Österreich buhlt um Bayerns Raucher
WELT ONLINE: Die Wirte im Grenzgebiet freuen sich schon über neue Kunden. Aber die Kämpfer gegen Qualm rüsten sich auch dort

Wien - Erst die Touristen, dann die Studenten, nun die Raucher - in Österreich sorgt eine neue deutsche Welle für Schlagzeilen. "Bayern stürmen grenznahe Lokale", titelte die "Kronen-Zeitung" nach dem generellen Rauchverbot im Freistaat. Das "Aus für Glimmstängel im Weißwurst-Nachbarland" sorge für "lachende Gesichter bei heimischen Wirten". Schon 2008 seien die Umsätze in grenznahen Regionen um 25 Prozent "und mehr" gestiegen, nun würden die Wirte hoffen, dass ihnen das neue Gesetz noch mehr Asyl suchende Raucher aus Bayern zutreibt.

Bei den Vertretern der Wirte in den Wirtschaftskammern der an Deutschland grenzenden Bundesländer ist man nicht ganz so optimistisch. "Es ist ähnlich wie mit dem Tanktourismus", sagt Peter Frömml von der Wirtschaftskammer Oberösterreich: Wenn das nächste Gasthaus, wo man rauchen darf, nur ein paar Kilometer weiter weg sei als das gewohnte, würden sicher viele Bayern künftig jenseits der Grenze Fußball schauen oder ihren Stammtisch abhalten. Denkbar sei auch ein Zustrom an Ausflüglern und Bustouristen. "Das bayerische Rauchverbot wird die Gastronomie in Grenzbezirken sicher beleben", sagt Frömml, beziffern lasse sich das jedoch noch nicht. Der Oberösterreicher rechnet nicht damit, dass seine Heimat in näherer Zukunft von nikotinsüchtigen Bajuwaren überrannt wird, seine Kollegen in Tirol sehen das ähnlich.

Eins steht aber bereits fest: Das Votum der Bayern hat die Diskussion um das Rauchen auch in Österreich wieder angefacht und jenen Rückenwind verschafft, die das Volk mitentscheiden lassen wollen. Die Oppositionsparteien fordern in seltener Einigkeit eine Volksbefragung zum geltenden Gesetz. >>> von Elisalex Henckel | Donnerstag, 08. Juli 2010

KRONE.at: Innviertler Wirte erwarten bayrische Raucher-Touristen: Das in Bayern nach einem Volksentscheid beschlossene totale Rauchverbot in Gaststätten und Festzelten treibt nun Lokal-Gäste über die Grenze. "Wir erwarten uns jetzt natürlich schon weitere Umsatzsteigerungen", kalkulieren Wirte im Innviertel. Die ersten Raucher-Touristen hatten ja schon 2008 für Umsatzzuwächse gesorgt. >>> Kronen Zeitung | Mittwoch, 07. Juli 2010

Malaysian Islamic Courts Appoint First Women Judges
THE TIMES OF INDIA: KUALA LUMPUR: The appointment of the first two women judges to Malaysia's Islamic courts was hailed Thursday as a move to address the gender imbalance in the country's religious judiciary.

Premier Najib Razak announced the appointments, made by the king in May, as an example of the government's commitment to transforming the Sharia judiciary.

"The appointments were made to enhance justice in cases involving families and women's rights and to meet current needs," Najib was quoted as saying by state news agency Bernama last week.

Islamic courts run in parallel with civil courts in this Malay Muslim-majority country but women say they face much discrimination in Islamic divorce proceedings, inheritance and child custody cases. Continue reading and comment >>> AFP | Thursday, July 08, 2010

CNN Middle East Editor Leaves After 'Tweet' Praising Shiite Cleric Fadlallah
THE TIMES OF INDIA: WASHINGTON: Octavia Nasr, senior editor of Middle East affairs at CNN, is leaving the US television news network after sending a message on Twitter praising the late Shiite cleric Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah.

