Church Faces Crisis Over 'Tainted' Women Bishops Plan

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Historic plans to allow women to become bishops have been plunged into crisis after existing bishops voted through an eleventh-hour concession to traditionalists.

Campaigners for women in the episcopacy in the Church of England are considering whether to vote the plan down themselves, with some privately condemning it as a “compromise too far”.

Others say that the concession would give legal status to the view that women bishops would carry a “taint".

Yet traditionalists also voiced disappointment at the measure, which they said falls far short of the assurances they say they need, and warned the Church is facing a “terminal” crisis.

It comes after the Church’s House of Bishops met behind closed doors in York to give its approval to the long-awaited legislation. » | John Bingham, Religious Affairs Editor | Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Holocaust Survivor Renée Firestone Testimony
This testimony from Jewish Survivor Renée Firestone is from the archive of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute. She is a member of The "1939" Club.

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Rescued by Righteous Among the Nations: Testimony of Kristina Keren (Krystyna Chirowski)
Kristina Keren (Krystyna Chirowski) was seven years old when her family escaped from the massacres in Lwow and went into hiding in the city's sewers. For almost one and a half years they remained in the underground tunnels, never seeing daylight, and completely dependent on the help of Leopold Socha, a sewer worker of the municipality.

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Testimony of Laura Oberlander
Laura Oberlander was born in Tuczyn, Eastern Poland, in 1934. In July 1941, shortly after the Germans occupied Tuczyn, locals launched a pogrom against the Jews in which Laura and her mother were severely injured. Laura describes her family's sufferings in the ghetto, the loss of her elder sister Hanele, escape to the nearby village of Szubkow and the 18-months long hiding in the barn of the Gerasimchik family.

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Shavli Ghetto: Hannah Rigler's Testimony
Hannah Rigler was born in Shavli (Siauliai), Lithuania, in 1928. Her father was murdered shortly after the German invasion, and she was put in the ghetto with her mother and elder sister. In summer 1944, when the ghetto was liquidated they were taken to Stutthof camp. From there they were taken on a death march westwards. Hannah managed to escape and collapsed totally exhausted in a barn. She was found by a group of British POWs, who despite the great risk nursed her back to health.

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Excruciating Details Emerge on Jewish Ghettos

YNET NEWS: Editor of 'Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos' says research conducted in 'town after town, village after village' in Eastern Europe found that Nazis made 'concerted effort to find every last Jew in every last place'

Even after decades of in-depth Holocaust research, excruciating details are only now emerging about more than 1,100 German-run ghettos in Eastern Europe where the Nazis murdered hundreds of thousands of Jews.

And there were about 200 more ghettos than previously believed, said Martin Dean, editor of the recently published "Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933-1945, Volume II." It's part of a long-term effort to document every site of organized Nazi persecution, beyond the well-known Warsaw ghetto and extermination camps like Auschwitz.

It "gives us information about ghettos that would slip into historical oblivion and be forgotten forever if we didn't have this volume," Holocaust scholar Lawrence Langer said. "Who knew there were more than 1,000 ghettos?"

More Jews died during World War II in Poland and the western Soviet Union — today's Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania — than the estimated 1 million gassed in Auschwitz, Langer said.

"The people are dead, but at least we have the memory of the place where they lived and some knowledge of who killed them," said Langer, an 83-year-old professor of English emeritus at Boston's Simmons College.

The museum fields inquiries daily about survivors' families using the new information — some of it from non-Jews divulging locations of unmarked mass graves. » | Associated Press | Tuesday, May 22, 2012

'Non-Jews Are Brainless Thieves'
YNET NEWS: Rabbi Shteinman, leader of Lithuanian branch of ultra orthodox Jewry claims world was created for righteous, says nations have no principles

Speaking in Beit Shemesh ahead of the Shavuot holiday, Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman, one of the leaders of the Lithuanian branch of haredi Judaism discussed the importance of the torah and said that the world was created for the righteous that learn and follow its teachings.

Yet he also issues some more controversial statements. The rabbi's speech which was published in full in the haredi newspaper Yated Ne'eman, included statements on non-Jews:

"There are eight billion people in the world. And what are they? Murderers, thieves, brainless people… But who is the essence of this world? Has God created the world for these murderers? For these evil-doers?"

The rabbi, who has replaced Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv as the Lithuanian branch of Judaism's spiritual leader, reiterated his statements and went on to say: "Non-Jews have no connection to torah. The nations have nothing, no confidence (=faith) and no good principles." » | Ynet | Monday, May 21, 2012

Manji: Allah Made Gays and Lesbians, Too
MALAYSIA KINI: INTERVIEW Unapologetic for her defence of the gay and lesbian lifestyle, controversial liberal-Islam author Irshad Manji has challenged critics to explain how Allah, in all His glory, could have made “misfits or abominations”.

“Again, (going) back to the Quran, everybody is a deliberate act of creation on God's part. So even gays and lesbians have been created by God,” the Uganda-born Canadian said in an exclusive interview last week. Read on (log in necessary) » | Hazlan Zakaria | Tuesday, May 22, 2012

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Irshad Manji’s Book to Be Banned If It Contravenes Teachings of Sunnah Wal Jamaah
BORNEO POST: KUALA LUMPUR: The government will issue a ban on Irshad Manji’s book and publication if their content contravened the teachings of the Sunnah Wal Jamaah, Home Ministry Publication and Quranic Text Control Division secretary Abd Aziz Md Nor said.

Irshad’s book, entitled ‘Allah, Liberty and Love”, which was translated into Malay language, had also been forwarded to the Malaysian Islamic Development Department to be studied.

“This is because the book is believed to have contained elements that can deviate Muslims from their faith and elements which insulted Islam,” he said in a statement here. Read on and comment » | Tuesday, May 22, 2012

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La contre-expertise déclarant Breivik sain d'esprit validée

LA PRESSE: Une commission médico-légale a validé lundi la contre-expertise psychiatrique d'Anders Behring Breivik ayant conclu que l'auteur des attaques, qui ont fait 77 morts en Norvège, était suffisamment sain d'esprit pour être tenu pour responsable de ses actes, selon les médias locaux.

