Opinion – Martin Sherman: Netanyahu’s Misguided Vision
YNET NEWS: Israel needs leader willing to face Obama and say: ‘No, you can’t’

"…for the first time we have reached a national agreement on the two states for two people concept." – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at cabinet meeting, June 5, 2009.

In uttering these words, Benjamin Netanyahu proved himself to be unworthy of the leadership of the nation. For they clearly show that he lacks either the political wisdom or the political will for the task.

The stark contrast between Netanyahu's cabinet statement and his first rousing and resolute address to the Likud Central Committee as premier in 1996, evoke feelings of profound sadness, bitter disappointment, and deep concern. His opening words then to the eager crowd were: "There will be no Palestinian State."

Rarely does history afford leaders of nations a second chance to redeem themselves. Netanyahu is one the fortunate few who has been afforded such an opportunity. Sadly he has proven unworthy of the extraordinary favor fate granted him, His mettle has been tested and found wanting. His capitulation – however reluctant - to the notion of "two-states" which he has rejected reflects a failure of will or of intellect - or of both.

The essential point for the Israeli leadership to grasp and for the Israeli public to internalize is that the conflict between Israel, as the nation-state of the Jewish people, on the one hand, and both the Palestinians and the wider Arab world on the other, is neither complex nor complicated. Any attempt to characterize it differently reflects neither erudite sophistication nor progressive enlightenment – but rather, ill-informed ignorance at best and disingenuous denial at worst.

For the unvarnished truth is indeed brutal - and binary: In the narrow sliver of land between "The River" and "The Sea" there can prevail – and eventually there will prevail – either exclusive Jewish political sovereignty or exclusive Arab political sovereignty. The side that will endure will be the side whose political will is stronger and whose political vision is sharper. Who will protect Palestinian state? >>> Martin Sherman | Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Khamenei's Son Takes Control of Iran's Anti-protest Militia
THE GUARDIAN: Mojtaba Khamenei's move dismays clerics and Revolutionary Guard generals / Tehran doctor says death toll much higher than official figure

The son of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has taken control of the militia being used to crush the protest movement, according to a senior Iranian source.

The source, a politician with strong connections to the security apparatus, said that the leading role being played by Mojtaba Khamenei had dismayed many of the country's senior clerics, conservative politicians and Revolutionary Guard generals.

But these conservatives are reluctant to challenge the Khameneis openly out of fear that any conflict would destabilise the Islamic Republic and weaken Iran in the region. Instead they will use their positions in the organs of state to make it hard for the supreme leader and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to govern.

"This game has not finished. The game has only just started," the source said, on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of his own position in Iran.

He said Mojtaba had played a leading role in orchestrating Ahmadinejad's disputed election victory on 12 June and had led the backlash against protests through direct control of street militias, known as basiji.

The official death toll from that backlash is less than 20 but, according to a Tehran doctor who has given his account to the Guardian, the actual number is much higher – 38 in the first week at his hospital alone. He said the basiji covered up the deaths and pressured doctors not to talk. >>> Julian Borger, diplomatic editor | Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Iran's Crackdown Proves that the 'Twitter Revolution' Has Made Things Worse
THE TELEGRAPH: Iran's crackdown proves that the 'Twitter revolution' has made things worse

Almost a month on from Iran’s presidential election, it is now time to recognise that the so-called “Twitter revolution” has utterly failed to achieve anything - save dead and injured young Iranians, and up to 2,000 new political prisoners. President Ahmadinejad retains power after a violent crackdown. There has been no recount of the votes. And the blatantly rigged election results have been upheld.

So what went wrong? Well, I would argue that the answer is twofold. Firstly we need to accept that there was a hell of a lot of hype surrounding the online freedom emerging in Iran. Despite what Bobbie Johnson wrote in The Observer, Tweets do not “shake” the political world. More accurately, we have just witnessed a mini dotcom boom and bust: YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Flickr were seen to be “powerful political tools”. They aren’t. Especially when they are only being used by a relatively small urban elite. >>> Will Heaven* | Wednesday, July 08, 2009

*Will Heaven is a 21-year-old journalist who writes about politics and religion.

Pakistani President Asif Zardari Admits Creating Terrorist Groups
THE TELEGRAPH: Pakistan's president has admitted his country created terrorist groups to help achieve its foreign policy goals.

Asif Zardari told a meeting of former senior civil servants in Islamabad, it was time to be honest about their deployment.

"Let us be truthful to ourselves and make a candid admission of the realities," he said. "The terrorists of today were the heroes of yesteryears until 9/11 occurred and they began to haunt us as well."

These groups were not thrown up because of government weakness, but as a matter of policy. He said they were deliberately "created and nurtured" as a policy to achieve some short-term tactical objectives.

His comments amount to an admission that Pakistan trained Islamic terrorists to launch attacks on India as part of its long war over its claim on Kashmir.

It came as at least 40 people were killed in a suspected US missile strike in north-west Pakistan.

Three US drones are believed to have fired missiles at militants near Ladha in South Waziristan. It is the third strike in two days and follows strikes in which 19 reportedly died.

Mr Zardari first confirmed that many of the Islamic militants now waging war against his government were once "strategic assets" in an interview with the Daily Telegraph earlier this week. >>> Dean Nelson, South Asia Editor | Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Obama Arrives in Italy for G-8 Summit

China Tightens Security in Xinjiang

Sarah Palin Talks Government And Her Future

Why Don't Russian-speaking Jews Trust Obama?
HAARETZ: In the past two weeks, in advance of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Russia, chapters of the Bible have become hot current events items in the Russian-language media in Israel. This is not necessarily a matter of an increasing link to the Jewish sources, but rather the use of verses found relevant to eroding the American president's legitimacy.

The Torah portion "Noah" has become particularly popular, and especially his son Ham. This Ham - whose name in Russian also means a very crude person - was punished in the Bible by having his skin turn black, with all his descendants doomed to be blacks destined for a life of slavery. Another very popular text lately is a verse from Proverbs: "Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up." The first of the heralds of evil, according to the verse, is "a slave who becomes king."

Each of these chapters is important in itself, but the real sparks are created by the connection between the two: Ham the black man who is doomed to eternal slavery and brings suffering to the world when a black slave becomes king - or in this case, ascends the throne of the presidency of the United States.

