December 18, 1995
Web posted at: 3:05 p.m. EST (2005 GMT)
CAIRO, Egypt (CNN) -- Representatives of the Palestinian Authority and the extremist group Hamas are meeting in Cairo to discuss a 16-point plan to improve relations between them. Hamas has opposed the Palestinians' peace agreement with Israel and plans for elections in the occupied territories.
Officials for the Palestinian Authority on Monday did not rule out compromising on the elections issue, but they stressed "armed resistance (against Israel) is a natural and strategic right." The Palestinians want Hamas to renounce violence against the Jewish state. In opposition to the peace agreement, Hamas has carried out attacks against Israelis since the agreement was signed two years ago.
GROZNY, Russia (CNN) -- Guerrillas in Chechnya had more than 150 Russian soldiers pinned down in Gudermes, the province's second largest city, a Russian military source said Monday. Fighting also was reported overnight in the capital of Grozny.
Monday marked the fifth consecutive day of fighting that coincided with voting in national and local elections.
The Moscow-appointed leader of Chechnya won 95 percent of Sunday's vote for the government of the breakaway republic, officials said. And while the government claimed voter turnout was high, observers reported voting appeared to be sparse.
Rebel groups refuse to acknowledge the results. They boycotted the election because they demanded that Russian troops withdraw beforehand. The Russian army was sent to Chechnya a year ago to put down the rebels' independence movement.
MOSCOW (CNN) -- Twelve days after an airliner disappeared in Russia's Far East, a search team has reached the wreckage, airline officials said Monday. Investigators are expected there on Tuesday.
Ninety-seven people were aboard the Khabarovsk Airlines plane, which was on an hourlong flight to Khaborovsk from the island of Sakhalin. The Russian-built plane went down in a densely wooded, mountainous region.
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (CNN) -- Voter turnout was very low for Haiti's first presidential election since the United States ousted military dictators and returned Jean Bertrand Aristide to the office. Aristide's close associate, Rene Preval, is expected to be the winner among 14 candidates when the official results are announced next week.
Aristide is prohibited from serving consecutive terms, but observers said the low turnout -- about 35 percent -- indicates many Haitians wished he was on the ballot. He was restored to office 14 months ago after three years in exile. Many Haitians favored allowing him to serve another three years to make up for that time.
About 5,770 U.N. troops, including some 2,000 U.S. personnel, remain in the country.
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