2A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, September 16, 2002 NATION/WORLD Pakistan detaining al-Qaida men NEWSIBRIEF KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) - Pak- rogation that his name was Abdullah. mark, German Interior Minister Otto was apprehended during the raid JERUSALEM istan confirmed Saturday it was holding Pakistani authorities were awaiting Schily said Saturday he will ask for Wednesday - the anniversary of the " about a dozen foreigners arrested this details about the man's family origins Binalshibh's extradition. Schily said Sept. 11 terrorist attacks - at an Bush says Palestinians need statehood week on sus icion the sere aysi f fi i hi idi ' ,i r i wvU vl Jupllll uy wul al au members, including one who U.S. authorities say was a key planner of the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States. A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were "very, very strong suspicions" that the group included Ramzi Binal- shibh, a roommate of hijack leader Mohamed Atta in Germany. The FBI believes Binalshibh was to have been the 20th hijacker but was denied entry into the United States. In Washington, U.S. officials, speak- ing on condition of anonymity, said they were convinced the man was Binalshibh. The Pakistani official said the suspect kept insisting under inter: oerore con rmnis wentityte official said. Speaking to reporters, Interior Min- ister Moinuddin Haider did not come out and say that Binalshibh was in cus- tody. However, when told that media reports from the United States identi- fied the man as Binalshibh, Haider said the reports "must be right." The government statement said the foreigners were apprehended and two were killed during raids here Monday night and Wednesday morning. "Two out of those arrested are suspected to be high-level al-Qaida men and their identity is being confirmed," the state- ment added. Interviewed at a conference in Den- lied like to see tum tried in Germany, where he was believed to be part of a Hamburg-based cell of hijackers that plotted the Sept. 11 attacks. German Justice Minister Herta Dae- bler-Gmelin said German authorities will cooperate with other countries who may want custody of Binalshibh. Should the United States seek to gain custody of Binalshibh, which seems likely, an extradition to Ger- many beforehand could raise serious legal snarls. Germany, like other Euro- pean Union partners, customarily has refused to send prisoners in its custody to countries where they could face the death penalty. The man believed to be Binalshibh apartment house in an upscale neigh- borhood of this teeming city of more than 12 million. Those in the apartment fired grenades and automatic weapons at police, triggering a four-hour gunbattle which left two of the Islamic militants dead and seven policemen wounded. A senior army officer said he visited the interrogation center Saturday where the captives were being held. The officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said prisoners were strapped to chairs and blindfolded dur- ing interrogation. The man believed to be Binalshibh was uncooperative and kept insisting "my name is Abdullah." Germany seeks extradition of suspects In his first-ever discussion with a Palestinian Authority official, President Bush said statehood is a prerequisite for ending Palestinian suffering, the official said Saturday. Bush met several times with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon but has refused to meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat or his aides, calling his regime corrupt and linked to terror. In a June speech, Bush called for Arafat's ouster. The conversation between Bush and Nabil Shaath, the Palestinian minister for international cooperation and planning, occurred Thursday during a reception Bush held for heads of state and representatives in New York, where the U.N. General Assembly is meeting. Shaath said the two spoke for about seven minutes. He said Bush reiterated his support for an independent and economically viable Palestinian state. "He (Bush) told me he meant every word, that this was the minimum that the Palestinian people deserved, that there can be no end to the suffering of the Pales- tinian people without achieving this independent state," Shaath said. Shaath and the Palestinian representative to the U.N., Nasser el Kidwa, received a last-minute invitation to attend the reception, Shaath said. WASHINGTON Congress to pass Homeland Security bill The Senate majority leader said yesterday that Congress will pass legislation before the November elections creating a Homeland Security Department despite a dispute over the president's power to hire and fire agency workers. President Bush is threatening to veto the bill, which the GOP-led House passed and the Democratic-controlled Senate is considering, unless it gives him flexibili- ty over the estimated 170,000 employees that would become part of the Cabinet agency. "I can't believe he'd veto a bill over the issue of accountability," said Sen. Tom Daschle, (D-S.D.). "I can't believe he'd veto the bill over the issue of politicization of the federal work force." Daschle has called Bush's proposal "a power grab of unprecedented magnitude" that would undermine the government's nonpolitical civil service system and threaten labor union rights and protections for one-third of the workers. The White House says the new department needs broader powers to hire, fire, promote or demote and pay employees, and to waive union rights in matters of national security, to meet emerging terrorist threats. COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - Germany will seek the extradition of a