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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 23, 2003)
AGGIELljWORLD THE BATTAl||rHE BATTALION 5A Wednesday, April 23, 2003 lating. The site feat, ay other type of pet; understand. Car® s organized and e® a is a task that site is 2001. Wheik ic lean Therefore, 1 ' ges from advice or [ and helpful. The : pet owners, pleasures of pet ov —Denise Sck ong Kong school doors back open Some normalcy returns in SARS-stricken country By Dirk Beveridge THE ASSOCIATED PRESS be held at 7:3 Auditorium. iTffTWl 18: Dennis Hasic >f the House, >: le William W Forum on Pul the George 11 Library Cm gram will open«i net ion by Geoi.| t President of I tes. about the timei' >ut nearly alwii ?s' birthdays by two great-grsm jreat-grandchildd I nephews, erican is nowEla rsey, who wasbi a, according tot cine, a member iich tracks thed can man, 112-p Mew York, erson, according search Group, in, who is 115.fl 1 cord was leant; man who was 1^ HONG KONG — Hong (ong reopened most secondary ichools Tuesday three weeks after they were closed to keep the SARS virus from spreading, nit thousands of students in sur- ical masks were walking proof he territory still has a long way ogo. The daily number of new SARS cases here has declined in ecent days, but World Health Organization officials say that is lot enough to consider the dis ease under control. At the same time, Hong Kong reported five new deaths itesday, bringing the total to [99. Most officials have consis tently avoided any predictions about when they might over come the worst disaster here in years, despite Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa’s expression of optimism Monday. He said the former British colony was “slowly, but surely getting the figures stabilized” after quarantining households of SARS patients and tracking down more possible contacts. But experts say they are looking for a sharp and sus tained drop in new infections — lasting for weeks, not just days — that would show severe acute respiratory syndrome is coming under control. The WHO says there are sev eral signs needed to indicate the outbreak is finally contained: when the spread in the local community is stemmed; when no new infections have been exported to other countries for a certain amount of time; when the total number of cases falls to a certain level; and when the number of new infections detected each day is under a par ticular number. WHO officials have not deter mined what the required thresh olds are, but they expect to have that worked out within the next few days, said Dr. David Heymann, WHO’s commu nicable diseases chief. Dr. Lo Wing- lok, president of the Hong Kong Medical Association and an infectious disease expert, said he believed “in three months time Hong Kong can return to almost normal, not completely normal.” Even then, Hong Kong might continue to have sporadic cases, he said. Health Secretary Dr. Yeoh Eng-kiong acknowledged Tuesday that SARS “is going to be with us for some time.” “We do not anticipate that it will be eradicated completely, because it’s a highly infectious virus,” he said. We do not anticipate that it will be eradicated completely, because it’s a highly infectious virus And although some 200,000 Hong Kong secondary students went back Tuesday to schools closed since March 9, some administrators refused to open. Some students, too, were fearful. Tom Leung was annoyed that only some grades had to go back and accused authorities of treating him and classmates as “lab mice.” Another 9 0 0,0 0 0 younger stu dents are expected to return to class Monday. Hong Kong still is feeling the sting of the WHO advisory urging against travel there. The de facto Hong Kong airline, Cathay Pacific Airways, announced more temporary cuts in service Tuesday, saying it now has scrapped 281 flights — about 45 percent of its schedule — due to a plunge in traffic believed to be costing it $3 mil lion a day. An estimated 4,000 people worldwide have been infected by SARS, and the WHO reports at least 229 deaths, mostly in Asia. The United States reports just 38 probable cases and no deaths. Even if new infections keep tapering off in Hong Kong, — Dr. Yeoh Eng-kiong Hong Kong doctor some experts fear the territory’s proximity to mainland China, where the disease is believed to have originated and is still spreading, could complicate matters. Dr. Henk Bekedam, the chief WHO representative in China, said Tuesday he was especially worried about SARS in the mainland’s poorer western provinces, where “the public health system has collapsed in the last 10 or 20 years because the government has not support ed it.” If mainland China cannot control the disease, he said, “it will be very