Italie : Le propos de Kadhafi créent un malaise
Le colonel Kadhafi et Silvio Berlusconi assistent à une parade équestre des carabiniers italiens. Photo : Le Temps
LE TEMPS: Après l’appel à la conversion de l’Europe à l’islam, le «guide» libyen demande des milliards d’euros à l’Union européenne pour stopper l’immigration clandestine. L’opposition et l’Eglise catholique, mais aussi des députés de la majorité, ont protesté

Imperturbable, le colonel Kadhafi a quitté Rome mardi après une visite de deux jours qui devait célébrer le deuxième anniversaire du «traité d’amitié» italo-libyen, mais qui au bout du compte a provoqué un véritable embarras en Italie.

Au cours de son séjour, le «Guide de la Révolution», entouré de ses «amazones» (ses gardes du corps féminins en treillis militaires), a en effet multiplié les déclarations et les initiatives provocantes. Devant un parterre strictement composé de jeunes femmes, il a lancé lundi «convertissez-vous», puis leur a conseillé de se trouver des maris libyens. Auparavant, il avait estimé que «l’islam devrait devenir la religion de l’Europe tout entière».

Se plaisant à faire attendre ses hôtes, entre deux sorties spectaculaires dans le centre historique de Rome, Mouammar Kadhafi a également suscité la stupeur lorsqu’il a réclamé lundi soir «au moins 5 milliards d’euros par an» à l’Union européenne, condition selon lui, pour «stopper», depuis les côtes libyennes «l’immigration clandestine» et «éviter une Europe noire». Dans son discours prononcé lors d’un spectacle équestre, le colonel libyen a assuré qu’il avait de ce point de vue le soutien du gouvernement Berlusconi. >>> Eric Jozsef | Mardi 31 Août 2010

Le domicile de Liliane Bettencourt perquisitionné
Le domicile de Liliane Bettencourt, à Neuilly-sur-Seine. Photo : Le Monde
LE MONDE: Les policiers ont perquisitionné, mercredi 1er septembre, le domicile de Liliane Bettencourt en banlieue parisienne, en son absence. Les enquêteurs ont agi dans le cadre d'une commission rogatoire délivrée par la présidente de la 15e chambre correctionnelle du tribunal de Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine), Isabelle Prévost-Desprez, chargée, depuis le 1er juillet, d'un supplément d'information sur des soupçons d'abus de faiblesse dont aurait été victime Mme Bettencourt, âgée de 87 ans, première actionnaire du groupe de cosmétique L'Oréal. Contrairement à que nous avions indiqué précédemment, la juge n'était pas présente à la perquisition.

La perquisition conduite, mercredi, chez Mme Bettencourt devait permettre, selon un magistrat du parquet de Nanterre, de vérifier si un certain nombre d'œuvres d'art n'ont pas été soustraites par M. Banier ou ses proches du domicile de Mme Bettencourt. Ces recherches devaient aussi permettre, selon cette même source, de lever le voile sur ce que l'un des conseillers du ministre de l'intérieur, Brice Hortefeux, a qualifié, mardi, de "mystère des petits papiers ". >>> LeMonde pour Le Monde.fr | Mercredi 01 Septembre 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Bettencourt home raided by French police in Sarkozy scandal: French police investigating a financial scandal swirling around Nicolas Sarkozy's government have raided the home of L'Oreal heiress Lillian Bettencourt. >>> Peter Allen in Paris | Wednesday, September 01, 2010

LE FIGARO: Bettencourt «outrée» par la perquisition de son domicile: Les enquêteurs ont passé de longues heures mercredi au domicile de l'héritière de L'Oréal, qui s'est déclarée «choquée» de voir ses coffres forcés. >>> Par lefigaro.fr | Mercredi 01 Septembre 2010

Tony Blair Without Make-up, Showing His Age

THE TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – DAMIAN THOMPSON: Was Tony Blair an alcoholic? : If people are wondering whether Tony Blair was an alcoholic during his years in Number 10, he has only himself to blame. A Journey veers between a sort of boasting about his booze consumption – spirits before dinner, half a bottle of wine during it – and hand-wringing anxiety (”I was definitely at the outer limit”). >>> Damian Thompson | Wednesday, September 01, 2010

