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Tuesday, January 03, 2012
* Her Royal Highness Princess Basma Bint Saud Bin Abdul Aziz
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LE POINT: Abdelilah Benkirane est le chef du parti Justice et développement (PJD), qui a remporté les législatives de novembre 2011.
Le roi Mohammed VI du Maroc a désigné mardi à Rabat les membres du gouvernement qui sera dirigé, comme prévu, par Abdelilah Benkirane, chef du Parti ustice et développement (PJD), islamiste, vainqueur des législatives de novembre dernier, selon une source officielle. » | AFP | mardi 03 janvier 2012
The ailing 83-year-old former strongman, who was wheeled into court on a stretcher, is accused of involvement in the deaths of protesters during the uprising that overthrew him in February.
His former interior minister Habib al-Adly and six security chiefs were also in the dock, as were his two sons Alaa and Gamal who are being tried on corruption charges.
Mubarak was "a tyrannical leader who sought to hand power to his younger son Gamal, who spread corruption in the country and opened the door to his friends and relatives, ruining the country without any accountability," said prosecutor Mustafa Suleiman.
Judge Ahmed Refaat heard from the prosecution for an hour before adjourning the hearing to Wednesday. » | Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Mr Sarkozy told an audience of French military personnel that the Syrian people should be allowed "to freely choose their own destiny" after facing what he denounced as a brutal repression that inspires "disgust and revulsion".
Meanwhile, an explosion struck a gas pipeline on Tuesday in central Syria in an attack the government blamed on terrorists, the state-run news agency said. There were no casualties.
The blast happened near the town Rastan in the restive Homs province, SANA reported.
There have been several pipeline attacks since the Syrian uprising began in mid-March, but it is not clear who is behind them at a time when violence across the country is spiralling out control, unearthing long-standing grievances and resentments.
The government blames saboteurs and terrorists for the blasts. » | Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Her Royal Highness Princess Basma Bint Saud Bin Abdul Aziz is one of the more unlikely critics of the élite that runs Saudi Arabia. The oil state boasts a 15,000-strong royal family but it is rare for a voice from within its ranks to become part of the growing clamour for reform in the desert kingdom.
As the youngest daughter of the country's second king and niece to its current ruler, she is from the highest echelons of the Saudi monarchy. Just as her privileged status gives her considerable authority in the debate about change, so this carefully dissenting royal has much to lose if her actions incur the displeasure of Saudi Arabia's ultra-conservative regime.
But then Basma Bint Saud is no ordinary Saudi princess.
A 47-year-old divorcee and a successful businesswoman, she has spent the last five years in the country building a parallel career as a journalist and a blogger, confronting head on sensitive subjects from the abuse of women and poverty in the world's second biggest oil exporter to the chilling effect of the mutawa, the kingdom's draconian religious police.
Such has been her success at shining a light on the problems in Saudi society (a Facebook fan page has 25,000 followers), she now conducts her campaign not from her birthplace in the capital, Riyadh, or her previous home in Jeddah but a recently-acquired house in the west London suburb of Acton which she shares with three of her five children. » | Cahal Milmo | Tuesday, January 03, 2012
British banks should brace themselves for claims from "disgruntled" bankers who will not roll over and accept lower bonuses than usual despite the huge public and shareholder backlash against out-of-control pay, legal experts have warned.
One claim for £1.5m is understood to have already made its way into the system last year, after a banker believed their 2011 bonus was too low.
The case is believed to have been rejected before it got to court, with lawyers acting for the bank branding the claim "whimsical".
Judges are also said to be unsympathetic towards bankers' claims that their bonuses are too small in the current climate.
