Monday, April 29, 2013
TAGES ANZEIGER: Frankreichs konservative Opposition hat François Hollande nach der harschen Kritik an Kanzlerin Angela Merkel für eine Verschlechterung der deutsch-französischen Beziehungen verantwortlich gemacht.
Der Chef der konservativen UMP, Jean-François Copé, und Ex-Regierungschef François Fillon erklärten in einer gemeinsamen Stellungnahme, François Hollande trage eine «persönliche Verantwortung» dafür, dass das Verhältnis zwischen beiden Ländern sich «kontinuierlich und auf erschreckende Weise» verschlechtere.
Hollande habe bereits kurz nach seinem Amtsantritt beim EU-Gipfel Ende Juni 2012 versucht, Merkel zu «isolieren». «Dieses unwürdige Verhalten, das von niedrigen parteipolitischen Anliegen motiviert war, hat den Ton vorgegeben, wie sein künftiges Verhältnis zu Deutschland sein würde. Das Ergebnis ist katastrophal.» Hollande hatte sich bei dem EU-Gipfel mit Spanien und Italien verbündet und Merkel Zugeständnisse bei der Verwendung des Euro-Rettungsfonds abgetrotzt. » | sam/AFP | Montag, 29. April 2013
EXPRESS: COUNTER terror experts are targeting schools feared to have been ¬infiltrated by Islamic fundamentalists using Wales as a base for recruitment.
The move comes after the country was identified as having a “very real” threat of terrorist activity.
Experts fear that extremists view Wales as a safe haven compared with London for would-be terrorists.
A leaked “restricted report” called the Wales Contest plan exposes growing radicalisation in Cardiff and proposes extra training in how to spot extremism for staff at schools “identified as having increased risks” of radicalism.
In December 2010, Cardiff brothers Abdul Miah, 25, and Gurukanth Desai, 30, along with Omar Sharif Latif, were arrested after planning a Mumbai-style attack on the London Stock Exchange. They were eventually jailed for a total of 40 years.
Last year Idris Faridi, 32, of Roath, Cardiff, was jailed for nine months after a “terrorist’s manual” called 39 Ways To Serve And Proceed In Jihad was discovered on his computer’s hard drive. He had applied to work at the Millennium Stadium during the Olympic Games.
A Welsh Government spokesman said last night: “In Wales, we work with a wide range of partners from across the public sector to raise awareness of issues relating to extremism and to improve community cohesion.
“As in England, this work includes education sessions for teachers and staff, undertaken by police ‘engagement officers’, which enables any potential issues to be identified and dealt with quickly.” » | Marco Giannangeli & James Fielding | Sunday, April 28, 2013
HT: Robert @ Jihad Watch »
COURIERMAIL.COM.AU: TEENAGER Hafsah Negussie claims she was held against her will at a Brisbane service station after a worker confused company policy and refused to serve her.
Ms Negussie, a Muslim who wears a veil while in public, said she tried to pay for her goods and go, but claimed the attendant locked the doors when she attempted to leave.
The incident, which occurred at a BP service station on Brisbane's southside in December last year, was reported to police but no official report was filed until Ms Negussie came forward again in April.
"I'm Australian, I was born and raised here, I know my rights. It's so horrific,'' Ms Negussie said.
A company spokesman for BP service stations said the business required customers to remove helmets, hoodies or large hats before approaching the counter. » | Angela Ranke, Southern Star | Monday, April 29, 2013
BBC: Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi has survived a car bomb attack in the capital, Damascus, reports say.
The blast in western Mazzeh district targeted Mr Halqi's convoy, state television said. There are reported to be a number of casualties.
UK-based activist group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Mr Halqi's bodyguard had been killed, AFP news agency reported.
It is unclear whether the blast was a suicide bombing or a planted device. » | Monday, April 29, 2013
BBC: Three bombs have exploded in north-west Pakistan killing at least eight people.
They are the latest in a series of attacks targeting politicians in the run-up to May's general election.
After five years of democratic rule the country is struggling with terrorist attacks, inflation, and crippling power cuts.
Now, the party led by the country's former cricket captain, Imran Khan, has been gaining ground and could change the political landscape.
Orla Guerin reports from Punjab. Watch the BBC video » | Sunday, April 28, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Three British men sentenced to four years for possession of drugs in Dubai claim they were tortured by police.
Grant Cameron and Suneet Jeerh, both 25, and Karl Williams, 26, were jailed for possessing synthetic cannabis, known as “spice”.
The men, who are all from London, claim they were tortured by police following their arrest. Williams claims he had electric shocks to his testicles and all three said after they were arrested they had guns held to their heads by police.
Human Rights charity Reprieve said all three men signed documents in Arabic, a language none of them understands, while being threatened.