Nasr, who joined CNN in 1990, said in a "tweet" over the weekend that she was "Sad to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah... One of Hezbollah's giants I respect a lot."

She followed that up with a blog post on CNN.com expressing "deep regret" for her "tweet" about the man considered the spiritual guide of Hezbollah and who figured on a US "terrorist" list. >>> AFP | Thursday, July 08, 2010

Octavia Nasr has her regrets.

HT: Always On Watch

Anti-terror Stop and Search Powers to Be Scrapped
THE GUARDIAN: Police forced to abandon power to stop and search the public without reasonable suspicion after European court rules it illegal

Under new guidelines police will no longer be allowed to stop and search individuals without having to show reasonable suspicion of terrorist activity. Photograph: The Guardian
The police's use of controversial counterterrorism stop and search powers against individuals is to be scrapped immediately, the home secretary announced today.

Under section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000, officers can stop and search anyone in a designated area without having to show reasonable suspicion. Interim operational guidelines to be issued to the police say that in future section 44 powers will be used only to search vehicles, and officers will have to have grounds for suspecting they are being used in connection with terrorism.

Section 44 stop and search powers were used on more than 148,798 occasions last year and have been a key element in the campaign against terrorism.

The home secretary's decision to scrap their use against individuals follows a ruling by the European court of human rights in January that the powers were unlawful because they were too broadly drawn and lacked sufficient safeguards to protect civil liberties.

The Strasbourg case was brought by peace protester Kevin Gillan and a journalist, Pennie Quinton, who were unlawfully abused when police stopped and searched them on their way to a demonstration outside the annual Excel centre arms fair in east London in 2003.

In an unexpected statement to the Commons today, May said she had taken urgent legal advice and consulted the police since the Strasbourg ruling was confirmed as final last Wednesday. "In order to comply with the judgment, but avoid pre-empting the review of counter-terrorism legislation, I have decided to introduce interim guidelines for the police," the home secretary told the Commons.

"I am therefore changing the test for authorisation for the use of section 44 powers from requiring a search to be 'expedient' for the prevention of terrorism, to the stricter test of it being 'necessary' for that purpose. And, most importantly, I am introducing a new suspicion threshold." >>> Alan Travis, home affairs editor | Thursday, July 08, 2010

What Isn't Wrong With Sharia Law?
THE GUARDIAN: To safeguard our rights there must be one law for all and no religious courts

Gita Sahgal says there is active support for sharia laws because it is limited to denying women rights in the family. Photograph: The Guardian
The recent global day against the imminent stoning of Sakine Mohammadi-Ashtiani in Iran for adultery is an example of the outrage sparked by the brutality associated with sharia law's penal code.

What of its civil code though – which the Muslim Council of Britain's Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra describes as "small aspects" that concern "marriage, divorce, inheritance, custody of children"? According to human rights campaigner Gita Sahgal, "there is active support for sharia laws precisely because it is limited to denying women rights in the family. No hands are being cut off, so there can't be a problem …"

Now a report, Sharia Law in Britain: A Threat to One Law for All and Equal Rights, reveals the adverse effect of sharia courts on family law. Under sharia's civil code, a woman's testimony is worth half of a man's. A man can divorce his wife by repudiation, whereas a woman must give justifications, some of which are difficult to prove. Child custody reverts to the father at a preset age; women who remarry lose custody of their children even before then; and sons inherit twice the share of daughters.

There has been much controversy about Muslim arbitration tribunals, which have attracted attention because they operate as tribunals under the Arbitration Act, making their rulings binding in UK law.

But sharia councils, which are charities, are equally harmful since their mediation differs little from arbitration. Sharia councils will frequently ask people to sign an agreement to abide by their decisions. Councils call themselves courts and the presiding imams are judges. There is neither control over the appointment of these judges nor an independent monitoring mechanism. People often do not have access to legal advice and representation. Proceedings are not recorded, nor are there any searchable legal judgements. Nor is there any real right to appeal.

