NEWS AND VIEWS

"Several women dressed in black bathing suits removed their tops and jumped into the chilly English Channel waters as part of the protest. They were joined by members of 'Surfers 4 Hunting' riding surfboards. "

# posted by R @ 9:42 PM 0 comments

"According to comScore Networks, which tracks site traffic, visitation to oprah.com jumped 800 percent as over 600,000 people logged on after watching Oprah. Visitation to pontiac.com jumped 600 percent at the same time as over 140,000 people viewed the site, the company noted."

# posted by R @ 12:24 AM 0 comments

"A Malawian man believed to be high on marijuana beheaded two women with an axe Friday, police in the southern African country said."

# posted by R @ 11:49 PM 0 comments

"Prayer calls are transmitted via loudspeakers of mosques five times a day.

Mosques often announce the prayers two or three minutes apart, causing much confusion.

'Everyday I receive complaints from people about the loudspeakers and when I ask them to make official complaints, they say they were afraid of being accused of being infidels or acting against religion,' Mr Zaqzouq said."

# posted by R @ 11:32 PM 0 comments

"The car might decide that the driver is drunk and, for example, refuse to start the engine "

# posted by R @ 1:58 PM 0 comments

"A chimpanzee has taken up smoking and spitting, according to China's Xinhua news agency."
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"Feili became excited when she saw a visitor light up a cigarette, and grew impatient when they showed no sign of giving it to her."

# posted by R @ 11:33 PM 0 comments

"Human rights groups say the occupying powers have failed in a duty to catalogue the deaths, giving the impression that ordinary Iraqis' lives are worth less than those of soldiers.

Unofficial estimates of the civilian toll vary wildly, from at least 10,000 to more than 37,000.

But the view famously expressed by US General Tommy Franks that 'we don't do body counts' still resonates in government circles."
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"Prof Sloboda said: "No country could hold its head up high without looking back to investigate the deaths of thousands of its people.

'Imagine the United States not investigating exactly who died on September 11, it is unthinkable.'"

# posted by R @ 9:50 AM 1 comments

"Thirty percent of all British males have cried in the last month. That is a very high figure,' said Peter Marsh, director of the Social Issues Research Center which took the emotional temperature of Britain."

Reuters

# posted by R @ 11:17 PM 0 comments

"RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) - Forty-six Brazilian policemen traveling to a sports competition were caught with their guard down this week when four Brazilian thieves robbed the bus carrying them to the event.
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The suspects, who escaped, apparently did not know the bus was full of police when they stopped it, he said."

# posted by R @ 10:14 PM 0 comments

"Texas District Judge Keith Dean jailed Frank Dorsett for a year, and ordered that he must then drive a low-powered car and carry a photo of the wreck he helped to cause outside Dallas in June 2003.

He must also take daily medication that will make him sick if he drinks alcohol, and carry a bumper sticker asking other motorists to call the probation department if he drives recklessly.

Dorsett was racing another driver along a highway when the other man hit and killed a 16-year-old girl in a third car."

Judge Dean was not satisfied with a jury's decision that Dorsett should face only probation.

The parents of Rachel Blasingame, the victim, praised the unusual sentence.

"We feel the terms of his probation will make up for anything the jury had taken away from us," said her father, Guy Blasingame.

Jason T Scott, the other driver involved in the chase, is awaiting trial.

# posted by R @ 8:52 AM 2 comments

"Omar entered Jerusalem in humility. He walked in with not he, the Caliph, but his servant comfortably riding on a camel. They had been taking turns walking and riding.

At one point in Jerusalem, the Christians asked him to pray in their church but he declined. He refused saying that he is afraid that in the future Muslims could use it as an excuse to take over the Church for building a Masjid.

The Christians gave the key of the Church of Resurrection to Muslims to be responsible for its safety. This key is still with the Muslims today as a sign and symbol of the mutual trust. "

# posted by R @ 2:15 AM 2 comments

"Muslim leaders preparing to receive the Pope have demanded that he remove his cross, saying the crucifix is an insult to Islam. They also want him to say sorry for the Crusades, following his dramatic apology in Athens on Friday for the 'sins' committed by the Roman Catholic Church against its Orthodox brethren.

