Top Israeli Rabbi lashes out at reform movement

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP)

A senior Israeli Orthodox rabbi accused adherents of less strict Reform Judaism of "sticking claws" into his followers, in an unusually harsh letter published Thursday.



Shlomo Amar, the chief Orthodox rabbi of Israel's Sephardic Jewish community, urged rabbis to pressure the government to keep followers of the Reform and Conservative movements out of religious affairs.

"They are sticking their claws into the people residing in Zion (Israel) and trying to dictate our lifestyle," he wrote in excerpts of the letter published on the Ynet news website.



"The most difficult thing is the plague of assimilation, which is

Gay condemns Bolt to first defeat in two years

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) -- World record holder and Olympic champion Usain Bolt crashed to his first defeat in two years on Friday when America's Tyson Gay won their eagerly-awaited 100m clash at the Diamond League meeting.

Gay clocked 9.84sec to edge Bolt, who was second in 9.97sec, while Trinidad's Richard Thompson took third in 10.10sec.

"It feels great to beat Usain but deep down inside I know he is not 100 percent," said Gay, the second fastest man in the history of the event.

"I look forward to beating him when he is 100 percent."

Gay, celebrating his first win

Police charged with beating terror suspect

FOUR police officers have been accused of assaulting terror suspect Babar Ahmad as they arrested him in 2003 in London.

The officers, all members of the Metropolitan Police's territorial support group, will be charged with causing actual bodily harm.

The Crown Prosecution Service said Pcs Nigel Cowley, John Donohue, Roderick James-Bowen and Mark Jones will appear before magistrates on September 22.

Simon Clements, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Babar Ahmad was arrested by the officers on suspicion of terrorism offences. Mr Ahmad suffered a number of injuries during that arrest, including heavy bruising to the head, neck, wrists and feet.

"The Crown Prosecution Service received a file of evidence on how those injuries were caused from the Independent Police

First meeting for City ‘Spy Camera’ project

REPRESENTATIVES from West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council have met with selected residents for a meeting regarding the installation of ‘spy camera’s’ in predominantly Muslim areas of the city.

The Project Board was set up following uproar over the installation of more than 200 anti-terrorist surveillance cameras in predominantly Muslim areas in Birmingham.

The spy network, which consists of 169 'ANPR' cameras capable of checking car registration numbers, and 49 CCTV cameras, were put up in the Sparkbrook, Moseley and Washwood Heath areas of Birmingham by the Safer Birmingham Partnership.

Critics have said the cameras, some of which are hidden, are being used to spy on the Muslim community after it emerged the initiative was financed through a counter-terrorism fund.

Local councillors and representatives from the community say they

Army, government deadlock ends in Turkey

An impasse over promotions to key military posts has raised accusations of judicial manipulation.

By Alexander Christie-Miller for Southeast European Times in Istanbul – 10/08/10

General Isik Kosaner was appointed as chief of the general staff. [Getty Images]

Turkey's government exploited the judicial process to win victory in a recent spat with the military over promotions, observers have claimed.

Following a weeklong deadlock in which the two sides failed to agree on appointments to top army positions, a deal was announced on Monday (August 9th) in which a compromise candidate will take up the key role of Head of Land Forces.

General Erdal Ceylanoglu was named to the post, traditionally seen as heir apparent to the top position of Chief of Staff.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had objected to the army's preferred

Albanian authorities work to improve sea quality

TIRANA, Albania -- State police are supporting the environment ministry in efforts to deal with sea pollution caused by illegal sewage systems. Despite peak tourist season, authorities in Durres started to destroy all connections Sunday (August 8th) leading directly into the sea. Beaches in the Durres area were ranked most polluted in a recent report drafted by the Health Institute and the environment ministry. The pollution levels are far above World Health Organisation standards. (Top Channel, BBC, Balkan Web, Top News - 08/08/10)

Source: SETimes.com

Fidel surprises everybody and only speaks to the Assembly for 10 minutes

His re-emergence to public life has ignited all sorts of speculation Zoom Image

In an uncharacteristically short speech of just over 10 minutes, he urged the US not to allow a war with Iran. His brother Raul, who succeeded him as president, sat at his side as he spoke. It was the first time the two had appeared together in public since Fidel Castro stepped down in 2006.

The speech was a solid, polished performance, Mr Castro's voice stronger than at any point since he re-emerged into public