Inside Story: Morocco Reforms, Too Little Too Late?
Observers do not believe Morocco will be another Egypt, Tunisia or Libya. But demonstrations are growing, and the next few months could be crucial for the country's future. 



Inside Story presenter Emike Umolu discusses with guests: Lahcen Haddad, professor at Mohamed the Fifth University in Rabat; Stefan Sie-manowitz, a journalist specialising on North Africa; and Hilana Rizki, a member of the February 20 protest movement.



This episode of Inside Story aired on Monday, April 25, 2011

Die Reichen werden reicher
Die Gewerkschaften prangern die grossen Unterschiede zwischen reich und arm und den Lohnempfängern an. Die Schweiz werde immer reicher, aber nur wenige profitieren davon. Anders sieht das die Arbeitgeberseite. Reaktion von Thomas Daum, Direktor Schweizerischer Arbeitgeberverband

Islamist Extremism: So Did We Cure the Problem?
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: This week's disclosures from WikiLeaks confirm that Britain was a breeding ground for Islamist terrorism. But, 10 years after 9/11, we still pander to extremism, says Andrew Gilligan

The East London Mosque, the largest in Britain, hosted a "live telephone Q&A" with the world's most dangerous al-Qaeda preacher, advertised with a poster showing Manhattan in flames. At the North London Mosque, equally important and well-known, one of the trustees is a supporter, and former leader, of a terrorist organisation. According to the BBC, he "is said to have masterminded much of [its] political and military strategy" from his perch in London.

Over the last few days, the Guantanamo Bay files leaked to this newspaper have shown in compelling detail how Britain became a global hub of terror, with at least 35 inmates of the detention camp radicalised here in the years before 9/11. Yet the two examples I give do not come from the leaked files. They are much more recent. The people who run those two mosques have been in no way troubled by the authorities. In fact, they have been helped by them. At the North London Mosque, the radical activist was actually installed by the police – and remains a trustee. And in the financial year to 2010, the year after it hosted that session with the fundamentalist preacher, the East London Mosque received £660,000 of taxpayers' money – some of it from a Home Office fund for "preventing violent extremism".

There is a reason why Britain, in the words of one French official, is and remains the "Pakistan of the West", an incubator, entrepot and exporter of Islamic radicalism. There is a reason why, according to MI6, we face a "unique" threat from home-grown extremists. There is a reason why Britain is the only country in the Western world to have been subjected to a successful suicide terror attack by its own citizens. These things have happened, in part, because the last government, and Britain's security establishment, got its policy just about as wrong as it was possible to get. We were harsh where we should have been liberal – and liberal where we should have been harsh.

Control orders, the push for three months' detention without charge, random and blanket stop-and-search, and Britain's complicity in torture did little or nothing to restrain terrorism. But they undermined the rule of law for which we are fighting, angered middle-of-the-road Muslims and gave the extremists priceless fuel for their favourite narrative, "Islam under attack". » | Andrew Gilligan | Tuesday, April 16, 2011

Guest List for Royal Wedding
TOWNSVILLE BULLETIN (AU): WHILE the Obamas, Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni and Sarah Ferguson will not be there, there will be places of honour for some interesting invitees.

Prince William, as an active member of a charity caring for the homeless, has set aside seats for homeless people from the greater London area.

He has also made seats available for soldiers injured during service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Of course if you're the local publican, postie or butcher in the village of Bucklebury - the village where Prince William's soon-to-be wife Catherine Middleton's family live - you already have your invitations.

While thousands will attend the formal ceremony, only 600 chosen guests will attend a lunchtime buffet at Buckingham Palace.

The lunch extravaganza will be replete with champagne, canapes, and heavy hors d'oeuvres - including smoked salmon, pate, mini-sausage rolls - followed by petit[s] fours, mini-eclairs, trifle, and chocolate and lemon mousse.

An evening "event" will finish the day in a more intimate manner with 300 invited guests. » | Sue-Belinda Meehan | Monday, April 25, 2011

You Talkin' to Me? Donald Trump Picks Fight with Robert De Niro
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Donald Trump, the billionaire property mogul who is considering running for US president, has picked a fight with Robert De Niro after the Oscar-winning star compared him to a "car salesman."


Mr Trump, who also hosts the US version of "The Apprentice," responded in typically robust fashion, suggesting that the tough guy actor was "not the brightest bulb on the planet" and "not Albert Einstein."

The public feud began after Mr Trump recently questioned where President Barack Obama was born, allying himself to the so-called "birther" movement which is demanding to see the president's original birth certificate.

Mr Obama was born in the state of Hawaii in 1961. Conspiracy theorists allege that he was actually born in Kenya, which would make him ineligible to serve as president.

