Wednesday, March 31, 2010
MAIL ONLINE: Presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Barack Obama appeared inseparable as they went to extraordinary lengths last night to defuse speculation of a chilly relationship.
Mr Obama repeatedly referred to Mr Sarkozy by his first name during the French President's first Washington visit and spoke fondly of his trip to Paris last year.
'We respect one another and understand one another,' Mr Obama said. Obama and Sarkozy can't stop smiling at each other as they agree they are 'inseparable' in their thinking over Iran >>> Mail Foreign Service | Wednesday, March 31, 2010
THE INDEPENDENT: Carla Bruni-Sarkozy turned up the heat on her first trip to Washington as France's first lady, visiting a school in a poor neighbourhood and lunching at Ben's Chili Bowl.
The ex-top model later met US first lady Michelle Obama for dinner with their husbands - behind firmly closed doors in the Obamas' private residence quarters in the White House, leaving the curious guessing about how the glamorous four got along and whether their children joined them.
The White House put such a clamp on the dinner details that not even the menu was released.
Youngsters at Washington's KIPP DC charter school were over the moon at their visitor and her entourage of bodyguards and serenaded her with Ain't No Mountain High Enough.
Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy read them a book from the Madeline series about a girl living in France - in English, which the Italian-born French first lady speaks fluently. When eighth-graders asked her about her favourite museum she responded, to their delight: "If you come to Paris I'll bring you to the Louvre and I'll show you the Mona Lisa, and then we'll go to the restaurant."
Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy, who took up a singing career after quitting the catwalk and is now active in foundations fighting illiteracy and Aids, had surprised pupils at Juilliard Music School with a visit the day before in New York. >>> Associated Press | Wednesday, March 31, 2010
MAIL ONLINE: Tony Blair has told friends he needs to earn at least £5million a year just to break even.
The former prime minister has been heavily criticised for cashing in on his contacts for personal gain and is thought to have made around £20million since leaving office.
But last night his former election agent John Burton claimed Mr Blair needed the astonishing annual income - and possibly much more - to pay spiralling wage bills at his growing list of companies and charities.
The revelation about his finances came as the former premier returned to the political fray with a lukewarm televised endorsement of Gordon Brown.
Mr Burton, one of Mr Blair's most loyal political friends, said: 'What I asked him was, you know he gets this criticism about what he earns. I said how many people do you employ? And he said 130.
'I mean it was 25 about two years ago and he said to me I have got to earn £5million a year to pay the wages, so God knows what he has got to earn now to pay the wages.'
Mr Burton's extraordinary claims mean average wages could be as high as £200,000 a year. And his figures suggest Mr Blair now needs to make £20million a year. Tony Blair: Why I need £5m every year just to get by >>> Jason Groves and Sam Greenhill | Wednesday, March 31, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: An American general has apologised for his claim that the presence of homosexual troops was responsible for the Dutch army's failure to prevent the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.
John Sheehan, a former US General and Nato commander, caused outrage two weeks ago when he alleged that open homosexuality in the Dutch ranks had so damaged military morale that the country's army was powerless to prevent genocide in Bosnia.
He claimed, before a US Senate hearing, that Henk van den Breemen, the Dutch chief of the defence staff in 1995, had told him of problems related to gay troops.
"I am sorry that my public recollection of those discussions of 15 years ago inaccurately reflected your thinking on some specific social issues on the military," he wrote in a letter to the Dutch general.
Without explicitly referring to gay Dutch military, General Sheehan acknowledged that a weak United Nations mandate for troops was the problem facing peacekeepers.
"To be clear, the failure on the ground in Srebrenica was no way the fault of individual soldiers," he wrote.
A spokesperson for the Dutch Ministry of Defence said General Van den Breemen was satisfied with the apology. >>> Bruno Waterfield, in Brussels | Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Related:
THE TELEGRAPH: General John Sheehan Isn't the First Bigot to Blame 'The Gays' >>> Tom Chivers | Friday, March 19, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Gay Dutch Soldiers Responsible for Srebrenica Massacre Says US General >>> The Telegraph’s Foreign Staff | Friday, March 19, 2010
TIMES ONLINE: Regional elections see surge in votes for Northern League party, which campaigned on anti-migrant agenda
Final results from Italy's regional and local elections have confirmed a surge in support for the anti-immigrant right, mirroring similar gains recently seen in the Netherlands and France.
With Silvio Berlusconi and his allies taking four regional governorships from the left, Umberto Bossi's Northern League has emerged as the undisputed winner. The League was expected to take 13% of the national vote, up from 8% at the last general election in 2008 when it used a poster of white sheep kicking out a black one.
Bossi's party won two important governorships – Piedmont, the region around Turin, and the Veneto. In the Veneto it received a 10% higher share than the prime minister's Freedom People movement.
The League also continued its expansion into areas outside its Po valley homeland. In "red" Emilia-Romagna it won almost 14%.
The party's success fitted an emerging pattern. Earlier this month the Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders, who has compared the Qur'an to Hitler's Mein Kampf, made big gains in local elections. In France Jean-Marie Le Pen's National Front won nearly 10% of the vote in regional ballots. >>> John Hooper in Rome | Tuesday, March 30, 2010
THE NEW YORK TIMES: MAKHACHKALA, Russia -- Two suicide bombers including one impersonating a police officer killed at least 12 people and injured 18 others in the southern Russian province of Dagestan on Wednesday, officials said. Nine police officers were among the dead.
The blasts in the North Caucasus region came two days after a twin suicide bombing tore through the Moscow subway system, killing 39 people and wounding scores, and a day after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin vowed to drag terrorists ''out of the sewer.''
Dagestan borders Chechnya, where Russian troops have fought two full-scale wars against Islamic separatist rebels in the past 15 years.
In Wednesday's attacks, a suicide bomber detonated explosives in the town of Kizlyar near Dagestan's border with Chechnya, when police tried to stop the bomber's car, Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev said in televised comments.
''Traffic police followed the car and almost caught up -- at that time the blast hit,'' Nurgaliyev said, adding the car was heading toward the center of Kizlyar.
As investigators and residents gathered at the scene of the blast, a second bomber wearing a police uniform approached and set off explosives, killing the town's police chief among others, Nurgaliyev said. A school and police station nearby were also damaged.
Grainy cell phone video footage posted on the life.ru news portal showed the moment of the second blast, with officials wandering past a destroyed building before a loud clap rings out and smoke rises in the distance. >>> Associated Press | Wednesday, March 31, 2010
RUSSIA TODAY: Authorities analyze security following Metro blasts: The first funerals of the 39 people who were killed in Monday's suicide bombings in the Moscow Metro will be held on Wednesday. Dozens of others remain in hospital, with several in a critical condition. >>> | Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: American Israel Public Affairs Committee circulates letter urging White House to 'reinforce' relationship with Israel
America's main pro-Israel lobby group is mobilising members of Congress to pressure the White House over its bitter public confrontation with Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister.
The move, by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), appears aimed at exploiting differences in the Obama administration as it decides how to use the crisis around settlement building in Jerusalem to press Israel toward concessions to kickstart peace negotiations.
Aipac has persuaded more than three-quarters of the members of the US House of Representatives to sign a letter calling for an end to public criticism of Israel and urging the US to "reinforce" its relationship with the Jewish state.
The open letter, which has been circulating among members of Congress for the last week, says that while it is recognised that there will be differences between the two countries, they should be kept behind closed doors. "Our view is that such differences are best resolved quietly, in trust and confidence," it says. >>> Chris McGreal in Washington | Tuesday, March 30, 2010
KRONEN ZEITUNG: Die Geschichte des Khaled el-Masri klingt wie das Drehbuch zu einem Agenten-Thriller, dürfte aber wahr sein: Der Deutsch-Libanese wurde während eines Mazedonien-Aufenthalts von CIA-Agenten verschleppt und gefoltert - während die deutschen Behörden untätig zuschauten. Heute gilt El-Masri als traumatisiert. Er fiel mehrfach wegen Straftaten auf. Jetzt wurde er wegen einer Prügelei zu zwei Jahren Gefängnis verurteilt.
Es war zu Silvester 2003, als der damals 40-Jährige auf dem Weg in einen Kurzurlaub an der mazedonischen Grenze von Grenzpolizisten aus dem Reisebus geholt wurde. Er war ins Visier einer internationalen Terrorfahndung geraten - offenbar, weil er den gleichen Namen hat wie einer der mutmaßlichen Drahtzieher der Anschläge vom 11. September 2001. Monatelang verhört und misshandelt >>> | Dienstag, 30. März 2010
MAIL ONLINE: Islamic schools are to be banned from smacking after a report warned that children were at risk of physical abuse.
Children's Secretary Ed Balls today acted to extend the ban on smacking to all who teach or care for children outside the family including leaders of Muslim madrassahs.
The move followed an investigation by Government adviser Sir Roger Singleton which found evidence youngsters in madrassahs were sometimes given physical punishments, including a 'clip round the ear' or the 'hen' position, where fingers are squeezed around a pencil.
'I do not think that there should be any scope to conceal reality by dissembling with words,' said Sir Roger, chief adviser on child safety.
'A "clip round the ear" could result in a damaging blow to a child's head.'
He went on: 'I was told of other physical punishments such as the "hen" position where fingers are laced with a pencil and squeezed.'
He also raised concerns about treatment of children in some fundamentalist Christian part-time schools, where biblical references to chastising youngsters are taken literally.
Existing laws outlaw smacking by teachers in schools. But those who tutor children outside school, in part-time educational settings and weekend and evening faith schools are not covered.
These include Britain's estimated 1,600 madrassahs. >>> Laura Clark | Tuesday, March 30, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: The boss of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the world's biggest sovereign wealth fund, has been found dead in Morocco.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who directed ADIA's recent acquisition of 15pc of Gatwick Airport, was found four days after his glider aircraft went missing. He was 40.
ADIA, which is thought to have assets worth $627bn (£420bn), declined to comment.
The Sheikh had no deputy director. However, sources close to the fund said that a succession plan is being worked on.
Ranked 27th on the Forbes list of the most powerful people in the world, Sheikh Ahmed was also a half-brother of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Abu Dhabi's ruler and the president of the United Arab Emirates.
Sheikh Ahmed took control of ADIA in 1997 where he was described as "very hands on" in investment decisions. The sovereign wealth fund's most high-profile investment was a stake of about 4pc in Citigroup. >>> Louise Armitstead, Chief City Correspondent | Tuesday, March 30, 2010
TIMES ONLINE: Sovereign wealth fund boss found dead in Morocco: A team of French and Moroccan divers have found the body of an Emirati sheikh who headed the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, four days after the ultralight glider he was travelling in crashed into a lake near Rabat. >>> Philippe Naughton | Tuesday, March 30, 2010
LE TEMPS: WASHINGTON, Les présidents américain Barack Obama et français Nicolas Sarkozy se retrouvent mardi à Washington avec la volonté d'approfondir leur dialogue sur les grands dossiers internationaux et de tourner la page des malentendus qui ont parasité leurs premiers pas.
Attendu depuis de longs mois côté français, ce rendez-vous à la Maison Blanche vient réparer un oubli, puisque M. Sarkozy est le dernier grand dirigeant européen à y être reçu, bien après la chancelière allemande Angela Merkel ou le Premier ministre britannique Gordon Brown.
Les deux dirigeants devaient se retrouver mardi après-midi (19h30 GMT) pour un entretien de plus d'une heure dans le Bureau ovale, avant de donner ensemble une conférence de presse dans les jardins de la Maison Blanche.
Pour donner un retentissement particulier à cette rencontre, M. Obama et son épouse Michelle ont convié leur visiteur et son épouse Carla Bruni-Sarkozy à un dîner à quatre dans leurs appartements privés, avant le départ du couple présidentiel pour Paris. >>> AFP | Mardi 30 Mars 2010
LE TEMPS: Le double attentat de lundi dans le métro moscovite va pousser le président Dmitri Medvedev à réprimer les islamistes caucasiens
Des scènes comme celle du théâtre de la Doubrovka à Moscou en 2002 semblaient appartenir au passé. Des femmes voilées, portant des ceintures d’explosifs, avaient effectué une prise d’otages spectaculaire. Lundi, deux jeunes femmes ont pourtant humilié le pouvoir russe en se faisant exploser dans deux stations du métro moscovite proches du siège du FSB (services secrets russes) et du Ministère de la défense. >>> Stéphane Bussard | Mardi 30 Mars 2010
20MINUTES.ch: La «dégradation drastique» des conditions de détention de Max Göldi préoccupe Amnesty International.
L'organisation appelle les autorités libyennes à améliorer immédiatement la situation, a-t-elle indiqué mardi dans une brève prise de position.
L'employé d'ABB emprisonné près de Tripoli a été transféré le week-end passé dans une cellule sans fenêtres ni eau chaude, selon son avocat Salah Zahaf. La pièce est très humide et sent mauvais, a ajouté Amnesty International. Et l'organisation de préciser que M. Göldi a été privé de promenade lundi. >>> ats | Mardi 30 Mars 2010
MAIL ONLINE: Britain's leading Islamic TV channel has regularly broadcast demeaning material about women and promoted extremist groups, it was alleged yesterday.
Programmes on the Islam Channel have told women they should not refuse to have sex with their husbands or leave home without their permission, an inquiry by the Islamic think-tank the Quilliam Foundation found.
Women who wear perfume in public have been labelled prostitutes.
The channel has regularly acted as a propaganda platform for Hizb ut-Tahrir, the fundamentalist organisation that Tony Blair wanted to ban after the 2005 London bombings. It has also promoted hate preachers, a report said.
And, the inquiry by the Islamic think tank the Quilliam Foundation found, its broadcasts are also trying to sow hatred between different Muslim groups by promoting a single strand of hardline theology.
The Islam Channel, launched in 2004, is the most watched satellite channel aimed at a Muslim audience and the think tank is now calling for an investigation by regulator Ofcom.