The large community of Russian-speaking Jews in America is not enthusiastic about the new president either. But here there is an interesting cultural difference. While Russian speakers in Israel proudly proclaim their rejection of political correctness, their colleagues in America have actually internalized what is politically correct. They are far less preoccupied with the color of the president's skin, and focus on his Muslim background. That is considered legitimate. >>> Lily Galili | Monday, July 06, 2009

As Iran Calms, a Struggle for Political Power Intensifies
Clerics during prayers in June. Many religious leaders have not spoken out in support of Iran’s president or supreme leader. Photo: The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES: CAIRO — The streets of Iran have been largely silenced, but a power struggle grinds on behind the scenes, this time over the very nature of the state itself. It is a battle that transcends the immediate conflict over the presidential election, one that began 30 years ago as the Islamic Revolution established a new form of government that sought to blend theocracy and a measure of democracy.

From the beginning, both have vied for an upper hand, and today both are tarnished. In postelection Iran, there is growing unease among many of the nation’s political and clerical elite that the very system of governance they rely on for power and privilege has been stripped of its religious and electoral legitimacy, creating a virtual dictatorship enforced by an emboldened security apparatus, analysts said.

Among the Iranian president’s allies are those who question whether the nation needs elected institutions at all.
Most telling, and arguably most damning, is that many influential religious leaders have not spoken out in support of the beleaguered president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, or the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Indeed, even among those who traditionally have supported the government, many have remained quiet or even offered faint but unmistakable criticisms.

According to Iranian news reports, only two of the most senior clerics have congratulated Mr. Ahmadinejad on his re-election, which amounts to a public rebuke in a state based on religion. A conservative prayer leader in the holy city of Qum, Ayatollah Ibrahim Amini, referred to demonstrators as “people” instead of rioters, and a hard-line cleric, Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem-Shirazi, called for national reconciliation.

Some of Iran’s most influential grand ayatollahs, clerics at the very top of the Shiite faith’s hierarchy who have become identified with the reformists, have condemned the results as a fraud and the government’s handling of the protests as brutal. On Saturday, an influential Qum-based clerical association called the new government illegitimate. >>> Michael Slackman | Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Fear and Loathing at Equality Central
THE INDEPENDENT: Discrimination, conflicts of interest, financial irregularities: allegations against Trevor Phillips and his commission are building.

It was not supposed to work like this. The Government's equality watchdog – which is charged with rooting out discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, religion, sexuality, age or disability – was yesterday in the dock charged with discrimination by a member of its own staff. It only adds to the mound of political embarrassment being heaped upon the chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Trevor Phillips, whose days in the job look increasingly limited.

The woman before an employment tribunal yesterday was Brid Johal, from Tipperary. (These things are important when it comes to equality). She was an aide to the aide of Mr Phillips. Even aides have aides in the wonderful world of quangos, until David Cameron gets his way at any rate. While she was on maternity leave the person who was covering for her – whom we might, unkindly perhaps, describe as the aide of the aide of the aide – was promoted over Ms Johal's head. It happened just as a commission bigwig was holding forth publicly about how unfortunate it was that women get penalised if they take a year off. Ms Johal told the tribunal that she had not been informed that there was a vacancy available despite her bosses' promises that she would be "kept in the loop" while she was away.

There is now muttering inside the EHRC about how it has not, after all, consigned to history a world in which some people are more equal than others. "There is something oddly old-fashioned going on in terms of plum jobs at the higher level," one insider said recently.

Some are beginning to think that the man at the top, Trevor Phillips, may have feet of clay. Indeed some are murmuring that the clay goes up to knee-level and beyond. The commission has been hit in recent months by a succession of internal disputes and allegations of financial irregularities. There is talk now that the former television executive, who wanted a second term in the job, will be forced to step down when his contract ends in the autumn. >>> Paul Vallely and Kevin Rawlinson | Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Anti-Dhimmitude! St Mary's Catholic College Turns Away Muslim Teacher Wearing Veil
TIMES ONLINE: A teacher was barred from joining students on a visit to a Roman Catholic sixth-form college because she refused a request to remove her Muslim veil.

She was accompanying two teenage girls on an open day to see if they wanted to study for their A levels at St Mary’s College, in Blackburn. The town is in the constituency of Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, who once said that he preferred Muslim women not to wear veils that covered their faces.

The teacher and students were from the Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School. A spokesman for St Mary’s said that the request was made because veils were against school policy. The two pupils agreed to take off their veils but the teacher declined and left. >>> Russell Jenkins | Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Decline and Fall of the BBC Empire
THE TELEGRAPH: The BBC is crumbling under the weight of its own monolithic structure, and suffering from the extravagances of its self-indulgent leaders, writes Gill Hornby.

Who can begrudge the groaning pension pot of the BBC's Alan Yentob? Not many serious cultural figures, scions of the arts establishment, would be willing to dress up in a toga for a bit of publicity. Surely that's worth a million or two straight off?

Yet somehow, the news that the BBC's arts supremo has a pension pot worth £6.3 million if bought as an annuity on the open market to cushion his retirement, after a life spent working for the corporation, has caused an outcry. Admittedly, the fact that this comes after another dispute over his expenses in 2004 (he was cleared), the revelations that the BBC paid for a large party at his country home (business contacts were present), and that he had not exactly been present at interviews for a documentary (look, he's a busy man, OK?) does not help his case. But that doesn't matter, because that case has been made for him by the corporation's director-general, Mark Thompson.

Thompson, whose own pension pot is valued at a mere £3.2 million, has stressed time and again that the BBC has to pay competitive salaries to compete in a competitive market. Otherwise, he fears, there will be a "talent drain" from his corporation. So, of course Yentob needs an annual salary of £325,000, with all the perks and the long-term securities that come with it. There aren't many little bearded men out there capable of making the sort of programmes that we have all enjoyed from his Imagine series. If the BBC doesn't pay for long documentaries about Werner Herzog, surrealism and the "mysterious, offbeat, sexually charged world" of the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, then… hang on, who would snap him up, exactly?

If you look around, the answer is simple: nobody. The director-general may not have noticed, but commercial television in Britain is in a state of collapse at the moment. His talk of a "talent drain" began in defence of Jonathan Ross's ludicrous pay deal of £18 million over three years, which was, of course, negotiated well before he disgraced himself in the Andrew Sachs fiasco. Back then, Thompson's argument might have had some substance. But now, unless Ross fancies being a judge on The X Factor, he has no option but to stay put at the BBC. And unless Yentob would like to employ his wealth of cultural knowledge in the production of Britain's Got Talent – plenty of surrealism there for him to play with – he's better off where he is, too.

