An Optimistic Economic Viewpoint on the US Economy
THE TELEGRAPH: Like a great battleship at sea, the US industrial and export machine is slowly turning around. Within a couple of years, its big guns will be sweeping the world again, ready to silence pious talk about America's trade deficit - and to menace chunks of Europe's manufacturing base.

The fast-inflating economies of China, emerging Asia and Eastern Europe will be reminded globalisation cuts both ways. Jobs can flow from Shanghai to Los Angeles.

US exports reached a record $140bn (£66.5bn) in September, powered by Prairie grains, Texas cotton, semiconductors, chemicals, even cars. "I put the US economy up against any in the world in terms of competitiveness - that's a fact," said US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson.

The US trade deficit has fallen to $56.5bn, down 14pc in a year. The current account deficit has slimmed from 7pc of GDP in early 2005 to 5.5pc, and is narrowing fast. Bad, but no longer catastrophic.

This is the first fruit of devaluation, enough to hobble Airbus and prompt French president Nicolas Sarkozy to warn of "economic war" on Capitol Hill last week.

French industrial output fell 1.1pc in September. It is becoming ever clearer that Europe will suffer as much from America's housing crash as America itself, and perhaps more so. This is what happened after the US dotcom crash. Flexible economies rebound faster. US will retake economic superpower crown (more) By Ambrose Evans- Pritchard

THE TELEGRAPH:
Goldman alert over emerging markets By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

LE FIGARO:
Voyager aux Etats-Unis devient plus abordable De Bruno Askenazi

Mark Alexander

Sarkozy Faces His “Thatcher Moment”
TIMESONLINE: President Sarkozy faces his “Thatcher moment” this week as transport workers open a barrage of public sector strikes aimed at breaking his drive to purge France of its old economic ills.

The hardline unions and Mr Sarkozy see the strikes – that start with the rail network tomorrow evening – as a decisive test of his presidency, an inevitable showdown between a radical new leader and left-wing conservative forces.

Mainstream union leaders say that Mr Sarkozy has forced the fight on to ground that they wanted to avoid – the retirement privileges of certain workers. “The Government wants this conflict to set an example,” Bernard Thibault, leader of the Conféderation Générale du Travail, the biggest union federation, said yesterday.

Rail workers, who paralysed the country for a day last month, start an open-ended strike against Mr Sarkozy’s plans to bring their retirement terms into line with those of the civil service. The Paris underground and bus system, as well as national gas and electricity workers, join them on Wednesday. Next Tuesday, teachers, post office workers and the rest of the Civil Service will strike for one day, and possibly longer, for higher pay and against Mr Sarkozy’s plans to slim down ministries. Nicolas Sarkozy set for showdown as unions prepare wave of strikes (more) By Charles Bremner

Mark Alexander

Brown Clearly Rattled by Sarkozy’s Bid for France to Become US’s ‘Ally-in-Chief’
TIMESONLINE: Gordon Brown will offer an olive branch to President Bush tonight by describing the United States as Britain’s most important ally and central to his foreign policy plans.

Mr Brown’s remarks, in a speech at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet at Guildhall, will be seen as an attempt to mend fences with the White House after a series of diplomatic tensions.

Unlike Tony Blair, whose close relationship with President Bush earned him the tag “poodle”, the Prime Minister has placed less emphasis on personal relations and instead emphasised the values and historic ties shared by Britain and America.

Tensions have also arisen over his appointment to the Government of Lord Malloch-Brown, a critic of the Iraq war and neo-conservatism, and comments by Douglas Alexander, the International Development Secretary, seen as coded criticisms of the US’s unilateralist foreign policy. Gordon Brown attempts to mend fences with President Bush and vows US is most important ally (more)

THE GUARDIAN:
Brown to reassure Washington that US remains Britain’s closest ally By Tania Branigan

Mark Alexander

US Said to Be Stalling on Executions in Iraq
BBC: Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki has criticised US forces for failing to hand over for execution three former prominent figures in Saddam Hussein's regime.

The three, including Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali", were condemned to death for the campaign against the Iraqi Kurds in the 1980s.

There has been division in the Iraqi leadership over the executions and the US says it is waiting for consensus.

