Germany on Thursday ordained its first rabbis since World War II in an event hailed as a milestone in the rebirth of Jewish life in the country responsible for the Holocaust. The three men were given their ordination certificates at the ceremony in Dresden's modern, stone synagogue, which was rebuilt after the fall of the Berlin Wall — the first in the former East Germany Daniel Alter, 47, of Germany, was the first of the three to be graduated from the Abraham Geiger College. He was joined by 35-year-old Tomas Kucera, of the Czech Republic, and 38-year-old Malcolm Matitiani, of South Africa. All three wore black robes with white prayer shawls trimmed with tassels draped around their shoulders. ... http://www.cbsnews.com censor News |
Editor - 14:42:00 09-14-06 |
Appeals Court Backs Man Convicted of Selling Donated Water After Florida Hurricane |
A convenience store owner convicted of selling donated water intended for hurricane victims committed no crime and should be released from probation, an appeals court ruled. Last year, a judge found Salah Darwish guilty of cheating by false pretenses for selling bottled water that had been distributed free at a Hurricane Charley relief center in 2004. But the 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday that the charge was unproven because Darwish didn't clearly lie to officials at the distribution center about what he was going to do with the water. "In this case, we expect that many people would find Mr. Darwish's conduct to be offensive from an ethical point of view," the three-judge panel wrote. "But the question before us is not one of morality." ... http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2434007
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Editor - 09:20:00 09-14-06 |
Tropical Storm Lane lashes Mexico's Pacific coast, heads toward Baja |
Tropical Storm Lane lashed Mexico's Pacific Coast with winds and rain Thursday, flooding streets in Acapulco before setting on a course to hit the hurricane-battered tip of the Baja California Peninsula.The storm was centered about 105 miles southwest of the port of Lazaro Cardenas and was moving parallel to the coast at 10 mph. It had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. A tropical storm warning and hurricane watch were issued for a stretch of coast southeast of the resort of Puerta Vallarta.The storm dumped rain and whipped up waves in Acapulco, where authorities closed the port to small boats. Streets were covered in up to 16 inches of water — including the beachside Costera Miguel Aleman, which runs past many of the resort's luxury hotels.There was also some flooding at the Acapulco airport, although service was not interrupted.... http://www.usatoday.com/weather/hurricane/2006-09-14-lane_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 09:01:00 09-14-06 |
Balochistan peace dialogue urged |
An influential think-tank has called on Pakistan to stop military action against nationalist militants in the restive province of Balochistan. The International Crisis Group urged the government to talk with political parties to resolve the conflict. It warned that conflict in gas-rich Balochistan could intensify if the government pressed on with an offensive against rebels fighting for autonomy. The province has been in turmoil since a top rebel was killed last month. Federal Information Minister Mohammed Ali Durrani rejected the report, telling the BBC many organisations compiled reports from information downloaded from the internet. "By choosing confrontation, the Musharraf government bears responsibility for the state of the conflict," the ICG report said. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5346138.stm
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Editor - 08:59:00 09-14-06 |
Pope's speech stirs Muslim anger |
Muslim religious leaders have accused Pope Benedict XVI of quoting anti-Islamic remarks during a speech at a German university this week. Questioning the concept of holy war, he quoted a 14th-Century Christian emperor who said Muhammad had brought the world only "evil and inhuman" things. A senior Pakistani Islamic scholar, Javed Ahmed Gamdi, said jihad was not about spreading Islam with the sword. Turkey's top religious official asked for an apology for the "hostile" words. In Indian-administered Kashmir, police seized copies of newspapers which reported the Pope's comments to prevent any tension. A Vatican spokesman, Father Frederico Lombardi, said he did not believe the Pope's comments were meant as a harsh criticism of Islam. In his speech at Regensburg University, the German-born pontiff explored the historical and philosophical differences between Islam and Christianity and the relationship between violence and faith. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5346480.stm
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Editor - 08:56:00 09-14-06 |
'Drastic' shrinkage in Arctic ice |
A Nasa satellite has documented startling changes in Arctic sea ice cover between 2004 and 2005. The extent of "perennial" ice - thick ice which remains all year round - declined by 14%, losing an area the size of Pakistan or Turkey. The last few decades have seen summer ice shrink by about 0.7% per year. The drastic shrinkage may relate partly to unusual wind patterns found in 2005, though rising temperatures in the Arctic could also be a factor. The research is reported in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. The Arctic is warming about twice as fast as the global average; and recent studies have shown that the area of the Arctic covered by ice each summer, and the ice thickness, have been shrinking. September 2005 saw the lowest recorded area of ice cover since 1978, when satellite records became available. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5344208.stm
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Editor - 08:49:00 09-14-06 |
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