Al-Qaeda Came Within Days of Terror Attack on Britain Last Year, Court Hears
THE TELEGRAPH: An alleged al-Qaeda terrorist cell arrested in the North West was within days of launching an attack on Britain a senior officer in MI5 has told a tribunal.

The men, who were arrested in Manchester and Liverpool in April last year, were said to be in direct contact with al-Qaeda in Pakistan, using coded email messages that talked about cars and girls.

They were said to be “operating in a similar manner” to those planning the mass casualty attacks of July 7 2005 and the trans-Atlantic airline plot of 2006.

Sources at the time said the gang was targeting Easter shoppers but police found no sign of bomb-making equipment and they were never charged.

The operation had to be brought forward after Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick, then Britain’s most senior counter-terrorism officer, was photographed entering Downing Street with details of the operation visible.

Four of the men, who had all arrived from Pakistan on student visas, are now appealing against a government decision to deport them on national security grounds.

An MI5 officer, referred to only as “ZR” gave evidence behind a curtain at the beginning of a three-week hearing at the Special Immigration and Appeals Commission.

The officer, who refused to answer a large number of questions in open court, told the commission that the plot centred on a man called Abid Naseer, 23, and his associates.

He said they were “planning a terrorist attack on the UK, directed and orchestrated by al-Qaeda and part of that direction was by coded email passages and the attack was most likely to take place between 15 and 20 April 2009 on which basis the arrests came days before the attacks were due to take place. >>> Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent | Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Iran Launches Fierce Attack on West in UN Rights Forum
Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki speaks during the 13th session of the UN Human Rights Council at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva on Monday. Photo: Arab News
ARAB NEWS: GENEVA: Iran launched a fierce verbal assault on the West on Monday, charging some European countries of subjecting Muslim communities to insult and violence and suggesting the United States and Europe aided terrorism.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told the United Nations Human Rights Council, to which it is bidding for election in May, that some Western states are gross violators of rights and are promoting lewdness to undermine family life.

"There is a growing trend in applying double standards by the Western countries with regard to the freedom of expression and opinion," Mottaki told the 47-member forum at the start of its main annual four-week session.

"Muslims throughout the world in general and the Muslim communities in Western countries in particular, have been the target not only of massive propaganda campaigns but outright social castigation and open violence, all under the pretext of freedom of expression," he declared. >>> Robert Evans, Reuters | Monday, March 01, 2010

Bill Gates’ Attack Berlusconi’s Vanity
MAIL ONLINE: Microsoft founder Bill Gates has launched a scathing attack on Silvio Berlusconi, accusing the Italian Prime Minister of spending more on his thinning hair than he does on foreign aid.

Billionaire Mr Gates hit out at Mr Berlusconi's 'stinginess' and said the controversial politican was the main figure on his 'list of shame'.

And, in a clear reference to Mr Berlusconi's hair transplant, he told German daily Sueddeut[s]che Zeitung that 'rich people spend a lot more on personal problems like baldness than they do to combat malaria'.

Mr Gates' attack came as Italians were scratching their heads over the mystery of Mr Berlusconi's moving hairline. 'He's spending more on his baldness than on combating malaria': Bill Gates' scathing attack on Berlusconi's vanity >>> Nick Pisa | Friday, January 29, 2010

This Meddlesome Woman: Harriet Harman’s Direct Assault on the Roman Catholic Church
THE TELEGRAPH: The Roman Catholic ban on women entering the priesthood will become illegal under Harriet Harman's controversial Equality Bill, according to Christian charity, CARE.

A new report by the leading charity – backed by a legal opinion from a leading QC – says the Bill will make it impossible for all churches and faith-based charities to insist that their senior staff lead private lives in accordance with their religious beliefs.

CARE said that, under the Bill, which will be considered by the House of Lords on Monday, it would be illegal for a Christian charity to sack a senior manager for adultery or living an openly gay lifestyle.

The same rules would, it added, apply to Muslim and Jewish churches and charities.

However, the biggest potential showdown is likely to be between the government and Britain's 4.3 million Catholics over the church's tradition of an all-male, celibate priesthood.

Previous legislation in 2007, also backed by Ms Harman, the Commons Leader and equality minister, forced the closure of two Catholic adoption agencies for refusing to comply with new laws requiring them to place children with gay couples.

