The EU should be stronger and more united. Great Britain should belong to the Union.
Die EU sollte stärker und geeinter sein. Großbritannien sollte der Union angehören.
L'UE devrait être plus forte et plus unie. La Grande-Bretagne devrait appartenir à l'Union.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Gaddafi empfängt Lockerbie-Attentäter in Tripolis
WELT ONLINE: Libyens Machthaber Muammar al-Gaddafi hat den begnadigten Lockerbie-Attentäter Abdelbasset Ali Mohammed al-Megrahi empfangen. Gaddafi lobte die Entscheidung der schottischen Regierung als "mutig" und deutete an, dass die Freilassung des todkranken Terroristen bei wirtschaftlichen Verhandlungen eine Rolle gespielt habe.
Einen Tag nach der Freilassung des Lockerbie-Attentäters Abdelbasset Ali Mohammed al-Megrahi aus schottischer Haft hat Libyens Machthaber Muammar al-Gaddafi den schwer krebskranken Ex-Terroristen empfangen. Wie die libysche Nachrichtenagentur Jana am Samstag berichtete, dankte Gaddafi bei dem Treffen der schottischen Regierung für ihren Mut. Megrahi selbst beteuerte erneut seine Unschuld und kündigte Beweise für ein „Fehlurteil“ an.
Bei dem Treffen mit dem 57-jährigen Megrahi und seiner Familie am Freitagabend lobte Gaddafi laut Jana vor allem den „Mut“ der schottischen Behörden. Sie hätten angesichts des „nicht akzeptablen und nicht angemessenen“ Drucks ihre Unabhängigkeit bewiesen. Die US-Regierung und Angehörige der 270 Opfer des Attentats auf ein US-Linienflugzeug über dem schottischen Lockerbie 1988 hatten sich vehement gegen eine Freilassung des Attentäters ausgesprochen.
Gaddafi verglich die Freilassung al Megrahis mit der Freilassung von fünf bulgarischen Krankenschwestern und einem palästinensischen Arzt vor zwei Jahren. Ihnen war vorgeworfen worden, mehr als 400 libysche Kinder vorsätzlich mit HIV infiziert zu haben.
Der libysche Staatschef bedankte sich dem Bericht zufolge auch beim britischen Premierminister Gordon Brown, bei Queen Elizabeth II. und ihrem zweitältesten Sohn Prinz Andrew. Alle drei hätten die schottische Regierung ermutigt, die „historische und mutige Entscheidung“ zu treffen, Megrahi freizulassen. Dieser Schritt werde „positive Auswirkungen“ auf die Beziehungen zwischen beiden Ländern und alle Bereiche der Zusammenarbeit haben, sagte Gaddafi.
Gaddafis Sohn Seif al-Islam hatte zuvor in einem Fernseh-Interview gesagt, dass die Freilassung Megrahis bei wirtschaftlichen Verhandlungen mit Großbritannien eine Rolle gespielt habe. Bei Verhandlungen über Öl- und Gaslieferungen sei auch der Fall des Lockerbie-Attentäters auf den Verhandlungstisch gekommen, sagte Islam, der ein wichtiger Unterhändler in den Gesprächen mit der schottischen Regierung war und Megrahi bei seiner Rückkehr begleitete. >>> | Samstag, 22. August 2009
Afghanistan: Taliban sollen Wähler Finger abgeschnitten haben
WELT ONLINE: Taliban-Kämpfer haben laut Wahlbeobachtern in Afghanistan ihre Drohung wahr gemacht und mindestens zwei Wählern die Zeigefinger abgeschnitten. Die Finger waren als Beweis für die Stimmabgabe mit lila Farbe markiert, und es ist Tage lang ersichtlich, wer zur Wahl gegangen ist.
Mindestens zwei Wählern sei nach der Stimmabgabe in der südafghanischen Provinz Kandahar von Aufständischen ein Finger abgeschnitten worden, berichteten Wahlbeobachter von der Stiftung für Freie und Faire Wahlen in Afghanistan (FefaA) am Samstag. Wählern wurde ein Finger mit nicht abwaschbarer Tinte markiert, um Mehrfach-Stimmabgaben in verschiedenen Wahllokalen zu vermeiden. Durch die lila Tinte ist Tage lang ersichtlich, wer zur Wahl gegangen ist. >>> AP/EPD/dcs | Samstag, 22. August 2009
Taliban Fighters 'Chopped Fingers Off Afghan Voters' Say Election Observers
THE TELEGRAPH: Taliban fighters carried out their threat to chop fingers off Afghan voters, election observers said.
Before Thursday's presidential ballot, the militants had threatened to hack off fingers seen stained by the indelible ink used to identify voters and prevent fraud.
Nader Nadery, of the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (Fefa) said two voters had each lost their finger in southern Kandahar province, which is considered the Taliban's birthplace. >>> Ben Farmer in Kabul | Saturday, August 22, 2009
Megrahi: Provocations libyennes
leJDD.fr: Abdel Basset al Megrahi, condamné pour l'attentat de Lockerbie, aurait été libéré dans le cadre d’échanges commerciaux entre la Lybie et la Grande-Bretagne. C’est du moins ce qu’affirme l’un des fils de Mouammar Kadhafi. Le dirigeant libyen a par ailleurs reçu avec les honneurs Megrahi. De quoi alimenter la polémique sur la justesse de cette libération pour raison de santé.
Alors que les Etats-Unis ont accueilli avec colère la libération d’Abdel Basset al Megrahi, jugé responsable de l’attentat de Lockerbie, la polémique grandit avec les provocations de la Libye. D’après Saïf al-Islam, l’un des fils de Mouammar Kadhafi, le sort de l’ancien agent des services secrets libyen aurait été réglé dans le cadre des relations commerciales entre Tripoli et Londres. Officiellement, c'est pourtant le gouvernement d'Ecosse qui a ordonné cette libération. "Dans tous les contrats commerciaux, de pétrole et de gaz avec la Grande-Bretagne, al Megrahi était toujours sur la table des négociations", a-t-il expliqué. "Tous les intérêts britanniques étaient liés à la libération d’al Megrahi", dont le dossier était "évoqué à chaque visite en Libye de l'ancien premier ministre britannique Tony Blair", a-t-il ajouté, pour enfoncer le clou.
Un scénario qui paraît crédible pour nombre d'observateurs. Les affaires et la politique sont "inextricablement liées" en Libye, a souligné sur la BBC Lord Trefgarne, un ancien ministre britannique, actuellement président du comité d’affaires Grande-Bretagne-Lybie. Il y aura des "profits" à attendre de cette libération, a-t-il ajouté. Des assertions évidemment démenties par Downing Street. "Il n'y a aucun arrangement", a assuré un porte-parole du Premier ministre Gordon Brown. Et un porte-parole du ministère des Affaires étrangères de renvoyer la balle dans le camp écossais: "Les décisions relatives au cas Megrahi ont été exclusivement du ressort de ministres ecossaise". >>> Maud Pierron, leJDD.fr | Samedi 22 Août 2009
Un Italien remporte 147 millions d'euros
leJDD.fr: Un habitant de la petite ville de Bagnone, en Toscane, a remporté samedi plus de 147 millions d'euros à la loterie nationale, soit le gain le plus important jamais enregistré en Europe, rapporte l'agence Ansa. Cet heureux gagnant est le premier à cocher les six numéros du tirage de la loterie publique SuperEnalotto depuis le 31 janvier. [Source: leJDD.fr] Samedi 22 Août 2009
Freedom Is Now Flowing from West to East
TIMES ONLINE: In August 1989 as communism collapsed, Britain was a beacon to the new regimes. Today we are squandering our liberty
I’ve spent much of the past 20 years living in or reporting on the former communist countries of Eastern Europe. Nowadays, with Budapest, Prague and Warsaw two hours away by budget airline, it’s hard to imagine that before 1989, half a continent was imprisoned behind landmines and barbed wire, its citizens terrorised by secret police, intentionally ground down by the endless, intrusive demands of the one-party state.
I saw those borders torn down, democracies arise and the basic freedoms that we take for granted — speech, movement and public protest — enthusiastically embraced.
