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Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 17:37:22 -0400 (EDT)
From: Gary G Sick
To: gulf2000 list
Subject: World News Connection - Some Results

It is my understanding that World News Connection will restore coverage and past archives for Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Sudan and Syria. Coverage will not be restored for Libya and Cuba, at least for now. That is not perfect, but it is progress.

I also understand that the Senate Committee which held hearings yesterday on the status of NTIS (which operates WNC) was not favorable to the proposal to remove NTIS from the Commerce Dept., so it should remain in business for now. However, this will bear watching over time since Commerce clearly has no interest in NTIS and could deny it the necessary support to keep it functioning well.

Once we get a formal answer from Commerce (hopefully by next week), I will pass it along.

In the meantime, many thanks to all of you who wrote letters and let Commerce (and the Senate committee) know of the concerns of the academic, journalist and other communities that rely on WNC. Your interventions were very effective, and the ripple effects of the original warning message were remarkable. I hope that those of you who use WNC will keep your eyes open for any changes in service in the future.

Gary Sick
Gulf/2000


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