-1 2 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 10, 2003 NATION/WORLD Suicide bombers hit twice, kill 14 NEWS IN BRIEF RISHON LETZION, Israel (AP) - Twin Pales- tinian suicide bombings - one at a bus stop crowded with soldiers near Tel Aviv, the second five hours later at a popular Jerusalem nightspot - killed at least 14 Israelis and wounded dozens as the region grappled with a new wave of savage bloodletting. There were no claims of responsibility, but the Islamic militant group Hamas, which has carried out most of the roughly 100 suicide bombings against Israelis over the last three years, had been expected to avenge Israel's attempt on the life of its spiritual leader on Saturday. Israel's military has relentlessly targeted Hamas militants since the group claimed a suicide bombing last month that killed 22 people on a Jerusalem bus. Earlier yesterday, Israeli troops in Hebron killed two Hamas members - including the group's leader in the West Bank town - and a 12-year-old bystander, and blew up a seven-story apartment building where the militants were hiding out. The day's violence came amid political uncertainty after the resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, with an increasing number of Israeli officials calling for the expulsion of Yasser Arafat and expectations mounting that Israel will step up military strikes and possibly invade the Gaza Strip - which Israel has not yet reoccupied - to root out the Hamas leadership. Security was tight throughout the country, especial- ly in Jerusalem, in anticipation of a Hamas attack. The first bombing came about 6 p.m., as soldiers were waiting for rides home outside the Tsrifin army base near the Tel Aviv suburb of Rishon Letzion. Cpl. Eyal Schneider, 20, was walking toward the bus stop when he heard the explosion and saw a fire- ball. "People were running from the bus stop shout- ing 'bomb! bomb!' he said." Ambulances from nearby Assaf Harofeh hospital quickly lined up at the scene, rescue workers rushing to aid screaming victims."I saw the bodies, the body parts strewn around, heard the screams, and tried to help," said one witness, who gave his name only as Roy. Undertaker: Heat wave killed 15,000 France's leading undertaker estimated the country's death toll from the summer heat wave at 15,000 yesterday, far exceeding the official tally and putting further pressure on the government to improve its health care system. The estimate by the General Funeral Services included deaths from the second half of August, after the record-breaking temperatures of the first half of the month had abated, said company spokeswoman Isabelle Dubois-Costes. The bulk of the victims - many of them elderly - died during the height of the heat wave, which brought suffocating temperatures of up to 104 degrees in a country where air conditioning is rare. Others apparently were greatly weakened during the peak temperatures but did not die until days later.The government at the end of August announced a preliminary death toll of 11,435, but that figure was based only on deaths in the first two weeks of the month. The Health Surveillance Institute, which calculates the official toll for the gov- ernment, would not comment on the undertaker estimate and said it would release updated figures for August at the end of September. The new estimate came after the government on Monday released a harshly worded report blaming hospital understaffing during summer holidays, widespread failure among agencies to coordinate efforts and chronically insufficient care for the elderly. AP PHOTO Israeli religious volunteers collect body parts for a proper Jewish burial at the site of a suicide bombing explosion near the central Israeli town of Rishon Letzion yesterday. rJ c1 rJ cn PrJ cl cl rJ cnr cJrJ rJ clcl rJ cJ cJ cJ JcfcJrPrJ rJ cJ cPclclrJ rJ rJ Prncl rJ rJ rJ rJ JcJ rJ r r rJ r1c!cJ cfcncJ ctr r cJrJ cfrJ rJ cJ rnrJ rJ cJ 1 Pr c1 rJ cPc1 rJ rJ rJ r rJ rJ c1 n /'1. 4d 4d Car bomb BALTIMORE Democratic presidential hopefuls bash Bush SPEND A SEMESTER OVERSEAS (and stay in the U.S.) Learn in the vibrant, multi-cultural community of Honolulu. Enjoy a university experience like no other. Be far away, but at home with the language and customs. It all adds up to a semester you'll never forget. A Semester ALMOST Abroad at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. For complete information, visit www.hawaii.edu/almost or email almost@hawaii.edu On-campus housing and meals available. 0 at The University of Hawaii at Manoa is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution. rJ cJ rJ c1 r PcPr rJ c1 rJ rJ rJ rJ cl c!cJ clrJ c!1c1rJ r c!cirJ r cl ctrJ r cnrJ rnrncl c.l rJ r.Pc!cnr cl clcPrJJI'c1 Pr rJ cPr 1'rlcl r rlrJ Pr rlcfclr rJ PrJ rJ Pr r rt'r J'cP Pr c.n detonates outside Ira qi office ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - A car bomb exploded yesterday outside an office used by U.S. soldiers in northern Iraq, private CNN-Turk television reported. Several people were wound- ed, but it was unclear if Americans were among them. The wounded included Iraqi Kurdish guards and children from nearby hous- es. Firefighters were at the scene of the blast in Irbil, the largest city in Kur- dish-controlled northern Iraq. U.S. military officials said they could not immediately confirm the report on CNN-Turk, a local subsidiary of U.S.