Rob Woollard
MUNICH, July 4, 2006 (AFP) – Zinedine Zidane will be walking a disciplinary tight-rope as he attempts to inspire France to victory in their World Cup semi-final against Portugal here Wednesday.
Zidane is one of six Frenchmen on a yellow card going into the game, so the veteran must keep his volatile temper in check to avoid becoming the latest in a long line of stars to miss out on a World Cup final through suspension.
LONDON, July 4, 2006 (AFP) – The referee who gave Wayne Rooney a fateful red card in the weekend match that saw England crash out of the World Cup has defended his decision.
BERLIN, July 4, 2006 (AFP) – Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo go into battle on Wednesday not only to try and propel France or Portugal respectively into the World Cup final but also to have the honour of being the last of the galacticos left standing.
Martin Corner – Tolerance International
In talking to church groups about fundamentalism, it is necessary to take into account the particular issues that arise for Christians in facing this problem. Whereas a purely secular audience might (perhaps wrongly) assume that it stands outside the phenomenon, Christians may have an uneasy sense that, as religious believers, they are somehow involved, if unwillingly.
It is important, therefore, to make the distinction between religious belief and fundamentalism, and to show that the one does not imply the other. The following notes represent no more than one way of doing that; they are written from a position of committed Christian belief.
BAGHDAD, July 3, 2006 (AFP) – Iraqi Shiite leader Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, the head of parliament’s largest bloc, told AFP Monday that he favours extending an amnesty to insurgents who may have killed US troops.
"Yes, they should be covered regardless of their religious or ethnic affiliations," Hakim said in an interview when asked if he would support extending a reconciliation and amnesty plan unveiled by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to those who may have attacked US-led troops in Iraq.
TEHRAN, July 3, 2006 (AFP) – Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has unveiled plans for a major privatisation of state industries except companies in the crucial oil sector, press reports said Monday.
The government plans to sell off 80 percent of its stake in a range of state-run industrial companies — from banking to media, transport to minerals — under an order issued by Khamenei.
Stop Fundamentalism – In a special report by James Kirkup, The Scotsmen reported that the British Intelligence Service, MI6 has warned that Iran could direct terrorist attacks on British interests, if talks over its nuclear program fail.
The Scotsman quoting an annual report by Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) of both houses of British Parliament who were given access to the confidential work of Britain’s intelligence agencies.
Stop Fundamentalism – Azzaman daily reported Monday July 3 that agents of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security are fomenting unrest in Iraq’s southern city of Basra.
Iraqi counter-intelligence sources said fighters were being trained in Lebanon under MOIS supervision and sent via the Iranian border to infiltrate Basra.
MUNICH, July 2, 2006 (AFP) – Factfile on Portugal who play France in the World Cup semi-finals here on Wednesday:-
AMMAN, July 3, 2006 (AFP) – US ally Jordan is insisting that deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s eldest daughter remains under its protection, despite calls from the US-backed authorities in Baghdad for her extradition.
Jordanian Prime Minister Maaruf Bakhit stressed that no formal extradition request had yet been received from Iraq following national security advisor Muwaffaq al-Rubaie’s identification Sunday of Raghdad Saddam Hussein as his country’s 16th most wanted fugitive.
