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*'**» 12 Palestenians killed in Israel by Karin Laub Associated Press JERUSALEM — Israeli troops battling several gunmen and thousands of rock-throwing Palestini ans opened fire Saturday, killing 12 Palestinians in the bloodiest clashes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip since 1996. More than 500 Palestinians were injured, the Palestinian health minister said. Among those killed was a 12-year-old boy who was caught in the cross fire. Cowering behind his father, he screamed in panic as shots hit a wall just inches above their heads. Seconds later, the boy was fatally shot in the abdomen. ' The trigger for the violence was a visit by Is rael’s hard-line opposition leader, Ariel Sharon, last week to a bitterly contested Jerusalem shrine sa cred to Muslims and Jews. Sharon said he toured the compound to show Israel was in control there. On Friday, six Palestinians were killed and close to 200 wounded in clashes in the walled compound. “The battle over Jerusalem has begun,” said Bassem Naim, a Palestinian activist, as thousands of protesters chanting the Muslim battle cry “ Al lahu Akbar,” or “God is Great,” marched toward an Israeli army position. Further dimming prospects for an Israeli:Pales tinian peace treaty, the two sides traded angry ac cusations Saturday. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak spoke to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat by phone, late Sat urday. “The prime minister warned Arafat that he (Barak) will not let violence be a tool in the nego tiations,” Barak’s office said in a statement. Israel’s army chief, Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz, said the Palestinian Authority did nothing to stop the violence, and that Palestinian police officers in some cases even participated in the clashes. Palestinian peace negotiator Nabil Shaath called the deadly confrontations at the Jerusalem shrine a “premeditated massacre” by Israeli security forces, aimed at proving that Israel is sovereign there. From the town of Jenin in the northern edge of the West Bank to Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives and the dusty refugee camp of Khan Yunis at the end of the Gaza Strip, similar scenes were replayed over and over Saturday. Palestinian youths hurled rocks, some twirling slingshots for a longer aim. Others stuffed gasoline soaked rags into bottles and threw them at Israeli soldiers who fired rubber-coated steel pellets and live rounds from behind walls and jeeps. Streets were littered with rocks, garbage bins were overturned and plumes of black smoke from burning tires rose into the sky. In Hebron, rioters running out of rocks had them ferried to the scene in taxis. The Palestinian Authority, providing a list of names and ages, said 12 Palestinians were killed and four were brain dead as a result of army fire. The Palestinian health minister, Riad Zanoun, said 523 Palestinians were injured. The Israeli army said 11 soldiers were injured. Tax break extension given to U.S. businesses by Martin Crutsinger Associated Press WASHINGTON — A last -minute agreement Saturday with the European Union gives the United States until Nov. 1 to replace a $4 billion annual tax break for American companies that sell goods abroad, from giants Microsoft and Boe ing to small businesses. The Clinton administration was ne % gotiating against a Sunday deadline for bringing U.S. tax laws into compliance with an adverse ruling from the World Trade Oiganization. The dispute involves the biggest case the United States has lost before the Geneva-based arbiter of world trade rules. Congress now has until Nov. 1 to pass the legislation. The EU agreed not to im pose any economic penalties until a WTO panel determines whether the new tax system complies with WTO rules. A top Senate Republican, Finance Committee Chairman William Roth of Delaware, said he was hopeful Congress would approve the legislation “in very short order.” At issue is a U.S. tax program that grants $4.1 billion in annual tax breaks to 6,000 American companies which set up export subsidiaries in offshore tax f havens such as the Virgin Islands and Bar- I bados. The WTO in February ruled that it was an illegal export subsidy. “The United States and European Union today demonstrated a commit ment to avoid escalating trans-Atlantic trade tensions and managing this WTO trade dispute responsibly,” U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky said | in a statement. In a separate statement, Pascal Lamy, Europe’s top trade negotiator, said, “Our priority is to resolve disputes, not exac erbate them.” Lamy, however, repeated the EU po sition that the legislation, which