2 -The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 21, 2001 NATION/WORLD Bush: U.S. will not impose peace The Washington Post WASHINGTON - President Bush assured Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday that the United States would not impose a peace agreement on the Middle East, giving the visiting leader latitude to pur- sue his skeptical approach toward negotiations with the Palestinians. But even as the two newly elected leaders were holding their first meetings, the Bush administration criticized an Israeli decision two days ago to expand a major Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem. In his discussions with Sharon, Bush sought to dis- tance himself from the failed efforts of former presi- dent Clinton to broker a far-reaching peace agreement. "I told him that our nation will not try to force peace, that we will facilitate peace and that we will work with those responsible for peace;" Bush said at a news con- ference with the prime minister. Sharon, who is meeting top administration officials and members of Congress during a two-day visit to Washington, said his government remains committed to peace but must first see an end to the six months of street clashes and armed attacks by Palestinians. "Once we reach security and it will be calm in the Middle East, I believe that we'll start with our negotiations to reach a peace agreement,"he said. During a pair of White House meetings, described by both sides as positive, the leaders agreed that serious negotiations could not start until violence decreases and that Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat should do more to bring it under control. They also shared their mutual concerns about the threats posed by terrorism and the development of advanced weapons by Iraq and Iran. But the Bush administration also faulted Israel for taking actions that could provoke the Palestinians by allowing the expansion of the East Jerusalem settle- ment to proceed. On Monday, as Sharon was begin- ning his Washington visit, the Jerusalem city planning board approved the construction of 2,800 new homes in the Har Homa development located on East Jerusalem land captured by Israel in the 1967 war. That expansion, which still requires further govern- ment endorsement, would more than double the num- ber of homes that have been approved for the site since work began in 1997. "We don't think that continued construction activity like this contributes to peace or stability," State Depart- ment spokesman Richard Boucher said. "We have urged both sides to refrain from unilateral actions." He cited Secretary of State Colin Powell's comments Monday to the American Israel Public Affairs Com- mittee, the leading pro-Israel lobby, calling on Israelis and Palestinians to avoid provocative acts. The issue of Jewish settlements, which successive American administrations have considered an obstacle to peace, did not arise in Bush's discussions with Sharon, according to officials on both sides. But a senior U.S. administration official said Bush made clear to Sharon that he did not want to see any steps that could aggravate an already volatile situation. During Powell's visit to Jerusalem last month, he told Sharon specifically that the Bush administration opposed the expansion of Jewish settlements, includ- ing such construction in East Jerusalem. As part of the agreement underpinning Israel's two- week-old national unity government, Sharon has promised not begin any new settlements but said he will allow the "natural growth," of existing ones. American officials have said they are concerned that Israel will interpret natural growth "much too liberal- ly" and have repeatedly reminded the government both in public and private that it should avoid construction that is "unilateral and provocative," according to a State Department official. NEWS IN BRIEF HFADLINES FROM AROUND THE WORLD PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii U.S. skipper accepts blame in sub crash The skipper of the USS Greeneville reluctantly took the stand in a Navy court g yesterday and accepted sole responsibility for the collision with a Japanes trawler that left nine dead. Cmdr. Scott Waddle testified as the court of inquiry neared the end of its probe of the Feb. 9 submarine accident. "I accept full responsibility and accountability for the actions of the crew of the USS Greeneville," Waddle said. "As commanding officer, I am solely respon- sible for this truly tragic accident, and for the rest of my life I will live with the horrible consequences of my decisions and actions that resulted in the loss of the Ehime Maru. "I am truly sorry for the loss of life and the incalculable grief those losses caused the honorable families of those lost at sea," he said. On Monday, Lt. J.G. Michael Coen issued his own apology. "To the families of those who perished and to the crew of the Ehime Maru .. humbly apologize," Coen said, his voice brimming with emotion. "Although cannot comprehend the unimaginable grief you must feel, I want you to know that you are in my thoughts and prayers at all times and you will be for the rest of my life." RiO DE JANEIRO, Brazil Oil rig sinks, spilling of diesel fuel likely One of the world's biggest oil rigs sank in the South Atlantic on yesterday, and the state oil company Petrobras warned that more than 300,000 gallons of dies fuel on board was likely to spill. The 40-story-tall