The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, September 30, 2010 - 3A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, September 30, 2010 - 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
. JAKARTA, Indonesia
Powerful quakes hit
Eastern Indonesia
Two powerful earthquakes
hit waters off eastern Indonesia
in rapid succession early today,
prompting officials to briefly trig-
ger a tsunami warning.
The U.S. Geological Survey said
a 7.2 magnitude quake off Papua
province, centered just 7 miles (12
kilometers) beneath the ocean floor,
struck less than a minute after a 6.6
temblor in the same location.
The town of Tual on nearby
Maluku island was shaken, said
Fauzi, chief of the Indonesian
meteorological and geophysics
agency, but there were no immedi-
ate reports of injuries or damage.
The area closest to the epicenter
is remote and sparsely populated.
Located 1,800 miles (2,900 kilo-
meters) east of the capital, Jakarta,
it is closer to the northern Austra-
lian city of Darwin, which sits some
560 miles (900 kilometers) to the
south.
Fauzi's agency lifted a tsunami
warning 90 minutes after the tem-
blors struck, saying the threat for
destructive waves had passed.
NEW YORK
Times Square
bomber: 40 people
were supposed to
die in attack
The man who planted a car
bomb in Times Square boasted that
he thought it would kill at least
40 people and that he planned to
detonate a second bomb two weeks
after the first, prosecutors said yes-
terday, quoting the former finan-
cial analyst in a video where he
said he'd hoped "to join my broth-
ers in jihad" ever since the Sept. 11
attacks.
Faisal Shahzad should get life in
prison when he is sentenced Oct. 5,
prosecutors said in a filing, argu-
ing that he "had every intention of
delivering a powerful and terroriz-
ing strike to the heart of New York
City."
The government noted that
Shahzad showed no remorse when
he pleaded guilty on June 21 after
confessing to investigators.
In fact, prosecutors wrote, "he
spoke with pride about what he and
his coconspirators had done."
LANSING, Mich,
Michigan public
schools to see cut
funding restored
Michigan's public schools will
get more money through a distribu-
tion of federal assistance approved
by the state Legislature.
The Republican-led Senate and
Democratic-led House yesterday
overwhelmingly approved a bill
that will restore $154 per student
to every district in the state in the
fiscal year that starts Friday. That
essentially would return schools
to at least the annual minimum of
$7,316 per student that districts
were supposed to get before budget
cuts in the 2009-10 fiscal year.
School districts would receive
an additional $23 to $46 per stu-
dent beyond the $154 per student
restoration under the bill headed to
O Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
Schools are one of the relatively
few areas not getting cut in Michi-
gan's latest budget votes.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti.
U.S. names special
Haiti coordinator
The U.S. State Department has
named Thomas C. Adams as its
special coordinator to oversee
Washington's reconstruction plans
in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.
Two officials at the department
told The Associated Press yester-
daythatAdams has already started
on the job. The officials agreed to
discuss the move only if not quoted
by name because the appointment
had not been made public.
The disclosure came a day after
the AP reported that none of the
$1.15 billion in reconstruction aid
pledged by the U.S. in March has
* arrived. Washington has provided
$1.1 billion in humanitarian aid
since the quake, but rebuilding
cannot begin without the prom-
ised longterm reconstruction
funds from the U.S. and others.
In the meantime, 1.3 million
Haitians remain on the streets
nearly nine months after the mag-
nitude-7 earthquake, living in
miserable conditions and dying in
storms.
Compiled from
Daily wire reports.
iK
U.N. says Afghan election
a positive sign for country
LACKY tKLVUUKU/Austin American-Statesman/At'
University of Texas students gather as police respond toa shooting yesterday.
After shooting, Tex.
considers banning
guns on campuses
Sept. 18 election
brought in
4.3 million ballots
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -
Afghanistan's ability to even hold
recent legislative elections shows
it is starting to take control of its
own future, a U.N. special envoy
said yesterday as Security Council
members took stock of the war-
ravaged country's most recent
attempt at democracy.
The Sept. 18 parliamentary elec-
tions "mark an important step
toward advancing Afghanistan's
political process and development,
in particular the strengthening of
its democratic institutions," said
Steffan de Mistura, U.N. special
representative to Afghanistan.
"One must not forget that
Afghanistan is still a country in
conflict," de Mistura said. "The
fact that elections took place at all,
not least in such close succession
and during comparatively a more
volatile period, is an accomplish-
ment in itself."
This month's vote was the first
since last year's presidential elec-
tion was almost derailed by wide-
spreadballot-box stuffing and tally
manipulation. That poll led many
Western nations to question their
support President Hamid Karzai's
government.
About 4.3 million ballots were
cast in the latest election, or about
one-fourth of the country's 17
million registered voters. There
were more than 2,500 candidates,
including nearly 400 women, for
249 parliamentary seats. Results
are expected Oct. 30.
Election day was marred by
rocket attacks and bombings. De
Mistura said the U.N. mission
there recorded 32 civilian deaths
and 95 injuries related to the vote.
So far, the parliamentary elec-
toral process has shown "signifi-
cant improvements" over the last
year's presidential vote, said De
Mistura. While there are no early
signs of massive or systemic fraud,
"there were possibly widespread
irregularities," he added.
Afghan Foreign Minister Zal-
mal Rassoul called the elections
"a major victory for democracy in
Afghanistan."
The actinghead of the European
Union delegation to the U.N., Pedro
Serrano, told the council that it was
"too early to make a full assess-
ment of the polls" but praised "the
thorough preparations which were
largely ensured by Afghan institu-
tions."
