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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2005
INTERNATIONAL
--ning to fire on authorities during the withdrawal, set to begin this summer.
DIPLOMACY
Afghan visit made
First lady meets with women
BY DEB RIECHMANN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KABUL, Afghanistan Under heavy protection in this dusty, dangerous capital, Laura Bush yesterday talked with Afghan women freed from Taliban repression and urged greater rights. She expressed high hopes, envisioning a day when tourists would flock here for vacations.
Religions unite
There were reminders of war at every turn of Bush's visit. U.S. soldiers in camouflage fatigues manned M-60 rifles at both ends of four transport helicopters that flew the first lady and her entourage to events around Kabul.
"I knew we'd be safe," Bush said aboard her plane during her return to Washington. "Afghanistan is safe. There are certainly parts of it that aren't right now. But, in general, I think it is a very safe place to travel."
Still, Bush kept her stay brief. She spent just six hours on the ground and flying nearly halfway around the world to get here.
The first lady met with women training to be teachers and gave presents to Afghan children on the street. She thanked U.S. troops for bringing down rulers who kept girls from school.
President Hamid Karzai said Bush's visit "matters much more than hundreds of millions of dollars. Much more." Yet the fragile democracy is heavily dependent on international aid, and Mrs. Bush said she was asked for help to pay for scholarships, computers and books.
Brennan Linsley/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Muslim cleric Abdel Salem Menasra, left, Archbishop Aristarchos, of the Greek Orthodox Holy Land Patriarchate, second from left, Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah, middle, Israeli chief Sephardic rabbi Shlomo Amar, second from right, and Chief Ashkenaki rabbi Yehuda Metzger, far right, attend a joint press conference at a hotel in Jerusalem yesterday. Israel's chief rabbis, the heads of three Christian faiths in the Holy Land and a senior Islamic cleric made an unprecedented joint stand yesterday against plans to hold an international gay festival in Jerusalem this summer.
Jewish leader calls for weapons withdrawal
NATION
MIDDLE EAST
JERUSALEM — Jewish settlers should hand over their weapons before the planned Gaza withdrawal this summer to prevent any chance of bloody confrontations with Israeli troops over the dismantling of settlements, a settler leader said yesterday.
BY PETER ENAV
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The proposal by ultranationalist lawmaker Effie Eitam marked the first time a settler leader acknowledged the potential for violence among settlers during the withdrawal. Eitam and another prominent settler, Bentsi Lieberman, said troops should also be barred from carrying firearms at the time.
Eitam and Lieberman said they hoped to negotiate an agreement on banning weapons with the Israeli police minister.
Many Jewish settlers in Gaza and the West Bank are armed, and settler leaders have warned that extremists could be planning to fire on authorities during the withdrawal, set to begin this summer.
The site — known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram as-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary — is revered in both religions. The site is the most sensitive spot in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Also yesterday, Jerusalem Police Chief Ilan Franco said he would prevent withdrawal opponents from holding an April 10 rally at a disputed Jerusalem holy site.
A Palestinian militant, who identified himself as Abu Yousef, warned yesterday that he and his band of gunmen would stop observing a truce with Israel if the rally was held.
Schiavo's parents denied yet again
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court yesterday once again refused to order Terri Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted, dealing another blow to her parents' attempts to keep their severely brain-damaged daughter alive.
The decision, announced in a one-sentence order, was the sixth time since 2000 that the court declined to intervene in the case. Justices did not explain their decision and there was no indication how they voted.
It was also the second time in a week that the high court refused to reinsert the tube.
The court's decision was expected. Not only had justices repeatedly declined to intervene in the Schiavo case on previous occasions, but they routinely defer to state courts on family law issues.
The Associated Press
WORLD
Pope worsens, may need feeding tube
VATICAN CITY — Pope John Paul II is getting nutrition from a feeding tube through the nose, the Vatican said on yesterday, shortly after the frail pontiff appeared at his window in St. Peter's Square and unsuccessfully tried to speak.
Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the tube was aimed at improving the pope's calorie intake. It was not visible when the pope made his appearance.
Navarro-Valls issued the first medical report on John Paul since March 11 two days before he was discharged from the hospital for the second time in a month. The update came amid media reports saying the pope might be hospitalized again to insert a feeding tube in his stomach because of problems swallowing food.
The Associated Press
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