Israël : la béatification de Pie XII complique la venue du Pape
LE FIGARO: Le Vatican estime «discutable» la légende du portrait de Pie XII au mémorial de Yad Vashem mettant en cause son rôle pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale.

L'invitation de Benoît XVI en Israël n'est pas remise en question par la polémique autour de la béatification du pape Pie XII. Le président israélien Shimon Pères a déclaré lundi que la visite du Pape ne devait pas être liée à cette controverse. «Nous avons des raisons de penser que Pie XII n'a pas fait suffisamment d'efforts pour sauver des vies juives, mais je ne veux pas porter de jugement», a cependant rappelé Shimon Pères.

Cette nouvelle polémique autour du rôle de Pie XII pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale avait commencé au début du mois avec la déclaration du grand rabbin de Haïfa, Shear-Yashuv Cohen au synode des évêques au Vatican. Le rabbin, premier religieux juif convié à un synode, avait contesté le bien-fondé de la béatification de Pie XII, coupable de ne pas avoir «élevé la voix face à la Shoah».

Quelques jours plus tard, le pape Benoît XVI affirmait dans une homélie à la mémoire de son prédécesseur que Pie XII avait œuvré «secrètement et en silence» pendant tout le conflit pour «éviter le pire et sauver le plus grand nombre possible de juifs», tout en déplorant un débat historique «pas toujours serein».

Une déclaration du père Peter Gumpel, l'avocat du procès en béatification de Pie XII, est venue depuis raviver la controverse. «Nous n'acceptons pas que certaines parties de la communauté juive attaquent Pie XII», a déclaré ce prélat. «Il a fait plus que quiconque pendant cette période pour sauver des juifs, non seulement en Allemagne et en Italie, mais dans d'autres pays.» Le père Gumpel a aussi laissé entendre que Benoît XVI ne pourrait pas se rendre en Israël tant que la légende sous la photo de Pie XII dans le Musée de la Shoah de Yad Vashem, à Jérusalem, «Une évidente falsification de l'histoire», ne serait pas enlevée. >>> Adrien Jaulmes | 21.10.2008

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We Have Lost People's Trust on Immigration, Minister Admits
THE GUARDIAN: Better border controls needed, but no annual cap / Woolas pledges to clear asylum case backlog

Phil Woolas, the new immigration minister, yesterday admitted the government had lost the trust of people over immigration because they did not know who was leaving and coming into the country.

He also suggested that some multi-cultural policies had the effect of "leaving communities isolated from one another to the mutual dissatisfaction of everyone".

Speaking at an event with the Dutch justice minister Nebahat Albayrak, he said his main political goal was to try to replicate the debate held in the Netherlands over the proper role of migration.

A matter of days into his new role, Woolas took personal responsibility for clearing the backlog of asylum cases.

He said: "Our failure to resource the asylum processes has caused untold human misery and division within our communities.

"My attitude to this issue is I am going to clear the backlog because it is the right thing to do morally for asylum seekers and the right thing to do for the country as a whole. >>> Patrick Wintour, Political Editor | October 21, 2008

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Iran: Alleged Christian Converts Deny Apostasy, Released
PAYVAND: Mahmoud Matin and Arash Basirat have been acquitted of the charge of apostasy by Branch 5 of the Fars Criminal Court in Shiraz, south west Iran, on 25 Sep 2008. They have since been released.

The Court ruled that they were not presented with any reason and evidence to confirm the offence of apostasy was committed by Mahmoud Matin and Arash Basirat. Both had denied that they had converted to Christianity, and said that they remain Muslim and accordingly the court found no further evidence to the contrary.

Mahmoud Matin and Arash Basirat were arrested on 15 May 2008 by Ministry of Intelligence officials in Shiraz, southwest Iran, where they were having a meeting with 13 other people, who were also interrogated but released. They were held in a detention centre in Shiraz which is controlled by the Ministry of Intelligence. They were in solitary confinement for two months before being placed in a cell together around 15 July. Their lawyer was initially informed of their charge of apostasy in early August, which if they had been convicted could have carried the death sentence. [Source: Payvand] | October 22, 2008

Ultimate source: Amnesty International >>>

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The Mormon Church Is Leading the Fight against Gay Marriage in California
ALTERNET: California's Prop. 8 has exploded into an expensive, extensive battle between religious conservatives and gay rights advocates.

REXBURG, IDAHO -- America's Family Community." That's the motto of this Mormon college town, displayed on street-side monuments and in tall letters on the movie-theater marquee. Apparently, it's a formula for success. Rexburg thrives on a burst of construction and population growth. More than 30,000 residents occupy a grid of wide, orderly streets, amid vast potato fields that unfurl toward the majestic Teton Peaks. Plenty of Rexburg parents, following the Mormon prescription for big families, have six or seven children. One guy tells me his next-door neighbors have 13 children, and a family on the other side has 16. The newly expanded hospital maternity unit is already crowded with new babies. If Rexburg is any indication, Mormons are taking over the world.

They certainly run this town. An estimated 97 percent of the locals belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- making Rexburg possibly the most Mormon of all towns. The brilliant white-stone 57,000-square-foot Mormon temple, opened eight months ago, looms on a hilltop, glowing day and night; intense floodlights make Mormon temples the brightest objects in the Western nights. The college that sprawls beside the temple -- Brigham Young University-Idaho -- now boasts an annual enrollment of 21,000 students, more than double what it had eight years ago.

Mormon mores -- some written into local laws -- permeate the community. Rexburg has no real saloon and no supply of hard liquor; only four restaurants are licensed to serve beer or wine. There is only one coffee shop, and it keeps up with the meager caffeine demand by brewing each cup individually. When I cruise town on a pleasant Saturday night in mid-September, the hottest action comes down in a bowling alley: Balls crash down all 16 lanes while the spinning pins and the bowlers' teeth glow even whiter under the ultraviolet lighting.

But something louder and bigger draws me to Rexburg: the religious culture wars, which heat up every election season. Prophets who run the Mormon Church -- the church president, his top counselors and a dozen top apostles, based in the headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah -- encourage all Mormons to be active in politics. The prophets are said to be relaying the word of God, and while they generally don't endorse candidates, they take stands on issues such as abortion and homosexuality. As a result, most Mormons vote very Republican. In the last presidential election, nearly 92 percent of the votes in Madison County (Rexburg is the county seat) went to George W. Bush -- securing Rexburg yet another title: the nation's most Republican town.

On the most critical issues, the Mormon prophets go all out, urging their followers to conduct targeted campaigns. That helps explain why, Thursday evenings in the downtown building of a health-products company owned by one of Idaho's richest Mormons, groups of Rexburg college students and townies get together. They're using the company's call center to make call after call to California voters, trying to persuade them to pass a ballot measure in the November election. It's titled Proposition 8 -- the California Marriage Protection Amendment -- and it aims to prevent gay and lesbian people from getting married in that state.

An eight-year battle led to Proposition 8. In 2000, with Mormon encouragement and campaign money, California voters passed a measure banning gay marriage. It blew up again last May, when the California Supreme Court justices narrowly ruled (four to three) that the ban violated the civil rights of gays and lesbians. The court likened it to the bans many states once had against interracial marriage, all of which were tossed out long ago. Now, Proposition 8 aims to overrule the California Supreme Court, by amending the state Constitution.