In a draft witness statement given to Reprieve lawyer Marc Calcutt, Williams describes having a towel put on his face by police and having electric shocks on his testicles.
He said: "They took off the towel and I could see that there was a gun pointed at my head. All I could think was that the gun in my face could go off if the policeman slipped, and it would kill me. I started to believe that I was going to die in that room." » | Claire Carter | Monday, April 29, 2013
Sunday, April 28, 2013
THE GUARDIAN: Exclusive: Diplomats warn that militants squeezed out of Mali by western intervention are hitting targets in Tripoli
Diplomats are warning of growing Islamist violence against western targets in Libya as blowback from the war in Mali, following last week's attack on the French embassy in Tripoli.
The bomb blast that wrecked much of the embassy is seen as a reprisal by Libyan militants for the decision by Paris the day before to extend its military mission against fellow jihadists in Mali.
The Guardian has learned that jihadist groups ejected from their Timbuktu stronghold have moved north, crossing the Sahara through Algeria and Niger to Libya, fuelling a growing Islamist insurgency.
"There are established links between groups in both Mali and Libya – we know there are established routes," said a western diplomat in Tripoli. "There is an anxiety among the political class here that Mali is blowing back on them." » | Chris Stephen in Tripoli and Afua Hirsch in Timbuktu | Sunday, April 28, 2013
Verwandt »
leJDD.fr: REPORTAGE - Alors que les combats se poursuivent, les Syriens voient monter en puissance le front Al-Nosra, qui a fait allégeance à Al-Qaida.
Alep, il y a trois semaines. La télévision d’État vient d’annoncer une vaste contreoffensive du régime dans tout le pays. Le matin, un bombardement a déjà réduit en cendres deux immeubles de la ville. C’est la panique. Des familles entières prennent la fuite. "Il ne faut pas s’inquiéter, rassure un peu goguenard, Ayoub, un jeune activiste de 25 ans. Al-Qaida veille sur nous." Al-Qaida, c’est Jabhat Al-Nosra (JAN). Deux jours plus tard, cette organisation djihadiste prêtait allégeance à la mouvance terroriste. Sans que cela choque. "Bien sûr, ils ne reconnaissent pas le gouvernement en exil et obéissent à un islam strict, explique Abdel Kader Saleh, dirigeant de la branche militaire d’Al-Tawhid, le principal groupe de l’ASL (Armée syrienne libre) d’Alep. Mais nous faisons partie d’un même mouvement, celui qui combat le régime." » | Antoine Malo, envoyé spécial du JDD à Alep (Syrie) | Le Journal du Dimanche | dimanche 28 avril 2013
TAGES ANZEIGER: In Island kommt es laut Prognosen zu einem Regierungswechsel: Die Mitte-rechts-Opposition gewinnt demnach die Parlamentswahlen. Sie will den Beitrittsprozess zur EU stoppen.
Island steht nach der Parlamentswahl vor einem Regierungswechsel und vor eine Abkehr von seinem Weg in die Europäische Union. Bei dem Urnengang vom Samstag trug die Mitte-rechts-Opposition laut Prognosen erwartungsgemäss einen klaren Sieg davon. Die Sozialdemokraten der scheidenden Regierungschefin Johanna Sigurdardottir fuhren eine deutliche Niederlage ein. » | fko/AFP | Sonntag, 28. April 2013
Saturday, April 27, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Questions are increasingly being asked about weapons and money being supplied to Islamist rebel groups in Syria by sympathetic Arab states, because of growing fears that they are falling into the hands of jihadists and other extremists.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia are among a handful of countries whose support for the uprising against Bashar al-Assad's regime has won plaudits from many in the region, where few dispute that the Syrian president has forfeited any right to power.
But signs that arms and cash may be filtering through to groups such as the al-Nusra Brigade, which has openly declared allegiance to al-Qaeda, are alarming Western observers.
As the West has hesitated over sending its own military assistance, non-sectarian elements of the rebel Free Syrian Army are being outflanked and out-gunned by better-funded and armed Islamist fighters, including foreign jihadists.
Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, said recently: "As there is no clear international opinion to end the crisis in Syria... we are supporting the opposition with whatever it needs, even if it takes up arms for self-defence."
But by focusing support on Islamist groups, both Qatar and Saudi Arabia are seen by many to be playing with fire. » | Colin Freeman, Chief Foreign Correspondent | Saturday, April 27, 2013
REUTERS CANADA: OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada must review its deportation policy in light of a pardon that was granted to a Canadian resident once threatened with deportation and now accused in an alleged al Qaeda plot to derail a passenger train, a government minister said on Friday.
Raed Jaser, one of two men charged in connection with the suspected plot, argued in a 2004 deportation hearing that Canada should not deport him because he was stateless and no country would take him in.
