London bomb suspects arrested. CNN: 'Three men have been arrested following police raids in west London in connection with last week's failed terror attacks in the British capital. Unconfirmed media reports, citing police sources, said two of the men were suspected bombers behind the July 21 attempted attacks on London's transit system. Friday's arrests came after heavily armed police raided two locations in west London at around 11:00 a.m. (1000 GMT). ...' BBC: 'Two more of the failed London bombing suspects are believed to have been arrested as police carried out a number of armed operations in west London. ... Police moved residents to safety during two raids, in Notting Hill and north Kensington, and made three arrests. Officers also arrested two women at Liverpool Street station, which has reopened after packages were examined. Police are still questioning a third suspect arrested on Wednesday in Birmingham. Yasin Hassan Omar was wanted as a suspect in the Warren Street Tube attempted bombing. ...' Debka: 'Two of the three July 21 bombers at large arrested by armed London police in swoops on hideouts across city, Friday July 29. Two women were also detained at Liverpool Station after struggle. Three of the four July 21 bombers are now in custody. They are two men who unsuccessfully tried to blow up a train at Oval Tube station and a bus in Hackney. The Warrren St. bomber was captured in Birmingham Thursday. Still sought is the would-be bomber who fled Shepherd’s Bush station ahead of pursuit. ...' (various)
Saddam faces questions. CNN reports: 'Saddam Hussein was called to a hearing where he was questioned about the 1991 repression of a Shiite-led uprising in southern Iraq after the Gulf War, a court official told CNN on Friday. Judge Raid Juhi, of the Iraqi Special Tribunal set up to try the jailed ex-leader, said Saddam answered questions in Thursday's session, more than 30 minutes long. The former president attended the session alone. A trial date for the former dictator will be announced soon for Saddam's alleged role in a 1982 incident, in which Shiite Muslims in the village of Dujail north of Baghdad were massacred. ...' (CNN)
Orthodox Union: Israeli troops harass religious Jews. The Jerusalem Post reports: 'The Orthodox Union, an umbrella group representing hundreds of thousands of Orthodox Jews in North America, accused the Israeli government and security forces of bigotry and religious discrimination in a recent letter sent to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Ambassador to the US Daniel Ayalon and Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz. The letter, released to the media Tuesday evening after Israeli officials failed to respond for four days, stated that, based on both media and eyewitness accounts, "Israeli government officials, jurists and police and security forces" showed an "indifference to civil liberties." ... The OU cited an incident in Ma'aleh Adumim in which police stopped a bus and removed all passengers wearing kippot [skullcaps]. "Those passengers were not even traveling to a demonstration but were simply seeking to reach their place of work in Jerusalem upon the same bus on which they travel each and every day," said the letter. The OU also accused the government of using administrative detention or house arrest against persons "merely advocating positions at odds with government policy," "baseless confiscation of drivers' licenses," and "threats and coercion against persons seeking to exercise their right of lawful travel and free association." ' (JPost, via e-mail)
Samir Hassan: Religion vs. oppression. '... A number of different [Koranic] verses clearly demonstrate that the "cause of Allah" is not to be actively pursued in any nation unless the people of that nation have collectively agreed to an accord which defines and guarantees the basic liberties and responsibilities of its citizens. Here are just a few examples: "There is no compulsion in religion." "You shall have your religion and I shall have mine." "Truth is from your Lord; if you wish, you can either believe or you can disbelieve." "Thou art not in control over them." "Thou shalt consult with them." "Intercession for all is by Allah alone." The believers in such a nation would readily volunteer to fight in defense of its lifestyle. They would also volunteer to liberate the "ill-treated (and oppressed)- Men, women, and children" of other nations....' Read the full English text of Samir Hassan's very fine article at Friends of Democracy. Arabic text is here. (Friends of Democracy)
