Free Republic

Tensions within the Palestinian Arab leadership are escalating: Amran al-Khatib, a member of the Palestinian National Council (PNC) - the parliament of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) - on Tuesday called on Hamas to relinquish its control over the Gaza Strip and transfer its administration to the PLO. In an interview with Voice of Palestine radio, al-Khatib stated that the PLO should be allowed to lead negotiations with the "occupation state", a reference to Israel, regarding a ceasefire and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. He stated that Hamas must engage in soul-searching in light of the "starvation and mass...

Extremely dangerous Hurricane Katrina is bearing down on the North Central Gulf of Mexico and New Orleans metro area. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin conceded that as many as 100,000 inner-city residents didn't have the means to leave and an untold number of tourists were stranded by the closing of the airport. At this hour, people are still filing into the Superdome after security screening for weapons and contraband. National Guard have brought in 360,000 MRE (meals ready to eat) to feed the estimated 30,000 storm refugees in the Superdome. The following links are self-updating: Public Advisory Currently published every...