However, City lawyers said an increasing number of bankers were building cases in preparation of lower bonus payouts and were prepared to fight it out at court. Read on and comment » | Louisa Peacock, Jobs Editor | Monday, January 02, 2012
My comment:
I see no difference between the top-feeders and the bottom-feeders. They are all a scourge to a decent society. Let the bastards sue! Incarcerate all those that can be incarcerated. They got us into this mess; they should pay the price. – © Mark
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Monday, January 02, 2012
Der Golfstaat Bahrain ist seit Sonntag Schauplatz von heftigen Kämpfen zwischen schiitischen Demonstranten und Einheiten der Polizei. Bei dem Einsatz wurden bisher mehrere Dutzend Menschen verletzt. Die Sicherheitskräfte gingen nach Angaben von Oppositionsvertretern mit Tränengas und Eisenstangen gegen überwiegend jugendliche Demonstranten vor, die sich am Sonntagabend in Sitra und anderen Ortschaften nahe der Hauptstadt Manama versammelt hatten. Die amtlichen Nachrichtenagentur BNA sprach von einer "Gruppe von Saboteuren", die bei einem illegalen Protestmarsch Straßen verbarrikadiert und Polizisten mit Steinen, Knüppeln und Molotow-Cocktails angegriffen hätten.
Der Grund für die Unruhen war die Beerdigung eines 15-Jährigen, der am Samstag von einem Tränengasgeschoß am Kopf getroffen wurde - er starb wenig später an den schweren Verletzungen. » | Ag. / Red. | Montag 02. Januar 2012
TAGES ANZEIGER: Binnen drei Tagen sollen alle Christen den Norden Nigerias verlassen, fordert die islamistische Sekte Boko Haram. Gleichzeitig wollen die Extremisten auch, dass alle Muslime vom Süden in den Norden ziehen.
Die islamistische Sekte Boko Haram hat die im Norden Nigerias lebenden Christen aufgefordert, den hauptsächlich von Muslimen bewohnten Landesteil umgehend zu verlassen. Die Gruppe stelle den Christen dafür ein «Ultimatum von drei Tagen», sagte ein Sprecher der Sekte am Sonntagabend. Im Kampf gegen extremistische Gewalt schlossen nigerianische Soldaten am Montag mehrere Grenzübergänge.
Muslime, die im hauptsächlich von Christen bewohnten Süden des Landes lebten, sollten in den Norden zurückkehren, sagte Boko-Haram-Sprecher Abul Qaqa in einer Telefonkonferenz zu Journalisten. Es gebe «Beweise» dafür, dass die Muslime im Süden bald angegriffen würden. » | rub/AFP | Montag 02. Januar 2012
NZZ ONLINE: Papst Benedikt wandelt auf den Spuren seines Vorgängers Johannes Paul II. und reist nach Kuba. Der Besuch hatte offenbar bereits vorab Wirkung. Die Freilassung von 2900 Häftlingen in Kuba sei eine Art Vorleistung gewesen, hiess es von der Führung in Havanna. » | Reuters | Montag 02. Januar 2012
Tensions between Iran and the West escalated again on Monday as Tehran announced it had test-fired two long-range missiles in international waters near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
"We have successfully test-fired long-range shore-to-sea and surface-to-surface missiles, called Qader (capable) and Nour (Light) today," Deputy navy Commander Mahmoud Mousavi told state television.
Amid ongoing international criticism of Iran's nuclear program, the missile launches were Tehran's latest show of force in military exercises started in response to the pressure. Monday's maneuvers came after the country announced the launch of a medium range missile the day before.
The so-called war games could bring Iranian ships near US naval forces operating in the Persian Gulf. Both the US and Israel have not ruled out a military response in the conflict over Iran's nuclear ambitions, and US forces based in Bahrain have said they will not allow a closure of the important Strait of Hormuz -- through which 40 percent of the world's crude oil is transported. » | Kristen Allen | Monday, January 02, 2012
German President Christian Wulff intervened personally to try to stop mass-circulation daily Bild from running a story last month about a private loan that has damaged his credibility and exposed him to criticism, German newspapers reported this week.
Wulff reportedly tried to contact Bild Editor in Chief Kai Diekmann on Dec. 12 by telephone to complain about an article the newspaper was planning to run the next day, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung and Süddeutsche Zeitungnewspapers reported on Sunday and Monday respectively.
