Ban Ki-Moon demande d’enrayer le tabagisme
APS (Agence de Presse Sénégalaise): Dakar – Le secrétaire général des Nations unies Ban Ki-Moon invite les Etats et gouvernements à "enrayer l’épidémie mondiale de tabagisme", soulignant que la consommation de tabac relève d’une "forme de dépendance aussi pénible que meurtrière".


"Je demande instamment à tous les gouvernements de s’attaquer à la menace pour la santé publique que représente la consommation de tabac. Ce n’est ni un signe d’élégance ni un outil d’émancipation. C’est une forme de dépendance aussi pénible que meurtrière", écrit Ban Ki-Moon dans un message redu public à l’occasion de la Journée internationale du tabac célébrée lundi.

Selon Ban Ki-Moon, les gouvernements doivent prendre "des mesures pour protéger les femmes contre toute publicité en faveur du tabac, toute promotion ou tout parrainage, comme le stipule la Convention-cadre de l’OMS sur la lutte antitabac".

Il a noté qu’il "y aurait quelque 200 millions de fumeuses dans le monde. Ce chiffre devrait augmenter, dans la mesure où l’industrie du tabac dépense des sommes considérables pour la publicité qui s’adresse spécifiquement aux femmes et associe l’usage du tabac à la beauté et à la libération", relève-t-il.

"Le tabagisme cause chaque année la mort de plus d’un million et demi de femmes dans le monde. La plupart de ces décès surviennent dans des pays à faible revenu et à revenu intermédiaire. Sans une action concertée, leur nombre pourrait atteindre 2,5 millions d’ici à 2030", écrit encore Ban Ki-moon.

Citant "une récente enquête de l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé", le secrétaire général de l’ONU révèle que dans la moitié des 151 pays étudiés, "presque autant de filles que de garçons fumaient".

"Ce résultat est d’autant plus inquiétant, note-t-il, que les jeunes qui fument, ont de grandes chances de continuer à le faire lorsqu’ils deviennent adultes".

Pour lui, "certains faits tendent à montrer que le taux de prévalence du tabagisme parmi les femmes est en train d’augmenter dans certains pays". "Nous devons enrayer l’épidémie mondiale de tabagisme", conclut Ban Ki-moon. [Source: APS] NMS/BK | Lundi 31 Mai 2010

Islam 'Recognizes Homosexuality'
THE JAKARTA POST: Homosexuals and homosexuality are natural and created by God, thus permissible within Islam, a discussion concluded here Thursday.

Moderate Muslim scholars said there were no reasons to reject homosexuals under Islam, and that the condemnation of homosexuals and homosexuality by mainstream ulema and many other Muslims was based on narrow-minded interpretations of Islamic teachings.

Siti Musdah Mulia of the Indonesia Conference of Religions and Peace cited the Koran's al-Hujurat (49:3) that one of the blessings for human beings was that all men and women are equal, regardless of ethnicity, wealth, social positions or even sexual orientation.

"There is no difference between lesbians and nonlesbians. In the eyes of God, people are valued based on their piety," she told the discussion organized by nongovernmental organization Arus Pelangi.

"And talking about piety is God's prerogative to judge," she added.
"The essence of the religion (Islam) is to humanize humans, respect and dignify them."

Musdah said homosexuality was from God and should be considered natural, adding it was not pushed only by passion. >>> Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post | Friday, March 28, 2008

Alas, many Muslims are not so tolerant. Check this out.

Holy Hatred: Homosexuality in Muslim Countries
afrol NEWS: The majority of Muslim countries outlaw same-sex relationships. The seven countries in the world that carry the death penalty for persons presumed guilty of homosexual acts, justify this punishment with the Shari'a. Culture is not, however, always "against us and there are positive examples of same-sex relationships to be found in different Muslim cultures," she writes.

By Anissa Helie - I was born and raised in Algiers, of a French father and an Algerian mother. Having access to both cultures made me realize early on that racism as well as sexism were all-pervasive on both sides of the Mediterranean. It took me a few more years to come to the conclusion that homophobia was just as widespread.

Amnesty International counts at least 83 countries where homosexuality is explicitly condemned in the criminal code. Twenty-six of these are Muslim. This means that the majority of Muslim countries, including supposedly 'liberal' ones like Tunisia as well as dictatorships like Sudan, outlaw same-sex relationships. The seven countries in the world that carry the death penalty for persons presumed guilty of homosexual acts, justify this punishment with the Shari'a, or standard interpretation of Muslim jurisprudence. Though not always applied, the existence of the death penalty makes sexual minorities extremely vulnerable.

