2 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 14, 2004 -NATION/WORLD Putin moves to strengthen Kremlin NEWS IN BRIEF 1E L u means the return to the extremely inef- house, the State Duma. # Russan ea rficient system of government," said Ser- Vladimir Rvzhkov. one of the few -.1 - zl- - --.- --. 1 .1.1 1 -..- - ...- .- . local elections to combat terror MOSCOW (AP) - Responding to a series of deadly terror attacks, President Vladimir Putin yesterday moved to sig- nificantly strengthen the Kremlin's grip on power, with new measures that include the naming of regional governors and an overhaul of the electoral system. Putin told Cabinet members and security officials convened in special session that the future of Russia was at stake and urged the creation of a central, powerful anti-terror agency. "The organizers and perpetrators of the terror attack are aiming at the dis- integration of the state, the breakup of Russia," he said. "We need a single organization capable of not only dealing with terror attacks but also working to avert them, destroy criminals in their hideouts, and if necessary, abroad." Putin's declaration followed a series of stunning terror attacks blamed on Chechen rebels, climaxing in the three- day school seizure in southern Russia in which more than 330 people were killed. He said he would propose legislation abolishing the election of local gov- ernors by popular vote. Instead, they would be nominated by the president and confirmed by local legislatures. Putin explained his move by the need to streamline and strengthen the execu- tive branch to make it more capable of combating terror. His critics immediately assailed the proposal as a self-destructive effort that could fuel dissent in the provinces. "The abolition of elections in the Russian regions deals a blow to the foundations of Russian federalism and gei Mitrokhin, a leading member of the liberal Yabloko party. Sergei Markov, a political analyst with close ties to the Kremlin, said the president's move against the governors could help curb corruption that has flourished in some regions. "At the same time, it means ... a low- ering of (their) general political authority and a serious lowering of political plural- ism," Markov told Ekho Moskvy radio. Putin recommended eliminating the individual races that currently fill half of the seats in the national parliament and have the entire lower house filled by parties on a proportional basis. Putin said that the move would help foster dialogue by expanding the clout of political parties, but his opponents warned it would further increase the clout of the Kremlin-controlled par- liament factions that already enjoy an overwhelming majority in the lower opposition deputies, scorned the pres- ident's political proposals and said if they were approved, "the next Duma will be simply virtual, it will consist of just marionette party lists and won't enjoy any authority." "How is it possible the president doesn't understand that it won't strengthen the country, it will further tear apart the unity of the country and tear federal organs power away from the people?" he told Ekho Moskvy radio. "Yes, the Kremlin's authority will be strengthened, but the country will be weakened." Putin has been criticized for boosting his own powers in the past, but three weeks of violence and the deaths of 430 people have led to increased support among the Russian people for measures to combat terrorism. Putin named one of his closest confidants, Cabinet chief of staff Dmitry Kozak, to represent him in the southern district that includes the Caucasus. WASHINGTON Dems. split on expiing weapons ban Sen. John Kerry sought to make President Bush pay a political price yesterday for the expiration of a partial assault weapons ban, but other Democrats reacted warily on an issue that has hurt the party in recent elections. "George Bush made a choice today. He chose his powerful friends in the gun lobby over the police officers and the families he promised to protect," the Demo- cratic presidential candidate said a few hours after the end of a decade-old ban on 19 types of military-style weapons. Half a continent away, the issue seemed different to Democratic Rep. Brad Car- son of Oklahoma, a key figure in his party's drive to gain a Senate majority this fall. "He opposes reauthorization of the assault weapons ban," said spokesman Kristopher Eisenla. "He is a champion and a supporter of gun owners' rights." The party's divisions were on display in the House, as well. There, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) and others called for a new ban - at a news conference that none of the party's top congressional leaders attended. "It's an issue that cuts both ways," said Brendan Daly, a spokesman for House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. The California lawmaker supports the ban but has not made its extension a priority. 60 VIENNA, Austria U.S. wants Iran to face Security Council * U.. strikes at militants linked to al-Qaida BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - U.S. war- planes pounded a suspected hide-out of al-Qaida-linked militants in the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Fallujah yester- day, killing at least 20 people and wound- ing 29, officials and witnesses said. Seven of the victims died when a shell hit an ambulance, a hospital official said. The strike came a day after a surge in violence killed 78 people and wounded about 200 across Iraq as insurgents hammered central Baghdad with intense mortar and rocket bar- rages and violence appeared to spiral out of control. The U.S. military said jets carried out a precision strike on a site in Fallujah where several members of a group led by Jorda- nian-born terror suspect Abu Musab al- Zarqawi were meeting. "Intelligence sources reported the pres- ence of several key al-Zarqawi operatives who have been responsible for numerous terrorist attacks against Iraqi civilians, Iraqi Security Forces and multinational forces," the military said in a statement. The military said reports indicated the strikes had achieved their aim, but did not name the operatives. In Fallujah, witnesses said the bomb- ing targeted the city's residential al-Shurta neighborhood, damaging buildings and raising clouds of black smoke. Dr. Ahmad Taher of the Fallujah Gen- eral Hospital said at least 20 people were killed and 29 others wounded. An ambu- lance rushing from the area of the blasts was hit by a shell, killing the driver, a The United States lobbied its allies yesterday to have Iran hauled before the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear program as the world body's atomic watchdog agen- cy considered how tough a line to take in pressuring Tehran to meet its demands. U.S. ally South Korea also came under criticism, with the agency's chief express- ing "serious concern" over Seoul's failure to report nuclear activities that it was revealed date back to the 1980s. The South Korean issue complicates U.S. efforts to rein in North Korea's nuclear program, the world's most worrisome. Pyongyang has already used Seoul's admis- sions of some nuclear experiments to justify its weapons program. On the issue of Iran's nuclear program, European powers have come closer to the U.S. position, proposing in a draft resolution that the International Atomic Energy Agency set a November deadline for Tehran to meet its demands aimed at clearing up fears it is developing weapons. It warns that failure to do so could "probably" lead to further steps - a reference to sending the issue to the Security Council, which could impose sanctions on Iran. LOS ANGELES Group led by Sony acquires MGM studio A consortium led by Sony Corp. has agreed in principle to acquire famed Hol- lywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. for nearly $3 billion, MGM said late yesterday. The company said it received a cash deposit of $150 million yesterday from Sony, along with private equity companies Providence Equity Partners Inc., Texas Pacific Group and DLJ Merchant Banking Partners. MGM said its management will recommend the deal, which it called a "pro- posed merger," to its board by Sept. 27. Sony has agreed to pay $12 per share for MGM, 45 cents more than MGM's closing price of $11.55 yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange. The deal also calls for Sony to assume about $1.9 billion in MGM debt. GEORGETOWN, Cayman Islands Hurricane Ivan rampages ahead toward Cuba A strengthened Hurricane Ivan headed toward the tip of western Cuba with 160 mph winds yesterday after pummeling the Cayman Islands with flooding that swamped homes and fierce winds that ripped off roofs. The slow-moving, extremely dangerous Category 5 storm killed at least 68 people across the Caribbean before reaching the Caymans, and threatens millions more in its projected path. Parts of low-lying Grand Cayman, the largest island in the territory of 45,000 people, were swamped under up to 8 feet of water yesterday and residents stood on rooftops of flooded homes. - Compiled from Daily wire reports r. . ->:<" ?; ~iWd . Close Chang DPow Joes 0,14.76 7 + 1.69 < NASDA 1,90.38 16,0 ~1 0 A local resident inspects damage done to his house after U.S. warplanes and artillery bombed the Sunni Insur- gent stronghold of Fallujah, Iraq. paramedic and five patients inside the vehicle, said another hospital official, Hamid Salaman. "The conditions here are miserable - an ambulance was bombed, three houses destroyed and men and women killed," the hospital's director, Rafayi Hayad al-Esawi, told Al-Jazeera tele- vision by telephone. "The American army has no morals." Witnesses said U.S. warplanes repeat- edly swooped low over Fallujah and that artillery units deployed on the outskirts of the city also opened fire. The explosions started at sunrise and continued for sev- eral hours. One explosion went off in a market- place in Fallujah as the first sellers had just begun to set up their stalls, wound- ing several people and shattering win- dows, witnesses said. Yesterday, a videotape purporting to show the beheading of a Turkish driver kidnapped last month in Iraq surfaced on the website of an al-Qaida-linked militant group led by al-Zarqawi. On the video, which could not immediately be verified, the victim says he was trans- porting goods to an American military base in Mosul. Explosions rocked central Baghdad yesterday, but the location or nature of the blasts was not immediately clear. 6 I 6 U www. michigandaily.com The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Mondays during the spring and summer terms by students at the University of Michigan. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $110. 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