Thursday
Friday
Today
High: 54 High: 51 High: 50
Low: 43 Low: 38 Low: 37
Precip: 0% Precip: 50% Precip: 20%
IN BRIEF
Probe: U.N. cash
sent to bombers' kin
NEW YORK — Saddam Hussein di
verted money from the U.N. Oil-for
Food Program to pay millions of dol
lars to families of Palestinian suicide
bombers who carried out attacks on
Israel, said congressional investiga
tors who uncovered evidence of the
money trail. The former Iraqi presi
dent tapped secret bank accounts in
Jordan — where he collected bribes
from foreign companies and individ
uals doing illicit business under the
humanitarian program — to reward
the families up to $25,000 each.
U.S., Iraqis regain some
ground in Mosul
BAGHDAD, Iraq — U.S. and Iraqi
troops recaptured police stations and
secured bridges in the northern city of
Mosul on Thesday in an offensive
aimed at pushing out fighters
supporting the insurgent stronghold of
Fallujah. Troops met “very little resist
ance” in securing several of the dozen
or so police stations that had been cap
tured by insurgents, the U.S. military
command said. Nineveh province’s
deputy governor said militants blew
up the Zuhour police station ahead of
the U.S. advance, but the U.S. military
denied any stations were destroyed.
Britain moves to ban
smoking in public places
LONDON — Britain’s government
on Tliesday proposed banning smok
ing in most public places, setting off
debate over what one smoker decried
as the brainchild of a busybody “
nanny state.”
The ban, which would be phased in
over four years, would affect offices,
restaurants and any pub or bar that
serves food — about 80 percent of
England’s drinking establishments.
The 20 percent of bars and pubs
that serve no food would be free to
restrict smoking if they chose,
Health Secretary John Reid told the
House of Commons.
“This is a sensible solution, I be
lieve, which balances the protection
of the majority with the personal
freedom of the minority in England,”
Reid said, outlining the legislation he
envisions. The proposal must be ap
proved by Parliament.
One in four adult Britons smokes.
— The Associated Press
Death angers Sunni
Muslims, worries
Iraqi government
Debate arises over whether the shooter, a U.S. Marine,
acted in self-defense against the supposedly unarmed man
BY ROBERT H. REID
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD, Iraq — The fatal
shooting of a wounded and apparent
ly unarmed man in a Fallujah
mosque by a U.S. Marine angered
Sunni Muslims in Iraq on Tuesday
and raised questions about the pro
tection of insurgents once they are
out of action.
International legal experts said the
Marine may have acted in self-de
fense because of a danger that a
wounded combatant might try to
blow up a hidden weapon; a key is
sue was whether the injured man
was a prisoner at the time.
The shooting happened Saturday,
one day after the Marine, who has
not been identified, was wounded in
the face and after another man in his
unit was killed by the booby-trapped
body of an insurgent.
However, the incident could cause
major political problems for the gov
ernment of Prime Minister Ayad
Allawi and his U.S. backers at a time
when Iraqi authorities are seeking to
contain a backlash among Sunnis to
the invasion of the former insurgent
stronghold of Fallujah.
American and Iraqi authorities
tried to prevent rage from spreading
among Sunnis, many of whom
watched dramatic footage of the
shooting that aired throughout the
day on Al-Jazeera television, a Qatar
based satellite station.
“Look at this old man who was slain
by them,” said Ahmed Khalil, 40, as he
watched the video in his Baghdad
shop. “Was he a fighter? Was anybody
who was killed inside this mosque a
fighter? Where are their weapons? I
don’t know what to say.”
It was unclear to what extent other
Iraqis, particularly the majority Shiite
Muslims, cared about the shooting.
Maysoun Hirmiz, 36, a Christian
merchant in Baghdad, said she was
not satisfied with an announcement
by the U.S. military that it had re
moved the Marine from the battle
field and will investigate whether he
acted in self-defense.
