2 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, February 4, 2005 NATION/WORLD Oil-for-food head to be punished NEWS IN BRIEF{2 UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Secretary-General Kofi Annan is taking disciplinary action against the head of the U.N. oil-for-food program in Iraq following an inves- tigation of alleged corruption in the humanitarian pro- gram, a senior U.N. official said yesterday. The decision came after a report by former Fed- eral Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, who is lead- ing the investigation into the program, accused program chief Benon Sevan of unethical conduct and Joseph Stephanides of manipulating an oil-for- food contract, according to Mark Malloch Brown, Annan's chief of staff. At the time the contract was awarded, Stephanides was chief of the U.N. Sanctions Branch and deputy director of the Security Council Affairs Division in the U.N. Department of Political Affairs. He now heads the division. Malloch Brown did not say what disciplinary steps would be taken but said they would be announced early next week. Although Sevan said he never recommended any oil companies, the investigation led by Volcker concluded that he repeatedly solicited allocations of oil from Iraq under the program and "created a grave and continu- ing conflict of interest." Volcker also said there was "convincing and uncon- tested evidence" that the selection of the three U.N. con- tractors for the oil-for-food program - Banque Nationale de Paris, Saybolt Eastern Hemisphere BV and Lloyd's Register Inspection Limited - did not conform to estab- lished financial and competitive bidding rules. Sevan denied any wrongdoing, the report said, but it added that evidence from Iraqi officials contradicted those denials. However, a summary of the report's find- ings did not accuse Sevan of any criminal actions. Volcker's committee said it investigated allega- tions that Sevan, while executive director of the oil-for-food program, requested oil allocations from the Iraqi government on behalf of the African Middle East Petroleum Co. Ltd. Inc., a Swiss-based oil trading company known as AMEP. The committee concluded that Sevan solicited and received several million barrels of alloca- tions on behalf of AMEP in 1998-2001. Those allocations generated $1.5 million in revenues, the report said. Those solicitations "presented a grave and continuing . .- ( ' ' ' ''' conflict of interest, were ethically improper, and seri- ously undermined the integrity of the United Nations," the report said. The report said Sevan "was not forthcoming to the committee when he denied approaching Iraqi officials and requesting oil allocations on behalf of AMEP." In a separate investigation by U.S. arms inspec- tor Charles Duelfer, allegations surfaced that Sevan may have personally profited by receiving vouch- ers to sell Iraqi oil. According to the Duelfer report - which got its information from the former Iraqi oil ministry - Sevan allegedly received vouchers for 7.3 million barrels of oil through various com- panies and representatives that he recommended to Iraqi ministries. The financial take would have been in the range of $700,000 to $2 million, depending on oil prices. The oil-for-food program, launched in December 1996 to help ordinary Iraqis cope with U.N. sanc- tions imposed after Saddam Hussein's 1990 inva- sion of Kuwait, quickly became a lifeline for 90 percent of the population. Israel to release 900 Palestinians WASH INGTON Gonzales confirmed attorney general Alberto Gonzales won Senate confirmation yesterday as attorney general despite Democratic accusations that he helped formulate White House policies that led to overseas prisoner abuse and was too beholden to President Bush to be the nation's top law enforcement official. The Senate voted 60-36 to put the first Hispanic ever into the job, with all of the "no" votes coming from Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independent Jim Jeffords of Vermont. Last week, 12 Democrats and Jeffords voted against Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's confirmation. Gonzales will replace John Ashcroft, who won more Democratic support four years ago despite contentious stances on a number of issues. Eight Democrats voted for Ashcroft, while six voted for Gonzales. ISLAMABAD, Pakistan U.S. may sell fighter aircraft to Pakistan A senior U.S. defense official said yesterday that Washington is considering an appeal from Pakistan for F-16 fighter aircraft. U.S. Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith would not say whether the two sides were close to reaching any deal. "It is- an important issue, and it will be dealt with at the right time," he told reporters in Rawalpindi, a garrison city near Islamabad. Earlier, Feith took part in.a meeting of the Pakistan-U.S. Defense Consultative Group. Defense Secretary Hamid Nawaz Khan led the Pakistani side in the talks. Pakistan is a key ally of the United States in its war on terrorism. Washington recently agreed to sell $1.2 billion in weapons to Pakistan, but the deal doesn't include the F-16 aircraft that Islamabad has long desired. Pakistan struck a deal with the United States to buy two dozen fighter jets in the late 1980s, but the agreement was scrapped in the 1990s when Washington imposed sanctions on Islamabad over its nuclear weapons program. BAGHDAD, Iraq Shiite clergy take lead in election counts Iraqi officials yesterday released the first partial returns from national elections, showing a commanding lead by candidates backed by the Shiite Muslim clergy. Sunni insurgents unleashed a wave of attacks, killing at least 29 people, including two U.S. Marines and a dozen Iraqi army recruits. Meanwhile, election officials said strict security measures may have deprived many Iraqis in the Mosul area and surrounding