Breivik Trial Forces Norway to Look Again at Insanity

BBC: As Anders Behring Breivik's trial progresses in Oslo district court, the big question remains whether he can be considered responsible for his actions.

The penal codes of most Western countries allow for punishment to be adjusted according to the severity of the criminal act. In addition, the perpetrator's level of responsibility for their actions is usually considered. Other legal systems, such as the Sharia-based one of Iran, also make allowances for diminished responsibility.

In Breivik's case, there is no doubting the extreme severity of his criminal act. His killing of 77 people is the worst case of murder in Norway since World War II. The unanswered question is whether he can be held to account for a massacre to which he confesses.

Two psychiatric reports have come to conflicting conclusions as to whether Breivik was psychotic at the time of his action. The first set of experts believed he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, yet the second report concluded that he showed no signs of psychosis.

Although Norwegian courts are able to disregard forensic psychiatry reports, in practice it is extremely rare for them to do so. And a quirk in Norway's penal code means that the question of psychosis is particularly important.

Psychological or medical

Criminal insanity in the penal code of countries such as the UK and US is based on the psychological principle. This means that, in Breivik's case, he would have to have carried out the killings specifically because of his psychosis in order to escape a jail term.

Because Breivik has stated that he was aware that what he was doing was illegal, if he were being tried in, for example, the UK he would be unlikely to escape punishment under these conditions.

The Norwegian legal system, however, is based on the medical principle. According to the 44th paragraph of Norway's penal code, simply being psychotic at the moment of action would automatically exempt Breivik from punishment. There is no need for his psychosis to be the direct cause for his actions.

Confusing to many Norwegians, this element of the law has been debated for years, with criticism increasing in the aftermath of the 22 July 2011 attacks. » | Liss Goril Anda | Norwegian Journalist | Friday, May 04, 2012

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Turkish Court Hearing in Duchess of York Secret Filming Case

BBC: A hearing has taken place in Turkey in a court case in which the Duchess of York has been accused over the secret filming of orphans for a documentary.

Sarah Ferguson is being defended by a Turkish legal team but has declined to go to Ankara for the trial.

She is accused of violating the privacy of children during the filming for ITV.

The duchess has previously apologised for any offence, but says she stands by the 2008 documentary's conclusion that ill-treatment was taking place.

If found guilty, she could be sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.

BBC correspondent Jonathan Head says the duchess has made it clear she will not return to Turkey and British officials have insisted there is no possibility of her being extradited. » | Friday, May 04, 2012

Gay Rights Campaigner Fined in Russia for 'Propaganda'

BBC: A court in St Petersburg has fined Russia's best-known gay rights campaigner for spreading "homosexual propaganda" among minors.

In the first ruling of its kind, Nikolay Alexeyev was fined 5,000 roubles (£105; $170; 129 euros) after being arrested under the new ban.

He pledged to appeal against the decision, going to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary. » | Friday, May 04, 2012

Taking on Radical Islam
TORONTO SUN: Last weekend I travelled to Dearborn, Michigan — the largest Arab Muslim community in North America — to speak at a conference on the issues of honour killing, and about an increasingly intolerant Islamic triumphalism that is emerging in the United States.

The organizers had chosen Dearborn specifically because of the number of Muslims in the area, and because a suspected honour killing had taken place there — one that the authorities had refused to treat as anything Islamic. It’s typical really; even though it’s estimated that 91% of all such murders are committed by Muslims in the name of Islam, we still pretend that such horrors are mainstream domestic violence, committed by all sorts of people from all sorts of backgrounds.

There was massive security at the conference because many in the Muslim world do not appreciate people discussing these issues. In other words, I and the attendees had to be protected in a democracy from thugs who wanted to silence us.

We heard stories from people who had experienced radical Islam first-hand. (+ video) » | Michael Coren, QMI Agency | Friday, May 04, 2012

Former Cern Nuclear Physicist Jailed for Al-Qaida Terrorist Plot

THE GUARDIAN: Algerian-born Frenchman Adlène Hicheur sentenced to five years for exchanging emails with alleged al-Qaida contact

A French court has sentenced an Algerian-born nuclear physicist to five years in prison for his role in plotting terrorism with al-Qaida's north African affiliate.

Adlène Hicheur, a former researcher at Switzerland's Cern laboratory, was convicted on Friday of "criminal association with a view to plotting terrorist attacks".

Hicheur, who has been in custody since he was arrested in October 2009, could have received up to 10 years in prison.

The 35-year-old scientist and his defenders claim he was a victim of overzealous French anti-terror laws and that he explored ideas on jihadist websites but never took any concrete step toward terrorism.

Speaking after the judgment, Hicheur's lawyer Patrick Baudouin called the verdict "scandalous".

Hicheur has yet decide whether to appeal against the verdict. If he does not, with time off for good behaviour, he "should be out rather quickly", added Baudouin. » | Associated Press in Paris | Friday, May 04, 2012

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Local Elections 2012: Thatcherism with a Posh Accent Is a Toxic Proposition
THE GUARDIAN: The Tories aren't in existential crisis, but discontent among voters is focused on the leadership cabal and the issue of class

Cast your eyes over these results, and feel the Tory pain. Harlow, Great Yarmouth, Reading, Plymouth, Thurrock – all southern bywords for the kind of places that decide British elections, and all lost to Labour. Ukip polling an average of 13% wherever it stood. Those half-baked plans for directly elected mayors met with a mixture of hostility and complete indifference.

The low chatter of Conservative angst that has been simmering since the budget has now suddenly risen in volume and urgency. So far, listening to such voices rather suggests that the critique of the Tories' woes needs a bit more work, but one thing is beyond doubt: almighty rows have broken out within the Conservative family.

There may be something in the idea being put about by those on the right of the party that Tory loyalists have been dismayed by the leadership's embrace of bits of metropolitan liberalism, but there again, do more hard-bitten Conservatives really have that much to complain about?

The idea of any leftward pull from the Lib Dems usually turns out to be a canard. The cuts highlight the fact that Thatcherism is in rude health. The welfare state is under assault. The NHS is being subjected to the outsourcing and fragmentation of Tory dreams, and our schools are falling victim to much the same, with the added bonus of a supposed return to old-fashioned discipline and academic rigour. Moreover, large swaths of the public remain in full accord with the supposed need for crushing austerity, are happy to watch benefit claimants being thrown [to] the wolves, and are hardly sold on the idea of Labour coming back to power – with or without Ed Miliband's still cloudy vision of "responsible capitalism". So what is going on?