De Niro, 67, the star of "Raging Bull" and "Goodfellas," and a Democrat supporter, was asked about the issue during a public interview at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

He said: "I won't mention names, but certain people in the news the last couple weeks, just, what are they doing? It's crazy. They're making statements about people that they don't even back up. Go get the facts before you start saying things about people."

The actor, who confirmed he was talking about Mr Trump, added: "It's like a big hustle. It's like being a car salesman. Don't go out there and say things unless you can back them up. How dare you? That's awful to do.

"To just go out and speak and say these terrible things? Unless you just want to get over and get the job. It's crazy." » | Nick Allen, Los Angeles | Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Baschar al Assad: Der Unfreiwillige
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Im elften Jahr seiner Herrschaft sieht sich Baschar al Assad vom „Arabischen Frühling“ herausgefordert; er reagiert äußerst brutal auf die Proteste. Als junger Mensch hatte er noch gehofft, als Augenarzt praktizieren und sich aus dem politischen Geschäft heraushalten zu können.

Der 21. Januar 1994 war ein Schicksalstag für Syrien: Basil al Assad, ältester Sohn des Staatspräsidenten Hafez al Assad, raste mit seiner Limousine dem Flughafen von Damaskus entgegen, weil er ein Flugzeug erreichen musste. Er verlor die Kontrolle über sein Fahrzeug und prallte gegen eine Absperrung aus Beton, das Auto überschlug sich. Der Fahrer war sofort tot. Basil al Assad war schon seit vielen Jahren als der sozusagen natürliche Nachfolger seines Vaters vorgesehen gewesen; er hatte sich darauf vorbereitet, und alle Syrer hatten diese Art der dynastischen Nachfolge verinnerlicht.

Doch nun musste alles anders kommen. Zwar blieb es bei der Assad-Dynastie, aber Basils jüngerer Bruder Baschar musste in die Bresche springen. Baschar, Jahrgang 1965, lebte damals in London. Und er lebte dort, wie man hörte, nicht ungern. Nach dem Studium der Augenheilkunde hoffte er, in seiner syrischen Heimat praktizieren und sich aus dem politischen Geschäft, so weit das überhaupt möglich war, heraushalten zu können. Jetzt aber, nach dem Tod des zwei Jahre älteren Bruders, waren diese Träume ausgeträumt: Baschar wurde politisch aufgebaut und erbte den Damaszener Thron, als sein Vater Hafez im Jahre 2000 starb - nach dreißig Jahren Machtausübung. » | Von Wolfgang Günter Lerch | Dienstag, 26. April 2011

US Considers Syria Sanctions

L’OTAN affirme avoir tué un leader d'Al-Qaïda
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: La force internationale de l’OTAN en Afghanistan (ISAF) a affirmé mardi avoir tué son «ennemi public» numéro deux en Afghanistan, dans un bombardement à la mi-avril. Cet homme est un Saoudien membre d’Al-Qaïda.

L’ISAF indique dans un communiqué que «la deuxième de ses cibles les plus recherchées en Afghanistan a été tuée le 13 avril lors d’un bombardement» dans la province de Kunar» (est), un «fait marquant» dans la lutte contre Al-Qaïda.

L’homme, Abu Hafs al-Najdi, également connu sous le nom d’Abdul Ghani, un «haut responsable d’Al Qaïda» de nationalité saoudienne, avait selon la force coordonné «de nombreuses et importantes attaques» rebelles en Afghanistan.

Abu Hafs al-Najdi fait partie de la liste des 85 personnes les plus recherchées par gouvernement saoudien, selon le site internet du ministère de l’Intérieur. » | AFP | Mardi 26 Avril 2011

Gay Rights Campaigners Call for Royal Backing

Rachmaninov Best for British Ear
RUSSIA TODAY: Nothing sounds better than Sergey Rachmaninov to the British people. A poll with over 180,000 respondents has revealed that Rachmaninov's Concerto No 2 for piano with orchestra is Britain's favorite work of classical music, The Daily Telegraph reports.

The Russian composer's Piano Concerto No 2 has been voted the nation's favorite in the annual poll held by Classic FM radio station. This work of the Russian genius became the soundtrack to the 1945 romance drama Brief Encounter by the then leading British filmmaker David Lean.

Rachmaninov's piano concerto, composed between the fall of 1900 and April 1901, significantly contributed to securing the reputation of the Russian composer in the UK and the rest of the West. This work became a symbol of Rachmaninov's comeback after a long depression he dove into after the failure of his First Symphony. Along with Concerto No 3, Piano Concerto No 2 is considered one of Rachmaninov's greatest works and also one of the most significant works of late romanticism in music as a whole. » | Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Tamás Vásáry: Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No.2 / Ist Movement, Part 1

Tamás Vásáry: Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No.2 / Ist Movement, Part 2

Bin London: City Hotbed for Terrorist Recruitment

Why Does Britain Have an Islamist Problem While America Doesn't? Answer: The Welfare State
TELEGRAPH BLOGS – ED WEST: London was the global headquarters of Islamic terrorism in the years before and after 9/11. This fact wasn’t exactly a closely guarded secret, but the WikiLeaks Guantánamo Bay files shed interesting new light on the American perspective. (I especially like the detail that the US government suspected the BBC of being a “possible propaganda media network” for al-Qaeda after a BBC phone number was found on a terrorist. What do they mean “possible”? Have they not listened to Radio 4?)