Many religious groups have jumped into the campaign; the Mormon Church takes the lead. In June, the church's top prophets commanded Mormons "to do all you can" to work for Proposition 8 and donate money to the campaign. Mormon leaders throughout California read the instructions to their congregations, which have more than 750,000 members. Word spread everywhere in the Mormon realm. In August, the prophets added pages of elaboration: "The Church has a single, undeviating standard of sexual morality: intimate relations are proper only between a husband and a wife united in bonds of matrimony. ... Any dilution of the traditional definition of marriage will further erode the already weakened stability of marriages and family generally ... with harmful consequences for society." Mormon volunteers, additionally inspired by special TV broadcasts beamed from the headquarters into their churches, go door-to-door in California for Proposition 8. In other states, they run phone banks and do whatever they can. Their effort is strongest in the West, because there are more Mormons in this region than anywhere else. Chad Reiser, a leader of the BYU-Idaho College Republican Club, says the phone banks are not an official club activity, but "we do try to get as many people involved as possible. Proposition 8 is a moral issue" related to church doctrine -- "something we believe is important to all people." >>> By Ray Ring, High Country News | October 22, 2008

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Al Fayed Quizzed over Assault Claim
YAHOO! NEWS (UK & IRELAND): Mohamed al Fayed was interviewed under caution by police on Wednesday in connection with an allegation of sexual assault against a girl under 16, sources said.

The Harrods owner voluntarily went to a police station in west London on Wednesday morning to answer questions about the alleged incident in May.

Scotland Yard refused to confirm that Mr al Fayed had been questioned.

A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that a man attended a west London police station by prior arrangement and was questioned under caution this morning.

"The man was questioned in relation to an allegation of sexual assault on a girl under 16 at a business premises in central London.

"The allegation was received in May 2008."

The Met's Operation Sapphire, which investigates sexual offences across London, is leading the inquiry.

There have been no arrests so far. >>> The Press Association | October 22, 2008

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Law Lords Say Sharia Is "Arbitrary and Discriminatory"
THE TELEGRAPH: Britain's highest court allows a Lebanese woman to stay in Britain rather than lose her son.

The law lords ruled this morning ruled that it would be a “flagrant breach” of the European Convention on Human Rights for the government to remove a woman to Lebanon where she would automatically lose custody of her 12-year old son under Lebanon’s sharia family law.

The woman – referred to only as EM – came to the UK on false documents in 2004 with her son, AF, then aged eight. She has had sole custody of AF since birth but fled from her allegedly violent husband in Lebanon because of laws that automatically award fathers physical custody of their children from the age of seven.

Today’s decision reversed earlier rulings by the Court of Appeal, the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal and the Home Secretary that returning the woman and her son to Lebanon would not violate her right to family life despite the automatic separation of mother and child.

The leading judgment was delivered by Lord Hope. His comments on sharia are worth reading in full:

“The appellant came to this country as a fugitive from sharia law. Her son had reached the age of seven when, under the system that regulates the custody of a child of that age under sharia law in Lebanon, his physical custody would pass by force of law to his father or another male member of his family. Any attempt by her to retain custody of him there would be bound to fail. This is simply because the law dictates that a mother has no right to the custody of her child after that age. She may or may not be allowed what has been described as visitation. That would give her access to her son during supervised visits to a place where she could see him. But under no circumstances would his custody remain with her.

“The close relationship that exists between mother and child up to the age of custodial transfer cannot survive under that system of law where, as in this case, the parents of the child are longer living together when the child reaches that age. There is a real risk in all these cases that the very essence of the family life that mother and child have shared together up to that date will be destroyed or nullified. >>> By Joshua Rozenberg | October 22, 2008

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Ban Criticises Executions in Iran
BBC: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has criticised Iran for what he says is an upsurge in executions in the country.

Iranian authorities say the executions are needed to fight drug trafficking.

Mr Ban welcomed a call from the head of Iran's judiciary to suspend the execution of children, but noted that the practice was still continuing.

The secretary general also used a new UN report on human rights in Iran to highlight the treatment of women, religious minorities and homosexuals.

Iran's deputy prosecutor general, Hossein Zebhi, has suggested that judges should stop imposing the death penalty on young offenders.

However on Monday, Mr Zebhi said that under Sharia law only a victim's family could commute a death sentence for murder.

At least six youths aged under 18 have been executed in Iran this year alone. >>> | October 21, 2008

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UK Looks to Become a Global Provider of Islamic Finance
A government organisation is looking to educate financial institutions in a bid to help the UK become a global provider of Islamic finance. >>> By Natalie Holt | October 21, 2008
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Islam: Cardinal Warns against Alienating Immigrants
Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard puts forward a logical argument, but unfortunately it is a false one. Second and third generation Muslim immigrants do not need the heavy hand of the state to alienate them from Western society; they already have their religion, their holy book, and their prophet to do that for them. The heavy hand of the state is not the cause of the alienation; rather, it is the result of it. Therein lies a big difference. - ©Mark

Photo courtesy of AKI
AKI: Brussels - Second and third generation Muslim immigrants in Europe risk serious alienation from the societies in which they live, France's Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard told a conference in Brussels on Tuesday. The youngsters suffer "a lack of success at school, unemployment, the feeling of not truly belonging or having a stake in the future," said Ricard, whose diocese covers the southwestern French city of Bordeaux.

Ricard argued that Islam may appear to offer young Muslims an identity and pride that their societies do not. He said the anger and violence they feel towards what they perceive as an unjust 'police state' (photo) can drive them into the arms of extremists.

"They risk being attracted by most conservative and anti-Western strands (of Islam), and Muslim communities can be tempted to form an anti-society," he said.

This can lead to "a radical rejection" of the West by Muslims and the resulting rejection of Muslims by non-Muslims in Europe, Ricard warned. >>> AKI | October 21, 2008

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Afghan Journalism Student Sentenced to 20 years for Insulting Islam
TIMESONLINE: An Afghan journalism student sentenced to death for allegedly ’insulting Islam’ had his conviction upheld but his sentence reduced to 20 years in prison by an Afghan central appeal court today.

The prosecution alleged that Sayed Perwez Kambashkh, 24, downloaded from the internet and distributed an article by an Iranian writer questioning some of the tenets of Islam relating women’s rights. He has always denied the charges.

He is alleged to have added three paragraphs to the offending article himself, one of which read: “This is the real face of Islam... the prophet Mohammad wrote verses of the Holy Quran just for his own benefit.”

At his appeal court trial today five professors of Balkh University, where the defendant was a student, claimed that Kambakhsh disrupted classes by asking “anti-Islam and insulting questions.”

Kambakhsh was originally sentenced to death by a local court in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif following his arrest in October 2007.

Following today’s hearing defence lawyer, Mohammad Afzal Shormach Nuristani, said his client would appeal to Afghanistan’s Supreme Court. Mr Nuristani has faced repeated death threats, as has his client.

The case has drawn widespread criticism from human rights organisations and Western governments. Kambakhsh claimed he made a confession after being tortured by officials from the Afghan security services. He claims his accusers were motivated by personal enimities to bring the charges against him.

The proceedings of the original trial were criticised by the European Union amongst others, after it emerged that the trial was held in closed session with only three judges, a court clerk and prosecutor present. Kambakhsh was given only three minutes to defend himself before being sentenced to death.

