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"BAGHDAD - A female suicide bomber mingling among Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad detonated an explosives belt Monday, killing at least 54 people, officials said. The bombing was the first major strike this year against pilgrims making their way to the southern city of Karbala to mark a Shiite holy day. It came as a security official warned of a possible increase in attacks by insurgents using new tactics to bypass bomb-detection methods. The bombing raises fears of an escalation of attacks as hundreds of thousands of Shiites head to Karbala to mark on Friday the end of 40 days of mourning following the anniversary of the death Imam Hussein, a revered Shiite figure. The bomber hid the explosives underneath an abaya - a black cloak worn from head to toe by women - as she joined a group of pilgrims on the outskirts of Baghdad's Shiite-dominated neighborhood of Shaab, said Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, Baghdad's top military spokesman. The bomber set off the blast as she lined up with other women to be searched by female security guards at a security checkpoint just inside a rest tent, al-Moussawi said. A police official said 54 people, including 18 women and 12 children, were killed and 117 were wounded. A hospital official confirmed the casualties. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. Witnesses described a chaotic scene in the minutes after the blast. Raheem Kadhom, 35, said he was standing nearby when a huge fireball erupted among the pilgrims. Pilgrims were "on the ground, covered in blood and crying for help," he said. "Banners were all over the ground and covered in blood." The blast was so powerful it knocked some out of their slippers and shoes, which were scattered across the ground, he said, adding how people put the wounded in cars, taking them to hospitals rather than wait for ambulances. Despite an overall decline in violence in Iraq, al-Qaida and other Sunni extremists have routin

"COPENHAGEN (AP) - The police foiled an attempt to kill an artist who drew a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad that sparked outrage in the Muslim world, the head of Denmark's intelligence service said Saturday. Jakob Scharf, who heads PET, the Danish intelligence service, said a 28-year-old Somalia man was armed with an ax and a knife when he tried to enter the home of the artist, Kurt Westergaard, in Aarhus on Friday evening. The attack on Mr. Westergaard, whose rendering was among 12 that led to the burning of Danish diplomatic offices in predominantly Muslim countries in 2006, was "terror related," Mr. Scharf said in a statement. "The arrested man has according to PET's information close relations to the Somali terrorist group, Al Shabab, and Al Qaeda leaders in eastern Africa," he said. The man was suspected of having been involved in terror-related activities during a stay in East Africa and had been under PET's surveillance, but not in connection with Mr. Westergaard, Mr. Scharf said. The police shot the Somali man in a knee and a hand, authorities said. The police in Aarhus said that the suspect was seriously wounded, but that his life was not in danger."

"Iranian Protestors Save Two From Being Hanged - filmed on December 22, 2009 - after saving their fellow protestors from death by hanging - we see cruel and deadly violence - VIEWER DISCRETION STRONGLY ADVISED! This video is very difficult to watch. On December 22, Iranian protesters in Sirjan rescued two prisoners as they were being hanged. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards then called in assistance, and later in the video we see them shooting dead a number of the protesters and wounding many more." Note this is the reality of Iran today. Do we really want them to have Nuclear Weapons?

"A 19-year-old man was fatally shot in the face and two men were arrested on drug charges after fleeing police in separate incidents that occurred near the route for Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade, according to Baltimore police. About 2:30 p.m., after the parade had finished but with roads still shut down, an off-duty officer near the 600 block of W. Hoffman St. said he heard gunshots. Officers found a man inside an apartment in the 1000 block of Pennsylvania Ave., about two blocks from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to his face and chest. He was taken by ambulance to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he was listed in critical condition, police said. The man, identified as Darius Goines of the 600 block of Murphy Lane, was pronounced dead at about 8:30 p.m. last night, according to Nicole Monroe, a police spokeswoman. A motive is not known, though court records show Goines was on probation for a drug distribution conviction in April 2009. Authorities were looking for a silver Toyota with a driver wearing a ski mask. He was last seen heading east on Preston Street. Earlier, about 1 p.m., two men were sitting in a vehicle on Lombard Street just west of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard when a traffic officer approached. Donny Moses, a city police spokesman, said the driver "got spooked" and put the car in reverse. Moses said the driver sped east on Lombard, then turned onto the 800 block of West Baltimore St., all while in reverse, and struck a parked University of Maryland police car. The occupants ran but were caught and arrested, Moses said. He said about two ounces of marijuana was found in the vehicle. Antonio Wilkens, 31, and Corey Wilkens, 30, both of the 5900 block of Fenwick Ave., were charged, Moses said."

"Still in intensive care, they were shot for refusing order to convert to Islam. TOBA TEK SINGH, Pakistan, January 14 (CDN) - Two Pakistani Christians who were shot at a wedding on Dec. 26 for refusing to convert to Islam are still receiving treatment at a hospital intensive care unit, but doctors are hopeful that they will recover. In low, barely audible voices, Imran Masih, 21, and Khushi Masih, 24, told Compass that two Muslims armed with AK-47s in Punjab Province's Chak (village) 297-JB, in Toba Tek Singh district, shot them in their chests after they refused orders to recite the Islamic creed signifying conversion. Soon after they arrived at the wedding, a group of Muslim youths armed with AK-47 assault rifles surrounded them and began shooting into the air, as is customary at village weddings. They were not alarmed, they said, assuming the young Muslim men were simply celebrating joyfully. "One of the green-turban-wearing Muslims peremptorily told us to recite the Islamic holy Kalima [profession of faith] or face direct bullets and the lethal consequences," said Khushi Masih. Both Christians said that they joyfully refused, and instead they began reciting Psalm 91. "Our decision infuriated them," Imran Masih said, "and instead of shooting into the air, they shot us, leaving us only after being convinced that we were dead. Praise the name of Lord Jesus Christ, who raised us from the dead!" "