Canada had sought to deport him because he had convictions on several counts of fraud, immigration board documents show.
Jaser was later pardoned, and he then became a permanent resident in Canada, the equivalent to holding a U.S. green card.
"The reality is that he was pardoned, and that repealed his criminal inadmissibility to Canada," Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney told reporters. "That raises for me an important policy question. Why should a pardon override criminal inadmissibility?"
"That's what I'm looking at with my officials - to see whether we can make a policy change. It seems to me, I don't care whether you get a pardon or not, if you commit a serious criminal offense in Canada, you should be kicked out - period," Kenney said. » | Randall Palmer | Additional reporting by Allison Martell in Toronto and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Janet Guttsman and Peter Cooney | Friday, April 26, 2013
THINK PROGRESS: Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) suggested on Friday that the FBI was unable to ask deceased Boston marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev about Islam during its 2011 interview with him due to President Obama’s “political correctness,” thus allowing the bombing to take place.
Gohmert said on the House floor that the Obama administration has prevented intelligence officials from discussing Islam. “It was in that 9/11 commission report, before this administration took over and implemented political correctness,” he said, arguing the FBI’s training manuals were “systematically purged” in 2011 to conform to Obama’s worldview.
Obama’s whitewashing of Islam, Gohmert hinted, allowed the Tsarnaev brothers to slip through the fingers of the FBI and set off bombs in Boston: » | Hayes Brown | Friday, April 26, 2013
DUTCHNEWS.NL: Anti-Islam campaigner Geert Wilders is looking to form an alliance with other similarly-minded parties, including France's Front National, to fight next year's European elections, the Volkskrant reports on Saturday.
Wilders, who leads the PVV in parliament, recently met Front National leader Marine Le Pen for lunch to discuss his ideas for a pan-European approach.
'We think the same abou[t] 90% of things, perhaps more,' Wilders said in the Volkskrant interview. 'We also have a lot of points of agreement in terms of immigration.' Many meetings » | DutchNews.nl | Saturday, April 27, 2013
Friday, April 26, 2013
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Liberal Party MPs, including federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell, have snubbed one of the Islamic community's most important celebrations.
Leaders of Australia's peak Islamic body, the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, fear their annual gala dinner has been boycotted by the Liberal Party.
The entire federal shadow cabinet, Mr O'Farrell and all state Liberal MPs were invited to the Federation's 49th annual congress' ''love and peace'' themed dinner at Greenacre on Saturday night.
But none had confirmed their attendance by midday Friday - a week after the RSVP date. A number emailed their apologies. » | Heath Aston | Political reporter | Saturday, April 27, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned he is considering a ban on the adoption of Russian children for states that allow single-sex marriages.
Speaking at Novo-Ogarevo, his residence outside Moscow, Mr Putin said he thought bilateral agreements with other countries on adoption should be changed if they contradicted Russian law.
The president was responding to a suggestion by the head of a regional parliament that Russia should modify its bilateral adoption agreement with France because of the country’s recent approval of gay marriage.
“She is right,” said Mr Putin. “We have to react to what is going on around us. We treat our partners with respect, but we ask that they treat with respect the cultural traditions, the ethic, legal and moral norms of Russia.
“I believe I have the right to introduce changes into such documents. This is a topical question, we need to think about this.”
France became the 14th country worldwide and the ninth in Europe to approve gay marriage on Tuesday, and legislation to the same effect is passing through the UK Parliament, after MPs approved it in February.
Moscow hinted at a possible crackdown that same month, when Konstantin Dolgov, the Russian foreign ministry’s human rights envoy, said: “The British and French parliaments have legalised same-sex marriages. This narrows the chances of citizens of these countries adopting Russian children.”
Mr Putin’s comments were the firmest suggestion yet that a legal ban could be adopted. » | Tom Parfitt, Moscow | Friday, April 26, 2013
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SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: German security officials believe that a number of Germans have teamed up with radical Islamists on the frontlines in Syria. What worries them most are the training and ties they've gained abroad -- and whether they'll continue the jihad once home.
The trail of Ibrahim R. ran cold in March 2013. The young man from the southwestern German town of Pforzheim had already appeared on the radar of the German domestic intelligence agency when he participated in demonstrations with other Salafists in Germany. But then he got on a bus headed for Turkey and disappeared. Authorities suspect he is now fighting in Syria. The police were able to block his first attempt to enter Syria with a group of fellow Muslim extremists. But now they classify him among those who have made their way or are in transit to Syria.
The case of Ibrahim R. is one of many precarious movements being closely followed by German security officials. Though outside the view of the public, the issue has long been treated as a domestic priority. In a SPIEGEL ONLINE interview Thursday, Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich officially confirmed for the first time that there were German "jihadists" in Syria. Friedrich particularly expressed concern about "calls for those Europeans who have been trained in battle (in Syria) to return home and pursue jihad." » | Matthias Gebauer and Raniah Salloum | Friday, April 26, 2013
THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE: Muslim extremists funding anti-Western hatred on taxpayer's dime
Let’s just be honest with ourselves.
For all our military and economic might, for all our history of cultural and geopolitical dominance, Western civilization has grown fat, complacent and suicidally weak-willed. Not to mention morally adrift, civically indifferent and financially myopic.
Our southern border remains porous while we consider legalizing illegals and having them invite their relatives to join them. Our legal immigration and visa system may be in worse disarray, as we let in people willy-nilly, especially students, including those from countries that hate us. Then we have no idea where those people go or how long they stay.
Even more than a decade after 9-11, our intelligence community couldn’t spot a budding terrorist – the older brother in the Boston bombing – although the Russians, hardly our best friends, warned us about him several times. And even though the guy was promoting jihad on the Internet.
And when it turns out that some of our guests wish us dead – and actually see to it – some Americans instinctively blame America. Meanwhile, our government still considers a radical Muslim attack at Fort Hood to be “workplace violence.”
Does that sound like a civilization on the rise? » | Augusta Chronicle Editorial Staff | Friday, April 26, 2013
NBC NEWS: When an American convert to Islam was revealed as the wife of the dead Boston bombing suspect, Lauren Schreiber wasn’t surprised at what came next.
Comments from former acquaintances and complete strangers immediately suggested that 24-year-old Katherine Russell, a New England doctor’s daughter, must have been coerced and controlled by her husband, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who died last week in a firefight with police.
“She was a very sweet woman, but I think kind of brainwashed by him,” reported the Associated Press, quoting Anne Kilzer, a Belmont, Mass., woman who said she knew Russell and her 3-year-old daughter.
That kind of assumption isn’t new to Schreiber, 26, a Greenbelt, Md., woman who became a Muslim in 2010.
“The moment you put on a hijab, people assume that you’ve forfeited your free will,” says Schreiber, who favors traditional Islamic dress.
The Boston terror attack and the questions about whether Russell knew about her husband’s deadly plans have renewed stereotypes and misconceptions that U.S. women who have chosen that faith say they want to dispel.
“It’s not because somebody made me do this,” explains Schreiber, who converted after a college study-abroad trip to West Africa. “It’s what I choose to do and I’m happy.” » | JoNel Aleccia, Senior Writer, NBC News | Friday, April 26, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The internet is abuzz with speculation that this is the man who was literally too sexy for Saudi Arabia.
Omar Borkan Al Gala, a smouldering poet, actor, and photographer from Dubai, is rumoured to be one third of the chiselled trio that was deported by Saudi authorities who feared that they would prove irresistible to the Kingdom's women.
The three men from the United Arab Emirates are said to have been removed from the Jenadrivah Heritage & Culture Festival in Riyadh because they were "too handsome". Women, and some men, across the world have been longing for a glimpse of the illegally attractive men and the internet's probing spotlight has fallen on Al Gala.
The young man, who appears to be wearing eye-liner [Probably kohl] in many of his Facebook glamour shots, posted a link to an article about the deportation with the comment: "This is what written in newspapers in over the world :)" » | Telegraph Reporter | Friday, April 26, 2013
PERTH NOW: Is Omar Borkan Al Gala the man too sexy for Saudi Arabia? » | NEWS.COM.AU | Friday, April 26, 2013
MSN NOW: Hey girl, I'm the guy who was deported for being too handsome (+ gallery)» | Thursday, April 25, 2013
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: Was this hottie deported from Saudi Arabia for being ‘too handsome’? : Religious police in the conservative country allegedly feared that three men from the United Arab Emirates were so handsome that ‘female visitors could fall for them.’ Whether or not Omar Borkan Al Gala is one of those three, there’s no denying that he’s been blessed with good looks. » | Carol Kuruvilla/New York Daily News | Thursday, April 25, 2013
FACEBOOK: Omar Balkan Al Gala »
THE JEWISH PRESS: Middle East and Terrorism scholar Barry Rubin points out that most current policy makers and opinion shapers prefer to avoid considering Islam as the motive for terrorism. The fear of short term pain is indulged at the expense of preventing the real danger that will follow. And we are being lied to - "albeit for virtuous reasons" - by the politicians and the mainstream press.
“The lights are going out in the enlightenment” Professor Barry Rubin told The Jewish Press in an interview this week. “Reporters have no interest in reporting accurately, professors have no interest in speaking accurately, and the policy makers have no interest in promulgating responsible policy.”
Rubin was talking about the reluctance to name Islam – Rubin calls this the “mysterious motivation,” and he refuses to be cowed into playing that avoidance game.
Rubin wrote a very important article about this after he watched the mainstream media and western politicos twist themselves into pretzels in an effort to avoid the obvious. Rubin explains that the West seems to believe that if we admit radical ideological Islam threatens Western society, that will have radical implications for our worldview.
As a result, Rubin points out, most current policy makers and opinion shapers prefer to avoid any policy that considering Islam as the motive for terrorism would necessitate. The fear of short term pain is indulged at the expense of preventing the real danger that will follow. And we are being lied to – “albeit for virtuous reasons” – by the politicians and the mainstream press.
What is the fear that is so great “doing nothing has become better than doing anything”? The fear is that speaking the truth: that the Tsarnaev brothers acted in accordance with their (or at least the older brother’s) understanding of what Islam requires, will lead to disaster. It will cause widespread hatred of Muslims to be unleashed, the specter of Islamophobia to spread, racism will again become rampant, and all the things that a hoped-for post-racist America tried to put behind it will again spread throughout the land. » | Lori Lowenthal Marcus | Thursday, April 25, 2013
THE RUBIN REPORT: The Mysterious Motive Cover-Up on the Boston Attack Begins » | Barry Rubin | Monday, April 22, 2013
Thursday, April 25, 2013
THE INDEPENDENT: When ordered to stand, he refused saying 'I don't wish to stand up because I believe ruling and judgement is only for Allah'
Richard Dart, the middle class boy from Dorset who turned into an Islamic extremist, remained defiant to the bitter end as a judge gave him an extended jail sentence for being a dangerous terrorist today.
The 30-year-old son of teachers from Weymouth, who shocked his family when he became a militant Muslim, sat in the dock, clad in a skull cap and traditional dress, as he was sentenced after pleading guilty to preparing for acts of terrorism.
When ordered to rise by Mr Justice Simon, he refused, proclaiming: "I don't wish to stand up because I believe ruling and judgement is only for Allah.". As he was led away to start a sentence of 11 years, he nodded to a lone Islamic young man in the public gallery, his family nowhere to be seen. » | Terri Judd | Thursday, April 35, 2013
SWINDON ADVERTISER: Gang plotted to set off bomb in Royal Wootton Bassett, court is told » | Wednesday, April 24, 2013
DIE WELT: "Damals war Ordnung, man hatte Arbeit": Fast jeder dritte Grieche sehnt sich nach der Militärdiktatur zurück. Experten warnen vor explosiven Stimmungen und "selbst erfüllenden Prophezeiungen".
Am 21. April jährte sich der Beginn des griechischen Militärputsches von 1967. Aus diesem Anlass fragten Meinungsforscher griechische Bürger, wie sie die Zeit der Militärdiktatur 1967-1974 sehen. Das Ergebnis sorgte für mediale Erregung: 30 Prozent der Befragten gaben an, mit Sehnsucht an jene Zeit zu denken. 59 Prozent fanden, damals sei man sicherer gewesen, und 46 Prozent sagten, in der Diktatur sei die Lebensqualität höher gewesen.
Alles in allem findet offenbar jeder dritte Grieche die Jahre der Obristen-Herrschaft samt Folter und Willkürjustiz besser als das heutige Griechenland. Aber was genau war damals besser? "Die Welt" begab sich auf die Suche und fragte Athener Bürger, wie sie über die Junta und auch über das Ergebnis der Meinungsumfrage denken. Es dauerte nicht lange, Junta-Nostalgiker zu finden. Ihre Namen wollten die meisten freilich nicht nennen. » | Von Boris Kálnoky und Dimitra Moutzouri | Mittwoch, 24. April 2013
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
LA PRESSE: Le principal suspect islamiste dans l'affaire de l'attentat déjoué contre un train au Canada a comparu mercredi à Toronto, apparaissant confiant et rejetant d'avance la justice canadienne, car, pour lui, «seul Dieu est parfait».
Scientifique arrivé au Québec en 2008, Chiheb Esseghaier avait été arrêté lundi, présenté à un juge de Montréal le lendemain, avant d'être transféré dans la capitale économique canadienne où cette affaire est instruite.
Selon la police les deux suspects étaient soutenus par des éléments d'Al-Qaïda basés en Iran, ce que Téhéran dément.
A la juge Susan Hilton qui lui demandait s'il voulait connaître les cinq chefs d'accusations qui pèsent contre, Chiheb Esseghaier décline: «Je les ai déjà lus.»
Qu'importe, la magistrate les fait répéter: complot afin de nuire à un transport public, complot pour commettre un meurtre, participation aux activités d'un groupe terroriste (deux chefs), incitation à participer à des activités terroristes.