has passed the House, still would violate interna tional trade laws. Abortion opponents want government to limit pill use by Pauline Jelinek. Associated Press WASHINGTON — Abortion opponents contended Sun day that the new abortion pill may-be unsafe and raised the possibility of government action to limit its use. Reform Party presidential candidate Patrick Buchanan called RU-486, the early-abortion method approved Thurs day by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States, “a human pesticide.” As president, “I would use all the power of my office, including appointments at the FDA, to prevent its being put on the market,” Buchanan said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Green Party candidate Ralph Nader, also on NBC, countered that use of the drug is “up to the woman, not the government.” “This is a pill that’s been shown to be safe in Europe for nOmerous years,” Nader said. “And it’s preferable to surgical procedure.” Sen. Tim Hutchinson, R-Ark„ said on ABC’s “This ’ftfeek” that there are “a lot of questions” surrounding the safety of the pill — and that the outcome of next month’s election will determine whether Congress has enough votes next year to put limits on its use. Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, also on ABC, said the drug had undeigone “tremendous review" by the FEA. “They can protest as much as they want," she said of abortion foes. “This is a safe, effective method.” * One lawmaker, Rep. Tom Cobum, R-Okla., said after the FDA’s decision that he would promote legislation call ing for severe limits on which doctors could administer mifepristone, the pill’s chemical name. The Christian Coalition’s Pat Robertson said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that the drug’s approval was a “politi cal ploy” by Democrats to comer Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush on the subject. Bush, whose father’s administration banned RU486 imports in 1989, opposes abortion. Vice President Gore supports the pill option. Robertson said the pill should be reviewed to deter mine if it’s a “danger to women.” The pill blocks action of a hormone essential for main taining pregnancy. It has been used by millions of Euro pean women since it was approved rearly a decade ago. Anti-abortion advocates have fought hard to keep the drug out of the United States since it first appeared in France. Truckers support Milosevic’s opposition ' by Katrina K r a t,o v a c Associated Press BELGRADE, Yugoslavia — Encouraged by cheering crowds, a convoy of 60 trucks blocked a key highway Sunday as opposition forces sought to 'gather support for a nationwide strike aimed at showing President Slobodan Milosevic he must re linquish power. The trucks — taking part in a “dress rehearsal” .for a series of full-scale blockades planned for Mon day — were greeted by jubilant supporters as they passed through the opposition stronghold Ca cak in central Yugoslavia. Some people tossed flow ers as the trucks headed to an important highway linking Belgrade with southern Yugoslavia. The truckers brandished banners and posters of \fojislav Kostunica, whom the opposition and Wfest em leaders insist trounced Milosevic in Sept. 24 V elections. Milosevic rejects the claims and says a run-off election is needed Oct. 8. Smaller, traffic-snarling blockades were held at main intersections in the capital Belgrade. Dri vers honked horns and pedestrians blew whistles and shook toy rattles—playing on a local expres sion for something broken beyond repair. “No way are we going to settle for a run-off and that is now the law for everyone in this coun try,” said Velimir Ilic, the mayor of Cacak, an in dustrial town of 80,000 people. Later Sunday, about 10,000 opposition supporters gathered at the main town square for a seventh consecutive night of an ti-Milosqvic rallies there. “Our victory is as pure as a diamond,” Ilic told the crowd. “Kostunica is the elected president and we must persist in our resistance.” He called for a total blockade of the town Monday. Opposition leader Milan Protic urged people to come out into the streets Monday, stay away from their jobs and keep their children away from school. Protic acknowledged that it would take time to build momentum among a public drained by years ■ of conflict and economic misery. Protic, the oppositi6n candidate for Belgrade mayor, said the protest leaders would try to esca late the tempo systematically “until Milosevic realizes that he is no longer president. In Washington, the National Security Council spokesman P.J. Crowley said the Milosevic oppo sition is “getting stronger.” “They are sending a strong message to Milo sevic: ‘Your time in office is over,’” he