-
1 of 10
-
2 of 10
-
3 of 10
-
4 of 10
-
5 of 10
-
6 of 10
-
7 of 10
-
8 of 10
-
9 of 10
-
10 of 10
the headlines
Archive
Comments
Story
world
Iraqi prime minister candidate agrees to step aside
BAGHDAD, Iraq _ Interim Prime Minister Ibrahim al Jaafari announced Thursday that he was returning his nomination to the United Iraqi Alliance, a Shiite coalition, so that it could reconsider whether to keep him or nominate a new candidate for prime minister.
Al Jaafari’s move could help end the delay over the formation of an Iraqi government. The Bush administration had pressured him to give up his nomination as prime minister. Al Jaafari, a Shiite, also faced strong opposition from Kurdish and Sunni parties, who blamed him for weak leadership and for failing to quell religious and ethnic violence.
Iraq has been without a government for more than four months since its national elections. Violence has intensified, and hopes that U.S. forces could start to withdraw have faded.
The United Iraqi Alliance, which won the largest bloc of seats in parliament, nominated al Jaafari in February to continue his tenure as prime minister in the new government. The popular radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr strongly supported him.
By returning his nomination to the alliance, al Jaafari gave it the go-ahead to choose a new candidate for the top government job. Members of the alliance already have floated the names of two members of the prime minister’s Dawa party as possible replacements. The alliance will meet on Saturday to decide on its candidate.
A parliamentary session meant to push forward the formation of a government was delayed for a second time Thursday. It was rescheduled for Saturday, after the United Iraqi Alliance’s meeting.
“If we give ourselves this amount of time, we might succeed, and I am sure that we will succeed to form a government of national unity, which the people have been waiting for, for so long,” said Adnan Pachachi, the speaker of the parliament.
President Jalal Talabani said that Saturday’s session would solve the political crisis and that all the top positions would be decided upon.
Al Jaafari appeared on state-run television late Thursday night and gave a speech that sounded like a farewell. It was peppered with praise for the Iraqi people and for members of his party who had died under former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
“Day after day I feel the alliance is facing challenges,” he said. “I cannot be an obstacle or appear like an obstacle.”
Student-centered airline Web site has some benefits
Fact: College students love to travel.
Fact: College students have no money.
Lufthansa, a top international airline, has launched “GenerationFly,” which according to the company is the first airline Web site specifically designed for student travelers.
With a valid “edu” e-mail domain and a university-issued ID card students have exclusive access to Lufthansa’s lowest fares. But do note these fares may or may not be cheaper than other airlines.
The site also offers valuable travel tips, like the best place to party or the currency exchange rate.With the flexible terms and conditions, students studying abroad can choose the maximum 12-month stay. And if you run out of money and want to come home earlier, you can change the date for free.
Students looking to book a flight should do it soon. Lufthansa is offering a free student travel pack to the first 250 students who book their flight online. The pack, valued at $50, contains a hardcopy of the flight itinerary for parents, an easy-to-spot luggage tag, a Duty Free Voucher to get a gift from Lufthansa’s in-flight store and a Lufthansa FlyNet card that gives students free in-flight Internet access.
But even if you aren’t ready to buy a ticket, at least go to the Web site and register. Registration is free and students who register by April 30 are automatically entered in Lufthansa’s GenerationFly Sweepstakes. Prizes include a pair of round-trip tickets to Europe plus a handheld GPS device.
For more information, visit www.lufthansa-usa.com/generationfly.
local/bsu
Student group offers free PC repairs
The Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP) student organization at Boise State University will repair PCs free of charge on Saturday, April 29. However, those who wish to
participate must pre-register, and the repair fair is limited to the
first 101 registrants. For more
information or to register visit www.aitpbsu.org.
The students can remove viruses, spyware, unneeded programs and popups, help with Internet connectivity, upgrade software or hardware and address numerous other issues. Participants should drop off their PCs between 9 a.m. and noon in room 215 on the second floor of the College of Business and Economics building. Computers will be worked on in the order they are received. Registrants only need to bring their computer, pertinent software and any hardware that may need to be installed; monitors, keyboards and mice will be provided.
AITP is a national computer/technology organization with professional and student chapters.
The fair is free, but any donations received will be used to help send students to the national AITP conference in April. The conference is educational and also offers students the opportunity to engage in technology competitions. During the past few years Boise State AITP teams have performed well in various competitive events against teams from top universities across the United States, receiving first place finishes in Web site design, student papers and systems analysis and third place finishes in network design and PC troubleshooting.
what the?
They should call me ‘the shadow’
A man broke into a Laundromat in Elko, Nev., and stole six video surveillance cameras, apparently unaware that they were filming him the whole time he was removing them oh-so-carefully.
He also must have thought that, if he took the cameras, there would be no record of his appearance, as he forgot to take the videotape in the video machine.
He was arrested.
That’s what you think
A teenage girl in Buffalo, N.Y., made more than 1,000 phony emergency calls from her cell phone, taunting police, telling them, “You can’t catch me.”
They could and did.