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INATIONALI BRICF&tJwl TLC Beatrice being sold TLC Beatrice International Holdings Inc.. ranked for several years as one of the nation's largest African-American owned companies, will be sold along with its assets The proceeds wifl.be distributed among its sharehold ers' " '.v' 0 'i^i J f* TLC Beatrice, founded by the la^ Reginald F. Lewi? Srtd undaf the oper ation of his widow. Loida Nicolas Low i^,. also has.agreed to sell the 65 per cent ownership interest in its ice cream operation* iff mainland Spain and the Canary Islands to the Iberian Beverage Group for S191 million. "We looked at every option to maximize v^luepnd deliver liquidity to the stockholders." stud Lewis chairwoman and CEO.' "m the epd, the board of directors decidt^ fia^ the sale of our Spanish ice cream operations and our other businesses and theplan-of liquidation Hit? pit most effective ways to unlock the value of the company and equitdbfvi^rovidfe liquidity for our stockholders in a timely fashion." New York Amsterdam . Price for 2000 census jumps $1.7 billion The Census Bureau estimates that it will need an extra SI .7 billion to con duct the census next year, bringing the total fiscal year 2000 funding request I" for the decennial count to S4.5 billion. The bureau says the extra funds are needed to comply with a January Supreme Court ruling that prohibits the use of sampling methods to county the population for purposes of congressional apportionment. 1998 a record year for weather WASHINGTON (IF*S) - Record high temperatures, coupled with '< increased numbers of storms and Hoods worldwide, made 1998 a year of ! extremes, according to the Worldwatch Institute. "This past year was an ofT-the-chart year," said Lester Brown, president of Worldwatch and co-author of "Vital Signs 1999," the Washington think tank's annual report on global trends^ Weather-related damage worldwide, for example, totaled S92 billion in ' 1998, up 53 percent from the previous record of S60 billion in 19%. i Record storms "and floods last year drove some 300 million people from their homes more people than live in the United States, the report said. Most of these people*lived in Chinas Yangtze River valley, in Bangladesh ?" and eastern India. ) "Some were forced from their homes for only a few days, but others were '? out for weeks or months qnd some left permanently,", said the 197-page f report. Danielle Knight j,.r , ? ** r Influx of refugees in Tanzania threatens food supply NAIROBI. Kenya (IPS) An influx of refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo into Tanzania is threatening the limited food stocks in refugee camps, according to the Red Cross. The number of refugees crossing over to Tanzania from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) alone has reached 62,000 since August 1998. says the latest monthly report by the U.N. High. Commissioner for Refugees, recently made available to IPS. In May alone, there were as many as 12,000 arrivals. ? *> *** Fighting in the eastern DRC has intensified recently, with the Congolese government bombing the eastern rebel stronghold of Uvira for the second time in a month. This has prompted the Rwandese government to withdraw an earlier unilateral cease-fire. . "There is an urgent need for funding them," said the Red Cross. The tJ'N. World Food Program, which is distributing food in the camps, says its field staff has had to implement a 20 to 30, percent reduction in food ratios due to the refugee pressure. "This couldn't have come at a worse time," said Irene,Lacy. WFP representative in Tanzania. ? Judith Achieng' Prostate cancer plagues Jamaican males KINGSTON, Jamaica (IPS) - The Jamaica Cancer Society recently released data from a five-year study that found that one in 304 men (out of '100.000 screened) had prostate cancer. * The report also pointed out that the rate is one of the highest in the world, ranking close to that of the United States. Even more frightening is the finding that the mortality rate among Jamaicans with prostate cancer far exceeds that of their American counter parts. ? ' t Prostate caacer falls behind cardiovascular-related illnesses and other cancerbased diseases as the main causes of death in Jamaica. But the alarm ing rise in prostate cancer cases makes it easily the most feared. - Howard . (Lampbell m Wiidenbosch resignation demanded i PARAMARIBO, SurinamflPS) ? About 30,000 Surinamese joined in a massive carnivaMike street protest earlier this month to demand the resig nation of President Jules Wijdenbosch. Organized b\ the country's main business organizations, opposition par ties and anti-government labor unions, the protest was said by police to have been the largest in the recent history of the country, which gained indepen (Jence from The Netherlands in +975. : Apart from being the largest gathering on the streets in years, partici pants said it was significant because it was the first time civjl society had taken such a firm stance against any administration, as well as cutting across every social and economicchgjs) In the past year, the state pension fund has been hard hit by a massive unofficial devaluation of the local guilder. And the currency has moved from about 700 to SI in December to 2,2(X) to SI in early May and 1.400 to $1 this month. The government also has been blamed for the increase in the migration rate of middle class and professional Surinamese and the dramatic decline pf the currency and consequent massive hike in food prices.* "We want business people to be in the government because running a country is like running a business. It has to be run properly Hopefully this is the end of this government " said Anthony Frank, a member of the Associ ation of Trade and Industry of Surinam. Bert Wilkinson INDEX OPINION , A6 SPORTS B1 RELIGION 86 CLASSIFIEDS 89 HEALTH C3 ENTER. C7 CALENDAR CIO This Week In Black History... June 17, 1871 - James Weldon Johnson is born in Tampa, Fla. Johnson would go on to be the first African American admitted to the Florida bar and pen Tift Ev'ry Voice and Sing." June 28, 1982 - The House of Representatives approves an extension of the voting rights act, despite strident opposition by N.C. Sen. Jesse Helms. Celebrate Juneteenth jtm * 1 Rosa Parks honored by Congress j I B> CATHERINE STRONG THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON - Haile^l by lawmakers as the mother of civil rights. Rosa Parks was honored with the Congressional Gold Medal Tuesday, the highest civil ian award given by Congress. Mrs. Parks. 