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President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shored up opposition to a U.S. drive to curb Iran's nuclear program on a visit to Venezuela on Sunday that cemented an anti-American front with President Hugo Chavez. Ahmadinejad's first trip to Venezuela highlighted Iran's backing for the fellow OPEC country's bid for a U.N. Security Council seat that Chavez would use to challenge Washington's campaign for international sanctions against Tehran. Chavez, who Washington calls a destabilizing, anti-democratic force, cast the visit as two countries jointly defying what he says is the imperialist aggression of the world's only superpower. "Iran is one of the emerging countries of Asia, the Middle East. Venezuela is one of the emerging countries of Latin America," he told a state-owned TV network. "It is a union that seeks a balance in the world and to save the future of your children, my children and our grandchildren." Buoyed by high oil prices that underpin their popularity at home and tapping into anti-American sentiment around the world, both presidents are awkward foes for the United States. "Two revolutions are giving each other a hand," Chavez said at the capital's airport where he welcomed Ahmadinejad, walking with his arm across the visitor's shoulders. Iran established an Islamic republic after a 1979 revolution that ousted a U.S.-backed leader and Chavez says he is creating his own revolution to overturn capitalist and U.S. influence in the South American country. Iranian-Venezuelan ties have previously focused almost exclusively on cooperation as major oil exporters, but the leaders emphasized their new bond in standing up to America. "Nowadays, we have common goals and interests," Ahmadinejad said. "We have to be united ... to achieve peace and justice." "I salute all the revolutionaries who oppose world hegemony," he added in an apparent reference to the United States. The presidents did not focus on the nuclear issue, preferring to stress economic pacts, including a project to quantify Venezuelan oil reserves. NEXT STOP NEW YORK Ahmadinejad's two-day stop in Venezuela is sandwiched between a trip to Cuba for the summit of Non-Aligned Movement countries, which called on developing nations to challenge U.S. dominance, and a visit to the United Nations in New York. At the world body's general assembly, Ahmadinejad will lobby for Iran's right to develop nuclear programs it says are for peaceful power generation despite Washington's assertion Tehran is trying to build an atomic weapon. Chavez will press for a Security Council seat against a U.S. campaign supporting Venezuela's rival, Guatemala. Chavez accused the United States of a smear campaign against Venezuela and Iran, saying it was spreading lies that Ahmadinejad's visit was to secure Venezuela's uranium for its nuclear programs. "They don't get tired of lying," he said. Limiting Iran's nuclear programs and curbing the socialist influence of Cuba ally Chavez are among Washington's top foreign policy priorities. But Larry Birns of the Washington-based thinktank, the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, said the United States has little to fear from the countries' closer ties. Venezuela will keep supplying crucial oil to its main market, the United States, and if it wins a rotating U.N. seat, its vote will not be key, said Birns, who is sympathetic to some of Chavez's anti-U.S. stances. "This is a visit that is a statement of solidarity rather than any plan for action," he said. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060917/wl_nm/...c&printer=1

