May 11, 2004

Muslim Youths Riot in Northern Nigeria Voice of America - Muslim youths have rioted in northern Nigeria after Islamic clerics launched an ultimatum for the government to defend Muslim communities in the violence wracked center of the country. 10:20:24 PM

Bush Imposes Sanctions on Syria, Citing Ties to Terrorism New York Times -  After months of debate within his administration, President Bush imposed a series of economic sanctions against Syria on Tuesday, charging that it has failed to take action against terrorist groups fighting Israel and halt the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq. Mr. Bush issued an executive order banning virtually all American exports, except for food and medicine, and barring flights between Syria and the United States, except during emergencies. The president also told the Treasury Department to freeze the assets of Syrians with known ties to terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, the occupation of Lebanon or terrorist activities in Iraq. 10:09:49 PM

Madrid bombs: US man to testify CNN International - An Oregon lawyer detained last week as a material witness in the investigation of the March 11 Spanish train attacks was to testify Tuesday before a federal grand jury, a source close to the case has told CNN. Brandon Mayfield's brother, Kim, said the family was told Brandon would testify before a grand jury but he could not confirm the testimony had occurred. 10:08:04 PM

Thousands March in Iraq Protesting Al-Sadr Newsday - About 1,000 people, including a few women in black veils, marched through the streets of Najaf on Tuesday to urge radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his followers to leave the city. Tensions rose as the marchers passed by al-Sadr's office. Fighters from his al-Mahdi Army took up position and fired weapons into the air, but there was no clash and the march continued without incident.   1:55:31 PM

Prime Minister Paul Martin says he believes Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and they've fallen into terrorists' hands. 1:40:00 PM

Al Qaeda-Linked Group Beheads American in Iraq Reuters - An Islamist web site showed a videotape Tuesday of an al Qaeda-linked group beheading an American and vowing more executions as revenge for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. The poor quality ( video ) tape showed ( Nick Berg ) a man sitting on the floor with five masked men behind him. After one of the masked men read out a statement, they pushed the bound man to the floor, cutting off his head and holding it aloft.  UPDATE: The video might be found here, I say might because it has moved around quite a bit. Will the Arab press be horrified over this?  Will the western news media be talking about this every hour on the hour?  Will we hear from the UN, the Red Cross, or Human rights groups condemning this inhuman act? 1:13:08 PM

"They started torturing me. They would continue the torture from night till morning. They tortured me badly." Iraqi detainee?  Nope, a 23 year-old Pakistani Christian who died of injuries as a result of five days of severe torture by Islamic militants.  What did he do to deserve this?  He refused to convert to Islam. Will the Arab press be horrified over this?  Will the western news media be talking about this every hour on the hour?  Will we hear from the UN, the Red Cross, or Human rights groups condemning this inhuman act? 12:54:57 PM

Palestinian Savagery. Six Israeli soldiers were killed with a roadside bomb by Hamas terrorists in Gaza -- who then proceeded to tear the corpses apart and play with the body parts as they took pictures.  [Little Green Footballs] Will the Arab press be horrified over this?  Will the western news media be talking about this every hour on the hour?  Will we hear from the UN, the Red Cross, or Human rights groups condemning this inhuman act? UPDATE:Militants return remains of Israeli soldiers 11:19:23 AM

UK insists Iraq photos are fake - report Independent Online, South Africa - British military sources are insisting that photographs of troops abusing Iraqi prisoners published 10 days ago are a hoax. 10:31:48 AM

The picture from Iraq they will not dare show on CNN! 8:51:02 AM

Palestinians plan local elections before fall San Francisco Chronicle, CA - The Palestinian Authority said Monday that it would begin holding its first municipal elections late this summer, a bid to stem public anger over corruption and mismanagement.  Under the plan, elected representatives will replace mayors and members of municipal councils who were appointed by the Palestinian Authority and who are, in many towns and cities, regarded as incompetent or crooked.  8:41:50 AM