Video: Radicals Beat Girl, 17, in Islamic Stronghold of Swat, Pakistan
TIMESONLINE: This grainy footage appears to show a 17-year-old girl being beaten by Islamic radicals in Pakistan’s northwestern region of Swat, where Sharia law was introduced after the government reached a truce with the Taleban in February.

A local Taleban commander in the militant stronghold of Matta, 25 miles from the regional capital, Mingora, ordered the girl to be flogged a week ago after accusing her of adultery, according to local reporters.

But some residents of Matta have accused the commander of ordering the beating to get revenge after the girl refused to accept his proposal of marriage, the reporters told The Times.

“Please! Enough! Enough!” the girl is heard crying in Pashtu, the language of the tribes who dominate northwestern Pakistan – now the main hub of Taleban and al-Qaeda activity.

At another point, she cries: “I am repenting, my father is repenting what I have done, my grandmother is repenting what I have done...”

The man flogging her is also heard abusing his colleague as he struggles to hold her down and stop her covering her backside with her hands.

“You should hold her tightly so she doesn’t move,” he is heard saying. >>> Jeremy Page, Delhi | Thursday, April 2, 2009

Barack Obama Warns North Korea over Rocket Launch as Pyongyang 'Fuels Missile'
THE TELEGRAPH: North Korea can expect a "stern, unified action" from the international community if it test-fires a ballistic missile, US President Barack Obama has said.

South Korean protesters burn a mock missile, pictures of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and North's flags during a rally against North Korea's missile in Seoul, South Korea. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Mr Obama promised tough action at a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit as reports emerged that Pyongyang had begun fueling the long-range rocket for an impending launch.

US military officials said that technicians have started to fuel up the three-stage Taepodong-2 missile at Musudan-ri launch site in the country's northeast in defiance of a 2006 UN resolution.

Pyongyang has said that the missile-test is a satellite launch not covered by the UN resolution and has informed international agencies that it will fire the rocket as early as Saturday.

US intelligence officials said that analysis of the rocket's nose-cone appeared to confirm claims that it was a satellite launch, but added that the launch was a cover for testing ballistic missile technology capable of delivering a warhead as far as Alaska or Hawaii.

Diplomatic tensions are building on the Korean peninsula, where relations between North and South have sunk to their lowest levels in a decade. >>> By Peter Foster in Beijing | Thursday, April 2, 2009

Taliban in Policy Shift on Beards and Burqas
THE INDEPENDENT: Negotiations with Afghan President Hamid Karzai reveal new pragmatism ahead of US offensive

An Afghan man has his beard trimmed at the Fazal Mohammad Barber Shop in Kabul. The trimming of beards was outlawed by the Taliban. Photo courtesy of The Independent
The Taliban, whose extreme interpretation of Sharia law and its harsh punishments made Afghanistan one of world's most repressive and reviled regimes, have agreed to soften their position on such things as beards and burqas as part of a trade-off in negotiations with the Afghan government.

Afghanistan is increasingly the focus of international diplomatic attention following a major international conference in The Hague this week. It will surface on the fringes of the G20 summit and dominate this week's Nato meeting in Strasbourg. Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, floated the idea of talking to "moderate" Taliban at the Hague conference, saying that those who gave up "extremism" would be granted an "honourable form of reconciliation".

Publicly, a Taliban spokesman yesterday rejected the American offer, describing it as "a lunatic idea". But preliminary talks between President Hamid Karzai's government and Taliban insurgents are already under way, and appear to have yielded a significant shift away from the Taliban's past obsession with repressive rules and punishments governing personal behaviour. The Taliban are now prepared to commit themselves to refraining from banning girls' education, beating up taxi drivers for listening to Bollywood music, or measuring the length of mens' beards, according to representatives of the Islamist movement. Burqas worn by women in public would be "strongly recommended" but not compulsory. The undertakings have been confirmed by Mullah Abdul Salaam Zaeef, who was the Taliban's ambassador to Pakistan in the late 1990s, and who has been part of a Saudi-sponsored peace initiative. >>> By Kim Sengupta and Jerome Starkey in Kabul | Thursday, April 2, 2009

G20 Summit: Leaders Target Bankers
THE TELEGRAPH: World leaders will agree unprecedented global restrictions on pay and bonuses for bankers at the G20 summit in London.

G20 rioters storm RBS – Telegraph TV exclusive
In future, bankers will be prevented from receiving multi-million pound cash bonuses for speculating on the stock market.

