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.

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