There is suspicion the US does not want ex-defence chief Sultan Hashim to hang. US 'stalling' on Iraq executions (more) By Jim Muir

NZZ:
USA verweigern Übergabe von «Chemie-Ali»: Unterschiedliche Auffassungen über rechtliche Verfahrensweise

Mark Alexander

Libyen verweigert Swiss-Passagieren die Einreise
NZZ: Die libyschen Behörden haben am Sonntag Passagieren des regulären Swiss-Linienfluges nach Tripolis die Einreise verweigert. Grund war die unangekündigte Einführung neuer Einreisebestimmungen, welche zwingend eine arabische Übersetzung des Reisepasses verlangen. Libyen verweigert Swiss-Passagieren die Einreise: Wegen fehlender arabischer Übersetzung der Reisepässe (mehr)

Mark Alexander

Iranian Police Turn on Sufis
BBC: Around 180 Sufi Muslims have been arrested in Iran after attacking a Shia mosque where a cleric labelled their religion "illegitimate", say reports.

The confrontation in the western city of Boroujerd led to a shootout between the Sufis and police that reportedly left about 80 people injured.

Sufis are tolerated in the Islamic Republic though some religious leaders have branded them "a danger to Islam". Iran police battle Sufi Muslims (more)

Mark Alexander

More Turbulence on World Markets
TIMESONLINE: Japan leads declines as market 'prices-in a recession' amid strong yen and fears of more subprime damage

Japanese stocks endured a savage pounding today as the US dollar plummeted against the yen and investors' fears heightened at the prospect of more fall-out from the US subprime mortgage crisis.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average closed down 2.5 per cent to a 15-month low of 15,197.09.

Other Asian markets were also caught in the maelstrom, with the Hang Seng shedding 4.5 per cent of its value to 27,500.96 and Shanghai stocks taking a similar tumble.

Chinese financial stocks were particularly hard-hit as investors blinked at new regulations requiring a sharp increase in reserve requirements. Nikkei plunges to 15-month low as dollar weakens (more) By Leo Lewis

The high oil price may begin to take its toll By Gary Duncan

FT:
Asian stocks sink as exporters suffer By Andrew Wood in Hong Kong and Louise Lucas in Tokyo

BBC:
Europe 'set for slower growth'

SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL:
The US Economy on the Edge By Peter Coy

Mark Alexander

Bibi Netanyahu Accuses Olmert Government of Giving It All Away
YNET NEWS: Opposition leader arrives at Shas spiritual leader's Jerusalem home in bid to create united front against peace conference, warns him, 'Olmert government is giving away everything and getting terrorists in return.' Rabbi says some of his opinions similar to those presented by Netanyahu

The Olmert government is giving away everything and getting terrorists in return, opposition leader and Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu warned Monday in a meeting with Shas' spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. Annapolis is dangerous, Netanyahu tells Rabbi Yosef (more) By Attila Somfalvi

Mark Alexander

Anti-Hatred Laws Threaten to Be Anti-Justice
THE TELEGRAPH: At one stage during my childhood I took a bit of a shine to the word "hate". I enjoyed the sense of oomph that went with it, and I began to throw it around like candy at a pantomime.

Every time I declared that I hated someone, however, my grandmother would intervene with the phrase: "You don't hate them, you only dislike them." At the time I thought she was being pedantic: now, I can see that she was quite right.

As mature adults we are all agreed that hatred is a terrible thing, destructive to the holder and the object alike. Our Government is so eager to emphasise that hatred is wrong, indeed, that it has created a special category of crime called "hate crime", whose exponents will be punished more heavily than other criminals (presumably the ones who love us). The most recent proposal is that those who "incite hatred" against homosexuals could be guilty of a criminal offence punishable by up to seven years in jail. Anti-hatred laws threaten to be anti-justice (more) By Jenny McCartney

Mark Alexander

Britain’s Escalating War on Christianity
THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR: The war being waged by the quasi-establishment and quasi-government Left in Britain against the nation's own traditions, values, identity and, perhaps most of all, religion, has been escalated and its battle-lines redefined with a report by a leading Labour Party-aligned think-tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research, recommending that Christmas, which cannot be obliterated, should be down-graded to promote multiculturalism.

The report says that because it would be hard to "expunge" Christmas from the national calendar (although this would apparently be desirable), public organizations must be made to give non-Christian religious festivals equal footing.

Now, the Institute is not some unimportant relic of communist days clinging to existence in a squalid slum attic. On the contrary, it has very close links with the government. The report was commissioned when Nick Pearce, now head of public policy in the Prime Minister's Office, was its director. He was described in an interview on the Australian Broadcasting Commission's "Sunday Profile" recently as "One of the leading policy-makers in Great Britain." Before heading the IPPR he was a special advisor to Labour Home Secretary David Blunkett. It is credited with having shaped many Labour policies, including the institution of compulsory identity cards, litter-bin taxes and road pricing. It is described as one of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's favorite think tanks. Britain’s Escalating War on Christianity (more) By Hal G.P. Colebatch

Hat Tip: Jim Ball

Mark Alexander

Sins of the Father
THE SUNDAY TIMES: In a suburban McDonald’s a father begged his wayward daughter to come home... so he and the men of her family could have her beaten, raped and murdered. Fearing violence, but moved by his tears, she relented – and died. Our correspondent investigates how a man can choose the death of a daughter above dishonour

Ari Mahmod held his head up when he went to prison. He felt no embarrassment. And why should he? After all, he said, it was not as if he was locked up for something as inconsequential or shameful as theft. He was sure that, back in the real world of suburban Mitcham, south London, among his own people, they would be thanking his family for what he had done, taking pride in the decisive way he had acted.