The state is not alone in practising repression. Communities and families have a part to play. In Indonesia, for example, homosexuality is not illegal. But in 1998 'Muslim militia' launched an anti-gay campaign on the island of Mindanao during which gay Muslims were terrorized, beaten up and ordered to leave or be castrated.

Jordan does not specifically outlaw homosexuality either. But that did not stop four Jordanians last year trying to kidnap their 23-year-old lesbian relative studying in the US, beating her and attempting to force her on to a plane bound for Jordan. The US police acted promptly and came to her rescue, but such an outcome tends to be the exception rather than the rule. Violence, harassment, persecution and extrajudicial or 'shame' killings are not uncommon. Sex and tradition >>> Anissa Helie, © afrol News | Undated

Dakar from Africa's Gay Capital to Centre of Homophobia
afrol NEWS: In colonial times, Senegal's metropolis Dakar was famous for its open and tolerated homosexual prostitution market, and as late as in the 1970s, as many as 17 percent of Senegalese men admitted having had homosexual experiences. Now, Dakar is West Africa's centre of gay oppression.

The government of Senegal has made it clear that homosexuality is un-African. Since 1965, same-sex activity has been punishable by up to five years imprisonment, but only during the last five years, Dakar's former visible gay community has had to go underground, risking punishment.



Dakar's gay history is the best example demonstrating that homosexuality is not un-African. Indeed, homosexuality has been a visible and well-known part of Wolof traditions, and only moralist opinions of the colonialists, later adopted by an increasingly dominant Muslim clergy, led to the suppression of this culture. >>> Staff Writers, afrol News | Friday, June 11, 2010

Clashes in Enghelab Square Over Improper Hijab
PERSIAN2ENGLISH: According to reports by Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran, clashes occurred today at 2:20pm on Enghelab Square between young Iranian citizens and police forces who tried to arrest young women for “improper hijab”.

As one young woman resisted, fellow citizens came to her aid and drivers honked in protest. Police called in for backup. Police on motorcycles arrived on the scene and arrested at least four young citizens.

Witnesses described the behaviour of the police as brutal and stated they beat anyone standing around.

Reports also indicate that the police asked for money from young women accused of improper hijab. The hijab crackdown by police is believed to be a tactic to instill fear in citizens to prevent protests on June 12, 2010. [Source: Persian2English] | Thursday, June 10, 2010

Übersetzung: Unzureichende Verschleierung: Zusammenstöße am Enghelab-Platz >>> Von Julia | Donnerstag, 10. Juli 2010

Julias Blog >>>

One Year On, Iran’s Battered Opposition Endures in Terror
THE TIMES: A year ago today Bahareh Maghami, 28, a primary school teacher, was arrested at Ghoba mosque, Tehran, during the huge demonstrations that followed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed election victory. She was beaten and raped. She fled to Germany and recently posted an open letter on the internet because, she said, “there is nothing left of me and no reason to hide my name any more”.

She recalled: “There were three of them. All were dirty and wore beards. They had a terrible accent and foul mouths. Even though they saw that I was a virgin they accused me of being a whore and forced me to admit I was a prostitute.” She still wakes in terror at night, still smells their sweat.

Her father “shattered into pieces” when he learnt her fate, and her mother “aged a hundred years overnight”. Because of her shame “relatives, friends, neighbours and everyone cut off relations”. The family was driven from Tehran, and then from Iran. As for herself, it is “as if my whole humanity is taken away from me. My womanhood was destroyed. I will never be able to love a man. I’m like the walking dead.” >>> Martin Fletcher | Saturday, June 12, 2010

Persian2English: Breaking the language barrier on Human Rights >>>

Saudi Arabia gives Israel clear skies to attack Iranian nuclear sites
THE TIMES: Saudi Arabia has conducted tests to stand down its air defences to enable Israeli jets to make a bombing raid on Iran’s nuclear facilities, The Times can reveal.

In the week that the UN Security Council imposed a new round of sanctions on Tehran, defence sources in the Gulf say that Riyadh has agreed to allow Israel to use a narrow corridor of its airspace in the north of the country to shorten the distance for a bombing run on Iran. To ensure the Israeli bombers pass unmolested, Riyadh has carried out tests to make certain its own jets are not scrambled and missile defence systems not activated. Once the Israelis are through, the kingdom’s air defences will return to full alert.