key al-Qaida suspect from Pakistan - a move that could cause conflict with the United States, a top German official said Saturday. As top German and U.S. justice officials discussed ways to streamline anti-terrorist activities, German Interior Minister Otto Schily said he will seek the extradition of Ramzi Binalshibh, who was caught in Pakistan earlier this week along with a group of al- Qaida suspects. Schily said he would like to see Binalshibh tried in Germany, where he was believed to be part of the cell of hijackers that plotted the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States. It was not immediately clear how Germany's extra- dition request would affect U.S. plans for Binalshibh. U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft also was in the Danish capital for the meeting of 15 European Union justice ministers. It was the first time an American attorney general has met with his EU counterparts. Ashcroft declined to comment when asked about the arrest and whether the United States wants to extradite Binalshibh as well. In a speech, he did not address the developments and instead cited increased cooperation with EU countries on terrorism. "We're discussing the possibility of an unprece- dented agreement on extradition and mutual legal assistance between the EU and the United States," Ashcroft said. Trying to highlight the spirit of cooperation between the United States and the EU, Schily said the request for extradition would come second to joint efforts to combat international terrorism. "If there are competing claims then we are going to sort them out," Schily said. Binalshibh is known to have had close contact with Sept. 11 hijackers Mohamed Atta, Marwan al- Shehhi and Zaid Jarrah, and lived with Atta in an apartment in Hamburg, where the Sept. 11 cell is believed to have plotted. German Federal Prosecutor Kay Nehm has said Binalshibh was to have piloted a fourth plane on Sept. 11, but was unable to get a visa to the United States. Should the United States seek to gain custody of Binalshibh - which seems likely - an extradition to Germany beforehand could raise serious legal snarls. Germany, like other EU partners, customarily has refused to send prisoners in its custody to coun- tries where they could face the death penalty. Two weeks ago, Germany told Washington it will not share evidence on Sept. 11 suspect Zacarias Moussaoui unless it is assured that it will not be used to secure a death penalty. Despite the potential problems, German Justice Minister Herta Daebler-Gmelin fully backed the extradition request. 0 Decision Tree JD & MBA ADMISSIONS CONSULTING "Because Getting in Is the Hardest Part" WWW.ADMISSIONS-CONSULTING.COM I N FO@ADM ISSIONS-CONSU LTI NG.COM (504) 598-3133 VOICE (504) 598-3130 FAX GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba Journalists lose right to cover suspects The U.S. government has tight- ened restrictions onmedia covering the 598 terrorism suspects being held at the Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Interviews with U.S. military person- nel are being monitored by media escorts, who accompany journalists to most places on the base, including bathrooms and vending machines. The media also has been barred from speak- ing without authorization to civilians working on the base. "During times of war, we give up certain rights," Lt. Col. Joe Hoey, the spokesman for the detention mission, said Friday. Before a four-day media trip to cover Sept. 11 ceremonies on the remote U.S. base in eastern Cuba, American and foreign journalists were told they would be allowed to photograph services but were then barred from filming or taking pictures. LAGOS, Nigeria Ni erian adulteress to be stoned to death When her time to die comes, con- victed adulteress Amina Lawal will be buried up to her neck in sand. When only her head remains exposed, those watching will be invited to throw stones until the 30-year-old single mother is dead. "As they throw, they will be calling 'God is great,"' court official Ibrahim Abdullahi says, outlining procedure for the first in a string of executions by ston- ing in Nigeria's Islamic northern states. . Lawal and others of a growing num- ber of men and women on Nigeria's Shariah death row have emerged as pawns in a political battle for power in Nigeria - one that high-ranking civil and religious figures feel has gotten out of control. The rush in Nigeria's north to impose the harshest possible sentences under Islamic law has laid bare the split between Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south. VILNIUS, Lithuania Bod lremains date tO poleonic wars The skeletal remains of 100 more soldiers from Napoleon's ill-fated army that invaded Russia in 1812 have been uncovered at a site in Lithuania, archae- ologists said. The latest bodies were found about 100 yards from the mass grave. acci- dentally discovered a year ago by road construction crews at a new housing development in central Vil- nius, the capital of this ex-Soviet Baltic republic. "This time we were quite sure we'd find something. It was expected," Arunas Barkus, a Lithuanian archaeologist said Friday by cell phone from inside the excavation pit. He said bones and skulls were poking through the sand. Shards of French soldiers' uniforms and buttons also were found at the site, which Barkus said is in the shad- ow of a new apartment building. At least 3,000 other skeletons could be in the new grave - about the size of a large swimming pool - which was found as scientists resumed searching the area this week. - Compiled from Daily wire reports. 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. 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