Many people might find it hard to comprehend that any man could take pride – pleasure, even – in the brutal murder of his niece. Banaz Mahmod had been beaten, probably raped, and finally strangled with a bootlace in the living room at home. Her uncle Ari had not been there, but he had planned it, knew exactly what was happening, and had been waiting nearby…waiting for his family reputation to be restored.

As he liked to say, in his culture, reputation was more important than life itself. That was why it had to be done – why his brother’s daughter had to die. Sins of the father (more) By David James Smith

WATCH BBC VIDEO ON YOUTUBE:
BBC Report on Honour Killings

Mark Alexander

Challenge to Serious Fraud Office’s Decision to Halt BAE Fraud Investigation
BBC: Two pressure groups have won a High Court challenge on the legality of the decision to end investigations into BAE Systems' dealings with Saudi Arabia.

Corner House Research and the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) had asked for permission to seek a judicial review.

They want to contest the Serious Fraud Office's decision last year to stop investigations into whether BAE gave money to Saudi officials in the 1980s.

BAE, the UK's largest defence group, has always said it acted lawfully.

Lord Justice Moses, sitting with Mr Justice Irwin, said "matters of concern and public importance" had been raised and the challenge "cries out for a hearing". Court to study BAE fraud decision (more)

Mark Alexander

Interview mit Otto Habsburg
Foto von Otto Habsburg dank der Presse
DIE PRESSE: Otto Habsburg, bald 95, über den Kaiser, Hitler und das „größere“ Österreich.

Die Presse: Sie werden demnächst, am 20.November, 95 Jahre alt und blicken auf ein ereignisreiches Leben zurück. Was war für Sie der beeindruckendste Moment?

Otto Habsburg: Schauen Sie, wenn man sehr alt ist, wird man ein Optimist. Wie niedrig haben wir angefangen: mit dem Verlust des Ersten Weltkrieges, mit dem Hitlerismus. Und wie wunderschön ist es jetzt. Einer der düstersten Tage für mich war der 12. März 1938, als Österreich verschwand. Viele glaubten damals, das ist das Ende. Otto Habsburg: „Ich habe sie alle gekannt“ (mehr)

Mark Alexander

Struggle for the Soul of Pakistan
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: If there is an address, an exact location for the rift tearing Pakistan apart, and possibly the world, it is a spot 17 miles (28 kilometers) west of Islamabad called the Margalla Pass. Here, at a limestone cliff in the middle of Pakistan, the mountainous west meets the Indus River Valley, and two ancient, and very different, civilizations collide. To the southeast, unfurled to the horizon, lie the fertile lowlands of the Indian subcontinent, realm of peasant farmers on steamy plots of land, bright with colors and the splash of serendipitous gods. To the west and north stretch the harsh, windswept mountains of Central Asia, land of herders and raiders on horseback, where man fears one God and takes no prisoners.

This is also where two conflicting forms of Islam meet: the relatively relaxed and tolerant Islam of India, versus the rigid fundamentalism of the Afghan frontier. Beneath the surface of Pakistan, these opposing forces grind against each other like two vast geologic plates, rattling teacups from Lahore to London, Karachi to New York. The clash between moderates and extremists in Pakistan today reflects this rift, and can be seen as a microcosm for a larger struggle among Muslims everywhere. So when the earth trembles in Pakistan, the world pays attention. Struggle for the Soul of Pakistan: The nation's efforts to straddle the fault line between moderate and militant Islam offer a cautionary tale for the post-9/11 world

Mark Alexander

Incompetence! Home Office Security Failure
BBC: The Home Office has admitted illegal immigrants have been mistakenly cleared for jobs as security staff.

Ministers have ordered new checks to be carried out on hundreds of thousands of people vetted by the Security Industry Authority over the past three years.

The Home Office says the SIA did not check applicants were entitled to work in the UK before granting licences.

The Tories said the system was "not fit for purpose" but the government said the new checks had "strengthened" it.

According to the Sunday Mirror, illegal immigrants are working at airports, ports and the Metropolitan Police.

