Iraqi MP Acquitted

BAGHDAD — An Iraqi lawmaker was acquitted of a crime for visiting Israel. An Iraqi court ruled Nov. 24  that Mithal al-Alusi didn’t break Iraqi law when he visited Israel in September to attend a counterterrorism conference, Reuters reported. He used a German passport to travel to Israel, which he has visited several times in recent years. Iraq’s parliament voted to strip him of his immunity from prosecution and charged him with visiting an enemy state, an offence from the 1950s that’s punishable by death. The court ruled there’s no law barring travel to Israel.

Religion Helps: Study

NEW YORK — Attendance at religious services reduces the risk of death by 20 per cent, a new study says. The study by researchers at Yeshiva University’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine was published in the journal Psychology and Health. Researchers evaluated religious practices of 92,395 women aged 50 to 79 participating in the Women’s Health Initiative, a national, long-term study on women’s health. Those who said they attend services once a week or more showed a 20 per cent mortality risk reduction versus those not attending services at all. The study didn’t try to measure spirituality. Rather, it examined self-reported measures of religiosity.

Doubting Durban II

SYDNEY — Australia is concerned that anti-Semitism could mar a United Nations conference on racism next year. A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said last week that America, New Zealand and the European Union supported Australia’s concern about the followup to the 2001 Durban conference against racism, which is scheduled for April in Geneva. The 2001 UN conference has been described by critics as an anti-Israel and anti-Semitic hate-fest. Israel and America walked out in protest during the conference. The spokesperson said Australia hasn’t yet decided if it will attend the conference, dubbed “Durban II.” He said that it depends “whether Australia, and other countries with a genuine interest in countering racism, can positively influence the outcomes of the [Durban II] conference.” Canada and Israel have already withdrawn.