Saturday, May 12, 2012
Friday, May 11, 2012
THE GUARDIAN: Normally high-profile wife of King Abdullah has lowered her visibility as nation remains at crossroads of reform
Queen Rania has scaled back her public activities sharply since facing damaging criticism last year that she was playing too prominent a role in running Jordan.
Rania, now 41, married Prince Abdullah in 1993, six years before he ascended the throne. Stylish and tall, in 2005 she was voted the third most beautiful woman in the world and hailed by Oprah Winfrey as an "international fashion icon" who also speaks up for women's rights.
On her Twitter account, followed by over 2 million people, she describes herself as "a mum and a wife with a really cool day job".
In the past Jordan's carefully-controlled media would report on two or three different royal appearances a day. Now the queen is mentioned less frequently, typically visiting a school or hospital or programmes for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Plans for the creation of a Queen Rania Foundation – modelled on one run by Sheikha Mozah, the glamorous consort of the emir of Qatar – have been quietly shelved. » | Ian Black in Amman | Friday, May 11, 2012
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Die meisten muslimischen Gemeinden in Deutschland sind nach ethnischer Zugehörigkeit organisiert. Der Salafismus überschreitet diese Grenze - und viele andere auch.
Was Mitte der neunziger Jahre die Sicherheitsbehörden auf den Plan rief, ist nicht erst seit der Koranverteilaktion in deutschen Fußgängerzonen zum gesellschaftspolitischen Thema geworden: Innerhalb weniger Jahre hat sich der Salafismus zu einer Gegenkultur vornehmlich junger Erwachsener und Jugendlicher entwickelt, in der sich Weltflucht, saudi-arabische Missionierungspolitik und Ablehnung von Aufklärung und westlicher Zivilisation treffen. Der Bundesverfassungsschutz weist zu Recht auf die Verbindungen der salafistischen Szene zu internationalen Terrororganisationen vom Schlage Al Qaidas hin. Doch jenseits seiner Funktion als Ideologie zur Rechtfertigung religiöser Gewalt sollte der Erfolg des Salafismus in Deutschland vor allem als politisches Thema begriffen werden.
As-salaf as-salih - das ist die arabische Bezeichnung der „frommen Altvordern“. Gemeint sind damit die ersten drei Generationen der Anhänger Mohammeds, die als perfekte, islamische Gemeinschaft vorgestellt werden. Von ihnen leitet sich der Begriff Salafismus her. Salafisten folgen keiner der vier Rechtsschulen des Islam. Das trennt sie von den meisten anderen Islamisten. Koran und Sunna gelten ihnen als alleinige Quellen für das islamgemäße Leben des Einzelnen und der Gemeinschaft. Ziel ist, dem perfekten Vorbild des Gottgesandten Mohammed nachzueifern: von Gebet und Kleidung über Familienleben und Sexualverhalten bis hin zu Essgewohnheiten und Zahnpflege. Abweichendes Verhalten gilt bereits als Anzeichen fehlgeleiteter Anbetung des einzigen Gottes. » | Von F. W. Horst* | Donnerstag, 10. Mai 2012
* Der Verfasser studierte Terrorismusforschung am Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC) und forscht über Salafismus am International Institute for Counterterrorism (ICT) in Israel.
THE GUARDIAN: Muslim groups report upsurge in hate mail and abusive phone calls since conviction of nine men over child sex ring
Far right groups are exploiting the conviction of nine men who were part of a gang which groomed girls for sex to create a "climate of hate" against Muslims, community leaders have warned.
Muslim groups say they have seen an upsurge in hate mail and abusive phone calls since the trial ended this week and community leaders are bracing themselves for more Islamophobic attacks on individual Muslims and mosques across the UK.
"We are already receiving hate mail and hate phone calls even though we issued a very strong statement condemning those involved," said a spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain. "If it can happen to MCB, you can just imagine what ordinary Muslims are facing as they go about their day-to-day business." » | Matthew Taylor and Haroon Siddique | Friday, May 11, 2012
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Cuba could pass legislation allowing same-sex marriage later this year, according to the daughter of President Raúl Castro.
Mariela Castro, the country’s premier sexologist, made the remarks one day after US President Barack Obama’s endorsement of gay marriage, but said Cuba still needs to be "more revolutionary" in its treatment of gays.