Si cette décision est confirmée, le tribunal d'Oslo se trouvera dans une situation inhabituelle avec deux rapports d'experts-psychiatres dûment validés, mais dont les conclusions divergent radicalement.

Une première évaluation officielle réalisée l'an dernier par deux premiers experts avait conclu que l'extrémiste de droite, aujourd'hui âgé de 33 ans, était psychotique, souffrant de «schizophrénie paranoïde», ce qui le condamnait donc à être interné en asile psychiatrique plutôt qu'à se retrouver derrière les barreaux.

Mais une contre-expertise, ordonnée après le tollé suscité par ces conclusions, avait en revanche conclu le mois dernier que Breivik était suffisamment sain d'esprit pour pouvoir être tenu pour responsable de ses actes devant la justice. » | Agence France-Presse | Oslo | lundi 21 mai 2012

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Roman Catholic Bishop Convicted of Child Pornography Stripped of Clerical Duties
THE GLOBE AND MAIL: A Roman Catholic bishop who was convicted of importing child pornography into Canada has been stripped of his clerical duties.

The Holy See in Rome has dismissed Raymond Lahey from the clerical state in what is one of the most serious penalties that the Roman Catholic Church can impose, the Diocese of Antigonish, N.S., said Wednesday.

The decision means Mr. Lahey, a former bishop of Antigonish, can no longer work as a cleric nor preside at any religious services or sacraments. » | ANTIGONISH, N.S.— The Canadian Press | Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Radical Cleric Abu Hamza Could Be Stripped of Hook in US Prison

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Abu Hamza al-Masri, the extremist preacher facing extradition to the United States for alleged terrorism offences, may be stripped of his prosthetic hook in prison amid fears it could pose a security risk.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled last month that Hamza and four other terrorism suspected can be extradited to the US to face trial. The preacher is wanted over an alleged plan to set up a terrorist training camp in Oregon and for helping jihadis in Yemen.

He is likely to be held at the ADX Florence 'super-max' prison in Fremont County, Colorado. The high security prison, dubbed the 'Alcatraz of the Rockies', holds inmates deemed the most dangerous and in need of tightest control.

Hamza, who wears a distinctive metal hook after losing his right hand in an explosion in Afghanistan may lose the prosthesis under a prison regime which prevent prisoners having access to improvised weapons. » | Matthew Holehouse | Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Nick Clegg: Outdated Snobbish Attitudes Are Hobbling Society
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg says the UK must abandon "outdated snobbish attitudes" in order to promote social mobility.

'Sick Conditions': Why Greeks Will Vote for Tsipras

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Greeks have spurned the politicians who represent the country's broken system, and many are now following rising star Alexis Tsipras. The radical left-wing politician has pledged to free Greece from painful austerity measures while keeping the euro, but no one knows how he plans to fulfill his promises.

Alexis Tsipras, the man who will very likely emerge again as the winner of the upcoming Greek parliamentary election, is campaigning throughout the country primarily under one slogan: "We won't pay any more."

He doesn't say what would replace the "barbarism of the austerity dictates," which he maintains that the European Union partners, above all German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have forced upon his country. He argues that the Europeans are only bluffing -- and he promises that they will continue to help, even if the Greeks no longer service their debts. He says: Elect me and all this misery will come to an end.

Stavros Lygeros, 59, is sitting in a café in the posh Athens neighborhood Neo Psychiko. Lygeros is a political commentator and a bourgeois intellectual. He's endeavoring to explain why the Greeks are following Tsipras in droves, although this young politician is clearly a seductive new star and his successful radical left-wing Radical Left Coalition (Syriza) cannot explain who will pay the future salaries of civil servants, doctors and nurses. Lygeros says that many Syriza voters don't even believe that this party has a solution.

The tragedy is that Greeks don't really have a choice when they return to the polls on June 17 -- their only option is refusal and protest. Suddenly all of Europe is demanding that they vote once again for, of all people, the very politicians who brought them all this misery in the first place, namely the socialists under Evangelos Venizelos and the conservatives under Antonis Samaras.

Because the discredited parties stand for the loan agreement and the conditions laid down by the lenders, many Greeks see Tsipras as their only alternative. At 37, he is young compared to the usual gerontocrats who dominate Greek politics. With an annual income last year of €48,000 ($61,000), a motorcycle and a modest apartment, he's fairly poor for a politician, which is yet another factor that fuels his popularity among voters. And he's the only one who promises to free Greece from the yoke of the austerity measures -- yet retain the euro. » | Julia Amalia Heyer | Monday, May 21, 2012

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India's Women Turning to Guns for Protection
Indian women explain why they are buying guns for protection, in response to rising rates of sexual harassment and robbery. There are an estimated 40m guns in India, the second highest number in the world behind the United States. In Punjab, 31,300 arms licences have been issued to women

Read the article here | Jason Burke in Chandigarth | Video reporting by Urmila Jagannathan and Jason Burke | Monday, May 21, 2012

Alexis Tsipras Warns Greek Crisis Is Also Europe's

THE GUARDIAN: Greece's leftwing leader tells Paris audience that other EU countries will be next if they fail to oppose radical austerity drive

The rising star of Europe Alexis Tsipras, the radical left Greek leader, has arrived in Paris to warn EU countries that their turn would come if they failed to oppose the radical austerity that is driving Greece to the brink of "collective suicide".

Tsipras, who is leading an austerity-backlash, said the future of Europe and the euro depended on the outcome of the Greece debt crisis. And he said he could feel a "wind of change" blowing across the continent that he hoped would lead to the "complete re-founding of Europe based on social cohesion and solidarity".

To continue down the path of austerity, he warned, would turn the Greek tragedy into an European catastrophe.

"Greece is a link in a chain. If it breaks it is not just the link that is broken but the whole chain. What people have to understand is that the Greek crisis concerns not just Greece but all European people so a common European solution has to be found," he told a press conference in Paris.

