Over the weekend, defense contractor KBR made the announcement that it was banning the use of personal cell phones by employees in Iraq. KBR has not said that the ban is related to the numerous allegations of rape by female KBR employees by their male co-workers. They have not, however, cited any reason for the ban other than it being a "security issue", and the timing is certainly curious. Furthermore, it could potential endanger future victims.

Jamie Leigh Jones is the first alleged victim to come forth publicly. As she explains, she was gang-raped in 2005 by her male Halliburton/KBR co-workers, and then held in a shipping container for days so that she would not squeal and tell anyone what had happened. Her job was also threatened if she sought medical treatment or told anyone what occurred. As her story goes, she was able to convince a sympathetic guard to loan her a cell phone so that she could call her father in Texas.

This week Barack Obama left a written prayer in the cracks of the Western Wall, one of Judiasm's holiest sites. The note was nabbed, and published in an Israeli newspaper on Friday.

The Maariv daily paper published the note in its entirety, which read:

"Lord - Protect my family and me," reads the note published in the Maariv daily. "Forgive me my sins, and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will."

The decision to publish the note has already drawn fire, and Shmuel Rabinovitz, the rabbi in charge of the Western Wall, announced his displeasure with the decision, stating that publishing the note intruded on Obama's relationship with God:

"The notes placed between the stones of the Western Wall are between a person and his maker. It is forbidden to read them or make any use of them. The publication "damages the Western Wall and damages the personal, deep part of every one of us that we keep to ourselves," said Rabinovitz.

A second Israeli newspaper, the Yediot Ahronot, also claims to have obtained the note. They however decided not to publish it in respect of Obama's privacy.

Mr. Khadr We’re requesting the Canadian government for a long time.

Unidentified man Is that right?

Mr. Khadr Yeah.

Man Yeah, it’s not as easy as it can be.

Clip 2

Man Alright, well we’ll pick up something, and then how about we get together tomorrow for a talk?

Mr. Khadr No problem.

Man Alright?

Mr. Khadr I’m very happy to see you.

Man Yeah, it’s good seeing you.

Clip 3

[Mr. Khadr’s hand is covering his face. He lifts up his shirt.]

Mr. Khadr I can’t move my arms and all of these ... is this healthy? [Shows the man his chest.]

Man No.

Mr. Khadr Is this healthy? I can’t move my arm. I requested medical over a long time. They don’t do anything about it. [Covers his face and sobs.]

Man No, I mean they look like they’re healing well to me. You know, I’m not a doctor but I think you’re getting good medical care.

A massive security scare ensued as an Israeli soldier committed suicide while French President Nicolas Sarkozy boarded a plane to leave Israel. Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni, were quickly rushed up their plane's stairs by security guards when the shot was heard.

Reports from the ground indicate that a border soldier shot himself as Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and president Shimon Perez arrived at Ben-Gurion airport to see off Sarkozy and his wife, who had been in the country for three days.

Confusion still surrounds the incident, and it was not immediately clear whether the soldier intentionally shot himself, or whether he had fainted, causing the gun to go off accidentally.

During the incident, Olmert and Peres were also rushed to safety in armored vehicles. They returned, however, to say their goodbyes to the French president and his wife.

Amidst fears that the country is falling back into Taliban-style rules and conservative power, the Afghan government is now considering a law that would ban men's jeans, long hair, makeup, and couples talking in public. This follows the government's recent attempts to ban popular Indian soap operas, and a recent high court decision to confirm the death sentences of 100 people.

The proposal to outlaw these things is also seen as a part of a large push for Islamic values by the country's ruling religious elite.

According to Haji Ahmad Shah Khan Achakzai, an MP in Kandahar, the law would boost moral and religious values for the Afghan people:

"Kabul has seen a wave of liberal, unwelcome influences of late," he said. "There are women dressed immodestly, prostitution can be found openly and even alcohol is available on the market. Our job is to protect the Afghan people from being exposed to this un-Islamic way of life and poor morals," he said.

