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TEL AVIV — Israel has signaled the U.S. and other allies that air operations to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities are not imminent. Israeli leaders have sent messages to several Western countries that ruled out an attack on Teheran in 2008. Israel told the governments of Britain, France and the United States that the Jewish state would allow for yet another diplomatic effort to halt Iran's uranium enrichment program. "There has been alarm in some capitals that Israel will attack Iran over the next few months or even weeks," an Israeli official said. The official said the government of Israeli Prime...

African inflation could cause "humanitarian tsunami" Brussels Tue Apr 8, 10:02 AM ETAFP/File Photo: People shop for groceries at a supermarket in the Borrowdale Brooke suburb in Harare. Soaring... BRUSSELS (AFP) - Soaring prices of basic foodstuffs could cause a "humanitarian tsunami" in Africa, EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel warned Tuesday. "A world food crisis is emerging, less visible than the oil (price) crisis, but with the potential effect of real economic and humanitarian tsunami in Africa," Michel said in a statement after a meeting with African Union Commission chief Jean Ping. Ping said the soaring prices represented a "major...

But for those Mexicans unceremoniously returned home — those deported and dropped off by U.S. immigration in Mexican border towns such as Nogales, Tijuana and Juárez — there is no such welcome. "The poor undocumented guy who gets sent back is seen as a burden on the government," said Erica Dahl-Bredine, country manager for Catholic Relief Services' Mexico program in Tucson, Ariz. "Those who have documents are seen as the heroes." While the Mexican government is taking small steps in response to growing criticism that it ignores Mexicans deported from the U.S. — unveiling a test program in Tijuana last...

Native American Skull Found at Malibu Construction Site• State Native American Heritage Commission Initiates Process for Handling Find • BY ANNE SOBLE A human skull unearthed at a construction site in the Paradise Cove mobile home park has been officially declared a prehistoric Native American find, and the wheels have been put in motion for the remains to be handled in accord with state law. Workers preparing the foundation for a new mobile home in the beachside complex discovered the skull during routine digging Monday at about 4 p.m. and contacted the sheriff’s department. Capt. Ed Winter of the Operations...

They're calling her Lucky. A female pit bull who was brought to the Atlanta Humane Society Wednesday morning with a hunting knife stuck in its head has pulled through surgery just fine. "I was just petting her 15 minutes ago," AHS president Carl E. Leveridge said Wednesday afternoon. "Her little tail was wagging. I was amazed. " The organization doesn't know much about the dog, only that it was brought in from a local veterinarian's office. The owner reported he discovered the dog injured Wednesday morning, according to information the AHS was provided. Leveridge said he'd tried without luck to...

Despite being sentenced for 45 days in county jail for violating her probation, socialite Paris Hilton is expected to spend three weeks -- and perhaps less -- behind bars, L.A. County sheriff's officials told The Times today. Until now, officials have said they believed Hilton would serve the entire jail term ordered last week by Superior Court Michael T. Sauer after Hilton repeatedly drove her car while her license was suspended because of a DUI plea. Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore said Hilton's sentence could be cut nearly in half by state law allowing for credit for time served for...

Republicans' Cheney Problem By Bruce Bartlett It is becoming increasingly clear that the Republican Party has a huge problem going into 2008. Usually, it has a clear frontrunner going into the process who is broadly acceptable to most Republicans. But in this election cycle, that is not true. The race is wide open and it is hard to predict who will be left standing when the last primary vote is cast. One thing that can be predicted is that a great many Republicans will be dissatisfied with their party's presidential nominee. It won't matter who among those currently running ends...

Five Iranians were detained by a multinational force after an overnight raid on Tehran's diplomatic mission, Iraqi officials said Thursday. At about 3 am local time, troops entered the building in the Kurdish-controlled northern city of Irbil located some 220 miles from Baghdad.