Report author Talal Rajab said: 'Unfortunately during the three month period that we monitored its output, it repeatedly promoted bigoted and reactionary views towards women, non-Muslims and other Muslims who follow different versions of Islam.
'Although the channel does not directly call for terrorist violence, it clearly helps to create an atmosphere in which religiously-sanctioned intolerance and even hatred might be seen as acceptable.'
One programme featured remarks instructing women that 'the idea that a woman, even if married, can refuse relations with her husband because of individual choice was part of the Western culture.'
It was necessary for 'maintaining a strong marriage' that a woman should submit to a man, viewers were told.
Under English law, a husband who forces his wife to have sex is guilty of rape. >>> Steve Doughty | Thursday, March 25, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Books written by hardline Muslim clerics are still available in public libraries it can be disclosed, three years after they were first exposed.
Works by the jailed preacher Abdullah al-Faisal and the controversial Islamic leader Bilal Philips are available to borrow from the controversial Tower Hamlets council in East London.
The council leader Lutfur Rahman, has been accused of gaining power through his links with an organisation called the Islamic Forum of Europe, based at East London mosque, that secretly campaigns for an Islamic social and political order.
The Prime Minister announced in 2007 that the Government would consult with the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) after extremist literature was found on lending lists across the country, but particularly in Tower Hamlets.
However a recent visit by the Daily Telegraph revealed that many of the books are still on the shelves.
The council said in a statement that it was committed to tackling extremism but added: "As far as we are aware these materials have not yet been banned or judged to be illegal in the UK. If this were the case they would not have been on our shelves."
In one of the books, Natural Instincts, Faisal, writes: "The societies of Europe and America are the new Sodom and Gomorra of today. The kafirs [non-believers] are the henchmen of the devil...The only language the kafirs respect is jihad [holy war]."
Faisal says Christian clergymen who practice celibacy are prone to paedophilia: "Priests, monks, popes and nuns who abstain from sex...will inevitably be led to child abuse."
He adds that non-Muslim charity workers will go to hell: "The Red Cross or any other infidelic organisation should not expect to receive any reward from Allah in the hereafter for their so-called humanitarian works. The infidels who die in their disbelief will be in the hellfire forever."
In another chapter, the book says: "Of all the people in the world, the Jews are the greediest...Everyone of them wishes that he could be given a life of 1,000 years. But the grant of such life will not save him even a little from due punishment." >>> Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent | Monday, March 29, 2010
Related to this video:
THE GUARDIAN: Investigators warn of further attacks as Moscow metro death toll rises: Security officials say two women who blew themselves up, killing 39 people, could have been part of squad of bombers >>> Luke Harding in Moscow | Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Verbunden mit diesem Video:
WELT ONLINE: Anschläge in Moskau: Terror bringt Medwedjew und Putin in Bedrängnis / Moskau: Terroristen tragen den Krieg in die Städte >>>
NZZ ONLINE: Wegen verfassungsrechtlicher Bedenken hat sich der Staatsrat in Frankreich gegen ein vollständiges Burka-Verbot in der Öffentlichkeit ausgesprochen.
Selbst das Tragen von Ganzkörperschleiern teilweise zu untersagen werde schwer umzusetzen sein, erklärte das Gremium am Dienstag. Zur Begründung hiess es, ein Burka-Verbot könnte die französiche Verfassung und die Europäische Menschenrechtskonvention verletzen. >>> ddp | Dienstag, 30. März 2010
WELT ONLINE: Frankreichs Staatsrat – Burka-Verbot aus Sicherheitsgründen möglich: In Frankreich ist nach Einschätzung des Staatsrates ein generelles Burka-Verbot nicht zulässig. Wenn es die öffentliche Sicherheit erfordere, sollen allerdings Vermummungsverbote ausgesprochen werden können. Das gilt etwa für Banken, Juwelierläden, Sportveranstaltungen oder internationale Konferenzen. >>> AFP/fas | Dienstag, 30. März 2010
NZZ ONLINE: Die deutsche Bundeskanzlerin Merkel hat sich bei ihrem Besuch in der Türkei um Entspannung bemüht. Sie machte aber deutlich, dass sie eine privilegierte Partnerschaft einem EU-Beitritt der Türkei vorzieht.
Mit einer kleinen Geste hat die deutsche Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel am Montag die Atmosphäre bei ihrem Staatsbesuch in der Türkei aufgelockert. Sie überreichte dem türkischen Ministerpräsidenten Erdogan eine weisse Friedenstaube, die eine neunjährige Schülerin gemacht hatte, mit der Bitte, sie nach einiger Zeit weiterzureichen. Eine solche Geste war dringend notwendig. Zunächst hatte Merkel die Türkei gegen sich aufgebracht, als sie in Interviews mit türkischen Zeitungen erneut für ihre Idee einer privilegierten Partnerschaft der Türkei anstelle einer Vollmitgliedschaft in der EU warb. Darauf weigerte sich der Oppositionsführer Deniz Baykal, an einem Empfang mit Merkel teilzunehmen.
Erdogan hatte dagegen Deutschland mit seiner Forderung nach türkischen Schulen für die knapp drei Millionen Türken in Deutschland aufgebracht. Merkel reagierte mit schroffer Ablehnung: «Das bringt uns nicht weiter!» In Ankara vermied es dann Merkel möglichst, auf den Begriff «privilegierte Partnerschaft» näher einzugehen. Auch in der Schulfrage machte sie ein Zugeständnis. Natürlich, so erklärte Merkel, könne es in Deutschland türkische Schulen geben, so wie es deutsche Schulen in der Türkei gebe. >>> Jan Keetman, Istanbul | Dienstag, 30. März 2010
BREITBART: German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Turkey Monday that its membership talks with the European Union did not guarantee accession and urged it to grant trade privileges to EU-member Cyprus.
"The rules of the game have changed" since Turkey first applied to become a member of the bloc five decades ago, Merkel said through an interpreter after talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"The (accession) negotiations are an open-ended process. We should now pursue this open-ended process," she added, suggesting that Turkey's integration with the bloc does not have to be full membership. >>> AFP | Monday, March 29, 2010
MAIL ONLINE – BLOG: Now that President Obama has done enough back-room deals to get the Democrats' health care legislation through the House of Representatives, he can resume making plans for a visit to his childhood home, Indonesia. The trip was on for this week, but the White House cancelled it so Obama could stay in Washington to push through the Bill.
Once he lands at Jakarta, capital of the world's largest Muslim state, he probably won't make the same mistake he made a few years ago in Kenya, when he let himself be photographed wearing a turban. Still, he may find it hard to resist the urge to go native.
One of the reasons a lot of Americans find Obama oddly foreign is that he had an oddly foreign childhood: his formative years were spent in Indonesia. His half-sister, Maya Soetoro Ng, was born there. The rest of Obama's childhood was spent in Honolulu, a Pacific Ocean capital soaked in East Asian culture.
