It’s high time for Bashar al-Assad to spend more time with his family! – © Mark
Saturday, April 16, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Cuba’s communist leaders kicked off a crucial party congress with a huge parade celebrating the 50th anniversary of the defeat of the invasion by CIA-backed exiles at the Bay of Pigs.Military music and revolutionary slogans were broadcast from loudspeakers as ranks of soldiers marched through Revolution Square past President Raul [sic] Castro and fellow regime dignitaries.
Jet fighters roared overhead, helicopters flew by and assault vehicles drove through the square before hundreds of thousands of civilians - from college students to factory workers – filed past the podium.
"Long live the Communist Party of Cuba! Long Live the Cuban Revolution! Long Live Fidel! Long Live Raul [sic]!” a female announcer shouted. Fidel Castro, the country’s ailing former leader, did not make an appearance.
But away from the communist fervour and propaganda, the country’s ageing leaders were preparing for a party congress that will be crucial for the regime’s survival.
Raul [sic] Castro is seeking his comrades’ endorsement for market reforms designed to bolster the creaking Soviet-style economy while maintaining their firm grip on one-party power. » | Christopher Hart, Havana | Saturday, April 16, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama has complained that the White House is "30 years behind" in its technology, and has disappointed him with its lack of "really cool phones and stuff".
Often compared to Star Trek's Dr Spock because of his super-calm demeanour, it appears the President of the United States indeed expected the Oval Office to resemble the bridge of the Starship Enterprise.
He told donors at a fund-raising event in his home town Chicago: "We can't get our phones to work."
Expressing his exasperation, he said: "Come on, guys. I'm the president of the United States! Where's the fancy buttons and stuff and the big screen comes up? It doesn't happen. I always thought I was going to have like really cool phones and stuff." » | Alex Spillius, Washington | Friday, April 15, 2011
My comment:
What a pathetic president of the US of A he is! "Really cool phones and stuff" indeed! This is teentalk! This wretch is supposed to be the leader of the free world. He shouldn't have time to worry about his image, and smart technology. The world is in turmoil: revolutions in north Africa and the Middle East; earthquakes and tsunami in Japan; uprisings in much of Africa; and the world economy is in the tank. Yet the best this young man can do is worry about his smart technology. Pathetic! Pathetic! Pathetic! – © Mark
This comment also appears here
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: For three months, the Arab world has been awash in protests and demonstrations. It's being called an Arab Spring, harking back to the Prague Spring of 1968.But comparison to the short-lived flowering of protests 40 years ago in Czechoslovakia is turning out to be apt in another way. For all the attention the Mideast protests have received, their most notable impact on the region thus far hasn't been an upswell of democracy. It has been a dramatic spike in tensions between two geopolitical titans, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
This new Middle East cold war comes complete with its own spy-versus-spy intrigues, disinformation campaigns, shadowy proxy forces, supercharged state rhetoric—and very high stakes.
"The cold war is a reality," says one senior Saudi official. "Iran is looking to expand its influence. This instability over the last few months means that we don't have the luxury of sitting back and watching events unfold."
On March 14, the Saudis rolled tanks and troops across a causeway into the island kingdom of Bahrain. The ruling family there, long a close Saudi ally, appealed for assistance in dealing with increasingly large protests.
Iran soon rattled its own sabers. Iranian parliamentarian Ruhollah Hosseinian urged the Islamic Republic to put its military forces on high alert, reported the website for Press TV, the state-run English-language news agency. "I believe that the Iranian government should not be reluctant to prepare the country's military forces at a time that Saudi Arabia has dispatched its troops to Bahrain," he was quoted as saying. » | Bill Spindle and Margaret Coker | The Saturday Essay | Saturday, April 16, 2011
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: BENGHAZI, Libya—Rebels here have drafted a constitution that calls for full equality regardless of gender, race or religion, part of their effort to convince the world they are committed to democracy and deserve international support.
The document represents a milestone in the rebels' effort to move rapidly from a grass-roots uprising to a government with all the trappings of statehood.
The progress in Benghazi contrasted with the rebel fighters' struggle to make gains in the military battle against Col. Moammar Gadhafi's forces. President Barack Obama, in an interview with the Associated Press, said the fight was at a stalemate, but that Col. Gadhafi was under growing pressure to quit.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization's civilian chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Friday echoed an op-ed statement by Mr. Obama and his French and British allies that NATO's mission would continue until Col. Gadhafi was gone. » | Charles Levinson | Saturday, April 16, 2011
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Der Oberste Verwaltungsgerichtshof in Ägypten hat am Samstag die Auflösung der früheren Regierungspartei NDP angeordnet. Sie muss zudem ihre Vermögen und Büros dem Staat übergeben. Damit kommt das Gericht einer wichtigen Forderung der ägyptischen Protestbewegung nach.Der Oberste Verwaltungsgerichtshof in der ägyptischen Hauptstadt Kairo hat am Samstag die Auflösung der früheren Regierungspartei des gestürzten Präsidenten Husni Mubarak angeordnet. Zudem soll das Vermögen der Nationaldemokratischen Partei (PND) beschlagnahmt werden. Zuvor hatten Anwälte Korruptionsvorwürfe gegen die Partei des ehemaligen Präsidenten Husni Mubarak erhoben und die Auflösung der Partei gefordert. Mit dem Urteilsspruch kam der Oberste Verwaltungsgerichtshof einer wichtigen Forderung der ägyptischen Protestbewegung nach, die im Februar den Sturz Mubaraks herbeiführte. » | Reuters/dapd | Samstag, 16. April 2011
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Sie stellen Fotos und persönliche Daten mutmaßlicher Rechtsextremer ins Internet und verteilen Steckbriefe über sie: Das „Nazi-Outing“ nimmt in linksextremistischen Kreisen zu. Der hessische Innenminister Rhein äußert sich gegenüber der F.A.S. besorgt über das Phänomen.Linksextremistische Gruppen aus der „Antifa“-Szene versuchen verstärkt, tatsächliche oder vermeintliche Rechtsextremisten öffentlich bloßzustellen. Für dieses „Nazi-Outing“ stellen sie Fotos und persönliche Daten, oft auch über die Angehörigen, ins Internet und verteilen Steckbriefe in der Nachbarschaft oder auf der Arbeitsstelle ihrer ideologischen Gegner.
Der hessische Innenminister Boris Rhein (CDU) zeigt sich besorgt wegen dieses Vorgehens. „Ich halte das sogenannte Outing von Rechtsextremisten durch Linksextremisten oder auch umgekehrt für sehr problematisch, weil derartige Aktionen zu einer weiteren Rechts-Links-Eskalation führen und weil sie nicht dazu geeignet sind, das Problem zu lösen, sondern viel eher zu verschärfen“, sagte Rhein der „Frankfurter Allgemeinen Sonntagszeitung“. » | F.A.S. | Samstag, 16. April 2011
YNET NEWS: Despite ruling Gaza Strip with iron fist, Hamas faces growing opposition from extremist Islamic factions that consider its regime 'too liberal.' Latest example is kidnapping, murder of pro-Palestinian Italian activistThe execution of Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni, who was murdered by a radical Islamist group in Gaza early Friday, sheds light on yet another facet of the extremist ideology held by Salafi organizations in the Gaza Strip.
The Hamas' security apparatus' quick response following news of the kidnapping, which led to the discovery of the body and several arrests, reiterated their uncompromising struggle against these extremist factions.
So are these small groups that have engaged in an all-out war against the Hamas government in the Strip?
The Salafi groups derive their ideology from global jihad activities, and in particular from al-Qaeda.
Salafism is a fundamentalist Sunni stream of Islam, which calls to return to the origins of the Faith. According to Salafi ideology, Islam was flawless in its original form, and has deteriorated with time.
As such, they advocate a return to the purest form of Islam, practiced back in the days of Prophet Muhammad.
Salafism is often characterized by religious zealotry and intolerance toward the West and the Christian minority in the Gaza Strip. » | Elior Levy | Saturday, April 16, 2011
YNET NEWS: Friends of murdered Italian activist 'devastated' » | Jonathan Fein | Friday, April 15, 2011
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UPI.COM: SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Charred remains of burned Korans and a threatening letter were found at the Islamic Center of Springfield in Missouri, its leaders say.
The leaders said the pages of the Koran were discovered Sunday. The letter turned up the same day.
The FBI told The News-Leader of Springfield it is investigating an alleged civil rights violation, and police records show the incidents were reported. No details were released.
The Rev. Mark Struckhoff, executive director for the Council of Churches of the Ozarks, released a copy of the five-line typed letter. It also had a drawing of a ram's head captioned "Death to Islam."
The writer said "Islam will not survive" and its adherents "stain the earth.” Read on and comment » | UPI | Friday, April 15, 2011
THE NEWS-LEADER: Editorial: Bigotry at Islamic Center is an affront to all »
LE POINT: Le président syrien devait s'exprimer samedi après-midi, à l'occasion du premier conseil des ministres de son nouveau gouvernement.
Le président syrien Bachar el-Assad devait s'exprimer samedi alors que son régime est confronté à une extension du mouvement de contestation et à des pressions internationales pour que cesse la répression des manifestants. Des milliers de personnes ont participé, samedi à Banias (nord-ouest), aux obsèques d'un homme ayant succombé après avoir été blessé par balle le 10 avril, selon des témoins et des militants des droits de l'homme. Elles ont scandé des slogans pour les libertés, contre le parti Baas, au pouvoir depuis près de 50 ans, et appelant à la chute du régime, selon ces sources.
