The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, February 9, 2012 - 3A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, February 9, 2012 - 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
EAST LANSING, Mich.
Michigan State to
require freshmen
to be insured
A new Michigan State Univer-
sity policy requiring freshmen
to either have health insurance
or pay to join a plan through the
school has drawn some opposition
from state lawmakers.
The East Lansing school is the
first public university in Michi-
gan to mandate coverage, the
Lansing State Journal and the
Detroit Free Press reported yes-
terday. The school said that about
25 percent of public universi-
ties nationwide have the same
requirement.
Republicans in the state Legis-
lature have set a Feb. 15 hearing to
discuss the policy from the state's
second-largest public university.
Michigan State University Pro-
vost Kim Wilcox and Associate
Provost June Youats are expected
to testify at the hearing.
"It's a one-size-fits-all plan,"
said state Rep. Kevin Cotter,
R-Mount Pleasant. "The univer-
sity is saying, 'You are going to
have this.' This is mandated cov-
erage."
DETROIT
0 16 Detroit school
buildings to close
More than a dozen Detroit Pub-
lic Schools buildings - including
several high schools - will close
before the start of fall classes as
the district continues to slash
I costs and consolidate programs to
improve learning.
In addition to the closures
announced yesterday by state-
appointed emergency man-
ager Roy Roberts, four newly
constructed schools will be
opened.
City, Kettering, Finney, South-
western, Crocket and Mumford
high schools are among the build-
ings that will close. Finney and
Crocket students will attend the
new, EastEnglish Village Prepara-
tory Academy. Mumford students
will move from the old building
into the new, $50.3 million Mum-
ford High.
NEW YORK
Yemen killed 270
in revolt last year
Yemen's president, who is in
New York protected by diplomatic
immunity while he receives medi-
cal treatment, ordered a crack-
down on Arab Spring protesters
last year that killed at least 270
people nationwide, Human Rights
Watch said in a new report yester-
day.
At least 120 protesters and
bystanders were killed in just one
city that was the focus of anti-
government demonstrations, the
group said.
The report, based on inter-
views with more than 170
Yemeni experts and witnesses,
provides more detail than the
sketchy accounts of deaths that
trickled out of Yemen last year.
LONDON
News International
settles nine more
hacking lawsuits
Rupert Murdoch's News
International has settled nearly
all the cases against the company
in the first wave of lawsuits for
phone hacking by its journalists,
with a new round of apologies
and payouts announced yester-
day in a London court.
But a potentially damaging
claim lodged by British singer
Charlotte Church is still headed,
to trial later this month and a
wave of new lawsuits - as many
as 56 in all - is looming, lawyers
told London's High Court.
News International, a divi-
sion of News Corp., has tried
hard tA keep phone hack-
ing cases from going to trial,
launching its own compensation
program overseen by a respect-
ed former judge and paying out
millions of pounds (dollars) in
all in out-of-court settlements
for about 60 cases.
-Compiled from
Daily wire reports
AP
An injured Syrian rebel fighter is carried into a local hospital following an exchange of fire with army troops, unseen in
Idlib, Syria, yesterday.
E.U.to sanction Syria
as bloodshed continues
Federal court
halts deportation
Verdict tests take into account such factors as
U.S. military service, criminal
administration s records, family ties and length
immigration policy of stay in the country when
deciding whether to start formal
deportation proceedings against
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A undocumented immigrants.
federal appeals court has put the He issued another in Novem-
Obama administration's new ber explaining further how to
immigration directive to the implement the guidelines.
test by halting the deportation Since then, though, immigra-
of seven immigrants alleged to tion advocates and lawyers have
be in the country illegally. been complaining that prosecu-
In a 2-1 ruling on Monday, tors have been too slow to call
the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of off deportation prdceedings of
Appeals demanded the Obama immigrants meeting the cri-
administration explain wheth- teria. The advocates view the
er the immigrants can avoid appeals court's rulings as a call
deportation because of two to action.
memos released last year by "There is a real concern that
U.S. Immigration and Customs the (June) memo is not being
Enforcement director John utilized to its full extent," said
Morton urging prosecutors to Laura Lichter, the next presi-
use "discretion" when deciding dent of the American Immigra-
whether to pursue immigration tion Lawyers Association. "It
cases. sounded great at the time, but
Morton's initial memo in we are waiting for real prog-
June said prosecutors should ress."