What's this got to do with Britain, or indeed with Europe? Plenty. Obama is the first US president who was raised without cultural or emotional or intellectual ties to either Britain or Europe. The British and the Europeans have been so enchanted with 'America's first black president' that they haven't been able to see what he really is: America's first Third World president.
If you doubt it, remember the kick in the teeth he gave Britain over the Falklands just a few weeks ago. Obama had his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, fly to Buenos Aires to give American support to President Kirchner's call for international negotiations over the Falklands. Amazing. What was more amazing is that all we've heard out of Number 10 and the Foreign Office since then is that it doesn't mean anything.
Oh, yes it does, and Washington insiders know it does.
I've just been in touch with Dr James Lucier, a former US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Staff Director, about all this. He tells me: 'Culturally, Obama detests Great Britain. He sent the bust of Churchill back without a fig leaf of an excuse. He insulted the Queen and the Prime Minister, giving them ridiculous gifts.' At one point, 'he refused to meet the prime minister.'
Here is what is happening, though the British Government seems oblivious of it. The Obama administration is ready to dump the Old World in pursuit of the One World.
Britain is being dumped. The special relationship, whatever is left of it, is over. Britain losing control of the Falklands to Argentina would just be collateral damage.
But France is being dumped, too. Obama's ostentatious refusal to have dinner with President Sarkozy during his visit to France last year was no accident. Rather than meet the French president, Obama went off to a restaurant with his wife Michelle.
Germany is being dumped. Obama has been little more than dismissive of Chancellor Merkel. Russia in turn will be waved aside.
Most spectacularly of all, the European Union has now been comprehensively dumped. The American president has refused to attend what is supposed to be a US-EU Madrid summit in May.
What we have shaping up, but what the British Government doesn't yet grasp, is that Obama has a conscious policy of down-grading America's relationship with, first, Britain and then with the rest of Europe.
He believes that the US -- yes, his own country -- and Britain, and the leading European countries, too, for that matter, are imperial powers who ruthlessly exploited the Third World for their own profit.
And Obama is America's first Third World president. Read on and comment >>> Mary Ellen Synon | Monday, March 22, 2010
LE FIGARO: À une cinquantaine de kilomètres au nord de Toronto, des musulmans ahmadis bâtissent leur ville depuis dix ans, à l'écart des banlieues traditionnelles.
L'appel à la prière tombe sur Peace Village, terre d'islam en plein Canada. Les 3 000 habitants y sont tous musulmans. Des Pakistanais pour la plupart, mais aussi des Bengalis ou des Nigériens. Comme tous les vendredis, à 13h30 tapantes, la foi transporte ce petit peuple voilé ou moustachu de l'avenue Abdus Salam vers une immense mosquée blanche. Les dômes d'acier de Bait'ul Al Islam dominent l'horizon. Des croyantes, vêtues du niqab noir ou de voiles aux couleurs chatoyantes, se pressent vers la mosquée. Journaux en ourdou sous le bras, les hommes vêtus du salwar kameez, longue chemise traditionnelle pakistanaise, entrent par une porte séparée. La mosquée fait salle comble. Un millier de fidèles se tourne vers La Mecque.
Tous sont des ahmadis, pratiquant une version eschatologique de l'islam. Le secrétaire de l'association ahmadie du Canada, Ahmed Dildar, est un ancien colonel de l'armée pakistanaise. Le vieillard à la peau parcheminée s'enflamme : «Nous ne pouvions pas pratiquer notre religion au Pakistan. Certains d'entre nous ont été tués par les autorités. Ici, nous sommes libres.» À deux pas de la station de télévision musulmane locale et de la mosquée, une gigantesque inscription : «Ahmadiya, le vrai islam.» Face à la salle de prière, un libraire vend Le Djihad des Britanniques ou La Place de la femme dans l'islam, en version arabe, ourdoue et anglaise.
Cette vague coranique au pays des caribous a commencé il y a vingt-cinq ans par la croisade d'un immigré pakistanais, Naseer Ahmad, devenu à 56 ans un homme d'affaires prospère. «En 1985, il n'y avait que de la friche à des kilomètres à la ronde. Notre communauté a acheté de grands terrains et fait transformer cela en zone constructible. Sept ans plus tard, nous avons construit - pour 4,5 millions de dollars cash - ce qui était alors la plus grosse mosquée d'Amérique. C'est cher, mais c'est le rêve de toute une communauté.» Le fondateur de Peace Village vante aussi sa cité islamique de 330 pavillons, construite entre 1998 et 2008 et dont toutes les rues mènent à la mosquée. Des cloisons pour séparer hommes et femmes >>> Par Ludovic Hirtzmann | Jeudi 18 Mars 2010
Al Islam: The Official Website of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community >>>
WELT ONLINE: In der Geschichte wird gern den Europäern die Schuld an Afrikas Elend gegeben. Doch als Kolonialmächte profitierten sie ab dem 17. Jahrhundert von einem System, das die Araber etabliert hatten. Über 17 Millionen Menschen waren bereits wegen muslimischer Sklavenhändler gestorben.
Hatte es lange so ausgesehen als seien allein die Europäer an Afrikas Elend schuld, so hat sich das Bild inzwischen gewandelt. Menschenjagden muslimischer Reitermilizen im Südsudan und das Massaker muslimischer Nomaden an nigerianischen Christen enthüllen Konfliktlinien, die weit in die vorkoloniale Ära zurückreichen.
Es wäre an der Zeit, schreibt der afrikanische Anthropologe und Wirtschaftswissenschaftler Tidiane N’Diaye, „dass der araboislamische Sklavenhandel, der einem Völkermord gleichkommt, näher untersucht wird und gleichermaßen zur Sprache kommt wie der transatlantische Menschenhandel.“ In diesem Sinn hat er sein beim Erscheinen in Frankreich 2008 leidenschaftlich und viel diskutiertes Buch betitelt: „Le génocide voilé“ – „Der verschleierte Völkermord“ (Rowohlt, 252 Seiten, 19,90 Euro).
Über 17 Millionen Menschen habe Afrika in den letzten dreizehnhundert Jahren an araboislamische Sklavenhändler verloren, und dabei sei die noch weit größere Zahl derer nicht mitgerechnet, die bei der Versklavung ganzer Dörfer umgebracht wurden.
Aus wenn „sich Horror und Grausamkeit weder differenzieren noch monopolisieren lassen“, könne man doch sagen; „dass der von den erbarmungslosen arabomuslimischen Räubern betriebene Sklavenhandel und der von ihnen geführte Dschihad weitaus verheerender für Schwarzafrika war als der transatlantische Sklavenhandel.“ >>> Von Ulrich Baron | Montag, 29. März 2010
WELT ONLINE: Bei aller Trauer und der Furcht vor neuen Anschlägen gerät nach den Selbstmordattentaten in der Moskauer U-Bahn das Tandem Medwedjew-Putin in die Kritik. Regierungstreue Abgeordnete werfen den Sicherheitsorganen völliges Versagen vor. Liberale Politiker fürchten den Abbau demokratischer Rechte in Russland.