Quelque 2 000 femmes ont ensuite manifesté dans le centre-ville en hommage au "martyr", en scandant : "Dieu, liberté et c'est tout" et "l'armée et le peuple ensemble", selon le président de la Ligue syrienne des droits de l'homme, Abdel Karim Rihaoui. Oussama al-Chikha, 40 ans, avait été blessé dimanche dernier près de la mosquée Abou Bakr al-Sidiq. Quatre autres personnes avaient été touchées par balle lorsque plusieurs voitures étaient arrivées devant la mosquée et que leurs occupants, "des sbires du régime" selon un témoin, avaient ouvert le feu. » | Source AFP | Samedi 16 Avril 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: We are clamping down on immigration now, but the gates have been wide open since 1997, writes Charles Moore.EXTRACT: …Most of us do not want immigration on this scale. That is shown by every poll. But, in another sense, most of us do. You and I want someone to serve us in a bar and clean the hospitals and make cheap clothes. I want someone to drive me across town so that I can make my Colonel Blimp remarks to a friendly audience. Above all, we show, in our obsession with birth control, that we do not want to provide a big enough next generation of people like ourselves. Demographic projections now show Britain overtaking Germany as the largest EU country in 30 years or so. None of that growth will come from the indigenous white population.
All this need not be a total disaster. It is possible, though hard, to forge a United Kingdom made up of many ethnicities. Leaders like Mr Cameron are right to try to insist on common standards and better rules, rather than to despair. But whatever it is, and however well it turns out, it cannot be England. Perhaps when I am very old, my grandchildren will ask me what England was. It will be a hard question to answer, but I think I shall tell them that it seemed like a good idea while it lasted, and that it lasted for about 1,000 years. Read it all and comment » | Charles Moore | Friday, April 15, 2011
Amid the military battles and the diplomatic wrangling, there are the children of the displaced.
Many evacuees fleeing the fighting along Libya's coast have been left without access to all the medical facilites and support they desperately need. The children may not grasp the geopolitics of the situation - but they do want to go home.
Al Jazeera's Sue Turton, reporting from Ajdabiya, has more on the story of Libya's displaced children.
Al Jazeera has obtained footage of tanks entering Misurata, a city in western Libya that has been under siege for weeks by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.
Residents there warn of "an impending massacre" as limited medical facilities become overwhelmed.
Al Jazeera's Nick Clark introduces the footage and describes efforts to evacuate Libya's third largest city.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Col Muammar Gaddafi's army is committing war crimes by indiscriminately firing cluster bombs into the besieged city of Misurata, according to witnesses.
Reports from the city on Friday said the Libyans had used mortar fired shells to disperse multiple bombs in residential areas.
The Geneva Convention 1949 protocol obliges armies to take all care to ensure civilians are not harmed in attacks on the enemy.
Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, condemned Col Gaddafis brutality toward civilians. » | Damien McElroy | Friday, April 15, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Libya crisis: Gaddafi using schoolboy conscripts on front line: Col Muammar Gaddafi is using schoolboy conscripts as young as 15 in his battle to regain the besieged town of Misurata according to young government troops captured by rebels. » | Ben Farmer, Misurata | Friday, April 15, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: California is set to become the first US state to require the teaching of gay history and rights.Children would take lessons on issues affecting gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people, with schools granted discretion about what age to start the lessons.
The law was passed by the state's senate and is likely to pass the assembly easily, which is also controlled by the Democrats, before being signed by Governor Jerry Brown. Read on and comment » | Alex Spillius, Washington | Friday, April 15, 2011
My comment:
I don’t understand all this hullabaloo about homosexuality. It should neither be promoted nor rejected. It should just be accepted. It is, after all, a part of life. There have always been homosexuals, just as there have always been geniuses. They form a small part of the population; so why are people so worried about giving gays their rights?
The homophobia in the comments here is plain to see and reprehensible.
Homosexuality is a perfectly natural sexual condition. It has to be, otherwise it wouldn’t occur in other species. In nature, there are homosexual penguins and dogs and birds. So on what basis can anyone say that it is not natural?
As people, we are inclined to say something is unnatural simply because we don’t like it, and we choose not to partake of that thing. Further, because we need to procreate to survive as a species, heterosexuality has always been the preferred norm. And it is the norm. But that doesn’t make homosexuality unnatural.
Gays have suffered since the beginning of time. They have been bullied and mistreated, and even hunted down and killed. And by whom? By bigots who wrongly believe that the world is here for them, and them alone.
