OCR Text |
Show FRIDAY, DEC. 10,2004 A 21 STATESMAN-WORLD & NATION Sharon wins vote to rescue Gaza pullout plan BYMARKLAVIE Associated Press JERUSALEM Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon easily won a crucial party vote to reinforce his shaky government to carry out his Gaza pullout plan, party officials announced Thursday. Sharon's proposed inviting the dovish Labor Party and Orthodox Jewish to join his government, ensuring a solid majority for his Gaza withdrawal plan in the face of internal opposition AP Photo/Mohammed Bailas from his Likud Party. A MASKED PALESTINIAN SUPPORTER of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Cabinet minister (PFLP) stands between paintings of the group's founder George Habbash, Israel Katz announced Palestine right, and jailed leader Ahmed Sa'adat, during a rally marking the 37th anniversary that the final count of of the founding of the organization in the West Bank town of Jenin, Thursday. the vote in the Likud great opportunities and events that could be Central Committee was 62 percent in favor of historical, and I won't let anything or anyone Sharon's proposal and 38 percent against harm the opportunity of the state of Israel to A loss in the Central Committee could have take advantage of these opportunities," he told forced new elections and jeopardized the Gaza withdrawal — a centerpiece of efforts to restart .Army Radio. peace talks with the Palestinians in the wake of Sharon defied his party and his own ideology Yasser Arafat's death. when he presented his plan to remove all 21 Jewish settlements from Gaza and four small The win clears the way to adding Labor, a partner solidly in favor of the Gaza pullout and ones from the West Bank For decades, Sharon was the patron of the resumption of peace negotiations. settlements, enabling their construction and There was some opposition among Labor expansion, and his Likud hotly opposed conactivists to joining their arch-rival Sharon in ceding any land to the Palestinians or creation another government, after their first joint govof a Palestinian state. ernment broke up in 2002. However, party leader Shimon Peres strongly favored entering Over the past year, however, Sharon has the government changed his policy, but most of his party refuses to go along. The Likud committee voted in August Sharon says the Gaza settlements, with 8,200 against inviting Labor to join the government. Jews living among more than a million But after Sharon fired a key coalition partner Palestinians, are untenable and must be for voting against his budget on Dec. 1, his removed. He argues the withdrawal would give coalition was more tenuous than ever. He had warned that the choice now was Labor or elec- Israel a better chance to retain its main settlement blocs in the West Bank, where most of tions. the 236,000 settlers there live, and head off A lengthy electoral campaign would have international peace efforts unfavorable to delayed if not completely thwarted his plan to Israel. withdraw from Gaza and four West Bank settlements next year. But opponents reject evacuating any settlements as a matter of principle and also warn Worried about a low turnout that would that an Israeli pullout from Gaza would lead to favor his opponents, Sharon made a rare early international pressure to withdraw from the morning appeal to his backers. West Bank "I want to say that we are standing before Adult Ski Packages CloudWalker Hydra lion Wick '// Huns & Womom Ski Boot & Binding BRAND NEW! Reg. $459.00 ^$249 99 Reg. $70.00 Snowboard Packages Reg.$449.00 Adult Package N D D Boots Board Binding HHAMH •A t. Adult Side Wall Board with Wood Core I V. Q 752-0211 129 N. Main • Logan fclothing* shoes •equipment Hours; Mom • Fri. 9-7 Sat. 9-6 Quik Payday Pays More, Search resumes for missing crew BY MATT VOLZ Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Frustrated by furious winds, mountainous seas and a mere five-hour window of December daylight, rescuers searched Thursday for six people lost in the Bering Sea after the Coast Guard helicopter that had plucked them from a crippled freighter crashed in the darkness. The ship they left behind ran aground and split apart, and environmental officials feared that the vessel AP Photo/Unalaska Community Broadcasting, Inc. might start leaking THE WRECKAGE of a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter is seen along the shore on the massive amounts of eastern part of Skan Bay, Thursday, Dec. 9, near Unalaska, Alaska. Frustrated by fuel. furious winds, mountainous seas and a mere five-hour window of December Searchers hoped the daylight, rescuers searched Thursday for six people lost in the Bering Sea after the helicopter that had plucked them from the crippled freighter Selendang Ayu missing crew had crashed in the darkness. somehow lived through the night, but The ship was carrying a load of grain. 