Their remuneration will instead be based on the risks they take over the long term. Bankers deemed to be making risky investment decisions will only be paid in shares that can be cashed in after several years.

The multi-million-pound bonuses paid to bankers have been blamed for encouraging them to take the "reckless" decisions that triggered the global financial crisis.

The Daily Telegraph has learnt that the remuneration deal was thrashed out over the past few days following intensive diplomatic efforts by Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, and Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor. The measure did not appear in a draft communiqué that was leaked at the weekend.

The European leaders were understood to have pushed for an exact monetary limit on banking pay but were prepared to sign up to the new, strongly-worded agreement.

Regulators in each of the G20 countries will impose the new restrictions, which cover both private banks and those owned both wholly and partially by the state.

The agreement will be the most eye-catching part of the communiqué, which is expected to be released by G20 leaders at the summit in London's Docklands on Thursday.

On Wednesday, violent clashes took place in the capital between police and anti-capitalism protesters ahead of the talks. In the City of London, a branch of Royal Bank of Scotland was attacked and looted as violence flared during a 6,000-strong protest, which resulted in 32 arrests.

A man died after he collapsed at the scene of protests near the Bank of England last night.

A protester called the police after they saw the man collapse and stop breathing in St Michael’s Alley, near Birchin Lane just off Cornhill shortly before 7.30pm.

Two police medics broke through the cordon and carried the man to a clear area in front of the Royal Exchange where they gave him CPR.
The ambulance arrived six minutes later and took him to hospital just before 8pm, where he was pronounced dead.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “The officers took the decision to move him as during this time a number of missiles - believed to be bottles - were being thrown at them.”

It is believed that the man died of a heart attack. >>> By Andrew Porter, Robert Winnett and Christopher Hope | Thursday, April 2, 2009

Protocol Is Abandoned as Michelle Obama Cosies Up to Queen
The US President and his wife appeared very relaxed in the company of the Queen. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: Protocol seems to be dispensed with when the Obamas come to town.

Michelle Obama and the Queen slipped their arms around each other towards the end of a reception at Buckingham Palace held in honour of the G20 leaders and their wives.

The US President and his wife appeared very relaxed in the company of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh from the start.
By the end of the evening, the two women were standing side by side and appeared to be chatting about their height difference.

As they moved closer and continued to chat, the Queen put her hand on the back of Mrs Obama, who did the same for a few moments. Before she departed, the Mrs Obama told the Queen: “I really enjoyed our meeting.” >>> Laura Dixon | Thursday, April 2, 2009

Dancing Pope Advert Banned
THE TELEGRAPH: A nightclub leaflet showing the late Pope John Paul II holding a bottle of beer and dancing with a blonde woman has been banned.

The leaflet shows Pope John Paul II with a bottle of beer dancing with a blonde woman wearing a short dress . Image courtesy of The Telegraph
The Advertising Standards Authority branded the flyer offensive and ordered it to be removed a complaint by the Ipswich and Suffolk Council for Racial Equality (ISCRE) on behalf of angry Poles and Catholics.

The leaflet showed Pope John Paul II with a bottle of beer dancing with a blonde woman wearing a short dress.

It was distributed to promote a night called Berserk at Club Fire nightclub in Ipswich.

Sheila Soltysik, secretary of Ipswich Polish Club, said a local Polish girl had complained to her.

She said: "It was hugely offensive. The sheer volume of the reaction is what made us take the matter to ISCRE.

"It is unfortunate that the thoughtless actions of a marketing idea has created dismay amongst the Polish community and Catholic religion by depicting figures of high moral standards amongst ideas of inappropriate behaviour and surroundings.

"Perhaps to some it may have innocent connotations but to the majority of sensible people it is deeply upsetting." >>> | Wednesday, April 1, 2009

New Dark Age Alert! Dumb UK 'Heading Back to the Dark Ages' Thanks to Cult of Celebrity, Says Senior Tory
Liam Fox: Britain's obsession with celebrity is sending it back to the Dark Ages. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
Where do you suppose Liam Fox got the phrase a “New Dark Age” from?
MAIL Online: Britain risks entering a new Dark Age because the cult of celebrity is undermining learning, a senior Tory said yesterday.

Liam Fox warned the fabric of society was under threat, with the 'age of reason' going into reverse.

The defence spokesman said a generation ago children wanted to be astronauts or scientists - now they simply want fame.

