Lebanon Journalist UK Entry Veto
BBC: A Lebanese journalist with links to militant group Hezbollah has been barred from entering Britain.

Ibrahim Moussawi was due to speak at the London School of Oriental and African Studies, but the home secretary has ruled he should be denied a visa.

Mr Moussawi is editor of the Al-Intiqad newspaper, linked to Hezbollah, and a former head of the group's TV station.

The Tories, who called for him to be banned, said he was a "known extremist" who had made anti-Semitic remarks.

The Home Office said it would not comment on individual cases.

Denial

Mr Moussawi had been invited to speak at the School of Oriental and African Studies on 25 March as part of a course on political Islam.

Billed as an "expert on Hezbollah and Islamist political theory," the university said he planned to discuss Hezbollah's "history, strategy and ideology" and "current politics and prospects".

He is currently the editor of Lebanese weekly newspaper Al-Intiqad and formerly worked as head of foreign news at Hezbollah's official television channel, Al-Manar, which has been criticised for its allegedly anti-Semitic output.

Mr Moussawi, who was barred from Ireland in 2007, has denied making any inflammatory or anti-Semitic comments. >>> | Friday, March 13, 2009

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President Defends Islamic Law
NEWS 24: Kampala - Somalia's President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on Friday defended plans to implement Islamic law in his war-wracked country, saying it was aimed at appeasing militants opposed to his government.

"The purpose of this decision is to ensure that he who claims that he is fighting to have sharia no longer has a reason to fight," he told reporters in the Ugandan capital, where he met President Yoweri Museveni.

"Sharia does not allow for blood to be shed for political reasons. So that door is closed."

Hardline Islamist militia fighting the government have insisted on implementation of Islamic law, or sharia, which they have imposed in areas under their control.

The Somali cabinet on Tuesday agreed to introduce Islamic law which is to presented to parliament for approval.

"Sharia is something that everyone is Somalia believes in and lives by," Ahmed said. "And it has been in existence not only for years, but especially in recent years in Somalia it has been in practice." >>> AFP | Friday, March 13, 2009

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Activists Accuse Russia of Mistreating Muslims
ASSOCIATED PRESS: MOSCOW — Two activists accused Russia's government on Friday of encouraging prosecutors to target Muslims on trumped up charges of terrorism and extremism, and said the abuse could lead to anti-government unrest.

Sergei Komkov, president of the non-governmental All-Russian Education Fund, asserted the Kremlin was trying to pin social ills on innocent Muslims and warned it could backfire against President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

"There threatens to be a powerful explosion of public discontent in the next three or four years that could, if not stopped, lead to a change in the political leadership," Komkov told a news conference attended by prominent rights activists.

Komkov said authorities in Russia's southern regions are increasingly convicting observant Muslims on trumped up charges of terrorism and extremism, in an effort to satisfy what he claimed were quotas from the central government. >>> By David Nowak | Friday, March 13, 2009

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Marshmallow Policies Will No Longer Do! It’s Time to Get Tough!
THE TELEGRAPH: The United States is facing what has been described as its "most serious instance of domestic terrorism" to date, the FBI has warned.

Officials say a second generation of Somali immigrants is becoming increasingly radicalised and could pose a growing threat to security.

The warnings come amid the revelation that 20 young Somali American men who returned to their war-torn homeland have been radicalised by a group linked to al-Qaeda.

The FBI is urgently examining links between the youths, who are all American citizens, and al-Shabaab, an Islamist group fighting in the country's long-running conflict.

Investigators are concentrating on two mosques, the Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Centre in Minneapolis and the Dawah Institute in the neighbouring city of St Paul, where parents and guardians of the departed youths said their sons attended classes.

But the probe has now spread to Boston, San Diego, Seattle, Columbus, Ohio and Portland, Maine.

US law enforcement agencies are concerned young militants could return to the US to plot terror attacks, following a similar path to the British Pakistanis behind the London bombings in July 7, 2005 who made multiple visits to radical mosques in Pakistan.

The authorities began looking into the radicalisation of Somali youths after 27-year-old Shirwa Ahmed became the first known American suicide bomber in late October.

The Minneapolis student blew himself up in one of five co-ordinated bombings in northern Somalia orchestrated by al-Shabaab, whose former leader reportedly trained at terror camps in Afghanistan before being killed in an American air strike in May, 2008. US Facing Home-grown Islamic Terror Threat >>> By Alex Spillius in Washington | Friday, March 13, 2009

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Spiegel TV: Das Dritte Reich in Farbe
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First It Was PC Police, Then Came the Thought Police, Soon After Came the Healthful Anti-smoking Police. Now We’ve Got the Damn Food Police! Where Will It All End?
THE TELEGRAPH: Life is dreary enough without the killjoys encouraging us to eat more margarine. Rose Prince extols the delights of the dairy.

Cherry on the cake: Would Nigella Lawson be so keen to sample the delights of her own labours if there was margarine in the mixing bowl? Photo courtesy of The Telegrraph
Last night I cooked the season's first spring greens. Just a few minutes in lightly salted water then drained on a cloth, they were as lush as a bowling green. I looked at them, knowing that there was one last, essential ritual to perform: back into a warm pan with a good sized nut of best butter. Then each bite into the tender leaves yielded a tide of sweetcream enjoyment, enough to put unpaid bills out of mind. But, spring greens and melted marg, anyone? I don't think so. That is what a panel of killjoy nutrition advisors would have you do.

The Fat Panel, an independent group of experts, has ruled that our best known celebrity chefs use too much saturated fat in their recipes and are urging temperance. A single serving from a recipe by Nigella Lawson, Gordon Ramsay and Rick Stein can contain more than 100 per cent of the recommended daily allowance of saturated fat, they moan. Swapping butter for margarine or a vegetable oil spread would reduce the fat content of some recipes by at least half, they counsel.

What a blow they have struck. If there is one thing left in this gloomy, credit-crunched life where every pursuit is spoiled by over zealous health and safety measures, it is the comfort of eating. Cooking out of our favourite books is a cheap way to cheer ourselves up. Restaurants may be going bust left, right and centre, but cook books have come into their own. What are celebrity chefs for if not the sensuality of their hugely indulgent creamy soups, buttery sauces and rich puddings? The idea of Nigella Lawson licking a finger dipped into a bowl of cake batter made with margarine makes me feel sick, but it makes perfect sense when there is butter in the mix. Delights of Dairy: We All Need Buttering Up >>> Rose Prince | Thursday, March 12, 2009

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Iran Calls U.S. Sanctions "Childish"
CBS NEWS: Iran has dismissed President Obama's decision to renew economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic as "childish," and a "grave blunder".

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave his reaction Friday at a ceremony to inaugurate work on the next phases in the development of a massive natural gas field in the country's south, reports CBS News' Leily Lankarani.