said. BuUhe cautious pace of the opposition’s cam paign raises questions about whether they will have the momentum to carry out their threats of bring ing the entire country to a complete standstill. Authorities in Yugoslavia’s main republic, Ser bia, warned students against joining the Monday strike, saying “events disrupting school activities” for political purposes “are illegal. ” Students in Nis and other cities walked out of class during protests last week. Workers have also walked out in vital sectors: the laigest coal mine, a key oil refinery, railway lines. The strikes raised the prospect of power and fuel shortages. The independent Beta news agency said about 1,000 workers in another coal mine in Kostolac joined the strikes Sunday. . The government urged miners Sunday to re turn to work because a prolonged stoppage could effect electricity supplies since the country relies heavily on coal-fired power plants. International pressure continued to build on Milosevic, who had rejected an offer of high-lev el mediation by close ally Russia. The president of neighboring Romania, Emil Constantinescu, urged Milosevic to concede defeat and congratulated Kostunica for his “historic vic tory.” Opposition leaders, using figures from their poll watchers, claim Kostunica won the election with 51.34 percent to 36.22 percent for Milosevic. But the Federal Electoral Commission, in a tally criticized by the United States and other countries, says Kostunica fell short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff. Even Russian President Vladimir Putin — one of Milosevic’s last major allies — appeared to move toward the Western view that the Yugoslav leader was finished. In Berlin,'the German government said Putin and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder spoke by tele phone late Saturday and agreed that “Kostunica’s election victory emphatically expresses the will of the Serbian people for a democratic change in Yu goslavia.” There was no comment from the Russians, and the foreign ministry Sunday repeated Moscow’s position that Yugoslavs themselves should “decide for themselves” the outcome of the election. Milosevic turned down an offer by Putin to send his foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, to Belgrade to meet with both sides. But two senior Russian diplomats — Vladimir Chizhov and Alexander Tolkach — arrived in Serbia late Saturday. The state Tanjug news agency reported Chizov visited Koso vo on Sunday and was to have official meetings in Belgrade the following day. ‘Our victory is as pure as a diamond. Kostunica is the elected presi dent and we must persist in our resistance.' Velimir llic Mayor of Cacak, Yugoslavia %Closing ceremonies of Olympics culminate with fireworks by Mort Rosenblum Associated Press SYDNEY, Australia — Sydneysiders watched their beloved bridge spit red fire, as it foamed gold into the harbor below. Then, in a final blaze . of luminous glory, the five Olympic rings explod ed to blackness. “Bring back the rings,” screamed Malena Cordera, a law clerk who watched in rapt amaze ment Sunday night with a more than a million oth ers. “I miss them already.” Across the water, real estate mogul Peter Kampfer beamed with pride when Juan Antonio Samaranch pronounced Sydney 2000 the “best games ever. ” This time, he knew, the venerable Olympics czar was not exaggerating. “I’m speechless,” said Kampfer, who is usual ly not. “In my wildest dreams I did not expect everything to go so well. People will go home, and they will remember us.” After seven years of preparation, Aussies had dazzled, charmed and — if medals are counted on a per capita basis — conquered a world that too of ten forgets about them. “G’day,” the introductory cliche, is widely re placed by the congratulatory: “Good on ya.” Tom and Louisa Shields, on a backpack hon eymoon from San Francisco, came away as com mitted Oz lovers. “We were really impressed with everything,” Tom said. “The people, the transport, the whole thing.” And the final flourish, an orgy of pyrotech nics that seemed to light up half the Southern Hemi sphere, elevated them to gush mode. “My God, you didn’t know where to look,” Louisa said. “Firework came from overhead, from the sides, from the tops of buildings.” She foigot to mention the streak of flame 1,000 feet up as an F-111 fighter bomber buzzejd the har bor bridge trailing ignited fuel. With every outsider’s accolade, Australians seemed to lose more of the condition known here as “cultural cringe,” a collective anxiety about what everyone else thinks about them. “Australians now realize how good they can be, and this will inspire us in other areas,” said Paul Vlagsma, a University of Sydney engineer. “As