Friday, April 05, 2013
DIE PRESSE: Polen: Politologe sagt, „Juden seien blind vor Hass“.
Warschau/Ag. Antisemitische Aussagen eines hochrangigen Politologie-Professors sorgen derzeit in Polen für Empörung: Krzysztof Jasiewicz von der Staatlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften PAN erklärte in der neuesten Ausgabe der Zeitschrift „Focus Historia Ekstra“ unter anderem, Juden seien gegenüber anderen Ethnien in Europa „blind vor Hass und dem Drang nach Rache“. Das Interview trägt – mit Bezug auf den Holocaust – die Überschrift: „Sind die Juden selbst schuld?“ » | Die Presse | Freitag, 05. April 2013
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: In a SPIEGEL ONLINE interview, Boris Dittrich, head of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy at Human Rights Watch, discusses the current debates on same-sex marriage in Europe and the United States and virulent homophobia in Russia and Uganda.
Boris Dittrich, the 57-year-old advocacy director for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights program at Human Rights Watch in New York, has been involved in policies boosting the standing of same-sex relationships since early on in his political career. As a member of parliament in the Netherlands for more than 12 years, he was not only one of the first openly gay men to serve in office, but also the person responsible for legislation that made Holland the first country in the world to introduce full-fledged same-sex marriage.
Dittrich's work on human rights has taken him to many corners of the world, including Russia, which has been plagued by institutionalized homophobia and violence against gay men and lesbian women over the past decade, and countries in Eastern Europe that have failed to develop the progressive policies seen in many Western European countries. Dittrich recently announced he would relocate from New York to Berlin, the city from which he will base his advocacy work on behalf of LGBT issues beginning in May.
SPIEGEL ONLINE recently caught up with Dittrich and discussed anti-gay legislation heading toward approval in Russian parliament, protests over the French government's efforts to elevate same-sex marriage to the same status as heterosexual pairings and German Chancellor Angela Merkel's own opposition to calls for similar action in her country. » | Friday, April 05, 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: North Korea has taken a further step to prepare for possible conflict, telling foreign embassies that their safety could not be guaranteed in the event of war.
The foreign ministry on Friday gave ambassadors in Pyongyang until Wednesday to say if they needed help with closing their missions and evacuating staff.
Britain responded by saying there was "no immediate" plan to shut its embassy in North Korea.
The significance of next Wednesday is unclear, although it has also been mentioned as a date for the possible closure of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a facility inside the North where South Korean companies employ 53,000 people.
Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, has sparked a regional crisis by testing a nuclear weapon and then revoking the armistice with South Korea and threatening immediate attack. » | Malcolm Moore, Beijing, Julian Ryall in Tokyo and David Blair | Friday, April 05, 2013
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: When it comes to the integration of Germany's Muslim minority, the center-left Social Democrats tend to be much less hard-line than Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives. But on Wednesday evening, SPD chancellor candidate Peer Steinbrück may have gone a step too far when he waded into what in the past has been a hornet's nest of controversy in Germany. He expressed support for physical education classes in German schools to be divided by gender.
"If schools are able to do it, then they should," Steinbrück said in response to a question from the audience during a campaign appearance in Berlin. A Reuters reporter noted that the comment was greeted with silence. Steinbrück then added that the step should be taken "out of consideration for religious convictions."
Not surprisingly, critique from Merkel's Christian Democrats was immediate. Barbara John, formerly in charge of integration issues for the city-state of Berlin, told the newspaper Bild that the debate was antiquated and that "children and parents have to get used to the fact that genders here grow up together and live with the same rights."
She was seconded by Serkan Tören, a member of the federal parliament with the Free Democrats, Merkel's junior coalition partner. Tören, himself from Turkey, told the tabloid that "dividing boys and girls is akin to dividing society. Splitting classes by gender is also the wrong signal to send when it comes to integrating Muslims in Germany." » | Charles Hawley | Friday, April 05, 2013
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Das Smartphone ist immer dabei: Saudi-Arabien gilt als das Twitter-verrückteste Land der Welt. Selbst bisherige Tabuthemen wie Frauenrechte und die Rolle der Sittenpolizei werden heftig diskutiert. Die Herrscher in Riad reagieren immer nervöser.