International observers and human rights groups also attacked today’s appeal proceedings, held in open court. >>> Tom Coghlan in Kabul | October 21, 2008

Related stories here

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Saudis Indict 991 Terrorism Suspects
THE GUARDIAN: Saudi authorities have indicted 991 suspected militants for participating in terrorist attacks carried out over the past five years, the interior minister said yesterday.

The legal proceedings mark a big step in the country's fight against terrorism. Saudi Arabia has so far been reluctant to resort to trying suspects on terrorism charges that could result in death sentences until it can show the public that every effort has been made to give the defendants a chance to repent.

"The kingdom has been the target of an organised terrorist campaign linked to networks of strife and sedition overseas," said the interior minister, Prince Nayef, in a statement. "This campaign targeted the way of life, economy and principles of Saudi society and sought to create chaos.

"It has direct links to a deviant group that adopts the [mindset] of al-Qaida."

The 991 suspects, he said, have been responsible for more than 30 attacks in Saudi Arabia since May 2003, killing 164 people, including 74 security officials. A further 160 attacks have been foiled, he added. The statement did not specify the nationality of the suspects or whether all were in custody.

The Saudi government fears a public backlash against its crackdown if it takes overly harsh measures against those indicted, and wants to avoid accusations it was doing so to please the US.

There is a degree of public sympathy for Saudis who carry out jihad in occupied Muslim countries. Many of those who have returned from imprisonment in Guantánamo Bay or Iraq have been placed on rehabilitation programmes to encourage them to renounce terrorism.

Nayef said the militants' actions had damaged the reputation of Islam and charity work, "attaching the label of terrorism to Islam and Muslims". >>> Associated Press in Riyadh | October 22, 2008

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Geert Wilders Interviewed by Robert Spencer
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Switzerland, a Possible Target of Islamist Terrorism?
MIDDLE EAST TIMES: Once considered the safest country in Europe, if not the world, Switzerland is now a potential target of a terrorist attack. Why? In the past few months something has happened to this quiet and neutral country where outside of an occasional banking scandal nothing much went on; at least nothing that merited international focus.

Recently, a slew of events all linked to radical Islamists appears to have shattered the tranquility enjoyed by this Alpine country.

First, came a polemic over an incident akin to the Danish caricature saga; that was followed by new Wahhabi leadership at the Geneva mosque; and a then a prominent Wahhabi figure was denied entry, just to cite a few events. This, much to the chagrin of the Swiss, has placed Switzerland on the Islamists' radar.

Initially, holding on to its neutrality, the country kept its doors open to various Islamist groups. One person who took advantage of this freedom was Said Ramadan, founder of the World Islamic League and a major figure in the Muslim Brotherhood; he established the Geneva Islamic Center.

One of his children, a prominent figure in the radical world of politicized Islam is Tariq Ramadan, born and living in Switzerland, until Oxford and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair offered him a job. His brother Hani, who has been involved in multiple controversies over his extremist speeches, is currently head of the Geneva Islamic center.

Today, the stronghold of Islamists over the Geneva Muslim community continues unabated. At the end of March, four executives of the Geneva mosque were swiftly fired by the mosque's new director, an imam recently arrived from Jeddah.

Speculation has it that they were not radical enough. The new imam, Youssef Ibram, a Moroccan, trained first in his native country and then in Saudi Arabia, where he studied Islamic law for six years.

He is, interestingly, a member of The European Committee of the Fatwa, a Who's Who of Islamists very close to the Muslim Brotherhood and headed by Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi. (Qaradawi is a prominent Muslim Brother, who justifies suicide attacks against Israelis, civilians and children alike; and U.S. troops in Iraq. He also hosts one of the most popular talk shows on Al-Jazeera TV).

Three years ago, while based in Zurich, when asked about stoning, Ibram answered that this practice should not happen in Switzerland, but also that he could not contest it in principle, since it is mentioned in the hadith (the sayings of the Prophet Mohammed.) Ibram's response prompted so much protest that he had to leave Zurich and relocate in Geneva.

The Swiss government in Bern has recently adopted a stronger stand against Islamist extremists by denying entry to Salman al-Odeh. Though Odeh is typically labeled as a moderate, he is among the most extremist of Wahhabi agitators, intelligence sources say. >>> By Olivier Guitta | October 21, 2008

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Sarkozy will Schlüsselindustrien teilverstaatlichen: Schutz der europäischen Wirtschaft vor asiatischen Investoren
NZZ Online: Als Antwort auf die drohende Wirtschaftskrise hat der französische Staatspräsident Nicolas Sarkozy eine Teilverstaatlichung von Schlüsselindustrien vorgeschlagen. «Wir sollten über eigene Staatsfonds nachdenken, um strategisch wichtige Unternehmensanteile, die abgewertet sind, aufzukaufen», sagte der amtierende EU-Ratspräsident am Dienstag auf einer Pressekonferenz im Europaparlament.

«Wenn die Krise dann vorbei ist, können wir die Aktien wieder auf den Markt bringen.»

Auf diese Weise könnten die EU-Staaten einen Ausverkauf wichtiger Unternehmen an nichteuropäische Investoren verhindern, erklärte Sarkozy. «Ich möchte nicht, dass die Bürger eines Tages aufwachen und feststellen, dass sich die grossen europäischen Unternehmen in den Händen nichteuropäischer Kapitaleigner befinden.» >>> AP | 21. Oktober 2008

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Britain Faces Threat from Radicalised Muslims for 30 years, Says Security Minister
THE TELEGRAPH: Britain will face a threat from radicalised young Muslims for another 30 years, the Security Minister Lord West has said.

Lord West warned that it will take decades to win the argument against terrorism and extremism in some sections of British society.

"To stop this radicalisation of extremists is going to take about 30 years," the minister told MPs on the Commons Defence Committee.

He added that no matter how much work the Government puts into improving Britain's ability to detect and thwart terrorist plots, the threat will only be overcome by persuading Muslims not to engage in violence.

"We cannot arrest and protect our way out of this problem," Lord West said. >>> By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent | October 21, 2008

THE TELEGRAPH: Young Muslims ‘Are Turning to Extremism’

Extremists are winning the battle for the hearts and minds of Britain's young Muslims, a disturbing police report warns.

Increasing numbers have become so alienated from mainstream society that they could even lend their support to jihadi terrorism, the study claims.

While most reject violence, many distrust police and are reluctant to inform on extremists. >>> By Patrick Sawer | June 22, 2008

THE TELEGRAPH: Five Men Arrested under Terrorism Act

Five men have been arrested in Birmingham under the Terrorism Act after a "long and complex investigation".

The men, aged 29 to 36, were arrested on suspicion of being involved in the "commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism", according to West Midlands Police.

Police officers raided five residential addresses in Birmingham shortly after 6am on Tuesday morning.

As part of the investigation, a further two business properties were also searched by the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit.

A West Midlands Police spokeswoman said: "The men in custody are aged between 29 and 36

"This action comes as a result of a long and complex investigation by the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit. >>> By Chris Irvine | October 21, 2008

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Film-Trailer: Anonyma - Eine Frau in Berlin

TIMESONLINE: German War Film A Woman in Berlin Opens Old Wounds over Red Army Rapes

The gruff phrase “Komm Frau!” – Come, woman! – still sends shivers down the spines of elderly Germans. It was the command given by Russian soldiers as they prowled Berlin and other bombed-out postwar German cities, searching for women to rape.