There is also danger to those at risk of domestic violence. In one study, four out of 10 women attending sharia courts were party to civil injunctions against their husbands. Continue reading and comment >>> Maryam Namazie* | Monday, July 05, 2010

*Maryam Namazie is a rights activist, commentator and broadcaster and spokesperson of Iran Solidarity and One Law for All

Abu Hamza Extradition Halted by EU Judges
THE TELEGRAPH: Human rights judges have ordered a halt to the extraditions of Babar Ahmad and radical preacher Abu Hamza, both wanted in the US on terror charges.

The Strasbourg court said it wanted more time to examine possible human rights breaches if the men face trial on charges which could mean life sentences without parole.

Ahmad, a 36-year old computer expert, has been in a UK prison without trial for nearly six years, refused bail since his arrest in August 2004 on a US extradition warrant.

Radical preacher Hamza is also wanted on terror charges in the US.

Both appealed separately to the European Court of Human Rights on the grounds that their treatment and potential punishment could violate Human Rights Convention provisions on the ''prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment''.

The appeal prompted a stay of extradition proceedings pending today's verdict, which further postponed a final decision.

The ruling gives the UK Government until September 2 to submit observations and declares: ''The (Human Rights) Court decided to prolong, until further notice, the interim measures it had adopted indicating to the UK Government that it was in the interests of the proper conduct of the proceedings that the applicants should not be extradited while the cases were being examined by the court''. >>> | Thursday, July 08, 2010

Russian 'Spies' Formally Charged Amid Swap Claims
THE TELEGRAPH: The 11 people accused of spying for Russia have been formally charged, amid claims the US and Russia are planning to carry out a Cold War-style 'spy swap'.

Alleged Rusian spies Richard and Cynthia Murphy. Photo: The Telegraph
US Justices ordered two suspects detained in Boston and three in the Washington area to be transferred to New York, where they will join five already there at the next court hearing at the end of the month.

They are all accused of “conspiring to act as secret agents in the United States on behalf of the Russian Federation and nine of these individuals with conspiracy to commit money laundering,” the formal indictment said.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years for money laundering and five for the conspiracy allegations.

It comes amid reports the Kremlin is planning to hand over Igor Sutyagin, a Russian academic jailed for spying for the CIA in 2004, as well as Sergei Skripal, a former colonel in Russian military intelligence jailed for spying for Britain in 2006, in return for the release of the alleged Russian spies. The names of the other "exchangees" were not disclosed. >>> Andrew Osborn in Moscow | Thursday, July 08, 2010

Turkey Says Joining EU Is Still Top Priority
THE TELEGRAPH: Turkey has moved to calm fears that it is drifting away from the West, asserting that joining the European Union is still its "first and most strategic objective".

Ahmet Davutoglu, the foreign minister, said in London on Thursday prior to a meeting with William Hague, his UK counterpart, that Turkey was continuing to work very hard on its integration into Europe. He acknowledged that Turkey's accession to the EU had been made harder by opposition from Germany and from France in particular, and by problems over the future of Cyprus, where the dispute with Greece is still very much alive in spite of optimism of a resolution in recent years.

Mr Davutoglu was critical of Western fears that Turkey was turning further to the East, partly as a result of being rebuffed by France and Germany.

The question "Are we losing Turkey?" he said, was an "insulting question". He said Turkey was seeking to bring Western "soft" powers of peace, mediation and multilateralism to its multiple talks with countries in its region. >>> Adrian Michaels in London | Thursday, July 08, 2010

British Conservatives Assail Hague Over Turkey’s EU Membership Remarks
TODAY’S ZAMAN: British Conservative Party members have stridently displayed their objections to Foreign Secretary William Hague’s remarks on Thursday that envisaged “the value of [the] future membership” of “Europe’s biggest emerging economy” -- Turkey.

