Iran Defence Minister Forced to Leave Bolivia over 1994 Argentina Bombing

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Iran's defence minister was forced to leave Bolivia during a diplomatic trip after Argentina demanded his arrest in connection with the deadly 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre in Buenos Aires.

Ahmad Vahidi was invited to Bolivia by the country's Defence Ministry and attended a military ceremony in the city of Santa Cruz [de la Sierra] on Tuesday in the presence of Evo Morales, the Bolivian president.

He is on an Interpol wanted list over the bomb attack in the Argentine capital 17 years ago that killed 85 people and injured up to 300, making it the country's worst terrorist attack.

Argentina believes he planned the attack on the seven-storey Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AIMA) building and gave the final go ahead for the bombing.

Alberto Nisman, the lead prosecutor investigating the attack, contacted Interpol's offices in Bolivia to demand Vahidi's arrest as soon as Argentina became aware that he was in South America.

But Vahidi was travelling on a diplomatic passport granting him immunity from arrest and Bolivia instead told him that he must leave the country.

Jewish groups in Argentina were outraged by Vahidi's visit to a neighbouring country with Guillermo Borger, president of the AIMA describing it as "a provocation" and "a joke".

"It is a mockery and an affront that a friendly country such as Bolivia receives a minister accused of masterminding an attack that left 85 people dead," he said. » | Robin Yapp, São Paulo | Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Muslim Fanatic Fined £100 for 'Gay Free Zone' Stickers

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A Muslim fanatic who posted homophobic stickers declaring London's East End a "gay free zone" has been fined £100.

Mohammed Hasnath, 18, posted stickers warning gays that homosexuality was wrong and that "Allah is severe in punishment".
The stickers showed a rainbow flag with a black line through it stating "Gay free zone".

They caused outrage among the community, with one Jewish resident said it reminded him of Nazi signs his mother had faced in the 30s declaring an area a "Jew free zone".

Others said it made them fearful for their safety.

Hasnath, who is on benefits, admitted putting up a handful of the notes but said he had been given them, and pointed out there were "hundreds" of similar offensive stickers in the area.

Darren Watts, prosecuting, said: "This is in relation to a series of homophobic stickers put up around the East End area in February."

The stickers, which were posted at Bow Church DLR, on the inside of a bus, at a bus stop in Whitechapel and outside the Royal London Hospital, showed a rainbow flag with a black line through it.

Above the flag was printed "Arise and warn" and below it said "And fear Allah: Verily Allah is severe in punishment." Both were followed by references to the English version of the Koran. » | Wednesday, June 01, 2011

French Ex-cabinet Minister 'Travelled to Morocco for Orgy with Little Boys'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A French former minister went to Morocco for an orgy with "little boys", according to an ex-minister, who claims the country's strict privacy laws led to a cover-up.

Luc Ferry, a French philosopher who was in government from 2002 to 2004, told a TV chat show that an unnamed minister had been "caught" taking part in "an orgy with little boys" in the tourist town of Marrakesh.

"All of us here probably all know who I'm talking about," he told Le Grand Journal on channel Canal Plus on Monday night. Asked if he had any proof, he said: "Of course not. But I have testimony from cabinet members at the highest level, state authorities at the highest level."

He said he received the information from top government sources, "particularly from the prime minister", suggesting that reporting of the affair never reached the public due to strict libel and privacy laws.

Mr Ferry declined to name the former minister, implying that he feared France's notoriously strict libel laws. "If I let his name out now, it's me who will be charged and doubtlessly convicted, even if I know that the story is true."

His comments came amid an emotive national debate over whether journalists had failed to lift the lid on cases of sexual harassment because politicians' private lives have long been deemed off limits. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Neue Sicherheitsdoktrin: USA erklären das Netz zum Kriegsschauplatz

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Das Pentagon hat eine neue Richtlinie: Legt ein Hacker-Angriff wichtige Infrastrukturen lahm und gefährdet Menschenleben, kann die US-Armee einen Vergeltungsschlag starten - mit konventionellen Waffen. Kritiker warnen vor Überreaktionen und befürchten sinnlose Aufrüstung.

Hamburg - Die USA wähnen sich im Internet-Krieg - und behalten sich vor, künftig mit konventionellen Mitteln auf Hacker-Angriffe zu reagieren. Setzt ein Land Viren, Würmer und Trojaner in Bewegung, riskiert es eine Vergeltung durch Kampfjets, Panzer und Bodentruppen. "Wer die Stromnetze unseres Landes sabotiert, muss mit Raketen im Schornstein rechnen", sagte ein Pentagon-Sprecher dem "Wall Street Journal". Der Cyberwar soll nicht länger nur virtuell geführt werden.

Es ist ein Vorgeschmack auf eine neue Strategie der US-Regierung. Das Verteidigungsministerium ist derzeit dabei, formale Regeln zum Umgang mit Internet-Angriffen aufzustellen. Nach jahrelanger Diskussion soll die Cyber-Doktrin jetzt in Kraft treten. 30 Seiten umfasst die Strategie, Teile davon sollen im Juni vorgestellt werden. Kernbestandteil: Sollte ein Cyber-Angriff die Energieversorgung stören, Krankenhäuser ausschalten und somit viele Menschenleben in Gefahr bringen, wird zurückgeschlagen.

