ordered stepped-up relief operations after seeing rivers of steaming mud flowing down the volcano 60 miles north of the capital Manila.
Elusive oil slick
The US Coast Guard mounted an air and sea search Saturday but could not find an elusive oil slick reported near a major wildlife refuge along the Washington coast. The heavy fuel oil was found at three locations bounding an area about 2 miles by 3 miles, but it was later lost in the fog.