Roger Helmer, member of European Parliament from the British Conservative Party, deplored Hague’s statement, saying, “British voters will not stand for Turkish membership -- nor will other EU states,” the UK’s Mirror daily reported on Sunday.

“We should also see the value of Turkey’s future membership in the EU in this light. Turkey is Europe’s biggest emerging economy and a good example of a country developing a new role and new links for itself, partly on top of and partly outside of existing structures and alliances, and is highly active in the Western Balkans, the wider Middle East and Central Asia,” Hague said while speaking at London’s Foreign Office on Thursday, which drew the ire of many Euro-skeptic Tories.

Hague said Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu will visit Britain next week as London seeks to improve its ties with Ankara. >>> Today’s Zaman, Istanbul | Monday, July 05, 2010

William Hague is clearly a naïve fool, and quite obviously he has a death wish for the West by wanting to Islamize Europe. Go ruin someone else’s civilisation, Mr Hague. The French and Germans have it right: There should be no place for Turkey in the EU.

It’s funny how the British are determined not to take their full part in the European Union, yet when it comes to screwing it up, they're in the first row. How reprehensible that propensity is! – © Mark

Three al-Qaeda Suspects Arrested in Norway Over Bomb Plot
THE TELEGRAPH: Three suspected al-Qaeda members believed to be linked to attacks in Britain and the US have been arrested in Norway.

Officials believe they were planning attacks with portable but powerful bombs like the ones at the heart of last year's thwarted suicide attack in the New York City subway. The three men had been under surveillance for a year.

Officials said the group had been attempting to make peroxide bombs, but that it was not clear whether the men had selected a target.

The Norway plot was allegedly organised by Salah al-Somali, al-Qaeda's former chief of external operations, the man in charge of plotting attacks worldwide. He was killed by a CIA drone last year. >>> | Thursday, July 08, 2010

Al Qaeda Terror Cell Busted in Norway

Belgian Undertakers Plan to Dissolve Dead and Flush Them Into Sewage System
THE TELEGRAPH: Belgian undertakers have drawn up plans to dissolve the corpses of the dead in caustic solutions and flush them into the sewage system.

The controversial new method is said to be less expensive and more environmentally friendly than running highly polluting crematoria or using up valuable land for graves.

The departed would go into the sewage systems of towns and cities and then be recycled in water processing plants.

The proposals are being studied by the EU and if approved, it would mean the procedure could be used across Europe.

However, opponents of the plans say it smacks of a Frankenstein callousness towards the dead and one survey in Belgium found many people found the idea "disturbing." >>> Allan Hall, in Berlin | Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Gay Cleric Blocked from Becoming Church of England Bishop
THE TELEGRAPH: An openly homosexual cleric has been blocked from becoming a Church of England bishop, The Daily Telegraph has learnt.

Members of the Crown Nominations Commission, which includes Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, rejected calls for Dr Jeffrey John to be made the next Bishop of Southwark.

The Dean of St Albans, who is in a civil partnership with another priest, was on the shortlist for the post and was considered to be a front-runner for the job.

David Cameron had been made aware of his nomination and is believed to have been supportive of promoting the homosexual cleric.

However, a secret meeting of senior Church figures has decided to overlook Dr John amid fears that his consecration would have provoked a split in the Church.

Conservative Anglican leaders had warned that evangelical parishes would not recognise him as a bishop and instead would seek “alternative episcopal oversight”.

But the snub will infuriate liberal clergy who believed he was the outstanding candidate and that his appointment would signal a move towards greater inclusion for homosexuals in the Church. >>> Jonathan Wynne-Jones and Martin Beckford | Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Related article here

Turkish Key Constitutional Reforms Annulled by Court
BBC: Turkey's Constitutional Court has annulled key parts of a package of government-backed constitutional reforms, reports say.

The court rejected an opposition appeal to scrap all of the measures, and said the remaining elements would be put to a referendum as planned.

The court annulled changes which would curb the power of the judiciary and the army, AFP news agency said.

The ruling AKP says the reforms are necessary if Turkey is to join the EU.

