2 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, April 8, 2005 NATION/WORLD U.S. official: Korea sent atomic arms to Libya SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Stung by the lapses of intelligence on Iraq's weapons pro- grams, a top U.S. diplomat insisted yesterday that Washington has concrete evidence North Korean nuclear material went to Libya's since-shuttered atomic arms operation. He warned that North Korea's cash-strapped communist regime could still be a risk for a further spread of atomic arms technology and materials. Christopher Hill, the main U.S. envoy on the North Korea nuclear standoff, told The Associated Press that even though Libya got the nuclear mate- rial from a Pakistani black market nuclear network, the North Koreans must have known where their material would end up. Hill, U.S. ambassador to South Korea who leaves next week to become assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said there is "physical evidence that the material that arrived in Libya had started its journey" in North Korea. He said the evidence was "beyond my reasonable doubt." It was the strongest on-the-record claim by a U.S. official that such evidence exists. For months, U.S. officials have stopped short of saying publicly they had physical evidence about a North Korea-Libya link. That raised questions about Washington's case, especially after the intelligence failures on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Hill did not say what the evidence was or where it came from. But Libya agreed with the U.S. and British governments in late 2003 to shut down its programs to develop atomic and chemical weapons and allowed in outside inspectors. Officials from the International Atomic Ener- gy Agency have said that Libya obtained nuclear material from Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan. The U.N. agency said yesterday its inspectors are still interviewing Libyans about the atomic weapons work, but all Libya's nuclear equipment has been destroyed or dismantled and removed from the country. Asked about Hill's comments linking the material in Libya to North Korea, Melissa Flem- ing, a spokeswoman for the IAEA in Vienna, Austria, said: "It's a possibility, but it's difficult for us to verify because we no longer have any inspectors there" in North Korea. In Washington, a State Department official who tracks dangerous weapons said the Libyans did not necessarily know the origin of the material. Attempts to reach officials in Libya for comment were not successful. Hill wouldn't go so far as to say U.S. intel- ligence had proof of direct contact or payments between Libya and North Korea. But he said the Pyonyang regime, which claims to have nuclear weapons and has been struggling with years of food shortages, might not be done pitching its atomic wares around the world. I . New Iraqi president takes oath BAGHDAD (AP) - Cementing Iraq's first democratic government in 50 years, one of Saddam's Hussein's most implacable enemies took his oath as president yesterday and quickly named another longtime foe of the ousted dictator to the powerful post of prime minister. The new government's main task will be to draft a per- manent constitution and lay the groundwork for elections in December, although some worry that the two months of political wrangling taken up in forming the leadership hasn't left enough time. The swearing-in ceremony came just two days short of the second anniversary of Baghdad's fall to U.S.-led forc- es and underlined the growing power and cooperation of the Shiite Arab majority and Kurdish minority - groups that were long oppressed by Saddam's regime. There were stumbles, though. After his inaugural speech, interim President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, walked off the stage, and members of the National Assembly and onlookers began to disperse and television feeds were cut. Talabani came back about 10 minutes later and had to shout to a dwindling crowd that the President's Coun- cil - Talabani and his two vice presidents - had, as expected, selected Shiite Arab leader Ibrahim al-Jaafari as interim prime minister. Senior Kurdish official Barham Saleh blamed the mis- step on miscommunication, saying lawmakers didn't real- ize the ceremony hadn't ended with Talabani's speech. Some Shiite lawmakers felt snubbed. "We hope that they forgot," said Abbas Hassan Mousa al-Bayati, a top member of al-Jafaari's Shiite-dominated United Iraqi Alliance. "This happened because of bad management." Al-Jaafari didn't seem upset, telling reporters after- ward: "This day represents a democratic process and a step forward" "I'm faced with a big responsibility, and I pray to God that everyone will work hand-in-hand and that their efforts will lead to progress and development," he added. Some Iraqis have expressed concern about al-Jaafari's close ties to the Islamic government in Iran and his work for the conservative Islamic Dawa Party, which has called for the implementation of Islamic law. But law- makers didn't express any reservations yesterday. Al-Jaafari said women will play a bigger role in his government, and he promised to fight the violence of the insurgency. "There are two kinds of terrorism: terrorism from inside Iraq - and these are criminals, some of them with ties to the former regime - and the other is the terrorism exported from abroad," he said. Iraq's new leaders were longtime foes of Saddam, who watched a videotape of Talabani's election Wednesday but was not expected to be shown Thursday's ceremony. Al-Jaafari spent more than two decades in exile help- ing to lead anti-Saddam opposition forces among Shiite Arabs, while Talabani was one of the most influential leaders in the resistance of ethnic Kurds to Saddam as well as Arab domination. Sliiite Arabs and Kurds have worked together in put- ting the government together, and Talabani - whose post is largely ceremonial - reached out yesterday to Sunni Arabs, who are believed