Standard-Speaker from Hazleton, Pennsylvania • Page 5

Standard-Speaker, Sunday, July 20, 1997 A5 World Mir crisis shows different ways of dealing with space New crew will repair damage By MAURA REYNOLDS Associated Press By DAVE CARPENTER Associated Press -y MOSCOW Mir's worn-out crew members got disappointing news from Earth on Saturday: They won't get a chance to repair the seemingly jinxed Russian space station. Instead, the tricky fix-it job will be left to a fresh Russian crew set to blast off next month, leaving the aging Mir to creak along at half-power until then, Russian space officials said. The decision, disclosed Friday and to be made final on Monday, reflects Mission Control's caution and gives the Russian in Washington. "This is basically what long-duration space flight looks like." The Mirs troubles and reactions to them highlight several differences between the Russian and American approaches to space. For one thing, the major U.S.

manned space project has been the space shuttle, which makes short, carefully planned forays into orbit. By contrast, the Russians have had cosmonauts in space continuously for 1 1 years, which gives them more time and opportunity to be relaxed and take things as they come. The Russians have more experience improvising and more confidence that they can improvise successfully," Pike said. That's alien to American space-flight culture, which is elaborately choreographed." That more relaxed attitude filters down to the public as well. The Mir's most recent episode, the station's blackout on Thursday, didn't make the front page of most newspapers "It is certainly a secondary topic for us.

Everybody is already fed up with space," said Andrei Lapik, deputy editor of Moskovsky Kom-somolets, a tabloid-style Russian newspaper that didn't report Mir's latest mishap. "No one has died, have they?" "America is different, their mentality is different," he added. "In this country, it is of little importance when something breaks on the orbital station." MOSCOW First the Mir space station nearly went up in flames. Then a collision knocked a hole in the wall. And this past week, it lost power for several hours a darkened station spinning out of Control 250 miles above Earth.

At best, the Russian craft appears old and accident-prone. At worst, it seems dangerous and uncontrollable, causing many to question the wisdom of joint American space programs with the Russians especially the international space station now under construction. To the amazement of some and the exasperation of others, Russian space officials have appeared to take the accidents and breakdowns in stride. In fact, about the only crisis the Russians don't seem to have with the Mir is a crisis of confidence. In contrast to Americans, who ever since the Space shuttle Challenger blew up are agitated by the smallest of glitches in space ventures, Russians have greeted the events on the Mir with comparative serenity.

They're coolheaded, say some Western space experts, who believe that very quality demonstrates the strength of Russia's manned space program and its likely longevity. "The problems we've seen on Mir are a preview of the problems we're going to have with the international space station," said John Pike, a space specialist at the Federation of American Scientists tice the delicate, hours-long procedures. But it came across as a vote of no confidence in the capabilities of the current Russian-American crew, which had lobbied to make the complicated repairs. Officials said the dismay was clearly evident during a satellite video link set up to break the news. SERGEI KARPUKHINAssociated Press Controllers discuss problems at a Mir space station model at Mission Control in Moscow Saturday.

Government overhaul distances Taiwan from China By ANNIE HUANG Associated Press The constitutional change has set "in stone a Taiwanese identity which has fermented over the past decade of democratization," the China Times newspaper said in an editorial Saturday. China, which views Taiwan as a breakaway province, had warned against scrapping the provincial government a move it sees as another step toward abandoning the doctrine of reunification. After Taiwan gave preliminary approval to the changes Wednesday, Beijing warned the move would not lessen 1946, three years before the Nationalists fled the Communist takeover. With the amendment, the legislature cannot veto the president's choice of premier, but can pass a vote of no confidence against the premier. Governors and provincial assembly deputies will be appointed by the Cabinet rather than elected.

The Nationalists say the amendment is aimed to boost government efficiency, not to change Taiwan's national identity. But many of its own members have been cautious. main opposition Democratic Progressive Party. The pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party hailed the act as the "opening a chapter for a new Taiwanese history." But the pro-unification New Party boycotted the vote, saying the amendment opens the way to formal independence. Mourning the passing of an old era, 40 party members bowed three times before the statue of Sun Yat-sen, the founder of modern China, before walking out.

