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A Hong Kong decency watchdog had been flooded with obscenity complaints about the Bible. The Television and Entertainments Licensing Authority (TELA), which oversees the publishing industry, said it had received 208 complaints that text within the holy book was indecent. "I can confirm that the complaints were received," said a TELA spokeswoman. "The thrust of the complaints was that the Bible was obscene, that different parts of the Bible were offensive to readers." TELA refused to divulge details of the complaints, but local media reported that they referred to acts of violence, rape and cannibalism reputedly contained in the Old...

Enrique Sanchez, 15, is charged with aggravated arson. CALDWELL - A preliminary hearing is set for a Vallivue student accused of lighting his classmate on fire today. Prosecutors say Enrique Sanchez faced two other criminal charges - battery a few years ago and a more recent DUI. The latest charge - aggravated arson – is a felony.

former Kmart employee was arrested and accused of putting rat poison in packages of ground beef at one of its stores last week, authorities said. Officials said nobody bought the three packages of tainted meat.Karen Wyndham, 45, of Cottageville, S.C., was charged with tampering with consumer products, according to the FBI. She was arrested Monday and released on a personal recognizance bond after appearing in court. The Kmart where Wyndham worked took all packaged meat off its shelves after an employee conducting a routine inspection found that three packages had been tampered with, The Post and Courier of Charleston reported...

The former commander of Iraq's Republican Guard has accused the US of using non-conventional weapons in its war against the Middle East country. Saifeddin Fulayh Hassan Taha al-Rawi told Al Jazeera that US forces used neutron and phosphorus bombs during their assault on Baghdad airport before the April 9 capture of the Iraqi capital. Al-Rawi is one of the most wanted associates of Saddam Hussein, the deposed Iraqi leader, still on the run. "The enemy used neutron and phosphorus weapons against Baghdad airport... there were bodies burnt to their bones," he said.

BOGOTA, Colombia - Interpol issued an international arrest warrant Tuesday for three Israelis accused of training private armies of Colombian drug cartels and right-wing death squads, authorities said. Yair Klein, Melnik Ferri and Tzedaka Abraham were being sought on charges of criminal conspiracy and instruction in terrorism, said Oscar Galvis, spokesman for Colombia's domestic intelligence agency. The men, who face nearly 11 years in prison if convicted, are accused of helping set up training camps to teach private armies working for drug lords about explosives and high-profile killings. The armies later grew into Colombia's right-wing death squads. Klein, a former...

NEW YORK - It's a tabloid writer's dream. There's a boastful pimp, a federal prosecutor turned tough-talking defense lawyer and a drop-dead gorgeous woman once touted as New York City's top prostitute. Their lives converge at a spacious Manhattan loft that housed a high-priced escort service a mere three blocks from City Hall. "Crime. Sex. Unforgettable people doing unforgettable things," said Barry Agulnick, lawyer for Jason Itzler, the pimp. "This case probably has more of the Hollywood element than any other I've had. It's got a show biz aura to it." The case took an intriguing turn this week when...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Sunni politicians accused Shiite lawmakers Thursday of using dirty tricks to push through a new law on federalism, a landmark measure that will transform Iraq by allowing Shiites to form a self-rule mini-state in the south. The dispute reflects the controversy over federalism, which leaders of Iraq's majority Shiites support but which Sunnis deeply oppose, fearing it will tear the country to pieces and fuel sectarian violence. The passage of the bill has deepened feelings among some Sunni Arabs that their voices are being ignored in the political process, where Shiite parties dominate the government and parliament....

LOS ANGELES A retired police sergeant and former television reporter was arrested after returning from a cruise because of allegations that he committed a crime on board, authorities said. Roderick "Rod" Bernsen was expected to appear in court on Tuesday, said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller. He was being held without bail at Long Beach City Jail. Details about the alleged crime were not immediately released. Eimiller said a criminal complaint would be filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court. Bernsen, 58, was KTTV-TV's law enforcement specialist until he left the station in 2004. His broadcasting career followed service in the Los...

Police accused of 'cowardly failure' to prosecute militant By Roya Nikkhah and Adam Lusher (Filed: 24/09/2006) The police were accused yesterday of being "cowed by lunatics" amid anger at the failure to prosecute a Muslim militant who praised the July 7 bombers. Abu Izzadeen, the extremist who branded John Reid, the Home Secretary, an "enemy of Muslims and Islam" last week, has yet to face charges more than a year after police began investigating him for alleged incitement to murder. Abu Izzadeen: 'The real terrorist is Tony Blair' Mr Izzadeen was removed by security guards after he screamed abuse at...

FRESNO, Calif. - A California man accused of trying to supply stolen U.S. military equipment and defense secrets to Yemen was denied bail Friday after a prosecutor said he had ties to a terrorist financier who plotted to help al-Qaida and Hamas. The allegations emerged at a hearing for Amen Ahmed Ali, 56. Defense attorney David A. Torres said his client was surprised by the charges. "But he's also strong. He looks forward to his day in court," Torres said. In pressing to keep Ali behind bars, prosecutors said that a search of Ali's house turned up contact information for...