Ms Castro said she "has the hope that this year" parliament will pass legislation to legalise gay marriage in Cuba, although the bill under debate by lawmakers here "sad to say is not everything that we would have hoped for."
Castro looked to another of its neighbours, Argentina, as the model after which she would have liked to pattern Cuba's gay rights agenda. » | Source: agencies | Friday, May 11, 2012
NTN24NEWS.COM: Cuba poised to pass gay marriage law: Castro daughter – Famed sexologist Mariela Castro, daughter of the Cuban president, said Thursday she expected her country this year will pass a same-sex marriage law, although she said Cuba still needs to be "more revolutionary" in its treatment of gays. » | Authored by: VALERIA COVO/AFP | Thursday, May 10, 2012
It's the oldest and most respected major religion in South Korea. And now it's been spectacularly brought into ill-repute after senior monks from the largest Buddhist order in the country were caught red-handed setting a bad example by indulging in a cheeky little poker game.
Gambling in the country is illegal everywhere except for inside just one casino that's in the north east of the country. So it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that these monks - who are from the Jogye Order - seen here smoking, drinking and flipping playing cards on the floor of a luxury hotel room are flouting the law.
As soon as the footage was aired on national TV yesterday, 6 of the 8 monks in the room offered to resign. Leader Master Jinjea, a high-ranker from the order -- who wasn't even there at the time - said on local TV 'Those monks committed a foolish act and I confess my sin for their wrongdoings'
It was a fellow monk who secretly shot the footage and then tipped off the police and the media. Do you reckon he's taken himself off for a long holiday right now?
I'm Marverine Cole. That's all from me for now but for more news check out our website: ibtimes.co.uk
Jemajem is a young, dark-eyed militant leader who bears the self-important nom de guerre of "the Guevara of south Yemen". Based in the impoverished port of Aden, he belongs to the Hirak group of activists, who have been calling for south Yemen to be allowed to secede from the north for half a decade.
It's not hard to see why he thinks an independent future for the south would be better than its current situation. Sadness and poverty settled on Aden many decades ago. The streets are littered with piles of rotting fish and festering rubbish, while haggard men sit on pavements chewing qat to stave off the boredom of unemployment. Cliffs of volcanic rock are crowded with migrants' illegal shacks made of breeze blocks and corrugated iron.
But beneath this layer of grime is a tale of outside interference in Yemen that is likely to bring further conflict and exacerbate the divisions within the country. Shortly after the Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, was toppled last November in the Arab spring, Jemajem was approached by an intermediary working on behalf of what the man described as a "friendly country" known for its international support for revolutionary causes.
Jemajem was frustrated: although Saleh had gone, the separatists had not achieved any of their demands. But help was at hand, the man told him. Was he interested? "Of course I was," said Jemajem. "I would take money from the devil if he could help my nation. A drowning man will hang on to a straw."
His encounter with what turned out to be the Iranians is remarkable in itself, but it illuminates the much bigger tale of foreign interference in Yemen, of how the conflicts between the Gulf states and Iran, the US and al-Qaida have reduced parts of Yemen to rubble and are pushing Yeminis into the arms of the jihadis. » | Ghaith Abdul-Ahad in Aden | Thursday, May 10, 2012
A course for US military officers has been teaching that America's enemy is Islam in general and suggesting that the country might ultimately have to obliterate the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina without regard for civilian deaths, following second world war precedents of the nuclear attack on Hiroshima.
The Pentagon suspended the course in late April when a student objected to the material. The FBI also changed some agent training last year after discovering that it, too, was critical of Islam.
The teaching in the military course was counter to repeated assertions by US officials over the past decade that America is at war against Islamic extremists, not the religion itself.
"They hate everything you stand for and will never coexist with you, unless you submit," the instructor, Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Dooley, said in a presentation last July for the course at Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia. The college, for professional military members, teaches mid-level officers and government civilians on subjects related to planning and executing war. » | Associated Press in Washington | Friday, May 11, 2012
The shoe attack, which came as a coroner presented more autopsy reports on the mostly-young victims of the July massacre at Utoya island was followed by applause, "bravos" and tears among onlookers in the courtroom, and led to a temporary suspension of proceedings on the 17th day of the trial.
The black shoe did not hit Breivik but landed on one of his lawyers, Vibeke Hein Baera, who sits between the accused and the onlookers.
