PARIS (AP) — France’s prime minister scrambled Wednesday to dispel concerns in the Jewish and Muslim communities after criticizing the ritual slaughter of animals for kosher and halal meat. Halal meat in particular has emerged as a hot-button issue in the campaign for presidential elections starting next month in France, a country with at least 5 million Muslims, the largest such population in western Europe. Francois Fillon’s call for religions to “reflect” upon what he called outdated traditions has fed... Read more

PARIS (AP) — France’s prime minister was scrambling to dispel concerns in France’s Jewish and Muslim communities over critical comments he made about the ritual slaughter of animals for kosher and halal meat. Francois Fillon’s call for religions to “reflect” upon allegedly outdated traditions has fed a hyper-charged political atmosphere with France’s presidential election looming within two months. Jewish leaders hosted Wednesday by Fillon said he assured them that Judiasm wasn’t targeted but insisted they would keep an eye on... Read more

NEWARK, New Jersey (AP) — The head of the FBI in New Jersey says covert operations by the New York Police Department’s intelligence division have damaged the public’s trust in New Jersey law enforcement. The Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Newark Division, Michael Ward, says two NYPD investigators have been assigned to the New Jersey-based Joint Terrorism Task Force for years. Ward told reporters Wednesday he also was aware that officers from the NYPD’s intelligence division were working... Read more

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Members of the amorphous hacking group Anonymous say they have taken down the Vatican website to protest everything from Catholic doctrine to the sexual abuse of children. The site, www.vatican.va, was inaccessible all afternoon Wednesday. The Vatican spokesman didn’t immediately return emails or phone calls seeking comment. In what claims to be the “official” site of Anonymous in Italy, a statement Wednesday said the group was attacking the Vatican to protest the execution of heretics and... Read more

NEWARK, New Jersey (AP) — The top FBI official in New Jersey planned to continue efforts to repair relationships with the state’s Muslim leaders he said had been jeopardized by revelations that the New York Police Department conducted surveillance of mosques and student organizations in the neighboring state. Michael Ward, the agent in charge of the FBI’s Newark division, said he planned to meet with worshippers at a mosque in Paterson Thursday evening that has been identified as a target... Read more

NEWARK, New Jersey (AP) — The New York Police Department’s clandestine surveillance of Muslims has damaged the public’s trust in New Jersey law enforcement and jeopardized some relationships that agents had sought to build in the community since the 2001 terror attacks, the head of the FBI in New Jersey said Wednesday. Michael Ward, agent in charge of the FBI’s Newark division, said Muslims have become less cooperative in investigations. “It hinders our ability to have our finger on the... Read more

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The New York Police Department’s surveillance of Muslims has damaged the public’s trust in New Jersey law enforcement and jeopardized some of the relationships agents had sought to build in the community since Sept. 11, the head of the FBI in New Jersey said Wednesday. Michael Ward, agent in charge of the FBI’s Newark division, said that Muslims have become less cooperative in investigations, which “creates additional risks, it creates blind spots.” “It hinders our ability... Read more

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A New York Police Department spokesman says police ties with the Muslim community remain strong. in response to a New Jersey FBI official’s criticism that police monitoring of Muslims has damaged the public trust. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne says that ongoing relationships with Muslims in the region have led to the arrest of several suspected terrorists in New Jersey and elsewhere. He says Ward recently praised two NYPD officers for their help in a New Jersey... Read more

NEWARK, New Jersey (AP) — The New York Police Department’s clandestine surveillance of Muslims has damaged the public’s trust in New Jersey law enforcement and jeopardized some of the relationships agents had sought to build in the community since the 2001 terror attacks, the head of the FBI in New Jersey said Wednesday. Michael Ward, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Newark Division, emphasized, however, that his agency has an overall good working relationship with the NYPD. He... Read more

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The head of the FBI in New Jersey said Wednesday that some of the covert operations by the New York Police Department’s intelligence division have damaged the public’s trust in New Jersey law enforcement, though he emphasized that his agency has an overall good working relationship with the NYPD. The Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Newark Division, Michael Ward, said two NYPD investigators had been assigned to the New Jersey-based Joint Terrorism Task Force... Read more