She also marched gamely yesterday first in the parade of her new hometown Chappaqua and then in

She also marched gamely yesterday, first in the parade of her new hometown, Chappaqua, and then in Queens (in the same parade as Mr Lazio but at a safe distance.)Mrs Clinton has had to rethink her strategy, even with regard to geography. The mostly conservative upstate, for instance, had warmed to her because of a suspicion there about the “big city” and therefore Mr Giuliani. Mr Lazio, a super-suburbanite, may be more appealing there now. Mrs Clinton will also be paying much more attention to substantive issues.Oddly, she and Mr Giuliani shared much political ground That is not so with Mr Lazio.

He has already tried to paint her as “far left” and she is highlighting his past association with the former House speaker Newt Gingrich.Areas where they will clash include gun control – Mr Lazio is against licensing handguns – and abortion. On this last issue the First Lady is determinedly pro-choice, while Mr Lazio is pro-choice but with numerous important caveats. What this means is that the all-smiles of yesterday will quickly fade as the two sides engage in combat.With Mr Giuliani gone, the New York Senate race may not be quite the collision of giants that some had been looking forward to. But the signs are that it will be every bit as hard-fought and, from an issue standpoint, perhaps quite a lot more interesting..

Israel is fighting to keep behind bars two Lebanese leaders held hostage for years, in violation of the Geneva Convention and condemned by human rights activists as a war crime. Israel is fighting to keep behind bars two Lebanese leaders held hostage for years, in violation of the Geneva Convention and condemned by human rights activists as a war crime .
Ehud Barak’s government is basking in international approval for ending its 22-year occupation of south Lebanon, but they appear willing to ignore world opinion by the illegal practice of hostages.The men, Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid and Mustapha Dirani, appeared before TV cameras in a Tel Aviv court yesterday, allowing Israelis their first view of them. They are the best-known of many Lebanese hostages held without trial or charge as human currency in negotiations over missing Israeli servicemen.For years, to the horror of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and others, the two were held by the Israelis in so-called “administrative detention” at undisclosed locations and denied their right to contact with the International Committee of the Red Cross.The effects of their ordeal were detectable. Sheikh Obeid, a Hizbollah cleric kidnapped by Israeli commandos in 1989, cut a subdued, grey-bearded figure. “With the help of God I hope to be free,” he said, before a court official stopped him talking to journalists. Mustapha Dirani, a former security chief for the Shia Amal militia seized from Lebanon in 1994 was tired and drawn.An Israeli state prosecutor, Dvora Chen, pressed for their detention to be extended, saying they could take up senior positions in “organisations intending to harm Israel”, if they were released. Israel is ignoring a request from UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen – who is shuttling between Beirut and Jerusalem trying to verify that Israel’s pull-out confirms with UN Resolution 425 – for their release to help ease tensions.After the hearing, Mr Barak, the prime minister, said Israeli has “to hold on to them for a variety of reasons” He declined to explain.

His stance cuts across last month’s ruling by his Supreme Court which said the state has no right to hold foreigners as prisoners without trial unless they constitute a specific security threat. That ruling freed 13 Lebanese hostages, some abducted as teenagers more than a decade ago.Israeli officials openly say the men are being held to apply pressure on Hizbollah for information on Captain Ron Arad, a missing air force navigator who baled out over Lebanon on a 1986 bombing raid. Mustapha Dirani told the court the Amal militia, which he later left, had held Arad but transferred him to Iran after the Israeli air force bombed the village where he was hidden.The case is among several factors cited by Hizbollah to justify continuing the fight against Israel. The men’s lawyer, Zvi Rish, said: “The time has come for these people to be released to open a new chapter.” The court decision is due on 12 July.In a landmark decision, Israel’s Supreme Court also recognised the right of a lesbian spouse to be registered as the second parent of her partner’s biological son and ordered the Interior Ministry to register American-born Nicole Berner-Kadish as the mother of four-year-old Matan Berner-Kadish, biological son of Ruti Berner-Kadish.An ultra-Orthodox lawmaker accused the judges of imposing norms like those in the biblical city of Sodom.. The trial of 13 Iranian Jews accused of spying for Israel – a hearing that could affect relations between Iran and the West – drew to a close in the city of Shiraz yesterday, with defence lawyers insisting there was no legal case against their clients and that only a show trial could find them guilty A verdict is expected in a week. The trial of 13 Iranian Jews accused of spying for Israel – a hearing that could affect relations between Iran and the West – drew to a close in the city of Shiraz yesterday, with defence lawyers insisting there was no legal case against their clients and that only a show trial could find them guilty.

A verdict is expected in a week.
“If this is a court of law, they have no other course but to acquit and free the accused,” said Esmail Naseri, spokesman for the Jews’ lawyers. “Otherwise this is a political case.” Mr Naseri said he and his colleagues yesterday proved that “confessions” by eight of the accused were inconsistent with one another. But before yesterday’s hearing was over, the provincial judiciary chief, Hossein Amiri, said the men had corroborated each other’s statements.Only ten of the accused appeared yesterday; three have been bailed and are expected to be acquitted.Mr Naseri accused Iranian television of acting like a kangaroo court when it broadcast two of the alleged confessions. The defence lawyers say all their clients have confessed to is sending addresses of famous Iranian landmarks to Israel, not handing over classified information and planning to poison the Shiraz water supply, as the prosecution claims.The case has international ramifications: Israel denied the men spied for it, the Netherlands has sent a special envoy to wait outside the court, and the United States said the outcome could affect relations with Iran.A plot to assassinate President Mohamed Khatami was uncovered several weeks ago, Abbas Abdi, a reformist journalist close to him, said yesterday but refused to give more details.. Japan is expected within five years to have the world’s highest percentage of people over the age of 65, a prospect causing the government and companies to offer bonuses and subsidies for couples to have more babies. Japan is expected within five years to have the world’s highest percentage of people over the age of 65, a prospect causing the government and companies to offer bonuses and subsidies for couples to have more babies.
The predictions were part of a government report Tuesday that said “the pace of aging in our country is progressing at an unprecedented speed.”The report said that by 2005 the percentage of Japanese aged 65 or older will reach 19.6, the world’s highest.In 15 years, the document said, Japan’s population is expected to continue to gray with one in four Japanese over 65.Japan now has 21.2 million people 65 or older, or 16.7 percent of the population – second after Sweden, which had a 65-or-older percentage of 17.6 five years ago.Japan’s twin trends of a falling birthrate and people living longer have caused anxiety because of the prospect of a shortfall of able-bodied workers and the financial strain on future generations of caring for the elderly.Fewer people paying taxes and more people in their retirement years could pose problems for the treasury, officials fear.The concerns have caused the government and private corporations that operate pension funds to take steps to encourage more people to have children.Many companies are giving bonuses to employees who have babies.The major toy maker Bandai began in March to offer a bonus of dlrs 9,350 to employees celebrating the birth of their third or more child.