The Salina Journal from Salina, Kansas • Page 5

TheSalina Journal Thursday, December 1,1988 One killed by fire on carrier MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) A jet fighter's gun fired by mistake Wednesday, setting six planes ablaze on the USS Nimitz flight deck and killing a sailor, but crews averted disaster by dousing the flames quickly, U.S. officials said. A second crewman was severely burned in the fire, which was brought under control in about 20 minutes, Navy spokesmen reported. They said a cannon on an A-7 Corsair was fired accidentally during "troubleshooting maintenance" aboard the carrier in the Arabian Sea. The 20mm shell exploded against another parked plane, starting a fire that eventually spread to six aircraft, Intruders and A-7s that suffered "minor to major damage," according to the reports.

One of the damaged aircraft was a KA-6 Intruder tanker, fitted for air- to-air refueling, but the officials said they did not know whether it was the one hit by the shell. A-7 fighter-bombers are among the Navy's older combat planes and carry two 20mm guns. Navy spokesmen said the accident early Wednesday would not affect of the nuclear-powered carrier, which arrived Oct. 29, leading an eight-ship battle group signed to support U.S. naval units in the Persian Gulf.

The Nimitz was launched in 1975 as the first in the Navy's newest class of 'carriers. It carries about 6,000 men, including pilots and aircraft main' tenance personnel, and its home port is Bremerton, Wash. Wednesday's accident evoked 1 memories of the worst carrier flight deck disaster since World War II, a fire on the USS Forrestal off Indochina in 1967. U.N. votes to give U.S.

24 hours to reverse visa denial for Arafat UNITED NATIONS (AP) The General Assembly Wednesday censured the United States by a vote of 151-2 and gave it 24 hours to reverse itself and grant a visa to PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat so he can speak here. The United Nations will ask for an extraordinary protest session in Geneva in mid-December to hear the Palestine Liberation Organization leader if the United States persists in its refusal. A second resolution to this effect is expected to be voted upon Friday, or early next week. The reconvened session in Geneva would be Dec. 12-16.

The United States and Israel were the only nations to vote against the resolution. The resolution asked Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar to inform the General Assembly today of the U.S. response. The United States says it will defy the resolution. The vote in the 159-member assembly was conducted in a rare roll call ballot requested by Jordan, a departure from the standard electronic voting.

Representatives from six nations were absent. The State Department denied a visa to Arafat last week on grounds he condones and encourages ter- The United States is expected to ignore the U.N. censure vote. rorism. Arafat addressed the United Nations in 1974.

Arab diplomats said they will introduce a new resolution shifting to Geneva the assembly meeting on the Palestine problem and the Middle East. Arafat would explain there the recent PLO declaration of an independent Palestinian state. Washington says it does not oppose a move to the Swiss city and would participate in the debate there. Some diplomats say shifting the session could set an unfortunate precedent, alienate the United States and encourage it to deny visas to other U.N. visitors it considers dangerous or offensive.

"I feel very pained to see that the United States is the odd couple with Israel in the United Nations," said Clovis Maksoud, ambassador of the Arab League, which sponsored the resolution deploring the U.S. action. Cyclone leaves trail through Bangladesh By The New York Times DHAKA, Bangladesh A cyclone battered coastal areas of Bangladesh and eastern India late Tuesday, leaving a trail of devastation and a rising death toll, officials and news reports said Wednesday. Officials told the United News of India that more than 870 people, including 500 fishermen, had been killed. Other Bangladeshi officials said they feared the death toll would be in the thousands.

Hundreds of thousands of people were reportedly left homeless and millions of tons of crops were said to have been destroyed. Officials said the death toll was likely to rise dramatically as recovery efforts progressed and communications in the affected areas were fully restored. The cyclone struck Bangladesh as it was continuing its recovery from the worst flooding in its history; the flooding in August and September covered three-fourths of the country and caused damages estimated at more than $1 billion. Winds of 60 to 120 miles an hour whipped 10-foot-high tidal waves as it swept across the Bay of Bengal and through the southern and southeastern districts of Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Byrguna, Barisal, Pat- uakhali, Bhola, Chittagong and the town of Cox's Bazar. Electrical power and communications in those areas were cut off.

At least 275 fishermen were reported missing, and officials said they expected many more deaths as reports come in from the hundreds of tiny islands in the Bay of Bengal. A relief ministry official said that about 80 percent of the crops and mud and thatch homes in the two hardest-hit districts, Khulna and Satkhira, had been destroyed. But he said that human casualties had been minimized by an efficient early warning system. to cut long-distance rate, hike local phone bill WASHINGTON (AP) American Telephone Telegraph Co. will cut its basic interstate long-distance rates an average 3.8 percent today, while 60 cents will be added to monthly local phone bills.

$697 million annual reduction reflects the company's lower costs of connecting to the local phone network. Those costs will drop because residential and small business subscribers will be paying more to maintain the local network. In the nearly five years since the court-ordered breakup of the Bell System, has lowered its basic long-distance prices by 38 percent. However, since federal regulators began shifting the costs of the local network to subscribers, monthly residential phone bills have risen by $2.60 and will go up to $3.20 today. said customers making at least $16 a month in interstate long- distance calls would find the increase in the line charge offset by the lower rates.

The average residential customer spends $8.66 a month on interstate long-distance calls. In response to the cut, US Sprint Communications the nation's third-largest long-distance company, said it will drop its basic rates by an average of 3.85 percent effective Jan. 1. Residential customers will see their rates drop an average of 3.89 percent and business customers 3.75 percent. 4th in a series Now at Hallmark! Beall Ladymon 3 DAYS ONLY! HALLMARK MISSY COORDINATES 45.00-130.00 VALUES Skirts, pants, blouses, jackets from Jones New York and other famous makers.

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