Mehr als 100 ausländische Geheimdienste würden versuchen, in amerikanische Rechnernetze einzudringen, warnte ein Pentagon-Sprecher. Einige der Angreifer seien in der Lage, die Kommunikationsnetze zum Erliegen zu bringen - doch bei den meisten Attacken ist das gar nicht die Absicht. Viel öfter geht es um geheime Informationen, um Spionage. Menschenleben sind hier zunächst nur indirekt betroffen. » | Von Ole Reißmann | Mittwoch 01. Juni 2011

Oskar Freysinger annule la venue de Geert Wilders en Valais

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: SÉCURITÉ | Après le refus de la commune de Savièse (VS) de laisser une salle à disposition, Oskar Freysinger, en accord avec le locataire d’une autre salle, «a décidé d’annuler la conférence pour des raisons de sécurité».

Le chef de file de l’extrême droite néerlandaise Geert Wilders ne donnera pas de conférence le 11 juin en Suisse.

Après le refus de la commune de Savièse (VS) de laisser une salle à disposition, Oskar Freysinger, en accord avec le locataire d’une autre salle, «a décidé d’annuler la conférence pour des raisons de sécurité».

Cette décision a été prise «en accord avec Geert Wilders», précise le communiqué de l’UDC Valais romand diffusé mardi soir. Le Néerlandais avait été invité par le conseiller national UDC à donner une conférence sur l’islam à Savièse.

Jeudi passé, les autorités communales avait refusé de louer la halle des fêtes de la localité pour cette conférence, en évoquant des problèmes de sécurité. » | ATS | Mercredi 01 Juin 2011

Marine Le Pen en campagne contre la double nationalité

LE POINT: La présidente du FN a écrit à l'ensemble des députés pour leur demander d'abroger la possibilité d'avoir deux nationalités.

La présidente du Front national Marine Le Pen a écrit aux 577 députés de l'Assemblée nationale pour leur demander d'abroger la possibilité d'avoir une double nationalité, française et étrangère, qu'elle juge être une "atteinte à la cohésion républicaine". "La multiplicité des appartenances à d'autres nations contribue aujourd'hui, et d'une manière de plus en plus préoccupante, à affaiblir chez nos compatriotes l'acceptation d'une communauté de destin, et par là même à miner les fondements de l'action de l'État", écrit la présidente du parti d'extrême droite, dans ce courrier révélé mercredi par France Soir et dont l'Agence France-Presse a eu une copie. » | Source AFP | Mercredi 01 Juin 2011

La France accuse Kadhafi d'avoir tué 10.000 Libyens

LE FIGARO: Les atrocités commises par les pro-Kadhafi visent à empêcher tout soulèvement dans la capitale.

Arrestations massives, rafles nocturnes, pillages, exécutions sommaires en pleine rue, consignes de viols données à haut niveau, disparitions en grand nombre, fosses communes: en l'absence de témoins étrangers, c'est un véritable drame humanitaire à huis clos qui serait en train de se jouer à Tripoli.

Confronté à une pression internationale accrue, Mouammar Kadhafi s'est lancé dans une fuite en avant, instaurant dans la capitale et sa région un climat de terreur qui ne cesse de se renforcer, selon diverses sources. Des «informations parcellaires mais concordantes» ont en effet été obtenues en ce sens, notamment auprès de personnes ayant fui le régime, par des organisations des droits de l'homme, des diplomates et des services de renseignements occidentaux. «C'est une politique de la terre brûlée, visant à maintenir l'effroi dans la capitale et à empêcher tout soulèvement dans la capitale», souligne-t-on à Paris, où l'on ne cache pas une «forte inquiétude».

Selon un diplomate proche du dossier, le bilan de ces exactions s'élève à «plusieurs milliers de morts, peut-être plus de 10.000», en trois mois à Tripoli. Un chiffre moins important que les 20.000 tués annoncés le mois dernier par la rébellion, mais très considérable néanmoins pour une ville de deux millions d'habitants. Quelque 20.000 personnes ont été arrêtées, ajoute-t-on de même source. «Kadhafi étant capable de tout et notamment du pire, on ne peut avoir à l'avenir que de mauvaises surprises», s'alarme-t-on au Quai d'Orsay [en anglais]. » | Par Alain Barluet | Mercredi 01 Juin 2011

L'Europe ne vole pas au secours de Khodorkovski

LE FIGARO: La Cour européenne des droits de l'homme considère que la condamnation de l'ex-tycoon russe n'est pas politique.

Du fond de sa cellule moscovite, Mikhaïl Khodorkovski a reçu, mardi, un maigre coup de pouce de la justice internationale. La Cour européenne des droits de l'homme (CEDH) a reconnu la Russie coupable de huit infractions relatives aux conditions d'interpellation et de détention préventive de 2003 à 2005, de l'ancien oligarque. La haute juridiction de Strasbourg a néanmoins refusé, comme le souhaitait les plaignants, de voir un «motif politique» derrière la décision des autorités judiciaires russes. » | Par Pierre Avril | Mercredi 01 Juin 2011

Egyptian Banker Charged with Sexual Assault Is Granted Bail

THE GUARDIAN: Mahmoud Abdel-Salam Omar to reappear in court to face claims he sexually abused maid in luxury New York hotel

The former head of one of Egypt's biggest banks has been granted bail after being arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a maid at a luxury hotel in New York.