Wulff only reached Diekmann's voice mail and left a message in which he angrily threatened a "final break" in relations with the Springer publishing house, which publishes Bild, Die Welt and other influential German newspapers, the reports said. The papers claim the president said that if Bild wanted to "wage war," he wanted to hold a meeting about it after his return from an official trip. Wulff was touring several Gulf states at the time Bild ran the story.
According to Bild, Wulff threatened to take legal action against the Bild journalists. Wulff apologized in a subsequent telephone call, Süddeutsche Zeitung added. » | cro/SPIEGEL | Monday, January 02, 2012
Accusé à plusieurs reprises, en 2011, de marcher sur les terres du Front national en stigmatisant les musulmans, Claude Guéant veut calmer le jeu en 2012, année électorale cruciale. C'est le message que le ministre de l'Intérieur a voulu faire passer dans une interview au Monde, daté de mardi. «Dès avant l'été [2011], j'ai marqué mon souci que les problèmes se posant à propos de l'islam, comme les prières de rue, soient réglés bien en amont des élections présidentielle et législatives [d'avril et mai prochains]. Je ne veux pas que ce thème soit un sujet d'empoignades. Et, si ce devait être le cas, cela ne viendra certainement pas de notre formation politique», assure Claude Guéant.
Selon lui, il ne sera plus nécessaire de «légiférer de manière supplémentaire» sur le sujet, car le travail accompli par le gouvernement en 2011 a porté ses fruits. A commencer par la loi interdisant le port du voile intégral, entrée en vigueur en avril dernier. «La loi s'applique sereinement, en dépit d'incidents en petit nombre. Il nous semble que le port du voile intégral est nettement moins fréquent», juge le ministre de l'Intérieur. Même constat positif sur le débat mené en avril par l'UMP sur la laïcité et l'islam, qui a permis, selon Claude Guéant, «de rappeler ce qu'était la laïcité en France et à quel point elle devait gouverner notre vie publique». «Les musulmans se sont rendu compte que personne en France ne voulait autre chose que de les voir vivre paisiblement leur religion», ajoute encore le ministre. » | Par Jim Jarrassé | lundi 02 janvier 2012
Mr Hu called on the 80 million-plus Party members to fight "hostile international powers" and meet the "cultural demands" of the people.
"Hostile international powers are strengthening their efforts to Westernise and divide us," Mr Hu wrote in the latest edition of Communist Party's magazine, Seeking the Truth.
"We must be aware of the seriousness and complexity of the struggles and take powerful measures to prevent and deal with them," he warned in his article.
Mr Hu was writing in the revolutionary magazine used by Chairman Mao to spread his ideology after it was launched in 1958.
"The international culture of the West is strong while we are weak," Mr Hu's article said. "Ideological and cultural fields are their [western forces'] main targets," Mr Hu wrote.
He also said the Party must meet the "growing spiritual and cultural demands of the people". » | Peter Simpson in Beijing | Monday, January 02, 2012
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Hundreds of Muslims fought with armed police who demolished a mosque in north China, local police and a human rights group said on Monday, with several people injured in the "riot".
The violence between local Muslims and roughly 1,000 armed police began after police declared illegal a newly renovated mosque in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and moved to destroy it, the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy, in Hong Kong, said.
The Hui are one of several Muslim minority groups in China.
Two people were killed and 50 injured after police fired tear gas and used knives and batons to beat back ethnic Hui Muslim protesters in Taoshan village, Hexi township, the rights group said, citing villagers.
Hexi township police denied any deaths when reached by telephone.
A policeman surnamed Ma confirmed that the mosque was torn down. He told AFP a "riot" occurred in Hexi on Saturday afternoon. » | Monday, January 02, 2012
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Saudi Arabia said on Monday it will begin enforcing a law that allows only females to work in women's lingerie and apparel stores, despite disapproval from the country's top cleric.
The 2006 law banning men from working in female apparel and cosmetic stores has never been put into effect, partly because of view of hard-liners in the religious establishment, who oppose the whole idea of women working where men and women congregate together, like malls.
