Rich Muslim vows to pay all French burka fines

The First Post

Flamboyant Rachid Nekkaz pledges €1m to pay fines of French Muslim women caught wearing the full veil

By Gavin Mortimer

ShareOn the eve of tomorrow's Bastille Day celebrations, there is more revolution in the air in France and this time the ringleader is a flamboyant Muslim businessman called Rachid Nekkaz. The 38-year-old property developer is incensed that France has moved one step closer to banning the burka, with women caught wearing the full veil in public liable to a €150 fine and anyone convicted of forcing a woman to cover up facing a fine of up to €30,000 and a year in prison.

The first stage in passing the controversial law was today approved in the National Assembly with members of the Lower House voting overwhelmingly - 335 votes for to one against - to introduce the ban. If the French senators in the Upper House ratify the proposal in September, it will become law by the spring of 2011.

Nekkaz (above), along with the majority of France's five million Muslims, is furious at what he sees as a persecution of his religion, pointing out that fewer than 2,000 French Muslims actually wear the full veil.

He has begun a campaign to fight the law and he's pledged one million euros of his own money to pay the fines of any Muslim convicted. Speaking outside the National Assembly, Nekkaz said: "One million sounds a lot, but to protect one's liberty it's not much, and I hope that others in this country who hold the constitution dear and want to protect our fundamental liberty will join me in fighting this law."

The debonair Nekkaz, a shining example of an integrated, modern French Muslim (he was born in France to Algerian parents), has set up a campaign group called 'Hands off my Constitution', and plans to raise the €1m by selling some of the properties he owns in the Parisian suburbs.

In front of the cameras he wrote a personal cheque for the seven-figure sum before describing the proposed law as 'Anti-Constitutional' and demanding that President Sarkozy shelves the idea.

That seems unlikely. Not only has Sarkozy described the full veil as degrading to women, but it's an issue that has the overwhelming support of his UMP party. Justice Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said last week that wearing the veil "amounted to being cut off from society and rejecting the very spirit of the French republic that is founded on a desire to live together''.

And the likes of Nekkaz haven't been helped in fighting the law by the muddled approach of the opposition Socialist Party. They would like to see a ban restricted to state institutions. But that notion was ridiculed by Alliot-Marie, who said it would be "legally incoherent" and impossible to enforce. "How could we convince the French people that freedom, equality and respect for the dignity of women begins in the train station but stops at the exit?''

The Socialists abstained in today's vote in the Lower House and have said they will adopt a similar stance in September's Senate vote, in which case it seems certain the law will be written into the French Constitution. But the country's police force is bracing itself for a backlash. Security was increased at the National Assembly ahead of today's vote and there are fears of street riots if the bill is passed.

Mothers in the Palestinian territories find support in the company of women

 Guardian

Women who have recently given birth give an insight into the support they get from female relatives - and their love of kitsch

Ingvild Hersoug Nedberg

Small bundles of pink or blue are paraded around the living room, where we, the midwives visiting the new mother, are oohing and aahing at the small wonders. Within the bundles lie sleeping Palestinian babies; blissfully unaware of the political turmoil they are born into. Lucky is the mother who has managed to have a boy, still important in a culture where the male line carries the family name.

After months of meeting a woman at the antenatal care clinic in the village of Deir Jareer, and perhaps being lucky enough to be her midwife during birth at the hospital in Ramallah, this is our last formal meeting. A visit from the midwives prompts all the women in the house to join in - sisters, mothers, mothers-in-law or other children. They listen and comment; serve up chocolates and a hot cinnamon mixture with nuts. We are honoured by being seated in the formal living room.

The room is a peek into the Palestinians' love of kitsch. It has embroidered pillows, fake flower arrangements, tableaux of Mecca with ornate lighting around the frames, verses from the Qur'an hanging on the wall, and lots of family photos. The men in the house have all disappeared for the time being, this is a women's world.

The midwives ask about the birth, complications, breast-feeding and plans for more children. Since Arabic is still just a myriad of strange sounds in my ears, I use the time to admire the newborn or the pillows with blue and white sparrows embroidered on them. Every now and then, recognising a familiar word, I can put in a question that my midwife supervisor will translate.

It is the first time I see women without their veils. They wear comfortable clothes, lose and airy, without any make up. It is difficult to recognise them from the clinic, where they wear long black coats, high-heeled sandals with glittering stones, and matching handbags. Now the new mother is at home, with other women to care for her, cook and wash, and help with the baby. They have all been in the same situation, and have many years of combined knowledge and experience.

Waving goodbye we know the chance of seeing this woman again at the midwifery in a year or two is not unlikely. In the meantime, she will enjoy the support and experience of generations of women around her.

