Christians urged to defend themselves

Christians urgedto defend themselves
ABUJA, Nigeria -- A Catholic archbishop said Wednesday that Christians were "tired of turning the other cheek" to Muslim attacks and blamed the government for deadly sectarian riots after a newspaper article about the Miss World beauty pageant.
"No group of people should be allowed to invade the city of Abuja and molest law-abiding citizens," said the Rev. John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, Archbishop in Nigeria's capital, Abuja.
Onaiyekan spoke at a news conference called by the Council of Nigerian Churches and accused President Olusegun Obasanjo's government of failing to protect Christians during the riots.
"We blame the government because we rely on the government to protect us," he said.
The archbishop said Christians shouldn't hesitate to defend themselves from further attacks.
"It is a Christian duty to protect yourselves," he said.
Senior clergy from the Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran and other churches also criticized the government, arguing that Christians had taken the brunt of the violence.
More than 200 people were killed last week by Muslims and Christians in the northern city of Kaduna. The rioting was triggered by a newspaper article in the Nigerian newspaper ThisDay that suggested the Muslim prophet Muhammad would have approved of the Miss World pageant and might have wanted to marry a contestant if given the opportunity.
Sniper suspectscleared in killings
BATON ROUGE, La. -- DNA evidence has cleared the Washington-area sniper suspects of any connection to the serial killings of three Baton Rouge women, police said Wednesday.
Samples taken from John Muhammad and his teenage companion, John Lee Malvo, did not match DNA left behind in the three murders, said police spokeswoman Cpl. Mary Ann Godawa.
The three serial killer victims, all women, were linked by DNA evidence this summer.
Police had said they believed a link to the sniper suspects was unlikely, but Muhammad's family had placed Muhammad, 41, and Malvo, 17, in Baton Rouge over the past year; the two are also charged in the murder of a local beauty supply store manager.
Muhammed and Malvo have been accused of shooting 18 people, killing 13 and wounding five in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. No one was hit in another shooting, in which a bullet went through a craft store window.
American Indiansavors space visit
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The first American Indian astronaut said Wednesday he is inspired and humbled to be flying -- and walking -- in space.
John Herrington, a member of the Chickasaw Nation, helped install a $390 million girder on the international space station during a seven-hour spacewalk Tuesday.
"It was an awe-inspiring moment to be able to go out of the hatch and to see the Earth's horizon and see the space station against that," he said in a series of news interviews.
When asked by the Chickasaw Times how his perspective on Thanksgiving would be affected by going out on a second spacewalk today, Herrington replied with a laugh: "I'll be really hungry when I come back in."
Herrington said he will probably celebrate with one of NASA's prepackaged chicken and rice dinners or maybe some turkey.
Army, rebels say fightingresumes in Ivory Coast
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast -- Ivory Coast's fragile cease-fire was shaken Wednesday by army claims that rebels had attacked government positions, and rebel allegations that loyalist helicopters had bombarded villages in a rebel-held zone in the center of the divided West African nation.
French forces monitoring the month-old cease-fire in the former French colony said they had seen no sign of fighting, but would send troops to investigate.
The claims and counterclaims came as West African mediators sought to salvage stalled peace talks, taking place in nearby Togo and aimed at bringing a peaceful end to a two-month rebel uprising.
Regional leaders are desperate to avoid more fighting in Ivory Coast, the world's leading cocoa producer, a regional economic powerhouse and home to millions of immigrants from neighboring countries.
Rebel leader Tuo Fozie said loyalist forces in Mi-24 helicopters attacked villages near the central town of Vavoua, striking a crowded market place. He did not name the villages, but an aide said Pelezi, 25 miles west of Vavoua, was hit.
Associated Press