Free Republic

The Muslim month of Ramadan is being celebrated in Windsor Castle with the blessing of the Queen, it was revealed. A special prayer room has been set aside in Her Majesty's favourite residence for the Islamic month of fasting. The room is being used by just one person who works in the gift shops at the castle. Every workday at 1.30pm visitor services assistant Nagina Chaudhry locks herself in the room to roll out her prayer mat and point it towards Mecca. She then dons her hijab - headscarf - and begins the half-hour lunchtime prayer required of all Muslims...

New York (dpa) - U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan on Wednesday appointed American diplomat Erskine Bowles to assist former U.S. President Bill Clinton in collecting aid for the victims of the December 26 Indian Ocean tsunami. Clinton has accepted Annan's offer to become the U.N. special envoy for tsunami recovery in addition to partnering with fellow former U.S. president George Bush to raise private funds in the United States for tsunami victims. Bowles, who served during Clinton's term in office as his chief of staff, will now serve as Clinton's deputy special envoy. His first chore will be to attend...