"The public debt crisis is hitting the south of Europe but it will soon hit central Europe. People have to realise that their own country could be threatened.

"We are here to explain to people in Europe that we have nothing against them. We are fighting the battle in Greece not just for the Greek people but for people in France, Germany and all European countries."

"I am not here to blackmail, I am here to mobilise," he said.

"Greece gave humanity democracy and today the Greek people will bring democracy back to Europe." » | Kim Willsher in Paris | Monday, May 21, 2012

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La Tunisie met en garde les extrémistes qui ferment les bars

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le ministre tunisien de la Justice, Noureddine Bhiri, a mis en garde lundi les salafistes, qui ont récemment tenté d'interdire la vente d'alcool dans la ville de Sidi Bouzid (centre) en fermant par la force plusieurs bars.

Le gouvernement tunisien met en garde les salafistes après la fermeture musclée par des salafistes de plusieurs dizaines de bars à Sidi Bouzid.

«Je dis à ces gens là - les salafistes - qui pensent que l'Etat a peur d'eux, que la promenade est terminée et que ceux qui dépassent les lignes rouges vont être punis», a-t-il précisé sur les ondes de la radio tunisienne privée Express FM. Sidi Bouzid est la ville d'où est partie la révolution tunisienne en décembre 2010, ayant abouti à la chute en janvier du régime de Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, après l'immolation par le feu d'un jeune vendeur ambulant, Mohamed Boauzizi, devant le gouvernorat.

Depuis vendredi, des salafistes qui tentent d'interdire la vente de l'alcool dans cette ville, ont demandé aux propriétaires des bars et de points de vente de fermer leur locaux avant d'avoir recours à la force pour «imposer leur loi», a expliqué une source sécuritaire sur place. » | afp/Newsnet | lundi 21 mai 2012

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Philippines: Lady Gaga défie la censure à Manille
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: La chanteuse américaine Lady Gaga a donné lundi soir son premier concert à Manille devant plus de 40'000 fans, défiant ses détracteurs philippins et les menaces de censure des autorités.

La chanteuse américaine a donné son premier concert à Manille, lundi soir.

Les spectateurs, dont beaucoup portaient des tenues aussi tapageuses que celles pour lesquelles leur idole est réputée, l'ont follement acclamée lorsqu'elle a lancé à la foule: «Manille, je ne suis pas une créature de votre gouvernement».

Elle a enchaîné sur l'une de ses chansons les plus controversées, «Judas», que ses détracteurs philippins considèrent comme blasphématoire.

Le concert s'est tenu à l'Arena, une vaste salle de spectacles nouvellement construite à Pasay, un quartier de Manille.

Des spectateurs ont envoyé sur Twitter des photos de la pop star vêtue d'une longue robe jaune inspirée des tenues traditionnelles philippines pendant la chanson «Born This Way», un hymne gay. » | afp/Newsnet | lundi 21 mai 2012

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Suicide Bomber Kills Scores in Yemen

Read the article here | Tom A. Peter | Christian Science Monitor Correspondent | Monday, May 21, 2012

Debatte um zweite Währung: Deutsche Bank will den Geuro für Griechenland
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Griechenland ist kaum noch in der Euro-Zone zu halten, auch wenn die meisten Krisenpolitiker sich genau dies wünschen. Nun macht der Chefvolkswirt der Deutschen Bank einen ungewöhnlichen Vorschlag: Das Land soll einfach zwei Währungen parallel nutzen - den Euro und den Geuro.

Hamburg - Thomas Mayer, der Chefvolkswirt der Deutschen Bank, hält die Einführung einer griechischen Parallelwährung zum Euro für möglich. Diese soll für den inländischen Zahlungsverkehr und die Bezahlung lebensnotwendiger Importe verwendet werden, heißt es in einem Bericht der Forschungsabteilung der Deutschen Bank. Name der neuen Währung: Geuro.

Hintergrund ist die Annahme, dass Griechenland kaum noch in der Euro-Zone zu halten ist. Eine Regierungsbildung im Land ist gerade gescheitert, Neuwahlen stehen an, bei diesen könnten Parteien die Mehrheit erringen, die ein Sparprogramm ablehnen. Die Hilfszahlungen an Griechenland dürften dann eingestellt werden, und das Land würde den Währungsraum wohl verlassen müssen.

Die meisten Ökonomen halten es allerdings für wahrscheinlich, dass Griechenland selbst nach einem Euro-Austritt noch Hilfen anderer EU-Länder erhalten würde. Denn ein völliges Chaos mitten in Europa würden die anderen Länder definitiv vermeiden wollen.

Hier setzt Mayers Vorschlag an: Seinem Modell nach würde die griechische Regierung ihre Rechnungen wohl mit Schuldscheinen bezahlen. Diese würden zum Kern einer neuen Währung werden, da die Schuldscheine weiterverkauft werden könnten. » | ssu | Montag, 21. Mai 2012

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L'Amérique suit les pas de la «First Girl Friend»
LE FIGARO: La situation de Valérie Trierweiler fascine les médias internationaux.

Discrète, mais pas invisible. Pour ses premiers pas de «First Girl Friend», Valérie Trierweiler est restée aussi loin que possible de la politique française. Quelques images seulement de son séjour aux États-Unis, mais pas de commentaires. «Elle ne voulait pas parasiter le premier déplacement du président», explique-t-on à l'Élysée. Et puis, fait-on comprendre, ce n'est pas toujours simple pour l'ancienne journaliste passée de l'autre côté du miroir. À l'ambassade de France à Washington, vendredi, elle avait refusé de répondre aux sollicitations des reporters. » | Par Nicolas Barotte, envoyé du Figaro spécial à Chicago | lundi 21 mai 2012

Les salafistes tunisiens à la reconquête de Kairouan

KAPITALIS: La 4e ville sainte de l’islam a été reconquise, dimanche, par les salafistes tunisiens, appelant au meurtre des juifs et scandant le nom de Ben Laden, sous le regard médusé de la population. Le gouvernement regarde ailleurs. Reportage Afp-Kapitalis…

Bruits de sabre et de chevaux au galop, chants guerriers, treillis militaires sur tenues afghanes: les salafistes tunisiens se sont invités dimanche à Kairouan (centre), quatrième ville sainte de l’islam, sous le regard de commerçants et de quelques touristes interloqués.

