2 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 10, 2002 NATION/WORLD Iraqdebateshifting1in U.S's favor NEWS IN BRIEFr HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE WORLD WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House points to U.S. and U.N. diplomats who may produce States should confront Saddam to a matter of GENEVA said international opposition to military action a formal resolution - but his address will make it how it should be done. .j . against Iraq - at least as a last resort - is soft- clear that military action will be taken if Iraq doesn't U.N. inspectors trying to determine whether Iraq innt 7 n a w ra l n n o h :r n a Q .A ].. ..«. I., F.:. . - _ _ _ : t _t _ ening as more world leaders have said Saddam Hussein cannot be allowed to snub U.N. weapons inspectors. Officials from France, Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands denounced Saddam in excep- tionally blunt terms yesterday, and some allies said military action cannot be ruled out if Bush works through the United Nations to confront Saddam. The comments, a subtle but potentially significant shift in tone among wary U.S. allies, came as senior administration officials said Bush planned to urge the U.N. on Thursday to demand that Saddam open his weapons sites to unfettered inspections or face punitive action. In his address Thursday to the U.N. General Assembly, Bush is not expected to set a deadline nor spell out the consequences - leaving the finer comply, officials said. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymi- ty, said Bush is convinced Saddam will provoke military action. Bush's case was bolstered by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a London group that issued a report saying Iraq could build a nuclear weapon in a few months if it obtained radioactive material. It warned, too, of Saddam's powerful arsenal of chemical and biological weapons. Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri called such claims "false pretexts, false accusations" designed to turn the world against Iraq. White House aides said that while few allies are fully behind Bush, the comments of world leaders in recent days suggest the debate has shifted from a question of whether the United possesses biological, chemical or nuclear weapons left Iraq in 1998 and have been barred from return- ing despite several U.N. resolutions. Bush intends to tells world leaders the relevancy of the U.N. is at stake as he seeks to disarm Saddam. "It does appear that a movement is budding to put some force to previous U.N. resolutions," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. "It's clear that both the Congress and the U.N. are returning to an issue that had not gotten suffi- cient attention in recent years, and now some muscle looks like it's being put at least rhetori- cally into the deliberations of the world's lead- ers," he said. Fleischer did not offer an example, but Bush advisers privately said the president was pleasantly surprised by a proposal from French President Jacques Chirac. Handing out chocolate and special-issue Swatches, the Swiss kicked off cere- monies yesterday to end decades of splendid isolation and follow the rest of the world into the United Nations. But in a final gesture. of independence, they made it clear they would not change their flag. The U.N. General Assembly is expected to formally admit Switzerland as its 190th member during a ceremony in New York today. To the accompaniment of the Swiss Army Band, the country's flag - a white cross on red background - will then be hoisted to flutter as a lone square among the sea of rectangles. "Finally Switzerland will be at home as a member of the U.N. family," declared Bertrand Louis, ambassador to U.N. offices in Geneva. "When the Swiss delegation steps down from his observer seatto join the main U.N. body, it will be a big step. It will be a step out of the shadows." After more than 50 years on the sidelines, Switzerland joined the United Nations after voters approved the move in March by a 55 percent majority. In the last vote 16 years earlier, 75 percent opposed U.N. membership on the grounds it would endanger the Alpine nation's revered neutrality in an era of acute East-West tensions. *I September 11, 2002 Opportunities for Prayer & Reflection First United Methodist Church The community i /invited to the fo//ow/ngspeca/servicef on Wednesday, September I1. Downtown: 120f tate ft. 9 am Prayer Vigil begins (sanctuary open all day) Noon Prayer & Remembrance 7:30 pm Worship Service 8:30 pm Outdoor Candlelight Service Green Wood: /0/Green Rd 8:00 pm Prayers for Peace -- - - - - - hoon k ls 2n Cna an1mn5s terrorists, promises elections SHANGHAI, China (AP) - Thou- sands of people in southeastern China were living in tents yesterday after typhoon Sinlaku ripped apart homes and claimed at least 24 lives. Some 300,000 people were forced out of their homes in and around the city of Wen- zhou after Typhoon Sinlaku slammed into coastal Zhejiang province Saturday with winds up to 87 mph, said an offi- cial in the city's Disaster Relief Office. Most had returned by yesterday morning, but several thousand were still in tents, said the official, who would give