The Bush administration and holdout GOP senators expressed confidence on Sunday they could reach a compromise on rules for CIA interrogations of suspected terrorists. Neither the president's national security aides nor some of the lawmakers who are resisting White House pressure would say how they can reconcile their deep differences after a week of public sparring. As a result, it is unclear if Congress quickly can pass legislation authorizing aggressive methods against terrorist detainees, as President Bush wants. Congress is likely to adjourn in two weeks for the fall elections. Bush says CIA personnel should be able to resume tough interrogation techniques to extract information from detainees. Several senators from his own party are standing in the way, seeking changes. They say the United States must adhere strictly to international standards in the Geneva Conventions and that setting harsher ones could put U.S. troops at risk if they are captured. "We have to hold the moral high ground," said Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) of Arizona, one of the Republicans not satisfied with the White House proposal. "We don't think al-Qaida will ever observe those conventions, but we're going to be in other wars." McCain elaborated later Sunday at a reception in Concord, N.H., warning against breaking with provisions of the Geneva Conventions that protect wartime prisoners. "That's what we do not want, because Americans would be setting the precedent for changing a treaty that has been untouched by any nation for 57 years," he said. A Supreme Court ruling in June essentially said the Geneva Conventions should apply to suspected terrorists in CIA custody. The decision froze the interrogations and eventually led the administration to turn over the last 14 prisoners in CIA custody to the military officials running a prison for detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Bush's national intelligence director, John Negroponte, said the interrogation program has had "precious little activity of that kind for a number of months now" because of questions about its legality. But, he said, it is important that the program continue. "It's provided invaluable information that has saved lives of Americans, and significant plots against our homeland have been disrupted as a result. And, surely, there is a way of finding a way forward that would permit this program to continue and, at the same time, do it in a way that is both respectful of our law and Constitution and our international obligations," Negroponte said. But, he added, "I think we're going to have to wait and see" if a compromise can be reached with McCain and others. McCain said he is committed to a deal. "I still believe that we'll be able to work this out to the satisfaction of everybody concerned," the senator said. The White House says the existing ban on "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" satisfies U.S. treaty obligations. The senators' bill is silent on the issue. Bush's proposal allows evidence to be held from a defendant if it is classified and allows coerced testimony if deemed reliable. The Senate bill requires a judge to dismiss charges if evidence cannot be shared. It also excludes any testimony obtained by cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. "If it's seen that our country is trying to redefine the Geneva Convention to meet the needs of the CIA, why can't every other country redefine the Geneva Convention to meet the needs of their secret police?" said Sen. Lindsey Graham (news, bio, voting record), R-S.C., another opponent of Bush's plan. "It would be a disaster." Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, declined to say what specific techniques, such as waterboarding or prolonged sleep deprivation, would be illegal if Congress did not pass Bush's proposal. But he said the CIA program would suffer and be shut down if interrogators do not have guidance. He said the White House is working on a compromise that "achieves Senator McCain's requirement that we don't amend or change" the Geneva Conventions. "We need to find a way through that obstacle course, and I think we can," Hadley said. Sen. Carl Levin (news, bio, voting record), D-Mich., said he was not certain a compromise was possible. "I don't see a way unless the president gives up on his idea that we're going to unilaterally modify Geneva," Levin said. Also Sunday, 34 relatives of Sept. 11 victims released the text of a letter they had sent to senators asking them to fight Bush's proposal. The family members said they do not believe "that it is in the interest of the United States to create a system of military courts that violate basic notions of due process and lack truly independent judicial oversight. "Not only does this violate our most cherished values and send the wrong message to the world, it also runs the risk that the system will again be struck down, resulting in even more delay" in prosecuting terrorists, the relatives wrote. Hadley appeared on ABC's "This Week," CBS' "Face the Nation" and CNN's "Late Edition." Negroponte was on "Fox News Sunday," McCain on ABC and Graham and Levin on CBS. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060917/ap_on_...m&printer=1