The newspaper claimed 5,000 illegal immigrants were estimated to have been employed in posts such as security guards and bouncers. Security staff employed illegally (more)

Mark Alexander

”Shut Up,” Chávez, Says Spain’s King

BBC: Spain's King Juan Carlos told Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez to "shut up" as the Ibero-American summit drew to a close in Santiago, Chile.

The outburst came after Mr Chavez called former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar a "fascist".

Mr Chavez then interrupted Spanish PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's calls for him to be more diplomatic, prompting the king's outburst.

Latin American, Portuguese, Spanish and Andorran leaders were meeting in Chile.

'Democratically elected'

Mr Chavez called Mr Aznar, a close ally of US President George W Bush, a fascist, adding "fascists are not human. A snake is more human."

Mr Zapatero said: "Former President Aznar was democratically elected by the Spanish people and was a legitimate representative of the Spanish people."

Mr Chavez repeatedly tried to interrupt, despite his microphone being turned off. The king leaned forward and said: "Why don't you shut up?" Shut up, Spain king tells Chavez (more)

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Shut up, King tells Chavez

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG:
«Warum schweigst Du nicht endlich?»: Spaniens König über Chávez verärgert

LE FIGARO:
Quand Juan Carlos demande à Chavez de se taire

Mark Alexander

Lest We Forget...
...the sacrifices that the fallen servicemen made for us, so that we might live, today, in freedom.

Photograph courtesy of Google Images
BBC:
Nation and troops honour war dead

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Britain remembers war dead

Mark Alexander

Now the Barbarians Want Britain to Adopt Islamic Values in the Name of Integration!
Photo of Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari courtesy of The Telegraph
This is the limit! The chutzpah of it all! Now the Muslim immigrants want the indigenous British population to adopt some Islamic values to integrate with the Muslim community! Integration, he says, works both ways. Yes, Dr Bari, just as it does in Saudi Arabia, and in other barbaric Islamic cultures. This really is the giddy limit! This is the example par excellence of Muslim immigrants trying it on. It's particularly rich for him to suggest that Britain must beware of becoming like Nazi Germany. This from an adherent of the Islamofascist cult!

How much longer must the long-suffering British tolerate this damn nonsense?

Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari now suggests that alcohol be banned in all public places, just like smoking! (What did I tell you would happen after that ridiculous smoking ban?) He also wants the British to adopt arranged marriages, and homosexuality must be outlawed again, of course. In a few words, they want to drive us all back to the Dark Ages.

This man thinks that Britain could benefit from a little more morality (Islamic morality, of course). Hm! Does this ridiculous man not think that the Islamic world could benefit from a little more Christian humanity?

When immigrants start trying to dictate the terms and conditions, it is high time that the indigenous population sat up and started thinking seriously about repatriation for this group of people who are so obviously impossible to integrate. For if something is not done about this problem soon, then I see only strife ahead. The streets of Britain really will, then, become “rivers of blood”! - ©Mark.

THE TELEGRAPH: The head of the Muslim Council of Britain does not mince his words on integration, report Rachel Sylvester and Alice Thomson

There is fear and loathing in Britain. This week, the head of MI5 claimed there were 2,000 people involved in terrorist activity and children as young as 15 were being "groomed" to be suicide bombers.

Gordon Brown announced plans to require immigrants to learn English and Downing Street said the Prime Minister wanted to double the number of days that terrorist suspects can be detained without trial. Then, just as the Metropolitan Police was being censured for shooting the Stockwell One, the Lyrical Terrorist became the first woman to be convicted of terrorist crimes.

Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, the leader of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), thinks the Government is stoking the tension. 

"There is a disproportionate amount of discussion surrounding us," he says. "The air is thick with suspicion and unease. It is not good for the Muslim community, it is not good for society."

The 53-year-old special needs teacher has a gentle manner and a quiet voice - he describes himself as a "community spokesman" rather than a "religious leader" - but he does not mince his words.

Britain must, he warns, beware of becoming like Nazi Germany.

"Every society has to be really careful so the situation doesn't lead us to a time when people's minds can be poisoned as they were in the 1930s. If your community is perceived in a very negative manner, and poll after poll says that we are alienated, then Muslims begin to feel very vulnerable. We are seen as creating problems, not as bringing anything and that is not good for any society."

There is, in his view, no such thing as Islamic terrorism.

