2 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 9, 2002 NATION/WORLD Oil pnces increase following export cuts i NEWS IN BRIEF \,~ 1 I LONDON (AP) - Oil prices surged yesterday in a fresh wave of anxiety after Iraq cut off crude exports to demonstrate support for the Palestini- ans in their struggle with Israel. At the same time, labor strife in Venezuela squeezed that country's oil shipments to a trickle. The combined effect of the supply interruptions added to existing concerns stoked by tensions in the Middle East, home to two-thirds of the world's proven oil reserves. Crude futures prices spiked as much as $1.44 a barrel, or six percent, in London, and $1.02 in New York. Some energy analysts played down the risk that major, long-term supply disruptions might result. Analysts suggested other mem- bers of the Organization of Petroleum Export- ing countries, which pump a third of all crude, would intervene to offset a major shortfall in supplies. Leaders of the oil producers' group expressed alarm at the latest developments. "After the announcement of Iraq to suspend exports and the effect of Venezuela's exports, we could go directly to an oil crisis," OPEC Secretary-General Ali Rodriguez told Venezuela's Radio Caracas Radio in an inter- view from Qatar. Iraq and Venezuela jointly export about 4.5 mil- lion barrels a day, or about six percent of global supplies. President Saddam Hussein announced that Iraq would suspend oil exports starting yester- day for 30 days or until Israel withdraws from Palestinian territories. His unilateral cutoff could put more pressure on other Arab leaders to move against Israel in retaliation for its offensive. KBUL, Afghanistan Attack on interim government kills four A bomb tore through a crowd lining a road to welcome Afghanistan's defense minister yesterday, killing at least four people and injuring 18 in what officials said was another attempt to destabilize the interim government. Defense Minister Mohammed Fahim was not hurt in the bombing in the east- ern city of Jalalabad, which an aide called an assassination attempt. Elsewhere in eastern Afghanistan, at least one person was killed and four were wounded yesterday when poppy farmers fired on government offi- cials beginning an ambitious campaign to eradicate the opium-producing flowers. Meanwhile, international peacekeepers said Kabul police discovered four more Chinese-made rockets aimed toward a camp housing German and Danish troops at the site used to launch two missiles over the weekend. No one was injured in the weekend attack, but peacekeepers said they believed it was part of a campaign to damage the interim Afghan administration of Hamid Karzai ahead of the loya jirga, a national grand council that meets in June to select a new government. Fahim had traveled to Jalalabad yesterday to meet with local commanders and tribal leaders and discuss, among other issues, poppy eradication. 64 AP PHOTO Traders buy and sell Light Sweet Crude Oil at the trading pits of the New York Mercantile Exchange yesterday, after oil prices surged when Iraq cut off crude exports. Arab leaders put pressure on Powell sCHICAGO rab eadrs pt pessue o Powll ndersen layoffs leave 7,000 without jobs U CASABLANCA, Morocco - Arab leaders pressured Secretary of State Colin Powell yesterday to do more to halt Israel's military sweep in the West Bank despite President Bush's fresh call for a swift pullback. "I meant what I said," the president declared in the United States. "It's a start," White House press sec- retary Ari Fleischer said. "I hope this is not a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but a pullback," Powell said, referring to Israel's mixed signals. Still, he called it an encourag- ing sign. "I hope it's the beginning of further withdrawals," he added. Powell rejected any suggestion that the Bush administration was giving Sharon more time. "He's not been get- ting a free ride," he said. The secretary of state's comments came after he held a critical 2-hour meeting with Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, whose land-for-peace proposal to Israel has been overshad- owed by Israel's thrust into the West Bank and by the heated Arab response. Abdullah is scheduled to see Bush at the end of the month at the president's Texas