2 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, February 12, 2002 NATION/WORLD Thousands of Iranians rally to condemn U.S. TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's reformist president appeared to blame U.S. foreign policy for the Sept. 11 attacks as hundreds of thousands of Iranians rallied yester- day to condemn President Bush's criticism of their country and cele- brate the 23rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. Angered by Bush's inclusion of Iran as a member of an "axis of evil" during his State of the Union speech Jan. 29, Iranians poured into Tehran's Freedom Square carrying anti-U.S. banners and burning effi- gies of Uncle Sam. The rally united both Iran's reformists and hard-liners. President Mohammad Khatami told the huge crowd that the rally constituted a reply to "U.S. insults and trumped-up charges" against Iran. "This year, despite insults to the great Iranian nation and the trumped-up charges against it, the Iranian nation has commemorated the anniversary of its revolt in a greater scale than before," Khatami said. State television reported that mil- lions of people took part in similar rallies staged in all major cities. In a speech interrupted by chants of "Death to America!" Khatami said U.S. foreign policy bore responsibility for the Sept. 11 terror attacks on New York and Washing- ton. NEWS 11N4BRIEF Lay will take Fifth when questioned Former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay is asserting his right against self-incrimina- tion and will refuse to answer questions when he appears before Congress under sub- poena this week. "Under the instruction of counsel, Mr. Lay will exercise his Fifth Amendment rights at the Tuesday hearing," Lay's spokeswoman, Kelly Kimberly, said Sunday night from Houston. She declined further comment. Lay, who resigned Jan. 23, was a friend and political backer of President Bush and moved easily within the corridors of power in Washington. He has not spoken pub- licly about Enron's collapse since the company entered the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history in December, and lawmakers had hoped for his testimony. Following an intense week of hearings, leaders of some of Congress' investiga- tions say they have strong evidence of illegal activity surrounding the failure of the big energy trading company. After Lay backed out of a voluntary appearance a week ago,=two congressional committees issued subpoenas compelling his presence.,Some lawmakers had said they expected he would assert his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, though his attorney had not previously indicated he would do so. WASHINGTON State Department: Arafat's letter 'positive' Iranians burn an effigy of Uncle Sam during protests in Tehran yesterday. Israel bombs Palestinian headquarters GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Israeli warplanes and helicopter gunships attacked the Palestinian securi- ty headquarters in Gaza City yesterday, in retaliation for unprecedented Palestinian rocket fire and a shoot- ing attack on Israeli civilians. More than 30 people were injured by shrapnel in the second air strike in Gaza City in two days. The Israeli military warned that it "will not tolerate the continued firing of rockets" at Israel and at Jewish settlements. The Islamic militant group Hamas claimed responsibility for firing a homemade Qassam-2 rocket toward an Israeli communal farm on Sunday - a first in 16 months of fighting. The Qassam-2 has a range of five to eight kilometers (three to five miles), enough to hit Israeli towns from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In the past, Hamas has fired several shorter-range Qassam-1 rockets that caused no damage. In yesterday's air strike, six missiles hit the large walled Saraya compound in downtown Gaza City, setting buildings ablaze and sending black smoke into the sky. Doctors said the injured included three Pales- tinian journalists and news photographer George Kochaniec, a photographer for Denver's Rocky Mountain News. Kochaniec was treated for a hand injury. The attack came at a time of changeover between morning and afternoon shifts at nearby schools, and streets were crowded with youngsters who ran away from the explosions, some screaming in panic. Electricity in Gaza City was cut after the air strike. The missiles were fired several minutes apart, and one hit the compound while firefighters were in the area trying to douse the flames. Hundreds of Palestinians ran to the compound demanding that suspected Islamic militants held there be released immediately. Some threw stones at officers who fired in the air to keep back the crowd. Palestinian police said all pris- oners were moved from the compound shortly after the Israeli attack. A message from Yasser Arafat to Secretary of State Colin Powell is rais- ing hopes that the Palestinian leader will take a more aggressive stand on terror attacks on Israel. "We did find it to be a positive letter, and we now look for action along the lines that he indicated in his letter," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said yesterday while declining to reveal the letter's contents. Hassan Abdel Rahman, the ranking Palestinian official in the United States, said Arafat did not say in the letter that he knew about an attempt to smuggle 50 tons of weapons from Iran. "That's not the issue," Rahman said in an interview "The letter is an attempt to put the whole issue of the ship behind us." "It's a general letter that includes a roadmap to get us back to negotiations," Rah- man said. Diplomatic sources said the letter, sent last week through the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem, contained promises by Arafat that-he would take steps against Palestinians involved in the blocked smuggling effort. . HEY MICHIGAN WOLVERINES, MAKE YOUR CLIMB TO THE TOP AWHOLE LOT SHORTER. START YOUR CAREER OFF AT A HIGHER LEVEL. Dynamic, cutting edge. revolutionizing the industry . .Were Quicken Loans, powered by Intuit, maker of Quicken and Turbo Tax the nation's leading online mortgage lenderYou'll learn from the best in the business and experience unlimited growth opportunity, all in a great, casual environment. Get the true to life" probability of earning $50,000 - $100,000 with world-class benefits including hefty stock options, 401 (k), profit sharing, medical, dental and more. Send in your resume today! Excel at one of Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For in Livonia, Farmington Hills and Auburn Hills. Loans-- 20555 Victor Parkway Livonia, MI 48152 E.QE. Email: intuitjobs@intuit.com Fax: (734) 805-7052 www.quickenloans.com Phone:(800) 656-8863 PARIS Frenchman queried over Sept11 attacks A Frenchman who claims to have crossed paths in Afghanistan with key figures tied to the Sept. 11 attacks, a thwarted millennium plot on Los Angeles and other threats on American citizens is providing French authorities with a treasure-trove of information on al-Qaida, officials revealed yesterday. Yacine Akhnouche, 27, was arrested on Feb. 4 outside Paris with two others suspected of involvement in a two-year old plan to bomb a cathedral in Stras- bourg, France, judicial officials and anti-terrorism investigators told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Speaking freely during sessions with investigators, Akhnouche appar- ently offered details on the training camps he went to during three trips to Afghanistan ,and the Islamic militants he met there. BUENOS AIRES, Argentina Value of peso stays at a reasonable level Following days of uncertainty, Argentina allowed its currency to float freely against the dollar for the first time in a decade yesterday. The peso slipped slightly in value but did not suffer the free fall many feared. Hundreds of peo- ple lined up outside exchange houses in Buenos Aires, the capital, where the dollar sold for about 2.1 pesos, a drop of about 5 percent from the peso's unoffi- cial value Friday. The day of relative calm represented an important victory for the government of Eduardo Duhalde, which is struggling to rescue Argentina from economic collapse. In the hours before trading opened, officials repeatedly assured nervous Argentines that, if neces- sary, the central bank would use some 'of its $14 billion in cash reserves to keep the value of the peso at "a reasonable level." LOS AGELE Film productions move to Toronto Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman stood near the spot where Canada's largest film and TV{production lot will be buit and fired a financial shot across the U.S. bor- der. "We're Hollywood North. There's no two ways about it,"he said last week. That is exactly what unions, actors and small business in the United States fear. Advocacy groups and some elected offi- cials are afraid that the same globalization trend that has sent steel, lumber and tex- tile jobs overseas will hurt the motion pic- ture industry unless swift action is taken. The exodus of film and television projects from the United States is referred to as "runaway productior," a phrase first used in the 1980s to describe the flight of Hollywood jobs from Cali- fornia to North Carolina, Florida and other states that offered tax incentives and cheaper labor. 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