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TOie (Bamecock Millennium Summit ends with promises on war, education by Nicole Winfield Associated Press * UNITED NATIONS — With a bang of a gavel and a round of applause, more than 150 world leaders wrapped up their Millennium Summit with promises to send every child to school and deliver hundreds of millions of people from des titution by the year 2015. The historic summit to launch the United Nations in the third millennium ended at 8:01 p.m. Friday with signifi cantly less fanfare than it began, as many of the presidents and prime ministers had already headed home to rest after three days of intensive speech-making and diplo matic shoulder-rubbing. But the anticlimax was almost ap propriate as the summit closed with a stem warning from Secretary-General Kofi Annan that the promises the lead ers made in an eight-page Millennium Declaration not remain words on paper. “You have sketched out clear direc tions for adapting this oiganization to its role in the new century,” Annan said. “But ultimately you are yourselves the United Nations. “It lies in your power, ajjd therefore it is your responsibility to reach the goals that you have defined.” In the declaration, the world lead ers made a commitment to a new agen da for the 21st century — with a lofty goal of promoting democracy, strength ening human rights, ending wars and ensuring that all 6 billion inhabitants of planet Birth share in its wealth and pros perity. One goal though — peace — elud ed Israel and the Palestinians this week. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak had a brief encounter Friday with Pales tinian leader Yasser Arafat, uiging him to reach a peace agreement before time runs out. Arafat was unresponsive, Barak said. “No good,” the Israeli leader told The Associated Press. But the United Nations itself sought to make peace with irate New Yorkers, who endured three days of traffic jams and street closings to accommodate the laigest ever gathering of world leaders — and the accompanying protests they brought. “Thank You NY,” will be spoiled out using office lights on both sides of the gkiss-encascd U.N. headquarters building on Sunday and Monday evenings “for till that New Yorkers have pul up with this week,” U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said Friday. “The secrettuy-general is aware that there was a great deal of disruption in the lives of ordinary citizens, but he hopes that they are proud of this reaffirmation that their city, and ours, is truly the cap ital of the world,” he said. “He would like to thank the people of New York for their courtesy, tinder standing and support,” Eckhard said. In the summit declaration, the lead ers promise major changes and set tough targets — to cut in half the pro portion of people living on less than S1 a day. and die number of people who do not have safe drinking water, by the year' 2015. By that date, they also pledged that boys ;uid girls everywhere will be able to complete primary school, and that the_ spread of HIV/AIDS and the scourge of malaria and other major diseases should be halted mid reversed. The declaration commits world lead ers to improve the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020, and to close the so-called digital divide by work ing to make the fruits of globalization available to the poor as well as the rich. There were some parts of the decla ration that did not please the United Suites, though they were included in the final document. Among them was a provision calling upon the world's wealthy coin)' tries to cancel all the official debts of the poorest countries and to adopt policies of duty-free iuul quota-free access for ex ports from the least developed countries. The United Suites also expressed reser vations about several other aspects, in cluding a call to convene an internation al conference “to identify ways of eliminating nuclear dangers” and to re duce greenhouse g.is emissions. Annan praised the leaders for com mitting themselves to such concrete pledges. “I am struck by the remarkable con vergence of view s on the challenge that faces us." Annan said. "And by the ur gency of your call to action." 'Former Guatemalan army officials might stand trial in activist’s killing by Will Weissert Associated Press GUATEMALA CITY — Ten years ago Monday the butchered body of human rights leader My ma Mack was found on a down town sidewalk, serving as a horrific reminder that no one here was safe from the wrath of Guatemala’s military. Now, after a decade of delays and last-ditch appeals, Guatemala’s highest court has apparently opened*the door for three ex-Guatemalan army officials to go to trial for ordering Mack’s killing. But the case, which has become a symbol of everything considered wrong with this country’s legal system, has been down this raid before without ever seeing the inside of a court room. m “We could be entering the final stages. Wfe could be on the edge of justice,” said Helen Mack, a prominent Guatemala City lawyer who founded a human rights group in the name of her slain sister. “But we could just as easily have a long way to go.” Myma Mack was a Guatemalan who worked with a group that had accused the army of human rights violations. She was stabbed 27 limes by two attackers in broad daylight out side her downtown Guatemala City office on Sept. 11,1990. Police insisted the attack was a common robbery. But af ter an international outcry, the government extradited Noel de Jesus Beteta Alvarez from California to stand trial. A former member of the