But not everyone is in favor the the laws, and some of Afghanistan's more liberal MPs fear the loss of hard-fought freedoms, and the return of another Taliban ruling era.

Others warn that attempts to bring stability to the country could be jeopardized if these laws allowed to go through:

Edna Parker, 114, of Shelbyville, Indiana, may soon lose her spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest living person in the world. Mariam Amash, 120 of Israel, has revealed that she is the world's oldest, after having shown her birth certificate when applying recently for an ID card.

According to her birth certificate, which was issued by the now defunct Ottoman Empire, Amash was born in 1888 near her current home in the village of Jisr az-Zarka.

Amash, a devout Muslim, has 10 children, 120 grandchildren, 250 great-grandchildren, and 30 great-great-grandchildren. She has made the haj pilgrimate to Mecca five times in her life, most recently in 1990 at the age of 102.

One of the FBI's most wanted terrorists, Imad Mughniyeh, was killed overnight by a car bomb in Damascus, Syria after having dropped out of sight for nearly fifteen years. Considered to be one of the most elusive terrorists in the world, the former Hezbollah security chief had been previously implicated in a series of attacks that killed hundreds of Americans in Lebanon in the 1980's, as well as a string of brutal kidnappings and bombings of Jewish sites in Argentina.

Hezbollah, a Lebanaese Shiite militant group, as wel as their main ally, Iran, have accused Israel in the assassination. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has quickly denied the charge, stating "Israel rejects the attempt by terrorist elements to ascribe to it any involvement whatsoever in this incident."

The US government is pleased to hear news of his death, as Mughniyeh was indicted in the US for the 1985 hijacking of a TWA airliner. A US Navy diver was killed in that incident, and the FBI put a $5 million bounty on him.

The FBI says that they are awaiting official confirmation of Imad Mughniyeh's death, as well as the details. Sean McCormack, a spokesman for the State Department said, "The world is a better place without this man in it. One way or another he was brought to justice."

Iranian officials have issued a stark warning to the United States military and any thoughts of crossing Iran's borders. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Seyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini said at a news conference Wednesday in Tehran that Iran would "give proper response to any move in this connection in a bid to defense its security and national sovereignty."

Further more, he said, "Any entrance to the Iranian soil by any U.S. military force to trail suspects would be against international laws and could be pursued legally."

A 2005 U.S. intelligence document that was leaked indicated that U.S. military forces in Iraq were permitted to pursue members of the former Iraqi regime or suspected terrorists across the border into Iran or Syria. Iran has come out to say they will not permit such action to occur without retaliation.

Saudi sweethearts hoping to give their loved one a beautiful bouquet of red roses for Valentine's Day will have to think outside of the box, due to a government-imposed ban on red roses ahead of the holiday. Saudi Arabia's Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has ordered florists and gift shop owners in the country's capital of Riyadh to remove any items that are scarlet in color.

Such a clamp-down before Valentine's Day is not uncommon in the religiously conservative country. In the eyes of the Saudi vice squad, Valentine's Day encourages relations between men and women outside of wedlock.

In Saudi Arabia, unrelated men and women are forbidden from mixing, women cannot drive, and women must wear a headscarf and cloak. Relations outside the bounds of marriage are strictly prohibited and punishable by law.

Smoking bans around the world have relegated the world's smokers to seek refuge in their cigarettes outside, often times in the cold or rain. For those who'd still like to get in their nicotine fix, without having to spend as much time outside, Philip Morris is launching a new "snack size" mini cigarette - Marlboro Intense.

The mini cigarette allows smokers to smoke their cigarette much more quickly than regular sized ones, but it still delivers the same amount of nicotine as the full-size version.

The new Marlboro Intense cigarettes are only 7.2cm long, which is shorter than the standard 8.5cm cigarette. It will be first tested in Turkey, but with more than 50 countries around the world now enforcing smoking bans, Philip Morris believes that they may be on to something. So it may not be long before we see these snack-sized cigarettes in the States.

How likely are those who buy the Marlboro Intense mini-cigarettes to simply just start smoking more of them because of the psychology of their small size?