georgetown university supreme court institute there has been only one grant
from reconsideration petition in the last years
ilya shapiro head of the cato supreme court review also said noriega appeal
was unlikely to succeed but there were some glimmers of hope for the former
dictator
one of the rare decisions by the supreme court to revisit its own decision
boumediene vs bush also featured the hot button issue of the detention of
foreign nationals
the court then ruled that lakhdar boumediene an algerian who was held at
guantanamo bay on suspicion of plotting to blow up the us and british embassies
in sarajevo could challenge his detention in court
another hope for noriega is the decision by supreme court justices clarence
thomas and antonin scalia to oppose their colleagues decision not to hear the
case
in page dissent the pair argued that noriega case offered rare
opportunity to hear case featuring foreign detentions that did not affect
national security
they argued it was fairly clean case said shapiro they did not go to the
merits of the noriega case but said it was opportunity to address an issue
that is confusing lower courts
noriega is the only prisoner of war held by the united states shapiro said
corrected french report calls for burqa ban
paris jan afp
french parliament report called tuesday for ban on the full islamic veil
saying muslim women who wear the burqa were posing an unacceptable challenge
to french values
after six months of hearings panel of lawmakers recommended ban on the
face covering veil in all schools hospitals public transport and government
offices the broadest move yet to restrict muslim dress in france
the wearing of the full veil is challenge to our republic this is
unacceptable the report said we must condemn this excess
the commission however stopped short of proposing broad legislation to outlaw
the burqa in the streets in shopping centres and other public venues after
raising doubts about the constitutionality of such move
the wearing of the full veil is the tip of the iceberg said communist
lawmaker andre gerin the chair of the commission who presented the report to
the parliament speaker
there are scandalous practices hidden behind this veil said gerin who vowed
to fight the gurus he said were seeking to export radical brand of
fundamentalism and sectarianism to france
tensions flared at the last minute when group of right wing lawmakers pushed
unsuccessfully for tougher measure to ban the burqa in all public venues
in the end the commission called on parliament to adopt resolution stating
that the all encompassing veil was contrary to the values of the republic and
proclaiming that all of france is saying no to the full veil
the national assembly resolution would pave the way to legislation making it
illegal for anyone to appear with their face covered at state run institutions
and in public transport for reasons of security
women who turn up at the post office or any government building wearing the full
veil would be denied services such as work visa residency papers or french
citizenship the report said
the opposition socialists refused to endorse the final report to protest the
government launching of debate on national identity which has exposed
french fears about islam
critics of the burqa debate have warned that it risks stigmatising france
six million muslims and describe the wearing of the garment as marginal
phenomenon affecting few women
but president nicolas sarkozy sought tuesday to reassure france estimated six
million muslims saying in speech at cemetery for french muslim soldiers
that freedom to practise religion was enshrined in the constitution
our country which has known not only wars of religion but also fratricidal
battles due to state anti clericalism cannot let french muslim citizens be
stigmatised he said at notre dame de lorette cemetery in northern france
despite large muslim presence the sight of fully veiled women is not common
in france only women wear the burqa according to the interior ministry
half of them live in the paris region and percent are under
home to europe biggest muslim minority france is being closely watched at
time of particular unease over islam three months after swiss voters approved
ban on minarets
sarkozy set the tone for the debate in june when he declared the burqa not
welcome in france and described it as symbol of women subservience that
cannot be tolerated in country that considers itself human rights leader
french support for law banning the full veil is strong poll last week
showed percent are in favour
the leader of sarkozy right wing party in parliament jean francois cope has
already presented draft legislation that would make it illegal for anyone to
cover their faces in public
the bill is not expected to come up for debate before regional elections in
march
in france passed law banning headscarves and any other conspicuous
religious symbols in state schools after long running debate on how far it was
willing to go to accommodate islam in its strictly secular society
denmark the netherlands and austria are also studying measures to ban the full
veil
french report calls for burqa ban
paris jan afp