Guatemalan presidential guard — notorious for doing the military’s dirty work—Alvarez was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the killing. During his trial, prosecutors said Mack’s killing was a cal culated army scare tactic directed at human rights groups. Still, the government and military leaders maintained that Mack’s murder was only a robbery. Rights groups felt vindicated in 1996 when retired Gen. Juan Valencia Osorio and fonner colonels Juan Guillermo Oli va and Edgar Augusto Godoy were arrested for their suspect ed roles in Mack’s death. But an army of military lawyers succeeded in getting their clients released front prison and placed under a relaxed form of house arrest, which has required them to check in with a judge once a week while awaiting a possible trial. After three years of legal wrangling, declassified U.S. State Department documents suggested that Mack’s death was po litically motivated and indicated that an order to have her si lenced came from the Guatemalan military’s upper echelon. Based on that information, in February of last year a judge ordered the military trio to stand trial for directing Mack’s killing. But die impending trial was postponed when defense lawyers demanded then clients be tried by a military tribunal. On Friday, Judge Otto Marroquin rejected the appeals and gave a lower criminal court a month to set a new trial date for the Mack case. Defense lawyers vowed to mount more ap peals. “This recent ruling is good news because this is Guatemala’s highest court finally saying enough is enough,” said Carmen Aida Ibarra, a legal adviser for the Myma Mack Foundation. “But certainly no one here is jumping for joy. We’ve been here before, and now we are just waiting to see what the military lawyers try next.” Surveillance cameras keep watchful eyes on Britons by Jill Lawless Associated Press LONDON — One of Britain’s favorite summer TV shows has been “ Big Broth er,” featuring people living under the constant gaze of surveillance cameras. That’s not so far from reality in mod ern-day Britain, whose 60 million . people are tracked by an estimated 1.5 million closed-circuit TV cameras. Going to the bank or the super market, walking down the street, us ing a payphone, waiting for a train, slip ping out for a pint at the pub, you’re likely to be on camera. “It’s a mania,” said Simon Davies of the civil liberties group Privacy In ternational, which came up with the fig ure of 1.5 million. “The cameras are out of control.” The latest innovation is a roving'sur veillance “supervan” unveiled tliis week by Westminster City Council, which oversees London’s entertainment — and crime — hot spots of Soho and the West End. The $ 185.000 vehicle sports a re tractable mast and nine CCTV cameras, and this month will start prowling the streets looking for trouble. “If we have reports of an outbreak of anti-social behavior, we can deploy the van,” said Westminster Council spokeswoman Suzanna White. “We may also want to use it in a covert manner, for example to collect evidence for le gal proceedings.” The British government has poured millions into helping police forces and local authorities get the video technol ogy. Proponents of the cameras saythey deter criminals and aid investigations. Their images, police say, were crucial in catching David Copeland, the bomber who tatgeted black, Asian and gay Lon doners last year. Surveillance is getting smarter and its reach greater. The throngs of shop pers on Oxford Street in London are tracked by 16 cameras linked to nearby Marylebone police station. Sally Humphreys, director of the Oxford Street Association, says the sys tem has helped curb street crime and theft. According to Inspector Allan Thompson of Marylebone police, the system’s record is mixed. In its first six months after being introduced in 1998, pickpocketing fell by 44 percent. street crime by 20 percent and burglary by 11 percent. But pickpocketing is back to its prc 1998 level, while street crime stands slightly above the 1997 figure. Thompson attributes the change to criminals being unaware of the . cameras, and to having fewer police on the beat. Davies traces Britain’s embrace of ’ CCTV to the 1980s. when cameras were installed at soccer stadiums to combat hooliganism. Front there, they spread to surrounding areas ;uul city centers. Davies argues that cameras don't re duce crime, but merely displace it. and do little to deter professional or drug fueled criminals. Opponents of the technology also ugue the cameras are anything but neu ral. all-seeing eves. A study published n 1997 by researchers at Hull Univer sity's Center for Criminology and Crim nal Justice found that camera operators after selected their uugets hised on racial prejudice iuid voyeurism. Nonetheless, the 1998 Data Pre lection Act says people must be told they are being filmed. * ▼ , --■—.— Why is TIAA-CREF the #1 choice nationwide? The TIAA-CREF . \ * . t ,nloripatian J Advantage. Year in and year out, employees at education and research institutions have turned to TIAA-CREF. And for good reasons: • Easy diversification among a range of expertly managed funds • A solid history of performance and exceptional personal service ^ • A strong commitment to low expenses • Plus, a full range of flexible retirement income options For decades, TlAA-C REF has helped professors and staff at over 9,000 campuses across the country invest for— and enjoy—successful retirements. Choosing your retirement plan provider is simple. Go with the leader: TIAA-CREF. 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