OCR Text |
Show k.. ft A4 THE DAILY HERALD (www.heraldextim.com) SATURDAY. JANUARY 1,2000 mM toys GLO0AL 0 American survives GENEVA (AP) Hijackers drive away with released A American has been rescued after being trapped for nearly a week on a Swiss mountain, where he sought shelter under a rock from subzero temperatures' and 124 mph wind gusts. I Matt Sanders of Austin, Texas, said Friday a warm sleeping bag saved his life while he was snowbound by one of Europe's worst Ktorms this century. Sanders, who was rescued late Thursday, astounded Alpine experts. "I have never heard of someone surviving that long iii such conditions," Markus Rieder, spokesman for the Valais cantonal (state) police. "It was nearly seven days." "I may lose,a couple of the toes, btit overall it looks like I may be prisoners KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) Waiving pistols in the air, five hijackers sped off in waiting cars Friday with two Islamic " long-runnin- y - semi-cave.- - An Algerian NEW YORK (AP) man alleged to be an accomplice of Ahmen Ressam, who was caught smuggling explosives into the United States, was ordered held without bail Friday. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Kelley told U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald L. Ellis that Abdel Ghani was living in the United States illegally. He Ghani as eager to assist Ressam in raising money for the terrorist organization for which Ressam was allegedly transporting ,, - g O l . . . Ul-Um- ar d Ghani w.as apprehended after his name and telephone number were found on a piece of paper belonging to Ressam. Ghani was arrested in a nationwide sweep by federal authorities Who questioned and detained-dozenT people in major cities, many of whom were believed to be tied to Ressam. Ressam was arrested Dec. 14 in $rt Angeles, Wash., on explosives Htnuggling charges after he allegedly tried to smuggle RDX, a powerful demolition explosive, and timing devices into Washington from Canada. Harrison attacker in psychiatric unit exceptional course of action, but we feel you need treatment s ,' ' Housekeeper charged A hotel TAMPA, Fla. (AP) housekeeper was charged Friday in a vjjith killing four crowded hotel, then shooting a fifth ofcrson to death as he tried to escape. Silvio Izquierdo-Leyva- , 36, faced of counts fjve firsdegree murder of armed carjackcounts three $nd an initial hearing before ing during Hillsborough County Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Holloway. The hotel rampage ended a year , marred by deadly workplace and school shootings, including nine people killed in an Atlanta stock brokerage in July and 15 killed in the halls of Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. . ;7 A x 111 ; 1 . 1 H ... ft. Atsociated taking him Prew as a guarantee after leaving the Indian hijacked plane shortly before sunset. None of the passengers appeared harmed as the crisis ended, though one Indian passenger was killed shortly after the plane was seized Dec. 24 on a flight from Katmandu, Nepal to New Delhi. Under the hostage-releas- e deal, tb Taliban said Friday afternoon it would not act against the hijackers for 10 a grace period that hoars dawn before expires Saturday. But. a heavily armed Taliban contingent was following the hijackers, and the only countries they could pos sibly reach during their 10hour window of opportunity were Pakistan or Iran, states that have condemned their -' actions. "Hijackings are particular- ly abhorrent to us," said Pakistan's Fnrpitrn Ministrv. "We have ho sympathy for such desperate acts." Much remained at stake Friday for the Taliban, who have been ostracized internationally and are now under U.N. sanctions for refusing U.S. demands to hand over Osama bin Laden, a Saudi-bormilitant accused bombing two U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998. ' . n , explosives. An FBI criminal complaint said . .... il - four-whe- , i 1 f for suspect ! v n y - - 6r-- V - well-prepare- por-traye- U Under the agreement tmade between India, the hijackers and the Taliban militia who rule most of Afghanistan, the hijackers t y-vp'agreed to end the eight-da41 crisis and free the hostages in ' three for the promiexchange rV'; nent militants, who were ' being held in Indian jails. The getaway plan was unclear. The Taliban are anxious to be rid of the hijackers and the most likely destination is the poorly guarded Ready to escape: Hijackers point guns at a Taliban soldier before a few at the Kandahar airport in Afghanistan on Friday. Pakistani border,-jus- t hours drive from Kandahar. The hijackers and their at a time into the terminal at during negotiations ' three associates sped away at the Indira Gandhi including the release of 36 sunset in drive International Airport. militants imprisoned in India vehicles from the' Kandahar hoisted the relatives Joyful they did win the release of airport, where they had kept survivors on their shoulders cleric Masood Azhar, a leader the hostages in "an Indian or tossed them into the air. of Harkat a group Airlines plane parked on the ' The of U.S. on crew carried were a list terrorist plane's tarmac. They also had one through the terminal with organizations. The group is new hostage a Taliban solgarlands around their necks. believed to have its training dier who was to guarantee One old woman hugged her camps in Afghanistan. their safety. The .. other son until she fainted. prisoners the freed "Meanwhile, "We were so terrorized released by India were hostages received a thundernobody will be able to under- Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, chief ous welcome in New Delhi, stand," said Indian businesscommander of the rebel with thousands of relatives, man R.K. Ghosh. "... most of group Mujahideen, employees, airport the time they told us: 'Keep and Ahmad Omar Sayed bystanders, police and jour- your heads down. If