Saudi women - tired of having to deal with men when buying undergarments - have boycotted lingerie stores to pressure them to employ women. The government's decision to enforce the law requiring that goes into effect Thursday. » | Monday, January 02, 2012
A 15-year-old Afghan girl who was severely tortured for months by her in-laws to force her into prostitution will be sent to India for medical treatment, an Afghan official has said.
Sahar Gul's mother-in-law and sister-in-law have been arrested and her husband is being sought, said interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi on Monday.
The case has shocked Afghans, though rights activists say serious abuses against women and girls in the conservative society are common. President Hamid Karzai has said that whoever used violence against Gul will be punished.
According to officials in north-eastern Baghlan province, Gul's in-laws kept her in a basement for six months, ripped her fingernails out, tortured her with hot irons and broke her fingers. Police freed her last week after her uncle tipped them off.
The public health and women's affairs ministers visited Gul, who is in a Kabul hospital.
"It is a violent act that is unacceptable in the 21st century," Sediqi told reporters. "We are thankful [to] Sahar Gul's uncle." He added that "if the police had not arrived in time she may have died". » | AP in Kabul | Monday, January 02, 2012
Sunday, January 01, 2012
Sir Christopher Kelly, the chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, was speaking after four leading Conservative donors who had collectively given the party nearly £1million were given awards in the New Year honours list.
Paul Ruddock, a hedge fund manager, and Doug Ellis, a package holiday millionaire were knighted, while James Lupton, an investment banker, and James Wates, a construction firm tycoon, were awarded CBEs in Saturday’s list.
However Labour criticised the awards, suggesting the Government was using the system to reward individuals who had been generous to the Conservative party.
Sir Christopher said that the claims showed why rules on party funding needed to be changed to prevent any suspicion that rich individuals can buy influence. The three main parties are considering proposals he submitted in November.
He told The Daily Telegraph: “For as long as you can make political donations, when there is a coincidence between honours and donors you get this sort of story.
“It implies corruption even when there isn’t any. It is unsatisfactory. It is bad all round. They risk bringing it [the honours system] into disrepute.” » | Christopher Hope, Senior Political Correspondent | Sunday, January 01, 2012
MAIL ON SUNDAY: Some parliamentarians have eaten meat at Westminster having been assured it was halal
The Palace of Westminster has rejected demands to serve halal meat in its restaurants.
Muslim MPs and peers have been told they cannot have meat slaughtered in line with Islamic tradition because the method – slitting an animal’s throat without first stunning it – is offensive to many of their non-Muslim colleagues.
The stance has infuriated some parliamentarians who have eaten meat in the Palace’s 23 restaurants and cafes, having been assured that it was halal.
Lord Ahmed of Rotherham said: ‘I did feel misled. I think a halal option should be made available.’
In 2010, the Mail on Sunday revealed schools, hospitals and restaurants were serving halal meat to unwitting customers. Read on and comment » | Chris Hastings | Sunday, January 01, 2012
Saturday, December 31, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Germany's cult New Year's Eve show 'Dinner For One' – where an increasingly drunken waiter tries to keep up with the demands of his eccentric mistress – has been reworked to feature German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy as her servant.
The Prime Minister was accused of rewarding his party’s “friends in the City” after a knighthood was given to Paul Ruddock for services to the arts and a CBE to Gerald Ronson for his charity donations.
Mr Ruddock, a hedge fund manager, profited from the collapse of Northern Rock and donated £500,000 to the Conservatives.
His company used a practice known as “short selling” to bet on shares in the bank falling. Northern Rock subsequently failed and had to be rescued by the taxpayer.
Mr Ronson, a millionaire property developer, was convicted of theft, conspiracy and accounting fraud following the Guinness scandal in 1990.
He served six months of a one-year sentence and has always denied any wrongdoing.
The business tycoon, whose company built the tallest skyscraper in the City of London, has since given much of his fortune to charity. His wife also recently received an honour.