The arrest of Mahmoud Abdel-Salam Omar on Monday came two weeks after the then International Monetary Fund chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was charged with trying to rape a hotel maid at another Manhattan hotel.

Strauss-Kahn, who is under house arrest in New York, has denied charges of a criminal sexual act, attempted rape, sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment and forcible touching.
Manhattan criminal court judge Gerald Lebovits granted 72-year-old Omar bail for $25,000 (£15,000) cash and a $50,000 bond. » | Reuters in New York | Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Arab Suburbs in East Jerusalem Could Be Rebranded with Hebrew Names
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Arab suburbs in East Jerusalem could be forcibly rebranded with Hebrew names, under plans being considered by Israel's parliament.

The controversial initiative is designed to entrench Israeli "ownership" of East Jerusalem, which was captured by Israel in the Six Day War of 1967 and subsequently annexed – a move that has not been recognised by the international community.

The bill was introduced by Tzippi Hotovely, a prominent hawk in the Likud party of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister. It is understood to have the support of a majority in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, which has been accused of passing a series of anti-Palestinian laws in recent years.

Under the bill, Israeli television channels would be instructed to refer to the suburbs only by their new Hebrew names.

"The goal of the initiative is to strengthen the connection with Jerusalem by making it obligatory to give Hebrew names to neighbourhoods in the capital with Jewish residents," Miss Hotovely wrote in her proposal for the bill. "It is important that the neighbourhoods no longer be called by their Arab names." » | Adrian Blomfield, Jerusalem | Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Georgia Passes Law to Destroy Soviet-era Monuments and Street Names

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Georgia will destroy Soviet-era monuments and change any street names which refer to its Communist past, MPs have decided.

The parliamentarians passed a new law on Tuesday, aimed at distancing the country from its former master Russia.

Ties between Russia and Georgia have soured since President Mikheil Saakashvili ousted post-Soviet leader Eduard Shevardnadze in the 2003 "Rose Revolution" and vowed to move the country out of Moscow's sphere of influence.

"Our people have been waiting for this law to be passed for 20 years and I'm proud that it is passed by this parliament," said Gia Tortladze, an opposition lawmaker who proposed the law.

The so-called Freedom Charter will set up a commission led by the Interior Ministry to identify symbols, monuments, inscriptions, street and park names "that may reflect or contain elements of Soviet or fascist ideology" and consider their removal.

The law will also prevent former KGB agents and senior Communist party officials from occupying high-ranking positions in government. » | Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Barcelona Bans Bikinis On Its Streets
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Tourists who attempt to stroll bare-chested or in swimwear through the streets of Barcelona will be ordered to cover up or face fines of up to £260 under a ban that came into force this week

The Catalan capital has prohibited beachwear beyond the playa in an attempt to clean up its image and rid the city streets of unsightly flesh.

The by-law has been introduced following a long campaign by residents and local businesses sick of the sight of tourists wandering around the streets, dining in restaurants and visiting shops in various states of undress.

"Some people who live here are bothered by tourists who go about wearing just a bikini in the street, or men with their shirts off," said Assumpta Escarp, a Barcelona councillor who fought for the ban.

"We have to maintain standards." » | Fiona Govan, Madrid | Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Qatar Freezes Assets of Ousted Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Qatar has frozen assets belonging to deposed Tunisian president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his family, a spokesman for the Tunisian Justice Ministry said.

Mr Ben Ali ruled Tunisia for 24 years until he was ousted in January by a popular movement which sparked copycat uprisings across the Arab world.

Mr Ben Ali's son-in-law Sakher Materi fled to Qatar after the fall of the government.

Other members of the Ben Ali family live in the United Arab Emirates and in Canada.

"Qatar has issued an order to freeze the funds and assets of the deposed president and his wife in response to a letter from the Tunisian minister of justice," said Kathem Zine el Abidine, a ministry spokesman. » | Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Syrian President Bashar Assad Issues Amnesty

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Syrian President Bashar Assad has issued a general amnesty that includes all political prisoners in a gesture aimed at calming protests that have rocked the country for weeks.

Syrian state television said the amnesty covers all crimes committed before May 31.

It could affect 10,000 people who have been rounded up during the protests, according to activists, and includes prisoners belonging to political parties, including the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

The arrests were part of the government's harsh repression of a two-month-old popular uprising demanding Mr Assad's resignation. Mr Assad has offered gestures before, like cancelling hated emergency laws in effect for decades, but the demonstrations have grown and spread through much of the country.

Protesters say that in spite of the cancellation of the laws that gave security officers the power to arrest people without formal justification, Mr Assad's forces have rounded up thousands of people for protesting against his government.

Human rights groups say over 1,000 protesters have been killed in harsh response against protests, including live fire and tank shelling. » | Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Libya: Col Gaddafi Plots Retaliatory Strikes If Forced from Leadership
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Col Muammar Gaddafi is plotting to unleash a wave of retaliatory attacks in the vaccuum of power if he is forced from the presidency.