A pathologist who gained fame as a critic of the government's probe into John F. Kennedy's assassination and a consultant in Elvis Presley's death performed a second autopsy Sunday on the son of Anna Nicole Smith. Cyril Wecht, a forensic pathologist from Pittsburgh said before the exam he would retrace the procedures of the local coroner's office, which labeled the 20-year-old's death "suspicious" because the cause was unclear. "It's a simple examination," he said. "And even though it's the second (autopsy), it's basically the same." Wecht was accompanied by Smith's Bahamian lawyer, Michael Scott, who told reporters the TV star had ordered the follow-up autopsy to end "media speculation surrounding the matter." He said he could not say when a cause of death would be issued from Wecht's autopsy. "It could take weeks to get a definitive and final answer to that," Scott said. Daniel Wayne Smith died Sept. 10 in a hospital room where the reality TV star and former Playboy model was recuperating from giving birth three days earlier. Investigators have said they did not find evidence of drugs in the room or obvious signs of a crime. Bahamian pathologists performed an autopsy Tuesday and ordered further analysis, including a toxicology test to be completed this week. Wecht, 75, is facing trial on charges he used his staff when he was the Allegheny County coroner to do work for his multimillion-dollar private pathology practice. He resigned from office in January and contends he did nothing wrong. Wecht, who holds both law and medical degrees, received international prominence as a critic of the Warren Commission's single-gunman theory of John F. Kennedy's assassination. He has also worked as a consultant on cases such as Presley's death and the slayings of Laci Peterson and JonBenet Ramsey. He is regularly interviewed on television about high-profile cases. Head coroner Linda Virgill said it was not unusual for families to ask for an independent examination. Reginald Ferguson, assistant commissioner of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, has said that although there were no obvious signs of criminal wrongdoing in the death, it was too early to draw conclusions. An inquest is scheduled to begin Oct. 23. Smith, 38, who came to the Bahamas during her pregnancy to avoid media scrutiny, is free to leave the Caribbean island chain, authorities have said. Daniel Smith, who appeared several times on the E! reality series "The Anna Nicole Show," was the son of Anna Nicole and Bill Smith, who married in 1985 and divorced two years later. The identity of the father of her newborn daughter has not been publicly released. Smith married Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II in 1994, when she was 26 and he was 89. He died the following year and she has since been involved in legal disputes over the estate. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060917/ap_en_...n&printer=1

A mother whose throat was slashed and newborn baby kidnapped was released from the hospital Sunday as authorities said they found a knife on property near her home. A woman came to 21-year-old Stephanie Ochsenbine's home in the town of Lonedell on Friday, attacked her with a knife and left with her week-old infant, Abigale Lynn Woods, officials said. Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke said authorities found a knife and other evidence near Ochsenbine's home, but would not give more details. Heavy rain Sunday forced postponement of a search for more evidence. Ochsenbine is not a suspect, Toelke said. The attacker was described as a white woman with black hair, 5-feet-8 and 200 pounds. She was believed to be armed. Ochsenbine helped police artists with a composite drawing of the kidnapper after leaving the hospital. The picture could be released Sunday, Toelke said. Fliers showing the baby, called "Abby" by her family, were posted in gas stations and restaurants in neighboring Union. The 6-pound girl, born Sept. 8, has dark brown hair, dark eyes and a strawberry birthmark on her forehead. People in the area, about 45 miles southwest of St. Louis, attended prayer services Sunday for Abby's safe return. Search dogs, Franklin County deputies, FBI agents and several Missouri National Guard members combed the area around the home for clues over the weekend. Callers continued to offer tips, Toelke said, but none led to a suspect. "Any lead is good, but so far there's nothing that has stood out," he said. "There's a lot of information we have, but nothing concrete." Ochsenbine told police she did not know the woman who came to her door Friday and entered the house after asking to use the telephone. Ochsenbine's 1-year-old son, Connor, also was in the house but was unharmed. Ochsenbine's boyfriend and Abby's father, James Woods, was at work. Authorities have asked hospitals and doctors to be on the lookout for anyone bringing in a newborn. The abductor has been profiled as someone who had a child die recently or as someone who could not have children, told people she was pregnant and needed to steal a child so her lie would not be found out. From 1983 to 2002, there were 217 reported cases of non-family infant abductions, and all but a few babies were recovered safely within 25 miles of where they had been taken, according to a 2003 study by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. About three-quarters of the kidnapped infants were recovered in fewer than five days. "We're hopeful that's the case," Toelke said. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060917/ap_on_...d&printer=1

Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday that he is "deeply sorry" his remarks on Islam and violence offended Muslims, but the unusual expression of papal regret drew a mixed reaction from Islamic leaders as the Vatican worried about a backlash of violence. Some Muslim leaders accepted the statement. Others said it wasn't enough, but urged Muslims to avoid violence after attacks on churches in Palestinian areas and the slaying of a nun in Somalia. Benedict said he regretted causing offense with his speech last week in Germany, particularly his quoting of a medieval text that characterized some of the teachings of Islam's founder as "evil and inhuman" and referred to spreading Islam "by the sword." He said those words did not reflect his own opinions. "I hope that this serves to appease hearts and to clarify the true meaning of my address, which in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with great mutual respect," the pope said during his weekly Sunday appearance before pilgrims. It was an unusual step for a leader of the Roman Catholic Church. Benedict's predecessor, Pope John Paul II, issued a number of apologies during his papacy, but they dealt with abuses and other missteps by the church in the past rather than errors on his own part. Vatican officials had earlier sought to placate spreading Muslim anger by saying Benedict held Islam in high esteem and stressed that the central thrust of his speech was to condemn the use of any religious motivation for violence, whatever the religion. While Benedict expressed regret his speech caused hurt, he did not retract what he said or say he was sorry he uttered what proved to be explosive words. Anger was still intense in Muslim lands. Two churches were set on fire in the West Bank, raising to at least seven the number of church attacks in Palestinian areas over the weekend blamed on outrage sparked by the speech. There was also concern that the furor was behind the shooting death of an Italian missionary nun at the hospital where she worked for years in the Horn of Africa nation of Somalia. The killing came just hours after a Somali cleric condemned the pope's speech. "Let's hope that it will be an isolated fact," the Rev. Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, was quoted as saying by the Italian news agency ANSA. He said the Vatican was "following with concern the consequences of this wave of hate, hoping that it does not lead to grave consequences for the church in the world." Police across Italy were ordered to step up security out of concern that the anger could cause Roman Catholic sites to become terrorist targets. Police outside the pope's summer palace confiscated metal-tipped umbrellas and bottles of liquids from faithful. Benedict's expression of sorrow for the offense he caused satisfied some Islamic leaders. The head of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, a banned group but still the largest Islamic movement in that country, said the outrage was justified but predicted it would subside quickly. "Our relations with Christians should remain good, civilized and cooperative," Mohammed Mahdi Akef told The Associated Press in Cairo. Germany's Central Council of Muslims welcomed the pope's comments Sunday as "the most important step to calm the protest" and urged the Vatican to seek discussion with Muslim representatives to avoid lasting damage. But others were still demanding an apology for the words, including in Turkey, where questions have been raised about whether Benedict should go ahead with a visit scheduled for November as the first trip of his papacy to a Muslim nation. "It is very saddening. The Islamic world is expecting an explanation from the pope himself," Turkish State Minister Mehmet Aydin told reporters in Istanbul. "You either have to say this 'I'm sorry' in a proper way or not say it at all. Are you sorry for saying such a thing or because of its consequences?" Turkish Education Minister Huseyin Celik voiced similar concern. "It is different to be sorry and to apologize," he said. Mohammad al-Nujemi, a professor at the Institute of Judicial and Islamic Studies in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, expressed dismay at what he called Benedict "evading apology." "His statements might give terrorists and al-Qaida followers legitimacy that there is really an attempt to hurt Muslims," al-Nujemi told Al-Arabiya television. In Damascus, Syria, lawmaker Mohammad Habash said the pope offered a "clarification and not (an) apology." But Habash also called for "calm and dialogue." Hundreds of Iranians demonstrated against the pope in cities across Iran. In Qom, the religious capital of Iran's 70 million Shiite Muslims, hard-line cleric Ahmad Khatami said the pope and President Bush were "united in order to repeat the Crusades." The uproar is one of the biggest crises involving the Vatican in decades, and the Holy See has moved quickly in trying to defuse anger. On Sunday, in an unusual step, the Vatican's press office rushed out translations in English and French of the pope's remarks. Typically, the Vatican doesn't translate the pope's Sunday remarks, which are delivered in Italian. Both sides have much to gain by good relations. The Vatican and Muslims have shared stands in opposition of abortion. The Holy See, under Benedict's predecessor, John Paul II, vigorously lobbied against the Iraq war, and Benedict made numerous appeals to Israel to use restraint in its recent military campaign against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon. Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier urged world religious leaders to show "responsibility and restraint" to avoid what he called "extremes" in relations between faiths. ___ Associated Press writers Victor L. Simpson in Vatican City, Nadia Abou el-Magd in Cairo, Egypt, Selcan Hacaoglu in Ankara, Turkey, Stephen Graham in Berlin, Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, and Veronika Oleksyn in Vienna, Austria, contributed to this report. http://helionet.org/index/index.php?act=po...w_post&f=16