"Luckily, it was just a shoe," Hein Baera said.
The attacker, a man of Iraqi origin whose brother was one of the 69 people Breivik shot dead on Utoya on July 22, was quickly brought under control by security guards and escorted out of the courtroom as he continued to shout in English: "Go to Hell!"
When the proceedings resumed a few minutes later, Breivik addressed the onlookers. » | Friday, May 11, 2012
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Ayaan Hirsi Ali is to receive an award from the German publishing house Axel Springer for “her courage and commitment to freedom as a women’s rights campaigner and critic of Islam.” She will be awarded the prize of €25,000 in Berlin on Thursday. » | Source: The Washington Post and Associated Press | Thursday, May 10, 2012
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THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: He called the issue a "tender and sensitive topic," but reaffirmed that he opposes same-sex marriages.
Mitt Romney on Wednesday reaffirmed his view that marriage should be restricted to one man and one woman, highlighting a sharp contrast with President Barack Obama.
Obama declared his unequivocal personal support for same-sex marriage during an interview with ABC News. Reporters asked Romney about the issue after a campaign event in Oklahoma City.
"My view is that marriage itself is between a man and a woman," the presumptive Republican presidential nominee told reporters. He said he believes that states should be able to make decisions about whether to offer certain legal rights to same-sex couples.
"This is a very tender and sensitive topic, as are many social issues, but I have the same view that I've had since — since running for office," Romney said. He first ran for political office in 1994, when he challenged Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and was elected governor ofMassachusetts in 2002.
Obama is the first president in history to support gay marriage. Polls show the country is evenly divided on the issue. » | Kasie Hunt and Sean Murphy, The Associated Press | Wednesday, May 09, 2012
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THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Police and social workers failed to tackle the issue of Asian men grooming under-age white girls for up to a decade, the Daily Telegraph can reveal.
The mother of a girl who gave evidence in the trial of nine Asian men convicted of child sex offences has shown this newspaper evidence that suggests the authorities were aware of the abuse as long ago as 2002.
An official report by a sexual health adviser, which was passed on to social workers and police in 2005, detailed the kidnap and rape of an underage girl in Rochdale, where the gang was operating, but the authorities failed to act.
They have now been accused of ignoring evidence of the rapes because they were frightened of being accused of racism. » | Nigel Bunyan | Wednesday, May 09, 2012
Related here and here
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama on Wednesday night risked incurring the electoral wrath of America’s socially conservative heartlands by announcing that he now favours legalising gay marriage across the US.
Speaking hours after North Carolina became the 30th state in the country to explicitly outlaw same-sex marriage, Mr Obama told a specially-convened interview that “personally” he supported them.
“It is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married,” he told ABC News. His wife, Michelle, “feels the same way that I do,” he added.
Mr Obama said his view had been affected by the realisation that his daughters, Sasha and Malia, would be bemused at the notion that the same-sex parents of friends “would be treated differently”.
“It doesn’t make sense to them,” he said. “Frankly, that’s the kind of thing that prompts a change in perspective.” He also cited the sacrifices of gay troops and said he had White House staff who were “incredibly committed” to their gay partners.
The announcement settled what the President had described as an “evolving” position on one of the most divisive issues in American society. Previously he supported only legal civil unions for homosexuals.
It came three days after Vice President Joe Biden said he was “absolutely comfortable” with same-sex marriages, sending the White House scrambling to maintain their delicately balanced stance. » | Jon Swaine, Washington | Wednesday, May 09, 2012
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Wednesday, May 09, 2012
Dieses Video wurde zum Teil in Schweizerdeutsch (Schwyzertüütsch) aufgenommen.
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When King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia celebrated their silver wedding anniversary on May 14, 1987 they hosted a lavish reception at the Royal Palace inviting 25 other couples from across Spain who married on the same day.
But their golden wedding anniversary which falls next Monday will be marked with no such celebration.
The lack of a formal celebration has done much to fuel speculation over the state of the 74-year-old Monarch's marriage.
The last bout of speculation began when King Juan Carlos fractured his hip during an ill-fated safari trip to Botswana to hunt elephants.
Amid the public outcry over the nature and expense of the private trip, which led to an unprecedented apology by the shame faced monarch issued on the steps of the hospital, it was noted that Queen Sofia had paid only a brief visit to his bedside.