THE TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – TOBY YOUNG: Tony Blair's memoirs: Playing the victim card in this pathetic way will do nothing for his reputation: Hang on a second. Blackmail? Problem drinking? Are these the memoirs of Britain’s longest-serving Labour Prime Minister or the latest salvo from Katie Price in her ongoing battle with Peter André? I was expecting some high-minded lessons in the art of statesmanship, not a series of jaw-dropping revelations about Gordon Brown. Reading these memoirs, you get the impression that Tony Blair’s visceral hatred of his chief rival has clouded his political judgment. Champagne corks will be popping in Downing Street tonight because A Journey does very little to enhance the reputation of either Blair or Brown. >>> Toby Young | Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Credit Suisse Defends Its Bankers' Mid-year Bonus
THE TELEGRAPH: Credit Suisse has defended a decision to award its London-based bankers with a surprise mid-year bonus by claiming that it had no choice after its compliance with British rules on pay backfired.

Credit Suisse defends its bankers' mid-year bonus. Photo: The Telegraph
The Swiss bank suggested its decision to distribute a multi-million pound bonus-round, a move that looks set to re-ignite the row over City pay, was necessary to avoid losing key people to its rivals over the next few months.

Around 400 bankers are thought to have benefited from the windfall payments which will be awarded on Wednesday, in addition to the payments traditionally made at the end of the year.

The bank consulted with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) over the September bonuses, although it is not clear if the Government was warned in advance.

Credit Suisse was at pains to point out that the payments are compliant with the FSA's latest rules and include tough conditions including deferred payment and claw-back provisions.

Even so, the extra payouts, particularly at a time of concerns over a double-dip recession, are likely to reignite the row over City pay.

Politicians and regulators, who have vowed to crack-down on lavish payments by banks in the wake of the financial crisis, will be concerned that the unusual move is a prelude to another controversial bonus season. Read on and comment >>> Louise Armitstead, Chief Business Correspondent | Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Tony Blair: Gordon Brown Had 'Zero' Emotional Intelligence
THE TELEGRAPH: Tony Blair lambasted Gordon Brown in his memoir A Journey as a political failure who had "zero" emotional intelligence.

Photo: The Telegraph
The former prime minister’s memoir describes Mr Brown as "maddening" and blames him for allowing the Tories into power by deviating from his predecessor's New Labour strategy.

Mr Blair disclosed that his former chancellor put “relentless personal pressure” on him during his time in Number 10.

He admitted that he repeatedly considered sacking Mr Brown but failed to identify anyone who could replace him and eventually concluded that he was better “inside and constrained” than “outside and let loose”.

He also accuses his Chancellor of effectively trying to blackmail him into backing down over a pensions reform.

Mr Blair said Mr Brown lacked political instinct "at the human gut level", according to The Guardian.

He wrote: "Political calculation, yes. Political feelings, no. Analytical intelligence, absolutely. Emotional intelligence, zero."

He described Mr Brown as a “maddening figure” who was not capable of being a “normal bloke” sort of politician, but conceded that he possessed an acute “analytical intelligence” which stood him in good stead as chancellor.

In his long-awaited memoir, A Journey, Mr Blair wrote: “My failure to [remove him] was not a lack of courage…It was because I believed, despite it all, despite my own feelings at times, that he was the best chancellor for the country.” >>> Heidi Blake | Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Tony Blair: I Knew Gordon Brown Would Be A Disaster
THE GUARDIAN: World exclusive: As he publishes memoir, ex-PM urges party not to shift to the left

• 'I've got something to say' – exclusive Tony Blair interview

• Blair on Brown: 'Emotional intelligence: zero'

• I didn't see Iraq nightmare coming, says Blair

Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Photograph: The Guardian
Tony Blair came to the view that Gordon Brown would be a disaster as prime minister and that Labour could not win the 2010 general election, he reveals in his long awaited memoirs.

"It was never going to work," Blair writes of Brown's three years in No 10, arguing that the former chancellor had "zero emotional intelligence" and fatally abandoned the New Labour formula.

Blair's memoir contains a passionate defence of the war in Iraq and of New Labour's public service and welfare reform plans, which the former prime minister believes his successor abandoned.

Although he refuses directly to endorse any candidate for the Labour leadership, he also makes a number of comments which are likely to be interpreted as criticism of Ed Miliband, vying with his brother David in a contest which reaches a climax as party members receive their ballot papers on Wednesday.