His regime has handed out thousands of weapons to ordinary civilians, saying they would turn Libya into a "living hell" if Nato ground forces invade.

He is also gathering a coterie of young members of his own tribe around him to make a last stand as his regular forces are depleted by defections and Nato bombing.

Anti-Gaddafi activists fear they could unleash a wave of killings and revenge attacks if Col Gaddafi is forced out whether by western military might or negotiations.

“The reason why people are given guns now is because Gaddafi wants it to be chaos whether he is in power or out of power,” said one activist living in a suburb of southern Tripoli.

The regime is playing up the spectre of a wave of vengeance similar to post-2003 Iraq rather than denying it. Moussa Ibrahim, the chief spokesman, said even if there were a negotiated solution opposition leaders like Mustafa Abdul Jalil, chairman of the Benghazi-based Transitional National Council, would be targeted by loyalists.

“Jalil will never be safe in Libya,” he said. “He would be killed, such is the hatred we have for him. He would have to live with permanent security guards.” » | Richard Spencer, Tripoli | Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Muslim Teenage Beauty Queen 'Stoned to Death'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A teenage Muslim girl has been stoned to death in Ukraine after taking part in a beauty contest, it has been claimed.

The body of 19-year-old Katya Koren was found dumped in a forest on the Crimean peninsula a week after she went missing amid suggestions that she had been 'punished' for flouting Sharia law.

Police said that Miss Koren, a former participant in regional heats of the Miss Ukraine beauty pageant, had suffered multiple blows to the head inflicted by one or more stones or rocks.

There were conflicting reports of how and why she was murdered. Some local newspapers claimed she had been stoned to death by hardline Muslims upset by her participation in the beauty contest and that police had three suspects in their sights.

But the police said her killing had nothing to do with sectarian violence and that the girl had been killed by a psychologically troubled classmate who had given her a lift on his moped and then robbed and possibly raped her before battering her to death with a rock.

"A student did it, killing his classmate. There is no other underlying reason, neither religious nor linked with inter-ethnic conflicts," said Sergei Reznikov, a senior policeman involved in the case. » | Andrew Osborn | Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Rubinstein Plays Chopin Nocturne Op. 15 No. 2 in F Sharp

Chopin Nocturne Op.9 No.2: Arthur Rubinstein

Iran Sparks Diplomatic Row with Germany Closing Airspace to Angela Merkel
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Iran briefly closed its airspace to Angela Merkel's plane as she flew to India, delaying her arrival and sparking a diplomatic row with Germany.

The German chancellor was held up as she flew overnight for a meeting on Tuesday with Manmohan Singh, the Indian prime minister. Her plane was forced to circle for two hours over Turkey before receiving permission to cross Iran.

The Iranian ambassador in Berlin was summoned by Guido Westerwelle, the foreign minister, who said hindering Mrs Merkel's route was "absolutely unacceptable". » | Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Saudi Woman Driver Freed after Agreeing to Quit Campaign
THE GUARDIAN: Manal al-Sharif, jailed after posting a YouTube video of herself driving, leaves Women2Drive movement

A Saudi Arabian woman who was jailed for driving a car has been released after nine days, having pledged to take no further part in a campaign to persuade the Saudi authorities to allow women to drive.

Manal al-Sharif, 32, was freed from the women's prison in Dammam on Monday. She was arrested after posting a video of herself driving around the eastern city of Khobar as part of the Women2Drive campaign of which she was a key organiser.

Her case attracted international attention after her lawyer said she had been charged with driving without a licence, prompting other women to do the same and provoking public debate in Saudi Arabia. Two other women associated with the campaign were also questioned by police and warned off further campaigning. One Muslim cleric even called for Sharif to be lashed.

"She wrote a pledge that she will not drive a car and after what has happened she has decided to give up the campaign and not be part of the protests," said Sharif's lawyer, Adnan al-Salah.

He said the authorities had not imposed the conditions, but Sharif had decided to make the pledge herself.

The climax of the Women2Drive campaign, a mass drive on 17 June partly inspired by demonstrations against restrictions on civil liberties across the Middle East, now appears to be in doubt.

On Tuesday, Sharif expressed "profound gratitude" to King Abdullah for ordering her release and appeared to abandon her call for women to be allowed to drive, according to a written statement published by the al-Hayat newspaper. » | Robert Booth | Tuesday, May 31, 2011


Saudi Arabia’s ‘Women2Drive’ Movement Reacts to Arrest »

FACEBOOK: Women2Drive »

TWITTER: @Women2Drive »

Related »

Pat Condell: Let's Blame the Jews

Die bestbezahlten Politiker: Was sie verdienen
DIE PRESSE: Betteln müssen sie alle nicht. Trotzdem gibt es zwischen den Staatschefs dieser Welt dicke Gehaltsunterschiede. Ein Überblick über die Bestverdiener:

1. Singapur

Dieser Mann spielt in einer eigenen Liga, kein anderer Politiker verdient annähernd so viel Geld wie er: Umgerechnet 2,2 Mio. Euro casht Singapurs Premierminister Lee Hsien Loong im Jahr ab. Der Gehalts-Weltmeister findet daran nichts anrüchiges: "Unsere Einstellung ist: Wenn du die besten Leute willst, dann musst du dafür auch zahlen." »

Une Pakistanaise chrétienne condamnée à mort pour blasphème

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: En juin 2009, au Pakistan, Asia Bibi, une villageoise chrétienne, boit l’eau d’un puits réservé aux musulmans. Elle est accusée de la souiller. Accusée de "blasphème", elle est condamnée à mort.

