The Man of Many Spellings, Moamar Qadafi, had a meeting with with the released Lockerbie bomber, Abdel Basset al-Megrahi. The convicted terrorist returned to Libya as a national hero.In other news, there will be no pilgrimage to Mecca this year for French Muslims, due to the swine flu.
Thanks to Aeneas, C. Cantoni, A Greek Friend, Gaia, Insubria, JD, Sean O’Brian, TB, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. Headlines and articles are below the fold.
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Judge Tosses Deportation Case Against Egyptian Man
MIAMI — An Egyptian man who was acquitted of terrorism-related charges earlier this year should not be deported, a judge in Florida ruled Friday.
Youssef Megahed, 23, was not immediately released following the decision by Immigration Judge Kenneth Hurewitz. He was due back in Hurewitz’s courtroom Friday afternoon for a bond hearing, but Megahed attorney Charles Kuck said his client would likely remain behind bars if the government files an appeal, as expected.
Still, the decision was a victory for Megahed, who was found not guilty of federal explosives charges in April, but then was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
“He was stunned,” Kuck said, saying his client didn’t initially understand the decision. “Then we explained it and a big grin came on his face. He was very grateful.”
Elaine Komis, a spokeswoman for the Executive Office for Immigration Review in the U.S. Department of Justice, confirmed Hurewitz’s decision to terminate the case, but did not comment further. A spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said he could not immediately comment.
Megahed is a legal permanent resident who moved to the United States with his family when he was 11.
The former student, who is one class shy of an engineering degree at the University of South Florida, was arrested with a fellow Egyptian national during a traffic stop near Charleston, S.C., in August 2007.
Prosecutors claimed the lengths of PVC pipe packed with a common homemade explosives mixture found in the trunk of their car could have been used to build a destructive device.
A defense attorney argued the items were engines for homemade model rockets that were put into the car without Megahed’s knowledge before an innocent college road trip to the Carolina beaches.
The three-week trial did not include details about the apparent terrorist leanings of Megahed’s older companion and fellow USF student, Ahmed Mohamed. Mohamed, 27, pleaded guilty in December to providing material support to terrorists by making a YouTube video that demonstrated how to convert a remote-controlled car into a bomb detonator.
He spoke in Arabic on the video, saying he wanted to teach “martyrdoms” and “suiciders” how to save themselves so they can continue to fight invaders, including U.S. soldiers.
Megahed was not charged in connection with the video. A judge ruled it was irrelevant and could not be used as evidence against him at trial.
“The judge did the absolutely correct thing,” Kuck said Friday, “just like the jury did four months ago.”
| — Hat tip: Sean O’Brian | [Return to headlines] |
Kennedy Tries to Change Law So Wife Can Succeed Him
There is absolutely nothing that will cause a dead liberal politician to roll over in his grave faster than having the voters replace him with a conservative. In 2004 when anti-war leftwing Sen. John Kerry was running for President, the legislators in that State realized that if he prevailed in the general election, under State law at the time, moderate Republican governor Mitt Romney would be allowed to appoint Kerry’s replacement for the remaining four years of Kerry’s 4th term as a US Senator.
The Massachusetts legislature hurriedly changed the law, requiring a special election to be held within 5 months of any vacancy to replace the legislator whose seat was now vacated. In point of fact, Kennedy wants the State legislation to change the allow, again, to benefit the Democratic Party and, in this instance Vicki Kennedy, the Senator’s wife. Kennedy wants her appointed to replace him, giving her a three year head start on those interested in the seat in 2012 when she would come up for reelection as the incumbent junior senator from Massachusetts (even though she told the Boston Globe that she has no interest in replacing her husband either temporarily or permanently.) Yeah, I’ll believe that one—when pigs fly.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Open Borders Critics Report Cyber Attack
‘We are seeing orchestrated pattern of censorship’
An organization critical of plans percolating in Washington, D.C., to create amnesty for the tens of millions of illegal aliens estimated to be in the United States now is reporting a cyber attack it describes as both targeted and orchestrated.
“Google’s own software admits we have no viruses or malware on our site,” said William Gheen of ALIPAC. “The readings indicate that Google scanned our site on the 19th and we were clean and now they are arbitrarily blocking us for the second time this week. Our technicians tell us our site is clean and Google will not offer us any explanation or assistance despite multiple attempts to reach out to them.”
The organization said its tens of thousands of pages of archived evidence on the issue of open borders and amnesty were being flagged as containing software viruses.
[…]
“We are seeing a clear and orchestrated pattern of censorship across American emanating from the Obama administration and the open borders lobby that plans to launch new amnesty legislation within two weeks,” said Gheen.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Snake-Oil Salesmen Always Lie
Exclusive: Henry Lamb compares free-market health care to ‘public option’
It’s true, there is no health plan; there is only a dream. Obama and his socialist cronies dream about a 100 percent government-run health-care system. This is socialism in its purest form. Once heath care is taken over by the government, other segments of the economy will fall more easily.
Obama is quick to say publicly that he doesn’t want to take over health care; he wants to lower costs by increasing competition. Obama said he didn’t want to take over GM, but he did. He said he didn’t want to take over financial institutions, but he did. Snake-oil salesmen always lie. Obama is a master snake-oil salesman.
There is no health plan. Congress is in the process of creating a health plan. Obama wanted a health plan before the August recess, but it didn’t happen. The bills that are now floating around in Congress contain various proposals for elements to be included in the health plan.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Teen Christian Convert to Stay in Florida
Judge determines he’ll keep jurisdiction, sets next hearing for September
A judge in Florida has determined arguments over a young Christian who ran away from her Muslim parents in Ohio when her father allegedly threatened her life will continue in Florida, and she will not be returned immediately as her parents wished.
Fathima Rifqa Bary, 17, an honor student and cheerleader, was raised in a Muslim family in Columbus, Ohio. She became a Christian four years ago as a result of her interactions with children at school.
But Bary, a native of Sri Lanka, hitchhiked to a bus station and ran away from home July 19 because she says her family will murder her in what is known as an “honor killing.” In Islamic tradition, an honor killing is the killing of a person believed to have brought dishonor upon his or her family.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Condemning Totalitarianism of All Colours
The 23rd August is “European Day of Rememberance for the Victims of Nazism and Stalinism”, to condemn totalitarianism. A noble cause perhaps, but one which has provoked controversy in Russia, where Stalin is still a national hero. They point out that Russia in fact saved many lives threatened by Nazism. Yet the Russians remain cagey about their Soviet Union archives, a stumbling block for ex-Soviet states to really understand their totalitarian pasts.
In Vilnius in July, 20 years after the collapse of communist regimes in Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) passed a resolution entitled “Divided Europe Reunited.” The OSCE document, which was hardly reported by the press, acknowledges “the uniqueness of the Holocaust,” and notes that “in the twentieth century European countries experienced two major totalitarian regimes, Nazi and Stalinist, which brought about genocide, violations of human rights and freedoms, war crimes and crimes against humanity.” It further recommends that member countries “clearly and unequivocally condemn totalitarianism” (one of the stipulations of the 1990 Copenhagen Document), on the basis that “an awareness of history” will help “to prevent the recurrence of similar crimes in the future.” It was adopted by large majority of delegates — 202 of the 214 present — in spite of vehement opposition from Russia.
The OSCE initiative parallels the European Parliament resolution on “European conscience and totalitarianism” passed in April, which chose to establish a “European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Nazism and Stalinism” on 23 August — which also happens to be the the anniversary of the signature of 1930 Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. It is not a coincidence that the EU has decided to honour the memory of the victims of deportation and mass extermination on a day that establishes a link between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. Placing Nazism on the same level as Communism is identified as an important step in the “European conscience and totalitarianism” text, which also calls for the opening up of secret police and intelligence agency archives, and the adoption of wide-reaching measures to facilitate research and the re-examination of the past.
Russia “against falsification of history” refuses to open archives
Russia reacted strongly to the “A Divided Europe Reunited” resolution, which a spokesman for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs described as “an unacceptable attempt to distort history for political goals.” The Russian parliament also issued a statement condemning the resolution as “a direct insult to the memory of millions of Russian soldiers” who “gave their lives to liberate Europe from Nazi domination.” For the Russians, Stalin is still a real hero. For the peoples of Eastern Europe, he is responsible supporting communist regimes with blood on their hands.
Russia’s outrage at the equation of Stalinist and Nazi regimes reflects a reluctance to come to terms with its totalitarian past, which is also evident in the revival of the Soviet tradition for the organisation of massive military parades. Among other post-communist states, Russia has also been the one that has made least effort to take responsibility for the crimes of communism (and that includes Stalinist communism) — on the contrary the current administration has even sought to reinforce the structures of the former KGB and their control of the political process. It also responded to what it perceives as academic aggression with the establishment of a “Commission to counter the falsification of history to the detriment of Russia’s interests” in May 2009. It is on this basis that the Russian Academy of Sciences has now sent an official order to the directors of its institutes in its history and philology section demanding an annotated list of cultural-historical falsifications in their fields of study and proposals for the scientific confutation of the falsifications in question.
With its call for the opening of archives, the OSCE resolution draws attention to the policy of Russia, which has yet to grant access to its secret police records. Not only does this situation affect the work of Russian historians, but it also hampers the research of their colleagues in former Soviet republics. When they withdrew in 1991, KGB staff took all of the most important documents from the former Soviet republics back to Moscow, and in so doing, denied the citizens of those countries the right to understand their recent past. Since its independence, post-communist Estonia has only had access to secret police catalogue files, but no access to the reports to which they refer. The catalogue files list names, but do not specify if the people concerned were informers or surveillance targets— and a critical need for access to further data is highlighted by the fact that a number of politicians’ names have been discovered in these catalogue files. In Lithuania, the KGB removed almost all of the archives from Vilnius, but historians have been able to conduct research using documents from other KGB document sources outside the city. Notwithstanding these differences, all of the Baltic states would benefit from a better understanding of their history if they were granted access to the Soviet archives in Moscow.
| — Hat tip: Sean O’Brian | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Police Union Stokes Fear of Left-Wing Extremists
The German Police Union has warned of an increasingly violent extreme-left scene, which it claims is likely to start attacking politicians just as the now defunct Red Army Faction (RAF) did in the past.
Rainer Wendt, head of the union, told the website of daily paper Bild: “It is only a question of time before violent left-wingers attack a politician.”
He said the level of violence shown among left-wing activists was increasing. “The entire appearance of the new violent left-wing criminals is like the spirit of the RAF and their fight against the German state.”
But his comments were firmly contradicted by the Interior Ministry, from which a spokesman said: “There is no current knowledge of the existence of a left-wing terrorist organisation.”
He also said that, “Crimes with the aim of assassinating people,” were considered to be, “unlikely.”
But Wendt said he was convinced of the threat. “Those who do not stop at arson attacks on cars and houses, and throw Molotov cocktails at policemen, they see the lives of people as cheap,” he said.