The president said the U.S., "thought that with childish and ugly behavior they could stop a great nation and its capable experts from moving towards accomplishment."

On Thursday, Mr. Obama officially renewed economic sanctions against Iran which were enacted by then-President Bill Clinton in the 1990s.

Ahmadinejad's defiance came, symbolically, as he inaugurated phases nine and 10 of the South Pars gas development in Asaluyeh, southern Iran.

He claimed it was actually the West's strict sanctions against his country which have motivated Iran to develop its energy technology — including nuclear energy advances. America and its allies suspect Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapon, though Tehran insists they just want to generate electricity. >>> Posted by Tucker Reals | Friday, March 13, 2009

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Gary Bauer: Waiting for the American Jihad
HUMAN EVENTS: Last October, Shirwa Ahmed blew himself up in a homicide bombing in Somalia. What distinguished Ahmed from other jihadists is that he was a 27-year old college student from Minneapolis and a naturalized American citizen, which made him the first U.S. citizen to become an Islamic homicide bomber.

Ahmed’s unusual path to martyrdom got the attention of American counterterrorism officials, who now report that more than a dozen Somali-American youths have disappeared so far this year. They are suspected to have returned to Somalia to wage jihad. Concerned about the radicalization of Muslim youths in America, the FBI is running active investigations in at least five major American cities.

These developments beg the question: If terrorist organizations can recruit American Muslims to travel to Africa to wage jihad, what’s stopping them from recruiting American Muslims to wage jihad in America? As Moar Jamal, Executive Director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul, put it, “That kid that blew himself up in Somalia could have done it here in Minneapolis.”

With an Obama administration increasingly distracted by matters both petty (the Rush Limbaugh flap) and precarious (the economic crisis), and with what we are learning about Jihadist recruitment here, it is becoming increasingly clear that America is a country ripe for jihad.

A culture of Islamic radicalization already exists in America. But most Americans do not know about it because it’s happening in places most of us do not go -- our prisons. Prison Ministries Founder Chuck Colson has been a leader in highlighting the problem of radicalization in our prison system, and former FBI Director Robert Mueller has called America’s prisons “fertile ground for extremists.” A 2006 study called “Out of the Shadows” found that “tight knit communities of Muslims in prison are ripe for radicalization, and could easily become terrorist cells.” >>> By Gary Bauer | Friday, March 13, 2009

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Verdacht reicht, um österreichische Konten einzusehen
DIE PRESSE: Grundsätzlich bleibt das Bankgeheimnis in Österreich bestehen. Allerdings dürfen künftig ausländische Behörden auch ohne laufendes Strafverfahren Einsicht nehmen - ein begründeter Verdacht reicht.

Nach internationalem Druck hat Österreich angekündigt, sein Bankgeheimnis zur Erleichterung von Ermittlungen wegen Steuerhinterziehung etwas abzuschwächen. Bei "begründetem Verdacht" einer ausländischen Behörde könnten künftig Kontodaten auch dann weitergegeben werden, wenn noch kein Strafverfahren wegen Steuerflucht eingeleitet worden sei, sagte ÖVP-Finanzminister Josef Pröll am Freitag in Wien. >>> Ag/Red | Freitag, 13. März 2009

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US-Präsident Obama verlängert Sanktionen gegen den Iran
DIE PRESSE: Die USA sehen den Iran weiterhin als eine außergewöhnliche und besondere Bedrohung für die nationale Sicherheit. Nach den Angaben des Rechnungshofs sind Sanktionen aber wirkungslos.

Trotz erster Gesprächsangebote an den Iran hat US-Präsident Barack Obama die Sanktionen gegen die Islamische Republik um ein Jahr verlängert. Der Iran sei weiterhin eine außergewöhnliche und besondere Bedrohung für die nationale Sicherheit der USA, hieß es am Donnerstag in einer Erklärung Obamas.



Der US-Präsident hat erklärt, er sei bereit, direkte Gespräche mit der Regierung in Teheran zu führen, diese müsse aber erst ihre Faust öffnen. Die Vereinigten Staaten beschuldigen den Iran, unter dem Deckmantel der friedlichen Nutzung von Atomenergie den Bau von Nuklearwaffen anzustreben. Der Iran bestreitet das. >>> APA | Freitag, 13, März 2009

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Milliardäre in der Krise: Die 50 reichsten Deutschen – und ihre Verluste
WELT ONLINE: Die Finanzkrise hat die reichsten Deutschen um Milliarden erleichtert. Zu den Verlierern gehört laut "Forbes" Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler. Doch es gibt noch Gewinner: Drei Unternehmer schaffen es neu in die Top 50. Anderen macht der Absturz der Wirtschaft weniger aus: Einer der Aldi-Brüder kommt glimpflich davon.

Verliererin der Krise: Laut der "Forbes"-Liste der Reichsten ist Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler zwar noch Milliardärin, hat aber Vermögen eingebüßt Foto dank der Welt
54 deutsche Unternehmer und Erben aus Firmendynastien sind Milliardäre. Dies ergibt die Auswertung der neuesten „Forbes“-Rangliste zu den reichsten Menschen der Erde. Doch die deutschen Superreichen mussten teilweise in der Krise massive Verluste hinnehmen, sei es, weil ihre Aktien an Wert verloren oder weil die Unternehmen in der Krise straucheln – wie der Autozulieferer Schaeffler. >>> Von Oliver Haustein-Tessmer | Freitag, 13. März 2009

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Die Schweiz lockert das Bankgeheimnis: Der Bundesrat will auch bei Steuerhinterziehung Amtshilfe leisten
NZZ Online: Die Schweiz ist bereit, unter gewissen Bedingungen auch bei Steuerhinterziehung Amtshilfe zu leisten. Mit dieser Lockerung des Bankgeheimnisses will der Bundesrat verhindern, dass die Schweiz auf die schwarze Liste nicht kooperierender «Steueroasen» gesetzt wird, wie Bundespräsident Merz erklärte.

Der Bundesrat macht beim Bankgeheimnis Konzessionen gegenüber dem Ausland. Wie Bundespräsident Hans-Rudolf Merz am Freitag vor den Medien ankündigte, ist er bereit, in Zukunft unter gewissen Bedingungen auch bei Fällen von Steuerhinterziehung Amtshilfe zu leisten. Die bisher geltende Unterscheidung von Steuerhinterziehung und Steuerbetrug wird also für ausländische Kunden von Schweizer Banken nicht mehr aufrechterhalten. >>> bbu | Freitag, 13. März 2009

WELT ONLINE: Steueroase: Schweiz lockert ihr heiliges Bankgeheimnis

Es kommt einer Revolution gleich: Die Schweiz lockert ihr striktes Bankgeheimnis – und will künftig unter bestimmten Bedingungen Amtshilfe bei Steuerhinterziehung leisten. So könnten deutsche Finanzämter an die Kontodaten von Steuersündern gelangen. Österreich und Luxemburg planen ähnliches.