Am Tag nach den Anschlägen in Moskau haben die Menschen der Opfer gedacht, die in der Metro ihr Leben verloren haben. In den beiden U-Bahnhöfen, wo sich die Tragödien ereigneten und wo die Spuren der Explosionen noch sichtbar sind, haben Trauernde Blumen niedergelegt. Die Zahl der Toten stieg inzwischen auf 39.
Die Metro hatte ihren vollständigen Betrieb bereits am Montagnachmittag wieder aufgenommen, war aber auch am Dienstag ungewöhnlich leer. Er habe erstmals seit Jahren auf dem Weg zur Arbeit einen Sitzplatz in der U-Bahn gefunden, berichtete Wladimir, ein Ingenieur.
Die Sicherheitsdienste wurden gleich nach den Attentaten in erhöhte Alarmbereitschaft versetzt. Die Miliz-Patrouillen auf den Straßen der Hauptstadt und vor allem in der Untergrundbahn wurden verstärkt. Unter größerer Beobachtung stehen auch die russischen Wasserkraftwerke.
Es gilt inzwischen als gesichert, dass die Spur der Hintermänner der Anschläge in den Kaukasus führt. Klar ist, dass eine der beiden Selbstmordattentäterinnen eine Kaukasierin war. >>> Von Manfred Quiring | Dienstag, 30. März 2010
WELT ONLINE: Hat Russland diese Warnung überhört? Bereits im April vergangenen Jahres riefen kaukasische Terroristen eine Offensive gegen Russland aus. "Blut wird nicht länger nur in unseren Städten fließen", drohte Terror-Chef Doku Umarow und bildete neue Selbstmordattentäter aus. Nun folgten seinen Worten blutige Taten.
gern eine Baseball-Cap, meist in Kombination mit einer Militäruniform. So zeigt sich Doku Umarow in seinen Propagandavideos, die irgendwo in den kaukasischen Wäldern aufgenommen werden.
Der 45 Jahre alte bullige Tschetschene mit dichtem Vollbart ist sechsfacher Vater und selbst ernannter Gotteskrieger. Er hat Moskau den Krieg erklärt."Blut wird nicht länger nur in unseren Städten fließen. Der Krieg wird in ihre Städte kommen!", drohte er der russischen Führung im Februar dieses Jahres.
Umarov wurde in beiden Tschetschenien-Kriegen mehrfach verwundet, von russischen Anti-Terror-Einheiten gejagt und immer wieder totgesagt - zuletzt im vergangenen November. Der russische Geheimdienst FSB soll seine Familie entführt, Verwandte und Kampfgenossen gefoltert haben, heißt es. Doch den „Bin Laden des Kaukasus“ konnten sie bislang nicht fassen.
Seit Doku Umarow im Oktober 2007 den Fantasiestaat “Islamisches Emirat Kaukasus” ausrief und sich zu dessen Emir ernannte, ist er Russlands meistgesuchter Terrorist. Der Kreml hält ihn für einen Al-Qaida-Terroristen, der die Scharia in der gesamten Region zwischen den russischen Teilrepubliken Dagestan und Tscherkessien einführen will. >>> Von Florian Flade | Montag, 29. März 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Tony Blair has hailed the leadership of Gordon Brown, praising him for setting the country on the road to recovery after the financial crisis.
In his first intervention into the pre-election fray, the former prime minister declared he was ''optimistic'' about the prospects for the future under his successor.
Speaking to activists in his former constituency in Sedgefield, Co Durham, he hit out at David Cameron, dismissing the Conservative leader's ''time for change'' slogan as ''the most vacuous in politics''.
Mr Blair said that while Britain was not yet ''out of the woods'' following the financial crisis, it was ''on the path out'' as a result of the actions taken by Mr Brown.
''At the moment of peril the world acted. Britain acted. The decision to act required experience, judgment and boldness. It required leadership. Gordon Brown supplied it,'' he said.
Mr Blair acknowledged that it would be a "big thing" for Labour to win a fourth successive general election - something it had never achieved before. Tony Blair: Gordon Brown's leadership led us out of economic peril >>> | Tuesday, March 30, 2010
If the British electorate fall for this crap yet again, they deserve all they get! This is the government which has decimated the economy and taken so many freedoms away from the British people. The best thing the British electorate can do on polling day is vote this shower OUT OF OFFICE. By the way, Tone, if anyone's words are "vacuous", yours are! – © Mark
THE TELEGRAPH: French President Nicolas Sarkozy made a splash even before he opened his mouth as he arrived with his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy to give a no-holds-barred speech at Columbia University.
Amid blogger reports of strains in their marriage, Mr Sarkozy and his former supermodel wife made every effort to appear the happy couple, walking closely together and clasping hands as they mounted a staircase into an auditorium packed with students, faculty and other spectators.
The French first lady, elegant in a swept-up chignon and form-fitting black top with grey skirt, at times threatened to upstage her husband, who scolded his American hosts about health care and for not paying enough attention to the rest of the world.
However, Mr Sarkozy is in hot water at home. His poll ratings are at record lows of around 30 per cent and there are widening cracks in his conservative party.
In New York, though, he basked in the rapt attention of hundreds of Columbia students and even jettisoned a prepared speech. "Speeches kill off creativity," he said. "I'm going to speak from the heart."
"Welcome to the club of states who don't turn their back on the sick and the poor," Mr Sarkozy said, referring to the U.S. health care overhaul signed by President Barack Obama last week.
From the European perspective, he said, "when we look at the American debate on reforming health care, it's difficult to believe."
"The very fact that there should have been such a violent debate simply on the fact that the poorest of Americans should not be left out in the streets without a cent to look after them ... is something astonishing to us."
Then to hearty applause, he added: "If you come to France and something happens to you, you won't be asked for your credit card before you're rushed to the hospital." >>> | Tuesday, March 30, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy to Bury the Hatchet >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Monday, March 29, 2010
LE FIGARO: Sarkozy appelle Obama à «écouter l'Europe» >>> Par Alain Barluet | Lundi 29 Mars 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: A white supremacist from Tennessee has pleaded guilty to plotting to assassinate US President Barack Obama as part of a killing spree targeting African Americans.
Daniel Cowart, 21, was arrested just days before Mr Obama was elected the first black president of the United States on November 4, 2008.
Cowart and fellow skinhead Paul Schlesselman told police that they planned to kill 88 people, beheading 14 of them, and then die in a blaze of glory as they drove towards Mr Obama dressed in white tuxedos and firing out the windows.
While officials said the pair posed no real threat to Mr Obama, the arrest heightened fears about the Democrat's safety in the final days of his campaign. >>> | Tuesday, March 30, 2010
LE FIGARO: À New York ce lundi, le chef de l'État a exhorté son homologue américain à travailler avec l'Europe, en particulier pour réformer le système financier.
À New York ce lundi, le chef de l'État a exhorté son homologue américain à travailler avec l'Europe, en particulier pour réformer le système financier.