CARE's report – A Little Bit Against Discrimination? – warns that the proposals contained in the Bill are a serious threat to religious liberty in Britain.

John Bowers QC said in a legal opinion for CARE that the Bill could make it unlawful for a church to require a priest or minister to be male, celibate and unmarried, or not in a civil partnership. Catholic ban on women priests 'illegal under Harriet Harman equality bill' >>> Patrick Hennessy, Political editor | Sunday, January 10, 2010

Labour's Equality Bill Should Not Be Tolerated
THE TELEGRAPH: Telegraph View: ambiguities in the wording may penalise the Catholic Church and institutions linked to it

Toleration is one of the most fundamental values of a liberal society. It is also appears to be the one that some Labour ministers find hardest to understand. It requires accepting that other people are entitled to arrange their lives and institutions around their religious beliefs – even when those beliefs appear, to those who do not adhere to the religion in question, to be wrong-headed, or even discriminatory.

As we report today, there are serious concerns that Labour's new Equality Bill is incompatible with the value of toleration. According to one QC, it will make it illegal for a religion to insist on celibacy from some of its members, or to prevent women from becoming priests or holding other offices. There is enough ambiguity in the wording of the new law to make that intolerant result a real possibility. It would not be the first time that Labour's quest to achieve "fairness" has led to the imposition of prohibitions on religious organisations. A law passed in 2007 forced the closure of two Catholic adoption agencies for their refusal to place children with gay couples. >>> Telegraph View | Sunday, January 10, 2010

Christenverfolgung: Siebenfacher Mord vor ägyptischer Kirche
WELT ONLINE: Aus einem vorbei fahrenden Auto heraus haben mutmaßlich radikale Islamisten in Ägypten das Feuer auf eine Gruppe koptischer Christen eröffnet. Sie kamen aus einer Messe – die Kopten feiern Weihnachten am 7. Januar. Bei dem Anschlag starb auch ein muslimischer Wachmann, neun Menschen wurden verletzt.

Schenouda III., Papst von Alexandrien und Oberhaupt der koptisch-orthodoxen Kirche in Ägypten, beim Gebet in der koptischen Kathedrale in Kairo. Bild: Welt Online
Muslimische Fanatiker haben vor einer Kirche in Oberägypten sechs koptische Christen und einen muslimischen Wachmann erschossen. Neun weitere Menschen wurden verletzt, als drei Männer aus einem vorbeifahrenden Auto heraus das Feuer auf die Gläubigen eröffneten. Es war der folgenschwerste Angriff auf koptische Christen in Ägypten seit zehn Jahren. Die Angreifer hätten wenig später auch noch ein Kloster beschossen.

Bischof Kirollos von der oberägyptischen Diözese Nag Hammadi (Provinz Kena) sagte, er selbst sei vermutlich das eigentliche Ziel der Mörder gewesen. Der Kirchenmann erklärte, er sei am Abend gegen 23 Uhr nach der Messe zum orthodoxen Weihnachtsfest mit seinem Auto von der Kirche weggefahren. Er merkte, dass ihn ein Wagen verfolgte und kehrte um. Als er vor dem Hintereingang des Gotteshauses eintraf, schossen seine Verfolger auf eine Gruppe von Oberschülern, die vor dem Gebäude miteinander plauderten. Der Bischof erklärte, er habe die Messe aus Sicherheitsgründen früher als sonst abgehalten. >>> dpa/AFP/jay | Donnerstag, 07. Januar 2010

Attack on Coptic Christians in Egypt Leaves 7 Dead
Egyptian Coptic Orthodox members perform prayers at the Coptic Cathedral in Cairo, Egypt, 07 Jan 2010. Photograph: Voice of America
VOICE OF AMERICA: At least seven Coptic Christians were killed and another half dozen were wounded - many seriously - after a Thursday morning drive-by shooting after a Christmas midnight mass in Nag Hamadi in Upper Egypt.



Egypt's Coptic Christian community was celebrating midnight mass on Christmas Day, according to the Coptic calendar, when the shooter sprayed a large crowd in front of the church with a hail of gunfire. Many died on the spot. Others were taken to the hospital, in serious condition.