Vêtu d'un jogging bleu foncé comme depuis son arrestation, de petites lunettes, une barbe noire fournie, il écoute calmement la magistrate énoncer la suite des procédures, le menton posé sur la rambarde du box des accusés. » | Clément Sabourin | Agence France-Presse | Toronto | mercredi 24 avril 2013
EXPRESS: THERESA MAY has revealed a new treaty with Jordan might make it possible for Britain to finally be rid of Abu Qatada, as Downing Street confirmed it is considering a temporary withdrawal from the European Convention of Human Rights.
In a statement in the House of Commons today the Home Secretary argued she has not been defeated yet – depsite successive governments having sought the deportation of Qatada since 2001.
A new treaty signed by the UK and Jordanian governments will "finally make possible" the deportation of Qatada, Mrs May said today.
However, Mrs May warned the House of Commons that even when the new treaty is fully ratified, it will not mean that terror suspect Qatada will be "on a plane to Jordan within days" as he will still be able to appeal against any new decisions.
The new agreement includes guarantees that will provide the UK courts with assurances that Qatada will not face evidence that might have been obtained by torture in a re-trial in Jordan, Mrs May said.
In a sign of how desperate the Governement has become to remove Qatada, Number 10 also revealed today that Britain may even withdraw from the European Convention of Human Rights temporarily. » | Charlotte Meredith | Wednesday, April 24, 2013
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Es begann als friedliche Demo gegen die Homo-Ehe, dann flogen Steine und Feuerwerkskörper: In Paris haben sich Hunderte Demonstranten eine Straßenschlacht mit der Polizei geliefert. Kurz zuvor hatte die Nationalversammlung das Adoptionsrecht für homosexuelle Paare abgesegnet.
Paris - Frankreich führt als 14. Land weltweit die Homo-Ehe ein - trotz erbitterten Widerstands der konservativen Opposition und der katholischen Kirche. Der Unmut in der Bevölkerung entlud sich wenige Stunden nach der Verabschiedung des Gesetzes in gewalttätigen Protesten.
Gegner der Regelung, die schwulen und lesbischen Paaren auch die Adoption von Kindern erlaubt, bewarfen in Paris die Sicherheitskräfte mit Feuerwerkskörpern, Flaschen und Steinen. Die Polizei setzte Tränengas ein, um die Menge zurückzudrängen. Mindestens zwölf Personen seien am späten Dienstagabend festgenommen worden. » | jok/dpa/AFP | Mittwoch, 24. April 2013
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
REUTERS FRANCE: PARIS (Reuters) - La France est devenue mardi le 14e Etat au monde à autoriser le mariage homosexuel, une réforme voulue par le pouvoir socialiste qui a révélé une profonde fracture dans le pays où les opposants ne désarment pas face à "un changement majeur de civilisation".
Lors d'une séance qualifiée d'"historique" par la majorité, le Parlement a adopté définitivement le projet de loi pour "le mariage pour tous", qui ouvre en outre l'adoption plénière aux couples homosexuels mariés, après le vote solennel de l'Assemblée nationale par 331 voix contre 225.
"C'est un texte généreux, c'est un texte d'égalité",s'est réjouie la ministre de la Justice Christiane Taubira, "submergée d'émotion". » | Par Sophie Louet et Emile Picy | Edité par Yves Clarisse et Patrick Vignal | mardi 23 avril 2013
FOX NEWS: The last time there was a terrorist attack on America, we got the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration. Each entity has spent billions to keep us safe, but neither could stop two brothers, Tamerlan, a permanent resident, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a newly minted U.S. citizen, who lived in America and, reportedly, became radicalized jihadists, from killing and maiming innocent people at the Boston Marathon last week.
According to Dana Priest and William M. Arkin of The Washington Post, "Some 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies work on programs related to counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence in about 10,000 locations across the United States. ... An estimated 854,000 people, nearly 1.5 times as many people as live in Washington, D.C., hold top-secret security clearances. ... In Washington and the surrounding area, 33 building complexes for top-secret intelligence work are under construction or have been built since September 2001. Together they occupy the equivalent of almost three Pentagons or 22 U.S. Capitol buildings -- about 17 million square feet of space."
All of that failed to prevent the Boston bombings. The massive manpower, sophisticated equipment and money could not stop the Tsarnaevs from constructing improvised explosive devices (IEDs), including "pressure cooker" bombs.
Despite a domestic army of federal, state and local forces, the suspects managed to evade capture for days until Tamerlan was killed in a shootout and David Henneberry, a Watertown resident, found Dzhokhar hiding in his boat in his backyard. Henneberry called 911 and the wounded suspect was taken into custody.
The media have reported on the backgrounds of the two men. The FBI interviewed the older brother, 26-year-old Tamerlan, at the request of a foreign government, probably Russia, which expressed concern about his ties to Chechen extremists. The FBI, reportedly, could do nothing about Tamerlan under current U.S. law because there was no direct evidence of a terrorist plot.