"Terrorists are terrorists, they may use religion but we shouldn't say Muslim terrorists, it stigmatises the whole community. We never called the IRA Catholic terrorists." Dr Bari thinks Jonathan Evans, the head of MI5, made the extremists' job easier by giving a bleak picture of the threat on the eve of the Queen's Speech. Dr Bari: Government stoking Muslim tension (more) By Rachel Sylvester and Alice Thomson

Mark Alexander

Weak Dollar Cuts US Trade Deficit
BBC: The US trade deficit has narrowed to its lowest level in more than two years, driven by record exports boosted by the weaker dollar.

The difference between what the US exports and imports shrank to $56.5bn (£27bn) in September, down 0.6% from August's revised $56.8bn.

Exports of goods and services rose 1.1% in September to a record $140.1bn, said the Commerce Department.

As the dollar has hit record lows, it has made US exports more competitive. Weak dollar cuts US trade deficit (more)

Mark Alexander

Israel Escalates Campaign Against IAEA
MIDDLE EAST TIMES: Israel escalated its campaign Thursday against the winner of the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the international nuclear watchdog, by describing him as a “danger to world peace” and calling for his dismissal for what it says are his policies towards Iran’s nuclear program.

The call by Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz on public radio came as the Jewish state has been trying to undermine ElBaradei’s credibility and just days before the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is due to publish a crucial new report on Iran’s nuclear program.

The international community will rely on the agency’s upcoming report to further their discussions at the UN on whether to impose a third set of sanctions on Iran to pressure it to abandon its nuclear program.

“The policies followed by ElBaradei endanger world peace,” Mofaz said, a day after he held talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington. “His irresponsible attitude of sticking his head in the sand over Iran’s nuclear program should lead to his impeachment.”

These were the strongest Israeli statements yet against ElBaradei, an Egyptian whom Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert recently said was “no fan of Zion.”

The call for ElBaradei’s dismissal came a day after the Israeli security cabinet met to raise pressure on Iran and to find ways to convince the international community to strengthen sanctions on Tehran. Israel escalates campaign against IAEA (more)

Mark Alexander

Reichskristallnacht, 9. auf den 10. November 1938
DIE PRESSE.COM - November-Pogrome: Als die Synagogen brannten
Mark Alexander

Kosovo Emerging as Bastion of Radical Islam


Mark Alexander

EU Sans Frontières
BBC: The European Union has decided to scrap border controls with nine of its newest members from next month.

People will be able to move freely across Europe from Portugal to Estonia.

The Schengen free travel area will include Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Malta.

The nine countries joined the EU in 2004. EU ministers will confirm the decision next month, after consulting the European Parliament.

At one minute past midnight on 21 December passport checks will be scrapped at land and sea borders across much of eastern Europe.

It is a Christmas present for millions of people from the former communist bloc, who had long complained they did not enjoy full freedom to travel, despite being part of the EU.

They will still have to show their passports at airports in most of continental Europe, but only until March.

Criminals too will be able to travel freely from the Baltics to the English Channel. EU's border-free zone to expand (more) By Oana Lungescu

Mark Alexander

Wahhabism, Financed By Saudi Arabia, Quickly Gains Ground in Bosnia
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: The Dayton Peace Accords called for the removal of foreign combatants from Bosnia after the Balkans war. But hundreds of mujahedeen fighters stayed, and today they are successfully spreading their fundamentalist Islamist views.

Thick iron bars block the entrance to Abu Hamza's store in Sarajevo's Islamic shopping center. Affixed to the bars is a handwritten note: "My Bosnian citizenship has been revoked. I have to defend myself, and for this reason my store is only open sporadically."

Abu Hamza, a bearded 42-year-old man originally from Syria, sits in his store among colorful veils and gold-embroidered tunics and speaks in a gentle voice about Bosnia's fate. Which, he says, will be either an evolution of true Islam, or a revolution. Fundamentalist Islam Finds Fertile Ground in Bosnia (more) By Renate Flottau

Mark Alexander

Chinese Turn On “Gold Digger” Blair Over Mediocre Speech Costing £200,000 Plus
THE TELEGRAPH: Tony Blair came under fire in the Chinese media yesterday for charging about £200,000 for a single speech - and not a good one at that.

The former prime minister spoke to businessmen and government officials in the industrial city of Dongguan, two hours north of Hong Kong, on Tuesday evening.

Although the real estate firm which hired him for a "VIP banquet" refused to confirm the sum, the local tax office said that he had paid just under £80,000 in income tax and £6,500 for a three per cent business tax, which would work out to a total fee of about £200,000. What made matters worse for newspaper commentators was that Mr Blair failed to say anything interesting. One said he had trotted out the same platitudes that could be heard from local officials. "Frankly, we are very familiar with all this - it's just like listening to any county or city official's reports," Deng Qingbo wrote in the China Youth Daily.

