Briefly Speaking

Local

Work is scheduled to begin on Los Angeles' new downtown sports arena, the Staples Center. Mayor Richard Riordan and executives from Staples, the official sponsor of the 20,000-seat venue, attended a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday.
Shaquille O'Neal of the L.A. Lakers and Luc Robitaille of the L.A. Kings were also at the ceremony. The $300 million arena is scheduled to be finished in time for the 1999 hockey season. Construction crews will be working until midnight on weekdays to complete the work. The new center will be located near the 110 Freeway and Pico Boulevard and is expected to bring jobs into the area.
--UPN
Nation

A high school senior was suspended for wearing a Pepsi shirt on "Coke Day."
School officials said the shirt was an insult to Coca-Cola executives visiting Greenbrier High in Evans, Ga., and ruined a school picture Thursday in which students spelled out "Coke."
Mike Cameron said that his blue-and-white-striped shirt with a small Pepsi logo, which he wore underneath another shirt, was a joke.
The Coke in Education Day was part of Greenbrier's effort to win a $500 local contest run by the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Augusta and a national contest with a $10,000 prize.
--CNN
World

President Clinton visited South Africa on Thursday, making this the first visit by a U.S. president to the country. The country's apartheid policy of racial separation had previously kept it isolated.
Clinton met with South African President Nelson Mandela promised to support the South African economy.
Clinton also participated symbolically in the rebuilding of the nation, laying bricks at the Victoria Mxenge women's housing project with a mix of aid and trade incentives.
Today Mandela will show Clinton around Robben Island prison, where the South African president was imprisoned for 18 years.
--CNN