Free Republic

SEPANG: The special meeting or muzakarah of the National Fatwa Council has decided not to put a ban on the "poco-poco" dance among Muslims in the country as long as it is practised according to the stipulated regulations. The National Fatwa Council would remain respectful of the decision made by the Perak Fatwa Council to ban the dance in the state as their research showed that it had elements of Christianity and soul worshipping. National Fatwa Council chairman Tan Sri Dr Abdul Shukor Husin said the regulations referred to the guidelines issued by the council in 2007, which reminded the...

(AP) — AKRON, Ohio - Standing on brown earth on a flat field hundreds of yards from the nearest road, Don Carey is surrounded by tiny plants. He walks along a three-quarter-acre plot in a desolate spot in this rural township in northeastern Portage County and looks at the thousands of tobacco plants he is growing. Carey, 49, decided in April, when federal taxes on tobacco skyrocketed, to grow his own.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The central issue in the legal battle over Proposition 8 is whether the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage is a state constitutional amendment, which can be passed by initiative, or a constitutional revision, which can't. .. the question is whether the scope of a minority group's rights in California should be decided by the voters or the courts. The state Supreme Court may decide today whether to dismiss or grant review of six lawsuits challenging Prop. 8, approved with a 52 percent majority on Nov. 4. It's the same court that ruled 4-3 on May 15 that...

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia, one of the most authoritative voices in Congress on the military and a key figure in the debate over Iraq, said Friday he will not seek a sixth term in 2008. Warner, 80, has held the seat since 1978, when the dashing former Navy secretary campaigned alongside his wife at the time, Elizabeth Taylor. His retirement offers Democrats a valuable opportunity to challenge the GOP for the seat and possibly expand their one-vote Senate majority. "Public service is a privilege and I urge all to try to find time some time...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - President Gen. Pervez Musharraf on Thursday decided against declaring a state of emergency in Pakistan and will press ahead with plans to hold elections, a government minister said. Pakistani media have been reporting that the military leader would impose a state of emergency to deal with rising violence and political instability — a move that a senior government official confirmed was under consideration. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz acknowledged that he had discussed the possibility of a state of an emergency with Musharraf — who also met with legal experts, security officials and officials from the ruling party....

NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, April 27, 2006 – The presiding officer in the military commissions case of a suspected Algerian terrorist here yesterday denied a defense motion to move the detainee back to a medium-security facility from the maximum-security facility he was moved to a month ago. Navy Capt. Daniel O'Toole ruled that the movement of Sufyian Barhoumi was not done as punishment, but was part of a larger plan to reorganize the entire prison camp and was done for the safety and security of the detainee. Barhoumi, who is accused of being an explosives trainer for al Qaeda,...

President Bush's point man in California, Rancho Santa Fe investor Gerald Parsky, yesterday shot down his own trial balloon that he might run for governor next year if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't. "I have no intention to run for any public office, even if Schwarzenegger doesn't run for re-election," Parsky, chairman of the University of California Board of Regents, said in an interview yesterday. Last week, California Republican Party activist Dora Kingley made a scouting trip to Washington to talk up a Parsky candidacy as a fallback position. Schwarzenegger, who was elected governor in the 2003 recall election of Democrat...

United Nations News Service-With Iraq’s 12,000-page declaration on its arms programme having arrived at United Nations Headquarters in New York, the Security Council Presidency has decided to release the document to those members with the expertise to assess the risks of proliferation and other sensitive information in a bid to jumpstart the review of the text. In a press statement released late Sunday night, the Council Presidency – currently held by Colombia – said the review will be conducted in close coordination and consultation with the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspections Commission (UNMOVIC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency...