Female Blogger's Nude Photo Creates a Stir in Egypt

GLOBAL POST: Aliaa Elmahdy, a 20-year-old female activist in Egypt, posted a nude photo of herself on the internet

An Egyptian female activist sparked an intense online debate over the limits of personal expression in art this week, following the discovery of nude photos the woman took and posted to her blog.

Aliaa Elmahdy, a 20-year-old college student and self-described “secular liberal feminist,” posted two nude photos of herself on her blog, “A Rebel’s Diary,” last month. The young revolutionary's photos were apparently discovered earlier this week by a Twitter user, who called them "brave."

In one of the pics, Elmahdy is standing with her right foot perched one the bottom rung of a wooden stool. She is wearing lacy, thigh-high black stockings, red slippers - and nothing else.

The second photo is a three-part collage of the first, with yellow strips censoring out her crotch, mouth and eyes. » | Jon Jensen | Thursday, November 17, 2011

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Police Arrest Protesters On Occupy Wall Street March

THE INDEPENDENT: Hundreds of Occupy demonstrators marched through New York's financial district today in an attempt to block traders from reaching the New York Stock Exchange, promising a national day of action with mass gatherings in other cities.

The action came two days after authorities cleared their encampment that sparked the global protest movement against economic inequality and greed.

Frustrations seemed to spill over in the park at the center [sic] of the protest as hundreds of people shoved back the metal police barricades that have long surrounded the area. A live television shot from above showed waves of police and protesters briefly pushing back and forth before the barricades appeared to be settled at the edge of the park once more.

"All day, all week, shut down Wall Street!" the crowd chanted, clogging the streets as they neared the stock exchange.

Police said about 50 or 60 people were arrested, including several who sat on the ground one block from Wall Street and refusing to move.

Some of the police hit protesters as they resisted arrest. Most of the marchers retreated.

The protest did not delay the opening of the New York Stock Exchange or disrupt business, said Rich Adamonis, a spokesman for the exchange. » | Karen Matthews | Thursday, November 17, 2011

Judge Expresses Sympathy with Fortnum & Mason Protesters

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A judge sentencing a group of anti-cuts protesters who stormed Fortnum & Mason appeared to condone their actions yesterday when he told them “history often vindicates those involved in such acts”.

Ten demonstrators who occupied the luxury department store on London’s Piccadilly earlier this year were found guilty of aggravated trespass when they appeared before Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

But in sentencing them all to conditional discharges, District Judge Michael Snow expressed some sympathy with their actions telling them they were all united by a “common sense of decency”.

Declining to award the famous store compensation, the judge told the group: “Civil disobedience has a long and entirely peaceful history in this country.

“History often vindicates those involved in such acts. I've read a series of glowing references on behalf of every one of you. You are united by a common sense of decency.”

Fortnum & Mason, which has an illustrious 300-year history and is often referred to as the Queen’s grocer, was targeted by protestors on the day of a large TUC rally in March. » | Martin Evans | Thursday, November 17, 2011

Kuwait Security Crackdown after Crowd Storms Parliament
THE GUARDIAN: Emir denounces protest as threat to country's stability and calls for 'stricter measures to confront chaotic behaviour'


Kuwait's ruler has ordered the authorities to tighten security measures and make arrests if necessary after protesters stormed parliament in anger at claims of high-level corruption.

Dozens of protesters surged past police barricades on Wednesday and briefly entered the parliament chamber amid attempts by opposition MPs to bring the prime minister in for questioning over claims that officials transferred state funds to accounts abroad.

The emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, on Thursday denounced the protest as a threat to the country's "security and stability" and called for "stricter measures to confront this chaotic behaviour", according to a statement from government spokesman Ali Fahad al-Rashid. » | Associated Press | Thursday, November 17, 2011

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Merkel knutscht Sarkozy

Verwandt »

Assad unter Druck
n Teilen Syriens eskaliert der blutige Machtkampf. Zugleich steht das Land unter dem Assad-Regime international immer isolierter da. Die Arabische Liga droht mit harten Sanktionen und setzt Syrien eine Frist von drei Tagen, um die Gewalt zu beenden und Beobachter ins Land zu lassen.

Iran Fires Up Voters with Partial Lifting of Water Pipe Ban

THE GUARDIAN: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government reverses unpopular ban on smoking in tea houses - but only for men

Revoking a smoking ban may seem an unlikely way to boost election turnouts. But in Iran, authorities are hopeful that allowing the traditional hubble-bubble, or water pipes, back into tea houses could encourage reluctant voters to go to the polls.

The government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has signed into law a bill that removes tea houses from the list of places where smoking tobacco is prohibited, Iranian newspapers reported on Thursday.

The move comes only two weeks after Iran's court of administrative justice, a judicial body independent of the government, banned the smoking of all sorts of tobacco in traditional restaurants and tea houses. Iranians were allowed only to smoke certain types – perceived to be less dangerous – in the past.

Since Ahmadinejad first took the office in 2005, water pipes have intermittently been banned from, then allowed, in tea houses.

In his early years in power, Ahmadinejad came under pressure from conservatives to curb water pipe smoking, which had become a popular pastime for the young people but was seen as culturally decadent by the regime, despite being an integral part of the Persian culture for centuries. A smoking ban was eventually passed in October 2006 but was lifted later to allow certain kinds of tobacco. » | Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Thursday, November 17, 2011

Silvio Berlusconi Releases CD of Love Songs
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Just days after he stepped down as Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi is preparing to release his latest CD of love songs.


The billionaire businessman, who as a student crooned on cruise ships in the Mediterranean, spent two years writing the lyrics for the album, called 'True Love'.

The 11 songs he penned are sung by Mariano Apicella, a Neapolitan ballad singer who has collaborated with the former prime minister on similar albums in the past. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Thursday, November 17, 2011

Vatican to Take Legal Action against Benetton

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Vatican announced on Thursday that it will take legal action over an advertising campaign by Benetton which showed Pope Benedict XVI kissing a Muslim imam.

The Holy See said it wanted the offensive image removed from magazines, newspapers, websites and Benetton shops around the world, saying it was in extremely poor taste.

The image shows the Pope kissing the lips of Ahmed el Tayyeb, the imam of the Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo and a leading authority of Sunni Islam.

A statement from the Vatican said it would instruct its lawyers “to take action in Italy and abroad to prevent the circulation in the mass-media and elsewhere of the photo montage produced as part of Benetton’s publicity campaign.”

The image was insulting “not only to the dignity of the Pope but also to the sensibilities of the faithful”, the Vatican said.

The legal threat came despite the fact that Benetton, which is based in Treviso in northern Italy, announced that it would withdraw the image following the furore. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Thursday, November 17, 2011

Related »

LE PARISIEN: EN IMAGES. Benetton, la campagne polémique » | mercredi 16 novembre 2011

White House Shooting Suspect 'Had Obsession with Barack Obama'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A man clad in black who was obsessed with President Barack Obama pulled his car within view of the White House at night and fired shots from an assault rifle, authorities said.

The U.S. Secret Service found two bullets had hit the White House and agents caught up with Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez in Pennsylvania on Wednesday after a four-day search.

Police arrested the 21-year-old Idaho man at a hotel after a desk clerk recognised his picture. Ortega was scheduled to make his first appearance at 2pm on Thursday in a federal court in Pittsburgh and many questions remained about his motive and background.

The White House declined to comment on the unfolding events.

Authorities are investigating the man's mental health and say there are indications he believed attacking the White House was part of a personal mission from God, according to a law enforcement official who spoke with The Associated Press.

There are also indications the man had become obsessed with Obama and the White House, according to two officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. » | Thursday, November 17, 2011

En Arabie saoudite, une féministe chez les Saoud

LE MONDE – LE MAGAZINE: EN COULISSES – La princesse saoudienne Amira plaide la cause des femmes dans son pays. Un engagement à portée limitée même si le roi vient de leur donner le droit de voter aux élections municipales.

Naguère, les princesses dispensaient leurs bienfaits par le biais de sociétés de charité, aujourd'hui, elles accèdent au ministère de la parole grâce à Twitter. L'Arabie saoudite s'est trouvé une égérie en la personne de la quatrième épouse du richissime prince Al-Walid Ben Talal Ben Abdelaziz Al-Saoud, Amira. Née en Arabie saoudite, diplômée en droit des affaires d'une université du Connecticut, cette princesse de 27 ans, très médiatisée, a été la première à se féliciter, sur Twitter, de l'annulation en septembre par le roi Abdallah d'une peine de dix coups de fouet prononcée à l'encontre d'une Saoudienne. Sa faute : avoir pris le volant dans un pays où une fatwa interdit aux femmes de conduire. … » | Gilles Paris | sans date

US Will Shift Focus from Middle East to Asia Pacific, Barack Obama Declares
Barack Obama has pledged to expand America's military in the Asia Pacific as a "top priority" as he declared the US intends to shift its focus from the Middle East.

Read the article and comment here | Jonathan Pearlman in Canberra | Thursday, November 17, 2011
My comment:

This declaration sounds like a provocation to China to me. It sounds like sabre-rattling. Further, where is broke America going to get the money from? – © Mark

This comment also appears here.

Syria Is 'Like a Civil War'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Russia called for all sides in Syria’s growing civil war to lay down their arms as they compared the situation a "civil war".

