World briefs 12/30/02

China launches fourth unmanned space capsule

BEIJING -- China's fourth unmanned space capsule blasted into orbit early today in a test launch that soon could lead to a manned flight, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

The Shenzhou IV spacecraft blasted off at 12:40 a.m. local time from a launch pad in the Gobi desert and entered a preset orbit, Xinhua said. It did not say when the craft would return.

The capsule carries all the equipment for manned flight, and life support and other systems will be tested while it is in orbit, Xinhua said.

Beijing has invested prestige and an undisclosed amount of money in its secretive, military-linked space program. A successful manned launch would make China only the third country, after Russia and the United States, to send a human being into space on its own.

Paris airport employee arrested, questioned

PARIS -- Anti-terrorism prosecutors have opened an investigation after an employee was arrested at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport, judicial officials said today.

The employee, a man of Algerian origin, was being questioned by anti-terrorism agents following his arrest Saturday, officials said on condition of anonymity.

Interior Ministry officials declined to comment. Airport police and the Paris prefecture both referred calls to the ministry.

The arrest comes days after the Interior Ministry said it dismantled a terror cell with ties to Chechen rebels and al-Qaida that planned bomb or toxic gas attacks in France and Russia.

A total of nine people were arrested in six raids by France's counterintelligence agency, the DST, in suburban Paris.

Pakistan group honors gang-rape victim

LAHORE, Pakistan -- A woman who was gang-raped on the orders of a tribal council was honored by a Pakistani human rights group on Sunday for having the courage to report the crime in a country where violence against women often goes unpunished.

Mukhtar Mai, 30, broke into tears as she received an award from the Human Rights Society of Pakistan at a ceremony in Lahore, the capital of eastern Punjab province.

A tribal council in the village of Meerwala, about 350 miles southwest of Islamabad, ordered Mai gang-raped on June 22 as punishment against her family after her teenage brother allegedly had sex with a woman from another clan.

Mai, who teaches Islam to village girls, not only reported the attack to police -- a bold move, especially in remote, rural areas where a deeply conservative form of Islam is practiced -- but also stepped forward to speak about the attack to local media.

The case drew international attention, and the six men were sentenced to hang in August. They are appealing.

Philippine president will not run again in 2004

MANILA, Philippines -- President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said Monday she will not run for president in 2004 to avoid further dividing her impoverished nation, catching many politicians by surprise.

"I have decided not to run for president in the elections of 2004," Arroyo said in the northern resort city of Baguio while celebrating the 106th anniversary of the execution of national hero Jose Rizal by Spanish authorities in Manila.

Arroyo said if she decided to run, that would result in "never-ending divisiveness" and worsen the nation's economic difficulties.

Arroyo took over the presidency when Joseph Estrada was ousted last year amid military-backed public protests over allegations of massive corruption and misrule.

Only English-language daily paper inItaly closes

ROME -- Italy Daily, the only English-language daily newspaper in the country, published its last edition this weekend, falling victim to a severe drop in advertising revenue.

The four-page paper, which came as a supplement to the International Herald Tribune, will convert to a 12-page weekly publication after five years in business. Publication of Italy Weekly will begin Jan. 17.

-- From wire reports