Welcome to Kafir: Tuesday, October 11, 2005

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Iraqi interior minister apologizes

Iraqi Minister of Interior Bayan Jabor has apologized for comments he had made towards Saudi Arabia last week, including referring to Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal as a “*bedouin riding camel."

He added that he hoped ties between Iraq and Saudi Arabia would remain strong. “I hope these statements and what has been said and written will be a passing summer cloud ... My statements have nothing to do with the Iraqi government,”

Jabor had made the comments following expressions of concern on Saudi Arabia's part regarding the intentions of Iraq's Shiite community. He also criticized Saudi Arabia for unjust treatment of its Shiite community and women.

*Bedouin: Generic name for a desert-dweller, is a term generally applied to Arab nomadic groups.

Israel detains 117 Hamas members

117 members of Hamas were arrested by Israeli security forces in the latest detention operation in the West Bank, according to a statement released on Monday by Israel's internal secret service, the Shin Bet.
The men reportedly belonged to three separate divisions of Hamas in the West Bank in and around the towns of Hebron and Ramallah.

According to Israeli sources, the men were responsible for a series of attacks against Israelis, including the kidnap and killing of Nuriel Sasson outside of Jerusalem in September, and the bombing of a bus station in southern Israel in August which killed six Israelis.

Thirty-five were arrested in Dahariya, south of Hebron, while fifty-nine were arrested in Shuyukh, north of Hebron. 23 others were arrested at an undisclosed location.

Psychic demands $25 million for finding Saddam

A Brazilian psychic is demanding that the United States pay him $25 million as a reward for directing US troops to Saddam Hussein's exact hiding place in 2003.

Jucelino Nobrega Da Luz claims to have sent letters to the U.S. Government beginning in September 2001 with exact location of Saddam's hiding place, though he never received a reply from US authorities.

Da Luz claimed that without his letters of instruction, the US would not have successfully captured Iraq's former leader. He believes, therefore, that he is entitled to the $25 million reward posted for help leading to his capture, according to Reuters.

Da Luz had taken up the matter with Brazil’s second-highest court, the Superior Court of Justice, after a lower court in his home state of Minas Gerais decided that the claim would have to be judged in the United States, and the higher tribunal ruled otherwise.

His lawyers attest that Da Luz has an uncanny knack for predicting the future, stating that "Via dreams, he sees situations, facts that will happen."

If the Brazilian court upholds his claim, the matter will be presented to US legal authorities at the US State Department.

AB

Saddam to be allowed to vote in Iraqi referendum

Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein will be entitled to participate in Iraq's upcoming nationwide referendum in which Iraqis will vote "yes" or "no" to the country's first constitution.

Amongst Iraq's 26 million citizens, an estimated 10,000 imprisoned Iraqis, most of whom are Sunnis, will also be allowed to vote.

Saddam, who will go on trial four days after the referendum for the murder of 143 inhabitants of a Shiite village north of Baghdad, is expected to waive his right, as the constitution to be voted on bans the former "Saddamist Baath Party".

UK seeks powers to close mosques

Home Secretary Charles Clarke announced controversial proposals that give the police powers to close mosques, which fail to comply with an order to prevent them from being used to forment extremism.

Releasing his proposals by way of a consultation paper, Clarke also made clear his determination to bring in other tough new powers already put forward, including extending the maximum pre-charge detention for terror suspects from two weeks to three months.

"The UK is facing a real and continuing terrorist threat, and it is vital that we do everything in our power to tackle those who would seek to strike at the heart of our society, to destroy what we hold dear," he said.

Under the proposals, he said he was considering creating a legal process whereby those controlling places of worship can be required by a court order to take steps to stop "certain extremist behaviour" occurring.

But regardless of whether a person is successfully prosecuted for failure to comply with the order, Clarke said that a further order could still be issued restricting the use of the place of worship,including temporary closure.

Welcome to Kafir

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Files

Iraqi interior minister apologizes

Israel detains 117 Hamas members

Psychic demands $25 million for finding Saddam

Saddam to be allowed to vote in Iraqi referendum

UK seeks powers to close mosques

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