Foto dank der Welt
Die Schweiz lockert nun auch offiziell ihr striktes Bankgeheimnis. Die Regierung sei bereit, unter gewissen Bedingungen auch bei Steuerhinterziehung Amtshilfe zu leisten. Das teilte das Finanzministerium mit. Auch sollen OECD-Standards für Hilfe bei Steuerverfahren eingehalten werden. Bisher wurde Amtshilfe nur bei Steuerbetrug, etwa nach dem Fälschen von Unterlagen, gewährt. >>> | Freitag, 13. März 2009

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Reaktion auf den Papst-Brief: Piusbrüder erkennen II. Vatikanisches Konzil an
WELT ONLINE: Die Piusbrüder machen einen großen Schritt auf den Papst zu. In ihrer Reaktion auf seine jüngsten Äußerungen bekennen sie sich zum Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzil. "Wir sind weit davon entfernt, die Tradition im Jahre 1962 anhalten zu wollen," heißt es darin. WELT ONLINE dokumentiert den Text im Wortlaut.

In den letzten Wochen ist in der Katholischen Kirche mit der Kontroverse um die Piusbruderschaft und den Holocaust-Leugner Richard Williamson der Streit um das II. Vatikanische Konzil offen zu Tage getreten. Jetzt hat sich Bischof Bernard Fellay, der Generalobere der Piusbruderschaft, in dieser Frage dramatisch auf den Papst zu bewegt.

In einer knappen Antwort auf den Brief des Papstes an alle Bischöfe vom 10. März macht Fellay unmissverständlich deutlich, dass die Piusbrüder von ihrer Fundamentalopposition abrücken. Sie wollen die Entwicklung der Kirche nach dem II. Konzil nicht mehr in Bausch und Bogen ablehnten. >>> Von Paul Badde | Freitag, 13. Marz 2009

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Ex-Vizeminister: Brutale Folter in Chinas Gefängnissen
TAGES ANZEIGER: Chinas ehemaliger Vizejustizminister Duan Zhengkun hat die Folter in den Gefängnissen des Landes kritisiert. Nach seinen Aussagen werden Häftlinge zu Geständnissen gezwungen.

Nachgestellte Szene: Mitglieder der Falun-Gong-Gemeinschaft zeigten im Juli 2004 öffentlich in Zürich, wie ihre Genossen in China gefoltert werden.
Bild dank dem Tages Anzeiger
Der Politiker sagte gegenüber Zeitung «China Daily», dass die Anstalten deshalb nicht länger von den Sicherheitsbehörden, die Verdächtige auch verhaften, geleitet werden sollten. Staatliche Medien kündigten heute an, die Regierung wolle die Gefängnisse verstärkt unter die Lupe nehmen. So solle auch gegen Gewalt unter den Häftlingen vorgegangen werden. Auslöser war der Fall eines Häftlings, der von Mitinsassen zu Tode geprügelt wurde. >>> raa/sda | Freitag, 13. März 2009

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Dutch Police Arrest 7 Suspected of Planning Attack
NRC HANDELSBLAD INTERNATIONAL: Dutch police on Thursday arrested seven people suspected of preparing a terrorist attack in Amsterdam, including a relative of one of the attackers who died in the 2004 bombings in Madrid.

Mayor Job Cohen said police were acting on an anonymous tip that warned an Ikea outlet or other stores in the southeast of the city might be targeted.

"It wasn't a regular bomb warning, but a warning of a planned action aimed at creating casualties in shops," Cohen said during a joint press conference with police commissioner Bernard Welten public prosecutor Herman Bolhaar on Thursday night.

"Men were planning to put explosives in the shops and wanted to cause casualties in busy places," he said.

Cohen told NOS radio on Friday morning that no explosives were found during the searches of the suspects' houses.

Police received the tip late on Wednesday night from an prepaid cell phone in Belgium. The tip also included names of one suspect and locations for police to search. The locations included Ikea and Media Markt, a large electronics store.

Cohen said the tip was "so specific" about names and places that it was decided to treat it as credible. The poilice contacted the secret service, AIVD, in order to verify the information.

By early morning, it was revealed that one of the suspects was a relative of one of the suspects in the Madrid train bombings, which killed 191 people and happened five years ago almost to the day. The relative killed himself when Spanish police raided his apartment at the time. "This established a link with Madrid," said Welten.

Early on Thursday morning, authorities shut down a major Amsterdam shopping street near the Arena football stadium and sealed off the nearby Ikea store. A concert by the American band "The Killers" in a local music hall was cancelled.

The houses of the suspects named by the anonymous caller were immediately put under surveillance. The first arrest took place around noon on Thursday; the last at 5.45 p.m. >>> News Staff, NRC Handelsblad International | Friday, March 13, 2009

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Il governo cinese apre al Dalai Lama "Ma il Tibet rinunci all'indipendenza"
LA STAMPA: Il leader spirituale non vuole però rinunciare all'autonomia

PECHINO: La Cina è disposta a riprendere i colloqui con gli inviati del Dalai Lama, il leader tibetano che vive in esilio in India, se questi «rinuncerà a perseguire l’ indipendenza» del Tibet. Lo ha affermato oggi il primo ministro cinese Wen Jiabao. Parlando ai giornalisti nella Sala dell’ Assemblea del popolo, il premier ha accusato «alcuni paesi occidentali» di «sfruttare» il Dalai Lama per i suoi fini. «Con il Dalai Lama - ha sostenuto Wen - bisogna guardare quello che dice ma anche quello che fa...la chiave è la sincerità». >>> © LaStampa.it | Venerdi 13 Marzo 2009

CORRIERE DELLA SERA: Wen Jiabao: «La Cina pronta al dialogo 
se il Tibet rinuncia all'indipendenza»

Il premier: «La situazione nella regione è pacifica e stabile. Pronti a riprendere i colloqui»

PECHINO - Pechino tende la mano al Tibet, ma detta le sue condizioni. «La Cina è pronta al dialogo col Dalai Lama se questi rinuncia ai propositi di indipendenza» è quanto ha ribadito il premier cinese Wen Jiabao.