The hidden horror of those months is about to be revealed in a new German film, A Woman in Berlin, that is likely to shock the nation, stir resentment against the Russians and provoke a debate about morality in war.

The film is based on a diary written by the German journalist Marta Hillers. She began to scribble it in a dusty cellar on Friday April 20, 1945 – Hitler’s birthday, the last before his suicide ten days later.

Within days of the occupation she had been raped several times by Red Army soldiers, one of many hundreds of thousands of German women abused in this way. It was the crime that no one talked about. >>> Roger Boyes in Berlin | October 21, 2008

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Pat Condell Thanks YouTube for Banning His Video

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Britain's Most Senior Muslim Police Officer Rejects Payout Because He Won't Deny Sir Ian Blair Is a Racist
DAILYMAIL: Britain's most senior Muslim officer has been offered a six-figure sum to settle his race discrimination case against the force, it was revealed.

Sources close to Tarique Ghaffur say the deal, tabled by the Metropolitian Police Authority (MPA), contained a contentious clause that would force the Muslim officer to declare that Met chief Sir Ian Blair was not racist.

But Assistant Commissioner Ghaffur, 50, is said to have rejected the offer as he still believed Sir Ian personally discriminated against him on the grounds of his race.

Mr Ghaffur was suspended this summer after accusing the Met's leadership - including the commissioner - of sidelining him from key duties in favour of white officers. The Met denies the claim.

Mediation talks have been ongoing between two sides, and both hope that an agreement can be reached ahead of Sir Ian's departure on 1 December.

A source close to Mr Ghaffur said: 'The MPA has put an offer on the table but Tarique has made it very clear that he will not accept Sir Ian's terms that he goes back on his accusation that he was unfairly treated by Sir Ian because of his race and religion. >>> | October 20, 2008

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Controversial Therapy Aims to ‘Cure’ Terrorists
FOX NEWS: A controversial therapy program has been initiated to "cure" extremist Muslim inmates of their political beliefs, the U.K.'s Sunday Mail reported.

Psychologists in the prison service will use techniques similar to those used to “de-program” members of religious cults, the Mail reported. The experimental treatments are being developed by a special extremism unit, set up by the Ministry of Justice.

The therapy is part of a strategy to combat Islamic extremism in Britain's jails where Muslim prisoners are serving time for terrorist offenses, the paper reported. The Ministry fears that if they are left alone, their violent, jihadist interpretation of Islam will spread. >>> | October 20, 2008

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Jordanian Poet Arrested for 'Insulting Islam'
THE MEMRI BLOG: Jordan's chief prosecutor has ordered the detention of Jordanian poet Islam Samhan for "insulting Islam," from October 5 until the completion of the investigation.

The charges against him followed a lawsuit filed by the Publication and Distribution Authority, for including Koranic verses in his poems without receiving permission from the authority. [Source: The Memri Blog] | October 20, 2008

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Immigration: Phil Woolas Admits Labour Responsible for String of Failures
THE TELEGRAPH: Labour had made a string of failures in its management of the migration system, the new immigration minister has admitted.

Just days after sparking a row by apparently calling for a cap on the number of immigrants coming to the country, Phil Woolas said the Government had implemented policies that had damaged both those moving to the country and the existing population.

He said too much money had been spent on translating signs and documents into other languages and not enough on teaching migrants to learn English, leading to segregated communities.

Mr Woolas, who only began his new brief two weeks ago, suggested ministers had wrongly shied away from demanding that people coming to Britain speak the language, and accused the country of having an "old world" attitude.

He also criticised Labour's failure to fund asylum removals properly which he said had caused "untold human misery and division".

But last night he was forced to make another embarrassing "clarification" of his latest remarks.

He insisted the Government was now making progress but conceded that UK policy on immigration was lagging a decade behind that of other countries.

It is estimated that 2.3 million people have moved to Britain since Labour came to power, 84 per cent of them from outside Europe, and a further 7 million are expected by 2031, putting pressure on housing, transport and public services.

Mr Woolas's latest outspoken comments come after he appeared to agree that there should be a limit on the number of people moving to the country from overseas in an interview on Saturday. >>> By Martin Beckford, Social Affairs Correspondent | October 20, 2008

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Centuries of British Freedoms Being 'Broken' by Security State, Says Sir Ken Macdonald
THE TELEGRAPH: Centuries of British civil liberties risk being broken by the relentless pressure from the ‘security state’, the country’s top prosecutor has warned.

Outgoing Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Ken Macdonald warned that the expansion of technology by the state into everyday life could create a world future generations “can’t bear”.

In his wide-ranging speech, Sir Ken appeared to condemn a series of key Government policies, attacking terrorism proposals - including 42 day detention - identity card plans and the “paraphernalia of paranoia”.

Instead, he said, the Government should insist that “our rights are priceless” and that: “The best way to face down those threats is to strengthen our institutions rather than to degrade them.”

The intervention will be seen as a significant setback to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith who last week saw her plans to lock up terror suspects for 42 days before being charged thrown out by the House of Lords.

It is also a blow to Miss Smith’s plans for a super-database to record the details of millions of people’s online presence, including emails, SMS messages and Facebook profiles as well as the controversial identity card programme.

Sir Ken chose to issue his tough warning about the perils of the “Big Brother” state in his final speech as DPP, days before he leaves his post at the end of this month.

He warned that MPs should “take very great care to imagine the world we are creating before we build it. We might end up living with something we can’t bear”. >>> By Christopher Hope, Home Affairs Editor | October 20, 2008

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British Aid Worker Shot Dead in Afghanistan for 'Preaching Christianity'
Photo of Gayle Williams courtesy of The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: The Taliban have shot dead a British aid worker in Afghanistan because she was "preaching Christianity."

Gayle Williams, who had been in the troubled country for three years, was killed by two gunmen on a motorcycle as she walked to work in the capital of Kabul.

She recently moved from Kandahar back to Kabul because it was seen as safer.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the shooting, which took place at 8am local time.

Afghan interior ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary said Miss Williams had been shot in the body and leg with a pistol.

"Two armed men sitting on a motorbike shot her dead," he said. "Some bullets hit her body and some hit her leg and when police got there she was dead."

Her body was taken to a nearby hospital.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that a British national was shot dead in Kabul. Next of kin have been informed."

Mr Bashary said it was not known who was responsible, but Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, insisted his militia had carried out the killing.

"We killed her because she was working for an organisation which was preaching Christianity," he said. >>> By Caroline Gammell | October 20. 2008

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Immigration: Government Accused of Spin
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The Government has rowed back on a promise to cap immigrant numbers amid accusations that the pledge amounted to little more than spin.

Two days after he appeared to sign up to a cap on the number of overseas workers welcomed into the UK, Phil Woolas, the Immigration Minister, admitted that no fresh measures were planned, and said he had been referring to existing schemes.

Mr Woolas insisted that he had long been concerned about the immigration figures numbers, and suggested that there was no need for a cap because the Government's new points-based system would cut the number of in-comers to an appropriate level.

He said: "The accusations against me are deeply hurtful. This is an issue that I have been passionately involved in all of my adult life.