Pope Benedict said on Sunday he was deeply sorry Muslims had been offended by his use of a medieval quotation on Islam and violence, but failed to quell the fury of some Islamic groups demanding a full apology. The head of the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics, whose comments on Tuesday sparked worldwide Muslim anger because they were seen as portraying Islam as a religion tainted by violence, said the quotation did not represent his personal views. "In Hamas we do not view the statement attributed to the Pope as an apology," said Sami Abu Zuhri, spokesman for the militant group which controls the Palestinian government. Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, the main opposition force, initially said the Pope made a "sufficient apology." But deputy leader Mohammed Habib said later: "It does not rise to the level of a clear apology and ... we're calling on the Pope to issue a clear apology that will decisively end any confusion." Before the Pope spoke and mollified some Muslims, there were attacks on churches in the West Bank and a protest in Iran. In Somalia, an Italian nun was killed in an attack one Islamist source said could be linked to the dispute. "I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the University of Regensburg, which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims," the Pope told pilgrims at his Castelgandolfo summer residence. "These in fact were a quotation from a medieval text, which do not in any way express my personal thought," he said at his weekly Angelus prayer. "I hope this serves to appease hearts and to clarify the true meaning of my address, which in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with mutual respect." The German-born Pope, elected in April last year, was interrupted by applause from the pilgrims at Castelgandolfo, in the hills outside Rome. The 79-year-old pontiff spoke after a Vatican statement on Saturday attempted to clarify the meaning of the academic speech he made in Germany on Tuesday. MUSLIM DISMAY The heads of Muslim countries had expressed dismay at what they saw as an offensive comment and religious leaders had called it the start of a new Christian crusade against Islam. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi hoped the death of a nun working at a Mogadishu children's hospital was "an isolated event." The nun's order said there was no evidence to suspect it was related to the Pope's speech last Tuesday. In the speech, the Pope, a former theology professor and enforcer of Vatican dogma, referred to criticism of the Prophet Mohammad by 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus. The emperor said everything the Prophet Mohammad brought was evil "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and politicians in Italy rushed to Benedict's defense, saying he had been misunderstood and had really being making an appeal for dialogue. But angry Muslim leaders flung what they saw as allegations of violence back at the West, referring to the medieval crusades against Islam and to the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which have fanned the flames of Muslim resentment. In Iran, about 500 theological school students protested in the holy city of Qom and hardline cleric Ahmad Khatami said that if the Pope did not apologize, "Muslims' outcry will continue until he fully regrets his remarks." One al Qaeda umbrella group in Iraq, the Mujahideen Shura Council, threatened in an unauthenticated Internet statement to "break the cross and spill the wine" in revenge, referring to Christian symbols and sacraments. Some Muslims welcomed the Pope's statement he was sorry. The Muslim Council of Britain said it was "exactly the reassurance many Muslims were looking for." The head of Turkey's religious affairs directorate welcomed the statement from the Vatican on Saturday. Ali Bardakoglu had previously called the Pope's comments "extremely regrettable." Questions had been raised on whether a papal visit to Turkey in November could go ahead, but the government, while calling his remarks "ugly," said there were no plans to call it off. The Catholic Church has officially encouraged dialogue with Islam and other non-Christian faiths since the Second Vatican Council that ended in 1965. Benedict has sought dialogue with Islam but he also stresses Europe's Christian roots and, before elected, said he opposed mainly Muslim Turkey joining the European Union.