London became the world terrorist hub partly because the country had a long tradition of shielding dissenters of all stripes; because it had a very unintrusive state compared to its European neighbours (no ID cards); and because of Britain’s historic links with many Arab countries. But there was another reason, and this is central to the reason why Europe has an Islamist problem and the United States doesn’t – the welfare state. Welfare is intimately linked to the failure of western European countries to integrate their Muslim populations, and explains why Britain has such a problem with Islamism.

Look at the two figures named by US intelligence as responsible for recruiting dozens of terrorists, Abu Qatada and Abu Hamza. Qatada, a Jordanian preacher and advisor to shoe bomber Richard Reid and Zacarias Moussaoui, the 9/11 plotter, was expelled from Kuwait for supporting the Iraqi invasion, then claimed asylum in Britain on the grounds of religious persecution. We granted it, naturally. Come in! Read on and comment » | Ed West | Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Hague: UK 'Ready for Long Haul in Libya'
THE INDEPENDENT: Foreign Secretary William Hague warned Cabinet colleagues today that Britain and its allies must prepare for the long haul in Libya as weeks of air strikes show little sign of unseating Muammar Gaddafi.

Mr Hague was updating Cabinet as Defence Secretary Liam Fox flew to the US for talks on the best way of stepping up pressure on the Libyan dictator's forces.

The Foreign Secretary insisted that there were "grounds for optimism", 38 days after international military action was launched to enforce United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution 1973.

Summarising Mr Hague's comments to Cabinet, a Downing Street spokeswoman said: "The general tone was that there were grounds for optimism, good progress was being made, the alliance was holding up very well, but clearly we need to turn up the pressure.

"The mission is going in the right direction but we need to prepare for the long haul." » | Andrew Woodcock, PA | Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Language Wars in South Tyrol
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A language war has broken out amid the normally placid lakes and mountains of Italy's German-speaking South Tyrol region.

Italian-speakers are furious at the number of footpath signs which have been erected in only German in the Dolomites, an area that is renowned for its extensive hiking trails and spectacular scenery.

Hikers who speak only Italian have been left bamboozled when confronted with signs pointing to an Archaologischer wanderweg [sic] [Wanderweg] (archaeological trail) or a wasserfall [sic] [Wasserfall] (waterfall - which in Italian would be the vastly different “cascata”).

The region, which was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until it was ceded to Italy at the end of the First World War, is supposed to be bilingual, a dual identity reflected in its name - Alto Adige in Italian and Sud [sic] Tirol [Südtirol] in German.

Road signs are rendered in both Italian and German - the regional capital of Bolzano, for instance, is Bozen in German while the town of Bressanone is also known as Brixen - but up in the mountains, particularly in areas close to the Austrian border, German increasingly predominates.

Heaped with snow in winter and baked by the sun in summer, the timber signs do not last forever. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Tuesday, April 26, 2011

City Bonuses Shrink – But Basic Salary Rises More Than Make Up For It
THE GUARDIAN: Bonus payouts shrank by 8% over last 12 months at the same time as permanent 7% rise in basic salaries in Square Mile

Workers in the City of London who have seen contentious bonus payouts shrink by 8% over the last 12 months have more than made up for their loss through a permanent 7% rise in basic salaries, according to a study published today.

Bonuses paid to City workers fell from £7.3bn to £6.7bn for the year to April, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) says, but these purported performance-linked payouts remain a step above levels recorded in 2009, when the worst banking crisis since the 1930s saw the City's bonus pool dip to £5.3bn.

However, more than offsetting the impact of shrinking City bonuses, basic salaries in the Square Mile – which still make up the lion's share of pay deals for most City workers – jumped 7%, according to CEBR's analysis of official data from the Office for National Statistics.

Lord Oakeshott, the Liberal Democrat peer who resigned as a party spokesman in protest at what he saw as the coalition's failure to curb banking industry excesses, said: "Real incomes are now being seriously squeezed in the rest of Britain but City pay just sails merrily on." » | Simon Bowers | Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Dollar Falls to New Low as Markets Await Fed's Next Move
THE GUARDIAN: Ben Bernanke, chairman of Federal Reserve, expected to maintain loose monetary policy

The US dollar has fallen to new lows against other major currencies, undermined by predictions that the US would continue to resist pressure to raise interest rates.