Also, if the corporation is so keen on hanging on to its talent, it is rather curious that it throws such fabulous parties for that talent when it leaves. The cost of sending off John Birt, the former director-general, is estimated at £150,000. Stories about £100 bottles of champagne for celebrities and £400 cakes are never going to go down well with those scrimping to pay for their licence fees. And it is simply not good enough for Thompson to defend it all by comparing the BBC to the commercial sector. It is not the commercial sector. The commercial sector is a tough place to work: you have to fight your corner and earn your ratings, or you're finished. It is completely market-reactive out there, whereas the BBC is the cushiest outpost left in the media world. >>> Gill Hornby | Tuesday, July 07, 2009

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Anti-Dhimmitude! Three Jailed for Arson Attack over Muhammad Bride Novel
THE GUARDIAN: Muslim trio who attacked publisher's home days before release of The Jewel of Medina each get four and a half years in prison

Three Muslim men were jailed today for an arson attack on the home of the publisher of a novel about Aisha, the child bride of the prophet Muhammad.

The trio poured diesel on the front door of the house in Islington, north London, and set it on fire. The attack in September last year took place days before Martin Rynja's company, Gibson Square, was scheduled to publish The Jewel of Medina, by the American author Sherry Jones.

Ali Beheshti, 41, and Abrar Mirza, 23, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit arson, while 30-year-old Abbas Taj was convicted of the same offence at Croydon crown court in May. Today, Mrs Justice Rafferty, sitting at London's Royal Courts of Justice, sentenced each of them to four and a half years in jail.

Andrew Hall QC, representing Beheshti, said in mitigation that it was "an act of protest born of the publication of a book felt by him and other Muslims to be disrespectful, provocative and offensive".

The judge said: "If you chose to live in this country, you live by its rules. There is no such thing as a la carte citizenship and, in your case, there is no such thing as a la carte obedience to the law." >>> Peter Walker | Tuesday, July 07, 2009

HS from The Times
TIMES ONLINE: Wearing my niqab is a choice freely made, for spiritual reasons

I put on my niqab, my face veil, each day before I leave the house, without a second thought. I drape it over my face, tie the ribbons at the back and adjust the opening over my eyes to make sure my peripheral vision is not affected.

Had I a full-length mirror next to the front door, I would be able to see what others see: a woman of average height and build, covered in several layers of fabric, a niqab, a jilbab, sometimes an abayah, sometimes all black, other times blue or brown. A Muslim woman in 'full veil'. A niqabi.

But is that truly how people see me? When I walk through the park with my little ones in tow, when I reverse my car into a parking space, when I browse the shelves in the frozen section, when I ask how to best cook asparagus at a market stall, what do people see? An oppressed woman? A nameless, voiceless individual? A criminal?

Well, if Mr Sarkozy and others like him have their way, I suppose I will be a criminal, won't I? Never mind that "it's a free country"; never mind that I made this choice from my own free will, as did the vast majority of covered women of my generation; never mind that I am, in every other respect, an upstanding citizen who works hard as a mother, author and magazine publisher, spends responsibly, recycles and tries to eat seasonally and buy local produce!

Yes, I cover my face, but I am still of this society. And, as crazy as it might sound, I am human, a human being with my own thoughts, feelings and opinions. I refuse to allow those who cannot know my reality to paint me as a cardboard cut-out, an oppressed, submissive, silenced relic of the Dark Ages. I am not a stereotype and, God willing, I never will be.

But where are those who will listen? At the end of the day, Muslim women have been saying for years that the hijab et al are not oppressive, that we cover as an act of faith, that this is a bonafide spiritual lifestyle choice. But the debate rages on, ironically, largely to the exclusion of the women who actually do cover their faces.

The focus on the niqab is, in my opinion, utterly misplaced. Don't the French have anything better to do than tell Muslim women how to dress? Don't our societies have bigger problems than a relative handful of women choosing to cover their faces out of religious conviction? The "burka issue" has become a red herring: there are issues that Muslim women face that are more pressing, more wide-reaching and, essentially, more relevant than whether or not they should be covering with a niqab, burqa or hijab. Niqabi, interrupted >>> Naima B. Robert | Friday, June 26, 2009

Sharia Law in the United Kingdom

Archbishop or Archdhimmi? Sharia Law in UK Is 'Unavoidable'

Papst will Krise durch Regulierung überwinden: Enzyklika «Caritas in veritate» in Rom vorgestellt
NZZ Online: Am Tag vor dem G-8-Gipfel in Aquila hat Papst Benedikt XVI. seine dritte Enzyklika vorgestellt. Das Oberhaupt der römisch-katholischen Kirche mahnt darin die Regierungen, die nationalen Ökonomien stärker zu regulieren, um die weltweite Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise zu überwinden

Benedikt XVI. hat ungezügeltem Kapitalismus und unregulierten Marktkräften eine Absage erteilt. In der am Dienstag veröffentlichten Sozialenzyklika «Caritas in veritate» (Liebe in Wahrheit) fordert der Papst die Ausrichtung wirtschaftlichen Handelns an ethischen Zielen.

Das Oberhaupt der römisch-katholischen Kirche mahnt die Regierungen, die nationalen Ökonomien stärker zu regulieren, um die weltweite Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise zu überwinden und ihre Wiederholung zu vermeiden. Die Krise wie auch die Globalisierung sollten als Chance genutzt werden, eine Welt in Gerechtigkeit und Solidarität zu bauen. >>> sda/dpa/Reuters/ap | Dienstag, 07. Juli 2009

«Caritas in veritate»:

In English >>>

En français >>>

Barack Obama Tells Russia to Respect Borders

THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama tells Russia to respect borders of Georgia and Ukraine: US President Barack Obama has told Russia's leaders they must respect the sovereignty of their neighbours Georgia and Ukraine in a major speech in Moscow >>> | Telegraph’s Foreign Staff and Agencies | Tuesday, July 07, 2009

TIMES ONLINE: Obama to Russia: stop Iranian nuclear weapon and US will scrap missile defence >>> Tony Halpin in Moscow | Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Obama’s ‘Transparent’ Presidency Not Looking Quite So Transparent Anymore

Hat tip: Always On Watch >>>

Obama Urges End to U.S.-Russia Strains
REUTERS: NOVO OGARYOVO, Russia - Visiting U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday praised Russia's most powerful politician, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, as the two leaders met for the first time, saying there was an excellent opportunity to improve U.S.-Russia relations.

