William Hague Urges Iran to Spare Life of Pastor Facing Execution

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: William Hague has urged Iran to spare the life of a pastor reportedly facing execution for refusing to recant his Christian faith and return to Islam.

Youcef Nadarkhani, 34, a member of the Protestant evangelical Church of Iran, was arrested in 2009 for apostasy and he was sentenced to death last year.

The father of two held services in "home churches" in Rasht, a town about 150 miles north west of Tehran.

Reports suggest that an Iranian court gave Pastor Nadarkhani a third chance to avoid hanging, but he replied: "I am resolute in my faith and Christianity and have no wish to recant." » | Thursday, September 29, 2011

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: White House condemns Iran over Christan pastor facing execution: The United States has condemned Iran over plans to execute a pastor who refused to renounce Christianity for Islam and called for his sentence to be overturned. » | Thursday, September 29, 2011

Tony Blair's Job in Jeopardy as Palestinians Accuse Him of Bias

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Tony Blair's future as Middle East peace envoy was in jeopardy after the Palestinian Authority said it was set to sever all contact with him because of his "bias" towards Israel.

The senior echelons of the Palestine Liberation Organisation are expected to meet in the coming days to discuss a proposal to declare Mr Blair persona non grata, officials said.

Predicting unanimous support for the motion from the entire Palestinian leadership, they said the intention was to isolate the former prime minister to such an extent that his position would become untenable.

Mr Blair has been viewed with an element of distrust by some Palestinians ever since his appointment as the envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East – the mediating body comprising the United States, the EU, the UN and Russia – on the day he left Downing Street in June 2007.

But antagonism has mounted over allegations that he lobbied European powers to vote against a Palestinian bid for statehood submitted to the United Nations in New York last week. "We have been extremely unhappy and dissatisfied with Mr Blair's performance since he became envoy, but particularly in the past few weeks," a senior Palestinian official said.

No formal request for Mr Blair's dismissal has been made to the Quartet, and it is likely the Palestinians will come under intense US and European pressure to change course and desist from making a public pronouncement on his ostracism. » | Adrian Blomfield, Jerusalem | Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The World from Berlin: Obama's Euro-Crisis Lecture Is 'Pitiful and Sad'

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: US President Obama has given the Europeans a harsh lecture on the dangers of their ongoing debt crisis. Offended by the unsolicited advice, Europeans have suggested the US get its own house in order first. Obama's remarks were "arrogant" and "absurd," German commentators say on Wednesday.

Europeans are well aware of the seriousness of their ongoing debt crisis. But they don't, it seems, like to receive lectures from other countries -- especially the United States, which is struggling to deal with its own mountain of debt.

On Tuesday, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble curtly rejected recent American criticism of Europe's approach to solving its debt crisis. "I don't think Europe's problems are America's only problems," said Schäuble, who has become increasingly sharp-tongued as the euro crisis deepens. "It's always easier to give other people advice."

Schäuble was referring to strongly worded comments made by US President Barack Obama and US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in recent days. At an event in California on Monday, Obama warned Europeans that their inaction was "scaring the world." The Europeans, he said, "have not fully healed from the crisis back in 2007 and never fully dealt with all the challenges that their banking system faced. It's now being compounded by what's happening in Greece." He continued: "They're going through a financial crisis that is scaring the world, and they're trying to take responsible actions, but those actions haven't been quite as quick as they need to be." » | Kristen Allen and David Gordon Smith | Wednesday, September 28, 2011

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Return of the Islamists: A Questionable Form of Freedom for North Africa

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: The autocrats are gone, but who will inherit power in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt? Islamist influence is significant across the region and conservative political groups are flexing their muscles. The coming months will determine just how much democracy North Africa can support.

Ammunition crates, now empty in the wake of recent heavy fighting, are stacked outside the military barracks at the Tripoli airport. One of the victors, wearing military fatigues, is sitting in a luxurious leather armchair inside the building. He presses his combat boots into the thick carpet, his facial features as rigid as if they had been sculpted. The man speaks intently. He wants to make sure that each of his sentences is recorded on video, and that nothing is misunderstood.

For years, American and British intelligence agencies hunted Abdel Hakim Belhaj, the commander of the Libyan rebels' Tripoli brigade, believing him to be a terrorist and ally of then al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. They also reportedly had him abducted, which led to his being tortured with syringes and ice-cold water. Now though, the West and many in Libya are paying close attention, and are listening to his every word.