Twenty years ago today the world witnessed the power of the crowd. Hungary’s reformist communist Government permitted the pan-European picnic near the city of Sopron, on the border with Austria, as a symbol of its commitment to a united Europe. The border was to be opened so that about 100 dignitaries and officially approved picnickers could cross freely back and forth. But Hungary was crowded with thousands of East Germans desperate to escape to the West. Many camped near the site of the picnic, waiting for the crucial moment. When the border was opened at three o’clock they surged forward. The guards did not open fire. They stepped back and allowed the East Germans to break through.
This, not the opening of the Berlin Wall in November, was the tipping point. August 19, 1989, accelerated a chain of events that brought down communism and the Soviet Union itself. Such is the power of the crowd.
After 1989 Big Brother was no longer welcome in Budapest, Prague or Warsaw — he moved to London to be ever more warmly embraced by successive Labour administrations. The birthplace of political liberties, the home of the Magna Carta, is now one of the most intrusive democracies in the world. Labour governments have introduced surveillance and monitoring systems of which the communists could only dream. Of course, Britain is not a real police state. But it is certainly sliding further into authoritarianism. >>> Adam LeBor | Saturday, August 22, 2009
Professor Richard Dawkins Wants to Convert Islamic World to Evolution
TIMES ONLINE: The author of The God Delusion and The Selfish Gene, whose new book, The Greatest Show on Earth, is serialised in The Times next week, has topped bestseller lists all over the world but never in a predominantly Muslim country.
None of Professor Dawkins’ books, on evolution as well as religion, has ever been translated into Arabic, and his work has been heavily censored in Turkey. In an interview with The Times, he said that popularising evolution in the Islamic world, where creationist beliefs are strong, was a challenge he is keen to take up. “To be a bestseller in a Muslim country would be a personal triumph,” he said.
“I would like to see my books translated into Arabic. They haven’t been. They are all translated into Hebrew. Persian, I’m not sure. My books are translated into Turkish and they regularly get censored and suppressed.
“The experience of my Turkish publisher of The God Delusion was that he was threatened with arrest for blasphemy. He may even have been arrested, and my website has been banned in Turkey. I feel amused really. There’s something to be said for being suppressed, it makes people want to read you.”
While most non-fundamentalist Christian traditions have largely accepted evolution, Islam was still much more hostile, he said. “It’s the fact that Islam teaches the Koran is the literal word of God, unlike most Christian sects, which say the Bible is largely symbolic. That could well be the cause.”
Professor Dawkins added that Islamic influence is the likely explanation for the growing popularity of creationist beliefs in Britain, where a recent poll found that 30 per cent of teenagers accept the rebranded idea of “intelligent design”.
“I think that’s pretty clear,” he said. “I hear that from colleagues at the coalface of teaching. There has been a sharp upturn in hostility to teaching of evolution in the classroom and it’s mostly coming from Islamic students. >>> Mark Henderson, Science Editor | Saturday, August 22, 2009
The Straight Talk On Islam
TOWNHALL.COM: I suspect that because George Bush and Condoleezza Rice were so respectful of Muslims, constantly telling us that theirs is a religion of peace, some otherwise sensible Americans actually began to believe it. Now we have a president who not only kowtows to a Saudi prince [sic], but carries on as if Israeli homes are more threatening than Iranian nukes.
What is wrong with our leaders? Are they worried that they won’t be invited to those cool Ramadan parties? The Islamics have been actively at war with us for 30 years and generally at war with western civilization for well over a thousand years, and still we pay lip service to these people in a way we never did with Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan or the Soviet Union. Is it because the Muslims commit sadism and murder in the name of religion and not country? If anything, I would think that would make their evil acts all the more contemptible.
Still, I would contend that Hezbollah and Al Qaeda are not as dangerous as America’s liberals. The Islamic terrorists can only kill so many people, but those on the Left are doing everything in their power to eviscerate America. Cap and Trade can destroy our industrial might; Obama’s trillion dollar stimulus programs combined with his delusional health care plan will not only bankrupt our nation, but lead inevitably to a rate of inflation that will impress even Jimmy Carter; and the budget cuts directed at our military and our missile defense system will make us increasingly vulnerable to our various enemies. >>> Burt Prelutsky | Monday, August 10, 2009
Iranian Boy Who Defied Tehran Hardliners Tells of Prison Rape Ordeal
TIMES ONLINE: The 15-year-old boy sits weeping in a safehouse in central Iran, broken in body and spirit. Reza will not go outside — he is terrified of being left alone. He says he wants to end his life and it is not hard to understand why: for daring to wear the green wristband of Iran’s opposition he was locked up for 20 days, beaten, raped repeatedly and subjected to the Abu Ghraib-style sexual humiliations and abuse for which the Iranian regime denounced the United States.
“My life is over. I don’t think I can ever recover,” he said, as he recounted his experiences to The Times — on condition that his identity not be revealed. A doctor who is treating him, at great risk to herself, confirmed that he is suicidal, and bears the appalling injuries consistent with his story. The family is desperate, and is exploring ways of fleeing Iran.
Reza is living proof of the charges levelled by Mehdi Karoubi, one of the opposition’s leaders, that prison officials are systematically raping both male and female detainees to break their wills. The regime has accused Mr Karoubi of helping Iran’s enemies by spreading lies and has threatened to arrest him.
The boy’s treatment also shows just how far a regime that claims to champion Islamic values is prepared to go to suppress millions of its own citizens who claim that President Ahmadinejad’s re-election was rigged. >>> Homa Homayoun | Saturday, August 22, 2009
Lockerbie Bomber's Release Linked to Trade Deal, Claims Gaddafi's Son
I stated yesterday that this ‘deal’ was linked to trade and commerce. It had LITTLE or NOTHING to do with compassion!
We in the West are being led by a-licking, brown-nosing, fawning fools! Gordon Brown is the arch a-licking, brown-nosing, fawning FOOL!
Recently, in answer to an ePetition that I and many other people signed, he stated that the government does not believe that there has been an encroachment of Islam on our country. If Gordon Brown believes that then he is a bigger fool than I thought he was.
Now this news that the release of the man who killed 270 innocent people is linked to a trade deal! What can any decent person say to anything so despicable as this?
The politicians of the West are showing themselves to be disgusting, unworthy, obsequious nincompoops. They should be kicked out of office forthwith. They are selling our culture and civilisation down the river. Gordon Brown speaks in his wooden way about Ramadhan, and sends his best wishes to the Muslim community on the eve of Ramadhan here. Then we have the leader of the free world arse-licking Muslims here.
This stupid man – Barack Hussein Obama – speaks for all Americans. I know many Americans for whom he does NOT speak.
It is all very well to send greetings to Muslims on the occasion of Ramadhan; indeed, it is a noble and lofty gesture. But this should only be done in reciprocation. But have you ever known of a Muslim country sending us greetings on the occasion of Easter or Christmas?
THE TELEGRAPH: Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s son, Saif, claimed the release of the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, was linked to trade deals between Britain and Libya.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown meets Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi . Photo: The Telegraph
He made the claims in a television interview for Libyan television recorded as he accompanied Megrahi on the flight back from Scotland to Libya on Thursday.
The claims were vehemently denied by the UK government.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “There is no deal. All decisions relating to Megrahi’s case have been exclusively for Scottish ministers, the Crown Office in Scotland and the Scottish judicial authorities.
“No deal has been made between the UK government and Libya in relation to Megrahi and any commercial interests in the country.”
The claims came as Megrahi said he would produce evidence proving his innocence before he dies.
In an interview with The Times, Megrahi said: My message to the British and Scottish communities is that I will put out the evidence and ask them to be the jury.” He refused to elaborate, or speculate about who was responisble for the deaths.
The comments came after President Obama condemned the welcome Megrahi received in Libya as 'highly objectionable'.
Mr Obama's chief spokesman, Robert Gibbs, earlier denounced the scenes in the Libyan capital Tripoli when returned home as "outrageous and disgusting".
Speaking before he left the White House to spend the weekend at Camp David, Mr Obama led US condemnation of the bomber's return.
"It was highly objectionable," he said in reference to the release and arrival at Tripoli's airport of Megrahi, where he was greeted by hundreds of people on Thursday night.