Residents claimed 20 people died in a rebel attack on an air force intelligence base on the outskirts of Damascus.

“This is already completely similar to real civil war,” Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said. He urged “all states” to demand that not only the government but also the opposition to halt the violence and begin talks.

Russia, along with China, has vetoed further international sanctions against their long-term strategic ally at the United Nations. But both are growing increasingly alarmed that in the absence of any foreign intervention the situation is spiralling out of control anyway. » | Richard Spencer, Adrian Blomfield and Alex Spillius | Thursday, November 17, 2011

Kuwait Opposition Protesters Disrupt Parliament

THE GUARDIAN: Dozens of Kuwaiti protesters storm parliament, with more demonstrating outside, demanding the prime minister step down

Dozens of anti-government protesters stormed into Kuwait's parliament during a debate over efforts to question the prime minister about corruption allegations.

Local media reported the demonstrators briefly chanted before being forced out as hundreds of others protested outside on Wednesday evening, prompting opposition lawmakers to warn of a political crisis.

Opposition parliament members have sought to question the prime minister Sheik Nasser Al Mohammad Al Sabah over claims that government officials illegally transferred money to accounts outside the Gulf country. Last month, Kuwait's foreign minister resigned as the scandal grew.

Pro-government lawmakers managed to vote down a request for the questioning, but opposition groups filed another motion to force another debate later this month.

Kuwait's affairs are run by the ruling Al Sabah family, but it has one of the region's most politically active parliaments. » | Associated Press | Thursday, November 17, 2011

Camerons Berlin-Besuch: Deutschlands Dominanz, Britanniens Angst

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Der Auftakt zum Berlin-Besuch von David Cameron am Freitag verläuft denkbar schlecht: Volker Kauders Spruch, in Europa werde nun Deutsch gesprochen, sorgt für Protest in Großbritannien. London fürchtet eine Zwei-Klassen-EU. Nun muss Kanzlerin Merkel die Wogen glätten - sie braucht die Briten noch.

Der Satz war eine Steilvorlage für die Euro-Skeptiker auf der Insel. "Jetzt auf einmal wird in Europa Deutsch gesprochen", hatte Unionsfraktionschef Volker Kauder auf dem CDU-Parteitag in Leipzig gesagt. Das Zitat wurde am Mittwoch von den britischen Zeitungen begierig aufgegriffen, bestätigt es doch alte Vorurteile über den deutschen Machtanspruch.

"Europa spricht jetzt Deutsch!", titelte die Boulevardzeitung "Daily Mail" mit dickem Ausrufezeichen und schob empört hinterher: "UndGroßbritannien soll sich einreihen". Das, so der Tenor in sämtlichen konservativen Blättern, werde selbstverständlich nie passieren. Stattdessen, so die Forderung der Euro-Skeptiker, müsse die Euro-Krise genutzt werden, um sich aus der EU zu "befreien".

Die Kauder-Kontroverse ist das jüngste Indiz für die wachsende Kluft zwischen Berlin und London. Auf britischer Seite befeuerte am Mittwoch Wirtschaftsminister Vince Cable den Streit. Es ging um die Finanztransaktionssteuer. Die von Deutschland geforderte Abgabe auf Geldgeschäfte bezeichnete er als "völlig ungerechtfertigt". Wiederum Kauder hatte die britische Blockade zuvor als verantwortungslos beschimpft. » | Von Carsten Volkery, London | Mittwoch 16. November 2011

German Neo-Nazis Had Hit List of 88 Political Targets
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A German neo-Nazi terrorist group responsible for a spree of murders and bombings across Germany had a hit list of 88 possible targets including prominent politicians.

Investigators said they had found the list as they probed the brutal world of the self-styled National Socialist Underground, a gang believed to have shot dead nine men of immigrant background and a policewoman.

The gang's end only came this month after a failed bank robbery led to two of its three members committing suicide and the survivor handing herself into the police after destroying their hideout in the east German town of Zwickau.

Along with politicians the names of leaders from Germany's large Turkish and Islamic communities were also found on the list.

The number 88 is apparently code for Adolf Hitler in neo-Nazi circles because the letter H is the eighth letter of the alphabet, and is code for 'Heil Hitler'.

As police tried to ascertain whether the three-person group was actively plotting to kill people on the list, those named reacted with shock.

"This is a dreadful feeling for me," Jerzy Montag, a leading Green politician from Munich told Spiegel Online. "The fact that the known members of the terror cell have been deactivated does not mean that this is over. If someone can think this up, then there could also be others."

Hans-Peter Uhl from the governing Christian Democrats also expressed his bewilderment at being listed by the gang.

