Blinded by Acid, Now Denied Compensation for Showing Her Attacker Mercy
THE INDEPENDENT: Iranian woman spares assailant a similar fate – only for courts to take away payout

A woman blinded and horrifically disfigured in an acid attack by a spurned admirer is suing Iran's judiciary after accusing senior officials of cheating her out of compensation when she agreed to spare her attacker from a similar fate.

Ameneh Bahrami, 34, suffered severe injuries to her eyes, face and hands when a former university classmate, Majid Movahedi, threw acid in her face after she rejected his advances. In November 2008, a criminal court in Tehran ordered Movahedi to be blinded in both eyes under Iran's application of the sharia code of qisas, which allows retribution for violent crimes.

But he was given an eleventh hour reprieve in July when Ms Bahrami exercised her right to pardon him. Prison officials had been preparing to drop acid into his eyes when the pardon was delivered.

Ms Bahrami says she is paying the price for her leniency after being told by judiciary officials that she no longer had the right to compensation, which Movahedi was ordered to pay when he was sentenced.

After being pardoned, Movahedi's sentence was reduced to 10 years in prison and five years exiled in a remote area. The sentence no longer requires him to pay compensation, something Ms Bahrami is now disputing. » | Noushin Hoseiny | Friday, November 25, 2011

Egypt: America Tells Generals to Quit, as Siege of Cairo Goes On
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Egypt's political crisis deepened on Friday as the US urged the military to give up power immediately and protesters laid siege to the Cabinet office in Cairo.

The demonstrators were trying to prevent a new prime minister, derided as a stooge of the military leadership, from taking up his post. For the seventh successive day, a vast crowd thronged the city's Tahrir Square to press their demand for an immediate restoration of civilian rule.

More than 100,000 people heeded a call for a show of force at the landmark.

The White House said the transfer of power to a civilian government in Egypt must be "just and inclusive" and take place "as soon as possible".

In a significant increase of pressure on the ruling generals, Jay Carney, a White House spokesman, said: "The United States strongly believes that the new Egyptian government must be empowered with real authority immediately."

The US provides $1.3 billion (£900 million) in aid to the Egyptian military each year. It has repeatedly called for restraint on both sides despite evidence of brutal tactics by the military. » | Adrian Blomfield, Cairo | Friday, November 25, 2011

Neuseeland: Konservative vor Wahlsieg im plötzlichen Auswanderungsland

DIE PRESSE: Die regierende „National Party“ ist laut Umfrage klar vor der Labour-Opposition, die Mindestlöhne anheben und Auswanderung bremsen will. Die die Gehälter treiben mehr Neuseeländer als je zuvor ins Ausland.

Auckland/Wellington. Die letzten zwölf Monate haben es nicht gut gemeint mit dem Inselstaat im Südpazifik. Erdbeben, ein Minenunglück, eine Ölpest und die weltweite Wirtschafts- und Finanzkrise haben dem kleinen Land mit nur rund vier Millionen Bewohnern stark zugesetzt. Die Parlamentswahl am heutigen Samstag ist ausschlaggebend dafür, welchen Weg Neuseeland in Zukunft einschlagen wird. Die Staatsverschuldung steht jedenfalls ganz oben auf der Agenda für die Wahl.

Die Politiker haben aber auch mit einem anderen massiven Problem zu kämpfen: Steigende Lebenshaltungskosten (vor allem Mieten und Lebensmittel), gepaart mit einem niedrigen Lohnniveau – die Gehälter hier sind im Schnitt um 30 Prozent niedriger als im benachbarten Australien – treiben mehr Neuseeländer als je zuvor ins Ausland. Zum ersten Mal seit zehn Jahren hat das Land eine negative Migrationsbilanz. » | Manuela Kornell | Freitag 25. November 2011

Bushfires in Western Australia Force Residents onto Beach
Residents of the Margaret River region of Western Australia were forced to take shelter on the local beach as bushfires swept the area destroying over 30 homes.

Read short article here | Friday, November 25, 2011

Protests and Prayers Sweep the Arab World
Thousands of people turned out for demonstrations and prayers on the streets of Egypt, Yemen and Syria.

Read article here | Friday, November 25, 2011

Apartheid Row at Norwegian School after It Segregates Ethnic Pupils

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A political row has broken out in Norway after a secondary school segregated students with ethnic backgrounds in classes away from white Norwegians.

Bjerke Upper Secondary School in Oslo filled one of the three general studies sets solely with pupils with immigrant parents, after many white Norwegians from last year's intake changed schools.

The controversy over the decision has highlighted the unease in Norway over how to integrate the 420,000 "non-Nordic" citizens who immigrated between 1990 and 2009, and who make up 28 per cent of Oslo's population.

"This is the first time I've heard about this, and it is totally unacceptable," Torge Ødegaard, Oslo education commissioner, said on Friday, before pressuring the school to inform parents that the three classes would now be reorganised. The letter to parents read: "Such a division of the students is not in accordance with the requirements of the Education Act. The school regrets this error."

But Robert Wright, a Christian Democrat politician and former head of the city's schools board, struck back, arguing that the authorities had been wrong to block the move. He also said that other Oslo schools should start to segregate classes to prevent a situation of "white flight" developing.

"I think we have to try this to see how it's functioning," he told The Daily Telegraph. "Bjerke School has come up with a radical solution to a real problem, but the politicians have just said 'no'."