The Cabinet Office refused to confirm whether the honour was the first senior award to be given to someone who has been convicted of a crime. » | Rowena Mason, and Robert Winnett | Saturday, December 31, 2011
What a load of sh** the New Year's Honours List is! It should be scrapped. It is BS from start to finish. Is this man a former member of the Bullington Club, I wonder? Cameron is looking sleazier by the minute. – © Mark
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THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: New Year Honours 2012: full list of recipients – Here is a full list of recipients of the New Year Honours 2012. » | Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
FRONTPAGEMAG.COM: ‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through Nigeria, not a creature was stirring except for the members of the militant Islamic sect Boko Haram, preparing to bomb Christian churches across the country and setting on fire the cars of worshippers inside a church just outside of Damaturu, the capital of Yobe state.
Christmastime in the United States now brings with it a new tradition that is becoming as familiar as eggnog, mistletoe, and the Macy’s Parade: skirmishes in the ongoing cultural war on Christmas. But as the recent attacks in Nigeria prove, in Muslim lands around the world there is also a very real and very violent war on Christmas, or more specifically on Christians themselves minding their own business in peaceful celebration of the birth of Jesus.
In Iraq, for example, all Christian services and masses were scheduled for daylight hours. Why? “Midnight Christmas Mass has been canceled in Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk as a consequence of the never-ending assassinations of Christians,” bluntly stated Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk in northern Iraq. In Egypt, where we are witnessing the outright, state-assisted genocide of the dwindling Coptic Christian population, churches were also threatened with violence. Christian prisoners in Pakistan, incarcerated for such crimes as blasphemy against Islam, were refused Christmas Day visits from their families. Read on and comment » | Mark Tapson | Friday, December 30, 2011
JIHAD WATCH: It probably comes as no surprise to Jihad Watch's regular readers that certain countries in the Middle East continue to traffic in slaves from Africa, with the authorities either indifferent or as willing accomplices. While we've written on this before, there's now a novel twist. According to a recent media report, homosexual men in Kenya are lured to certain Middle Eastern countries with the false promises of lucrative legitimate employment, only to find themselves in involuntary servitude of the worse kind--as chattel and sex slaves of rich families and individuals. Remember, in Arabic the word for 'black' and 'slave' is the same: abed.
Islamic supremacists constantly lambaste the supposedly 'immoral' West for permitting homosexuality and even legalizing gay marriage in some jurisdictions -- homosexuality is in fact a capital crime in five Muslim-controlled countries. But these same supremacists, along with every Muslim government, hypocritically and blatantly ignore the ongoing Muslim trafficking of homosexuals (and others) for the explicit and sole purpose of sex. Read on and comment » | Posted by The Anti-Jihadist | December 30, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Syrian forces were accused of firing nail bombs to disperse protesters as tens of thousands of people flooded streets to make their voices heard to Arab monitors.
Protesters called for the removal and prosecution of President Bashar al-Assad, whose autocratic regime has been blamed for the deaths of more than 5,000 people since pro-reform protests erupted in March.
Activists urged monitors, who started this week a mission to implement an Arab League peace plan, to protect civilians from the regime's wrath.
"We urge you to make a clear distinction between the assassin and the victim," activists of the Syrian Revolution 2011 said in a statement posted on their Facebook page.
"Our revolution which was launched nine months ago is peaceful," they said.
The death toll rose again Friday, with at least five civilians killed by gunfire as Syrian forces dispersed crowds of protesters around the country, while four people died in an ambush by government troops, a watchdog said. » | Friday, December 30, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Maldives government has ordered all spas in resorts to be closed after protests by an Islamist party which claimed they were being used as a front for prostitution.
The tourism ministry told all resort hotels across the islands to shut their spas and health centres with immediate effect.
"An Islamic party has been agitating against spas hoping to embarrass the government," a senior government figure told the AFP news agency.
Last week the opposition Adhaalath party, a conservative religious movement, staged a protest in the capital Male against such spas, arguing that they were being used as brothels. The party's website features an article criticising "lustful music".
