University of Michigan sets record for applications

ANN ARBOR, Michigan — The University of Michigan said it has received a record number of freshman applications in the first year of a new selection process that does not use race and gender as factors when deciding which students to admit.

Preliminary figures show more than 27,400 high school students have applied — a 6.4 percent increase overall and a 6.7 percent increase in applications from minority students.

As of last week, 6,389 students had paid deposits, a 16.2 percent increase over the same period last year, and a 0.3 percent increase in deposits from minority applicants, according to a statement from the university.

Final enrollment numbers will be available in October.

Applications from black students increased by 7.1 percent and Hispanic students by 8.2 percent. Applications from American Indian students decreased by 7.6 percent.

University officials were forced to change their admissions policies after voters approved Proposal 2 in November. It bans the use of race and gender preferences in university admissions and government hiring and contracting.

Among the new factors the university is using is a demographic review that measures which schools and neighborhoods applicants come from and how well they are represented on the Ann Arbor campus.

The computer analysis, called Descriptor PLUS, uses a blend of geography and demographics to help supply background information about prospective students.

“After the passage of Proposal 2 … we worked hard to make it known that the University of Michigan is a welcoming environment and a viable option for all students,” Provost Teresa Sullivan said in a statement. “Led by President Mary Sue Coleman, the university has made it clear that we will make every effort within the law to maintain diversity among our student community.”

Castro blasts Bush about Iraq war funds

HAVANA — Cuban leader Fidel Castro lashed out at President Bush last Friday, hours after the American leader approved legislation paying for military operations in Iraq without setting a timetable for troop withdrawal.

In his latest comments as he convalesces from intestinal surgery, the 80-year-old Cuban leader accused Bush of waging a war that was causing conditions in the region to deteriorate.

“Just yesterday, Bush bragged about having won the battle over his adversaries in Congress,” he wrote in a four-page statement released to the media. “He has $100 billion, all the money he needs to duplicate, however he wishes, the sending of American troops to Iraq and continue the slaughter.”

In signing the measure, Bush said it would provide a roadmap to help the Iraqis secure their country and strengthen their young democracy.

“Rather than mandate arbitrary timetables for troop withdrawals or micromanage our military commanders, this legislation enables our servicemen and women to follow the judgment of commanders on the ground,” he said.

The statement was the 12th by Castro in recent weeks, using the forum to comment on a number of subjects that included an attack on U.S.-backed plans to use food crops for biofuels.

Last Wednesday, Castro provided key details about his health and recovery, divulging he underwent not one but several surgeries, the first of which did not go well and has slowed his recuperation.

Castro stunned Cuba and the world in late July, when he announced he was seriously ill and was temporarily stepping aside in favor of a provisional government headed by his brother Raul, the 75-year-old defense minister.

U.N.: Many refugees returning to Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia — At least 90,000 people have returned to Somalia’s beleaguered capital after the heaviest fighting in more than 15 years ended last month, the United Nations said last week.

That still left hundreds of thousands displaced — the United Nations had said earlier almost 400,000 fled.

“All reports of movement during the month of May have been of returns to Mogadishu. Information received indicates that approximately 90,000 people displaced by the recent conflict have so far gone back to the capital,” said the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, known as OCHA.

Just weeks ago, the government declared victory over Islamic insurgents who have vowed to launch an Iraq-style guerrilla war unless the country becomes an Islamic state. Battles killed at least 1,670 people between March 12 and April 26 and drove about one-fifth of Mogadishu’s 2 million residents to flee for safety.

The insurgents are linked to the Council of Islamic Courts, which ruled much of Somalia for six quiet months in 2006 before being driven from power by Somali troops and their Ethiopian allies.

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