ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 25, 1996 TAG: 9604250082
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
Ozone will recover, study says
WASHINGTON - Ozone levels over the Northern Hemisphere have continued to decrease, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported Wednesday.
But the report, ``Northern Hemisphere Winter Summary,'' predicted levels will recover ``in the coming decades.''
Ozone is a form of oxygen that shields against harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun. The ozone destruction is caused by pollution from compounds containing chlorine or bromine.
- Associated Press
Asylum seeker freed after months in jail
WASHINGTON - An 19-year-old woman from Togo was released from prison Wednesday by immigration officials a year and a half after she fled to this country to escape genital mutilation in her homeland.
``I'm so happy. I feel great. I love everybody,'' Fauziya Kasinga said as she emerged wearing denim jeans and a T-shirt and carrying boxes of her belongings.
Kasinga is at the center of a test case that could open political asylum in this country to some of the millions of young women who face genital mutilation in African and Middle Eastern cultures.
Her incarceration had spawned protests from immigration rights advocates. They said that immediately upon her arrival, Kasinga volunteered that she had a false passport and requested asylum and thus never intended to gain entry by fraud.
Kasinga told immigration authorities she fled Togo because an aunt who had custody of her was insisting that she undergo the procedure as part of an arranged marriage to an older man. Kasinga belongs to the Tchamba Kunsuntu tribe, which practices female genital mutilation.
The immigration service said her release was appropriate now because of ``new and reliable arrangements Ms. Kasinga has proposed to ensure that she will remain available for all future immigration proceedings.''
- Associated Press
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