Tourism is crucial for the economy of the Maldives, and the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry said the ban would harm the economy.
Popular with honeymooning couples and celebrities, luxury rooms in resorts on the islands can cost up to $12,000 (£7,748) a day. » | Barney Henderson | Friday, December 30, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Any hopes that North Korea may soften its rhetoric under Kim Jong-un were dashed overnight, as Pyongyang released an uncompromising message to foreign powers.
“We declare solemnly and confidently that the foolish politicians around the world, including the puppet group in South Korea, should not expect any change from us,'' the country’s powerful National Defence Commission, or NDC, announced in a statement read out in strident tones by a state television anchor on Friday.
North Korea propaganda routinely refers to South Korea as a “puppet” of the United States.
The statement, the first on North-South relations since Kim Jong-il's memorial ceremonies ended, added that the North would never deal with the “traitor group” of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.
The conservative Lee ditched his two predecessors’ decade-long “Sunshine Policy” of pro-North engagement, and halted all tours to the joint North-South tourism resort at Mount Kumgang – a significant cash cow for Pyongyang – after the shooting of a South Korean tourist there by a North Korean soldier in 2008.
And following 2010’s North Korean naval and military attacks that killed 50 South Koreans, Lee halted most humanitarian aid and all high-level contact with the North.
The NDC also criticised the Lee administration for not sending a national delegation to Kim Jong-il's funeral. » | Andrew Salmon in Seoul | Friday, December 30, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: North Korea warns the world: no change in policy under Kim Jong-un – Defence commission sends uncompromising message to 'foolish politicians including the puppet forces in South Korea' ¶ Hopes for a new era of engagement with North Korea have faded after the country's powerful defence commission warned the world not to expect a change in policy under its new leader, Kim Jong-un. ¶ The announcement broadcast by the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Friday, effectively dashed hopes that Kim might be ready to engage with South Korea and the wider international community. ¶ In comments attributed to the national defence commission, the agency said "foolish politicians" should expect no change in policy and threatened South Korea's conservative president, Lee Myung-bak, with a "sea of fire". » | Justin McCurry in Osaka | Friday, December 30, 2011
Inaki Urdangarin, 43, a former Olympic athlete who carries the title Duke of Palma, will face court as part of an investigation into accusations that a non-profit organisation he ran was siphoning off funds from the regional government of the Balearic Islands – Majorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera.
The Noos Institute, which the duke ran from 2004 to 2006, is accused of misusing millions of euros in public funds.
The case has made the front pages of Spanish newspapers for weeks, but a judge's decision to name Mr Urdangarin as a formal suspect took the scandal to a new level.
The former handball player, who is married to King Juan Carlos's younger daughter, Princess Cristina, will have to appear in court in Palma, the capital of Majorca, on Feb 6.
He has not been charged with any crime and denies any wrongdoing.
But the ex-sportsman, who represented his country at three Olympic Games, apologised publicly this month for the embarrassment his legal problems were causing the royals. » | Nick Squires in Rome | Thursday, December 29, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
The daughter of the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has hired an Israeli lawyer to petition the international criminal court [sic] to investigate the circumstances of the death of her father.
Aisha Gaddafi, who fled Libya in August before the capture and killing of her father by opposition forces, claims to have been caused "severe emotional distress" by the images of his death and the treatment of his body.
Nick Kaufman, a former senior prosecutor at the ICC and now an international lawyer based in Jerusalem, wrote to the ICC prosecutor Jose Luis Moreno-Ocampo earlier this month to demand an immediate investigation.
Gaddafi and his son Mutassim, Aisha's brother, "were murdered in the most horrific fashion with their bodies thereafter displayed and grotesquely abused in complete defiance of Islamic law. The images of this savagery were broadcast throughout the world causing my client severe emotional distress," said the letter, which has been seen by the Guardian. » | Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem | Thursday, December 29, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Vatican's official newspaper has given strong endorsement to research by Italian scientists which suggests that the Turin Shroud cannot be a medieval fake and may be the authentic burial cloth of Christ.