Three factors speak for themselves: the dreadful state of the economy, the rising cost of living, and the widespread impression of simple incompetence. But that third explanation blurs over into something even more troubling to the Tory soul: the shortcomings of the coterie who currently lead the party, and the torturous issue of class. » | John Harris | Friday, May 04, 2012

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Schlappe für britische Konservative bei Kommunalwahl
REUTERS DEUTSCHLAND: London - Die Briten haben die regierenden Konservativen von Premierminister David Cameron bei der Kommunalwahl für dessen drastische Sparpolitik abgestraft.

Nach Auszählung von rund der Hälfte der zur Wahl stehenden Regionalvertretungen verloren die Konservativen und die mit ihr regierenden Liberaldemokraten in England und Wales Hunderte Gemeinderäte. Die oppositionelle Labour-Partei konnte deutlich zulegen. Die rechtsgerichtete UK Independence Party verzeichnete ihr bestes Ergebnis bei einer Kommunalwahl, wie aus am Freitag veröffentlichten Ergebnissen der Wahl vom Vortag hervorging. » | Freitag, 04. Mai 2012

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Nicolas Sarkozy combatif malgré les sondages et François Bayrou

REUTERS FRANCE: PARIS - Le choix de François Bayrou et la confiance affichée par François Hollande ne semblent pas impressionner Nicolas Sarkozy, qui annonce une "grande surprise" dimanche soir malgré des sondages qui donnent toujours son adversaire socialiste net vainqueur au second tour de la présidentielle.

Deux jours après un débat télévisé qui n'a pas changé la donne et à l'avant-veille du verdict des urnes, les enquêtes d'opinion continuent vendredi de prédire que le prochain président de la République sera François Hollande.

Même si l'écart de resserre quelque peu, Ipsos, TNS-Sofres, BVA, Harris et CSA président sa victoire avec au minimum 52,5% des voix contre 47,5% à Nicolas Sarkozy.

Ces chiffres n'émoussent pas la combativité du président sortant, pas plus que le camouflet que lui a infligé jeudi le centriste François Bayrou, qui a annoncé qu'il voterait pour François Hollande.

"Vous verrez dimanche soir, vous verrez une grande surprise", a-t-il déclaré vendredi sur Europe 1. » | Patrick Vignal, avec service France, édité par Yves Clarisse | Reuters | vendredi 04 mai 2012


Bayrou ou Sarkozy, une voix vaut une voix by Europe1fr
EUROPE 1: Sarkozy raille "l'amertume" de Bayrou » | Par Europe1.fr | vendredi 04 mai 2012

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Sarkozy plant Rückzug im Fall einer Niederlage



Verwandt »

Breivik's Instruments for a Massacre
May 3 - A Norwegian court is shown a false police ID and weapons used by Anders Breivik when he gunned down 69 people -- mostly teenagers -- on the island of Utoeya. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

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Zug in Belgien: Unbekannter schockiert Fahrgäste mit Nazi-Durchsage
WELT ONLINE: Mit dem Spruch "Willkommen im Zug Richtung Auschwitz" hat ein unbekannter Mann in Belgien Fahrgäste in einem Zug aufgeschreckt. Wie der Mann an das Mikro gelangen konnte, ist noch unklar.

Mit einer antisemitischen Durchsage in einem Zug hat ein Unbekannter in Belgien die Fahrgäste schockiert.

"Willkommen im Zug Richtung Auschwitz", tönte es am Donnerstagnachmittag in einem Zug von Namur nach Brüssel aus den Lautsprechern, wie die belgische Bahngesellschaft SNCB am Freitag bestätigte.

"Alle Juden werden gebeten, an der Haltestelle Buchenwald auszusteigen". Nach Angaben eines Bahnsprechers war ein unbekannter Passagier in die Kabine mit der Lautsprecheranlage eingedrungen, die normalerweile abgeschlossen ist und vom Zugpersonal für offizielle Durchsagen genutzt wird. » | Freitag, 04. Mai 2012

Terrorisme: Adlène Hicheur condamné à [de] la prison ferme
LE FIGARO: Adlène Hicheur, un physicien franco-algérien détaché au Cern de Genève, a été condamné aujourd'hui pour terrorisme à 5 ans de prison, dont un an avec sursis. Le tribunal correctionnel de Paris a reconnu coupable cet homme de 35 ans d'avoir préparé en 2009 un attentat en France lors de conversations sur internet avec un islamiste basé en Algérie.

"Je ne conteste pas le fait que je sois passé par une phase de turbulences, j'ai fait amende honorable, je ne peux rien dire de plus", s'était défendu fin mars Hicheur, en mettant ces mails "tangents" sur le compte de son "état de santé physique et psychologique" de l'époque, où il était en arrêt-maladie pour une hernie discale. » | Le Figaro.fr avec agencies | vendredi 04 mai 2012

Threats against Journalists: The Aggressive Tactics of the Greek Right Wing

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Greek far-right parties could end up with as much as 20 percent of the vote in Sunday's elections. The neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party has intensified the xenophobic atmosphere in the country. Those who confront them are threatened with violence, journalist Xenia Kounalaki recounts.

At night, the streets leading to Omonoia Square are empty. That wasn't always the case. The area was the premier multicultural neighborhood of Athens and one of the first quarters to be gentrified. Jazz bars and Indian restaurants lined the streets, separated by the occasional rooms-by-the-hour hotel. It was a quarter full of immigrants, drug addicts and African prostitutes, but also of journalists, ambitious young artists and teenagers from private schools.

Today, the immigrants stay home once night falls. They are afraid of groups belonging to the "angry citizens," a kind of militia that beats up foreigners and claims to help the elderly withdraw money from cash machines without being robbed. Such groups are the product of an initiative started by the neo-Nazi Chrysi Avgi -- Golden Dawn -- the party which has perpetrated pogroms in Agios Panteleimon, another Athens neighborhood with a large immigrant population.

There are now three outwardly xenophobic parties in Greece. According to recent surveys, together they could garner up to 20 percent of the vote in elections on Sunday: the anti-Semitic party LAOS stands to win 4 percent; the nationalist party Independent Greeks -- a splinter group of the conservative Nea Dimokratia party -- is forecast to win 11 percent; and the right extremists of Golden Dawn could end up with between 5 and 7 percent.