I am from British Columbia.

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English is the best, it's the Universal Language

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's election looked set to go down to the wire on Sunday, with television projections giving a center-right alliance vowing to trim the welfare state a razor thin lead over the ruling Social Democrats. Swedish public television station SVT forecast a win for the opposition bloc led by Fredrik Reinfeldt and his Moderate Party over Social Democrat Prime Minister Goran Persson and his allies, but the difference was extremely narrow. In a projection based on results counted so far, SVT gave the center-right support of 47.3 percent while Persson and his allies in the Left Party and the Green Party had 47.0 percent. An earlier exit poll from SVT estimated won 49.7 percent of votes, with 45.6 percent going to the Social Democrat bloc. TV4 channel projections put the center-right alliance on 48.6 percent and Social Democrats' bloc on 46.7 percent. The center-right alliance has vowed to trim but not radically change the welfare system by cutting taxes and costly benefits after signs of voter fatigue with the Social Democrats, in power since 1994 and for six of the last seven decades. "I think we felt we did right (in the campaign) and it is fantastic to get this result," said Beatrice Ask, a parliamentary deputy and former Moderate Party minister. The election was closely watched by governments of other European countries facing the need of welfare reform because of aging populations and creaking pension and healthcare systems. Despite Sweden's strong economic performance under the Social Democrats, opinion polls before the vote had shown many voters favored change in the Scandinavian country of just over 9 million people, which is a European Union member. STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's election looked set to go down to the wire on Sunday, with television projections giving a center-right alliance vowing to trim the welfare state a razor thin lead over the ruling Social Democrats. Swedish public television station SVT forecast a win for the opposition bloc led by Fredrik Reinfeldt and his Moderate Party over Social Democrat Prime Minister Goran Persson and his allies, but the difference was extremely narrow. In a projection based on results counted so far, SVT gave the center-right support of 47.3 percent while Persson and his allies in the Left Party and the Green Party had 47.0 percent. An earlier exit poll from SVT estimated won 49.7 percent of votes, with 45.6 percent going to the Social Democrat bloc. TV4 channel projections put the center-right alliance on 48.6 percent and Social Democrats' bloc on 46.7 percent. The center-right alliance has vowed to trim but not radically change the welfare system by cutting taxes and costly benefits after signs of voter fatigue with the Social Democrats, in power since 1994 and for six of the last seven decades. "I think we felt we did right (in the campaign) and it is fantastic to get this result," said Beatrice Ask, a parliamentary deputy and former Moderate Party minister. The election was closely watched by governments of other European countries facing the need of welfare reform because of aging populations and creaking pension and healthcare systems. Despite Sweden's strong economic performance under the Social Democrats, opinion polls before the vote had shown many voters favored change in the Scandinavian country of just over 9 million people, which is a European Union member. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her conservative-Social Democrat coalition have been trying to fix a troubled healthcare system, cut corporate taxes and tweak jobless benefits. In Britain, British Prime Minister Tony Blair has reformed the pension system, while neighboring Denmark has cut taxes and launched more flexible labor market rules. Reinfeldt intends to sell off some 200 billion Swedish crowns ($27.6 billion) worth of state-owned shares in listed companies over four years. His privatization push could include government holdings in bank Nordea, telecoms company TeliaSonera and airline SAS. Reinfeldt favours NATO entry, if there is broad agreement on the issue. He wants Sweden more involved in the EU but has no plans to hold a referendum on the euro currency in the next four years. Swedes rejected adopting the euro in 2003. http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews....C1-ArticlePage3

