Gaza Strip

Six Palestinians killed; high-level meeting called off

A Palestinian woman, her two sons and a cousin were killed early today when Israeli tank shells exploded in a Bedouin camp near an Israeli settlement, residents and doctors said.

The shelling came after Palestinian security forces set up checkpoints in the Gaza Strip Wednesday to show they can maintain order as part of a new security agreement.

It wasn’t immediately clear how the deaths would affect the agreement, but Israel had postponed a meeting earlier Wednesday to enact the pact because of fresh violence. Two Palestinians were killed in separate clashes.

Houston

Enron severance deal OK’d

About 4,000 former Enron Corp. employees abruptly laid off when the company plunged into bankruptcy will receive more severance pay, a New York judge ruled Wednesday.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzalez approved a $28.8 million plan that will fund payments of up to $13,500 each to workers who lost their jobs between Dec. 3, the day after Enron filed for bankruptcy, through Feb. 28.

Any severance already paid to the workers will be deducted from that amount. Most workers received $4,500 in the weeks after the bankruptcy reorganization filing, and another $1,100 earlier this year.

Workers who accept the money give up their right to pursue more severance pay owed to them under Enron policy. They can still pursue non-severance claims, such as lawsuits over decimated 401(k) accounts or compensation denied to some executives.

Honolulu

Japanese mini submarine found at Pearl Harbor

Researchers said Wednesday they found a Japanese midget submarine sunk nearly two hours before the aerial attack on Pearl Harbor.

The two-man submarine was discovered in several hundred feet of water near the mouth of Pearl Harbor, surrounded by military debris, said John Wiltshire, associate director of the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory, which found the submarine.

The sub was sunk by a Navy battleship on Dec. 7, 1941.

Wiltshire said his crew was certain it is the midget sub that led four others into Pearl Harbor because of a bullet hole in its conning tower. He said the remains of the two Japanese crew members are likely still inside.

Washington, D.C.

Airport question to end

Beginning today, airline passengers will no longer be asked routine security questions about whether they have kept a close eye on their baggage.

Ticket agents have been required for the past 16 years to ask passengers two questions: “Has anyone unknown to you asked you to carry an item on this flight?” and “Have any of the items you are traveling with been out of your immediate control since the time you packed them?”

The questions are being phased out because they take up time, create a hassle and have never prevented a bombing or hijacking, James Loy, head of the Transportation Security Administration, said Wednesday.

“Over the years, they have lost whatever original value they contributed and can now be safely eliminated,” Loy said.