Friday, November 25, 2011
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
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
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
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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
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
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
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
Thursday, November 24, 2011
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
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
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
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
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
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
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
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