My name is Xenia, the hospitable. Greece itself should really be called Xenia: Tourism, emigration and immigration are important elements of our history. But hospitality is no longer a priority in our country, a fact which the ugly presence of Golden Dawn makes clear. » | Xenia Kounalaki | Thursday, May 03, 2012

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Fascism Rises from the Depths of Greece's Despair

THE INDEPENDENT: A neo-Nazi party that wants work camps for immigrants is on course to win its first seats in parliament on Sunday

It started, as many days do in Greece, with a trip to the kiosk to buy cigarettes. Still half-asleep, Panayiotis Roumeliotis was surprised to be asked to show his identity card by two young men with shaved heads. It was his first direct contact with the vigilante groups that have become a feature of everyday life in some areas of the Greek capital.

"They were calling themselves the residents association but they were just fasistakia (little fascists)," said the 28-year-old.

Over the last two years, Mr Roumeliotis has watched the central Athens neighbourhood of Ayios Panteleimonas, where he grew up, undergo an ugly transformation. Taking the bus on another morning soon after, a gunshot shattered the back window and a gang of men forced the driver to stop. When the doors opened, they came on to the bus and started to assault the non-Greek passengers. The attackers were wearing T-shirts from the right-wing extremist group Golden Dawn. While panicked people were trying to escape from the bus the men were hitting them with flagpoles.

"They were beating people with the Greek flag," said Mr Roumeliotis.

When the police arrived they stood off until the thugs had finished. When he asked the police why no one had been arrested one of the officers replied to him: "Why, did they do something to you?"

Formerly a solid middle-class neighbourhood, the economic crisis and waves of new arrivals have changed the area and erased old certainties.

Property prices here have dropped to as little as one quarter of what they were five years ago. The Greeks who could afford to have left. For rent signs are plastered over almost every one of the area's shabby five-storey apartment blocks. On the side streets among the North African-run mini markets and Nigerian internet cafes, newcomers from West Africa push shopping trolleys full of scrap metal stripped from deserted buildings. Large-scale drug dealing has overtaken an entire street in the neighbourhood. Violent crime has rocketed.

The square in front of the local church, daubed in anti-immigrant slogans such as "foreigners don't fit in our square", has witnessed pitch battles between anarchists and Golden Dawn supporters. » | Daniel Howden | Friday, May 04, 2012

Local Elections: Labour Make Gains in England and Wales
BBC: Labour have won a string of victories in English and Welsh local elections - with shadow ministers claiming Ed Miliband is now on course for No 10.

The party is set to add more than 700 seats and has taken control of councils including Birmingham and Cardiff.

Based on results so far, Labour are projected to end up with a 39% national share of the vote, up three points, with the Tories down four on 31%.

The Lib Dems' share of the vote is estimated to be unchanged at 16%.

But the party has lost more than 125 seats - taking its total number of councillors below 3,000 for the first time since the party was formed in 1988. » | Friday, May 04, 2012

My comment:

I think one of the main causes for the Conservatives' drubbing is the fact that this government is perceived to be run for the benefit of the rich. Rich little overgrown schoolboys out to help their own kind. Added to that, Cameron's government endorses greed, and makes ordinary folk pay the high price of all the austerity cuts. Clearly, we are NOT all in this austerity thing together.

Then one has to witness all the U-turns. This, in itself, shows lack of competence. Before Cameron proposes anything, he should first check out its viability. He should ask himself if this policy plan is really do-able.

Further, he throws money around abroad like a drunken sailor, while at the same time cutting everyone else's lifeline at home. Savers, too, are being severely punished for their lifelong sensible approach to living within their means. Interest rates are appallingly low. One isn't even able to safeguard one's capital against the ravages of inflation, still less generate an income to live from. Little wonder the pensioners want Cameron and his clique punished.

For far too long in this country, politicians have been elected into office on a mandate to do one thing, but when they get into office, they do something else. They ignore the people's wishes, and end up doing things for which they have no mandate whatsoever. This government is very guilty of this. It must stop. People are fed up of being ignored.

Then there are all the restrictions we have to put up with. Conservatives are supposed to believe in less government, not more. Cameron, in this regard, is not a true Conservative, since his instincts are more left-wing. He seems to favour more control of everything, just like Labour does.

And what happened to all those useless laws he and Clegg were going to repeal after Blair's useless terms in office? Cameron and Clegg made a big thing upon taking up office of asking the people to let them know which laws they wanted scrapped. We have heard nothing about that ever since. It was all show.

I could go on. I won't. I have written enough for people to 'get my drift'. Cameron has now got a very steep hill to climb. It will be interesting to observe whether he'll be able to climb it. – © Mark

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France Election: Nicolas Sarkozy Woos Far Right in National Front Heartlands
Ahead of Sunday's presidential run-off, French leader Nicolas Sarkozy says Francois Hollande and his Socialist party will bring only financial ruin to the country as he campaigns in the National Front heartlands.

Read the short article here | Thursday, May 03, 2012
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RT – Julian Assange: The World Tomorrow
Watch the programme here

Number of Muslims in the U.S. Doubles Since 9/11

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: Mormonism grows 45% and spreads across nation

A new survey reveals the dramatically changing face of religion in America, with the number of Muslims in the U.S. soaring 67% in the decade since the 9/11 attacks.

Data released Tuesday from the 2010 U.S. Religion Census shows Islam was the fastest growing religion in America in the last 10 years, with 2.6 million living in the U.S. today, up from 1 million in 2000.

Mormonism too saw remarkable growth, with a 45% increase in adherents. It added nearly 2 million members since 2000, bringing their number in the U.S. to 6.1 million.

"Both of these groups entered more than 200 counties that they weren't in 10 years ago," said Dale Jones, data analyst and mapping specialist for the Religion Census.

The findings represent religious people who attend services. Census surveyors collected data on congregational adherents of 236 religious groups, including full members, their children and others who regularly attend services, with a 5% margin of error.

In the Midwest and parts of the South there are now more Muslims than Jews for the first time. Immigration from parts of the Muslim world and a small rise in conversions are the driving force behind the growth, researchers said. Jones also speculated that the burst of anti-Islam sentiment after the 9/11 attacks could have done more to grow the religion's presence in the U.S. than slow it. Those on the fence about converting to Islam may have decided to do so on principle. » | Meghan Neal / New York Daily News | Thursday, May 03, 2012

Großmufti verteidigt erneut Verheiratung von Mädchen
KRONE.AT: Nach dem Urteil des Großmuftis von Saudi-Arabien können Mädchen weiterhin im Alter von bereits zehn Jahren verheiratet werden. Sheikh Abdul-Aziz al-Sheikh (Bild) wies damit am Mittwoch die Befürworter einer Anhebung des Heiratsalters einmal mehr zurecht. In Saudi-Arabien ist die Verheiratung von Kindern nicht gesetzlich verboten, Kleriker und Scharia-Richter verteidigen die Praxis hartnäckig. Menschenrechtsaktivisten hingegen dringen darauf, dass das Mindestalter auf zumindest 16 Jahre gesetzt wird.