Berlin - Saudi-Arabiens Großmufti hat eine neue Bedrohung für das islamische Königreich ausgemacht. "Twitter ist zu einem Sammelplatz für jeden Clown und Verführer geworden, der die Menschen korrumpieren will mit unmoralischen, falschen Tweets!", wetterte Abdul-Asis al-Scheich nach einem Bericht der regierungsnahen saudischen Zeitung "Al-Watan".
Prompt schlug der höchsten religiösen Autorität Saudi-Arabiens Widerspruch entgegen - natürlich per Tweet. "Auf diesem Sammelplatz tummeln sich auch einige der hochrangigsten islamischen Gelehrten", stellte etwa ein User klar.
Tatsächlich scheint inzwischen halb Saudi-Arabien auf Twitter unterwegs - inklusive Mitglieder der Königsfamilie und einige der bekanntesten konservativen Prediger. Kein Land der Welt sei so Twitter-verrückt wie der Golfstaat, heißt es in einer Analyse der Londoner Beratungsfirma Trendstream. Auf das Gadget-affine Saudi-Arabien kommen bei 28 Millionen Einwohnern über 33 Millionen Smartphones.
"Twitter ist jetzt unser Parlament", sagte der 30-jährige saudische Aktivist Mohammad al-Ojaimi der Autorin einer kürzlich veröffentlichten Studieüber Saudi-Arabiens 20- bis 30-Jährige. Im realen Leben werden in der absoluten Monarchie Menschenversammlungen sofort aufgelöst. Doch nun diskutieren Millionen Saudis miteinander auf Twitter, meist mit ihren Klarnamen, und schrecken dabei auch vor heiklen Themen nicht zurück: » | Von Raniah Salloum | Freitag, 05. April 2013
BBC: South Korea has deployed two warships with missile-defence systems in response to North Korea moving missiles to its east coast.
The dispute over its nuclear weapons programme has seen Pyongyang ramp up its rhetoric and make specific threats to target US territory.
Lucy Williamson reports from Seoul. Watch BBC video » | Friday, April 05, 2013
GATESTONE INSTITUTE: "In Spain there are signs that Islam will dominate once again." — Hizrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Spiritual Leader, Ahmadiyya Community, Spain
From Belgium to Greece and Spain to Germany, 2013 is shaping up to be another banner year for the construction of mosques in Europe.
In Belgium, work is about to begin on the construction of a mega-mosque in Liège, the third-largest city in the country. The largest mosque in Wallonia (the French-speaking region of Belgium) will be built on an 11,000 m² (118,000 ft²) plot and will consist of a main building with a capacity for 1,000 worshippers, a library, a cafeteria and several shops.
Plans to build two 30 m (98 ft) minarets were scrapped after opposition from local residents. The new plan involves one 18 m (60 ft) minaret which will be automatically illuminated during calls to prayer.
The mayor of Liège, Willy Demeyer (PS), banned a protest march against the mosque that was to have been held on March 30. "My role is to avoid excesses and problems of public order," he said.
In Germany, Muslims in the northern city of Hamburg are converting the former Kapernaumkirche (Capernaum Church), a cultural heritage site, into a mosque.
In the southern German city of Munich, local politicians are debating where to build a massive mosque complex known as the Center for Islam in Europe-Munich (ZIE-M). The 6,000 m² (65,000 ft²) mega-project, which will cost an estimated €40 million ($51 million), is designed to be a key strategic platform for spreading Islam throughout Europe.