«SITUAZIONE PACIFICA E STABILE» - Durante un conferenza stampa, il primo ministro cinese ha anche affermato che la situazione in Tibet è «pacifica e stabile», il che, a sua detta, proverebbe la correttezza della politica della Cina nella regione. Nelle ultime settimane Pechino ha inviato forze di polizia e paramilitari in Tibet per soffocare ogni segnale di protesta e, in particolare, per evitare il ripetersi delle manifestazioni su vasta scala dello scorso anno. >>> | Venerdi 13 Marzo 2009

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Malte, l'île où échouent les clandestins d'Afrique
Plus de 2 700 clandestins ont débarqué à Malte l'an dernier, et les chiffres ne s'annoncent pas à la baisse pour 2009 (ici un bateau intercepté le 5 février). Selon le gouvernement, l'arrivée d'un seul migrant à Malte équivaudrait à celle de 1 129 clandestins en Allemagne et 953 en Italie. Crédits photo : AFP
LE FIGARO: Depuis le début de l'année, près de huit cents demandeurs d'asile sont arrivés en provenance de Libye, espérant atteindre l'Italie.

Prisonnier incrédule du centre de détention pour clandestins de Ta'Kandja, John Oruru, un Nigerian d'une vingtaine d'années a griffonné à la hâte un message, qu'il tend au visiteur de passage comme il lancerait une bouteille à la mer. «Je suis seul au milieu d'une centaine de Somaliens avec qui je ne peux pas m'entendre puisque je ne parle pas leur langue. Je fais de mon mieux pour me sentir à l'aise, mais il sera trop difficile pour moi de rester dans ces conditions», écrit-il dans un anglais hésitant. «Quand un fils réclame à son père du pain ou un poisson, celui-ci ne lui donne pas une pierre, ni un serpent. Au nom du Père, je demande donc à être transféré dans un autre camp», conclut-il. >>> Par Pierre Avril | Vendredi 13 Mars 2009

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La Chine demande à la France "d'adopter une attitude claire" sur le Tibet
LE POINT: Wen Jiabao a appelé vendredi Paris à "adopter une attitude claire sur la question du Tibet, afin de restaurer le plus vite possible les relations entre la Chine et France". Le Premier ministre chinois a réaffirmé que la rencontre en décembre entre Nicolas Sarkozy, alors président en exercice de l'Union européenne, et le dalaï-lama avait "non seulement touché les intérêts fondamentaux chinois, mais blessé les sentiments du peuple chinois".

"Le Tibet est une partie inaliénable de la Chine, le problème tibétain appartient aux affaires intérieures de la Chine", a insisté le numéro deux chinois lors d'une conférence de presse à l'issue de la session annuelle du Parlement à Pékin. Cependant, il n'a pas précisé quelles mesures concrètes la France pourrait prendre pour revenir à de meilleures relations bilatérales, alors que les présidents des deux pays doivent participer au sommet du G20 à Londres le 2 avril. "Le dalaï-lama n'est pas un simple religieux" >>> lepoint.fr (source AFP) | Vendredi 13 Mars 2009

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Wilders Most Threatened Politician
DUTCHNEWS.nl: Anti-immigration MP Geert Wilders has received more threats than any other politician and last year reported 292 threatening messages to the team which deals with threats to politicians. >>> © DutchNews.nl | Friday, March 13, 2009

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”Unite in Banishing Fear”
Watch Fox News video: here >>>
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Mail Comment: The Sheer Folly of Mass Immigration
MAIL Online: If anything serves as a symbol of how completely and utterly Britain has lost control of her borders, it is the saga of Sangatte.

Between 1999 and 2002, some 60,000 migrants from across the world flocked to the infamous reception centre outside Calais before making a determined assault on Britain's frontiers - via cross-Channel freight trains, underneath the Eurostar, even inside refrigerated container trucks.

The French finally agreed to close it down, but now, in an astonishing U-turn, with more migrants than ever gathering around Calais, Sangatte, it seems, is set to rise again.

Not only has the French immigration minister sanctioned the erection of a network of 'light buildings' to provide food and showers, migrants will also get advice on how to claim asylum once in Britain.

Could there be a more transparent and cynical ploy for France to rid itself of its own immigration problems?

Under the 1951 Geneva Convention, refugees are supposed to claim asylum in the first safe country they land in.

But as the world plunges deeper into recession, Britain becomes more than ever the promised land.

It speaks volumes for our generous welfare payments and lax policing of immigration that migrants are prepared to ignore the 'hospitality' of Spain, Italy and France in their desperation to come here.

The rebirth of Sangatte comes as a survey predicts that by 2050, Britain will have the largest immigrant population of any country outside North America and our population will be greater than Germany['s].

This is no longer an issue about race, or the rights and wrongs of asylum.

With Britain hurtling into depression and mass unemployment, it is nothing less than criminally irresponsible for the Government to allow this level of unchecked mass immigration.

We are heading for a nightmare of our own making. >>> | Thursday, March 12, 2009

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St Roderick
St. Rodriguez (St. Roderick) by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. Image courtesy of Google Images
CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY: Roderic, also known as Ruderic, was a priest at Cabra, Spain during the persecution of Christians by the Moors. Hew [sic] was beaten into unconsciousness by his two brothers, one a Mohammedan and the other a fallen-away Catholic, when he tried to stop an argument between them. The Mohammedan brother then paraded him through the streets proclaiming that he wished to become a Mohammedan. He escaped but was denounced to the authorities by the same brother as an apostate from Mohammedanism and imprisoned through he denied he had ever given [sic] up his Christianity. While in prison, he met a man named Solomon, also charged with apostasy, and after a long imprisonment, they were both beheaded. [Source: CNA] Friday, March 13, 2009

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Ridiculous!
COURIERMAIL.COM.AU: A BRITISH mother of two is being held in jail after being found guilty of adultery - for having a cup of tea with a male friend.

Marnie Pearce, 40, had separated from her Egyptian husband Ihab El-Labban when he burst into her Dubai home and found her drinking tea with another man.

Mr El-Labban now has custody of their two children - Ziad, 4, and Laith, 7 - and former classroom assistant Ms Pearce fears she may never see them again because she will be deported as soon as she is released.

Amnesty International says Ms Pearce, who has lived in Dubai for 15 years, is "a prisoner of conscience".

Mr El-Labban made the claim of adultery - which is a crime in the strict Muslim country - during a custody battle over the boys. Marnie Pearce, Mother of Two, Jailed over a Cup of Tea >>> | Friday, March 13, 2009

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Muslim Extremists an Embarrassment to Luton
TIMES ONLINE: The Islamist protesters who held up banners labelling soldiers returning from Iraq as killers, cowards and butchers have "brought disgrace" to Luton, a local MP said today, as it emerged they may belong to a banned extremist organisation.

The group of men caused uproar when they picketed a homecoming parade by the 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment down the streets of the Bedfordshire town, holding up placards with slogans including: "Anglian Soldiers: Butchers of Basra" and "Anglian Soldiers: cowards, killers, extremists".

One placard also read: "British Government Terrorist Government."

As the troops prepared to hold a similar march in Watford today, Margaret Moran, the Luton South MP, said that the protesters had been an embarrassment to her town. MP Says Muslim Protesters Have 'Brought Disgrace' to Luton >>> David Byers | Wednesday, March 11, 2009

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Islamic States: Criminalize Defamation of Islam
THE JERUSALEM POST: The Islamic states circulated a new resolution at the current session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday that would criminalize defamation of Islam as a human rights violation and encourage the imposition of Shari'a.