Royal commentators were quick to remark that the 26-minute bedside visit by Queen Sofia, who had not been on the hunting trip but visiting her Greek relatives, hinted at the deep breakdown in their relationship.
"The failure of his marriage to Queen Sofia, from whom he is practically separated, is public knowledge," wrote Jose Antonio Zarzalejos, a royal commentator and the former director of respected daily ABC. » | Fiona Govan, Madrid | Wednesday, May 09, 2012
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The Right-winger, who lost his re-election bid to Socialist François Hollande on Sunday, held his last cabinet meeting on Wednesday – said to be an "emotional" affair in which he urged colleagues not to be "sad or bitter".
Telling aides he intends to retire from front line politics, Mr Sarkozy let them know he was preparing to return to his former life as a lawyer at the Paris firm he still partly owns, after taking a break with his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and their baby daughter.
But the outgoing president could soon be called for questioning – either as a witness or potentially as a suspect – in several corruption cases when he loses presidential immunity a month after leaving office on May 15.
Judges are likely to want to summon him over an investigation into who ordered French intelligence to unlawfully seek to uncover the source of journalists working for Le Monde. France's intelligence chief is currently under investigation over the affair in which Le Monde exposed embarrassing links between Mr Sarkozy's government and Liliane Bettencourt, the l'Oréal billionaire caught up in a tax evasion and illegal party financing inquiry. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Wednesday, May 09, 2012
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Tonje Brenna told the Oslo district court how she had heard the killer's ecstatic shouts as bodies fell around her hiding place in the crack of a cliff.
"I am absolutely sure that I heard cries of joy," said the 24-year-old head of the ruling Labour Party's youth wing, AUF, who was the first of the Utoya survivors to take the stand.
"If I had to spell it out, it would be WOO-HOO. Obviously cries for joy," she said.
Seated at a table just a few feet from her, Breivik, who has showed [sic] virtually no emotion since his trial began on April 16, sat shaking his head in disapproval as Miss Brenna recounted the events of July 22.
The 33-year-old right-wing extremist, who is eager for the court to find him of sound mind so his anti-Islam ideology will not be written off as the ravings of a lunatic, has insisted that he never laughed or smiled during the massacre. » | Source: AFP | Wednesday, May 09, 2012
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The European Court of Human Rights (Echr) concluded that the hate cleric’s eleventh hour appeal bid against deportation was submitted within time but ruled there were no grounds to hear it.
However, the decision could clear the way for the hate cleric to now sue the Home Office over the blunder.
Mrs May was accused of taking an “unacceptable risk” and faced calls to apologise for “a potentially catastrophic error of judgment”.
Despite the ruling, Qatada will remain in the country for at least another year because of a separate, ongoing legal challenge against deportation to Jordan, where he faces trial for alleged terror offences.
His lawyers also launched a fresh bid to have him re-released on bail while the court battles continue.
It means yet another legal merry-go-round in a ten year saga that has already cost the taxpayer up to £3 million. » | Tom Whitehead, Security Editor | Wednesday, May 09, 2012
Die Deutschen haben aus dem Zusammenbruch ihrer Demokratie im Jahre 1933 alle nur denkbaren Konsequenzen gezogen - nur die eine nicht: Die am meisten unterschlagene Ursache der deutschen Katastrophe war das fatale Festhalten am Goldstandard. Die feste Bindung der Reichsmark und anderer Währungen an den Wert des Goldes verhinderte, dass die Notenbanken mit einer flexiblen Geldpolitik auf den Börsencrash von 1929 reagieren konnten. Was in den USA begann, wuchs sich zu einer Weltrezession aus.