In the book and in his only pre-publication interview, Blair reveals that:

• Brown personally threatened to bring him down over the loans for honours scandal in 2006, before offering to stay his hand in return for the abandonment of Lord Turner's plans to reform pensions.

• He feels intense "anguish" over the lives lost in the Iraq war and failed to "guess the nightmare that unfolded".

• He believes Labour was wrong to ban fox hunting and pass the freedom of information act which is "not practical" for good government.

Blair nails his policy colours to the mast in his memoir by launching a sustained attack on the belief that the financial crisis means that voters want the return of the state as a major economic player. In remarks that will be seen as an implied attack on Ed Miliband and Ed Balls, Blair says voters will not elect a party which fails to offer a credible attack on the deficit. Continue reading and comment >>> Martin Kettle | Tuesday, August 31, 2010

America Faces 'Crisis of Leadership', Leading Wall St Investor Warns
THE TELEGRAPH: America faces a "crisis of leadership" that is damaging the country's recovery, one of Wall Street's leading hedge fund managers has warned in a scathing attack on President Barack Obama.

President Obama has been the focus of several attacks by Wall Street investors concerned about the direction of his policy. Photo: The Telegraph
Daniel Loeb, the founder of the $3.3bn (£2.1bn) Third Point fund, said that the administration's policies appear intent on "redistribution rather than growth", and should send a chill through those who believe in free markets.

In the letter to investors, Mr Loeb pinpoints the "politically-laced" lawsuit brought by regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission against Goldman Sachs in April as the moment that investors began to lose confidence.

The criticism underlines the fear some on Wall Street have about the Obama administration's intentions toward a financial services industry still bearing the brunt of Americans' anger over the crisis.

Steve Schwarzman, the billionaire founder of private equity firm Blackstone, last month likened the president's plans to levy taxes on the private equity industry as being akin to Adolf Hitler's invasion of Poland. >>> Richard Blackden, US Business Editor | Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Can a Religion Promote Hatred?
HERNANDO TODAY: The headlines this morning, Aug. 24, reads "At least 32 killed in a Somali hotel."

What happened in Somali has happened before in other places, even in the United States, more than once.

This barbaric act can happen anywhere you have followers of the Islamic religion that practice extreme form of Sharia laws. Their extreme teachings will lead them to kill others, even other Muslims, and consider it being an honorable thing for them and are willing to implode themselves in order to kill innocent bystanders who are usually caught unprepared to defend themselves.

In other words, they commit cowardly acts of violence in the name of religion.

It was reported that the Somali hotel incident was perpetuated by a group more commonly known as al-Shabaab "The Youth." This group of Islamist insurgents has imposed their own "harsh" form of Sharia law derived from a radical Wahhabi movement. Al-Shabaab has been designated a terrorist organization by several Western governments and security services, and described as having "ties to al-Qaida."

Wahhabi or Wahhabism is the dominant form of Islam in Saudi Arabia. Wahhabism has developed considerable influence in the Muslim world through the funding of mosques, schools and other means from Persian Gulf oil wealth. (Approximately 13 percent of U.S. oil is imported from Saudi Arabia.) Three years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America, the Saudis conducted a study to reform their education curriculum, finding that the kingdom's religious studies "encourages violence toward others and misguides the pupils into believing that in order to safeguard their own religion, they must violently repress and even physically eliminate the "other." That means that prior to the attack on the U.S. and while America was buying oil from Saudi Arabia, and even went to war over the Persian oil, the Saudis were teaching Wahhabism to at least 15 of the terrorists who were Saudis. Osama bin Laden was taught Wahhabism as a youth and founded al-Qaida in 1988.

It has been reported that Wahhabi publications have been found in a number of mosques in the United States still preaching that Muslims should not only "always oppose" infidels "in every way," but "hate them for their religion." Are mosques a safe haven for terrorist training? If this is true, then "Houston, we have a problem." Continue reading and comment >>> Vinny Martinez, Brooksville | Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Dr. Wafa Sultan: On Islam

Fidel Castro Takes Blame for Persecution of Cuban Gays
BBC: Fidel Castro has said that he is ultimately responsible for the persecution suffered by homosexuals in Cuba after the revolution of 1959.

The former president told the Mexican newspaper La Jornada that there were moments of great injustice against the gay community.

"If someone is responsible, it's me," he said.

In the 1960s and 70s, many homosexuals in Cuba were fired, imprisoned or sent to "re-education camps".

Mr Castro said homosexuals had traditionally been discriminated in Cuba, just as black people and women.

But, nevertheless, he admits he didn't pay enough attention to what was going on against the gay community.

"At the time we were being sabotaged systematically, there were armed attacks against us, we had too many problems," said the 84-year-old Communist leader.

"Keeping one step ahead of the CIA, which was paying so many traitors, was not easy."

In 1979, homosexuality was decriminalised and, more recently, there have been efforts to legalise same-sex unions. >>> | Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani Subjected to Mock Execution
THE GUARDIAN: Her son Sajad says she was told she would be hanged at dawn on Sunday and visits by her family and lawyer have been denied

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning, was told on Saturday that she was to be hanged at dawn on Sunday, but the sentence was not carried out, it emerged tonight.

Mohammadi Ashtiani wrote her will and embraced her cellmates in Tabriz prison just before the call to morning prayer, when she expected to be led to the gallows, her son Sajad told the Guardian.

"Pressure from the international community has so far stopped them from carrying out the sentence but they're killing her every day by any means possible," he said.

The mock execution came days after prison authorities denied family and legal visits to Mohammadi Ashtiani. Her children were told she was unwilling to meet them while she was told, also falsely, that no one had come to visit her. >>> Saeed Kamali Dehghan and Ian Black | Tuesday, August 31, 2010

How Do We Convince Iran That Stoning Is Barbaric?
THE GLOBE AND MAIL: Tehran’s legal codes are studded with inconsistencies and vagaries that make due process virtually impossible

The harrowing case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani – a mother of two sentenced to stoning by an Iranian court for adultery – has rightfully drawn the world’s attention to Iran’s draconian penal code, which reserves its cruellest punishments for women. The practice of stoning in particular is so abhorrent that even political allies such as Brazil have been roused to action. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has offered Ms. Ashtiani asylum, but a foreign leader can have no direct bearing on a domestic legal proceeding. The Brazilian intervention, however, sends a powerful message to the Islamic Republic: Its human-rights record can never be divorced from its nuclear diplomacy.

Before the 1979 Islamic revolution, back in the years when I worked as a judge in Iran, consensual sexual relations between adults did not figure in the country’s criminal code. The revolution enacted a version of Islamic law extraordinarily harsh even by the standards of the Islamic world, making extramarital sex a crime. The punishment for a single man or woman guilty of sex outside marriage became 100 lashes; under Article 86, the punishment for a married person became death by stoning.

On the face of things, stoning is not a gendered punishment, for the law stipulates that adulterous men face the same brutal end. But because Iranian law permits polygamy, it effectively offers men an escape route: They are able to claim that their adulterous relationship was, in fact, a temporary marriage (Iranian law recognizes “marriages” of even a few hours duration between men and single women). Men typically exploit this escape clause, and are rarely sentenced to stoning. But married women accused of adultery have no access to such reprieve.

The barbarity of stoning aside, Iran’s legal codes are studded with inconsistencies and vagaries that make due process virtually impossible. The penal code notes that, if a man or woman is denied sexual access to a spouse due to travel or other prolonged separation, 100 lashes suffice as punishment for adultery, but it does not specify the duration of acceptable separation. Stoning can also be reduced to lashes when a married woman has sex with a minor (Iranian law considers the age of maturation for girls 9, and for boys 15). Read on and comment >>> Shirin Ebadi | Thursday, August 05, 2010

Shirin Ebadi is an Iranian human-rights activist and Nobel laureate.

Iran Seeks Distance from Paper's Insult of France's Carla Bruni-Sarkozy
THE GLOBE AND MAIL: Foreign Ministry in Tehran says insulting dignitaries like French first lady is incorrect, not sanctioned

Iran on Tuesday sought to distance itself from harsh remarks by a hard-line newspaper, which called France's first lady a “prostitute” for condemning the stoning sentence against an Iranian woman convicted of adultery.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said insulting foreign dignitaries like Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is incorrect and not sanctioned by the government.

The Kayhan daily first called Ms. Bruni-Sarkozy a “prostitute” Saturday, repeating its criticism Tuesday with the addition that the French first lady also deserved to die.