According to the nonbinding governmental resolution, titled "Combating Defamation of Religions," anything deemed insulting to Islamic sensitivities would be banned as a "serious affront to human dignity" and a blatant violation of religious freedom.

The resolution would attempt to influence "local, national, regional and international levels" to incorporate such guarantees of this perceived freedom in their "legal and constitutional systems."

"It is a covert package coordinated by Pakistan against the West," said Leon Saltiel, director of communications at the Geneva-based human rights group UN Watch, on Thursday. "They think there is too much liberty and freedom of expression in the Western world, which therefore defames religion."

This resolution is part of the ongoing campaign of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, a powerful bloc of 56 states at the UN, which began to introduce annual resolutions in 1999 to ban the "defamation of Islam."

Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, said during an address to Radio Free Europe in December that "Islamic states pursued the diplomatic battle with a vengeance" because of the post-9/11 war on terror and the controversy ignited by the cartoon of their prophet published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in September 2005.

"The resolutions pose a major threat to the premises and principles of international human rights law and harm Muslims as much as non-Muslims. International law already protects victims of religious discrimination," for instance via the 1984 Declaration of Human Rights and the 1966 International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, declared Neuer.

The resolutions fail to address human rights violations of Muslim countries, notably Iran's persecution of Baha'is, Saudi Arabia's banning of all religious practice aside from Islam, and the persecution of Christian communities in Egypt, Pakistan and Iraq.

The latest resolution is "not really trying to protect individuals from harm," but rather attempting "to shield a set of beliefs from question or debate and to ban any discussion of Islam that may challenge state orthodoxies or offend Islamic sensibilities," Neuer said. >>> Maya Spitzer | Thursday, March 12, 2009

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Atheist Bus Campaign Gets into Gear in Germany
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life." The brightly colored ads were part of a provocative campaign on British buses. Spain reacted with its own string of atheist slogans, and now a German group is following suit.

’Creation of Adam’ by Michaelangelo. Image courtesy of Google Images
Those waiting by at bus stops in Berlin, Munich or Cologne later this year may be in for a surprise. In place of ordinary commercial ads, commuters will be greeted by hard-hitting atheist slogans. That at least is the plan of a new German atheism campaign, the latest European group to use buses as a vehicle for its provocative views.

Organizers are taking a leaf out of the book of Spanish and English groups that have run similar campaigns. Right now the German organizers are trying to raise money to embellish seven buses with their ads.

Atheists pledging a euro or more to the campaign can vote on a selection of slogans, some loosely based on the British signs. Phillip Möller, one of the campaign organizers, says the German group has collected €3,500 in the first four days of fundraising. They need €16,000 euros more to fund the project.

Möller, one of the six founders, doesn't see himself as any sort of missionary. "We just want to inform people," he said. "In an enlightened society you should be able to say something like that without being punished." >>> jas – with wire reports | Thursday, March 12, 2009

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Too Soft on the Enemies? This Government Is Like Marshmallow!
THE TELEGRAPH: Too little action is being taken by the authorities against hostile Muslims, says Con Coughlin.

It's not just soldiers who win wars. Governments also have a crucial role to play – and to judge by the response of most Western governments to the threat we face from radical Islamism, we are simply not competing on equal terms with the enemy.

No one can claim that we in Britain don't understand the nature of the threat we face. In recent months, there has been a succession of reports highlighting the increasingly pernicious influence British Islamists are having on the Nato-led campaign to bring stability to Afghanistan.

After senior officers confirmed last year that British Muslims were fighting with the Taliban in southern Afghanistan, it was revealed that RAF Nimrod surveillance planes monitoring Taliban radio stations were surprised to hear insurgents speaking in strong Yorkshire or Midlands accents.

More recently, officers based at the main military base at Lashkar Gah revealed that they had found British-made components in roadside bombs used to attack coalition forces in southern Afghanistan, sent to Helmand by Muslim sympathisers in Britain. This week three British Muslims, part of a terrorist cell whose leader was convicted of plotting to kidnap and behead a British soldier on video, were jailed at the Old Bailey for supplying equipment to the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

The active involvement of radical British Muslims in the Afghan insurgency has led senior officers to claim that they are engaged in a "surreal mini-civil war" in Afghanistan. And yet, for all the compelling evidence that British-based Islamist radicals are actively participating in a jihad against Britain and its coalition allies, the Government, together with those who have opposed our involvement in the War on Terror from the start, seems determined to give the Islamist radicals the benefit of the doubt.

Even when incontrovertible proof is found that British Muslims are aiding and abetting the enemy in Afghanistan and elsewhere, the Government's instinct is to try to cover up their involvement, for fear of further inflaming Islamist sensitivities. Britain Is Fighting a War – and We Are Too Soft on Our Enemies >>> Con Coughlin | Thursday, March 12, 2009

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How Much Is This ‘Enriching’ Diversity Actually Costing Us in Policing? At This Rate, We’ll Soon Be Bankrupt!
MAIL Online: A Muslim extremist who works as a baggage handler at Luton Airport had his security pass suspended today after it was revealed he took part in a protest hurling abuse at British troops.

Jalal Ahmed was among the 20-strong group of extremists protesting when the Royal Anglian Regiment returned home from Iraq earlier this week.

During their homecoming parade, he was spotted clutching a banner proclaiming: 'Anglian soldiers: Butchers of Basra'.
After he was revealed to be part of the hate-filled demonstration, his pass allowing him to go airside and work at the airport was revoked.

Ahmed, who is in his twenties and lives in Luton, works on a casual basis for Menzies Aviation, which provides baggage handling at the airport for easyJet and other airlines.

He is believed to have worked there during peak periods over the past two years and would have had access to secure areas of the site. Muslim Protester Who Works as Baggage Handler at Luton Airport Has Security Pass Suspended after Hurling Abuse at Troops >>> Daily Mail Reporter | Thursday, March 12, 2009

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Wann Obama vom moderaten Taliban spricht ist er nicht ganz bei Trost!
WELT ONLINE: Barack Obama möchte mit moderaten Taliban reden, Franz Josef Jung mit gewaltfreien. Aber gibt es solche Personen überhaupt? Anführer der Taliban möchten die Welt glauben lassen, die Bewegung stehe fest zusammen. Doch selbst wenn es gemäßigte Vertreter gibt, bleibt die Frage, was Gespräche bringen würden.

Ein Phantom geht um: die moderaten, die gemäßigten Taliban. Seit der amerikanische Präsident Barack Obama seine Meinung offen kundtat, dass der Krieg in Afghanistan derzeit nicht zu gewinnen sei und er erwäge, mit moderaten Taliban zu verhandeln, ist die Welt auf der Suche nach eben diesen Ansprechpartnern.