Bei einer Vorlesung an der Imam Mohamed bin Saud Islamic University in der Hauptstadt Riad erklärte der Großmufti am Mittwoch, ein Mädchen sei nach den Gesetzen des Islam im Alter von zehn oder zwölf Jahren für die Ehe bereit - und diese Gesetze würden keine Unterdrückung der Frauen bedeuten. » | AG/red | Donnerstag, 03. Mai 2012

Study Finds How Nicotine Keeps Weight Off
THE WORLD OBSERVER: The weight gain that often follows giving up smoking can deter some people from quitting. Now scientists have discovered exactly how nicotine causes weight loss.

The research, led by Professor Marina Picciotto of Yale University in the USA, may eventually lead to drugs that help smokers to give up without putting on weight and could help combat obesity in non-smokers too.

The study is reported in this week's edition of Science.

"On average smokers are 2.5 kilograms lighter than non-smokers," says Professor Picciotto.

She says nicotine seems to lower their 'set weight', and once they give up the weight returns to normal. » | Undated

Economic Crisis Fueling Racism Says Council of Europe
EXPATICA.COM: The ongoing economic crisis has fueled racism and xenophobia, a Council of Europe report said on Thursday, while calling on European nations to bolster their fight against hate speech.

"Welfare cuts, diminished job opportunities and a consequent rise in intolerance towards both immigrant groups and older historical minorities are worrying trends," the report by the Strasbourg-based body's European Commission against Racism and Intolerance said.

"Xenophobic rhetoric is now part of mainstream debate and extremists are increasingly using social media to channel their views, whilst discrimination against the Roma continues to worsen," the commission's report noted. » | AFP | Thursday, May 03, 2012

French Candidates Lock Horns in TV Debate
French President Nicolas Sarkozy locked horns with his Socialist rival Francois Hollande in a testy television duel that was billed as Sarkozy's last chance to save his chances of re-election on Sunday. Sarkozy went into the gruelling 2.5-hour television debate on Wednesday evening as the rank outsider. Polls show Hollande, who led the first round of the election on April 22, winning Sunday's run-off with between 53-54 per cent of the vote. Al Jazeera Andrew Simmons reports.

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Al-Qaida ruft Islamisten zu gezielten Waldbränden auf
WELT ONLINE: Al-Qaida mangelt es an fähigen Rekruten. Stattdessen werden Amateur-Dschihadisten aufgerufen, mit Waldbränden westliche Gesellschaften zu bekämpfen. "Inspire" liefert die Anleitung zum Flammeninferno.

Ein Jahr nach dem Tod von Osama Bin Laden schwächelt das Terrornetzwerk al-Qaida. Wie westliche Geheimdienste übereinstimmend berichten, mangelt es den Extremisten vor allem an Finanzen und an qualifiziertem Personal.

Insbesondere die potenziellen Terror-Rekruten erweisen sich allzu häufig als stümperhafte Amateure. "Al-Qaida muss inzwischen aus der dritten und vierten Liga rekrutieren", so analysiert es der Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND).

Vielleicht ist diese Verzweiflung des Terrornetzwerkes der Grund, warum al-Qaida zunehmend darauf setzt, radikalisierte Muslime im Westen zu primitiven Anschlägen zu animieren.

Al-Qaida will "Einsame Wölfe" anstacheln

Anstatt ausgebildete Dschihadisten in den Krieg gegen die "Ungläubigen" zu schicken, versucht al-Qaida Einzeltäter, sogenannte "Einsame Wölfe", anzustacheln. Jüngste Strategie: der Aufruf, Waldbrände zu legen und gezielt Einzelpersonen zu erschießen. » | Von Florian Flade | Donnerstag, 03. Mai 2012

Persepolis: Trailer
Persepolis is the poignant story of a young girl in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. It is through the eyes of precocious and outspoken nine year old Marjane that we see a people's hopes dashed as fundamentalists take power - forcing the veil on women and imprisoning thousands. Clever and fearless, she outsmarts the "social guardians" and discovers punk, ABBA and Iron Maiden. Yet when her uncle is senselessly executed and as bombs fall around Tehran in the Iran/Iraq war, the daily fear that permeates life in Iran is palpable.

As she gets older, Marjane's boldness causes her parents to worry over her continued safety. And so, at age fourteen, they make the difficult decision to send her to school in Austria. Vulnerable and alone in a strange land, she endures the typical ordeals of a teenager. In addition, Marjane has to combat being equated with the religious fundamentalism and extremism she fled her country to escape. Over time, she gains acceptance, and even experiences love, but after high school she finds herself alone and horribly homesick.

Though it means putting on the veil and living in a tyrannical society, Marjane decides to return to Iran to be close to her family. After a difficult period of adjustment, she enters art school and marries, all the while continuing to speak out against the hypocrisy she witnesses. At age 24, she realizes that while she is deeply Iranian, she cannot live in Iran. She then makes the heartbreaking decision to leave her homeland for France, optimistic about her future, shaped indelibly by her past.


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Tunisian Court Levies Fine on Persepolis Cinema Owner

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A Tunisian court on Thursday imposed a 2,400-dinar (£1000) fine on a media boss over blasphemy charges after a trial that deepened the divide between Islamists and secularists.

Nabil Karoui was charged over the decision by his Nessma television station to broadcast the award-winning animated film "Persepolis."

The film, about a girl growing up in Iran, includes a scene depicting Allah, which is forbidden in Islam. an escalating series of protests against the station's broadcast of "Persepolis" on October 7.

The globally acclaimed animated film on Iran's 1979 revolution offended many Muslims because it depicts an image of God as an old, bearded man. All depictions of God are forbidden by Islam.

Earlier on Friday, police fired tear gas at some demonstrators as some of the protests against the station degenerated. » | Telegraph Foreign Staff | Thursday, May 03, 2012

Car Stickers Threatening to Hang Eurocrats Circulate in Brussels

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: EU civil service unions have demanded extra protection from a backlash against eurozone austerity measures after stickers telling officials to "go hang themselves" were circulated by a group of unknown Brussels protesters.