Mr Gibbs said: "The images that we saw in Libya yesterday were outrageous and disgusting. >>> James Kirkup and Aislinn Simpson | Friday, August 21, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Downing Street: Gordon Brown’s Message for Ramadan
President Obama Gives Ramadan Message
Ramadan Kareem
THE WHITE HOUSE: As the new crescent moon ushers in Ramadan, the President extends his best wishes to Muslim communities in the United States and around the world. Each Ramadan, the ninth month on the lunar calendar, Muslims fast daily from dawn to sunset for 29 or 30 days. Fasting is a tradition in many religious faiths and is meant to increase spirituality, discipline, thankfulness, and consciousness of God's mercy. Ramadan is also a time of giving and reaching out to those less fortunate, and this summer, American Muslims have joined their fellow citizens in serving communities across the country.
Over the course of the month, we will highlight the perspectives of various faiths on fasting and profile faith-based organizations making real impacts in American cities and towns.
This month is also a time of renewal and this marks the first Ramadan since the President outlined his vision for a new beginning between America and the Muslim world. As a part of that new beginning, the President emphasizes that our relationship with Muslim communities cannot be based on political and security concerns alone. True partnerships also require cooperation in all areas – particularly those that can make a positive difference in peoples’ daily lives, including education, science and technology, health, and entrepreneurship - fields in which Muslim communities have helped play a pioneering role throughout history.
The President's message is part of an on-going dialogue with Muslim communities that began on inauguration day and has continued with his statement on Nowruz, during trips to Ankara and Cairo, and with interviews with media outlets such as Al Arabiya and Dawn TV.
As this dialogue continues and leads to concrete actions, the President extends his greetings on behalf of the American people. Ramadan Kareem. [Source: The White House]
Al-Megrahi Calls Mother Who Says She Keeps the Door Open, Expecting Him to Enter at Any Moment
Hajja Fatma, Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi’s mother. Photo: The Tripoli Post
THE TRIPOLI POST: Tripoli— Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, the Libyan citizen imprisoned for 27 years in a Scottish jail, has called his mother on Wednesday telling her that he hoped to be with her by Ramadan.
The Tripoli Post learned on Thursday during an interview with Megrahi’s Mother and his elder brother that Abdelbaset Ali made a phone call to his mother from his cell in Greenock Prison and said "I hope by Ramadan I will be with you."
Al-Megrahi added on the phone that he was not officially informed of his release, according to his family.
When asked about her feelings that her son may be coming home soon, the 95-year old frail but upbeat Hajja Fatma said "I do not close the house’s door at all. I am expecting him to enter at any moment."
Hajja Fatma has not been informed by the family of her son's terminal illness out of fear that it would cause her much harm at such an old age. Al-Megrahi's mother will only realize the situation when she sees him.
However, she does look healthy and very upbeat but she is in a frail physical condition and has hypertension. Her family decided it would be better for her health if she was not exposed to all the facts.
With tears in her eyes, Hajja Fatma described how she would meet her son after serving over ten years [sic] in prison in England when he arrives: “I would run out to the street and hug him so tight[,]”
When asked about his innocence as far as the Lockerbie bombing is concerned and what would she tell the PanAm’s victims’ relatives, Hajja Fatma said with deep resolve “We told them that my son was innocent, that he would not slaughter a chicken at home and that he would not have caused the disaster of Lockerbie."
"Eleven years I did not spend the holy month of Ramadan with him, I am waiting for that day when he comes back," she added. >>> | Thursday, August 13, 2009
He Must be Released, Al-Megrahi Is Dying, Wife
THE TRIPOLI POST: The wife of the Libyan citizen Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, who was unjustly convicted in the Loclerbie bombing, warned on Thursday that he was in danger of dying due to deteriorating cancer.
"His health has considerably deteriorated. He is in danger of dying," Aisha Megrahi told AFP. "The disease has spread across his body."
Megrahi is serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 27 years in a British prison for unfairly and unjustly convicted of downing a transatlantic US airliner over the Scottish village of Lockerbie in 1988, killing 270 people.
He has been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, according to his lawyers, but a Scottish court in November refused to free him on bail because of his health.
Defence lawyers say Megrahi's cancer is in a terminal phase but the Appeal Court in Edinburgh ruled that he could live for years depending on how successful his treatment is.
"While the disease from which the appellant suffers is incurable and may cause his death, he is not at present suffering material pain or disability," Lord Justice General Arthur Hamilton said at the time.
Aisha Megrahi said "they have refused to set him free. It is clear that the British prefer that he dies in jail."
She claimed that her husband "haemorrhaged several times recently."
"His body is not reacting any more to medication because of his bad psychological condition, according to a report by his doctor," she said, adding that she had visited him three times this month alone.
"Hospitals are refusing to admit him because of the exaggerated (police) surveillance involved in transferring him" from prison, she added.
Megrahi's wife said his family's "only wish is that he be transferred to a hospital or to our house in Scotland, so that he can spend what is left of his life with his family." >>> | Friday, August 27, 2009
Paid Content: The Days of the Internet Free Lunch Are Numbered
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Media billionaire Rupert Murdoch wants to start charging online readers of his newspapers a fee. His decision has launched a fierce debate over the future of the culture of free content on the Internet. It has also posed a difficult question for publishers: How much are we worth to readers?
Rupert Murdoch has no use for computers. The 78-year-old Australian-American media billionaire doesn't like e-mail, he avoids the Internet and he even has trouble using his mobile phone. He doesn't exactly fit the picture of an online messiah.
But in recent weeks, Murdoch startled the publishing world when he uttered a few sentences that were as simple as they were revolutionary, such as: "Quality journalism isn't cheap." That led to his decision to start charging for online use of his many newspapers around the globe in the coming months. If Murdoch has his way, the days of free culture on the Internet will be numbered.
It didn't take much time after the remarks by Murdoch, CEO of News Corporation and owner of hundreds of newspapers and television stations, for the response to start pouring in: publishers the world over agreed. If anyone needed proof that Murdoch is still the mogul of media moguls, this was it.
Murdoch, of all people -- the man biographer Michael Wolff recently complained doesn't even know "what the Internet is." The old man, Wolff added, might be on the verge of bringing about important changes on the Internet, but only "if he can find it."
The aging businessman may indeed know little about the Internet, and no one knows how serious he is about his idea. But one thing is certain: A man like Murdoch is not about to stand on the sidelines while he loses money. He has also struck a nerve in the industry, once again. >>> Isabel Hülsen | Friday, August 21, 2009
Muslim Model Says She Deserves to Be Caned
THE TELEGRAPH: A Muslim model has asked human rights group Amnesty International to stop asking the Malaysian authorities not to cane her, saying she is ready to face the penalty for drinking beer.
Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno was arrested after a poice raid at a hotel lounge. Photo: The Telegraph
Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, a 32-year-old mother of two, insisted she is willing to be lashed six times with a rattan cane next week for breaching the country's Shariah law, which forbids Muslims to consume alcohol.
"I want to respect the law," Kartika said from her northern home state of Perak. "Who am I to question the Islamic authorities' laws? That is beyond me.
"I never cried when I was sentenced by the judge. I told myself, alright then, let's get on with it."
Kartika is to become the first Malaysian woman to be caned in prison after she was arrested in a raid for drinking beer at a hotel lounge last year and sentenced by a Shariah court in July in what was considered a warning to other Muslims to abide by religious laws.
Amnesty International earlier urged authorities to "immediately revoke the sentence to cane her and abolish the practice of caning altogether."
"Caning is a form of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and is prohibited under international human rights law," it said in a statement.
Government lawyer Saiful Idham Sahimi said earlier this week the penalty was appropriate because drinking was a serious offence for Muslims.
Islamic authorities insist that the purpose of the caning is to educate rather than punish. They say the rattan cane to be used on Kartika will be smaller and lighter than the one used for men and that she will remain clothed. The prison official who canes her is also supposed to use very little force.
Men convicted of civil crimes such as rape and bribery in Malaysia are caned on their bare buttocks, breaking the skin and leaving permanent scars. >>> | Friday, August 21, 2009
Both Sides Claim Victory in Afghanistan Elections
TIMES ONLINE: President Hamid Karzai and his main rival, Dr Abdullah Abdullah, both claimed victory in the first round of Afghanistan's presidential election this morning, raising fears that the country could split along ethnic lines and erupt in violent protest.