86. was lauded by the House and Senate leadership and President Clinton for an act of defiance more than four decades ago. On Dec. 1, 1955. the seam stress. tired after a day's work in Montgomery, Ala., refused to give up her seat to a white man on a segregated city bus and was arrested for her defiance. Her arrest set off a lengthy bus boycott by thousands of blacks - led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.. then a local minister. The boycott lasted about a year until the Supreme Court declared Montgomery's bus segregation ' law unconstitutional. "She is the mother of the civil rights movement," sajd Rep. Julia Carson, D-Ind.. who pushed for the legislation granting the Con gressional Gold Medal to Mrs. Parks, who now lives in Detroit. "It is a celebration of the life of Ro?a Parks, who is receiving the honor while she can still see it," Carson said of Mrs. Parks, who appeared frail and had to be helped to her feet from her wheel chair, sometimes steadying herself -1on the arm of House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. "1 thank God that when your time came, you were not afraid," ?House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo;, said at the Capitol Rotunda ceremony. "You had courage, and you sat down for all of America and all of America's freedom." Congressional lawmakers gave Mrs. Parks an artist's drawing of the medal, which is not yet fin ished. "I thank you," she said in a low, halting voice, adding that she accepted the award for a "free people" and for civil rights. The gratitude went both ways. "I thank you for what you have done." Clinton told Mrs. Parks. "She sat, anchored to that seat, as Dr. King said, by. the accumulated indignities of days gone by and the countless aspira tions of generations yet unborn," the president said. "Rosa Parks said, i didn't get on that bus to, get arrested; I got on that bus to go home.'" The president said he was only 9 when Mrs. Parks refused to stand up. He and his friends "couldn't figure out anything we could do since we couldn't even vote. So we began to sit on the back of the bus when we got on." M rs. Parks action cost her the seamstress job and prompted harassment and threats to her family. So she moved to Detroit in 1957. She joined the staff of Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., in 1965 and worked there until retiring in ' 1988. In 1987, Mrs. Parks co-found ed a nonprofit group, the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development, to help young people in Detroit. A guest at Clinton's State of the Union address in January, Mrs. Parks has received numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The legislation awarding her the Congressional Gpld Medal was approved by the Senate with out dissent April 19. The House voted 424-1 for it the next day. The only "no" vote was cast by Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, who said he opposes spending government money on such awards. Lawmakers initially used the Congressional Gold Medal to honor military leaders but began using it during the 20th century to recognize excellence in a range .of fields. More than 320 medals have been awarded. The first was given to George Washington in 1776 for "wise apd spirited conduct" during the Rev olutionary War. Recent honorees include Frank Sinatra, Mother Teresa and South African President Nel son Mandela. Associated Preee photo by Khue Bui Rota Harks, Hanked by Dorothy Height, president emeritus and drub t nun of the board af the National Counal at Muyu Women, left, and actress Cicely Tyson, right, takes part in "A High Tea of Celebration." The event was held to honors Harks' receipt of the Congressional Oold Medal. She received the medal from President CBnton during a Capi tol Hit ceremony Tuesday. | Imprisoned minister humbled by prison life By KAREN L SHAW THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - From the pulpit of Bethel Met ropolitan Baptist Church, the Rev. Henry J. Lyons preached the word of the Lord for 27 years. And for nearly five years, he was president of one of the nation's largest black church groups, the National Baptist Convention USA. Now, afier being convicted on state charges of racketeering and grand theft, the 57-year-old minister wears prison ' blues and shares half of arv open dor mitory with 69 pther inmates, engaging in intense Bible study. A repen tant, more humble Lyons nas emerged since ne began his 5 1/2-year state sen tence, his lawyers said. It is this man who now awaits sentencing Friday on federal changes of tax evasion and bank fraud. ' ? "He's reading the Bible and reading prayer every day ... try ing to find peace jof himself," said attorney JefT*Brown. "He's been doing an awful lot of work reading about Paul ... and some of the disciples who have spent time in prison." Lyons was convicted Feb. 27 in state court of bilking nearly $4 million from corporations trying to do business with the Baptist convention, and of steal ipg almost $250,000 donated by the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith for burned black churches in the South. He pleaded guilty in federal court March 17 to five related counts of evading taxes, engag ing in fraudulent activities and lying to officials. In return, fed eral prosecutors dropped 49, other charges, including extor tion, conspiracy and money laundering. Lyons Lyons is scneauiea to appear before U.S. District Judge Henry Lee Adams in Tampa. The fed eral charges carry a total possi ble sentence of 75 years and heavy fines. But under sentenc ing guidelines that take into account the crime, the impact on its victims and Lyons' back ground. the minister likely faces a sentence between six and eight years, said Brown. Lyons' attor ney for the federal case. The minister is serving his state sentence at Lowell Correc tional Institution-Men's Unit, a prison about nine miles north of Ocala. Any, remaining federal time would then be served in a federal institution. Once the head of the head a powerful black churcft group, with an annual salary of $100,000, Lyons had a difficult time adjusting to the rough and tumble life inside prison, where the bathroom has walls but no doors. ? "They put him through a boot camp, and there (are) a lot of young offenders who go through it." said attorney Denis de Vlaming, who has communi cated with the minister by mail. "He was \yith kids who were just yelling and screaming and carry ing on ... driving him batty." .7 Separation from his family See Lyon* on A9 r
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