The constitution was enacted in China's claim to Taiwan. The Nationalists, who fled here after losing a civil war to the Communists on mainland China, originally retained the provincial government to back its claim to be the legitimate government of all of China. President Lee Teng-hui pushed for the constitutional changes after winning a landslide victory March 1996 as Taiwan's first popularly elected president. The constitutional amendment was approved 261-8, with the support of both the ruling Nationalists and the TAIPEI, Taiwan Risking the fury of China, Taiwan approved a major government overhaul that will boost the island's de facto independent status. The National Assembly approved constitutional changes late Friday that will expand presidential power and virtually eliminate the provincial government, an extra layer of government retained since 1949 to show Taiwan is a province of China.

Coup leader rejects Cambodian peace plan Voters hope for peace in Liberia By IAN STEWART Associated Press Cease-fire puts Protestants on defensive again By SHAWN POGATCHNIK Associated Press BELFAST, Northern Ireland The Irish Republican Army declared a new cease-fire Saturday and opened the way for its supporters to join peace talks with Northern Ireland's pro-British Protestants if suspicious Protestants don't walk away first. Britain, Ireland and Washington welcomed the IRA's announcement that it would halt hostilities against British rule in the province as of noon Sunday. Mo Mowlam, the British Cabinet minister responsible for governing Northern Ireland, said she was "obviously very pleased and delighted." President Clinton applauded the declaration as step toward "a just and lasting settlement of the conflict in Northern Ireland, a settlement that will heal age-old divisions and create an environment in which both vibrant traditions can flourish and prosper." People in Belfast expressed relief. "I'm delighted right enough," said Maureen Kelly, a Catholic shopper in her 50s. "Maybe now we can get a bit of peace and relax." Supporters of the IRA-allied Sinn Fein party marched in Catholic areas of Belfast and Londonderry to whip up an air of victory.

But celebrations paled in comparison to the euphoria that followed the IRA's first cease-fire announcement on Aug. 31, 1994. That peace lasted only 17 months. The cease-free announced Saturday left people feeling that they'd won nothing but a reprieve from bloodshed. "I think it's magic.

But whether they'll keep it up or not, that's a different thing," said William Thompson, 60, a Protestant factory worker. Brian McAllister, a 48-year-old fireman, was doubtful. "I don't believe them. I think they're just a bunch of lying sods," McAllister said, cradling fight Hun Sen, but indicated they lacked ammunition. Hun Sen deposed co-premier Ranarridh in a july 5 military coup that left dozens in the capital dead.

His Cambodian People's Party had shared power with Ranarridh's royalist party in an uneasy coalition government since 1993. Washington, which has not accepted Hun Sen's takeover, launched its own diplomatic effort, sending envoy Stephen Solarz to meet Hun Sen. Solarz, a former Democratic congressman from New York, was flying to Asia this weekend to rally support for the U.S. position. He will report to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright at ASEAN's meeting in Malaysia next Saturday.

Cambodia, which has been left desperately poor after de-; cades of civil war, was to join the powerful trade bloc Wednesday, but ASEAN postponed its entry last week in response to Huni Sen's coup. Smiling and relaxed, Hun Sen asked the delegation the foreign ministers of Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia to reconsider that decision, saying it had been made in haste. He also reiterated his claims that Ranarridh negotiated with the remnants of the Khmer Rouge guerrilla group to launch a terror campaign against Hun Sen. The prince faces arrest if he returns to Cambodia. "Hun Sen clearly told the ASEAN delegation that the issue we have in Cambodia is not a political nor a military one.

It is a legal one," Svay Sitha said. By TINASUSMAN Associated Press MONROVIA, Liberia Barely 14 months after civil war nearly destroyed their capital, Liberians voted peacefully Saturday in presidential elections that brought hopes for an end to a dozen years of dictatorship and bloodshed. As polls opened throughout the West African nation, long lines of people that snaked and twisted around polling stations started moving slowly toward the heavily guarded voting booths. "I'm very pleased about the turnout. It's a clear indication that the people have been able to overcome their fears and intimidation and that they intend to vote their conscience," said Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a former top U.N.

official considered a favorite in the race, along with warlord Charles Taylor. The two are among 13 candidates vying to become Liberia's first elected president since Taylor launched a Christmas Eve 1989 rebellion to drive out the Krahn ethnic dictatorship of Samuel Doe. Doe, accused of stealing votes to win the last election in 1985, was toppled and executed in 1990 by one of several rival factions that emerged during the war. Fighting that had been largely confined to the countryside erupted in the capital in April 1996 and raged for two months, killing hundreds, until faction leaders bowed to international pressure and signed their 14th peace accord in August. PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -A peace mission to Cambodia failed Saturday when coup leader Hun Sen flatly rejected outside mediation, and his exiled rival warned that a new civil war could break out.

Hun Sen met for almost two hours with foreign ministers from the region who had hoped to convince him to relinquish total control in favor of a caretaker government until elections could be held. Hun Sen's refusal to accept the plan by the seven-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, brought the initiative to a halt. "We think that at present the royal government does not need ASEAN to take part in helping solve the issue," said Hun Sen spokesman Svay Sitha. Hun Sen's exiled rival, Prince Norodom Ranarridh, reacted by warning that a new civil war could engulf the violence-ravaged country, but he stopped short of a call to arms. "I am really afraid that we are stepping into a new civil war that will be terrible in terms of loss of human life and in terms of destruction," Ranarridh told reporters in Bangkok, Thailand.

The weight of the warning was uncertain. After meeting with ASEAN ministers Friday, Ranarridh agreed to call off his armed resistance. The prince's troops so far have been routed on the battlefield by Hun Sen's larger, stronger army. He said 20,000 soldiers remained in Cambodia ready to PAUL McCERLANEAssociated Press Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams holds a newspaper announcing an Irish Republican Army cease-fire during a press conference in West Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Saturday. his infant daughter.

Followng the 1994 cease-fire, Protestants refused to meet Sinn Fein and the British government demanded that the IRA disarm. IRA supporters grumbled that they'd been conned or fooled and the truce collapsed on Feb. 9, 1996, with bombing in London's Docklands that killed two men. During the IRA's 17-month campaign of violence, six people were killed and hundreds wounded in bombings in England and attacks in Northern Ireland. On Friday, Sinn Fein made an unprecedented move in publicly urging the IRA to resume its cease-fire a prerequisite for the political party to join nine other parties in peace talks.

"People need to have a cease-fire in their heads, a new mind set, all of us," Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams said Saturday. "Any of us could find excuses for not talking." Japanese nuclear reactor leaks radiation ByJOJI SAKURAI Associated Press OSJmlCL 6ALEL But accidents, slow reports and cover-ups dog the industry. On Friday, news reports said that prosecutors demanded fines against a government-backed agency and two of its former officials for covering up a 1995 nuclear accident. 50 -75 Off put capacity of 1.35 million kilowatts. The plant is capable of producing 8.21 million kilowatts, making it the world's largest in terms of overall power generation, the company says.

Japan's 51 nuclear power plants supply 34 percent of the nation's electricity. To further reduce dependence on imported oil, Japan also has been developing reactors fueled by pluto-nium, a highly toxic element that can be used to make nuclear weapons. The amount of radioactivity was infinitesimal equal to the natural radiation found in a 22-pound sack of rice, said Abe. He said the leak was confined entirely to the plant. The reactor, which started full operations this month, has suffered a series of mishaps.

Trial runs were held up for about 10 days in May when a tube to measure turbine pressure burst. Just last Tuesday, smoke was found coming from plant machinery. The operator informed local government officials of the accident Friday night, Kyodo News agency reported. The plant, 135 miles northwest of Tokyo, continued operating through the accident, TEPCO said. The No.

7 reactor has an out TOKYO A Japanese nuclear reactor plagued by malfunctions over the past few months leaked a small amount of radiation, but none of it was released into the air, the plant operator said Saturday. No one was exposed to radiation in the accident at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, on the Sea of Japan coast, said Nobuyuki Abe, spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power or TEPCO. Steam containing a small amount of radioactive material leaked Friday morning from a gauge inside the unit that houses the turbine of the new No. 7 reactor at plant, the largest in the world. CLOTHING ACCESSORIES AMGUARD ASPHALTSEALCOATING Driveways Sidewalks Parking Lots Hot Crack Repair and Sealing 10 Souox Citiy VbtatmU 164 UNrTED PENN PLAZA KINGSTON 717 2B3 5116 Home Equity, Purchase, Commercial, Credit Problem Programs.

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