North Korea Threatens to 'Wipe Out' South Korea's Government

THE INDEPENDENT: Reclusive state hits out at neighbour's 'intolerable' provocation

North Korea threatened on Tuesday to “wipe out” South Korea's government in a furious response a day after a Seoul official said the North “must disappear soon,” in an escalation of rhetoric between the rivals.

The North's powerful National Defence Commission called the South Korean comments an “intolerable” provocation that showed the South wants to take over the North.

It said in a statement carried by state media that North Korea will launch “all-out ... merciless” strikes to “wipe out every last person” in South Korean President Park Geun-hye's government. (+ video) » | Hyung-Jim Kim | Seoul | AP | Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Vollverschleierung: Studentin darf mit Niqab nicht zur Uni

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Ohne Schleier an die Uni: Eine Studentin muss in Gießen für Seminare und Vorlesungen ihre Niqab ablegen. Ein angemessener wissenschaftlicher und akademischer Diskurs sei vollverschleiert nicht möglich, entschied die Hochschule.

Eine Studentin der Universität Gießen darf nicht mit einem Ganzkörperschleier an Hochschulveranstaltungen teilnehmen. Ein angemessener wissenschaftlicher und akademischer Diskurs sei durch ihre Verschleierung nicht möglich, "weil Mimik und Gestik als wichtige Aspekte der Kommunikation nicht zur Verfügung stehen", teilte eine Uni-Sprecherin mit. Das habe man der Studentin in einem persönlichen Gespräch erläutert. » | fln/dpa | Dienstag, 13. Mai 2014

Does the Muslim World Need to Be More Accountable?

May. 12, 2014 - 6:08 - Juan Williams and Mary Katharine Ham on the schoolgirls kidnapped in Nigeria

Obama Presidency Too PC on Islam Even for Liberals?

May. 12, 2014 - 5:12 - Bill Maher raises eyebrows by taking on Boko Haram and blasting liberals for not outright condemning brutal Islamic laws that go against equality and freedom and brutalize women

Iranian Women Post Pictures of Themselves without Hijabs on Facebook

THE GUARDIAN: Campaign set up by London-based Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad attracts more than 130,000 likes on social media site

Thousands of Iranian women are taking off their veils and publishing pictures of themselves online, igniting a debate about the freedom to wear or not wear the hijab.

A Facebook page set up by London-based Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad 10 days ago has attracted more than 130,000 likes, with women across Iran sending unveiled pictures taken in parks, at the seaside and in the streets.

"My stealthy freedom while driving in the streets of Tehran," wrote Maryam alongside an image showing her behind the wheel. "I like to feel the wind blowing on my face." » | Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Monday, Monday 12, 2014

Inequality for All

Bill Moyers talks with Economic analyst Robert Reich about the new film Inequality for All. Opening in theaters across the country next week, the film aims to be a game-changer in our national discussion of income inequality.

Syria Crisis: Iran and Assad Have Won, Say Top Tehran Foreign Policy Figures

THE GUARDIAN: Insiders say western strategy in Syria encouraged radicals and backfired, leading to threat to European security from returning jihadis

Iran and its close ally President Bashar al-Assad have won the war in Syria, and the US-orchestrated campaign in support of the opposition's attempt to topple the Syrian regime has failed, senior Iranian officials have told the Guardian.

In a series of interviews in Tehran, top figures who shape Iranian foreign policy said the west's strategy in Syria had merely encouraged radicals, caused chaos and ultimately backfired, with government forces now on the front foot.

"We have won in Syria," said Alaeddin Borujerdi, chairman of the Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy committee and an influential government insider. "The regime will stay. The Americans have lost it."

Terrorism perpetrated by al-Qaida-linked jihadist groups and individuals armed and funded by Sunni Muslim Arab countries was now the main threat facing the Syrian people, Borujerdi said. Many foreign fighters who had travelled to Syria from Britain and other European countries could soon return. "We are worried about the future security of Europe," he said. » | Simon Tisdall in Tehran | Sunday, May 11, 2014

Suffering & Sorrow: Torture, Abuse Against Afghan Women On Rise

Millions of Afghan women turned out to vote last month in the country's presidential election. But despite signs of social progress, the oppression of women is again on the rise. And as RT's Lucy Kafanov reports, brutal physical and sexual abuse is still rampant.