But the fact is that this world has not been created for bigots. There is space in this world for all people. Just give them that space, And show a little compassion. Many homosexuals, I feel sure, wish they weren’t that way.
How would you people feel, I wonder, if you had a homosexual child, or brother, or sister? Wouldn’t you be protective of that person?
The fact is this. If this education programme is neutral – that means to say, it doesn’t promote the homosexual lifestyle, for that would be dumb – if it is there merely to inform the uninformed, and to promote acceptance of people who are different, and can’t help being that way, and if it is there to try and put a stop to all the brutality against gays, then it is to be welcomed. – Mark
This comment also appears here, as do others.
Friday, April 15, 2011
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Aisha Gaddafi whips up a frenzy in Tripoli »
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TIME: On March 17, Ibrahim Shareef, the head of the anti-government activist movement Waad, was snatched from his home at gunpoint by what his family describes as Bahraini security forces. Thrown into a waiting sport utility vehicle, he was driven off into the night. Today he's still missing, whereabouts unknown.As the island kingdom's Sunni regime continues to crack down on anti-government activists and prominent Shi'ites, Shareef and more than 460 others are believed to be in government custody. New arrests happen daily in the country, which is home base of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. Bahrain was designated an official Non-NATO ally in October 2001, after the 9/11 attacks on America.
While there have been wild rumors of the whereabouts of the arrested dissidents, the likely truth is dire enough. Nearly all may be held in prisons around Bahrain, with an unknown number undergoing questioning and torture. On Wednesday, opposition party al-Wefaq claimed that at least four detainees had been killed since April 2, from injuries sustained from police-inflicted torture. Human Rights Watch says another three died in March, including one man who arrived in custody with knees blown out by ammunition fired at close range. » | Karen Leigh | Thursday, April 14, 2011
MAIL ONLINE: Call to arms as Libyan defector Musa Kusa flees BritainMuammar Gaddafi's daughter today defied the West's demand that her father leave power, dubbing it an 'insult' to all Libyans.
'In 1911 Italy killed my grandfather in an air strike and now they are trying to kill my father. God damn their hands,' Aisha Gaddafi told a flag-waving crowd gathered at her father's Bab Al-Aziziyah compound in the capital.
The event, broadcast live on state television, marked the 25th anniversary of American strikes on the huge complex, which includes military barracks.
Ms Gaddafi, wearing a green headscarf and black leather jacket, said she had been five years old at the time.
'They rained down on us their missiles and bombs, they tried to kill me and they killed dozens of children in Libya,' she said, her speech interrupted several times by the cheering crowd.
'Now a quarter of a century later the same missiles and bombs are raining down on the heads of my and your children.'
At a meeting in Doha yesterday, a Western and Middle-Eastern states called for the first time for Gaddafi to step aside.
'Talk about Gaddafi stepping down is an insult to all Libyans because Gaddafi is not in Libya, but in the hearts of all Libyans,' his daughter said.
Addressing the Western powers who are carrying out air strikes under a U.N. resolution to protect civilians against her father's forces, she said: 'Who are the civilians you are protecting? Are they the people who have automatic weapons and hand grenades? Are they the innocent civilians you are trying to protect?' In her father's footsteps: Gaddafi's daughter Aisha whips crowds into a frenzy as she calls on West to 'leave our skies' » | Daily Mail Reporter | Friday, April 15, 2011
THE ECONOMIST: FINNISH elections do not usually excite much attention abroad, still less apprehension. A long border with Russia gives Finland strategic significance, but it is a small place with a reputation as a stolid member of both the European Union and the euro zone. Most election campaigns feature a dozen or more parties. The one that wins the most votes invites two or three others to form a coalition—and nobody loses much sleep. But the election on April 17th may break the mould because of the astonishing rise of a populist Eurosceptic party, the True Finns, led by Timo Soini.Many Finns are bored by their familiar politicians. A recent survey found that one-third of voters could not name the four parties in today’s coalition. By contrast, Mr Soini’s soundbites about helping impoverished Finns instead of bailing out profligate Greeks or handing cash to immigrants have struck a chord. The True Finns took just 4.1% of votes in the 2007 election, but they are now almost level in the polls with the three bigger parties (see chart). It is anybody’s guess which party will emerge as the biggest on polling day, and thus probably supply the next prime minister. » | Thursday, April 14, 2011
20 MINUTES ONLINE: Elle est accusée de protéger un ancien évêque pédophile.
L'Eglise catholique belge protégerait un ancien évêque pédophile qui a choqué le pays lors d'une interview télévisée où il fait de nouvelles révélations et ne montre aucun signe de remords.
