■ Israel
Ex-Jerusalem mayor dies
Former Jerusalem mayor Theodor "Teddy" Kollek, a tireless preacher of Israeli-Palestinian coexistence, died yesterday at age 95. "Teddy was Jerusalem and Jerusalem was Teddy," Mayor Uri Lupolianski said after his office reported the death of one of the nation's most famous political figures. Kollek became mayor of Jewish West Jerusalem in 1965, two years before Israel captured Arab East Jerusalem in a Middle East war. He was re-elected five times, serving 28 years, before losing in 1993 to now Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Kollek will be buried tomorrow in the city's Mount Herzl cemetery. Kollek launched more ambitious building and restoration projects in Jerusalem than any city father since 16th century Turkish Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, who built the Old City walls.
■ Mexico
Rebels celebrate anniversary
Thousands of Zapatista rebels on Monday celebrated the 13th anniversary of their brief uprising against the government with dances, songs and discussions aimed at improving the status of poor Indians in Chiapas state. The ceremonies, which attracted hundreds of foreigners from numerous countries, began on Sunday night under the stewardship of the ski-masked, pipe-smoking Zapatista leader and spokesman Subcomandante Marcos in the Zapatistas' base of Oventic. Participants saluted the Mexican and Zapatista flags and held a large dance.
■ United States
Airline employees spot UFO
Federal officials said it was probably just some weird weather phenomenon, but a group of United Airlines employees swear they saw a mysterious, saucer-shaped craft hovering over O'Hare Airport in Chicago, Illinois, last fall. The workers, some of them pilots, said the object did not have lights and hovered over an airport terminal before shooting up through the clouds, a report in the Chicago Tribune said on Monday. The Federal Aviation Administration acknowledged that a United supervisor had called the control tower at O'Hare, asking if anyone had spotted a spinning disc-shaped object.
■ United States
Frigid dip starts new year
Hundreds of New Yorkers bravely splashed into frigid ocean waters to start the new year on Monday, including one man who ended up in a hospital. Louie Scarcella, spokesman for the Coney Island Polar Bear Club, said the injured man was not a club member, but just one of the 200 or so people who joined the 80 members to take the annual plunge into the 9oC Atlantic Ocean waters. The man was injured when he dived into shallow waters. The annual swim raised US$25,000 for Camp Sunshine, a retreat for children who have life-threatening illnesses.
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