-based CNN. U.S. soldiers flew to the site by heli- copter and cordoned off the area togeth- er with local Iraqi Kurdish fighters. A Turkish reporter at the scene said by telephone that the blast collapsed the front of the two-story building. He said that most of the injured were from nearby houses. Witnesses said two peo- ple were killed and ten injured, but hospital officials could not confirm those reports, the Turkish reporter said. Footage showed Kurdish women wailing and men running in panic with a burning car behind them. A Kurdish man could be seen carrying a toddler with a bleeding head in his arms. The footage also showed the four- wheel-drive vehicle that apparently carried the bomb was intact but badly burned. Its chassis was in one piece. Authorities in Irbil, about 200 miles north of Baghdad, called to residents over loudspeakers to donate blood for the wounded, CNN-Turk said. North- ern Iraq has been the most stable part of the country since the ouster of Sad- dam Hussein. France's potential veto stalls Libya vote UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. Security Council delayed a vote to lift sanctions against Libya until Fri- day, after France threatened a veto to gain greater compensation for the rela- tives of people killed in a French air- line bombing. After difficult closed-door negotia- tions, the council yesterday agreed to give the French a last chance to win a settlement with Libya similar to that for families of victims of the Lockerbie air disaster. But Britain's U.N. ambassador, Emyr Jones Parry, the current council presi- dent, and other members made clear they would not accept more delays. In a fast-moving day of diplomacy, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin spoke twice with his British counterpart, Jack Straw, threatening to veto the lifting of sanctions unless families of the 1989 UTA bombing were satisfied. The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement that "a fair agreement ... appears to be within reach." But For- eign Ministry spokesman Herve Lad- sous said, "The victims' families must confirm their satisfaction with the negotiations - that would be the deciding factor for us." The United State sand Britain Democratic presidential contenders tartly criticized President Bush's handling of the war on terror yesterday night in a campaign debate two days before the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. "We cannot trust this president with a blank check," said Sen. Bob Graham of Florida, one of nine presidential hopefuls sharing a stage for a nationally televised debate. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts charged the president with an "act of negligence of remarkable proportions" for failing to have a postwar plan in Iraq, and Sen. Joe Lieberman said the Bush administration has "no exit strategy." Al Sharpton was as unstinting as anyone in his criticism. He said Osama bin Laden has escaped capture for two years after the attacks by al-Qaida. "This guy has out more videos than a rock star, but George Bush's intelligence agencies can't find him," he said. Howard Dean, the front-runner in the polls four months before the first votes are cast, said he wouldn't withdraw any of the American troops now in Iraq. But, he said it was a mistake to go to war in Iraq, and Bush should have focused his energies on building democracy in the Middle East instead. BOSTON Boston Archdiocese to pay abuse victims The Boston Archdiocese agreed yes- terday to pay $85 million to 552 people who claim sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests devastated their lives, giving victims long-awaited recognition of their pain and the U.S. church a chance to move forward from its worst scandal ever. The deal is the largest publicly dis- closed payout by a U.S. diocese to settle molestation charges. Finalized after months of negotia- tions, the pact came with a new pledge from the church to prevent abuse in the future and a sense from victims that the burden of their anguish has been light- ened. "This piece of paper means one thing to me and many men I represent here today. From this day forward I am not an alleged victim of clergy abuse. I am recognized, I'm a survivor," said Gary Bergeron, who sued for molestation by the late Rev. Joseph Birmingham. WASHINGTON Congress unhappy with security Crac Tens of thousands of federal airport screeners. Bulletproof cockpit doors. Closer scrutiny of ships and cargo. There have been many improvements to transportation security since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks but gaps remain, lawmakers said yesterday. They cited security loopholes at the nation's ports and the threat that a shoulder-fired mis- sile could hit an airliner. "Transportation security is at its highest level ever, particularly aviation security," said Sen. John McCain (R- Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Com- merce Committee, which heard from the Bush administration's top trans- portation security officials. "However, we need to remain vigilant across all modes of transportation." WASHINGTON Researchers find low voice of black hole The voice of a black hole is a deep, deep bass, 57 octaves below middle C and far beyond the hearing range of humans. The Chandra X-ray Observa- tory has picked up sound waves for the first time from a cluster of galaxies 250 million light years away. Astronomers at the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge, England, dis- covered the sound waves while analyz- ing the Chandra images of the Perseus cluster, a grouping of galaxies held in formation by the powerful tug of a supermassive black hole. A close study of the fine detail collected by Chandra shows ripples in the X-ray pattern that are caused by sound waves excited by the energy from the black hole. .5. .1 WWW.MICHIGANDAILY.COM The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by stu- dents 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. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Collegiate Press. ADDRESS: The Michigan Daily, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1327. E-mail letters to the editor to letters@michigandaily.com. 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