But the nationalist opposition and senior judges are against measures they say would threaten the independence of the courts.

There is a gulf of mistrust between the AKP and the two secular opposition parties, the CHP and MHP, says the BBC's Jonathan Head in Istanbul.

The CHP believes the AKP has a hidden agenda to weaken the secular system and promote Islamic values. >>> | Wednesday, July 07, 2010

I find the BBC's way of writing offensive and lacking in erudition. Whoever writes for the BBC writes for people who are incapable of reading proper paragraphs, incapable of understanding normal English. The BBC's style of English could be renamed 'English for Dummies'! – © Mark

Sarkozy in Bedrängnis: Ermittlungen wegen illegaler Wahlkampffinanzierung
NZZ ONLINE: Nach den neuen Enthüllungen in der Affäre Bettencourt hat die Staatsanwaltschaft in Frankreich Ermittlungen wegen des Verdachts auf illegale Parteispenden aufgenommen. Auch wurden zwei Verleumdungsklagen eingereicht.

In Frankreich ist eine Schlammschlacht im Gange, deren Ausgang nicht abzusehen ist. Sie legt die Regierungsgeschäfte lahm, lässt die Burka-Debatte erstarren und untergräbt die Autorität von Staatspräsident Sarkozy. Im Mittelpunkt des politischen Orkans steht der Kassenwart der Regierungspartei UMP, Arbeitsminister Eric Woerth, dem unter anderem vorgeworfen wird, seinerzeit 150 000 Euro aus dem Privatvermögen der Milliardärin und L'Oréal-Erbin Liliane Bettencourt in Sarkozys Wahlkampf geschleust zu haben. Weiter lesen und einen Kommentar schreiben >>> Manfred Rist, Paris | Donnerstag, 08. Juli 2010

Socialists Doing What Socialists Do Best – Nannying: Blodwen to Filter the Internet for Australians
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: THE Prime Minister will push ahead with controversial plans for a mandatory internet filter despite acknowledging public concerns that it will interfere with ''legitimate use''.

In Julia Gillard's first comments on the filter since becoming Prime Minister, she told ABC radio in Darwin that the proposal was an effort to control the ''dark side'' of communications technology. Gillard to stick with web filter despite disquiet >>> Ari Sharp Communications Correspondent | Thursday, July 08, 2010

Pope May Have Helped Jews Escape
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: POPE PIUS XII, the controversial wartime pontiff, may have saved thousands of Jewish lives by secretly securing visas so they could escape Nazi Germany, a historian says.

Pope Pius, who was labelled ''Hitler's Pope'' because of his silence during the Holocaust, may have arranged the exodus of about 200,000 Jews from Germany just three weeks after Kristallnacht, when thousands of Jews were rounded up and sent to concentration camps.

The claim was made by Dr Michael Hesemann, a German historian carrying out research in the Vatican archives for the Pave the Way Foundation, a US inter-faith group.

He said that Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli - the future Pius XII - wrote to Catholic archbishops around the world to urge them to apply for visas for ''non-Aryan Catholics'' and Jewish converts to Christianity who wanted to leave Germany.

Elliot Hershberg, the chairman of the Pave the Way Foundation, said: ''We believe that many Jews who were successful in leaving Europe may not have had any idea that their visas and travel documents were obtained through these Vatican efforts.

''Everything we have found thus far seems to indicate the known negative perception of Pope Pius XII is wrong.'' >>> Simon Caldwell | Thursday, July 08, 2010

Priest 'Stole $1.3 Million in Church Money to Pay for Male Escorts and Hotels'
THE TELEGRAPH: A Catholic priest in the United States has been charged with stealing $1.3 million (£858,000) in church money over seven years to use for male escorts, expensive clothing and luxury hotels and restaurants.

The Rev. Kevin J. Gray, former pastor at Sacred Heart/Sagrado Corazon Parish in Waterbury, Connecticut, was arrested and charged with first-degree larceny, Waterbury police said. Arraignment was expected Tuesday in Waterbury Superior Court.