Griechenland steckt heute in einer ähnlichen Klemme. Der Euro wirkt sich auf das Land ähnlich aus wie der Goldstandard auf Deutschland in den dreißiger Jahren. Der Euro verhindert, dass Griechenland durch eine Abwertung seiner Währung wieder wettbewerbsfähig werden kann. Die Sparpolitik führte damals wie heute zu einer wirtschaftlichen Depression. Vor allem sind die politischen Parallelen frappierend. Die demokratischen Volksparteien in Griechenland haben bei der Wahl am Wochenende keine Parlamentsmehrheit mehr bekommen - trotz der Tatsache, dass die größte Partei noch mal quasi als Geschenk ein Sechstel aller Sitze dazu erhält. Dafür sitzen jetzt Neonazis im Parlament. » | Eine Kolumne von Wolfgang Münchau | Mittwoch, 09. Mai 2012
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Partout en Europe, l’austérité fait monter les partis populistes. Ils ont emporté un tiers des suffrages en France et gagné en Grèce où les deux partis historiques, la Nouvelle démocratie et les socialistes du Pasok, ont été battus par une kyrielle de partis d’extrême gauche et d’extrême droite. La crise des dettes débouche sur des crises politiques qui rappellent furieusement les années 1930: xénophobie et protectionnisme tentent les électeurs. Il faut vite trouver une parade et en convaincre les Allemands.
Un puit sans fond
En Grèce, les électeurs sont pour rester dans la zone euro. Mais ils refusent l’austérité de fer qu’on leur impose maintenant depuis deux ans. C’est en apparence contradictoire: on ne peut pas vouloir le beurre de l’euro sans payer le prix du beurre. Mais on peut aussi comprendre les Grecs. Le pays paraît s’enfoncer dans un puit sans fond.
Depuis quatre ans, le PIB a reculé au total de plus de 15%. Les salaires ont été réduits de 30%. La production industrielle de 20%, les investissements de 50%. Le taux de chômage atteint 20%. Tout ça a été décidé pour ramener le déficit budgétaire du pays dans les clous en échange d’aides européennes et internationales. Mais tous les efforts ne semblent servir à rien. Les rentrées fiscales se sont effondrées, le déficit se réduit, mais pas aussi vite que prévu. A quoi ça sert demandent les électeurs? La Troïka, elle, demande de nouveaux efforts. » | Eric Le Boucher | mercredi 09 mai 2012
Oui au moteur franco-allemand, non à un duopole. «Ces dernières années, le rapport franco-allemand a été exclusif», regrette François Hollande dans une interview à slate.fr réalisée le 4 mai et publiée lundi. «Les autorités européennes ont été négligées et certains pays, notamment les plus fragiles, ont eu la désagréable impression d'être en face d'un directoire», poursuit le président élu dans un entretien qui esquisse les pistes de sa politique étrangère.
«Aucune séquelle» avec Merkel
Avec Angela Merkel, «il n'y a aucune séquelle liée à l'élection présidentielle», affirme François Hollande. «J'ai parfaitement compris que (la Chancelière) soutienne Nicolas Sarkozy pour l'action qu'ils ont menée ensemble», ajoute-t-il, en estimant «qu'elle-même ne peut me faire le reproche d'adopter la même attitude à l'égard des sociaux-démocrates».
Plaidant pour une relation France-Allemagne «équilibrée et respectueuse», il souligne que «les couples Schmidt-Giscard, Kohl-Mitterrand et Chirac-Schröder ont prouvé que les différences politiques n'empêchaient pas le travail commun». » | Par Alain Barluet | lundi 07 mai 2012
Lien en anglais en relation avec cet article »
France's new president Francois [sic] Hollande made another thinly-veiled on David Cameron today when he claimed Britain treats Europe 'like a self-service restaurant'.
The new Socialist president-elect made his aggressive position towards the UK clear while outlining plans for his first meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron.
Asked by the news website Slate how he planned to deal with Mr Cameron, given the fact that the Conservative leader had snubbed him during a visit to London earlier this year, Mr Hollande also said he would meet him 'quickly'.
But Mr Hollande, who openly describes himself as an 'enemy of finance', said he would make his antipathy towards the City of London clear.
Mr Hollande had only this week fired a broadside at the coalition government by criticising Britain's supposed 'obsession' with protecting the City of London from Brussels-inspired legislation.
Mr Hollande said: 'Let us recognise that the British have been particularly timid about the question of financial regulation and only concerned by the interests of the City, hence their reticence on the establishment of a financial transactions tax and European fiscal harmonisation.
'And to that is added a relative indifference to the fate of the Eurozone, because Great Britain is protected against speculation since its central bank can intervene directly to finance its debt.
'Europe is not a cash till and less still a self-service restaurant.' Read on and comment » | Peter Allen | Wednesday, May 09, 2012
The former head of Barnardo's has said that grooming of teenage girls for sex in the north of England appears to be "overwhelmingly" carried out by men of Pakistani and Afghan origin and urged and investigation into the issue.