"It is the reason why I got involved in politics, to tackle racial discrimination and to help people who are immigrants.

"But we can only do that if the public are reassured that we have got a tough immigration policy and it is implemented.

"That is what I think most upsets and annoys people, that they see laws that are not implemented. The Prime Minister has asked me to do that and that's what I am going to do.

"We are going to be tough in implementing these policies. It is very important that the public are reassured that the authorities, including the Government, know who is coming into our country and who is leaving it.

"My job is to be as tough as we can, implement that whilst at the same time changing the regime for people who earn citizenship to our country to help them to help themselves more than we have done in the past. So if you like, it is a tough and tender policy."

Mr Woolas' words contrasted with a newspaper interview he gave last week, in which he used far tougher language to describe his attitude to immigration. He said: "It's been too easy to get into this country in the past and it's going to get harder.

"There has to be a balance between the number of people coming in and the number of people leaving." >>> By Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent | October 19, 2008

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Should We Surrender the British Pound
SUNDAY EXPRESS: EUROPEAN leaders are plotting to “bounce” Britain into the euro in the wake of the economic crisis.

The chairman of the euro group of finance ministers said Gordon Brown had to “beg to be let into the room” where crisis talks took place place last week.



Luxembourg finance minister Jean-Claude Juncker said the group warned the Prime Minister he could be excluded from future talks on the European recovery as long as Britain remained outside the single currency.



Asked whether he thought Britain would now join the 15 countries who have adopted the euro, Mr Juncker said: “For the government leader of a big country it cannot be pleasant to invite himself into a meeting and then to have to leave the meeting when those who are sharing their currency make the ­decisions." [Source: The Sunday Express] | October 19, 2008

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European Commissioner: “Islam Is Welcome. Immigration Is Moral Necessity”
Jacques Barrot, the European Commissioner for Justice, displays his total and utter ignorance in matters pertaining to Islam. Photo courtesy of Google Images
BRUSSELS JOURNAL: Jacques Barrot is the European Commissioner for Justice. In an interview at Café Babel [in French] he gives some revealing answers which indicate that the European suicide is underway. He calls immigration an economic and moral necessity, adding that Islam is welcome in Europe.

Mr Barrot is a former deputy in the French National Assembly, from 1967 to 2004. He was one of the founders of today's UMP party, an institution that claims to be conservative. UMP is the party of Nicolas Sarkozy, who is known to the media and the world as a politician of the "Right." Barrot had previously supported Jacques Chirac, and before that had been a leader of the centrist movement. In 2000 he was convicted in a French court of "abuse of confidence". The case involved the diverting of government money to his party. He received an eight month suspended prison sentence but was pardoned by Jacques Chirac. Since 2004, Barrot has been a European Commissioner. He is also a Vice President of the European Commission. >>> From the desk of Tiberge | October 18, 2008

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YNET NEWS – Opinion: They Haven’t Learned a Thing
Lavish funeral for far-right leader Haider shows that Austria hasn’t changed

No. Many Austrians have proven yet again that they have not changed. They have proven that they have not learned a thing, and that they do not wish to learn or to change.

The funeral arrangements for Jörg Haider, the leader of a far right party, only served to prove that when it comes to Austria, what used to be there is still what we see there to this day.

The man who on more than one occasion praised his countryman, the fuehrer of the German Reich, got the kind of funeral usually reserved for kings or presidents, including a funeral ceremony and convey in line with all the military honors. His funeral was attended by hundreds of politicians, as well as senior officers and other dignitaries, including the Austrian president and prime minister.

Not to mention the tens of thousands of mourning and crying Austrians, many of whom are World War II veterans, who again proudly displayed the badges of honor and medals they received in their roles as the trusted and fanatical servants of the Reich, which was headed by their countryman for the 12 darkest years in the history of humanity - Adolf Hitler, born in the town of Braunau am Inn. >>> Noah Klieger | October 19, 2008

DIE PRESSE: Israel. Zeitung: "Viele Österreicher sehnen sich nach Drittem Reich"

Die israelische Tageszeitung "Yedioth Anoroth" kritisiert das "pompöse" Begräbnis für Jörg Haider. Es beweise, dass "viele Österreicher nichts gelernt haben". Und indirekt, dass sich viele nach dem Dritten Reich zurücksehnen.

Für die auflagenstärkste israelische Tageszeitung "Yedioth Ahronoth" ist das "pompöse Begräbnis" für Kärntens Landeshauptmann Jörg Haider der Beweis dafür, "dass sich Österreich nicht geändert hat". In einem Kommentar der englischsprachigen Online-Ausgabe des Blattes, "Ynetnews", wird behauptet, viele Österreicher sehnten sich nach wie vor nach dem Dritten Reich zurück.

"Österreicher haben nichts gelernt"

"Viele Österreicher haben wieder einmal unter Beweis gestellt, dass sie sich nicht geändert haben. Sie haben bewiesen, dass sie überhaupt nichts gelernt haben und dass sie gar nichts lernen oder sich verändern wollen", so die Meinung von "Ynet"-Autor Noah Klieger.

Ein Begräbnis wie für Könige

"Dem Mann, der bei mehr als einer Gelegenheit seinen Landsmann, den Führer des Deutschen Reiches, gerühmt hat, wurde ein Begräbnis beschert, wie es nur Könige oder Präsidenten erhalten..." Das Blatt weist auch darauf hin, dass an dem Begräbnis hunderte Politiker, darunter auch der Bundespräsident und der Bundeskanzler, teilgenommen haben. >>> | 19. Oktober 2008

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Man Deserts Wife in Dubai, Converts to Islam and Remarries
DECCAN HERALD: A 39-year-old woman living in Dubai was allegedly deserted by her husband who converted to Islam and married another woman.

Vibha Suri, who now lives in the United Arab Emirates city, got to know in January this year that her husband Vikram Suri had married one Wassima Khan in October 2007, only after a letter from the Indian Consulate in Egypt reached her parents in Lucknow informing them about their son-in-law's second matrimony.

Vikram remarried in Egypt after converting to Islam.

"It has been a year now that my trauma and grief started. Vikram had violated our marriage by committing bigamy after he converted to Islam," Vibha said over phone from Dubai.

Vibha is now fighting a legal battle at the Delhi High Court as she accuses Vikram of restricting her children from travelling outside Dubai and violating an MoU that was finalised between them in February.

"Vikram used Shariat laws in UAE courts to restrict my children's travel outside the country. The MoU was agreed on issues relating to transferring of past financial assets and Vikram's moving out of our house in Dubai," she said. >>> New Delhi, PTI | October 19, 2008

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Wilders Slams Appointment of Moroccan Mayor
Photo of Geert Wilders courtesy of Google Images
Freedom Party leader says appointing Moroccan Ahmed Aboutaleb as Rotterdam mayor is as ridiculous as having a Dutchman become mayor of Mecca.

MUSLIMS AGAINST SHARIA: AMSTERDAM -- The right-wing leader of Freedom Party, Geert Wilders, on Friday slammed the upcoming appointment of Moroccan Ahmed Aboutaleb as mayor of Rotterdam.

"Appointing a Moroccan as mayor of the second largest Dutch city is just as ridiculous as appointing a Dutchman as mayor of Mecca," he said.

