2 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, February 1, 2005 NATION/WORLD Iraq vote tallied amid violence NEWS IN BRIEF HE3OADVI.N AU NTHWR BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraq's interim leader called on his coun- trymen to set aside their differences yesterday, while polling stations fin- ished the first-phase count of millions of ballots from the weekend election that many Iraqis hope will usher in democracy and hasten the departure of 150,000 American troops. From the counts by individual sta- tions, local centers will prepare tally sheets and send them to Baghdad, where vote totals will be compiled, election commission official Adel al-Lami said. Final results could take up to 10 days. With turnout in the election still unknown, concern was focused on par- ticipation by Iraq's Sunni Arab minority, amid fears that the group that drives the insurgency could grow ever more alien- ated. Electoral commission officials said turnout in hard-line Sunni areas was better than some expected, though they cited no numbers. A U.S. diplo- mat warned that Sunni participation appeared "considerably lower" than that of other groups. Guerrillas claimed to have shot down a British military C-130 Hercules trans- port plane that crashed north of Baghdad just after polls closed Sunday. Al-Jazeera aired an insurgent video showing a mis- sile being fired and flaming wreckage purported to be that of the plane. No mis- sile impact was shown, and the footage's authenticity could not be confirmed. All 10 military personnel on the flight were missing and presumed dead - which would be Britain's heaviest single loss of life of the war - British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said. The video came from the "Green Brigade," a previously unknown arm of the National Islamic Resistance in Iraq. Another group, Ansar al-Islam, issued a competing claim of responsi- bility. The British government would not comment on the insurgents' claims, saying the cause of the crash was still being investigated. In his first news conference since the elections, Iraqi interim Prime Minis- ter Ayad Allawi called on Iraqis to join together to build a society shattered by decades of war, tyranny, economic sanc- tions and military occupation. "The terrorists now know that they cannot win," he said. "We are entering a new era of our history and all Iraqis - whether they voted or not - should stand side by side to build their future." He promised to work to ensure that "the voice of all Iraqis is present in the com- ing government." Three U.S. Marines were killed in fighting south of Baghdad on Monday, after two Marines were killed on elec- tion day. 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'S.......v.......... .5:........ }....... .........v..:..... :. _ :.. :..._... ...... v......u........ t.. ., },, ,,.....r .:n .:}....n.v.....:.n nn..'h......v.C.i..:C. }.. . ..4....h1v ....,. ...._.. .......... .. .... v..v .. n ....n...........:.:........:... f..i.v... v .. .... v.. ..........____... z__.__c.... .. _.. ke. ...y..r:v v.}': ?:hi:. .. ... .. ...... i:::_ NEW YORK Bush to raise military death payment President Bush will propose a dramatic increase to $250,000 in government payments to families of U.S. troops killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and in future combat zones. The plan to increase the tax-free "death gratuity," now $12,420, to $100,000 and provide an extra $150,000 in life insurance payouts will be part the 2006 budget proposal submitted to Congress next week, the Pentagon's personnel chief said in an Associated Press interview. Veterans groups and many in Congress have been pushing for such increases. "We think the nation ought to make a larger one-time payment, quite apart from insurance, should you be killed in a combat area of operations," David Chu, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said in the interview in his Pentagon office. "We can never in any program give someone back their loved one," he added. "There is nothing we can do about the hurt, to make it go away. But we can make your circumstances reasonable, in terms of finances." GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip Palestinian girl's death sparks violence The killing of a 10-year-old Palestinian girl in a Gaza schoolyard yesterday prompted Islamic militants to fire mortar shells at Jewish settlements and endan- gered an unofficial cease-fire between Israelis and Palestinians. The renewed violence overshadowed a meeting between top Israeli and Pales- tinian security officials who worked yesterday to arrange a handover of several West Bank towns to Palestinian control. Israeli officials said the security meeting ended with no accord on a handover. Although the circumstances of Norhan Deeb's death were unclear, the violence strained the recent atmosphere of goodwill between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and new Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas. The girl was killed in the courtyard of a U.N. school in the Rafah refugee camp near the Egyptian border, a frequent flashpoint of violence between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen. Palestinian witnesses said the gunfire came from a nearby Israeli military position. WASHINGTON New causes of cancer added to gov't list The government is adding viruses for the first time to its list of known or suspected causes of cancer, including hepatitis B and C and a third virus that causes sexually transmitted diseases. Lead, X-rays and compounds in grilled meats also are joining the list. It has been known that the hepatitis viruses can cause liver cancer and that some forms of the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus can cause cervical