'In a Muslim state, crucifixes should not be brandished in public, all the more so inside the holy place of Islam,' said Sheikh al-Hout, of the nearby Amara mosque. 'The Pope must respect these conditions like anyone else.'"

# posted by R @ 1:59 AM 0 comments

"The following day after breakfast, we heard from Dr. Borelli regarding the status of the Catholic-Muslim dialogue and relationship from both the national and international levels, and he mentioned the resolution passed in a conference in Cairo, as well as in the Vatican, at the opening of the first mosque in Rome. In the subsequent session, we developed plans for the future strategy and cooperation. We wanted to do simple things first, with education being the area of the most important emphasis. We decided to develop a joint booklet informing Muslims and Catholics about our concept of Jesus, Mary, Mohammed, Prophets of God and the Word of God."

# posted by R @ 12:52 AM 0 comments

"If you are Catholic, Muslim, or a member of the Orthodox and Evangelical churches in Eritrea then it seems you can breathe easy.

However, those who believe and practise minority faiths are routinely persecuted, according to human rights groups.

Two years ago the Eritrean government introduced a registration system for religions which forced groups to submit information about themselves in order to be allowed to worship."

# posted by R @ 7:18 AM 0 comments

"According to its annual report, freedom of religion in Saudi Arabia does not exist either in practice or in law."
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"The US report said that "freedom of religion does not exist" in Saudi Arabia, where an austere form of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism is the official religion.

Christianity and all its symbols - including crosses and Christmas trees - are strictly banned, as are all places of worship except mosques.*

The report said those groups who did not adhere to the officially sanctioned strain of Islam were facing "severe repercussions" at the hands of the religious police in the desert kingdom."

# posted by R @ 4:56 PM 0 comments

"Religious freedom is laid down in the Chinese constitution, but Hong Yang admits there are limits.

"It depends on how you interpret the word freedom. Our religious freedom cannot compare with other countries. We're only free to practice within the boundaries set by Chinese law and policy," he said.

"But we don't want to overstep those limits, as that might create conflict and instability for the whole society."

Spreading the faith is a duty for Muslims, but for the 20 million Muslims in China, it is only allowed within the confines of a mosque.*"

# posted by R @ 4:37 PM 0 comments

"The program is designed to protect habitat between Lake Mead and the U.S.-Mexico border while ensuring enough water is available and power operations using Colorado River water can continue. The river supplies water and power to 20 million people in Arizona, Nevada and California.

'It allows both plants, animals and people to all better coexist,' Norton said."

# posted by R @ 1:44 PM 0 comments

"US television host Oprah Winfrey has kicked off the new season of her celebrated chat show by giving a new car to each member of her audience.

A total of 276 Pontiac G6 sports sedans were given away to the all-female audience - worth $7m in all."

# posted by R @ 1:02 AM 3 comments

قصص من واقع حياة فتيات مصريات، ولكن هذه المرة بطريقتهن الخاصة. نتعرف في هذه القصص على اوضاعهن الحالية، واحلامهن للمستقبل من خلال صور التقطنها بأنفسهن، وحكايات مسجلة بأصواتهن

# posted by R @ 1:48 AM 0 comments

"Scientists believe they have located the part of the brain where people's dreams are created."

# posted by R @ 1:38 AM 0 comments

Nearly a million people take their own lives every year, more than those murdered or killed in war.

World Health Organisation figures show a suicide takes place somewhere in the world every 40 seconds.

The numbers are highest in Europe's Baltic states, where around 40 people per 100,000 commit suicide each year.

With World Suicide Prevention Day approaching on Friday, the WHO says the toll could be reduced with greater public awareness and political will.

"Suicide is a major public health problem and accounts for 1.5% of the total cost of disease to world society," said Jose Bertolote, mental health specialist at the WHO.

# posted by R @ 2:37 PM 1 comments