"If so, why pay such a high price to hear the same thing? Is it worth the money? Do these thoughts multiply in value because they come from the mouth of a retired prime minister?" Chinese turn on Tony Blair over speech (more) By Richard Spencer

TIMESONLINE:
£240,000 for Tony Blair’s not so great speech on greatness By Jane Macartney and Francis Elliot

Mark Alexander

Charles “Chuck” Prince in Line for Bonanza
TIMESONLINE: Charles "Chuck" Prince, the deposed head of Citigroup, is in line to walk away from the Wall Street giant with a total pay, perks and shares payout worth just under $100 million, it has emerged.

The payout for Mr Prince, who stays on as a consultant until the end of the year, include a pro-rata cash "incentive award" currently estimated to be worth $12 million.

It also includes $10,716,469 in restricted share awards and $16,046,703 in stock options that will automatically vest at his departure.

Mr Prince, whose exit was sealed late last week, already owns 1.61 million shares in Citi, currently worth about $53 million. Ex-Citigroup chief to exit with almost $100m: Charles 'Chuck' Prince is expected to leave the bank with a $42m package on top of shares worth $53m By Miles Costello

Mark Alexander

Muslim Might Hold the Key to Victory in Denmark’s General Election
THE GUARDIAN: Denmark was the crucible for the Muhammad cartoon crisis that enraged the Islamic world. But now a Muslim politician born in Syria may hold the key to victory in the country's general election

Naser Khader is one of Denmark's most popular MPs. Raised in a village outside Damascus by his Palestinian father and Syrian mother, the family moved to Copenhagen when he was 11.

Now the 44-year-old politician is set to play a key role in the outcome of next week's general election. He could be the kingmaker of the country's next government. Muslim politician could be kingmaker in Danish elections (more)

Mark Alexander

Quit Iran Now, Washington Tells EU Firms
THE GUARDIAN: UK, French and German companies begin pullout under US pressure

Multinational companies are coming under increasing pressure from the US to stop doing business with Iran because of its nuclear programme. European operators are facing threats from Washington that they could jeopardise their US interests by continuing to deal with Tehran, with increasing evidence that European governments, mainly France, Germany and Britain, are supporting the US campaign.

It emerged last night that Siemens, one of the world's largest engineering groups and based in Germany, has pulled out of all new business dealings with Iran after pressure from the US and German governments. This follows the decision by Germany's three biggest banks, Deutsche, Commerzbank, and Dresdner, to quit Iran after a warning from US vice-president Dick Cheney that if firms remain in Tehran, they are going to have problems doing business in the US. Washington tells EU firms: quit Iran now (more)

Mark Alexander

London Hairdresser to Be Sued for Refusing Job to Muslim in Headscarf
THE DAILY MAIL: The owner of a hair salon is being sued for religious discrimination for refusing to hire a Muslim woman who wears a headscarf.

Sarah Desrosiers, 32, says she turned down Bushra Noah as a junior stylist to maintain the image of her salon, which specialises in "urban, funky" cuts.

She told Miss Noah, 19, she needed her staff to display their hairstyles to the public.

But the devout Muslim insisted that wearing her headscarf was essential to her beliefs.

Miss Noah, who has been rejected for 25 different hairdressing jobs after interviews, is suing Miss Desrosiers for more than £15,000 for injury to her feelings plus an unspecified sum for lost earnings.

Miss Desrosiers, who set up the Wedge salon in King's Cross, North London, 18 months ago, says she faces financial ruin if she loses the case. Hairdresser sued for refusing to hire Muslim woman in a headscarf (more)

Mark Alexander

Muhammad on Broadway?
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Several drawings of the Prophet Muhammad in the European press have already scandalized the Muslim world. Now, a Swedish cartoonist is converting his controversial work into a musical.

Almost two years ago, 12 unflattering caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad appeared in the Danish paper Jyllands-Posten. After a bit of PR work by some radical imams in Denmark, the Muslim world erupted in protest.

Never one to leave well enough alone, Swedish artist Lars Vilks decided to keep the scandal going, and last summer, he drew a cartoon depicting the prophet's head on the body of a dog, which was published in the tiny Swedish paper Nerikes Allehanda. The caper earned him numerous death threats and a $100,000 bounty on his head, courtesy of al-Qaida -- who promised a $50,000 bonus if the murder was accomplished by slitting his throat.

Undeterred, Vilks has now come up with a dubious new idea: Why not turn the entire scandal into a musical? He has already started work on the project -- with the working title "Dogs" -- and envisions a stage production in the mold of "Jesus Christ Superstar" or "Cats."

