2A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 20, 2003 NATION/WORLD **0 , 9 0 0 * 0k Thinking about Switching? Now is the time with these great prices. iBook Special Student Price: $1189 You Save: $297 12 in. Display / 800 MHz /128MB SDRAM / 30G / Ethernet / CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive / 3 year warranty & phone support ga0 0 ~00 Special UM Pricing U-M Computer Showcase 64-SALES Michigan Union ground level www.itd.umich.edu/sales Offer Expires March 28, 2003 Available only at U-M Computer Showcase NL U.S. troops search for al-Qaida in sudden raid BAGRAM, Afghanistan (AP) - About 1,000 U.S. troops launched a raid on villages in southeastern Afghanistan today, hunting for members of the al-Qaida terrorist network in the biggest U.S. opera- tion in just over a year, military officials said. Helicopters ferried troops from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division to the remote, mountainous area as the hunt for Osama bin Laden and his terror network intensified, according to U.S. military officials in Washington. Military officials in Afghanistan confirmed the operation was underway, but would provide no details. "I do not have anything to say about the Kandahar operation at this time," said Col. Roger King, U.S. army spokesman at the U.S. headquarters at Bagram. The troops left from their base in Kandahar, the former Taliban strong- hold in southern Afghanistan. Radio transmissions had been detected coming from caves above the villages, said military officials in Washington. It was the largest U.S. military oper- ation in Afghanistan since Operation Anaconda just over a year ago. That eight-day battle involved hundreds of Taliban and al-Qaida fighters against thousands of American and allied Afghan troops. There have been a series of raids on both sides of the Afghanistan- Pakistan border in the weeks since authorities captured al-Qaida's No. 3 figure, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, in Pakistan on March 1. Authorities have said Mohammed is giving information to U.S. interrogators and have said some of the subsequent arrests came as a result of Mohammed's capture. Mohammed, an alleged mastermind of the Sept. I1 terrorist attacks in the United States, is being interrogated by American officials at an undisclosed location. The agents who captured him in a suburb of Islamabad found computers, mobile telephones, documents and other evidence that could help lead to other al-Qaida members. There have been increased attacks on Afghan government posts in south- ern Afghanistan in recent weeks. The authorities have blamed remnants of Taliban, al-Qaida and loyalists of Gul- buddin Hekmatyar, a renegade rebel commander labeled a terrorist by the United States. Hijackers of Cuban airliner surrender KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) - A Cuban airliner carrying 29 passengers was hijacked last night and landed under U.S. military escort in Key West, U.S. authorities said. Six hijackers took over the plane and surrendered to authorities in Key West, said FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela in Miami. She did not know if any of the hijackers, passengers or six crew members were hurt. "All I have right now is that it was resolved," Orihuela said. Air Force fighter jets were sent from Homestead Air Force Base, and escorted the Douglas DC-3 to Key West International Airport. offi- cials said. Air traffic controllers at Miami International Airport spotted the plane on radar about 7:45 p.m. and were unable to make voice contact, said FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen. The aircraft landed a little after 8 p.m., and the passengers were released about a half hour later, Bergen said. The plane originated from the Isle of Youth, off the main island's southern coast, Bergen said. It was still on the runway more than an hour after it landed, said sheriff's spokeswoman Becky Herrin. The alleged hijackers were in FBI custody and the passengers were being interviewed by U.S. Customs agents, she said. "The hijackers were separated fairly quickly from the passengers and crew. -4, WASHINGTON Standoff with angry fanner ends in peace The farmer who drove his tractor into a pond near the National Mall and threatened to set off explosives surrendered yesterday after a 48- hour standoff that snarled rush-hour commutes and kept some monu- ments off limits'to tourists. Dwight Watson, who was protest- ing farm policies he said were forc- ing him out of his family's tobacco-farming business, was taken into custody at about midday. No explosives or weapons were found in a preliminary search of both the tractor and the Jeep he had aban- doned in the large pond in Constitu- tion Gardens, a federal park east of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. U.S. Park Police planned to con- suit with federal prosecutors on potential charges against the 50- year-old Watson of Whitakers, N.C. thorities may decide to seek a psy- chiatric exam. ATLANTA 11 cases of mystery illness found in U.S. Health officials said yesterday that 11 suspected cases of a mysterious flu- like illness have emerged in the United States, while on the other side of the world, medical investigators continue to puzzle over how the illness spread in a Hong Kong hotel. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief Julie Gerberding said Senate rejects drilling in Alaska park The Senate yesterday narrowly rejected oil drilling in an Alaska wildlife refuge, rebuffing the Bush administration on a top energy goal it had hoped to win with a wartime security appeal. Despite intense lobbying by pro-drilling senators and the White House in the hours leading up to the vote, Democrats mustered the support needed to remove a drilling provision from a budget resolution expected to be approved later this week. An amendment offered by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) to strip away the pro- vision passed 52-48. Development of the millions of barrels of oil beneath the 100-mile coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Alaska has been a key part of President Bush's energy plan. Environmentalists contended drilling there would jeopardize a pristine area valued for its wildlife. All but five Democrats voted against refuge drilling. There were eight Republicans who joined the Democrats in favor of barring oil companies from the refuge. With one or two senators holding the balance, both sides stepped up their lob- bying to try to sway anyone thinking of shifting. HOUSTON Recorder could hold clues about Columbia In what could be one of the most significant debris discoveries yet from the shattered Columbia, searchers found a data recorder that may hold valuable clues as to what destroyed the space shuttle, the accident investigation board said yester- day night. A spokeswoman for the board, Laura Brown, said the ship's recorder was intact but sustained some heat damage. Officials are hoping that temperature and aero- dynamic pressure data can be retrieved from its magnetic tape, she said. Brown compared the recorder to an airplane's black box. "We have no way of knowing whether the data can be recovered," she said. But she added that if it can, "it will give us, hopefully, a lot of information about what was going on with the orbiter." The recorder was discovered near Hemphill, Texas, and was being sent to John- son Space Center for analysis. Officials said they believe it was found yesterday. The discovery was all the more thrilling for NASA and the investigation board because it had been days since any major pieces of the shuttle had been found. 0* * the suspected U.S. cases are people who recently traveled to Asia and later developed fever and respiratory prob- lems, matching definitions for the mystery illness, called "severe acute respiratory syndrome" or SARS. The illness, for which there is no treatment, has caused 14 deaths, including five who died months earlier in China. The worldwide number of cases, including the 11 suspect U.S. cases, now totals 264, according to the World Health Organization. BOSTON Study: Binge eating influenced by gene Binge-eaters who say they can't help it may be right. A study suggests a weak gene, not feeble willpower, may be the cause for some. people. The research may point the way to a future pill to tame their appetites. The joint Swiss-German-Ameri- can study makes the strongest case yet that genetic mistakes can cause an eating disorder, researchers say. Traditionally, eating behavior has been viewed as complex and cultural in its causes. "Willpower is not always impor- tant to reduce weight. Some people can by willpower. Some cannot, and I think these patients have a hard time," said Fritz Horber, the leader of the binge-eating study at the Hirslanden Clinic in Zurich, Switzerland. -- Compiled from Daily wire reports. 01 (Sh bS Sn+ttl ._....,s _ -,.,s ^, - - _ 1 I S0 The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily's office for $2. 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. 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