He added that there were clear parallels to the RAF heydays in the 1970s. “The willingness to use violence, the hatred of the state and the social-revolutionary ideals of the violent left-wingers are the same,” he said. “And the methods such as arson attacks are the same as the RAF.”
| — Hat tip: Sean O’Brian | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Berlusconi-Linked Teen Quits Sardinia
Porto Rotondo, 21 August(AKI) — Noemi Letizia, the teenage lingerie model linked to Italy’s scandal-plagued prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, has ended her holiday on the island of Sardinia, Italian daily Corriere della Sera quoted PR agent Roberto Paradiso as saying on Friday. Letizia reportedly left the exclusive Costa Smeralda the same day Berlusconi’s daughters Barbara and Eleonora arrived for drinks at her favourite beach club, ‘Blubeach’.
In an interview with Italian daily Libero on Friday, Letizia said she did not see Berlusconi while she was in Sardinia and claimed she was a virgin.
“No, I didn’t see him or hear from him. In any case, I don’t want to talk about him any more,” said Letizia, who is reported to be back home in the southern city of Naples.
“It’s well known that I am very proud to be a virgin,” she stated, denying rumours that she is romancing Italian showman Umberto Ammirati.
“I’m single and have other things on my mind at present,” Letizia said, hinting she may soon be starting a TV career.
Letizia, aged 18, had appeared to enjoy the intense media interest in her week-long stay at Porto Rotondo, just a few hundred metres from Berlusconi’s luxurious estate.
She arrived on a friend’s yacht last weekend and was staying as house guest of Daniele Sepe, a former colleague of talent agent, Lele Mora.
Berluconi was reported to be at his residence in Arcore near the northern city of Milan this week, “working on Italy’s national economic recovery plan and the restoration of Villa Gerneto too in Brianza,” according to an unnamed friend.
Letizia attended a New Year’s Eve party at Villa Certosa and in April the left-leaning Italian daily La Repubblica published a report about Berlusconi attending her 18th birthday party (photo) and the 6,000 euro gold and pearl pendant he gave her.
She calls Berlusconi ‘Papi’ or ‘Daddy’ but claims their relationship is wholly platonic.
Berlusconi on Wednesday denied allegations of sexual misconduct saying he never had “relations with minors” and only attended parties that were morally acceptable.
He has in recent months been at the centre of lurid allegations that prostitutes attended parties at his homes in Rome and in Sardinia and that he slept with 42-year-old escort Patrizia D’Addario last November.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Family Feud Overshadows Berlusconi ‘Summit’
Punto Lada, 18 August (AKI) — The absence of Italian prime minister and billionaire Silvio Berlusconi’s two eldest children from the family villa in Sardinia is reportedly complicating moves to reach a settlement between Italy’s wealthiest man and his estranged wife Veronica Lario.
But legal progress has been overshadowed by a bitter feud between the media magnate’s 43-year-old daughter from his first marriage, Marina, and her half-sister Barbara.
The quarrel is said to have badly soured the atmosphere at Villa Certosa, where Berlusconi arrived on Monday to try and resolve family differences.
Marina was on Tuesday reported to have taken off from the family’s exclusive villa on the Costa Smeralda aboard her yacht Besame, after an acrimonious row with 25-year-old Barbara during her birthday party at the villa last week.
She was reportedly riled by comments Barbara made in a recent magazine interview in which she staked a blatant claim to Mondadori, Italy’s largest publishing house, part of Berlusconi’s publishing empire, which is run by Marina.
Barbara also said in the interview with the Italian issue of Vanity Fair that if her father was “even-handed” there would be no dispute between his children over his fortune.
She appeared to criticise her father’s scandal-plagued private life in the interview, saying: “I don’t think a politician can allow himself to make a difference between his private and public life”.
Her comments reportedly angered other members of the Berlusconi family.
Berlusconi’s son from his first marriage, Piersilvio, who heads the prime minister’s Mediaset television empire, is also absent from Villa Certosa. He is reportedly vacationing in the Bahamas with his girlfriend.
Lario in May announced plans to file for divorce and is seeking a 20 percent share of Berlusconi’s 8.1 billion euro fortune for each of their three children with the remaining 40 percent stake to be divided between his children from his first marriage, Marina and Piersilvio.
The inheritance is currently split 50-50 between Berlusconi’s children from his first marriage, Marina and Piersilvio on the one hand and their younger step-siblings Barbara, Eleonora and Luigi on the other.
Berlusconi has in recent months been at the centre of embarrassing allegations that he slept with prostitutes, threw parties attended by escorts at his various residences, and frequented under-age girls.
Lario announced her plans to split from Berlusconi after the left-leaning daily, La Repubblica, published a report on his attendance at the 18th birthday party of lingerie model and aspiring actress, Noemi Letizia.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Lockerbie Bomber: An Ill-Conceived Gesture
The release of Lockerbie bomber Abdulbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi is an unnecessary snub to America
The Scottish Nationalist executive in Edinburgh yesterday waved its little fist at the might of America and showed it would not be pushed around. For it is hard to see the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi on compassionate grounds as anything other than an ill-conceived gesture of national assertiveness. Both President Obama and, more forcefully, Hillary Clinton had pleaded with the executive not to do it. How good it must feel in Edinburgh to cock a snook at the superpower.
Yet have the Nationalists thought this through? It is not just the worldwide revulsion they will engender by releasing a convicted terrorist responsible for the biggest act of mass murder in Britain. There could be more concrete, unintended consequences. The US is Scotland’s largest source of inward investment, with more than 500 American-owned businesses employing 90,000 people. Yesterday’s decision may not mean any of these depart, but it could make it harder to attract more — American sensitivity on the issue of terrorism cannot be overstated.
The most puzzling aspect of this case has been the position of the British Government. While it had no legal locus in the case, it must have had a view. Yet from Gordon Brown and his ministers there has been a deafening silence. This will inevitably fuel the suspicion that they were happy to see al Megrahi released because it will improve British relations with oil- and gas-rich Libya without implicating the Government in the release of a convicted terrorist. Such a stance would be staggeringly cynical as well as utterly misguided. The nuances of the devolutionary settlement will not be appreciated across the Atlantic, where the message will be that the UK is a soft touch for terrorists.
| [Return to headlines] |
Ramadan: Islam Divided on Its Beginning in Italy
(ANSAmed) — ROME, AUGUST 19 — Not only across the Islamic world, but also in Italy, the starting date of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting associated with the lunar calendar, is not traditionally set until the appearance of the new moon. This year the beginning will take place between Friday and Saturday, but in Italy, some groups have already decided that fasting will begin at dawn on August 21. The date has been chosen officially by the Union of Islamic communities in Italy (UCOII), adhering to a recent fatwa from the European Council for Fatwa and Research, stating that the astronomical calendar must be obeyed instead of the orient moon. “This was an important decision based on the choice to follow science,” said Ezzedine Elzir, the UCOII spokesperson, “made with wisdom and courage. We hope that this is also the beginning of a European and Italian Islam.” The Islamic Cultural Centre, which manages the Grand Mosque of Rome decided differently, and is waiting for tomorrow at around 6PM for the official announcement by Saudi TV, which will put an end to doubts on whether the date is August 21 or 22. “We are adhering to the tradition of waiting for the appearance of the crescent moon,” said ambassador Mario Scialoja, board member of the centre, “that does not have an actual basis in doctrine and is based on Saudi traditions dating back to the 7th-8th century.” Abdalsabur Turrini, the director general of the Islamic Religious Community (COREIS) is not in agreement. He believes that the need to see the moon comes from “Islamic tradition and the sacred texts”. He distances himself also from the choice of the UCOOI which is “not based on sacred law”, since the beginning of Ramadan, which will therefore be different in each country, “depends on precise divine signals, like the visibility of the moon. It cannot depend on personal initiatives or bureaucratic decisions”. Since not drinking and eating can reduce productivity at work, “respecting the fast depends only on a person’s own conscience, it has to do with a personal relationship with God,” said the UCOII spokesperson, “and cannot be subject to external rules”, like the requirement of agricultural workers to drink in the Mantua area. “Muslims are free to decide,” he concluded, “also to stop fasting while they work.” (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Ramadan: ‘Night of Doubt’ At Paris Great Mosque Tonight
(ANSAmed) — ROME, AUGUST 20 — Friday, or more likely Saturday morning: the French Council for Muslim Devotion (CFCM) will meet this evening at the Grand Mosque in Paris for the “Night of Doubt”, when they will decide the starting date for Ramadan. Other “Nights of Doubt” will take place in the country’s main mosques: some will line up with the date chosen by Turkey or Saudi Arabia, which often come before the French date, but at the Grand Mosque in Paris they stress that the trend is more and more for a “French consensus”. Of the 5 million Muslims living in France, 88% say that the observe the holy month of fasting, while 49% say that they “never go” to the mosque, according to a 2006 survey Csa-La Vie. 94% of under-30s say that they observe the fast. Many foreign preachers are expected in France for Ramadan to lead prayers in the some 2,000 mosques spread throughout the country. According to President of the CFCM Mohammed Moussaoui, around 150 imams are arriving from Morocco, 70 from Turkey and over 90 from Algeria, the three main countries of origin for Muslims who have settled in France. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Swedish Naval Vessel Jumps Göta Canal Banks
A Swedish military boat took an unexpected turn up onto shore on Saturday, startling attendees of a festival held along the shores of the Göta Canal.
The accident occured when a Combat Boat 90 traveling at high speed attempted to perform a sudden stop in front of throngs of onlookers at Kanalfest in Söderköping in eastern Sweden.
But something went wrong during the maneuver, sending the Swedish Navy vessel up over the banks of the canal before it skidded to a stop on the ground.
“First the boat went off from the locks toward the E22 motorway bridge. Then it came back at full speed,” Fredrik Jonson, a photographer for Norrköpings Tidningar (NT), told the newspaper.
“The boat began to wobble back and forth and the bow was very low in the water. Then the boat drove right up on land on onto the canal bank.”
The boat came to rest about 50 metres from the crowd of onlookers sat at outdoor tables to watch the day’s exhibitions.
Military spokesperson Anders Kallin told the TT news agency that there were no injuries or damage to equipment as a result of the incident.
He added that an investigation has been launched to determine exactly what went wrong.
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
Swine Flu: French Moslems, No Pilgrimage to Mecca
(ANSAmed) — PARIS, AUGUST 18 — Faced with the epidemic of swine flu, the Council of the Moslem Faith in France (Conseil Francais du Culte Musulman) has today “advised” the faithful “against” setting off on their traditional Mecca pilgrimage, saying it could be put off to next year. “Given the health risks, we advise France’s Moslems against going”, said the Chair of the CFCM, Mohammed Moussaoui. There have been 14 deaths so far in Saudi Arabia Saudita due to the A/H1N1 virus. The CFCM recommendation presently affects only the “omra”, the little pilgrimage to Mecca, which is undertaken to coincide with Ramadan and whicb “is not a religious obligation”. But it could be extended to the big pilgrimage, the haj, which is undertaken in November, two months after the end of Ramadan, “if no vaccine is found”, Moussaoui said. Between 25,000 and 30.000 Moslems leave France each year to partake in a pilgrimage to Mecca. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Switzerland: New Tunnel Will Barely Ease Road Freight
The completion of a new rail link through the Swiss Alps will not significantly reduce the amount of freight transported by road, an environmental group has warned.