Staff unions have written to Herman Van Rompuy, the EU president, after stickers of a hanging official were found with the slogan "Eurocrate, sers-toi de ta cravate" or "Eurocrat, make use of your tie".

Cars with special licence plates for EU officials have been targeted and civil servants commuting to work in Schuman euro quarter of Brussels have been harassed by activists, thought to be anarchists.

"It is now obvious that the next steps will be physical injuries," said the letter from Union Syndicale, Federation of European Civil Servants and Renouveau & Démocratie.

The EU officials have blamed negotiations demanded by national governments to cut some of their legendary perks for "hasty, ill-informed generalisations which can later be easily exploited by populist associations whose only motive is to make the European civil service a scapegoat". » | Bruno Waterfield in Brussels | Thursday, May 03, 2012

Islamists Strengthen Grip Over North Mali
FOX NEWS: BAMAKO, Mali – In one town in northern Mali a man has been whipped for drinking alcohol. In another, pictures of unveiled women have been torn down. In a third, traditional music is no longer heard in the streets.

While government soldiers were fighting each other this week for control of the capital in Mali's southwest corner, Islamist fighters were asserting control over the Texas-sized northern half of the country. The Islamists, some of whom are foreigners, are imposing strict religious law, setting up a possible showdown with Tuareg nationalist rebels who say they want a secular state and who seized northern Mali in March alongside the Islamists.

In the fabled city of Timbuktu, whose winding alleyways lined with mud homes fill with sand blown in from the Sahara, pictures of unveiled women have either been torn down or covered over with black paint, according to El Hadj Baba Haidara, a member of the Malian parliament for the city. The Islamists have also cut the signal for national TV broadcasts to the city because they consider the women not properly covered and don't approve of the music the station plays, Haidara said.

"No one came come here and tell us how to practice Islam," Haidara said. "Timbuktu has been Islamic since the 12th century and we have our own way of doing things."

Down the road from one of Timbuktu's mosques, whose wooden doors are decorated with metal crescents and stars, Islamists have made their base at a bank. A sign at the entrance says "Islamic Police" in Arabic and French. Residents have been given a phone number to report serious crimes and other emergencies, but widescale patrols haven't been deployed to enforce Shariah, at least not yet. But punishments are being meted out.

On Monday in Gao, one of the three biggest cities in north Mali, two men caught smoking hashish were given 30 lashes in front of the police station, according to Hama Dada Toure, a teacher in Gao. One man who had allegedly beaten his pregnant wife was given 10 lashes and ordered to pay her.

Toure said a flexible tree branch is used in the whippings, the blows delivered with less than full force. The Islamists make the person being punished say "Allahu Akbar. La illah illa-Allah" — meaning "God is great. There is no God but God" — each time the branch strikes them. » | Associated Press | Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Another sharia story »

Sarkozy-Hollande : une confrontation sans merci

LE FIGARO: Aucun des deux finalistes de la présidentielle n'a voulu céder quoi que ce soit à son adversaire au cours du duel.

Ils se sont cherchés et ils se sont vite trouvés. François Hollande, en costume soyeux, d'une solennité un peu raide, Nicolas Sarkozy plus direct. Les duellistes se sont livrés aux premiers échanges à fleurets mouchetés, dans le débat du second tour de l'élection présidentielle, d'abord à travers leur mot d'introduction. L'occasion pour Hollande, qui parlait en premier, d'esquisser en creux une première critique du bilan de son adversaire en se présentant notamment comme «le président du rassemblement». «Pendant trop d'années, les Français ont été opposés les uns aux autres», assure le candidat socialiste. L'attaque n'échappe pas à Sarkozy qui, pour son introduction, juge la présentation de Hollande «assez classique. C'est ce qu'on dit à chaque débat, “je serai un président extraordinaire, et mon prédécesseur était nul”». L'affrontement se noue. » | Par Charles Jaigu, Nicolas Barotte, Solenn de Royer, François-Xavier Bourmaud | jeudi 03 mai 2012

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Präsidentschaftswahl in Frankreich: Beobachter sehen keinen Sieger im Fernsehduell

ZEIT ONLINE: Für Nicolas Sarkozy war es die Gelegenheit, den Umfragerückstand auf Herausforderer Hollande wettzumachen. Doch trotz harter Attacken des Präsidenten blieb der gelassen.

Im Fernsehduell der beiden Kandidaten der Stichwahl um das Präsidentenamt in Frankreich haben Beobachter keinen eindeutigen Sieger ausmachen können. Die Diskussion zwischen dem konservativen Amtsinhaber Nicolas Sarkozy und seinem sozialistischen Herausforderer François Hollande am gestrigen Mittwochabend sei "mehr oder weniger" ein Unentschieden gewesen, sagte der Politikwissenschaftler Emmanuel Rivière vom Umfrageinstitut TNS Sofres.

Allerdings habe Hollande lediglich Fehler vermeiden müssen, um seine Stellung als Favorit zu wahren, sagte Rivière. Dies habe Hollande nach einiger Zeit verstanden und sich daraufhin entspannt. Sarkozy sei es in der Debatte, in der die beiden Politiker neben politischen Argumenten auch persönliche Angriffe austauschten, nicht gelungen, Hollande entscheidend zu treffen. » | Quelle: ZEIT ONLINE, AFP, dpa, Reuters | Donnerstag, 03. Mai 2012

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Sarkozy and Hollande Trade Barbs in Heated TV Debate
FRANCE 24: In the first and only televised debate ahead of Sunday’s vote, incumbent French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist rival François Hollande traded barbs as they faced off on a number of issues ranging from economic policies to immigration.

It was billed as “The Final Confrontation” and that’s exactly what millions of TV viewers across France got Wednesday night as incumbent French President Nicolas Sarkozy squared off against his Socialist challenger, François Hollande, in an intensely contested face-off, the only debate of the 2012 campaign.

With just four days to go before Sunday’s final round of the presidential poll, the stakes were high as Hollande kicked off the debate with a ferocious attack on what he called Sarkozy’s track record of dividing the French people, adding that if he were elected, the Socialist politician would be a “president for justice”.

In a quick rebuttal - the sort that characterised the contentious tone of the debate - Sarkozy shot back: “Bringing people together – what a beautiful idea. But it’s not just words, it’s facts that matter,” before noting that during his tenure as president, Sarkozy managed to implement controversial policies such as pension reforms without massive street protests.