Egypt rebues
U.S. threats to ai
After U.N. veto,
Europe seeks to .
weaken Assad
BEIRUT (AP) - The Euro-
pean Union will impose harsher
sanctions on Syria, a senior EU
official said yesterday, as Rus-
sia tried to broker talks between
the vice president and the oppo-
sition to calm violence. Activists
reported at least 50 killed in the
regime's siege of the restive city
of Homs.
Russia, a close ally of Syria,
and the West are pushing down
starkly different paths in try-
ing to deal with Syria's nearly
11 months of bloodshed. After
blocking a Western and Arab
attempt to bring U.N. pressure
on President Bashar Assad to
step down, Russia has launched
a bid to show it can resolve the
turmoil.
Moscow is calling for a com-
bination of reforms by the
regime and negotiations, with-
out calling for Assad to go. Its
provisions are so far finding no
traction with the opposition,
which dismisses promises of
reform as empty gestures, refus-
es any negotiations while vio-
lence continues and says Assad's
removal is the only option in the
crisis. ,
Russian Prime Minister Vlad-
imir Putin said outside forces
should let Syrians settle their
conflict "independently."
"We should not act like a bull
in a china shop," Putin said,
according to the ITAR-TASS
news agency. "We have to give
people a chance to make deci-
sions about their destiny inde-
pendently, to help, to give
advice, to put limits some-
where so that the opposing
sides would not have a chance
to use arms, but not to inter-
fere."
Russian Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov, who met with
Assad Tuesday in Damascus,
told reporters in Moscow
that the Syrian president del-
egated to his vice president,
Farouk al-Sharaa, responsi-
bility for holding a dialogue
with the opposition.
Lavrov blamed both
Assad's regime and opposi-
tion forces for instigating the
violence, which the U.N. says
has killed well over 5,400
people.
"On both sides, there are
people that aim at an armed
confrontation, not a dia-
logue," Lavrov said.
Rebel soldiers are playing
a bigger role in Syria's Arab-
Spring inspired uprising,
turning it into a more mili-
tarized conflict and hurtling
the country ever more quick-
ly toward a civil war.
In their meeting Tuesday,
Assad said the government
was ready to talk to the oppo-
sition and would cooperate
with "any effort that boosts
stability in Syria."
The regime's crackdown
on dissent has left it almost
completely isolated interna-
tionally and facing growing
sanctions. The U.S. closed
its embassy in Damascus on
Monday and five European
countries and six Arab Gulf
nations have pulled their
ambassadors out of Damas-
cus over.the past three days.
Germany, whose envoy left
Syria this month, said he would
not be replaced.
In Brussels, a senior EU offi-
cial said the 27-nation bloc will
soon impose harsher sanctions
against Syria as it seeks to weak-
en Assad's regime.
The official said the new
measures may include bans
on the import of Syrian phos-
phates, on commercial flights
between Syria and Europe, and
on financial transactions with
the country's central bank. The
European Union imports 40
percent of Syria's phosphate
exports.
The official, who spoke on
condition of anonymity in keep-
ing with EU rules, said some
measures would be adopted at
the EU foreign ministers meet-
ing on Feb. 27. But he stressed
the nature of the measures to be
adopted remained unclear since
the ministers are concerned
over the impact on the Syrian
public.
The U.N.'s top human rights
official Navi Pillay called on
nations to immediately act to
stop the bloodshed, saying she
was "appalled" by the Syrian
regime's offensive against the
central city of Homs, where
activists say hundreds have
been killed since Saturday.
She said the killings show
an "extreme urgency for the
international community to cut
through the politics and take
effective action to protect the
Syrian population."
In New York, U.N. Secre-
tary General Ban Ki-moon told
reporters that the Arab League
planned to send observers back
to Syria and had asked the U.N.
to consider a joint mission.