That was the key finding of a study into the likely impact of the 57-kilometre-long Gotthard Base Tunnel, carried out for the organisation Alpine Initiative.
The tunnel, which will be the longest in the world when it opens in 2017, will only increase rail’s share of freight haulage from its current 62 per cent to 64.5 per cent, the group said.
The Gotthard is the major conduit for people and goods travelling Switzerland’s north-south axis.
The new tunnel is set to increase freight capacity and offer better connections to trains but according to the Alpine Initiative’s own calculations, it will do little to decrease the cost-per-kilometre of shipping by rail. The longer the journey, the more negligible the savings become.
The lobby group says extra financial disincentives must be introduced to keep cargo off trucks.
It used the findings to push again for the introduction of a so-called Alpine Crossing Exchange. This would include a quota on trans-alpine freight and a system allowing haulage companies to purchase credits for their journeys.
Government intervention
But Alpine Initiative president Alf Arnold foresees little role for the private sector in developing a policy.
“We do not need to negotiate with the transport industry but with politicians to set out a framework,” Arnold told swissinfo.ch after a news conference on Thursday.
The national road hauliers association, Astag, said the results of the study “contain no new insights”. It argues that financial disincentives are the wrong way to reduce the number of trucks on the road.
“The demands for even more tariffs and coercive penalties against road transport are old illusions,” Astag said in a written statement. The group wants a “reorientation” of transport policy to introduce competition into the rail cargo sector.
The Alpine Initiative says that the new Gotthard tunnel will increase freight capacity and offer better connections. Astag has called the project a utopian endeavour that will gobble millions of francs.
Switzerland already has the densest rail coverage in Europe, the group adds.
Trains losing steam
In 1994, Alpine Initiative’s efforts to protect the mountain environment from increasing road traffic and to transfer trans-alpine freight from road to rail ended with a surprising win at the ballot box.
Up to the end of 2000, trucks exceeding 28 tons were banned from Swiss roads. That changed in January 2001, when the limit was increased to 34 tons.
The government introduced quotas for vehicles weighing 40 tons but offered subsidies for using rail transport.
The Alpine Initiative has led calls to reduce the number of trucks passing through the Swiss Alps from its current 1.3 million per year to 650,000 by 2018-2019. It’s a goal that Astag calls unrealistic.
Amid the ongoing debate, Switzerland is the envy of its neighbours.
About two million trucks crossed Austria’s Brenner Pass alone last year, which was an increase of more than five per cent from 2006.
swissinfo.ch
GALLERIES
Gotthard railway line
The Gotthard railway line offers a feast for the traveller’s eyes.
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ALPINE INITIATIVE
The Alpine Initiative group was founded in 1987 and claims to have about 50,000 members and supporters.
It aims to protect the alpine environment from increasing road traffic.
The group forced a nationwide vote on the issue, which was approved by the Swiss voters in 1994.
As a result, parliament and the government decided to introduce fees for heavy-goods vehicles, increasing the maximum weight of trucks from 28-40 tons and subsidising tickets for trucks which use rail transport.
The group also helped defeat a proposal in 2004 to build a second road tunnel through the Gotthard in central Switzerland.
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TRANSPORT POLICY
Swiss transport policy calls for most goods transport to be taken off the road and put on trains.
The number of trucks transiting Switzerland is supposed to drop to 650,000 by 2018-2019 (one million in 2011).
Last year parliament decided to delay the initial target date of 2009 by ten years.
Presently about 1.3 million trucks per year pass through the Swiss Alps.
The Gotthard is on the main north-south artery through Switzerland. There are two other routes: through the Lötschberg-Simplon tunnels in the west of the country as well as the San Bernardino in eastern Switzerland.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
UK: An Overdraft? That’ll be £200 at Lloyds Tsb (But Only £15 if You’re a Muslim)
Many Lloyds TSB customers are being hit with charges of up to £200 a month if they go into the red — while Muslims who use the bank are only being charged £15.
The part-nationalised bank has been accused of religious discrimination over the disparity between overdraft charges on its standard current account and its Islamic account.
The Islamic account was set up by the high street bank to attract Muslim customers by allowing them to keep faithful to their religion.
Sharia law does not permit the payment of interest so the ‘typical’ Islamic account at Lloyds TSB has been set up without an overdraft facility.
If a Muslim customer who has insufficient funds in the account tries to make a payment, it is blocked and a ‘return item fee’ is charged.
However, on some Islamic accounts such a payment is authorised and an ‘unplanned overdraft fee’ of £15 is then levied.
The bank says this is a management fee, not a payment of interest, so does not contradict Sharia law.
Meanwhile, customers with standard current accounts who go into the red by at least £100 without authorisation are hit with an ‘unplanned overdraft fee’ of £20 a day for a maximum of ten days. This could mean a customer has to pay £200 in one month.
The Islamic account is available to all customers at Lloyds TSB. In theory, anyone who does not need a permanent overdraft facility could switch to this account to avoid being hit by interest charges for going into the red.
The disparity between the two accounts emerged after the bank sent its customers a booklet this month explaining its charges.
Graham Milne, a customer and chartered accountant from Norham, Northumberland, said difference in fees was tantamount to ‘religious discrimination’.
He added: ‘This means that all the non-Islamic account holders are subsidising those with such an account. It strikes me as something which is bordering on illegal.
‘One cannot help feeling the organisation is bending over backwards to help Muslims to the detriment of everybody else.
‘The man in the street would say this is a form of theft. Whether you call it a management fee or an interest fee, it makes no odds because they mean the same thing.’
In the past few years, millions of customers at all the major high street banks have demanded the return of money which has been taken from their account in various forms of bank charges.
Many got their money, or the majority of it, back. A test case — designed to rule if such charges are illegal — is going through the House of Lords.
Until it is resolved, the subject continues to remain hotly contested.
A Lloyds TSB spokesman said: ‘The Islamic current account is for customers who cannot receive credit or debit interest due to their religious beliefs.
‘All of our Islamic accounts comply with Islamic law and are available to anyone regardless of background or faith.
‘These accounts are structured differently to our traditional accounts and are designed to help prevent a customer slipping into the red. A comparison with the overdraft charging structure on other accounts is meaningless.’
Earlier this month, it emerged that losses at Lloyds had escalated to £13.4billion — largely due to the reckless lending of Halifax Bank of Scotland, which it bought for £9.6billion in January.
The disastrous merger led to a £17billion taxpayer bail-out. The newly-formed Lloyds Banking Group is 43 per cent owned by the taxpayer.
| — Hat tip: A Greek Friend | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Council Puts Christmas Lights Up Four Months Early ‘To Save Taxpayers Money’
Shoppers in Rochdale were stunned to see workmen putting up neon decorations including a bobble-hatted penguin on skis, holly leaves and a giant Noel sign.
The council defended the move by saying the display will be also be used to mark festivals celebrated by other faiths — including the Muslim festival of Eid next month.
But locals said the idea is ‘ ludicrous’. Mo Ali, who runs a newsagent’s shop in the village of Milnrow, said: ‘I think it’s far too early to be putting decorations up like this when we’re still enjoying summer weather.
‘A lot of people are not at all happy about it.’
Tinsel town: Rochdale council said the lights celebrate different religious festivals, despite most being Christmas-related
Tom Whitaker, 19, said: ‘It’s ludicrous. It’s the height of summer and they’re putting up Christmas lights. A worker told me they had to be up in time for all the religious festivals, but most of the lights refer to the Christian Christmas.’
Another villager said: ‘Seeing the lights makes me feel depressed. I know we haven’t had much of a summer, but let’s get it out of the way first.’
A spokesman for Rochdale Borough Council said: ‘These lights will be used to celebrate a number of festivals, commencing with Eid next month.
‘At the moment it is just the lights themselves that have been installed. In many cases the cabling is not yet in place, but we wanted to ensure that everything was in readiness in plenty of time.’
| — Hat tip: Gaia | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Dark Days Ahead
A shortage of power-generation capacity could lead to blackouts across Britain—and a dangerous reliance on foreign gas
SOUTH AFRICAN burglars pay close attention to electricity. A moratorium in the early 1990s stopped new power stations from being built, and by 2007 demand was overwhelming the country’s electricity grid. So Eskom, the national power company, began cutting supplies to specific suburbs for hours at a time. One side-effect of the rolling blackouts that afflicted Cape Town and Johannesburg was that they disabled the electric fences, spotlights and alarms that adorn richer people’s houses, making them easy pickings for thieves. At first the blackouts were announced in advance; later, aware of the risks, Eskom imposed them without notice. Fortunately for South Africans, the economic slump has trimmed demand (and a huge, rushed building programme boosted supply), but it will be 2013 before order is properly restored.
Britain is running short of power too—so quickly that some economists claim, only just tongue-in-cheek, that the economic slowdown is useful. “A recession is the best demand-reduction policy ever invented,” says Dieter Helm, an energy economist at Oxford University…
| — Hat tip: Gaia | [Return to headlines] |
UK: NHS Staff Paid Overtime When Off Sick
NHS workers who take sick leave are claiming tens of millions of pounds a year in overtime and anti-social hours allowances while off work, the Daily Telegraph can disclose.
More than one million NHS staff are paid well above their basic salary when they are ill under a contract which guarantees them a far better deal than those working in the private sector.
The generous terms mean that when they are on sick leave they receive full pay, plus a selection of benefits. These include supplements for unsocial hours and overtime for six months, with half pay for a further six.
The deal means when an NHS worker — such as an ambulance worker, nurse, porter, or midwife — goes off sick they are paid according to an average of their total pay for the previous three months, rather than just their basic salary.
In many cases, workers have boosted their income by working nights or extra hours, or are paid a ‘recruitment and retention’ bonus, which can add tens of thousands of pounds to the basic salary of a middle grade worker living in London.
The NHS has higher sickness rates than the rest of the public sector and enjoys the most generous terms and conditions while off work. The service loses 10.3 million working days annually due to sickness absence alone, costing £1.7 billion per year.
Critics have said the scheme is “morally and ethically wrong” and should be reviewed.
However, supporters said NHS workers are exposed to unique pressures, with 56,000 physically attacked each year, and they deserve to be looked after.
The news comes after a report this week found that, of the 1.4 million workers in the NHS, 4.5 per cent or 45,000 call in sick per day.
Stephen Alambritis, of the Federation of Small Businesses, said the sick pay terms should be reviewed, especially in light of the recession when all workers are being asked to make sacrifices.
He said the organisation has been ‘caught out’: “To have sick pay going for six months and include overtime and extra payments does seem to be overly generous; an employee in the private sector would not expect that.