Appliquer la charia de Dieu

Venus en bus de plusieurs régions de Tunisie, quelques milliers de partisans d’Ansar al Charia, l’un des mouvements les plus radicaux de la mouvance salafiste en Tunisie, lancé en avril 2011, ont investi toute la journée la grande mosquée et la médina de la ville.

«Le deuxième congrès des partisans de la charia se tient cette année dans une ville qui a une très forte symbolique historique et religieuse, et réunit tous les frères qui ont pour objectif de faire appliquer la charia de Dieu dans notre pays», indiquait le magazine ‘‘La promesse’’, distribué à l’entrée.

Une gigantesque banderole à l’effigie du mouvement a été déroulée sur le minaret de la célèbre mosquée, la plus vieille d’Afrique, et des salafistes montés sur les murs d’enceinte agitaient au vent des drapeaux noirs de l’islam, sur fond de chants religieux et démonstration d’arts martiaux, pour un spectacle rôdé et destiné à impressionner. » | Source: AFP | lundi 21 mai 2012

WIKI: Kairouan (en français) »

WIKI: Kairouan (en anglais) »

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Salafisten verteilen Korane und knipsen Kritiker

PFORZHEIMER ZEITUNG: Pforzheim [E]. „Der Koran geht weg wie warme Semmeln“, staunt ein Passant in der Pforzheimer Fußgängerzone, der seinen Namen „lieber nicht verraten“ will. Er schnappt sich eines der in Folie eingeschweißten Büchlein im Taschenbuchformt. „Der edle Qur’an – die ungefähre Bedeutung in der deutschen Sprache“ steht darauf. Lesen will er es eigentlich gar nicht, „aber mal reinschauen“. Bloß zu sehen gibt es darin nicht viel, denn Bilder sucht man vergebens.

Und reden will der Passant mit den extremistischen Salafisten auch nicht. „Mir reicht schon, wie die mit anderen argumentieren“, sagt er kopfschüttelnd und geht weiter. Mit Käppi und Kaftan stehen die Salafisten an ihrem Stand, begleitet von einer Frau mit Kopftuch und einem Kleinkind. Wenn es darum geht, übers Paradies und den wahren Glauben zu reden, sprudelt es aus den extremistischen Islamisten heraus, lautstark, hitzig. Vor allem die Frau scheint ihren Fanatismus durch eine besondere Lautstärke Ausdruck verleihen zu wollen.

Nur wenn die Fragen über Glaubensthemen hinausgehen, werden die Salafisten einsilbig und ruhig. „Grundgesetz oder Koran?“ Was sein denn als in Deutschland lebender Mitbürger höher zu bewerten? Diese Frage eines Passanten wollen die Salafisten nicht beantworten. Das muss auch ein Kamerateam der ARD feststellen.

Während sie filmen, werden sie fotografiert. Fürs Poesiealbum dürften die Fotos der Salafisten nicht gedacht sein. Mit dem Bilderverbot im Koran nehmen sie es genau, aber Fotos von kritischen Mitbürgern zu machen scheint kein Tabu zu sein. » | Autor: tok/ol/dpa | Sonntag, 20. Mai 2012

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Islamistenvideo: Bundesanwalt ermittelt wegen extremistenfeindlichem Mordaufruf
ZEIT ONLINE: In einem Video hat ein Islamist zur Ermordung von Mitgliedern der rechtsextremen Partei Pro NRW aufgerufen. Abu Ibrahim ist der Justiz schon mehrfach aufgefallen.

Nach dem Mordaufruf eines Islamisten gegen deutsche Rechtsextremisten hat der Generalbundesanwalt die Ermittlungen übernommen. Gegen den Islamisten Yassin Chouka alias Abu Ibrahim, der in einer Video-Botschaft zur Ermordung von Mitgliedern der rechtsextremen Partei Pro NRW aufruft, werde bereits seit Längerem ermittelt, teilte das nordrhein-westfälische Innenministerium mit. » | Quelle: ZEIT ONLINE, dpa | Montag, 21. Mai 2012

Pakistan Blocks Twitter Over Contentious Tweets
ASSOCIATED PRESS: ISLAMABAD — Pakistan blocked the social networking website Twitter for several hours because it refused to remove tweets considered offensive to Islam, said one of the country's top telecommunications officials.

The tweets were promoting a competition on Facebook to post images of Islam's Prophet Muhammad, said Mohammad Yaseen, chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication's Authority. Many Muslims regard depictions of the prophet, even favorable ones, as blasphemous.

The government restored access to Twitter before midnight Sunday, about eight hours after it initially blocked access, possibly because of public criticism it received for its censorship. » | Zarar Khan | AP | Monday, May 21, 2012

Op-Ed Contributor: Indonesia's Rising Religious Intolerance
THE NEW YORK TIMES: JAKARTA — Just a few days after Lady Gaga’s concert in Indonesia was canceled after protests by Islamic groups, I flew 1,370 kilometers from Jakarta to Padang, West Sumatra, and drove a further 130 kilometers, a four-hour journey along rough, winding roads, to Sijunjung, to visit an Indonesian atheist jailed for his beliefs.

Alex Aan, a 30-year-old civil servant, is a gentle, soft-spoken, highly intelligent young man who simply gave up his belief in God when he saw poverty, war, famine and disaster around the world.

He faces the possibility of up to six years in prison, charged with blasphemy, disseminating hatred and spreading atheism. Radical Muslims came to his office, beat him up, and called the police after reading about his views on Facebook.

