CNN - World News Briefs

News Briefs

May 3, 1996
Web posted at: 11:45 p.m. EDT (0345 GMT)

Colombia's attorney general surrenders to authorities

BOGOTA, Colombia (CNN) -- Colombian attorney general Orlando Vasquez Velasquez, whose arrest on drug corruption charges was ordered Thursday by the Supreme Court, surrendered to authorities Friday.

Vasquez, the country's top law enforcement official, is alleged to have been paid thousands of dollars by the Cali and Medellin drug cartels both before and after he took office in 1994. He remained at large for an entire day before surrendering. Vasquez denies any wrongdoing.

In another twist to the scandal, the office of the attorney general Friday submitted a recommendation to the Colombian House of Representatives on the case of President Ernesto Samper. It said that a special congressional investigation into corruption allegations should find Samper innocent. Samper has been accused of taking about $6 million from drug cartels to finance his election campaign. He denies knowing before the elections that drug money was used to finance his campaign.

Colombia's attorney general suspended - April 27, 1996

U.S., North Korean officials to talk about MIA remains

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Officials from the United States and North Korea will meet in New York on Saturday to discuss returning the remains of U.S. soldiers who were lost during the 1950-53 Korean War, the Defense Department said Friday.

The Pentagon stressed that only the repatriation issue would be discussed, not the issue of peace between the two countries. The talks are a continuation of meetings held last January in Hawaii, which ended without resolution.

However, one U.S. official said discussing remains of American soldiers missing in action could be the first step towards improving relations between the two countries.

North Korean soldiers violate DMZ for third time - April 7, 1996
U.S. officials downplay chances of new Korean war - March 28, 1996

Worldwide concern still high over 'mad cow' contamination

(CNN) -- France announced Friday that it had recently detected two new cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, the so-called "mad cow" disease, in its cattle, bringing the total since 1991 to 18. To prevent the disease's spread, the cattle were killed and their herds will also be slaughtered soon.

The British government admitted in March that there was a possible link to mad cow disease, which rots cows' brains, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), the deadly human equivalent.

Since then, awareness of CJD has also been heightened worldwide. In Canada Friday, 500 families were notified that their children received blood infusions from donors who later developed CJD. And Friday in New Zealand, blood from a donor who died of CJD was quarantined.

Also Friday, NATO said it would hold a conference at The Hague, Netherlands, next week to discuss the safety of blood transfusions in war zones in the light of HIV and CJD infections. One of its lecturers will discuss whether CJD can in fact be transmitted through blood and blood products.

'Mad cow' slaughter off to slow start - May 2, 1996
Ban on British beef remains, despite mad cow culling plan - April 29, 1996

Swiss banks to unseal accounts of Holocaust victims

ZURICH, Switzerland (CNN) -- For the first time, Swiss banks have agreed to unseal accounts opened by Holocaust victims.

The historic agreement was signed Thursday between banking officials and world Jewish leaders. The agreement calls for a six-member commission made up of bankers and representatives of Jewish groups, which would appoint an auditing firm to look into the books.

Many Jews deposited all their money in Swiss banks during the chaos of Nazi Germany. But after the war, many Holocaust survivors had no documentation to claim their family's assets.

Bankers say up to $34 million (U.S.) was deposited, but many survivors say it could be in the billions.

U.S. spy plane flew over France, says newspaper

PARIS (CNN) -- A French newspaper reported Friday that the U.S. is again spying on France, after authorities expelled five CIA agents last year.

"Liberation" quoted French military sources as saying a U-2 spy planed based in England photographed sensitive French military installations in March.

But one French official said he doubts the U.S. would risk another espionage incident just as France tightens its links with NATO. He also said that spy satellite provide ample information to the U.S.

U.S. officials denied that the plane used its surveillance equipment, saying it had been on a mission over Bosnia and was returning to base in France when French radar controllers spotted it.

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News Briefs

Colombia's attorney general surrenders to authorities

U.S., North Korean officials to talk about MIA remains

Worldwide concern still high over 'mad cow' contamination

Swiss banks to unseal accounts of Holocaust victims

U.S. spy plane flew over France, says newspaper

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