Martin Narey's comments came as nine men – one from Afghanistan and the rest of Pakistani backgrounds – await sentencing for being part of a child exploitation gang that passed vulnerable girls around a group of men for sex in the Heywood area of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, in 2008 and 2009.
He said he was not stigmatising the Asian community as a whole, noting that during his time managing the prison service – prior to joining Barnardo's – sex offenders were "overwhelmingly white", but the Labour MP Keith Vaz warned that the BNP was setting the agenda.
Narey told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "For this particular type of crime, the street grooming of teenage girls in northern towns … there is very troubling evidence that Asians are overwhelmingly represented in the prosecutions for such offences."
The former Barnardo's chief executive said he did not know the reason for their "overrepresentation" and rejected the idea they were specifically targeting white girls. He suggested that vulnerable girls on the streets were more likely to be white, while Asian girls subjected to strict parenting were more likely to be at home and so less prone to fall victim to such crimes. He added: "I'm not saying this is just Asian or Pakistani men… [but] street trafficking in the north does appear be overwhelmingly about Pakistani and Afghan men." » | Haroon Siddique | Wednesday, May 09, 2012
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Rochdale grooming trial: Police accused of failing to investigate paedophile gang for fear of appearing racist – Police and social workers were last night accused of failing to investigate an Asian paedophile gang for fear of being perceived as racist, allowing them to prey on up to 50 young white girls. » | Nigel Bunyan | Tuesday, May 08, 2012
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Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber bin Muhammad Al Thani has seen his $31.5 million (£19.5m) bid for two apartments on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue rejected by the co-operative board of the building.
While the official reasons for the rejection has not been announced, suggestions in the New York media ranged from the number of children – he has 15 – and staff that would be using the apartments, to his diplomatic immunity status to the fact that the board were uncomfortable with one person having such a large share in the building.
Sheikh Hamad bid a combined total of $31.5 million for apartments 8E and 8W at an auction held by the estate of the reclusive millionaire Huguette Clark, the previous owner of the apartments.
But he was not even granted an interview by the buildings board which, according to various media reports, had concerns over allowing the prime minister of a foreign country to live in the building. » | Mark Hughes, New York | Tuesday, May 08, 2012
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
THE GLOBE AND MAIL: A Toronto-area Islamic organization is facing a police investigation over a Sunday school text that compares Judaism with Nazism and writes that “treacherous” Jews “conspired to kill” Mohammed.
The East End madrassah has apologized for the statements, removed them from its website and pledged to review all its teaching material to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Asked about the materials Tuesday, premier Dalton McGuinty told reporters: “There is no room for hatred or intolerance in this province.” » | Adrian Morrow | Tuesday, May 08, 2012
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BBC: South Korea has stepped up customs inspections to try and stop capsules filled with powdered human flesh being smuggled into the country from China.
Thousands of the pills have been found in luggage and in the post, often disguised as energy boosters.
Catharina Moh reports Watch BBC video » | Tuesday, May 08, 2012
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Six members of a gang who preyed on under-age white girls in Rochdale, Greater Manchester have become the first in Britain to be convicted of sex trafficking.
They and three other men used a one-time victim to recruit other girls so they could be driven to “chill” houses around the north of England for sordid sex.
Some of the teenagers had sex willingly, but others were raped by up to five men at a time.
The paedophiles who paid small sums of money for the frequently violent encounters were predominantly British Pakistanis.
Of the 11 defendants on trial at Liverpool Crown Court, 10 were Pakistani and the other an Afghan asylum seeker. » | Nigel Bunyan | Tuesday, May 08, 2012
BBC: Rochdale grooming trial: Nine found guilty of child sex charges: Nine men have been convicted of being part of a child sexual exploitation ring in Greater Manchester. ¶ The men, from Rochdale and Oldham, "groomed" girls, one as young as 13. ¶ Liverpool Crown Court heard the men plied their victims with drink and drugs so they could "pass them around" and use them for sex. ¶ The case, involving Asian defendants and white victims, sparked protests by far-right groups but police insist the grooming was not "racially motivated". ¶ The offences which centred on Heywood included rape, trafficking girls for sex and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child. ¶ Two of the defendants on trial, Qamar Shazad and Liaquat Shah both of Rochdale, were acquitted and walked free from court. » | Tuesday, May 08, 2012
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The coalition deal, negotiated secretly over the past days and sealed at a private meeting overnight, means the centrist Kadima party will hook up with Netanyahu's rightist coalition, creating a wide majority of 94 of parliament's 120 legislators.
