2 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, January 21, 2005 NATION/WORLD Looking for a career that defies the law of grav iy? Then talk to someone who knows science. Troops in Asia to return to U.S. BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) - The U.S. military - the largest group helping tsunami survivors - will immediately start withdrawing troops from the relief efforts to feed and house more than 1 million refu- gees, the U.S. Pacific commander said yesterday. Aid organizations responded to the announcement by Adm. Thom- as Fargo by pledging to shoulder a greater share of the burden to aid tsunami survivors. U.S. warships and helicopters "played a crucial role ... they're still playing that role," said Rob Holden, who heads a health assessment team from the United Nations, the U.S. military and other groups. "What we're trying to do ... is civilianize the humanitarian operations because we're aware that we won't have mili- tary assets forever." Speaking in Kuala Lumpur, Malay- sia, Fargo said the U.S. military "will start right now transferring functions to the appropriate host nations and inter- national organizations." Fargo noted that the human itar- ian missions in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and other countries affected by the Dec. 26 tsunami have moved from the "immediate relief phase ... toward rehabilitation and reconstruction." The admiral suggested the with- drawal of the 15,000 American troops would be completed within 60 days, apparently meeting requests by Indonesian officials that for- eign troops leave Aceh province on Sumatra island by the end of March. Malaysian Defense Minister Najib Razak said Fargo told him the United States would scale down its Aceh relief operations by the end of February. At a news conference, Fargo said the U.S. military would "respond to specific requests of host nations," adding that Washington "is commit- ted to what clearly will be a long- term recovery effort." About 1,000 Singaporean soldiers dispatched for relief efforts will begin pulling out today, a Singapor- ean military official said. The withdrawal of foreign forces comes as the official death toll con- tinues to climb. Almost four weeks after the disaster, reported deaths by government agencies in the affected countries range from nearly 158,000 to more than 221,000. The U.S. Navy and Marines have delivered nearly 3.5 million pounds of aid supplies - about 150,000 pounds a day - since starting oper- ations Jan. 1. The U.N. World Food Program has distributed 5,600 tons of food to about 400,000 people in Aceh alone, said its Asia director, Tony Banbury. After visit- ing the obliterated coastaL-town of Meula- boh, Banbury said all tsunami survivors would be fed. "We will get food aid to everyone who needs it," he said. But worries over security in Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra - where government forces and separatists rebels have fought for nearly three decades - threatened to complicate relief efforts. Although the sides called a temporary cease-fire to facilitate the relief effort, a barrage of automatic gunfire was heard in the hills near the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, prompting residents of one refugee camp to run for cover. NEWS IN BRIEF1 KIEV, Ukraine Inauguration date set for Yuschenko Parliament scheduled a Sunday inauguration for Western-leaning President- elect Viktor Yushchenko, setting the stage for the transition to a new government for Ukraine following months of divisive political crisis. Ukraine's new leadership and Russia made moves to patch up the deep strains between them. Yushchenko will visit Moscow on Monday, his spokeswoman said. From Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent congratulations yesterday to Yushchenko. "Accept my congratulations and warmest wishes in connection with your elec- tion to the post of president of Ukraine," Putin said in a statement. "The development of good-neighborly and equal relations with Ukraine is one of the most important national priorities of Russia," he said. Yushchenko had indicated earlier that his first foreign visit as president would be to Russia, but the timing suggested a strong desire to smooth relations with Ukraine's giant, economically critical neighbor even as he pushes for closer inte- gration with Western Europe. a GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip Palestinians place officers along Gaza Israeli officials yesterday accepted a Palestinian plan to deploy hundreds of police officers to ensure quiet along the Gaza-Israel frontier, in the first act of secu- rity cooperation with Israel under Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Israeli and Palestinian security officials said negotiations over the deployment were continuing, but the operation was expected to begin today. While the two sides appeared to be making progress, violence persisted. Two 13-year-old Palestinian boys were killed in separate clashes with Israeli troops in Gaza and the West Bank, Palestinian officials said. Palestinian generals presented the Gaza deployment plan during a meeting with their Israeli counterparts late Wednesday, convened in a last-ditch effort to avert a threatened Israeli military offensive in Gaza. Israel has demanded the Palestinians NEW YORK Crude prices drop as supply affects market Crude-oil futures fell yesterday and then managed to recover from earlier losses. Gold and silver managed to close well above their lows when locals got out of short positions. At the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude set for February delivery, which expired at the close of trading, lost 64 cents to settle at $46.91 a bar- rel. During the day, the contract fell as low as $46.35 a barrel. The March contract fell 55 cents to $47.31. February heating oil declined 0.28 cent to $1.3398 a gallon, and Febru- ary gasoline was down 0.56 cent to $1.2576 a gallon. February natural gas closed up 1.5 cents to $6.308 per million British thermal units. At London's International Petroleum Exchange, March Brent crude fell 39 cents to $44.32 a barrel. MADRID, Spain Spanish church retracts comment on condoms The Catholic Church in Spain backtracked from a leading bishop's groundbreak- ing statement in support of condom use to fight the spread of AIDS, saying instead the church still believes artificial contraception is immoral. A ruling Socialist politician involved in health care issues said she was mystified by the church's about-face in the space of 24 hours. Gay groups said they regretted the church's return to old policy after its "attack of lucidity." A liberal theologian said the church had quickly backpedaled after the Vatican reaffirmed its opposition to condoms. The Vatican states that condoms, being a form of artificial birth control, cannot be used to help prevent the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. MARKET UPDATE THURS. CLOSE CHANGE DOW JONES 10,471.47 -68.50 NASDAQ 2,045.88 -27.7 S&P 500 1,175.41 -9.22 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. Subscriptions must be prepaid. 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