french parliament report called tuesday for ban on the full islamic veil
saying muslim women who wear the burqa were posing an unacceptable challenge
to french values
after six months of hearings panel of lawmakers recommended ban on the
face covering veil in all schools hospitals public transport and government
offices the broadest move yet to restrict muslim dress in france
the wearing of the full veil is challenge to our republic this is
unacceptable the report said we must condemn this excess
the commission however stopped short of proposing broad legislation to outlaw
the burqa in the streets in shopping centres and other public venues after
raising doubts about the constitutionality of such move
the wearing of the full veil is the tip of the iceberg said communist
lawmaker andre gerin the chair of the commission who presented the report to
the parliament speaker
there are scandalous practices hidden behind this veil said gerin who vowed
to fight the gurus he said were seeking to export radical brand of
fundamentalism and sectarianism to france
tensions flared at the last minute when group of right wing lawmakers pushed
unsuccessfully for tougher measure to ban the burqa in all public venues
in the end the commission called on parliament to adopt resolution stating
that the all encompassing veil was contrary to the values of the republic and
proclaiming that all of france is saying no to the full veil
the national assembly resolution would pave the way to legislation making it
illegal for anyone to appear with their face covered at state run institutions
and in public transport for reasons of security
women who turn up at the post office or any government building wearing the full
veil would be denied services such as work visa residency papers or french
citizenship the report said
the opposition socialists refused to endorse the final report to protest the
government launching of debate on national identity which has exposed
french fears about islam
critics of the burqa debate have warned that it risks stigmatising france
six million muslims and describe the wearing of the garment as marginal
phenomenon affecting few women
but president nicolas sarkozy sought tuesday to reassure france estimated six
million muslims saying in speech at cemetery for french muslim soldiers
that freedom to practise religion was enshrined in the constitution
our country which has known not only wars of religion but also fratricidal
battles due to state anti clericalism cannot let french muslim citizens be
stigmatised he said at notre dame de lorette cemetery in northern france
despite large muslim presence the sight of fully veiled women is not common
in france only women wear the burqa according to the interior ministry
half of them live in the paris region and percent are under
home to europe biggest muslim minority france is being closely watched at
time of particular unease over islam three months after swiss voters approved
ban on minarets
sarkozy set the tone for the debate in june when he declared the burqa not
welcome in france and described it as symbol of women subservience that
cannot be tolerated in country that considers itself human rights leader
french support for law banning the full veil is strong poll last week
showed percent are in favour
the leader of sarkozy right wing party in parliament jean francois cope has
already presented draft legislation that would make it illegal for anyone to
cover their faces in public
the bill is not expected to come up for debate before regional elections in
march
in france passed law banning headscarves and any other conspicuous
religious symbols in state schools after long running debate on how far it was
willing to go to accommodate islam in its strictly secular society
denmark the netherlands and austria are also studying measures to ban the full
veil
dollar up sharply pound struggles
london jan afp
the dollar was sharply higher against the euro on tuesday buoyed by us consumer
confidence data while the pound took hit after news that britain had only just
limped out of recession dealers said
they said fears that china which has played key role in the recovery so far
might be trying to slow its booming economy has dampened investor confidence
given the weak growth prospects in the developed countries
those countries have also run up huge deficits to get their economies back on
track sparking warning tuesday from the international monetary fund of the
dangers involved and the need for sound policy
key risk is that premature and incoherent exit from supportive policies may
undermine global growth and its rebalancing it said in report cautiously
upgrading its overall growth forecasts
high fiscal deficits and debt are raising concerns about sustainability and
sovereign risk which is the primary consideration in many countries
in late london trade the euro fell to dollars from dollars in new
york late monday
the dollar in turn slipped to yen from yen
talk that china may accelerate the pace of monetary tightening shook the
markets overnight said jane foley of forex com
meanwhile the pound tumbled to dollars from dollars after figures
