UNO kritisiert: «Für Nordkorea haben die Streitkräfte oberste Priorität»
TAGES ANZEIGER: Die UNO wirft Pyongyang schwere Verstösse gegen die Menschenrechte vor. Zudem haben 60 Prozent der Bevölkerung des asiatischen Landes nicht genug zu essen. Die Regierung um Kim Jong-un weist die Vorwürfe zurück.

Nordkorea verwahrt sich gegen massive Kritik der Vereinten Nationen (UNO) an der Lage der Menschenrechte auf seinem Gebiet. Die UNOhatte der Regierung in Pyongyang in einem Bericht schwere Verstösse gegen die Menschenrechte vorgeworfen.

«Wir sind stolz auf unser ausgezeichnetes System zur Förderung und zum Schutz der Menschenrechte in unserem Land», erklärte Nordkoreas UNO-Botschafter, Kim Song, gestern in New York. Dies schliesse kostenlose Gesundheitsversorgung und Bildung ein, betonte Kim vor dem Menschenrechtsausschuss der UNO-Vollversammlung. » | chk/sda | Samstag, 03. November 2012

Turquie : Erdogan fête ses dix ans de pouvoir

LE POINT: Le Premier ministre turc, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a célébré la "révolution" turque et vanté son bilan démocratique, samedi.

Le Premier ministre turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan a célébré samedi les dix ans de règne de son parti d'inspiration islamiste à la tête de la Turquie, en vantant son bilan démocratique et la "révolution des mentalités" qui a permis d'écarter l'armée de la scène politique. Lors d'un discours prononcé devant les cadres du Parti de la justice et du développement (AKP) réunis à Kizilcahamam, dans la banlieue d'Ankara, M. Erdogan a exalté l'importance à ses yeux historique de sa victoire électorale aux élections législatives du 3 novembre 2002, qualifiée de "nouveau départ". » | Source AFP | samedi 03 novembre 2012

Le mariage gay, une "supercherie" pour Mgr Vingt-Trois

LE POINT: Samedi à Lourdes, le cardinal André Vingt-Trois a appelé les croyants à "saisir les élus" devant la "gravité de l'enjeu" du mariage homosexuel.

Le cardinal-archevêque de Paris André Vingt-Trois a appelé samedi les chrétiens à saisir leurs élus de "la gravité de l'enjeu" que représente le mariage homosexuel, "puisque le large débat national qui s'imposait n'a pas encore été organisé". Dans son discours d'ouverture devant l'assemblée plénière de 120 évêques réunis à Lourdes, Mgr Vingt-Trois a consacré de longs passages aux questions éthiques, comme la fin de vie, le respect de l'embryon, les droits de l'enfant. Le mariage homosexuel y a tenu une large place, intervenant, selon le cardinal, alors que "la crise économique atteint de plus en plus l'ensemble de notre société, que des entreprises ferment et que la précarité s'étend". "C'est dans ce contexte préoccupant que le gouvernement fait passer en urgence des mutations profondes de notre législation qui pourraient transformer radicalement les modalités des relations fondatrices de notre société". » | Source AFP | samedi 03 novembre 2012

Hundreds of Libyans Call for Autonomous East

Brésil: Des milliers de fidèles inaugurent la plus grande église

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Des milliers de fidèles ont assisté vendredi à Sao Paulo à l'inauguration de la plus grande église du Brésil, d'une capacité de 100'000 personnes, lors d'une messe géante.

Le père Marcelo Rossi, véritable pop star dans le pays le plus catholique du monde, a célébré une messe géante pour inaugurer la plus grande église du pays.

«Vive Jésus Christ! Vive notre dame, mère de Dieu!», s'est exclamé le père Rossi au début de cette messe dans ce qui est aujourd'hui l'un des plus grands lieux de culte catholiques du monde, toujours en construction après huit ans de travaux et appelé «Sanctuaire de la mère de Dieu (Theotokos)».

