FOX NEWS: Iran reportedly planning to try two American hikers in November
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
THE INDEPENDENT: President Sarkozy vows to crush petrol blockades crippling country
France teetered on the edge of a complex and multi-layered crisis yesterday as petrol shortages worsened and violence by disaffected suburban youths spread and intensified.
Around 3.5 million people, according to unions – about the same or marginally fewer than last week – joined marches around the country to protest against President Nicolas Sarkozy's plans to raise the retirement age to 62. One-day strikes in the public sector disrupted rail and air services but were patchily observed by workers in other sectors.
The sense of crisis threatening the country came not from these "official" protests but from spreading blockages of schools and universities by students and by continuing strikes at oil refineries and the picketing of fuel distribution depots by hardline union branches.
Mr Sarkozy promised rapid action to lift the fuel blockages as the government admitted that 4,000 – almost one in three – petrol stations were "waiting for supplies" (in other words empty).
The Prime Minister, François Fillon, said that "no one has a right to take an entire country hostage" and promised emergency action to restore petrol supplies to normal within five days. Potentially even more seriously, there was a second day of violent clashes between police and hooded youths in Lyon, in Nanterre, west of Paris, and in a score of other towns and suburbs. In Lyon, 200 youths – apparently unconnected to any pension protest – rampaged down the city's main shopping street, burning and overturning cars and looting and smashing shops. Read on and comment >>> John Lichfield in Paris | Wednesday, October 20, 2010
MAIL ONLINE: Prince Saud faces the death penalty over his gay sex life if he ever returns to his home country and may have to apply for asylum when he is eventually released.
His lawyers failed in a last-ditch attempt to stop sordid details of his encounters with male escorts being revealed during the trial.
John Kelsey-Fry QC, defending, said Al Saud had already faced abuse from Islamic fundamentalists being held alongside him at Belmarsh prison.
The court heard that homosexuality remains a capital offence in Saudi Arabia, with the country in which the acts take place having little relevance to the prosecution, under the country's sharia law code.
Families of those accused have been known to push for the most severe penalties because of the perceived shame caused to them by homosexuality.
Saudi nationals have been granted asylum in the UK on the basis they were gay.
Mr Kelsey-Fry had unsuccessfully argued before the trial started to exclude evidence of the gay relationship from the evidence put before the jury.
In a sign of the anxiety about his sexuality becoming public, the prince's lawyers had even initially argued that this legal argument should be held behind closed doors.
He added: 'There have been difficulties in Belmarsh prison already whereby there are Islamists - Islamic fundamentalists - who have already caused difficulties with this defendant.'
Jonathan Laidlaw QC, prosecuting, said that while the defendant might be 'anxious' about this evidence about him, he would not be returning to his home country 'for some time'.
'He knows as he has no doubt been advised that if the time arises that a return to Saudi Arabia is contemplated and there is then a real risk to him suffering, he will be entitled to apply for asylum.' [Source: Mail Online] | Daily Mail Reporter | Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Minimum of twenty years in jail for sadistic, cruel gay Saudi prince >>>
THE GUARDIAN: Saudi prince jailed for life for murdering servant: Brutal death at five-star London hotel was culmination of 'sadistic' abuse for which 'no one is above the law', rules judge >>> Sam Jones and agencies | Wednesday, October 20, 2010
THE INDEPENDENT: Life term for Saudi prince who murdered servant: A Saudi prince who used his servant as a "human punchbag" was jailed for life today for beating and strangling him to death. >>> PA | Wednesday, October 20, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: A Saudi Arabian prince could never be seen to be homosexual in a country where it is punishable by death.
Ostensibly in a relationship with a woman, Prince Saud bin Abdulaziz bin Nasir al Saud portrayed himself as an upstanding member of the House of Saud. A grandson of King Abdullah, he tended to his royal duties alongside his father, Prince Abdulaziz.
However, when released to go travelling for three months with his manservant Bandula Abdulaziz, Saud was free to embrace a more “effeminate” way of life.
Described as a combination of Nigel Havers and Omar Sharif, he made little secret of the fact he and his aide were sharing a bed in their room at the five-star Landmark hotel in London. Rarely out of each other’s sight, they routinely shopped in Selfridges, Harrods and Harvey Nichols, where on one occasion they spent just eight minutes and bought a £2,005 dress. For whom this was intended was not clear.
The language used by hotel staff to describe the prince was strikingly similar – “effeminate”, “giggling”, “very camp”. Shamsul Arafin, a waiter who delivered him room service, said: “By his gestures and postures, he seemed to be gay.” >>> Caroline Gammell | Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Related here
THE TELEGRAPH: The American military has been told to begin admitting openly gay troops to their ranks for the first time in 17 years.
The Pentagon announced on Tuesday that military recruiters must accept applications from gays and lesbians, following a ruling by a federal judge that a law banning them was unconstitutional.
Judge Virginia Phillips said that the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law breached gay troops' right to freedom of expression and to proper legal process, and ordered last week that it be lifted immediately.
She is expected later on Tuesday to reject a request from the US government to stay, or postpone, her ruling while the administration prepares an appeal against it.
Earlier in the day a Pentagon spokesman confirmed that in the mean time it had ordered officers to begin complying with the ruling.
"Recruiters have been given guidance, and they will process applications for applicants who admit they are openly gay or lesbian," the spokesman said.
However, troops were warned that disclosing that they were gay could have repercussions if the government's appeal against the ruling is ultimately successful. Read on and comment >>> Jon Swaine in New York | Tuesday, October 19, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: US military accepts openly gay recruits: 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy suffers another blow, but activists still warn applicants not to reveal sexuality >>> Paul Harris in New York | Wednesday, October 20, 2010
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: Geert Wilders' defence lawyer told a court in Amsterdam on Tuesday that his client had been denied a fair trial. The Freedom party leader faces charges of inciting hatred, discrimination against minorities and insulting Muslims.
Last year an appeal court ordered the Public Prosecutor's office to press charges, despite its belief that the MP was protected by the right to free speech. >>> | Tuesday, October 19, 2010
AFP: THE HAGUE — A defence lawyer rejected accusations of hate speech and xenophobia against Dutch anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders on Tuesday, urging judges not to "shoot the messenger".
"In his eyes, Islam is a totalitarian ideology," the politician's lawyer Bram Moszkowicz told judges of the Amsterdam district court on the first day of defence pleadings broadcast live via the Internet.
"He is trying to prevent violence from being committed with the Koran in hand," the lawyer said, adding: "Don't shoot the messenger." >>> AFP | Tuesday, October 19, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Evidence from India shows two Britons, part of a new generation of jihad, were ready to back Danish attacks
A British al-Qaida sympathiser living in Derby volunteered last year to help with a terrorist attack on targets in Denmark including the offices of the newspaper that published cartoons of the prophet Muhammad, secret documents obtained by the Guardian reveal. A second British man is alleged to have handed over cash for the plot.
The two men were visited in August 2009 by David Headley, an extremist born in Pakistan but raised in the US, where he is now in custody. Headley, who was arrested two months later, was working for Ilyas Kashmiri, a senior Pakistani militant with links to al-Qaida.
Kashmiri, whom al-Qaida leadership figures have named as part of Osama bin Laden's group, told Headley to focus on a plan to attack the offices of the Danish Jyllands-Posten newspaper, which had published controversial cartoons of the prophet in 2005. He gave Headley $1500 (£954) to finance a surveillance trip. More general attacks in Denmark were also discussed. Headley said he understood that they might involve suicide bombings. >>> Jason Burke in Delhi | Tuesday, October 19, 2010
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: RETRAITES | La mobilisation des jeunes se poursuit en France, malgré les arrestations des casseurs. Les perturbations de trafic et le manque de carburant perdure, mais certains entrepôts ont été débloqués.
Les forces de l’ordre ont entrepris dans la nuit de débloquer trois dépôts de carburant bloqués par des opposants à la réforme des retraites, contre laquelle les jeunes veulent rester mobilisés mercredi malgré de nouvelles violences de casseurs la veille.
Quelques heures après la promesse du Premier ministre François Fillon de ramener à la "normale" la situation dans les stations-service en "quatre à cinq jours", les forces de l’ordre sont intervenues dans les dépôts de La Rochelle, du Mans et de Donges, en Loire-Atlantique. Mais des manifestants ont commencé dans la matinée à bloquer celui de Port-de-Bouc dans les Bouches-du-Rhône.
"Nous continuerons à débloquer autant que nécessaire les dépôts", a prévenu mercredi matin le ministre de l’Intérieur Brice Hortefeux, deux jours après l’activation de la cellule interministérielle de crise qu’il préside. >>> AFP | Mercredi 20 Octobre 2010
NZZ: Frankreichs Regierung kämpft gegen Benzinknappheit: Polizei löst Blockaden von Treibstoffdepots auf >>> afp | Mittwoch, 20. Oktober 2010
NZZ ONLINE: Der deutsche Bundespräsident Christian Wulff in der Türkei für den Schutz der dortigen christlichen Minderheit stark gemacht. «Das Christentum gehört zweifelsfrei zur Türkei», sagte Wulff in seiner Rede vor dem türkischen Parlament in Ankara.
«Muslime können in Deutschland ihren Glauben in würdigem Rahmen praktizieren. Die zunehmende Zahl der Moscheen zeugt hiervon», sagte Wulff, der in seiner Rede zu deutschen Einheit betont hatte, dass auch der Islam zu Deutschland gehört. «Gleichzeitig erwarten wir, dass Christen in islamischen Ländern das gleiche Recht haben, ihren Glauben öffentlich zu leben, theologischen Nachwuchs auszubilden und Kirchen zu bauen», fügte der Bundespräsident laut Redemanuskript hinzu.
In der Türkei habe auch das Christentum eine lange Tradition. «Ich höre mit grosser Begeisterung, dass in der Türkei Stimmen zu hören sind, die mehr Kirchen für Gottesdienste öffnen wollen. Zu dieser Entwicklung möchte ich Sie nachhaltig ermutigen», betonte Wulff, der als erstes deutsches Staatsoberhaupt eine Rede vor dem türkischen Parlament hielt. 99 Prozent der über 70 Millionen Türken sind Muslime, nur rund 100'000 bekennen sich zum christlichen Glauben. [Quelle: NZZ Online] | Dienstag, 19. Oktober 2010
NZZ ONLINE: Wulff stellt Seehofer ins Abseits: Wieder Spekulationen um Aufstieg Guttenbergs – Der deutsche Bundespräsident Wulff hat der These von CSU-Chef Seehofer von der mangelnden Integrationsfähigkeit von Türken widersprochen. Seehofer selbst ist wieder einmal Gegenstand von politischen Spekulationen. Verteidigungsminister Guttenberg könnte ihn als Parteichef ablösen. >>> srs. / (afp) | Dienstag, 19. Oktober 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: A Saudi prince, Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud, faces a life sentence for beating and strangling his servant to death in the culmination of a campaign of "sadistic" abuse.Saud was found guilty at the Old Bailey of murdering Bandar Abdulaziz in a "brutal" assault at their five-star hotel suite.
The prince was fuelled by champagne and 'sex on the beach' cocktails when he bit the 32-year-old hard on both cheeks during the attack in February.
They had just returned from a Valentine's Day night out when Saud launched the ferocious assault.
When he was arrested he at first wrongly believed he had diplomatic immunity but his special status as a Saudi royal could not save him from British justice.
The 34-year-old, a member of one of the world's richest and most powerful dynasties, was found guilty of murder today by the jury after just one hour and 35 minutes of deliberation.
Saud showed no reaction as the decision was announced.
The verdict means a lengthy jail term for the prince and the end to his luxury playboy lifestyle, funded by his wealthy family, in which he dined in fine restaurants and secretly entertained gay escorts in his plush hotel room.
In court his lawyers tried to cover up evidence of his homosexuality.
If he ever returns to his home country he faces the possibility of execution - not because of the killing but because being homosexual is a capital offence there.
The murder of Mr Abdulaziz was the final act in a "deeply abusive" master-servant relationship in which the prince carried out frequent attacks on his aide "for his own personal gratification". >>> | Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Related here
THE TELEGRAPH: Protesters are due to hit the streets in France en masse in the sixth such demonstration in two months against Nicolas Sarkozy's unpopular pension reforms.
Airport staff, bus and train drivers, teachers, postal workers and armoured truck drivers who stock cash machines will join refinery workers and others in a day of nationwide strikes against Mr Sarkozy's plan to raise the retirement age.
Fuel shortages will worsen as refinery strikes go into an eighth day, and the authorities will be alert for any escalation of sporadic violence on Monday in some cities, with small groups of troublemakers torching vehicles and scuffling with police.
A school in Le Mans, northwest France, burned down in the early hours of Tuesday after an apparent arson attack but it was unclear if the apparent arson attack was linked to the protests.
Michele Alliot-Marie, the justice minister, told Europe 1 radio the situation was not a crisis, but warned protesters that "the right to demonstrate does not mean the right to smash things up."
Tuesday's protests are a last-ditch challenge to the centre-right government before a final Senate vote this week on the pension bill, which the government says is vital to rein in a ballooning pension shortfall as the population ages. >>> | Tuesday, October 19, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: A parish in Kent is shifting allegiance to Rome and, with many more likely to follow, Anglicanism is feeling the strain. Tim Ross reports.
Shortly after eight o'clock one spring morning in 2007, an earthquake struck the parish church of St Peter in Folkestone, bringing down the gable-end of the south transept.
Three years later, the 19th-century church, which opened as a chapel for local fishermen, has caused tremors of its own, becoming the first parish in England to declare its intention to defect to Rome. Within hours of the news emerging last Friday, the Bishop of Fulham announced that he, too, will take up the Pope's offer to join a new structure within the Roman Catholic Church for disaffected Anglicans.
Some are now talking openly of an "exodus" from the Anglican Communion next year, with thousands following Folkestone's lead. The Archbishop of Canterbury, from whose back yard the revolt has sprung, can be in little doubt about the seriousness of the threat. >>> Tim Ross | Tuesday, October 19, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: If business leaders had to explain why they are worth their extravagant salaries, we might see an end to corrosive inequality
When an economy is booming, unjustifiable inequalities in pay can easily escape our attention. In these straitened times, with big cuts in public services about to hit the most vulnerable, it is time to look more carefully at how work is rewarded in our society. We need to realise that recognising the significance of incentives should not lead to acceptance of the daylight robbery that passes for executive compensation today. A good place to start is by looking at corporate governance.
The facts about income inequality in the UK are nothing less than mind-boggling. The average income of a FTSE 100 chief executive, according to the most recent Guardian survey of executive pay, is over £3m per year, including bonuses and pension contributions. This is more than 100 times median household income. It is not uncommon for CEOs to run 200 or 300 times as much as the median pay of their employees or, in the case of Terry Leahy's final year at Tesco, for a CEO to be paid 500 times the average take-home pay of his colleagues.
Moreover, executive pay continues to march relentlessly upwards, unconnected to skill, judgment or underlying profitability. While the FTSE lost a third of its value in the year to September 2009, executive pay rose 10% during the same period. According to the Work Foundation, the ratio of average CEO pay to average UK earnings rose from 10:1 in 1980 to 75:1 in 2006 (and has continued to grow since). In short, the gains of economic growth are becoming increasingly concentrated in a small number of hands, while the wages of ordinary people have stagnated.
Should we care? New Labour's answer, famously encapsulated by Peter Mandelson, is that we should be "intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich". Looking at runaway top-pay with a clear eye on its social and political consequences, Mandelson's claim looks as short-sighted as it is wrong-headed. Read on and comment >>> Martin O’Neill | Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Whatever happened to conscience? No responsible chief executive would feel good about siphoning off the cream for himself and leaving the worker bees with the crumbs. But these days, it seems that 'responsible' and 'CEO' are mutually exclusive concepts.
Taken to the extreme, this situation could eventually lead to revolution. History shows this to be so. Revolutions occur where extreme wealth and extreme poverty collide. The British are very complacent people, especially by comparison with the French, who have currently taken to the streets. But even a worm will turn. The élite shouldn't push their luck. – © Mark
This comment also appeared here
THE TELEGRAPH: Iran has demonstrated its hold over the future of Iraqi politics, telling Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, to "get rid of America" as he arrived to ask Tehran's blessing for a second term in office.Mr Maliki, who is on a tour of Middle Eastern capitals to drum up support for his bid to stay in power, had an audience with Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Two weeks ago, the Iranian leadership negotiated backing for Mr Maliki from the militant Shia grouping, the Sadrists, who had previously been deeply opposed to his candidacy.
"The Iraqi nation is vigilant and aggressors cannot dominate this country again," Mr Khamenei told Mr Maliki, according to a statement put out by his office. "May God get rid of America in Iraq so that its people's problems are solved."
Mr Khamenei's aggressive stance, while seeming to give his blessing to Mr Maliki, whose secular Shia State of Law party came a close second in Iraqi elections in March, will alarm the Americans.
They already face losing their influence after their troops pull out of Iraq next year – an outcome that would once have been unthinkable after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and the loss of so many American lives.
Now they risk seeing the creation of a government brokered by their greatest rivals in the region.
Iran has not overtly backed Mr Maliki, but officials on Monday said he would be a "suitable" choice. >>> Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Monday, October 18, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
WELT ONLINE: Falls die Regierung Forderungen des Islamgegners Wilders umsetze, werde das Land "Ziel einer Dschihadisten-Gruppe", so ein Taliban-Sprecher.Ein Anführer der afghanischen Taliban hat einem Zeitungsbericht zufolge die Niederlande vor einem Anschlag gewarnt, sollte die neue Regierung Forderungen des Islamgegners Geert Wilders umsetzen. „Wenn die Niederlande ihre Anti-Islam-Politik beibehalten oder intensivieren, werden sie mit Sicherheit das Ziel einer Dschihadisten-Gruppe werden“, zitierte die Tageszeitung „Volkskrant“ Sabjullah Mudschahed, der offizieller Sprecher der Taliban für Ost- und Nordafghanistan sein soll.
Wenn Wilders erfolgreich das niederländische Parlament „so manipuliert, dass es mehr Anti-Islam-Gesetze verabschiedet, gibt es keinen Zweifel, dass Muslime aus anderen Ländern aktiv werden, um ihren muslimischen Brüdern und Schwestern zu helfen“, sagte Mudschahed demnach weiter. >>> AFP/dpa/Reuters/cn | Montag, 18. Oktober, 2010
DAILY TIMES: Taliban warn Dutch against adopting anti-Islam agenda >>> Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)