Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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TChe (Bamccock - Russia mourns for submarine's dead by Jim Heintze Associated Press MOSCOW — As the nation grieved for 118 sailors killed in a submarine dis aster, Russia’s defense minister and navy chief submitted letters of resigna tion, which were promptly rejected on Wednesday by President Vladimir Putin. Putin said no changes would be made until there is “a full understanding of what happened and whether there are guilty parties.” In an interview on Russia’s RTR television, he said seeking scapegoats “is the most mistaken response.” Putin and the government have come under heavy criticism for their slow, con tradictory reaction to the Aug. 12 disas ter and the botched rescue operation, and many observers expected Putin to re spond by firing top brass. His comments | came after he sat through a harrowing tliree-hour meeting with the sailors’ fam ilies late Tuesday night at the submarine’s home base of Vidyayevo. In memory of the dead Wednesday, Russians lowered flags to half-staff and lit candles in churches as the vast nation marked an official day of mourning. The loss of the Kursk, which suffered a devastating explosion during naval ex ercises in the Barents Sea, has left many Russians in shock, wondering if their cri sis-ridden nation will ever return to sta bility. Fofmer submariners wept in the streets, and many Orthodox churches held all-night vigils. Putin asked television stations to re frain from running entertainment shows, but regular programming continued dur ing the morning, including soap operas. Some stations honored the dead by show ing the names of the crew with pictures of the Kursk. At Vidyayevo, the Kursk’s base, a mourning ceremony was canceled at the request of sailors’ relatives, many of whom want such a rite delayed until the bod ies are brought up from the wreck. “Until the bodies of our husbands are retrieved, until we see them with our own eyes, we will not mourn,” said Oksana Dudko, whose husband Sergei was the ship’s deputy commander. The federal government has promised to give each of the dead crewmen’s fam ilies compensation equivalent to 10 years of officer’s pay. Deputy Prime Minister Valentina Matvienko said Wfednesday that that sunt totaled $850,000 — an average of about $7,000 total per sailor. The re gional governments of St. Petersburg and Kimono each promised an additional $ 1,100 per family, according to news re ports. WTiile quite generous by Russian stan dards, the figures highlight the low pay that plagues the Russian military. Ser vicemen often take second jobs and are barely able to feed their families. Putin had been expected to attend the canceled ceremony. Instead, he returned to Moscow early Wednesday after a long and emotional meeting with sailors’ rel atives, who complained about the botched Russian rescue operation and the gener ally dismal conditions in the Russian navy. “The grief is immeasurable, there are not enough words of comfort. My heart hurts, but yours hurt even more,” Putin told them, the Interfax news agency re ported. Russians assailed Putin for taking so long after the Aug. 12 accident to show concern for the crew, and criticized the government for initially resisting inter national help. Weary navy officials met Putin when he arrived in Murmansk. He then visit ed crumbling dormitories nearby where the relatives are quartered. Russian television showed him walking past one building’s peeling paint and banged-up mailboxes, as the wife of the Kursk’s com mander pulled her parka around her against the northern chill. The families heard almost no official information about the rescue operation, relying on television for even the most basic news — including the announce ment by Norwegian divers Monday that their sons and husbands were dead. The world has joined in the grieving. British sailors who had come to help in the operation but were never needed held a brief memorial service for the crew, throwing a small bouquet of flowers in to the sea as they left the site of the tragedy. The Russian navy was negotiating with the Norwegians for help lifting the sub marine — which weighs about 25,000 tons in its flooded state — and retrieving the bodies. Such an operation could take months and be extremely expensive. There is also concern about the ship’s two nuclear reactors, though the Nor wegians recorded normal radiation lev els around the Kursk and double-checked its readings with Nordic and Russian sen sors. It remained unclear what caused the explosion that crumpled the ship. Gov ernment and military officials, stung by public anger, suggested Cold War ene mies were to blame. The Russian high command says the most likely reason was a collision with a Western submarine, probably U.S. or British, that survived and escaped. The U.S. and British navies reject the accu sations, and no concrete