12A the university daily kansan
news
monday, march 15,2004
A night of celebration
Carnaval features Tambores of Brazil
Annie Bernethy/Kansan
Dandara, lead singer for the Tambores of Brazil, performed at Carnaval on Saturday night at Abe & Jake's Landing. The Brazilian Student Association sold out of tickets to the annual celebration.
By Marc Ingber
minger@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
With a Brazilian-flag bandanna, wrapped around her head, Josi Lima stood on the dance floor at Abe & Jake's Landing Saturday night, waiting for the party to start.
The dance floor began to fill up once the bar started pumping Brazilian music through the speakers. Once the band, Tambores of Brazil, started playing the floor soon became occupied.
"Carnaval for us is the best week of the year," said Lima, a sophomore from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The Brazilian Student Association, or BRASA, attracted people from all over the region for its annual Carnaval celebration at Abe & Jake's Landing, E.8 Sixth St. BRASA sold all of its 900 tickets by 6 p.m., three hours before the doors opened. For those who got in, it was a chance to dance and celebrate Brazilian culture all nibbit
Shades of green and yellow were seen everywhere, as people sported the Brazilian flag on their shirts, tank-tops, bandannas and even skirts.
The band, which featured three percussionists, kept the rhythm going the entire time it was out there, while singer Dandara danced all over the stage, urging the crowd to clap, sing and dance along.
This was Tambores of Brazil's first time playing for Carnaval in Lawrence.
Livia Theodoro, Rio de Janeiro senior and BRASA president, said she was satisfied with the results.
"The band is doing a really good job, we sold all of our tickets and people are having a good time," she said.
Brian Raggett, Overland Park senior, who was celebrating his
first Carnaval, said it was different from the typical Lawrence scene.
"It's crazy" he said as he surveyed the dance floor.
Al Qaeda link in bombing
Edited by Cindy Yeo
The Associated Press
MADRID, Spain — One of the three Moroccans arrested in the Madrid train bombings was a follower of a suspected Al Qaeda member jailed in Spain for allegedly helping plan the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States, according to court documents reviewed by The Associated Press.
It was the latest suggestion that Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda terrorist group may have been involved in the bombings.
The indictment, led by Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon, showed police had searched Zougam's home at least once, turning up a video of mujaheddin fighters in Dagestan, Russia, and telephone numbers of three members of the Madrid Al Qaeda cell allegedly led by Yarkas.
A Sept. 17, 2003, indictment calls Jamal Zougam, 30, a "fellower" of Imad Yarkas, the alleged leader of Spain's Al Qaeda cell who was jailed for allegedly helping plan the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. Yarkas, whose alias is Abu Dahdah, remains in Spanish custody.
costly.
The indictment targets Yarkas and 54 others, including bin Laden, for terrorist activities connected to Al Qaeda. Zougam was not indicted.
Zougam is one of three Moroccan and two Indians arrested in the Thursday attacks, which killed 200 people and wounded 1,500. Officials said phones were apparently used as detonators on the 10 bombs that tore through four rush-hour trains.
ing the interior ministry, reported all three Moroccans have links to Yarkas. Authorities in Morocco said they could not comment on the report.
Zougam was one of thousands of Moroccan put under surveillance by authorities after May terrorist bombings in the coastal city of Casablanca that killed 33 people and 12 bombers, a Moroccan official told AP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official said he was suspected of ties to international terror groups. There were no formal accusations against him, and the official did not say to which groups Zougam may be linked.
The tape was discovered in a trash bin near Madrid's largest mosque on the eve of elections Sunday, which the ruling conservative party lost in a dramatic upset by the Socialists. An Arabic-speaking man called a Madrid TV station to say the tape was there, Spain's Interior Ministry said.
Spain's El Pais newspaper, cit-
European intelligence agencies were also working Sunday to identify a purported Al Qaeda operative who claimed in a videotape that the terror group bombed trains in Madrid to punish Spain's backing of the U.S.-led war against Iraq.
"You love life and we love death," said the man on the tape, who wore Arab dress and spoke Arabic with a Moroccan accent.
The man said the taped claim of responsibility for the bombing of four commuter trains came from "the military spokesman for Al Qaeda in Europe, Abu Dujan al Afghani."
The Interior Ministry released details about its contents, and intelligence agents were trying to
identify the man, verify his claims and establish Abu Dujan al Afehani's identity.
"Our reservations about the credibility remain," Spanish Interior Minister Angel Acebes said Sunday.
In France, which has combated Islamic terrorism for years, an intelligence official said the name al Afghani is likely a pseudonym. The name al Afghani could mean the person is of Afghan origin or has some association with the country.
U. S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said it was too early to say if Al Qaeda was responsible.
Moroccan security experts arrived in Spain on Sunday to help in the investigation. Morocco's Interior Ministry said the experts were members of a team that has already spent nearly a year working with Spanish officials on the investigation into Casablanca's terror bombings.
The Casablanca bombings were blamed on Salafia Jihadia, a secretive, radical Islamic group suspected of links to Al Qaeda.
The other two Moroccan suspects, Mohamed Bekkali, 31, a mechanic, and Mohamed Chaoui, a worker, 34, have no police record at home, the official said.
The Spanish interior minister, however, said three of the suspects had previous records, and one was under investigation for suspected participation in murder. He earlier had said that one suspect might also have connections with Moroccan extremist groups. He gave no further details.
The interior ministry identified the two Indian suspects as Vinay Kohly and Suresh Kumar.
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6 TH ANNUAL FOOD DRIVE
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