Alex is the first atheist in Indonesia to be jailed for his belief, but his case is symptomatic of a wider increase in religious intolerance in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation. The previous Sunday, I joined a small church in Bekasi, a suburb of Jakarta, for a service, but found the street blocked by a noisy, angry mob and a few police.

The church, known as HKBP Filadelfia, was forced to close a few years ago, even though the local courts had given permission to open. The local mayor, under pressure from Islamists, has declared a “zero church” policy in his area. For the past two months, the congregation has been blocked from worshiping in the street outside their building, and the atmosphere has grown increasingly tense.

When I was there, I felt it could have erupted into violence at any moment. The radicals in control of the loudspeaker shouted “Christians, get out,” and “anyone not wearing a jilbab (headscarf), catch them, hunt them down.” » | BENEDICT ROGERS* | Monday, May 21, 2012

* Benedict Rogers works for the international human rights organization Christian Solidarity Worldwide, based in London.

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Malaysia: Probe Book by Liberal Islamic Activist, Ministry Urged
THE STAR: ALOR SETAR: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom has called on the Home Ministry to carry out an immediate probe into a book authored by liberal Islamic activist Irshad Manji.

He said the Malaysian Islamic Development Department’s (Jakim) analysis of the book, entitled Islam, Liberty and Love, revealed that it was filled with words insulting Islam.

“The decision to ban the book is the prerogative of the Home Ministry. We (Jakim) can only advise them as our analysis found that the book is dangerous for the Muslims,” he said yesterday.

Irshad, who openly supported Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual (LGBT) lifestyles, was reported to have arrived in Malaysia on Thursday to launch her new book.

The launch of the Bahasa Malaysia version of the book under the title Allah, Kebebasan dan Cinta took place at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on Saturday.

She left for New York on Saturday night.

Irshad had also authored a book entitled The Problem With Islam Today which offended Muslims worldwide and contained the same idealism as Salman Rushdie, the author of the novel The Satanic Verses. »

THE JAKARTA POST: Irshad Manji injured in mob attack in Yogya » | The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thursday, May 10, 2012

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Bee Gees Singer Robin Gibb Dies After Cancer Battle

BBC: Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb has died aged 62 after a lengthy battle with cancer.

The announcement was made by his family with "great sadness".

British-born Gibb's musical career began when he formed the Bee Gees with his brothers Barry and Maurice in 1958.

The group are among the biggest-selling of all time with hits spanning five decades, including Stayin' Alive, How Deep Is Your Love, Massachusetts and Night Fever.

Gibb's family said in a statement: "The family of Robin Gibb, of the Bee Gees, announce with great sadness that Robin passed away today following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery.

"The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this very difficult time."

Broadcaster Paul Gambaccini described the singer as "one of the major figures in the history of British music". (+ videos) » | Monday, May 21, 2012

BBC: Obituary: Robin Gibb (+ video) »

Nick Clegg: Public Fury at Euro Crisis Will Fuel Extremism
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A wave of “extremism and xenophobia” will sweep across Europe unless political leaders take urgent action to deal with the debt crisis, Nick Clegg has warned.

The Deputy Prime Minister predicted that arguments in Britain about whether to pull out of the European Union would be “like a small side show compared to the rise of political extremism” in the next few years.

In his bleakest assessment to date, Mr Clegg admitted that his beloved European project faces a “huge” crisis of confidence as the public loses faith in the EU “as a whole”.

Mr Clegg’s intervention followed warnings from Cabinet ministers that the eurozone debt crisis is approaching a “moment of clarity” when it is “quite likely” that Greece will be forced out of the single currency.

In an interview with the German magazine, Der Spiegel, the Liberal Democrat leader said EU nations are “condemned to work with each other” but warned that nine European governments have “fallen” since 2009.

“Everybody should be more active,” he said. “At the moment, what’s happening is you have one emergency summit after another; you have one election after the other; you have one bail out after the other.

“This cannot carry on because the combination of economic insecurity and political paralysis, we know this from the history of our continent, is the ideal recipe for an increase in extremism and xenophobia. » | Tim Ross, and James Kirkup | Monday, May 21, 2012

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Ken Clarke attacks 'nationalist' eurosceptic Tories: MPs who want a referendum on membership of the European Union are “right-wing nationalists” who would bring "disaster" to Britain, Kenneth Clarke has said. ¶ The Justice Secretary, who is regarded as the most "europhile" Conservative Cabinet minister, said calls to consider withdrawing from the EU were "a dangerous irrelevance" to the economic crisis. » | Tim Ross, Political Correspondent | Sunday, May 20, 2012

Tunisie - Plus d’alcool à Sidi Bouzid, dixit les salafistes

BUSINESSNEWS.com.tn: Les salafistes ont effectué, samedi 19 mai 2012, une opération de ratissage visant la fermeture des points de vente de boissons alcoolisés et, partant, tous les bars, hôtels et dépôts de vente d'alcool de la ville, selon plusieurs sources concordantes. Même les locaux de vente des glaçons alimentaires ont été pris pour cible, selon d’autres sources. Le but visé est «plus d’alcool à Sidi Bouzid».

Selon un premier témoignage recueilli par Shems Fm, les habitants de Sidi Bouzid ont protesté auprès du gouvernorat réclamant la fermeture de ces lieux, à cause des tapages nocturnes, braquages et autres inconvénients, mais leur demande est restée lettre morte. Les habitants ont réclamé alors l’aide des salafistes qui ont fait, samedi, le tour des lieux pour interdire la vente d’alcool.

En représailles, les vendeurs d’alcool ont attaqué la mosquée, après la prière du soir, armés de fusils de chasse, d’armes blanches et de pierres et agressant les personnes présentes, toujours selon le témoignage de Shems Fm. En colère, les habitants se sont dirigés vers des entrepôts de vente d’alcool pour les incendier. Le témoin a précisé qu’un sit-in de protestation aura lieu, dimanche dans 8 mosquées, après la prière du « dhohr », en protestation contre cette agression. » | dimanche 20 mai 2012

Tunisia Denies Entry to Moroccan Salafists
MAGHAREBIA: Salafists protested at Tunis-Carthage Airport as security expelled two fundamentalist theologians.

