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Show Wednesday, April 22, 2009 Page II CampusHCVtS Red Cross: Sri Lankans in 'catastrophic' situation COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - Tens of thousands of civilians trapped in Sri Lanka's northern war zone face a "catastrophic" situation, the Red Cross said Tuesday, amid fears a final assault against the Tamil Tiger rebels would lead to a dramatic rise in casualties. The United Nations and others have called for a negotiated truce to allow civilians to leave the rebel-held coastal strip — and the government says more than 52,000 had escaped since Monday. But it has refused to heed the international pleas to halt the fighting, saying it is on the verge of crushing the separatists and putting an end to the 25-year-old war. The U.N. estimated more than 4,500 civilians have been killed in the past three months. The rebels said more than 1,000 civilians died Monday in a government raid, while the government said it rescued thousands after they broke through a barrier built by the insurgents that protects their last stronghold. Human rights groups say the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are holding many people in the enclave against their will and using them as human shields. Those groups have also accused the government of indiscriminate shelling in the region. Both sides deny the allegations. Thousands of civilians also fled in packed small boats, and they were picked up by navy patrols and transported to camps where Tamils who have escaped the war are being held. More than 2,000 people in about 100 boats were picked up Monday. The Red Cross said about 50,000 civilians were still stranded, while Human Rights Watch put the number between 50,000 and 100,000. The U.S. government released satellite images Tuesday showing about 25,000 tents housing civilians squeezed into the last small strip controlled by the rebels, a coastal strip of about only 8 square miles (21 square kilometers). The State Department estimated about 125,000 people were in the conflict zone before the exodus over the past GRADUATION... For frit*dl\A, txptrUv^ttd sen/Ice cont« to We open early on Sat. May and " 11:30 a.m. i Ad 563-9179 JExtensive Wine & Beer Menu available^ IN THIS PHOTO RELEASED BY THE SRI LANKAN POLICE Tuesday, April 21, ethnic Tamil civilians who escaped from the Tamil Tiger controlled areas are seen arriving Monday, April 20 at the government controlled areas in Putumattalan north east of Colombo, Sir Lanka. AP photo two days. A worker for Doctors Without Borders said hundreds of wounded were arriving at her hospital in Vavuniya, south of the war zone, in government-arranged buses, and some had died en route. The hospital is overcrowded with 1,200 people being accommodated in a facility with only 400 beds, said mental health officer Karen Stewart, according to a statement from the aid group. U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres was concerned about the "dramatic situation" for civilians still in the war zone, said commission spokesman Ron Redmond. "There are innocent civilians - women and children - caught in the middle of the conflict... so the high commissioner is saying there should be a pause in the hostilities and the LTTE should allow civilians to leave," Redmond said. Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara denied that 1,000 civilians died, saying 17 civilians were killed Monday by rebel shelling and by three suicide bombers. "Our troops are rescuing the trapped civilians. It's the LTTE which is preventing civilians from fleeing," Nanayakkara said. It was impossible to get independent accounts of casualties because journalists are restricted from the war zone. The number of fleeing civilians made it clear that the government had vastly underestimated how many people were caught in the fighting. "Both sides need to show far greater concern for civilians, or many more civilians will die," said Brad Adams, Asia director for the New York-based group Human Rights Watch. A final government offensive "could lead to a dramatic increase in the number of civilian casualties," the International Committee of the Red Cross said. "The situation is nothing short of catastrophic. Ongoing fighting has killed or wounded hundreds of civilians who have only minimal access to medical care," said Red Cross operations director Pierre Kraehenbuehl. "I cannot remember... as much concentrated pain and exposure to violence with very, very minimal possibilities to reach anywhere that could be called safe." USU CHOIRS & SOLOISTS AMERICAN FESTIVAL CHORUS USU SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SERGIO BERNAL, DIRECTOR SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 7:30 PM KENT CONCERT HALL, USU S5/USU STUDENTS FREE WITH ID BOXOFFICE.USU.EDU/797-8022 A m : UtahStateUniversity Death of polo horses a mystery WELLINGTON, Fla. (AP) - Organ by organ, veterinarians are taking apart 21 prized polo horses to uncover what killed them mysteriously over the weekend during preparations for a match in one of the sport's top championships. Simultaneously, state authorities have opened a criminal probe to determine whether the deaths were intentional, a result of negligence or simply a terrible accident. With careful cuts to their muscular bodies, the investigators look for lesions, fluids, bruises and hemorrhages, any obvious signs of sickness. They're removing the hearts, lungs, livers, kidneys and spleens, and cutting small samples to be tested for toxins. State officials believe the horses died from an adverse drug reaction, toxins in their food or supplements, or a combination of the two. Two days after the horses' deaths, authorities say they have not uncovered any crime but continue to investigate. "We want to make sure from a law enforcement standpoint that there was no impropriety... no purposeful harm or laws violated in Florida," said Terence McElroy, spokesman for the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which is handling the case with help from the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office. The horsesfromthe Venezuelan-owned team began collapsing Sunday as they were unloaded from trailers at the International Polo Club Palm Beach, with some dying at the scene and others hours later. They were set to compete in the sport's U.S. Open tournament ahead of the finals this coming Sunday, and were seen as top contenders. Building: State funding in place, awaiting OK from federal government 01 continued from page 1 percent for the agriculture building and 60 percent for the ARS building, said Michael Kennedy, special assistant to the president for state and federal relations. "Two sessions ago we were able to secure a General Obligation Bond from the state for $43.1 million," Kennedy said. "With the help of Sen. Bennett, we've secured a little more than $10 million from the federal government," and they're in the process of securing the remaining $50 million. Kennedy said the ARS and the federal government are both on board this project, but due to the many projects the ARS are needing to fund, the federal government is still trying to come up with the money. The ARS is the main scientific agency in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, stated the organization's Web site. The main job of the ARS is to discover solutions to agricultural problems which plague U.S. citizens through research and development. "ARS conducts research to develop and transfer solutions to agricultural problems of high national priority and provide information access and dissemination," the Web site stated. Utah State University has decided to add a new Ag building because the current Agriculture Building is too old and does not have the technology necessary to train students in today's day and age, Peterson said. "The current Ag building is 50 years old. The labs are so antiquated that it s kind of sad. We're trying to train students for the 21st century in them, when it was designed so many years ago," Peterson said. The new agriculture building will have highly technologically-equipped classrooms, some laboratories, conference rooms, amenity spaces, an open access computer lab, faculty offices and potentially a cafe, Peterson said. Peterson said this is also the university's opportunity to put something new on the quad that represents the 21st century and also reminds the university of its roots. While the new agriculture building will be open for students to use, the new ARS building will be restricted to personnel who are directly involved in federal research and will be card access only, Peterson said. "The ARS building will have some College of Agriculture research and scientists, but it will be predominately federal agricultural research activity," Peterson said. The presence of an ARS building on USU's campus will allow the university to collaborate with federal agriculture researchers, something that will enhance the College of Agriculture, and the university as a whole, Peterson said. The proximity of the researcher will also save both organizations money, something that is on the front of everyone's mind right now, he said. -greg.boyles@aggiemaiLusu.eiiu Stop by the office.- Ren $559: Private Bedrooms • Fully F u r n / 5 / i ^ f ^ ^ p | ^ O T J P p • Onsite Laundromat School Year Rent $2350-$2650* *PriceindudesUtilities/CableTV andWirelessinternet Every referral also earns you money off your rent. I , OFFICE:454 N400 E email:forestgatemanagers@hve.com (435) 7 5 2 - 1 5 1 6 |