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(Tlfp Daily ear Hrrl IN THE NEWS Top stories from the state, nation ansi worli Volcanic eruptions melt ice, flood parts of Iceland REYKJAVIK, Iceland Volcanic eruptions beneath Europe’s largest gla cier melted the cap of the icy mass on Tuesday, unleashing floodwaters that swept away two bridges in Iceland. Floodwaters from die Vatnaj okull gla cier destroyed the 1,233-foot-long Gigja Bridge as well as another 164-foot bridge along the country’s southern coast, said Om Egilsson, spokesman for Iceland’s Civil Defense agency. Civil defense authorities were con cerned that a third bridge, the 2,950-foot long Skeidarar, also would be destroyed by the force of the flooding. “The flooding is bad,” Egilsson said. “The speed of the water is much more than people imagined." The flooding happened in a remote area 185 miles east of Reykjavik, and no people or homes were threatened. The eruption in the Loki volcano be gan around Oct. 1, creating molten rock that melted 70,000 cubic feet of water. The water gathered in a crater under neath the 2,000-foot-thick glacier. Though the eruption stopped on Oct. 12, a vast pool of melted water built up beneath the ice. Under pressure from the melting wa ter, the ice cap on top of the glacier finally cracked Tuesday, unleashing millions of gallons of water onto the surrounding countryside. The water was pouring into the ocean along the south coast of Iceland, about 140 miles east of Reykjavik. The Loki volcano is not cone-shaped, but rather a fissure in the ground. The eruption took place along a five-mile stretch of the fissure. The glacier’s edge is near the main coastal road around the country. Work ers have been reinforcing roads and bridges near the volcano. Loki—named for the Norse god who personified evil did not erupt as strongly as it had in 1938. But Iceland’s coastal highway and its bridges over glacial rivers had not been built then. Audit off Jewish accounts ordered by panel officials WASHINGTON An independent panel examining Swiss banks for hun dreds of dormant Jewish accounts is giv ing auditors free reign to look for em bezzlement, record tampering and Nazi war booty. The in-depth audit was ordered by a special committee headedby former Fe deral Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker to return at least $32 million in dormant Swiss bank accounts to Holocaust survi vors, heirs of victims and other World War II refugees. The $32 million figure represents the amount Swiss banks said they found in a search of their records last year, but Jewish groups estimate the miss ing accounts hold much more, perhaps about $7 billion. The Volcker panel, created in May by the World Jewish Congress and the Swiss Bankers Association, passed a critical hurdle in its investigation by agreeing on just how far auditors can probe to find the truth of the dormant accounts. The agreement will let the committee penetrate the legendary secrecy of Swiss banks for the first time, allowing “unfet tered access to relevant Swiss bank files and personnel.” The Associated Press obtained a copy of the audit agreement Tuesday. Sources from bankers’ and Jewish groups praised the document for its depth and scope but would not discuss it on the record until the Volcker panel released the document. The release is expected soon. Auditing instructions are critical since they represent the level of commitment Swiss banks have to an open, thorough review of one of the country’s darkest chapters. After World War 11, Swiss banks im peded a full review of their accounts by making unreasonable demands on Holo caust survivors or by hiding behind bank secrecy laws. Inquiry into U.S. missiles launched in Iraq nears end WASHINGTON The Pentagon could have some answers soon in its investigation into the launching of two U.S. anti-radar missiles by F-16 fighter jets over southern Iraq, a spokesman said today. Military officials want “as complete a picture as possible of what happened,” spokesman Kenneth Bacon told report ers. He said it would take several days to complete the investigation. In separate incidents, the pilots of two U.S. Air Force F-16s fired missiles when they received warnings they had been “locked on” by Iraqi surface-to-air mis sile sites. The first such firing occurred early Saturday and the second on Monday. Bacon said officials are looking at the “electronic environment" where the in cidents took place, how the planes’ equip ment functioned and intelligence infor mation about the area. Both pilots have been questioned, and other pilots flying nearby also will be STATE & NATIONAL interviewed, he added. Defense Secretary William Perry told reporters at the Pentagon on Monday that the pilots were justified in their ac tions because their cockpit warning sys tems indicated they were being targeted by Iraqi missiles. Iraq denied any missile firings oc curred, characterizing the reports as a campaign ploy by the Clinton adminis tration. “Fabricating this false report is part of American-style electioneering," an Iraqi Foreign Ministry official was quoted Monday by the official Iraqi News Agency. “It seems that, for the second time, fabricators of this report have the urge to divert the attention of American voters from their domestic scandals by creating false problems abroad.” Perry said it wasn’t immediately clear what exactly caused the aircraft to pick up such signals. It also wasn’t clear whether faulty warning equipment might be involved or whether the Iraqis were playing cat-and mouse games with their radar systems, he said. In the meantime, allied