“NHS staff do a sterling job and there is huge stress involved in the work but the pensions are good, the sick leave is good, it is not brilliantly paid, but there is security of tenure.
“In the private sector the stress comes with the fact the job may not be there the next day.”
The average NHS worker takes 10.7 days off sick a year, compared with 9.7 days for the public sector as a whole and 6.4 days in the private sector.
The Telegraph has received allegations of NHS workers asking managers when their six months on full pay expires so they know when to return to work, people booking holidays and then taking sick leave to cover the time off, and posting photographs on Facebook of themselves out with their children while off sick.
The terms and conditions on sickness absence are included in the Agenda for Change contract which covers nurses, midwives, hospital porters, paramedics, ambulance workers and administration staff, but not doctors. The wage bill for the contract in England was more than £28bn in 2007/8, according to the National Audit Office.
Under the contract, full pay is paid for the first six months off sick and then a further six months at half pay after five years’ service. Before then, the length of paid time off is on a sliding scale.
Overtime, over the standard 37.5 hours a week, and unsocial hours, for working nights or weekends, is payable at time and a half with public holidays paid at double time, or lieu time can be requested instead.
Staff can also receive around £3,205 in ‘recruitment and retention premia’ where employers find it difficult to fill posts, while those in inner London are paid a ‘high cost area supplement’ worth 20 per cent of basic salary, to a maximum of £6,080.
In the private sector, standard sick leave normally includes a short period on full pay, around one month or six weeks, followed by statutory sick pay paid at £79.15 per week for people earning £95 or more. In many cases employees are automatically put on statutory sick pay, once they qualify — which is when they have been off sick for four days.
Dr John O’Sullivan, an occupational health consultant in the private sector, said the NHS terms were ‘morally and ethically wrong’ and there was little incentive for staff to return to work.
“This is taxpayers’ money. The NHS has the expertise to get people back to work but they just do not use it on their own staff.”
The Health Service terms and conditions also eclipse other areas of the public sector: police receive full pay for six months and then half pay for a further six, but do not receive any overtime. Teachers get full pay for 25 days off sick then half pay for 75 days in their first year, rising to 20 weeks’ full pay and 20 weeks on half pay after four years working.
Neil Carberry, Head of Employment Policy at employers’ group, the Confederation of British Industry, said: “The inclusion of overtime and other extras makes this a more generous scheme than the private sector norm, and the overall approach in the NHS to the management of absence and long-term sickness is a real concern.
“Firms use occupational health provision to ensure all absence is genuine, and innovative rehabilitation policies that get people back to work sooner. The NHS should do the same.”
However, Sian Thomas, director of NHS Employers, said: “There is no evidence that withholding pay leads to increased efficiency and improved staff morale. In fact, it can be counter productive because it leads to feelings of resentment and de-motivation among all staff.
“In order to successfully tackle sickness employers need to address the long-term problem. In the NHS this includes preventing injury from lifting and handling, helping staff build up their emotional resilience and reducing physical and mental abuse from patients.”
A spokesman for Unison, the union, said overtime was “very much a thing of the past” : “We have to look after our NHS staff. If they are not fit and safe they cannot look after patients. If you go to any A&E department at night at weekends you can see the levels of violence and abuse staff face. Paramedics in particular are at risk of attack.”
A spokesman for the Department of Health said: “Agenda for Change provides a fair pay system that recognises the dedicated work that over 1.1 million NHS staff do every day to help us deliver high quality patient care to all.
“We take the health of NHS staff seriously. The ongoing NHS Health and Wellbeing review is crucial to achieving our ambition to develop world class health and wellbeing services for all NHS staff.”
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Egypt: Rula Jebreal in TV Interviews During Ramadan
(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, AUGUST 18 — The Palestinian journalist and naturalised Italian citizen, Rula Jebreal, is to appear for the first time on Egyptian television during the month of Ramadan, which starts on August 22 in Egypt, to present a series of interviews with famous Egyptian public figures. The programme, called ‘Bab el Shams’ (Door of the Sun), will be screened on the independent Al Qahira Wal Nas channel, belonging to Egyptian advertising magnate, Tarek Nour. The network, which is to begin transmitting officially at the start of the Moslem holy month, has presented Rula Jebreal to its viewers — a figure up to now unknown in Egypt — as “the most daring Arab journalist of international renown”. In promoting the programme, Al Qahira Wal Nas has broadcast interviews with the journalist, tracing her career, her successes and her battles on the Italian screen. The journalist herself spoke of her confrontations over the so-called ‘conflict of civilisations’ with Italian Minister Roberto Calderoli, who referred to her as “a tanned lady’. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Finance Crisis Sinks Price of Egypt ‘Obama’ Date
Named after U.S. President Barack Obama who chose Cairo to deliver a landmark speech to the world’s Muslims in June, the popular date was expected to sell for 25 Egyptian pounds (around $4.5) a kilogram (2.2 pounds).
“People can’t afford dates this year, we had to bring the price down to 15 pounds ($2.7),” said Mohammed, a fruit vendor in the bustling Sayyeda Zeinab neighborhood.
Emulating the Prophet Mohammed, Muslims traditionally eat a date and drink milk to break the dawn-to-dusk fast during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, whose beginning is set according to the sighting of the moon.
A savvy shopper knows that the good dates are light brown, shiny and sweet.
Competing with “Obama”, the second-most expensive date on the market after the “High Dam” which sells for 18 pounds, are the “Abutrika” variety named after popular midfielder Mohammed Abutrika who plays for local team Al-Ahly, showing that politics and football are never far from Egyptians’ minds.
At 10 Egyptian pounds ($1.8) are the “Columbo” dates, named after the 1970s American TV series starring Peter Falk as homicide detective Lieutenant Columbo, re-runs of which have played regularly on Egyptian television.
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
Libya’s Gadhafi Meets Freed Lockerbie Bomber
Libyan leader Colonel Moammar Gadhafi embraced the convicted Lockerbie bomber and promised deeper cooperation with Britain in gratitude for his release, as London and Washington condemned his “hero’s welcome” home.
Meeting Abdel Basset al-Megrahi and his family late on Friday, Gadhafi thanked British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Queen Elizabeth for “encouraging” Scotland to release the dying prisoner from a Scottish jail, said Libyan news agency JANA.”This step is in the interest of relations between the two countries … and of the personal friendship between me and them and will be positively reflected for sure in all areas of cooperation between the two countries,” the Libyan leader said.
Scotland’s government on Thursday released him from a life sentence for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie in Scotland because he has terminal prostate cancer. The attack killed 270 people, most of them Americans.
Libyan state TV showed Megrahi arriving at Gadhafi’s home by car. Gadhafi embraced the former intelligence agent, who was accompanied by members of his family, and the two sat down and talked.
More than 1,000 young Libyans gathered at an airport in Tripoli on Thursday to welcome Megrahi home, cheering and waving national flags.
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
Lockerbie: Arab League, New Page After Al Megrahi Release
(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, 21 AGO — The Arab League applauded the release for humanitarian reasons by Scotland of Abdelbaset Al Megrahi, an agent who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the Lockerbie massacre. The decision was praised, said official Egyptian press agency MENA, by assistant secretary Ahmed Ben Hilli, who underlined that the release was due to serious health reasons and after “long diplomatic efforts”. Ben Hilli also said that he hopes that the release “opens a new page in the Lockerbie crisis and that Libya is granted compensation for their suffering over the years due to the event”. But the hero’s welcome given yesterday to al-Magrahi upon his re-entry to Libya was called “deeply disturbing” by British Foreign Minister David Miliband. The man was welcomed at the airport in Tripoli by hundreds of young individuals who were waving Libyan and Scottish flags while loudspeakers played patriotic songs. US President Barack Obama called Scotland’s decision “an error” yesterday. “We are in contact with the Libyan government and we want to be sure that (al-Megrahi) does not receive a warm welcome, and that he is put under house arrest,” said Obama. The former Libyan agent was sentenced to life imprisonment for the death 270 people in the explosion of a PanAm flight on December 21 1988. The only individual convicted for the massacre, al-Megrabi has terminal cancer. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Ramadan: Tunisia, Negative Impact on Tourism From Maghreb
(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, AUGUST 17 — Tourism is set to suffer from Ramadan, which should start between August 20 and 22. This is based on the fact that hundreds of thousands of Libyans and Algerians choose Tunisia’s beaches for their summer holidays. And it is taken for granted that most of them will go back home to spend the holy month in their own communities. In recent days, local press has reported that many of the most popular resorts (Djerba, Hammamet, Sousse, Sfax), which are usually booked solid until September, are still vacant because of Ramadan. Another slightly worrying element reported by the papers is how to treat foreign guests in the country’s hotels. The recommendation is not to let them suffer the inevitable fatigue, the result of fasting and the altered rythmn of life which characterises the tiring days, not helped by the heat. For example, the average temperature in September in Tunis is around 30 degrees Celsius.(ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Gaza: Suicide Bombers Back But Killing Palestinians
(by Giorgio Raccah). (ANSAmed) — GAZA, AUGUST 17 — Suicide bombers have made a reappearance, but this time Palestinians are the ones to pay the price. Sources in Gaza have reported that during the bloody clashes which broke out on Friday in Rafah (in the southern part of the Gaza Strip) between Hamas militants and fighters from the ultra-radical Salafite group Jund Ansar Allah (‘God’s Warriors’), allied with Al-Qaeda, the latter group made use of two suicide bombers. In the battle — the worst since Hamas took control of Gaza from its rival, Fatah, two years ago — and the subsequent hunting down of the Islamic extremists, 22 were killed — including five civilians and six Hamas militants — and over 120 injured. According to ANSA sources, during the battle it was allegedly a suicide bomber who blew himself up before being able to strike against Hamas (Abu Abdallah al-Suri, a pro-Al-Qaeda militant who had escaped from Syria to Gaza) to kill the Jund Ansar Allah leader Abdelatif Mussa, a doctor-turned- Islamic preacher. Hamas sources instead say that Mussa chose to blow himself up along with some of his followers in his own home instead of giving himself up. The second suicide bomber was reportedly a Palestinian named Abdallah Awadallah, who was attempting to kill Hamas members but did not succeed. Before the clashes began, Mussa gave rise to Hamas’s fury in a Rafah mosque by proclaiming the establishment of an Islamic emirate and accusing Hamas of weakness in the application of Islamic laws, as well as acting in the manner of a secular government. Hamas reacted ruthlessly to what it saw as a challenge to its authority in the Gaza Strip. Militants surrounded the mosque where Abdelatif and his followers were, about a hundred of whom were armed, and ordered that they give themselves up. Instead, a battle broke out which continued for hours with much use of heavy weaponry, including machine guns and rockets. Rafah inhabitants spoke of a “day of horror”. The Palestinian organisation for human rights in Gaza Al-Dameer has requested a thorough inquiry and accused Hamas of using excessive force. Taher An-Nunu, spokesman in the de facto government of Hamas, said that Jund Ansar Allah was responsible for a series of attacks using explosives on internet cafes, restaurants, hairdressers and Western meeting places. Hamas, which prevented the press from closely following the battle and conducting interviews in hospitals, said that it would not tolerate the presence of rival Islamic groups and that it would use harsh measures to prevent any such groups constituting themselves. According to Hamas, Jund Ansar Allah was also supported by other Arab regimes and elements connected with the secret services of the Palestinian Authority under Mahmoud Abbas. In Ramallah, the latter denied any such involvement.(ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Awaits Stronger Reaction From Bildt
Israel doesn’t plan on canceling a scheduled visit by Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt, despite his refusal to apologize for a controversial newspaper article alleging that Israeli soldiers harvested organs from dead Palestinians.
But Israel said it still expects Bildt to clearly distance himself from the article, published earlier this week in the Aftonbladet newspaper.
“The ball is in the court of the Swedish foreign ministry. We expect them to act or answer. No answer is also an answer, of course, and if there is no answer we’re going to be very disappointed and it will cast a shadow over the visit and our political relations,” said Yigal Palmor, a spokesperson for Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman, to the TT news agency on Saturday.
Israel is bothered by the Swedish government’s refusal to condemn Monday’s Aftonbladet article, which describes suspicions that Israeli soldiers took organs from dead Palestinians.
In a statement, Lieberman said that it “reminds us of Sweden’s conduct during World War II when it also did not intervene”.
Lieberman’s comments in turn irritated the Swedish foreign ministry, resulting in a Friday meeting between Israel’s ambassador in Stockholm, Benny Dagan, and Swedish cabinet secretary Frank Belfrage.
Bildt spoke carefully on Saturday about Israel’s criticism in his first public comments about the incident other than statements published on his blog.
“I’m not passing judgment on it at all,” he said as he made his way to Vaxholm to listen to attend a speech by Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.
He also commented on how the matter may affect relations between the two countries.
“I don’t think it will affect bilateral relations. We have an interesting and good dialogue when it comes to the peace process in the Middle East. But what I am concerned about is that the Israeli public has gotten the idea that there are anti-Semitic views which are tolerated in Sweden. That idea is wrong according to my view,” Bildt told TT.
“It’s important to say that anti-Semitism isn’t tolerated in Sweden.”
But the Swedish government nevertheless has no plans to issue an apology.
“No, it’s Aftonbaldet’s job to take responsibility for what Aftonbladet publishes,” added Bildt.
He explained that others sometimes have a hard time understanding Sweden’s principles on freedom of speech, adding that there may be reason to more clearly explain what rules apply in the country.
Reinfeldt also commented on Israel’s critique of the Swedish government’s reaction to the matter.
“No one can ask the Swedish government to violate its own constitution. Freedom of speech is an inalienable part of Swedish society,” he said.
Bildt is expected to visit Israel in just over a week. While there had been speculation that the visit would be scrapped, spokesperson Palmor said there are no plans from the Israeli side to cancel the trip.
According to reports in the Israeli media, however, Israeli representatives are instead considering talking only about the article when Bildt arrives in the country.
“The visit happens in ten days and we’ll see what comes up on the agenda,” Palmor told TT.
“Whether it will be the only thing on the agenda will be decided later — it depends also on the reactions of Mr. Bildt.”
He added that no further official protests from Israel are expected other than the opinions expressed by Ambassador Dagan to cabinet secretary Belfrage on Friday.
“We’ve already said everything we have to say,” said Palmor.
Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak had previously asked a legal advisor to explore whether or not it would be possible to sue Aftonbladet reporter Donald Boström for the article.
“We checking all the possibilities right now,” said Shlomo Dror, a spokesperson for Barak, to TT.
| — Hat tip: TB | [Return to headlines] |
Poll Shows Israelis’ Confidence in Obama Still Low
(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV — Confidence in US President Barack Obama among Israelis is still very low, with support from only 12% of those interviewed in a poll conducted jointly amongst Israelis and Palestinians by the Truman Institute at the Jewish University in Jerusalem and the Centre for Policy Studies in Ramallah (West Bank). The results show that 40% of Israelis are convinced that the new leader of the White House is well-disposed towards the Palestinians, whereas the Palestinians believe that the current American administration — although more popular than the previous one — is still predominantly pro-Israel: as asserted by 60% of people interviewed in the West Bank. Israelis, contrary to public opinion in most western countries, have so far received Obama with scepticism. The current American administration has committed itself in recent months far more than previous governments in putting pressure on Israel to freeze all Jewish settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem (considered illegal by the international community), as a condition to the relaunch of the peace process with the Palestinians. This pressure seems to have opened a chink of hope for a compromise with Benyamin Netanyahu, who has so far been reluctant, but it has also triggered off a reaction by a fringe within Netanyahu’s Likud party which is favourable towards the settlements movement and against any concession towards Washington. This fringe group has found a voice in Minister and former general Moshe Yaalon, irritating the prime minister. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Visa Restrictions for West Bank, US Criticism
(ANSAmed) — JERUSALEM — The United States has criticised Israel for the “unacceptable” restrictions placed on the entrance of foreigners headed for the West Bank via the Allenby Bridge border crossing with Jordan, a crossing point controlled by Israel. Reports were published in today’s Haaretz, which a few days ago released the news that Israeli border authorities had begun to put entrance stamps prohibiting entrance into Israel on the passports of foreigners headed into Palestinian territory, especially if of Palestinian origin. The United States has asked Israel for clarification on these restrictions, and yesterday the US State Department said that “the United States expects all American citizens to be treated equally, independently of their nation of origin or other citizenship.” It also said that the US “has told the Israeli government that the restrictions hit American Palestinian and Arab travellers unfairly, and for this reason are unacceptable.”(ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Baghdad Blasts ‘Were Inside Job’
Iraq’s foreign minister has said that members of the security forces may have collaborated with attackers in two huge truck bombings in Baghdad on Wednesday.
Hoshyar Zebari said the militants must have been helped to get through checkpoints to foreign and finance ministry buildings in the city centre.
The blasts and other attacks in Iraq’s capital killed at least 95 people.
Mr Zebari also warned violence may rise in the coming days, six weeks after US troops withdrew from Iraqi cities.
Blast wall row
“According to our information, there has even been collaboration between security officers and the murderers,” Mr Zebari told reporters on Saturday.
He said the attacks had been well planned, and asked how the trucks had been allowed into central Baghdad — a no-go area for heavy vehicles.
“We will investigate that,” the minister said.
However, he offered no direct evidence to back up his accusations.
Mr Zebari also said “that there has been a deterioration in security and the coming days may be worse”.
He criticised a recent decision by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki to remove most blast walls protecting government buildings and shopping centres in Baghdad.
“The removal of blast walls and checkpoints due to a false sense of security is also a reason” for Wednesday’s blasts, Mr Zebari said.
The decision to take down the walls by mid-September was reversed after the attacks.
The authorities have also detained 11 security officers on suspicion of negligence following the blasts.
Correspondents say the attacks raise concerns about the ability of Iraqi authorities to ensure security after taking over responsibility for protecting urban areas at the end of June.
Though violence in Iraq has declined since the peaks of 2006 and 2007, it continues to be the target of frequent bomb attacks.
Mr Maliki blamed the latest strikes on al-Qaeda in Iraq and supporters of Saddam Hussein, who was toppled after US-led forces invaded in 2003.
| — Hat tip: Sean O’Brian | [Return to headlines] |
Iran Defense Minister a Terror Suspect
Ahmad Vahidi, nominated Thursday by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to serve as Iran’s defense minister, is a suspected international terrorist sought by Interpol in connection with a deadly 1994 attack on a Jewish community center in Argentina.
Mr. Vahidi, a former commander of the elite unit of the Revolutionary Guard known as the Quds Force, was one of 15 men and three women named to Cabinet posts by Mr. Ahmadinejad as he begins his second term in office. The choice is likely to further chill relations between Iran and the international community, especially Israel.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Iranian Boy Who Defied Tehran Hardliners Tells of Prison Rape Ordeal
The 15-year-old boy sits weeping in a safehouse in central Iran, broken in body and spirit. Reza will not go outside — he is terrified of being left alone. He says he wants to end his life and it is not hard to understand why: for daring to wear the green wristband of Iran’s opposition he was locked up for 20 days, beaten, raped repeatedly and subjected to the Abu Ghraib-style sexual humiliations and abuse for which the Iranian regime denounced the United States.
“My life is over. I don’t think I can ever recover,” he said, as he recounted his experiences to The Times — on condition that his identity not be revealed. A doctor who is treating him, at great risk to herself, confirmed that he is suicidal, and bears the appalling injuries consistent with his story. The family is desperate, and is exploring ways of fleeing Iran.
Reza is living proof of the charges levelled by Mehdi Karoubi, one of the opposition’s leaders, that prison officials are systematically raping both male and female detainees to break their wills. The regime has accused Mr Karoubi of helping Iran’s enemies by spreading lies and has threatened to arrest him.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Jordan: Ramadan, Consumer Association Boycotts Red Meat
(By Mohammad Ben Hussein) (ANSAmed) — Its hot, not only because of weather, it’s the high prices too,” said 47 year old taxi driver Ali, whose sun burnt face told a story of a typical Jordanian struggling against all the odds to make it to the end of the month. Ali arrived to the bustling market of Sweileh, a town where an army of civil servants live, to purchase necessary items ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, due within a few days.”Every year life is getting more expensive,” said Ali shaking his head as he paid at the cashier. In this town, and all around Jordan, the aura of Ramadan can be felt in the air. The markets are louder and streets are busier, as citizens scramble to make final preparations before the fasting month knocks on the door. Consumption levels soar and with that prices of basic food items, including red meet, which nearly doubled in the past one month in anticipation of a higher demand. With the purchase power of the dinar already losing foot under a weakening dollar and soaring inflation, citizens are feeling the squeeze. The semi-independent Consumer Protection Society (CPS) has launched a campaign to boycott red meat ahead of Ramadan in desperate bid to pressure local producers to contain their excitement and reduce prices. The price of one kilogrammes of local fresh meet stands at unprecedented JD12 (almost USD 17), an astronomical figure if compared with the average per capita income of USD 2000 a year. Prices of other basic items have also jumped over the roof, with some items such as tomato and potato doubling, say traders. The fire of high prices also reached table eggs, rice, sugar and many other basic items. The government, armed with dilapidated mechanisms to reign in high prices, moved to assure citizens the market will be under control. Minister of trade and industry Amer Hadidi toured the markets of the capital on Monday blamed “greedy suppliers” for part of the increase. Businessmen witnessed a sudden surge in level of consumption in the past week, and anticipate more action as the month draws nearer everyday. “People see expensive prices and get shocked. They end up buying basic items, which are also expensive, but they have no choice,” said Abu Ali, who runs a small food supply shop in the town’s main market. In a country deprived of natural resources and heavily depends on international aid, poverty is on the rise and so unemployment. The government, burdened mounting debts and an army of civil servants that counts for one nearly one fifth of the population, is unable to help boost the economy. Officials from the CPS said the campaign could be the only way to force a decrease in the market prices. According to them, the campaign to boycott red meat has led to a drop in sales at butcheries by 80 per cent. The society, which has little power in this security minded country, sent an appeal to citizens to stop buying local and imported red meat for a week. However, Foodstuff Traders Association (FTA) President Khalil Haj Tawfiq attributed the surge in prices to an increasing demand and lack of liquidity. Jordanians consume around 5,000 tonnes of red meat in Ramadan, 20-30 percent more than the other parts of the year. Ramadan is due on Friday or Saturday, depending on the moon sighting. Until then it will be wait and see game between consumers and producers, said Ali before heading off in his yellow cap. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Jordan: Two Men Sentenced for Plotting to Kill Israeli
(ANSAmed) — AMMAN, AUGUST 20 — A military court yesterday sentenced two men to 12 year behind bars for plotting to kill Israelis living in the kingdom, a judicial source said. The two men were identified as Lawai Shehadah, 36 and Mohammad Awdallah, who are originally Palestinians. The two men are believed to have scouted an area in the northern part of the kingdom where Israeli investor lives, said the charges sheet, made available to ANSA. The men were found guilty of possession weapon and planning an attack on a foreigner. They were initially handed life behind bars, before the military judge commuted the sentence to 12 years. The men are believed to have planned the attack to avenge the war on Gaza earlier this year, which lead to the killing of 1330 and injury of around 5000. Jordan is home to nearly 3.5 million Palestinians who arrived after successive Arab Israeli wars in 1948 and 1967. Jordan is only the second Arab country to make peace with Israel after Egypt.(ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Lebanon: Hindu Burial Rite for Cow That Strayed From Israel
(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT, AUGUST 20 — After days of controversy between Lebanon and Israel, a sacred cow that died in the disputed territory between the two countries, monitored by Indian UNIFIL (the UN force in southern Lebanon) soldiers has finally been buried, “with all honours” according to Hindu ritual. Beirut daily an Nahar reported today that the animal carcass was buried near the Hassan Gate, a disputed area not far from the hills of Kfar Shuba in the eastern area of the interim border, by Indian soldiers after they “prayed for the cow, sprinkled it with salt, and then covered it with a white cloth”. The animal fell into a small depression in the land about a week ago after crossing from the zone occupied by Israel and entering into Lebanese territory controlled by UNIFIL soldiers in search of water. The carcass then was preyed upon by birds and wild animals, but no one from either of the countries had any intention of moving it. It was then buried by Indian UNIFIL soldiers, who are almost all Hindu, making the cow a sacred animal to them that must be buried with all honours. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Lebanon: Head of Al Qaeda-Linked Terrorist Group Arrested
(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT, AUGUST 20 — Lebanese secret services have captured a member of Jund Al Sham (Soldiers of the Levant), an Al-Qaeda-inspired terrorist group suspected of involvement in the simultaneous killings of four Lebanese judges in 1999. Reports were in the local press today, and said that Wissam Tahbish, of Palestinian origins, had been arrested yesterday at the entrance to the Ain al Helwe refugee camp near Sidon, 40 kilometres south of Beirut. Tahbish is a high-ranking member of Jund Al-Sham, a terrorist group active in Ain el-Helwe, which — as is the case with ten other refugee camps in Lebanon — have become a haven for militants of radical Islamic groups since they are not under Lebanese state control. Over the past few years, numerous arrest warrants have been issued for Tahbish in relation to terrorist attacks across the entire country, including the murder of four judges in the Sidon courthouse in 1999. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Lebanon-Syria: More Border Collaboration After Shooting
(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT, AUGUST 13 — After a shooting took place on Saturday on the Syrian-Lebanese border in which two people were killed, Damascus and Beirut have decided to intensify their border collaboration to avoid similar incidents taking place and to facilitate farmers’ passage between the two zones. Government press in the two countries this morning reported that a delegation of the Lebanese army and a delegation from the Syrian police met yesterday on the Syrian side of the main border pass of Jdeidet Yabus, along the Beirut-Damascus motorway. According to Lebanese daily An Nahar, the delegations decided that the results of an inquiry into Saturday’s shooting are to be released within a week. Perhaps as a result of an argument about the right of passage on farming land, a Syrian farmer and a Lebanese one were killed in a shootout in the north west section of the Lebanese border. The two delegations also agreed to create a “direct line” of communication between the Lebanese army and the border guard to prevent similar incidents and to impede the use of weapons by farmers in the border area. Damascus and Beirut then exchanged list of Lebanese and Syrian farmers present in border zone who are authorised to cross the central sector of the border without passing through the official border pass. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Obama: Autobiography in Arabic as Part of Emirates Project
(ANSAmed) — ROME, AUGUST 19 — American President Barack Obama’s biography ‘Dreams from My Father’, which is already an international bestseller, has been translated into Arabic. The translation and publication, reports Middle East online, was carried out as part of the Kalima project, sponsored by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH). “Concentrating on translating more important books from an historical and literary perspective is ADACH’s strategy. They plan to present ‘other’ cultures with their diversities and differences in order to open new channels to Arab readers and to resume translations from other languages into Arabic,” explained Ali bin Tamin, the Kalima project manager. The American president’s autobiography, which has already been translated into various languages, has posted sales, along with his other book, ‘The Audacity of Hope’, of over two and a half million dollars in revenue. ‘Dreams of My Father’ was translated by Hiba Njaeeb Maghrebi and by imam Abdul Ghani Najem, who have already published various translations. At least 100 books per year from all over the world will be translated as part of the Kalima project. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Row Over Iran’s Women Ministers
Conservative clerics in Iran have criticised a proposal by re-elected President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to include three women in his new cabinet.
“There are religious doubts over the abilities of women when it comes to management,” said hardline lawmaker Mohammad Taghi Rahbar.
He said his views were shared by many MPs from his clerics’ faction, which dominates Iran’s parliament.
The Islamic republic has not had female ministers since the 1979 revolution.
President Ahmadinejad was sworn in for a second term on 5 August after a disputed poll in June.
He unveiled his cabinet on Wednesday. MPs are expected to begin voting on a 21-member list at the end of the month.
‘Considerable opposition’
On Saturday, Mr Rahbar said that leading Iranian clerics — including Grand Ayatollahs Nasser Makarem Shirazi and Lotfollah Safi Golpayghani — had “doubts about choosing female ministers and want Ahmadinejad to reconsider”.
He said his parliamentary faction would be seeking the opinion of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the issue.
Aytollah Yousef Tabatabai, a top cleric in the central city of Isfahan, also expressed his opposition to Mr Ahmadinejad’s decision.
“We hope what the president said about the women ministers is not recognised by parliament,” he was quoted as saying by Iran’s conservative Tehran Emrouz newspaper.
Women included in Mr Ahamdinejad’s list would head up the country’s health, social welfare and education ministries.
Analysts say Mr Ahmadinejad is also expected to face opposition over the list from moderates, who say his government lacks legitimacy.
Separately, Mr Ahmadinejad has been criticised by Argentina and Israel for nominating Ahmad Vahidi as new defence minister.
Mr Vahidi has been on on Interpol “wanted” list since 2007 in connection with the 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre in Argentina, in which 85 people died.
| — Hat tip: Sean O’Brian | [Return to headlines] |
‘Saudi Arabia Planning Nuclear Plant’
With the world seemingly unable to stop Iran’s nuclear march, other countries in the region are now pushing forward with their own plans to build nuclear power plants.
The Saudi newspaper Al-Watan reported on Thursday that the Saudi minister of water and electricity, Abdullah al-Hosain, said the kingdom was working on plans for its first nuclear power plant. The US inked civil nuclear power deals with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates last year.
Israel had no official response to the Saudi minister’s announcement.
Over the last two years, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, the UAE, Yemen, Morocco, Libya, Jordan and Egypt have all indicated an interest in developing nuclear programs, with Israeli officials saying, off the record, that if these countries did not want the programs now for their military capabilities, they wanted the technology in place to keep “other options open” if Iran were to develop a bomb.
Israel has been careful not to take a public stand on civilian nuclear programs in neighboring states, partly because as one of the few countries in the world that has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, it is not keen on lobbying against nuclear know-how for peaceful needs going to countries that are willing to sign the treaty, since that would focus the limelight on Israel’s own unique situation.
There is also a sense that if the programs were under the supervision of the US or France, which pledged two years ago to help Morocco develop a nuclear program, then there would be little concern that they would later be turned into military projects.
Nevertheless, defense officials said that Saudi interest in nuclear power was connected to Teheran’s continued race toward nuclear power.
“The Saudis are genuinely scared of what will happen if Iran turns nuclear,” one official said. “This is part of their response.”
On the other hand, the officials said that Saudi Arabia’s nuclear program was not of concern at the moment for Israel since the project was being established jointly with the United States and in the framework of International Atomic Energy Agency regulations.
Israeli defense officials have warned for several years that one potential outcome of Iran’s success in defying the international community and establishing a nuclear program would be that other countries in the Middle East would follow suit.
| — Hat tip: Aeneas | [Return to headlines] |
Syria: Why the West Needs it, According to Analist Moubayed
(ANSAmed) — ROME, AUGUST 13 — “Obama has finally understood that Syria plays a fundamental role: Damascus has become the axis of a possible agreement between conflicting interests in the Middle East. Syria is in a position to build a new equilibrium between the USA and Iran, and between Iran and Saudi Arabia”, said Sami Moubayed, a political analyst and professor at the Faculty of International Relations at the al-Kalamoun University in Syria, in an interview on the website of magazine ‘Reset.Doc’, by ‘Dialogues on civilizations’ association. “Syria currently enjoys a wide range of allies: France, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United States. It has never been the perpetrator of break-ups and divisions. It was Saudi Arabia who took an aggressive attitude on the outcome of a possible threat from Iran. The same thing happened in Cairo”. As for Iran, Syria has been one of its allies since 1979, but the international community began to see this as a threat “only starting from 2003”. Syria has always given priority to its national interests, and despite the current large number of allies, its “ultimate goal” is “the reannexation of the Golan Heights”. Syria also expects the Arab leaders “to discard their hostile attitude towards resistance groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. The only way to negotiate with Hamas is through Damascus”. One of the latest interviews on Reset.Doc (whose scientific committee includes former minister Giuliano Amato) includes an analysis by Lorenzo Trombetta called “Beirut is divided again. And Syria is smiling”. (ANSAmed).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: Erdogan Open on Minorities, Makes First Visit to Disputed Patriarchate Buildings
Prime minister makes surprise visit to Bartholomew I and Büyükada Island, home to buildings owned by the Patriarchate, seized by the Turkish government, but recognised as Orthodox Church property by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The Turkish prime minister continues on his path as a Janus-faced leader, in favour of democracy and minority rights on the one hand and playing the Turkish nationalist card on the other.
Istanbul (AsiaNews) — An important event took place on 15 August, feast day of the Dormition (Assumption) of Mary. For the first time a Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, visited the orphanage and monastery of Ayia Yorgi (Saint George) of Kudunas on Büyükada (Prince or Foremost) Island in the Sea of Marmara.
Although each April Muslims come on pilgrimage to the reputedly ‘miraculous’ monastery, the importance of Erdogan’s visit lies in a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg which in June 2008 attributed ownership of the disputed property to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
On his arrival Erdogan and four of his cabinet ministers was met by Patriarch Bartholomew I who welcomed them. The prime minister’s visit, the first one ever by a Turkish head of government to either building, is seen by many as an implicit recognition of the status of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Just before the meeting with Bartholomew, Erdogan had lunch with representatives of Turkey’s religious minorities (Greek, Armenian, Jewish, Assyrian Orthodox and Catholic), invited by the administration that run the Princes’ Islands, a group of islands inhabited in the past by non-Muslims.
The prime minister told the minority leaders that he hoped that his presence “could help find a solution to the difficult issues that minorities face in the country since the principles of our party, the AKP, are against every form of discrimination, be it regional, religious or ethnic.”
“In our country there should be no differences between the various ethnic groups like the Kurds, Laz, Circassians, or Georgians,” he said, adding that “as a secular state Turkey does have some shortcomings but it also has the capacity to overcome these shortcomings. And we shall do all we can to fulfill the tasks we have undertaken.”
In an ecumenical spirit, Erdogan cited what could be considered the essence of the Mevlevi Order1 namely that “my neighbour must be met with love because he too was created by God.”
In ending his address Erdogan cited a Persian saying: “They gathered, talked and dispersed.’ We should not be of those who gather, talk and disperse. A result should come out of this.”
“He gave us a lot of hope and so we are optimistic,” Patriarch Bartholomew I told AsiaNews when asked to comment Erdogan’s visit and words. “Let us hope that with the help of Our Lady everything works out in the end. His [Erdogan’s] presence honoured us and gave us an opportunity to directly voice our concerns even if he already knows them.”
Lastly, “We invited the prime minister to come to the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and to Halki,” the patriarch said. “He thanked us for that.”
In covering the visit Turkish newspapers described the prime minister’s move as the second initiative taken by his party to further democratisation.
In Istanbul’s diplomatic circles the gesture is seen as important, as something of great significance, but it must be viewed in light of Erdogan’s Janus-faced reputation2.
For instance, by December of this year, the prime minister must report on Turkey’s progress in meeting demands for European Union membership. He will have very little to show though, for little has been achieved since the 2007 parliamentary elections, which is a great disappointment since his party successfully used the EU membership in its campaign against Turkey’s Kemalist establishment, centred on the military, currently paralysed by the Ergenekon affair3.
This said, diplomatic sources have also noted Erdogan’s other face, one, which “with ill-concealed nostalgia, hints at the rebirth of the Ottoman Empire thanks to the new trans-Caucasian pipelines backed by Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin, with Turkey as hub, now even willing to acknowledge (on its own terms) the Armenian genocide.
The election of a nationalist AKP leader, Mehmet Ali Sahin, as speaker of the Turkish parliament in replacement of the more progressive Köksal Toptan is another sign of this two-faced policy.
Minority leaders have reacted to Ergogan’s visit to Büyükada Island with cautious optimism. “Time will tell,” said Father Dositheos, an Orthodox priest.
Devlet Bahçeli, head of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), instead reacted angrily to the visit, telling the prime minister that the European Union really wants to destroy Turkish identity and undermine the integrity of the Turkish state.
The opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) also said that by seeking international legitimacy Erdogan is trying to shield himself from problems within his party.
(Photos by Nikos Manginas)
1 A Shia confraternity founded in the 13th century in ancient Iconium, where the Christian presence was strong, and influenced the Mevlevi Order and the Alevi.
2 The god Janus is known for his two faces, hence terms like two-faced, Janus, Janus-faced. Erdogan has been dubbed Janus-faced because of contradictions in his politics.
3 Ergenekon is the name of an underground nationalist organisation accused of terrorism with close ties to the Turkish military. Last year some prominent individuals were charged with encouraging attacks and stirring up popular unrest in order to promote a coup.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Yemen: Army Advances Against Shia Rebels
Sanaa, 20 August (AKI) — Yemeni security forces are regaining control over Shia militants in the north of the country, the defence ministry’s website claimed on Thursday. “Army and security forces units have taken control of many areas which were in the hands of the rebels and are conducting cleaning up operations” according to a military source cited by the ministry site.
Military sources said the government’s latest campaign has been been extended backed by air raids on rebel positions in Saada and Amran provinces.
“The eagles of the air force continue to land painful blows on the saboteurs, destroying their fortifications,” one source said, without giving figures for losses amongst the rebels or the army.
Yemen’s president Ali Abdullah Saleh pledged on Wednesday to crush the Shia rebellion in the north as the army continued its offensive in Saada province in the country’s northwest.
The campaign, dubbed Operation Scorched Earth, is targeting Zaidi Shia rebels, in the rugged mountainous region, local officials said.
Fighting broke out ten days ago between government forces and supporters of Shia rebel leader Abd al-Malik al-Hawthi in Saada province on the border with Saudi Arabia and has since spread to Amran province to the south.
Around 100 rebels have reportedly been killed in the recent conflict, and another 300 have been arrested, a security source said.
This is the sixth major conflict between Shia militants and government forces in Saada province since 2004.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Religion is Back in Russian Schools, But Under the Aegis of the Kremlin
A new subject will be introduced this year into 12 thousand schools across the Federation: “spiritual and moral formation”. By 2012 all Russian schools will have to offer the course that provides the opportunity to study Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Judaism or Buddhism. For religious minorities it is another sign of the alliance between the Kremlin and the Moscow Patriarchate.
Moscow (AsiaNews / Agencies) — More than 90 years after the Soviet revolution, religion will become an official discipline in public schools in Russia within three years. Elementary school students will be able to follow courses of “spiritual and moral formation” by choosing to study four traditional religions: Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Judaism or Buddhism. The lessons will develop along three formative lines: the foundations of religious culture, the foundations of one of the traditional religions, the foundations of public ethics.
The return of religion to schools in Russia is taking place under the aegis of the Kremlin. President Dmitry Medvedev in person made the announcement at the meeting with the leaders of traditional religions in the country on July 24. Andrei Fursenko, Federation Minister for Science and Education, is refining the details of the pilot project, starting in September, that will cover 18 regions and 12 thousand schools, one fifth of the institutions of the Federation. The cost will be “hundreds of millions of rubles” that will be partly covered in the federal budget. The Minister is anxious to stress that “this money will not be wasted” but used to produce new textbooks and to cover the salaries costs for 44 thousand teachers, who will be selected from among the teaching staff already in service and will follow a specific training for the school year 2009-2010. After the ban of the Soviet period, religion is back at school. In fact already in August 2006, the regions of Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga and Smolensk had included the history of Russian orthodoxy in their optional study courses. In response to complaints raised by religious minorities, particularly the Muslim community, Minister of Education Fursenko responded at the time that “children should know the history of religion and religious cultures,” adding that “the textbooks would have dealt with the religions of the world as a whole, with particular attention to Russian Orthodoxy” .
Three years after that first experiment, the announcement of the introduction of the “spiritual and moral formation “ in schools has again alarmed minority confessions who see the new project as a Kremlin attempt to affirm the orthodoxy as the key pillar of national identity. According to recent polls, 72.6% of Russians consider themselves Orthodox, but only 3% of them go to church every week. Despite this, the Kremlin supports and promotes the emerging protagonism of the Patriarchate of Moscow. In this way, Medvedev intends to cement common values and national identity while seeking support for government policies to stem the disintegration of social fabric and to respond to the disorientation of Russian youth.
Medvedev assures that “all force and pressure [to attend the courses] will be considered completely unacceptable and counterproductive,” the minister Fursenko stresses that “all learning materials will aim to please the different denominations, as well as atheists.” The same applies to the textbooks: “Even if they are prepared by the Orthodox — says Fursenko — representatives of religions will be free to express their opinion regarding them”.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Indonesia: Terror Attacks ‘Funded From Middle East’
Jakarta, 20 August (AKI/Jakarta Post) — Funding for a string of terrorist attacks in Indonesia, including last month’s twin hotel bombings in Jakarta, has come from the Middle East, local police have claimed.
Police confirmed in Jakarta on Wednesday they had detained a Saudi Arabian national suspected of trafficking cash funds to fugitive terror suspect Noordin Mohamed Top and Jemaah Islamiyah, the terrorist group believed to be the regional arm of Al-Qaeda.
Malaysian-born Noordin Mohamed Top was a key figure behind the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings in Indonesia and remains one of Asia’s most wanted fugitives.
Insp. Gen. (ret) Ansyaad Mbai, a senior counter-terrorism official, said the money for key attacks in Indonesia could have originated from personal or charitable sources in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia.
“The problem is that the money was not transferred via banks. This has happened in Indonesia and other countries [in the past] and it makes it difficult to trace the source,” Ansyaad said.
“They [terrorists] understand the government could freeze any money if it was transferred through the banking system. Therefore they use couriers to channel the funds.”
While information on suspected foreign sources of funding is rare, Ansyaad said Indonesian officials had been aware of the involvement of overseas donors from the Middle East since the bomb attacks in Bali in 2002 and those against the Marriott hotel in 2003.
Indonesian police are intensifying their efforts to trace the money used to fund the 17 July attacks on the Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels that killed nine people and wounded more than 50.
The police confirmed Wednesday that they had arrested two people, identified only as Ali and Iwan, in different parts of West Java.
“The police are investigating the involvement of the two suspects in channelling the money used in the recent bombings,” national police spokesman Nanan Soekarna said at a media conference on Wednesday.
“We suspect he [Ali] is a Saudi Arabian citizen, but we still need to prove whether his citizenship is fake or not,” he said.
Nanan said the police originally planned to follow Ali and Iwan but a media leak forced them to arrest the suspects instead.
A police investigator earlier identified the two men as Ali Mohammad bin Abdullah, a Saudi Arabian national, and Iwan Herdiansyah, a Kuningan resident in West Java. Both are suspected of acting as couriers for the money used to fund the Jakarta bombings in early July.
Intelligence expert Dynno Chreesbon said the police were still hunting another Saudi Arabian citizen who together with Ali allegedly passed on funds to Syaifudin Zuhri bin Djaelani Irsya. The latter is suspected of having recruited the suicide bombers for the attacks.
The head of the Financial Transaction Report and Analysis Center (PPATK), Yunus Husein, said his office had detected at least 80 financial transactions between 2004 and 2009 allegedly related to terrorist activities.
Police have also announced the names of three individuals suspected of involvement in July’s bombings.
They are Mohammad Syahrir aka Aing, Bagus Budi Pranoto aka Urwah and Ario Sudarso aka Suparjo Dwi Anggoro.
Noordin Mohamed Top, survived a recent police raid by police after the 17 July attacks.
Bagus has been convicted on terrorism charges in the past for harbouring terrorists Azhari and Noordin M. Top, but has since been released.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan Taliban Name New Chief
Pakistan’s Taliban movement has named a new leader, its deputy head Maulvi Faqir Mohammed has told the BBC.
He said Hakimullah Mehsud, a close associate of ex-leader Baitullah Mehsud, had been unanimously appointed at a meeting in northern Pakistan.
Pakistani and US officials believe Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike in early August.
However the Taliban continue to insist that he is still alive, despite their decision to appoint a new leader.
Hakimullah Mehsud, who is in his late 20s, is a military chief of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) organisation formed by Beitullah Mehsud in an effort to unite the various factions under one umbrella.
He controls an estimated 2,000 fighters in the Orakzai, Kurram and Khyber regions.
‘Ruthless and rash’
The announcement by Maulvi Faqir Mohammed follows weeks of speculation, and rumours of shootouts and disarray in Taliban ranks.
“Baitullah Mehsud, has been in hiding and he is very ill. He expressed his will that the next Taliban chief should be elected by the Taliban Council while he is alive,” Mr Mohammed told BBC Urdu.
“The council held its meeting in the Orakzai tribal area… the council has decided that Hakimullah Mehsud will be the leader of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan,” Mr Mohammed said.
But the BBC’s Orla Guerin in Islamabad says many will see the naming of a new leader as confirmation that Baitullah Mehsud is dead.
Our correspondent says Hakimullah Mehsud is a young commander in Baitullah’s own image, and is reported to be equally ruthless.
Some believe he could be an even bigger threat to Pakistan, and to foreign troops across the border in Afghanistan, she adds.
| — Hat tip: Sean O’Brian | [Return to headlines] |
Violations of Human Rights in Pakistan: 75% of Cases Remain Unpunished
In three years 11 thousand complaints, of which 8 thousand are still pending. Provincial governments unable to prosecute the guilty. Record of violations in the province of Sindh, where out of 6 thousand cases only 783 have obtained justice. Pakistani Minister for Human Rights admits financial difficulties and lack of funds.
Islamabad (AsiaNews) — In the last three years there have been more than 11 thousand cases of human rights violations in Pakistan, 8 thousand of which are still pending and waiting for justice. These were the facts presented by Syed Mumtaz Alam Gilan — Minister for Human Rights — to the National Assembly, the Pakistani parliament, during a question and answer session.
The minister admitted the “disastrous” results of provincial governments in “bringing those guilty to justice” and responding to a question from a member of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) the major opposition party, he explained that “the situation appears worst in Sindh (province in south-east), where out of some 6 thousand cases of human rights violations, only 783 offenders were punished”.
In the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), where the army hand Taliban have been waging war against each other, out of 2 thousand violations only 730 cases have been resolved. Punjab recorded 2131 complaints, in which 814 led to the initiation of legal action. In Balochistan, finally, courts have resolved 305 cases compared with 823 complaints of human rights violations.
Gilani has stated that legal actions have been undertaken directly by the courts and not on the initiative of the Ministry, which has serious financial difficulties and depends on aid from national and international non-governmental organisations to survive. The Minister added that he has put forward a draft law to create a national commission on human rights. It has already received the go-ahead from the executive, and now awaits the verdict of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Rights, to become effective.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
N. Koreans to Meet South’s Leader
South Korean leader Lee Myung-bak is set to receive senior North Korean officials for the first time since taking office last year.
The talks are being seen as a significant thaw in relations. President Lee is routinely denounced as a lackey and traitor by the North.
The delegation from Pyongyang is to attended the funeral of late ex-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung.
The six senior envoys say they want better relations between the Koreas.
“The North Korean delegation is scheduled to pay a visit to President Lee Myung-bak before 10am (0100 GMT) Sunday,” Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said.
The meeting will take place just a few hours before the funeral of Kim Dae-jung, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his efforts to promote reconciliation on the Korean peninsula.
The talks between Unification Minister Hyun In-taek and the North Korean envoys was the first high-level meeting between the two sides since conservative President Lee took office in February 2008, promising to take a tougher line with Pyongyang.
Relations chilled as he cut aid to the North, tying its resumption to progress on nuclear disarmament.
‘Ties must be improved’
The six officials from North Korea were sent to pay respects for Kim Dae-jung. On Friday they laid a wreath at the National Assembly in Seoul, where Mr Kim’s body is lying in state.
They were also reported to be carrying a message from their leader Kim Jong-il to Mr Lee.
“While meeting many South Koreans here, I came to believe that inter-Korean ties must be improved at the earliest possible date,” said Kim Yang-gon, the North’s official in charge of inter-Korean relations.
“We’ve had little opportunity to talk… I hope that these first high-level official talks under the Lee Myung-bak administration will provide a chance to have frank talks,” he told his Southern counterpart Mr Hyun.
The words mark a turn around for the North, which earlier this year conducted an underground nuclear test and fired a long-range missile over Japan.
But more recently, there has been a series of conciliatory gestures. Two US reporters and a South Korean worker were released from detention and last week Pyongyang said it was interested in resuming cross-border tourism and industrial projects.
Some observers believe that, with UN sanctions beginning to bite, the North is keen to boost cross-border tourism and trade that bring in badly needed foreign currency, says the BBC’s John Sudworth in Seoul.
| — Hat tip: Sean O’Brian | [Return to headlines] |
Vietnam: 2-Month-Old Killed to Stifle ‘Religious’ Dissent
Reports cite victim being used for ‘target practice’
An international Christian group has reported a horrifying episode of Christian children being abducted and killed in an apparent effort to stifle “religious and political” dissidents in Laos during the runup to a visit by U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va.
Webb, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, recently visited several nations, including some that often have earned high rankings among nations that persecute Christians. His trip included visits to Burma, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.
Now comes a report from International Christian Concern about the newest atrocities.
“International Christian Concern has just learned that Lao soldiers captured, mutilated and decapitated a two-month-old girl during recent military attacks against Hmong and Laotian civilians,” the group said. “Survivors of the attack said the infant was used for target practice.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Nigeria Rebels Hand Over Weapons
Hundreds of militants in Nigeria have handed over weapons at a ceremony in the southern Delta region.
The handover in Yenagoa, west of the oil city of Port Harcourt, took place after regional rebel leaders accepted an amnesty offer from the government.
However a faction of Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), the main rebel group, denounced the offer and said it would resume attacks.
Unrest in the region has seriously affected Nigeria’s oil production.
The weaponry handed over on Saturday included hundreds of assault rifles, a number of rocket launchers, and at least 12 gunboats.
The BBC’s Caroline Duffield in Yenagoa says it is unclear how many heavy weapons have been handed over, and many of those put on display appeared to be old and rusty.
The senior Mend commanders who have accepted the amnesty offer include Ebikabowei Victor Ben, also known as General Boyloaf.
“So long as the government has said they will give the people what the people want, I think we have to give peace a chance and see how soon or how real they will perform,” he told the BBC’s Focus on Africa radio programme.
Fighting on
Gen Boyloaf has in the past been blamed for spectacular attacks against the oil industry in Bayelsa state.
But earlier this month he met Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua and accepted his offer of an amnesty for Niger Delta militants.
Gen Boyloaf and other militants have been fighting for a fairer share of the region’s oil wealth for local people.
Our correspondent says they have also made huge amounts of money from kidnappings and the theft of crude oil.
But some Mend factions in neighbouring states have refused to sign up to the amnesty.
One rebel group on Saturday said accused the government of “deceit” and said it would resume “ferocious attacks on the oil industry at the end of our ceasefire” on 15 September.
Militant attacks have reduced Nigeria’s out to 1.3m barrels per day. Nigeria’s Opec quota is 2m.
The rebels say proceeds from oil production have not benefited the region.
| — Hat tip: Sean O’Brian | [Return to headlines] |
Franceschini: Xenophobia and Racism by Government
(AGI) — Rome, 21 August — Dario Franceschini, head of the Democratic Party, states that “Unfortunately the facts and statements show the truth of the tragedy of the deaths of the Eritreans at sea. It is no longer an issue of left or right, of different policies concerning illegal immigration. We are facing a tragedy which was predicted, caused by immoral and unjust laws contrary to international rights which have the effect of stopping rescue at sea. When 80 human beings are lost at sea their legal status is irrelevant. What is legitimate is to ask: if they were 80 tourists left for 20 days at the mercy of hunger and thirst in the middle of the Mediterranean what would the reaction of the politicians and the public have been? The government is making choices stained with xenophobia and racism: it is impossible not to be outraged by this horror. The same outrage which we should feel when faced with the Lega’s Facebook pages, which Bossi’s son is responsible for, where all this pain is turned into a game called ‘Bounce the Illegal immigrant’. It is no longer enough to file this away as silliness or summer propaganda: this is called racism”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Migrants Treated Like Holocaust Jews, Say Bishops
Rome, 21 August (AKI) — Italy’s Catholic bishops have likened the treatment of immigrants seeking asylum in Europe to the treatment of Jews deported during the World War II Holocaust. The Catholic bishops’ daily, Avvenire, on Friday published a strongly worded editorial in which it referred to the tragic deaths of 75 Africans who perished off the coast of Sicily as they crossed the Mediterranean in their bid for asylum.
Only five people were rescued on Thursday by Italian coastal police from the motorised rubber dinghy, which had been carrying 80 people, mostly Eritreans. The boat which set off from Libya had been adrift for at least 20 days and seen between Malta and the tiny island of Lampedusa.
Avvenire accused the West of having “its eyes closed” and failing to hear cries for help, comparing the situation to those that heard the Jews’ and others who sought help when they were being deported by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
“When we read of the deportation of the Jews under Nazisim today, we wonder. Certainly people did not know, but those convoys, the voices, the cries, did no-one see or hear them in the transit stations?” the editorial said.
“There was totalitarianism and terror to make you close your eyes. Today there is not. There is a quiet resigned indifference, if not an irritating aversion in the Mediterranean.
“The West has its eyes closed. Five survivors arrived to tell us about sons and husbands who died of thirst after days of agony. On the same seas where we holiday. A tomb at the bottom of our happy ocean.”
The article also raised fresh concern about Italy’s harsh immigration law that makes it a crime to enter the country illegally and includes stiff penalties.
“No immigration control policy allows an international community to leave a boat full of castaways to their fate. There is a law of the sea, which is older than those written according to treaties. And that law says you save at sea,”read the editorial.
“On land there are other laws such as the right to asylum, welcome, and later deportation later. But lives must be saved.”
The editorial ended saying: “An old law has been violated, that threatens our own roots. Our foundations. The idea of what is man, and how much man is worth”.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Requires Statement That Abortion Ends Life
Split decision on South Dakota law, appeal promised
A judge in South Dakota has concluded Planned Parenthood must tell potential abortion customers that the procedure will “terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being.”
U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier ruled this week in the case that was launched in 2005 when state lawmakers approved the new consent law and Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
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