“The Saudis have given their permission for the Israelis to pass over and they will look the other way,” said a US defence source in the area. “They have already done tests to make sure their own jets aren’t scrambled and no one gets shot down. This has all been done with the agreement of the [US] State Department.”

Sources in Saudi Arabia say it is common knowledge within defence circles in the kingdom that an arrangement is in place if Israel decides to launch the raid. Despite the tension between the two governments, they share a mutual loathing of the regime in Tehran and a common fear of Iran’s nuclear ambitions. “We all know this. We will let them [the Israelis] through and see nothing,” said one. Read on and comment >>> Hugh Tomlinson Dubai | Saturday, June 12, 2010

Iran Regime Weakened: Divisions Exposed One Year After Disputed Presidential Election

THE TELEGRAPH: Deep divisions have emerged within the Iranian leadership in the run-up to Saturday's first anniversary of the hotly disputed presidential election contest that returned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power.

Factional infighting fuelled by a series of splits since the vote was exposed as rigged last year have come to a head with a row over an attack on attack [sic] on the family of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran's Islamic revolution.

The dispute has further eroded support for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the current Supreme Leader, who has been criticised for driving Iran into economic and diplomatic isolation by backing the extremist president.

The emergence of prominent hardliners as critics has intensified pressure on a government already facing a revolt by reformists.

Official results that granted an overwhelming victory to Mr Ahmadinejad last June are still hotly disputed by millions of Iranians.

Mass protests in the wake of the vote pitched the country in its worst turnmoil since the Islamic revolution in 1979.

A harsh clampdown has seen an estimated 5,000 Iranians jailed and hundreds killed as the regime moved [to] crush[ed] the popular challenge to its authority.

The protest movement has been virtually forced underground as its leaders were forced to cancel protests that had been planned across Iran today. Only sporadic defiance was reported on the eve of the anniversary yesterday.

Pictures of those killed in last year's clashes were hung from trees in central Tehran while an estimated 700 political prisoners at Gohardasht prison staged a hunger strike.

There were also unconfirmed reports of clashes between protesters loyal to the opposition, which calls itself the Green Movement and security officials on Tehran's metro system. >>> Con Coughlin and Ahmad Vahdat | Saturday, June 12, 2010

Sarkozy Apologises for Vandalism in British War Cemetery
THE TELEGRAPH: A dozen British First World War graves have been vandalised with swastikas and SS insignia in northern France, in an act described as an "insult to the memory" of the fallen soldiers.

Gravestones desecrated with swastikas, seen at the British World War I cemetery in Loos-en-Gohelle, northern France. Photograph: The Telegraph
Vandals covered 12 graves and a monument in pink swastikas, SS insignia and other graffiti in the cemetery of Loos-en-Gohelle, which holds the remains of British and Canadian soldiers fallen in an October 1915 battle there.

President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday said he condemned "with the greatest firmness this odious act", which took place before dawn, and offered "sympathy and solidarity" to soldier's families and the "entire British nation" on behalf of France.

In a letter to the Queen, Mr Sarkozy said that the act was all the more "revolting" as it took place days before he travels to London to celebrate Charles de Gaulle's famous June 18, 1940 appeal from the BBC, in which he called on the French to resist Nazism. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Friday, June 11, 2010

Anwar al-Awlaki: MI5 Warns of the Al-Qaeda Preacher Targeting Britain
THE TELEGRAPH: Young British Muslims are being groomed to carry out terrorist attacks in this country by Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical al-Qaeda preacher based in the Middle East, it can be disclosed.

The security services fear that a new generation of British extremists is being radicalised by Awlaki, who recruited the Detroit plane bomber. They are concerned that Awlaki’s followers could unleash a wave of easily planned guerrilla-style terrorist attacks, similar to the massacre in Mumbai.

Such small-scale attacks could be carried out cheaply by individuals with little terrorist training and without the need for the support of a large organisation.

The British security services have become so worried about Awlaki’s rising influence that they have alerted ministers to their fears.

He is now regarded as one of the world’s most wanted terrorists. >>> Duncan Gardham and Con Coughlin | Friday, June 11, 2010

Slapdash Britain - Why Can't We Do Anything Properly Any More?
THE TELEGRAPH: A new radio series called Slapdash Britain examines how we became swamped by bureaucracy and more incompetent than ever.

