Man arrested for allegedly carrying phony check: Anti-terrorism

Man arrested for allegedly carrying phony check: Anti-terrorism officials are investigating a man arrested after arriving here on a flight from Indonesia for allegedly carrying phony checks for US$12 million, a news report said Friday. Omar Shishani, 47, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was arrested at Detroit Metropolitan Airport Wednesday after a Customs inspector found nine checks believed to be counterfeit in his baggage. He was scheduled to appear in a preliminary hearing Friday. His lawyers were not immediately available for comment. -- AP

U.S. warplanes bomb Iraq:Five Iraqis were killed and 17 wounded when U.S. warplanes bombed southern Iraq Thursday night, an Iraqi military spokesman said Friday, quoted by Baghdad Radio. "U.S. warplanes bombed a residential neighborhood in Al-Diwaniya, 350 kilometers south of Baghdad, at 1:10 a.m. Friday (4:10 a.m. Jakarta time)," the spokesman said. --AFP

Turkish parliament session blocked: Turkey's three government coalition partners and one opposition party said on Friday they would not attend a special session of parliament on Monday, effectively blocking a sitting crucial to EU preparations. Parliament needs a quorum of 184 out of a total 550 members to turn up to allow debate to start on urgently needed reforms to prepare for the European Union and possibly also to set a date for elections in November. --Reuters

France, Russia holds informal summit:French President Jacques Chirac arrived in the Black Sea Russian resort of Sochi on Friday for an informal summit with President Vladimir Putin aimed at boosting flagging ties with Moscow. During the visit, due to last less than 24 hours, the two presidents will each only bring one aide to a meeting on Friday, followed by a dinner. On Saturday, they will have a one-on-one breakfast meeting. --AFP