In early trading, the dollar dropped to its weakest level ever against the Swiss franc, having touched a record low against the Australian dollar overnight. It also hit a four-week low against the yen, while the dollar index, which measures it against a basket of rival currencies, was close to its lowest level since August 2008.

The fall came a few hours ahead of the start of the Federal Reserve's monthly two-day meeting to set monetary policy.

City experts believe that this will be a defining week for the dollar. Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Fed, will for the first time hold a press conference on Wednesday evening immediately after the Federal open market committee has voted. Traders expect no change to the Fed's current loose monetary position. » | Graeme Wearden | Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Syria: William Hague Condemns Crackdown
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: William Hague has condemned the bloody crackdown on protests in Syria and call [sic] for an end to violent repression.


Mr Hague confirmed that Britain is working with partners in the United Nations Security Council, the European Union and the Middle East region to send a "strong signal" to Bashar Assad, the Syrian president, that he must halt violence against civilians.

The UK has joined France, Germany and Portugal in drawing up a draft statement on Syria which is being circulated at the UN, according to Government sources.

The move comes amid growing concern over the brutal tactics being employed by the Syrian regime to quell unrest and silence calls for President Assad to go.

At least 11 people were killed yesterday in an escalation of the crackdown on the city of Daraa, where the uprising began last month.

In a statement issued by the Foreign Office in London today, Mr Hague said: "I condemn utterly any violence and killings perpetrated by the Syrian security forces against civilians who are expressing their views in peaceful protests. This violent repression must stop." » | Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Maids: Bitter Truths
ARAB NEWS – EDITORIAL: It is estimated that there are two million working in homes in the Kingdom

Reports about maids all too regularly hit the headlines in this paper and others in the Kingdom. There are stories about maids who are abused, maids who are kept locked up or unpaid for months, even years. There are stories about maids who run away, or who have tricked or cheated their employers. Likewise, there are complaints about the costs of bringing a maid into the country. There are reports, too, of other countries being whipped up into a frenzy of concern about the treatment of maids in Saudi Arabia and their threats to stop them coming in future or imposing conditions about their employment contracts, including demands to know details about the families they are going to, their financial position, a description of the house, the number of rooms, photos of the wife and husband. Regularly, too, there are reports about new sources of maids — from Cambodia, Vietnam, indeed anywhere they can be found. The fact is that Saudi Arabia has become over-reliant on maids. » | Editorial | Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Two Views on France’s Burqa Ban

CNN: France's Islamic veil ban spurs passionate reaction worldwide » | Michael Saba, CNN | Monday, April 25, 2011

Pastor Terry Jones to Appeal Ruling in Dearborn
DETROIT FREE PRESS: The Rev. Terry Jones is to file an appeal today in Wayne County Circuit Court over a Dearborn court's decision against him last week that thwarted his plans to protest outside the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, an attorney said Monday.

"It was a clear violation of the First Amendment's right to free speech," said Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel for the Ann Arbor-based Thomas More Law Center, which is representing Jones.

Jones, the Florida pastor who ordered the burning of a Quran last month, was to protest Friday outside the mosque in Dearborn, but Wayne County prosecutors filed an unusual complaint against him, saying he would breach the peace if he rallied. » | Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press Staff Writer | Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Court Sides with Virginia Prison System on Lawsuit by Muslim Inmate Who Wanted 1/8-inch Beard
THE REPUBLIC: RICHMOND, Va. — A federal court has denied a Muslim inmate's lawsuit claiming the Virginia prison system violated his religious rights by refusing to allow him to grow a 1/8-inch beard.

William Couch challenged the Department of Corrections' grooming policy that bans long hair or beards.

A federal court in Harrisonburg sided with the department Thursday. Read on and comment » | Dena Potter | Associated Press | Monday, April 25, 2011

Immigration: France and Italy to Propose European Border Reform
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: France and Italy will on Tuesday present Brussels with an ultimatum to tear up the free travel European border rules that has been the EU's signature accomplishment for 16 years.

Nicolas Sarkozy is holding emergency talks in Rome with Silvio Berlusconi after a row over Tunisian refugees threatened to spiral out of control and lead to the reintroduction of French border controls.

The Italian prime minister called the meeting after his decision to give more than 25,000 Tunisian refugees residence permits caused the worst border crisis since the EU's 1995 Schengen Treaty.

The French president, who will face a challenge from the anti-immigrant far-Right during elections next year, has responded furiously and criticised "flawed" EU rules that have let the migrants into France. The French sparked a major diplomatic incident last week after closing the rail border with Italy at Ventimiglia, citing risks of disturbances to public order to refuse entry to trains carrying Tunisian migrants.

France has accused Italy of violating the EU's "Schengen" free movement rules by giving the Arab migrants, who are mainly French-speaking, permits and encouraging them to travel to France.

