2 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, November 4, 2005 NATION/WORLD EU to investigate alleged secret jails NEWS IN BRIEF BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union and the continent's top human rights group said yester- day they will investigate allegations the CIA set up secret jails in eastern Europe and elsewhere to interrogate terror suspects, and the Red Cross demanded access to any prisoners. Human Rights Watch said it has evidence, based on flight logs, that indicate the CIA transported sus- pects captured in Afghanistan to Poland and Romania. But the two countries - and others in the for- mer Soviet bloc - denied the alle- gations. U.S. officials have refused to confirm or deny the claims. Such prisons, European officials say, would violate the continent's human rights principles. At work may be a complex web of global politics, in which eastern European countries face choices between the views of the European Union and their interest in close ties with the United States. The International Committee of the Red Cross expressed strong interest in the claims, first report- ed Wednesday in the Washington Post, that the CIA has been hiding and interrogating some of its most important al-Qaida captives at Sovi- et-era compounds. Red Cross chief spokeswoman Antonella Notari said the agency asked Washington about the alle- gations and requested accessto the prisons if they exist. The Red Cross, which has exclusive rights to visit terror suspects detained at a U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, long has been concerned about reports U.S. officials were hiding detainees from ICRC delegates. Europe's top human rights organi- zation, the Council of Europe, said it would also take part in the inves- tigations. Notari said the Red Cross, which also monitors conditions at U.S. detention centers in Afghanistan and Iraq, has been unable to find some people who reportedly were detained. She said the Red Cross was "concerned about the fate of an unknown number of persons detained as part of what is called the 'global war on terror' and held in undisclosed places of detention." In implicating Poland and Roma- nia, Human Rights Watch examined flight logs of CIA aircraft from 2001 to 2004, said Mark Garlasco, a "The indications are that prisoners in Afghanistan are being (taken) to facilities in Europe and other countries. " - Mark Garlasco Defense Intelligence Agency officer WASHINGTON Libby pleads not guilty in CIA leak case Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff pleaded not guilty to a five-count felony indictment yesterday in the CIA leak case, signaling a pro- tracted court battle that is sure to prolong debate about the White House's pre- war use of intelligence on Iraq. I. Lewis Libby appeared at his arraignment with trial lawyers Ted Wells and William Jeffress, known for their ability to win jury acquittals for high-profile clients in white-collar criminal cases. "With respect, your honor, I plead not guilty," Libby told U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, a former prosecutor who has spent two decades as a judge in the nation's capital. Cheney and other top White House officials could be called to testify if Libby goes to trial. He is charged with obstruction of justice, two counts of lying to the FBI and two counts of committing perjury before a federal grand jury. 01 senior military analyst with the New York-based organization. He said the group matched the flight pat- terns with testimony from some of the hundreds of detainees in the war on terrorism who have been released by the United States. "The indications are that prison- ers in Afghanistan are being (taken) to facilities in Europe and other countries in the world," Garlasco, a former civilian intelligence officer with the Defense Intelligence Agen- cy, told The Associated Press. He would not say how the organi- zation obtained the flight logs, but said two destinations of the flights stood out as likely sites of any secret CIA detention centers: Szymany Airport in Poland, which is near the headquarters of Poland's intelligence service; and Mihail Kogalniceanu military airfield in Romania. Human Rights Watch also obtained the tail numbers of dozens of CIA aircraft to match them with the flight logs, Garlasco said. He said that in September 2003, a Boeing 737 flew from Washing- ton to Kabul, Afghanistan, making stops along the way in the Czech Republic and Uzbekistan. On Sept. 22, the plane flew on to Szymany Airport, then to Mihail Kogalnicea- nu, proceeded to Sale, Morocco, and finally landed at Guantanamo, Gar- lasco said. As far as he knew, Garlasco said that Human Rights Watch has not yet found or interviewed detainees who were held in any alleged facili- ties in Poland and Romania. Jury absolves Merck*i Vioxx case Painkiller developer adequately warned customers about risk of using Vioxx, jury says ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - Merck & Co. won its first court battle over its Vioxx painkiller yesterday when a New Jersey state jury found that the drugmaker properly warned consumers about the risks of the medication. The verdict absolved Merck of liability for a heart attack suffered by a Vioxx user. After deliberating for less than eight hours over three days, the jury cleared the nation's No. 5 phar- maceutical company of allegations it failed to warn consumers about the drug's risks and engaged in "unconscionable commercial practices" in market- ing it to doctors and their patients. The verdict was Merck's first win out of two Vioxx-related trials. In August, a Texas jury found the company liable in a Vioxx user's death. Merck is appealing that ruling yet still faces about 7,000 law- suits over Vioxx, which it voluntarily pulled off the market last year because of links to heart attacks and strokes after 18 months' use. Much of