Sarkozy l'Américain, le retour. Douché par l'échec des régionales, confronté aux doutes de sa majorité, malmené dans les sondages, le président de la République ne pouvait trouver mieux que cette visite aux États-Unis pour échapper aux pesanteurs hexagonales. Les hasards du calendrier diplomatique font parfois bien les choses. Une arrivée discrète, samedi à New York, en compagnie de Carla Sarkozy, le rituel du jogging à Central Park, dimanche matin, puis une journée familiale, loin des caméras et des micros, avant l'entrée en scène officielle, ce lundi matin, avec un discours à l'Université de Columbia.
L'occasion pour Nicolas Sarkozy d'exhorter «en ami» les États-Unis à «travailler avec l'Europe pour inventer un nouveau modèle mondial», dans le but de réguler le capitalisme, de stabiliser les monnaies et d'améliorer la gouvernance mondiale. «Si l'Europe et les États-Unis n'inventent pas ce nouveau modèle, personne ne le fera», a plaidé le chef de l'État devant plusieurs centaines d'étudiants et de professeurs de la prestigieuse université new-yorkaise. Montant à la tribune, sous une imposante coupole néoclassique, Nicolas Sarkozy a ostensiblement rendu son discours à son aide de camp -«si on lit cela tue la créativité», a-t-il expliqué, avant de se lancer dans une improvisation très maîtrisée. «La crise que nous avons connue nous offre des opportunités extraordinaires, a déclaré le chef de l'État. En demandant la régulation du capitalisme, je pose les bases qui sauveront le capitalisme, l'absence de règles tue la liberté», a-t-il lancé, à quelques «blocs» de Wall Street, l'épicentre du séisme financier. «Irresponsables» >>> Par Alain Barluet | Lundi 29 Mars 2010
TIME: March 8 is not a day that Chris Broadbent will soon forget. The preceding weekend, gendarmes entered the Village of Hope, a Christian-run orphanage in Morocco's Atlas Mountains where Broadbent, a New Zealand native, worked as a human resources manager, and began questioning children and staff. At first, he and the other foreign workers were assured that the interrogation was routine. But as it dragged on, the questions turned to subjects like 'How do you pray?' and the police began searching homes on the compound for children's Bibles. On Monday morning, after being held in a separate room from the orphanage's 33 children, Broadbent and his 15 colleagues were summarily deported from Morocco, accused of illegally proselytizing for their faith.
"Most of the couples were there as foster parents and had raised these children since infancy," Broadbent says. "When they were told that their parents had to leave, it was chaos — the kids were running after any adult they could find, and just holding on. It was the most devastating thing I've ever seen."
The Village of Hope deportations are part of what appears to be a widespread crackdown on Christian aid workers in Morocco. An estimated 40 foreigners — including Dutch, British, American and Korean citizens — have been deported this month, including Broadbent and his colleagues. Among them were an Egyptian Catholic priest in the northern city of Larache and a Korean-born Protestant pastor in Marrakesh who was arrested as he led services in his church. And this past week, authorities searched an orphanage founded by American missionaries in the town of Azrou called The Children's Haven. Salim Sefiane, a Moroccan who was raised at the orphanage and is still in touch with workers there, said the officials interrogated the orphanage staff and asked children as young as 8 years old to demonstrate how they pray. No action has been taken yet against the orphanage's workers, Sefiane said.
The large-scale deportations came as a surprise in a nation that is among the most liberal of Muslim countries. Although trying to convert Muslims to other faiths is illegal, Morocco tolerates the presence of other religions and is home to a number of churches and synagogues. "There are several things about this that are really striking," says Spanish journalist Ignacio Cembrero, who has written several books about the country. "There have been occasional deportations of people accused of proselytizing before, but never so many at once, and they've never expelled a Catholic before. And for the police to enter a church on Sunday, during services, to arrest people? Absolutely unprecedented." >>> Lisa Abend | Sunday, March 21, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: He was the only Western leader who refused to join the scramble to ingratiate himself with Barack Obama.
Irritated by hysteria surrounding the newcomer, Nicolas Sarkozy spent the year after his election issuing veiled insults and patronising digs.
Elysée officials briefed behind the scenes that the US president was a "cold fish", telling Le Figaro that "relations were easier with Bush".
He went on to deride Mr Obama's calls for a nuclear weapons-free world as "naive" and bragged that while he had enacted a cascade of reforms, his US counterpart had placed "all his bets on one" by concentrating on health care. As he rode high in the polls, the French president even crowed that Mr Obama had "lost three elections" since taking office.
The insults were so regular that Mr Obama responded by turning down an invitation to the Elysée after the commemoration of the Normandy landings last June.
But after suffering wipeout in local elections this month and facing speculation that his marriage is on the rocks, Mr Sarkozy has suddenly found the tables have turned. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Monday, March 29, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Nicolas Sarkozy's approval ratings sink to lowest ever: French President Nicolas Sarkozy's approval ratings have sunk to their lowest level since his election in May 2007, a poll has shown. >>> | Tuesday, March 30, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Ricky Martin, the Latin pop star, has announced that he is gay.
"I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man," Martin wrote in a blog posting at www.rickymartinmusic.com [Correction: Ricky Martin Music]
"This is just what I need especially now that I am the father of two beautiful boys that are so full of light and who with their outlook teach me new things every day. To keep living as I did up until today would be to indirectly diminish the glow that my kids were born with," Martin wrote.
Martin, 38, became a father to twin sons via a surrogate in 2008 and at the time no details were given about the birth or the mother.
The Puerto Rican singer of hits such as "Livin' la Vida Loca," has long been the subject of speculation about his sexuality. In 2000, TV journalist Barbara Walters grilled him about whether he was gay, but he refused to disclose it.
In his posting on Monday, Martin said a few months ago he had decided to write a memoir and doing so brought him closer to what he called "an amazing turning point in my life". >>> | Tuesday, March 30, 2010
TIMES ONLINE: Ricky Martin announces he is gay >>> Sophie Tedmanson | Tuesday, March 30, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Barbara Walters, the American television presenter, has expressed her regret over a controversial interview with Ricky Martin where she aggressively questioned him about his homosexuality.
Speaking just before the Latino Pop star confirmed he was homosexual, the 80 year-old broadcasting veteran admitted she had pursued “inappropriate” questions during their interview in 2000.
Walters, who has interviewed some of the world’s biggest names over an illustrious 29-year career, asked him whether he was a homosexual, which he refused to disclose.
She then asks Martin what Gloria Estefan meant when she once told him "enjoy your sexuality" as the star becomes more awkward.
Walters, who is known for getting stars to open up on camera, continues her questioning by asking him how exactly he is "enjoying it."
Martin’s only reply is: “I live la vida loca!”
“In 2000, I pushed Ricky Martin very hard to admit if he was gay or not, and the way he refused to do it made everyone decide that he was,” she told the Toronto Star earlier this month.
“A lot of people say that destroyed his career, and when I think back on it now I feel it was an inappropriate question.”
That interview, broadcast on the American ABC Network, is seen by many to have ruined the 38 year-old’s career.