"In reality, our group had nothing to do with al-Qaida at the time," says Belhaj, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan and the former head of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), which, persecuted by the regime of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, took refuge in Afghanistan for years. Belhaj, the battle-hardened Islamist, is now the commander of all rebel troops in the Libyan capital.

His men drive around in their pickups, outfitted with automatic weapons while the civilian heads of the rebellion seek to map out a path for their country's future. Belhaj says that the power lies "in the hands of the Libyan people," and that Libyans can now decide democratically how they wish to live their lives. "We want a secular country," he adds. But many Libyans don't believe a word the Islamist is saying. » | Clemens Höges and Thilo Thielke | Wednesday, September 28, 2011

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Arabie: le roi annule la condamnation d’une Saoudienne qui a pris le volant
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le roi Abdallah a annulé la condamnation d’une Saoudienne à dix coups de fouet pour avoir bravé l’interdiction faite aux femmes de conduire dans le royaume ultra-conservateur saoudien, a indiqué mercredi une princesse saoudienne.

Le roi Abdallah a annulé la condamnation d’une Saoudienne à dix coups de fouet pour avoir bravé l’interdiction faite aux femmes de conduire dans le royaume ultraconservateur saoudien, a indiqué mercredi une princesse saoudienne.

"Dieu merci, la flagellation de Sheima a été annulée. Merci à notre roi bien-aimé. Je suis sûre que toutes les femmes saoudiennes seront heureuses, je sais que je le suis", a annoncé sur Twitter la princesse Amira Tawil, épouse d’un neveu du roi et richissime homme d’affaires Walid ben Talal.
L’annulation de la condamnation a été confirmée par une source informée à Ryad. » | AFP | Mercredi 28 Septembre 2011

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THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Saudi king saves woman driver from 10 lashes: Saudi King Abdullah has overturned a court verdict that sentenced a Saudi woman to be lashed 10 times for defying the kingdom's ban on women driving. » | Thursday, September 29, 2011

Libye : les anti-Kadhafi veulent que l'Otan intensifie ses frappes
LE POINT: Les combattants du nouveau régime espèrent prendre le dessus à Syrte et à Bani Walid.

Dans la vaste oasis de Bani Walid, à 170 kilomètres au sud de Tripoli, les forces des nouvelles autorités se préparaient à lancer une nouvelle offensive au lendemain d'accrochages qui ont fait onze morts dans leurs rangs. Parmi les victimes figure un commandant anti-Kadhafi, tué dans la nuit de mardi à mercredi. » | Source AFP | Mercredi 28 Septembre 2011

Al-Qaeda Warns Ahmadinejad to Stop Denying 9/11
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Al-Qaeda has joined America in warning Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad against spreading September 11 conspiracy theories.

In a curious case of enemies uniting against a common foe, the Yemen-based compiler of the terrorist organisation's Inspire magazine wrote that President Ahmadinejad had appeared "ridiculous" when he questioned the origins of the attack that killed almost 3,000 people.

"The Iranian government has professed on the tongue of its president Ahmadinejad that it does not believe that al Qaeda was behind 9/11 but rather, the US government," it said. "So we may ask the question: why would Iran ascribe to such a ridiculous belief that stands in the face of all logic and evidence?"

US diplomats led a Western walkout at the UN General Assembly meeting last week during President Ahmadinejad's speech when he suggested the Osama bin Laden was killed to cover up the events of September 11. » | Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Schweiz: Nationalrat beschließt Burkaverbot
DIE PRESSE: Gegen den Willen der Regierung wurde im Nationalrat ein Vermummungsverbot beschlossen, das auch das Tragen einer Burka in der Öffentlichkeit verbietet.

Der Nationalrat im Schweizer Parlament hat am Mittwoch gegen den Willen der Regierung ein Vermummungsverbot beschlossen, das auch das Tragen der islamischen Burka und ähnlicher Gesichtsschleier verbietet. 101 Abgeordnete des Nationalrats stimmten für den Antrag der nationalkonservativen Schweizerischen Volkspartei (SVP), 77 dagegen. Nun muss noch der Ständerat (Oberhaus) über das Verbot entscheiden. » | APA/AFP | Mittwoch 28. September 2011

Put Autumn On Hold – Summer's Finally Set to Arrive
THE INDEPENDENT: Put the porridge on hold. Leave the pullovers in the drawer. And if you're a pub landlord with a beer garden, throw it open. As October approaches, midsummer is returning.