The much-anticipated debate kicked off at 9pm local time at a TV studio north of Paris with the two candidates facing each other across a table mounted with two digital clocks to monitor the speaking time of each candidate.

Moderated by leading French TV presenters, David Pujadas of France 2 and Laurence Ferrari of TF1, Wednesday’s debate was broadcast live by several French TV stations, reaching roughly half of France's 44.5 million voters.

In a wide-ranging debate that included economic policies, immigration issues as well as foreign policy initiatives, the two candidates repeatedly clashed as they reeled out statistics, frequently accused each other of citing incorrect figures, and were not above taking the occasional personal jabs at each other. » | France 24 | Thursday, May 03, 2012

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Taliban Enforcer Squads Accused of Ruthless Control in Nuristan

THE GUARDIAN: Isolated Afghan border area heavily regulated by shrouded 'vice and virtue police' said to surpass even hardline Taliban

Villagers in the more remote parts of Afghanistan's mountainous north-east region, tucked up against the lawless border with Pakistan, have long ago adjusted to living alongside insurgents.

But the Taliban enforcers who started filing into their mosques two months ago to check that beard and trouser lengths met standards of religious propriety, and to hunt for government employees, still chilled the congregations.

The Taliban were shrouded from head to toe in black, barely any flesh showing, some also wearing sunglasses. "At Friday prayers the uniformed unit comes and stands in the last line, and then waits at the gate of the mosque to ask people questions like 'why is your beard short?', 'do you work for the government or national police?'," said Haj Sayed Ahmad, a 51-year-old teacher who fled to Kabul a week ago to escape the fallout of a battle between the insurgents and government forces.

"They have black face masks, and even their feet and hands are covered. You can't see anything at all," he added of the men, who also set up checkpoints to search travellers on the roads of the district in the much contested province of Nuristan.

The Taliban spoke in accents from outside the area, refugees said, and anyone who questioned the enforcers risked a dangerous assault.

"The uniformed group, when they stop people, they don't say much. If you try to make a longer conversation they will give you a beating that will nearly kill you," said Hussain Ali, 30, a lawyer. "We call them the 'vice and virtue police'." » | Emma Graham-Harrison in Kabul | Tuesday, May 01, 2012

Barack Obama's Ex-girlfriends Speak of His 'Sexual Warmth'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Ex-girlfriends of President Barack Obama have spoken for the first time of his "sexual warmth" and disclosed the contents of love letters that he sent during his 20s, in a new biography.

Genevieve Cook and Alex McNear, who had relationships with Mr Obama in New York in the early 1980s, gave previously unseen material on Mr Obama to David Maraniss, a Pulitzer prize-winning author.

Letters Mr Obama sent to Ms McNear and journal entries by Ms Cook depict a serious and earnest young man struggling to come to terms with his racial identity and place in modern American society.

In one diary entry from February 1984, Ms Cook – a girlfriend for more than a year – noted that in their relationship "the sexual warmth is definitely there – but the rest of it has sharp edges".

She recalled "feeling anger" at Mr Obama, whose "warmth can be deceptive". Foreshadowing a criticism often levelled at him today, she said: "Though he speaks sweet words there is also that coolness". » | Jon Swaine, Washington | Wednesday, May 02, 2012

En direct et en vidéo le débat Hollande-Sarkozy
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Nicolas Sarkozy Hopes to 'Explode' François Hollande in Live TV Debate

THE GUARDIAN: Rivals for Élysée Palace meet in traditional set-piece of French presidential race with Sarkozy desperate to rein in Hollande

Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande are to face each other in a live TV debate on Wednesday night – a tense verbal showdown seen as the rightwing president's last chance to swing Sunday's presidential vote in his favour.

The French president is six to eight points behind the Socialist frontrunner Hollande in the polls, despite an aggressive campaign. Sarkozy has reportedly told ministers that he will use the debate to "explode" Hollande. Both candidates have warned they do not view the two-and-a-half-hour standoff as a "boxing match", but French newspapers were billing it as a fight for political survival: The Last Duel or The Final Confrontation.

With an expected 20 million viewers, the presidential TV debate is a classic set-piece in French politics. It makes more impact as a personality clash than a detailed deconstruction of manifestos. In the past it has produced scathing put-downs and killer one-liners, such as Valéry Giscard d'Estaing's snub to François Mitterrand "You do not have the monopoly of the heart", Mitterrand's belittling of Jacques Chirac, or Sarkozy telling the Socialist Ségolène Royal in 2007 that she had lost her nerve. » | Angelique Chrisafis in Paris | Wednesday, May 02, 2012

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Sheffield UKIP Candidate Removed Over Breivik Blog Post

BBC: A man who was due to stand in Sheffield's local elections for UKIP has been stripped of the candidacy over comments made on his blog.

Steve Moxon, a former government whistle-blower, is standing in the Dore and Totley ward.

On his blog he said Norwegian killer Anders Breivik's thesis on Islam and political correctness was accurate.

Mr Moxon said he "resolutely does not agree with" his crimes. UKIP said his comments were at odds with its policy.

Breivik, 33, killed 77 people in Norway last July. He is currently on trial accused of terrorism and mass murder.

Mr Moxon, a former civil servant, first came to prominence in 2004 when he made claims that key checks were waived by immigration staff in Sheffield to make the numbers coming to Britain seem less dramatic when the EU expanded.

He told BBC Radio Sheffield he had been "amicably" removed as a candidate but remained a member of UKIP.

He said: "I would stress that I do not in any way agree with Anders Breivik's actions. » | Tuesday, May 01, 2012

Wilders Calls on Muslims to Leave Islam
NIS NEWS BULLETIN: NEW YORK - PVV leader Geert Wilders has called on Muslims throughout the world to leave Islam. He made his call in a speech in New York, to promote his English-language book Marked for Death.

Wilders claims that his book explains that Islam is a “totalitarian ideology” and is an encouragement to freedom-loving Muslims to turn their back on Islam. “I support those who fight for freedom in the Islamic world completely. The Arab, Turkish, Iranian, Pakistani and Indonesian peoples have enormous potential. If they could free themselves of the yoke of Islam, if they could stop seeing Mohamed as their role model and if they could break away from the rancorous Koran, then they could achieve amazing things,” Wilders said in his speech. » | Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Wilders Rage Against Muslims Channeled in Dutch Euro Voter
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE: Europe's financial crisis is helping Dutch politician Geert Wilders drill his anti-euro, anti-Islamic platform deeper into the mainstream.

