2A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, January 31, 2005 NATION/WORLD OPEC: Oil prices will remain high VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Con- sumers received no solace from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which said yesterday that oil prices near $50 per barrel would remain high through the spring, even as the cartel decided to keep its produc- tion ceiling unchanged. The decision, reached at a truncated meeting of the 11-nation group, means that consumers worried about the price of winter heating oil and gasoline will likely see no relief in their bills or costs at the pump. OPEC's current quota of 27 mil- lion barrels a day was set in Decem- ber, when the group agreed to shave output by 1 million barrels. But the 10 members of the group subject to the quota - Iraq is not bound by a limit - have been overproducing by a total of 500,000 barrels daily. Kuwaiti oil minister Sheik Ahmad Fahd al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who leads the Organization of Petroleum Export- ing Countries, said he was given per- mission to conduct a telephone meeting before the next gathering March 16 in Iran to address output if market condi- tions warrant. Al-Sabah said prices have been driven higher amid fears of a cold winter in Europe and North America, where demand for heating oil is high. He said OPEC's decision was aimed at bringing more stability to the mar- Consumers worried about the price of winter heating oil and gasoline will likely see no relief in their bills or cost at the pump. ket, and called on consumers and producers to "walk together ... for prices to be acceptable." "Although there is no shortage of supply, the stocks have been built up, and continue to be built up," he said. "High prices led OPEC to arrive at the decision in the interest of stability and in the interest of the consumer, who likes to have stability in prices." The group also decided to temporar- ily suspend its price band of $22 to $28 a barrel, which was set in March 2000 and has largely been ignored since last year. OPEC's output decision also was a signal that it doesn't believe that higher prices for its oil to fuel development in Asia, particularly in China, will cause any slowdowns. "We think the high price will not affect the global economy," al-Sabah said. "There won't be a strong negative for the economy." AP PHOTO Ahmad AI-Sabah, secretary general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, speaks to journalists during a press conference after an OPEC meeting yesterday at its headquarters in Vienna. WASHINGTON Report: U.S. loses $9 billion in Iraq The U.S. occupation authority in Iraq was unable to keep track of nearly $9 bil- lion it transferred to government ministries, which lacked financial controls, security, communications and adequate staff, an inspector general has found. The U.S. officials relied on Iraqi audit agencies to account for the funds but those offices were not even functioning when the funds were transferred between October 2003 and June 2004, according to an audit by a special U.S. inspector general. The findings were released yesterday by Stuart Bowen Jr., special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. Bowen issued several reports on the Coalition Provisional Authority, the U.S. occupation government that ruled Iraq from June 2003 to June 2004. The official who led the CPA, L. Paul Bremer III, submitted a blistering, written reply to the findings, saying the report had "many misconceptions and inaccuracies," and lacked professional judgment. Bremer complained the report "assumes that Western-style budgeting and account- ing procedures could be immediately and fully implemented in the midst of a war." The inspector general said the occupying agency disbursed $8.8 billion to Iraqi ministries "without assurance the moneys were properly accounted for." RAMALLAH, West Bank Palestinians to take control of four towns Palestinian police commanders began preparations yesterday to take control of four West Bank towns by midweek, after top Israeli and Palestinian officials agreed on a security plan for the West Bank. Transfer of the towns' control would be the first large-scale Israeli move on the ground to acknowledge that violence has decreased significantly since Palestinians elected Mahmoud Abbas to replace the late Yasser Arafat as their leader Jan. 9. If the calm holds, Israel promises to move all its troops back to positions they held before the latest Palestinian uprising began in September 2000, turning the popu- lated areas of the West Bank back to Palestinian control and making a major step toward resuming peace talks. In another significant move, an Israeli official said amnesty would be granted for fugitive Palestinians in the West Bank, ending Israel's relentless search for dozens of extremists suspected in attacks on Israelis. In more than four years of conflict, doz- ens of militants have been killed in Israeli raids and many more have been arrested. SANTA MARIA, Calif. Jackson's child abuse trial to begin today The child molestation case against Michael Jackson is finally ready for a trial that promises to be like no other. Jury selection begins today, with Jackson expected to appear, in a case that has become a symbol of the American obsession with celebrity. Early yesterday, Jack- son issued a court-approved video statement on his website, calling recent media leaks in the case "disgusting and false" and predicting he would be acquitted. "Please keep an open mind and let me havemy day in court," Jackson said, looking directly into the camera. "I deserve a fair trial like every other Ameri- can citizen. I will be acquitted and vindicated when the truth is told." The uphill task of finding jurors who have not prejudged the case is a mere prelude to a courtroom contest that will include testimony from the boy who accuses the pop icon of molesting him. KHARTOUM, Sudan Darfur governor disputes reports of bombings The governor of North Darfur state said reports that a Sudanese government plane bombed villagers last week were fabricated by foreigners, according to the official news agency yesterday. Darfur rebels appealed yesterday to the African Union, which has truce moni- tors in the western region, to send more troops to stop government forces from attacking civilians. The request came as African leaders met in Nigeria to dis- cuss ways of tackling conflicts, poverty and disease. The United Nations, citing African Union observers at the scene, said Friday that the Sudanese air force bombed civilians in the village of Shangil Tobaya in North Darfur state, killing or wounding nearly 100 people. U.N. officials said it was one of the most serious violations of a cease-fire signed last year by the government and Darfur rebels. - C(mnl 1dAfrom Daily wire rennrtv 0 Date: Monday, 31 January 2005 Events: 2:00-3:30, STS/History of Medicine Colloquium: Images of Objectivity 1644 SSWB, International Institute, 1080 S. 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