Dutch filmmaker who criticized Islam is slain

Dutch filmmaker whocriticized Islam is slain
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- A Dutch filmmaker who had received death threats after releasing a movie criticizing the treatment of women under Islam was slain in Amsterdam today, police said.
A suspect, a 26-year-old man with dual Dutch-Moroccan nationality, was arrested after a shootout with officers that left him wounded, police said.
Filmmaker Theo van Gogh had been threatened after the August airing of the movie "Submission," which he made with a right-wing Dutch politician who had renounced the Islamic faith of her birth. Van Gogh had received police protection after its release.
Dutch national broadcaster NOS and other media reported that Van Gogh's killer shot and stabbed his victim and left a note on his body. NOS said witnesses described the attacker as having an "Arab appearance."
The slain filmmaker was the great grandson of the brother of famous Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, who was also named Theo.
Prosecutor: Petersonkilled wife to gain freedom
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- With just a day to summarize their case against Scott Peterson, prosecutors painted a picture of a man so desperate for freedom from domestic drudgery that he turned to murder as his only way out.
"He wants to live the rich, successful, freewheeling bachelor life. He can't do that when he's paying child support, alimony and everything else," prosecutor Rick Distaso told jurors Monday in closing arguments.
The defense was to begin its closing arguments today, with jurors expected to begin deliberations as early as Wednesday. The trial is in its 23rd week after testimony from 184 witnesses.
Peterson is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of his wife, Laci, and the fetus she carried.
Army surrounds camps
GENEVA -- The Sudanese army and police have surrounded several refugee camps in the war-torn region of Darfur and denied access to humanitarian groups, the United Nations said today.
"It started at 3 a.m. without any warning," said Christiane Berthiaume, spokeswoman for the World Food Program. "Agencies have been denied access to these camps since this morning."
At least 160,000 refugees in western Darfur cannot be reached by road "because of insecurity," Berthiaume said.
The U.N. food agency has relocated a total of 88 aid workers from three camps in the Nyala region: Golu, Zaleinge and Nertetie. Most of those evacuated are working for independent aid organizations rather than the United Nations, Berthiaume said.
Bomber's home destroyed
NABLUS, West Bank -- Israeli troops today destroyed the homes of a teen suicide bomber and two men who dispatched him to a crowded Tel Aviv market where he killed three Israelis and wounded 32.
The relatively muted response came after Israel pledged to show restraint in the wake of Yasser Arafat's illness.
The usual signs of an imminent Israeli military counterstrike -- the hurried high-level security meetings and troop movements -- were absent this time, and it appeared that Israel would not hit back as it has in the past.
Troops razed the home of the bomber, 16-year-old Eli Amer Alfar, and damaged four neighboring houses in the crowded Askar refugee camp near Nablus, witnesses said.
Attack on black church
VICKSBURG, Miss. -- A man was arrested on vandalism charges after police said he drove a bulldozer into a church, an attack parishioners say was racially motivated.
Zane Bearrick, 21, was arrested and charged with felony malicious mischief, Detective Todd Dykes said. The bulldozer early Saturday struck the trailer that housed the First Assembly of Yaweh Vicksburg.
The church has a black congregation and the suspect is white. Church members said they suspect the act was racially motivated and have asked the FBI to investigate.
Associated Press