Ninevah province of their right to vote. The admission is likely to fuel complaints by Iraq's minor- ity Sunni Arabs, who make up the heart of the insurgency, that they were not represented in the vote. AUSTIN, Texas Journalists' notes from Watergate now available While the identity of "Deep Throat" is still a well-guarded secret, the first install- ment of notes and quotes scribbled by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein while covering the Watergate scandal are now available to the public. "We told the story from our perspective as well as we could. Other people should have a look at the stuff," Bernstein said yesterday at the University of Texas's Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, which purchasel the materials for $5 mil- lion in 2003. Under a deal with the reporters, the Ransom Center is responsible for catalogu- ing and preparing the documents for public release. They will be made public for the first time Friday. *I JERUSALEM (AP) - Israeli Cabinet ministers yesterday approved the release of 900 Palestinian prisoners and a military pullout from the West Bank town of Jeri- cho within days in overtures intended to improve the climate ahead of next week's Mideast summit. The ministers also approved an ear- lier decision by the army chief to halt the targeted killings of wanted Palestinian fugitives and agreed to form a joint Israeli- Palestinian committee to decide what to _ 4 do about them. The 900 prisoners represent about one-eighth of the total number of prisoners Israel holds. The decision to withdraw only from quiet Jericho falls short of expectations that minis- ters would approve the evacuation of five West Bank towns, but followed x the Israeli government's decision this week to slow the pullout after a brief outbreak in violence. Palestinians and Israelis both said yes- terday they expect the summit in Egypt to produce a truce ending more than four years of violence. A joint declaration of a cessation of vio- lence is one of the first requirements in the AP PHOTO internationally backed "road map" peace Reigning world champions Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov plan, which calls for the establishment of a skate at the premiere of the Art on Ie show in Lausanne, Palestinian state this year. SwItzerland Tuesday. "We are not talking about peace now, and not about the 'road map,' but rather an evening of modern dance set to jazz x - Choreography by Alexandre Musical Direction by EllenI UM School of Music University Dance Co. & February 3 at 7:30pm " February 4 & 5 at 8pm " February 6 at 2pm Tickets $20 and $15 " Students $9 with ID 9 League Ticket Office 9 about phases that come before implemen- tation of the 'road map,' " participants quoted Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as saying at yesterday's meeting. In his State of the Union address Wednes- day, President Bush expressed hopes for a peace agreement and said he would seek $350 million in aid to the Palestinians. "The goal of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace, is within reach, and America will help them achieve that goal," he said. Israeli and Palestinian officials wel- comed the comments. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said the government was "totally on board" with Bush's vision. Maher Masri, the Palestinian trade min- ister, said: "The trend of the U.S. adminis- tration is very positive." . Earlier in the day, both sides sounded optimistic about truce prospects. "I hope that a cease-fire will be declared, a halt to all violent acts," Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres told Israel Army Radio. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, returning to the West Bank after a five- country trip, said he has already won an agreement from militants to halt attacks and expects Israel to respond positively. "We have announced a cease-fire, and the Israelis should announce one also," he said. Bush seeks Soc. Sec. support FARGO, N.D. (AP) - Facing stiff resistance, President Bush began searching state-by-state for support for his plan to overhaul Social Security and conceded yesterday that not all lawmakers believe the program has a serious problem. "The math doesn't work," Bush insisted, saying Social Security would pay out more money than it brought in beginning in 2018. "And in 2042, it's bust," he said. That's the year in which the system would be able to cover only about 73 percent of benefits owed unless it is changed, according to Social Secu- rity trustees. Bush spoke at the Bison Sports Arena at North Dakota State University, the first stop on a two-day, five-state trip to try to build support for diverting some Social Security revenues into private investment accounts for younger work- ers. The initiative would reduce guar- anteed retirement benefits but create the possibility of bigger checks from stock market investments. "We're not going to play politics with the issue," Bush said. "We're going to say, If you've got a good idea, come forth with your idea.' Because now is the time to put partisanship aside and focus on saving Social Security for young workers." But politics played a part in his trip to North Dakota and Montana on Thurs- day and Nebraska, Arkansas and Flor- ida on Friday. Each state is represented in the Senate by at least one Democrat who GOP strategists believe might back Bush's Social Security makeover plan. "You take what the president said in his address last night, he's talking about more tax cuts, more spending, more borrowing for private accounts," Kent Conrad, (D-N.D.) said in a telephone interview "It doesnt add 11)." MARKET UPDATE THUR. CLOSE CHANGE DOW JONES 10,593.10 -3.69 NASDAQ 2,057.64 -17.42 S&P 500 19189-89 -3.30 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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