"When I heard that my name was on the list, I was shocked," he said, adding that he was trying to work out why the group would target him. » | Matthew Day | Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Breastfeeding Is Slavery (But It Lets Men Off the Hook): Sarkozy Angers Mothers with 'Macho' Comments
MAIL ONLINE: It is a statement that is likely to raise the hackles of women everywhere.

In what many would consider to be a clumsy and insensitive move, Nicolas Sarkozy has publicly described breastfeeding as 'slavery'.

While most women would welcome their husband's sensitivity and discretion on such matters, Mr Sarkozy has spoken out about wife Carla Bruni's struggle to produce enough milk for their newborn baby.

The French president, 55, also said a mother's feeding 'freed men of blame' for not getting up at night to give the infant a bottle.

Former supermodel Ms Bruni, 44, gave birth to the couple's first child together - a girl named Giulia - four weeks ago.

It was the first child ever to be born to a president while in office in France.

Mr Sarkozy aired his views on breastfeeding while chatting to young mothers at a family benefits agency in south west France yesterday.

He said: 'Carla is feeding the baby. I think it's much better for protecting against allergies and illnesses.'But the woman, it's both a joy and a kind of slavery.

'However it does free men of blame because we don't have the problem of bottle-feeding. You don't have to get up at night, although out of solidarity, I do open one eye.'

The president added: 'But you know, she is worried about not having enough milk.' » | Deborah Arthurs | Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Proche-Orient: Mahmoud Abbas tend la main au Hamas

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: RÉCONCILIATION | Face aux incertitudes sur la demande d’adhésion à l’ONU d’un Etat de Palestine et au blocage des négociations avec Israël, le président palestinien cherche à se réconcilier avec le Hamas.

Le président palestinien rencontrera le chef du mouvement islamiste le 25 novembre au Caire pour tenter de faire redémarrer la difficile négociation avec le Hamas.

Mahmoud Abbas s’est engagé mercredi à «faire tous les efforts pour hâter la résolution des questions en suspens, en premier lieu les élections présidentielle, législatives et du Conseil national palestinien, et la formation d’un gouvernement d’indépendants pour organiser les élections».

«Quelles que soient les difficultés, nous ne renoncerons pas à notre droit à adhérer à l’ONU», en tant que membre à part entière, a- t-il insisté dans un discours pour le 7e anniversaire de la mort de son prédécesseur Yasser Arafat et le 23e anniversaire de la Déclaration d’indépendance. Il a fait état de consultations avec la direction palestinienne et les pays arabes. » | ATS/AFP | mercredi 16 novembre 2011

US Elections: Newt Gingrich Under Fire after Surge in Opinion Polls

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Newt Gingrich, the Republican presidential hopeful and former House Speaker, has come under attack for his controversial personal and financial affairs after enjoying a surge in the opinion polls.

Mr Gingrich, whose campaign was left for dead after his staff resigned en masse in June, has risen to second place behind Mitt Romney in a handful of national surveys, after support for Rick Perry and Herman Cain declined.

But he faced allegations yesterday that he was paid up to $1.8 million (£1.14 million) for advising Freddie Mac, the government-backed mortgage lender at the centre of the 2008 financial meltdown.

Meanwhile a leaflet detailing his infidelity and two divorces — which came as his wives were suffering from cancer and multiple sclerosis respectively — was circulating in Iowa, a crucial early-voting state.

Mr Gingrich was previously said to have received $300,000 (£190,000) for advising Freddie Mac in 2006, as the organisation lobbied Congressmen to not dismantle it.

In fact, Mr Gingrich received up to six times this figure, according to Bloomberg, and argued for it to expand lending to more risky borrowers — blamed by many economists for the financial crisis.

It later had to be bailed out with its sister agency Fannie Mae for $170 billion (£107 billion) following the US housing market collapse. » | Jon Swaine, Washington | Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Angst vor Unruhen: Athen rüstet sich für Massen-Demo

KRONE: Die griechische Polizei hat am Mittwoch wegen geplanter Demonstrationen gegen den Sparkurs der neuen Regierung ein massives Sicherheitsaufgebot im Zentrum von Athen zusammengezogen. Mehrere linksgerichtete Organisationen haben für Donnerstag Proteste angekündigt. Die Polizei befürchtet, dass gewaltbereite Demonstranten ein Chaos in Athen auslösen könnten. Deshalb sollen nach griechischen Medienberichten mehr als 7.000 Beamte im Einsatz sein.

Die geplanten Demonstrationen fallen mit dem 38. Jahrestag des blutig niedergeschlagenen Studentenaufstandes gegen das Militärregime am 17. November 1973 zusammen. Die zentrale Kundgebung wird in Athen am Donnerstagnachmittag stattfinden. » | AG/red | Mittwoch 16. November 2011