Deen Mohammad, President Karzai’s campaign chief, told several media outlets that Mr Karzai had secured the outright majority needed to avoid a run-off in early October with Dr Abdullah, his closest rival.
"Initial results show that the president has got a majority," he said. "We will not got [sic] to a second round. We have got a majority."
A spokesman for Dr Abdullah immediately dismissed that as untrue, and said that early results from all but three provinces put Dr Abdullah on 63 per cent of the vote, and Mr Karzai on 31.
“We should say that Mr Abdullah has won in the first round,” Sayyid Agha Hussain Fazel Sancharaki told The Times. >>> Jeremy Page in Kabul | Friday, August 21, 2009
Megrahi's Hero's Welcome in Libya Is an Insult
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – CON COUGHLIN: As expected the Lockerbie bomber has returned to a hero’s welcome in Libya. What was not quite so expected that the Libyans should rub salt into the wound by flying the Scottish flag. Well, at least it wasn’t the Union Jack.
Personally I cannot think of a more humiliating day for the Scottish people. Their government has allowed the man convicted of the worst terrorist atrocity in British - let alone Scottish history - to return home to die within the comforting embrace of his family - assuming, that is, he really is as sick as his surgeon’s claim.
This humane gesture was never afforded to the 270 victims of the Lockerbie bombing, and I very much doubt that the people of Lockerbie will reciprocate the gesture by flying the Libyan flag. [Source: The Telegraph] Con Coughlin | Friday, August 21, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: Tourists are being warned to steer clear of Asian hornets that are colonising France, after swarms of the aggressive predators attacked seven people.
The bee-eating hornets, instantly recognisable by their yellow feet, are rapidly spreading round France and entomologists fear that they will eventually cross the Channel and arrive in Britain.
Hundreds of the insects attacked a mother on a stroll with her five-month-old baby in the Lot-et-Garonne department, southwestern France, at the weekend before turning on a neighbour who ran over to help. The baby was unharmed.
They then pursued two passers by and two Dutch tourists on bikes. The victims were treated in hospital for multiple stings, which are said to be as painful as a hot nail piercing the skin.
In the same week, a cleaner in local primary school came under attack after disturbing a hornet nest hidden in the ground.
The Vespa velutina, which grow up to an inch in length, is thought to have arrived in France from the Far East in a consignment of Chinese pottery in late 2004.
They first settled in the forests of Aquitaine, but quickly fanned out to surrounding areas, thriving on rising temperatures linked to global warming and the lack of indigenous predators. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Prince Andrew Trip to Libya Could Be Cancelled Over Lockerbie Bomber
THE TELEGRAPH: The Duke of York may see plans for an official visit to Libya cancelled as an expression of British Government anger at Libyan celebrations of the return of the Lockerbie bomber.
There is growing anger in Britain at the reception granted to Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi on his return to Libya after eight years in a Scottish jail.
Downing Street has also said that Gordon Brown had appealed to the Libyans not to give Megrahi a hero's welcome on his return.
In a letter to Col Gaddafi sent on Thursday, the Prime Minister asked the Libyans to "act with sensitivity" over the return of Megrahi.
Megrahi, the biggest mass murderer in British legal history, flew home to Tripoli on Thursday after being freed from jail on compassionate grounds by Scotland's devolved adminstration.
A large crowd gathered to greet his return, and he has been feted as a national hero.
David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, said that the reception Libya gave Megrahi was "deeply distressing".
The Foreign Office is now understood to be reviewing a plan for Prince Andrew to represent Britian [sic] at celebrations marking 40 years of Col Gaddafi's rule. >>> James Kirkup and Aislinn Simpson | Friday, August 21, 2009
Terror: Islamistischer Propagandakrieg gegen Deutschland
WELT ONLINE: Nie zuvor tauchten in den einschlägigen Internetforen so viele Videos auf, die zum Heiligen Krieg gegen Deutschland aufrufen und dem Land mit Terror drohen. Das israelische "International Institute for Counter Terrorism" spricht von einem regelrechten Trend des auf Deutschland bezogenen Internet-Dschihadismus.
Die deutsch-marokkanischen Internetislamisten Mounir und Yassin Chouka. Bild: Welt Online
Wenige Wochen vor der Bundestagswahl verstärken gewaltbereite Islamisten ihre Propaganda gegen Deutschland. Nie zuvor tauchten in den einschlägigen Internetforen so viele Videos auf, die zum Heiligen Krieg gegen Deutschland aufrufen und der Bundesrepublik mit Terror drohen.
Zurzeit werden auch neue Videos zweier marokkanisch-stämmiger Brüder aus Bonn verbreitet, die im afghanisch-pakistanischen Grenzgebiet untergetaucht und an der Propagandafront der Terrororganisation „Islamische Dschihad Union“ besonders aktiv sind: Mounir Chouka (27) und sein Bruder Yassin (24) predigen seit Jahresbeginn als Abu Adam und Abu Ibrahim mal vermummt, mal in militärischer Montur oder in weißer Imamrobe gegen die Ungläubigen, die amerikanischen und europäischen Besatzer der muslimischen Länder. In den nun aufgetauchten Filmen sind erstmals die Gesichter der Brüder zu erkennen. Ihre Gewaltaufrufe in deutscher Sprache wurden zum Teil mit albanischen und türkischen Untertiteln unterlegt.
„Kommt und sterbt den Tod der Ehre!“, fordert Mounir die „Geschwister in Deutschland“ auf. Sein Bruder ruft die deutschen Muslime auf, den Treueid auf Talibanführer Mullah Omar zu leisten und sagt, die Dschihadisten in Afghanistan genössen es, „im Kugelhagel der Nato und unter den Tornado-Flugzeugen der Deutschen“ zu stehen.
Über die Brüder Chouka ist schon einiges bekannt: Ihr Weg der Radikalisierung führte sie aus der gutbürgerlichen Umgebung des Bonner Stadtteils Kessenich im Herbst 2008 an den Hindukusch. >>> Von Florian Flade | Freitag, 21. August 2009
Attentat geplant: Barack Obama sollte sterben wie John F. Kennedy
WELT ONLINE: Angeblich wollten islamistische asiatische Terroristen US-Präsident Barack Obama in seinem Auto erschießen, behaupten indonesische Sicherheitsbehörden. Das Heckenschützenattentat der Scharfschützen war demnach für November geplant, wenn Obama an einem Wirtschaftsgipfel in Singapur teilnimmt.
Terroristen planen offenbar ein Attentat auf US-Präsident Barack Obama. Das ergaben Ermittlungen indonesischer Sicherheitsbehörden zu den Bombenanschlägen auf das „Marriott“-Hotel und das „Ritz Carlton“-Hotel in Jakarta im vergangenen Monat. Zwei der vier Terroristen, nach denen gefahndet wird, werden nun zudem verdächtigt, ein Heckenschützenattentat auf Obama vorbereitet zu haben. Der Anschlag sollte im November erfolgen, wenn Obama ein Wirtschaftstreffen in Singapur besucht. Obama sollte sterben wie der früheren US-Präsident John F. Kennedy.
„Sie wollten den Konvoi des US-Präsidenten am Flughafen angreifen“, sagte Dynno Chressbon, ein Geheimdienstanalyst im indonesischen Zentrum für nationale Sicherheit. Die beiden Scharfschützen wollten Obama demnach mit Spezialgewehren russischer Bauart in seiner Präsidentenlimousine erschießen. Die Spezial-Gewehre würden angeblich von al-Qaida in Afghanistan, aber auch von Extremisten auf den Philippinen benutzt.
Barack Obama nimmt am 14. und 15. November am Treffen der Asiatisch-Pazifischen Wirtschaftskooperation (APEC) in Singapur teil. Er werde diese Gelegenheit für Besuche in verschiedenen Ländern nutzen, teilte das Weiße Haus mit. >>> rtr/lac | Freitag, 21. August 2009
Coca-Cola sous la pression d'associations musulmanes
LE FIGARO: Rumeurs et campagnes d'opinion obligent les grandes marques à certifier que leurs produits sont compatibles avec l'islam.