'Since the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, the age of reason, we have transformed our world,' he said.

'But there is a crisis of confidence, an uncertainty and a lack of optimism in our society which should trouble us.

'Diminishing social mobility, the cult of the celebrity society, the decline in serious learning, the increasing disregard for empiricism and social attitudes verging on value-phobia threaten to cast a shadow on the enlightened western liberalism which has taken us so far.'

Dr Fox, who is seen as the keeper of the Thatcherite flame, expressed alarm about the collapse in the numbers studying science at university.

And he attacked Labour's promotion of political correctness, which he argued was undermining free expression and thought. >>> By James Chapman | Wednesday, April 1, 2009

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The Pope Is 'Stupid', Says Richard Dawkins after Pontiff's Claim that Condoms Increase AIDS
Professor Dawkins stands with the UK's first atheist campaign founder Ariane Sherine before one of the ads they placed on London buses and Underground. Dawkins has labelled the Pope 'stupid' for his stance on condoms. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: Biologist Richard Dawkins has attacked the Pope as 'stupid' over his claim condoms increase AIDS.

The prominent atheist said Benedict XVI would end up with the blood of millions of people on his hands if they took his words seriously.

Speaking at a university in Spain, he raged: 'I wonder on what basis anyone can say condoms make AIDS worse.

'The Pope is either stupid, ignorant or just dim.

'If people take his words seriously he will be responsible for the deaths of thousands, perhaps millions of people.'

Dawkins, 67, launched his attack in a press conference at the University of Valencia after being awarded an honorary degree at an official ceremony.

He also claimed the more people thought for themselves, the less they were likely to believe in God.

And he congratulated U.S. President Barack Obama for overturning predecessor George Bush's funding ban on stem cell research.

Professor Dawkins is known for his passionate views and has become known as much for his views on atheism as his Darwinist theories on evolution. >>> By Gerard Couzens | Wednesday, April 1, 2009

G20: Sarkozy and Merkel Form Pact to Curb the Excesses of Disgusting, Shameless, Greedy, 'Can't-Get-Enough' Bankers
THE TELEGRAPH: Tough regulation of global financial markets is a non-negotiable demand of France and Germany at tomorrow's G20 summit, Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel have said.

France's President Sarkozy waves alongside German Chancellor Merkel before a bilateral meeting in London, ahead of a G20 summit meeting. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
In a tough-speaking joint press conference in London on the eve of the summit, the two leaders left no doubt that they will refuse to sign an agreement which does not meet their "red lines" on tax havens, hedge fund regulation, banking transparency and a worldwide cap on bankers' pay.

Mr Sarkozy said that the summit provided a once in a lifetime opportunity to give capitalism a conscience.

He said: "Germany and France will speak with one and the same voice.

"We are aiming for the same objectives in terms of principles and how we apply those principles. The objective is a simple one – we demand results, we want hard and fast results."

He added: "This is a historic opportunity afforded us to give capitalism a conscience, because capitalism has lost its conscience and we have to seize this opportunity."

Mrs Merkel said that Germany was ready to offer support to poorer countries which are unable to deliver fiscal stimulus packages of tax spending and public investment from their own resources.

But she made clear that both France and Germany feel they have already implemented substantial stimulus packages of their own.

Mrs Merkel said that France and Germany wanted to see "a new architecture and new regulations for financial markets" spelt out very clearly in the final communique of the summit. G20 Summit: Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel Demand Tough Market Regulations >>> | Wednesday, April 1, 2009

TIMESONLINE: Franco-German Demands Upset G20 Unity

The leaders of France and Germany delivered a stunning ultimatum to Gordon Brown tonight when they demanded binding reform of world financial markets as the price of their support at tomorrow's G20 summit.

Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel made the comments at a joint press conference at which they promised that they would "speak with one voice" at the meeting in London's Docklands.

Having already scuppered Gordon Brown's plans for the summit to agree on a massive and coordinated fiscal stimulus, the two European heavyweights are demanding that it now move to do away with the "light-touch" Anglo-Saxon model of regulation blamed for the current economic crisis. >>> Philippe Naughton | Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Islam Metastasizes!
SAUDI GAZETTE: SOME three-four million Muslims live in Latin America and over 50,000 of them are Hispanic. Majority of Muslims there have roots from Middle Eastern countries like Syria, Lebanon and Palestine. There are large Muslim populations in Brazil, Venezuela and Columbia. Mosques and prayer houses can be found in all major cities.

