Blair lawyer admits Iraq mind change THE former British attorney general has said it is complete nonsense to claim he changed his legal view of the Iraq war because of political pressure. It was requests from the military for yes or no answers on whether war was legal that firmed up his view, Lord Goldsmith told the Iraq inquiry yesterday, ahead of former prime minister Tony Blairs appearance tomorrow. worlddigest not part of al-Qaeda or other terror groups are welcome to come back to their country, lay down arms and resume life. SRI LANKA: President Mahinda Rajapaksa has won the first election since the end of a 25- year civil war but the result has been rejected by his challenger. Mr Rajapaksa (pictured) won with almost 58 per cent of the votes. However, Gen Sarath Fonseka, who helped crush the Tamil Tigers, has alleged widespread vote-rigging. Rival questions presidents win Pigs heads found at two mosques MALAYSIA: Religious tensions are running high after severed heads of pigs were dumped at two mosques. Worshippers attending morning prayers yesterday found the heads of wild boars in plastic bags at the Sri Sentosa Mosque, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, and the nearby Taman Dato Harun Mosque. The discovery follows outrage over a court verdict that allows non-Muslims to use Allah as a translation for God in Malay. Many Muslims think the word should be exclusive to their religion. Sanctions lifted on Taliban men AFGHANISTAN: Five former Taliban officials have been removed from a UN sanctions list. Ex-leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and former foreign minister Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil are among those to have been taken off the list GERMANY: Wreaths are laid at the Buchenwald concentration camp near Weimar on Holocaust memorial day. The anniversary marks the liberation of Auschwitz in 1945 Picture: EPA ISRAEL: The countrys top judge was hit between the eyes and knocked off her chair by a shoe thrown by a defendant. Chief justice Dorit Beinisch (pictured) was hearing a case yesterday about medical marijuana when the man hurled his trainers at her, yelling: Youre corrupt. The judge was treated in her office and the man was arrested. Judge struck by trainer thrower Men are feeling power of flower JAPAN: The traditionally female-dominated art of flower arranging is becoming popular with men as a way to prune away their stress. Flower arrangement adds that unreal flavour to my life and lets my mind roam free, said Koji Otusbo, who has been studying ikebana for more than 15 years. There are a lot of people seeking something that makes them feel at ease, said Gaho Isono, a master ikebana instructor at Tokyos Sogetsu school. and finally... BULGARIA: A communist theme park that revives life behind the Iron Curtain is to be built with a 2million EU grant. The development in Dimitrovgrad will feature statues of toppled dictators, rifle ranges using Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifles and authentically grim restaurants. ahead of todays international conference on Afghanistan in London. President Hamid Karzai has said Taliban who are China dog lovers to get ruff justice By Jo Steele Artist faces jail for insult to leader A BRITISH artist who portrayed Turkeys prime minister as a dog is facing up to two years in jail after refusing to pay a court fine yesterday. Michael Dickinson was found guilty of mocking Recep Tayyip Erdogan after displaying the Good Boy collage outside court in Istanbul following an earlier hearing for insulting Turkishness. Insisting the ruling was an attack on the freedom of speech, the 59- year-old from Co Durham said: I am determined not to pay the fine, so I will be put in prison. I wont pay because I dont regard what I have done as a crime. Good Boy: Erdogan as a US pet Picture: PA LOVERS of dog meat in China could find themselves thrown in jail next time they tuck into their fa- vourite snack. New laws to protect against ani- mal cruelty could mean anyone who eats dog or cat meat a popular dish in the country could be jailed for 15 days and fined 500. Businesses would also be heavily fined for serving the meals. The draft laws, which will be dis- cussed in April, have split opinion about dining on the domestic ani- mals. Eating cats and dogs is a shame- less, barbarian thing. Anyone with humanity would not kill these loyal friends of ours, a user named Yux- iang999 posted on Xinhuanet.com. Others insisted a ban was unreal- istic. Banning such a custom by law is inappropriate and unable to work, said Xu Huiqiang, chief of wild animal protection in Jiangsu province, where a dog meat recipe has been listed as a piece of cultural heritage. An official of Leping, a city that has a catering industry based on dog meat, claimed the lo- cal economy would suffer if the laws go through. Cooking them alive must be pun- ished but which meat to eat should be peoples own choice, he said. Some people in China still cant afford meat. We should not blindly copy Western values. Dog meat has been eaten in China since 500BC and most joints are from dogs specifically bred for the purpose of eating. Opponents object to the animals being beaten to death to release the blood into the meat, which is com- mon in some regions. Animal rights groups have long battled against eating dog and cat meat. An animal liberation group last year crashed into a truck full of caged cats to rescue them from be- ing shipped to southern restaurants. Dogs best friend: Chinese animal rights activists in Wuhan stage a protest calling for people to stop eating cat and dog meat Picture: AFP 10 News Thursday, January 28, 2010 D index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html