Hijackers release 7 from Athens bus
ATHENS, Greece, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Armed gunmen who hijacked a bus outside Athens released seven of 26 passengers being held hostage Wednesday for a flight to Russia, Sky News reported.
The bus, which was heading from Marathon to Athens, was seized at about 6 a.m. The gunmen were said to be carrying hunting rifles or shotguns.
The hijackers were demanding a driver to take them to Athens airport, one of the released hostages said.
"As soon as the driver comes, they will release all women. At the airport, they want a plane to take them to Russia, and then they will release the rest of the hostages," the woman said.
At the onset of the incident, the bus driver escaped the scene, along with the ticket inspector and a female passenger.
Special forces, including snipers, hostage negotiators and anti-terrorism squads, surrounded the bus, while a police helicopter hovered overhead in the Athens suburb of Marathon, CNN reported.
Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis postponed his trip to the European Union summit in Brussels because of the crisis.
Iraq to try 'Chemical Ali' this month
BAGHDAD, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan said Wednesday Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali," will be the first to be tried among Saddam Hussein's aides.
Shaalan said al-Majid, who became known as chemical Ali for ordering chemical attacks that killed 5,000 Kurdish civilians in the late 1980s, will appear before a special court next week on charges of committing mass murder against Kurds.
Iraq's interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi announced Tuesday that the trials of 11 former regime members would begin next week.
Former leader Saddam Hussein and the 11 others made first appearances in Baghdad courts in July on war crimes charges.
Two of Saddam's half-brothers are in the group, along with his vice president, defense minister, presidential secretary and former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz.
There has been no indication of when the trial for Saddam will begin. His Jordan-based lawyers say they have never been able to meet the former dictator, who was captured near Tikrit just over a year ago, on Dec.13, 2003.
Turkey riled by genocide reference
BRUSSELS, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- France's demand that Turkey accept responsibility for the alleged 1915 Armenian genocide has drawn an angry denial from Ankara, The Times of London reports.
In preliminary talks among European foreign ministers on Turkey's entry into the European Union, French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said Turkey must first officially recognize the 1915 genocide.
"When the time comes, Turkey should face up to the requirement of remembrance," Barnier said. "The European project itself is founded on reconciliation."
Historians claim Turkish authorities orchestrated the killing of 1.5 million Armenian Christians, who were indigenous inhabitants of Turkey, in an attempt to make an ethnically pure nation. However, subsequent Turkish governments have maintained only a small number were killed in spontaneous violence.
Tuesday saw a similar denial from an unidentified government official in Ankara.
"They are just trying to make us angry. It is their last chance to cause trouble against us," the official said.
N. Korea warns Japan against sanctions
PYONGYANG, North Korea, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- North Korea has warned Japan any sanctions against it would be regarded as a declaration of war and an "effective physical response" would result.
The pre-emptive warning by an unidentified government official was quoted Wednesday by North Korea's Central News Agency as opinion polls show two-thirds of the Japanese public support economic sanctions to protest Japanese kidnappings by North Korea during the Cold War.
Curiously, the South Korean government also expressed its opposition to sanctions, Voice of America said. Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon told reporters such a move would complicate efforts to resolve the nuclear standoff and said the abduction issue should be resolved through bilateral talks between Pyongyang and Tokyo.
North Korea has admitted to abducting 13 Japanese during the Cold War to train North Korean spies. Five abductees were sent back to Japan in 2002, but Pyongyang says the other eight have died. The families of the eight believe they are still being held alive by North Korea.
Fed-up Islamic scholar quits Notre Dame
CHICAGO, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- A pacifist Islamic professor has given up hope of getting a U.S. visa and announced his resignation from the University of Notre Dame.
"As you may imagine, my family has experienced enormous stress and uncertainty during this period, and I keenly feel the need to resolve our situation," wrote Tariq Ramadan, a high-profile Swiss theologian who publicly opposes violence in the name of Islam.
In a statement, the university said Ramadan was abandoning the tenured appointment in classics and peace studies as a result of the State Department's invocation of an anti-terrorism law last summer to keep him out of the country.
State Department spokeswoman Angela Aggeler told the Washington Post the details behind what is known as a "prudential revocation" remain confidential.
Ramadan, 42, is viewed in intellectual circles as a scholar who seeks to bridge the Western and Muslim worlds, arguing a Muslim can be a full participant in both. A scholar of Friedrich Nietzsche and the Koran, he is the author of more than 20 books, including the most recent, "Western Muslims and the Future of Islam."