"Muhammad is also a superstar in the modern sense of the term," Vilks told the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter. Controversial Cartoon Inspires Musical (More)

Mark Alexander

UN General Assembly to Call for Moratorium on Death Penalty
BBC: A resolution calling for a worldwide suspension of the use of the death penalty has been introduced at the United Nations General Assembly.

Eighty-one of the 192 UN members are backing the resolution, which is expected to be voted on next week.

This resolution calls for countries which still have the death penalty to introduce a moratorium or a suspension, with a view to abolishing the practice.

Opponents of the moratorium are led by Singapore.

One-hundred-and-thirty countries have already banned the death penalty, and only 25 nations carried out executions last year. UN to vote on death penalty halt (more) By Laura Trevelyan

BBC:
Italy urges global execution ban By David Willey

Mark Alexander

Bernanke Says US Economy to Slow Down
Photo of Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chief, courtesy of the BBC
BBC: Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke has warned that the US economy will slow noticeably before the end of the year.

He blamed the slowdown on the credit crisis, which has made it harder for banks and individuals to borrow money.

He said that there was likely to be more "financial restraint on economic growth as credit becomes more expensive and difficult to obtain".

In the longer term, he said that the greater premium attached to risk may lead to a healthier financial system. Bernanke says US economy to slow (more)

BBC:
Global credit crunch

FINANCIAL TIMES:
Bank of England holds rates at 5.75% By Chris Giles

FINANCIAL TIMES:
Pound hits fresh high after rate decision By Peter Garnham

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG:
US-Banken schockieren mit neuen Milliardenbelastungen: Neue Belastungen in Millardenhöhe angekündigt

LE FIGARO:
Wall Street fébrile De Perrine Créquy

Mark Alexander

”Lyrical Terrorist” First Woman Convicted Under New Terrorism Legislation
YAHOO NEWS (UK & IRELAND): A 23-year-old Heathrow Airport worker who called herself the "Lyrical Terrorist" has become the first woman to be convicted under new terrorism legislation.

Samina Malik burst into tears in the dock at the Old Bailey as a jury found her guilty of possessing records likely to be used for terrorism by a majority of 10 to one.

Malik wrote poems entitled How To Behead and The Living Martyrs and stocked a "library" of documents useful to terrorists, the Old Bailey heard.

Malik, who worked airside at WH Smith, was an unlikely but committed Islamic extremist, a jury was told.

The court heard she wrote on the back of a receipt from the shop: "The desire within me increases every day to go for martyrdom." Airport woman convicted over terror (more)

BBC:
The enigma that is the 'Lyrical Terrorist' By Ben Ando

Mark Alexander

More Falls in US Stocks
BBC: Stock markets in the US have fallen sharply as the cumulative effect of a weak dollar, soaring oil prices and the credit crisis again eroded confidence.

The benchmark Dow Jones index of leading shares tumbled 360.92 points, or 2.6%, on a day of fresh volatility.

Banking stocks were widely sold as fears over financial problems facing Wall Street showed no signs of abating.

Morgan Stanley said exposure to bad sub-prime related investments had reduced its profits by $2.5bn ($1.2bn).

Sub-prime liabilities on its balance sheet totalled $6bn at the end of last month while the decline in value of these assets had wiped $3.7bn off sales in the past two months.

"It is expected that market conditions will continue to evolve and that the fair value of these exposures will frequently change and could further deteriorate," Morgan Stanley warned in a statement after the stock market had closed. Economic worries knock US markets (more)

Mark Alexander

Iran’s Nuclear Programme “Irreversible”
THE TELEGRAPH: Iran's president has declared that his country's nuclear programme is "irreversible" and said he "could not care less" about Western sanctions.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered a stern message of defiance while addressing a rally in the city of Birjand.

But his latest claim about the progress of Iran's nuclear ambitions was deeply confused.

"Today, we have reached 3,000 centrifuges," said Mr Ahmadinejad, referring to the machines used to enrich uranium inside Iran's nuclear plant in Natanz.

If Iran is operating 3,000 centrifuges, a crucial milestone will have been passed. Ahmadinejad: Nuclear programme 'irreversible' (more) By David Blair

TIMESONLINE:
US fears Israeli strike against Iran over latest nuclear claim

Mark Alexander

Bush and Congress Bedazzled by Sarkozy; Sarkozy Aims to Be ‘Ally-in-Chief’
TIMESONLINE: President Sarkozy of France yesterday dazzled President Bush and Congress by proclaiming his love for America as he sought to rekindle a long alliance that turned soured over war in Iraq.

His address to both Houses of Congress was delivered in French. He began by breathing warm words of fidelity into the translation earpieces worn by almost all the US legislators.