Visibly awkward, the two men exchanged pleasantries at the start of a meeting at Putin's forest residence outside Moscow overshadowed by Obama's criticism of Putin last week in a pre-trip interview as a man with one foot stuck in the past.

"I am aware of not only the extraordinary work that you've done on behalf of the Russian people in your previous role as prime minis-, uh, as president, but in your current role as prime minister," Obama said.

Putin, looking down and mostly avoiding eye contact with Obama, said there had been periods of greyish mood and confrontation in U.S.-Russia relations but added:

"We link hopes for development of our relationship with your name." >>> Jeff Mason, (Writing by Michael Stott; editing by Jon Boyle) | Tuesday, July 07, 2009

LE MONDE: Barack Obama appelle à la fin de l'antagonisme entre les Etats-Unis et la Russie

Dans un grand discours devant les étudiants de la Nouvelle Ecole économique de Moscou sur les relations américano-russes, le président Barack Obama affirme, mardi 7 juillet, que les Etats-Unis veulent une Russie "forte, pacifique et prospère".

Dans ce discours présentant sa vision des futures relations entre les deux pays aux relations compliquées, M. Obama a exposé la multitude des intérêts communs et des domaines de coopération possible."Ces défis réclament un partenariat mondial, et ce partenariat sera plus fort si la Russie occupe le rang de grande puissance qui doit être le sien", a-t-il dit. Il a opposé cette vision à celle du vingtième siècle, dans laquelle "les Etats-Unis et la Russie [étaient] voués à être des antagonistes", ou celle du dix-neuvième siècle, dans laquelle ils étaient condamnés "à rivaliser pour des sphères d'influence et où les grandes puissances [devaient] forger des blocs concurrents pour se contre-balancer l'un l'autre". "Malheureusement, on a parfois l'impression que les vieux présupposés doivent prévaloir, une conception de l'exercice du pouvoir enracinée dans le passé plutôt que le présent", a-t-il déploré. Mais "le temps où des empires pouvaient manipuler des Etats souverains comme les pièces d'un jeu d'échec sont révolus", a-t-il dit. >>> LEMONDE.FR avec AFP et Reuters | Mardi 07 Juillet 2009

WELT ONLINE: Ende des Misstrauens: Obama will von Putin Abschied von Kaltem Krieg

Barack Obama hat am zweiten Tag seines Russland-Besuchs in einer Grundsatzrede zur Überwindung des gegenseitigen Misstrauens beider Länder aufgerufen. „Amerika wünscht sich ein starkes, friedliches und wohlhabendes Russland", sagte der US-Präsident. Trotzdem stellte Obama auch klare Forderungen an Premier Putin.

Wenn die alten Klassenfeinde Amerika und Russland aufeinandertreffen, ist viel von Ideologie die Rede. So auch beim ersten Besuch von US-Präsident Barack Obama beim russischen Premierminister Wladimir Putin.

Allein versuchte Obama von den alten Streitereien der Vergangenheit Abstand zu nehmen. Stattdessen sprach er Russland indirekt eine größere Rolle in der internationalen Gemeinschaft zu. Er forderte das Land auf, gemeinsam mit den USA Verantwortung im Kampf gegen die Ausbreitung nuklearer Waffen und bei der Lösung der Weltwirtschaftskrise zu übernehmen. Die Welt brauche Russland als eine moderne Großmacht, die vom Denken in alten Kategorien des Kalten Krieges Abschied nehme, betonte Obama in seiner mit Spannung erwarteten Grundsatzrede vor der „Neuen Ökonomischen Schule“ in Moskau. „Amerika wünscht sich ein starkes, friedliches und wohlhabendes Russland“, sagte Obama. >>> AP/dpa/AFP/Reuters/cn | Dienstag, 07. Juli 2009

In England, Girls Vulnerable to Islamic Law
BRUSSELS JOURNAL: In March of last year a severely autistic man with the mental age of three married a woman in Bangladesh, via the telephone. Three of Britain’s most senior judges intervened, ruling the marriage could not be legal under English law, as the man was unable to give his consent.

This marriage, said Lord Justice Thorpe, was “sufficiently offensive to the conscience of the English court that the court should refuse to recognise it and should refuse to give effect to the law of Bangladesh and sharia law.”

Only six months later, sharia courts that had formerly operated illegally in Britain were reclassified as “tribunals” under the Arbitration Act, allowing them to pass effectively legally binding judgments in many civil matters.

However, with sharia law incompatible with English law and modern human rights norms, concerns were rightly raised that the sharia court system in Britain would grow into a parallel legal system. The disparity between English and sharia law was highlighted only a month later, as the House of Lords passed judgment in the case of a Lebanese woman who had claimed the right to remain in the UK with her son. An earlier Lebanese court decision, under sharia law, meant that, despite a history of abuse, her former husband would get automatic custody of the child when he turned seven.

Lord Hope of Craighead observed that under the sharia judgment, “[…] there is a real risk of a flagrant denial of their article 8 rights [of the European Convention on Human Rights] if the appellant and her child were to be returned to Lebanon.” Lord Bingham of Cornhill added, rather triumphantly, that her case was supported “[…] by JUSTICE and Liberty.”

Justice and liberty, Lord Cornhill appeared to say, are not supported by sharia. Not even in civil cases. For, in sharia, the rights of the man supersede the rights of the woman and children, Muslims are privileged over non-Muslims, and – where sharia is the dominant or sole form of law – cruel punishments, including death by stoning, hanging, etc., are meted out for adultery, homosexuality, apostasy, etc.

Although it has generally been thought that five sharia courts were operating in Britain, just over a week ago Civitas revealed that there are now at least 85 sharia courts operating across the country.

Troublingly, Civitas says that some sharia rulings it looked at, “[…] advise illegal actions and others that transgress human rights standards as they are applied by British courts,” and that, “[…] for many Muslims, sharia courts are in practice part of an institutionalised atmosphere of intimidation, backed by the ultimate sanction of a death threat.” >>> A. Millar | Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Tote Ägypterin: Islamisten fordern Vergeltung für Mord im Gericht
WELT ONLINE: Der Mord an der Apothekerin Marwa S. (32) im Dresdner Landgericht empört Muslime weltweit. In arabischen Medien wird offen Kritik an Deutschland geäußert. In den einschlägigen Internetforen drohen Islamisten mit Vergeltung: "Das Blut unserer Schwester Marwa wird nicht umsonst geflossen sein."

