Astrologist predicts next target...

Following the recent London attacks, which stunned the UK as well as the entire world, the next major attack, will take place in Paris, according to an Arabian astrologist.

A Tunisian who had reportedly "predicted" the deaths of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Pope John Paul II and Princess Diana - and the recent attacks in London - has put France on the target line, saying Paris would be the next major European city to suffer a major “terror attack”.

On July 7, four blasts ripped across central London, killing over 50 people and injuring 700. The coordinated attack hit three Underground trains and a bus, as the morning's rush hour drew to a close.

“At the end of this summer or at the beginning of winter... France, and especially Paris, will be the target of a very big offensive,” wrote Hassan al-Charni, deputy president of the World Union of Astrologers. “I clearly see three targets in Paris: the Eiffel Tower, the Paris Tunnel, and the Montparnasse district.”

The Eiffel Tower is a metallic tower built on the Champ de Mars in the French capital and is nowadays the most famous landmark and symbol of Paris. Last December, the Arabian astrologer predicted “strong blasts that will rock Britain, and especially London” sometime in 2005. He also said at the time Pope John Paul II would die “very soon,” just three months before the latter died.

Charni had also said US President Bush will be killed by an assassin's bullet in 2005.
Soothsaying is not unusual, nor forbidden, in Islam – as it is in Christianity and Judaism. Muslim caliphs relied on court astrologers as early as the eighth century.
Astrology is any of several traditions or systems in which knowledge of the apparent positions of celestial bodies is held to be useful in understanding, interpreting, and organizing knowledge about reality and human existence on earth.
It is classified as a pseudoscience because it makes use of observed data about the heavens to draw conclusions that are unsupported by science.

Charni also predicted the sudden death of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein before his trial begins. "The Middle East region will be sitting on a volcano in 2005, and the situation in Iraq will get even more dramatic as Saddam Hussein is expected to die suddenly before his trial even starts," Charni had reportedly said.

He also predicted the death of Saudi King Faud this year. King Faud is currently hospitalized in a Riyadh hospital. However, it should be noted, that not all al-Charni’s predictions come true. He also predicted a major “terror attack” in Tel Aviv during January’s elections for Palestinian Authority leader, a prediction that failed to come true.

Even though there are astrologers who try to put astrology on sound scientific grounds, for many more it is a technology and an art that merges calculations with intuitive perceptions. Only time can tell whether Charni’s insights will eventually become a reailty, once again.