Instead, Wilders said, Aboutaleb "should become mayor of Rabat in Morocco."

"With him as mayor, Rotterdam will be Rabat on the banks of the river Maas. Soon we may even have an imam serving as arch bishop. This is madness."

On Friday, the city council of Rotterdam determined Moroccan-born Muslim Ahmed Aboutaleb will be mayor from 1 January.

The government still has to approve 47-year-old Aboutaleb's appointment, but this is considered a formality. >>> | October 17, 2008

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Ultraconservative Islam on Rise in Mideast
PR-INSIDE: CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - The Muslim call to prayer fills the halls of a Cairo computer shopping center, followed immediately by the click of locking doors as the young, bearded tech salesmen close up shop and line up in rows to pray together.
 Business grinding to a halt for daily prayers is not unusual in conservative Saudi Arabia, but until recently it was rare in the Egyptian capital, especially in affluent commercial districts like Mohandiseen, where the mall is located.

But nearly the entire three-story mall is made up of computer stores run by Salafis, an ultraconservative Islamic movement that has grown dramatically across the Middle East in recent years.

«We all pray together,» said Yasser Mandi, a salesman at the Nour el-Hoda computer store. «When we know someone who is good and prays, we invite them to open a shop here in this mall.» Even the name of Mandi's store is religious, meaning «Light of Guidance[»].

The rise of Salafists has critics worried that their beliefs will crowd out the more liberal and tolerant version of Islam long practiced in some Middle East countries, particularly Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. They also warn that its doctrine is only a few shades away from that of violent groups like al-Qaida _ that it effectively preaches, «Yes to jihad, just not now.[»]

In the broad spectrum of Islamic thought, Salafism is on the extreme conservative end. Saudi Arabia's puritanical Wahhabi interpretation is considered the forerunner of modern Salafism, and Saudi preachers on satellite TV _ and more recently the Internet _ have been key to the spread of Salafism.

Salafist groups are gaining in numbers and influence across the Middle East. In Jordan, a Salafist was chosen as head of the old-line opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood. In Kuwait, Salafists were elected to parliament and are leading the resistance to any change that would threaten traditional Islamic values.

The gains for Salafists are part of a trend of turning back to conservatism and religion after major political movements like Arab nationalism and Democratic reform failed to fulfill promises to improve the lives of average people. Egypt has been at the forefront of change in both directions, toward liberalization in the 1950s and '60s and back to conservatism more recently. >>> ©AP | October 19, 2008

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Wary of Islam. China Tightens a Vise of Rules
THE NEW YORK TIMES: KHOTAN, China — The grand mosque that draws thousands of Muslims each week in this oasis town has all the usual trappings of piety: dusty wool carpets on which to kneel in prayer, a row of turbans and skullcaps for men without headwear, a wall niche facing the holy city of Mecca in the Arabian desert.

But large signs posted by the front door list edicts that are more Communist Party decrees than Koranic doctrines.

The imam’s sermon at Friday Prayer must run no longer than a half-hour, the rules say. Prayer in public areas outside the mosque is forbidden. Residents of Khotan are not allowed to worship at mosques outside of town.

One rule on the wall says that government workers and nonreligious people may not be “forced” to attend services at the mosque — a generous wording of a law that prohibits government workers and Communist Party members from going at all.

“Of course this makes people angry,” said a teacher in the mosque courtyard, who would give only a partial name, Muhammad, for fear of government retribution. “Excitable people think the government is wrong in what it does. They say that government officials who are Muslims should also be allowed to pray.”

To be a practicing Muslim in the vast autonomous region of northwestern China called Xinjiang is to live under an intricate series of laws and regulations intended to control the spread and practice of Islam, the predominant religion among the Uighurs, a Turkic people uneasy with Chinese rule.

The edicts touch on every facet of a Muslim’s way of life. Official versions of the Koran are the only legal ones. Imams may not teach the Koran in private, and studying Arabic is allowed only at special government schools.

Two of Islam’s five pillars — the sacred fasting month of Ramadan and the pilgrimage to Mecca called the hajj — are also carefully controlled. Students and government workers are compelled to eat during Ramadan, and the passports of Uighurs have been confiscated across Xinjiang to force them to join government-run hajj tours rather than travel illegally to Mecca on their own.

Government workers are not permitted to practice Islam, which means the slightest sign of devotion, a head scarf on a woman, for example, could lead to a firing.

The Chinese government, which is officially atheist, recognizes five religions — Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Taoism and Buddhism — and tightly regulates their administration and practice. Its oversight in Xinjiang, though, is especially vigilant because it worries about separatist activity in the region.

Some officials contend that insurgent groups in Xinjiang pose one of the biggest security threats to China, and the government says the “three forces” of separatism, terrorism and religious extremism threaten to destabilize the region. But outside scholars of Xinjiang and terrorism experts argue that heavy-handed tactics like the restrictions on Islam will only radicalize more Uighurs. >>> By Edward Wong | October 18, 2008

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Seif Gaddafi with Claudia Haider
Seif Gaddafi, Muammar Gaddafi’s son, was a personal friend of Jörg Haider. Photo of Seif Gaddafi with Claudi Haider, Jörg Haider’s wife, courtesy of ’Die Presse’
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Österreich: Abschied von Jörg Haider
Zur Fotogalerie (To the photo gallery) >>>
DIE PRESSE: Jörg Haiders letzter Weg

Begräbnis von Jörg Haider in Klagenfurt. 30.000 Menschen trauern. Der Klagenfurter Bürgermeister in seiner Rede: "Wir trauern um den Landeshauptmann der Herzen."

Der vor einer Woche tödlich verunglückte Kärntner Landeshauptmann Jörg Haider wird heute beigesetzt. Die Trauerfeierlichkeiten finden in Klagenfurt statt. Zuerst wurde der Sarg vom Wappensaal in den Landhaushof getragen, wo ein Trauerakt im engsten Kreis stattfand. Nach der Formierung des Kondukts, untermalt von Trauermusik der Militärmusikkapelle, ging es weiter zum Neuen Platz, wo sechs Redner Nachrufe an Haider formulierten.

"Wir trauern um den Landeshauptmann der Herzen"

"Es geht eine Welle der Trauer und Anteilnahme durch das Land, die Österreich in dem Ausmaß nicht gekannt hat", sagte Haiders früherer politischer Weggefährte und Justizminister Dieter Böhmdorfer bei der Trauerfeier. "Wir trauern um den Landeshauptmann der Herzen, wie er schon genannt wird", sagte der Klagenfurter Bürgermeister Harald Scheucher.

Bundeskanzler Alfred Gusenbauer sparte in seine Rede aber auch nicht an Kritik an der Politik Haiders. Haider sei ein außergewöhnlicher Mann gewesen, im Positiven wie im Negativen, "ich zolle ihm Respekt und Anerkennung über alle politischen Grenzen hinweg".

In den engen Straßen der Klagenfurter Altstadt drängten sich während des Trauerzugs rund 30.000 Menschen. Haiders Sarg war mit der Kärntner Landesflagge und über und über mit roten Rosen bedeckt. Die Trauerprozession mit einer Ehrengarde des Militärs wurde von seiner Ehefrau Claudia und seinen erwachsenen Töchtern angeführt, die in dunkle Landestracht gekleidet waren.