“They will say or do the same
thing they did with the soldiers who
committed the abuses against Iraqis
detainees in Abu Ghraib prison, and
they are still free, enjoying their lives
while they destroyed other peoples’
lives,” Hirmiz said.
The central figures who allegedly
carried out the physical abuse and
sexual humiliation of inmates at the
notorious prison west of Baghdad are
currently on trial, facing trial or have
already been sentenced.
The Abu Ghraib scandal, which
erupted last spring when photos of the
abuse became public, generated a
worldwide wave of revulsion that
raised questions about the treatment of
Muslim prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan
and elsewhere as part of the Bush Ad
ministration’s war on terror.
The shooting in the Fallujah
mosque became public Monday with
the airing of the footage taken Satur
day by pool correspondent Kevin
Sites of NBC News.
Video may show murder
of kidnapped CARE worker
Margaret Massan, 59,
may be the first foreign
female hostage killed
BY MARIAM FAM
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Margaret
Hassan, an aid worker kidnapped
after decades of helping Iraqis, was
believed murdered, her family and
aid officials said Tuesday after Al
Jazeera television said it received a
video showing a hooded militant
shooting a blindfolded woman in
the head.
Hassan was believed to be the
first foreign female hostage killed in
Iraq’s wave of kidnappings. More
than 170 foreigners have been ab
ducted this year, and at least 34
killed. One woman — a Polish-Iraqi
citizen — remains captive.
Hassan’s family in London said
the longtime director of CARE in
Iraq was likely the victim, and
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw
said analysis of the video showed
Hassan has “probably been mur
dered, although we cannot conclude
this with complete certainty.”
CARE said it was in mourning for
the 59-year-old Briton, a veteran hu
manitarian worker known around the
Mideast for her concern for Iraqis —
particularly during the years of U.N.
sanctions, whose effects on children
Aid worker believed dead
An Arab television network said Tuesday that it received a video
of the slaying of a woman believed to be Margaret Hassan, the
59-year-old British CARE worker kidnapped Oct. 19.
Abductions by week
4° sept:
35 p
30
25
20 l
15
10 1
5 p
0T“ I. .... r ..... .... .. ,.,v. p .... f---p
April 4 May 2 June 6 July 4 Aug. 1 Sept. 5 Oct. 3 Nov. 7
'•.Week beginning Sunday.....
NOTE: Figures do not include unknown dates of abductions
By the numbers Freed illed -. Still missing
SOURCE: AP research
she vocally denounced.
“To kidnap and kill anyone is in
excusable,” Straw said. “But it is
repugnant to commit such a crime
against a woman who has spent
most of her life working for the
good of the people of Iraq. ”
The video shows a hooded mili
tant firing a pistol into the head of a
blindfolded woman wearing an or
ange jumpsuit, said Al-Jazeera
spokesman Jihad Bailout. Thestation
AP
received the tape a few days ago but
had not been sure of its authenticity
until recently, he said.
“We invited British diplomatic
officials to come and view it,” he
said. “It’s now likely that the im
age depicts Mrs. Hassan.”
Hassan was abducted in Bagh
dad on Oct. 19 on her way to work,
the most prominent of more than
170 foreigners kidnapped in Iraq
this year.
ask about
$150 off move-in special.
For a limited time only.
Furnished 1,2, & 4 bedroom
apartments with washer/dryer
starting at $300.
l®8|llfc
020572
,dfi
ome take a tour today!
-4000
* Uniformed security 7 days a week
* Resident amenity cards
* Security Alarm System
4 2 and 4 Bedrooms w/ 2 bath
4 Full Size Washers & dryers
* Fully furnished
4 Bathtubs with showers
* Sand volleyball court
* Heated pool
* Caged basketball court
4 Private balconies and patios
universiTY
COMMONS
apartments
90 Commons Drive, Eugene, Or 97401
Ji020
Find Duck Bucks™online every day at
www.dailyemerald.com