The Index-Journal from Greenwood, South Carolina • Page 9

March 9, 2003 NationWorld The Index-Journal, Greenwood, S.C. 9A Iranian women rally to demand equal social, political rights WOLD DIGEST By The Associated Press Saudi Arabia urges Iraq to set deadline to BEIRUT, Lebanon Saudi Arabia urged Iraq on Saturday to set 3 its own timetable for disarmament to counter a U.S.-backed proposal 'to rid itself of banned weapons by March 1 7 or face war. n'f Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said Iraq holds the vlkey to ending the dispute and urged Baghdad to cooperate fully with U.N. weapons inspectors "who have proven their credibility and neutrality." He also said the U.N. Security Council should give Arab states a chance to try to peacefully resolve the Iraqi crisis.

Iraqi Kurds mark key anniversary SULAYMANTYAH, Iraq Kurds unveiled their own version of s-a Statue of Liberty in northern Iraq on Saturday, commemorating the 12th anniversary of their uprising against Saddam Hussein a revolt with special meaning given the potential U.S.-led invasion of Nearly 200 people released white doves, read noetrv and made important as a woman's. Men can keep four spouses at once, a right not granted to women. And while Iranian men can divorce almost at will, a woman seeking a divorce must go through a long legal battle and often relinquish rights in return for divorce. "How can we celebrate this day when our women are not entitled to choose their husbands, are not allowed to demand divorce and get just half the blood money a man gets?" protest organizer Noushin Ahmadi said, referring to the practice of giving the family of a female murder victim about half the average compensation paid to a male victim's relatives. Speakers said the rally, organized by the non-governmental Women's Cultural Center, aimed to "protest discrimination against women." In her speech, Arzani deplored Iran's failure to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Hundreds of Iranian women marked International Women's Day on Saturday with a demonstration demanding equal social and political rights to men, a first in this conservative male-dominated country since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The women, wearing the head-scarves and long coats required by law, and a small group of men held a rally in a central Tehran park. Watching them was a large contingent of police including some 400 women who in January became the first females to undergo training to be officers since 1979. "Half of the votes cast in favor of lawmakers were by women. How can you fail to recognize and support the rights of your wives, mothers and sisters? Why aren't women given top managerial or ministerial activist Zohreh Arzani asked the gathering In the crowd, some women held Up signs against violence by men and against a war on Iraq.

Women have been strong sup- AP photo address during a gathering for officer stands guard at the LaJeh 'short speeches in a ceremony tri Tyumen a uay. ne ju-iotx smtue maae oi piaster depicted a woman breaking her chains with joy as she looked to the sky. This freedom and liberty we obtained 12 years ago was like a gate we opened that let all the other freedoms come through," said Siddiq, the statue's sculptor. "Even since 1991, we've made than one revolution against this regime." Adam Faith, British pop star, dies at 62 LONDON Adam Faith, a square-jawed British singer who was '''ibriefly a Cockney challenger to Elvis Presley's rock'n'roll crown. China works to tame, populate "died Saturday.

He was 62. Faith suffered a heart attack in where he was appearing in a play, i aim, wiiu uau a msiury oi nean iruuDie, ieu ill alter rnuay performance and died later in a local hospital, his agent said. ed by the hard-line Guardian Council, which must approve all legislation before it becomes law. Under the strict form of Islamic law used in Iran, a woman needs her husband's permission to work or travel abroad. A man's court testimony is considered twice as home to 367 million people 29 percent of China's population, including an assortment ethnic minorities wary of increased central control.

"To implement such a colossal program in such a colossal area in an orderly way is an incredible challenge," Li Zibin, deputy director of the Cabinet office that oversees western development, said Saturday on the sidelines of the legislature. Part of China's effort the part it doesn't discuss as much involves increasing the population of the regions in question Anfllvsts: Nl Korea's ariinns for hnmp nnrlienra SEOUL, South Korea North Korea's interception of a U.S. reconnaissance plane was an attempt to grab the attention of the world's onlv suDeroower. analysts believe. But it mav also have been 1 11..

1 1 BEIJING (AP) You've seen it in all the old movies: men, progress and cash moving westward into a rugged expanse, laying railroad track and taming the environment to bring the civ-ilization of the east to a hinterland that could only be described as wild. It happened in America during the 19th century, in Australia during the 20th. In the 21st century, it's China's turn. Since 2000, the central government in Beijing has been pouring money into a high-energy project to develop its poor western provinces, including the luc uicuiy unuciM-uics uic pmsiumiy uim uiiuuui iviiu Jong is playing as much to a home audience in the standoff over his nation's suspected efforts to develop nuclear weapons. In this scenario, Kim is more apt to take a hawkish approach to boost the prestige of the military, the pillar of his rule, as well as distract attention from North Korea's economic debacle by raising fears of war with the United States.

a plunges off mountain road, killing 17 PRAGUE, Czech Republic A bus carrying skiers plunged off a mnnntnin maH CntiirHnv in th crtiithAm p7pr)i Pniihlis Irillino 17 Heritage Financial Services that also honored International r- Stoke on Trent in central England, his agent Alan Field said .1 v. ls.iu. iivui uiw -vr vvjivv 1 injuries auu were ocuig ucaicu I i wnt iiiniiiiiiv. inspections have failed to uncover any evidence that Saddam Hussein has revived his nuclear program, ElBaradei told the AP he still hopes for another two or three months to be more certain. That could be unlikely as the United States continues pressing for military action and building up forces in the Gulf region.