Tout commence il y a deux ans, par une rumeur insistante : le Coca-Cola contiendrait de l'alcool. Accusation farfelue mais immédiatement reprise par les sites musulmans, de forums en articles plus ou moins étayés. Associations et médias communautaires, dont le blog Al-Kanz, très en vogue, assaillent Coca-Cola France de questions. Et reçoivent une réponse standard : «Nos boissons sont reconnues comme non alcoolisées par les autorités gouvernementales de chaque pays.» Une missive qui laisse insatisfaits les plus intransigeants. La législation française considère en effet qu'une boisson est «sans alcool» lorsqu'elle en contient moins de 1,2 %. Qu'en est-il alors du fameux breuvage à la recette secrète ?
Après quelques hésitations, la direction de Coca-Cola France décide de faire appel à «l'organisme de certification de la mosquée de Paris», explique Philippe Marty le porte-parole de la firme. Celle-ci commande une analyse du Coca par un laboratoire indépendant. «Ensuite, nous avons garanti que Coca Cola était parfaitement sans alcool et donc halal», détaille le chef de la certification à la mosquée, Al Sid Cheikh, qui regrette de voir fleurir «beaucoup d'accusations sans aucun fondement religieux. C'est plutôt politique. Mais les sociétés s'inquiètent pour leur notoriété». >>> C. G. | Jeudi 20 Août 2009
Swiss ne réintroduira pas ses vols entre Zurich et Tripoli
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: AFFAIRE KADHAFI | La compagnie avait été interdite de vol en Libye. Mais le règlement du conflit ne change rien pour Swiss, qui estime que cette liaison n'est économiquement plus intéressante.
Swiss ne réintroduira pas de vols en direction de la Libye. La compagnie avait cessé de relier Zurich à Tripoli en décembre dernier car Mouammar Kadhafi le lui avait interdit.
Le règlement du conflit entre Berne et Tripoli ne change rien pour Swiss, a indiqué vendredi la porte-parole de la compagnie Andrea Kreuzer. Swiss a fermé son bureau à Tripoli. >>> ATS | Vendredi 21 Août 2009
Affaire Kadhafi: Le triomphe diplomatique libyen
20 MINUTES.ch: En obtenant jeudi la libération du Libyen condamné pour l'attentat de Lockerbie et des excuses suisses pour l'affaire de son fils Hannibal, Mouammar Kadhafi remporte un succès diplomatique retentissant, à une semaine du 40e anniversaire de son arrivée au pouvoir.
La remise en liberté jeudi d'Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, après un long feuilleton judiciaire et diplomatique, a coïncidé avec une visite surprise à Tripoli du président helvétique Hans-Rudolf Merz, venu s'excuser pour l'arrestation en juillet 2008 de Hannibal Kadhafi, une affaire qui empoisonne depuis les relations entre les deux pays.
Accueilli en héros à l'aéroport militaire de Maatiga à Tripoli, malgré les critiques de Washington et Londres, M. Megrahi était considéré officiellement par la Libye comme un «otage politique» entre les mains de l'Occident.
«Nous considérons que Megrahi est un combattant qui s'est sacrifié pour sa patrie et nous devons le respecter», a déclaré à l'AFP l'ancien ambassadeur de Libye à Londres et acteur clé dans le dossier Megrahi.
«Nous sommes contents de son retour (...) et nous considérons que sa libération est un acquis pour la Libye», a-t-il dit.
L'accueil chaleureux réservé à Abdelbaset Megrahi est une «revanche sur l'Occident, qui avait déroulé le tapis rouge pour les infirmières» et le médecin bulgares, au moment de leur libération en juillet 2007 après huit ans de détention en Libye«, estime un journaliste libyen. >>> afp | Vendredi 21 Août 2009
Barack Obama Leads Condemnation of Scotland for Freeing Lockerbie Bomber
The decision to release this perpetrator of evil is a despicable act, and a travesty of justice. The Scots should hang their heads in SHAME! Could anyone blame the Americans for calling for a boycott of all Scottish goods as a retaliatory measure?
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama led condemnation of Scotland's administration for allowing the Lockerbie bomber to return home to Libya.
Abdel Baset al-Megrahi accompanied by Seif al-Islam el- Gadhafi, son of the Libyan leader upon his arrival at airport in Tripol . Photo: The Telegraph
The US President’s criticism of the “mistake” added to a growing backlash against the Scottish decision to free the biggest mass murderer in British legal history on compassionate grounds.
Hours after the Scottish National Party administration in Edinburgh announced its decision to free him, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, the only man convicted of the 1988 atrocity, flew home to a hero’s welcome in Tripoli.
Megrahi, a former Libyan intelligence agent, has terminal prostate cancer and has less than three months to live. Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish justice minister, said freeing him showed Scotland’s “humanity.”
Despite his illness, Megrahi, 57, managed to walk unaided up the steps of the plane at Glasgow airport, his face hidden by a white baseball cap.
After he left Scottish soil, Megrahi, who has served just eight years of a 27-year sentence, released a statement protesting his innocence and expressing his “sympathy” for the families of the 270 people he was convicted of killing.
The US government condemned the decision to release him, as did US relatives of some of the victims of the 1988 atrocity.
One US Senator said that by releasing Megrahi, Scottish ministers had increased the threat of international terrorism, and internet campaigners threatened a US boycott of Scottish products. >>> James Kirkup, Auslan Cramb and Alex Spillius in Washington | Thursday, August 20, 2009
Libyen verlangt Repatriierung des Lockerbie-Attentäters
ber. Kairo, 8. Mai
NZZ ONLINE: Das Regime in Tripolis hat Grossbritannien gebeten, den in einem schottischen Gefängnis einsitzenden libyschen Häftling Abdulbaset al-Magrahi in seine Heimat ausreisen zu lassen. Magrahi war 2001 als Miturheber des Anschlags auf ein amerikanisches Verkehrsflugzeug über der schottischen Ortschaft Lockerbie zu 27 Jahren Haft verurteilt worden. Libyen machte geltend, Magrahi habe wegen eines Prostatakrebses nur noch wenige Monate zu leben. Ein erst vor wenigen Tagen ratifiziertes Abkommen regelt den Gefangenenaustausch zwischen Libyen und Grossbritannien; es könnte es den Briten erlauben, Magrahi loszuwerden und nach Libyen abzuschieben. >>> | Samstag, 09. Mai 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Most Families Outraged at Pan Am 103 Bomber's Release
CNN: Victims' family members and advocates are grieving anew as the only man convicted in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland -- which killed 270 people -- was released Thursday from a British prison.
"I feel sick. I feel depressed and outraged. I mean, I am just heartbroken," said Susan Cohen, whose daughter Theodora, a 20-year-old Syracuse University music student, was killed in the bombing.
Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, 57, sick with advanced prostate cancer, was released on compassionate grounds and sent home to Libya to die, Scottish authorities said. Megrahi, who prosecutors said was a Libyan intelligence agent, was convicted in 2001 of placing a bomb on the Boeing 747.
Libya has formally accepted responsibility for the bombing and has compensated the families, although longtime Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi denied any culpability in the attack.
Cohen and others said international politics had trumped justice as U.S. and British relations with Gadhafi have thawed over the years.
"I feared they would do this," she said. "Now that they've made friends with Gadhafi ... the Western countries want to give him everything that he wants, appease him. He wanted Megrahi, they are rushing Megrahi out; they aren't even giving this a day. And the tiny little shred of justice we had is gone."
"I thought that our governments, both the U.S. and the U.K., owed it to the victims and their families to ensure that Megrahi would fulfill his sentence," said Victoria Cummock, whose husband, John, died in the attack. "If he did the crime, he should do the time. ... (But) when you try to combine politics with justice, politics always wins."
"I expected this," said Mark Zaid, a Washington-based lawyer for several victims' families. "I work with governments all the time, and governments do not act to protect the interests of the people, they act to protect the interests of the country. And those are different."
Zaid said he might file a lawsuit under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act to learn what the governments promised each other to accomplish Megrahi's release.
It especially galls the families that Megrahi's release was on compassionate grounds.
