UPI News Update

White House ratchets up war talk

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- While President George W. Bush headed to Grand Rapids, Mich., Wednesday to sell his domestic plan to Americans the White House ratcheted up the war talk. Spokesman Ari Fleischer said we are in the final phase of diplomatic efforts. Secretary of State Colin Powell heads for the United Nation's next week to lay out U.S. evidence Iraq has failed to get rid of its weapons of mass destruction. U.S. allies have been balking at any incipient action, with Russia demanding convincing, undeniable proof of Iraq's duplicity. Both Powell and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld appeared before Congress Wednesday. Afterward, Rep. Tom Delay, R-Texas, said they presented new information.

U.S. forces searching Afghan caves

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- U.S. and coalition forces searched for Taliban and al Qaida holdouts and arms caches in the mountains of southwestern Afghanistan Wednesday after a 12-hour pounding by U.S. and allied planes destroyed their stronghold. The battle near a small town of Spinbuldak has been described as so far the fiercest in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in December 2001.

Kuwait: Attack by Iraq would be a suicide

KUWAIT CITY, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Kuwaiti Defense Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Hamad al Sabah warned Wednesday that any Iraqi military action against the oil-rich emirate would be a suicide. Sheikh Jaber told reporters after an Umma Council session that if Iraq carries out its threats and attacks Kuwait during a possible U.S. war on Iraq, such action will be "a suicide." His comments came in response to comments by Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz who said during an interview with a Canadian television station Monday that Baghdad will not attack targets inside the United States but will strike Kuwait if Washington launches a war from the Gulf emirate on Iraq. Jaber was quoted by the official Kuwaiti News Agency Tuesday night as saying that the Iraqi regime would pay a dear price if it threatens Kuwait's security, sovereignty and territorial safety.

Thai-Cambodian relations threatened

BANGKOK, Thailand, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- A chauvinistic remark attributed to a Thai movie star triggered a near breakdown in relations between Thailand and Cambodia Wednesday as a mob torched the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh and Bangkok withdrew its ambassador from Cambodia. Thousands of flag-waving Cambodian students broke into the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, setting the building ablaze and destroying nearly everything inside. Thai Foreign Ministry officials said the Thai ambassador and his staff were safe Wednesday night, taking refuge at the Phnom Penh residence of the Thai military attaché.

Senator to introduce cloning ban bill

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., said Wednesday he will introduce legislation to ban human cloning. The legislation would ban "all forms of cloning, including research cloning," Brownback's spokesman Erik Hotmire told United Press International. It is "the same legislation President Bush said he wants to sign into law" during his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, Hotmire added. Under the legislation, scientists who clone a human being would face criminal penalties on the order of 10 years in prison and $1 million dollars in fines, Hotmire said.

Study finds no cancer risk from acrylamide

BOSTON, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Researchers said Wednesday they have found no evidence acrylamide in the diet increases the risk of cancer. Swedish scientists sparked global concern last year when they found the chemical -- which is known to cause cancer in rats -- in such popular foods as french fries and potato chips.

Former 7-Eleven leader dead at 77

DALLAS, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- John P. Thompson, the "heart" of the company that turned 7-Eleven convenience stores into a household word, is dead at the age of 77. Thompson, a former chairman and CEO of The Southland Corp., helped grow a small Dallas ice company into the world's largest convenience retailer during his 48 years with the company. He died Tuesday from brain cancer. Jim Keyes, president and CEO of 7-Eleven, Inc., said the success that the company enjoys today is due in great part to Thompson.

United creditors briefed on turnaround

CHICAGO, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- United Airlines presents its restructuring plan to the board of directors Thursday after briefing the carriers' largest creditors and unions on the business blueprint to return the world's No. 2 airline to profitability. Top managers led by President and Chief Executive Officer Glenn Tilton this week discussed the turnaround plan with lenders providing $1.5 billion in reorganization financing. United, which formerly operated Shuttle by United on the West Coast, was expected to announce creation of a new unit to compete with low-fare carriers Southwest Airlines and JetBlue. Its previous shuttle service ceased operations in late 2001.

Markets rattled by war talk

NEW YORK, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Prices on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market were lower in moderate trading at midday Wednesday after President George W. Bush braced Americans for a possible war with Iraq. The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average, which rose 99.28 points Tuesday, was down 49.77 points at 8,039.07. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index, which gained 16.91 points in the previous session, was down 4.61 points at 1,337.57.