Pakistan Says Iran Scientist in U.S. Fled to Its Embassy

 NY Times

By SALMAN MASOOD and ALAN COWELL

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - In the latest twist in a murky tale, Pakistan said Tuesday that an Iranian nuclear scientist who Tehran maintains was kidnapped by the Central Intelligence Agency had taken refuge in a section of the Pakistani Embassy in Washington that deals with Iranian interests.

Iranian officials were "making arrangements for his repatriation," said Abdul Basit, a spokesman at the Pakistan Foreign Ministry, but no details were made public.

The scientist, Shahram Amiri, 32, vanished during a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in June 2009, and Iran accused the United States of abducting and torturing him. He had worked at Iran's Malek Ashtar University, which is linked to the powerful Revolutionary Guards.

The United States government has never officially discussed Mr. Amiri or his disappearance, though a Western official briefed recently on evidence of Iran's nuclear program said he was "one of the sources" for new information on the program.

Mr. Basit declined to comment on how Mr. Amiri entered the embassy's Iran section and denied that the episode could strain relations between Iran and Pakistan.

"He is not in the Pakistani Embassy, per se," Mr. Basit said. "He is at the Iranian interests section, which is manned by Iranian nationals."

He added, "We understand that they are making arrangements for his repatriation." Countries that do not maintain direct diplomatic ties often establish an "interest section" in another country's embassy. Iran's is connected to the Pakistani Embassy; the United States has a parallel office at the Swiss Embassy in Tehran. Iran and the United States severed diplomatic ties after the 1979 revolution.

Confusion over the scientist deepened in June, when two conflicting videos purporting to show the scientist emerged just before the United Nations Security Council voted to approve a new set of American-backed economic sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. The first, publicized by Iran, showed a young man speaking in Persian through a computer phone hookup and saying he had been kidnapped in a joint operation involving the C.I.A. and the Saudi intelligence service in Medina on June 3, 2009. He said that he was taken to a house in Saudi Arabia, that he was injected with a shot, and that when he awoke he was on a plane heading to the United States.

He said he recorded the video on April 5 in Tucson. The announcer said that he could not disclose how the video was obtained.

But the second videotape, posted on YouTube shortly after the first video was publicized, showed a different young man in a suit who, also speaking in Persian, identified himself as Mr. Amiri. He said he was free and safe in the United States and was working on his Ph.D. He also demanded an end to what he called false videos about himself, saying he had no interest in politics or experience in nuclear weapons programs.

If the Iranian version is true, it is not clear how the man was able to reach the Pakistani Embassy. If the second version is accurate, it is not clear why he would want to take refuge at the embassy.

Iran's state-run English-language broadcaster Press TV said the Iranian Foreign Ministry had handed over to Swiss diplomats in Tehran "new documents related to the abduction of the Iranian national by the C.I.A." and called for Mr. Amiri's "swift and unconditional release."

The broadcaster quoted an "audio message obtained by Iran's intelligence sources" as saying he had been offered $10 million "to appear on CNN and announce that he had willingly defected to the United States." Iranian news outlets have also said that a former Iranian deputy defense minister, Alireza Asgari, was abducted during a trip to Turkey in 2007. The two videos released in June served to deepen the mystery.

Salman Masood reported from Islamabad, and Alan Cowell from London.

Kashmir tense ahead of planned rally

 Press TV

Tension is running high in Indian-administered Kashmir as the volatile region braces for yet another mass demonstration to commemorate the Martyrs' Day.

Protesters called for a third day of strikes on Tuesday and announced plans for a rally in Srinagar to mark the killing of 21 people by jail guards in 1931 known as the Martyrs' Day.

The deadly incident took place as people revolting against Kashmir's former ruler Hari Singh stormed the central jail in Srinagar city. In response, jail guards opened fire on protestors.

Meanwhile, police officials reacted to the demonstration plan on Tuesday, confirming that no rally would be allowed.

"Restrictions are in place throughout Srinagar city as a precautionary measure to protect civilian life and property from the designs of anti-social elements," a senior police officer said.

Indian security forces are struggling to control demonstrations in the Kashmir valley after being blamed for the killing of 15 civilian protestors over the past month.

Each death sparked fresh violence across the volatile Himalayan region.

India and Pakistan both claim full control over Kashmir but rule the territory only in part. The dispute has led to two wars between the two countries.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in Kashmir since anger against the Indian rule turned into rebellion back in 1989.

Afghan soldier kills 3 British troops

 Press TV

An Afghan soldier has killed three British troops during a joint patrol in the country's southern province of Helmand, a provincial security official has said.

