Radical preacher Hamza lands in US

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Radical Islamist cleric, Abu Hamza, arrived in New York on Saturday where he is expected to appear in a US court on terrorism charges within 24 hours.

Hamza was deported from the UK along with four other suspects following an eight year legal battle which strained the country’s relationship with the European court of human rights.

The hate preacher faces 11 charges in the US related to hostage taking, conspiracy to establish a militant training camp and calling for a holy war in Afghanistan.

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner welcomed the move: “This ends a period of lengthy litigation through UK courts as well as the European court of human rights and also speaks of the strength of the law enforcement relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.”

The five suspects left a military airbase in Suffolk in two planes just hours after their final appeals were turned down. Adel Abdul Bary and Khaled al-Fawwaz joined Hamza in New York.

While Babar Ahmad and Tahla Ahsan, were flown to Connecticut where they face charges of running a pro-Jihad website.

Pope calls for peace on last day in Lebanon

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On the last day of the Pope Benedict’s visit to Lebanon, he celebrated an open-air mass in front of around 350,000 pilgrims, as well as politicians from all sectors of the multi-faith country.

 

The pilgrims had come to Beirut from across the Middle East, where the service was held at an altar built on land reclaimed with debris from Lebanon’s 1975-1990 sectarian civil war.

 

The crowd cheered and waved Vatican as well as Lebanese flags as the Pope gave a speech in which he appealed for tolerance and religious freedom and for reconciliation between Christians and Muslims.

 

These have been the central themes of the visit which comes amid soaring sectarian tensions in the region, exacerbated by the conflict in Syria.

 

The pope also called on Christians not to leave the region despite war and growing pressure from radical Islamists.