Free Republic

Rome, 18 Oct. (AKI) - The majority of Muslim leaders in Italy voiced support Wednesday for prime minister Romano Prodi who said that Muslim immigrant women should not hide their faces behind a veil. The president of Italy's largest Muslim group, the Union of Islamic Communities in Italy (UCOII) said he agreed with the premier's words. "The niqab (a veil which reveals only the eyes) is against Italian law," said Mohammed Nur Dachan. "We perfectly agree with the premier," he added, warning however that no confusion should be made between the niqab and the hijab, which doesn't cover the face...

Milan, 2 Oct. (AKI) - Italian police on Monday issued six arrest warrants - three of which were served - and announced they had dismantled a terrorist cell suspected of having financed two terror attacks near Algiers last year in which 20 people died. The group, made up mainly of Algerians, was allegedly close to the Salafite Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which has recently sworn allegiance to al-Qaeda, and to the Armed Islamic Group (GIA). One of the suspected militants is Mejri Afif, a Tunisian, who was arrested in Switzerland while Ahmed Nacer and El Heit Ali were...

NBC OLYMPICS HOME PAGE Complete Olympic Schedule (Presumably updated with Results) TV SCHEDULES usolympicteam.com

Four Egyptian engineers who had been abducted in the Iraqi capital were freed, as a new Internet statement raised hope Italian reporter Giuliana Sgrena could also soon be liberated. As Iraq saw a new day of violent strikes against the security forces, Egyptian embassy sources and the telecoms company that employs the four hostages announced they had been freed. The four were held up outside their Baghdad home on Sunday morning and bundled into waiting cars by gunmen. They worked for a subsidiary of Egyptian telecom giant Orascom. Orascom's chairman Naguib Saris told CNN that two of the four had...

Did Saddam Hussein use any of his ill-gotten billions filched from the United Nations oil-for-food program to help fund Al Qaeda? Investigations have shown that the former Iraqi dictator grafted and smuggled more than $10 billion from the program that for seven years prior to Saddam’s overthrow was meant to bring humanitarian aid to ordinary Iraqis. And the Sept. 11 Commission has shown a tracery of contacts between Saddam and Al Qaeda that continued after billions of oil-for-food dollars began pouring into Saddam’s coffers and Usama bin Laden declared his famous war on the U.S. Now, buried in some of...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel...

Ancient Greek Bronze Fished from Sea Dazzles Italy By Estelle Shirbon ROME (Reuters) - Italy unveiled an ancient Greek bronze statue of a dancing satyr on Tuesday, five years after Sicilian fishermen dragged it from the Mediterranean seabed in one of the most important marine archaeological finds ever. The 2,500-year-old satyr went on public display inside Italy's parliament in Rome, where it will spend two months before being moved to a permanent home in Mazara del Vallo, the fishing village in western Sicily nearest to where it was found. "The sea has given us back an extraordinary heirloom of our...