World

A huge anti-American turnout was being organized by Iran's ruling clerics for today, the anniversary of the Islamic revolution that toppled the shah 23 years ago. At the same time, however, the government shut the offices of exiled Afghan guerrilla leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and said it was considering expelling him - a move that diplomatic analysts said was a gesture to the US.

Intense pressure against the peso is expected in Argentina today when currency trading resumes after being suspended by the government. But President Eduardo Duhalde urged Argentines to resist speculators who may try to sell US dollars for up to 10 pesos, although the dollar was fetching 2.30 pesos on the black market. The government insisted it had sufficient cash reserves to support the peso, which was floated Feb. 3 on currency markets.

A roadside ambush wiped out an entire family near Algeria's capital in what may have been the first response of the insurgent Armed Islamic Group (GIA) to the killing of its leader. Antar Zouabri, perhaps the nation's most-wanted man, and two companions, were shot by security forces Friday, reports said. GIA is blamed for many of the 120,000 deaths in Algeria since the insurgency began in 1992.

Ex-Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's trial on war-crimes charges, set to open tomorrow, was being called the most important in Europe since Nazi officials faced the Nuremberg tribunal after World War II. If convicted, the onetime hard-line leader could be sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. Above, one of an estimated 8,000 supporters who rallied in his defense Saturday in Belgrade, kisses Milosevic's picture.

Army troops and rebels forces were fighting running battles near Liberia's capital although President Charles Taylor sought to reassure residents that the latter "are on the run." But his claim could not be verified independently, and a state of emergency remained in effect. The low-level civil war edged closer to Monrovia than it has in years when the rebels vowed Friday to attack unless Taylor quit.

Princess Margaret of Britain, who died Saturday in London, was the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II. Prime Minister Tony Blair remembered her for "an immense amount" of charitable public service. But she was as well known for the independence with which she led her private life. After first deciding against marrying a divorced World War II military hero, her own marriage ended in a high-profile divorce.