The bleached-blonde Freedom Party leader brought down the government on April 21 when he refused to support budget cuts proposed by Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Now Wilders, who rose to international prominence in 2008 with his movie denouncing Islam, plans to turn September's elections into a vote on Dutch attitudes about Europe and the single currency.

As the euro area faces up to recession and the highest unemployment in 14 years, and bailout fatigue builds even in northern countries such as the Netherlands, Wilders finds himself riding the crest of a wave of opposition to austerity.

"Wilders suddenly feels that he's on the right side of history," Jan Techau, director of the Brussels-based European Center of Endowment for International Peace, said in an April 25 interview. "The crisis has given everybody a very good vent to let things out."

Wilders, 48, whose latest book was released yesterday in New York, is at the nexus of a European movement. Marine Le Pen's anti-euro, anti-immigrant National Front Party got a record 17.9 percent of the vote on April 22 in the first round of France's presidential election. At least two parties with similar views are poised to enter parliament in Greece after the May 6 ballot. Curb Islam » | Fred Pals and Jurjen van de Pol | Bloomberg | Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Wife of Former British Diplomat 'Attacked in Kuwait'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Dianne Wilton, the wife of a former British ambassador to Kuwait, has been treated for third degree burns after a suspected Islamist threw a pot of boiling water over her in a restaurant.

Mrs Wilton, whose husband is Christopher Wilton, was attacked by a woman while dining with friends and a member of the Kuwait royal family on Monday.

The attacker reportedly fled the scene in the aftermath. » | Wednesday, May 02, 2012

French TV Debate: Sarkozy's Last Chance?

FRANCE 24: Incumbent French President Nicolas Sarkozy will face Socialist challenger François Hollande in a live televised debate on Wednesday. The war of words could be Sarkozy's last chance to turn the tables on his popular rival before Sunday's election.

Current French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist challenger François Hollande will go head-to-head in a live debate on national television Wednesday evening.

Sarkozy is generally considered to be the stronger debater, and with just four days to go before the country goes to the polls, the TV battle looks to be his last real chance to make a dent in Hollande’s lead in the opinion polls.

The debate, which traditionally takes place on the Wednesday before the final round of the country's presidential election, is seen as the climax of the campaign.

Taking its format from similar political debates in the US, the face-off between the leading candidates has been a fixture of French presidential elections since 1974, with the exception of 2002, when Jacques Chirac refused to go head-to-head with far-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen.

But even if Sarkozy is able to come out stronger during the debate, history is not on his side: past presidential debates have rarely influenced the outcome of elections. » | Charlotte Oberti | Wednesday, May 02, 2012

FRANCE 24: Le débat télévisé, point d'orgue de la course à l'Élysée: Ce mercredi à 21 heures, François Hollande et Nicolas Sarkozy croiseront le fer lors du traditionnel débat télévisé de l’entre-deux-tours de l'élection présidentielle. Une bataille médiatique dont chacun veut sortir vainqueur. » | Charlotte Oberti | mercredi 02 mai 2012

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Inside Story: Mitt Romney's Tactical Dilemma
Should the expected Republican presidential candidate shift to the right or pivot to the centre?

Eleven Protesters Killed in Cairo Attack
The number of people killed in street clashes in the Egyptian capital Cairo is rising. Egypt's Interior Ministry says at least 11 people are dead. While security forces have moved into the area, it seems the protesters are not letting up. Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston reports on the ongoing violence.

Gay Mitt Romney Spokesman Resigns
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Republican Mitt Romney's openly gay spokesman on national security issues, Richard Grenell, has resigned, the campaign said on Tuesday, after his hiring led to a backlash from social conservatives.

Richard Grenell, who had worked in previous years in the US mission to the United Nations under Republican President George W Bush, had been hired recently to tackle the foreign affairs portfolio for the all-out-certain Republican nominee Romney.

"While I welcomed the challenge to confront President Obama's foreign policy failures ... my ability to speak clearly and forcefully on the issues has been greatly diminished by the hyper-partisan discussion of personal issues that sometimes comes from a presidential campaign," Mr Grenell said in a statement received by the Washington Post.

"I want to thank Governor Romney for his belief in me and my abilities and his clear message to me that being openly gay was a non-issue for him and his team." » | Source: agencies | Wednesday, May 02, 2012

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Schwuler Romney-Sprecher gibt auf: Richard Grenell war nur zwei Wochen im Amt. Jetzt hat der außenpolitische Sprecher des designierten US-Präsidentschaftskandidaten Mitt Romney seinen Rücktritt verkündet: Kritik von Erzkonservativen an seiner Homosexualität habe ihn zu diesem Schritt bewogen. ¶ Washington - Es ist das abrupte Ende einer politischen Karriere: Richard Grenell, außenpolitischer Sprecher des designierten republikanischen US-Präsidentschaftkandidaten Mitt Romney, ist nach knapp zwei Wochen im Amt zurückgetreten. Laut einem Bericht der "Washington Post" deutete Grenell an, dass er seinen Posten geräumt habe, weil Konservative in seiner Partei offen Vorbehalte gegen sein Schwulsein und sein Eintreten für die Homo-Ehe geäußert hatten. Eine "aufgedrehte und voreingenommene Debatte" über persönliche Angelegenheiten würde ihn in seiner Arbeit beeinträchtigen, sagte Grenell demnach.» | hen/dpa | Mittwoch, 02. Mai 2012

WASHINGTON POST: Gay Romney aide steps down, citing backlash over sexuality » | Nia-Malika Henderson and Rachel Weiner | Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Discours de Nicolas Sarkozy au Trocadéro

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Wahlkampftag in Frankreich
Wenige Tage vor der Präsidentschaftswahl in Frankreich verwandelt sich die Hauptstadt Paris in eine grosse Wahlkampfbühne. Während der amtierende Präsident Nicolas Sarkozy am Nachmittag am Place Trocadéro eine Rede halten wird, wollen sich die Sozialisten bei den traditionellen Demonstrationen der Gewerkschaften zum Tag der Arbeit einreihen. Auch die lachende Dritte aus dem ersten Durchgang der Wahl, Marine Le Pen, wird ihren Auftritt haben.

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France's Le Pen Refuses to Endorse Sarkozy
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has delivered a further blow to President Nicolas Sarkozy's hopes of re-election by refusing to endorse him and telling her six million supporters to make their own choice at Sunday's ballot.