"For science, the shroud continues to be an 'impossible object' – impossible to falsify," L'Osservatore Romano said in a lengthy article on Thursday.
After conducting five years of advanced laser experiments, a team of experts from Enea, the National Agency for New Technologies and Energy, concluded that the imprint of a bearded man's face and crucified body could not be reproduced by modern scientific techniques.
The 14-ft-long, 3.5-ft-wide cloth was therefore not a medieval fake, the team said.
They concluded that the iconic image was created by "some form of electromagnetic energy (such as a flash of light at short wavelength)".
The researchers presented their results with "extreme caution" and had stopped short of putting forward theories that "strayed from science", the Vatican daily said.
But the implication of their work was that the enigmatic marks on the cloth were created at the moment of Christ's Resurrection by some sort of miracle. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Thursday, December 29, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: Head of Christian group criticises Muslim leaders and government for failing to intervene after series of deadly attacks
Christian leaders in Nigeria have accused Muslims of making a "declaration of war" after a series of fatal attacks, raising fears of sectarian conflict.
Islamist militants targeted churches in a series of explosions on Christmas Day, leaving more than 40 people dead and dozens wounded. On Tuesday a Christian couple and their one-year-old baby were shot dead.
Stirring tensions further, on the same day unknown attackers lobbed a crude homemade bomb into an Islamic school in Delta state, wounding seven people including six children in an Arabic class.
Nigeria is largely divided into a Muslim north and Christian south, although members of the two faiths live everywhere across the country, do business together and intermarry.
With the shadowy Islamist sect Boko Haram stepping up deadly attacks in recent months, Christian leaders have warned that they will take action to protect themselves. » | David Smith in Johannesburg | Thursday, December 29, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: Special envoy warns religious groups are focused and organised while progressives need support and unity
Tony Blair has called on the west to do more to help "liberal and democratic" elements in the Middle East and north Africa following the Arab spring – or risk the formation of new Islamist governments that are not "genuine" democracies.
Admitting countries such as Britain and the US had previously been "too reluctant to push dictatorships on a path to democracy", the former prime minister said they now had to be clearer on their view of democracy "because the trouble really in the region is the more religious and extreme elements are very well organised and the liberal and democratic types basically aren't".
Blair, the special envoy for the Quartet on the Middle East (the UN, US, EU and Russia), regretted previous failures to promote "a concept of evolutionary change", predicting the recent revolutions would cause quite a lot of difficulty, citing, as an example, Egyptian growth rates and tourism difficulties. » | James Melkie | Thursday, December 29, 2011
BBC: Sir Victor Blank has taken a keen interest in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians for many years.
The Today programme's Sarah Montague met with former prime minister and current envoy to the Middle East, Tony Blair to talk about the role that political leadership could, or should, play in the region's conflict resolution. Listen to BBC audio » | BBC Today | Thursday, December 29, 2011
THE INDEPENDENT: The Year of Revolution: As the leaders of Syria and Bahrain cling to power, Patrick Cockburn explains how they have managed to resist the protesters – and wonders whether they can survive another 12 months
In three of the Arab countries east of Egypt – Syria, Bahrain and Yemen – protesters have challenged their governments over the past year but failed to overthrow them. The reasons for those failures are very different though they have important points in common. In each of these states protesters were frustrated because a significant part of the population had a lot to lose if the ruling elite were reformed or overthrown.
In Syria and Bahrain religious identity helps explain loyalty to the powers-that-be. Protesters in Bahrain might insist that their programme was secular and democratic, but everybody knew that a fair poll would affect revolutionary change by putting the majority Shia in power instead of the minority Sunni. In Syria, similarly, democracy means that the Sunni, three quarters of the population, would effectively replace the Alawites, a heterodox Shia sect, as rulers of the state. » | Patrick Cockburn | Thursday, December 29, 2011
The nationwide memorial ceremony for North Korea’s departed leader wrapped up two days of brilliantly choreographed mourning events while setting a very public seal on the successorship of the third-generation Kim family member to hold power in Pyongyang.