Allein: Niemand vermag sie zu identifizieren. Und manche bezweifeln gar, dass es sie gibt. Die Taliban selbst zum Beispiel, zumindest ihr Sprecher Kari Mohammad Jusuf. „Die Taliban sind vereint, haben einen Führer, ein Ziel, eine Politik“, sagte er und fügte hinzu: „Ich weiß nicht, warum sie über gemäßigte Taliban reden und was es bedeutet.“ Afghanistan: Das Phantom der moderaten Taliban >>> Von Dietrich Alexander | Donnerstag, 12. März 2009

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UN Watchdog Slams Religious Defamation Resolution
JTA: NEW YORK -- A Geneva-based U.N. watchdog group blasted a draft resolution opposing "defamation of and contempt of religions."

In a statement Wednesday, U.N. Watch said the resolution, authored by Pakistan and expected to pass the U.N. Human Rights Council, would undermine moderate Muslim voices.

"It's an Orwellian text that distorts the meaning of human rights, free speech, and religious freedom, and marks a giant step backwards for liberty and democracy worldwide," the group said.

The U.N.'s human rights body has previously adopted resolutions on the defamation of religions while mentioning only Islam as a target. Such measures have been opposed by the United States and Europe, which see defamation laws as pertaining to individuals and not ideas, such as religious creeds. Such resolutions, crtiics say, would have a chilling effect on free speech.

"The first to suffer will be moderate Muslims in the countries that are behind this resolution, like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Pakistan, who seek international legitimacy for state-sanctioned blasphemy laws that stifle religious freedom and outlaw conversions from Islam to other faiths," U.N. Watch said. "Next to suffer from this U.N.-sanctioned McCarthyism will be writers and journalists in the democratic West, with the resolution targeting the media for the 'deliberate stereotyping of religions, their adherents and sacred persons.'

"Ultimately, it is the very notion of individual human rights at stake, because the sponsors of this resolution seek not to protect individuals from harm, but rather to shield a specific set of beliefs from any question, debate, or critical inquiry." [Source: JTA] | Thursday, March 12, 2009

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Le pape évitera une partie du mémorial de la Shoah à Jérusalem
LE POINT: Benoît XVI "ne lâche" pas Pie XII même s'il n'a toujours pas donné le feu vert pour sa béatification . Le souverain pontife a décidé de ne pas se rendre au musée de Yad Vashem, mémorial de la Shoah à Jérusalem, lors de son pèlerinage en Terre sainte en mai. Il entend ainsi protester contre la légende d'une photo du musée où Pie XII - élu pape le 2 mars 1939 - est accusé d'être resté silencieux pendant la Shoah et de n'avoir rien fait face à la déportation et l'extermination de six millions de juifs. >>> AFP | Mardi 10 Mars 2009

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Lord Ahmed Freed
THE GUARDIAN: Lord Ahmed was involved in an accident that left a man dead on the M1 near Rotherham

Lord Ahmed was freed from prison today. Photo courtesy of The Guardian
The Labour peer Lord Ahmed has been freed by the court of appeal today from a 12-week jail sentence for dangerous driving.
Ahmed, 51, was sentenced for sending and receiving texts on the M1 near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, shortly before he was involved in a fatal crash in darkness on Christmas day in 2007.

Martyn Gombar, a 28-year-old Slovakian, was killed after Ahmed's Jaguar hit his Audi car, which had stopped in the fast lane. Subsequent tests revealed that Gombar, a father of two, had been drinking before his vehicle clipped the central reservation of the motorway and spun around. Gombar was attempting to retrieve his mobile phone from the car at the time of the collision.

Records showed that Ahmed, whose wife and mother were also in the car, had sent and received five text messages with a journalist while driving at over 60mph.

He was jailed by Sheffield crown court last month after admitting driving dangerously, and was banned from driving for 12 months.

Although the judge in the trial, Justice Wilkie, described Ahmed's texting as "prolonged, deliberate, repeated and highly dangerous," he said the text messaging had finished before the accident took place and was not connected with the crash.

Allowing Lord Ahmed's appeal today, Lady Justice Hallett said it was important to state that Ahmed's offence was one of dangerous driving, not of causing death by dangerous driving. >>> Jo Adetunji and agencies | Thursday, March 12, 2009

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Anjem Choudary & Majid Nawaz in Debate on Islam

Part 2
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Afghanistan: 20-Year Sentence for Journalist Upheld
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: Politicized Case Shows Grave Threat to Freedom of Expression

Afghan policemen escort Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh after he leaves court in Kabul. © 2008 Reuters
(New York) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai should issue a pardon for Parwez Kambakhsh, a student and part-time journalist, whose 20-year prison sentence for blasphemy has been upheld by the Supreme Court, Human Rights Watch said today. The Supreme Court decision was the final stage in a highly politicized case that has repeatedly flouted Afghan and international law and highlighted the lack of professionalism among the Afghan judiciary.

The court upheld the sentence on February 11, 2009, without informing Kambakhsh or his lawyer, or allowing the lawyer to submit arguments in Kambakhsh's defense. On March 7, the lawyer, Azfal Nooristani, discovered that the decision had been made.

"The Supreme Court represented the last hope that Parwez Kambakhsh would receive a fair hearing, but once again justice was denied," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Kambakhsh has committed no crime. Now it is up to President Karzai to act on principle and free him." >>> | Tuesday, March 10, 2009

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH:
Afghanistan: Overturn Death Sentence of Jailed Journalist – Blasphemy Case Illustrates Failings of Legal System >>> | Saturday, January 31, 2009

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Nigerian Bill Defines Gay Roommates as "Married," Inflicts Prison Penalty
Anti-gay Anglican leader Peter Akinola. Photo courtesy of TDGE Boston

EDGE Boston: Under a proposed new law in Nigeria, same-sex marriage would consist of gays simply living together--and would be punishable by three years in prison.

The law would extend new powers to the police to crack down on anyone thought to be gay, reported the BBC in an article posted online Mar. 11.

Advocates of the country’s gay and lesbian population stood against the bill, with the Queer Alliance of Nigeria’s Rashidi Williams addressing a government committee with plea not to enhance the nation’s existing anti-gay legislation with a law that would essentially make it a crime for gays to share living space by defining the sharing of housing as "gay marriage."

