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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Rioting continues; 8-year-old killed

The Spokesman-Review

Rioters in several major cities torched banks, cinemas and Western businesses in the third straight day of violent protests over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. An 8-year-old boy was among three people killed in the unrest.

The worst rioting was in Peshawar, a conservative city in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier province, where protesters whose numbers were estimated in the thousands burned a KFC restaurant, bus terminal and three movie theaters, according to news agency reports. The protesters also ransacked offices of a Norwegian mobile phone company.

Police used wooden staves and tear gas to disperse the crowds, and witnesses reported hearing gunfire near the burning KFC restaurant as police tried to clear the area. Authorities reported two deaths in Peshawar, including the boy, who was killed by a gunshot, and a man who was struck by a falling utility pole. Dozens were injured and taken to hospitals for treatment.

Rioting also erupted in the eastern city of Lahore, where one man was killed by gunfire during a melee involving students and police, and in the town of Tank near the South Waziristan tribal region on the border with Afghanistan. Lahore was also the scene of rioting and the torching of Western businesses on Tuesday.

London

Anti-terrorism law gives Blair boost

British lawmakers voted Wednesday to ban glorifying terrorism, giving Prime Minister Tony Blair a badly needed victory on a measure he said was key to preventing future attacks.

The House of Commons approved the ban 315-277, sending it back to the House of Lords, which had struck down the term “glorification” earlier this year saying it was dangerously vague.

The two chambers must reach agreement for the measure – which Blair’s government argues is necessary to prevent terrorist groups’ recruitment efforts – to become law.

Blair suffered a major Commons defeat on security last year and needed the win on glorification to demonstrate he had reasserted control over rebels in his Labour Party.

New York

Saddam warned U.S. of attack

Saddam Hussein told aides in the mid-1990s that he warned the United States it could be hit by a terrorist attack, ABC News reported Wednesday, citing 12 hours of tapes the network obtained of the former Iraqi dictator’s talks with his Cabinet.

The coming terrorist attack Saddam predicted could involve weapons of mass destruction.

“Terrorism is coming. I told the Americans,” Saddam is heard saying, adding he “told the British as well.”

“In the future, what would prevent a booby-trapped car causing a nuclear explosion in Washington or a germ or a chemical one?” Saddam said.

But he insisted Iraq would never launch such an attack. “This story is coming, but not from Iraq,” he said.

The State Department had no comment on the report, which aired on “World News Tonight.” ABC News said U.S. officials confirmed the tapes were authentic.

ABC News said that the CIA found the tapes in Iraq and that the 12 hours were provided to it by Bill Tierney, a former member of a U.N. inspection team who was translating them for the FBI.