The U.N. chief provided no
specifics, but the idea appears
aimed at giving the regional
group a boost after the league's
earlier mission was pulled out of
the country because of security
concerns.
Ban called the continuing vio-
lence "unacceptable" and added:
"I fear that the appalling brutality
we are witnessing in Homs, with
heavy weapons firing into civilian
neighborhoods, is a grim harbin-
ger of worse to come."
On the ground, Syrian forces
persisted with their assault on
Homs, the country's third largest
city, trying to put down what has
been an epicenter of the uprising.
The Britain-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights
said at least 53 people were
killed in Wednesday's shelling
of the Homs neighborhoods of
Bayadah, Baba Amr, Khaldi-
yeh and Karm el-Zeytoun. The
group also said that 23 homes
were heavily damaged in Baba
Amr alone.
Omar Shaker, an activist in
Baba Amr, said his neighbor-
hood was under "very intense
shelling" by tanks, mortars,
artillery and heavy machine
guns. Shaker added that he
counted five bodies Wednesday
in his district. The death tolls,
which the groups say they gath-
er from activists on the ground,
could not be independently con-
firmed. Syrian authorities keep
tight control on the media.
"The situation is dire. We are
short of food, water and medi-
cal aid. Doctors have collapsed
after treating the wounded
without rest for five days,"
Shaker said. "We want Lavrov to
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litary rulers also facing a deepening dis-
pute with the United States
prosecute over Cairo's campaign against
foreign-funded pro-democracy
erican NGO and rights groups, which began
late last year with raid by secu-
rity forces onthe organizations'
offices. Authorities allege there
O (AP) - Egypt refused is a foreign conspiracy against
down yesterday in a dis- .Egypt to explain the widening
h the U.S. over Cairo's protests against the military's
wn on nonprofit groups performance.
Washington's threats On Sunday, Egyptian investi-
sid, while the military gative judges referred 16 Amer-
d troops to the nation's icans and 27 others to trial on
ifter a surge in violence accusations they illegally used
ests against its rule. foreign funds to foment unrest
t's official MENA news in the country.
said the army was That immediately drew a
ig more troops to rein- sharp rebuke from Washington,
epolice,restore secu- with Secretary of State Hillary
I state "prestige." The Rodham Clinton warning that
smes in the wake of a failure to resolve the dispute
soccer riot last week may lead to the loss of some $1.5
arked days of clashes billion in aid to Egypt. Some
the police and pro- U.S. legislators even said every
At least 89 people were aspect of the relationship with
a week of violence. Egypt must be examined fol-
eployment appeared to lowing the crackdown.
.w of force by the mili- State Department spokes-
response to a surge in woman Victoria Nuland called
of its handling of the on Egypt to release the Ameri-
's transition to democ- cans, saying the 16 "have not
d rising calls for the done anything wrong." Egyp-
enerals to step down. tian authorities put the number
re calls for a general of Americans referred to trial at
n Feb. 11 that have been 19, but Nuland on Tuesday said
traction. there are 16 Americans in the
:'s military rulers are case.
Michigan's graduate students develop creative ideas and push research in new directions to engage
critical problems in every field of advanced study: The Symposium highlights the global impact.that
graduate students make through their research, and displays the quality, breadth, and diversity of
graduate education at Michigan.
Presentations will be followed by a discussion with national foundation leaders about the challenges
and opportunities for translafing research into solutions for real-world problems.
Markj. Cardillo, C
Executive Director, Pi
The Camille and C
Henry Dreyfus S
Foundation Ft
STUDENT PRESENTATIONS AND POSTERS
3 pm to 5 pm, 2nd and 4th floors, Rackham Building
PANEL: FOUNDATION LEADERS
5 pm to 6 pm, Rackham Amphitheatre
RECEPTION
6 pm, Rackham Assembly Hall
arol Goss,
resident and
EO, The
kilman
oundation
Edward Henry,
President and
CEO, The Doris
Duke Charitable
Foundation
ONE HUNDRED YEARS
RAC K H AM
GRADUATE SCHOOL
SPONSORED BY PROQUEST
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