2A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 10, 2002 NATION/WORLD 7 high-ranking Taliban set free U.S. State Department says leaders should have been turned over instead KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) - Seven high-ranking Taliban officials - including the ex-justice minister - sur- rendered to Afghan commanders but were set free by local officials, the Afghan government said yesterday, even though U.S. officials want Taliban lead- ers turned over. Foreign Ministry spokesman Omar Samad told reporters the government was determining whether the Taliban officials were "war criminals." They included Nooruddin Turabi, the Tal- iban's one-eyed, one-legged justice min- ister, who drew up the. militia's repressive version of Islamic law - including restrictions on women - and created the religious police to enforce it. A State Department spokesman said senior Taliban officials should be in U.S. hands. "We would expect that to be the case with these individuals," Richard Boucher said in Washington. Negotiations on the surrender of ex- Taliban figures have recently frustrated the U.S.-led coalition as it pursues the remnants of the Taliban and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network. Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar reportedly escaped during surren- der negotiations after being surrounded in the mountainous north of Kandahar. The Taliban leaders were let go, said Jalal Khan, a close associate of Kanda- har's governor Gul Agha, after they rec- ognized the government of Prime Minister Hamid Karzai and promised to stay out of politics. "Those men who have surrendered are our brothers, and we have allowed them to live in a peaceful manner. They will not be handed over to America," Khan said. The government was trying to deter- mine who the seven men freed in Kan- dahar were and whether the decision to let them go was "appropriate," Samad said. He said so far there had been no U.S. request for their handover. But Pentagon officials have said the new Afghan leaders are fully aware of the U.S. desire to have custody of cer- tain Taliban and al-Qaida leaders. The Pentagon was still working to confirm the seven had been freed. But if they were, "we would expect that they (Afghan officials) would take whatever steps are necessary to make sure that these folks are not left on their own," Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Dave Lapan. Meanwhile, in an attempt to bolster the new government's authority in the capital, Karzai ordered armed men to leave Kabul's streets and return to their barracks within three days or be put in jail, Interior Minister Younus Qanooni said. The order allows only uniformed police on Kabul's streets, where fighters from various Afghan factions bristling with rocket launchers and automatic weapons have moved freely since the Nov. 13 departure of the Taliban. Inter- national peacekeepers in the city are also armed. 4 Israeli soldiers killed in ambush CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Defendant testifies in 'rink rage' trial Shedding tears and getting choked up at times, the burly truck driver who beat another father to death at their sons' hockey practice testified yesterday that the other guy took a swing at him first and that he fought back in self-defense. "I just wanted him to stop hitting me," said 44-year-old Thomas Junta. Junta said he landed only three, off-balance blows against Michael Costin as the smaller man struggled beneath him on the ground. Junta wept when he recalled that several children saw the fatal fight. Among them was his son, Quinlan, then 10, who testified in his father's defense Tuesday. Junta is on trial on manslaughter charges in the fight that broke out at a Read- ing ice rink in July 2000 after the two fathers argued over rough play on the ice. Prosecutors say the 6-foot-1, 270-pound defendant overpowered Costin, who was an inch shorter and weighed 110 pounds less, and pummeled him. Costin never regained consciousness and died a day later. During an aggressive cross-examination by prosecutor Sheila Calkins, Junta said he walked away from the fatal fight without checking to see if the victim was hurt. "I thought when he laid back down that he was just resting," Junta testified, his voice choking and chin trembling. "I didn't know the man was hurt." WASHINGTON Justice Dept. begins criminal probe of Enron The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into Enron Corp., whose employees lost billions when the company barred them from selling plum- meting Enron shares from their retirement accounts. The department has formed a national task force, headed by the criminal division and made up of federal prosecutors in Houston, San Francisco, New York and several other cities, said a Justice Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Labor Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are con- ducting civil investigations. Enron attorney Robert Bennett said the company was pleased with the prospect of a Justice Department investigation that would "bring light to the facts." "As I understand it, this means there will be a centralized investigation at the Jus- tice Department," Bennett said. "It's important that we not let the Washington scan- dal machine take over." While ordinary employees were prohibited from selling company stock from