How much confidence should Americans have in their government for keeping us safe when two young men can wreak havoc, shutting down a major city? » | Cal Thomas | FoxNews.com | Tuesday, April 23, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: When Canada accused "al-Qaeda elements in Iran" of guiding the alleged plot to derail a train, the veil was briefly lifted on a tangled yet crucial relationship between Osama bin Laden's followers and Tehran.
Iran and al-Qaeda, divided by race and religion, are not exactly natural allies. Bin Laden’s heirs are radical Sunni Arabs with a visceral suspicion of Iran’s Shia Persian regime. Indeed the hardline Salafists of al-Qaeda consider the Shia faith a heresy: in their eyes, Shias are not true Muslims at all.
Yet Iran and al-Qaeda are united by anti-Americanism and the compelling logic of “my enemy’s enemy is my friend”. With this in mind, there is no doubt that Iran granted refuge to senior al-Qaeda figures after the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
The fugitives included bin Laden’s daughter, Fatima, and no less than four of his sons: Othman, Mohammed, Laden and Sa’ad. Along with various other key figures, they were kept under house arrest, but given safety.
”The reality is that since 2001, Iran has provided refuge for al-Qaeda elements, including some senior leaders,” said Jonathan Eyal, head of security studies at the Royal United Services Institute. “The Canadian claim that this plot has been engineered on Iranian soil is entirely plausible. Western intelligence agencies have known for a long time about the presence of al-Qaeda operatives in Iran.” » | David Blair | Tuesday, April 23, 2013
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AL ARABIYA: As more states in the U.S. legalize same-sex marriage, it is easy to forget that in many communities, such as the Islamic one, homosexuality is frowned upon.
The U.S. based Washington Post tells the story of Imam Daayiee Abdullah who is seeking to make a change.
The openly gay African-American convert to Islam quietly helps same-sex Muslim couples marry and keep the secret from their families.
Abdullah led a particularly sensitive marriage ceremony for a Muslim marrying his Quaker partner.
“We had to ask all our guests to do a social-media blackout of our wedding. No Facebook, no Twitter no Instagram,” said M.Q., the Muslim partner, “our relatives could be killed, their homes could be destroyed…if our wedding was on the internet.”
The atypical imam is regarded as something of a hero within the local gay Muslim community. » | Al Arabiya | Thursday, April 18, 2013
AL ARABIYA – EXTRACT: Referring to his visit to the holy land, Doorn said: “Had anybody mentioned me about visiting the land of the two holy mosques earlier, I would have called him a lunatic.
“But what happened now is realization of a dream and it is still unbelievable for me that I am now in the holy city that hosted the Prophet (pbuh).” He continued saying: “I couldn’t control my feelings when I stood in front of the grave of the Prophet (pbuh) as well as in Rawdah Sharif, near the pulpit used by the Prophet (pbuh). When I prayed at Rawdah Sharaif, my eyes were full of tears as I had the feeling that I am in a part of the Paradise.”
Doorn said that he was amazed to see the intensity of love and affection the Muslims have for their Prophet (pbuh). “I also realized the intensity of hatred that some Westerners have against Islam and the Prophet (pbuh) and that was based apparently on their ignorance and prejudice.
“Therefore, I decided to make endeavors to repair the damage caused by the offensive film, which was produced with an ulterior motive of creating sedition in between Muslims and non-Muslims,” he said, adding that he took a pledge in front of the grave of the Prophet (pbuh) that he would strive to spread his true message and his great qualities that are instrumental in promoting peace and harmonious relations among the people worldwide.
While thanking CDA for introducing Islam to him, Doorn unveiled his plans to associate with its Dawa wing, which is comprised of several well-known Islamic preachers and scholars. Read it all » | Majed Al-Sugairi, Saudi Gazette | Tuesday, April 23, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Pope Emeritus Benedict's older brother has said the former pontiff is "relieved" to be free of the responsibility of running the Catholic Church, as he insisted that while he is growing weaker with old age, he is not suffering from illness.
Father Georg Ratzinger, himself a priest, told the Daily Telegraph his younger brother was "very happy" to be living at Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer retreat south of Rome he moved to after stepping down in February, becoming the first pope to resign in 600 years.
Fr Ratzinger, 88, who travelled from Germany to celebrate Benedict's 86th birthday with him on April 16, said his brother "still suffers the problems of the Church, but is really relieved to no longer have the weight of the Church on his shoulders."
Speaking by telephone from his house in Regensburg, Mr Ratzinger denied the former pope was suffering from major ailments.
"He is now very old, he does not have any particular illness, but he is weakening due to his age," he said.
