September 5, 1995
MOSCOW (CNN) -- A replacement team came on board the Russian orbital station Mir Tuesday after an on-schedule docking. Arriving via a Russian Soyuz TM-22 space capsule, the three cosmonauts will spend one week learning the ropes before the departing crew returns to earth.
During their 135 days aboard the Mir, the cosmonauts are scheduled to link with a U.S. shuttle in October and head out on some space walks. The crew includes a German, Thomas Reiter. He's the eighth person from Germany to fly from the Bakonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Arafat, Peres to meet on Mideast
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and PLO leader Yasser Arafat will meet Wednesday to clear final issues on Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank. Like many of the current Mideast talks, the meeting will take place the Egyptian resort of Taba. A spokeswoman for Peres said the discussions could last until Friday.
Meanwhile in Beirut, a senior PLO official called for an end to Mideast peace discussions, charging that Israel does not abide by international resolutions.
Farouk Kaddoumi, who heads the PLO's political department from Tunis, said the talks are damaging the Palestinian cause. After a meeting with Faris Bouez, the Lebanese foreign minister, Kaddoumi argued Israel is loathe to follow through on commitments. "These are frivolous talks," he told Reuters. As a result of Israel's failings, he said, "we are heading towards darkness."
Swedish say French should stop nuclear tests
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (CNN) -- Swedish ministers said Tuesday that Paris should lend an ear to protests against its nuclear test plans rather than lashing out at those who complain.
Culture Minister Margot Wallstrom participated in a weekend demonstration against the French policy, provoking outrage from the French government, which called it "inexcusable." Wallstrom said she stood by her actions and argued that the high turnout at the Tahiti demonstration reflected the strength of opposition against planned tests in the South Pacific. Also drawing French criticism for his part in the protest was Japanese Finance Minister Masayoshi Takemura.
France argues that it needs up to eight underground tests in French Polynesia before a ban is acceptable. The series, designed to check France's nuclear weaponry, is scheduled to end by May of next year.
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