The coalition, which replaces plans announced just two days earlier for a snap election in September, will be one of the biggest in Israeli history.
"This government is good for security, good for the economy and good for the people of Israel," Netanyahu told a joint news conference with Kadima's leader, Shaul Mofaz.
The new coalition would focus on sharing out the duty of military conscription among all Israelis, redrawing the national budget and advancing electoral reform, he said.
Ultra-Orthodox parties in the coalition had opposed plans to extend conscription to their supporters, who are now exempt. » | Allyn Fisher-Ilan | JERUSALEM | Tuesday, May 08, 2012
The masseur, referred to as John Doe in court papers obtained by Reuters and filed last Friday, claims that Travolta rubbed his leg, touched his genitals and tried to initiate at least one sex act inside a private bungalow at the exclusive hotel on Jan. 16.
Travolta's spokesman dismissed the claim in a statement as a "baseless lie."
"On the date when plaintiff claims John met him, John was not in California and it can be proved that he was on the East Coast," the statement said. "John intends to get this case thrown out and then he will sue the attorney and plaintiff for malicious prosecution."
The masseur's lawyer, Pasadena, California-based Okorie Okorocha, said that under California law, a victim of a sexual assault like his client can file as John Doe if he fears extreme embarrassment if his identity is known. » | Source: Reuters | Tuesday, May 08, 2012
There are even rumours of France's outgoing first lady starring in a new biopic about her family history.
News of the 44-year-old's desire to revive her showbusiness career came after her husband, Nicolas Sarkozy, announced his retirement from politics.
The 57-year-old suffered a humiliating electoral defeat on Sunday night, meaning that he became the first French head of state to be rejected after just one term for 31 years.
Sarkozy is facing an uncertain future – his poor English means he is unlikely to be able to make money on the lucrative US lecture circuit, and he has ruled out any return to politics.
Veronique Rampazza, spokeswoman for Sarkozy's wife, said: "Carla did not put her career on hold during Nicolas Sarkozy's five years in office. She continues to compose.
"What she gave up for practical reasons was her public concerts, which she is now able to start again." » | Peter Allen in Paris | Tuesday, May 08, 2012
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It was clear from the start that the tiny, right-wing populist group Pro-NRW would stop at nothing to attract attention in the run-up to state elections in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia this Sunday. With Salafists in the state now reacting violently to Pro-NRW's inflammatory parading of Muhammad caricatures in front of Muslim establishments, the splinter party appears to have gotten its wish.
On Saturday, violence flared anew when Salafists attacked police protecting a Pro-NRW demonstration in front of a Saudi Arabian school in Bonn. Twenty-nine officers were wounded, two of them having been stabbed, and more than 100 people were arrested. On Monday, a 25-year-old man was arrested and charged with attempted murder in the knife attacks.
Ralf Jäger, interior minister for the state, promised that there would be "severe consequences," adding that he would "join the federal government in exploring all legal possibilities for countering these extremists." The police president in Bonn, Ursula Brohl-Sowa, spoke of an "explosion of violence like we haven't seen for some time."
The Pro-NRW march in Bonn consisted of just over two dozen people, but some 500 to 600 counter-demonstrators also gathered, including, according to police estimates, some 200 Salafists who had travelled to Bonn from across the country. Several hundred police were also present to keep the two groups separated. » | Charles Hawley | Monday, May 07, 2012
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Köln/Berlin - Nordrhein-Westfalen fürchtet eine weitere Eskalation zwischen der rechtsextremistischen Kleinstpartei Pro-NRW und den radikalislamischen Salafisten. Am Dienstagnachmittag wollen Pro-NRW-Anhänger erneut demonstrieren, diesmal vor der im Bau befindlichen Kölner Zentralmoschee im Stadtteil Ehrenfeld.
