A day of wild contrasts in the world, this February 10th in 1998.
Starting with Tblisi, Georgia – Since taking charge of his native Georgia in 1992, Eduard Shevardnadze has cracked down on lawlessness and struggled with a foundering economy all the wh while watching his enemies multiply. The 70-year-old president blames antidemocratic forces for Monday’s assassination attempt, which killed two of Shevardnadze’s bodyguards and burned out his armored Mercedes. Shevardnadze was unhurt in what he described Tuesday as “a military operation, a well-planned one.” He also suggested a former security chief was to blame. Igor Giorgadze, who fled the country after an August 1995 bomb attack on given shelter in Russia. There, Shevardnadze, was believed to have been and others say, he has found powerful friends.
“What do they want from Shevardnadze?” the shaken president and former Soviet foreign minister asked during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday. “What is his fault? My fault was in choosing a path that destroyed the totalitarian state. And for hundreds of thousands, for millions, that was unacceptable.” Shevardnadze’s motorcade was ambushed Monday night by 10 to 15 gunmen firing automatic rifles and grenades. The assault lasted 10 minutes; the president was whisked away. “It was a military operation, a well planned one,” Shevardnadze said, describing it as the work of “a professional group, most likely sent to our country from abroad.” Most Georgian politicians believe the assassination attempt, in which one of the attackers was killed, was the work of Giorgadze and unspecified Russian backers. Russian President Boris Yeltsin, traveling in Italy, expressed his “deep indignation” at accusations of Russian involvement.
Georgia repeatedly has demanded Giorgadze’s extradition, but Russian officials have said they could not locate him. Revaz Kipiani, Georgia’s deputy prosecutor general, told The Associated Press he would tell his Russian colleagues Giorgadze’s whereabouts in Moscow, “as well as the address of his girlfriend.”
And over to the United Nations. Saying efforts to solve the Iraq crisis were at a “critical stage,” U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan canceled a Mideast trip yesterday to concentrate on ever-more urgent diplomacy at U.N. headquarters. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations flatly rejected Iraqi compromise proposals to end the standoff over U.N. weapons inspections, calling the suggestions unworkable. But Ambassador Bill Richardson gave no indication that events moving closer either to a peaceful resolution or to a U.S.-led military strike. “This is Saddam Hussein’s decision,” Richardson said. “If he backs off, the ball is in his court. Full and unconditional access to all sites, all documents, that’s the bottom line.” Richardson also announced he was s leaving 1 tomorrow night for Tokyo and Beijing, pushing on in a tour that earlier took him to European, Latin American and African capitals to make Washington’s case for possible military force against Iraq.
Washington is insisting that Iraq must do nothing less than grant full access to U.N. inspectors checking for banned weapons, as U.N. resolutions demand. With neither Iraq nor the United States showing signs of backing down on the demand for unlimited inspections, multiple mediation attempts by other nations appear to be getting nowhere.
And finally – “Titanic,” the epic account of a fateful love affair on the doomed ocean liner, captured a record-tying 14 Academy Award nominations today, including a nomination for best picture, actress and director. “L.A. Confidential” and “Good Will Hunting” each received nine nominations, including best picture. The other best picture nominees were “As Good As It Gets” and, in a mild surprise, “The Full Monty.” “Titanic’s” Kate Winslet was nominated for best lead actress, as were Helena Bonham Carter •in “The Wings of the Dove,” Julie Christie in “Afterglow,” Judi Dench in “Mrs.Brown” and Hunt in “As Good As It Gets.” Robert Duvall’s self-financed role in “The Apostle” earned him a best lead actor nomination. He will face Matt Damon from “Good Will Hunting,” Peter Fonda from “Ulee’s Gold,” Dustin Hoffman from “Wag the Dog” and Jack Nicholson from “As Good As It Gets.” The only other film to get 14 Oscar nominations was “All About Eve,” released in 1950. The most wins for a single film is held by 1959’s “Ben-Hur,” with 11. James Cameron, the driving force behind the $200 million “Titanic,” received two nominations – as producer of the film for best picture, and as the film’s director. He was not nominated for the film’s script.
Cameron will face for the directing Oscar, Peter Cattaneo for “The Full Monty,” Gus Van Sant for “Good Will Hunting,” Curtis Hanson for “L.A. Confidential” and Atom Egoyan for “The Sweet Hearafter.” Among those missing from the Academy Award nominations were Steven Spielberg, whose “Amistad” was not selected for best picture and who did not receive a best director bid. The critically acclaimed “The Ice Storm” also did not receive any nominations.
And that’s just a little of what went on, this February 10, 1998 as reported by The BBC World Service program “Newshour”.