Periodic border checks with Italy have been reinstated and several hundred Tunisians, bearing the residence permits, have been sent back to Italy. » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Monday, April 25, 2011

WikiLeaks: How Britain 'Became a Haven for Migrant Extremists’
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: When Finsbury Park mosque opened nearly 20 years ago it was intended to be a centre for peaceful worship, feted by the Prince of Wales and seen as an emblem of multi-cultural Britain.

But the Guantánamo files disclose that by the late 1990s the mosque in north London had become a “haven” for extremism where disaffected young men from around the world were radicalised before being sent to al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan.

At least 35 Guantánamo detainees passed through Finsbury Park and a network of other centres used by extremists in Britain, including Regent’s Park mosque, East London mosque and a rented room above the Four Feathers Youth Club near Baker Street.

The mosques became recruitment centres for an al-Qaeda cell led by Abu Hamza, the radical imam formerly based in Finsbury Park, who is serving a seven-year sentence at Belmarsh high security prison, and Abu Qatada, a fanatical Muslim cleric described by British intelligence as “Osama bin Laden’s ambassador to Europe”.

Together, they turned London into a hub of global terrorism, taking in impressionable immigrants by the dozen and churning them out as killers-in-waiting.

As well as the men who passed through mosques in London, another 10 were radicalised outside the capital, mainly in Birmingham. For many of the Guantánamo detainees who passed through London, their journey to extremism began with hopes of a better life. » | Steven Swinford | Monday, April 25, 2011

Donald Trump: Barack Obama Wasn't Qualified for Ivy League
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Real estate mogul Donald Trump suggested in an interview on Monday that President Barack Obama had been a poor student who did not deserve to be admitted to the Ivy League universities he attended.

Mr Trump, who is mulling a bid for the Republican presidential nomination, offered no proof for his claim but said he would continue to press the matter as he has the legitimacy of the president's birth certificate.

"I heard he was a terrible student, terrible. How does a bad student go to Columbia and then to Harvard?" Mr Trump said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I'm thinking about it, I'm certainly looking into it. Let him show his records."

Mr Obama graduated from Columbia University in New York in 1983 with a degree in political science after transferring from Occidental College in California. He went on to Harvard Law School, where he graduated magna cum laude 1991 and was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review.

Mr Obama's 2008 campaign did not release his college transcripts, and in his bestselling memoir, "Dreams From My Father," Mr Obama indicated he hadn't always been an academic star. Mr Trump told the AP that Mr Obama's refusal to release his college grades were part of a pattern of concealing information about himself.

"I have friends who have smart sons with great marks, great boards, great everything and they can't get into Harvard," Mr Trump said. "We don't know a thing about this guy. There are a lot of questions that are unanswered about our president." » | Tuesday, April 26, 2011

WikiLeaks: Guantánamo Bay Terrorists Radicalised in London to Attack Western Targets
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: At least 35 terrorists incarcerated at Guantánamo Bay were sent to fight against the West after being indoctrinated by extremist preachers in Britain, secret files obtained by The Daily Telegraph disclose.

Abu Qatada and Abu Hamza, two preachers who lived off state benefits after claiming asylum, are identified by the American authorities as the key recruiters responsible for sending dozens of extremists from throughout the world to Pakistan and Afghanistan via London mosques.

The leaked documents, written by senior US military commanders at Guantánamo Bay, illustrate how, for two decades, Britain effectively became a crucible of terrorism, with dozens of extremists, home-grown and from abroad, radicalised here.

Finsbury Park mosque, in north London, is described as a “haven” for extremists. United States intelligence officials concluded the mosque served as “an attack planning and propaganda production base”.

The files will raise questions over why the Government and security services failed to take action sooner to tackle the capital’s reputation as a staging post for terrorism, which became so established that the city was termed “Londonistan”.

The documents show that at least 35 detainees at Guantánamo had passed through Britain before being sent to fight against Allied forces in Afghanistan. This is thought to be more than from any other Western nation. » | Robert Winnett, Christopher Hope, Steven Swinford and Holly Watt | Monday, April 25, 2011

Gunfire and Tanks in Syria
Apr 24 - Amateur video purports to show Syrian protesters under fire, with several seriously injured. Deborah Lutterbeck reports

Analysis: West's Caution on Syria Jars with Libya Action
REUTERS: An authoritarian Arab ruler unleashes his security forces and irregular militia gunmen to crush peaceful pro-democracy protests, killing hundreds of people including women and children.

Does the West a) issue statements condemning the excessive use of force; b) seek U.N. sanctions and an International Criminal Court investigation; c) provide practical support for pro-democracy protesters, d) intervene militarily?

The answer, to many human rights campaigners, seems to vary unacceptably depending on the state concerned.

Western powers which took up arms against Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, citing the United Nations principle of the responsibility to protect civilians, have confined themselves so far to verbal outrage at the killing of some 350 people in Syria.