Aus einer internen Lageeinschätzung der nordrhein-westfälischen Polizei, die SPIEGEL ONLINE vorliegt, geht hervor, dass die Behörden sich auf eine mögliche Verschärfung der Auseinandersetzung einstellen. Es sei bekannt geworden, heißt es in dem Papier, dass sich die Salafisten intensiv auf die heutige Kundgebung vorbereitet hätten. "Konkret will sich die Szene mit Schlagstöcken und Tränengas aufrüsten, um sich an den Einsatzkräften für die jüngsten Ereignisse in Bonn rächen zu können." Auch seien die Parteibüros und Anhänger von Pro-NRW weiterhin Ziele der radikalen Muslime.
"Wir werden den friedlichen Protest gegen die Wahlkampfveranstaltung ermöglichen. Gegen jede Form von Gewalt werden wir frühzeitig und konsequent vorgehen," kündigte Michael Temme, Einsatzleiter der Kölner Polizei, an. » | jdl/syd/heb/dpa | Dienstag, 08. Mai 2012
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GUARDIAN – GREENSLADE BLOG: International press freedom watchdogs are watching the political situation in Greece with growing alarm following the treatment of journalists by the far-right Golden Dawn party.
After Golden Dawn obtained 7% of the vote, a press conference was staged by its leader Nikolaos Michaloliakos. Before his arrival, waiting reporters were ordered by party members to stand as a sign of respect.
Journalists who refused to do so were then expelled from the room.
This move came as little surprise to the Greek journalist Xenia Kounalaki. Last month, she wrote an article about Golden Dawn in the German weekly Der Spiegel, which prompted an attack on her on the party's website. Read on and comment » | Roy Greenslade | Tuesday, May 08, 2012
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THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Gay couples will be guaranteed the legal right to marry before the next general election, a Liberal Democrat minister has said.
Lynne Featherstone, the equalities minister, defied Tory backbench MPs who want the proposal to be dropped, declaring: “There will be no U-turn on equal marriage.”
She said the Coalition would continue to focus on “core issues”, such as reducing the deficit, at the same time as introducing laws allowing same-sex couples to marry by the end of this Parliament.
Her remarks, on her constituency blog, will fuel tensions between Liberal Democrats and Tories over the direction of the government.
Since last week’s poor election results for both Coalition parties, a succession of Conservatives have demanded that David Cameron and Nick Clegg abandon “fringe issues” and focus on the economy.
Miss Featherstone insists that the coalition can introduce equal marriage and secure the economic recovery at the same time. » | Tim Ross, Political Correspondent | Monday, May 07, 2012
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Over the next four weeks, the German chancellor has the fight of her political life on all fronts, domestic and European, at a moment when one slip could sink her government and tear down the European Union's single currency.
In the coming days, Mrs Merkel must take the lead in trying to find an answer for the Greece [sic] crisis after three[-]fifths of Greek voters rejected EU austerity measures, crafted in Frankfurt, the home of the European Central Bank.
German taxpayers have put 211 billion euros on the line to bail-out [sic] countries like Greece, and Germany's patience is running out with countries that reject the economic medicine they are prescribed to cut debt while continuing to demand the hand[-]outs.
In order to appease her highly taxed voters worried that EU bailouts breached Germany's constitution, Mrs Merkel made German economic aid conditional on all eurozone countries signing the "fiskalpakt [sic]".
The treaty, signed by 25 EU countries, gives Brussels officials the right to block budgets that break spending rules that must be enshrined in national constitutions, as is the case in Germany. » | Bruno Waterfield, Paris | Monday, May 07, 2012
With unemployment in Europe at its highest level since the creation of the single currency, resentment has been growing over whether strict budgetary discipline is the best way to brace a spiral of debt.
Street protests have been seen across Italy, Spain and Portugal as people reacted to spending cuts that have slowed economies across Europe.
Savings have been wiped out and in Spain, a real estate crash has helped swell unemployment to 25 per cent of the workforce.
Many economists have advocated a greater emphasis on growth, but it has only gained traction among European policy-makers and politicians in the past few weeks.
Paul Krugman, an economics Nobel Prize winner, welcomed the anti-austerity groundswell in Europe, saying the bloc’s voters proved “wiser than the Continent’s best and brightest”.
He said the health of the German economy was “an argument for much more expansionary policies elsewhere, and in particular for the European Central Bank to drop its obsession with inflation and focus on growth”. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Monday, May 07, 2012
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