World news 10/12/04

EU lifts 12 years of sanctions against Libya

LUXEMBOURG -- The European Union on Monday ended 12 years of sanctions against Libya and eased an arms embargo to reward the North African country for giving up plans to develop weapons of mass destruction. The decision by the EU foreign ministers brought the 25-nation bloc in line with a U.N. decision last year and reflected a significant warming of relations in recent months.

Saudi women may not run, vote in municipal elections

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Women may neither vote nor run in Saudi Arabia's first nationwide elections, the government announced Monday, dashing hopes of progressive Saudis and easing fears among conservatives that the kingdom is moving too fast on reforms. Some women considered the move yet another indignity in a country where they need their husbands' permission to study, travel or work. But others said they wouldn't trust themselves to judge whether a candidate is more than just a handsome face. The religious establishment had been lobbying against women's participation in the elections.

Tourists return two years after Bali terror attack

BALI, Indonesia -- Two years after Islamic extremists attacked Bali, sunburned tourists again pack the island's beaches and bars. Paddy's Bar -- one of two nightclubs hit -- is back in business. Some of the bombers are in jail. But the grief is still sharp for those who lost loved ones. "The world stopped for me that day, and it seems it will never start again," said Angela Dark, whose brother Anthony was one of the 202 people, most of them young foreign tourists, killed in the blasts of Oct. 12, 2002. Dark, from Melbourne, Australia, was on the holiday island with her family to attend a commemoration service Tuesday to mark the second anniversary of the attack.

-- From wire reports