cancer. But they were added to the list yesterday only after officials decided to go beyond the report's historical focus on the occupational and environmen- tal causes of cancer, said Dr. Christopher Portier, associate director of the National Toxicology Program, which prepared the latest update. "We felt (the report) needed to be expanded to include other things in our general environment that can cause cancer," Portier said. NEW YORK SBC to buy former parent company AT&T The purchase of AT&T Corp. by SBC Communications Inc. saves "Ma Bell" from a nosedive into irrelevance in the industry it created more than a century ago. It also gives SBC the name and the network to fulfill its goal of being viewed as a truly national player rather than just a local telephone company. The $16 billion marriage of long-bitter rivals, which may take until mid-2006 to clear intense regulatory scrutiny, would add long distance and business services to the list of markets where SBC holds a dominant role. It is already the first or second largest U.S. provider of local calling, wireless and Internet services. The deal announced yesterday also sparks immediate speculation as to-whether two other largely regional powers, Verizon Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp., will need to keep pace by purchasing MCI Corp. for its national network infrastructure and roster of corporate clients. - 01 An Iraqi election officer checks ballot boxes at a counting center in Amman, Jordan yesterday. The ballot- counting process for Iraqi expatriates began Monday with the presence of international and political observers. sites in Baghdad. The country was already focusing on goals almost as challenging as the elec- tion itself: forming a new governing coalition once the vote is known, then writing a constitution and winning trust. The main Shiite clerical-backed faction in the race was already claiming a strong showing in the election. Officials of the United Iraqi Alliance said they expected to win at least 45 percent of seats in the 275-member National Assembly. Local officials of the parties within the alliance said the list swept some southern cities, winning 90 percent of the votes in Najaf and 80 percent in Basra. The claims could not be confirmed, and the Alliance had been expected to run strong in the Shiite heartland. Going into the vote, the list headed by Allawi was also considered a main contender. A powerful showing for the Alliance, which was endorsed by the Shiite Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, could make Sunnis even more reluctant to accept the results of the election - particularly if Sunni participation turns out to have been low. Although turnout figures were unavailable, a U.S. diplomat briefing reporters on condition of anonymity said "good anecdotal information" indicated that "Sunni participation was consid- erably lower than participation by the other groups, especially in areas which have seen a great deal of violence." In the heavily Sunni town of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, 48-year- Want to light up the world with your career? Then talk to someone who knows science. r s '- S/ ".f' / , Y9 / ' l/A /,{ -x .{ / g.. [ r Thomas Edison 1847-1931, Founder of Science If you want to light up the world of science, it's essential you don't leave your career to chan ce. At ScienceCareers.org we know science. We are committed to he a Esou find the ri ht job, and to delivering the advice you old history teacher Qais Youssif said no member of his family had voted. "The so-called elections were held in the way that America and the occupa- tion forces wanted," Youssif said. "They want to marginalize the role of the Sun- nis. They and the media talk about the Sunnis as a minority. I do not think they are a minority." The Iraqi Islamic Party, a leading Sunni faction, feels the vote was not inclusive "because an important segment of the Sunni Muslim community didn't take part," said party official Naser Ayef al-Ani. Large, heavily Sunni sections of the country were unable to cast bal- lots, and in some places lack of security forced polling places to open late or not at all, officials said. Report: Darfur crisis not genocid.e UNITED NATIONS (AP) - A U.N. commission concluded that the Sudanese government and militias carried out mass killings and prob- ably war crimes in the Darfur region, but stopped short of calling the vio- lence genocide, according to a report released yesterday. The panel recommended that the International Criminal Court inves- tigate evidence of widespread abuses including torture, rape, killings of civil- ians and pillaging. The United Nations has called Dar- fur the world's worst humanitarian cri- sis, saying the conflict there has claimed 70,000 lives since March - mostly from disease and hunger - and now affects two million people, up from 1.8 million in September. While the commission was clearly reluctant to pronounce a verdict on the violence, it said many of the worst attacks "may amount to crimes against humanity." "Some of these violations are very likely to amount to war crimes, and given the systematic and widespread pattern of many of the violations, they would also amount to crimes against humanity," the report said. It also said rebel groups were guilty of acts that amounted to war crimes. "The conclusion that no genocidal policy has been pursued and imple- mented in Darfur by the government authorities, directly or through the mili- tias under their control, should not be taken in any way as detracting'from the gravity of the crimes perpetrated in the region," the report said. - Compiled from Daily wire reports 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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