their Enron-heavy 401(k) accounts, Enron executives cashed out more than $1 billion in stock when it was near its peak. JERUSALEM (AP) - Tossing grenades and firing rifles, two men in Palestinian police uniforms burst onto an Israeli army post near the Gaza Strip early yes- terday, killing four soldiers before being shot dead. It was the first deadly Palestinian assault on Israelis in nearly a month and threatened to subvert efforts for a formal Mideast truce. Struggling to keep the pe.ace hopes on track, the Bush administration decried the attack and demanded that Yasser Arafat make arrests and dismantle the Hamas terrorism group. The attack was "particularly disturbing because it came at a time when the situation on the ground had been relatively quiet," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. Israel said it held Palestinian leader Arafat's govern- ment responsible for the assault, though the Islamic militant Hamas group claimed responsibility and declared it had abandoned a cease-fire. The Palestinian Authority issued a statement con- demning the attack and said the two gunmen were not members of its security forces. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon blamed Arafat for the attack, calling it "a result of the strategy of ter- ror initiated by Yasser Arafat." Israel responded by destroying two Palestinian secu- rity posts and closing down three Palestinian naval police stations in the southern Gaza Strip, not far from the scene of the attack, the army said. Palestinian police had abandoned the posts earlier, fearing Israeli action. Israeli army chief Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz said the attack proved "beyond any doubt the Palestinian Authority is not fighting the infrastructure of terror- ism." Israel also says Arafat was behind the 50-ton arms shipment Israel seized in the Red Sea on a cargo ship last week and the two events have dealt a severe blow to U.S. truce efforts. "They are inventing a new issue every time. The last was the ship," said Arafat, dismissing the Israeli charge. Secretary of State Colin Powell refused to accept Arafat's disavowal of any knowledge of a shipment of rockets and other weapons. Powell told Arafat in a tele- phone call "that the indications of Palestinian involve- ment were deeply troubling to us and that that's what we felt required a full explanation," Boucher said. A wounded Israeli soldier is brought into Soroka hospital in the southern Israeli town of Beersheva yesterday after two Palestinians armed with grenades and assault rifles stormed an Israeli army post. Bush holds first post-Sept. B Sfundraiser WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush's public return to politics yesterday was a family affair - a fund-raiser for his "big little brother" - and, as the White House described it, an election- year duty to democracy. "These are serious times that face our nation and these serious times require serious leaders;' said the president, star attraction at a reception to raise at least $500,000 for Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's re- election campaign. Turning to his younger brother, Bush added: "And you're here to support a really good, serious man. ... I want to thank you all for making his campaign more viable." Bush, who avoided overt politicking late last year in deference to the war on terrorism, made a gentle first foray into what is already shaping up to be a bitter- ly fought midterm election. In his 10-minute remarks to donors, Bush had not one critical word for Democrats but instead reiterated praise for two, Sen. Edward Kennedy of Mass- achusetts and Rep. George Miller of California, who worked with the White House on education reform. With sister Doro and brother Marvin filling out the evening's "all-Bush" mar- quee, the president called the reception an "ole family reunion." Dinner afterward was expected to net the Florida Republican Party hundreds of thousands of dollars. Bush can be counted on to be increas- ingly active for like-minded Republican candidates. "That way, his ideas as pres- ident and commander in chief can be carried into law," White House press secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters. I Michigan Book & Supply C We'$ ajot it aiL .. I r *New & used textbooks *Law books *Art & engineering supplies *School supplies *FAX service eMedical books & supplies *CLINIQUE in store make-up counter *Michigan insignia clothes & gifts eGreeting cards *Backpacks sPrints & posters eCandy & snacks "24 hr. film service AND MORE! The narrow Democratic majority in the Senate is at stake in November, as is the slender GOP edge in the House. Some three dozen governors' seats are up for grabs, and these, too, are impor- tant to Bush. Republican governors in key states can go a long way toward helping his 2004 re-election campaign. Bush has not announced his inten- tions toward a second term, but his political team is preparing to run. On Monday, Bush travels to two states - Illinois and Missouri - that will be important to any 2004 aspirations. Wisconsin setles stem cell lawsu it MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Uni-' versity of Wisconsin's patent agency and a California company have settled a federal lawsuit over human embry- onic stem cell technology, the groups said yesterday. The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation filed the lawsuit in August against Geron Corp. of Menlo Park, Calif., to prevent Geron from interfer- ing with the foundation's ability to contract with other firms to further develop stem cell technology. "All of these things taken together will move the science forward faster and bring us closer to the treatments and cures that are the promise of stem cells," foundation spokesman Andrew Cohn said. In the settlement, the groups agreed on a new license which gives Geron exclusive rights to develop products. from three of the six cell types devel- oped by University of Wisconsin researchers. Geron also has nonexclu- sive rights to the other three cell types. David Greenwood, Geron's senior vice president and head of corporate development, said working with the foundation to develop a new agree- ment on the stem cell types made sense since they first agreed to a license in 1999. "We've learned a lot in working with the cells in the three years and we have sorted through very carefully what we want our business strategies to be in the field," Greenwood said. "We absolutely want to encourage other people to invest." Cohn said the foundation could reach licensing agreements within months with other companies that want to do research using its stem cell types. Geron and the foundation also have agreed to grant research rights for existing cell patents and patent filings LITTLETON, Colo. Deputy fired for lying to parents of victim A sheriff's deputy was fired yester- day for giving conflicting statements about the shooting of a teen-ager during the 1999 Columbine High School mas- sacre, officials said. Relatives of the slain student, Daniel Rohrbough, said the deputy told them he saw a boy fall to the ground after apparently being shot. They said Lt. Jim Taylor told them he realized it was Rohrbough after see- ing newspaper photos of him. But in a Dec. 31 statement, Taylor said he didn't see the shooting and told the family only what he had seen on television and read in newspapers. Arapahoe County Sheriff Pat Sulli- van said radio tapes and interviews prove Taylor was not in a position to see gunfire or Rohrbough during the April 20, 1999, shooting. Rohrbough's family claim the 15- year-old was accidentally shot by an officer as he fled the school. WASHINGTON Food stamps may go to more immigrats The Bush administration wants to reverse part of the 1996 welfare over- haul and restore food stamps for 363,000 legal immigrants, an idea that probably will be well received by His- panic voters this election year. Immigrants who have lived in the country for at least five years would be eligible for the benefits under the pro- posal that will be part of President Bush's 2003 budget. Under current rules, adult immigrants must have worked in the country for at least 10 years, no matter how long they had lived in the United States, or be a refugee or member of the military to qualify for benefits. A senior administration official, who described the proposal yesterday on condition of anonymity, said the White House wants the rule change included in an overhaul of farm and nutrition pol- icy now pending in Congress. AGOURA HILLS, Calif. Girl voted school's ugliest' files lawsuit A 17-year-old student who was named on the Internet as the "ugliest girl" at her school has sued her former school district, claiming officials did nothing to stop "the escalating pattern of sexual harassment' by other students. Sophomore Alison Goller quit Agoura High School after "the taunt- ing became unbearable,",acording to the lawsuit. Alison was teased at first about her appearance, then accused of promiscu- ity, the suit alleged. Alter a bout of mononucleosis, Alison returned to school last February to more taunting from classmates and a teacher, prompting her to leave the school. "People really do mean things in high school," Alison said in an inter- view. "I'm really surprised nobody has brought a gun to school at Agoura," which is about 30 miles west of down- town Los Angeles. - Compiled from Daily wire reports. 0 * *S The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $105. Winter term (January through April) is $110, yearlong (September through April) is $190. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. 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Khatri, Kylene Kiang, Daniel Kim, Tomislav Ladika, Louie Meizlish, Jennifer Misthal, Jacquelyn Nixon, Shannon Pettypiece, Stephanie Schonholz, Karen Schwartz, Sarah Scott, Jordan Schrader, Maria Sprow, Kelly Trahan. Kara Wenzel CALENDAR: Lisa Koivu EDITORIAL Michael Grass, Nicholas woomer, Editors ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Johanna Hanink, Aubrey Henretty, Manish Raiji STAFF: Howard Chung, Kevin Clune, Sumon Dantiki, Rachel Fisher, Seth Fisher, Catherine Groat, Jessica Gronski, David Livshiz, Garrett Lee, Paul Neuman, Neil Pals, An Paul, Zachary Peskowitz, Jess Piskor, Jim Secreto, Lauren Strayer CARTOONISTS: Sam Butler, Chip Cullen, Thomas Kulgurgis COLUMNISTS: Peter Cunniffe, David Horn, Rebecca Isenberg, Steve Kyritz, Dustin J. Seibert, Waj Syed, Josh Wickerham, Amer G. Zahr SPORTS Jon Schwartz, Managing Editor SENIOR EDITORS: Raphael Goodstein, Arun Gopal, Jeff Phillips, Joe Smith NIGHT EDITORS: Chris Burke, David Horn, Steve Jackson, Seth Klempner, J. 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