Islam in Latin America began with Muslim journeys to the continent even before the arrival of Columbus. Evidence of this early contact is based on world maps produced by Muslims in the early 16th century. Later, during the voyages of Columbus to the New World, some Muslim Moors are believed to have accompanied him, fleeing persecution in the Iberian Peninsula. In Brazil, the importation of African slaves during the colonial period accounted for a substantial influx of Muslims into the continent. Little is known whether these early Muslims were able to maintain their faith.

The Islamic influence on regional architecture and culture between 1600-1800 CE is still visible today in cities such as Lima, Cholula and Guatemala City. Lima, the capital of Peru, is famous for its Tapadas Limenas or Covered Women in Lima. During the 18th Century, there was uprising of Muslim slaves (Brazil 1835).

Since late 19th century, Arabs first began to immigrate from the Middle East to Latin America. The descendants of these immigrants are still found today in significant numbers. Further, emigrants from Syria, Lebanon and Palestine increased during the mid 20th Century after Israel’s occupation of Palestine and its surrounding areas. These Muslims were largely merchants and became influential in local trade. Many have even held leading positions in government. Growth of Islam in Latin America >>> By Dr. Mozammel Haque | Wednesday, April 1, 2009

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Bishop Defrocks Episcopal Priest Who Practices Islam
KTVL.COM: SEATTLE -- An Episcopal priest who lives in Seattle has been removed from her position for refusing to recant her faith in Islam.

Rev. Ann Holmes Redding served as director of faith formation at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle until 2007 when she announced she also was a Muslim.

She believes the faiths are compatible at a fundamental level and practices both. But she was defrocked today by her Bishop, Geralyn Wolf in Rhode Island where Redding was ordained.

Wolf called Redding "a woman of utmost integrity" but said her open practice of Islam meant she abandoned the Episcopal church. [Source: KTVL] | Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Iran: Three Converts Ordered to Stop ‘Christian Activities’
COMPASS DIRECT NEWS: Judge puts them on probation, threatening them with ‘apostasy’ trial.

LOS ANGELES – Declaring three Iranian Christians guilty of cooperating with “anti-government movements,” a court in Shiraz on March 10 ordered the converts to discontinue Christian activities and stop propagating their faith. An Islamic Revolutionary Court judge handed an eight-month suspended prison sentence with a five-year probation to Seyed Allaedin Hussein, Homayoon Shokouhi, and Seyed Amir Hussein Bob-Annari. The judge said he would enforce their prison sentence and try them as “apostates,” or those who leave Islam, if they violate terms of their probation – including a ban on contacting one another. A new penal code under consideration by the Iranian Parliament includes a bill that would require the death penalty for apostasy. “The warning that they will be ‘arrested and tried as apostates’ if they continue their Christian activities is quite chilling,” said a regional analyst who requested anonymity. [Source: CompassDirectNews] Copyright © 2009 Compass Direct News | Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Israel's 32nd Government Sworn In
THE JERUSALEM POST: Israel seeks peace with the entire Arab and Muslim world but continues to be threatened by the forces of Islamic extremists, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said several hours before he was sworn in Tuesday evening.

He took the oath of office just before midnight, after the Knesset voted 69-45 to approve the new government.

"These are irregular times," Netanyahu told the Knesset plenum. "Today Israel is faced with two tests - an economic crisis and a security crisis. The source of these crises are neither our past actions nor past mistakes.... Our [current] actions, however, will determine the results of these crises."

Netanyahu was interrupted numerous times by critics of his extra-large government as he presented it and its guidelines to the Knesset. In the past, Netanyahu himself expressed opposition to large governments due to the expense involved.

"It is not with a victor's joy that I stand here today in front of you, but with a great sense of responsibility," Netanyahu began. "I ask for your trust at this time of worldwide crisis of a kind we haven't known before, and it is with a sense of worry, but also with hope and faith, that the State of Israel confronts two major challenges: the economic challenge and the security challenge.

I am certain that the people of Israel will cope successfully with the challenges that lie ahead of it."

Regarding Iranian threats to "erase Israel from the map," Netanyahu criticized the international community for its lack of response.

"The Jewish people has experience with dictators and it cannot overestimate megalomaniac dictators who threaten to destroy it," he said.

The new prime minister added that the worst thing for the State of Israel and the world would be "that a radical regime obtains nuclear weapons."

The threat to Israel came from the spread of extremist Islam in the region and in the world, Netanyahu said.