"I will not grant my trust, or a mandate, to these two candidates," she told supporters on Tuesday at an annual commemoration of Joan of Arc, the national saint her group favours to the May Day celebrations held by international labour and leftist parties.

"On Sunday, I will cast a blank ballot." – Jacky Rowland reports.


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Murdoch 'Unfit' to Run Global Empire
A group of British members of parliament say media boss Rupert Murdoch is unfit to lead a global business empire. They found him responsible for what they called a culture of illegal phone hacking. Al Jazeera's Laurence Lee reports from London.

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Boredom and Empty Pockets Boost Neo-Nazi Ranks

Un 1er-Mai contre l'austérité et Nicolas Sarkozy
REUTERS FRANCE: PARIS - Des dizaines de milliers de personnes ont défilé mardi en France pour dire non à l'austérité imposée selon eux par l'Union européenne et, très souvent, manifester leur rejet de Nicolas Sarkozy à cinq jours du second tour de la présidentielle. » | Reuters | mardi 01 mai 2012

REUTERS FRANCE: De Paris à Athènes, un 1er-Mai contre l'austérité : ATHENES - Des dizaines de milliers de personnes ont défilé mardi dans le sud de l'Europe pour protester contre les mesures d'austérité à l'occasion du 1er-Mai, qui a pris cette année un tour particulier à quelques jours des échéances électorales en Grèce et en France. ¶ En France, à cinq jours du second tour de l'élection présidentielle entre Nicolas Sarkozy et François Hollande, près de 290 cortèges sont annoncés par la CGT, dont l'un dans l'après-midi à Paris, où les marcheurs auront été précédés par une manifestation du Front national et où se tiendra au même moment un meeting politique organisé par le président sortant. » | par Renee Maltezou | Reuters | mardi 01 mai 2012

Le Pen verweigert Wahlempfehlung zugunsten Sarkozys
REUTERS DEUTSCHLAND: Paris - In Frankreich hat die Chefin des rechtsextremen Front National, Marine Le Pen, eine Wahlempfehlung zugunsten des um sein politisches Überleben kämpfenden Präsidenten Nicolas Sarkozy abgelehnt.

Sie werde in der Stichwahl am Sonntag einen leeren Stimmzettel abgeben, kündigte Le Pen am Dienstag vor Anhängern in Paris an. Die Rechtsaußen-Partei war in der ersten Wahlrunde mit fast 18 Prozent der Stimmen überraschend stark auf Platz drei gekommen. » | Reuters | Dienstag, 01. Mai 2012

Russian Nazi Groups Work to Translate Breivik’s Manifesto - Lawyer

RIA NOVOSTI: A self-confessed Norway mass killer Anders Breivik keeps contact with Russian ultra right-wing activists who are now translating his Manifesto into Russian, the Dagbladet quoted on Monday Breivik’s lawyer Tord Jordet as saying.

“We don’t know anything about his Russian support team except the fact that they are working on translation of Breivik’s manifesto,” Jordet told the paper, referring to Breivik’s 1,500-page manifesto where he expresses his extreme anti-Muslim political views and describes the justifies his future attacks.

Jordet also said that in the notes that Breivik had written to prepare for questioning he said that he was going to establish “a pan-European network” with the help of Russian extremists. » | Ria Novosti | Monday, April 30, 2012

RIA NOVOSTI: Breivik’s German ‘Lover’ Sent Packing from Norway » | Ria Novosti | Thursday, April 19, 2012

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UK Lawmakers: Rupert Murdoch Unfit to Run Company

REUTERS.COM: Rupert Murdoch is unfit to run a major international company, British lawmakers said on Tuesday, finding him responsible for a culture of illegal phone hacking that has convulsed his News Corporation media empire.

Pulling few punches, the lawmakers listed failings of the 81-year-old News Corp chief, his son James and a company they said had showed "willful blindness" about the scale of hacking that existed at the British News of the World tabloid.

The cross-party parliamentary committee, which approved the report by a majority of six to four, also scolded News Corp's British newspaper arm for misleading the British parliament during its five year investigation into the hacking of the phones of celebrities, murder victims, politicians and soldiers.

But it split along party lines, with members from Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party voting against the report, saying they did not agree with its view that the Australian-born Murdoch was not fit to run a major company.

Cameron, who has acknowledged that Britain's political elite had been in thrall to the Murdochs for years, is facing criticism ahead of local elections this week that he was too close to the media tycoon.

The report said there had been huge failures in corporate governance which raised questions about the competence of Rupert's 39-year-old son, James. » | Georgina Prodhan and Kate Holton | LONDON | Tuesday, May 01, 2012

Pro-NRW-Kundgebung: Salafisten attackieren Polizisten

SPIEGEL ONLINE: In Solingen ist es nach einer islamfeindlichen Aktion der rechtsextremen Splitterpartei Pro NRW zu Ausschreitungen gekommen. Radikale Islamisten durchbrachen eine Absperrung, gingen auf Polizisten los und verletzten drei Beamte und einen Passanten.

Solingen [E] - Die vom Verfassungsschutz als rechtsextremistisch eingestufte Partei Pro NRW hat der vermeintlichen Islamisierung Deutschlands den Kampf angesagt. Am Dienstag folgten den Worten Taten: In Solingen gab die Splitterpartei eine Kundgebung, bei der anti-islamische Karikaturen gezeigt wurden. Das rief radikale Islamisten auf den Plan, die im Stadtzentrum gegen die Pro-NRW-Aktion demonstrierten. Als die Rechtspopulisten in Sichtweite einer salafistischen Moschee Mohammed-Karikaturen des norwegischen Zeichners Kurt Westergaard zur Schau stellten, eskalierte die Gewalt.

"Einige der mit Turbanen bekleideten Salafisten sprangen plötzlich über die Absperrung und warfen Steine auf Polizeibeamte und schlugen diese auch mit Fahnenstangen", sagte Polizeipressesprecherin Anja Meis. Insgesamt seien 30 Angehörige der Salafisten festgenommen worden. Drei Beamte und ein Passant seien verletzt worden, sie hätten Platz- und Schlagwunden erlitten.

Mit der Eskalation in Solingen ist das eingetreten, was Bundesinnenminister Hans-Peter Friedrich (CSU) bereits prophezeit hat: Nach Informationen des SPIEGEL warnte der Minister vor einer Konfrontation zwischen Rechtsextremisten und Salafisten mit unabsehbaren Folgen für die öffentliche Sicherheit. » | jjc/dpa | Dienstag, 01. Mai 2012