"Blasphème". C'est le titre du livre qu'Asia Bibi, chrétienne pakistaniase [sic] condamnée à mort pour avoir bu l'eau d'un puits réservé aux musulmans, a co-écrit avec une journaliste depuis le fond de sa cellule. Dans ce témoignage, elle appelle à l'aide.

Pendant cinq mois, Anne-Isabelle Tollet, reporter à "France 24", a pu communiquer avec cette mère de cinq enfants, condamnée à la pendaison en novembre 2010 pour blasphème. Elle est la seule femme dans ce cas au Pakistan, selon les associations de défense des droits de l’Homme.

Depuis, elle attend dans sa cellule sans fenêtre de la prison de Sheikhupura son jugement en appel. » | AFP | Mardi 31 Mai 2011

L'UE demande au président Saleh de quitter le pouvoir au Yémen
LE POINT: Catherine Ashton, chef de la diplomatique de l'Union européenne, est "choquée" par l'usage de la force à Taëz.

La chef de la diplomatie de l'UE Catherine Ashton s'est dite mardi "choquée" par l'usage de la force à Taëz, au Yémen, et a de nouveau demandé au président Saleh de signer "sans délai" l'offre de médiation du Conseil de coopération du Golfe (CCG) prévoyant son départ. "Il est temps maintenant, sans nouvelles échappatoires, de signer et de mettre en oeuvre l'offre de médiation du Conseil de coopération du Golfe (CCG)", a souligné Mme Ashton dans un communiqué. » | Source AFP | Mardi 31 Mai 2011

Franco Frattini Pledges Support to Libyan Rebels
Al Jazeera's Cal Perry reports from the rebel stronghold of Benghazi on Franco Frattini's visit to Libya

Egypt's Mubarak Unfit for Prison Move: Prosecutor

REUTERS: Egypt's public prosecutor said on Tuesday that ousted President Hosni Mubarak was in no condition to be transferred to a prison hospital and would remain in a health facility in a Red Sea resort for the time being.

Mubarak, overthrown on February 11 after a popular uprising, has been detained since mid-April in a hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh, rather than in a prison medical center, after it was reported that he suffered heart problems during initial questioning.

A medical team determined that Mubarak should not be transferred "outside of Sharm el-Sheikh hospital at the current time and to hire a specialized medical team to oversee his treatment," the prosecutor said in a statement.

"The committee examined the patient in his intensive care room and found that he is clearly frail and depressed and cannot leave the bed without assistance," it said.

It added that the Torah prison hospital on Cairo's outskirts was "unsuitable for a patient in a critical condition." » | Reporting by Dina Zayed; editing by Michael Roddy | CAIRO | Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Libya's Gaddafi: I Will Not Leave My Country
REUTERS: Muammar Gaddafi is emphatic he will not leave Libya, South African President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday after talks with the Libyan leader that left prospects for a negotiated end to the conflict looking dim.

But new questions emerged over how long Gaddafi could hold on after a senior United Nations aid official said shortages of food and medicine in areas of Libya controlled by Gaddafi amounted to a "time bomb."

Within hours of Zuma's departure from Tripoli late on Monday, Libyan television reported that NATO aircraft had resumed attacks, striking what it called civilian and military sites in Tripoli and Tajoura, just east of the capital.

Zuma was in Tripoli to try to revive an African "roadmap" for ending the conflict, which started in February with an uprising against Gaddafi and has since turned into a war with thousands of people killed. » | Peter Graff | TRIPOLI | Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Zuma Meets with Gaddafi
May 30 - South African president Jacob Zuma meets with Gaddafi, marking the first time the Libyan leader has been seen in public since May 11. Deborah Gembara reports

Mistrust Abounds as Bahrain to Lift Emergency Law
ZAWYA: MANAMA - Tanks have begun withdrawing from Manama's streets ahead of the planned lifting Wednesday of a state of emergency enacted amid a crackdown on demonstrators but mistrust still abounds in Bahrain.

Backed by Saudi-led Gulf troops, Bahraini forces in mid-March crushed the Shiite-led pro-democracy demonstrations that had paralysed central Manama, the capital of Sunni-ruled Bahrain, for a month.

Authorities continued with a crackdown on Shiites, who make up the majority of the kingdom's population, storming their villages and arresting hundreds of men and women, mostly for the mere accusation of supporting the peaceful protests.

But with the apparent gradual return to normality, stories are told behind closed doors of continued persecution of Shiites and mass dismissals from public-sector jobs for people accused of participating in the protests.

Sunnis, on the other hand, have been radicalised, with many of them welcoming the government's heavy-handed approach as a measure that saved the tiny kingdom from an Iranian-backed[A] Shiite plot to overthrow the regime.

Many do not trust the Shiites. » | Ali Khalil | Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Italy: 25 Egyptian Illegal Immigrants Repatriated
ADN KRONOS INTERNATIONAL: Rome - Twenty-five Egyptian illegal immigrants were deported on a flight from the Sicilian city of Catania to Cairo, Italy's interior ministry said.

