2A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 20, 2005 NATION/WORLD Leaders attempt to curb growing violence in Israel GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Israeli and Palestinian leaders met yesterday to discuss ways to stop mili- tants from firing rockets and mortars in Gaza, heading off the possibility of a large-scale Israeli invasion to curb the surging violence. The decision came as the top Pales- tinian security chief ordered a deploy- ment of troops along the Gaza-Israel frontier to stop the attacks - the first concrete steps to rein in militants since the election of Palestinian leader Mah- moud Abbas. Israel broke off contacts with Abbas's government after a Jan. 13 attack on a vital Gaza-Israel crossing point killed six Israelis. But the ban came under criticism from the United States, the United Nations, Egypt and Jordan - and it lasted only a few days. After a meeting of his Security Cab- inet on yesterday, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office issued a statement say- ing "a security meeting will be held at the field commander level to coordi- nate security steps." Israeli officials said the meet- ing convened at the Erez crossing between northern Gaza and Israel. Brig. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, represent- ing the Israelis, met Palestinian public security director Maj. Gen. Moussa Arafat. Israel Army Radio reported that Arafat presented a detailed plan to deploy hundreds of armed police in the border area to halt the rocket fire, and Kochavi was to deliver it to Israel's defense minister. The sudden turnabout defused esca- lating tension that appeared to be lead- ing toward an Israeli invasion, clashes with Palestinian gunmen and possibly dozens of casualties. Israel's Security Cabinet was con- sidering military action to stop the bar- rages of mortars and rockets aimed at Jewish settlements and Israeli towns just outside Gaza, when the Palestin- ian leadership called for security talks toward cooperation in ending the vio- lence, officials said. The appeal, coupled with the decision by the Palestinian police commander to deploy forces along the border to stop the rocket attacks, was enough for Isra- el's new, more moderate government to put off a military strike and give renewed talks a chance. Dalia Itzik, a Cabinet minister from the dovish Labor Party, said Israeli pressure led to Palestinian pledges for action. "It's good that they're going to talk," she told Army Radio. NEWS IN BRIEF BAGHDAD, Iraq Car bombings sweep across Baghdad Insurgents unleashed a wave of car bombings across the capital yesterday, kill- ing about a dozen people, despite stepped-up U.S. and Iraqi measures to protect this month's elections. North of Baghdad, insurgents killed a British security offi- cer and kidnapped a Japanese engineer, officials said. Gunmen fired on the Baghdad office of a major Kurdish party and two senior officials escaped assassination in separate attacks in the north. The U.S. military put the death toll from the day's Baghdad bombings at 26, saying the number was based on initial reports at the scene. Iraqi offi- cials gave a lower toll - 12 people killed in the bombings and one at the Kurdish office. Sunni Muslim insurgents have threatened to disrupt the elections, and the five car bombings - four within a span of 90 minutes - underscored the grave threat facing Iraqis at this watershed in their history. U.S. and Iraqi forces have stepped up raids and arrests in Baghdad, Mosul and other troublespots as the elections approach. MINA, Saudi Arabia Pilgris perform one of final ha"U rituals Thousands of pilgrims began one of the final rituals of the hajj early today, each throwing seven pebbles at large stone pillars symbolizing the devil. The majority of the 2 million pilgrims who have come here from around the world will perform the rite around midday, but those who completed the ceremony early acted under a fatwa, or religious edict, issued last year that allowed the ston- ing before the dawn prayers. "We were worried about the crowds and we had heard some real horror stories so we feel much better that we made it here early," said Ahmed Sodikin, 56, from Bandung, Indonesia. Yesterday, the pilgrims had converged on nearby Mount Arafat, where Islam's 7th century prophet Muhammad gave his last sermon in the year 632, three months before his death. Saudi Arabia's top cleric, speaking at a mosque near Mount Arafat, lamented the violence waged by Muslim militants against Saudi Arabia and complained that that a hostile world was conspiring against Islam. WASHINGTON Increased bacteria levels found in airliners Asking for bottled water or a canned drink aboard an airliner might be the safest way to fly. Coliform bacteria are showing up in more airliners than last summer when the government first took steps toward requiring sanitation