Tunisian authorities on Tuesday (May 15th) deported two radical Moroccan preachers with alleged ties to al-Qaeda.

Salafist preachers Hassan Kettani and Omar Hadouchi were accused of trying to enter the country illegally. Both were banned from Tunisia after receiving 20-year prison sentences for indoctrinating the Islamists who committed the deadly 2003 Casablanca attacks, according to the Tunisian interior ministry.

They travelled to Tunisia for a 15-day visit to present a series of lectures on behalf of the salafist Dar as-Salam Association for Charity and Sharia Sciences in Bizerte, but security intercepted them at the Tunis–Carthage Airport.

Though they both received royal pardons from Morocco in February, the Tunisian interior ministry cited "their involvement in terrorist acts and belonging to al-Qaeda" as reasons why they were denied entry to the country.

Neither the two jihadist theologians nor the organisation from which they received the invitation admitted to doing anything wrong. » | Houda Trabelsi for Magharebia in Tunis | Friday, May 18, 2012

Les sulfureux invités de la reine à Windsor

LE FIGARO: La présence des rois de Bahreïn et du Swaziland ont terni le jubilé d'Elizabeth.

La polémique sur le pedigree peu démocratique de certains de ses invités ne semble pas avoir gâché le plaisir d'Elizabeth II de célébrer ses soixante ans de règne avec les monarques régnants du monde entier. Sur la photo officielle publiée par Buckingham Palace, la reine pose tout sourire, encadrée par ses vingt-cinq convives. Il est vrai que seule une poignée d'étudiants bahreïniens s'était déplacée devant les grilles du château de Windsor pour protester contre l'accueil plus que respectueux réservé par la famille royale britannique au roi de Bahreïn. Mais le malaise provoqué par certains invités réunis autour de la reine à l'occasion de son jubilé de diamant était partagé par une partie de l'opinion britannique.

La présence d'Hamad ben Isa al-Khalifa, le roi de Bahreïn, dont le gouvernement réprime l'opposition de manière féroce depuis plus d'un an, a été particulièrement critiquée. Convié l'an dernier au mariage de William et Kate, le souverain n'avait alors pas jugé opportun d'honorer l'invitation. Douze mois plus tard, le sort réservé aux opposants au régime ne s'est pas amélioré, mais le roi semble avoir surmonté ses scrupules. Une «gaffe sérieuse» » | Par amandine Alexandre | vendredi 18 mai 2012

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Italien: Das Erdbeben begrub zwei Nachtarbeiter unter den Trümmern einer Fabrikhalle
Ein Erdbeben im Norden Italiens hat am frühen Sonntagmorgen mindestens sechs Menschen getötet. Mindestens 50 Personen wurden bei dem Beben der Stärke 5,9 in der norditalienischen Region Emilia Romagna verletzt.

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Nick Clegg: Academic Dominance of Private Schools Is Damaging Social Mobility

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The overwhelming dominance of privately-educated schoolchildren in Britain is “corrosive” for society, Nick Clegg has warned.

The sheer gulf in standards between state and independent schools is holding back social mobility and damaging the economy, according to the Deputy Prime Minister.

He said children educated in the private sector were three times more likely to achieve at least two As and B at A-level – the entry requirement for many top research universities – than pupils in state schools.

The gap in results between different school types is wider in Britain than almost any other developed country, it was revealed.

The comments were made as he prepared to launch a new drive designed to boost standards among poor children. » | Graeme Paton, Education Editor | Sunday, May 20, 2012

My comment:

First of all, they need to bring back the grammar school. Grammar schools gave children the chance of social mobility. Many children from grammar schools went on to Oxbridge, and many fine red brick universities.

Secondly, if Mr. Clegg really wants to ensure social mobility, the dumbing down of education has to stop. So, too, must grade inflation. Children need a rigorous and challenging examination system, not one driven by league tables and ever-increasing and 'wonderful' grades. Bring back the marking system which ensured that only the best achieved 'A' grades, some achieved very good, but reasonable exam results, and others failed. It's no use passing everyone with flying colours: results then come to mean nothing in the end.

Then, we should follow the Swiss system. In Switzerland, state schools are so good, and schools so well-funded that few Swiss people even want to attend the many prestigious private institutions there are in the country. There is no need for them to do so – the state system is so good. – G Mark

This comment also appears here

Al Jazeera: The Inside Story of the Arab News Channel that is Challenging the West

Iranian Artists Negotiate Government Guidelines
Despite issues of censorship and cultural sensitivities, Iranian artists work to change the image of Iranian art, educating the world on the country's contemporary art scene. While galleries and artists sometimes struggle with government guidelines, they nonetheless manage to produce work that is often recognised in overseas exhibitions. Al Jazeera's Imran Khan reports from Tehran.

Bahrain King's Invitation to Windsor Castle Stirs Controversy
During her almost 60 year reign - Queen Elizabeth II has hosted hundreds of lunches for foreign monarchs. Few in recent years have had such a controversial guest list. The King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, is among those invited to dine at Windsor Castle at a time when Bahrain has come under international pressure over allegations of serious human rights violations. The crackdown against pro-reform demonstrators has drawn disgust and concern in equal measure from campaigners. Al Jazeera's Emma Hayward reports from London.

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Deadly Earthquake Hits Italy
At least five people killed and reports of damage to historical buildings in 6.0-magnitude quake near city of Bologna. Al Jazeera's Sabina Castelfranco reports.

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Lockerbie Bomber Megrahi Has Died in Libya: Brother
REUTERS.COM: The former Libyan intelligence officer convicted of the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people has died, his brother said on Sunday. He was 59.

Abdel Basset al-Megrahi died at home after a long battle with cancer. His health had deteriorated quickly overnight, his brother Abdulhakim told Reuters.