Roger Vangheluwe, ex-évêque de Bruges, avait déclenché un déluge de plaintes contre l'Eglise quand il avait démissionné en avril 2010, après avoir reconnu des abus sexuels sur un neveu mineur entre 1973 et 1986. Il a provoqué un nouveau tollé en détaillant jeudi soir sur la chaîne de télévision néerlandophone VT4 des abus sur non pas un, mais deux neveux, tout en minimisant ses actes.
«Je n'ai pas du tout l'impression d'être un pédophile», a-t-il déclaré depuis un monastère français où il vit depuis peu, banni par son Eglise. «Je n'étais pas conscient que cela avait un tel impact sur mon neveu. Je croyais qu'il s'agissait de choses superficielles».
«Naturellement, je savais que ce n'était pas bien, je l'ai confessé plusieurs fois», a-t-il concédé. Mais il a aussi reconnu s'être entendu avec la famille pour ne pas ébruiter l'affaire et avoir versé de l'argent à sa victime. » | ats | Vendredi 15 Avril 2011
GALA.fr: Vincent et Josephine: le suspense est levé au royaume du Danemark où les prénoms des nourrissons de la Maison de Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderbourg-Glücksbourg ont été tenus secrets jusqu’à leur baptême.Pas de doute ce mois d’avril est royal. Et en ce jeudi ensoleillé, c’est du côté de Copenhague que se déroulait l’événement «gotha» le plus fastueux et attendrissant. Le prince héritier Frederik et la princesse Mary, magnifique dans une robe bleu saphir, ont baptisé leurs enfants lors d’une cérémonie religieuse et chaleureuse. » | J.B | Vendredi 15 Avril 2011
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FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: In Damaskus und mehr als zwei Dutzend anderen syrischen Städten ist es zu Demonstrationen gegen die Regierung gekommen. Sicherheitskräfte hielten sich zurück. Das Regime beschuldigte „Kräfte“ im Libanon, die Proteste anzuheizen.Bei den größten Kundgebungen seit dem Beginn der Proteste am 18. März haben am Freitag in Syrien Demonstranten in mehr als zwei Dutzend Städten politische Reformen gefordert. Kundgebungen fanden erstmals in allen Landesteilen statt. In Daraa und Baniyas, den bisherigen Zentren der Proteste, verlangten jeweils mehrere Tausend Demonstranten politische Freiheit. Anders als vor einer Woche schritten die Sicherheitskräfte nicht ein.
Weitere Zentren waren Aleppo, Homs und Hamah sowie Latakia, Idlib und Deir el Zor. In Barzah, einem Vorort von Damaskus, wurden zwei Demonstranten getötet. Erstmals versammelten sich Demonstranten auf dem Abbasiden-Platz in Damaskus. Aus Hamah und Homs wurden Zusammenstößen zwischen Sicherheitskräften und Demonstranten bekannt. In Homs versuchten Demonstranten, eine Statue von Hafiz al Assad niederzureißen.Die meisten Proteste fanden im Süden Syriens statt, neben Daraa vor allem in Suweida und Harrak, sowie im Osten des Landes in von Kurden bewohnten Gebieten. Sicherheitskräfte riegelten die Zufahrten nach Daraa ab, um zu verhindern, dass sich Demonstranten aus den umliegenden Ortschaften an der Kundgebung beteiligen konnten. Auf den meisten Kundgebungen zeigten die Demonstranten Solidarität für die in Daraa und Baniyas getöteten Protestierer. » | F.A.Z./her. | Freitag, 15. April 2011
LE MONDE: Syrie : des dizaines de milliers de personnes manifestent contre le régime » | LEMONDE.FR avec AFP et Reuters | Vendredi 15 Avril 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Veterans protested on the streets of Zagreb after a popular Croatian general regarded as a national hero was jailed for "ethnic cleansing" war crimes as the price Croatia will pay for joining the EU later this year.
The Croatian government reacted with fury to the UN judgment finding Ante Gotovina guilty of war crimes for commanding "Operation Storm", a 1995 campaign still defended as "a legitimate military operation with the objective of liberating Croatian territory from occupation".
But Gotovina was convicted on nine counts of war crimes, including murder, deportation, persecution and inhuman acts. Mladen Markac, another Croat general in charge of "special" police forces was jailed for 18 years.
Jadranka Kosor, Croatia's Prime Minister, was especially angered by the UN's ruling which named President Franjo Tudjman, independent Croatia's founding father, who died in 1999, as a war crime conspirator along with Gotovina.
"The verdict is unacceptable to the government and we will do everything in our power to change it," said Mrs Kosor.