Existing law in the Christian part of the country penalizes gays with 14 years in prison, while in Muslim areas gays face being stoned to death for their sexuality. >>> By Kilian Melloy | Thursday, March 12, 2009

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Melanie Phillips: Persistently Validating Extremism
THE SPECTATOR: Policy Exchange has produced yet another extremely important pamphlet on radical Islamism and the grievous and indeed lethal errors in government policy towards it. Entitled Choosing Our Friends Wisely by Shiraz Maher and Martin Frampton, it is a devastating critique of the centrepiece of that policy, a strategy called Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE). Recently, it was reported that there was a strong feeling in parts of the security establishment that this strategy had been a disaster; defining the problem as only ‘violent’ extremism’, the government had failed to grasp that the core problem is actually religious/ ideological extremism which produces a continuum of divisive, antisocial or threatening views which provides the sea in which violence swims. The strategy should therefore be changed to ‘Preventing Extremism.’

This is a case I have made many times, not least in my book Londonistan. It is not clear whether or how this argument has resolved itself within government – although from a speech made recently by the Communities Secretary Hazel Blears, it looked as if the PVE camp had succeeded in fending off the PE proponents. No surprise there – a change to Preventing Extremism would take clarity of vision and a great deal of courage. Now, though, the Policy Exchange pamphlet has dissected the disaster that is the Preventing Violent Extremism strategy – which, through its unbelievably stupid belief that non-violent extremists can be used as the antidote to violent extremists, is actually radicalising a new generation of Muslims, sometimes with the very funds that are supposed to be countering radicalisation. It says:

Non-violent extremists have consequently become well dug in as partners of national and local government and the police. Some of the government’s chosen collaborators in ‘addressing grievances’ of angry young Muslims are themselves at the forefront of stoking those grievances against British foreign policy; western social values; and alleged state-sanctioned ‘Islamophobia’. PVE is thus underwriting the very Islamist ideology which spawns an illiberal, intolerant and anti-western world view.

Political and theological extremists, acting with the authority conferred by official recognition, are indoctrinating young people with an ideology of hostility to western values. This strategic error on the part of officialdom is born of a poverty of aspiration: the belief of the authorities that they cannot reasonably ask angry Muslims for much more than a pledge not to use violence in Britain. The effect has been to empower reactionaries within Muslim communities and to marginalise genuine moderates, thus increasing inter-community tensions and envenoming the public space.

>>> Melanie Phillips | Wednesday, March 11, 2009

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Texas College Offers Courses on How to Be a Proper Woman

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‘Islam Can Be Used to Curb Tobacco Use’
SINDH TODAY: Mumbai – An Iraqi cancer specialist’s view that the teachings of Islam can be used to curb tobacco consumption has found favour with experts from several nations, especially those with Muslim majorities, who attended the 14th World Conference on Tobacco or Health here.

“Islam can be used as an effective tool for tobacco control among Muslims, who constitute 22 percent of the world’s population,” Lath Yahya Ibrahim Mula Hussain, an oncologist from Iraq, told IANS.

“It is a hard fact that most Muslims have fallen prey to tobacco. Islam is a powerful tool that can be used to guide the lives of Muslims across the globe but it ought to be used effectively,” said Hussain.

He added that a large number of Muslim scholars and clerics are not convinced about tobacco being dangerous and hence haven’t taken steps to prohibit it. >>> ik/sh/jg | Thursday, March 12, 2009

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Texas Students Take to the Turban!
THE DALLAS MORING NEWS: The line outside the University of Texas at Arlington's library this week wasn't for intramural sign-up, a spring break travel package or even hot dogs sold off the grill for a fraternity fundraiser.

It was for turbans.

Sikh volunteers swirled blood-red, neon orange and aquamarine cloth around the heads of students as they explained why an item intended to distinguish the Sikh religion has threatened its identity.

UTA is one of five North Texas college campuses where Sikh students tied turbans and debunked myths for their spring break.
Billed as "Sikh Turban Week," the event is intended to clarify the misconceptions ignited after Sept. 11, detail the significance of the turban for Sikhs and showcase one of the region's fast-growing communities.

"It's nothing to do with Osama bin Laden or terrorism," said Jaipreet Singh Suri, the president of Southern Methodist University's Sikh Student Association and organizer of the event. "The message we want to go out is that the majority of people who wear turbans are Sikh and not Hindu or Muslim."

The SMU students recruited additional volunteers from the region's five gurdwaras – the Sikh place of worship – and raised about $7,000 from among the 5,000 Sikhs who live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Most Sikhs originally come from the Punjab region in northwest India. North Texas College Students Try on Turbans, New Perspectives >>> By Jessica Myers | Thursday, March 12, 2009

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Somalia to Get Sharia-based Law
AL JAZEERA: The Somali cabinet has voted to make Islamic law the basis for the country's legal system.

Tuesday's move was an attempt to isolate more extreme armed groups by agreeing to a demand supported by much of the Somali population.

Farhan Ali Mohamed, the information minister, said implementing sharia, or Islamic law, would help end attacks by the militias.
The bill must still be approved by parliament, which is expected to hear it within days, and the ministry of justice would still select judges and police would have the power to detain suspects, the minister said.

Several armed groups have said they will stop fighting the government if sharia were implemented. >>> | Wednesday, March 11, 2009

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Obamalism

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Westerners Help Financial Jihad Along
TIMES ONLINE: Sharia-compliant finance is prospering in Britain. But how can it stay insulated from the credit crunch?

As the credit crunch has mutated inexorably into a recession, with bankers having eclipsed politicians, lawyers and even journalists as public enemy number one, the growing number of Islamic finance institutions in Britain might just be sitting pretty.

The UK now has five fully Sharia-compliant banks and another 17 financial institutions have set up special branches or firms. They include the Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), with its London-based European Finance House in Berkeley Square, and the Islamic Bank of Britain, which has headquarters in Birmingham.

Both have answered Gordon Brown’s call of two years ago for Britain to become the global centre for international Islamic banking; a report by the International Financial Services London even says that Britain’s Islamic banking sector is now bigger than that of Pakistan.

Islamic banks, says Steven Amos, the Islamic Bank of Britain’s head of marketing, are prospering. “Our core business will always be Muslims but the numbers of non-Muslims are really picking up. We’ve had massive interest — and that’s down to a number of reasons, all of which have kept us insulated from the credit crunch.”

He alludes to the nuances of Islamic banking — specifically that Islamic finance has to be Sharia, or Islamic law, compliant. Sharia is taken from the Koran, one of whose central tenets — that money has no intrinsic value — might sound alien to the denizens of the City.

One British businessman believes that adopting Sharia principles might be just what the West needs. Roger Smee, a former professional footballer and now businessman, says the West has “lost the plot. All we have as a success guide is a number of rich lists. Instead of looking down on what we are quick to reject as cumbersome legal restrictions, we should take a page out of the Middle East’s book and use the principles of Sharia to begin building real and sustainable economies.” Crossing Over to Islamic Banking >>> Alex Wade | Thursday March 12, 2009

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Iraqi Jailed for Bush Shoe Attack
BBC: An Iraqi journalist hailed as a hero in the Arab world for throwing his shoes at former US President George W Bush has been jailed for three years.