Das Mozart-Requiem im Dom bildet den Abschluss der Trauerfeierlichkeiten. Dazu haben nur geladene Gäste Zutritt, die übrigen Teilnehmer an den Trauerfeiern können das Requiem auf Videowalls verfolgen. Nach dem Auszug aus dem Dom wird der Sarg in den Konduktwagen verladen, ein Schlussgebet gesprochen, zur Abfahrt des Autos soll der Zapfenstreich intoniert werden.

Haiders Leichnam wird anschließend nach Villach gebracht, wo die Einäscherung vorgenommen werden soll. Die Einsegnung wird der langjährige Kärntner Diözesanbischof Egon Kapellari vornehmen, der jetzige Grazer Bischof nimmt auch an der Feier im Dom teil.

Wann die Urne in der Kapelle Alt St. Michael im Bärental im engsten Kreis der Familie beigesetzt wird, darüber herrscht Stillschweigen. >>> | 18. Oktober 2008

BBC: Thousands Attend Haider Funeral

Tens of thousands of mourners have lined the streets of the Austrian city of Klagenfurt for the funeral of the far-right politician, Joerg Haider.

His body was taken in a procession from the provincial parliament to a square in the city, where friends and prominent politicians paid tribute.

Austria's president and chancellor were among the dignitaries who attended a requiem mass in Klagenfurt Cathedral.

Mr Haider died in a car crash a week ago. He had been drinking alcohol.

The 58-year-old was driving alone after leaving a nightclub when his car crashed and overturned while travelling at more than twice the speed limit.

An official from his party, the Alliance for Austria's Future (BZO), said Mr Haider's blood alcohol level was well above the legal limit.

Ceremonial funeral

The accident occurred south of Klagenfurt, the capital of Carinthia, where Joerg Haider was the provincial governor for 11 years.

The centre of Klagenfurt was sealed off for the funeral ceremonies and extra police were deployed to prevent any disruption by far-right protesters.

International guests included Sayf Gaddafi, the son of the Libyan leader, who was a close friend of Mr Haider, and a delegation from Italy's right-wing Northern League.

Mr Haider has been condemned by left-wing groups, and one prominent writer used an article in a leading Austrian newspaper to describe him as a fascist, the BBC's Kerry Skyring reports.

The coffin, covered in wreaths, was borne in a military vehicle along the streets of the city.

Austria's Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer alluded to Mr Haider's controversial reputation in an address to the memorial service.

"He was a man who could leave no-one cold, whether in a positive or a negative sense," Mr Gusenbauer said. >>> | October 18, 2008

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: Haider Goes to His Grave, Pursued by Controversy

As 25,000 mourn, a German tabloid reveals where the Austrian right-winger spent his final hours

About 25,000 people filled the streets of Klagenfurt, Jörg Haider's former political stronghold, for the funeral rites yesterday of Austria's far-right populist leader, who died last weekend in a car crash while drunk.

The controversial man was newsworthy to the last. Even as lederhosen-clad mourners left wreaths in tribute to their political hero, a German tabloid was revealing details of his final night out. Bild published pictures of him at the launch of a new newspaper, posing with a mini-dressed blonde draped all over him. Then, said Bild, he headed not for home, but for Stadtkrämer, a local gay bar. It was after spending time there that he got into his Volkswagen Phaeton and, with his blood alcohol level four times the legal limit, drove off. Moments later, his car, going at more than 80mph, flipped over, killing Mr Haider instantly.

But details such as these are never likely to dent the enthusiasm for Mr Haider among his followers. He might have been a worldwide bogey figure, but to many in his beloved Carinthia, he was more than a mere leader. And yesterday, thousands of his devotees joined official Austria and Mr Haider's widow in mourning. "He was," said Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer at an open-air memorial service in Klagenfurt's main square, "a man who could leave no one cold, whether in a positive or a negative sense." >>> By Sylvia Westall in Klagenfurt | Sunday, October 19, 2008

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And an Incredibly Powerful, Blinding Light Descended on the World from on High… And America’s, Nay the World’s, New Lord and Saviour Appeared Before Our Very Eyes! He Vowed to Change the World! O People of Faith! Prepare Yourselves for Salvation! God’s Kingdom on Earth Must Surely Be Nigh!
He says he wasn’t born in a manger, but can this really be true?
Barack Obama Vows to Change the World: Barack Obama has vowed that he will "change the world" even as he urged his supporters to guard against complacency. >>> By Toby Harnden in Londonderry, New Hampshire for The Telegraph | October 18, 2008
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OECD Report Attacks British Failure to Tackle Corporate Bribery and Corruption
THE TELEGRAPH: Britain's failure to tackle corporate bribery and corruption allegations was severely criticised in a report started after the Government blocked an investigation into a huge arms deal between BAE Systems and Saudi Arabia.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said it was "disappointed and seriously concerned about the UK's continued failure to address deficiencies in its laws on bribery of foreign public officials and on corporate liability for foreign bribery".

Compiled by the OECD's anti-corruption working group, the report said that British law makes it "very difficult for prosecutors to bring an effective case against a company for alleged bribery offences".

And the Government was slated for its failure to successfully prosecute a single firm for bribery, despite ratifying the body's anti-bribery convention 10 years ago.

The strength of criticism and lack of diplomatic language used in the report will be embarrassing for the Government, which in 2006 urged the Serious Fraud Office to drop an investigation into BAE's Al Yamamah contract with Saudi.

Earlier this year the Law Lords said the SFO was right to drop the investigation on national security grounds. BAE Systems has always denied any wrongdoing.

The OECD usually carries out reviews on members every two years, but decided to undertake an extra investigation of the UK's enforcement of the anti-bribery convention following the controversial BAE decision.

The body urged Britain to rapidly bring its legislation into line with its international obligations under the convention. >>> By Russell Hotten | October 17, 2008

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Legal Case against God Dismissed
BBC: A US judge has thrown out a case against God, ruling that because the defendant has no address, legal papers cannot be served.

The suit was launched by Nebraska state senator Ernie Chambers, who said he might appeal against the ruling.

He sought a permanent injunction to prevent the "death, destruction and terrorisation" caused by God.

Judge Marlon Polk said in his ruling that a plaintiff must have access to the defendant for a case to proceed.

"Given that this court finds that there can never be service effectuated on the named defendant this action will be dismissed with prejudice," Judge Polk wrote in his ruling.

Mr Chambers cannot refile the suit but may appeal.

'God knows everything'

Mr Chambers sued God last year. He said God had threatened him and the people of Nebraska and had inflicted "widespread death, destruction and terrorisation of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants". >>> | October 16, 2008

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'Haider Is Our Lady Di'
THE GUARDIAN: As the leaders of Europe's far-right parties gather for today's state funeral of Austria's most controversial politician, is European fascism once again on the rise?

In their hundreds they stand in line, waiting to pay tribute to their hero. Girls with iPods, skinheads in leather jackets, elderly women with shopping trollies and tanned athletic types in Prada sunglasses shuffle silently forward.

"We wanted the kids to feel the enormity of the occasion. After all, he is our Lady Di and this is our 9/11," says Anton Krem, 45, who is here to pay his last respects to Jörg Haider, the Austrian rightwing populist politician who died in a drunken, high-speed car crash a week ago and whose coffin sits on a pedestal in the Landhaus, seat of Carinthia's regional parliament, the southern province where he was governor.

