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A statement from the Roman Catholic church has failed to defuse criticism of the Pope from Muslim leaders who've taken an exception remarks he made about the concept of holy war. The Vatican said the Pope did not meant to cause offense and wanted to cultivate respect between religions. Here's our Rome correspondent David W.

The official Vatican spokesman Father F priest who accompanied the Pope on his visit to Germany immediately tried to limit the damage caused in the Muslim world by the Pope's remarks. He said Pope Benedict did not intend to offend Muslims when the Pope quoted the words of a Christian Emperor who ruled over the Byzantine empire six centuries ago. According to a contemporary account, the Byzantine Emperor who ruled from the constant N modern Istanbul described the Prophet Mohammad's command to spread the Muslim faith by the sword as evil and inhuman.

The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt said the Pope had strenghtened the argument of those who said the west was hostile to everything Islamic. Earlier, the head of a religious body in Turkey A.K insisted it was Christianity not Islam that had popularized religious convention by force.

Four members of President Bush's own Republican party have defied the White House in joining Democrats in the Senate to approve legislation that would grant broader protection to foreign terrorist suspects. The proposed draws run counter to a bill put forward by the president which would limit the rights of detainees. Reporting from Washington, Jim C.

The rebellious Republican Senators are continuing to defy the White House. The senators are concerned that the White House bill offers too narrow an interpretation of common article three of the Geneva Conventions. The article which prohibits the cruel and inhuman treatment of prisoners. The rebels who include Republican presidential frontrunner John McCain have been boosted by the support of the former Secretary of State Collin Powell. In a letter, he wrote that any attempt to redefine article three will put American troops in danger.

The chief judge in the genocide trial of Saddam Hussein has said he doesn't believe the former president was a dictator. Addressing the deposed Iraqi leader in court, the judge said it was people around the leader who make him a dictator. A BBC correspondent in Baghdad says (the) exchange will cause outrage among Iraqis who suffered under Saddam Hussein's leadership. He says it also raises new questions about the integrity of the court. On Wednesday the senior prosecutor demanded the judge step down, saying he was too lenient towards Saddam Hussein and six co-defendants.

You're listening to the World News from the BBC.

The French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy has called on global powers to reevaluate their boycott of the Hamas-led government in the Palestinian territories. Speaking after meeting the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, Mr. Douste-Blazy warned that such a move would add impetus to a revival of the peace process between Israel and Palestinians.

If this unity government will be formed and not only by the efforts of President Abbas, we think it is important to say that if the new government takes into consideration the demands of the international community it's normal that the attitude of the international community can be revised towards aid ad political contacts with the Palestinian government.

The American actor George Clooney and a holocaust survivor Elie Wisel have appealed to the United Nations Security Council to end the violence in the Sudanese region of Darfur. Mr. Wisel, a Nobel peace prize winner, told the council it will be a test for the UN to stop a third tragedy after the mass murders in Rwanda and Bosnia Herzegovina governor.

Astronomers have named the newest addition to the solar system after the great goddess of discord Eris. Its dicovery last year caused scientists to argue of what constitutes a planet. Eris is bigger than Pluto so scientists were in a dilemma over whether to call both of them planets or neither of them planets. With more detail, here's C P.

The object, formally known as UB313 , was discovered last year and astronomers had been torn with calling it Zena. But the International Astronomy Union has now given the go-ahead to the name Eris, the mythological great goddess of discord, whom medalling sparked a quarrel which was resulted in the Trojan War. In real life, Eris which is bigger than Pluto, was one of the reasons for a major international meeting of astronomers in the Czech Republic last month. Eris is one of the most distant objects in our solar system, more than 14 billion kilometers from the sun.

A 11-century manuscript stolen from Iraq 30 years ago has been found in Britain and returned to the Iraqi government. Worth an estimated 400,000 dollars, it was written by the Muslim scholar and F, who lived in H in modern Afghanistan.