What is your religion

An Italian nun has been shot dead in a hospital in the Somalian capital, Mogadishu, witnesses and medical workers say. Gunmen entered the SOS Hospital in southern Mogadishu's Huriwa district and opened fire on the nun before escaping in the ensuing confusion, witnesses said. "After serious injuries, she died in the hospital treatment room. She was shot three times in the back," said Dr Ali Mohamed Hassan, a physician at the hospital. The nun, believed to be in her 70s, was one of the longest-serving foreign members of the Catholic church in Somalia, officials told AFP news agency. Unconfirmed reports said the nun's bodyguard had also been killed. Yusuf Mohamed Siad, head of security with the Islamic courts who control Mogadishu, told AP news agency that the group had arrested two people, but did not give further details. Pope anger A Vatican spokesman called the killing "a horrible episode" and said it hoped that the incident would be "an isolated fact". The killing comes as anger has risen among members of the country's popular Islamist movement over comments made by Pope Benedict that were deemed insulting to Islam. On Friday, a prominent hardline Mogadishu cleric called for Muslims to "hunt down" and kill the pope for his remarks. "Whoever offends our Prophet Mohammed should be killed on the spot by the nearest Muslim," said Sheikh Abubukar Hassan Malin during Friday prayers. Somalia, a Horn of Africa nation of some 10 million mainly moderate Muslims has been wracked by instability for the past 16 years and has recently seen the rise of fundamentalist Islamists, who seized the capital in June. http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8A3...D716EE03310.htm

MIAMI, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- Hurricane Helene strengthened into a Category 2 storm Sunday, but was in the open Atlantic hundreds of miles from land, forecasters said. At 11 a.m. EDT, the storm had maximum sustained winds near 105 mph and was centered about 935 miles east-northeast of the northern Leeward Islands, moving northwest at 10 mph, the National Hurricane Center in Miami reported. The season's fourth hurricane could strengthen further, the center said. Hurricane Gordon refused to weaken and picked up speed Sunday, but it too was hundreds of miles from land. Gordon had top sustained winds near 80 mph, up slightly from earlier Sunday. Its ragged eye was centered about 1,495 miles west of the Azores and was moving north around 10 mph, significantly faster than its speed of 3 mph Saturday. The hurricane center said it expected Gordon's speed to continue to increase. http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?Stor...17-113731-9327r

A radical Muslim group threatened a suicide attack on the Vatican yesterday even as the Holy See said Pope Benedict regretted that some Muslims were offended by his comments about the role of violence in the spread of Islam. The pontiff "sincerely regrets that certain passages of his address could have sounded offensive to the sensitivities of the Muslim faithful, and should have been interpreted in a manner that in no way corresponds to his intentions," Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said in a statement. But the Pope's apology by proxy was not enough to quell a string of attacks against Christian churches on the West Bank and in Gaza. And Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood demanded a direct mea culpa from the head of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics. Mohammed Bishr, a senior Muslim Brotherhood member, said the statement "was not an apology" but a "pretext that the Pope was quoting somebody else as saying so and so." "We need the Pope to admit the big mistake he has committed and then agree on apologizing, because we will not accept others to apologize on his behalf," Bishr said. An Iraqi insurgent group threatened the Vatican with a suicide attack over the Pope's remarks, according to a statement posted yesterday on the Web. "We swear to God to send you people who adore death as much as you adore life," said the message posted in the name of the Mujahedeen Army on a Web site frequently used by militant groups. The message's authenticity could not be independently verified. The statement was addressed to "you dog of Rome" and threatens to "shake your thrones and break your crosses in your home." Protests prompted several leaders in Muslim-majority nations to speak out yesterday or lodge objections through diplomatic channels. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Benedict should withdraw his "ugly and unfortunate" comments. Morocco's King Mohammed recalled his Vatican ambassador for consultations, while Yemen's president denounced the pontiff. Benedict sparked the outrage when he gave a speech last week in which he quoted the criticism of the Prophet Muhammed by 14th-century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who said everything Muhammed brought was "evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/453307p-381401c.html

1532

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1528

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