Marwas Vater trauert am Sarg. Bild: Welt Online
Am Anfang stand ein Beleidigungsfall. Doch dann geschah ein Aufsehen erregender Mord, der nun in vielen muslimischen Ländern emotionale Reaktionen hervorruft und von gewaltbereiten Islamisten für ihre Zwecke instrumentalisiert wird.

Es geht um den Tod der Apothekerin Marwa S. (32) im Dresdner Landgericht. Islamisten nutzen die Bluttat, um Aggressionen gegen die Deutschen zu schüren. In den Dschihad-Internetforen der Terrororganisation al-Qaida werden Meldungen wie „Mord an einer Muslima in deutschem Gerichtssaal“ oder „Deutscher Extremist tötet ägyptische Frau“ dahingehend kommentiert, dass der deutsche Rechtsstaat die muslimische Frau nicht ausreichend vor ihrem Mörder geschützt habe. In einschlägigen Videos wird gar zur Vergeltung aufgerufen.

Solche Meldungen und Kommentare bleiben in der arabische Welt nicht wirkungslos. Dies zeigte sich in der ägyptischen Stadt Alexandria. Mehr als 1000 Menschen schlossen sich dem Trauerzug für die Getötete an, der dann aber schnell den Charakter einer Protestdemonstration trug. Einige der Trauergäste riefen „Nieder mit Deutschland!“ und „Wir wollen Vergeltung“. >>> Von G. Lachmann und F. Flade | Montag, 06. Juli 2009

Egypt Mourns 'Headscarf Martyr'
BBC: The body of a Muslim woman, killed in a German courtroom by a man convicted of insulting her religion, has been taken back to her native Egypt for burial.

Marwa Sherbini is being hailed as the shahida, or martyr, of the Hijab. Photo: BBC
Marwa Sherbini, 31, was stabbed 18 times by Axel W, who is now under arrest in Dresden for suspected murder.

Husband Elwi Okaz is also in a critical condition in hospital, after being injured as he tried to save his wife.

Ms Sherbini had sued her killer after he called her a "terrorist" because of her headscarf.

The case has attracted much attention in Egypt and the Muslim world.

German prosecutors have said the 28-year-old attacker, identified only as Axel W, was driven by a deep hatred of foreigners and Muslims. >>> | Monday, July 06, 2009

French Anger as Iran Holds Woman
BBC: France has demanded the release of a French academic who it says has been detained in Iran since 1 July, accused of spying.

The French foreign ministry condemned the arrest of the unnamed woman and said the allegations of spying did not stand up to examination.

The French news agency AFP says the woman is an academic in Isfahan.

She had been in Iran for five months, and was arrested at Tehran airport as she was about to depart for Beirut.

"We call on the Iranian authorities to free our compatriot immediately and allow her to leave Iran for France," the French foreign ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said the Iranian ambassador in Paris had been summoned for an explanation. >>> | Monday, July 06, 2009

Sarkozy und Brown beim Thema Iran einig: Bilaterale Gespräche in Evian
NZZ Online: Die Regierungen von Frankreich und Grossbritannien vertreten eine ähnlich Haltung gegenüber Iran. Teheran hatte London zuletzt vehement kritisiert und Grossbritannien vorgeworfen, die Proteste im Iran nach der umstrittenen Präsidentenwahl gezielt anzufachen.

Der französische Präsident Nicolas Sarkozy und der britische Premierminister Gordon Brown haben Geschlossenheit im Konflikt mit Iran betont.

«Das iranische Regime muss sich darüber im klaren sein, dass wir zusammen mit unseren europäischen Partnern handeln werden», sagte Brown nach bilateralen Gesprächen in Evian am Genfer See. Sarkozy betonte, Grossbritannien könne in dieser Frage auf die «totale Solidarität» Frankreichs zählen. >>> ap | Montag, 06. Juli 2009

Iran : des médecins dénoncent la terreur dans les hôpitaux
LE FIGARO: De passage à Paris, ils dénoncent le climat de terreur qui sévit dans les hôpitaux où ont été transportés, ces dernières semaines, les blessés des manifestations anti-Ahmadinejad.

Ils en ont trop vu. Par peur de représailles, ils ont gardé le silence. Mais de passage en France pour quelques jours, ils veulent briser le mur de la peur. À tout prix. «À Téhéran, nous sommes les témoins impuissants de véritables crimes contre l'humanité», s'insurge un des deux médecins iraniens, rencontrés ce week-end à Paris, et qui préfère garder l'anonymat pour des raisons de sécurité. «Depuis le début des manifestations anti-Ahmadinejad, dit-il, des miliciens et des agents de la sécurité en civil ont instauré une politique de la terreur dans les hôpitaux. Ils y mènent une traque sans merci contre les blessés.»«Tout a débuté le samedi 13 juin - le premier jour de la contestation contre les résultats de l'élection. Ils ont commencé à demander la liste des admis à la réception des hôpitaux qui étaient situés à proximité des manifestations», raconte le médecin. Objectif à peine voilé : «identifier les protestataires blessés, pour pouvoir ensuite les poursuivre en justice, en les accusant d'avoir perturbé l'ordre public», précise-t-il. >>> Delphine Minoui | Lundi 06 Juillet 2009

Justice, Islam-style!
MAIL Online: A barber has been publicly executed in Yemen after he was found guilty of raping and killing an 11-year-old boy who came to his shop for a haircut.

Pictures of the execution Monday in the capital of San'a showed hundreds of people gathered around as Yehya Hussein was killed.

The images showed the barber lying face down on a large piece of red cloth, his hands bound behind him, as Yemeni police official stood over him with what appeared to be a machine gun.

According to the news agency, SAB'A, the barber was arrested in December 2008 and confessed during a January trial to raping the boy inside his salon, killing him and cutting his body to pieces before dumping it outside San'a.

Elsewhere in the country, a court sentenced seven rebels from a Shia Muslim sect to be executed after convicting them of causing deaths in clashes with army in 2008.

Hundreds of people died in the conflict and thousands fled their homes in battles between government forces and the rebels in the north, which have raged on and off since 2004.