Eyewitnesses indicate the crossroads in front of the Virgin Mary Church in Nag Hamadi was crowded because of the Christmas ceremony. The shooter escaped during the chaos.

Nag Hamadi is 64 kilometers from the famous Temple of Luxor. It has been racked by sectarian violence since the alleged sexual assault of a Muslim girl by a Christian man, in November. 



Muslim residents of the town ransacked, burned and looted Christian homes and shops for five days after the alleged incident.



Said Sadek, professor of political sociology at the American University of Cairo, says that the region of Upper Egypt where Nag Hamadi is located has a tribal culture and that the crime, or violence, or even sex can often take on a sectarian nature. >>> Edward Yeranian, Cairo | Thursday, January 07, 2010

Gaddafi's Playboy Son 'Attacked Model Wife in £4,000 Claridge's Suite'
MAIL ONLINE: The playboy son of Colonel Gaddafi was at the centre of a police inquiry last night over claims he attacked his wife in a top London hotel on Christmas Day.

Moutassim Gaddafi - known as Hannibal - was staying with his wife, the model Aline Skaf, 29, and their children in a luxury suite at Claridge's when the fight broke out.

Police were called to the family's £4,000-a-night suite at 1.30am after hotel staff heard a woman's screams for help.

But when officers arrived they found the Libyan despot's 33-year-old son locked in the room with his wife - with his bodyguards blocking their way.

Three of the security staff were arrested at the scene for obstructing police officers.

Mr Gaddafi, however, was able to slip away after calling the Libyan ambassador, who informed officers that he had diplomatic immunity.

The Porsche-loving playboy and notorious hell-raiser was then whisked away in an embassy car. >>> Rebecca Camber, Tamara Cohen and Neil Sears | Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Hannibal’s wife, Aline Skaf. All praise is due to Allah, don’t you know? Photo: Google Images

Silvio Berlusconi Will Need Weeks of Treatment after Milan Attack
TIMES ONLINE: Silvio Berlusconi will need weeks of treatment for the physical injuries and mental trauma suffered when he was assaulted by a mentally ill man in Milan on Sunday, his doctors have said.

The Italian Prime Minister’s nose was broken and he lost two teeth and half a litre of blood in the attack, at the end of a political rally. He said it was a “miracle” he had not been blinded when a chunky souvenir made of marble and metal was thrown at his face.

His assailant, Massimo Tartaglia, an electronics engineer and video games inventor with no criminal record, is said to have told police that he hated Mr Berlusconi. He has been charged with aggravated assault.

Video footage shows Mr Tartaglia, 42, waving a replica of Milan cathedral in the air several times before hurling it at the Prime Minister’s head as he greeted wellwishers and signed autographs.

Mr Berlusconi’s doctor, Alberto Zangrillo, said the injuries were more serious than initially thought, and he was able to eat only with great difficulty. “I found him shaken, embittered, as if he had been woken from a bad dream — really disheartened,” he said. >>> Richard Owen in Rome | Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Sarkozy Blasts Swiss Justice Over Polanski Arrest
DAILY EXPRESS: French leader NICOLAS SARKOZY has offered his support to detained sex offender ROMAN POLANSKI, insisting a 76-year-old man should not have been arrested for crimes he committed 32 years ago. >>> | Saturday, October 17, 2009

Police Hunt Neo-Nazis Who Cut Swastika Into Woman's Hip
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Yet another far-right assault in eastern Germany: Police are hunting four men who sliced a swastika into the hip of a 17-year-old woman after she tried to stop them harassing a six-year-old girl. Witnesses have been slow to come forward.

German police say they have received two leads but have made no arrests yet in the case of a 17-year-old girl attacked by four far-right youths who cut a swastika symbol into her hip in the eastern town of Mittweida this month.

The men had been outside a supermarket pushing and harassing a six-year-old girl from the former Soviet Union. The teenager shouted at them to stop and they responded by turning on her. They threw her to the ground, three of them held her and the fourth cut the 5 centimeter Nazi symbol into her thigh with what she said was an "object similar to a scalpel."

He also tried to cut a Germanic symbol into her cheek but she defended herself so violently that they failed, police said. Police have located a 19-year-old suspect but so far none of the people who witnessed the attack have come forward to testify and the local court has refused to issue an arrest warrant against him because of a lack of evidence. >>

Mark Alexander