La foule fervente a chanté, agité des mouchoirs blancs et acclamé le prêtre, véritable star qui a vendu des millions de disques, DVD et livres au Brésil, où il anime également des programmes de radio et de télévision. (+ vidéo) » | afp/Newsnet | vendredi 02 novembre 2012

German Quits 'Unhygienic, Drug-using' Taliban
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A German who volunteered to fight for the Taliban quit after becoming disheartened by the violence and annoyed with the group's macho and drug-taking world.

The former fighter also complained of the unhygienic conditions in the war-torn lands of Pakistan's Waziristan province and Afghanistan that left him infected with hepatitis, and which were, in his opinion, "incompatible with the teachings of the Koran".

The unflattering portrayal of life in the Taliban came in a statement made by Thomas U. during his trial in Berlin for involvement in a foreign terrorist group.

The 27-year-old had travelled to Waziristan with his wife in the autumn of 2009 with the intention of freeing the area from the "infidel occupiers" after the couple had converted to Islam. » | Matthew Day | Friday, November 02, 2012

'Walk With Me,' Romney Tells America
The Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney promises to bring America "roaring back" as he fights for the White House in West Chester, Ohio.

Canton de Vaud: L'Eglise protestante prête à bénir les couples gays

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: L'Eglise protestante vaudoise pourrait devenir la première église romande à proposer une bénédiction pour les couples en partenariat enregistré. Réunis vendredi à St-Sulpice, les délégués au Synode ont accepté d'entrer en matière.

La décision d'entrée en matière a été prise par 55 oui, 31 non et une abstention, au terme de près de trois heures de discussion. Le Conseil synodal, l'exécutif de l'Eglise évangélique réformée vaudoise (EERV), propose au Synode, le législatif, de créer un acte liturgique pour les couples de même sexe liés par un partenariat enregistré.

Cet acte prendrait la forme d'une bénédiction, a précisé le Conseil synodal (CS), qui préconise de l'ajouter dans le règlement. Une liturgie est également proposée, proche de celle de la bénédiction du mariage. » | ats/Newsnet | vendredi 02 novembre 2012

Catholic Leaders Furious at Stonewall's 'Bigot' Award for Cardinal Keith O'Brien

THE GUARDIAN: Gay rights group names Scottish cardinal bigot of the year after he called gay marriage a 'grotesque subversion'

Catholic leaders have reacted furiously after members of the gay rights group Stonewall named Cardinal Keith O'Brien "bigot of the year" for his vigorous attacks on gay marriage.

Stonewall said its 10,000 members had voted "decisively" to give the title to O'Brien, head of the Scottish Catholic church, after he described gay marriage as a "grotesque subversion" of the universal human right which defines marriage as solely heterosexual.

The church, which also alleges that people in gay marriages suffer greater risks of mental illness and premature death, demanded that the Scottish government and two sponsors – the banks Barclays and Coutts – withdraw their sponsorship of the group.

Barclays and Coutts have already warned they will stop financing Stonewall, the UK's largest gay rights group, if the bigot award is proposed again next year. The Scottish parliament is expected to vote to legalise gay marriages next year, despite intense opposition from religious groups. » | Severin Carrell, Scotland correspondent | Friday, November 02, 2012

Golden Dawn Takes Advantage of Recession Ravaged Greece
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Fascist gangs are turning Athens into a city of shifting front lines, seizing on crimes and local protests to promote their own movement, by claiming to be the defenders of recession ravaged Greece.

Thugs wearing the black T-shirts of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party are carrying out attacks on immigrant markets and in public squares, according to the United Nations, with victims speaking of areas in the capital which are now strictly off limits.

Malik Abdulbasset, an Egyptian-born shopkeeper, found himself the target of one of the mobs on Wednesday night after the barber across the road was stabbed during a robbery.