far as I’m concerned, the Olympics can go on forev er.” But the games ended Sunday night, and news paper headlines predicted psychologists would be overwhelmed with cases of post-rings letdown. Traffic, miraculously free-flowing during the Olympics because so many Sydneysiders left town, will go back to its habitual snarl. Bar talk will be deprived of the butt of so many jokes: the Sydney oiganizing committee. The games seemed to bring out the Aussies’ best. Praise was heaped upon 47,000 volunteers who shepherded visitors, hauled supplies, solved problems and, essentially, made the games happen. Wry, irreverent wit pervaded the Aussie-style Olympics, making believers of the most cynical. Each night at 11 p.m., Australia watched “The Dream,” a sort of adults-only “Sports Night” with two commentators, Roy and HG, who reported on the day’s action. Their furry stuffed animal, Fatso the Wombat, eclipsed the three official cuddly mascots. Fatso was auctioned off for $40,000. After being turned away from the U.S. team’s party venue, they gibed at Yankee unfriendliness. In references to past games, they say “toilet” for Atlanta. New slang for visiting the men’s room is “going to Atlanta.” Beneath the surface, there was bitterness and dispute. Ric Birch, who directed the smash-hit open ing ceremony and the closing^ announced he was moving to California with his American wife. News Briefs ■ Tropical storm gaining strength • MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Keith promised to become a hurricane Satur day as it gained strength and moved west toward Mexico, forecasters said. A hurricane watch — which may be stepped up to a warning as the storm pro gresses — remained in effect along the Yucatan peninsula’s eastern shore, as far south as Belize, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. At 5 a.m. EDT, Keith was centered about 165 miles south of Cozumel with top sustained winds of 70 mph. It was heading west-northwest at an in creased clip of 7 mph. The threshold for a tropical storm to become a hurricane is 74 mph. ** Keith was expected to maintain its path and pace through Saturday morn ing, then turn northwest, toward land, at nightfall. ■ NHTSA looks in to another Fire stone tire brand WASHINGTON (AP) —The Na tional Highway Traffic Safety Adminis tration has received more than 160 complaints about another Firestone brand of tires. They reportedly have been involved in accidents in which two people died and a dozen were in jured. “The majority of the complaints occurred at highway speeds and allege a blowout, tread separation or other major failure,” NHTSA said in its in vestigation report about the Steeltex R4S and A/T light truck tires. Those tires are original equipment on Ford F250 and F350 pickups, the Ford Ex cursion, General Motors’ Suburban and G Van, a commercial vehicle. Sim ilar reports led Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. to issue its recall of 6.5 million * Firestone ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT tires last month. ■ Friends stunned at gay student’s beating death WASHINGTON (AP) — People who knew Gallaudet University fresh man Eric Franklin Plunkett say he had no enemies. That’s why the beating death of Plunkett, 19, who was deaf, had cerebral palsy and was a leader of a gay campus group, is that much harder to accept. “The biggest question here now is, ‘Why?’” Chester Vimig, Plun kett’s mentor and a math teacher at the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf, told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Plunkett, of Burnsville, Minn., was found in his dormitory room Thursday night, according to police Cmdr. Jen nifer Greene. ■ Armstrong cele brates despite missing gold goal SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — Lance Armstrong won bronze, not gold. He’ll celebrate anyway. Two days before he marks the fourth anniversary of his cancer diagnosis with his cus tomary party, Armstrong finished third in the 33-mile Olympic time trial Sat urday. The two-time Tour de France champion lost to Viacheslav Ekintov of Russia, who races with Armstrong on the U.S. Postal Service trade team. Ekimov won the gold with a time of 57 minutes, 40 seconds. ■ Peter Gennaro, choreographer of ‘Annie,’ dies at 80 NEW YORK (AP) — Peter Gen naro, whose choreography for the 1977 musical “Annie” won him a Tony award and whose dance se quences and dancing entertained mil lions on Perry Como’s “Kraft Music Hall” in the 1960s, has died at age 80. As a performer, Gennaro captivated the critics in shows like “Pajama Game” in 1954 and “Bells Are Ring ing,” with Judy Holliday, in 1956. As a choreographer he left his mark on mu sicals from “West Side Story” (1957),