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - The government will not seek the death penalty for a Marine Corps corporal who is among eight troops charged with murder and other crimes in the shooting of a civilian Iraqi man, a military prosecutor told a hearing officer Tuesday. Lance Cpl. Jerry E. Shumate Jr., 21, is accused in the killing of 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad last April in Hamdania, west of Baghdad. Shumate is suspected of firing his M-16 at Awad, then lying to investigators about what had happened, according to charging documents. Military prosecutor Lt. Col. John Baker's recommendation against a possible death...

US accused of covert operations in Somalia Emails suggest that the CIA knew of plans by private military companies to breach UN rules Antony Barnett and Patrick Smith Sunday September 10, 2006 The Observer (UK) Dramatic evidence that America is involved in illegal mercenary operations in east Africa has emerged in a string of confidential emails seen by The Observer. The leaked communications between US private military companies suggest the CIA had knowledge of the plans to run covert military operations inside Somalia - against UN rulings - and they hint at involvement of British security firms. The emails, dated...

BAGHDAD, Iraq A U-S Army investigator in Iraq is recommending that four American soldiers face a court-martial. The soldiers are accused in the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl and the killing of her family. Military prosecutors allege the four soldiers also set the girl's body on fire to hide their crime. Colonel Dwight Warren, the investigator, says in a report that "reasonable grounds exist" for the case to go forward. The report was obtained by The Associated Press from the lawyer of one of the defendants. The soldiers, from the 101st Airborne Division, could potentially face the death...

As the Roman Catholic Church struggles to repair itself and its image in the wake of the sex abuse scandals, one of the more confounding questions church leaders face is what to do with priests accused of abuse. Some priests whose crimes fell within statutes of limitation are in jail. Some have been defrocked. But others — because they are elderly, because of the nature of their offenses, or because they have had some success fighting the charges — cannot be defrocked under canon law. These priests occupy a sort of shadow world, stripped of most duties but still financially...

PHOENIX - An Army investigator has recommended the death penalty for four soldiers accused of murder during a raid in Iraq. Lt. Col. James P. Daniel Jr. made the recommendation in report obtained Saturday by The Associated Press. Daniel found several aggravating factors that warrant a sentence of death in the case of four soldiers accused of killing three men during the May raid in the Salahuddin province.

US accused of bid to oust Chávez with secret funds * Millions of dollars given to opposition, claim critics* Venezuelan groups' details hidden from list Duncan Campbell Wednesday August 30, 2006 The Guardian (UK) The Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez. Photograph: Tengku Bahar/AFP/Getty The US government has been accused of trying to undermine the Chávez government in Venezuela by funding anonymous groups via its main international aid agency. Millions of dollars have been provided in a "pro-democracy programme" that Chávez supporters claim is a covert attempt to bankroll an opposition to defeat the government. The money is being provided by the...

LONDON - Amnesty International on Wednesday accused Israel of war crimes, saying it broke international law by deliberately destroying Lebanon's civilian infrastructure during its recent war with Hezbollah guerrillas. The human rights group said initial evidence, including the pattern and scope of the Israeli attacks, number of civilian casualties, widespread damage and statements by Israeli officials "indicate that such destruction was deliberate and part of a military strategy, rather than 'collateral damage.'" Amnesty International, whose delegates monitored the fighting in both Israel and Lebanon, said Israel violated international laws banning direct attacks on civilians and barring indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks....

The federal government may seek the death penalty for the accused kingpin of one of Mexico's oldest and most notorious drug cartels, a prosecutor said Monday. Francisco Javier Arellano Felix, 36, did not seek bail during his second court appearance in five days. He pleaded not guilty last week to racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to import and distribute controlled substances and money laundering. Laura Duffy, an assistant U.S. attorney, said the government may seek new charges against Arellano Felix that would allow for the death penalty or life in prison if he is convicted. She did not elaborate on the...

The military justice system is largely unknown to the American public. Other than an occasional, and usually inaccurate, depiction of a court-martial or other military proceeding on a TV show or movie, most people do not have an understanding of or appreciation for the military justice system. This is not surprising, since relatively few Americans have contact with the military, let alone the military justice system. By any measure, the military justice system compares very favorably to any civilian justice system. The cornerstone of the military justice system is the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Congressionally enacted after World War...

Inside the Islamic group accused by MI5 and FBI Paul Lewis Saturday August 19, 2006 The Guardian (UK) Thousands of young Muslim men are attending meetings in east London every week run by a fundamentalist Islamic movement believed by western intelligence agencies to be used as a fertile recruiting ground by extremists. Tablighi Jamaat, whose activities are being monitored by the security services, holds the tightly guarded meetings on an industrial estate close to the area where some of the suspects in last week's terror raids were arrested. This week it emerged that at least seven of the 23 suspects...