Much of Britain is about to experience the best weather of the year, a sumptuous five-day interlude of cloudless skies and uninterrupted sunshine, with near-record temperatures for the season – and traders and businesses all over the country are preparing to cash in on a final open-air bonanza for 2011.

A large high-pressure system over the Continent is drawing a vast mass of hot dry air towards the British Isles from Southern Europe and even from North Africa, pushing temperatures up a full 10C above their seasonal norms.

From today, the hot weather will build up, and by Saturday, South-east England is likely to see highs of 28C (just under 83F) or possibly even exceeding that – threatening Britain's October record temperature of 29.4C, or 85F, which was set in Cambridge on 1 October 1985. » | Michael McCarthy and Charlie Cooper | Wednesday, September 28, 2011

EU 'Deplores’ Israel’s Approval of New Settlements

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The European Union has urged Israel to backtrack after it approved the building of more than a thousand new homes for settlers in East Jerusalem.

EU diplomacy chief Catherine Ashton on Tuesday “deplored” Israel’s approval of the 1,100 homes and urged the government to reverse its decision.

“Last Friday, the Quartet called on the Israelis and Palestinians to refrain from provocative actions if negotiations are to resume and be effective.”

“I therefore deplore today’s decision to advance settlement expansion in East Jerusalem with approximately 1000 new housing units in Gilo,” she said in a statement.
“I call on the Israeli authorities to reverse this plan.”

Earlier, Ashton told the European parliament that “settlement activity threatens the viability of an agreed two-state solution and runs contrary to the Israeli-stated commitment to resume negotiations”. Read on and comment » | Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Barroso's 2011 State of the European Union Speech - Highlights
Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, told the European Parliament on Wednesday delivered his 2011 State of the European Union speech in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: EC president Barroso urges deeper economic integration: The EU faces the “biggest crisis in its history” as it struggles to hold the eurozone together amid the sovereign debt crisis, Jose Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president has admitted. » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels Correspondent | Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Staatsanwalt zeigt toten Michael Jackson

Kadhafi se cacherait dans le sud de la Libye

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Selon certaines informations, Kadhafi se trouverait au sud-ouest de Sabha ou dans la région de Ghadamès.

Les nouvelles autorités libyennes soupçonnent Mouammar Kadhafi de se cacher près de Ghadamès, non loin de la frontière algérienne, affirme un responsable militaire du Conseil national de transition (CNT).

«Une tribu, les Touaregs, le soutient encore et on pense qu’il vit dans la région de Ghadamès, dans le Sud», a dit mardi soir à Reuters Hicham Bouhagiar, un haut responsable des forces du gouvernement intérimaire.

Le fils le plus en vue de Mouammar Kadhafi, Saïf al Islam, serait pour sa part à Bani Walid et son frère Moutassem serait à Syrte, a ajouté cet homme qui coordonne la traque de l’ancien dirigeant. «Ils pensent tous deux à quitter la Libye, peut-être pour le Niger», a dit M. Bouhagiar. Bani Walid et Syrte sont les deux derniers bastions des partisans de Mouammar Kadhafi et sont assiégées par les forces du CNT. » | ATS | Mercredi 28 Septembre 2011

Iranian Activist Narges Mohammadi Jailed for 11 Years

THE GUARDIAN: Deputy head of human rights organisation, who became ill after being detained by security officials, convicted by court in Tehran

A prominent Iranian human rights activist who was taken seriously ill after being detained by the authorities has been sentenced to 11 years in jail.

Narges Mohammadi, 39, the deputy head of Iran's Defenders of Human Rights Centre (DHRC), a rights organisation presided over by the Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi, was picked up last year by security officials who raided her house in middle of the night without a warrant for her arrest.

She was taken to Tehran's Evin prison where she was kept in solitary confinement but was released after a month and taken to hospital.

Mohammadi, a mother of two and winner of the 2009 Alexander Langer award for her human rights activities, has since developed an undiagnosed epilepsy-like disease which causes her to lose control over her muscles temporarily during the day.

It emerged on Tuesday that a court in Tehran has now convicted her on three charges: acting against the national security, membership of the DHRC and propaganda against the regime, for which she has received an 11-year sentence in total. » | Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Libyan Islamists Must Have Share in Power, Warns Leader

THE GUARDIAN: Abdul Hakim Belhaj, head of Tripoli Military Council, issues warning after administration negotiations founder

Libya's Islamist groups "will not allow" secular politicians to exclude or marginalise them in the intensifying battle for power in the post-Gaddafi era, the country's most powerful Islamist leader has said.

