EVENTS

HUGE OIL SPILL IN NORTHERN RUSSIA A dam containing oil from a broken pipeline collapsed after heavy rain in northern Russia, sending the oil gushing into two rivers, authorities said Oct. 25. While Russian officials said there was no serious danger to the environment, US authorities called it a major spill that was eight times the size of the Exxon Valdez disaster. Russian estimates were much lower. The broken pipeline reportedly dumped about 80 million gallons of hot oil onto frozen ground near the Arctic city of Usinsk, about 1,000 miles northeast of Moscow. Valery Ilyin, a spokesman for Komineft, the Russian operator of the pipeline, said the aging pipeline had been leaking periodically since 1988. The oil spilled into two rivers that flow into the Pechora River, which empties into the Arctic Ocean. Bosnians oppose UN chief

All eight political parties in the Muslim-dominated Bosnian parliament have demanded the removal of the UN military commander in Bosnia, Lt. Gen. Michael Rose, accusing him of pro-Serb bias. They said General Rose was more interested in protecting British interests than in implementing UN resolutions. ``Rose should go,'' said a headline in the Sarajevo newspaper Oslobodjenje.

Giuliani backs Cuomo

New York City's Republican mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, decided Oct. 24 to endorse Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo's bid for a fourth term. Thus, Mr. Giuliani snubbed the GOP challenger, state Sen. George Pataki. The mayor said he chose Mr. Cuomo because he ``has a better understanding of our problems'' and because the governor is ``his own man.'' The main city problems, according to the mayor, are the takeover of the city's cost of Medicare estimated at $2.3 billion a year and the issue of watershed management. The city is resisting building a water-filtration system at a cost of $7 billion.

South African trial ends

Three blacks were convicted Oct. 25 of murdering a US student because she was white, ending a trial that forced South Africa to confront the bitterness of its racial division. Convicted of killing Amy Biehl in a black township where the white Fulbright scholar was helping with voter education ahead of South Africa's first all-race election were Vusumzi Ntamo, Mongezi Manqina, and Mzikhona Nofemela.

Saving the tiger

An international conference urged Asian nations Oct. 25 to take measures to save the continent's 7,000 remaining tigers from extinction.

Representatives of the tiger-range countries of Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Malaysia were joined at the four-day conference in Bangkok, Thailand, by delegates from Taiwan and South Korea.

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