6A
WORLD NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2007
>> SUSPICIOUS DEATH
Volunteer found in river bed
Julia Campbell, 40, dies on hike; police suspect foul play
BY OLIVER TEVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
MANILA, Philippines — The last entry in Peace Corps volunteer Julia Campbell's Internet blog said she was "buhay pa," a Filipino phrase for "still alive."
The Jan. 13 posting, which detailed her experiences surviving a typhoon, explained that she had adopted the phrase soon after arriving in the country two years ago, calling it the most familiar response when Filipinos are asked how they are doing.
Family and friends were hoping for a similar message from her after she disappeared April 8 while on a trip to see the famed mountainside rice terraces of Banaue, in a remote part of Ifugao province.
But on Wednesday, soldiers found Campbell's body buried in a shallow
grave in a dry river bed in the area of the northern Philippines where she was hiked by herself. Police said they believed foul play was involved.
Campbell's family has said the daughter of a former U.S. Marine captain was an "alert and careful traveler" who would not easily be duped by people with "malevolent intent."
"She knows how to look out for herself, Julia Campbell is not an easy target," the family said in a profile they put together during the 10-day search for her.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the U.S. did not have any information on what happened to her.
"We're working very well with the Philippine authorities. They're taking this case quite seriously. And we are going to work with them until we are able to get to the bottom of this
and get all of those answers for Julia's family," he said.
Senior Superintendent Pedro Ganir, Ifugao's provincial police chief, told The Associated Press that a stray dog had dug out one of Campbell's feet by the time soldiers discovered the body, which was covered with dirt in the creek.
A pair of reading glasses and a sandal were found nearby, he said.
Ganir said Campbell was last seen buying a soda at a store in the town of Batad. She had bought a bus ticket to return to Manila by April 9, indicating she did not plan to extend her stay or embark on a long hike, he said.
A former long-distance runner from Fairfax, Va., Campbell, 40, had worked as freelance journalist for The New York Times, Fox.com, CourtTV.com, People magazine and Star magazine.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
U. S. Peace Corps volunteer Julia Campbell, 40, works at the Donsol Comprehensive High School in Donsol in the Philippine province of Sorsogon, in April 2006. Authorities are searching for Campbell who was last seen April 8 in Banaue, Philippines, where she planned to take a short hike. She worked with teachers at the school to build their English language program.
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U.S., Israel try to halt Iran arms program
BY LOLITA C. BALDOR ASSOCIATED PRESS
TEL AVIV, Israel — Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday that diplomatic efforts to resolve the standoff with Iran over its nuclear program are working and should get a chance to succeed.
MIDDLE EAST
Both the U.S. and Israel accuse
nity at this point," Gates said.
The United States and its allies have led
Both the U. Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies. Gates said many nations are "united in telling Iran what it needs to do with respect to its nuclear program."
RHS words appeared aimed at diffusing suggestions in Israel and the U.S. that the Pentagon is moving toward a strike against Iran.
At the same time, Gates confirmed the U.S. commitment to Israel.
"I think the fact that I have come here in the end of my fourth month as secretary illustrates the importance
"We agreed it was important to deal with the Iranian nuclear problem through diplomacy, which appears to be working."
ROBERT GATES U.S. Defense Secretary
"We agreed it was important to deal with the Iranian nuclear problem through diplomacy, which appears to be working." Gates said at a news conference with Defense Minister Amir Peretz.
"These things don't work overnight, but it seems to me clearly the preferable course to keep our focus on the diplomatic initiatives, and particularly because of the united front of the international commu-
efforts to pass two U.N. Security Council resolutions punishing Iran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment. That process can be used to develop nuclear weapons.
that I attach to our relationship with Israel," he said.
Discussing Iraq, Gates decried the attacks Wednesday in Baghdad that killed more than 170 people. The violence, he said, is "horrifying"
and he blamed al-Qaida.
He said the attackers were trying to show that the U.S. security plan for Baghdad was failing, "These terrorists are killing innocent men, women and children who are Iraqis. They're killing their countrymen," Gates said.
Gates, on his third trip to the region as defense secretary, reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to Iraq and to protecting allies in the area. In Washington, the Democratic-controlled Congress and the administration are nearing a showdown about bringing an end to the war.
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