In its first public comments on the affair, the French Foreign Ministry said it found the comments unacceptable and had brought the matter up with the Iranians.

“We are making known to Iranian authorities that the insults made by the Kayhan paper and picked up by several Iranian Internet sites regarding several French public personalities including Mrs. Sarkozy are unacceptable. We are passing that message through the normal diplomatic channels,” said spokesman Bernard Valero at a briefing Tuesday. >>> The Associated Press | Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Related articles here, here, and here

THE GLOBE AND MAIL: Iranian media label Carla Bruni a ‘prostitute’ for stand against stoning: France’s first lady among those speaking out against woman’s death sentence >>> The associated Press | Monday, August 30, 2010

Controversial plans: Sharif el-Gamal is the developer behind the £65m Park51 centre near the site of the September 11 attacks, which will include a mosque. Photograph: Mail Online
Revealed: The criminal past behind developer who wants to build mosque at Ground Zero
MAIL ONLINE: The developer behind the planned Ground Zero mosque and Islamic cultural centre said it never occurred to him that building it near the site of the September 11 attacks would heighten tension.

Sharif El-Gamal, a muslim, told CBS News that it hadn't crossed his mind because 'I did not hold myself or my faith accountable for the tragedy' *.

He said the centre, which would include a health club, exhibition space and a September 11 memorial, should be 'universally known as a hub of culture, a hub of coexistence, a hub of bringing people together'.

El-Gamal leads a property investment firm that owns the lower Manhattan building where the $100 million (£65m) centre, known as Park51, would open.

The plans have led to a national discussion over freedom of religion and the sensitivities of the relatives of September 11 victims, with everyone from President Barack Obama to Miss USA weighing in. Read on and comment >>> Mail Foreign Service | Tuesday, August 31, 2010

* Who is this joker trying to kid? – Mark

Saudi Cleric Slammed Over Fatwa On Women Cashiers
THE TRIPOLI POST: A conservative Saudi cleric was told to stop giving unauthorized edicts after he called for a boycott of a supermarket chain that employs women as cashiers, the office of the kingdom's most senior religious leader said Thursday.

The move is the first public reprimand of a prominent cleric following a royal decree that limits the issuance of fatwas to the country's most senior group of clerics. Fatwas are religious edicts that provide guidance in matters of everyday life to pious Muslims.

Sheik Youssef al-Ahmed had urged people not to shop at Panda Supermarket because women there work in jobs that allow for the mingling of the sexes, which the cleric said was a violation of Islamic law.

Saudi media reported that al-Ahmed's fatwa forced the supermarket management to reassign 11 of its women employees to other positions on Wednesday. The chain could not be reached for comment.

Grand Mufti Sheik Abdul-Aziz Al Sheik's office said Thursday he had summoned al-Ahmed and ordered the cleric to refrain from issuing unauthorized fatwas.

The office said it "received a pledge from al-Ahmed not to issue any fatwas" without approval. >>> | Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Gaddafi: Europe Will 'Turn Black' Unless EU Pays Libya £4bn a Year
THE TELEGRAPH: Col Muammar Gaddafi has warned that Europe runs the risk of turning "black" unless the EU pays Libya at least €5 billion (£4.1 billion) a year to block the arrival of illegal immigrants from Africa.

Muammar Gaddafi returns to Tripoli after his controversial visit to Italy. Photo: The Telegraph
His remarks, made during a controversial three day visit to Italy, were condemned as "unacceptable blackmail" by Italian MPs, who likened the demand to the protection money that mafia gangs demand from businesses.

Speaking at a ceremony in Rome while standing next to Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's prime minister, Col Gaddafi, 67, said that unless his request for money was met, Europe would otherwise become "another Africa" as a result of the "advance of millions of immigrants".

"Tomorrow Europe might no longer be European and even black as there are millions who want to come in," he said.

"We don't know if Europe will remain an advanced and united continent or if it will be destroyed, as happened with the barbarian invasions". >>> Nick Squires in Rome | Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Related here

Republicans Take Largest Ever Midterm Lead
THE TELEGRAPH: Republicans have taken an unprecedented 10-point lead over the Democrats ahead of November’s midterm polls.