The balance of Western economic and security interests and humanitarian values is different in each case but the perceived double standard is causing anger in the Middle East and among Western publics.

"After Friday's carnage, it is no longer enough to condemn the violence," Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at pressure group Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

"Faced with the Syrian authorities' 'shoot to kill' strategy, the international community needs to impose sanctions on those ordering the shooting of protesters."

When the Gulf Arab kingdom of Bahrain called in Saudi troops last month to help quash a pro-democracy movement led mostly by the Shi'ite Muslim majority, the United States and Europe uttered a few pro-forma words of disapproval, then fell silent. » | Paul Taylor | PARIS | Monday, April 25, 2011

Westerwelle’s Woes: Internal Criticism Grows over German Foreign Minister
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Guido Westerwelle's image as foreign minister isn't just eroding abroad, but also at home. Inside the Foreign Ministry, German diplomats are hoping they will soon have a new boss. Chancellor Angela Merkel is also reportedly disappointed in the top diplomat, who doesn't seem to have grown into his role.

Christian Hacke has already passed judgment on Guido Westerwelle's role in history. Hacke is one of Germany's leading political scientists. He is the director of the political science department at the University of Bonn and has written a standard work on German foreign policy. But Hacke now has nothing but cold disdain for Germany's current foreign minister.

"Look at Germany's foreign ministers, from Konrad Adenauer and Heinrich von Brentano to Joschka Fischer and Frank-Walter Steinmeier," he says. "These were solid, well-informed men, who mastered the core principles of diplomacy: enhancing Germany's image and representing its interests in the world."

By contrast, the professor contends that Westerwelle -- who was a protege of former Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher -- has embraced a "neo-German Wilhelminism," which he displayed in particular when he abstained from the United Nations Security Council resolution on an establishing a no-fly zone over Libya. Hacke says that Westerwelle engages in self-righteous grandstanding while, at the same time, cowardly running for cover. "He is the vainest, most narrow-minded and stubborn foreign minister since von Ribbentrop."

It is a monstrous allegation. Joachim von Ribbentrop was Hitler's foreign minister from 1938 to 1945. In Hacke's opinion, the consequences are perfectly clear: "Westerwelle must go because he can no longer properly represent German interests -- and because we have to feel ashamed of him." Westerwelle Widely Viewed as Failure » | Ralf Neukirch | Monday, April 25, 2011

Brussels' Fear of the True Finns: Rise of Populist Parties Pushes Europe to the Right
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: The success of the True Finns in last week's Finnish elections has shocked Brussels. They are just one of a number of right-wing populist parties currently flourishing in Europe. Their rise could threaten the euro bailout. By SPIEGEL Staff.

Timo Soini, 48, is standing in front of "Hesburger," a fast food restaurant in the western part of Helsinki. It is shortly before 10 a.m., and he is waiting patiently for the restaurant to finally open its doors. Soini, the chairman of the right-wing populist Perussuomalaiset, or "True Finns" party, has been giving interviews for almost three hours. There are more than 250 new text messages on his mobile phone. Now he's hungry.

It is the morning after an election that brought what the papers have called a "revolution" to Finland. Almost one in five voters voted for Soini's party on Sunday, April 17, and now it looks like it is about to become part of the new government. A political earthquake is happening in Helsinki, one that could have reverberations throughout Europe.

Until now, the small country in the far northeastern corner of the continent was seen as a model member of the European Union. It was known for its successful export-oriented companies, liberal social policies and the best-performing school students in the Western industrialized world. It is ironic that it is here in Finland -- a part of Europe that always seemed eminently European -- that a movement is now coming to power that inveighs against immigrants and abortions, considers Brussels to be the "heart of darkness" and rejects all financial assistance for what it calls "wasteful countries," like Greece, Ireland and Portugal. "We were too soft on Europe," says Soini, adding that Finland should not be made to "pay for the mistakes of others."

The election result from Europe's far north has alarmed the political establishment in Brussels. If Soini's party becomes part of the new government, there will be more at stake than Helsinki's traditional pro-European stance. The entire program to rescue the euro could be in jeopardy, because it has to be approved unanimously by the entire European Union. That includes both the anticipated aid for Portugal, the additional billions for the euro bailout fund and the planned reform of the fund. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt calls the Finnish election results a "reason for concern," while Hans-Dietrich Genscher, the former head of Germany's pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) and former German foreign minister, warns: "The outcome of the elections is a warning sign." Gaining Ground Across the EU » | Spiegel Staff | Monday, April 25, 2011

America Divided Over Obama Birthplace

Crown Prince of Bahrain Politically Sidelined by Senior Royal Advisers
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Crown Prince of Bahrain, who refused an invitation to the royal wedding, has been politically sidelined by a hardline trio of senior royal advisers.