rig, crippled and listing after an explosion last week, "shifted suddenly" in heavy seas 75 miles off the coast early Tuesday morning, the company said. Workers who had been trying to save it gave up and fled. At about 10:30 a.m., the rig tipped over and went down in about 10 minutes. Film footage showed the platform descending until only the green heliport was visible above the waves. Then it went under, as oil workers, many sobbing, looked on from a nearby ship. "It's at the bottom of the sea," said Carlos Aurelio Miranda, a Petrobras spokesman. Petrobras Chief Executive Henri Philippe said there was a "fine film' oil" on the spot where the rig went down but that the company was read to contain it. British troops called in to aid farmers DEBAiTE: Between Philosophy graduate student, Charles Goodman, and Dr. Peter Payne Wednesday, March 21 AH Aud. C 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. The Washington Post LONDON - The British govern- ment called out the army yesterday to help beleaguered farmers deal with the rapidly spreading foot-and-mouth blight and scheduled the slaughter of thousands more animals to eradicate the livestock virus. But the govern- ment rejected increasing calls for the use of vaccination to stop the highly contagious disease. With 394 confirmed cases of the disease in Britain and more than 250,000 sheep, pigs, goats, and cows already killed, the five-week-old out- break turned into a political issue for the first time yesterday as Britain's opposition Conservative Party com- plained that Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Labor Party government had let the disease run "out of control." Conservative leader William Hague suggested yesterday that the national election expected to be held May 3 should be delayed, A look at the underside of U of M because politicians can't campaign in quarantined rural areas. Labor leaders spurned the idea. Blair holds a big lead in opinion polls, and pundits agree he's eager to have the election this spring while he is still sitting pretty. The prime minister here has the right to choose the day when he stands for re-election. The government did its best to maintain an aura of business as usual. Census takers continued their rounds, but without entering farms officially quarantined because of the disease. Tourism Minister Janet Anderson set off for the United States to tell Ameri- can travelers they don't have to cancel that planned summer vacation in "Eng- land's green and pleasant land. But as smoke from funeral pyres darkened the skies over rural Eng- land, there was a sense of a situa- tion getting worse rather than better. R EAD THEI DAILY. D AILY. LOS ANGELES Warm weather forces blackouts State power managers ordered rolling blackouts across California for a second straight day yesterday, cutting off hun- dreds of thousands of homes and busi- nesses as demand for electricity again exceeded supply. The same factors that collided to strap California's pVower supply on Monday hit again, officials with the Independent System Operator said. Those include reduced electricity imports from the Pacific Northwest, numerous power plants offline for repairs and less power provided by cash-strapped alternative-energy plants. Demand was higher than expected because of warm spring weather. Tem- peratures were higher than normal across California on Monday, includ- ing the 80s and low 90s in Southern California. They were expected to be somewhat lower yesterday but still in the 70s and 80s. TETOVO, Macedonia Albanian rebels face choice: leave or fight After its troops blasted guerrillas in the foothills overlooking this city with tank shells yesterday, the Macedonian government gave ethnic Albanian rebels until midnight tonight to give up or face all-out war. Ignoring the guerrillas' offer for talks over their demand that equal rights be assured for the nation's ethnic Albanian minority, the government said the rebels must "surrender to responsible authori- ties or leave the territory of Macedonia " "After this deadline expires, Mace- donian security forces will extend their actions against terrorist positions with all available means until their total destruction," warned a joint statement by the police and armed forces. As Macedonia teetered on the brink of full-scale war, Washington and the European Union threw support behind the government, which refused to nego- tiate with what it considers terrorists. MOSCOW Russians search for Chechen War MIAs i www.universitysecrets.com' Dennis Tito will fly aboard the Int* national Space Station next month5 Russian officials insisted yesterday, even though the United States and 14 other countries are arguing that the Los Ange: les multimillionaire should wait. Tito, a former rocket scientist turned money manager, has agreed to pay the Russians about $20 million to become, the world's first space tourist and has been training alongside cosmonauO outside Moscow for the past eight months. The Russian space agency said it has the right to select its own crew members for the station - and it has chosen Tito. "He must be launched and he will be launched," said Yuri P. Semyonov, chief designer with Russia's Energiya Corp. space enterprise, referring to Tito's planned flight April 30 aboard a Soyuz rocket that will deliver supplies to the space station. - Compiled from Daily wire reports. 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