Golden Dawn members led a crowd of enraged locals in a protest on Mikhail Voda St that turned violent despite the presence of riot police.

While no one witnessed the attack on the barber, residents were adamant the assailant was black.

After battering his Egyptian assistant, the mob turned on Mr Abdulbasset, who had defied police to keep his shop open.

"I had to turn and point to my Greek children and my Greek wife and say, look I am Greek, we are Greek, if you want to kill us we cannot stop you but you are killing your own."

The riot police watched on but did not intervene and threats of more protests were pasted on nearby doors. » | Damien McElroy, Athens | Friday, November 02, 2012

Kashmir Parents Accused of Killing Daughter in Acid Attack

THE GUARDIAN: Couple arrested over 'honour killing' after 15-year-old is reportedly doused with acid for talking to boy outside family home

Pakistani officials have arrested the parents of a 15-year-old girl who died after being doused with acid at her home.

The couple, from Kashmir, reportedly confessed to the killing earlier this week because they believed she had sullied the family's honour.

Such so-called honour killings are common in much of Pakistan, with thousands of women burned, disfigured or maimed in similar attacks every year, according to human rights groups. Such attacks are relatively rare in Kashmir, however.

Zohra Yusuf, chair of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), said the case was a "classic" example of a family dispute turned horribly violent. "What is really striking is that there really is no regret among members of the family. Justice for the women is very, very rare," she told the Guardian. » | Jason Burke, south Asia correspondent | Friday, November 02, 2012

Michelle Obama, esclave... de son image
Un magazine espagnol crée la polémique

GALA.fr: Message politique ou simple provocation? Un magazine espagnol met à la une un portrait "photoshoppé" de la première dame américaine: Michelle Obama y est figurée sous les traits de la "négresse" de la peintre française Marie-Guillemine Benoist. Une "oeuvre" pour le moins polémique qui illustre un sujet sur le rôle-clé de la First Lady dans la campagne de son époux.

Que Michelle Obama soit dévouée corps et âme à ses devoirs de First Lady ne fait aucun doute. Mais de là à l’imaginer en esclave… Le Magazine de Fuera de Serie – supplément de l'hebdomadaire espagnol L'Expansión - créé pourtant la controverse en publiant sur sa couverture un photomontage de la première dame, représentée dans la posture d’une esclave africaine, seins dénudés, enroulée dans le drapeau américain. » | mercredi 29 août 2012

Salafisten starten neue Gratiskoran-Offensive

WELT ONLINE: Einige Monate war es ruhig geblieben um den Kölner Geschäftsmann Abou Nagie. Doch nun lässt der frühere Hartz-IV-Empfänger wieder Gratiskorane verteilen. Finanziert mit Geld aus einem Golfstaat.

Auf den ersten Blick war es ein erfolgreiches Jahr für Ibrahim Abou Nagie. Der Kölner Geschäftsmann mit palästinensischen Wurzeln sieht sich auf einer Mission. Er will die deutschen Ungläubigen vor dem Höllenfeuer retten.

Sein Heilmittel: der Islam. Im Oktober 2011 startete Abou Nagie deshalb das bislang beispiellose Projekt "Lies!". Ziel der Kampagne: die Verteilung von 25 Millionen Koranen – ein Koran für jeden deutschen Haushalt.

Bundesweit zogen Abou Nagies Anhänger in Fußgängerzonen, auf Marktplätzen, an Schulen, in Moscheen und in Krankenhäusern und verteilten kostenlose deutsche Koranübersetzungen. » | Von Florian Flade | Dienstag, 16. Oktober 2012

Neues Gesetz: Russland startet Totalüberwachung im Internet

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Russland startet umfassende Kontrollen im Internet: Ein neues Gesetz führt eine schwarze Liste für Internetseiten ein. Der gesamte Datenverkehr soll dafür überwacht werden. Kritiker fürchten um Meinungsfreiheit und Datenschutz.