Gen. Gotovina, 55, a former parachute commando in the French Foreign Legion, commanded the lightning paced Operation Storm campaign that took back the Krajina region, Serbian communities along Croatia's eastern border that was held by Serb rebels early in the Balkan wars. » | Bruno Waterfield, The Hague | Friday, April 15, 2011
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THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Hosni Mubarak, the deposed president of Egypt, could face the death penalty if prosecutors prove he ordered the police to shoot unarmed demonstrators.More than 800 people died in the violence surrounding the popular protests against Mr Mubarak's regime earlier this year.
Habib al-Adly, the Interior Minister at the time, has already been arrested to face charges of ordering the security forces to attack the crowds.
Anger over the deaths of protesters when police opened fire on a crowd that stretched from Cairo's Tahrir Square to the state television building on January 28 has sustained demands for Mr Mubarak and his sons to face justice.
Zakaria Shalash, the head of Cairo's appeals court, told the state newspaper Al-Ahram that Mr Mubarak could be hung [sic] for his role in the crackdown.
He said: "If proven, he will receive the same punishment as the person who carried it out and it could reach execution if it is proven that peaceful demonstrators were killed with premeditation." » | Damien McElroy, Cairo | Friday, April 15, 2011
THE GATHERING STORM: I am going to be interviewed by Always On Watch and WC this evening. Do come and join us.
The show will air at noon PT, 3pm EST, 8pm BST, and 9pm CET.
To join us, click here at the appropriate time.
Best wishes,
Mark
Syria's security forces have arrested hundreds of people arbitrarily since pro-democracy protests erupted a month ago and subjected them to torture and ill-treatment, a Human Rights Watch report said on Friday.
The torture included electric shocks and sleep deprivation, says the report.
Nadim Houry, senior Syria researcher at HRW, speaks to Al Jazeera.
Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni has been found dead in Gaza. He had been kidnapped on April 14 by a group which aligns itself with al-Qaeda.
The group had threatened to kill if Hamas did not release its leader and two other members.
Officials have arrested two suspected kidnappers and are now looking for accomplices.
The Italian government have condemned the act as "barbaric murder".
Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston reports from the Gaza Strip. (15 April 2011)
Lien en relation avec la vidéo »
Stability in Syria has become a cause for concern for local authorities, as anti-government protests spread to the country's second largest city Aleppo.
Meanwhile in the capital itself, several hundred students protested for a second day, against the government at Damascus University.
Inside Story, with presenter Ghida Fakhry, discusses with guests: Iyas Maleh from the Haitham Maleh Foundation for the defense of human rights defenders in Syria; Ousama Monajed, a Syrian political activist; and George Jabbour, a former member of the Syrian Parliament.
This episode of Inside Story aired from [sic] Thursday, April 14, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Iran is secretly aiding Syria's repression of anti-government protests by providing anti-riot gear and assistance in blocking protesters' use of internet, US officials have warned.As part of an attempt its mission to spread its influence across the Middle East, Tehran is also examining ways of helping Shia populations in Bahrain and Yemen rising up against their rulers.
"We believe that Iran is materially assisting the Syrian government in its efforts to suppress their own people," an Obama administration official told the Wall Street Journal.
Assistance has included equipment and technical advice on blocking and monitoring communication between dissidents, and drew on the Iranian authorities' own experience of putting down an uprising that followed the June 2009 disputed election. » | Alex Spillius, Washington | Thursday, April 14, 2011
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Moroccan King Pardons Prisoners » | Associated Press | Thursday, April 14, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Bill Clinton, the former US president who was impeached for lying about an affair, has raised eyebrows by eulogising the Times Square of old, recalling the old mix of prostitutes and colourful characters as “romantic” and “fascinating”.
At the risk of reviving memories of his infamous sex scandal, the former US president managed to weave his fondness for the seedy past of the city’s central thoroughfare into an announcement that he and Mayor Michael Bloomberg were merging their environmental initiatives.
Asked if he had any memories of the area before it was sanitised and later pedestrianised, he said: “When I was 18 years in November of 1964, a freshman at Georgetown, I first went to Times Square. I bought a steak at Tad’s Steakhouse. I heard a guy ream his mother out, poor working woman, because she’d given him a hi-fi instead of a stereo speaker. I remember everything about it.
“I saw a hooker approach a man in a grey flannel suit. Pretty heavy stuff for a guy from Arkansas. Yes, look, I still have vivid memories of it. Romantic, fascinating.” » | Alex Spillius, Washington | Thursday, April 14, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Marine Le Pen's godfather arrested for pimping in Paris: The ageing godfather of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been arrested and charged with running brothels in Paris' notorious Pigalle red light district, officials said on Thursday. » | Thursday, April 14, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: As David Cameron admits that Britain is disjointed by mass immigration, Ruth Dudley Edwards examines the consequences of our lax policies.I lived for 30 years in South Ealing in West London, which originally was a model little London village. The Poles who arrived after the war were thoroughly integrated, the Hindu shopkeepers got on with everyone, including the local Muslim residents, and although there were new immigrants from perhaps 20 countries, the pace of change was slow and unthreatening. We knew that nearby Southall had long since become an ethnic ghetto, but we were sure this would not happen to us. There were, perhaps, more Indian restaurants in South Ealing than anyone could possibly require, but the only local grumbles I can recall were about some Somali refugees who had trashed their council house.