But ElBaradei, noting the deep divisions in the council over whether to give inspectors more time or use force to disarm Iraq, said he believed there still was a chance for continued weapons checks. Even if the inspectors pull out, they will seek to return as quickly as possible to continue monitor-' ing Iraqi disarmament, ElBaradei said. ring linked to boy's at Number of suicide attempts at Guantanamo climbs to 21 people, state radio reported. I' i iuv nwiwui wvui i vu uwuv Budejovice, 90 miles south of Prague. ocverai outer passengers suiiercu ei .1 rar i 108 Court Square Abbeville 459-9504 The Easter hospitals, police spokesman Dusan Klicha said.

The cause of the accident was being investigated. fozzi. iir.j.u I uiwi ir-iMi: vv i. II i rut inspectors pushing the gas pedal inI; aiLTic incw i UKfw Vfrj wan Iranian women listen to an World Women's Day as a police Park in Tehran, Iran. porters of Iran's reform movement seeking to change the Islamic government's tight social and political restrictions.

While the reformist-dominated parliament lifted a ban on unmarried women studying abroad, other bills supporting women's rights have been reject heavily Muslim region of Xinjiang and the mountainous onetime kingdom of Tibet. Now, as China's new leadership targets low living standards in the countryside as its most urgent problem, it is giving western development more priority than ever and fitting it perfectly into the agenda of the National People's Congress, the legislature currently under way. It's a staggering task they face. The west's economic output is a fraction of the east's. Improving its lot involves tackling 2.65 million square miles that are crime or allowed access to lawyers.

There have been 11 suicide attempts since the beginning of the year, including one in January that left a man with serious brain damage. Most prisoners have used bed sheets or pieces of clothing to try to hang themselves. The United States is facing increased international pressure to release the detainees. Amnesty International has demanded an inquiry into whether U.S. interrogation methods were contributing to the suicide attempts.

U.S. officials insist the questioning is humane. The military is opening a new hospital ward for terror suspects with mental problems, and guards have been given training to watch for suicide attempts, base officials said. 'Ms Hit- -nfo wSMf Easter Money Ynur Nfitftt Ran is about to Hatch! war looming in Iraq, U.N. f.viirlAar incnprtrtrc are a ere 1 prat I in a tKir hunt fnr anv chrr1 rf 1IUK UaL UUUi Hill 1U WU evidence that Baghdad has an atomic weapons program, the top nuclear inspector said Saturday.

nedal as much as we can." general of the International Oi UtM. AnorwVf rAA TK JlUAlllw UHHKJ ivjiu Aliv 3l)IC VrtrL- in Vian Ufti I'vn i iv Giving choclate bunnies to everyone who applies. Holding a special drawing for a new GAS Call and apply with Peggy Bird today! Brad Smith, Manager 54388 its west by persuading millions of Han Chinese, the country's most populous and patriotic ethnicity, to move west. Hundreds of thousands have already been sent in. Such migration, leaders presume, will help cement fundamental ties to Beijing in regions culturally and sometimes physically isolated.

In the meantime, China is ardently courting foreign investment. Major electricity and gas pipeline projects are under way. And money from every corner of the nation is being sent toward the sunset fii 1. J1 rURNISHINGJ J50 OFF 0l7 543 25 1 7 'ha, Austria, where the IAEA is Abased. -tcD "yg wm continue the work '''imtil we're told to stop.s' Although ElBaradei told the Security Council on Friday that "'rliree months of aggressive 50 Q' Alleged pedophile Hancock Rediner -J RefrS895 FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) Media are falling it a crime unimaginable in postwar Ger-jjnany, where, citizens' trust in state institutions is 1 rarely challenged.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) A terror suspect tried to commit suicide in U.S. detention at Guantanamo Bay, a military spokesman said Saturday. It was the 21st suicide attempt at the camp since it was set up in January 2002. The who attempted suicide Friday, was treated at the base hospital and was under medical observation, spokesman Lt. Col.

Barry Johnson said by telephone from the base. "Guards intervened immediately and prevented any serious harm from taking place," Johnson said, but declined to give further details. He said the suicide was a "repeat attempt" but didn't say how many times the man had tried to kill himself. There are about 650 detainees the U.S. Naval base in Cuba, and all are accused of having links to Afghanistan's Taliban regime or al-Qaida, though none has been charged with a disappearance 1, it '1 Husqvarna VIKING" You're Ready for the Best TO 5:00 PM Following the arrest of a foster mother and state-fippointed juvenile court referee in connection to disappearance of Pascal Zimmer, 5, authorities uncovered evidence of a possible pedophilia ring in the west German town of Saarbruecken.

Allaootinnc that thf mnnuii identified onlv as pit near the French border but have delayed a search until the ground has thawed. Youth authorities now acknowledge they received dozens of complaints against Christa' dating from as early as 1999, for endangering a foster child in her care, and acknowledge serious lapses in following up. One case worker is being investigated on charges of being an accessory to bodily injury in that case. At least three victims have been identified so far, but police spokesman Georg Himbert said there were indications of "a large number" of others. The case has deeply shaken Germans.

Children's advocacy groups say Germany lags far behind other countries in speaking out against sexual and child abuse because it is considered a private issue. njlkgUUUIlJ Christa 50, sexually abused other children and made them available to patrons of her bar came out after investigators found pornographic materials in her home. Twelve other people, regulars at her bar, have since been arrested on suspicion they all sexually abused and murdered Zimmer. Two more have been arrested only on sex abuse charges. Authorities believe the boy is buried in a gravel RSLane' "Trusted Since 1958 am 90 EE When Featuring, Miele Husqvarna Viking Simplicity White LrfU HOME 100OFF Ik1 Staiwafy Ler Lie MCBC XCttWh, Beaooa Mm I OFF Uaf SBtr) LerfKrLoewCBh Months Same As Cash Road, Ninety Six Lane celebrates America with the Liberty cedar chest.

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