I see that we're making some REAL progress in the middle east.

Will Saudis Ban the Letter ‘X'?
By YOUSSEF IBRAHIM


The letter "X" soon may be banned in Saudi Arabia because it resembles the mother of all banned religious symbols in the oil kingdom: the cross.

The new development came with the issuing of another mind-bending fatwa, or religious edict, by the infamous Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice — the group of senior Islamic clergy that reigns supreme on all legal, civil, and governance matters in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The commission's damning of the letter "X" came in response to a Ministry of Trade query about whether it should grant trademark protection to a Saudi businessman for a new service carrying the English name "Explorer."

"No! Nein! Nyet!" was the commission's categorical answer.

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Speech scrapped over ban on women

SPAIN'S justice minister refused to deliver a lecture at a university in Saudi Arabia today after authorities banned visiting female journalists from attending.

The Spanish reporters were prevented from entering Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University despite the fact they were all wearing the traditional black abaya and veil, according to one of the correspondents from SER radio, Esther Bazan.

Justice Minister Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar decided to cancel his lecture on the globalisation of terrorism at the institution - the academic heart of Saudi Arabia's hardline Wahhabi Islam.

Saudi authorities said the university was an all-male institution and women were not allowed, but the Spanish delegation and reporters travelling with them were not informed about the ban until last night.

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