He said that the school's decision reflected problems stemming from the high rate of immigration Oslo has seen in recent decades. » | Richard Orange in Malmö | Friday, November 25, 2011

'Harry Potter and Yoga Are Evil', Says Catholic Church Exorcist
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: For most people it is a way of toning the limbs and soothing the stresses of everyday life, but the Catholic Church’s best-known exorcist says yoga is evil.

Father Gabriele Amorth, who for years was the Vatican’s chief exorcist and claims to have cleansed hundreds of people of evil spirits, said yoga is Satanic because it leads to a worship of Hinduism and “all eastern religions are based on a false belief in reincarnation”.

Reading JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books is no less dangerous, said the 86-year-old priest, who is the honorary president for life of the International Association of Exorcists, which he founded in 1990, and whose favourite film is the 1973 horror classic, The Exorcist.

The Harry Potter books, which have sold millions of copies worldwide, “seem innocuous” but in fact encourage children to believe in black magic and wizardry, Father Amorth said.

“Practising yoga is Satanic, it leads to evil just like reading Harry Potter,” he told a film festival in Umbria this week, where he was invited to introduce The Rite, a film about exorcism starring Sir Anthony Hopkins as a Jesuit priest.

“In Harry Potter the Devil acts in a crafty and covert manner, under the guise of extraordinary powers, magic spells and curses,” said the priest, who in 1986 was appointed the chief exorcist for the Diocese of Rome.

“Satan is always hidden and what he most wants is for us not to believe in his existence. He studies every one of us and our tendencies towards good and evil, and then he offers temptations.” Science was incapable of explaining evil, said Father Amorth, who has written two books on his experiences as an exorcist. “It’s not worth a jot. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Friday, November 25, 2011

Thai Facebookers Warned Not to 'Like' Anti-monarchy Groups

THE GUARDIAN: Country's strict laws against insulting the monarch have been used to jail a man for 20 years for sending text messages

A government minister in Thailand has warned Facebook users that anyone pressing the "like" button on posts that might be offensive to the monarchy could be prosecuted under the country's strict lèse-majesté laws.

The warning was given two days after a Thai criminal court sentenced Amphon Tangnoppaku, 61, to 20 years in prison for sending text messages deemed insulting to the country's queen.

Amphon was found guilty on four counts and sentenced to five years' consecutive jail on each charge.

Thailand's laws against lèse-majesté (insulting a monarch) are the most severe in the world. Even repeating the details of an alleged offence is illegal.

A report in the Bangkok Post quoted the information technology minister, Anudith Nakornthap, saying that anyone who had pressed "like" on items related to lèse-majesté on Facebook should go back and delete all their reactions and comments. Such material could end up being copied by people who set up fake pages to insult the monarchy, he said.

"If they don't delete them, they can end up violating the computer crime act for indirectly distributing inappropriate content," Anudith said. » | Staff and agencies | Friday, November 25, 2011

Related »

Villagers Defeat Saudi Prince in Footpath Battle
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A group of villagers have defeated a Saudi Prince in a battle over an historic footpath.

Prince Khalid Abdullah came up against a group of more than 700 villagers in sleepy Shipbourne in Kent after he closed off a footpath - which dates back to Roman times - running through his plush Fairlawne Estate.

Prince Abdullah - who owns a string of top horses and has won almost all the European classic races - banished villagers from using part of the Greensland Way footpath which runs through his land and behind the village's St Giles Church.

But the billionaire prince - the first cousin of Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and brother-in-law of the late King Fahd - didn't count on the villagers mounting a campaign against him.

And now, after a three year battle, locals have won the right to use the path after the Planning Inspectorate overturned a decision by Kent County Council to ban locals from the path.

The council acted on information from the Prince, saying that dog walkers were worrying his sheep, that the path invaded his privacy and was a threat to the security of the estate.

But locals were left fuming after not being consulted over the footpath and mounted an appeal to get it re-opened to the public after fences were installed blocking them from the path.

And on Friday last week, they were successful after the Planning Inspectorate - which held a public inquiry into the closure of the footpath in June this year - announced its decision that the path should be re-opened to the public. » | Friday, November 25, 2011

Lords Debate Threatens Decision to Allow Gay Weddings in Churches

THE GUARDIAN: Peers could scupper change to equality bill amid fears churches will face pressure to opt in to the voluntary scheme

Peers opposed to the registration of civil partnerships in religious premises have secured a debate in the House of Lords that could see the provision scrapped altogether, after warnings that churches could face litigation for turning away gay couples.

This month the equalities minister, Lynne Featherstone, said the government was committed to removing the legal barrier to civil partnerships' registration on the religious premises "of those faith groups who choose to allow this to happen", adding it would be a "permissive measure" with "no obligation on faith groups to host civil partnerships". The change to the equality bill, known as the Alli amendment, was passed in March 2010.

But peers, led by Lady O'Cathain, will debate the change on 15 December – 10 days after it comes into effect – in an attempt to scupper it entirely amid continued fears that churches will be under pressure to opt in to the voluntary scheme. If successful it would prevent all religious premises from registering civil partnerships – including those happy to do so. » | Riazat Butt , religious affairs correspondent | Thursday, November 24, 2011

New South Wales Parliament Embraces the Queen with New Royal Oath

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Politicians in Australia's largest state, New South Wales, will again be able to swear allegiance to the Queen and the royal family under moves to restore the oath after it was scrapped in 2006.

The bill, proposed by an ardently pro-monarchist MP, has been backed by the new Government which won office earlier this year. It would reverse a decision to scrap the oath by the former Labor government.

Under the proposals, politicians would no longer be forced to swear loyalty to the people of NSW and Australia and could instead choose to pledge allegiance "to her majesty Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors according to law".

The change was proposed by Reverend Fred Nile, from the Christian Democratic party, who said the removal of the Queen from the oath was a "calculated snub" by Labor on the eve of a royal visit. Reverend Nile was buoyed by the most recent royal visit, which ended with jubilant scenes as big crowds came to farewell the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh after what may have been her final tour as head of state. » | Jonathan Pearlman, in Sydney | Friday, November 25, 2011

Egypt Faces Surge of Protesters as Military Faces 'Friday of the Last Chance'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A massive demonstration was gathering strength in Cairo with tens of thousands of protesters chanting, "Leave, leave" rapidly filling up Tahrir Square.

The Friday rally is dubbed by organisers as "The Last Chance Million-Man Protest," and promises to be a massive demonstration to force Egypt's ruling military council to yield power.

The build-up comes one day after the military offered an apology for the killing of nearly 40 protesters in clashes on side streets near Tahrir over the last week.

The White House demanded the transfer of power to a civilian government in Egypt must be "just and inclusive" and take place "as soon as possible". "Most importantly, we believe that the full transfer of power to a civilian government must take place in a just and inclusive manner that responds to the legitimate aspirations of the Egyptian people, as soon as possible," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said in a statement.

The remarks came as a private Egyptian television channels reported that the ruling military council had asked Kamal al-Ganzuri, a former prime minister to form a new cabinet.

Mr Ganzuri headed the government from 1996 to 1999 under ousted president Hosni Mubarak. » | Telegraph’s Foreign Staff | Friday, November 25, 2011

THE GUARDIAN: Egypt protesters flock to Tahrir Square: ElBaradei joins tens of thousands heading to Tahrir Square demanding immediate end to military rule » | Martin Chulov in Cairo | Friday, November 25, 2011

Tape of Anders Behring Breivik's Phone Call to Police after Mass Murder on Utoya [sic] Released
A phone call recording of Anders Behring Breivik speaking to police from the island where he carried out a massacre has been leaked by Norwegian police.

Read article here | Barney Henderson | Thursday, November 24, 2011

Barack Obama Volunteers at Thanksgiving Food Bank
The US President Barack Obama and his family hand out food at a local Food Bank on the eve of Thanksgiving.

Read short article here | Thursday, November 24, 2011

Frauen in der rechtsextremen Szene
Rechtsterroristen sind verantwortlich für eine Mordserie an neun Ausländern und einer deutschen Polizistin. Eine Frau stand im Mittelpunkt des Terrortrios. Sie ist nicht die einzige Frau in der Szene.
Das Video hier abspielen

Nordkorea droht Süden mit "Meer aus Feuer"

DIE PRESSE: Nach einem Militärmanöver Südkoreas in der Nähe der Insel Yonpyong verschärft Nordkorea seine Drohungen.

Nordkorea verschärft das Säbelrasseln gegenüber Südkorea wieder: Sollte das Nachbarland je einen Schuss über die Grenze abgeben, werde der Sitz des südkoreanischen Präsidenten in einen "Meer aus Feuer" verwandelt, hieß es am Donnerstag aus Pjöngjang. » | Ag. | Donnerstag 24. November 2011

Pologne: un tribunal autorise des symboles néonazis et homophobes
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: EXTRÊME DROITE | Un tribunal polonais a inscrit dans ses registres, les deux nouveaux symboles néonazis et homophobes du mouvement nationaliste d’extrême droite Narodowe Odrodzenie Polski.

Un tribunal polonais a enregistrés des symboles néonazis et homophobes comme emblèmes du mouvement nationaliste d’extrême droite Narodowe Odrodzenie Polski (NOP, Renaissance nationale polonaise).

Certains Polonais ont réagi en exprimant leur indignation. «Après deux ans de bataille juridique, a indiqué ce mouvement sur son site internet, le tribunal a inscrit dans ses registres les nouveaux symboles du NOP: une croix celtique et une interdiction de pédaler», signe en forme de panneau de signalisation routière évoquant un rapport homosexuel. » | ATS/AFP | jeudi 24 novembre 2011

Iraq Executes 16 Al-Qaeda Members Convicted Over Wedding Massacre
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Iraq has executed 16 al-Qaeda members convicted of involvement in the massacre of 70 people at a wedding, although they were officially put to death for other murders, a judicial spokesman said.

“Sixteen people were executed this morning,” Abdelsattar Birakdar told AFP, adding that “all of them were al-Qaeda members.”

Mr Birakdar said that the 16 were convicted of involvement in the massacre of 70 people at a wedding in 2006, but were put to death for the murder of cooking gas salesmen. » | Thursday, November 24, 2011

Mugabe Calls David Cameron 'Satanic' for Backing Gay Rights

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe has condemned as "satanic" a suggestion by Prime Minister David Cameron that Britain could cut aid money to countries that do not respect gay rights.

Mr Mugabe said that homosexuals were "worse than pigs and dogs" and warned those practising in his country: "We will punish you severely."

His comments come as Zimbabweans get ready to vote next year on a new constitution that could offer some legal protection to homosexuals in Zimbabwe. At present, those caught engaging in same-sex relationships face prison terms.

Britain has already cut aid to Malawi by £19 million following the sentencing of two gay men to 14 years hard labour. They were later pardoned.

Mr Cameron raised the idea of linking funding to human rights issues at the end of the Commonwealth summit in October. » | Aislinn Laing, Johannesburg | Thursday, November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!
I should like to take this opportunity to wish our American visitors, followers, and Twitter followers VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

Image courtesy of Google Images

Paris sägt am Stuhl des syrischen Herrschers
Frankreich geht zunehmend auf Distanz zum einstigen Hoffnungsträger in Damaskus

NZZ ONLINE: Die Zeit für den syrischen Herrscher Asad ist aus französischer Sicht abgelaufen. Wie bei Libyen versucht Paris beim Aufbau einer Front gegen das Regime in Damaskus ganz vorne mitzuwirken. Doch Asad sitzt wohl fester im Sattel als damals Ghadhafi.

Mit der Abberufung des Botschafters aus Damaskus hat Frankreich vor einer Woche ein erstes klares Zeichen gesetzt: Aus Sicht der französischen Diplomatie hat Syriens Präsident Bashar al-Asad mit der blutigen Bekämpfung der Proteste Frankreichs Goodwill verspielt. Es sei zu spät für Asad, doppelte Aussenminister Alain Juppé am vergangenen Freitag bei seinem Besuch in der Türkei nach. Noch hält sich Frankreichs Staatschef Nicolas Sarkozy mit öffentlichen Regieanweisungen zurück, doch die Haltung in Paris ist klar. Man sägt aktiv am Stuhl des mittlerweile auch bei der Arabischen Liga in Ungnade gefallenen syrischen Herrschers. » | Manfred Rist, Paris | Mittwoch 23. November 2011

Saleh gibt die Macht ab
Jemenitischer Präsident übergibt sein Amt an seinen Stellvertreter

NZZ ONLINE: Nach langem Zögern hat der jemenitische Präsident Saleh in Riad eine Vereinbarung für einen Machtwechsel unterzeichnet. Sein Stellvertreter Hadi übernimmt sofort, gleichzeit[i]g wird ein Prozess für Neuwahlen in Gang gesetzt. Man erwartet, dass Saleh ins Exil geht.

Nach zehn Monaten Krise gibt es in Jemen Hoffnung auf Wandel: Der jemenitische Staatschef Ali Abdullah Saleh erklärte am Mittwoch in Saudiarabien schriftlich seinen Verzicht auf die Macht. Im Gegenzug werden dem 69-Jährigen und dessen Familie Straffreiheit gewährt. » | hoh./(sda/dpa/afp/ddp) | Mittwoch 23. November 2011

Inquiry Finds 'Excessive Force' Used in Bahrain Crackdown
Bahrain's security forces used excessive force to suppress protests in the country earlier this year, including torture and forced confessions, an inquiry panel says.

Read article here | Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Seven Charged in US with Hate Crimes in Amish Religious Haircut Attacks
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Seven men have been arrested on hate crime charges following haircutting attacks against Amish men and women.

Cutting the hair is a highly offensive act to the Amish, who believe the Bible instructs women to let their hair grow long and men to grow beards and stop shaving once they marry.

Authorities have said several members of a breakaway group forcefully cut the beards and hair of Amish men and women in September and October. » | Wednesday, November 23, 2011

THE GUARDIAN: Seven members of Amish breakaway group arrested over haircut attacks: US authorities raid compound and arrest seven men – including group leader Sam Mullet – on federal hate crime charges » | Associated Press | Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Iran MPs Cry 'Death to Britain' in Parliament
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Iranian politicians to vote on downgrading diplomatic ties with Britain in retaliation for newly imposed sanctions.

The parliament introduced an emergency bill to go to a vote on Sunday on the issue, said the website of IRIB television.

Several politicians cried "Death to Britain" as the measure was adopted with 162 votes. Five deputies voted against.

The wording of the bill was not immediately divulged.

But the head of the parliamentary committee on foreign policy and national security, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, said he was asking the foreign ministry "to expel the British ambassador from the country," said the parliamentary website.

Britain on Monday, in co-ordination with the United States and Canada, announced new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme, after a report by the UN atomic energy watchdog this month suggesting Tehran was researching nuclear weapons. » | Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Tatiana Limanova Gives Obama the Middle Finger


THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Russian newsreader Tatyana Limanova makes insulting gesture at Obama: A top Russian female newsreader has caused a stir after appearing to offensively show US President Barack Obama her middle finger during a live newscast. » | Andrew Osborn, Moscow | Wednesday, November 23, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Russian newsreader fired after Obama middle finger insult: A top Russian female newsreader who appeared to defiantly show US President Barack Obama her middle finger during a live newscast has been fired. » | Andrew Osborn, Moscow | Thursday, November 24, 2011

Spain's King Left with Black Eye after Walking into a Door

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: King Juan Carlos of Spain appeared in public sporting a black eye after “walking into a door” at his royal residence.

The 73-year-old monarch was pictured with the shiner on his left eye and a small sticking plaster on the bridge of his nose at a reception for new ambassadors to Spain on Tuesday.

Royal aides said the King had received the injuries earlier in the day but they were not serious enough to alter his schedule.

The King himself commented on the mishap: “This is what happens when one slams into a door,” he said.

Spanish media reported that the accident was in fact the fault of a member of the palace staff, who pushed open the door at the moment the King was opening it from the other side.

“It was an accident and his job is not in danger” said a source at Zarzuela Palace. » | Fiona Govan | Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Russia Today Live

Erdogan entschuldigt sich für Massaker an Kurden

DIE PRESSE: Die Angriffe der türkischen Armee auf Kurdengebiete in den 1930er Jahren seien "eines der tragischsten Ereignisse unserer neueren Geschichte", sagt der türkische Ministerpräsident.

Als erster Regierungschef in der Geschichte der Türkei hat sich Ministerpräsident Recep Tayyip Erdogan für Angriffe der Armee auf Kurdengebiete in den 1930er Jahren entschuldigt. "Wenn es notwendig ist, sich im Namen des Staates zu entschuldigen, würde ich mich entschuldigen - und ich entschuldige mich", sagte er am Mittwoch vor Mitgliedern seiner religiös-konservativen Regierungspartei AKP. Die Gewalttaten seien "eines der tragischsten und schmerzhaftesten Ereignisse unserer neueren Geschichte". » | Ag. | Mittwoch 23. November 2011

Le Premier ministre turc compare le président syrien Assad à Hitler

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le Premier ministre turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan a de nouveau critiqué le président syrien Bachar al-Assad, comparant son attitude à celle des dictateurs comme Adolf Hitler ou Benito Mussolini.

Le Premier ministre turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan a demandé mardi la démission du président syrien Bachar al-Assad afin de «prévenir davantage d’effusion de sang» dans le pays. Damas a de son côté qualifié de «déclaration de guerre» un projet de résolution de l’Onu condamnant la répression de la contestation.

«Pour le salut de ton peuple, de ton pays et de la région, quitte désormais le pouvoir», a dit le chef du gouvernement turc devant le groupe parlementaire de son Parti de la justice et du développement (AKP). M. Erdogan, qui était un ami personnel du dirigeant syrien, avait déjà annoncé avoir rompu avec le régime de Damas, mais c’est la première fois qu’il demande ouvertement le départ de M. Assad.

M. Erdogan a aussi de nouveau critiqué M. Assad, qui s’est dit «tout à fait» prêt à combattre et à mourir s’il devait affronter des forces étrangères, comparant son attitude à celle des dictateurs comme Adolf Hitler ou Benito Mussolini. » | AFP | mardi 22 novembre 2011

Muslim Preacher Jailed after Being Secretly Filmed Kicking and Slapping Children at Mosque

MAIL ONLINE: A religious teacher who was caught on a secret camera kicking and slapping children in a mosque was jailed for 10 weeks today.

Sabir Hussain, 60, admitted four charges of assaulting boys at the Markazi Jamia Mosque, in Keighley, West Yorkshire, as they learned The Koran.

He was arrested after secret filming was screened on a Channel 4 documentary earlier this year.

The assaults Hussain admitted happened on December 7 and December 13 last year, and involved four different boys.

Hussain, of Spencer Street, Keighley, appeared at Bradford Magistrates Court in traditional clothing and was led out of court in handcuffs after the sentence was passed. Read on and comment » | Richard Hartley-Parkinson | Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Tory Students Burn Barack Obama Effigy

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Conservative students at Scotland's oldest university have apologised after members of their society burned an effigy of US President Barack Obama.

Authorities at St Andrews University - where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge studied and first met - said they were looking into reports of the incident on Friday evening on the town's East Sands beach.

Matthew Marshall, president of the St Andrews Conservative Association, told the BBC: "President Obama is an important ally to the British Government. It was a stupid thing to do and we apologise for any offence caused."

John Park, Labour MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, whose constituency includes the university said: "This is gravely offensive and way beyond a student prank."

He urged David Cameron and the Conservative Party to take action against the activists responsible.

"Burning an effigy of anyone is offensive, let alone the first black President of the United States. The overtones are deeply unpleasant." » | Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Attacke aus Großbritannien: "Deutschland hat der Euro-Zone den Krieg erklärt"
WELT ONLINE: Der Ton aus Großbritannien wird schärfer: Erstmals schreibt eine renommierte Zeitung vom "Krieg", mit dem Deutschland wieder andere Völker unterwerfen wolle.

Im eurokritischen Großbritannien stößt die Politik der Bundesregierung in derEuro-Schuldenkrise zunehmend auf Kritik.

Die konservative Zeitung „The Times“ [£] hat im Zusammenhang mit der Politik von Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel erstmals das Wort „Krieg“ ins Spiel gebracht. „Deutschland hat der Euro-Zone den Krieg erklärt“, lautet die Überschrift eines halbseitigen Kommentars in der „Times.“

„Wenn (Carl von) Clausewitz Recht hat, dass „Krieg die Fortsetzung von Politik mit anderen Mitteln“ ist, dann ist Deutschland wieder im Krieg mit Europa“, schrieb der renommierte „Times“-Kommentator Anatole Kaletsky in der Mittwochausgabe der Zeitung. » | dpa/pku | Mittwoch 23. November 2011

Angela Merkel kalt erwischt (Mein Handy klingelt...)
Angela Merkel beim Arbeitgebertag in Berlin: Vor Hunderten Zuhörern spricht die Kanzlerin über Schuldenkrise und Euro-Rettung - als plötzlich ihr Handy klingelt! Gelächter im Saal, doch Angela Merkel bleibt cool. Manchmal behalte sie die Nerven und mache den "double track", sagte sie. Will sagen: Angela Merkel spricht weiter UND telefoniert.

Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg zurück auf internationaler Bühne
Am 19.11.2011 feierte Deutschlands ehemaliger Verteidigungsminister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg eine Art Comeback auf der Politik-Bühne. Im kanadischen Halifax sprach Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, der inzwischen in den USA lebt und sich bei einem "Think Tank" in Washington mit transatlantischen Fragen beschäftigt, über die Euro-Krise.

Karl Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg (* 5. Dezember 1971 in München) ist ein deutscher Politiker (CSU), der 2009 zunächst Bundesminister für Wirtschaft und Technologie und danach bis 2011 Bundesminister der Verteidigung war. Nachdem die Universität Bayreuth Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg im Zuge der Plagiatsaffäre um seine Dissertation den Doktorgrad im Februar 2011 aberkannt hatte, legte Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg Anfang März 2011 sämtliche politischen Ämter nieder.


Guttenberg kritisiert EU in Weltwirtschaftskrise
Der Ex-Verteidigungsminister äußert sich im kanadischen Halifax im Rahmen einer Diskussion über die Lage der Weltwirtschaft kritisch über die EU (Europäische Union).

WELT ONLINE: Die Bitterkeit des geisterhaften Guttenberg im Exil: Auftritt von geheimnisumwobener Art: Der frühere Star im Kabinett Merkel nimmt bei einer Konferenz in Kanada kein Blatt vor den Mund und kritisiert Europas Krisenpolitik. ¶ Mit düsteren Ansichten zur Finanzkrise Europas und indirekter Kritik an Bundeskanzlerin Merkel hat sich Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg (CSU) erstmals seit seinem Rücktritt Anfang März wieder zu Wort gemeldet. Guttenberg trat als Gastredner bei einer Podiumsdebatte des „Internationalen Sicherheitsforums“ im kanadischen Halifax auf; im Programm war er, naturgemäß ohne Doktortitel, als „hervorragender Staatsmann“ (distinguished statesman) und Stipendiat (Fellow) des Washingtoner Think Tanks „Center for Strategic and International Studies“ (CSIS) angekündigt. » | Uwe Schmitt | Sonntag 20. November 2011

WELT ONLINE: Jetzt muss Guttenberg Klartext zur Doktorarbeit redden: Das Verfahren gegen den früheren Verteidigungsminister wurde eingestellt. Jetzt muss er der Öffentlichkeit plausibel darlegen, wie seine Doktorarbeit entstanden ist. » | Torsten Krauel | Mittwoch 23. November 2011

Wolfgang Schäuble - Deutschland ist kein souveräner Staat
Finanzminister Schäuble über die Souveränität von Deutschland nach 1945 und die Abschaffung der Nationalstaaten. Ausschnitt aus seiner Rede vor Bankern aus aller Welt, auf dem European Banking Congress in Frankfurt.

Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Insulting Thai Queen by Text Message

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Thailand's criminal court sentenced a 61-year-old man to 20 years in prison Wednesday for sending text messages deemed offensive to the country's queen.

The court found Amphon Tangnoppaku guilty on four counts under the country's lese majeste [sic] and computer crime laws, sentencing him to five years imprisonment for each charge.

Lese majeste [sic] is the crime of insulting a monarch, and Thailand's laws against it are the most severe in the world. Even repeating the details of an alleged offence is illegal. » | Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Algérie : les chrétiens craignent l'intolérance

LE FIGARO: Le récent procès d'un converti accusé d'«injures envers le Prophète» illustre le retour en force des islamistes.

La cour d'appel d'Oran a abrité, jeudi dernier, un nouveau procès pour délit religieux. Siaghi Krimo, un maçon de 29 ans converti au christianisme en 2007, est cité à comparaître pour «injures envers le Prophète». En mai dernier, il a été condamné, en première instance, à cinq années de prison ferme. Dénoncé par un voisin à qui il avait remis un DVD sur la vie du Christ, il a été brutalement arrêté par une escouade de policiers comme un dangereux criminel.

Au commissariat, plusieurs officiers se sont relayés pour interroger le «renégat». «Tu es habité par le démon», hurle l'un d'eux. «Si tu étais mon frère, je te tuerais», menace un autre. Pour le juge du tribunal correctionnel qui a prononcé la sentence, la cause est entendue avant tout débat : quitter l'islam pour une autre religion est un crime. «Tu le regretteras !», dit-il à l'inculpé, qui a revendiqué sa foi chrétienne mais nié toute atteinte à l'islam. En l'absence du témoin délateur et malgré un dossier vide, le tribunal écrit dans son jugement : «Il a nié les faits, mais son apostasie est une présomption de culpabilité.» » | Par Arezki Aït-Larbi | mardi 22 novembre 2011

Danielle Mitterrand Obituary

THE GUARDIAN: Former first lady of France and human rights campaigner

In the last interview Danielle Mitterrand gave before her death at the age of 87, the former French first lady recalled berating her friend Fidel Castro for the torturing and killing of Cuban political prisoners. Surprised he did not tell her to shut up or throw her out, she asked why he put up with her nagging. "Because I like you a lot," replied the Cuban president.

Mitterrand was liked and admired by many, as much for her ability to take world leaders to task as for her unwavering support for minority and humanitarian issues, from the death penalty and discrimination to the lack of water or education in impoverished African villages. She was also respected for breaking the first-lady mould and refusing to be defined by either her husband's role as head of state or the humiliation he heaped on her through his infidelity.

She was born Danielle Gouze in Verdun, the daughter of two leftwing academics. During the second world war, her father, by then a secondary school headteacher, was sacked by the Vichy administration after refusing to hand over a list of names of Jewish pupils and teachers in his school to the Nazis.

While her family harboured men being hunted by the Gestapo, Danielle joined the French Resistance at the age of 17, with her elder sister Christine, and was later awarded the prestigious Resistance Medal. In 1941, she helped François Mitterrand, a fellow member codenamed Captain Morland on the run from the Gestapo, by pretending to be his girlfriend, and the pair promptly fell in love. They married in 1944. The couple had three sons: Pascal, who died aged two months, Jean-Christophe and Gilbert. » | Kim Willsher | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Lien en relation avec la nécrologie »

Angela Merkel: Europe's Saviour – Or Biggest Problem?

THE GUARDIAN: The German chancellor holds Europe's economic fate in her hands. But critics say she is not up to the job

On 22 December 1999, a letter appeared on the front page of Germany's leading conservative daily, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung [*]. It contained a searing attack on the country's most highly regarded statesman, Helmut Kohl, recently retired chancellor and much-feted architect of reunification. Kohl, then mired in an ugly party funding scandal, had to be cut loose, the letter urged, as teenagers must jettison their parents to grow into adults. The only way forward for his Christian Democrats was a complete break with their past.

It was a remarkable letter, a clinical and very public coup-de-grace delivered to an eminent, mortally wounded elder. What made it more remarkable was that the person who signed it was not one of the obviously thrusting young pretenders to Kohl's CDU throne, but a moon-faced and oddly unmemorable protege [sic] whom he used to refer to, dismissively, as das Mädchen: the girl.

Some like to see in this episode – which duly launched Angela Merkel on the stratospheric trajectory that would see her elected head of the centre-right CDU the following year and Germany's first woman chancellor barely five years after that – proof positive that she is a sharp, maybe even a ruthless opportunist, eminently capable of bold, decisive and, if necessary, dirty deeds to achieve her ends.

Others construe it more as an uncharacteristic moment of madness from a politician who otherwise has constructed an entire career on caution and consensus; a public figure so superficially unremarkable, so singularly lacking in passion or charisma that in nearly 25 years in politics she has (as her biographer puts it) "not made a single speech that stayed in the memory". A moderator, not a leader; a tactician, not a strategist.

She could, of course, be both. But what's becoming increasingly clear, as the euro teeters on the precipice and economic disaster beckons, is that if she is, a great many people – most of them, it has to be said, outside Germany – would actually quite like to see a bit more of the former, and rather less of the latter. A touch more of the bold and decisive, somewhat less of the calm and methodical. If possible.

Merkel is, after all, about the most important person in the world right now. As leader of the eurozone's undisputed economic powerhouse, she in effect holds the future financial wellbeing of all of us in her hands. And the worry is she's not up to the job. For all her undoubted qualities and undimmed domestic popularity (the pollsters, certainly, see no hint of a rival who could threaten her re-election in 2013, for a third successive term), Merkel – a pale, irredeemably frumpy, maddeningly hard-to-pin-down shadow of an Adenauer, a Brandt, a Kohl – is totally not what's needed, say her critics. Read on and comment » | Jon Henley | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

* FOCUS ONLINE: Der Bruch des „Mädchens“ mit Ziehvater Kohl: Inmitten der Spendenaffäre empfahl Angela Merkel vor zehn Jahren der CDU die Abnabelung von Kanzler Helmut Kohl. Durch ihren Gastbeitrag für die „FAZ“ wurde der Alt- und Ehrenvorsitzende zum Geächteten der eigenen Partei. ¶ Angela Merkel hätte die Kernbotschaft ihres kühlen Artikels vom 22. Dezember 1999 für die „Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung“ auch in zwei Worte fassen können: „Tschüß, Kohl“. Stattdessen schmiedete sie aus Vokabeln schlichter Laien-Pädagogik Sätze von ungeheurer Sprengkraft: „Die Partei muss also laufen lernen, muss sich zutrauen, in Zukunft auch ohne ihr altes Schlachtross, wie Helmut Kohl sich selbst gerne genannt hat, den Kampf mit dem politischen Gegner aufzunehmen. Sie muss sich wie jemand in der Pubertät von zu Hause lösen, eigene Wege gehen.“ » | Von FOCUS-Korrespondentin Margarete van Ackeren, Berlin | Dienstag 22. Dezember 2009

Libyan PM Snubs Islamists with Cabinet to Please Western Backers

THE GUARDIAN: Abdurrahim el-Keib sent Libya on a bumpy road towards democracy by naming a cabinet of secularists

Prime minister Abdurrahim el-Keib has sent Libya on a bumpy road towards democracy by naming a cabinet of secularists and thereby snubbing prominent Islamists.

The biggest surprise on the list was Osama al-Juwali, chief of the Zintan military council, who was appointed defence minister at the expense of Islamist Hakim Bilhaj.

Juwali is an accomplished commander whose forces were originally a militia from the small city of Zintan that went on to play a central role in storming Tripoli in August, but until now he had no national political profile. Sources in the city in west Libya told the Guardian at the weekend its leadership demanded a cabinet post in return for handing over Saif al-Islam, Muammar Gaddafi's son and heir, captured in the south on Saturday. He is now held at a secret location in Zintan.

In Tripoli, the international criminal court's chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, confirmed the ICC had accepted Saif al-Islam would be tried in Libya, but said it would take part and "help" the authorities guarantee him a fair trial. The court would ensure its judges had a role, Ocampo said. » | Chris Stephen in Tripoli and Luke Harding | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Australian MP Refers to US Policy as 'Naive and Destructive'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Australia’s Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has been criticised for using an ill-considered literary reference in an address to Barack Obama which implied US foreign policy was naive and destructive.

During an address in Parliament to honour Mr Obama’s visit last week, Mr Abbott, a staunch supporter of the US, cited Graham Greene’s The Quiet American in a manner which suggested that America’s approach to the world mirrored that of Greene’s boyishly ideological character, Alden Pyle. Mr Abbott told the President: “Not for nothing did Graham Greene say of his Quiet American that he had never met a man with such good intentions for all the trouble he caused”.

The reference, in a book widely regarded as anti-American, came as Mr Abbott, a former Rhodes Scholar who heads the conservative Coalition, described the US as the nation that has shouldered the “heaviest lifting” in fending off the threat of totalitarianism and terrorism. » | Jonathan Pearlman, Sydney | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

US Election 2012: Newt Gingrich Risks Angering Republican Voters with Immigration Plan

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Newt Gingrich, the Republican presidential hopeful who has surged into the lead of national opinion polls, risked alienating the party's core voters on Tuesday night by proposing that millions of illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the US.

The former Speaker of the House of Representatives said “community boards” should be set up across America to judge which of the estimated 11 million people living there without permission should be deported, and which given the right to remain.

“If you've been here 25 years and you have got three kids and two grandkids, you've been paying taxes and obeying the law, you belong to a local church, I don't think we're going to separate you from your family, uproot you forcefully and kick you out,” he said during a debate on national security in Washington, DC.

Mr Gingrich's proposal was attacked by his rivals and risked enraging the conservative Tea Party movement, which was unforgiving when Governor Rick Perry of Texas said in a previous debate that anyone opposing subsidised education for the children of illegal immigrants was “heartless”.

Insisting he was “prepared to take the heat” for the plan, Mr Gingrich was criticised by Michelle Bachmann, a Minnesota congresswoman, who said: “We need to move away from magnets, not offer more”.

Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who remains the favourite to win the nomination, said the policy would “only encourage more people to do the same thing”, adding: “People respond to incentives”. » | Jon Swaine, Washington | Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Libya: Saif Gaddafi Warns Captors about Islamist Leaders in New Video
Shot on the day of his capture, a new video shows Saif al-Islam Gaddafi smiling with his captors before issuing them a strong warning about Libya's new radical leaders and the risk of internal divisions.

Read article here | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

The Queen Welcomes Turkish President with Guard of Honour
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh give President Gül a ceremonial welcome before reviewing a Guard of Honour on Horse Guards Parade.

Read article here | Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Related »

Michael Bloomberg Fuels Presidential Talk with Attack on Barack Obama

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Michael Bloomberg has launched an attack on Barack Obama for an absence of leadership as Washington failed to hammer out a deficit deal, renewing suggestions he could mount an independent bid for the White House.

In a stinging rebuke of Mr Obama, who remained on the sidelines as the deal collapsed, and a rare intervention into Washington politics, Mr Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, said: "It's the chief executive's job to bring people together and to provide leadership. I don't see that happening."

He accused members of Congress of "political cowardice" for helping bring about a "disaster for the country" but the former Democrat and Republican who is now an Independent reserved his strongest words for Mr Obama.

"The executive branch must do more than submit a plan to a committee – and then step aside and hope the committee members take action. That's not how any CEO would run a business.

He added: "It's not how landmark pieces of legislation have gotten through Congress. Tough problems require determined, forceful and bold leadership – and real action."

Mr Bloomberg's words could fuel speculation about whether he could mount a third-party bid for the White House. The New York mayor has made no preliminary moves indicating he might take such a step and has repeatedly said that a "short, divorced, Jewish billionaire" would have no chance.

But some centrists disillusioned with Mr Obama and dismayed by what they see as a paucity of talent in the Republican field still hold out hope. » | Toby Harnden, Washington | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Vicar 'Sues God' over Campaign of Hate

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A vicar who moved to an “idyllic” rural parish claims that locals subjected him and his family to a four-year-reign of intimidation and terror.

Reverend Mark Sharpe, 44, claims parishioners slashed his tyres, smeared excrement over the family car, strewed broken glass over his drive and even poisoned his pet dog.

Rev Sharpe said he and his wife Sara, 43, were forced to install CCTV cameras at the rectory to protect themselves and their four children after their post was tampered with and internet and phone connections were cut.

Eventually they moved away and yesterday Rev Sharpe began a claim of constructive dismissal against the Church of England.

The vicar, who was ordained in 2001, initially moved to the rural Teme Valley South Ministry in Worcestershire in January 2005, after resigning his previous job as a Navy chaplain.

He had left that post after claiming he was ''continually'' exposed to violent hardcore pornography and won an employment tribunal against the Ministry of Defence for sexual harassment in 2006. » | Nick Britten | Tuesday, November 22, 2011