"This is mercy?" Cohen said. "Do you know what I've been living with for over 20 years now? This man deserves no compassion. He is a convicted mass murderer and terrorist. What have we come to, that this man is released?"
TIMES ONLINE: The decision to release the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing was taken with all due consideration and compassion. But it is the wrong decision all the same
There is no question at all about Mr MacAskill’s legitimacy in making this decision. There are anomalies about the constitutional settlement between the nations of the British Union but no doubt that the relevant authority is that of Mr MacAskill. As he said at great length in his statement, Mr MacAskill followed due process meticulously. In a long list of parties and guidelines consulted he namechecked the prisoner transfer agreement (PTA), the Scottish Prison Service guidance on compassionate release, the families of victims, a woman from Spain whose sister was a member of the cabin crew, Hillary Clinton, the US Attorney-General, Eric Holder, Abdul Ati al-Obidi and his delegation from the Libyan Government, the Westminster Joint Committee on Human Rights, Jack Straw, Section 3 of the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993, the governor of Greenock prison, the Parole Board, the director of health and care for the Scottish Prison Service and, of course, the prisoner al-Megrahi himself. We might say that Mr MacAskill was at great pains to establish his authority.
So there is no question about the source of the decision. But, unfortunately, Mr MacAskill’s statement raised plenty of questions about its content. There are three things about Mr MacAskill’s statement that leave a sour taste, by far the most bitter of which is the decision itself. >>> | Friday, August 21, 2009
Nerves Show as Kenny MacAskill Faces the World’s Media
TIMES ONLINE: Kenny MacAskill, a Scottish politician who would probably be unrecognised on the streets of Glasgow, strode confidently into the Scottish government’s media lounge to deliver the statement that the world was waiting for.
Mindful of his international audience and taking into account the hours of media advice he has been given from advisers who lined the room, his usual rapid-fire delivery slowed to a plodding pace.
The opening of his carefully prepared announcement in which he recalled the night that 259 bodies fell from the sky over Lockerbie, in a bombing that killed 11 people in the town below, took on the tone of an inappropriate Jackanory episode.
“Four days before Christmas, men, women and children going about their daily lives were cruelly murdered. They included 11 from one small Scottish town. That — town — was — Lockerbie.”
Until yesterday he was best known as the man who wanted to rid Scotland of its booze-and-blade culture. Now Mr MacAskill, a mild-mannered, liberal-minded lawyer, will go down in history as the man who allowed one of the world’s most notorious mass-murdering terrorists to walk free from jail. >>> Lorraine Davidson | Friday, August 21, 2009
An Affront to Justice
DAILY EXPRESS: OUTRAGE spread across the globe last night as the man responsible for the murder of 270 innocent people in the Lockerbie bombing was freed on “compassionate” grounds.
Grieving relatives insisted that 57-year-old Abdel Basset al-Megrahi should have been left to rot in prison.
Clad in a white shell-suit, baseball cap and scarf, Megrahi was able to walk up the steps of the private Libyan charter jet waiting at Glasgow airport to take him home to Tripoli, despite terminal cancer leaving him with just months to live.
Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill claimed Megrahi’s release would show the world that Scotland was a compassionate country. But the act brought worldwide condemnation.
US President Barack Obama branded it “a mistake” and David Cameron called it a “very bad” decision.
Those who lost loved ones called it an affront to justice and said Megrahi should only be going home “in a box”. >>> Gabriel Milland | Friday, August 21, 2009
David Cameron Condemns Lockerbie Bomber al-Megrahi's Release
Lockerbie Bomber Arrives in Libya
Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi Flies Home to Hero’s Welcome
TIMES ONLINE: The Lockerbie bomber flew out of Britain yesterday as a dying man deserving of compassion — and landed in Libya a national hero.
A crowd of thousands, many waving Scottish flags, gathered at Tripoli airport to welcome Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi as he stepped down from Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s private jet to the strains of patriotic music.
He had changed from a white tracksuit and baseball cap into a dark suit and tie during the flight and was leaning on a gold-rimmed walking stick as he emerged from the aircraft to be hugged by Colonel Gaddafi’s son.
He was then taken in a motorcade to the city centre, where the main square was lit up in green and blue in preparation for a celebration that included a feast and laser show. The pan-Arab television channel Al-Jazeera reported that al-Megrahi’s car was held up along the way by the throng.
In the city centre groups of young men, many in white baseball caps like the one al-Megrahi was wearing when he left Glasgow, dashed excitedly from one side of the square to the other trying to catch a glimpse of the bomber. >>> Tim Reid, Philip Webster and Charlene Sweeny | Friday, August 21, 2009
Hero's Welcome for Lockerbie Bomber Who Slaughtered 270 as Shabby Political Deal Provokes U.S. Outrage
MAIL ONLINE: This was the moment the Libyan convicted of the Lockerbie bombing flew home to a hero's welcome.
As thousands cheered, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi was escorted down the steps of his plane by Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Earlier this month, Saif Gaddafi met Lord Mandelson in Corfu, raising suspicions that a deal was being made to free 57-year-old Megrahi. >>> David Williams and Ian Drury | Friday 21, 2009
Mosquée profanée à Toul : trois skinheads mis en examen
Des fidèles devant les inscriptions racistes sur la mosquée de Toul, mercredi. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Les trois jeunes hommes, issus de mouvance d'extrême droite, sont soupçonnés d'avoir recouvert de croix gammées et d'abats de porc les murs du lieu de culte, mardi soir.
Les profanateurs présumés de la mosquée de Toul semblent avoir été retrouvés. Trois jeunes hommes issus de la mouvance skinhead, âgés de 19 à 21 ans, ont été mis en examen jeudi. Ils sont poursuivis pour «dégradation de lieu de culte, dégradation à connotation raciste et association de malfaiteurs», mais aussi provocation à la haine raciale et détention d'une arme de sixième catégorie (un couteau), selon le procureur de Nancy, Raymond Morey.
Mardi, deux de ces jeunes avaient été pris en flagrant délit par les gendarmes alors qu'ils taguaient un restaurant kebab de croix gammées et slogans racistes dans un village proche de Toul. Ils étaient donc déjà interpellés lorsque les fidèles de la mosquée de Toul ont découvert des inscriptions racistes et nazies, ainsi que des abats de porc, sur leur lieu de culte. «Milieux skinheads» >>> S.L. (lefigaro.fr) avec AFP | Jeudi 20 Août 2009
A Criminal Injustice
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: The release of the Lockerbie Bomber demonstrates fecklessness, not compassion.
Libya had a plane waiting for terrorist Abdel Basset Ali Megrahi even before Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill had announced the Libyan's release from jail yesterday. Within hours of the announcement, Megrahi, convicted under Scottish law for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in which 270 people were killed, was on his way home, flying safely through the same skies his victims had been blown out of 21 years ago.
In making his announcement of Megrahi's release on "compassionate grounds," Mr. MacAskill intoned that "when such an appalling crime is committed, it is appropriate that a severe sentence be imposed." Imposed, perhaps—but not carried out. Megrahi served less than a third of the 27 year "minimum" demanded in his 2001 life sentence. That works out to 11.6 days in prison for each of his victims, or about 14 days if you count from the time of his 1999 arrest.
Whatever else Megrahi's release is, then, it is not justice. The argument for compassion rests on Megrahi's case of advanced and apparently terminal prostate cancer. We're not sure what "compassion" is owed to a man by a country already too compassionate to apply the death penalty to mass murderers. Nor do we quite understand what Mr. MacAskill intended by his remark that Megrahi may face "a sentence imposed by a higher power." In this world, it makes no small difference to a man whether he ends his days in a foreign prison or in the bosom of his family and country. >>> | Thursday, August 20, 2009
Lockerbie Bomber: His Release Is a Mistake, Says President Obama
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama described the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi as a "mistake" and called on the Libyan government to place him under house arrest.
In a live radio interview, the president said the United States administration had been in contact with the Scottish Government to register its objection to the move.
He also called on Libya to ensure Megrahi is not given a welcome back to his home country after being released today from a Scottish prison.
But thousands were on hand to greet him warmly when his plane from Scotland touched down at a military airport in Tripoli. There was a festive atmosphere with some wearing T-shirts with Megrahi's picture. Others waved flags while Libyan songs blared.