CHICAGO—The debut of a new theme restaurant in suburban Chicago featuring a menu of foods forbidden by Islamic law and waitresses clad in revealing uniforms has sparked an uproar among local Muslims who claim the restaurant is an affront to Islam. The December 27 opening of a Burqa King franchise in Winnetka and the subsequent furor over the establishment’s dining theme has drawn the attention of local Muslim clerics and activists, and aimed a spotlight on former Bush Administration Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Officials with Winnetka Holy Outreach to Counsel and Advise Islamic Religious Sects (WHOCAIRS) announced Wednesday that they...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran's claim to need nuclear power may be genuine, given that it could run out of oil to export as soon as eight years from now, according to an analysis published on Tuesday by the National Academy of Sciences. The study's author, Roger Stern, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, said investment in Iranian oil production had been inadequate to offset oil field declines and the explosive growth in domestic demand. "I'm not saying that Iran will have no oil in eight years," Stern said in a telephone interview. "I'm saying that they will be...

Some Muslims in Baltimore County say lessons involving Islam being taught to seventh- and 10th-graders in public schools are inaccurate. Bash Pharoan, president of the Baltimore chapter of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, says resource sheets, called "Islamic Life," given to seventh-graders studying world cultures and "World Religions" for 10th-graders in world history classes, not only misrepresent Islam, but show disrespect to the prophet Muhammad. For three years, Pharoan says, he has unsuccessfully petitioned the Baltimore County school board to review the way Islam is presented in public school classrooms. Joe Hairston, county school superintendent, said his "teachers do not...

FAYETTEVILLE — A Fayetteville militia member was arrested Wednesday by teams of special agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and other federal and state agencies and local police in connection with illegal firearms. Fayetteville police Lt. Mike Reynolds said 14 search warrants were executed Wednesday in Fort Smith and Fayetteville and one of the warrants was for a lieutenant commander of the Militia of Washington County, Hollis “Wayne” Fincher, of 16085 East Black Oak Road. “We assisted ATF and several other agencies in arresting Fincher. I don’t believe he has a criminal history with us. That’s...

The people who loan money to New York farmers are concerned with recent illegal immigrant crackdowns that have led to a farm labor shortage. Bob Smith is with the Northeast Farm Credit Association. [He] says if the raids continue, New York will lose nine hundred farms and more than 200 thousand acres of farm land in the next two years. One Finger Lakes farmer, who did not want to be identified, tells Finger Lakes News Radio farmers themselves are afraid to complain about the raids for fear they will be targeted nex

Analyst firm Forrester Research has added its voice to YouTube critics who believe it's only a matter of time before the wildly popular video site is faced with a potentially crippling copyright-violation suit from the entertainment industry. In a recent blog posting entitled "YouTube Is Goin' Down," Forrester analyst Josh Bernoff drew parallels between YouTube and Napster, a once popular file-sharing network that went belly-up following a music industry suit that charged the company was building a business illegally by allowing users to trade copyrighted songs. YouTube has grown dramatically over the last couple of years by giving mostly teenagers...

- Iran said Sunday that Western incentives to halt its nuclear program were an "acceptable basis" for talks, and it is ready for detailed negotiations. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice responded that Iran should talk directly to negotiators if it wants to discuss the six-nation proposal. Frustrated world powers agreed Wednesday to send Iran to the U.N. Security Council for possible punishment, saying Tehran had given no sign it would bargain in earnest over its nuclear ambitions. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters in Tehran that, "We consider this package an appropriate basis, an acceptable basis (for talks)."...

A charity run by an extreme-right group in the south of France has caused anger by serving the homeless only pork soup, which Jews and Muslims do not eat. The soup kitchen is set up one night each week in the port of Nice and has drawn numerous protests. The charity has defended offering what it calls traditional cuisine to French and European homeless people. Protesters have denounced the practice as racist but the local authority says it is powerless to intervene. For three weeks the food has been served up at Nice harbour by a group close to a...

<p>Al-Jazeera has broadcast a video in which kidnappers threaten to kill four Christian peace activists unless their demands are met by Dec. 8... Developing...</p>

Judge Apologizes for Muslim Holiday Order Thursday November 3, 2005 7:01 PM LONDON (AP) - A British judge apologized Thursday to a suspected Islamic militant ordered to appear in court for an extradition hearing on one of the Muslim calendar's holiest days. Haroon Rashid Aswat, 31, is accused of trying to set up a terrorist training camp in Oregon, and the U.S. government is seeking his extradition. He appeared in London's Bow Street Magistrate's Court on Thursday for the first day of the hearing. ``It is the most important day of my religion today - Eid,'' Aswat told Judge Timothy...