2- The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 21, 2004 NATION/WORLD U.S. hostage beheaded in Iraq NEWS IN BRIEF 4 BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A video his feet, and cutting his throat. hosted vesterdav on ac webh site showed -I in XXacshnton 1 T S nf'fic-nl F the beheading of a man identified as American construction contrac- tor Eugene Armstrong. The militant group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsiblity for the slaying and said another hostage - either an American or a Briton - would be killed in 24 hours. In other violence, gunmen in Bagh- dad assassinated two clerics from a powerful Sunni Muslim group opposed to the U.S. presence in Iraq. U.S. warplanes struck in the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, killing two people, and a car bomb in the north - the 32nd car bomb in Iraq this month - killed three people. Insurgents attacked a U.S. patrol, killing an American soldier, near Sharqat, 168 miles north of Baghdad. The video of the beheading sur- faced soon after the expiration of a 48-hour deadline set earlier by al- Zarqawi's Tawhid and Jihad group for the beheading of the three employees of a construction company abducted Thursday in Baghdad - Armstrong, American Jack Hensley and Briton Kenneth Bigley. A militant whose voice resembled al-Zarqawi read a statement in the video saying the next hostage would be killed in 24 hours unless all Mus- lim women prisoners are released from U.S. military jails. "You, sister, rejoice. God's soldiers are coming to get you out of your chains and restore your purity by returning you to your mother and father," he said before grabbing the hostage, seated at speaking on condition of anonym- ity, said Armstrong's body had been recovered, but the official would pro- vide no information about where or when it had been recovered. The taped beheading appears to be of Armstrong, but the CIA is still review- ing the tape to be sure, the official said. The nine-minute tape, posted on a eeb site used by Islamic militants, showed a man seated on the floor, blindfolded and wearing an orange jumpsuit with his hands bound behind his back. Five militants dressed in black stood behind him, four of them armed with assault rifles, with a black Tawhid and Jihad banner on the wall. The militant in the center read out a statement, as the hostage rocked back and forth and side to side where he sat. After finishing, the militant pulled a knife and cut his throat until the head was severed. "The fate of the first infidel was cut- ting off the head before your eyes and ears. You have a 24-hour opportunity. Abide by our demand in full and release all the Muslim women, otherwise the head of the other will follow this one," the speaker said. Tawhid and Jihad-Arabic for"Mono- theism and Holy War" - has claimed responsibility for at least six hostages, including Armstrong and another Ameri- can, Nicholas Berg, who was abducted in April. The group has also said it is behind a number of bombings and gun attacks. In a video Saturday setting the 48- hour deadline, the militants demanded the release of female Iraqi prisoners detained by the U.S. military. The mili- JAKARTA, Indonesia Ex-general leads in Indonesia election A U.S.-trained former general who led the fight against al-Qaida-linked extremists in Indonesia appeared headed for a landslide victory yesterday in a presidential runoff heralded as a key step for democracy in the world's most populous Muslim nation. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who focused his campaign on fixing the econo- my and cracking down on corruption, had nearly 59 percent of the votes in early returns. Incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri had 41 percent. The General Election Commission said about 20 million votes had been count- ed by yesterday, from a turnout estimated at 147 million to 152 million voters. The Washington-based National Democratic Institute, the international arm of the Democratic Party, said its "Quick Count" survey gave Yudhoyono 61 percent and Megawati 39 percent. The group, which based its forecast on counts at selected voting stations, accu- rately predicted the results of Indonesia's parliamentary elections in April and the first round of the presidential election in July, in which Yudhoyono and Megawati were the two leaders. WASHINGTON Fed to boost rates for third time tbis year 4 The Federal Reserve, wanting to keep inflation at bay, is expected to boost short- term interest rates for a third time this year today, a move that would come in the final stretch of the presidential campaign. Private economists have mixed opinions on whether the economy is still work- ing through or has already emerged from its late spring blues, but most believe the economy is in good enough shape for the Fed to raise the rates again. Inflation isn't currently threatening the economy, but the Fed wants to make sure it doesn't become a problem, which is why economists anticipate Fed policy-makers will increase the target for the federal funds rate from 1.50 percent to 1.75 percent. That rate is the interest banks charge each other on overnight loans and is the Fed's primary tool for influencing the economy. Such an increase would mean that commercial banks' prime lending rate, a benchmark for many short-term consumer and business loans, would climb from 4.50 percent to 4.75 percent. The expected Fed rate increase would come with Election Day just six weeks away. GAZA CITY, Gaza City AP PHOTO Relatives and mourners yesterday pray for