Seit dem 1. November 2012 hat der Kreml ein Werkzeug, mit dem er das gesamte russische Internet kontrollieren kann. Denn jetzt ist ein Gesetz in Kraft getreten, das dafür sorgt, dass nun eine Liste von Websites und Inhalten existiert, die Internetprovider künftig blockieren sollen. Begründet wurde das von Putin verabschiedete Gesetz mit dem Kinderschutz: Die Liste sollte eigentlich Seiten enthalten, auf denen etwa Kindesmissbrauch dargestellt wird, oder solche, die Suizid-Anleitungen enthalten. Doch derzeit betreffen die Sperr-Entscheidungen vor allem Oppositions-Websites und solche, die als extremistisch eingestuft werden. Im Vorfeld hatte es viel Kritik gegeben, die russische Wikipedia hatte schon vor Verabschiedung des Gesetzes mit einem 24-stündigen Streik protestiert - ohne Erfolg.

Doch das Gesetz bringt eine weitere, viel tiefgreifendere Veränderung mit sich: Umgesetzt wird es offenbar mit Hilfe einer Technologie, die es erlaubt, den gesamten Internettraffic aller in Russland ansässigen Nutzer zu überwachen, permanent und automatisiert. E-Mails, Website-Aufrufe, Chats - alles können die Behörden künftig mit geringem Aufwand mitschneiden oder gar manipulieren. » | Von Andrej Soldatow und Irina Borogan, Moskau | Freitag, 02. November 2012

Islam Overtaking Catholicism as Dominant Religion in France
GATESTONE INSTITUTE: Meanwhile, the Socialist government in France recently inaugurated a new mega-mosque in Paris as a first step toward "progressively building a French Islam."

A majority of people in France, according to a new poll, believe that Islam is too influential in French society, and almost half view Muslims as a threat to their national identity.

The survey reveals a significant degradation of the image of Islam in France. The findings also show that French voters are growing increasingly uneasy about mass immigration from Muslim countries, which has been encouraged by a generation of political and cultural elites in France dedicated to creating a multicultural society.

The survey conducted by the French Institute of Public Opinion (or Ifop, as it is usually called) and published by the center-right Le Figaro newspaper on October 24, shows that 60% of French people believe that Islam has become "too visible and influential" in France -- up from 55% in an earlier survey two years ago.

The poll also reveals that 43% of French people consider the presence of Muslim immigrants to be a threat to French national identity, compared to just 17% who say it enriches society.

In addition, 68% of people in France blame the problems associated with Muslim integration on immigrants who refuse to integrate (up from 61% two years ago), and 52% blame it on cultural differences (up from 40% two years ago).

The poll also shows a growing resistance to the symbols of Islam. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of French people say they are opposed to Muslim women wearing the veil or Islamic headscarves in public, compared to 59% two years ago.

Furthermore, the survey shows that only 18% of French people say they support the building of new mosques in France (compared to 33% in 1989, and 20% in 2010).

"Our poll shows a further hardening in French people's opinions," Jerome Fourquet, head of Ifop's opinion department, told Le Figaro. "In recent years, there has not been a week when Islam has not been in the heart of the news for social reasons: the veil, halal food, dramatic news like terrorist attacks or geopolitical reasons," he said.

France, which is home to an estimated six million Muslims, has the largest Muslim population in the European Union. There are now, in fact, more practicing Muslims in France than there are practicing Roman Catholics. » | Soeren Kern | Friday, November 02, 2012

British Families Want Out as More Seek Relaxed Life Abroad
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A majority of middle-class families want to leave Britain because it no longer offers them an adequate quality of life, a new survey has concluded.

Researchers found almost two in three families wanted to emigrate overseas because of the poor weather, rude locals and a celebrity-obsessed culture.

Families say they also want to escape the economic downturn, expensive housing and the “loss of community spirit and neighbourliness” in British society.

The survey, conducted by the University of Huddersfield, also found most wanted a new, more relaxed life in a community with a more optimistic “can do” attitude.

Despite celebrating a year when British national pride is arguably at its highest, families admitted they wanted their “children to grow up in a country with a stronger sense of community than they believe exists in the UK”.

Australia was the first country of choice, with almost one in three wanting to move Down Under, followed by the United States, New Zealand, Canada and a host of European countries such as Spain, France and Italy. » | Andrew Hough | Thursday, November 01, 2012

The Global War On Free Speech

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: It’s not just China and Russia: editors in Greece and Hungary are being harassed, while Britain’s straitened press is in danger of being cowed by powerful interests and excessive regulation

Look back at the big events of the past decade and ask yourself: did we find out too much or too little of what the powerful did in our name? Did we know too much or too little about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? Did we enquire too much or too little about the cheating of the bankers?

When I posed this question during my testimony to the Leveson Inquiry back in January, I swear I saw the judge’s eyes roll. I fear Lord Justice Leveson had been persuaded long before that journalism was a problem for society, not part of the solution to its ills. He could have been forgiven for coming to this instant conclusion, having listened to the heart-rending testimony of Milly Dowler’s parents, or Kate and Gerry McCann, or of other victims of hounding and despicable behaviour.

Even though I have worked in the profession, or trade, for more than two decades, I hold no candle for the press as an institution. My concern is broader. Freedom of expression – the bedrock of democracy – is under threat in Britain, as it is around the globe.

Wherever you look, someone with power, somewhere in the world, is trying to prevent the truth from getting out. In dictatorships they often resort to violence. But usually those with power hide behind laws that, while technically legitimate, are designed to chill free speech.

We think such measures are the preserve of places like China and Russia. And they are. In China the media are severely censored. Dissidents are routinely jailed. Western media are blocked online when they become inconvenient, as the New York Times was recently after revealing details of premier Wen Jiabao’s family wealth. » | John Kampfner | Thursday, November 01, 2012

Saudi Cleric Muhammad Al-Munajid: Hurricane Sandy Is Allah's Punishment for Afghanistan and Iraq Al-Nas TV (Egypt) - November 1, 2012

Egypt Salafists Punish Man for 'Cursing' Islam

ARUTZ SHEVA: Salafist group in Egypt attacks a man for not allowing its member to use his toilet, orders to cut his brother's tongue for “cursing” Islam.

The “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Authority”, a Salafist group in Egypt, has attacked a man for not allowing its member to use his private toilet and ordered to cut his brother's tongue for “cursing” Islam, Al Arabiya reported on Thursday.

The report quoted Ahmed Gharib, a resident of Egypt’s eastern city of Suez, as having told the online newspaper al-Mowjaz that the problem started as he was in his shop when a “bearded man” rushed inside to use the bathroom.

“I told him that he needs to ask for permission to use the toilet,” said Gharib, “but he just responded with ‘we do not ask for permission.’”

A few minutes later, Gharib recalled, a group of 30 “bearded” men came to his shop and said they wanted to “discipline him for insulting a religious figure.”

“They tied me down and assaulted me,” he said. “They tried to cut off my hand for reaching for one of them,” he added.

They were unable to cut off his hand as [a] passersby intervened to stop the fight. Gharib sustained deep cuts.

It did not end there, however. Gharib’s brother, who had reached the shop later, angered with what had happened to his brother, insulted the men. In response, Gharib said, the “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” group ordered the cutting of his brother’s tongue, claiming he cursed Islam.

“They tried to catch him to carry out the order but he managed to escape with the help of neighbors,” said Gharib. » | Elad Benari | Friday, November 02, 2012

Virginia: Romney Heckled at Campaign Rally
As Mitt Romney addressed a campaign rally in Virginia, a man pulled out a banner urging an end to 'climate silence', triggering jeers from the audience and chants of 'USA, USA'.