I -NATION/WORLD Violence erupts on Gaza Strip border GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Israeli troops fired at Palestinians try- ing to bypass a checkpoint yesterday, critically wounding one man and injur- ing a 14-year-old boy. Israel said its troops fired warning shots and only shot toward the group after the pedes- trians ignored orders to halt. In the West Bank, a bomb exploded after nightfall under an Israeli army vehicle traveling near the Jewish settle- ment of Kochav Hashahar, wounding a soldier who was a passenger, rescue and army officials said. And gunfire erupted across the Israel-Lebanese border yesterday, killing one Israeli soldier. An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, blamed the attack on Hezbollah, the anti-Israeli militant guerrilla group active in south Lebanon. But Hezbollah said it was not involved. Meanwhile, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat prepared to swear in a small eight-member Cabinet today, with Ahmed Qureia as prime minister, after declaring a state of emergency in the Palestinian areas. Arafat's decree came a day after an Islamic Jihad suicide bomber killed 19 Israelis in a restau- rant in the port city of Haifa. The Palestinians wounded in the Gaza Strip had been trying to cross a road closed by the military a daily ear- lier, as part of new restrictions imposed in response to the Haifa bombing. The road links the southern Gaza towns of Rafah and Khan Younis, and was blocked by a checkpoint. A 42-year-old man was in critical condition with a head wound, and 14- year-old boy was shot in the leg, hospi- tal officials said. On Sunday, a 26-year-old man was killed and three others were wounded while trying to bypass the same checkpoint. Also yesterday, Israeli tanks and bulldozers entered the Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza and demolished four Palestinian homes, Palestinian security officials and local residents said. Israeli army officials said they had no report of house demolitions in the area but that Palestinians fired anti- tank missiles, mortar shells and live ammunition toward Israeli forces in the area. One Israeli soldier was slightly injured, the army spokesman said. Israel had launched the strike in reprisal for the Haifa bombing. m'% I 0 NEWS IN BRIEF HEADINESFMATNDTEWOLN Mother of stillborn refused new trial The Supreme Court refused yesterday to consider the case of a woman sen- tenced to 12 years in prison for murder after drugs were found in the system of her stillborn daughter. Regina McKnight was convicted under South Carolina's homicide by child abuse law for the 1999 death. Her lawyers say she is the first woman convicted of homicide for suffering a stillbirth. The case would have brought the court into a legal and constitutional debate over fetal rights. The court's answer would have had implications for the related fight over legalized abortion. The South Carolina Supreme Court upheld the conviction and sentence earlier this year, ruling that the punishment was not too harsh because McKnight should have known taking cocaine could harm her baby. Yesterday's action by the U.S. Supreme Court means that ruling stands, and McKnight will remain in prison. The high court did not comment in turning aside her appeal. McKnight's lawyers say she is borderline mentally retarded and lived with her mother until her mother was killed by a hit-and-run driver in 1998. McKnight quickly became homeless, addicted to drugs and pregnant. WASHINGTON U.S. unsatisfied with Syrian leader The United States hoped Bashar Assad would show more flexibility on the Mid- dle East conflict than his father had. Yet despite some behind-the-scenes Syrian help in the war on terror, Amer- ica's list of grievances remains long against Assad, who became his country's leader three years ago. As the Israeli-Palestinian situation deteriorates, Israel's weekend airstrike against a purported Palestinian terrorist training camp inside Syria could escalate tensions once again. U.S. officials used the occasion to highlight their concerns about Syria's ties to Palestinian militants. "We've seen Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism for a long time," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. "We've repeatedly made known our grave concerns about Syrian support for terrorist groups, including Palestinian groups." U.S. officials also are worried about Syria's possession of unconventional weapons and its support for the Lebanon-based Hezbollah guerrillas. Another sore point for Washington is Syria's purported role in allowing activists to cross into Iraq to take up arms against U.S. soldiers. IA I I S. Korean embassy overwhelmed, closed Overrun by North Korean asylum- seekers, South Korea's embassy in the Chinese capital is halting consular operations until it can clear out some of the would-be defectors, a South Korean diplomat said yesterday. The diplomat, speaking on condi- tion of anonymity, told The Associat-. ed Press the closure would take effect today. The decision means millions of Chinese - and some foreigners in China - seeking visas to South Korea are out of luck for now. "The number of North Korean refugees who are staying within the inside of the consulate is beyond our capacity," the diplomat told the AP in a telephone interview. "So it makes it dif- ficult to do our consular jobs." Armed Chinese-guards stopped unau- thorized visitors yesterday from entering the consular office, located in a walled, low-slung gray building in a tree-lined diplomatic area of eastern Beijing. despite deep support among tribal lead- ers in the region. Once back on the job, Hamid al- Qaisi moved swiftly to restore peace, meeting with Beiji's tribal chiefs in the main mosque to discuss their demands, according to policemen who attended the meeting. Witnesses said the firing was so intense that police reinforcements from Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown to the south, could not reach the police building. SAN JOSE, Calif. Recall candidates make final rounds Arnold Schwarzenegger tried to maintain his momentum amid sexual- misconduct allegations and Gov. Gray Davis made a last-minute plea to keep his job yesterday as the candidates in California's recall election barn- stormed the state in the final hours of the historical campaign. Looming over all of the day's events were the allegations of the 16 women who have come forward over the past week to say Schwarzenegger groped them and sometimes made crude comments during encounters dating from 1970 to 2000. Schwarzenegger has acknowledged that he "behaved badly sometimes" but has denounced some of the accu- sations as dirty politics. - Compiled from Daily wire reports. lask torce BEJ.,aq Rioting compels created to U.S. troops to return Attend all required classes or make-up sessions, complete all scheduled tests, and do your homework. If your score doesn't improve on test day from your Kaplan diagnostic or a prior official test score, you can choose to repeat our program for free or get a full refund of your tuition. ** It's that simple. World Leader in Test Prep and Admissions aid Iraqi' rebuilding WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House, facing setbacks and growing casualties in Iraq, is asserting a larger role in overseeing reconstruction efforts and the tens of billions of dol- lars being spent by the United States. The move is intended to "cut through some of the bureaucracy and the red tape" in Washington and accelerate the work in Iraq, presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said yesterday. A classified memo distributed last week established the Iraq Stabilization Group within the White House under Condoleezza Rice, the national securi- ty adviser to President Bush. Officials said creation of the group would give Rice authority to spur the bureaucracy and put more accountability in the White House. "Condi's job, and Condi's team is going to make sure that the efforts are continued to be coordinated so that we continue to make progress," Bush said at an East Room news conference with the president of Kenya, Mwai Kibaki. "And listen, we're making good progress in Iraq," the president said. "Sometimes it's hard to tell it when you listen to the filter (of critics). We're making good progress." However, many Democrats and some Republicans say the administra- tion underestimated the postwar vio- lence and impediments to rebuilding. "Almost two years after the fall of the Taliban and nearly six months after the fall of Baghdad, the White House is finally organizing itself to deal with the WWW.MICHIGANDAILY.COM 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. 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 Collegiate Press. ADDRESS: The Michigan Daily, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1327. E-mail letters to the editor to ef rers@michigandaily.com. . .1 UI ML--% 11 WYIPU.,F~-I~F -. I !T- a !Fil U.S. troops reversed course yesterday to quell rioting in this key oil refining city, reinstating an elected police chief they ousted just five months ago 4 NEWS Shabina S. Khatri, Managing Editor 763.2459, nows@michigandally.com EDITORS: C. 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