Speculation is rife that the Persian Gulf Emirate of Qatar will pay for the project, although the Qatari Ambassador to Germany recently told the newspaper Münchner Merkur that no final decision has been made. » | Soeren Kern | Friday, April 05, 2013
Thursday, April 04, 2013
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Die Uno meldet erschreckende Zahlen: Wegen des Bürgerkriegs in Syrien mussten schon vier Millionen Menschen ihr Zuhause verlassen. Hinzu kommen etwa 1,2 Millionen, die ins Ausland geflohen sind.
Damaskus - Nach zwei Jahren Bürgerkrieg in Syrien ist nach neuen Schätzungen der Vereinten Nationen rund ein Viertel der Bevölkerung auf der Flucht. Allein innerhalb des Landes gebe es derzeit rund vier Millionen Betroffene, erklärte eine Sprecherin des Uno-Flüchtlingshilfswerks (UNHCR). Hinzu kommen etwa 1,2 Millionen Syrer, die angesichts der anhaltenden Gewalt ins benachbarte Ausland geflohen sind. » | heb/AFP/Reuters | Donnerstag, 04. April 2013
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Chief foreign correspondent David Blair analyses the "real threat" posed by North Korea to the South and the United States.
CBC NEWS CANADA: Aaron Yoon was classmate of Katsiroubas, Medlej at London, Ont., high school
A special CBC News investigation has uncovered the identity of a third member of a group of former London, Ont., high school friends now at the centre of a horrifying tale of young Canadians getting mixed up with al-Qaeda and international militants.
CBC News has learned that Aaron Yoon, now about 24, is likely the only survivor among this perverse band of brothers, two of whom died while staging a bloody attack on an Algerian oil refinery three months ago.
International intelligence sources say Yoon, a Canadian of Korean descent, flew to North Africa with three others, but wound up in jail before the al-Qaeda attack in January that killed 37 refinery workers in Algeria.
Two of Yoon’s former London schoolmates, Xris Katsiroubas and Ali Medlej, were among several dozen al-Qaeda-linked militants involved in the attack.
Sources say the two probably blew themselves up at the end of the four-day siege, but only one could be identified through DNA tests. » | Greg Weston, National Affairs Specialist | CBC News | Tuesday, April 02, 2013
Related »
THE HUFFINGTON POST: Femen activists have declared 4 April “topless jihad day” as a gesture of support for a Tunisian woman who was threatened with death by stoning for baring her breasts online.
Amina Tyler ignited a storm when she posted images of herself with the words “Fuck your morals” written across her chest to the Femen-Tunisia Facebook page.
Another image showing her smoking a cigarette with: "My body belongs to me, and is not the source of anyone's honour", written in Arabic script across her bare chest, was also posted.
As a preacher called for her death over fears “her act could bring about an epidemic”, Femen has responded with fury, calling for a “topless jihad day”.
In a statement posted on Facebook, the group calls for solidarity against the “lethal hatred of Islamists – inhuman beasts for whom killing a woman is more natural than recognising her right to do as she pleases with her own body.”
Promising the event will mark the beginning of a new Arab Spring, the message urges: “Come to the embassy of the Republic of Tunisia and protest topless, with ‘My Body Against Islamism!’ written on your body.”
It adds: “Long live the topless jihad against infidels! Our tits are deadlier than your stones!” » | Sara C Nelson | Huffington Post UK | Thursday, April 04, 2013
AL BAWABA: Picture Gallery: The Topless Jihad »
Tits to Islam! »
BIKYA NEWS: DUBAI: A Dutch woman living in Dubai pleaded not guilty in a court on Monday after being charged with insulting Islam and insulting the police after she had called them to report a personal attack. She said that while she had been drinking, she did not insult religion or the police officers.
“I’m not guilty for insulting the policemen and religion, but yes I consumed alcohol,” the 28-year-old Dutch woman told the court.
It is the latest in a string of “crimes” against woman after they had initially called the police.
She could face up to one-year in prison or deportation. » | Sharifa Ghanem | BN | Thursday, April 04, 2013
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