Muntadar al-Zaidi, the shoe-thrower. Photo courtesy of the BBC
Muntadar al-Zaidi pleaded not guilty as his trial resumed in Baghdad, telling the judge:"My reaction was natural, just like any Iraqi."

He could have been jailed for 15 years for assaulting a foreign leader on an official visit. >>> | Thursday, March 12, 2009

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Otan : les Etats-Unis «ravis» du retour de la France
LE FIGARO: Le secrétaire général de l'organisation a également accueilli chaleureusement l'annonce d'une possible réintégration de la France dans le commandement intégré de l'Alliance.

Les Etats-Unis sont «ravis» de la décision de la France de rejoindre le commandement militaire intégré de l'Otan, quitté par Paris il y a 43 ans, a indiqué mercredi le département américain de la Défense. «Nous sommes ravis qu'après 43 ans d'absence, la France soit de nouveau à sa place dans la structure de commandement de l'alliance qu'elle a contribué à créer», a ainsi déclaré le porte-parole du Pentagone Geoff Morrell.

«Même si leurs soldats ont combattu bravement au côté des nôtres en Afghanistan, leur retour complet dans tous les aspects militaires de l'Otan est une nouvelle bienvenue», a-t-il ajouté. Par ailleurs les Etats-Unis se réjouissent de «travailler encore plus étroitement avec (les Français) dans les décennies à venir», a developpé le porte-parole. «La France, un allié important» >>> Flore Galaud (lefigaro.fr) avec AFP | Jeudi 12 Mars 2009

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Al-Qaida-Video: Islamisten rufen zu Anschlägen in Deutschland auf
WELT ONLINE: Schon wieder hat das Terrornetzwerk al-Qaida eine Video-Botschaft speziell an Deutschland gesendet. Darin rufen zwei deutsch-marokkanische Brüder zu Anschlägen gegen die Bundesrepubik auf. Das Bundeskriminalamt hat die Spur der beiden zurückverfolgt.

Zwei deutsch-marokkanische Brüder aus Bonn rufen nach einem Bericht der „Bild“ in einem neuen Droh-Video zu Selbstmord-Anschlägen gegen Deutschland auf. 



„Entscheidet euch für das Leben nach dem Tod. Leistet euren Beitrag, wo immer Ihr euch befindet. Es gibt keine Ruhe mehr“, sagten die beiden Männer in dem im Internet verbreiteten Video in deutscher Sprache. 



Die in Tarnanzügen auftretenden Männer bezeichneten sich als „Abu Adam aus Deutschland“ und „Abu Ibraheem aus Deutschland“, berichtet die Zeitung. >>> dpa/ab | Donnerstag, 12. März 2009

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Er kann die Wallstreet nicht beruhigen
TAGES ANZEIGER: Vom Auftreten her ein Diplomat, von der Arbeitsweise her ein Technokrat: US-Finanzminister Geithner hat Mühe, sich als Krisenmanager durchzusetzen.

Was immer der 54-jährige Timothy Geithner zu erklären versucht: Stets wirkt er besorgt und an sich selbst zweifelnd. Diese Eigenheit, die seine Freunde seit seiner Jugend kennen, macht ihm heute – mitten in der gröbsten Finanzkrise seit 80 Jahren – die Arbeit schwer. Nur sechs Wochen nach Amtsantritt ist der Finanzminister bereits umstritten. Kritiker von links und rechts sehen ihn gar als Fehlbesetzung, nicht zuletzt, weil er im Netz der Old Boys an Wallstreet hängen geblieben scheint.

«Das Problem von Tim ist nicht, dass er die Schwere einer Krise nicht erfasst oder nicht stets die beste Lösung will», sagt eine Vertraute, die ihn seit der Hochschule am Dartmouth College gut kennt. «Seine Schwierigkeit war und ist, dass er besorgt erscheint, auch wenn er es gar nicht ist und lieber grübelt als sich öffentlich zu erklären.» Geithner ist in seinem Habitus viel mehr Vermittler als ein harter, schnell entscheidender Krisenmanager. >>> Von Walter Niederberger, San Francisco | Donnerstag, 12. März 2009

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USA – Kuba: Washington stößt die Tür zu Castro-Regime auf
DIE PRESSE: Die USA lockern Embargo gegen die Karibikinsel – ein Signal der Öffnung. In Kuba hofft das Regime auf weitere Signale der Öffnung aus Washington.

WASHINGTON. Seit der „Schweinebucht-Aktion“, dem von John F. Kennedy initiierten und grandios gescheiterten Putschversuch gegen Kubas Staatschef Fidel Castro 1960, hat niemand an der Doktrin der US-Außenpolitik gegen die Karibikinsel gerüttelt. Ob Republikaner wie Richard Nixon oder Ronald Reagan oder Demokraten wie Jimmy Carter oder Bill Clinton: Alle US-Präsidenten hielten an dem 1962 beschlossenen Handelsembargo fest, um so den Kommunismus in ihrem Hinterhof auszuhungern. Und die exilkubanische Gemeinde in Florida, meist hartgesottene Republikaner, sorgte dafür, dass das Lüftchen aus Washington nicht zu lau wurde.

Seit 45 Jahren ist John F. Kennedy nun tot, und der so oft totgesagte Fidel Castro erlebt in seinem krankheitsbedingten Ausgedinge als Politrentner bereits den zehnten US-Präsidenten. Im Gegensatz zu Kennedy jedoch, der sich in den ersten Monaten seiner Amtszeit zu dem abenteuerlichen Staatsstreich hinreißen ließ, setzt Barack Obama auf eine sanfte, schleichende Veränderung. Washington stößt die Tür zum Castro-Regime auf. >>> Thomas Vieregge | Mittwoch, 11. März 2009

LE MONDE: Obama allège les restrictions sur les voyages à Cuba

Des dissidents cubains ont qualifié, mercredi 11 mars, de "positif" l'allègement des restrictions sur les voyages à Cuba pour les Cubains américains, disant espérer que ce geste de Washington sera suivi d'une réponse similaire de la part de La Havane. "C'est une bonne nouvelle pour le peuple cubain, cela va contribuer à son unité", a déclaré l'économiste modéré Oscar Espinosa Chepe.

Le Sénat américain a voté mardi soir un vaste projet de loi qui comprend l'allègement de restrictions sur les voyages et l'envoi d'argent de Cubains américains vers l'île communiste des frères Castro, sous embargo américain depuis 1962. Les Cubains vivant aux Etats-Unis pourront notamment désormais visiter leurs proches restés à Cuba une fois par an plutôt que tous les trois ans et dépenser jusqu'à 179 dollars par jour sur l'île au lieu de 50. >>> LEMONDE.FR avec BBC News et AFP | Jeudi 12 Mars 2009

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