ranch. Earlier, after meeting the king of Morocco, Powell said he had spoken to Bush and "he is expecting efforts on the part of the Israeli authorities to start bringing this operation to some conclusion." He said he also had asked the king to counsel Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to halt violence against Israelis. The secretary said he hopes to see Arafat later in the week. Mohammed, the first leader to meet with Powell as the secretary began a trip aimed at halting the violence between Israelis and Palestinians, assured Powell that Morocco will be ready to act on Abdullah's proposal "without any prior conditions" as soon as Israeli troops withdraw from the West Bank and free Arafat from con- finement in Ramallah. . 4e~4r In Knoxville, Tenn., Bush said Mideast peace will require leadership by both sides, as Powell was urging Arabs to help him get a cease-fire and start Israel and the Palestinians toward peacemaking. "The United States is firmly com- mitted to achieving peace," Bush said. "I meant what I said about withdrawal without delay, and I mean what I say when I call upon the Arab world to strongly condemn against terrorist activities." Also yesterday, special envoy Antho- ny Zinni met with Sharon and restated demands for an immediate withdrawal from the Palestinian territories. ISRAEL Continued from Page 1 holed up inside, and the violence threatened the delicate ties between the Vatican and the Jewish state. In the West Bank's largest city, Nablus, dozens of gunmen surren- dered to Israeli troops while scores more lay wounded on blankets on a mosque floor. Some of the men were dying, and doctors lacking even the most basic supplies operated on others without anesthetics. Israeli helicopters also pounded the Jenin refugee camp with mis- siles, and bulldozers flattened homes as gunmen retreated. Israeli officials estimated more than 100 Palestinians have been killed in the camp in recent days. Israeli Brig. Gen. Eyal Shline said the armed men "seem to have decided to fight to the last, to make the battle as bloody as possible." He added that several blew them- selves up in suicide attacks on sol- diers. Addressing Parliament, Sharon said Israel's assault was a response to a "mur- derous insanity which has taken hold of our Palestinian neighbors." He accused Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat of heading a "regime of terror" and said Israel would press on "until it has dismantled Arafat's terror infrastructure and the murderers hiding in different places have been arrested." WASHINGTON Cuts to lower income tax for middle class Another way the rich are different: They pay the lion's share of the nation's income tax bill. The wealthiest five per- cent pay more than half the taxes, while people in the bottom half pay just four percent. The annual federal tax deadline for most of America is next Monday. Two-income households are increas- ing, putting more families in the top slice of taxpayers. Millions of small businesses and partnerships are up there, too, paying personal instead of corporate income taxes. Many other people were boosted by the 1990s stock market boom. President Bush's big tax cut will pre- vent the wealthy from paying an even greater share in coming years. But key provisions, such as the gradual dou- bling of the child tax credit, will reduce or eliminate income taxes for many middle-income people, while the rich won't qualify. BOSTON Priest romoted sex with chdren in 1979 The Archdiocese of Boston knew that one of its priests, now accused of rape, spoke in favor of sex between men and boys at a 1979 meeting that apparently led to the founding of a national group advo- cating the practice, according to court documents released yesterday. Staggered by a rapid loss of business following the Enron scandal, Arthur Andersen LLP announced yesterday it is laying off about 7,000 employees, or more than a quarter of its U.S. work force. The layoffs, which Andersen had warned last month were inevitable, come with the firm's reputation in tatters, its overseas network disintegrating and dozens of U.S. companies replacing it as their auditor. In a statement, Andersen said its audit practice and administrative services will bear the brunt of the cuts, which amount to a little more