to make up the backbone of the insurgency and were the dominant group under Saddam. "It is time for our Sunni brothers to participate in the democratic march," the president said. Lawmakers have appointed Sunni Arabs to several top posts in an effort to build a broad-based government, but prominent Sunni Arab groups have distanced themselves from the new administration. GOP leaders may give up private accounts WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Republi- can leaders are considering whether to seek Democratic support for Social Security leg- islation without the personal accounts sought by President Bush, aiming to restore them later, officials said yesterday. Any such move would mark a tactical shift and could anger the White House, which is in the midst of an intensive 60-day campaign to sell Bush's approach to the public. The internal discussions among top Senate Republicans come at a time when the drive to overhaul Social Security - the centerpiece of Bush's agenda - appears stalled. Democrats routinely attack his proposed accounts as priva- tization, and adamantly resist the idea of includ- ing them in any legislation designed to shore up the program's finances. With public opinion polls showing modest support at best for Bush's plan, Republicans have yet to coalesce behind a proposal of their own. Several officials familiar with the discus- sions among GOP leaders said the lawmakers are wary of creating the impression they are jet- tisoning the centerpiece of Bush's plan. In the end, they are determined to have something along the lines of what the president wants, said one official, echoing sentiments expressed by others. These officials spoke on condition of ano- nymity, citing the sensitivity of the topic. They said top Republicans discussed an approach under which they would effectively acquiesce in an attempt to test the waters for a 1 WASHINGTON Pfizer pulls painkiller from market The blockbuster painkiller Bextra was yanked off the market yesterday, and the government ordered that 19 other popular prescription competitors -- from Cele- brex to Mobic to high-dose naproxen - carry tough new warnings that they, too, may increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. The warnings encompass an entire class of anti-inflammatory medicines called NSAIDs that are the backbone of U.S. pain treatment, not just newer versions of the painkillers initially suspected when the heart concerns made headlines last fall. The warnings - in black boxes, the strongest the Food and Drug Administra- tion can order - are likely to cause confusion because they won't tell patients and doctors which of these prescription drugs is a safer choice. In addition, the FDA will make over-the-counter NSAIDs, or nonsteroidal anti- inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, naproxen and ketoprofen bear stronger reminders to take only low doses for a few days at a time to avoid the same risks of high-dose, long-term use. Worried patients immediately began calling doctors and pain groups to ask what drug they should take. The FDA advised patients to ask which painkiller is best suited to their personal health risks, and then take the lowest dose possible. VATICAN CITY Pope considered retirement at age 80 Pope John Paul II, weighed down by illness and age, considered resigning as he turned 80 in 2000, according to his last will and testament published yesterday. The pope also wrote of tormented times for himself and the church and left instructions for his notes to be burned. The document, written in several entries over 22 years, provides extraordi- nary insight into the pope's thinking in the twilight of his life as he reflected about death and his legacy, and as he prayed for the "necessary strength" to continue his mission. "The times in which we live are unutterably difficult and disturbed," he wrote in 1980, according to the official Vatican translation from Polish. "The path of the church has also become difficult and tense . .. both for the faithful and for pastors." John Paul's funeral Friday promised to be one of the largest Western reli- gious gatherings of modern times, conducted with the pomp of an ancient liturgy and attended by royalty, political power brokers and multitudes of the faithful. JERUSALEM Isreal will not destroy Gaza Strip houses Israel will transfer Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip to the Palestinians intact, the defense minister decided yesterday, reversing an earlier plan to destroy all homes during this summer's withdrawal. The decision, which would need Cabinet approval, was made in a meeting with top Israeli security officials. Deputy Defense Minister Zeev Boim said internation- al reaction and environmental concerns led Mofaz to change his earlier decision to knock down the homes. "Taking all those things into account, the defense minister made a recommenda- tion not to destroy the private houses," Boim told Army Radio. The question of what to do with the hundreds of red-roofed houses scattered throughout Gaza in 21 settlements has vexed the Israeli government for months. CAIRO, Egypt Bomb attack kills 2 tourists in historic bazaar An explosion apparently set off by a bomber on a motorcycle hit a tour group shopping in a historic bazaar yesterday, killing at least two people and wounding 20 - the first attack targeting foreign tourists in the Egyptian capital in more than seven years. The dead included a French woman, and 11 Egyptians and nine foreigners were wounded, said Brig. Gen. Nabil al-Azabihead of security in Cairo. He said the second person killed may have been the bomber. Many of the wounded had severe wounds from nails packed in the bomb, doc- tors said. Among the wounded foreigners were three Americans, four French, and a Turk, the Interior Ministry said. - Compiled from Daily wire reports www. michigandaily.corn 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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