Megrahi, the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, continued to protest his innocence and expressed his "sympathy" with the victims of the tragedy after being released from prison on compassionate grounds. >>> Lucy Cockcroft and Matthew Moore | Thursday, August 20, 2009
BBC: A woman whose husband died in the Lockerbie bombing has said convicted bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi should have spent the rest of his sentence in jail.
Widow Stephanie Bernstein said in releasing Megrahi on the grounds of his terminal illness, a ''mass murderer'' had been allowed to go free.
BBC: After leaving HM Prison Greenock after being released on compassionate grounds, Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi released the following statement:
"I am obviously very relieved to be leaving my prison cell at last and returning to Libya, my homeland.
I would like to first of all take the opportunity to extend my gratitude to the many people of Scotland, and elsewhere, who have sent me their good wishes.
I bear no ill will to the people of Scotland; indeed, it is one of my regrets that I have been unable to experience any meaningful aspect of Scottish life, or to see your country.
To the staff in HM Prison Greenock, and before that at HM Prison Barlinnie, I wish to express thanks for the kindness that they were able to show me.
For those who assisted in my medical and nursing care; who tried to make my time here as comfortable as possible, I am of course grateful.
My legal team has worked tirelessly on my behalf; I wish to thank Advocates Margaret Scott QC, Jamie Gilchrist QC, Shelagh McCall and Martin Richardson together with the team at Taylor & Kelly, for all of their gallant efforts in my bid to clear my name.
I know they share, in no small measure, my disappointment about the abandonment of my appeal.
Many people, including the relatives of those who died in, and over, Lockerbie, are, I know, upset that my appeal has come to an end; that nothing more can be done about the circumstances surrounding the Lockerbie bombing.
I share their frustration. I had most to gain and nothing to lose about the whole truth coming out - until my diagnosis of cancer.
To those victims' relatives who can bear to hear me say this: they continue to have my sincere sympathy for the unimaginable loss that they have suffered.
Libyans Receive Al-Megrahi’s Release with Open Hands, Shocked at His State of Health
THE TRIPOLI POST: Tripoli, Libya-- Libyans are celebrating this evening the return of their beloved son, Abdelbaset Ali Al-Megrahi, with thousands are [sic] waiting for his plane to land at Ma’atiqa International airport.
However, those who have had the chance to see today’s photos of Abdelbaset Ali Al-Megrahi in such a bad state of his health [sic] are expressing their shock and some of them could not help but drop some tears on their faces.
Many are blaming the Scottish authorities for not taking care of Megrahi’s health while in prison and speculate that he was left, on purpose, to die of his cancer.
The statement made by the Scottish justice secretary, Kenny MacAskill, who said Thursday “Mr Al-Megrahi now faces a sentence imposed by a higher power. It is one that no court, in any jurisdiction, in any land, could revoke or overrule. It is terminal, final and irrevocable. He is going to die,” is being viewed by many Libyans as a case in point.
This statement reads as if the Scottish authorities have made sure that Megrahi dies within days from his release. In other words, Libyans are now convinced that the Megrahi case could be viewed as a premeditated murder on the part of the Scottish prison authorities.
However, despite such down feeling many are celebrating Megrahi’s return home.
The news of the long anticipated release of Abdelbaset Ali Al-Megrahi has provoked wide excitement among Libyans. The glad tidings came at a time when Libyans are already in preparation of the grand celebrations of the 40th Anniversary of the Great Al Fatah Revolution and welcoming of the holy month of Ramadhan.
Many of those interviewed by The Tripoli Post expressed a big sigh of relief for Al-Megrahi’s final return especially at a time when the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan is commencing. Ramadan is regarded as a symbolic Muslim month which symbolizes forgiveness, happiness and reunion. >>> Staff Writer, The Tripoli Post | Thursday, August 20, 2009
Zwecks EU-Annäherung: Albanien will Ehe für Homosexuelle einführen
WELT ONLINE: Das albanische Parlament soll nach der Sommerpause die gleichgeschlechtliche Ehe legalisieren. Premierminister Sali Berisha will mit dem Gesetz Europa imponieren. Doch der Vorschlag ist umstritten. In dem muslimischen Land war Homosexualität bis 1995 verboten und ist bis heute nicht gesellschaftlich akzeptiert.
Als Meister der Kehrtwende hat sich Albaniens Premier Sali Berisha in seiner Karriere vom Leibarzt des kommunistischen Autokraten Enver Hodscha bis zum konservativen Regierungschef oft erwiesen. Doch mit seinem jüngsten Husarenstück überrumpelte der 74-Jährige selbst seine Anhänger. Ausgerechnet der Mann, der sonst für traditionelle Familienwerte streitet, kündigte ein Gesetz zur Legalisierung der Homo-Ehe an, das das Parlament nach der Sommerpause absegnen soll.
Bis 1995 waren homosexuelle Beziehungen in Albanien strafrechtlich verboten. Die Aussicht, dass nun ausgerechnet Tirana sich zum Vorkämpfer der Gleichberechtigung von Homosexuellen auf dem Balkan aufschwingen könnte, stößt bei den 3,1 Millionen Einwohnern auf eher skeptischen Widerhall. „Dies ist eine Schande, kein Gesetz“, schäumt Shkelqim Muca, der Vorsitzende von Albaniens muslimischer Gemeinschaft. Die Ehe vereine zwei Menschen unterschiedlicher Geschlechter – und sei für gleichgeschlechtliche Verbindungen „nicht zu akzeptieren“, ärgert sich Monsignor George Frendo von der katholischen Kirche.
In den Staaten der Region haben Homosexuelle einen eher schweren Stand. Selbst beim EU-Anwärter Kroatien bekannte kürzlich rund die Hälfte befragter Homosexueller, dass sie schon einmal zum Opfer von verbaler und physischer Gewalt geworden seien. 80 Prozent verheimlichen ihre sexuelle Orientierung. Bürgerrechtsgruppen in Albaniens Hauptstadt Tirana bezeichnen die von Berisha angekündigte Vorlage denn auch als „wichtigen Schritt zur Emanzipation der albanischen Gesellschaft“. >>> Von Thomas Roser | Donnerstag, 20. August 2009
L'homme qui devait mourir pour les talibans
Avant de les rencontrer, Abed (emprisonné à Pulli Charkhi depuis quinze mois) n'avait jamais entendu parler des talibans. Cinq mois d'endoctrinement religieux et politique plus tard, le jeune Pakistanais était prêt à «sacrifier (sa) vie pour l'islam». Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: TEMOIGNAGE - Abed, un Pakistanais de 22 ans, avait été endoctriné par les talibans pour commettre un attentat suicide sur un poste frontière afghan. Estimant avoir été floué, il a raconté son odyssée à notre reporter dans sa prison près de Kaboul.
Lorsque le détenu Abed, condamné à une peine de réclusion de vingt ans, est amené dans le bureau du surveillant chef, au sein du bloc 7 de haute sécurité de la prison de Pulli Charkhi, son allure n'est pas différente de n'importe quel jeune homme du peuple qu'on rencontre dans les bourgades du Pendjab, province orientale du Pakistan. Visage caramel ourlé d'une barbe noire et coiffé d'un petit bonnet brodé, saroual-kamiz beige, sandales hors d'âge, Abed ressemble à tous ces pauvres travailleurs intermittents qui louent leurs bras à la petite semaine pour échapper au chômage. Il s'assoit calmement, refuse poliment de prendre un morceau de pastèque amenée par les gardiens et, dans ce bureau sommaire où flotte une légère odeur de fromage rance, il commence, dès notre première question, à raconter en dari son hallucinante mésaventure.
