Monday, January 23, 2012
A member of Catherine Ashton's office, the high representative of foreign policy for the EU, confirmed to Al Jazeera that the decision to go ahead with sanctions was ratified by all 27 member states.
Our correspondent Nick Spicer, reporting from the sidelines of the meeting in Brussels, said: "There will be a review of sanctions in three months, in May, to see how things are going and then the embargo will begin in full force on July 1.
"The reason for that is so that countries heavily dependent on Iranian oil, namely Greece, Italy and Spain, some of the most ailing members of the eurozone, can find new sources of supply, and secondly, to see what steps Iran is taking to come back to the negotiating table."
Our correspondent says that details regarding freezing the assets of the Iranian Central Bank would be divulged at a news conference expected to take place later on Monday.
Related »
A war of words broke out between Tehran and Washington on Monday over Iran's nuclear programme after Europe struck at the Islamic republic's lifeblood by agreeing to impose an oil embargo on it.
Tehran threatened to respond by closing the strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil supplies pass, while a senior US official vowed that the west could use force to keep the route open.
The decision by EU foreign ministers in Brussels raised the stakes dramatically in the standoff between Iran and the west.
The EU decided that there could be no further oil contracts struck between its member states and Iran, but existing oil delivery deals would be allowed to run until July.
Sharply escalating the sanctions regime against Tehran, the EU also froze the Iranian central bank's assets in Europe and banned gold, precious metals and diamond transactions.
While the sanctions take effect from Tuesday, it will be the summer before the full impact is felt. Senior Iranian figures promptly upped the war of words with the west.
"If any disruption happens regarding the sale of Iranian oil, the strait of Hormuz will definitely be closed," warned Mohammad Kossari, deputy head of the Iranian parliament's foreign affairs and national security committee. Closing the strait would choke off global oil supplies and send international tensions soaring. » | Ian Traynor in Brussels and Nick Hopkins | Monday, January 23, 2012
Verwandt »
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Spätestens vom 1. Juli an soll kein iranisches Öl mehr in die EU importiert werden. Auch Konten der iranischen Zentralbank werden gesperrt. „Wir können nicht akzeptieren, dass Iran nach der Atombombe greift“, sagt Guido Westerwelle nach dem Beschluss der EU-Außenminister.
Im seit Jahren währenden Streit über das iranische Atomprogramm hat die EU am Montag ein Ölimportverbot verhängt und damit zum ersten Mal die wichtigste Industrie des Landes mit Sanktionen belegt. Die Außenminister der 27 Mitgliedstaaten beschlossen, dass keine neuen Verträge über die Lieferung von Rohöl und Benzinprodukten aus Iran nach Europa abgeschlossen werden dürfen, für laufende Verträge gilt eine Übergangsfrist bis zum 1. Juli. Das soll die weitere Finanzierung des iranischen Atomprogramms aus Geschäften in Europa unterbinden.
Außerdem werden die Konten der iranischen Zentralbank in der EU eingefroren, um den bilateralen Zahlungsverkehr zu unterbrechen. … » | Von Nicolas Busse, Brüssel | Montag 23. Januar 2012
LE FIGARO: «L'embargo sur le pétrole iranien est contreproductif» : Avec les sanctions validées lundi, l'UE espère contraindre Téhéran à abandonner la menace nucléaire. Pour Thierry Coville, chercheur à l'Iris, cette mesure ne fera que renforcer le régime en place. » | Par Laura Raim | lundi 23 janvier 2012
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Yet he comes out of his drubbing in South Carolina with a perfect problem.
Rarely has there been a figure in American politics whose personality and achievements—taken as individual parts—so powerfully conveyed both uncommon success and a kind of reassuring conventionality.
But these same traits—taken as a whole—have produced someone struggling mightily to connect with the national mood and moment, much less reassure voters that his experiences and values align with their own.
The widening gap between Romney in theory, a man who oozes plausibility as a potential president, and Romney in practice, a candidate who just might be missing some kind of intangible something, is now a dominant storyline in the GOP presidential race.