Thursday’s memorial was less emotional than Wednesday’s funeral, but like the previous event, demonstrated that the regime has not lost any of its power to mobilise masses. Hundreds of thousands of people were packed into Kim Il-sung Square in the heart of the capital.
It also indicated that the Korean People’s Army, which played a prominent role in the funeral ceremony, remains central to this hardline, ultra-nationalist state dominated by a “military first” policy. The crowd appeared to be predominantly, though not entirely, composed of soldiers.
Above all, it was the clearest sign yet that the third-generation succession of the Kim dynasty is a sealed deal.
The young leader Kim Jong-un’s only official title is vice-chairman of the Korean Workers Party Central Military Commission, but he has, following his father Kim Jong-il’s passing on Dec 17, been lauded by state media as “successor” and “leader”. » | Andrew Salmon in Seoul | Thursday, December 29, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: Kim Jong-un declared 'supreme leader' in North Korea: Kim Jong-un publicly endorsed as new leader as crowds gather at memorial service for his father Kim Jong-il » | Justin McCurry in Osaka | Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
JDJOURNAL: Victoria Jackson, the former Saturday Night Live cast member, obtained confidential information that she had special clearance for while working as a web talk show host. Jackson claims that the United States is being overrun by radical Muslims who are bent on bringing the nation under Sharia Law, according to the Huffington Post.
“I just went to a briefing in Washington DC, across the street from the Capitol, at the Longworth building at 8:30 am two days ago and it changed my life,” Jackson said last week on her web show, “Politichicks.” “For six hours, I saw pictures and names and dates and facts and Islamic law books and Korans, Surahs for six hours and they proved to me… that the Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated our highest positions in government and this is serious.” » | Wednesday, December 28, 2011
"The Islamic Awakening which has started in Islamic countries has created a political earthquake in the western countries," Larijani said, addressing a meeting with Foreign Ministry top officials, heads of the Iranian missions abroad and ambassadors.
"The quake has shaken many political and social foundations and presented rival foundations for them in a way that they have shaken the West," he added.
He stated that principles of the western liberal democracy have been shaken by Islamic thoughts. » | Wednesday, December 28, 2011
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Mrs Kirchner, who recently began her second term after easily winning a landslide re-election in October, was found to have cancer "on the right lobe of the thyroid gland" during a routine medical examination on December 22, spokesman Alfredo Scoccimarro said.
Doctors confirmed that the cancer hadn't spread to other parts of her body or affected her lymph nodes, Mr Scoccimarro said.
"The illness has been contained," he added.
The 58 year-old is due to have an operation at Buenos' Aires Hospital Austral to remove[d] the papillary thyroid carcinoma in her neck on Jan 4.
Papillary carcinoma is the most common type of thyroid cancer and normally affects people under the age of 40, especially women. » | Amy Willis, Los Angeles, and agencies | Wednesday, December 28, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The US military has warned that it will not tolerate any attempt by Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow sea lane on which the world's oil supply depends.
"The free flow of goods and services through the Strait of Hormuz is vital to regional and global prosperity," said a spokeswoman for the US Navy's Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet. "Anyone who threatens to disrupt freedom of navigation in an international strait is clearly outside the community of nations; any disruption will not be tolerated."
The unusually blunt statement came in response to threats by Iran to shut the channel if the West pressed ahead with sanctions on the country's oil industry.
Mohammed Reza Rahimi, Iran's vice-president, told state media on Tuesday: " “If sanctions are adopted against Iranian oil, not a drop of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz. [Our] enemies will only abandon their plots when we give them a strong lesson."
Admiral Habibollah Sayari, commander of the Iranian navy, said that closing the Strait, and effectively strangling the global oil supply, would "be easier than drinking a glass of water". (+ video) » | Raf Sanchez, Washington | Wednesday, December 28, 2011
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