ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Wednesday, March 5, 1997               TAG: 9703050101
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL   PAGE: A-5  EDITION: METRO 

IN THE WORLD

Saddam's younger son gains power

CAIRO, Egypt - Saddam Hussein has made his younger son, Qusai, the second-most-powerful man in Iraq following an attempt on the life of his other son, Iraqi dissidents said Tuesday.

The 31-year-old Qusai (pronounced Qu-SAY) now handles day-to-day affairs of the army, security forces and several government agencies, according to the dissidents, who spoke in telephone interviews from Amman, Jordan. Saddam is commander-in-chief.

In addition, Qusai was put in charge of the Economic Committee, a government agency that oversees all the state's oil, trade and financial transactions, they said.

- Associated Press

Israel to explain ban on women at wall

JERUSALEM - Israel's Supreme Court on Tuesday gave the government two months to justify a law barring women from praying aloud at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site.

Women are not allowed to read directly from the Torah, the Jewish holy book, or to wear prayer shawls at the wall.

Tuesday's court order was in response to a petition by Women of the Wall, a group that has been fighting the restrictions for eight years.

- Associated Press

China criticizes human rights in U.S.

BEIJING - Condemning the United States as a ``moneybag democracy,'' Beijing on Tuesday took a swipe in the back-and-forth struggle with Washington over China's bleak human rights record.

The United States responded that it was ``the world's champion of human rights'' and needed no lecture from an authoritarian state.

In a commentary by the official Xinhua News Agency, China criticized the United States for favoring the rich, breeding violence and poorly protecting women, minorities and children.

It also cited the high cost of political campaigns, the number of millionaire politicians and the scandal enveloping the Clinton administration over soliciting campaign contributions.

- Associated Press

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