improvements. The Environmental Protection Agency will now have domestic airlines test themselves and submit results to the agency to see if the trend contin- ues. Some self-sampling has begun, and airlines are adapting their routine disinfections to meet EPA guidance. Airlines now must disinfect water systems every three months and water carts and hoses leading to aircraft monthly. HAVANA Voluminous dance group breaks stereotype Cuban ballet dancers in white glide across the floor, executing an airy blend of pirou- ettes and back stretches. Within seconds, spectators are captivated, quickly forgetting what at first they could not overlook - most of the dancers weigh more than 200 pounds. Six dancers between the ages of 23 and 41 make up the island's Voluminous Dance group, which has presented about 20 works and is preparing its current show, "Una muerte dulce," or "A Sweet Death," for the spring. "It's incredible how they utilize their roundness," Mirta Castro, a tourist from Costa Rica, said as she watched the dancers rehearsing in Havana. "It breaks free of the belief that dance is only for slender people." - Compiled from Daily wire reports AP PHOTO Palestinians examine a building destroyed by Israeli forces during an Israeli army operation in the West Bank city of Nablus early yesterday. The troops demolished the house, while another house burst into flames after It was hit by a tank shell. Rice wins support from Senate cmte WASHINGTON (AP) - Condoleez- za Rice won strong but not unanimous endorsement as secretary of state from a Senate panel yesterday, assuring skep- tical Democrats she welcomed debate about the nation's foreign policy course and would not sugarcoat advice to Presi- dent Bush. If confirmed by the full Senate as expected, Rice would be the first black woman to hold the post. Confirmation had been expected as soon as today, but Democrats said they wanted more time, at least until next week. "We can certainly have, I think, a healthy debate about the course that we should take going forward," Rice said before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 16-2 to recommend her confirmation. "We've had to make a lot of deci- sions, some of them good, some of them bad," she said in apparent response to sometimes forceful questioning about the Iraq war, terrorism planning and other subjects. "My assessments may not always be ones that you want to hear. They may not always be ones with which you agree. But I will tell you what I think," Rice said. Jim Manley, a spokesman for Sen- ate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, said Democrats would not seek to prevent Rice's confirmation, although several were expected to vote against her. The vote by the full Senate is expect- ed next Wednesday, he said. Rice would succeed Colin Powell at the State Department after serv- ing four years as Bush's White House national security adviser and closest foreign policy confidante. Powell said goodbye to State Depart- ment employees yesterday but will stay until Rice is confirmed. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) invoked Powell's reputation as a voice of caution outside Bush's inner circle. "Your predecessor had a reputation of being willing to maybe tell the president some things that he didn't always want to hear," Obama said. He urged Rice "to display some independence" and question the White "My assessments may not always be ones that you want to hear. They may not always be ones with which you agree. But I will tell you what I think." - Condoleezza Rice National Security Advisor House line. In nearly 10 hours of Senate question- ing over two days, Rice displayed both her famous loyalty to Bush and a prom- ise to speak her mind to her boss and his opponents alike. "I have no difficulty telling the presi- dent exactly what I think. I've done that for four years," Rice replied to Obama. "Sometimes he agrees and sometimes he doesn't." Her counsel will remain private, Rice said, and no one should expect her to reveal any differences with Bush as sec- retary of state. "I want to be clearly understood: We are one administration, with the presi- dent in the lead," she said. Former presidential candidate John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Sen. Bar- bara Boxer (D-Calif.) were the only two votes against Rice, but a few other Democrats on the committee said they voted for her with some reservations. Rice was not candid in assessing the administration's record on Iraq and gave evasive or unhelpful answers to ques- tions about the U.S. position on torture, plans for dealing with nuclear ambitions in Iran and other topics, Democrats told her yesterday. M4:ARKETUPDATE WED. CLOSE.. CHANGE Dow JoNs 10,539.97 -8.82 NASDAQ 2,073.59 -32.45 S&P 500 1,184.63 -11.35 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. 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