evidence has been provided. Norwegian officials said there was no sign of a collision. A likely scenario was an internal malfunction and explosion in the Kursk’s torpedo compartment. Putin was reluctant to assign imme diate blame. “Wfe could only punish someone from the fleet command if guilt is specifical ly proven,” he told the relatives, according to Interfax. First Iron Age temple found in Scandinavia , by Anne Randolph Associated Press STOCKHOLM — Archaeologists have discovered an Iron Age temple at an ancient burial site outside the Swedish capital, saying it is the first of its kind found in Scandinavia. The burial ground, with more than 200 graves, was unearthed in the early 1980s at Aaby, 25 miles south of Stock holm, when construction work was planned ir. the region. But the temple and 30 more graves were found only last week, after two months of renewed excavations prompt ed by plans to build apartments and a parking lot in the area. The temple, dating from between 200 B.C. and A.D. 200, is shaped like a pentagon, measuring 46 feet across, said Roger Blidmo of the private excavation company Arkeologikonsult, whose team found the remains. They include a door way covered with flat stones and marks of corner holes that once supported , pillars. The shape and size of the build ing indicate it was a place of worship or sacrificial offering, Blidmo said, a theo ry supported by the fact that no graves were found inside the construction or in an area directly outside the doorway. “I don’t think people would have built such a firm construction over a sin gle grave, even for a chief, ” Blidmo said. Iron Age burial buildings have been found in Denmark, but none resembles the pentagon near Stockholm, he said. Ulla Lund from Copenhagen Uni versity in Denmark, who did not partic ipate in the excavation, said the shape of the construction implies it was a temple or religious building. “It sounds totally unique,” she said. “There are no temples or reli- i gious constructions from this period any where in Scandinavia.” Blidmo wants the temple recon structed on-site. “We have to preserve it, or it will be washed away by rain,” he said. However, that would mean scrap ping the other construction plans. Government recalls children's swings, rockers, bassinets Associated Press WASHINGTON — The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall Wednesday of nearly 3 mil lion swings, walkers and bassinets be cause of choking and falling hazards. Fisher-Price is voluntarily recall ing about 2.5 million lift ’n Lock Swings because children can fall out of them despite a safety restraint. More than 100 children have fallen out of the swings, and eight have suffered serious injuries such as a fractured skull, leg, arm and collarbone. - The swings were made for 9-month to 3-year-olds and have sold since Jan uary 1991 for about $19. They have red or purple plastic seats, yellow T-shaped restraints and blue ropes. They have model numbers 2092, 75960, 75970, 75973 or 75980 molded into the back of their seats. Consumers can receive a free re pair kit by calling 800-343-1502, Fisher-Price also is recalling 246,000 Get Up & Go Walkers after receiving numerous reports of children who were injured by the products. The three-sided push toys look like cars and were de signed for toddlers to support them selves as they leant to stand or walk. But the walkers can tip over when chil dren lean on them, and toddlers also can be injured when they fall on the toys’ hard plastic windshield wipers. The company received 330 reports of children falling wliile using the wall ers, and 132 were bruised or cut. The white-and-blue walkers have a rotating mirror and a steering wheel , - with yellow horn. They have sold since July 1997 for about $30. Consumers may call Fisher-Price at the same num ber for a free repair kit that will elim inate the front bar and windshield wiper. Kids Line Inc. is recalling about 46,000 Le Cradle bassinets because in fants can become trapped in an open ing between the bassinet’s side and mat tress platform. A 3-year-old Florida boy suffocated after being trapped in the area. The oval bassinets have white met al bases with wheels and removal canopies. A sticker on the mattress plat form gives instructions for use of the bassinet and says, “Le Cradle, Kids Line, Los Angeles, California.” The products were sold from January 1989 through May 2000 for $100 to $200. Consumers should stop using the prod ucts and contact Kids Line at 866-532 7235 for a free in-home repair kit. Read it... Live it... Be it... JgjJM) *J&) Student Media '^tM.121 "My Part-time Job • at UPS is Really Working Out." “UPS is paying me almost $10,000 a year to get in the best shape of my life. See, I work part time loading and unloading packages, about three to five hours a day. After sitting in class all day, it feels good to get some exercise. 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