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National gasoline prices expected to continue slide BY H. JOSEF HEBERT ’ THE ASSOCIATED'PRESS . WASHINGTON - After falling nearly a dime in three weeks, gasoline prices are expected to keep sliding to a national average of $1.56 a gallon this summer thanks to lower oil prices and op timism about the war in Iraq, the government says. The Energy Department’s sta tistical agency revised its price forecast sharply downward Tuesday to reflect the recent fall in crude oil prices. It also warned of uncertainties that could cause prices of both crude oil and gaso line to rebound. The price of crude, which hit a high of nearly $40 a barrel on Feb. 27, was around $28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday. It has dropped by about 20 percent since the war be ' ganinlraq. A month ago, before the war in Iraq, the agency predicted gas prices would average more than $1.70 a gallon through the sum mer, hitting 1.76 this month. Instead, gasoline prices have dropped about 10 cents a gallon over the past three weeks from a high of $1.73 a gallon in early March. The national average was $1.63 a gallon on Monday, accord ing to the El A. “I believe we have seen the peak,” agreed Kyle Cooper, an en ergy analyst for Citigroup in Houston. He said there are still so many uncertainties that the trend might not hold up. And OPEC producers may pull back on production when they meet April 24 amid their concern over declining prices. The 10 OPEC countries, excluding Iraq, pumped an average of almost 26.34 million barrels a day in March, according to Platt’s, or 2.4 million barrels a day over their agreed quota. Government and private ana lysts noted that overall U.S. crude I inventories remain low and gaso line stocks are even lower to where even modest supply problems could cause prices to spike at the pump. “You still have very tight gaso line inventories and it’s going to take quite a while to replenish them,” said John Kingston, glob al director for oil for Platt’s, a sub sidiary of McGraw-Hill. Guy Caruso, head of the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration, said the industry faces “an uphill battle to meet (gasoline) inventory require ments” for this summer when de mand is expected to increase by about 1.6 percent over last sum mer. Because of the tight gasoline stocks, the drop in prices is not ex pected to be as sharp as the drop in crude oil prices. Crude oil is about $10 a barrel cheaper today than it was during the price runup in the weeks be fore the start of fighting in Iraq, equivalent to about a 24-cent-a-gal lon drop in gasoline cost, accord ing to analysts. Gas prices actual ly have declined only about 10 cents a gallon during the period. The lag, if it continues means higher profits for refiners who are now buying cheaper crude. No sign of SARS letup in Hong Kong BY DIRK BEVERIDGE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HONG KONG - The new flu like virus has shown no signs of letting up in Hong Kong, where health officials warned Tuesday the crisis could worsen even as new infections in China’s Guangdong province have ta pered off. The global death toll climbed to at least 104 with new fatalities announced Tuesday in Hong Kong and Singapore from severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, with public worries also rising. Panicky Thai residents and some medical personnel blocked the cremation of a Hong Kong man who had died of SARS in Thailand, fearing the deadly virus would spread through the smoke. A health official in the south ern town of Hat Yai, Dr. Wichien Kaenploy, said he was “100 per cent, even 1,000 percent sure” the cremation posed no risks of spreading the disease. But neigh bors, doctors and nurses were scared, and the body was placed in a mortuary freezer until a so lution could be found. More than 2,600 people have now been infected worldwide with SARS, most of them in main land China and Hong Kong. The United States has had no deaths from the disease but reports 148 suspected cases in 30 states. A scientist from the World Health Organization visiting Guangdong said the hunt for the cause of SARS was progressing, but it wasn’t clear when it would be identified. Dr. Samson Wong, a microbi ologist at the University of Hong Kong, warned SARS might infect uu jjui win the population within two years, and eventually ev eryone could be infected. Hnnv Knne has been reporting double-digit increases daily in the numbers of people infected. It reported two new deaths on Tuesday, bringing the toll to 25; there were 45 new cases of infection for a total of 928. Hospitals have braced for a worst-case scenario of 3,000 pa tients, about four times the cur rent number, by the end of the month. “It’s looking like it’s going to be a long, long, drawn-out bat tle,” said Dr. Gavin Joynt, direc tor of the intensive care unit at the hard-hit Prince of Wales Hospital. “We don’t know where the end is going to be. One of the major stresses that we are deal ing with is not knowing where this is goingto go.” Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra warned SARS is sowing mistrust among Asian countries and hampering eco nomic recovery by choking off regional tourism. Thailand, with 11 suspected SARS cases and two deaths, has imposed strict mea sures, including a 14-day stay-at home quarantine for Thais re turning from affected areas. Hoping to calm nervous trav elers, Thaksin refused to wear a mask when he visited a checkpoint at the Bangkok airport where medics screen arriving nas sengers. Hong Kong’s government lead er, Chief Executive Tung Chee-' hwa, wears a respiratory mask during staff meetings, but not in public, unlike thousands of this city’s residents. “He is a very hygienic person and he puts it on during meetings or whenever it’s crowded,” spokeswoman Florence Wong said. Singapore Prime Minister Goh-Chok Tong, who canceled a trip to China because of the out break, estimated Tuesday that the effect on growth “would be anywhere between half a percent “We don’t know where the end is going to be.” DR. GAVIN JOYNT DIRECTOR OF THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT AT THE PRINCE OF WALES HOSPITAL and 1 percent for the economies of China, Hong Kong, Singapore and the others who are affected.” China’s southern province of Guangdong, where the first SARS case was reported, said this month it has 21 new cases and three deaths. But the num ber of new cases has dropped sig nificantly since February, a health official said. Fifty-three people from the mainland have died, according to Chinese health officials, who have been much criticized about the slow release of information. In Singapore, whichTeported a ninth death Tuesday, residents are drinking Chinese tea, eating more fruit and vegetables, and taking Vitamin C, according to a Gallup Poll out Tuesday. The poll said only 16 percent of Singaporeans had not taken any precautions against SARS. Its margin of.error was plus or mi nus four percentage points. Although most deaths from SARS have been in Asia, 10 peo ple in Canada also have died. About 95 percent of SARS vic tims recover, but there is no cure. Symptoms- include fever, aches, dry cough and shortness of breath. - —i . As an engineer in the U.S. Air Force, there’s no telling what you’ll work on. (Seriously, we can’t tell you.) United States Air Force applied technology is years ahead of what you'll touch in the private sector, and as a new engineer you’ll likely be involved at the ground level of new and sometimes classified developments. You’ll begin leading and managing within this highly respected group from day one. Find out what’s waiting behind the scenes for you in the Air Force today. To request more information, call 1-800-423-USAF or log on to airforce.com. ► I * U.S. AIR FORCE CROSS INTO THE BLUE I r '-1 ' >*» ' _ Job Opportunity For Fall 2003 Are you a beauty junkie? Are your friends even bigger beauty junkies? Are you looking for ways to make extra cash and learn new marketing skills? Then it s time for you to meet mark., the hot new beauty line from Avon created especially for today's young women We are looking for two young, outgoing, female students to represent mark, on your campus If selected you'll be one of only 100 Campus Ambassadors nationwide. Here’s what’s required if you’re interested in working with mark. • Host a series of parties, paid by mark., to introduce the brand • Distribute product samples and promotional materials bn campus • Sell mark products to your fellow' students on campus • Take part in an all expense paid, two-day off-site training session for you and your fellow Campus Ambassadors, where we’ll teach you about the mark, brand and business. If you're excited by the idea of putting your entrepreneurial and beauty skills to work, send us your resume. AMP Agency Carole Martell e-mail: mark kinng@ampagency oom fax: 017.723 2188 Dr a*Uate tor all appbcstfcn* Friday. April 25. 2000. --7——;-1 I Bwfl ■ HHB ■ k "Women in Islam 7:30 p.m. Room 005 BA Building. A panel of Muslim women will be speaking about women'srights, roles and misconceptions in Islam. Sponsored By: Muslim Students Association . . E-mail: muslim@gwm.sc.edu Join our Yahoo Group: USC_MSA@yahoogroup.com The Muslim Students Association (MSA) provides USC Students with the opportunity to come together in a supportive Muslim environment to educate the Columbia, SC community about Islam. MSA sponsors guest lectures and events that are free and open to everyone. All students, faculty, and community members are welcome to these events. Above all we recognize that people are at varied levels in their own faith, and we are welcoming to all, regardless of extent of ones' religious knowledge or determination.