flights over Iraq’s southern no-fly zone will continue, even though Saddam Hussein’s forces have been “quite quiet” in the past week, the defense secretary said. Perry said he had no reports on pos sible damage caused by the missiles. Even though it now appears that no Iraqi missiles were launched, both pilots acted appropriately, he said, explaining thattheirrulesof engagement allow quick responses to potentially hostile acts. Asked whether Saddam’s move to re build his air defenses caused him any worry, Perry responded, “No.” He said allied aircraft would continue to monitor the zone carefully. The second firing occurred at 4 a.m. EST about 25 miles from where the ear lier firing took place. Both occurred just south of the 32nd parallel, Perry said. Toxic organisms in Neuse might cause human harm DURHAM A toxic marine organ ism blamed for the worst of the Neuse River’s fish kills might also be capable of causing human health problems, accord ing to Duke University researchers. Researchers found that rats injected with aquarium water laced with rela tively high doses of pfiesteria piscicida lost, at least temporarily, the ability to remember or to leam. The finding was duplicated in three separate studies. A fourth study is being conducted to determine which regions of the rats’ brains and specific neurotransmitters were af fected by the organism. “What this shows is there really is something worth looking at," said Ed Levin, head of the university’s Neurobehavorial Research Laboratory. “What’s true in a rat may not be true in a human,” he cautioned. “What’strue in a fish may not be true in a human.” Pfiesteria piscicida is a toxic dinoflagel late which has been blamed for killing millions of fish in the Neuse and other eastern North Carolina waterways. It also is suspected of causing mysteri ous sores commercial fishermen have found on their bodies and other maladies they have suffered. Levin’s group found that rats injected with the organism had a more difficult time finding food in a maze than did rats Bull’s Head Bookshop invites you to hear M arly Youmans author of the acclaimed novel Catnerwood A subtle but magnetic novel, at once a fable, a historical romance and a study of motherhood’s most primitive impulses. -Starred, Publishers Weekly Thursday, November 7 3:00 pm Bull's Head Bookshop UNC Student Stores • 962-5060 Wednesday, November 6,1996 in a control group injected with aquarium water containing no pfiesteria. The injected rats’ diminished abilities continued throughout the 18 maze tests. Studiesbeyond thatpoint, he said, seemed to indicate that the lost ability returns somewhat over time. Levin’s findings, along with other pfiesteria studies, will be presented Sat urday at a Southeastern Estuarine Re search Society conference in Morehead City. Two researchers studying the organ ism at North Carolina State University were stricken with Alzheimer’s-like memory problems, inexplicable mood swings and diminished breathing capac ity. JoAnn Burkholder—who first identi fied the organism killing fish in North Carolina waters in 1991 —and her assis tant Howard Glasgow, said Wednesday they still feel lingering effects of the mala dies which struck them in 1993. Burkholder and Glasgow believe they got sick from breathing toxic fumes the organism emits into the air, the Sun Jour nal of New Bern reported. N.C. businessman heads list for next chief off staff LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, a North Caro lina businessman and the deputy national security adviser top President Clinton’s list to be the next White House chief of staff, aides said Tuesday. While the president returned to his home state of Arkansas to vote and await election returns, his staffcontinued work ing on his second-term team. White House chief of staff Leon Panetta plans to announce his resigna tion in the next few days, effective some time after the inauguration, officials say. The aides, speaking on condition of ano nymity, say candidates to replace him include: —Erskine Bowles, former deputy chief of staff who headed Clinton’s debate preparation team and now runs a North Carolina merchant banking firm. —Sandy Berger, an old Clinton pal who is No. 2 to National Security Ad viser Tony Lake. —Rubin, who made a fortune on Wall Street before coming to Washington to head Clinton’s economic team. —Commerce Secretary Mickey Kantor, who aides say is restless for a new job and may consider returning home to California. —Harold Ickes, deputy chief of staff and top political aide. Panetta’s job may well be the only one he’s interested in for a second term, associates say. A senior White House official said Tuesday that Bowles, Berger and Rubin are the top-tier candidates but that Clinton has not offered the job to anybody directly or indirectly. His decision is not expected for several days. Bowles is considered by many senior staff members as the odds-on favorite, but he has told associates he would be reluctant to abandon pending business commitments. Several high-ranking ad ministration officials have urged Bowles to accept the job if asked, though Clinton has not personally pressed him. The officials said Panetta still hopes to announce this week the names of Cabi net secretaries who are leaving in the second term. The list could number four to six names, aides say, but their replace ments will not be named immediately. FROM WIRE REPORTS 7 SAVI . 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Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Nov. 6, 1996, edition 1
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