The May 18, 1997 was a Sunday under the star sign of ♉. It was the 137 day of the year. President of the United States was William J. (Bill) Clinton.
If you were born on this day, you are 29 years old. Your last birthday was on the Monday, May 18, 2026, 47 days ago. Your next birthday is on Tuesday, May 18, 2027, in 317 days. You have lived for 10,639 days, or about 255,346 hours, or about 15,320,768 minutes, or about 919,246,080 seconds.
Date: 19 May 1997
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Japan's Finance Ministry reports that country's merchandise trade surplus rose $163.7 percent from year-earlier month, or $7.23 billion; rise is second in last three months, following nearly three years of declines; Japan's trade surplus with United States rose for seventh consecutive month, increasing 174.1 percent, or $4.16 billion (M)
Date: 18 May 1997
By Jake Miller
Jake Miller
Jake Miller reviews Black in America, book of photography by Eli Reed; photo (M)
Date: 18 May 1997
INTERNATIONAL 3-12 Rebel Commander in Zaire Declares Himself President With his forces entering the capital, Zaire's victorious rebel leader, Laurent Kabila, declared himself President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, changing the country's name and announcing the suspension of the constitution. He said he would form a ''national salvation Government'' within three days, and create what he called a ''constituent assembly'' within two months. 1 AIDS Threat in Russia Russia is facing an AIDS epidemic, fueled by surging drug use and increased sexual activity, that is every bit as explosive as the one that swept through Europe and the United States 15 years ago. 1
Date: 19 May 1997
INTERNATIONAL A3-11 Zaire's Rebels Restrained As They Take Control Many former Government soldiers were captured or hunted down as a victorious rebel army took complete hold of Zaire's capital, Kinshasa. Showing discipline and restraint, the rebel troops ended looting and restored calm, but not before some Kinshasans had engaged in a final purge, chasing down isolated soldiers, beating them to death and burning their bodies. Many residents were exuberant, saying they had at last been freed from 32 years of dictatorship. A10 Zaire's new President, Laurent Kabila, remained in the southern part of the country with his closest advisers, struggling to transform his seven-month rebellion into a transitional government. A11
Date: 19 May 1997
By Seth Faison
Seth Faison
Chinese leaders are enthralled with way capital markets raise money, but are nervous about free-flowing information that comes with markets; Federal Reserve's chairman, Alan Greenspan, who recently met with China's senior leaders, tried unsuccessfully to impress on them danger of their plan to control distribution of financial information by international news organizations (M)
Date: 18 May 1997
By Bill Carter
Bill Carter
ABC News management abruptly canceled a report about abuses by Congress that was scheduled to be broadcast on its news magazine program ''20/20'' on Friday night, and one participant in the report contended that the network had acted out of fear of alienating members of Congress. ABC News executives dismissed the contention as groundless, saying the report had been pulled simply because its reporting was inadequate.
Date: 19 May 1997
By Iver Peterson
Iver Peterson
Nation's newspapers seek to reverse their declining circulation and attract younger readership with introduction of color and drama and intimacy; editors and publishers are questioning some basic assumptions of print journalism--that hard news should get more space and staff than soft features, or that it is up to editors and reporters to do the talking while customers just pay attention; some papers are running reader-written stories, one has section written by and for teen-agers, one has no stories at all on its Sunday front page; all the experimentation seems aimed at common objective of more emotional and intimate relationship with readers; market research of Yankelovich Skelly & White found that readers want more 'self-oriented' features and local news; percentage of adults in United States who read weekday paper declined to 64.2 percent in 1995, from 77.6 percent in 1970; photos (M)
Date: 18 May 1997
By Douglas A. Sylva
Douglas Sylva
Douglas A Sylva reviews book Spiral of Cynicism: The Press and the Public Good, by Joseph N Cappella and Kathleen Hall Jamieson (S)
Date: 18 May 1997
By John M. Deutch
John
The editor of The San Jose Mercury News writes that his newspaper's reporting last year of a link between the C.I.A. and the introduction of crack cocaine into Los Angeles in the 1980's was flawed. This admission has elicited pious editorial commentary about the courage of The Mercury News in acknowledging error while reaffirming the value of investigative reporting of alleged governmental misconduct. I was not impressed with the original Mercury News series when it appeared while I was the C.I.A.'s Director because of the absence of any evidence to support the allegation of C.I.A. involvement. I am now not impressed by the editorial admission of The Mercury News or the accompanying editorial comment.
Date: 18 May 1997
By John McQuiston
John McQuiston
Newspapers on Long Island's East End satisfy the resident's or visitor's thirst for local mysteries, political intrigue, food, fashion and entertainment; include East Hampton Star, Dan's Papers, East Hampton Independent, Southampton Press, Sag Harbor Express and Long Island Voice; photos (M)