the soul of Sheik Hazem al-Zeldi, a Sunni cleric killed by gunmen Sunday, before burial at Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq. tary says. it is holding two women as security detainees in Iraq, including Dr. Rihab Rashid Taha, a scientist who became known as "Dr. Germ" for help- ing Iraq make weapons out of anthrax. The militant on the video called President Bush "a dog" and addressed him, saying, "Now, you have people who love death just like you love life. Killing for the sake of God is their best wish, getting to your soldiers and allies are their happiest moments, and cut- ting the heads of the criminal infidels is implementing the orders of our lord." Armstrong grew up in Hillsdale, Mich., but left the area around 1990. His brother, Frank, still lives there. Armstrong's work in construction took him around the world; he lived in Thai- land with his wife before going to Iraq. Planes' water qualit fails EPA test Israeli airstrike kills two Hamas militants Two Hamas militants were killed when an explosion ripped through their vehi- cle in Gaza City yesterday in an Israeli airstrike, the second in as many days. Hamas threatened to retaliate with suicide bombings inside Israel. Israel is planning to withdraw its soldiers and dismantle all 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza next year, and analysts predict escalating violence as the pullout approaches. Palestinian militants are trying to show that they are ejecting the Israelis by force, while Israel is just as determined to hit the militants and demonstrate that it would not tolerate attacks after the withdrawal. 4 WASHINGTON (AP) - Nearly one of every eight passenger airlin- ers flying in the United States carries drinking water that fails Environ- mental Protection Agency standards because it contains coliform bacteria, the agency said yesterday. EPA enforcement chief Tom Skinner said passengers whose immune systems are compromised may want to avoid drinking water from airplane galleys or lavatories, although he noted that test results were preliminary. "This is something that needs further ,4alysis, but also in.mediate action," Skinner said, adding that the EPA will begin further testing in a few weeks. Air Transport Association spokes- man Doug Wills said the airlines are confident their drinking water is safe, saying, "No one has gotten sick from airline drinking water." His group rep- resents major airlines. In the United States, 90 percent of municipal drinking water systems meet EPA standards. The agency's testing showed airline water was only slightly worse: 87.4 percent of the planes tested had water that met EPA standards. The EPA randomly tested the water sampling to determine if the bacteria comes from the original water supply, the tanker trucks that load water onto planes or the airplanes themselves. Air Travelers Association President in August and September on 158 aircraft, including small com- muter planes and jumbo jets for domestic and interna- tional flagged carriers. Of the "This is something that needs further analysis, but also immediate action." - Tom Skinner Environmental Protection Agency enforcement chief David Stem- pler said air- line water can stagnate in an airplane's tank, and that it can pick up bacte- ria, particulates and rust. "They really need to make sure that ducted by the Air Transport Association and the Food and Drug Administration, neither of which found any cause for concern, according to the ATA. Nancy Young, an ATA lawyer, sug- gested the EPA's samples may have been contaminated because they were taken mostly from the aircrafts' lavato- ries. Also, one-third of the contaminat- ed samples came from foreign carriers, Young said in a statement. Such plans may have brought water from countries with lower standards than those in the United States. Until more. testing is done, the. EPA is working with airlines to develop new guidelines on testing frequency and sam- pling size, what to do when test results are positive and how often to disinfect and flush their tanks, Skinner said. "We are working toward an accept- able agreement with airlines, and if we can't achieve that in very short order we'll take enforcement action," Skin- ner said. SPRINGFIELD, I. Illinois Capitol shooting kills security guard An unarmed security guard was shot to death inside the state Capitol yesterday by a gunman who then fled in a car, authorities said. The officer was killed with one gunshot to the chest, said Col. Larry Schmidt, chief deputy director of the Secretary of State Police. Authorities did not immedi- ately provide a motive. After firing the shot, the gunman left the building, put the weapon in the trunk of his car and drove away, Schmidt said. He said the guard died in a hospital operating room. Police said they were investigating an earlier shooting at a military surplus store about 2 miles away involving a man who matched the description of the shooter. Compiled from Daily wire reports planes checked, 20 tested positive for total, coliform bacteria, which could signal" the presence of other harmful bacteria. Two planes tested positive for E. coli bacteria, which in a severe form can cause gastrointestinal illness. Skinner said the agency will do more the water on the airplane is drinkable," Stempler said. "We recommend to our mem- bers that they use bottled water for drinking purposes." The EPA conceded more testing is needed to figure out why its results differ markedly from similar tests con- Market Update Mon. 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