Free Republic

The well known British actor Ralph Fiennes was verbally assaulted in the southern town of Mostar after mentioning a Croatian general on trial for war crimes. The incident, reported by Bosnian media on Friday, reflects still lingering ethnic and political tensions in the country. During Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war, Bosnian Croats and Bosniaks – although initially allied against Bosnian Serbs – fought a vicious campaign against each other for a year. Mostar was one of the focal points of this clash. Fiennes, who is well known for his roles in movies such as the English Patient and Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List,...

Sniffer dogs may have to start wearing bootees when they are used by police to search Muslim homes so that they do not cause offence, it has emerged. A recommendation initially drawn up to cover police searches of mosques where dogs are fitted with leather bootees is now said to have been extended to Muslim homes. Under proposals from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the bootees would be used when the occupants objected to the search on religious grounds. Dogs' saliva is considered to be unclean or impure in Islamic teaching and it is forbidden to keep the...

For nearly a quarter of a century, Lourdes Maxwell has celebrated the arrival of summer by putting a paddling pool in the garden. This year, however, her two grandchildren and the children of her neighbours may have to find another way to cool off in the heat. Miss Maxwell's local council has decided that the pool - which is only 2ft deep - needs a lifeguard. The 47-year-old divorced mother of three has also been told she must have insurance before she can inflate the toy outside her house in Portsmouth.

After 30 years of marriage, cynics might say most husbands and wives would have seen quite enough of each other, thank you very much. But not in the case of one Saudi Arabian man who managed to live with his wife for three decades without setting eyes on her face. Not that he had much choice about it. His 50-year-old wife followed the tradition of her native village near the south-western city of Khamis Mushayt and kept her features veiled at all times. Until one night last month, that is, when the husband was finally overcome by curiosity and tried...

One of the nine Afghans who won the right to live in Britain after hijacking a plane is now working at Heathrow airport as a cleaner, it emerged last night. Nazamuddin Mohammidy was one of a group who took over an internal Afghan flight in 2000 and landed it in the UK, where they threatened to kill those on board unless they were granted asylum. Now it has emerged Mohammidy, 34, was recently arrested while driving a car around the new Terminal 5 at Heathrow airport. Police suspected he was an unlicensed cab driver but were stunned when checks revealed...

Children's TV puppet Basil Brush is at the centre of a bizarre police probe into claims by a group of gipsies that they were racially abused on a BBC programme. The gipsies allege that an episode of the Basil Brush Show which showed a gipsy woman trying to sell the puppet fox wooden pegs and heather was racially offensive. They contacted Northamptonshire police who have now approached the BBC over the claims.

<p>A vicar was in hospital last night after being attacked in his churchyard by two youths in what is being treated as a 'faith hate' crime.</p> <p>Canon Michael Ainsworth, 57, was kicked and punched in the head as one of the attackers screamed "f***ing priest".</p>

Anger over plan to broadcast Muslim call to prayer on loudspeaker in Oxford Last updated at 12:46pm on 24th December 2007 Comments (37) Outrage: Proposals for loudspeaker Muslim calls to prayer in central Oxford have been attacked by local residents MORE NEWS Muslim plans to broadcast a loudspeaker call to prayer from a city centre mosque have been attacked by local residents who say it would turn the area into a "Muslim ghetto". Dozens of people packed out a council meeting to express their concerns over the plans for a two-minute long call to prayer to be issued three times...

Mohammed, and its most common alternative spelling Muhammad, are now more popular babies' names in England and Wales than George, reflecting the diverse ethnic mix of the population. The Office for National Statistics said there were 2,833 baby boys called Mohammed in 2006. The name is 22nd in the list of most popular boys' names, moving up a place from last year. Spelled Muhammad, it is the 44th most popular name and enters the top 50 for the first time along with Noah, Oscar, Lucas and Rhys. There were 2,833 babies called Mohammed born in 2006 and 1,422 called Muhammad....

OVERWORKED nurses have been ordered to stop all medical work five times every day to move Muslim patients’ beds so they face towards Mecca. The lengthy procedure, which also includes providing fresh bathing water, is creating turmoil among overstretched staff on bustling NHS wards. But despite the havoc, Mid- Yorkshire NHS Trust says the rule must be instigated whenever possible to ensure Muslim patients have “a more comfortable stay in hospital”. And a taxpayer-funded training programme for several hundred hospital staff has begun to ensure that all are familiar with the workings of the Muslim faith. The scheme is initially...

Borrowed any good books from your local public library lately? I'm told Women Who Deserve To Go To Hell is proving especially popular in Tower Hamlets. It may not have been shortlisted for the Whitbread Prize, but it apparently flies off the shelves in East London.

PRESIDENT GEORGE W BULLSH*T Sep 7 2004 Kevin Toolis PRESIDENT George W Bush is proud to be a Texan. So no doubt he can recognise the smell that now fills the halls of the White House. It's the same smell that wafts out of the mouths of every one of his spokesmen, from creepy Vice President Dick Cheney to film star buddy Arnie The Terminator. And it's a smell that is emitted by Bush himself, every time he delivers his set piece on why he should be re-elected as president. It's the stink of, well, I'm sorry, there's no other...

Purple Polar Bear Brings in the Crowds!