Saudi Arabia Issues Deadly Mers Warning and Tells All People Handling Camels to Wear Face Masks and Gloves

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: First such warning as cases of virus reach 500 and amid fears it could spread further afield

Saudi Arabia has issued a rare public health warning to anyone handling camels as the country struggles to contain cases of a potentially deadly respiratory virus.

More than a quarter of those diagnosed with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) have died, and as well as around 500 cases in the kingdom it has also spread to Europe and the US – where the first case was confirmed last month.

Health experts have warned that camels are the most likely animal source for the infection, which currently only rarely transfers from person to person.

The kingdom’s agriculture ministry issued a statement via the official Saudi Press Agency today which advised people to “exercise caution and follow preventive measures” when dealing with the animals, the first time it has done so in the time since Mers was first reported two years ago.

The country has a special association with camels based on its historically nomadic culture, and has reportedly largely avoided the issue of a link between Mers and the animals despite extensive research overseas. » | Adam Withnall | Sunday, May 11, 2014

We Should Hail the Celebrity Boycott of the Dorchester over the Sultan and Sharia Law

THE OBSERVER: It may be a 'fashion thing' but the stance taken against the sharia-loving sultan reflects a new pro-activism

In his almost 50 years as a successful absolute ruler, the Sultan of Brunei has naturally encountered little opposition. It will have helped that criticism of the Brunei royal family, an outfit close to the heart of Prince Charles, is prohibited. Public gatherings of 10 or more people require a government permit. As for elections, there have not been any since 1962, when the British helped crush a popular uprising.

Accordingly, when the sultan announced the imposition of full sharia law, including stoning to death for adultery and homosexuality, and amputation for thieves, there was every reason to suppose this innovation, described by Amnesty as a return to the dark ages, would go swimmingly within the dictatorship and cause little trouble abroad.

His career in oppression has never, after all, impaired the Sultan's warm relations with the UK, which for some reason rents him a battalion of Gurkhas, or his business as a hotelier, proprietor of the Dorchester Collection. Unlike the Obamas, for instance, the Sultan was an honoured guest at the wedding of William and Kate; just last month Baroness Warsi, Britain's "human rights minister", allowed herself to be entertained by this supporter of laws which value her testimony at one half of a man's.

On the other hand, the Sultan has not previously annoyed Ellen DeGeneres, Stephen Fry, Richard Branson, much of the fashion industry and another force he is unlikely to encounter in his kingdom, the unionised LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender) activists, whose efforts brought his planned barbarism to celebrity attention. Now, days after the first phase of sharia law came into effect, the Sultan is, in fashion terminology, a thing. Boycotts are having a moment.

The Sultan's name is rubbished on Twitter, petitions are circulating, disrespectful placards and demonstrations assault his hotels in cities far beyond the reach of Brunei's sedition laws. In Beverly Hills, the council demands that the sultan sell up the Beverly Hills hotel or denounce his own legislation. Fry, who cancelled his own stay at the hotel group's Coworth Park, Ascot's "exclusive pampering destination", tweets followers to: "Take action against the Sultan of Brunei and his new anti-gay law by putting sanctions in place," while Yves St Laurent is one of several big names pitting fashion against sharia, with a pledge that, until the law is repealed in Brunei, none of its employees will stay in a Dorchester Collection property. Read on and comment » | Catherine Bennett | Saturday, May 10, 2014

Related »

Hollywood Turns on Sultan of Brunei

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Stars boycott Polo Lounge in protest at Sultan of Brunei's plans to introduce Sharia law at home - but waiters say it's only them who will suffer

Amid the opulent surroundings of the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel, for decades the scene of Hollywood power lunches and celebrity tete-a-tetes [sic], a pall has descended.

Secluded booths once occupied by A-listers who stepped in from Sunset Boulevard lie empty as waiters stand idly by under the green-striped ceiling, listening to a pianist play Coldplay's Viva La Vida.

The lounge, once frequented by stars from Elizabeth Taylor and Marlene Dietrich to Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Cruise, has become an unfortunate casualty of a movie industry boycott aimed at the Sultan of Brunei, the hotel's ultimate owner.

Last week Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah confirmed he was pushing ahead with a plan to introduce Sharia law for the 70 per cent of his 400,000 subjects who are Muslims, and the first phase came into effect on Thursday.

Unsurprisingly, the prospect of punishments such as death by stoning for adultery and same-sex relationships, amputations by sword for theft, and 40 lashes from a rattan cane for drunkenness, has not gone down well in Hollywood and the Sultan has been unofficially declared persona non grata. Read on and comment » | Nick Allen, Los Angeles | Saturday, May 10, 2014

My comment:

I wonder what Prince Charles has to say about the introduction of full sharia'h law in the Sultanate of Brunei? After all, the Sultan is one of Prince Charles' big chums. – © Mark

This comment appears here too.

Related »

Prince Andrew Praises Bahrain, Island of Torture

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: World View: Kingdom that represses its Shia majority is to receive seal of approval from the Duke of York

The Duke of York will be the keynote speaker at a conference in London this Friday celebrating Bahrain as a place of religious freedom and tolerance of divergent opinions. Speaking during a visit to Bahrain last month, he said: "I believe that what's happening in Bahrain is a source of hope for many people in the world and a source of pride for Bahrainis."

This is very strange, as the island kingdom of Bahrain has a proven record of jailing and torturing protesters demanding democratic rights for the Shia majority, an estimated 60 per cent of Bahraini citizens, from the Sunni al-Khalifa monarchy. In its annual report on human rights, the US State Department identifies many abuses, the most serious of which include "citizens' inability to change their government peacefully; arrest and detention of protesters on vague charges, in some cases leading to their torture in detention". It draws attention to the fact that "discrimination [has] continued against the Shia population".

None of this should be too surprising. In March 2011, the government in Bahrain crushed the Bahraini version of the Arab Spring, treating protesters and anybody associated with them, such as doctors who treated injured demonstrators, with extreme brutality. The Bahrain independent commission of inquiry, set up by the Bahraini government itself, described at least 18 different techniques used to mistreat or torture detainees including electric shocks, beating on the soles of the feet with rubber hoses, sleep deprivation and threats of rape. More than 30 Shia mosques, religious meeting places and holy sites were bulldozed on the pretext that they had no planning permission.

Prince Andrew has long and controversial experience of Bahrain which he used to visit frequently as special representative for trade and investment. In 2010, an excoriating account of Prince Andrew's behaviour was published in the Daily Mail by Simon Wilson, British embassy deputy chief of mission in Bahrain from 2001 to 2005, who wrote that the prince was known to the British diplomatic community as HBH: His Buffoon Highness. Read on and comment » | Patrick Cockburn | Sunday, May 11, 2014

Margaret Thatcher – Capitalism and a Free Society

Margaret Thatcher and William F Buckley Jr. touch on a variety of subjects including economic incentives, minimum wage and redistribution of wealth.

Margaret Thatcher about the Weakness of European Countries

Council Expecting 'Firestorm' Over Islamist Schools 'Plot'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Teachers and governors in Birmingham have been told to expect a "firestorm" when Ofsted, the schools inspectorate, publishes the findings of its investigations into the alleged "Trojan Horse" plot

Schools in Birmingham at the centre of an alleged Islamist plot have been told to expect a “firestorm” when the results of a series of official inspections are published next month.

BBC Radio 4's Today programme reported that senior officials at Birmingham City Council suggested a report by Ofsted, the schools inspectorate, will focus on claims about the governance and leadership at the schools.

However teachers and governors are said to have been told at a meeting this week that the officials had seen no evidence of the alleged “Trojan Horse” plot.

The disclosure comes after the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) said it had found “concerted efforts” to infiltrate at least six schools in Birmingham. Head teachers also warned that schools across Britain are likely to have been targeted.

The acknowledgement from the professional body followed a series of exposés by The Telegraph which disclosed how alleged plot had put schools under pressure illegally to segregate classrooms and change teaching to reflect radical Islamic beliefs. » | Edward Malnick | Saturday, May 10, 2014

Germany Alarmed Over Violent Neo-Nazi Groups

Worldwide Outcry: Online Activist Latest Victim Of Saudi Régime

A decade behind bars, a thousand lashes and a hefty fine. That's the fate of a Saudi online activist - the latest victim of Riyadh's prosecution machine. Raif Badawi was charged with cybercrime and insulting Islam after creating an online platform for public debate.

Overdose: The Next Financial Crisis

Question Time: Thursday, May 8, 2014

David Dimbleby presents from Southampton. Taking questions from the audience are Grant Shapps MP, Chuka Umunna MP, Shirley Williams, Nigel Farage MEP and Caroline Lucas MP.
Watch the programme here

Our Bank Accounts Are Not Safe