Joseph Ratzinger cited advancing age when he announced his shock resignation amid reports that his hearing and sight were failing. It also emerged he had a pacemaker fitted a decade ago. » | Tom Kington, Rome | Tuesday, April 23, 2013
LA PRESSE: L'Iran a jugé mardi «ridicules» et «hilarantes» les accusations canadiennes selon lesquelles deux hommes arrêtés et accusés de vouloir commettre un attentat au Canada recevaient leurs ordres d'éléments d'Al-Qaïda en Iran.
«À 64 ans, c'est la chose la plus hilarante que j'ai entendue. Un ''Al-Qaïda iranien'' est une nouvelle falsification ridicule. J'espère que les responsables canadiens réfléchissent un peu et prennent en considération l'intelligence des gens et l'opinion publique», a déclaré le ministre des Affaires étrangères Ali Akbar Salehi, selon l'agence Isna.
«Nous sommes contre tout acte terroriste (...) le gouvernement extrémiste canadien a une politique d'Iranophobie dans la poursuite de son attitude hostile à l'égard de notre pays», a déclaré de son côté le porte-parole du ministère, Ramin Mehmanparast lors de son point de presse hebdomadaire.
L'Iran est un pays à majorité chiite alors qu'Al-Qaïda est formé d'extrémistes sunnites qui considèrent les chiites comme des hérétiques. » | Agence France-Presse, Téhéran, Iran | mardi 23 avril 2013
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: The French parliament is expected to vote to approve same-sex marriages on Tuesday. The debate over the legislation has divided the country, with an increase in aggressive homophobic sentiment. On Monday, the leader of parliament received a threatening letter filled with gunpowder.
"Sorry to show you this. It's the face of homophobia," Wilfred de Bruijn wrote beneath a photo he posted on his Facebook profile earlier this month. The Dutchman had gone out with a friend in Paris' 19th Arrondissement the evening before and had been walking arm-in-arm with him when they were attacked by three or four people. "Hey look, they're gays," one of the attackers allegedly said. Then they badly beat de Bruijn.
The photo, which his friend took as evidence to give to the police, shows de Bruijn's badly bruised face. De Bruijn filed a complaint with police over bodily injury with homophobic motives. In the days since, the photo has gone viral on the Internet as evidence of a dangerous escalation in aggressiveness toward gays and lesbians in France.
Gays and lesbians have reported being cursed at, insulted and spat upon. It's a situation that has made young gays especially feel ill at ease. On Sunday, a large crowd of young gays and lesbians gathered at the Place de la Bastille to protest against homophobia. "We're currently receiving an increasing number of calls from young people who are totally beside themselves," says Nicolas Noguier of the gay and lesbian aid organization Refuge. » | Stefan Simons in Paris | Tuesday, April 23, 2013
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Die spanische Polizei hat nach eigenen Angaben zwei mutmaßliche Qaida-Mitglieder festgenommen. Ihr Fahndungsprofil ähnelt offenbar dem der Attentäter von Boston. Die Verdächtigen sollen sich in letzter Zeit radikalisiert und verstärkt islamistische Seiten im Internet frequentiert haben.
Madrid - Die Verdächtigen wurden in den Provinzen Saragossa und Murcia aufgespürt: Die spanische Polizei hat zwei mutmaßliche islamistische Terroristen festgenommen. Die beiden Männer stünden nach Angaben der Ermittler im Verdacht, einer Zelle des Terrornetzes al-Qaida im Maghreb anzugehören, teilte das Madrider Innenministerium am Dienstag mit.
Ihr Fahndungsprofil ähnele dem der beiden Attentäter von Boston in den USA, hieß es. Einer der Verdächtigen stamme aus Algerien und sei in Saragossa im Nordosten Spaniens festgenommen worden. Der zweite Festgenommene sei ein Marokkaner, der in Murcia im Südosten dingfest gemacht worden sei. » | bos/dpa/Reuters | Dienstag, 23. April 2013
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: TRIPOLI—Security officials were investigating what Libyan officials said was a car bomb that exploded in front of the French Embassy in downtown Tripoli, injuring two French guards and destroying much of the diplomatic compound.
The explosion, which crushed the external walls surrounding the compound and was powerful enough to destroy vehicles and shatter windows for several blocks, occurred before normal office hours, around 7:30 a.m., according to neighbors and witnesses. The timing appears to have minimized the loss of life, according to Libyan security officials and firefighters who rushed to the scene.
It wasn't immediately clear who was responsible for the blast, which is the first large-scale attack against foreigners in Libya since the Sept. 11, 2012, attack in Benghazi that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador.
French Interior Minister Manuel Valls said one of the two French guards was "severely" injured. It wasn't immediately known where the guards were evacuated to or where they were receiving medical treatment. » | Ayman Al-Kekly in Tripoli, Margaret Coker in Abu Dhabi and Inti Landauro in Paris | Tuesday, April 23, 2013
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