2A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, April 7, 2005 NATION/WORLD Kurd elected president of Iraq BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Two months after elections, Iraq's new government finally began to take shape yesterday as lawmakers elected as president a Kurdish leader who promised to represent all ethnic and religious groups in a session broadcast across the country - and shown to Sad- dam Hussein in his jail cell. A prominent Shiite Arab was expect- ed to be named today as prime minister, the most powerful post in what will be Iraq's first democratically elected gov- ernment in 50 years. That would open the way to picking a Cabinet. Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani was chosen for the largely ceremonial job of president, while Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a Shiite, and current interim President Ghazi al-Yawer, a Sunni Arab, were elected vice presidents. Talabani's selection and the expected choice of Ibrahim al-Jaafari as prime minister further consolidate the power shift in Iraq, where both the Shiite Arab majority and the Kurdish minority were oppressed, often brutally, under Sad- dam's Sunni-dominated regime. Talabani, 71, reached out to all sec- tors of the country, appealing for them to join with fellow Iraqis who are work- ing "to found a new Iraq, free of sec- tarian and ethnic persecution, free of hegemony and oppression." He also urged Iraqi insurgents, who are believed to be mostly Sunni Arabs, to sit ' down and talk with the new government.s President Bush called yesterday's session a "momentous step forward inr Iraq's transition to democracy." \ "The Iraqi people have shown their commitment to democracy and we, in turn, are committed to Iraq," theF president said in a statement. "We look forward to working with this new gov-3 ernment, and we congratulate all Iraqis on this historic day." Saddam and 11 of his top aides were 3 given the choice of watching a tape of the National Assembly session in their prison and all chose to do so, said Bakhtiar Amin, human rights minister in the outgoing interim government. Amin said Saddam watched by himself, while the others viewed it as a group at their undisclosed detention center, which is believed to be near Baghdad's airport. "I imagine he was upset," Amin said. "He must have realized that the era of his government was over, and that there was no way he was returning to office." Iraq's new presidential council, made up of the president and his two deputies, AP PHOTO is to be sworn in today. The three are Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani was elected president of Iraq's new government. then expected to immediately name the Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a Shiite, and current interim President Ghazi al-Yawer, a prime minister. Sunni Arab, were elected vice presidents. KABUL. Afghanistan Military helicopter crashes in desert A U.S. military helicopter returning from a mission smashed into the southern Afghan desert yesterday, killing at least 16 people in the deadliest military crash since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001. An Afghan official said most of the dead appeared to be Americans. The CH-47 Chinook was returning to the U.S. base at Bagram from a mission in the militant-plagued south when it went down near Ghazni city, 80 miles southwest of the capital, Kabul. "Indications are it was bad weather and that there were no survivors," said a U.S. spokeswoman, Lt. Cindy Moore. An Afghan official said there were no signs the craft was shot down. A U.S. military statement said 16 deaths had been confirmed and two other people listed on the flight manifest were "unaccounted for" when the recovery operation was suspended at nightfall. U.S. officials said the four crew members killed were Aneri- cans, but declined to give the nationalities of the passengers. The names of the victims were being withheld pending notification of next of kin. Moore said the transport helicopter was returning from a "routine mission" when controllers lost radio contact. a Monaco mourns Prince Rainier's death MONACO (AP) - The famed Monte Carlo casino was closed, its spinning roulette wheels at rest as Monaco mourned the death Yesterday of Europe's longest-reigning monarch, Prince Rainier III, who worked to over- come this tiny principality's reputation as "a sunny place for shady people." The throne now goes to Prince Albert I1, Rainier's only son with actress Grace Kelly. In power for 56 of his 81 years, Rainier was the only ruler many of Monaco's 32,000 residents had ever known. A veritable father-figure, he dragged Monaco into the modern age while preserving much of its Mediter- ranean charm and royal trappings. Before age slowed him, Raini- er poured his energies into public works, earning the name "the builder prince." He put Monaco _ which is smaller than New York's Central Park _ on the world map with his April 18, 1956, marriage to Kelly, who gave up Hollywood fame to become Princess dral where he and Princess Grace wed. Grace. He is expected to be buried alongside Albert, 47, has been groomed from her. birth to succeed Rainier. Multilingual, A U.S. educated, and sledding Olym- pian, he was at his father's bedside when Rainier died at a hospital over- looking Monaco's yacht-filled main harbor. Rainier had been treated there for the past month for heart, kidney and breathing problems. Albert took over the royal powers last week because of Raini- er's ill health. Rainier's funeralv a five-time bob- of ti t the