British leader calls Gitmo unacceptable

British Attorney General Peter Goldsmith on Wednesday said the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay was “unacceptable” and “should close,” in the highest-level British condemnation yet of what is widely viewed in Europe as a human rights travesty.

“Not only would it, in my personal opinion, be right to close Guantanamo as a matter of principle, I believe it would also help to remove what has become a symbol to many – right or wrong – of injustice,” Goldsmith said in a speech in London.

Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has been a close ally of President Bush in global military actions against al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations, has called Guantanamo an “anomaly” but has stopped short of calling for its immediate closure.

Baghdad, Iraq

Baghdad has 1,091 homicides in April

Baghdad’s morgue received 1,091 homicide victims in April, most from sectarian killings that have become “no less dangerous than terrorism,” Iraq’s president said Wednesday.

“These daily crimes will create an environment of mutual suspicion between the nation’s sons and destabilize our national unity,” president Jalal Talabani warned in a statement issued by his office.

Talabani acknowledged that the morgue statistics accounted for bodies discovered around Baghdad and that the total number of civilian deaths was likely far higher.

Washington

Virulent chlamydia evident in U.S.

An unusually virulent form of chlamydia has emerged in the United States primarily among gay males following an outbreak in Europe two years ago, federal researchers said Wednesday.

The number of confirmed cases is still small – fewer than 80 – but infectious disease experts fear the actual number is substantially larger because the disorder is difficult to diagnose and many physicians are not aware of its existence.

Officials are concerned because, like many other sexually transmitted diseases, the disease can accelerate the spread of HIV infections and perhaps even enhance replication of HIV in people who are co-infected.

Symptoms include bleeding, inflammation of the rectum and colon, abdominal cramping and severe pain. Infections can be fatal if left untreated.

Oklahoma City

Oklahoma ends ban on tattoos

Oklahoma became the last state to make tattoos legal when the governor signed legislation Wednesday to license and regulate tattoo artists and parlors.

The measure ends a ban on tattooing that had been in effect since 1963. The new law takes effect Nov. 1.

“Regardless of one’s personal views about tattoos, the plain fact is that tattooing is prevalent,” Gov. Brad Henry said.