Although his invitation was criticised as rewarding a "tyrant", Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa was seen until recently as a reformist.

He had won key battles for influence over his father King Hamad over a conservative faction at court that vehemently opposed to political reform.

But last month the powerful prime minister, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman, along with the two powerful brothers who run the military and the royal court's apparatus insisted on a crackdown backed by neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

"The Crown Prince should not be seen as someone who is representative of ongoing events in Bahrain today," said Theodore Karasik, of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis.

"The Crown Prince was trying to broker a deal between the ruling family and the opposition and a lot of the reason the Saudis came in was to try to resolve disputes within the al-Khalifa family itself over this attempt by the Crown Prince." » | Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Monday, April 25, 2011

UK Releases Royal Wedding Guest List
There is just a week to go until the British royal wedding when Prince William will marry his long time girlfriend Kate Middleton. All the guessing about who has been invited is over - as the full list of confirmed guests has just been released. There is a smattering of celebrities as well as some controversial foreign figures. Al Jazeera's Nadim Baba reports

TRADE ARABIA: Bahrain Crown Prince declines royal wedding invite: His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander, has decided not to attend the marriage of Prince William, son of Prince Charles of Wales, in London on Friday. » | TradeArabia News Service | Monday, April 25, 2011

Protesters Demand Reform in Morocco
Thousands of protesters have participated in rallies in cities around Morocco, demanding social and economic reforms. They call for end to corruption, and want more jobs for the increasing number of university graduates who face joblessness. The peaceful protests are predominately working class in tone, demanding constitutional reforms and new parliamentary elections. The marches were organized by the February 20 movement, which has led protests for the past two months, with support from Morocco's best-known Islamist movement, Adl wal Ihsan, which is barred from politics in the kingdom. Morocco's King Mohammed VI has already pledged changes to the constitution for the first time in 15 years, but protesters remain sceptical about the possibility of real change. Al Jazeera reports from the streets of the North African country

Le prince héritier de Bahreïn n'ira pas au mariage de William
L’EXPRESS.fr: Le cheikh Salman bin Hamad al Khalifa, prince héritier de Bahreïn, a annoncé qu'il ne se rendrait pas au mariage du prince William et de Kate Middleton, le 29 avril à Londres, en raison de la persistance de troubles intérieurs dans le petit royaume du Golfe.

Critiquant la répression des manifestations antigouvernementales par les forces de sécurité, des militants des droits de l'homme avaient exhorté la famille royale britannique à annuler l'invitation adressée au prince héritier.

Le gouvernement britannique a aussi engagé les autorités de Bahreïn à respecter les droits de l'homme et à enquêter sur des informations faisant état de morts en détention, de tortures et de privations de soins médicaux. Continuez à lire et ajouter un commentaire » | Par Reuters | Dimanche 24 Avril 2011

Mariage de William: Un invité annonce qu'il ne viendra pas
JEANMARCMORANDINI.COM: Face au tollé suscité par sa venue, le prince héritier du royaume de Bahreïn, qui faisait partie des 1900 invités au mariage du prince William et de Kate Middleton, a finalement fait savoir qu'il ne viendrait pas, a annoncé aujourd'hui le palais de Buckingham.

La monarchie pétrolière au pouvoir à Manama a expliqué qu'elle ne souhaitait pas que la visite du prince Salman ben Hamad al-Khalifa vienne ternir le mariage royal en raison des troubles au Bahreïn. Continuez à lire et réagir à cet article » | Lundi 25 Avril 2011

Bahrain in the Shadow of Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States
CNN: There are disturbing accounts from major human rights organizations about abuses in Bahrain and the systematic state violence that has been unleashed on the opposition movement against the monarchy of the Al-Khalifa family.

And yet Bahrain has not become the story because the movement for social justice, government accountability and independence is being violently suppressed, but because of wider strategic calculations that bind the fate of the island to the future of regional politics.

There are at least three strategic issues at stake when it comes to the political present and future of the country. First, Bahrain hosts a major naval base for the U.S. fifth fleet, and the ruling Al-Khalifa family has been a trusted ally of the United States for several decades.

Yet Bahrain's rulers have not taken advantage of the security guarantees provided by successive U.S. governments in order to open up the political system or to sponsor a rather more equitable social and economic order.

According to the constitution of Bahrain the king appoints all members of the upper house of the parliament, while the lower house was voted into office in 2010.

But this has not lead to real political representation of the majority Shia population or to a system of wealth distribution that is equitable. In fact, Bahrain continues to be one of the few hereditary monarchies of the world.