Most of the migrants had arrived last week on Italy's southernmost island of Lampedusa by boat from Libya, according to the ministry.

The migrants had claimed to be Iranian and minors under 18 years of age, but officials managed to establish that they were in fact Egyptian adults.

The interior ministry said. 412 Egyptian illegal immigrants have been repatriated from Italy since January. » | AKI | Monday, May 30, 2011

Russia Shuts Leading Islamic Organization

ON ISLAM: CAIRO – A court decision to close a leading Islamic organization in Russia was criticized as bureaucratic political order targeting the Muslim minority and reflecting a growing authorities' desire to bring the country's Muslims under Kremlin control.

"This is a bureaucratic order from people who want the Muslim part of society to be represented by puppets," Abdul-Wahid Niyazov, the chairman and founder of the Islamic Cultural Center, told The Moscow Times on Friday, May 27.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court confirmed a decision from the Justice Ministry last fall to close the center for "multiple violations of financial regulations."

The court order said that 21 of the center's 54 regional branches lacked proper legal documentation. » | OnIslam & Newspapers | Friday, May 27, 2011

Bangladesh Retains Islam as State Religion

ON ISLAM: DHAKA – Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced her support for retaining Islam as the state religion in the Bengali constitution, relinquishing articles in 1972 constitution about the secular nature of the state, Indo Asian News Service (IANS) reported on Tuesday, May 31.

The government would like “Bismillah Rahman-ur-Rahim; meaning ‘In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate’,” retained, Sheikh Hasina told a special parliamentary committee formed to study changes in the constitution in the light of Supreme Court verdicts on Monday.

Hasina’s aids explained that the decision was issued as the ethos of the majority of the population could not be ignored.

Bangladesh is the world's third-largest Muslim majority nation with a population of some 148 million.

The country has a secular legal system but in matters related to inheritance and marriage Muslims follow Sharia'h. » | OnIslam & News Agencies | Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Can Strauss-Kahn Buy His Way to Freedom?

THE INDEPENDENT: The ex-IMF chief is sparing no expense to stay out of jail. David Usborne reports

He has bought himself freedom on bail and secured a luxury townhouse in Manhattan where he must drum his fingers until trial. But Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former IMF chief accused of sexual assault, is busy investing in something more vital: the crack defence team he hopes will keep him out of prison for good.

Money is being spent quickly to win the services not only of braggadocio-filled lawyers like Benjamin Brafman, whose past clients have included P Diddy and Michael Jackson, but also figures more used to operating in the shadows. Former CIA spies may be on board, as well as a retired US diplomat, a secretive security and investigative firm in New York and some well connected PR pals from Paris.

The defendant, known around the world now by his initials, DSK, has denied the charges against him of a criminal sexual act, attempted rape, sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment and forcible touching, all arising from an encounter with a hotel maid in Manhattan on 14 May. Even so, with the trial still months away, he may want to test the premise that justice is blind to money and social stature.

His lawyers told a judge at his arraignment that he was worth "roughly $2m". But they added that Ann[e] Sinclair, his wife and the granddaughter of the art collector Paul Rosenberg, had "substantially greater assets". It is Ms Sinclair, who rushed to New York when her husband was arrested, who found the townhouse (monthly rental $50,000) and has led the hiring spree so preparations for the trial can begin. » | David Usborne | Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Washington Should Plan for a Post-Assad Syria

YA LIBNAN – EDITORIAL: Last week, U.S. President Barack Obama gave Syrian President Bashar al-Assad an ultimatum: Lead a transition to democracy, or, in Obama’s words, “get out of the way.”

The speech recognized an inconvenient truth for Washington: Although the Assad regime has not yet reached a tipping point like that of the Ben Ali and Mubarak regimes, nearly three months of protests across Syria have shaken the Assad regime to its core.

Government forces have killed 1,000 protesters and arrested another 10,000, yet demonstrators continue to fill the streets demanding the fall of the government.

Assad is now caught in a dilemma: He can continue relying on his fellow Alawite security chiefs and the minority system they dominate to persecute the predominately Sunni protesters, or he can enact deep political reforms that could convince the protesters to return home but would end the Alawite-led system on which he so heavily relies. Either way, the Assad regime as it has existed for more than four decades is disintegrating.

Now, to follow through on his bold declaration last week, Obama and his advisers must plan for a Syria without the Assad regime as it currently exists. To do so, Washington should try to push Assad from power while pulling in a new leadership.

As a start of this “push” strategy, Obama must go even further than he did in his speech last week and publicly state that Assad must go. Such a move would signal that the United States will no longer deal with Assad. Put bluntly, high-level U.S. officials would no longer plead for Assad’s support on questions of U.S. interest in the region, particularly the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Iraq, Iran and Lebanon. » | Mara Karlin and Andrew J. Tabler | Editorial | Monday, May 27, 2011

Obama and Cameron Kissing

NOW LEBANON – BLOG: A “special relationship,” indeed.

Is it weird to be slightly turned on by an image of US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron kissing?

What’s the verdict, peeps: is this Photoshopped? Read on and comment » | Angie Nassar | Monday, May 30, 2011

Kuwait Port Encroaches on Territory: Iraq
Kuwait's proposed Mubarak al Kabeer port on the island of Bubiyan encroaches on its territorial waters says the Iraqi government.

