Threat against the Pope in the UK thwarted by police

UK Police: 5 arrested in alleged threat to pope

British police arrested five London street cleaners over an alleged threat to Pope Benedict XVI on Friday, the second day of a papal trip to Britain that has brought both a warm welcome from Catholics and renewed anger over the clerical sex abuse scandal.

The Vatican said the pope was calm despite the pre-dawn arrests and planned no changes to his schedule.

Acting on a tip, police detained the men, aged 26 to 50, under the Terrorism Act at a business in central London. They are being questioned at a London police station and have not been charged. Police said an initial search of that business and other related properties had not uncovered any hazardous items.

Westminster Council said the suspects worked as street cleaners for a contractor on its behalf.

Police said they received information about a potential threat against the pope overnight, prompting the armed operation to arrest the men early Friday.

Police declined to say whether the men were British or give details of their ethnicity....

Even as the authorities are reluctant to give out the ethnic and religious persuasions of the conspirators, they have now confirmed they are not British nationals and some sources identify them as Algerian nationals.

Unless Algeria has, unbeknownst to the rest of us, recently gone militantly Protestant, I'd submit it is yet another moderate act by the Religion of Peace and High Exposives.