2 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 8, 2004 4 NATION/WORLD 0 Mghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - ing challenges. Afghanistan's first-ever presidential vote The Taliban po puts this nation of mud-brick houses and a return to power tribal fiefdoms on the edge of an improb- Afghanistan's still L able experiment with democracy. al army is backed Osama bin Laden's training bases U.S.-led coalition have been uprooted, and Afghanistan is troops. But its har no longer a haven for international ter- far from defeated. rorists. But three years to the day since a Taliban and al- U.S. bombing campaign toppled the Tal- kept up a steady iban regime, Islamic militancy lives on, - especially in the the drug trade is booming and warlords nation. Nearly 1,0( hold sway over much of the country. 30 American soldi Hamid Karzai, the nation's unrelent- in political violenc ingly optimistic interim president, is the hardly a picture of overwhelming favorite to win tomor- The U.S. milita row's vote against a large field of chal- gency is ineffect lengers, though it is not clear yet if he elections will pers will get the majority necessary to avoid still fighting to pu a runoff. ons and seek a rec What awaits after victory is a new government. nation with great promise, but daunt- Maj. Gen. Eric to hold first elections NEWS IN BRIEF no real threat of Hamid Karzai, the interim president, is the se . , , at least as long as undermanned nation- by an 18,000-strong and 9,000 NATO rd-line followers are Qaida fighters have drumbeat of attacks south and east of the 00 people, including ers, have been killed e so far this year - stability. ry insists the insur- ive and hopes the suade some of those ut down their weap- onciliation with the c Olson, the No. 2 overwhelming favorite to win tomorrow's presidential election. commander of U.S. forces here, cau- tioned that true peace will take many years to accomplish, perhaps longer than some in the U.S.-led coalition had bargained for. "This is a long fight. This is not something that is going to end after the elections," he said last week. "I would venture to say it is not going to end in the next 10 years, but ulti- mately it's a winnable situation." Despite the destruction of their terror bases, bin Laden and his No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, remain fugitives, probably living in the mountain regions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. U.S. offi- cials say the men are still believed to be actively plotting attacks. But the main threats to Afghanistan's stability probably lie elsewhere - in the inability of the government to curb regional warlords, and the ballooning heroin and opium trade. Karzai has taken steps in recent months to exert more control - removing strong- man Ismail Khan as governor of the west- ern city of Herat, dumping Tajik faction leader Mohammed Fahim from his presi- dential ticket and pushing the pace of a much-delayed program to disarm militias. The president has said the warlords are his greatest preoccupation. Blast oni Three car bombs probably linked, officials say EILAT, Israel (AP) - An explo- sion tore through a resort hotel in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula where Israe- lis were vacationing at the end of a Jewish holiday yesterday night, kill- ing at least 35 people and wounding more than 160, officials said. Israeli security officials said a car bomb caused the explosion, which was followed by two smaller blasts at other tourist sites in the Sinai. Witnesses gave reports that car bombs caused all three, but Egyptian officials said they had no evidence of terrorism. The huge blast collapsed a 10-story wing of the luxury Hilton hotel built by Israel when it controlled Taba from 1967 to 1989. Israelis described a chaotic scene as the explosion brought the top floors of the hotel crashing into the lobby. Meir Frajun said his three children were playing one floor below the lobby when the blast tore through the building. He went down but found only two of them. CENTER Continued from page 1. But due to less funding, this summer's orientation programs were run by 41 volunteers, including students, retired faculty and members of the Ann Arbor community. Altamirano said many of the volunteers were international students, who were especially eager to help the program. As a result of the highly motivated and energetic people who volunteered, the transition from paid peer advisors was smooth and the orientation was "very successful," said Altamirano. International students are required to attend orientation at the start of the term. They receive practical informa- tion and advice on how to manage their finances, find employment on campus and how to prepare for harsh Ann Arbor winters. Additionally, there are various workshops for cross-cultural adjustment that introduce the students to the local Egypt-Israeli "Everything was filled with smoke," Frajun told The Associated Press after crossing into the nearby Israeli resort of Eilat. "We were hysterically looking for the child. In the end we found him sitting outside with an Arab guest of the hotel." Four hours after the blast, Israel's mili- tary took command of the scene, accord- ing to the army spokeswoman, Brig. Gen. Ruth Yaron, but there were delays in sending Israeli forces and rescue work- ers across the tense border. Israel Radio reported early today that at least 35 people were killed in the blast. The explosions came a month after the Israeli government urged citizens not to visit Egypt, citing a "concrete" terror threat to tourists in an area. The warning, issued Sept. 9 by the counterterrorism center in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office, identified the Sinai Peninsula as the target of a potential attack. The initial blast, about 10 p.m., rocked the Hilton hotel in the Taba resort, only yards from the Israeli border. "The whole front of the hotel has col- lapsed. There are dozens of people on the floor, lots of blood," witness Yigal Vakni An injured m: told Army Radio. "I am standing outside yesterday aft of the hotel, the whole thing is burning and they have nothing to put it out with." A car rent A spokesman for the rescue workers, Mohammed Yerucham Mendola, said others were storeroom ar trapped in the debris. explosion or border kills 35 BAGHDAD, Iraq isurgents hit Baghdad hotel with rockets Rockets struck a Baghdad hotel housing foreign contractors and journalists late yesterday, drawing return fire and underscoring the precarious security in the heart of the Iraqi