The state security court also jailed for terms of 12-15 years another five of the rebels accused of seeking to install Shi'ite Islamic rule in the country, which borders the world's biggest oil exporter Saudi Arabia. Justice Yemen-style: Paedophile who raped boy, 11, shot in the head in front of hundreds of spectators >>> | Monday, July 06, 2009

Iran's Defiant Alcohol Smugglers

Iran’s Cultural Revolution: On the 30th anniversary of the Islamic revolution, Tehran Correspondent Jon Leyne, looks at the new cultural revolution in Iran >>> | Sunday, February 8, 2009

Nazanin on Sharia Law in Iran

Reverend Robert West Interview with BNPtv

L'Islam en France: Le rituel, les obligations, la prière

Wilders Makes Half of Dutch Muslims Want to Emigrate
EXPATICA: More than half of the people with Turkish and Moroccan backgrounds in the Netherlands say they would consider leaving the country due to the growing popularity of anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders. A third say they would definitely like to emigrate.

The figures emerge from a survey by research bureau Motivaction for public service broadcaster NCRV’s current affairs programme Netwerk. The programme commissioned the survey in response to the success of Mr Wilders' rightwing Freedom Party in the recent European parliamentary elections. Since March this year, leading pollster Maurice de Hond's Peil.nl has measured support for the populist Freedom Party at more than 30 percent, which would theoretically make it the largest party in the Dutch parliament if there were an election.
 


Discrimination



Although three quarters of the Turkish and Moroccan Dutch people questioned in the Motivaction survey said they felt at home in the Netherlands, 57 percent said they now felt less comfortable in the country due to the growing popularity of the Freedom Party. Two out of five said they felt they were now discriminated against more often, and almost a quarter said they regularly experienced discrimination. Nearly three quarters said they thought Mr Wilders had intensified negative feelings towards Muslims among the Dutch public.


Nearly twenty percent said they agreed with Mr Wilders on some points and could appreciate why people would vote for him. However, half of the respondents said the growing support for Mr Wilders made them feel angry and disappointed, and 22 percent said he aroused feelings of fear and hatred. Ninety per cent said they thought a Wilders government would be a fiasco, and only 4 percent thought he would be able to offer any solutions to the country's problems.
 


The survey asked respondents what they saw as the best strategy to counter Mr Wilders. Forty percent thought the best policy was simply to ignore the Freedom Party. Thirty-five percent favoured entering into debate with Mr Wilders and his supporters. Twenty five percent saw vociferous protest as the answer, and 11 percent wanted to see a Muslim political party established to represent their interests. >>> | Monday, July 06, 2009

Obama / Medvedev News Conference
Watch BBC live video: US President Obama and Russian President Medvedev hold a joint news conference after meeting to discuss relations between their countries and arms control issues >>>

Israel schweigt zu US-Äußerung über Angriff auf Iran
BERLINER ZEITUNG: Washington/Jerusalem - Die USA würden sich nach den Worten von Vizepräsident Joe Biden einem israelischen Militärangriff gegen den Iran nicht in den Weg stellen.

Die USA könnten «einer anderen souveränen Nation nicht diktieren, was sie tun und was sie nicht tun kann», sagte Biden dem US-Sender ABC. Nur die Israelis könnten bestimmen, ob sie durch das iranische Atomprogramm «existenziell bedroht sind».

Die israelische Regierung wollte die Äußerungen am Montag zunächst nicht kommentieren. Allerdings berichtete die Zeitung «Israel Hajom» unter Berufung auf einen namentlich nicht genannten Regierungsvertreter in Jerusalem, es gebe «geheime Absprachen zwischen Israel und der US-Regierung über die Optionen, die Israel in der Iran-Frage hat». Bidens Äußerungen seien ein Zeichen dafür, dass Washington angesichts der iranischen Raketentests und den Versuchen Teherans, einem Dialog auszuweichen, die Geduld verliere. «Die Worte Bidens zu diesem Zeitpunkt sollen den Iranern signalisieren, dass die US-Regierung die Nase voll hat und dass sie nicht ewig auf sie warten will.» >>> © dpa | Montag, 06. Juli 2009

Obama in Moskau: Beginn einer wunderbaren Freundschaft?
Video hier anschauen
STERN: Besuch in Moskau: Obama sucht die Nähe zu Russland

Zur Bildergalerie >>>

Berlin Fashion Week: Gute Figur gemacht
ZEIT ONLINEInternationaler, größer, prominenter: Berlin hat sich als Modemetropole etabliert

Geschafft: Berlin ist Deutschlands führende Modestadt. An mehreren Orten wurde in den vergangenen Tagen hart daran gearbeitet, den Status Quo zu untermauern. Die Bread and Butter vermeldet wie auch die anderen Messen für Fachbesucher, die angestrebte Marke von 80.000 Besuchern erreicht zu haben. Und die zweite große Messe Premium am Gleisdreieck war vor allem am zweiten Tag so gut besucht wie lange nicht mehr. >>> Von Grit Thönnissen | Montag, 06. Juli 2009

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Mode für echte Diven: Guido Maria Kretschmer zeigt Glamour pur*
Video hier anschauen
* Und etwas Islamisches ist nirgendwo zu sehen! Total unauffindbar!

China Riots: 140 Killed and 816 Injured
THE TELEGRAPH: At least 140 people have been killed in rioting in the capital of China's northwestern region of Xinjiang.

Riots erupt in Muslim area of China
The government has blamed exiled Muslim separatists for the area's worst case of ethnic unrest in years.

Hundreds of rioters have been arrested, the official Xinhua news agency reported, after rock-throwing Uighurs took to the streets of the regional capital on Sunday, some burning and smashing vehicles and confronting ranks of anti-riot police.

Urumqi residents were unable to access the internet on Monday, several said. "The city is basically under martial law," accordinding to Yang Jin, a dried fruit merchant.

The unrest underscores the volatile ethnic tensions that have accompanied China's growing economic and political stake in its western frontiers. >>> | Monday, July 06, 2009

There's No Pride in Bashing Gays, Bishop
THE TELEGRAPH: Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali's campaign against homosexuality worries George Pitcher.

If you're reading, Bishop Michael, I really didn't want to have another pop at you about your trenchant and sometimes bizarre views about what constitutes Christian truth. As to the rest of you reading this, I'm sorry if it looks as if whenever Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, who retires as Bishop of Rochester in September, makes a public statement I launch an attack on him. Believe me, the routine is tiresome for me, too.

But his comments in yesterday's Sunday Telegraph, which he is expected to repeat today, that homosexuals should "repent and be changed" cannot pass unchallenged. Or rather, they should not go challenged only by homosexual rights campaigners, such as Peter Tatchell, who you would expect to be somewhat antipathetic to the expressed view.

Because Dr Nazir-Ali is wrong in the eyes of a broad swath of kind and tolerant people of differing sexualities, social mores and of the Christian faith, other faiths and no faith at all. Badly, badly wrong.