only his surname, Zhang. He didn't know the exact number. High winds and landslides destroyed more than 14,000 homes, Zhang said. Wenzhou is a prosperous city of 1.2 million people known for its shoe- export industry. With surrounding towns included, the area has a total population of 7 million people. Zhang said tents, blankets, food and clothing was distributed to the homeless. The typhoon killed at least 23 peo- ple in Wenzhou and the surrounding area, he said. Another person was missing and feared dead. One person was reported dead in the neighboring province of Fujian, according to the Huashan Newspaper in the provincial capital,Fuzhou. Much of Wenzhou lost electricity Sat- urday as winds snapped power lines. Power was later restored, Zhang said. In several fishing ports just south of Wenzhou, waves up to 53 feet high swept away five big fishing piers and sank at least one large fishing ship, said an official in Cangnan county, where the ports are located. More than 50 other large fishing vessels were damaged as waves knocked them together as they sat anchored, said the official, who gave only his family name, Wu. Yasser Arafat condemned terror attacks and promised to hold general elections in January, but in a rambling speech to the Palestinian parliament yesterday he fell short of outlining clear steps against terror or agreeing to share some power with a prime minister. Fumbling with microphones and repeatedly straying from a prepared text, the Palestinian leader also offered - apparently in jest - to give up executive powers if asked. The parliament session in Arafat's sandbagged West Bank headquarters came at what could be a pivotal point in the two years of Israeli-Palestinian vio- lence, with signs of a thaw coinciding with Palestinian militants' efforts to stage attacks of unprecedented scale. In a speech that was both conciliatory and packed with accusations against Israel, Arafat said he condemned "attacks against Israeli civilians" and that such attacks drew attention away from Palestinians' suffering under Israeli occupation. He told legislators to uphold the national interest - but he skipped passages from the draft that included a call on parliament to ban suicide-attacks. Addressing Israelis, Arafat said: "We want to achieve peace with you .." Get up to 90 FREE minutes* of International Calling! '7 S -7 h- -7 '7, '7 .I WASHINGTON FBI on high alert for anniversary The FBI is warning local police and the U.S. utility, banking and transporta- tion industries of a steady stream of threats mentioning New York, Washing- ton and the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. U.S. military bases and diplomatic missions worldwide are also being placed on high alert for the week, offi- cials say. The U.S. Embassy in Jakarta was closed Monday because of a specific threat against it. The flurry of incoming threats picked up by intelligence sources is challenging the FBI to determine which might be credible. But while officials say they have no specific details of an impending attack, the government is taking no chances. White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said Monday the threat of new attacks remains a worry to U.S. officials. BAGRAM, Afghanistan 'Champion Strike' to aim at al-Qaida forces U.S. forces have launched a large- scale operation in southeastern Afghanistan aimed at Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, a U.S. Army spokesman said yesterday. Operation Champion Strike began a few days ago and is centeredin the Bermel valley near the town of Shkin about 150 miles south of the capital Kabul, Maj. Richard Patterson said. Shkin is located in Paktika province on the border with Pakistan. Because Champion Strike is an ongoing operation, Patterson said he could provide only limited details. He would not say when Champion Strike was launched or when it would end. However, Patterson said there has been one firefight involving U.S. sol- diers since the operation began. There were no U.S. casualties nor deaths among the enemy, he said. Soldiers taking part in the operation have detained a number of people, Pat- terson said. Philadelphia, Penn. Woman with gun will not be charged Prosecutors have dropped charges against a woman who was arrested after security screeners found a loaded gun in her bag at Philadelphia International Airport. U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan said yesterday that the gun belonged to Nancy Keller's husband and that there wasn't enough evidence to prove she knew it was in her bag. Prosecutors declined to say how the .357-caliber semiautomatic got into a zipper compartment in Keller's carry- on bag. Keller, 37, of Huntersville, N.C., was making a connection in Philadelphia on a flight from Atlanta on Aug. 25 when a screener saw the gun on an X-ray machine. She had been charged with boarding an aircraft with a concealed weapon. The screener who apparently missed the weapon at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport was later fired. - Compiled from Daily wire reports. 0 0 Got friends or family in another country? Choose AT&T for Long Distance when you sign up for local phone service. 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