"He was surrounded by his family and died in his house," Abdulhakim said on Sunday. » | Hadeel Al Shalchi | TRIPOLI | Reuters | Sunday, May 20, 2012

Queen Sofia of Spain: Europe's Lonely Royal Consort
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Ordered to decline an invitation to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee banquet, Spain's Queen Sofia is more isolated and alone than ever.

For half a century she has been by his side, a quiet, dignified presence through turbulent decades. But now Spain is beginning to ask just how much more Queen Sofia can take.

Against a backdrop of family financial scandal and an increasingly troubled marriage, Queen Sofia was counting the days until she could escape to London and attend Friday's Jubilee banquet at Windsor Castle – an eagerly anticipated family gathering.

But 48 hours before she was due to leave she was prevented by the government from attending. Declining the invite on her behalf, the Spanish government cited the recent "heightened tensions" with Britain over the ownership of the island of Gibraltar, currently the scene of a row over fishing rights.

The government's decision focused attention once again on the troubled life of the woman whom some are calling the loneliest royal consort in Europe.

"She was really looking forward to it," said Pilar Eyre, whose book The Loneliness of the Queen has been top of the best seller list in Spain since it was published in January. "It was a huge blow for her to be stopped from attending." » | Harriet Alexander, in Madrid | Sunday, May 20, 2012

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Four Dead after Powerful Earthquake Strikes Italy
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: At least four people have been killed and 50 injured after a powerful earthquake struck northern Italy early on Sunday, reducing historic buildings to rubble and burying cars under tonnes of debris.

The epicentre of the 5.9 earthquake was at Finale Emilia, a town 22 miles north of Bologna.

The force of the quake was felt throughout north[-]eastern Italy, from Florence to Venice and as far away as the German speaking area of South Tyrol, on the border with Austria.

The affected region includes some of Italy's most attractive small cities, including Ferrara, Modena and Mantua, famed for countless artistic and historic treasures, from frescoes to ancient churches and castles.

The quake, which struck at 4am local time, led to the partial collapse of several historic stone towers and church steeples. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Sunday, May 20, 2012

Psychiatrist Who Championed 'Gay Cure' Admits He Was Wrong

THE GUARDIAN: Dr Robert Spitzer apologises for 'fatally flawed' study, published in 2001, which claimed gay people could be 'cured' if properly motivated

One of the most influential figures in modern psychiatry has apologised to America's gays for a scientific study which supported attempts to "cure" people of their homosexuality.

The survey, published in 2001, looked at "reparative therapy" and was hailed by religious and social conservatives in America as proof that gay people could successfully become straight if they were motivated to do so.

But Dr Robert Spitzer has now apologised in the same academic journal that published his original study, calling it "fatally flawed". "I believe I owe the gay community an apology," his letter said. "I also apologise to any gay person who wasted time and energy undergoing some form of reparative therapy because they believed that I had proven that reparative therapy works."

Spitzer's letter, which was leaked online before its publication in theArchives of Sexual Behaviour, is sure to cause delight among gay civil rights groups and stir up anger among social conservatives, who have used the study to combat the acceptance of homosexuality as a normal part of human society.

Reparative therapy is popular among Christian conservative groups, which run clinics and therapy sessions at which people try to become heterosexual through counselling. Gay rights activists condemn such practices as motivated by religious faith, not science, and call them "pray away the gay" groups. » | Paul Harris in New York | Saturday, May 19, 2012

Christians and Muslims Unite in New Bid to Silence Lady Gaga

THE OBSERVER: Fans defend singer's freedom of speech as Philippines protests threaten star's concerts

Christian groups in the Philippines have called for a ban on Lady Gaga's Manila concerts, alleging that her song Judas is an offensive mockery of Jesus Christ.

Youths gathered at a rally outside the mayor's office, chanting "Stop the Lady Gaga concerts", while members of the Biblemode Youth Philippines group called her videos religiously offensive.

In the song, she calls herself a "holy fool" who is "still in love with Judas", singing: "Jesus is my virtue/And Judas is the demon I cling to." In the video, Gaga plays a biker chick riding behind a man wearing a crown of thorns, while longing for another biker with "Judas" emblazoned across his leather jacket.

The singer is due to play the 20,000-seat Mall of Asia tomorrow and on Tuesday, and James Imbong, a lawyer filing a petition to ban the concerts, said Christian groups would not accept a compromise as organisers in South Korea did when Seoul authorities agreed to forbid under-12s from attending instead of cancelling the concert.

"She has a song that suggests that she wants to have sex with Judas and performs it with a dance," Imbong told the news website PhilStar. "Of course, it would be accompanied by a costume that has pornographic elements."

Manila's mayor has issued a statement ordering Gaga not to "exhibit any nudity or lewd conduct which may be offensive to morals and good custom", with the stark reminder that the penal code in the primarily Roman Catholic country of 93 million can convict anyone up to six years for offending race or religion.

Tens of thousands of Gaga fans, from Seoul to Jakarta, are campaigning for the singer's right to freedom of expression, after numerous attempts by Christian and Muslim groups to ban shows during her Born This Way Ball Asia tour, calling her music, persona and style the "work of Satan", "dangerous to youth" and "spreading unhealthy sexual culture". » | Kate Hodal | Sunday, May 20, 2012

THE GUARDIAN: Lady Gaga denied permit for Indonesia concert after religious protests: Police refuse to license Jakarta gig, saying they are unable to guarantee singer's safety following protests » | Sean Michaels | Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Fleeing the Wealth Tax: Wealthy French Take Their Assets to London

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: During the election campaign, French President François Hollande threatened to slap an income tax rate of 75 percent on high earners. Since then, wealthy French have been looking for ways to get themselves and their money out of the country. And nowhere looks more attractive than millionaire-friendly London.

It began in 2010, when wealthy Greeks started coming to London and buying up expensive townhouses in upmarket neighborhoods. Amid fears that Greece might leave the euro zone, they believed their money would be safe in Britain in its splendid isolation from the euro and the Continent's sovereign debt crisis.

Then rich Spaniards started arriving. They were following by well off Italians, who at the start of the year overtook Russians as the biggest group of foreign buyers snapping up property in London, according to a survey.

