Portugal and Greece Downgraded on Debt Worries
BBC: Ratings agency Standard & Poor's has downgraded struggling Greece and Portugal on further debt worries.

S&P says investors in their bonds could lose out under the terms of a new eurozone bail-out package.

The move pushed up the countries' borrowing costs as lenders demanded a higher rate of return for buying government bonds.

The downgrades left Portugal one notch above junk rating and Greece's creditworthiness below that of Egypt. » | Tuesday, March 29, 2011

French Muslim Leader Calls for Protest
Mar 29 - A former top aide to French President Nicolas Sarkozy calls on Muslims to wear a green badge in protest against a government he claims stigmatizes the Islamic population. Nick Rowlands reports

SAPHIR NEWS: Les musulmans appelés à porter une « étoile verte » » | Rédigé par La Rédaction, Saphirnews.com | Lundi 28 Mars 2011

Japan: Nuclear Crisis "Very Serious"
Mar 29 - Plutonium found in soil near Japan's nuclear plant; Tokyo denies it's considering nationalizing plant operator TEPCO. Toshi Maeda reports

Libyan Rebels Retreat from Bin Jawad
Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi have forced opposition fighters to abandon the town of Bin Jawad, a day after they had taken it, and retreat further east to Ras Lanuf

Empire - Information Wars
Information is power and in the age of the information revolution, cyber and satellite communication is transforming our lives, reinventing the relationship between people and power. How will governments deal with the information revolution?

Tensions Rise over Migrant Arrivals in Lampedusa
It is one of the gateways to Europe for people fleeing political unrest in North Africa. The Italian island of Lampedusa is a landing point for thousands of refugees.
But as Al Jazeera's Khadija Magardie reports, they are not getting a warm welcome

Pro-Assad Rally Staged in Damascus
Thousands of Syrians gathered to show their support for President Bashar al-Assad in the capital Damascus on Tuesday. This apparent outpouring of support comes after protesters in several Syrian cities took to the streets to demand more freedom. Al Jazeera's Cal Perry was among the crowds and sent us this report

London: World Leaders Speak on the Libyan Crisis
World leaders have met at a summit in London to discuss the ongoing conflict in Libya, and possible outlooks both for the military intervention, and humanitarian and development aid going forward. Here are excerpts from comments made by David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, and Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General

Talk to Jazeera - Muammar Gaddafi (September 25, 2009)
Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2009. His 96-minute speech, which broke the alloted 15-minute protocol, marked the first time he addressed the international body since leading a coup in 1969 which ended rule by monarchy in Libya and brought him to power. In an interview with Al Jazeera's Ghida Fakhry, Gaddafi repeated his belief that a two-state solution is not a feasible approach to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and bringing peace in the Middle East

Japan Nuclear Radiation Detected In Glasgow
Minute traces of radiation from the Fukushima 1 nuclear plant in Japan have been detected in the air in Glasgow

Libyen-Konferenz in London
In der britischen Hauptstadt treffen sich am Nachmittag Vertreter aus über 40 Ländern. Sie wollen über die aktuelle Lage in Libyen diskutieren und nach Lösungen für den Konflikt suchen. Einschätzungen von Peter Balzli, SF-Korrespondent, London

Deutschland: Schlechte Stimmung auf Islamkonferenz

Deutsche Islam Konferenz (DIK) »

Italien bietet Tunesien Geld zur Grenzschließung

Islam and Muslims in Australia

James Bays Describes the Rebel Retreat from Bin Jawad
Troops loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi shelled rebels heading west on the coastal road to Sirte on Tuesday, forcing them to pull back to the small town of Bin Jawad. The retreat reversed a rapid, two-day advanced that saw the pro-democracy fighers push from Ajdabiya to Nawfaliya, where they met strong resistance. The mostly young, untrained fighters have not been able to adapt to combat and do not take standard military precautions to defend themselves, Bays reports

Syria: Cabinet Resigns amid Unrest
The Syrian government has resigned, an offer accepted by President Bashar al-Assad. We are also hearing Assad has appointed Naji Otari - the head of the now defunct government, as the new caretaker prime minister.
The president is expected to address the public in the coming hours.
Al Jazeera's Rula Amin, reporting from the capital Damascus, has the latest

Le gouvernement Syrien démissionne
CYBERPRESSE.CA: Le gouvernement syrien dirigé depuis 2003 par le Premier ministre Mohammad Naji Otri a présenté mardi sa démission au chef de l'État Bachar al-Assad, qui l'a acceptée, a annoncé l'agence officielle Sana.

«Le président Assad a accepté aujourd'hui la démission du gouvernement de Mohammad Naji Otri et lui a demandé d'expedier les affaires courantes», selon Sana. » | Agence France-Presse | Mardi 29 Mars 2011

'Foreign Spies' Hack into Australian PM's Computer
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Chinese hackers seeking information on commercial secrets are suspected of having broken into a computer used by Julia Gillard, the Australian prime minister.

Miss Gillard's parliamentary computer was among 10 machines used by senior government ministers which were compromised by the hackers, Australian intelligence officials have said.

Sydney's Daily Telegraph reported that American intelligence officials alerted their Australian counterparts to the security issue, warning that thousands of emails could have been stolen by the hackers.

"Four separate government sources confirmed that they had been told Chinese intelligence agencies were among a list of foreign hackers that are under suspicion," the paper said. Read on and comment » | Bonnie Malkin in Sydney | Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Les jeunes Suisses boivent et fument toujours autant
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Selon une étude d’Addiction Info Suisse, la consommation d’alcool, de tabac et de cannabis des jeunes de 15 ans est toujours aussi élevée.

L’attitude des jeunes face à l’alcool, le tabac et le cannabis n’a guère changé: leur consommation reste toujours aussi élevée qu’il y a quatre ans, selon une nouvelle enquête réalisée par Addiction Info Suisse auprès des écoliers de 15 ans. Environ un quart des adolescents boivent de l’alcool une fois par semaine et un jeune sur dix fume quotidiennement.

La consommation d’alcool et de cannabis avait atteint un sommet dans l’enquête réalisée en 2002 auprès des 11-15 ans, a rappelé mardi l’organisation. L’étude est effectuée tous les quatre ans sur mandat de l’Office fédéral de la santé publique (OFSP). Cette fois, l’accent a été mis sur les jeunes de 15 ans, un âge qui représente une étape importante du développement des adolescents. » | ATS | Mardi 29 Mars 2011

"Russlands Bin Laden" angeblich getötet
DIE PRESSE: Islamistenführer Doku Umarow soll bei einem Luftangriff im Nordkaukasus getötet worden sein. Umarow hatte sich unter anderem zu dem Anschlag auf den Moskauer Flughafen bekannt.

Russische Spezialkräfte haben nach eigenen Angaben den als "Russlands Bin Laden" bekannten Islamistenführer Doku Umarow getötet. Das meldete die Agentur Interfax am Dienstag. Eine offizielle Bestätigung gab es vorerst nicht.

Dem Bericht zufolge wurde Umarow am Montag bei einem Luftangriff im Konfliktgebiet Nordkaukaus zusammen mit 16 weiteren Terroristen getötet. Allerdings war er bereits in der Vergangenheit für tot erklärt worden.

Der kremltreue tschetschenische Republikchef Ramsan Kadyrow sprach von einer "guten Nachricht für eine gesunde Entwicklung" der Unruheregion, sollte sich der Tod bestätigen. » | Ag. | Dienstag, 29. März 2011