After the interview his career in America fell flat although he is still considered a superstar in Latin America. >>> | Tuesday, March 30, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Ricky Martin's revelations about his sexuality are getting him tonnes of press and are likely to expand his already considerable gay fanbase.
>>> Helen Brown | Tuesday, March 30, 2010
TIMES ONLINE: Moscow began an official day of mourning this morning as another victim of yesterday's Metro bombings died from her wounds, taking the death toll to 39.
Flags few at half mast on government buildings and at the Kremlin, while the main television channels dropped entertainment programmes and advertising from their schedules.
Five people remain in critical condition in hospital after two suspected women suicide bombers detonated bombs packed with bolts and pieces of metal on two subway stations during the peak rush hour yesterday morning.
Commuters left flowers and lit candles in memory of the victims of the attacks at Lubyanka Metro station, where at least 23 people died, and the Park Kultury station, where a second explosion left at least 12 people dead.
The explosions have been blamed on suspected Islamic militants from the Northern Caucasus region, where several prominent separatist leaders have been killed recently by Russian security forces. The bombers may have been so-called Black Widows, Chechen women who have lost family members in the civil war. >>> Times Online | Tuesday, March 30, 2010
LE FIGARO: Moscou sous le choc après les deux explosions : EN IMAGES -Mardi a été décrété journée de deuil national en Russie, après le double attentat-suicide dans le métro de Moscou lundi, qui a fait au moins 39 morts. Les officiels ont promis de réagir de la manière la plus ferme. >>> | Mardi 30 Mars 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
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THE TELEGRAPH: Christian Militia Group Members Arrested by FBI >>> | Monday, March 29, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: The FBI has carried out a series of raids on Christian militia across America after they feared the groups were about to launch a bombing campaign in anticipation of Armageddon.
Nine members of a Christian militia group in the American Midwest were charged on Monday with plotting to kill a police officer and then blow up mourners at his funeral.
Members of the Hutaree, self-proclaimed "Christian warriors" who conduct paramilitary training in readiness for the arrival of the anti-Christ, were seized after a series of FBI raids in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.
The nine – including a couple and their two sons – face charges that include attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, seditious conspiracy and teaching the use of explosives.
Prosecutors said the FBI moved in after learning that the group planned a violent reconnaissance mission some time in April.
Monitoring groups say that right-wing militia groups have enjoyed a dramatic resurgence amid growing anger at what they see as an oppressive federal government and fears of gun control.
The Michigan-based Hutaree view law enforcement agencies, including local police, as a "brotherhood" and an enemy, said prosecutors. >>> Tom Leonard in New York | Monday, March 29, 2010
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Harmonie sieht anders aus. Kanzlerin Merkel hat den türkischen Premier Erdogan in Ankara getroffen - und am Ende galt es schon als Erfolg, dass die beiden ihren offenen Streit nicht eskalieren ließen. Vor den Kameras versuchten sie, die immensen Probleme wegzulächeln. Vergeblich.
Reisen bildet. Selbst die weltgewandte Kanzlerin hat das mal wieder erfahren.
"Ich habe jetzt verstanden, dass die 'privilegierte Partnerschaft' in der Türkei keine gute Konnotation hat", sagt Angela Merkel. Diese Alternative zur Vollmitgliedschaft in der Europäische Union wird zwar von CDU und CSU gemocht - aber nicht in dem Land, für das sie gedacht ist.
An der Seite des türkischen Premiers Recep Tayyip Erdogan bekräftigt Merkel daher am Montagnachmittag, die Bundesregierung stehe weiter zum "ergebnisoffenen Prozess" der Beitrittsverhandlungen. Sie lächelt freundlich, während sie das sagt. Es könnte eine Konzession an die türkischen Gastgeber sein. Doch die weiteren Aussagen der Kanzlerin sind weniger entgegenkommend.
Damit die Verhandlungen weiterlaufen könnten, müsse die Türkei erst mal verabredungsgemäß ihre Häfen für das verfeindete EU-Mitglied Zypern öffnen, fordert sie. Die weiteren Hürden, die die EU auf Betreiben der Beitrittsgegner aufbaut, benennt Merkel erst gar nicht. Denn bis auf weiteres verweigert die Union den Türken komplett die Verhandlungen über 7 der 35 Beitrittskapitel - egal wie regelkonform sie sich gegenüber den Zyprer zeigen.
Ein Lächeln hier, eine Freundlichkeit da, aber in der Sache gibt es derzeit zwischen Merkel und Erdogan wenig Übereinstimmung. Beiden Spitzenpolitikern war zwar anzumerken, dass sie nach dem Kampf der Worte der vergangenen Tage ein bisschen abrüsten wollten. Zu echten Zugeständnissen war aber keiner bereit.
Merkel ging darauf ein, dass sie sich gegenüber Erdogans Forderung nach mehr türkischen Gymnasien in Deutschland skeptisch gezeigt hatte. Sie sagte, es gehe ihr keineswegs um eine "Assimilation" der türkischen Minderheit in Deutschland - fügte aber gleich spitz hinzu, das dürfe "keine Ausrede für Türken sein, Deutsch zu lernen". Als ob ausgerechnet potentielle türkische Gymnasiasten zur Gruppe der Sprachverweigerer zählen würden.
Auch in Sachen Iran blieb Distanz zwischen den Gesprächspartnern. Merkel warb für Sanktionen: "Ich würde mich freuen, wenn Amerikaner und Europäer eines Tages über Sanktionen im Uno-Sicherheitsrat abstimmen könnten", sagte sie. Erdogan, dessen Land im Gegensatz zu Deutschland derzeit in dem Gremium sitzt, hielt dagegen: "Sanktionen sind keine richtige Lösung."
Erfolgreich war der gemeinsame Auftritt vor allem in einer Hinsicht - es gab keine weitere Eskalation der öffentlichen Attacken aus den vergangenen Tagen. Unverständnis für die "privilegierte Partnerschaft" >>> Von Ralf Beste und Daniel Steinvorth, Ankara | Montag, 29. März 2010
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Turkey's desire to join the European Union has the virtue of being consistent. It was in 1987 that the country first applied to accede to the EU, and it has been knocking on the door ever since.
The fault lines that have become apparent, both within the euro zone and the broader EU grouping, have done nothing to quell Turkey's enthusiasm for joining the club. The chance to export some more of its jobless may be one of the attractions: Last year, the country's unemployment rate rose to 14%, up three percentage points on the previous year, against an EU average of 9.5%. Yet it isn't clear that the work would be there for Turks keen to take advantage of the freedom of movement that EU membership confers.
And there is a price to EU membership. Today the U.K.-based lobby group Open Europe releases figures showing that EU legislation puts a heavy burden on member states. It calculates that, since 1998, EU regulations have cost the U.K. £124 billion ($185 billion). The truth is probably not quite so stark. Many of the regulations would have been implemented by national governments whether or not the EU had imposed them. Compliance, however, is costly. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is taking the opportunity of Angela Merkel's visit to his country to try once more to push Turkey's case for full membership.