the seven-week New Jersey trial, eagerly watched by lawyers and plaintiffs from around the country, relied on the testimony of medical experts. Witnesses for Merck testified the company believed Vioxx was safe for the heart before the drug was pulled m the market in response to a study that showed it doubled risk of heart attacks and strokes when taken for at least 18 months. Thursday's verdict means it might take several more cases, including a federal case that will start Nov. 28 in Houston, before lawyers can find any sort WASHINGTON Senate approves $36b in spending cuts A plan to impose the first cuts since 1997 to benefit programs like Medicare, Medicaid and farm subsidies headed for a Senate vote yesterday that could give Republicans a modest victory against rising government spending. Every Democrat opposed the measure, but GOP support seemed firm since the bill had few cuts that swing vote moderates found offensive. The bill covers dozens of programs and does not make major cuts to the Medicare and Medicaid programs for the elderly and for the poor and dis- abled. It also contains a hotly contested provision to open an Alaskan wilder- ness area to oil drilling. The Senate bill is estimated to trim $34 billion from budget deficits totaling $1.6 trillion over five years - just 2 percent. For the plan's first year, with deficits predicted to exceed $300 billion, the cuts total $6 billion. WASHINGTON Alito hearings to begin second week ofJan The Republican-controlled Senate will begin hearings Jan. 9 on Judge Samuel Alito's appointment to the Supreme Court, leaders of the Judiciary Committee announced yesterday, a bipartisan repudiation of President Bush's call for a final confirmation vote before year's end. "It simply wasn't possible to accommodate the schedule that the White Iouse wanted," said Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the committee chairman. He outlined a timetable that envisions five days of hearings, followed by a vote in committee on Jan. 17 and the full Senate on Jan. 20. AULNAY-SOUS-BOIS, France Riots in Parisian suburbs gain momentum A week of riots in poor neighborhoods outside Paris gained dangerous new momentum yesterday, with youths shooting at police and firefighters and attacking trains and symbols of the French state. Facing mounting criticism, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin vowed to restore order as the violence that erupted Oct. 27 spread to at least 20 towns, high- lighting the frustration simmering in housing projects that are home to many North African immigrants. Police deployed for a feared eighth night of clashes, after bands of youths lob- bing stones and petrol bombs ignored President Jacques Chirac's appeal for calm a day earlier. - Compiled from Daily wire reports CORRECTIONS A story in Wednesday's edition of the Daily (Ecology center pressures Dow) incorrectly stated that Dow Chemical has agreed to remove dioxins from the Midland area. It should have said Dow has agreed to reduce expo- sure to the dioxins. The same article, instead of saying "Garabrant said the study's goal is to discover the best possible method to clean up the chemi- cals," should have said: "The study's goal is to find whether dioxins in the soils get into people's bodies and*is therefore harmful, and, if so, how this happens." Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@michigandaily.com. Merk & Co. lawyers Stephen Raber, Christy Jones and Diane Sullivan smile as they walk out of the court in Atlantic City, N.J yesterday after a major victory for the company. of precedent that might determine Merck's ultimate Vioxx liability. Merck was clearly elated by its victory. "We feel very much vindicated," Merck general counsel Kenneth Frazier said. "The jury found in our favor, we believe, because the evidence showed that Merck acted responsibly." Frazier said Merck will fight each lawsuit individ- ually, adding that mass settlements aren't appropriate because facts in each case differ. "There's an awful lot at stake, not just for Merck," but for the pharmaceutical industry and patients, he said, claiming floods of lawsuits can discourage scien- tific research and keep needed drugs off the market. Merck's stock rose $1.07, or 3.8 percent, to $29.48 after the verdict. More than 32 million shares changed hands in barely two hours on the New York Stock Exchange - about four times the stock's nor- mal daily volume. Wall Street analysts said the company clearly will face huge legal costs given its plan to fight each law- suit. The company has set aside just $675 million for legal defense costs, but nothing for jury awards or settlements. Bush's job approval drops to new low WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush's job approval has fallen to the lowest level of his presidency amid worries over the Iraq war, a fumbled U.S. Supreme Court nomination, the indictment of one White House aide and uncertainty about another. Concerned that the president has lost his footing, some influential Republicans are urging Bush to shake up his staff and bring in new blood. A new AP-Ipsos poll found Bush's approval rating was at 37 percent, compared with 39 percent a month ago. About 59 percent of those sur- veyed said they disapproved. The intensity of disapproval is the strongest to date, with 42 percent now saying they "strongly disap- prove" of how Bush is handling his job - just over twice as many as the 20 percent who said they "strongly approve." A year after his re-election, Bush's second term has been marred by ris- ing U.S. casualties in Iraq, a failed attempt to restructure Social Securi- ty, Hurricane Katrina missteps, rising fuel costs and his forced withdrawal of the Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers. 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com JASON Z. 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