It will also block two of its shipping lanes -lifelines for its crucial import and export trade.

Al Jazeera's Omar al Saleh reports from Baghdad.

Sexist French Politicians 'In Trouble' over Treatment of Women

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: France's male politicians are becoming increasingly anxious about their futures after one female minister warned half of the country's male MPs were potentially "in trouble" due to their treatment of women.

Still reeling from the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former International Monetary Fund chief, on sexual assault charges, France's political class was struck by a fresh sex scandal on Sunday with the resignation of Georges Tron, the public works minister accused of molesting two former female staff members.

The massage enthusiast's "foot fetish", which two ex-town hall employees in their thirties claim morphed into full-blown abuse, has sparked a backlash from France's embattled female politicians. They are calling for an end to the "French exception" of "everyday machismo" among male peers often bordering on harassment. » | Henry Samuel in Paris | Monday, May 30, 2011

Swedish King Denies Improprieties as Scandal Grows

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf on Monday gave a rare interview in an attempt to quash a swelling scandal, flatly rejecting media reports he had visited strip clubs and even had indirect contact with organised crime.

In a long interview with the TT news agency published late on Monday, Sweden's head of state denied recent reported claims from a former mafia member, Mille Markovic, that he had pictures in his possession showing the king in a sex club in the same shot as two naked women.

"No, it is impossible that they exist," the king insisted, stressing that "it is also difficult to comment on something one has not seen and no one else has seen either."

The royal court has demanded that public broadcaster TV4, which in a report two weeks ago about the alleged pictures said a journalist had seen them, show the shots to prove there is any substance to the claims.

The TV4 report and a new book about another shady figure from Sweden's underworld alleged friends of the king had been willing to pay large sums of money to block the publication of pictures of the monarch in compromising situations.

One of the king's childhood friends, Ander Lettstroem, admitted in a statement last week he had contacted people involved with organised crime, but insisted it was purely his own initiative and had nothing to do with Carl XVI Gustaf. » | Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Libya: Senior Officers Defect from Gaddafi Army
BBC: Eight senior officers who defected from Col Muammar Gaddafi's army have appealed to fellow soldiers to join them in backing the rebels.

One of the eight accused pro-Gaddafi forces of "genocide".

The men - who are said to include five generals - appeared as a news conference in Rome. » | Monday, May 30, 2011

St Patrick's Catholic Church in Soho to Reopen after £3.5m Restoration

THE GUARDIAN: 'It's not a conventional parish,' admits pastor of London church ministering to sex workers, gay men and generations of migrants

A former bordello and music hall owned by one of Casanova's mistresses is perhaps an unlikely site for one of Britain's oldest Roman Catholic churches, St Patrick's, which sits amid the bright lights and fleshpots of London's Soho.

"It is not a conventional parish," observes Father Alexander Sherbrooke, who has overseen a 14-month, £3.5m project to restore the church and rid it of the damage caused by damp, dry rot, urban pollution, incense and candlelight. It reopens this week with a specially composed Magnificat from James MacMillan and a mass from Cardinal George Pell, who is flying in from Rome for the occasion.

The traditional nature of the celebrations – vespers and canticles – highlights the contrast between the orthodoxy of St Patrick's and what lies outside it.

Sherbrooke says: "You get a knock on the door and it can be someone who is successful in business, someone who wants a sandwich or someone caught up in the sex industry. We leave our SOS prayer line calling cards in telephone boxes – where you might see other services advertised.

"One man who called said he was a pimp and wanted to break out of his occupation but that it was too lucrative for him to leave. Do we just accept the way people are? People get into ruts they find it difficult to break out of. We can say, as Christians, that God can and does intervene." » | Riazat Butt | Monday, May 30, 2011

Deutsche Islam Konvertiten - Terror Gefahr?

President Zuma in Tripoli
South African President Jacob Zuma has arrived in Tripoli for talks with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Zuma is expected to attempt to revive an African roadmap for a ceasefire between rebels and government forces.

Al Jazeera's Cal Perry reports from Benghazi.

Le blasphème qui tue

CYBERPRESSE.CA: (Pakistan) Au Pakistan, personne ne peut offenser le Prophète sans risquer la prison. Cette loi sur le blasphème divise le pays depuis qu'Asia Bibi, illettrée, a été condamnée à mort parce qu'elle a insulté le Prophète. D'un côté, des militants extrémistes prêts à tout pour qu'elle soit pendue, de l'autre, des politiciens assassinés parce qu'ils ont osé la défendre. Au milieu, un gouvernement paralysé qui ne sait plus comment désamorcer la crise. La Presse a enquêté sur le terrain. Histoire d'une bombe à retardement.

Asia Bibi avait 38 ans lorsque sa vie est devenue un cauchemar.

Le 14 juin 2009, elle travaillait dans le champ avec trois femmes. Asia est chrétienne, les femmes, musulmanes.

Elles se chicanaient parfois, mais elles finissaient toujours par se réconcilier. Elles vivaient à Ittanwalli, village pauvre perdu au milieu des champs. La route de terre est craquelée par le soleil, des ânes tirent des charrettes et des chiens dorment au milieu du chemin, tourmentés par les mouches. À Ittanwalli, le temps est suspendu.