Abdel Hakim Belhaj, head of the Tripoli Military Council and founder of a jihadi group that was later disbanded, appears to be firing a shot across the bows of liberal, western-backed rivals after negotiations over broadening the rebel administration foundered.

"We must resist attempts by some Libyan politicians to exclude some of t
he participants in the revolution," Belhaj writes in the Guardian. "Their political myopia renders them unable to see the huge risks of such exclusion, or the serious ... reaction of the parties that are excluded." » | Ian Black in Tripoli | Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Russia's Former Finance Chief Attacks Kremlin Over Fake Democracy

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Russia's ex-finance minister dealt a fresh blow to the Kremlin on Tuesday, disclosing that it had asked him to lead a fake political party but that he had refused to take part in the deception.

Firing a parting shot at the Kremlin a day after he was unceremoniously forced out of his job for public dissent, Alexei Kudrin became the latest prominent insider to blow the whistle on Russia's democracy as Vladimir Putin prepares to controversially assume the presidency for a third time next year. Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia's third richest man, recently denounced the entire political system as a cynically state-managed sham, while former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has repeatedly warned that the country is heading for a revolution unless it undertakes serious reform. » | Andrew Osborn, Moscow | Tuesday, September 27, 2011

British Muslims Reviving Polygamy
THE AUSTRALIAN: A GROWING number of young British Muslims are taking second or third wives in an unexpected revival of polygamy, according to religious leaders.

The new wave of polygamy is revealed in a special report by the BBC Asian Network using findings from the Islamic Sharia Council.

The council, which provides legal advice and guidance to Muslims, said it was receiving an unprecedented number of inquiries about polygamous marriages.

Its most recent figures show that, for the first time, polygamy is now among the top ten reasons cited for divorce, as wives decide that they can no longer tolerate competing with one another.

Polygamy is illegal in Britain, but Muslim men can take a second, third or even a fourth wife under Sharia law in a religious ceremony known as the nikah [Wiki].

These wives are not recognised by British law, but are considered legitimate within many Muslim communities. Khola Hasan, lecturer and adviser to the Islamic Sharia Council, said it was clear that polygamy among the younger generation was on the increase.

"Out of 700 applications for divorce in 2010, 43 cited polygamy as the reason," she said.
Ms Hasan said her research uncovered three main reasons for the growth in polygamy. The first is the growing number of young Muslim men who want to practise a more orthodox and conservative form of the religion.

"Young men who have come into a more radical understanding of faith know it is illegal to marry more than once [under British law], but do it to spite the system," Ms Hasan said. » | • Rosemary Bennett | The Times | Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Ron Paul on Homosexuality
Presidential Candidate Ron Paul is interviewed on homosexuality by John Lofton of 'The American View'.

Saudi Woman to Be Lashed for Driving Car
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A Saudi woman has been sentenced to to 10 lashes for challenging a ban on women driving.

Amnesty International reported the sentence just two days after Saudi King Abdullah granted women the right to vote and run in municipal elections.

"Flogging is a cruel punishment in all circumstances but it beggars belief that the authorities in Saudi Arabia have imposed lashes on a woman apparently for merely driving a car", Philip Luther, an Amnesty regional deputy director, said in an emailed statement.

"Allowing women to vote in council elections is all well and good, but if they are still going to face being flogged for trying to exercise their right to freedom of movement, then the king's much trumpeted 'reforms' actually amount to very little," Mr Luther said. » | Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Obama Told 'You Wouldn't Treat Jews Like This' As He Orders Black Caucus to 'Stop Complaining'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A leading black congresswoman has criticised Barack Obama for telling the Congressional Black Caucus to "stop complaining".

Representative Maxine Waters of California claimed Mr Obama "never would say that" to Hispanic, gay or Jewish groups.

She took umbrage at Mr Obama's fiery weekend speech in which he told black members of Congress: "I expect all of you to march with me and press on. Take off your bedroom slippers, put on your marching shoes.

"Shake it off. Stop complaining, stop grumbling, stop crying. We are going to press on. We've got work to do, CBC."

Mrs Waters, a former CBC chairman, told CBS News that she found the comments "a bit curious" and "not appropriate". She said that she was "not sure exactly who the president was talking to" when he made the speech.

"The president spoke to the Hispanic Caucus – he certainly didn't tell them to stop complaining," she said. » | Toby Harnden, Washington | Tuesdaay, September 27, 2011