Two more British soldiers were injured in the attack, which took place near Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of Helmand, where some 9,000 British troops are based as part of the US-led forces, a security source told Reuters on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, NATO released a statement saying that three of its soldiers were killed in an attack by militants in southern Afghanistan.

Their deaths bring to 36 the number of foreign soldiers killed so far this month in Afghanistan.

American and NATO military casualties are on the rise as they step up attacks against Taliban strongholds in southern Afghanistan.

Britain has about 10,000 boots on the ground in Afghanistan, the largest international force after the United States. The UK says it is going to withdraw all its troops from Afghan combat zones by 2015.

The British government is under fire at home over the rising number of casualties in Afghanistan. Opinion polls show that most Britons want their troops back home.

Pakistan's Islamist shock jocks face ban on glamorising terrorism

 Telegraph

Pakistan's Islamist shock jocks, who are blamed for promoting anti-American conspiracy theories on almost 100 different TV channels, could be silenced by new laws banning shows that glamorise terrorism.

By Rob Crilly in Islamabad

The proposed Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Bill will ban live coverage of militant attacks and the broadcast of anything "defamatory against the organs of the state".

But critics have said the law's broad terms will prohibit criticism of the government and wipe out the controversial shows, which attract millions of viewers.

Reading and Birmingham stand on brink of promotion"There's no doubt about it," said Zaid Hamid, one of the country's best known TV hosts, "the target is programmes like mine."

The issue cuts to the core of modern Pakistan, a conservative Muslim society grappling with democracy after a decade of military rule. The government is struggling to contain a growing extremist threat and knows its position as an ally in the American war on terror puts it at risk of a backlash.

The new type of talk show host finds a ready audience among a population that views the US with suspicion.

With his grey goatee, Mr Hamid is one of the most recognisable - and feared.

He coined the term Hindu Zionist to describe the Israeli and Indian forces he believes are allied in a plot to destabilise Pakistan, and he has repeatedly accused the private military contractor Blackwater (now Xe) of staging bomb blasts blamed on Islamist extremists.

His show, Brass Tacks, was very popular with young people, but was pulled recently after protest from student groups who believed he was intent on creating a cult of personality. He is also under investigation in a murder case, allegations he believes are politically motivated.

Other controversial figures include Hamid Mir, host of "Capital Talk", who is revered as one of Pakistan's most influential journalists.

However, his easy access to militants has led many to question whether he is a sympathiser. A tape surfaced recently of a telephone conversation Mr Mir is alleged to have had with extremists, apparently urging them to kill a hostage. He claims the recording was faked.

Farahnaz Ispahani, a member of the ruling party who sits on the standing committee on information and broadcasting, said the legislation was needed to rein in shows that glamorised violence.

"The problem is that the owners don't give a damn about anything other than ratings, so they want their programmes and news shows to be as sensationalist as possible," she said.

Offenders could be sentenced to up to three years in jail or a fined a maximum of 10 million rupees (about £80,000).

WMD claims were lies says former envoy

 Independant

By Nigel Morris, Deputy Political Editor

Britain was taken to war in Iraq on the basis of "lies", scaremongering and deliberate exaggeration, a former UK diplomat told the Iraq inquiry.

Carne Ross claimed that Britain and the United States privately did not believe that Iraq's weapons programmes posed a "substantial threat" before launching the 2003 invasion.

Mr Ross, the former first secretary at the UK's mission to the United Nations, told the Chilcot inquiry there was no "significant intelligence" to support claims that Saddam Hussein had amassed an arsenal of deadly weapons.

He argued that Saddam could have been contained through sanctions - and condemned the failure by the US or UK to close the Iraqi dictator's bank accounts in Jordan.

Mr Ross, who resigned before the war, pointed to a document circulated to Labour MPs in 2002 as evidence of a "process of deliberate public exaggeration", including the claim that Saddam could develop nuclear weapons within five years.

He added: "This paper also contains such scare-mongering claims as ‘less than a teaspoon of anthrax can kill over a million people' without explaining the extremely difficult process for anthrax to be weaponised and delivered in an effective method."

The former diplomat said the September 2002 dossier that made the case for war - including the notorious claim that Iraq could launch a missile strike within 45 minutes "misrepresented" the raw intelligence.

He said a "very uncertain and patchy picture" was converted into "positive claims of knowledge of threat".

Mr Ross concluded: "This process of exaggeration was gradual, and proceeded by accretion and editing from document to document, in a way that allowed those participating to convince themselves that they were not engaged in blatant dishonesty.

"But this process led to highly misleading statements about the UK assessment of the Iraqi threat that were, in their totality, lies."

Mr Ross challenged the inquiry to publish all Government documents concerning the war. He alleged that the evidence given by some officials was contradicted by papers he had seen and added he had seen "very little" in classified documents that could not be made public.