We all ticked along in our own way. I liked living in South Ealing. But things changed. What ruined our community and the personality of our neighbourhood were the young Eastern Europeans who poured in from 2004 onwards. I am not criticising the character of these young migrants. They were generally hardworking, eager and ambitious. But they arrived all at once in large numbers and, most significantly, had zero interest in integrating. They lived and socialised exclusively together, watched Polish television channels via their satellite dishes, chatted to family back home for free on Skype, set up Polish shops to sell Polish food, newspapers and books, and they learnt only as much English as they had to. Seeing shop after little shop put up the words Polski sklep marked the end of the village I knew.
This is why I applaud the Prime Minister for admitting that people are profoundly disturbed by the havoc that mass immigration has wreaked on parts of Britain. “When there have been significant numbers of new people arriving in neighbourhoods,” he said, “perhaps not able to speak the same language as those living there, on occasions not really wanting or even willing to integrate, that has created a kind of discomfort and disjointedness in some neighbourhoods.”
Many people across Britain – from big cities to smaller towns – will have nodded along to Mr Cameron’s comments. I now live in central London, which I love, but there is no pretence that it is a community: it is the most cosmopolitan city state in the world and largely reflects the upside of immigration – a dynamic employment market and a diverse cultural scene. The downside is visible a few Tube stops down the line from me in places like Tower Hamlets and New Cross where the communities are far more fractured than South Ealing. These areas also suffer from the worrying, spreading rash of Islamism. » | Ruth Dudley Edwards | Thursday, April 14, 2011
My comment:
Don't get too taken in by Cameron's sweet words. He's only playing to the gallery. He's too soft to do anything meaningful about the problem. There are ways of dealing with this problem, but the captains of industry wouldn't brook much of a curtailment in immigration because they want cheap labour.
Furthermore, he spoke of allowing tens of thousands more immigrants per year into the country, rather than hundreds of thousands. At the moment, what do we want any more immigrants for at all? Haven't we got enough immigrants here already? Haven't we got enough of a workforce in this shrinking economy? And come to think of it, what are they doing to track down the illegal immigrants?
The speech Cameron made yesterday sounded good, but in actual fact it was nothing more than hot air. Nothing much will be done about the problem. The will isn't there. They'd rather destroy Britain and all it has ever stood for.
By the way if you ever thought this country was a democracy, think again. This country is run by the ruling élite, for the ruling élite. Having cheap labour is in the ruling élite's best interests. What these immigrants do to the fabric of society is of little concern to them. They've got enough money to isolate themselves from the problems that mass immigration creates. – © Mark
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TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: L'Italien enlevé à Gaza est mort par suffocation. Deux de ses ravisseurs présumés ont été arrêtés.Le ressortissant italien enlevé par un groupe salafiste à Gaza a été exécuté par ses ravisseurs. Son corps a été retrouvé dans la nuit de jeudi à vendredi, ont indiqué les services de sécurité du Hamas. Deux des ravisseurs présumés ont été arrêtés.
Mort étouffé
Les services de sécurité recherchent leurs complices, a ajouté la même source. «L’Italien a été exécuté par suffocation et son corps a été retrouvé dans une rue de la ville de Gaza», a déclaré un porte- parole des services de sécurité du mouvement islamiste qui contrôle la bande de Gaza. » | ATS | Vendredi 15 Avril 2011
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Les Nord-Coréens célébraient vendredi la «fête du Soleil», l’anniversaire de la naissance de Kim- Il song, père de l’actuel dirigeant du pays. Parallèlement étaient lancés depuis le Sud des tracts appelant à la chute du régime.La Corée du Nord célébrait vendredi la naissance de son fondateur dans une ambiance festive, selon la propagande du régime, alors que des activistes lançaient depuis le Sud des tracts appelant à la chute du régime dirigé par son fils Kim Jong-Il.
La «fête du Soleil» célèbre l’anniversaire de la naissance de Kim- Il song, père de l’actuel dirigeant, proclamé «président pour l’éternité» à sa mort en 1994. La foule a déposé des fleurs au pied de la statue du fondateur du régime et d’immenses portraits de Kim étaient affichés dans les rues de Pyongyang, a rapporté l’agence de presse officielle KCNA. » | AFP | Vendredi 15 Avril 2011
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Seuls avec la Bible. Un shérif de Caroline du Sud est accusé d’interdire aux détenus d’une prison toute autre lecture que le texte saint, qui leur est "proposé" gratuitement.