"I separate extremist Islam from the general Muslim world, which is also threatened by extremist Islam," he told the plenum.

"The Muslim culture is a rich culture that knew times of prosperity, of Arabs and Jews who lived together and created things together." >>> By Shelly Paz and Tovah Lazaroff | Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Inside Iran's Secret Gay World
Part 1:


Part 2
Part 3

Iran Denies US Claims of Meeting
BBC: Iran has denied that a meeting took place between their main representative at an international conference on Afghanistan and a senior US official.

Iran said Mr Akhoondzadeh did not meet US officials in The Hague. Photo courtesy of the BBC
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had said that Richard Holbrooke and Mohammad Mehdi Akhoondzadeh had an informal but "cordial exchange".

She said the US had given the Iranian delegates a letter, but Iran's foreign ministry "categorically" denied this.

The US had welcomed Iran's presence at the meeting as a "promising sign".

On Tuesday, Mrs Clinton said that Mr Holbrooke and Mr Akhoondzadeh had had a brief meeting on the sidelines of the conference in the Hague.

She said the meeting had been unplanned but that the men had agreed to "stay in touch". >>> | Wednesday, April 1, 2009

G20 Protests: Rioters Loot RBS as Demonstrations Turn Violent
THE TELEGRAPH: G20 summit protesters looted a City office of Royal Bank of Scotland this afternoon, as a largely peaceful demonstration spilled over into bloody violence in the centre of London.

G20 violence. RBS windows smashed.
A small number of demonstrators forced their way into the building on Threadneedle Street near the Bank of England after smashing windows and throwing smoke grenades.

Hundreds of protesters cheered as office equipment including a printer was carried out of the building – which is believed to have been empty – before riot police wielding batons managed to force the crowds back.

The rampage inside RBS will raise questions about the effectiveness of the £7.2 million security operation. The bailed-out bank was known to be a target of anti-capitalist groups in advance of the protests, but police efforts had concentrated on defending its headquarters on Bishopsgate in Liverpool Street, around half a mile away.

Twenty-three people were arrested as protesters clashed with police around the Bank of England, which was the focus of today's anti-capitalist and anarchist demonstrations. >>> | Wednesday, April 1, 2009

TELEGRAPH picture gallery: G20: Protests turn violent >>>

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A Little Classic Light Relief – Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers: Dancing Cheek to Cheek

Speaker, Students Battle over Islam
DAILY ITEM: LEWISBURG — An advocate for women’s rights in Muslim society was called the “bin Laden of the opposing view of Islam” and accused by students of exploiting American ignorance on the religion during her lecture Tuesday at Bucknell University.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born in Somalia and raised in a traditional Muslim family. In 1992, she fled an arranged marriage and sought asylum in Netherlands, where she was later elected as a member of Dutch parliament.

During her time there, she crusaded for the rights of Dutch and all Muslim women, a campaign she continues today.

Ali eventually turned her back on Islam, which she describes as an intolerant religion that subjugates women and encourages hatred and distrust for other cultures.

During her speech Tuesday night, Ali explained to a crowd of about 400 students and members of the community that the tenets of Islam — those written in the Koran — are the fundamental problem.

The Muslim belief system, she said, inspires bigotry against Western culture, suppresses women and serves as the justification for the acts of radical Islamic terrorists.

Ali’s comments riled up a few Muslim audience members, who accused her of painting an overwhelmingly negative picture of Islam. >>> By Rob Scott | Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Geert Wilders Sued in France for Racial Hatred
EXPATICA.COM: The anti-Islamic politician is being sued by a French rights group for a speech in which he said Paris was encircled by Muslim districts.

PARIS – A French rights group said Tuesday it was suing Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders for inciting racial hatred for a speech in which he said that Paris was "encircled by Muslim districts". 



The Association for the Defence of Human Rights said its lawsuit centred on a speech made in New York last year by Wilders, who is facing trial in the Netherlands for inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims.



It says Wilders also said in his address there that "numerous areas (in France) were no-go zones for women not wearing headscarves." 



Wilders added that "in France, teachers are asked to avoid authors considered offensive towards Muslims, including Voltaire and Diderot". 

The rights group's lawyer Yassine Bouzrou told AFP that "the remarks made by Mr. Wilders target a specific community, Muslims, and that comes within the context of inciting racial hatred." >>> AFP/Expatica | Wednesday, March 25, 2009

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