He said the EU had a long-term
commitment to Afghanistan, and
during the 2011-13 period will
increase its European Community
humanitarian and development
aid to 200 million euros annually.
Serrano said EU members together
are already giving Afghanistan
nearly 1 billion euros annually.
U.S. Ambassador Susan E. Rice
also welcomed the U.N. envoy's
report, calling the elections an
"important, step toward a stronger,
more stable Afghanistan."
"These electionswould nothave
been possible without the Afghan
National Security Forces," Rice
said, notingthat the U.S.is working
to prepare Afghan security forces
to take the lead on their nation's
own security by 2014.
Post UT shooting,
legislature weighs
banning guns on
college campuses
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -
Texas already lets lawmakers
bring guns into the Capitol.
And the governor sometimes
jogs with a loaded pistol. But
should people be allowed to
carry concealed weapons onto
college campuses?
Gun advocates argue that
doing so could help put a quick
end to threats like the one
posed by a University of Texas
student who fired several
rounds from an assault rifle
Tuesday before killing himself.
Under current law, college
buildings in Texas are gun-
free zones. But that did not
stop Colton Tooley from dart-
ing along a street near the uni-
versity's clock tower Tuesday,
shooting off an AK-47. He then
entered a library and shot him-
self. No one else was hurt.
Police had no evidence Tool-
ey was targeting anyone, but
there was plenty of discussion
Wednesday about how much
worse the bloodshed could
have been - and how to ensure
that scenario never happens.
"There are already guns on
campus. All too often they are
illegal," Republican Gov. Rick
Perry said. "I want there to be
legal guns on campus. I think
it makes sense - and all of
the data supports - that if law
abiding, well-trained, back-
grounded individuals have a
weapon, then there will be less
crime."
Perry's Democratic chal-
lenger, Bill White, said he sup-
ports the state law that lets
people with licenses carry con-
cealed handguns. But he wants
individual schools to decide
whether to allow guns on cam-
pus.
He said Perry's position
"is the government ought to
coerce campuses to allow con-
cealed handguns on campus."
The gunfire erupted near
the scene of one of the nation's
deadliest shooting rampages.
Tooley started shooting near
a fountain in front of the UT
Tower - the same site where
a gunman ascended the clock
tower and fired down on doz-
ens of people in 1966.
The Lone Star State makes
it relatively easy for people to
buy assault rifles like the one
Tooley had, as well as other
types of firearms, at gun shops
and gun shows. Texas enacted
a concealed handgun law in
1995, allowing people 21 and
older to carry weapons if they
pass a training course and a
background check.
Businesses, schools and
churches can set rules banning
guns on their premises. On col-
lege campuses, guns are pro-
hibited in buildings, dorms and
certain grounds around them.
Advocates for allowing con-
cealed guns on campuses say
if more people packed heat, it's
more likely one of them could
stop a gunman before he hurts
anyone.
Terror plot in Europe
prompted drone strike
Potential attacks
lead to increased
security in U.K.
LONDON (AP) - Police
increased their guard around
Buckingham Palace and other
landmarks yesterday as security
officials monitored what they
described as a fledgling ter-
ror plot to wage Mumbai-style
shooting sprees or other attacks
on Britain, France or Germany.
At least some of the recent CIA
strikes in Pakistan were aimed at
al-Qaida operatives suspected
in the plot, U.S. officials said.
European officials said the plot
was still in its early stages and
not considered serious enough to
raise the terror threat level.
Still, the Eiffel Tower in Paris
was briefly evacuated Tuesday
- the second time in two weeks
because of an unspecified threat
- and French police were on
alert.
A heavy police presence was
seen yesterday around Bucking-
ham Palace, Trafalgar Square
and Big Ben. Victoria Station was
briefly evacuated after an unusu-
al smell was reported.
"This plot was in its embry-
onic stages," a British govern-
ment official told The Associated
Press, speaking on condition of
anonymity because of the sen-
sitivity of his work. He said the
plot had preoccupied the secu-
rity community more than other
recent threats; but did not merit
changing the security threat
level from severe to critical.
Some details about the plot
came from Ahmed Siddiqui, a
German citizen of Afghan back-
ground who was captured in
Afghanistan in July, a U.S. offi-
cial said.
Intelligence authorities used
National Security Agency wire-
taps to flesh out details, U.S.
officials said, and while a Mum-
bai-style shooting spree was one
possibility, there was no con-
crete plan. The officials spoke on
condition of anonymity because
they were not authorized to
speak about the plot.
Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton told reporters
yesterday the U.S. was working
closely with its European allies,
but declined to provide specif-
ics.
"We are not going to com-
ment on specific intelligence as
doing so threatens to undermine
intelligence operations that are
critical in protecting the United
States and our allies," Clinton
said. "As we have repeatedly
said, we know that al-Qaida and
its network of terrorists wishes
to attack both European and U.S.
targets."
"I want Americans to know
how focused we all are in the
government and how committed
we are not only in protecting our
own country but in protecting
our friends and allies."
The Department of Homeland
Security would not say Wednes-
day whether U.S. security has
been enhanced as a result of the
terror threats in Europe.
Revelations of the plot came
just ahead of the anniversary
on Thursday of the publication
of the Prophet Muhammad car-
toons in a Danish newspaper.
It also came as Spanish
authorities announced they had
arrested an American citizen of
Algerian origin on suspicion of
financing al-Qaida's North Afri-
can affiliate.
Mohamed Omar Debhi, 43,
was taken into custody Tuesday,
although Spain's Interior Minis-
try said the arrest was not con-
nected to the terror threat.
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