problematic to deal with it globally. Diseases like this do not respect borders.” Hit by international criticism that it covered up information about SARS and aggravated the outbreak, Chinese officials appear to be making bolder pub lic efforts to contain the disease. One example was a radio mes sage broadcast across Beijing seeking two taxi drivers, who may have contracted the virus from an infected “male passen ger dressed in a long green mil itary-style coat,” the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday. Both drivers eventually were found, Xinhua said without elaboration. Mainland China reported 11 new deaths Tuesday, pushing its toll to 97 as its number of SARS cases surged well past 2,000, according to Xinhua. Cubby Hole Texas SELF STORAGE 1821 E. 29th St. ^ 779-6999 www.cubbyholeusa.com • Moving & Storage Suppplies • Recorded Video Surveillance • Free Truck for Move-In • Computerized Access Gates NEW FACILITY. NEW UNITS. STUDENTS OR STAFF RENT BEFORE END OF FINALS... PAY NO DEPOSIT ($10) & GET FREE LOCK ($7.99) ID & COPY OF THIS AD REQUIRED AGGIE OWNED AND OPERATED. Hillel. F’oursiDATinrsi s /VC3(3IE F'RIEINIDS □ F“ ISRAEL F*RESEMT TH L F"l LM : RELENTLESS THE STRUfCII FOR PEACE IN ISRAEL Showing Today: B:3 Q PM ViDDPM B:3 □ PM dus Building - Rddm l 1 □ Free: ADMissiarM Arafat faces off against prime minister-designate RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - Yasser Arafat defied international pressure Tuesday by challenging his prime minis ter-designate over Cabinet appointments even at the risk of scuttling a U.S.-backed NEWS IN BRIEF plan for Palestinian statehood. At the root of the turmoil is Arafat's refusal to share power with Mahmoud Abbas after decades of unchallenged leadership, Palestinian legislators and commentators said. Abbas, who enjoys the support of inter national Mideast mediators, has until Wednesday to present his Cabinet to Arafat. Without Arafat's blessing, Abbas is not likely to win approval for the Cabinet in parliament, where the ruling Fatah party is siding with Arafat in the current crisis. President Bush has said he will unveil an international peace plan, the so-called "road map" to full Palestinian statehood, only once Abbas and his Cabinet are sworn in. JOB FAIR Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Calling All Job Seekers! For more information, Contact: Bryan College Station Chamber of Commerce 979-260-5200 Brazos Valley Workforce Center 1-800-386-7200 979-776-7444 Can you afford not to attend the Brazos Valley Chambers of Commerce, Brazos Valley Workforce Centers, KBTX- TV & Texas A&M sponsored Part-Time/Full-Time Job Fair featuring entry-level to professional job openings? Saturday, April 26, 9:00 A.M. to 1:00P.M. Reed Arena Texas A&M University d W icnes ion i EU-U.S. Research and Public Policy Symposium Faculty, staff and students are invited to participate in a symposium, which will address the linkage between research and public policy in the EU and the U.S. and offer ideas and suggestions on building research partnerships with the European Union. Wednesday, April 23 6 p.m., Panel Discussion: “The Interface Between Research and Public Policy in the EU and the U.S.” Thursday, April 24 8:30 a.m., Panel Discussion: “Prospects of Research Collaboration Between the EU and the U.S Gc P o v 10 a.m., Roundtable Discussions: Concurrent discussions among Texas A&M faculty, panelists, and potential research collaborators from EU institutions. Panelists: • Dr. Enric Banda, Secretary-General, European Science Foundation • Dr. Alessandro Damiani, Head of Science, Technology and Education, Delegation of the European Commission • Dr. Albert H. Teich, Director of Science & Policy Programs, American Association for the Advancement of Science • Dr. Jeanne Hudson, European Union Regional Director, Office of International Science and Engineering, National Science Foundation • Dr. William Hallman, Associate Director for the Food Biotechnology Program, Food Policy Institute, Rutgers University • Dr. Laurent Buisson, Scientific Attache, Office for Science and Technology, French Embassy to the U.S. To be held at: The Leonore and Walter Annenberg Presidential Conference Center Bush Presidential Library Complex • Texas A&M University For more information call 862-6700 or visit: http://international.tamu.edu/eucenter/Events.htm No registration required • Admission free COME BEFORE 4 P.M. FOR FASTER SERVICE! little Caesars’Pizza CUSTOMER APPRECIATION DAY! COLLEGE STATION 2501 S. TEXAS AVENUE 696-0191 THANK YOU! THANK YOU! 696-0191 THANK YOU! THANK YOU! No substitutions. Round pizzas only. Limit 5 pizzas. Valid at this Little Caesars location only. Carryout only. No deliveries. Sorry, no rain checks.