Whenever the euro crisis heats up somewhere in Europe, the demand for expensive homes increases in Western Europe's largest city particularly among well-heeled foreigners beset by asset angst.

London real estate agents are like the canary in the coalmine for the debt crisis. They can sense early on the next country to get sucked into the vortex. So who's up next? Apparently it's the French.

Wave of Interest

Real estate agents have been aware of a new wave of interest for months, but it's been especially noticeable since Feb. 28. The night before, the then Socialist candidate for French president, François Hollande, who famously said "I don't like the rich," announced that, if elected, he would raise the top rate of tax on incomes over €1 million to 75 percent. At home, he got much applause for the announcement. But in London, the news produced a reaction that was noticeable on the computers of the London-based property company Knight Frank. » | Marco Evers in London | Friday, May 18, 2012

Fernsehen unterm Hakenkreuz

Greek Leftist Leader Alexis Tsipras: 'It's a War between People and Capitalism'

THE GUARDIAN: Greece's eurozone fate may now be in the hands of the 37-year-old political firebrand and his Syriza party

"I don't believe in heroes or saviours," says Alexis Tsipras, "but I do believe in fighting for rights … no one has the right to reduce a proud people to such a state of wretchedness and indignity."

The man who holds the fate of the euro in his hands – as the leader of the Greek party willing to tear up the country's €130bn (£100bn) bailout agreement – says Greece is on the frontline of a war that is engulfing Europe.

A long bombardment of "neo-liberal shock" – draconian tax rises and remorseless spending cuts – has left immense collateral damage. "We have never been in such a bad place," he says, sleeves rolled up, staring hard into the middle distance, from behind the desk that he shares in his small parliamentary office. "After two and a half years of catastrophe Greeks, are on their knees. The social state has collapsed, one in two youngsters is out of work, there are people leaving en masse, the climate psychologically is one of pessimism, depression, mass suicides."

But while exhausted and battle weary, the nation at the forefront of Europe's escalating debt crisis and teetering on the edge of bankruptcy is also hardened. And, increasingly, they are looking towards Tsipras to lead their fight.

"Defeat is the battle that isn't waged," says the young politician who almost overnight has seen his radical left coalition party, Syriza, jump from representing fewer than 5% of Greeks to enjoying ratings of more than 25% in polls.

"You ask me if I am afraid. I'd be afraid if we continued on this path, a path to social hell … when someone fights there is a big chance that he will win and we are fighting this to win."

Before Greeks went to the polls on 6 May, neither Tsipras nor his party were a name to be reckoned with. If anything both were the butt of vague mockery: a former pony-tailed student communist leading a rag-tag band of ex-Trotskyists, Maoists, champagne socialists and greens. Tsipras's assistants – wielding Louis Vuitton bags and fashionable sunglasses – readily admit they are signed up "militants" mostly of the anti-globalisation cause. » | Helena Smith in Athens | Friday, May 18, 2012

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Fury as Quebec Passes Law to Stifle Student Fee Protests
THE GUARDIAN: Canadian province's government accused of 'murdering the right to demonstrate' in response to months of turmoil

Quebec's provincial government has passed an emergency law restricting demonstrations and shutting some universities as the government seeks to end three months of protests against tuition fee increases. Outraged students reacted by calling it an act of war.

Among the provisions of the law, which passed 68-48 on Friday, is a requirement that police be informed eight hours before a protest and told the route of any demonstration that includes 50 or more people.

Hours after the vote thousands of protesters marched in downtown Montreal to condemn the legislation, which students and supporters say limits their ability to demonstrate their disapproval of the fee hikes. "They pulled the plug instead of trying to develop something constructive through talks, " said participant Felix Siry, 22. "I think this will just make things worse."

Police officers in riot gear and others on horseback watched as the loud and energetic crowd made its way downtown, chanting: "No special law will break us!"

Molotov cocktails were thrown causing police to declare the demonstration illegal. Police used pepper spray and one man was arrested. Some people threw objects at a small group of helmeted police who were forced to retreat but charged back firing teargas. » | Associated Press in Montreal | Saturday, May 19, 2012

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Baroness Warsi: Some Pakistani Men Think Young White Girls Are "Fair Game" for Sex Abuse

LONDON EVENING STANDARD: Some Pakistani men believe “white girls are fair game” for sexual abuse, the Cabinet Minister and Tory co-chairman Baroness Warsi says today.

In an exclusive interview Sayeeda Warsi, Britain’s most senior Muslim politician, calls on mosques and community leaders to condemn “a small minority” of their members with racist and sexist views.

“There is a small minority of Pakistani men who believe that white girls are fair game,” she told the Evening Standard. “And we have to be prepared to say that. You can only start solving a problem if you acknowledge it first.”

Her comments follow the horrific Rochdale sexual grooming case, in which a gang of Pakistani men preyed on young white girls. Lady Warsi is the most senior political leader to say publicly that racist and misogynistic attitudes in sections of the community were partly responsible for what happened.

“This small minority who see women as second class citizens, and white women probably as third class citizens, are to be spoken out against,” she said. Baroness Warsi, a 41-year-old former lawyer who in 2010 became the first Muslim woman to sit in Cabinet, decided to break her silence on the controversy to encourage other leaders of the community to speak up and change attitudes. » | Joe Murphy | Friday, May 18, 2012

Read the full interview »

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Iran Executes Man for Scientist Murder
May 15 - Iranian state news reports that an alleged Israeli spy, convicted last year of killing a scientist, has been hanged. Lindsey Parietti reports.

Newly-elected Hollande Arrives in U.S.
May 18 - Newly-elected French President Francois Hollande arrives in the United States for a meeting with President Barack Obama ahead of the G8 summit. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).


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Anti-gay Protesters Attack Activists in Russia
May 18 - Several gay activists are injured as anti-gay protesters attack them after a gay rights demonstration in Russia's second city, St Petersburg. Sunita Rappai reports.