traditional he palace guards "Each of us feels like an orphan because the principality has been marked by his imprint over the 56 years of his reign." - Patrick Leclercq Head of Monaco's government midday changing ceremony Yester- day, drums were covered with black cloth. The body of Rainier, whose fam- ily dynasty took power in 1297, was moved to his hilltop pal- ace where it will in lie in state, the palace said. The Monte Carlo casino closed in a sign of respect. Monaco's soc- cer team post- will be held April 15 at the 19th-century Monaco Cathe- poned a weekend match. Flags, already lowered for Pope John Paul II, remained at half-staff. Monaco's TV networks interrupted programming with documentaries on Rainier's life and reactions to his death. "Each of us feels like an orphan because the principality has been marked by his imprint over the 56 years" of his reign, said Patrick Lecler- cq, head of Monaco's government. Rainier's doctors called Albert about 30 minutes beforehand to tell him the end was near, the palace said. The palace did not say if Rain- ier's daughters, Princesses Caroline and Stephanie, were with him when he died. Christopher Le Vine, whose mother is Princess Grace's last surviving sib- ling, said Albert and Caroline called to inform him of Rainier's death. "They're doing remarkably well under the circumstances," he said. He said he and other Philadelphia- area relatives will go to Monaco for Rainier's funeral. He said the prince had a "unique sense of humor" but he expects Albert to make his own imprint on the French-speaking principality. "It's not something that he hasn't anticipated over these many years. He will make his own space there," Le Vine said. Albert is unmarried and has no children _ a source of consternation to Rainier, who worried about continuing the Grimaldi family line. Monaco changed its succession law in 2002 to allow power to pass from a reigning prince who has no descen- dants to his siblings. Albert's sisters have children. From the palace's crenelated. sandy-colored walls, perched high on a cliff that dominates Monaco, Rainier could survey the domain he turned from a Riviera backwater into a playground for the rich. Its wind- ing streets are turned into a racetrack every spring for the Monte Carlo Grand Prix. During Rainier's reign, Monaco expanded its territory by 20 percent with land reclaimed from the sea _ allowing the government to boast that Monaco was the only country to grow so much by peaceful means. He oversaw construction of a new port, an artificial beach, a cultural center and an underground railway station. A breakwater project to allow large yachts and cruise liners to dock in the main harbor cost $420 million. y 3TEF CR. Do C y C ALL US AT i 763-459 FOOD FOR THOUGHT |Hanoi Jane WASHINGTON U.S. to help in reconstruction of Gaza Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the Bush administration will be helpful in the reconstruction of Gaza after Israel withdraws, but she is not ready to commit the United States to specifics in a project Israel estimates will cost it $1 billion. Rice, in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press, also urged Israel not to engage in "wanton destruction" of the homes the 8,000 Jewish settlers will leave behind after this summer's exodus. "There needs to be some coordination on what's being done," she said, "and I think there will be." Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, due to meet with President Bush at his Texas ranch on Monday, sent his chief of staff, Dov Weisglass, to help plan the agenda vith Rice and Stephen Hadley, the national security adviser. The talks, held Tuesday, will be followed by meetings Deputy Prime Minister Shi- mon Peres is due to hold later this week with Vice President Dick Cheney and other administration officials. CHICAGO White supremacist Hale sentenced to prison Avowed white supremacist Matthew Hale was sentenced to 40 years in prison yesterday for trying to have a federal judge killed - the same judge whose husband and mother were murdered five weeks ago by a deranged man with no connection to Hale. Hale, the 33-year-old leader of a group that preaches racial holy war, was sentenced after a rambling, two-hour speech in which he claimed he was the victim and even recited part of "The Star Spangled Banner." He showed no emotion and sat staring at the defense table as the sentence was handed down. Prosecutors argued for the maximum sentence, saying Hale's crime amounted to an act of terrorism. WASHINGTON Power plants may be vulnerable to attacks Fuel storage pools at nuclear power plants in 31 states may be vulnerable to terror- ist attacks that could unleash raging fires and deadly radiation, scientists advised-the government on Wednesday. The group of nuclear experts said neither the government nor the nuclear industry "adequately understands the vulnerabilities and consequences of such an event." They recommended undertaking a plant-by-plant examination of fuel storage security, as soon as possible. In the meantime, plant operators promptly should reconfigure used fuel rods in the storage pools to lower decay-heat intensity and install spray devices to reduce the risk of a fire should a storage facility be attacked, the scientists said. Congress sought the study by a National Academy of Science panel because of the heightened concerns that terrorists might seek to target nuclear power plants. - Compiled from Daily wire reports I I 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. 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