A poll by Gallup gave the current minority party its largest lead of the year and its largest midterm advantage since the company started such polling in 1942, with 51 per cent of US voters saying they would vote Republican and 41 per cent saying they would vote for the Democratic Party.

Gallup, whose poll has previously served as an accurate guide to voter intentions, said the result “suggests the potential for a major 'wave’ election in which the Republicans gain a large number of seats and in the process take back control of the House”. >>> Alex Spillius, Washington | Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Barack Obama Has Bowed Before the UN Over Arizona Immigration Law
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – NILE GARDINER: There can be few sights more humiliating for the American people than that of a US president kowtowing to a foreign leader or to supranational institutions. Continental Europeans are used to this sort of thing after decades of dominance by unelected bureaucrats in Brussels, and have grudgingly accepted over time the gradual and undemocratic erosion of their freedoms. But most Americans fiercely defend their national sovereignty, and find the idea of giving international organisations a say over their laws and lives completely unacceptable.

The Obama administration however has submitted a report to the UN Commissioner on Human Rights, South African judge Navanethem Pillay, which makes direct reference to a popular Arizona immigration law aimed at tackling illegal immigration, which is fiercely opposed by the White House, and is the subject of legal action by the Justice Department. The report references

A recent Arizona law, S.B. 1070, (which) has generated significant attention and debate at home and around the world. The issue is being addressed in a court action that argues that the federal government has the authority to set and enforce immigration law. That action is ongoing; parts of the law are currently enjoined.

The highly controversial reference to the Arizona law serves only one purpose – to gain UN and international support for the Obama administration’s position in the face of mounting opposition from Arizona legislators and a majority of the American people. A recent Rasmussen poll showed 61 percent of Americans backing Arizona-style laws for their own states, and just 28 percent supporting a Justice Department challenge.

By doing so, Obama officials undoubtedly hope to stir up international condemnation of the Arizona policy in advance of the UN General Assembly meetings in September, which they believe will increase pressure on Arizona to back down. It is a highly cynical move that speaks volumes about the Obama team’s willingness to undercut American sovereignty and popular will on the world stage. Continue reading and comment >>> Nile Gardiner | Tuesday, August 31, 2010

State Department Defends Human Rights Report
FOX NEWS: P.J. Crowley on why Arizona immigration law was singled out in new report to U.N. commission singles out

Provokatives Buch
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: «Deutschland schafft sich ab» lautet der Titel des umstrittenen Werks von Autor und ehemaligem SPD-Politiker Thilo Sarrazin. Viele bezeichnen das Buch als rassistisch, weil es stossende Thesen gegen Immigranten propagiert.

Gaddafi Causes Storm in Italy After Trying to Convert Young Women to Islam
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, left, shakes hands with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Photograph: The Sydney Morning Herald
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's invitation to hundreds of young women to convert to Islam overshadowed a two-day visit to Italy intended to cement the growing ties between Tripoli and Rome.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi hailed Italy's relationship with Libya at an evening ceremony on Monday attended by some of the biggest names in Italian business, many hoping to pick up lucrative contracts in the energy-rich North African state.

Gaddafi called on the European Union to provide five billion euro ($7.1 billion) a year to help fight illegal immigration.

However, the mercurial leader attracted most attention earlier in the day by summoning busloads of young women hired by a hostessing agency to a meeting at a Libyan cultural centre near the Vatican and urging them to convert to Islam.

Media reports said three women had converted, although it was not possible to verify if that was true.

"It was very interesting, the role of the woman in Libya was very interesting," Barbara Persichetti, one of the women who attended, told Reuters Television.

The event, which repeated a similar operation on a previous visit to Rome last year, led to criticism from the media and opposition and embarrassment from many in Berlusconi's own centre-right camp.

"What would happen if a European head of state went to Libya or another Islamic country and invited everyone to convert to Christianity?" asked the newspaper Il Messagero. "We believe it would provoke very strong reactions across the Islamic world."

Several commentators accused Berlusconi of sacrificing principles and dignity for the sake of trade and investment ties with Libya, whose huge sovereign wealth fund has invested heavily in Italy in recent years.

"Ever since Gaddafi arrived here, he's been taking this country for a ride, like buying women," said Stefano Pedica, a senator from the opposition Italy of Values party. ”Outdated Ideas” >>> Reuters | Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Related material here, here, here, and here