Gray, 64, used the money to stay at such hotels as the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City and on expensive clothing labels including Armani suits, said Capt Christopher Corbett. He also paid the college tuition and rent of two men he had met, Capt Corbett said. >>> | Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Pat Condell: The Pope Needs a Miracle*


*These are Pat Condell's views; they are not my own.

Ägyptischer Islamkritiker Abu Zeid ist tot
SARSURA-SYRIEN: Wer den Islam kritisiert, spielt mit seinem Leben. Morddrohungen mussten schon viele Journalisten, Redakteure, Schriftsteller und Politiker über sich ergehen lassen, was Gott sei Dank aber der Kritik an der Auslegung des Islam und des geschriebenen Wort Gottes im Koran keinen Abbruch tat.

In den neunziger Jahren lenkte ein Mann viel Aufmerksamkeit auf sich. Er wurde verbal hart angegriffen und erhielt Morddrohungen. Plötzlich galt der Gelehrte, übrigens selbst Muslim, als Abtrünniger.

Die Rede ist von Nasr Abu Zeid, der in den neunziger Jahren den Koran kritisch betrachtete und auch von anderen forderte, endlich zu erwachen und mit der Zeit zu gehen, als starr nach den Regeln des Korans zu leben, ohne über den Tellerrand zu schauen.

Abu Zeid stellte dabei keinesfalls in Frage, ob Gott Muhammad seine Offenbarungen durch den Erzengel Gabriel verkünden ließ. Er gab lediglich zu bedenken, dass das Geschriebene im Koran ein Werk von Menschenhand ist, was nichts Göttliches mehr hat und damit sehr wohl kritisiert und für moderne Zeiten passend interpretiert werden darf.

Obwohl er mit seiner Kritik wirklich Recht hat, wollte ihm keiner zuhören, zumindest nicht in der arabisch-islamischen Welt. Seine Worte klangen zu blasphemisch. Es war einfacher, ihn als Abtrünnigen zu bezeichnen, als sich mit der harten, aber gerechtfertigten Kritik auseinanderzusetzen. Weiter lesen und einen Kommentar schreiben >>> | Mittwoch, 07. Juli 2010

AFP: Egypt secular thinker Nasr Hamed Abu Zeid dies: CAIRO — Egyptian academic Nasr Hamed Abu Zeid, who was forced into exile and ordered to divorce his wife after being judged to be an apostate, died on Monday in Cairo, his wife said. >>> AFP | Monday, July 05, 2010

China: Christianity
Watch Journeyman Pictures video: Jesus Loves You, Comrades >>>

Maison Blanche : Pauvre Barack Obama...
Barack Obama. Photo : Le Point
LE POINT: Aux États-Unis, si l'on veut s'enrichir, il y a un employeur à éviter : la Maison-Blanche. Dès son premier jour dans le Bureau ovale, en janvier 2009, le président Barack Obama a annoncé qu'il gelait le salaire des membres de son cabinet, pour cause de récession. Un gel qui a été reconduit, selon le rapport annuel sur les rémunérations de la Maison-Blanche qui vient d'être remis au Congrès.

Les employés à temps plein les mieux payés sont au nombre de vingt-quatre, parmi lesquels le conseiller David Axelrod, le secrétaire général Rahm Emanuel et l'auteur des discours du président Jon Favreau. Ils touchent chacun 172.200 dollars par an. Barack Obama est mieux loti : il est payé 400.000 dollars par an. C'est le Congrès qui décide des hausses du salaire présidentiel et il s'est toujours montré plutôt pingre. La dernière augmentation remonte à 1999, date à laquelle il a consenti à doubler la rémunération présidentielle qui n'avait pas bougé depuis l'arrivée de Richard Nixon en 1969 ! >>> De Hélène Vissière, la correspondante du Point à Washington | Mercredi 07 Juillet 2010