capital. Outside Baghdad, roadside bombings killed two more American soldiers. The attacks came as an aide to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr offered to disarm his Mahdi Army militia in a move that could bring an end to weeks of fight- ing in Baghdad's Shiite district Sadr City. The government cautiously welcomed the offer and suggested other militant groups also lay down their arms. Three Katyusha rockets slammed into the Sheraton hotel, the Interior Min- istry said, triggering thunderous explosions, shattering windows and setting off small fires. Dazed guests, including Western journalists, contractors and a bride and groom on their wedding night stumbled to safety through the smoke and debris. "I made a mistake by booking at the Sheraton," said Hayer Abdul Zahra, holding his shivering bride under his arm. "I knew something like this would happen." There were no deaths or serious injuries, Iraqi officials said. WASHINGTON DeLay scandals draw Dems, GOP into tussle Leading House Republicans and Democrats exchanged harsh recriminations yesterday over the second ethics committee rebuke in a week for Rep. Tom DeLay, the GOP's No. 2 leader. The day after the 57-year-old Texan was cited by the House ethics committee for questionable conduct, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said his Republican colleagues should decide whether "they want an ethically unfit person to be their majority leader or do they want to remove the ethical cloud that hangs over the Capitol?" Her news conference came as House Speaker Dennis Hastert staunchly defend- ed DeLay, calling him "a good man" and attacking the freshman Democratic con- gressman whose complaint launched the investigation. The series of angry statements cast a pall over a busy House pushing for adjourn- ment and a return to the campaign trails. The committee late Wednesday had admonished DeLay, (R-Texas.), for creating an appearance of giving donors special access on pending energy legislation and using the Federal Aviation Administration to intervene in a Texas political dispute. UNITED NATIONS U.N.: Child death decrease 'alarmingly slow' In Sierra Leone, one in four children dies before age 5. In Iraq, one in 10 does not make it to a fifth birthday. Across the globe, poor care for newborns, malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and measles snuff out lives of the very young, according to a U.N. report released today. The United Nations Children's Fund reported "alarmingly slow progress on reducing child deaths" - one in 12 children worldwide does not live to age 5, with half of all those deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. "It is incredible that in an age of technological and medical marvels, child survival is so tenuous in so many places, especially for the poor and marginal- ized," UNICEF director Carol Bellamy said. "The world has the tools to improve child survival, if only it would use them. Vaccines, micronutrient supplements, and insecticide-treated mosquito nets don't cost much and would save millions of children." WASHINGTON CD in Iraq said to have U.S. school information Federal law enforcement authorities notified school districts in six states last month that a computer disc found in Iraq contained photos, floor plans and other information about their schools, two U.S. officials said yesterday. The downloaded data found by the U.S. military in July - all publicly avail- able on the Internet - included an Education Department report guiding schools on how to prepare and respond to a crisis, said one official speaking on condition of anonymity. The officials said it was unclear who downloaded the information and stressed there is no evidence of any specific threats involving the schools. - Compiled from Daily wire reports rE I 6 4 I AP PHOTO an is wheeled Into the hospital of the Israeli Red Sea resort of Eliat ter being wounded in a strong explosion at a Hilton hotel In Taba. tal manager at the Hilton, Saleh, said he was in the nd couldn't see where the iginated but that several people at the hotel claimed it was caused by a car bomb outside the reception area. Some witnesses reported seeing the wreckage of a car. laws, culture and the academic environ- ment at the University. For many international students, especially those who have not trav- eled extensively, pursuing an education outside of their native country means overcoming cultural barriers. Confu- sion over identifying as minorities, lack of familiarity with English and lack of financial support are just a few of the challenges they face. The International Center continues to offer events and social activities to help ensure a smooth and successful transi- tion for international students, such as last week's Re-Orientation, where ses- sions were held on topics such as time management and students were given an opportunity to ask questions. Nina Metodieva, a student who trans- fered from Bulgaria, said the Interna- tional Center could help students from the same countries meet each other. "I know there's another student from Bul- garia here, but I don't know who he is or how to contact him," she said. For now, no new cuts to the center 's budet are in sight. Thomas All, direc- tor of finance and human resources for the Division of Student Affairs, said, "There are no indications that there will be more drastic reductions since there are no budget cuts for international stu- dents in 2005." But the University is dependant on the state budget allocations, making the future uncertain. "We prefer to be optimistic and do not like speculating along those lines (of more drastic cuts)," All said. "We are not focusing on how difficult things have been." Altamirano echoed All, saying, "we deal with issues as we go, but there have not been a lot of changes. Our main issue is to serve our students as best as we can. Things look encouraging." - Esther Fang contributed to this report for the Daily. SOLE Continued from page 1 to allow companies to be in dialogue with contractors. It's not as simple or straight- forward as it seems," Harlow said. She added that the issue has not been stagnant. Rather, the committee has been in dialogue with the Worker Rights Con- sortium and the Fair Labor Association, two labor standards groups that work with industry, as well as licensing com- panies, to access and discuss plausible ways to push wage disclosure through. "Before the end of the term, we will get out a thought-out alternative to the president," Harlow said. MARKET UPDATE THURS. 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