43-degree waters reduced survival estimates to "Our first priority is going to be to contain it about three hours. Rescuers were hampered by in as small an area as possible," Wetherell said seas that swelled to 20 feet and wind that Thursday. howled at 35 mph. A Coast Guard team specializing in oil spills "Those high winds make flying difficult and was en route from California, and oil-containis going to make for choppy seas," Coast Guard ment booms and equipment were being transChief Petty Officer Rjoger Wetherell said. "If ferred to the scene, Wetherell said. somebody is out there riding a wave, you may The Coast Guard had been struggling to help not see them." the 40,000-ton freighter since Tbesday when it Searchers reported improving visibility, but began drifting after its main engine failed, but limited daylight forced them to wait until after bad weather hindered their efforts. sunrise at 10 a.m. to resume rescue flights. The carriers load of heavy bunker oil had The rescue helicopter crashed into the sea been transferred to inboard tanks and the fuel Wednesday carrying 10 people — seven crew heaters were turned off to thicken the oil so it members and three Coast Guard personnel. would not disperse if spilled. Four were rescued by a second helicopter and The freighter, carrying a Filipino and Indian in good condition Thursday. The cause of the crew, was registered under a Malaysian flag crash was not immediately known. and owned by Singapore-based IMC Group. The freighters captain and a rescue swimmer The company's crew manager in Singapore, who had remained on the vessel were also resLoh C.W. Weng, said agents in India and the cued shortly before the ship broke up. Philippines were contacting families of the Eighteen other crew members were previously crew. evacuated from the freighter. "Of course, they feel very sad and want to Rear Adm. James Olson said he did not know what is going on. They are praying veryknow whether the missing crew members were hard that everyone is OK. We are praying very wearing survival gear. The Coast Guard hard for them " Weng said. declined to release their names, saying their A tug boat had attached a line to the families had not been notified. freighter on Tuesday evening, securing it for 12 Meanwhile, Coast Guard and conservation hours. But then the line broke and the vessel officials reported finding oil in the water and resumed its path to the Unalaska Island shore. braced for a spill of hundreds of thousand of The crew dropped anchor when it reached gallons of heavy fuel that may have drained shallow water, but it was lost in the rough seas from the 738-foot freighter Selendang Ayu. after just a half hour. The ship disintegrated off the coast of The crew later dropped its other anchor, Unalaska Island, about 800 miles southwest of which for a while held the freighter nearly a Anchorage in a region that is home to sea mile from shore, Olson said. lions, northern fur seals, and a variety of birds But sometime around 6 p.m. Wednesday, the and other sealife. captain of the freighter requested the remainCoast Guard officials were still trying to ing crew members be evacuated from the vesdetermine how much of the 440,000 gallons sel, as the anchor had begun to give way and of its own fuel in the ship may have spilled. the freighter had started to flood. Per/Hour Can You Say, "Cha-ching?" That's right - $8.50 per hour from the get-go. No waiting. No tricks. You'll also get a $50 training bonus and $100 more after 90-days, plus the chance to make up to $10 after Just three months. Throw in medical, dental and vision Insurance, discounted Sports Academy memberships and seven schedules to choose from, and you'll see why so many Aggies choose Quik Payday. Come in for an interview at 87 East 1400 North (Pinecrest Shopping Center) on Tuesdays or Thursdays from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm, or Saturdays between 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm. QWIK ^PAYDAY™ Financial Solution* Online wsndym9qulkpayday.com 774-8207 |