I say that I didn't want to have another fight with him because such fights polarise Anglicans, and we're at our best when we're talking. I went to a private lunch recently, to which Dr Nazir-Ali was also invited. He didn't show. The seat next to me went empty. I do hope he didn't bottle it; it's important that religious leaders don't just inhabit comfort zones with friends who share their views.

Dr Nazir-Ali's friends are the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (Foca), who this week will try to get the Anglican schism over homosexuality going again, while denying that they are doing any such thing. Had he turned up to our lunch, I would have asked him why he and Foca are so convinced that they know the mind of God better than those who disagree with them and that their interpretation of scripture is with absolute certainty the one and only true one.

When I write about the Church and homosexuality, inevitably I receive messages that read simply "Romans 1:26-27" or "1 Corinthians 6:9", as if that settles something. We can argue scripture until we're at the pearly gates. But the essential difference between Dr Nazir-Ali and me is this: I accept, disappointing as I would find it in my fiery furnace, that he might be right. By contrast, he and his friends cannot accept that I might be right, claim that I can't be a proper Christian, and some of them go so far as to suggest that I'll burn in hell for all eternity.

And there's the real problem: it's an issue of intolerance. Anglicanism has long been characterised by a broad tolerance. But my tolerance of Dr Nazir-Ali and his friends, that they are Anglicans with whom I happen vehemently to disagree, doesn't seem to be reciprocated.

Dr Nazir-Ali is leaving his bishopric, it is said, to develop his ministry among persecuted Christians. That is admirable. Persecution of Christians is a very bad thing. But persecution of homosexuals is a pretty bad thing, too, as is persecution of any part of humanity, all of which he will agree is made in God's image. >>> George Pitcher | Monday, July 06, 2009

TELEGRAPH TV: Same-sex Marriage in Iowa

World's Oldest Bible Published in Full Online
THE TELEGRAPH: The world's oldest surviving Bible, which has been scattered around the globe for more than a century, has been published in full online.

Along with the Codex Vaticanus, the Codex Sinaiticus is considered the oldest known Bible in the world. Photo: The Telegraph
More than 800 surviving pages and fragments from the The Codex Sinaiticus, which was written in Greek on parchment leaves in the fourth century, have been reunited.

Last year The British Library put The Book of Psalms and St Mark's Gospel online, and now the remaining pages have been made free for public use for the first time.

Along with the Codex Vaticanus, the Codex Sinaiticus is considered the oldest known Bible in the world. Originally more than 1,460 pages long and measuring 16in by 14in, it was written by a number of hands around the time of Constantine the Great.

It offers different versions of the Scriptures from later editions of the Bible, notably in St Mark's Gospel which ends 12 verses before later versions, omitting the appearance of the resurrected Jesus Christ.

The reunification of the book is the culmination of a four-year collaboration between the British Library, Leipzig University Library in Germany, the Monastery of St Catherine in Mount Sinai, Egypt, and the National Library of Russia in St Petersburg, each of which hold different parts of the manuscript.

They hope that by bringing together the digitised pages online, the project will help scholars worldwide to research in depth the Greek text, which is fully transcribed and cross-referenced.

"The Codex Sinaiticus is one of the world's greatest written treasures," said Dr Scot McKendrick, Head of Western Manuscripts at the British Library. >>> Chris Irvine | Monday, July 06, 2009

Obama à Moscou pour progresser sur la voie du rapprochement avec Medvedev
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: MOSCOU | Les présidents américain et russe Barack Obama et Dmitri Medvedev devraient annoncer lundi à Moscou des progrès vers la limitation des armes nucléaires et un accord sur l'Afghanistan.

M. Obama est attendu ce lundi vers 13H20 locales (11h20 en Suisse) à Moscou pour un séjour destiné à relancer les relations avec un partenaire qui reste essentiel mais avec lequel les rapports se sont sévèrement dégradés sous la présidence Bush. Et des progrès vers le désarmement ainsi qu'un accord sur le ravitaillement de la mission afghane mettraient Américains et Russes sur la bonne voie.

Les deux gouvernements ont exprimé leur désir de relancer leurs relations, de remettre les compteurs à zéro selon l'expression de l'administration Obama, et paraissaient soucieux d'en faire la démonstration de lundi à mercredi, quand M. Obama passera avec M. Medvedev mais aussi le Premier ministre Vladimir Poutine plus de temps qu'aucun président américain depuis longtemps. >>> AFP | Lundi 06 Juillet 2009

NZZ Online: Obama in Moskau eingetroffen: Nachfolgeregelung der Start-Verträge auf der Agenda

Der amerikanische Präsident Obama ist am Montag zu seinem Staatsbesuch in Moskau eingetroffen. Im Laufe des Tages hat er zuerst ein privates und anschliessend ein offizielles Arbeitstreffen mit Präsident Medwedew.

Die beiden Präsidenten Obama und Medwedew haben bereits an einem Treffen in London am 1. April dieses Jahres betont, sie [sic] Beziehung der beiden Staaten substanzieller machen zu wollen. Dabei ist vor allem der Start-Vertrag (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) angesprochen, der im Dezember ausläuft. Dessen Nachfolge-Vereinbarung wird auch das zentrale Thema des offiziellen Treffens sein. >>> ii. | Montag, 06. Juli 2009

NZZ Online: Einigung auf weitere Abrüstungsschritte: Obama und Medwedew sollen Vereinbarung in Moskau unterzeichnen

Wenige Stunden vor der Ankunft des amerikanischen Präsidenten Barack Obama in Russland haben sich beide Länder auf eine Erklärung zu weiteren Abrüstungsschritten geeinigt. Dies sagte ein Sprecher des russischen Aussenministeriums am Montag in Moskau.

Das Dokument solle von Obama und Kremlchef Dmitri Medwedew unterzeichnet werden, wie die Agentur Interfax mitteilte. Zum Inhalt der Erklärung wurden keine Angaben gemacht. >>> sda/dpa | Montag, 06. Juli 2009

Obama reste déterminé à discuter avec l’Iran malgré la répression
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: TENSIONS | Barack Obama a assuré dimanche qu’il restait déterminé à engager des négociations directes avec l’Iran, malgré la répression de la contestation des résultats de la présidentielle dans la République islamique.