Le ministère américain de la Justice a lancé des poursuites judiciaires à l’encontre d’un shérif de Caroline du Sud accusé d’interdire aux détenus d’une prison toute autre lecture que la Bible.
Selon la plainte du ministère, déposée cette semaine devant un tribunal de Charleston (sud-est), le bureau du shérif Sheriff H. Wayne DeWitt refuse systématiquement les demandes de prisonniers souhaitant recevoir des journaux, des revues ou même des cours par correspondance.
"Le seul livre, magazine, journal ou publication religieuse" que le Centre de détention du comté de Berkeley autorise "est la Bible", affirme la plainte. » | AFP | Vendredi 15 Avril 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Vince Cable has indicated his support for the Government’s policy on tackling immigration, despite earlier accusing David Cameron of “inflaming extremism”.
The Business Secretary earlier said the Prime Minister had been “very unwise” in giving a speech warning that mass immigration had led to "discomfort and disjointedness" in some communities.
However, he later appeared to backtrack on his criticism, telling reporters that the Coalition was “completely united” on the issue.
Questioned about his earlier comments, which he made to the BBC, Mr Cable, a Liberal Democrat, said: "I don't want to develop that, and I think I have said what I wanted to say.
"We have a common consensus, a compromise in the coalition on our policy on the immigration cap and I don't think I need to add to that.
"We are completely united behind the policy and the policy is about a cap." (+ video) » | Thursday, April 14, 2011
Related »
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A biopic of Nicolas Sarkozy that charts his rise to power and break-up of his marriage has been selected for the Cannes Film Festival, threatening to turn the unpopular French president into an international laughing stock.
La Conquête (The Conquest) will receive its world premiere at the French festival on May 18 after months of fevered speculation about its content. The drama charts Mr Sarkozy’s victory in the 2007 election.
It also shows him fretting about his height and using colourful language to describe his enemies. Yet it brings out a more sympathetic side of the French leader as he struggles to cope with the break-up of his marriage to Cécilia, his second wife. She left him for another man shortly after the presidential race.
Mr Sarkozy now faces a dilemma over his attendance at the festival. He had been expected to walk his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, down the red carpet at the premiere of her film, Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, which will open the 10-day event.
Critics of Mr Sarkozy await its unveiling with glee, after a teasing trailer for the film showed him proclaiming: “I am a Ferrari. You open the hood with white gloves on.”
The premiere spells potential embarrassment for Mr Sarkozy and could dent his bid for a second presidential term at a time when his disapproval rating amongst the French electorate stands at 74 per cent. » | Anita Singh, Henry Samuel in Paris | Thursday, April 14, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Libyan television on Thursday broadcast footage of what it claimed was Col Muammar Gaddafi driving around Tripoli and said the outing occurred while the Libyan capital was being bombed by Nato.
Wearing a green safari hat, dark glasses and a black jacket, state television showed Col Gaddafi pumping his fists in the air and waving, standing through the sunroof of an open-top sport utility vehicle.
A screen caption said the trip had taken place a short while ago, while the Libyan capital was under Nato air attack. Read on, and watch The Telegraph video here » | Thursday, April 14, 2011
THE AUSTRALIAN: BARACK Obama has set the scene for an ideological battle in next year's presidential election, announcing tax increases for the wealthy.
The proposed hike is part of his plan to reduce the federal budget deficit by $US4 trillion ($3.8 trillion) over 12 years.
In a break from his conciliatory style, Mr Obama has ripped into his Republican opponents for trying to put the burden of deficit reduction on the poor and elderly while continuing to cushion the wealthy.
The President announced a broad plan for reducing the US budget deficit yesterday, including cuts to government health programs and defence spending.
But he raised Republican hackles by refusing point blank to extend tax cuts introduced by the Bush administration for people earning more than $US250,000 a year.
Mr Obama said he had agreed to renew the tax cuts for high-income earners once, as part of a deal with Republicans to guarantee cuts for the middle class. "I refuse to renew them again," he said. » | Brad Norington, Washington Correspondent | The Australian | Friday, April 15, 2011
THE AUSTRALIAN: NEARLY 300 guests crammed into the Holmens Church in Copenhagen this morning for the christening of the latest additions to the Danish royal family: twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josefina.
The youngest children of Crown Prince Frederik and Australian-born Crown Princess Mary were baptised Vincent Frederik Minik Alexander and Josefina Sofia Ivalo Mathilda.
Following three months of speculation, the babies' names, a closely-kept secret since their birth on January 8, immediately became the top news story in Denmark. » | AFP | Friday, April 15, 2011
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