It’s an ordinary summer’s day. Over breakfast you glance hurriedly at the paper: the usual stuff about a missing civil service laptop and some social worker scandal in the north of England. Coming home after work, your train stuck for hours in the middle of nowhere, you kill time by reading a story about the latest spat between civil servants and special advisers. And that night, tossing fitfully in your sleep, you dream that you’re stuck in the corridor of some failing hospital, blood pouring from a gaping wound. The doctor is too busy to see you, but you can see him all right: through a glass window, literally buried under a mound of paperwork. In the background, a sepulchral voice intones again and again: 'Not fit for purpose. Not fit for purpose …’

Over the last few months, making a new Radio Four documentary series about the crisis in British government, I have had more than my fair share of nightmares about being trapped in the corridors of power. When I began work on the series, Gordon Brown’s government was in its dying agonies; when I finished, the new coalition ministers were just shaking hands with their new drivers. But after talking to civil servants, special advisers, local government executives and academic experts, I realised that the overexcited political reporters were missing the real story. For whoever calls the shots in the minister’s office, there is now a pervasive sense that government simply no longer works as it once did. To put it bluntly, it has become shockingly slapdash. 'It’s not good enough,’ the veteran political scientist Anthony King told me. 'There are too many mistakes.’ And perhaps surprisingly, the former civil servants I met almost universally agreed. >>> Dominic Sandbrook | Friday, June 11, 2010

New Dark Age Alert! Neo-Nazis 'Urged Eradication of All Ethnic Minorities' on Aryan Strike Force Website
THE TELEGRAPH: Two men made it their life's work to spread racist messages and encourage others to help them achieve their goal of ''the eradication of ethnic minorities from Britain'', a court heard.

Photograph: The Telegraph
Michael Heaton, 42, and Trevor Hannington, 58, both ''proud'' neo-Nazis, are accused at Liverpool Crown Court of urging people to kill Jews.

Andrew Edis QC, prosecuting said: ''Each of these men is proud to call himself a National Socialist, or a neo-Nazi in other language.

'Each is a member of an organisation called the Aryan Strike Force, whose goal it is to clear the country of all ethnic minorities, as they say, whatever it takes.''

Both men deny that postings they made on a right-wing website solicited others to murder.

Heaton is standing trial over four comments he made on the Aryan Strike Force website (ASF) between January and April 2008.

The prosecution argue that his comments about Jews - "...they will always be scum, destroy 'em with whatever it takes", and "I would encourage any religion or race that wants to destroy the Jews, I hate them with a passion..." - encourage their murder, or at least stir up racial hatred.

In one post he wrote that black people are "less intelligent than other species", and in another that Jews are leeches and "treacherous ------- scum". >>> | Friday, June 11, 2010

Ahmadinejad : "Israël ne survivra pas"
Le président iranien Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Photo: Le Point
LE POINT: La nouvelle résolution des Nations unies sanctionnant l'Iran pour son programme nucléaire "n'aura aucun effet", a assuré vendredi le président iranien Mahmoud Ahmadinejad en visite à l'Exposition universelle de Shanghai. "Le gouvernement des Etats-Unis veut avaler tout le Proche-Orient", a-t-il déclaré, ajoutant que "les Etats-Unis ont un régime sioniste avec des bombes nucléaires dans la région (...) ils essaient de sauver le régime sioniste". Avant de menacer : mais Israël "ne survivra pas, il est condamné". >>> AFP | Vendredi 11 Juin 2010

Barack Obama Has Quit Smoking for Good Claims Philippine President
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama has finally quit smoking and offered advice on how to kick the habit to the incoming president of the Philippines.

Mr Obama has battled cigarette addiction for years, but told President-elect Benigno Aquino in a phone call that he has now fully quit.

"At some point I attempted some humour, saying 'Mr President, I understand we have the same issue with smoking,'" Mr Aquino said after parliament proclaimed him the official winner of the Philippine elections.

"He told me, 'I kicked the habit, so you are going to have to work on that one yourself. I can give you advice, though.'"

Mr Aquino, who smokes two packets a day according to former colleagues, said the US President promised to send the advice "at the time that you decide to quit".

Mr Obama, 48, is sensitive about his smoking habits and has become irritable when questioned about it in the past. >>> Barney Henderson in Kuala Lumpur | Friday, June 11, 2010

Gulf of Mexico BP Oil Spill: Nick Clegg Warns Barack Obama Over 'Megaphone Diplomacy'
THE TELEGRAPH: Nick Clegg today warned that the BP disaster threatened to descend into “megaphone diplomacy” following Barack Obama’s fierce criticism of the British company.