To the first of many standing ovations he spoke of the shared values and history of the two nations, dating back to the War of Independence, and declared: “France is the friend of the United States of America.”

At a dinner held in his honour the previous evening, Mr Sarkozy had signalled his amorous intentions when he toasted President Bush, saying: “On behalf of all Frenchmen, I want to reconquer the heart of America.”

Mr Bush replied by making a rare foreign-language foray, welcoming his guest with the words “Bienvenue à la Maison Blanche.” The White House — as it is more usually known — has been enthralled by Mr Sarkozy, who appears ready to slip into the role of “ally-in-chief” so recently vacated by Tony Blair. Je t’aime, Nicolas Sarkozy tells America as he aims to be the ‘ally-in-chief’ (more)

BBC:
France divided as Sarkozy woos US By Hugh Schofield

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITNG:
Sarkozy und Bush demonstrieren Geschlossenheit: Haltung gegenüber iranischem Atomprogramm bekräftigt

LE FIGARO:
Sarkozy exalte l’amitié franco-américaine D’Alain Barluet

Mark Alexander

George & Nick
BBC: US President George W Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have said they will work jointly to convince Iran to give up its nuclear programme.

After talks at Mount Vernon, near Washington, Mr Bush praised his French counterpart as "a partner in peace".

Mr Sarkozy earlier received a standing ovation during the first address in more than a decade by a French leader to a joint session of Congress.

He pledged to US lawmakers that France would support the US in Afghanistan. Bush and Sarkozy declare Iran aim (more)

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Sarkozy in Congress

THE GUARDIAN:
Sarkozy seals status as Europe’s new pin-up for US

TIMESONLINE:
Sarkozy warns of ‘economic war’ as dollar falls to new low By Gary Duncan, Economics Editor

Mark Alexander

Halal Meat for Sale at ASDA!
BNP*: The ASDA supermarket chain is being criticised over its recent decision to sell Halal meat – that is meat from animals that have not been stunned before having their throats cut. For the first time animal rights activists have expressed outrage over a decision to put this meat on sale in a British supermarket. Up until now the animal welfare lobby have demonstrated blatant hypocrisy in campaigning against fox hunting, the export of calves etc – whilst turning a blind eye to the most prolific form of animal abuse practised in Britain today – that of Halal ritual slaughter. Animal rights group denounces ASDA halal decision (more)

*NB: Mark Alexander endorses NO political party; so a posted article from ANY political party’s website must not be construed as an endorsement of that particular party.

Mark Alexander

King of Morocco Pulls a Snit Over Visit of Spanish Royal Family
Photo of King Mohammed VI of Morocco courtesy of the BBC
BBC: Morocco's king has strongly condemned the visit by the Spanish monarch to the disputed Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla on the north Moroccan coast.

King Mohammed VI said it had hurt the feelings of the Moroccan people.

In a rare statement to cabinet, he said the unprecedented visit by King Juan Carlos was offensive and jeopardised future relations between the countries.

Morocco has long been demanding control over the two enclaves, which have been Spanish for some 400 years.

This is the first time the Spanish king has visited Ceuta and Melilla as head of state in his 32-year reign.

Morocco withdrew its ambassador from Madrid in protest. Morocco king condemns royal visit (more)

Mark Alexander

The Wonderful and Refreshing M Sarkozy: ”France Is the Friend of the United States of America”
Photos of Sarkozy (and Bush) thanks to the BBC
BBC: French President Nicolas Sarkozy has received a standing ovation from US lawmakers during an address to a joint session of the US Congress.

It was the first time for more than a decade that a French president spoke to both houses.

The French leader, who is on his first official visit to Washington, will also hold talks with US President George W Bush at Mount Vernon, near Washington.

They are expected to discuss Iraq, Iran and other Middle Eastern issues.

In his address to Congress, Mr Sarkozy drew applause from lawmakers when he stressed: "France is the friend of the United States of America." Sarkozy applauded by US Congress (more)

BBC:
Sarkozy woos US audience

Mark Alexander

Dollar Weakens Still Further
The pound climbed to $2.10 for the first time since 1981 this morning, boosted by speculation that China was preparing to shift its foreign reserves out of dollars.

By 10.30am, one pound was worth $2.1053. The dollar, which has been weakening for several weeks, also hit a new all-time low against the euro of $1.4703.

Analysts said today's falls had been sparked by comments made by Cheng Siwei, vice chairman of China's National People's Congress. He told a Beijing conference on Tuesday that China would "favour stronger currencies over weaker ones, and readjust accordingly". Dollar hits 26-year low against pound (more)

Mark Alexander