He is wasting his time. The German chancellor, having stood her ground so staunchly over bailing out Greece, isn't about to do a U-turn on this matter. She knows that, if her countryfolk were livid at the prospect of their cash being used to bail out profligate Greece, they would be positively incandescent were she to soften her stance on Turkey. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France would face a similar uprising of anger.
The reason isn't Turkey's long-running squabble over Cyprus, although its refusal to open its ports and airspace to EU member Cyprus provides useful tactical cover for those opposed to full EU membership for Turkey. Neither is it the need for Turkey to speed up its political reforms. It is Turkey's overwhelming embrace of Islam which is the real, but unspoken, issue. With a population of 72.5 million, Turkey would be second only to Germany in scale if it were to join the EU. Although the government of the country is secular, estimates put the proportion of the population which is Muslim at around 99%. Although religion is not the driving force it once was in large parts of Europe, there is a widespread belief that including an overwhelmingly Muslim country in the club would drastically change its character. >>> Patience Wheatcroft | Tuesday, March 30, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: An expatriate Sri Lankan woman who wrote two books about her conversion from Buddhism to Islam has been arrested while on holiday in Sri Lanka, apparently for causing offence to Buddhists.
Sarah Malini Perera, who was born in Sri Lanka but has lived in Bahrain since 1985 and converted to Islam in 1999, was arrested last week under the country’s strict emergency laws, according to the police.
They declined to give precise details of the 38-year-old writer’s offence, but suggested that her books were deemed to have caused offence to ethnic Sinhalese Buddhists, who account for about 70 per cent of Sri Lanka’s 20 million people.
News of her arrest came just a few days after protests by Buddhist nationalists prompted the Sri Lankan Government to refuse a visa to Akon, the Senegalese-American singer who had been due to perform in Colombo next month.
Buddhist activists stormed the concert’s media partner last Monday to protest over the video for Akon’s song Sexy Bitch, which showed bikini-clad women dancing by a pool in Ibiza with a Buddha statue in the background.
The two incidents have raised concerns about the growing influence of hardline Buddhist nationalists on Sri Lanka’s ruling coalition, which is widely expected to win parliamentary elections on April 8.
Sri Lanka’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but also says that the state “shall give Buddhism the foremost place and accordingly it shall be the duty of the state to protect and foster” the religion. >>> Jeremy Page, South Asia Correspondent | Monday, March 29, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: A British expatriate in Dubai is facing jail and deportation after being accused of making a single-finger gesture in an argument.
Simon Andrews, 56, has had his passport confiscated for almost eight months while waiting for his case to be heard.
He told Dubai Court of Misdemeanours he denies "flipping the finger" at Mahmoud Rasheed, an Iraqi aviation student, during an argument.
He will appear in court on Sunday for a full hearing of the case.
It is the latest in a string of prosecutions of expatriates and visitors in Dubai for breaching the emirate's public decency laws.
Making insulting gestures is regarded as unacceptable, and carries with it the possibility of a jail sentence of up to six months and deportation.
An Australian nurse working in a hospital in Dubai was last year jailed for a month and deported after serving 24 days after admitting raising his middle finger to a driver who he said was driving erratically while talking on his mobile phone.
The driver turned out to be an off-duty army officer who followed him home and reported him to police. >>> Richard Spencer in Dubai | Monday, March 29, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: The US government has voiced concerned over Australia's controversial plan to implement a countrywide internet filter.
Washington is worried about the impact of proposal, which would force internet service providers to block offensive material, including child pornography, bestiality and details on how to carry out criminal activity.
Opponents of the plan claim the scope of the material that could be filtered out is too wide and that the restrictions could be applied to media organisations reporting details of criminal activity.
As part of its assault on internet censorship by governments around the world, the US government has weighed in on the debate.
"Our main message of course is that we remain committed to advancing the free flow of information which we view as vital to economic prosperity and preserving open societies globally," Michael Tran, a US State Department spokesman, said.
"We don't discuss the details of specific diplomatic exchanges, but I can say that in the context of that ongoing relationship, we have raised our concerns on this matter with Australian officials," he said.
The Australian government has refused to comment on the matter. US voices 'concerns' over Australia's internet filter >>> Bonnie Malkin in Sydney | Monday, March 29, 2010
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: PÉDOPHILIE | Le turc qui avait fait 30 ans de prison pour avoir tenté de tuer jean-Paul II a réclamé la démission du pape lors d'une conférence de presse.
Mehmet Ali Agca, le Turc qui avait tenté de tuer Jean Paul II, a appelé lundi à Istanbul le pape Benoît XVI à démissionner en raison des scandales de pédophilie qui éclaboussent l’Eglise catholique, lors de sa première conférence de presse depuis sa sortie de prison.
Brandissant un article de la presse turque relatant des appels dans le monde chrétien à des poursuites judiciaires contre le pontife, Agca s’est exclamé: "Je ne veux pas qu’il soit arrêté, je veux qu’il démissionne. Qu’à sa place, un cardinal italien ou sud-américain soit choisi." >>> AFP | Lundi 29 Mars 2010
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: BLE | Ces violentes émeutes ont fait plus de 75 blessés.
Ces affrontements entre communautés religieuses ont éclaté samedi à Hyderabad, capitale de l’Andhra Pradesh (sud de l’Inde), où environ 1.600 gendarmes et policiers ont été déployés, a précisé le commissaire de police de la ville, A.K. Khan.
Hyderabad, capitale indienne des technologies de l’information, où sont basées Google, Microsoft, IBM et d’innombrables centrales d’appel, compte huit millions d’habitants, dont près de 40% de musulmans. Les derniers affrontements de grande ampleur entre communautés religieuses dans la ville remontent à 1990, et avaient à l’époque fait 200 morts. La ville a été plutôt calme depuis.
La situation a dégénéré en deux temps, les musulmans n’ayant jamais retiré les drapeaux verts couleur de l’islam avec lesquels ils avaient pavoisé il y a un mois, à l’occasion de l’anniversaire de la naissance du prophète Mahomet. Des affrontements ont débuté samedi lorsque des hindous ont essayé de remplacer les drapeaux verts par des bannières safran, à l’occasion d’une fête de leur propre religion.
Depuis samedi, les violences continuent, des dizaines de véhicules ont été incendiés, une demi-douzaines de mosquées et temples endommagés, et plus de 75 personnes blessées, a précisé A.K. Khan. >>> AFP | Lundi 29 Mars 2010
RUSSIA TODAY: Russia’s moratorium on the death penalty expires early next year. While some want capital punishment outlawed completely, many still believe there are criminals who deserve it.
The arguments for and against the death penalty are well established. Most legal and criminal analysts insist capital punishment does little towards the problem of crime – what matters is the unavoidability of it.
Even though public support for the death penalty has fallen in Russia in recent years, several violent incidents in the past ten years keeps the issue very much in the limelight, making implementing a total ban a highly contentious issue. >>> | Published: Monday, October 05, 2009; Edited: Wednesday, December 30, 2009
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