Nick Clegg made the comments when asked for his response to President Obama's call for the sacking of BP chief executive Tony Hayward. Photo: The Telegraph
In a thinly veiled attack on the US President – who earlier this week said he was looking for “some ass to kick over the disaster” – the Deputy Prime Minister argued that a “tit for tat” attitude was not helpful.

But Mr Clegg stopped short of voicing support for the British company, which has seen billions of pounds wiped off its share value since the leak in the Gulf of Mexico.

“I’m not going to start intervening in a debate which clearly risks descending into megaphone diplomacy,” Mr Clegg told an audience at the Nueva Economic Forum in Madrid on Friday morning.

“I think everyone is united on both sides of Atlantic obviously, quite rightly, and understandably within US administration and I’m sure within BP itself, to deal with this problem. It is an ecological catastrophe – It does need to be dealt with."

Nick Clegg made the comments when asked for his response to President Obama's call for the sacking of BP chief executive Tony Hayward. >>> Fiona Govan in Madrid | Friday, June 11, 2010

Troubling Development! Swastika Raised in Baltic Country – Tribute to History or Nazi Revival?

Opinion Journal: Obama Annoys Indonesia

Wilders Makes Shock Gains in Dutch Elections
THE INDEPENDENT: Dutch populist Geert Wilders yesterday stunned the Netherlands by coming third in general elections – a historic vote that could see him enter a coalition government.

Best known for his strident attacks on Islam, Mr Wilders' electoral triumph sent shock waves through the country's large immigrant communities and sounded the death knell for the image of the Netherlands as a bastion of tolerance.

The shock-factor was all the greater as the peroxide-haired politician had appeared sidelined during the election campaign, as the mainstream parties focused on how to deal with the nation's economic woes and immigration slipped down the political agenda.

Yet Mr Wilders made the strongest gains in Wednesday's election, doubling the number of seats for his Freedom Party to 24. The pro-business VDD party – which Mr Wilders left to set up on his own – won 31 of the 150 seats up for grabs, pipping the Labour Party of former Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen by a single seat in the narrowest ever electoral victory.

"The impossible has come true," a triumphant Mr Wilders said, noting that 1.5 million people had chosen his party's "optimistic" platform. "More security, less crime, less immigration, less Islam – that is what the Netherlands has chosen."

His party picked up the bulk of its seats from another party on the right, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's Christian Democrats. After eight years in power, his party suffered an historic defeat, losing nearly half its seats. Visibly emotional, Mr Balkenende called the results "very, very disappointing" and announced he was quitting politics. >>> Vanessa Mock in Brussels | Friday, June 11, 2010

Bild: Google Images
Kirchensünden: Papst bittet um Vergebung im Missbrauchsskandal
FINANCIAL TIMES DEUTSCHLAND: So deutlich hat sich Benedikt XVI. noch nie zu den Missbrauchsfällen geäußert. Er will alles in seiner Macht stehende tun, um Kinder vor sexueller Belästigung durch Priester zu schützen.

Papst Benedikt XVI. hat zum Ende des von Missbrauchskandalen überschatteten Priesterjahres um Vergebung gebeten. "Auch wir bitten Gott und die betroffenen Menschen inständig um Vergebung und versprechen zugleich, dass wir alles tun wollen, um solchen Missbrauch nicht wieder vorkommen zu lassen", sagte der Papst vor rund 15.000 Priestern auf dem Petersplatz. >>> © FTD | Freitag, 11. Juni 2010

La Suisse attend le retour au pays de son "otage" en Libye
RTL: Les Suisses ont salué vendredi la libération à Tripoli de leur compatriote Max Göldi, emprisonné en Libye depuis le 22 février et attendent désormais le retour au pays de leur "otage".

L'homme d'affaires pourrait quitter Tripoli samedi ou dimanche, selon son avocat libyen Salah Zahaf. La presse suisse se montre cependant prudente sur la date de son retour au pays, tout comme le ministère des Affaires étrangères (DFAE).

La libération jeudi après-midi de Max Göldi "est une étape", a insisté le porte-parole du DFAE Lars Knuchel. "Il s'agit maintenant qu'il puisse rentrer à la maison le plus rapidement possible et retrouver sa famille".

Depuis New York où elle est en déplacement, la ministre suisse des Affaires étrangères Micheline Calmy-Rey a mis en garde contre tout optimisme excessif en faisant valoir auprès de l'agence de presse helvétique ATS qu'il n'y avait pas de "garanties" sur la date de retour de l'homme d'affaires. >>> | Vendredi 11 Juin 2010