There may be many reasons Romney had troubles in South Carolina—more than 70 percent of primary voters on Saturday wanted someone else—but the fact that he lost so resoundingly to a man with a political and personal journey as turbulent as Newt Gingrich's suggests a possibility more far-reaching than last weekend’s surprise.
Americans may prefer politicians with visible flaws—outsized appetites and messy scandals like Gingrich and Bill Clinton—or at least with twisting and improbable personal journeys. Of the past two presidents, George W. Bush had two decades of drift and excess before finding direction, and Barack Obama described his own history of alienation and painful searching that preceded his political success. » | Jonathan Martin and John F. Harris | Monday, January 23, 2012
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Senator Rand Paul, the son of the libertarian Republican candidate Ron Paul, was detained by guards at a Tennessee airport on Monday after apparently refusing to submit to a full body pat-down.
The younger Mr Paul, who like his father is a fierce advocate of civil liberties, was reportedly held at Nashville International Airport by agents from the Transport Security Administration (TSA), an agency he has repeatedly criticised for encroaching on Americans' freedoms.
A spokeswoman for the Kentucky Senator said he was being held "indefinitely" after he set off an alarm in an image scanner used at the airport's security check point. » | Raf Sanchez, Washington | Monday, January 23, 2012
POLITICO: Rand Paul Detained by TSA (Transportation Security Administration) » | Tim Mak | Monday, January 23, 2012
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: India is to formally object to a joke by US TV host Jay Leno in which he said that the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine for Sikhs, was a summer home for wealthy presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Minister Vayalar Ravi termed the gag by "The Tonight Show" host as "quite unfortunate and quite objectionable" and said the Indian embassy in Washington would raise the issue, the Press Trust of India reported on Monday. » | Monday, January 23, 2012
"One woman was immediately killed and her companion who was driving the car was hospitalised after she suffered several injuries" when their four-wheel-drive vehicle overturned late on Saturday, said police spokesman Abdulaziz al-Zunaidi.
Ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive. » | Monday, January 23, 2012
While the network news shows spend this Sunday marveling over Newtmentum in South Carolina, Rick Santorum will quietly make his first stop in Florida, site of the next primary on January 31. He'll be dropping in to see the honorary chairman of his state campaign—a Bush-connected Islamophobic pastor who says gays "make God want to vomit."
Santorum, the other conservative darling in the Republican presidential race, plans to speak from the pulpit at the Worldwide Christian Center in Pompano Beach on Sunday morning. It might seem a strange stop for a white Catholic Republican from the Northeast: While the ocean-facing side of Pompano is affluent and conservative, WWC literally sits on the wrong side of the tracks in the Collier City neighborhood—a poor, tight-knit African American district that swung strongly for Barack Obama in 2008. But WWC is different: It's run by the Rev. O'Neal Dozier, a firebrand social conservative who's tried to turn this depressed community red, and has been rewarded handsomely by Republican politicians for his efforts. » | Adam Weinstein | Saturday, January 21, 2012
In June last year Carnita Matthews, 47, successfully appealed against her conviction and six-month jail sentence for knowingly making a false complaint.
The charge was in relation to a now infamous incident in June 2010 when she was stopped by a highway patrol officer at Woodbine, in south-west Sydney.
It was alleged that Ms Matthews later claimed in a statutory declaration that, after she refused to remove her veil fully for the purposes of identification, the officer tried to remove it himself.
This declaration was later found to be false, and she was charged.
However, a judge later found there was no evidence the statutory declaration had been made by Ms Matthews or even that it was knowingly false.
She then claimed that the entire prosecution was improper and unreasonable and demanded that NSW Police pay her legal costs.
That claim was rejected by Judge Clive Jeffreys in the Downing Centre District Court today. » | Paul Bibby | Monday, January 23, 2012
Every family has its black sheep but few families are as shrouded in myth as the reclusive Kim regime of North Korea. Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of the recently deceased dictator Kim Jong-il, famously left the family fold and apparently spends much of his time in the Chinese gambling resort of Macau. Until this month, he was known mainly for a bizarre clandestine attempt to visit Tokyo Disneyland in 2001. He used a fake passport and Chinese alias that translates as "fat bear" – a stunt that reportedly embarrassed his father and ended any chance he had of becoming leader.
Now Kim Jong-nam has offered a rare glimpse behind the family curtain in an extraordinary book – My Father, Kim Jong-Il and Me, published by Bungei Shunju – in which he reveals his love for his "tender-hearted" father, his fears for North Korea's future, the Chinese spies who watch and protect him and his father's doubts about handing power to his youngest son and Kim Jong-nam's half-brother, Kim Jong-un.
"My father was more opposed to the third-generation hereditary succession than anybody and there must have been internal factors that forced him to change his view," he said. "But the North Korean people are so used to obeying orders solely based on their belief in bloodline of [North Korea's founder] Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il that they may have trouble accepting any successor outside of that bloodline." Kim Jong-Nam warns that the succession risks making his country a "laughing stock". » | David McNeill | Monday, January 23, 2012
THE INDEPENDENT: In Africa and Latin America researchers found that 95 to 97 per cent of abortions were unsafe
Abortion rates are higher in countries where the procedure is illegal and nearly half of all abortions worldwide are unsafe, with the vast majority in developing countries, a new study concludes.
Experts could not say whether more liberal laws led to fewer procedures, but said good access to birth control in those countries resulted in fewer unwanted pregnancies.
The global abortion rate remained virtually unchanged from 2003 to 2008, at about 28 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44, a total of about 43.8 million abortions, according to the study. The rate had previously been dropping since 1995. » | Maria Cheng | Friday, January 20, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
BBC: Sri Lanka has reportedly ordered 161 foreign Muslim preachers to leave the country for flouting visa regulations.
A senior immigration official was quoted as saying that the clerics had no right to preach in mosques because they had arrived on tourist visas.
He also said that some local Muslims had complained that the visitors were not teaching a moderate form of Islam.
The preachers - from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, the Maldives and Arab nations - must now leave by 31 January.
'Laughable idea'
"They have violated immigration laws. A tourist visa is to have a holiday or visit friends and family, and not to preach Islam," Sri Lanka's immigration head Chulananda Perera told the AFP news agency.
Mr Perera said the group belonged to Tablighi Jamaat - an international Islamic movement popular in Sri Lanka and the region. » | Sunday, January 22, 2012
BBC: The president of a London university atheist society has resigned over a row about an image of the Prophet Muhammad.
The society at University College London (UCL) published an image on its Facebook page showing "Jesus and Mo" having a drink at a bar.
The atheist group was asked by the UCL union to remove it, but refused and started a petition defending its freedom of expression.
A student Muslim group began a counter-petition asking for its removal.
UCL's Atheist, Secularist and Humanist society said its president Robbie Yellon was stepping down to be replaced by former vice president Michael Thor.
"Robbie stepped aside because he signed up as president to organise events and run a student society," said Michael Paynter, secretary for the National Federation of Atheist, Humanist and Secular Student Societies.
"He did not appreciate the stress he would be under when dealing with a controversy like this, so he wanted to make way for someone else." » | Catrin Nye and Athar Ahmad, BBC Asian Network | Thursday, January 19, 2012
ONISLAM: CAIRO – Infuriated by offensive remarks by White House aspirant Rick Santorum, a leading US Muslim group has urged the Republican candidate to read more about Islam and the Muslim holy book to know more about Muslims.
"We suggest that Mr. Santorum educate himself about Islam and the American Muslim community by reading the Qur'an that we will send to his campaign headquarters next week," Ibrahim Hooper, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)'s National Communication Director, said in a statement obtained by OnIslam.net.
Santorum said Saturday, January 21, that the concept of equality "doesn't come from Islam" or "Eastern religions".
He argued that equality comes from "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."
“I get a kick out of folks who call for equality now, the people on the left, ‘Well, equality, we want equality.’ Where do you think this concept of equality comes from?” Santorum asked supporters packed into a restaurant in South Carolina.
"It doesn’t come from Islam. It doesn’t come from the East and Eastern religions, where does it come from? It comes from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that’s where it comes from.”
Hooper said the Republican candidate, who seeks the country's highest seat, has inaccurate information about religions.
"The Qur'an, Islam's revealed text, is the best refutation of Mr. Santorum's inaccurate and offensive remarks, which are unbecoming of anyone who hopes to hold our nation's highest office," he said.
"Christians, Jews and Muslims all worship the same God and share religious traditions that promote justice and equality." » | OnIslam Staff | Sunday, January 22, 2012
FOX NEWS: The largest Muslim civil liberties group in the United States on Wednesday condemned Newt Gingrich for saying he would only hire Muslims to his administration if they renounced the use of Islam's Shariah law as a tool for U.S. government.
Calling Gingrich "one of the nation's worst promoters of anti-Muslim bigotry," the Council of American Islamic Relations suggested the Republican presidential candidate is a segregationist.
"Newt Gingrich's vision of America segregates our citizens by faith. His outdated political ideas look backward to a time when Catholics and Jews were vilified and their faiths called a threat," said CAIR Legislative Director Corey Sayolor in a statement.
"The time for bias in American politics has passed and Newt Gingrich looks like a relic of an ugly era," Sayolor said.
CAIR said the release was prompted by the candidate's remarks Tuesday in Columbia when, asked if he would ever endorse a Muslim running for president.
"It would depend entirely on whether they would commit in public to give up Shariah," Gingrich said.
"A truly modern person who happened to worship Allah would not be a threat, a person who belonged to any kind of belief in Shariah, any effort to impose it on the rest of us, would be a mortal threat," Gingrich told the crowd, adding that he's "totally opposed" to Shariah law being applied in American courts and favors a federal law that "preempts" its use. » | Joy Lin | Wednesday, January 18, 2012
SONNTAGSZEITUNG: Der Islamische Zentralrat Schweiz sammelte mithilfe eines angeblichen Terror-Financiers Spenden unter anderem für eine Initiative
Bern [–] Während des Ramadans im August 2011 war Nicolas Blancho, Präsident des Islamischen Zentralrat Schweiz (IZRS), einen Monat lang in Kuwait und Katar unterwegs. In privaten Treffen, Audienzen in Ministerien und Sitzungen mit arabischen Geschäftsmännern präsentierte er den IZRS und dessen Projekte - darunter den Bau einer Moschee in Bern oder die Lancierung der Volksinitiative, um das Minarettverbot aufzuheben. Auch die «Islam Unity»-Veranstaltung im Februar, die die Stadt Bülach kürzlich verboten hat, wird erwähnt.
Die SonntagsZeitung hat die arabischen Broschüren übersetzen lassen, die Blancho in Kuwait und Katar verteilt. Die Papiere belegen, dass Blancho Organisationen aus der Golfregion faktisch ermöglicht, in der Schweiz politischen Einfluss zu nehmen und eine fundamentale Auslegung des Islam zu verbreiten. Blancho hat stets beteuert, man finanziere sich ausschliesslich aus dem Inland. » | Von Daniel Glaus | Sonntag 15. Januar 2012
With three storeys, the planned mosque would be the biggest in the country. In addition to a prayer room for 270 men and 174 women, plans show that the building would have conference and training rooms, shops, underground parking and a garden.
The president of the Council, Nicolas Blancho, confirmed his fundraising activities in Kuwait and Qatar to newspapers SonntagsZeitung and Le Matin Dimanche on Sunday, although he said the organisation has not received any donations yet.
“For the time being, we’re just building relationships of trust with potential sponsors,” said Blancho, adding that searching for donors is a long process. » | Monday, January 16, 2012
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Nicolas Blancho veut 20 millions pour ériger une mosquée dans l'ouest bernois : Le président du Conseil central islamique suisse (CCIS) multiplierait les contacts pour lever des fonds et ériger une maison de Dieu musulmane à Bümpliz. » | ats/Newsnet | dimanche 15 janvier 2012
NZZ ONLINE: Riad zieht seine Beobachter ab - Arabische Liga entscheidet über Verlängerung
Saudiarabien will sich nicht länger an der arabischen Beobachtermission in Syrien beteiligen. Das Land ziehe seine Beobachter ab, weil die syrische Regierung sich an «keine Klausel» des arabischen Plans für ein Ende der Gewalt halte. » | sda/afp/Reuters | Sonntag 22. Januar 2012
ZEIT ONLINE: Das ägyptische Militär hat sein umstrittenes Urteil gegen den Blogger Sanad aufgehoben. Zum Jahrestag der Revolution sollen 1.950 weitere Gefangene freigelassen werden. » | Zeit Online, AFP | Sonntag 22. Januar 2012
Zagreb - Die Europäische Union vergrößert sich: Bei einem Referendum am Sonntag stimmten 67 Prozent der kroatischen Wähler für eine EU-Mitgliedschaft ihres Landes, 32 Prozent votierten dagegen, wie die Wahlkommission unter Berufung auf erste Teilergebnisse bekanntgab. Demnach wurden bisher 25 Prozent der abgegebenen Stimmzettel ausgezählt. Von den 4,5 Millionen Stimmberechtigten nahmen allerdings weniger als 50 Prozent an der Abstimmung teil.
Damit kann Kroatien am 1. Juli 2013 das 28. Mitglied der Europäischen Union werden. Die bis dahin notwendige Ratifizierung des Beitrittsvertrages durch alle bisherigen EU-Staaten gilt als Formsache. "Die EU ist eine Chance für den Fortschritt und die Entwicklung aller kroatischen Talente", sagte Regierungschef Zoran Milanovic. Und Staatspräsident Ivo Josipovic verkündete: "Es freut mich, dass Europa mein Zuhause wird." » | aar/AFP/dpa | Sonntag 22. Januar 2012
WELT ONLINE: Iranische Schauspielerin lässt sich nackt ablichten: Golshifteh Farahani hat sich in Paris für ein französisches Magazin ausgezogen. Die iranische Führung ist verärgert – und hat die Film-Schönheit ins Exil verbannt. » | Autor: Sonja Gillert | Donnerstag 19. Januar 2012
And the media despises Newt, right? He's so sarcastic and condescending towards us, brands us as elite liberals and uses us to whip up the Republican base.
Actually, wrong and wrong.
Gingrich loves the press. In some respects we are, as John McCain famously noted, his 'base'. He craves the media.
I've never seen a man so happy as Gingrich was when he ambled into the spin room in Myrtle Beach last Monday night and about 200 of us swarmed around him hanging on his every word.
Romney would have rather been anywhere else in the world than that in the middle of that heaving, sweaty scrum. But Newt was in pure heaven. He loves the game.
And it's mutual. The press laps up all things Newt. Like him, we thrive on chaos. He's a walking quote machine. You never know what he'll say next and he can't resist answering a question or engaging with a reporter. Read on and comment » | Toby Harnden | Sunday, January 22, 2012
U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords announced her plans to step down from Congress Jan. 22, 2011.
Transcript of video:
"Arizona is my home, always will be. A lot has happened over the past year. We cannot change that. But I know on the issues we fought for we can change things for the better. Jobs, border security, veterans. We can do so much more by working together. I don't remember much from that horrible day, but I will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice. Thank you for your prayers and for giving me time to recover. I have more work to do on my recovery so to do what is best for Arizona I will step down this week. I'm getting better. Every day, my spirit is high. I will return and we will work together for Arizona and this great country. Thank you very much."
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said on Sunday he will release tax returns for the last two years this week and admitted the flap over his returns hurt him in South Carolina, where he lost a primary to Newt Gingrich.
"We made a mistake holding off as long as we did and it just was a distraction," the former Massachusetts governor added.
Gingrich won 40 per cent of the vote in the South Carolina primary on Saturday, while Romney came in a distant second with 28 per cent.
Romney, one of the wealthiest US presidential candidates in history, emphasised he was releasing two years of returns after Gingrich posted his returns for only 2010 on Thursday. » | Sunday, January 22, 2012
BBC: Republican candidate Newt Gingrich has appeared on a talk show in the US after his win in the South Carolina primary.
He told NBC's Meet The Press that the establishment should be worried about a Gingrich nomination. Watch BBC video » | Sunday, January 22, 2012
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Mitt Romney vowed resilience in the wake of a heavy loss in South Carolina, telling supporters that he would campaign as an unabashed champion of free enterprise and accusing Newt Gingrich of adopting "the weapons of the Left".
Speaking at the end of a week which saw a 10-point lead give way to a 12-point loss, the former Massachusetts governor showed a new level of aggression towards Mr Gingrich, who[m] he compared repeatedly to President Barack Obama.
Without uttering his rival's name, Mr Romney said: "President Obama has no experience running a business and no experience running a state. Our party can’t be led to victory by somebody who also has never run a business and never run a state."
He said that the Obama administration had attacked America's capitalist system but accused of Mr Gingrich of having "joined in that very assault on free enterprise".
"Those who pick up the weapons of the Left today will find them turned against us tomorrow," he warned.
“Let me be clear: If Republican leaders want to join this president in demonizing success and disparaging conservative values then they’re not going to be fit to be our nominee.” » | Raf Sanchez, Washington | Sunday, January 22, 2012
THE GUARDIAN: Group bidding to impose sharia law claims responsibility for wave of attacks in city of Kano
"We are still collecting the bodies so we cannot confirm the total death toll. We have nine so far. We will know the final number once we have finished collecting," a spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency told the Observer
.
Witnesses reported seeing at least 100 bodies sprawled around the regional police base alone. Officials in the main hospital said the wounded and dead were still being ferried in on Saturday, some after being trapped by overnight gunfights.
Authorities largely refused to offer casualty statistics as mourners began claiming the bodies of their loved ones to bury before sundown, following Islamic tradition. However, a hospital official told the Associated Press at least 143 people were killed. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to release the death toll to journalists. The figure could rise further, since other bodies could be held at other clinics and hospitals. » | Monica Mark in Lagos | Saturday, January 21, 2012
Fox News projects that Mitt Romney will place second in the Palmetto State, where he was leading in the polls just one week ago. Rick Santorum and Ron Paul are battling for third place, and that contest remains too close to call, though Fox News exit polls show Santorum with a slight lead over the Texas congressman.
Gingrich's victory marks a remarkable comeback for the former House speaker, propelled by his strong performance in two debates in South Carolina this week.
Romney's aides had been downplaying expectations by late Saturday, acknowledging the momentum that had been going Gingrich's way in recent days. » | FoxNews.com | Saturday, January 21, 2012
CELEBS: Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani posed nude in a french magazine called Madame Le Figaro, and this has sparked a firestorm of controversy on a Facebook page in support of her decision. The French Film Academy also included the actress in a video (warning brief nudity) along with several other celebrities stripping off their clothing.
In the nude photos, Golshifteh Farahani actually cupped her hands over her breasts to preserve her modesty. Even this, though, was too much for the Government of Iran. They told her not to bother ever coming back.
It seems that many Iranians have opinions about the actress's bold move. Some believe that she betrayed Islam and her country by baring her breasts for cameras. However, others applaud her boldness.
A comment on the Facebook page in support of her that is representative of those who support the actress said, "Good for you Golshifteh dear! For once an Iranian with guts has come out to show we are just like anyone else in this world. You can model and do whatever you like, just like every woman from Los Angeles to Tokyo." Join the conversation » | Kate James | Saturday, January 21, 2012
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