"Nous avons certains intérêts en matière de sécurité nationale à ce que l’Iran ne développe pas d’armes nucléaires, n’exporte pas le terrorisme et nous avons offert à l’Iran une voie pour rejoindre la communauté internationale." Dans une interview au New York Times (NYT), Barack Obama admet que des dirigeants de l’opposition iranienne ont été arrêtés ou intimidés mais a insisté sur le fait que la répression ne fermerait pas la porte aux négociations. >>> AFP | Lundi 06 Juillet 2009

Mousavi Labelled 'US Agent' as Iran Charges UK Official
THE OBSERVER: Reformist leader attacked by influential editor and embassy worker's lawyer predicts imminent trial

The stakes over Iran's disputed presidential election were raised dramatically yesterday, after a powerful regime hardliner denounced Mir Hossein Mousavi, the candidate officially declared to have lost, as an American agent and demanded that he undergo a public trial.

Hossein Shariatmadari, editor-in-chief of the influential Kayhan newspaper, said Mousavi had committed "terrible crimes", including "murdering innocent people, holding riots, co-operating with foreigners and acting as America's fifth column", in pursuing his claims that last month's re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was rigged.

The accusations - in a newspaper editorial - were the most ferocious yet from regime insiders and may serve notice that preparations are under way to arrest Mousavi and his main allies. Several hundred known reformists and pro-Mousavi supporters have already been detained since the election. The editorial also singled out the reformist former president, Mohammad Khatami, who last week compared Ahmadinejad's re-election to a coup.

"An open court, in front of the people's eyes, must deal with the all the terrible crimes and clear betrayal committed by the main elements behind the recent unrest, including Mousavi and Khatami," Shariatmadari wrote. "Documents and undeniable evidence show that this mission was directed from the outside. All they did and said was in line with the instructions announced by American officials in the past."

The editorial carried added weight given Shariatmadari's position as confidant to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has declared the election result legitimate and called for protests to end. Shariatmadari has been called "the aggressive public face" of Khamenei, who appointed him to his current position.

His outburst fits with the regime's strategy of depicting the demonstrations against Ahmadinejad's re-election as orchestrated by foreign governments, including Britain. It came a day after a Khamenei ally, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, head of the Guardian Council, said at Friday prayers that Iranian employees of the British embassy in Tehran would be tried after they had "confessed" to helping to organise the protests. >>> Robert Tait | Sunday, July 05, 2009

Muslim Uighurs Riot as Ethnic Tensions Rise in Western China
THE GUARDIAN: Protests over deaths of workers turn violent as mobs burn buses and attack residents from minorities in western province

Three people were killed during rioting in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang, as thousands of Muslim Uighurs took to the streets during the biggest display of ethnic unrest in recent memory.

The protesters smashed up buses, threw stones through shop windows and assaulted Han Chinese passers-by, according to a witness, who said the spark was the recent killing of Uighur migrant workers in Guangdong, southern China.

Xinhua, the state news agency, said those killed were "three ordinary people of the Han ethnic group." It did not say how they died.

Vehicles were set on fire and traffic guard rails overturned. Bloodied victims were rushed to hospital in the regional capital, Urumqi, as armed riot police moved in to restore order with tear gas, armoured vehicles and road blocks, according to a foreign student in Xinjiang.

A large section of Urumqi was shut off to vehicles tonight , with police manning roadblocks at the perimeter. Witnesses reported large numbers of armed officers inside the cordon. Mobile phone networks appeared to get cut off sporadically.

"There were big ethnic riots - there was a lot of fighting," said one Han resident. "It's not safe – you can't go anywhere near there. They've blocked it all off. You have to be careful." >>> Tania Branigan in Urumqi and Jonathan Watts in Beijing | Sunday, July 05, 2009

Federer ist wieder auf dem Tennis-Thron
TAGES ANZEIGER: Roger Federer eroberte in extremis den Wimbledon-Titel und die Nummer 1 zurück. Federer gewann den dramatischen Final gegen Andy Roddick 5:7, 7:6 (8:6), 7:6 (7:5), 3:6, 16:14.

Roger Federer und sein Pokal: Zum sechsten Mal bereits ist er Champion von Wimbledon. Bild: NZZ.ch
Die Entscheidung fiel nach vier Stunden und 16 Minuten, als Andy Roddick am Ende seiner Kräfte angelangt war. Roger Federer nützte gleich seinen ersten Matchball. Federer realisierte im 37. Anlauf das erste Break des Nachmittags gegen Roddick. Federer schaffte den Aufschlag-Durchbruch nur, weil Roddick kaum mehr laufen konnte. Bei allen sechs Federer-Punkten im 77. Game produzierte Roddick vermeidbare Eigenfehler, weil er nicht mehr richtig zum Ball stand.

Roger Federer holte seinen sechsten Titel in Wimbledon auch auf glückhafte Art und Weise. Schon nach 80 Minuten drohte die Vorentscheidung gegen ihn zu fallen. Andy Roddick, der phantastisch aufspielte, führte mit einem Satz und im Tiebreak des zweiten Satzes bei eigenem Aufschlag 6:2. Doch Federer gewann sechs Punkte in Serie und schaffte den nicht mehr erwarteten Satzausgleich. Danach befand sich Federer lange im Vorteil. Doch im vierten Satz schaffte wieder Roddick ein Break und kämpfte sich so ins Spiel zurück. Im fünften Satz war während über anderthalb Stunden (95 Minuten) jeder Ausgang möglich, ehe Federer den Service-Durchbruch zum 16:14 schaffte. >>> si | Sonntag, 05. Juli 2009

Die USA stellen sich Israel nicht in den Weg: «Grünes Licht» für allfälligen Militärschlag gegen Irans Atomprogramm
NZZ Online: Die USA wollen «einem anderen souveränen Staat nicht sagen, was er zu tun hat». Mit diesen Worten begründet der amerikanische Vizepräsident Joe Biden die Haltung der USA, die sich einem allfälligen Militärschlag Israels gegen Iran nicht widersetzen würden.

Die USA würden sich einem israelischen Militärschlag gegen das iranische Atomprogramm nicht widersetzen. Das sagte der amerikanische Vizepräsident Joe Biden am Sonntag. Wenn Israel glaube, dass ein Militärschlag nötig sei, könnten die USA «einem anderen souveränen Staat nicht sagen, was er zu tun hat», sagte Biden dem Fernsehsender ABC. >>> ap | Sonntag, 05. Juli 2009

Wimbledon Men’s Final: Roger Federer v Andy Roddick
Watch the match live on BBC here >>>
Or, for those who cannot watch on the BBC iPlayer in their country, click on the following link to listen to the match live here >>>