you see Sheikh, who was held in a nalists applauding and cheer- us we will shoot you. New Delhi prison. The three ing as they landed from While the hijackers were flown to Afghanistan Kandahar and emerged one dropped several demands and the exchange happened bad weather hit. A student at Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas, Sanders aid he had extensive experience at trail hiking and was Police said in addition to being warmly dressed, he had ample trail food in his pack. ( "My biggest mistake fyas to overestimate my abilities to get through the snow quickly," he said. "I didn't' make it quite as far as I hoped. I decided to make camp under a rock ' " in a kind of The storm struck during the night. Winds reached 124 mph and temperatures dove to 22 degrees below zero, Sjinders said. No bail a y very lucky Sanders told The Associated Press from his hospital bed in Bern, Switzerland. Sanders said he set off before djwn on Christmas Eve from Zjrmatt on the famed Matterhorn to make a hike through the was en route to a gondola lle spow. he where station, expected to be able to ride back down before the one-da- and militants Muslim cleric released from Indian jails and were given 10 hours to find freedom ending a tense eight-dastandoff. All 155 . hostages on the Indian Airlines plane were freed unharmed, but the crisis the longcbt hijacking drama in more than a decade highlighted the explosive nature of the dispute over the Himalayan territory of Kashmir. LONDON (AP) As, George Harrison recovered from a knife wound to his chest, the man accused of stabbing the former Beatle was sent to a psychiatric unit Friday for immediate treatment. Abram Michael was with the charged attempted murder of the reclusive guitarist and his wife of 21 years, Olivia. He appeared briefly at Oxford Magistrates Court before being sent to the ecurity psychiatric unit at the Scott Clinic outside northern Liverpool, England. "This is an exceptional course of action, but we feel you need treatment immediately," Magistrate Tim Pocock told Abram, 33, who appeared in court heavily bruised and with a black left eye. His next court appearance" was set for ' medium-s- 'in Indon. Authorities said he attacked the couple, but Harrison and his wife managed to overpower him and hold him until police arrived. The stab wound Harrison suffered collapsed his right lung. Harrison's wife also was scratched and bruised in the incident, which rekindled memories of the murder of fellow Beatle John Lennon. Lennon was shot to death by a deranged fan 19 years ago in one-inc- h New-Yor- k City. Harrison remained hospitalized for a second night in stable condition in west London's Harefield Hospital. His wife was at his bedside. Harrison is likely to make a full recovery and return home in the next couple of days, said Robert Craig, the hospital's general manager. "He is in quite good spirits, but he is very tired," Craig Feb. 11. said. "It is a fairly painful con- Abram is accused of breakdition that he is in and he will remain on painkillers until he ing a window early Thursday and, entering the Harrisons' doesn't need them any more." Police have offered no mansion in 25 miles west of' motive for the attack on the 120-roo- Henley-on-Thame- s, immediately." notY2Cf related BEND, Ore. (AP) The power-lin- e toppling of an have to tower Tim Pocock appears Magistrate been an isolated case of crim-- . inal mischief rather than musician, and Abram's organized Y2K sabotage, court appearance authorities said Friday. offered no possible illuminaThe tower held the main tion. He spoke only to confirm, e lines that carry his name and age. electricity from the Pacific Abram's mother, Lynda, was Northwest to the Southwest. A computer quoted in Thursday's Liverpool rerouted Echo newspaper as saying her power to alternative lines son had a history of mental less than one second after the "had and problems recently line fell Thursday night, become obsessed" with The Bonneville Power Beatles. Administration spokesman "He has been running in Perry Gruber. No customers pubs shouting .about The lost power, and a small fire Beatles," she was quoted as was quickly extinguished. Neither Gruber nor the saying. "He hates them and even believes they are witches FBI would say how the tower and takes their krics seriously. was brought down, except to He started to wear a Walkman say that no explosives were to play music to stop the voices used. The owner of a nearby in his head." store said he understood Mrs. Abram told the newspasomeone had unbolted supper that her son the father of port cables holding the tower two children, ages 16 and 10 in place. , "The report we got from had been in a local psychiatric unit for problems stemming the Oregon Department of from an addiction to heroin. She Transportation person at the blamed authorities for failing to scene was that some drunks 80-fo- ot high-voltag- -- : give him enough help. .simply unbolted the two bolts that bolted it to the ground and it fell over," store owner Steve Dalesky said. Crews were working to right the tower and energize the damaged line on Friday. FBI Gordon Agent Compton said the FBI had no suspects. The tower was in a remote area with no homes, and no one has claimed responsibility. "There, has been no evidence or intelligence that this was Y2K- - or millennial-related,- " said David Szady, special agent in charge of the FBI's Portland office. "The cause has been determined and has been reported as an act of malicious mischief." The Bonneville Power Administration's transmission grid covers 300,000 Bquare miles of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and western Montana. Its intertie system, including the line that was enables damaged, Northwest utilities to buy and sell power up and down . the West Coast. Other con-;- ; nections link it to the; Missouri Valley grid. . i; |