SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST

　　News Item One (17-18)
　　Haitian hunger strikers at the US labor base at Guantannamo Bay, Cuba, have begun refusing all fluids and medical treatments. 15 of the 267 Haitians are at the base. 7 are prepared to die, if necessary, to force the US to admit the rest of them. The Haitians are eligible to pursue political asylum in the US, but have been barred from entry because most have the AIDS virus. The Clinton Administration says they would lift the ban on their entry, but it is not known when.

　　News Item Two (19)
　　The top three US auto-makers have decided not to proceed with plans to file a trade complaint with Japanese auto-makers. General Motors, Ford and Chrysler had planned to accuse Japanese companies of dumping cars below market prices in the US, but they dropped the idea, citing a pledge by the Clinton Administration to address the US-Japan trade imbalance.

　　News Item Three (20-21)
　　About 100 people are now known have died in what has been described as “the worst storm” ever to hit the eastern US this century. The hurricane-force winds first struck the Gulf of Mexico and have now spread across the Canadian border, continuing to bring reckless snowfalls, severe flooding, and causing millions of dollars in damage. All major airports have now reopened and airlines are beginning to cope with a backlog of thousands of stranded passengers. The storm also paralyzed areas of Cuba, where several people were killed, and property and crops destroyed.

　　News Item Four (22)
　　France has carried out another underground nuclear test in the South Pacific. It is the fifth in the region since September. The test was conducted at the Moruroa atoll on Wednesday. Paris has come under strong criticism for its nuclear testing programme, especially from Asia-Pacific countries. A State Department spokeswoman in Washington expressed disappointment at the latest French test. France has promised to sign a global test ban treaty after it completes its current series of nuclear tests in the Pacific.

　　News Item Five (23)
　　 The association representing British airline pilots says that there is an urgent need to raise levels of air safety throughout the world. In the statement,the association, known as Bobo, warns that unless air safety improves travelers face a perilous future. The association also said that the standard of training must be raised among fly crews and air traffic controllers as the sky has become ever more crowded.

　　News Item Six (24-25)
　　The Western European Union, the defense organization linking most countries of the European Community, is meeting in Luxembourg to discuss ways to reinforce economic sanctions against the Serbs by tightening controls on the River Danube. It is expected to approve of a proposal to send patrol boats manned by armed police and customs officers with power to search and turn back ships suspected of breaking the sanctions.International efforts to isolate Serbia have been undermined by ships carrying oil and other illegal supplies from the Black Sea region along the Danube into the former Yugoslavia after ignoring attempts by the local authorities to stop them. It is reported that most of the illegal traffic of goods is believed to be arriving in Serbia over land from Greece and former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonian.