2 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 16, 2005 NATION/WORLD Iraq's new Parliament to convene NEWS IN BRIEF 1i 1 Despite car bomb attacks, Iraq to hold its first freely elected National Assembly today BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraq puts its fragile'democracy to the test today, convening its first freely elected Nation- al Assembly in recent history after last- minute bargaining over Sunni Arab candidates to head the parliament. Shiite Muslim officials said they failed to reach final agreement in talks with the Kurds - who are mostly Sunni Muslim but secular - and the Sunni Arabs. But those failures were not enough to prevent the 275-member National Assembly from preparing to meet today for the first time since the Jan. 30 elections. "It will be a historic event because the Iraqi people will witness an elected par- liament for the first time in their lives," said Ali al-Dabagh, a member of the Shiite clergy-dominated United Iraqi Alliance, which won the most seats in the elections. Al-Dabagh added that Shiite, Kurdish and Sunni Arab politicians would meet after the deputies are sworn in "to final- ize things. We need two to three days to announce an agreement." The Shiite alliance won 140 seats in the National Assembly, but needs the Kurds' 75 seats to assemble the two-thirds major- ity required to elect a president, who will then nominate the prime minister. The assembly was to start with speech- es from members of the interim govern- ment, followed by political party leaders and end with a swearing-in ceremony, officials said, adding that the parliament could meet over a number of days. Shiite talks with Sunni Arabs focused on naming a parliament speaker, and it remained unclear if they would present a candidate today. Although the speaker's role is mostly restricted to presiding over the assembly and moderating discussions, the job has a great deal of visibility. The United Iraqi Alliance and a Kurd- ish coalition agreed last week to form a coalition government with Shiite politi- cian Ibrahim al-Jaafari as prime minis- ter. In return, Jalal Talabani will become Iraq's first Kurdish president, though the presidency is a largely ceremonial post. "The Kurds want to make some amendments on the deal, and we are going to finish soon, tomorrow to be exact. We do not want to impose any name from our side regarding the post of the parliament speaker. We want the Sunnis to nominate some persons for this post, but till now they have not done this," al-Dabagh said. Sunni Arab negotiators at yester- day's meeting included interim Presi- dent Ghazi al-Yawer - a possible choice for parliament speaker - the Iraqi Islamic Party and Iraqi national- ist leader Adnan Pachachi. Sunni Arabs, who make up only about 20 percent of the population but were the dominant group under Saddam Hussein's regime, largely stayed away from the elections - either to honor a boycott call or because they feared being attacked at the polls by insurgents. Sunni Arabs are believed to make up the core of the insurgency, and includ- ing them in the political process is seen as a way to isolate the militants. U.S. Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, predicted to reporters traveling with him on a swing through Iraq that insurgent violence would surge in the weeks ahead as the National Assembly is convened and the government takes shape. "So there's a long way to go," Myers said, before Iraq is stable enough to defend itself without the presence of U.S. troops, which now number about 148,000. He declined to say when a U.S. withdrawal might begin. To prevent suicide car bomb attacks against new Iraq's lawmakers, authori- ties stepped up security around the heavily fortified Green Zone, where the National Assembly was to meet. Two bridges leading to the zone were shut down, and roadblocks were erected on other streets leading to the area. An insurgent car bomb attack near Baghdad airport, where Myers had met U.S. troops, killed a U.S. soldier and wounded another six, the military said. Although it was unclear if it was the same attack, Iraqi police said a car bomb in the same area - and at the same time - targeted a U.S. military convoy and killed four civilians and wounded anoth- er seven. When U.S. forces arrived to evacuate the injured, another car bomb exploded, wounding more troops. One Humvee was destroyed and two civilian cars were in flames, witnesses said. HEADLINES FROMAROUND% THE WORL NEW YORK WoddCom CEO found guilt of fraud Bernard Ebbers, the once-swaggering CEO of WorldCom, was convicted yes- terday of engineering the largest corporate fraud in U.S. history - an $11 billion accounting scandal that capsized the big telecom company three years ago. The verdict marked a colossal fall for Ebbers, who had turned a humble Missis- sippi long-distance provider into a global telecommunications power, swallowing up companies along the way and earning the nickname "Telecom Cowboy." A federal jury in Manhattan returned guilty verdicts on all nine counts, including securities fraud, conspiracy and lying to regulators - a decision that could send Ebbers, 63, to prison for the rest of his life. Sentencing was set for June 13. The former chief executive reddened deeply when the jury announced its verdict after eight days of deliberations, and his wife, Kristie, burst into tears in the court- room's front row. Later, as his lawyer spoke outside, promising an appeal, Ebbers and his wife - nearly toppled by the enormous crew of cameras and reporters camped outside the federal courthouse - made their way to a nearby street, hailed a cab and drove away. 91 WASHINGTON Anthrax detected, postal facilities closed Another postal facility was closed yesterday as concern spread over the detection of anthrax in two pieces of mail at military mailrooms. Hundreds of workers were offered antibiotics as a precaution, though no unusual health problems were reported. Officials said the mail in question had been irradiated, so any anthrax in them was inert when they triggered alarms at the Pentagon mail facility and another nearby facility that handles military mail. Environmental testing was being conducted on the two military mail facilities and on a third postal facility in the District of Columbia, which was closed yesterday because it may have handled the mail that went to the two military mailrooms. Antibiotics were offered to some 200 workers at the D.C. facility and to workers at the military mailrooms. Hospitals were told to be on the lookout for symptoms like respiratory problems, rashes or flu-like symptoms that could signal exposure to anthrax, which can be used as a biological weapon. Hearing for suspect in courtroom rampage held ATLANTA (AP) - Surrounded by 19 officers in a cinderblock jail room, his hands and ankles shackled, the man accused in the crime spree that left an Atlanta judge and three others dead went before a judge yes- terday for the first time since the rampage. Brian Nichols, 33, was informed that authorities plan to charge him with murder. Nichols looked straight ahead during the five- minute hearing and did not make eye contact with anyone in the room, including the judge. He spoke only once, when Judge Frank Cox asked him if he had any questions. "Not at this time," he said. When Nichols was held without bail on the rape charge he was on trial for Friday, when he allegedly overpowered a guard at the Fulton County courthouse, stole her gun and started a rampage that terrorized Atlanta and left four people dead. This time, authoritiestook no chances'for the hear- ing at the Fulton County Jail. All prisoners booked into the jail make their first appearance before a judge inside the jail, not at the courthouse. But 19 officers - almost five times the usual number - packed the small room, and several more officers blocked the hall outside. Those entering the hearing room were searched 0 AP PHOTO Fulton County Deputy Sgt. Vincent Owens, center, is comforted by fellow deputies Craig Johnson, left, and Michael Carmack, as he pays his respects during a memorial service for slain courthouse workers at the Fulton County Justice Center in Atlanta Monday. NEW DELHI, India Rice discusses weapons, security issues in Asia China's new law authorizing military force against Taiwan could make Europe think twice about selling new weaponry to the Chinese, Secretary of State Con- doleezza Rice said yesterday. Rice, in Asia for talks this week, also said she will not let North Korea play the United States and its allies against each other in an attempt to hang onto its nuclear weapons program. She has a long agenda in Beijing later this week, a visit made more delicate by China's decision to codify a threat to attack Taiwan if the island declares inde- pendence. The Bush administration criticized the move, and Rice said she will discuss it with Chinese leaders. Rice said the law may make European nations reconsider resuming weapons sales that were suspended after the deadly 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters at Tiananmen Square. BEIRUT, Lebanon Citizens celebrate exit of Syrian intelligence The symbols of Syrian power crumbled in parts of Lebanon yesterday as Syrian military intelligence agents emptied their offices in Beirut and Tripoli and workers took down an imposing portrait of Syria's president in the capital's seaside boulevard. Lebanese citizens quickly hoisted their national flag - red and white with a green cedar tree in the middle - outside one of the vacated offices and at the site of the massive Bashar Assad portrait. The retreat of Syrian intelligence, the arm through which Damascus controlled " many aspects of Lebanese life, followed strong demands from the United States and an anti-Syrian rally Monday that drew an estimated-1 million people the biggest crowd ever seen in central Beirut. - 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 $110. Winter term (January through April) is $115, yearlong (September through April) is $195. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Collegiate Press. ADDRESS: The Michigan Daily, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1327. E-mail letters to the editor to tothedaily@michigandaily.com. with a handheld metal detector. Fulton County Sheriff Myron Freeman said other steps had been taken to improve courthouse security: 40 uniformed deputies have been added and high-risk inmates will be transported separately, accompanied by specially trained officers. "The security improvements we've made in the past few days will continue as we search for ways to increase security and the safety of the public," he said in a statement. Prosecutor Michele McCutcheon informed Cox the state will pursue four charges of murder against Nichols. Nichols is accused of killing the judge on his rape case and two others at the courthouse, then killing a federal agent while on the run. After a 26-hour -man- hunt, he was captured Saturday at an apartment com- plex where he had taken a woman hostage. WANT TO WRITE FOR DAILY NEWS? CALL US AT 76-DAILY. ...but can't get out?o CALL THE DELIVERY BUTLER! 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