Né en 1987, fils aîné d'un Pendjabien parti travailler en Arabie saoudite, Abed quitte l'école dès l'âge de 11 ans. Avec ses quatre frères et ses deux sœurs, il vit à Multan, chez sa mère, femme au foyer nourrissant sa famille grâce aux mandats que lui envoie son mari. La plupart du temps il est au chômage, mais travaille un moment comme apprenti chez un boulanger. Son frère cadet se débrouille mieux, qui trouve un emploi fixe dans une fabrique artisanale de meubles. En 2007, un loueur de main-d'œuvre lui trouve un contrat à 150 roupies (3 dollars) par jour, pour travailler à Karachi, dans le quartier de Manzoor Colony, dans une PME qui fabrique des bonbonnes d'eau réfrigérée en plastique. Là, un certain Abdul Rafur, originaire comme lui de Multan, mais employé d'un niveau supérieur - il est peintre d'affiches publicitaires - se lie d'amitié avec lui. Comme Abed, Abdul Rafur n'est pas un musulman très strict : il ne se rend à la mosquée que pour le prêche du vendredi. À l'occasion des vacances de l'Aïd-el-Kébir, en décembre 2007, tous deux rentrent ensemble à Multan, pour célébrer en famille la grande fête musulmane. Le surlendemain, Abdul Rafur propose à son ami de l'emmener à ses frais visiter les magnifiques montagnes du Waziristan. Le piège de l'endoctrinement >>> Renaud Girard, envoyé spécial du Figaro à Pulli Charkhi (Est de Kaboul) | Mercredi 19 Août 2009
The Path to the Final Solution
Radio Race Row at BBC's Flagship Asian Station
THE INDEPENDENT: Angry Sikhs besiege Asian Network over Muslim's 'joke'
The BBC's Asian Network was at the centre of a fresh race row last night after Sikhs accused the digital radio station of being insensitive towards their religion.
BBC bosses were forced to remove a show by the popular Muslim presenter Adil Ray from their website after the morning show DJ received threats from angry Sikh listeners who accused him of denigrating an important religious symbol.
The Birmingham-based network, which was set up eight years ago after the BBC's then director general Greg Dyke described his own organisation as "hideously white", has strongly denied the accusations or any suggestion that Ray meant to mock Sikhism.
But the anger from the Sikh community has nonetheless raised fresh questions over whether the digital network is serving its Asian listeners. Earlier this year, the BBC Trust told the network that it needed to attract more listeners after its audience fell from half a million to 405,000 in a year.
The complaints revolve around a show broadcast on Thursday 6 August in which Ray discussed the cancellation of a Punjabi music concert in Canada where police had banned a number of Sikhs who refused to remove their "kirpan" dagger – one of five ceremonial symbols that baptised Sikhs are expected to wear at all times.
A number of listeners believed that Ray had been disparaging about whether Sikhs really needed to carry their kirpans and began making complaints and threats against him. >>> Jerome Taylor, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Thursday, August 20, 2009
Lockerbie Bomber Released and to Return to Libya a Free Man
THE TELEGRAPH: The Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, has been released from prison in Scotland and can return to Libya a free man after serving eight years of his life sentence.
Lockerbie bomber released
Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill announced his release on compassionate grounds in a press conference.
Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer, could be on his way home within hours to spend his dying days with his family.
Sources at a military airport near Tripoli, Libya, said that the plane which will take him back home was en-route to Glasgow Airport earlier today, suggesting he could leave this afternoon.
Megrahi, 57, was convicted of killing 270 people in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight. Some 189 Americans were among those who died in the airliner explosion.
The decision to free him is likely to cause outrage in the United States, where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she hoped he would stay behind bars.
Mr MacAskill made the announcement at the Scottish Government's ministerial headquarters in Edinburgh. >>> | Thursday, August 20, 2009
THE INDEPENDENT: Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi was today released from prison to die with his family in Libya. Megrahi, who has terminal cancer, was driven from HMP Greenock in a white van escorted by three police cars, another van and five motorcycles.
The convoy set off on the 16-mile journey to Glasgow airport, where a jet was waiting to return him to Tripoli, after he was released on compassionate grounds by Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill.
Megrahi, 57, has served eight years of a life sentence for murdering 270 people when a Pan Am plane was blown up over Lockerbie in 1988.
Dozens of journalists from around the world were outside the entrance of the jail as its blue automatic door slid open to let the convicted bomber out at 2.36pm.
The convoy arrived at Glasgow airport at around at around 3.05pm. Megrahi was taken straight on to the tarmac where the plane was waiting.
After a short delay, the bomber, wearing a baseball cap, left the van and slowly walked with a stick up the stairs on to the jet. In a move that has caused outrage in the United States, Mr MacAskill said Megrahi would now be released early from prison today.
He said Megrahi "now faces a sentence imposed by a higher power".
Mr MacAskill added: "It is one that no court, in any jurisdiction, in any land, could revoke or overrule. It is terminal, final and irrevocable. He is going to die."
In a statement that lasted more than 20 minutes, Mr MacAskill said Megrahi had shown no compassion to his victims, but added: "That alone is not a reason for us to deny compassion to him and his family in his final days."
Mr MacAskill said: "I am conscious there are deeply held feelings and that many will disagree whatever my decision. However a decision has to be made.
"Scotland will forever remember the crime that has been perpetrated against our people and those from many other lands, the pain and suffering will remain forever.
"Some hurt can never heal, some scars can never fade. Those who have been bereaved cannot be expected to forget, let alone forgive. Their pain runs deep and the wounds remain." >>> Press Association | Thursday, August 20, 2009
THE INDEPENDENT: The decision to free Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds was greeted with mixed reactions today.
Conservative Party leader David Cameron said: "I think this is wrong and it's the product of some completely nonsensical thinking, in my view.
"This man was convicted of murdering 270 people, he showed no compassion to them, they weren't allowed to go home and die with their relatives in their own bed and I think this is a very bad decision."
But Tam Dalyell, the former Labour MP and ex-father of the House of Commons, who has persistently claimed that Megrahi was innocent, said today: "Mr MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Minister, has arrived at the right decision on compassionate grounds.
"I do not accept his endorsement of the guilt of Mr Megrahi, whom I continue to believe had nothing whatsoever to do with the crime of Lockerbie."
Kara Weipz, 36, who lost her student brother Rick, 20, in the atrocity, condemned the decision.
Speaking from her home in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, she said: "I think it's an absolutely horrible decision.
"I don't know how you show compassion to someone who has shown no remorse for what he has done and as Mr MacAskill praised the justice system and the investigation and the trial, how do you then show this person compassion? It's just utterly despicable.
"I think he should have died in prison. Why should he be returned to Libya?
"That's not what we were promised. We were always told he would serve out his full sentence in Scotland."
Scottish Labour criticised the decision to release Megrahi.
Labour leader and MSP Iain Gray said: "If I was First Minister, Megrahi would not be going back to Libya. The decision to release him is wrong.
"He was convicted of the worst terrorist atrocity in our history, the mass murder of 270 people.
"While one can have sympathy for the family of a gravely ill prisoner, on balance our duty is to honour and respect the victims of Lockerbie and have compassion for them.
"The SNP's handling of this case has let down Scotland." >>> Press Association | Thursday, August 20, 2009
The Face of Abbas Kargar Javid — Man Accused of Killing Neda Soltan
TIMES ONLINE: The man accused of killing Neda Soltan has been identified as Abbas Kargar Javid, a pro-government militiaman, after photographs of the Basiji’s ID cards appeared on the internet.
The identification challenges the Iranian regime’s claim that foreign agents shot the young woman, who became a global symbol of resistance to the Government of President Ahmadinejad.
One picture appears on Mr Javid’s Basij identification card, which was taken off him by the crowd that stopped him briefly when he fled the murder scene during a massive demonstration against electoral fraud on June 20.
Photographs of that card and another that was issued by the Interior Ministry have been posted on the internet, and the doctor who tried to save Ms Soltan as she lay dying on a Tehran pavement has confirmed that they show the man who was stopped.
“I can testify for certain that it is the same person,” Arash Hejazi told The Times.
Dr Hejazi said that he had checked with others who witnessed Mr Javid’s detention and they, too, had confirmed that it was the same man. He expressed disgust that a regime that had detained, tortured and killed so many peaceful demonstrators in the past ten weeks had — as far as he knew — taken no action against Mr Javid. “That’s how fair the situation is in Iran right now,” he said.
The regime has put blame for Ms Soltan’s murder on fellow demonstrators, the CIA, hostile foreign governments including Britain, and even the BBC, whose Tehran correspondent, Jon Leyne, was accused of organising the shooting to get good pictures. >>> Martin Fletcher | Thursday, August 20, 2009
