2A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 13, 2005 NATION/WORLD Aid pours in for quake victims NEWS IN BRIEF U.S., Pakistani, German , Aziz said small aircraft were able to - ~ and Afghan helicopters delivered tents, blankets and medical equipment MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Rescue efforts gave way to aid relief, as hopes faded yesterday of finding more survivors in Pakistan's devastated quake zone. Still, miracles emerged amid the misery: A Russian team res- cued a 5-year-old girl trapped for nearly 100 hours under the rubble of her family home. Trucks and helicopters with aid from dozens of countries choked roads up to the crumbling towns of the Himalayan region of Kashmir, but the hungry and homeless in hard-hit areas remained isolated four days after the temblor. "No country is ready for such a disas- ter," said President Gen. Pervez Mush- arraf in a nationally televised address, acknowledging delays in his govern- ment response but saying that relief operations were now fully under way. The 7.6-magnitude quake Saturday demolished whole towns, mostly in Kashmir, divided by a cease-fire line between Indian and Pakistani territo- ries. The death toll was believed to be more than 35,000, with tens of thou- sands injured. A strong aftershock shook the capi- tal Islamabad today, causing buildings to move for a few seconds. It was not immediately clear what the aftershock's land at the airport in Muzaffarabad, but C-130 transport planes still were only able to airdrop equipment and supplies. The United Nations estimated some 4 million people were affected, including 2 million who lost homes, and warned that measles, cholera and other diseases could break out. Some 50,000 Pakistani troops joined the relief effort. Washington has pledged $50 million in relief aid to Pakistan, a key ally in its fight against terror. Yesterday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced an additional $17.5 million, on top of $3.5 million already promised. The World Bank said it would double its initial commitment of aid to Pakistan to $40 million and said the long-term amount could run to hundreds of mil- lions of dollars. Relief supplies poured in from about 30 countries - including 25 tons of tents, medical supplies and food from longtime rival India. The Indian effort was not without a glitch, however, as a plane from New Delhi was forced to turn around because Pakistan said there was no room to land. The plane got new clearance and arrived in Islamabad before dawn. Most of the quake's victims were in Pakistan, with more than 1,400 people killed in Indian Kashmir. New Delhi's aid offer and Pakistan's acceptance reflect warming relations between the nuclear-armed rivals, who fought two of their three wars over Kashmir and embarked on a peace process last year. A group of Pakistani men carry an injured loved one on a bed as they climb in the mountains after the road from their remote village to Balakot, Paki- stan was blocked following an earthquake. magnitude was or if it caused any dam- age. U.S., Pakistani, German and Afghan helicopters delivered tents, blankets and medical equipment and brought back dozens of badly injured people on each return flight. The choppers flew in clear skies after stormy weather forced the suspension of flights Tuesday. "The problem we are seeing right now is that there's so many injured Pak- istanis, we just can't take back everyone. We are limited for space," U.S. military spokesman Col. James Yonts said at a base near Islamabad. At a landing zone in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan's portion of Kashmir, doctors selected only the most severely injured for evacuation. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Islamabad, where Paki- stani leaders appealed for tents, water, blankets and clearing equipment. "We will be with you in your hour of need. We will be with you not just today but also tomorrow," Rice said at a news conference with Prime Minister Shau- kat Aziz. r BAGHDAD Key constitutional amendments approved Iraqi lawmakers approved a set of last-minute amendments to the constitution without a vote yesterday, sealing a compromise designed to win Sunni support and boost chances for the charter's approval in a referendum just three days away. The deal came as insurgents pressed their campaign to wreck the vote. A suicide bomber killed 30 Iraqis at an army recruitment center in a northern town that was struck by another bomber just a day earlier. The amendments made some key concessions to Sunni Arabs, starting with the first article underlining that Iraq will be a single nation with its unity guaranteed - a nod to fears among the disaffected minority that the draft as it stands will fragment the country. Other changes open the door to Sunni Arabs to try to make more dramatic substantive changes in the constitution later, after a new parliament is elected in December. Sunnis want to weaken the considerable autonomous powers the Shiite and Kurdish mini-states would have under the constitution. But there's no guarantee they will succeed: They will still likely face strong opposition from majority Shi- ites and Kurds in the new parliament DAMASCUS Syrian interior minister found dead in office Syria's interior minister, who effectively controlled Lebanon for two decades, was found dead in his office yesterday, days before the release of a U.N. report that could implicate high-ranking officials in the murder of Lebanon's former prime minister. The Syrian government called the death of Brig. Gen. Ghazi Kenaan a suicide, but opponents claimed it could be a murder to cover up top-level involvement. The news of Kenaan's death shocked Syrians, and the government felt com- pelled to stress it would not affect the country's political stability. Kenaan, who was Syria's intelligence chief in Beirut for 20 years, was one of at least seven Syrians recently questioned by a U.N. team investigating the Feb. 14 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. WASHINGTON White House defends Miers nomination The White House tried yesterday to patch a growing fissure in the Republican Party over Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers by pointing to her conservative religious beliefs. "Part of Harriet Miers's life is her religion," President Bush said. Bush defended his nomination, saying Miers was highly qualified, a trailblazer in the law in Texas and someone who would strictly interpret the Constitution - something his conservative supporters want evidence to support. NEW ORLEANS Contention of police brutality questioned A police union official and a lawyer for officers accused in the beating of a retired teacher yesterdaysharply disputed the man's contention he was brutalized during his arrest, which was captured on video. Attorney Frank DeSalvo said the video shows a truncated version of the Satur- day night arrest and he disputed details the video appears to have captured, includ- ing whether the 64-year-old suspect was punched in the face. - Compiled from Daily wire reports CORRECTIONS A story in yesterday's edition of the Daily (Study: Positive view of Colum- bus lingers) incorrectly named Brittany Marino as the president of the Native American Student Association. The story should have said that Marino is a member of the organization. A story in yesterday's edition of the Daily ('Hotel Rwanda hero receives award from 'U') incorrectly stated that the movie had won Oscars and that it was released in February. The movie was nominated for three Oscars but did not win any, and was released in December 2004. Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@michigandaily.com. Ghbe Birbiguu al il 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 1 1W HIRING Start your Career at CarMax as a... 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