EVENTS
MAJOR TO MEET IRISH EXTREMISTS Politicians on both sides of Northern Ireland's political and sectarian divide welcomed an announcement by British Prime Minister John Major that he would meet armed Protestant extremists. Mr. Major said Nov. 14 that he was following up his decision to open exploratory talks with the Irish Republican Army's political wing, Sinn Fein, with a similar invitation to the IRA's foes Protestant guerrillas known as ``Loyalists'' because of their loyalty to British rule in the province. Politicians representing the Loyalists were quick to accept Major's invitation. The prime minister also appealed to guerrilla groups on both sides of the 25-year-old conflict in the province to follow up the cease-fires they announced earlier this year by handing in their stockpiles of weapons. Squeaker for Kohl
German Chancellor Helmut Kohl won parliamentary approval Nov. 15 to govern Germany for four more years, but he did so with a tiny majority. Mr. Kohl needed 337 votes in the Bundestag to be confirmed for a fourth term. He received 338.
Gordon drenches Haiti
Heavy rains and flooding caused by tropical storm Gordon left thousands of Haitians homeless and killed at least 100 people. Prime Minister Smarck Michel declared a state of emergency and said his government would provide $3 million to help clean up. The storm triggered landslides and washed away flimsy homes on eroded slopes in the slums of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. President Jean-Bertrand Aristide flew over his battered nation in a US military helicopter Nov. 14 to survey the damage. Rwanda violence
A leading relief organization pulled out of five Rwandan refugee camps in eastern Zaire Nov. 15 and threatened to quit the rest unless violence there is halted. Doctors Without Borders announced the decision, citing a months-old crisis in the camps. Soldiers loyal to Rwanda's ousted Hutu government have taken over the settlements, brutalizing refugees who want to return to Rwanda through ``intimidation, arrest, or assassination.''
Louisiana integration
Louisiana has a new 10-year plan to integrate its universities and end the first lawsuit in which the US government challenged an entire state higher education system as segregated. Officials say the agreement preserving two historically black schools Southern University and Grambling State University is more workable than a 1981 plan that was abandoned after the state spent $100 million. US District Judge Charles Schwartz approved the plan Nov. 14.
Quake hits Philippines
A strong earthquake leveled villages on the central Philippine island of Mindoro Nov. 15, unleashing a tidal wave that swept away dozens of sleeping villagers. At least 45 people were killed.
Korea nuclear talks
North Korea says the latest round of talks with US delegates on dismantling its nuclear program has been ``productive and beneficial.''
The talks by nuclear experts, which started Nov. 14, are to determine the fate of some 8,000 spent nuclear-fuel rods. The aim is to keep the Communist nation from extracting material from them which could be used to make nuclear weapons.