than a quarter of its U.S. work force of 26,000. The 89-year-old firm employs about 5,300 people at its headquarters in down- town Chicago, where heavy layoffs are expected. "No one can believe this is happening," said Mimosa Unno, 22, who works in the audit division in Chicago. The company said no breakout of planned cuts was yet available. Employees in Chicago were told in an e-mail to check their voice mail yesterday night to learn if they should report to work today. The documents also show archdio- cese officials knew of sexual mis- conduct allegations against the priest, the Rev. Paul Shanley, since at least 1967, but continued to allow him access to children in different parishes for three decades. The documents also show that archdiocese officials had been told as early as 1977 about Shanley's teachings on sex between men and boys. He continued to serve as a parish priest for several years. NEW YORK Times takes record number of Pulitzers The New York Times won a record seven Pulitzer Prizes yesterday, includ- ing the public service award for "A Nation Challenged," a daily stand-alone section.onrthe-aftermath ofthe ept 11 terrorist attacks and the war in Afghanistan. The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times each won two of American journalism's most presti- gious awards in a year when eight of the 14 prizes went to coverage of the attacks and their aftermath. The most Pulitzers won by one publication in any previous year was three, a feat accomplished by several newspapers, said Seymour Topping, the prizes' administrator. No other single news event had such wide- spread representation in the 85-year history of the awards, he said. - Compiled from Daily wire reports. !KLI to tI 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. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscrip- tions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Colle- giate Press. ADDRESS: The Michigan Daily, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1327. PHONE NUMBERS (All area code 734): News 76-DAILY; Arts 763-0379; Sports 647-3336; Opinion 764-0552; Circulation 764-0558; Classified advertising 764-0557; Display advertising 764-0554; Billing 764-0550. 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Khatri EDITORIAL Johanna Hanink, Editor ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Aubrey Henretty, Jess Piskor, Manish Rai[ STAFF: Howard Chung, Rachel Fisher, Michael Grass, John Honkala, Adam Konner, David Livshiz, Garrett Lee, Kevin McNeil, Christopher Miller, Paul Neuman, Ari Paul, Zachary Peskowitz, Laura Platt, Rachel Roth, Lauren Strayer CARTOONISTS: Sam Butler, Chip Cullen, Thomas Kuljurgis COLUMNISTS: Babawole Akin-Aina, Peter Cunniffe, Geoffrey Gagnon, David Horn, Yael Kohen, Jeremy W. Peters, Dustin J, Seibert, Nick Woomer, Amer G. Zahr 'ri 'r SPORTS Steve Jackson, Managing Editor SENIOR EDITORS: Arun Gopal, David Horn, Jeff Phillips, Joe Smith NIGHT EDITORS: Chris Burke, Seth Klempner, Courtney Lewis, J. Brady McCollough, Kyle O'Neill, Naweed Sikora STAFF: Rohit Bhave, Dan Bremmer, Evan Brown, Eric Chan, Kareem Copeland, Raphael Goodstein, Josh Holman, Bob Hunt, Melanie Kebler, Shawn Kemp, Matt Kramer. David Oxfeld, Charles Paradis, Swapnil Patel, Dan Rosen, Mike Rosen, Brian Schick, Brian Steere, Jim Weber No one told you the hardest part of being an engineer would be finding your first job. Of course, it's still possible to get the high-tech work you want by joining the U.S. Air Force. You can leverage your degree ARTS Lyle Henretty, Luke Smith, Managing Edito EDITOR: Jeff Dickerson WEEKEND EDITORS: Matt Grandstaff, Jane Krul SUB-EDITORS: Ryan Blay, Keith Dusenberry, Caitlin Nish, Neal Pais, Jim Schiff, Andy Taylor-Fate SrAFF: Charity Atchison, Marie Bernard, Matthew C. 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Du. lilir00 olmrr vvu.u.qur n.v.a.VaY vuanwaa t..w.ai.SV' STAFF: Marc Allen, Soojung Chang, Chuck Goddeeris, Melanie Kebler, Timothy Najmolhoda DISPLAY SALES Micah Winter, Manager ASSOCIATE MANAGER Carrie Wozniak STAFF: Ayalla Barkai, Brad Davies, Belinda Chung, Joanna Eisen, Laura Frank, Ellen Gagnet, Rebecca Goodman, Jennifer Kaczmarek, Zipo Lat, Julie Lee, Leslie Olinek, Anne Sause, Tarah Saxon, Debbie Shapiro, Nicole Siegel, David Soberman, Ryan Zuckerman r u l