En juin, le thermomètre frôle les 50 degrés. Asia travaillait, écrasée par la chaleur. Les femmes avaient soif, elles ont bu de l'eau. Asia a touché leur verre et bu à son tour. C'est à ce moment précis que tout a basculé. Ce geste inoffensif -une chrétienne qui touche l'eau d'une musulmane- a plongé le Pakistan dans une grave crise politico-religieuse.

Les musulmanes ont accusé Asia Bibi d'avoir souillé leur eau. Les femmes se sont chicanées, le ton a monté, Asia s'est énervée et elle a insulté l'islam et le prophète Mahomet. » | Michèle Ouimet, envoyée spéciale, La Presse | Lundi 30 Mai 2011

Israel Can’t Trust Obama

YNET NEWS: Op-ed: President Obama’s recent speeches highlighted his affinity for the Palestinian cause

When President Obama announced his support for the establishment of a Palestinian state along the 1967 lines as the starting point for negotiations, he in effect adopted the PLO Phased Plan for the gradual destruction of Israel.

While Hamas adopted the position of destroying Israel in one step through constant armed struggle, the PLO, led by Fatah adopted in 1974 a new political method of achieving that goal through two steps. According to the plan, the first step is the establishment of a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders; the second step is the liberation of all of Palestine by destroying the Jewish state through armed struggle or through the “the right of return” of millions of Palestinians to Israel, thus demographically and democratically causing Israel to lose its Jewish majority and character.

In his Middle East speech, Obama divided the core issues of the negotiations into two phases. According to the order set by the president, he in effect demanded of Israel to give up its only bargaining chip of land, based on the 1967 lines with “mutually agreed swaps” in the first phase, before negotiating t[he] other substantive questions such as the “right of return,” the Hamas-Fatah alliance, and recognition of Israel as the Jewish state.

Obama argued that by mentioning “land swaps,” he did not actually call for Israel to withdraw to the indefensible ‘67 lines, as Israel can trade off other land to avoid the ‘67 lines. But in reality the president handed the Palestinians a tremendous victory by embracing their assertion that they somehow have the implicit right to every square inch beyond the Green Line and thus must be compensated on a 1:1 basis for any adjustment. This means that if Israel wishes to keep the Western Wall or the Jewish Quarter in east Jerusalem, the Palestinians would have to agree first and then in return Israel would have to compensate them with a land swap from inside tiny Israel.

Furthermore, when the president mentioned in his speech “the fate of the Palestinian refugees”, he did not say that there will be no “right of return” to Israel proper and that the Palestinian refugees and their descendants will have to find their home in a future state of Palestine. » | Shoula Romano Horing | Sunday, May 29, 2011

Yemen on the Brink of Civil War
Hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators speak out in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. Al Jazeera's Gerald Tan reports

Al-Sharif Seeks Pardon: Reports
ARAB NEWS: DAMMAM/JEDDAH: Detained motorist Manal Al-Sharif has reportedly written a letter of appeal to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah seeking her release.

The story was being widely discussed on websites and online editions of some Arabic newspapers on Sunday, but there was no official confirmation that she has written to the king. Repeated attempts by Arab News to get in touch with her lawyer, Adnan Al-Saleh, were unsuccessful.

A Jeddah-datelined AFP story quoted the lawyer as saying: “Al-Sharif hopes that the king will order her release and close her file.” Al-Sharif was arrested on May 21 while driving in Alkhobar, a day after she posted footage on the video-sharing website YouTube showing her behind the wheel.

Her father, Masoud Al-Sharif, initially spoke to the media after her arrest but has since declined to speak to any member of the media. “He is very upset at being misquoted and misrepresented in news reports,” a source told Arab News. “The father was particularly upset at the media for publishing baseless reports such as that of her breaking down in the women’s prison in Dammam.”

The other reason for the father not to speak to the media, according to the source, is to avoid unnecessary controversies.

“Some sections of the media have indeed tried to sensationalize the whole story without realizing the adverse impact it has on her case,” the source said.

Al-Sharif's father called on Eastern Province Gov. Prince Muhammad bin Fahd last week and explained his daughter's situation and change of heart.

“She has committed a mistake and has now realized her mistake and has since withdrawn from the so-called June 17 campaign through a social media website that incited women to take the wheel,” he was quoted as saying in the local Arabic media.

Ghazi Al-Shammari, a local official who met Manal Al-Sharif last week, also said that she feels remorseful.

“I made a mistake, and I’m a daughter of this nation. I have nobody but my family and the sons and daughters of my nation. I advise girls of my generation to rally behind our leadership and the Ulema. They know better than us about our condition. I’m confident about what I’m saying after sitting alone and contemplating,” Al-Shammari quoted Al-Sharif as saying in one Arabic newspaper. » | Siraj Wahab & Muhammad Humaidan | ARAB NEWS | Published: Sunday, May 29, 2011; Updated: Monday, May 30, 2011

Anne Sinclair, nouvelle heroïne de la presse people
Face au drame qui la frappe, les magazines mettent l’épouse courageuse et pugnace en avant plutôt que la femme blessée