Around the World

Around the World

Visitors urge to postpone statehood

Arafat, for now, is not saying what he will do.

In response to the most recent appeals by Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) and Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura, the Palestinian leader simply said yesterday that May 4 is a special occasion that needs to be marked - leaving everyone guessing about what he had in mind.

May 4 - the target date set by the Oslo accords for completing a permanent peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians - is less than two weeks before Israel's May 17 general elections. Declaring a Palestinian state then would raise tensions at a critical moment in the Israeli campaign.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is portraying himself as the only leader who can stand up to the Palestinians and has threatened to annex key parts of the West Bank if Arafat declares statehood.

Cigarette firms announce merger

The merger announced yesterday would create a tobacco maker with 16 percent share of the world cigarette market, making it the second largest global cigarette company after Philip Morris Cos. Philip Morris, manufacturer of Marlboro and other brands, has 17 percent of the world market.

British-based BAT is now the No. 2 seller internationally, and Netherlands-based is No. 4. Together they produced more than 900 billion cigarettes in 1997.

01-12-99