An after-work crowd of about 300 makes its way through an avenue of huge wreaths. Everyone from the Chamber of Carinthian Chemists to the regional tourist board has sent a display. Klagenfurt, the state capital, is busy preparing itself for today's ceremony, the most emotional state funeral since that of the last Austrian empress, Zita von Bourbon-Parma, in 1989.

Amid a sea of red candles one teenager has written: "To a great man of the nation who fought for his land. Our hero, our fighter, our sunshine." Another note reads: "Our king of hearts". Slipped in between are pictures of Haider, an orange sweater - the colour of his breakaway Alliance for the Future of Austria party (BZO) - draped over his shoulders, glass of beer in hand; another shows the maverick fascist bungee jumping off a bridge.

Behind the scenes, functionaries and volunteers have been working around the clock sending invitations. Austria's political elite are expected to attend tomorrow. But the 50,000 mourners are also expected to include Belgian nationalist Filip Dewinter, French extremist Jean-Marie le Pen, Alessandra Mussolini, the granddaughter of the Italian wartime fascist leader, Umberto Bossi from Italy's Northern League, Swiss industrialist Christoph Blocher, and a handful of Waffen-SS veterans, whom Haider once described as "men of character". Younger far-right figures have also hinted they will turn up, though Austrian intelligence is on alert to turn away groups of skinheads or neo-fascists, to stop the event turning into a rally.

With state broadcaster ORF planning live coverage, President Heinz Fischer, who will give the main speech, and other politicians have asked for assurances that they will not appear in the same frames as anyone from the far right. "They realise it could get very embarrassing," says Hans Rauscher, veteran writer for Der Standard newspaper.

The fear gripping the elite shows the extent to which Haider managed to impose himself on Austria's political scene, becoming a figurehead for an array of far-right European groups. Particularly at such a sensitive economic moment, when parallels with 1929 and the great depression are drawn every day, the fear is that the extreme right may seek to exploit the symbolic power of such a gathering. >>> Kate Connolly | October 18, 2008

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Road-death Politician Got Drunk in a Gay Bar Hours Before Car Crash... and May Have Been Targeted by Saboteurs
Photo of Jörg Haider courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: Austrian far-Right leader Jorg Haider's car may have been sabotaged before he crashed, it was claimed.

Haider died when his Volkswagen Phaeton veered off the road in the early hours of Saturday morning last week after a boozy celebration party for Austria's right wing leaders.

As throngs of right-wing crowds gathered for his funeral today, makers of the VW Phaeton limo he was driving insist their car is one of the safest in the world and should have survived the crash.

VW spokesman Peter Thul claimed that someone with access to Haider’s car key could have manipulated the car’s electrics.
The car giants have sent their own experts to examine the wreckage and search for signs it may have been sabotaged.

It has also been revealed that on the day of his death, Haider spent part of his last night drinking in a gay club called ‘Stadtkraemer.’

Police have told Haider's family he had a blood alcohol level of 1.8 pro mille - nearly four times Austria's 0.5 limit.

Thul told The Sun: “It is a fact that Haider was going too fast, but such a speed on that curve is not a problem for the car’s physics.

“The Phaeton and Audi A8 are the safest of all. You’d need the key to manipulate the electronics, so someone at a garage would have to tamper with it.

The Stadtkraemer – which translates to The City Shopkeeper – is a well known haunt for the Klagenfurt gay community and advertises itself on the Internet with the slogan: “Whether old or young, lesbian or gay, the restaurant is always cool.”

A fellow diner offered to drive Haider home because he looked the worse for wear, but the 58-year-old governor of the state of Carinthia turned him down.

Haider headed for the notorious gay establishment after his appearance at a night club, the public prosecutor in Klagenfurt confirmed.

He arrived at a quarter past midnight on Saturday morning, left thirty minutes later and was dead within half-an-hour.

Despite being married with two daughters, Haider was “outed” years ago by the Austrian and German press for being homosexual.

He never helped his family man image by turning up at rallies and local events with an entourage of young blond men.

Newspapers in his homeland said they were reluctant to publish “full details” of his homosexuality fearing an outburst of hate towards the gay community would overtake hatred towards foreigners.

According to German daily Taz, many members of Vienna's gay scene claimed he regularly had sex with young men below the age of consent - 18 for homosexuals.

As a result Taz wrote: "These days he prefers to meet with boys from nearby Slovakia" (where the age of consent is 15).

Hosi, or Homosexual Initiative, the biggest gay pressure group in Austria, said before his death: "We've known about Haider's homosexuality for about 10 years. >>> | October 17, 2008

THE TELEGRAPH: Haider Was Drinking in a Gay Bar Before He Crashed

The Austrian far-Right politician Jörg Haider was seen drinking in a gay bar shortly before his fatal car crash.

Mr Haider, 58, was killed in the early hours of last Saturday when the car he was driving at 88mph, around twice the speed limit, crashed off a road in the southern province of Carinthia, where he served as governor.

Austrian media reported that the amount of alcohol in Mr Haider's blood was nearly four times the legal limit.

The politician, who was married with two daughters but was rumoured throughout his career to be a closet homosexual, spent the last part of his night alive in Stadtkraemer, a popular gay club in Klagenfurt. He arrived at Stadtkraemer at a quarter past midnight after having visited another nightclub, and left thirty minutes later, the public prosecutor in Klagenfurt said. >>> | October 17, 2008

DIE PRESSE: Landestrauer in Kärnten: "Bist du nit bei mir"

Klagenfurt. Mehr als 30.000 Trauergäste werden zur offiziellen Verabschiedung von Jörg Haider am Samstag in Klagenfurt erwartet. Wegen des großen Ansturms muss die Innenstadt für den Individualverkehr gesperrt werden. An der Peripherie wurden Auffangparkplätze eingerichtet, von denen Shuttle-Busse die Besucher in die Innenstadt bringen. >>> Von Robert Benedikt | 17. Oktober 2008

DIE PRESSE: Claudia Haider - Sein wahrer Lebensmensch

Alle Augen sind auf Haiders Witwe Claudia gerichtet. Sie könnte auch dessen politisches Erbe antreten.

Sie war – neben seiner Mutter – Jörg Haiders wahrer Lebensmensch: Ehefrau Claudia. Die Tiroler Försterstochter, geboren in Lenggries (Bayern), war 18 Jahre alt und hatte eben ihr Publizistikstudium begonnen, als sie auf einem Ball Jörg Haider kennenlernte. 1976 wurde in Bad Goisern geheiratet, das erste Kind war unterwegs: Tochter Ulrike. Drei Jahre später kam Cornelia zur Welt. >>> Von Oliver Pink | 17. Oktober 2008

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Dozens Jailed over Morocco Blast
BBC: A Moroccan court has sentenced more than 40 people to up to 30 years in prison over a suicide bombing last year at an internet cafe in Casablanca.

The bomber died in the attack, and three people were wounded.

The state news agency MAP said that those accused had been planning a string of attacks in Casablanca using home-made explosives.

The plot was uncovered by the investigation following the internet cafe bombing, authorities said.

The sentences came one day after another major terrorism trial got under way, involving the alleged leader of an extremist cell accused of links to al-Qaeda and planning to murder prominent figures within Morocco. >>> | October 17, 2008

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