Category:July 9, 2005

As reported by Andrew White at 12:45 UTC on July 9, 2005. This is Wikinews: News Briefs.

An official with the United Nations is decrying a Nigerian court decision to sentence a 50-year-old man to death by stoning after he admitting to having sex with another man. Reports have not named the individual.

The incident in question happened after the 50-year-old man was acquitted of charges that he had sexual relations with a much younger man. During further questioning, the judge asked the accused if he ever had sex with any other men.

Upon answering yes, the judge convicted the man of sodomy and sentenced him to death by stoning.

Nigeria, the most populous African country, is one of many countries that has started to adopt Sharia, or traditional Islamic law as detailed in the Koran. Since 2000, 12 of Nigeria's northernmost states have adopted Sharia codes for their courtrooms. Under Islamic law, homosexual conduct is a crime punishable by death.

Residents of the Gulf Coast are bracing for the landfall of Hurricane Dennis, a storm that has left a path of destruction throughout the island nations of Jamaica, Haiti, and Cuba. The hurricane's sustained winds have dropped to 115 mph after making landfall in Cuba. The hurricane is now rated Category 3.

The lower Florida Keys are under a hurricane warning while the remainder of the Keys should expect high winds and rain associated with tropical storms.

MSBNC translator Jacob Keryakes has stated that the claim of responsibility for the London bombings of July 7th, made by a militant Islamist group, contains an error in one of the Quranic verses that it cites; suggesting that the claim may be phony. "This is not something al-Qaeda would do." he said.

The National Institute on the Media and the Family (NIMF), a media watchdog group based in Minneapolis, Minnesota issued a "nationwide parental alert" today. This came after finding out about the hidden sex scenes in the popular videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

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