In the absence of a strong legitimacy of the state, systematic violence has functioned as a short cut to safeguard the regime. Hence, the current crackdown, which has not drawn much criticism from the United States and the European Union, who were/are by far louder about the situation in Libya (and indeed about anything that happens in Iran). » | Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, Special to CNN | Monday, April 25, 2011

Editor's note: Arshin Adib-Moghaddam is University Lecturer in Comparative and International Politics at SOAS, University of London. He is the author of "Iran in World Politics: the Question of the Islamic Republic," and his most recent book, "A metahistory of the clash of civilizations: Us and them beyond Orientalism" has just been published by Columbia University Press and Hurst.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Arshin Adib-Moghaddam.

Hundreds of Prisoners Escape Afghan Jail

Verbunden »

Building Frequented by Gadhafi Hit

Liens en relation avec cette vidéo »

Unklare Mission - Was die Bundespolizei in Saudi-Arabien treibt

Alice Schwarzer - Islam ist undemokratisch

Haßprediger reisen nach Deutschland
Hassprediger reisen unbehelligt nach Deutschland
Immer wieder reisen sogenannte Hassprediger aus arabischen Ländern völlig unbehelligt in die Bundesrepublik ein und tragen hier zur Radikalisierung junger Muslime bei. (Fakt vom 06. Dezember 2010)

Deutsche Konvertiten zum Islam
Aus der Sendung 'ML Mona Lisa' vom 13.12.2009

The Struggle of Pakistan's Christians
CARING: Christians in today's Pakistan (2% of the population) have paid a high price for being in the minority. In Islamabad, the capital, a community of 5,000 of them live in extreme poverty, literally walled-off from the rest of society.

Libyan Government Spokesman: If We're Attacked, We've to Attack Back

Inside Story: Battle for Misurata
Located in western Libya, Misurata has become the most dramatic battleground in the country's uprising which began in February.



But there has been confusion - while Colonel Muammer Gadaffi's forces announced a withdrawl from the city on Friday, they have continued to bombard the city. 



Inside Story discusses with guests: Faraj Najem, a Libyan author and historian; Mohammed Ali Abdallah, the deputy secretary general of the National Front for Salvation of Libya; and Hesham Jaber, a military analyst.



This episode of Inside Story aired on Sunday, April 24, 2011.

Al Jazeera Cameraman 'Interrogated' about Network
Sami al-Hajj was working as an Al Jazeera cameraman when he was arrested in late 2001 and sent to Guantanamo Bay.



One file in the newly released trove of leaked US military documents shows that al-Hajj, held at Guantanamo for six years, was detained partly in order to be interrogated about the news network.



He speaks to Al Jazeera's Nick Clark about the documents.

Victory for Sarrazin: Firebrand Politician Can Remain a Social Democrat
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Thilo Sarrazin, the German Social Democrat who attracted attention last year with his controversial book claiming that immigrants to Germany were dumbing down the country, will not be booted out of the party. He apologized on Thursday and the case against him was quickly abandoned.

After a mere five hours of debate, Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) formally withdrew a petition on Thursday to revoke party membership for firebrand politician Thilo Sarrazin, a former board member of Germany's central bank who drew widespread criticism for his extremely critical descriptions of Muslim immigrants in a bestselling book.

In an announcement that came surprisingly early, an arbitration committee of a local Berlin district chapter of the SPD -- which had been hearing petitions submitted from officials at the local, state and federal chapters of the party -- said all the requests for Sarrazin's exclusion from the Social Democrats had been withdrawn. The decision came after Sarrazin issued a statement in which he said it had not been his intention with his book to "discriminate against groups, particularly migrants." This was the second failed attempt in two years to ban Sarrazin from the center-left party.

The head of the arbitration committee, Sybille Uken, said a "constructive, respectful, serious and intense discussion" had been carried about by those involved in the case. "We have agreed not to allow the SPD to be divided," she said. Andrea Nahles, the national party's secretary general who led the proceedings against Sarrazin, refused to comment on the decision to drop the case, as did Sarrazin. » | dsl -- with wires | Friday, April 22, 2011

Massenausbruch in Afghanistan: Hunderte Taliban fliehen aus Gefängnis
STERN.DE: Spektakulärer Ausbruch in Kandahar: Hunderte Taliban sind aus einem Gefängnis in der afghanischen Krisenprovinz geflohen. Die Männer entkamen durch einen Tunnel.

Bei einem spektakulären Gefängnisausbruch in der südafghanischen Stadt Kandahar ist bis zu 540 Taliban-Kämpfern die Flucht gelungen. Die Gefangenen entkamen durch einen etwa 320 Meter langen Tunnel, wie die örtlichen Behörden am Montag mitteilten. Ein General sprach von 475 geflohenen Gefangenen, "darunter Taliban". Ein Sprecher der Aufständischen erklärte, Taliban-Truppen hätten 540 Häftlingen die Flucht ermöglicht. Darunter seien gut 100 Kommandeure, beim Rest handele es sich um Kämpfer. » | ben/DPA | Montag, 25. April 2011