showed the british economy just scraped out of recession in the fourth quarter
with growth of percent well short of forecasts for percent
the pound suffered from sharp pull back on the data and is likely to remain
under pressure going forward said calyon economist slavena nazarova
the dollar may have got support from better than expected us consumer confidence
figures in january up for third straight month dealers said
the conference board private research firm said its consumer confidence
index rose to in january from an upwardly revised in december and
compared with forecasts for
consumer confidence rose for the third consecutive month primarily the result
of an improvement in present day conditions said lynn franco director of the
conference board consumer research center
franco cautioned however that consumers short term outlook while moderately
more positive does not suggest any significant pickup in activity in the coming
months
elsewhere german business confidence rose for record th month in row
the closely watched ifo survey of around firms in the manufacturing
construction wholesaling and retail sectors climbed to in january from
in december hitting its highest level since july
this positive reading from the german business survey will raise hopes that the
recovery may be gathering renewed momentum in the first quarter of said
daiwa economist colin ellis
in london on tuesday the euro was changing hands at dollars against
dollars late on monday at yen pounds
and swiss francs
the dollar stood at yen and swiss francs
the pound was at dollars
on the london bullion market the price of gold eased to dollars an
ounce from dollars an ounce late on monday
french report calls for burqa ban
paris jan afp
french parliament report called tuesday for ban on the full islamic veil
saying muslim women who wear the burqa were posing an unacceptable challenge
to french values
after six months of hearings panel of lawmakers recommended ban on the
face covering veil in all schools hospitals public transport and government
offices the broadest move yet to restrict muslim dress in france
the wearing of the full veil is challenge to our republic this is
unacceptable the report said we must condemn this excess
the commission however stopped short of proposing broad legislation to outlaw
the burqa in the streets in shopping centres and other public venues after
raising doubts about the constitutionality of such move
the wearing of the full veil is the tip of the iceberg said communist
lawmaker andre gerin the chair of the commission who presented the report to
the parliament speaker
there are scandalous practices hidden behind this veil said gerin who vowed
to fight the gurus he said were seeking to export radical brand of
fundamentalism and sectarianism to france
tensions flared at the last minute when group of right wing lawmakers pushed
unsuccessfully for tougher measure to ban the burqa in all public venues
in the end the commission called on parliament to adopt resolution stating
that the all encompassing veil was contrary to the values of the republic and
proclaiming that all of france is saying no to the full veil
the national assembly resolution would pave the way to legislation making it
illegal for anyone to appear with their face covered at state run institutions
and in public transport for reasons of security
women who turn up at the post office or any government building wearing the full
veil would be denied services such as work visa residency papers or french
citizenship the report said
the opposition socialists refused to endorse the final report to protest the
government launching of debate on national identity which has exposed
french fears about islam
critics of the burqa debate have warned that it risks stigmatising france
six million muslims and describe the wearing of the garment as marginal
phenomenon affecting few women
but president nicolas sarkozy sought tuesday to reassure france estimated six
million muslims saying in speech at cemetery for french muslim soldiers
that freedom to practise religion was enshrined in the constitution
our country which has known not only wars of religion but also fratricidal
battles due to state anti clericalism cannot let french muslim citizens be
stigmatised he said at notre dame de lorette cemetery in northern france
despite large muslim presence the sight of fully veiled women is not common
in france only women wear the burqa according to the interior ministry
half of them live in the paris region and percent are under
home to europe biggest muslim minority france is being closely watched at
time of particular unease over islam three months after swiss voters approved
ban on minarets
sarkozy set the tone for the debate in june when he declared the burqa not
welcome in france and described it as symbol of women subservience that
cannot be tolerated in country that considers itself human rights leader
french support for law banning the full veil is strong poll last week
showed percent are in favour
the leader of sarkozy right wing party in parliament jean francois cope has
already presented draft legislation that would make it illegal for anyone to
cover their faces in public
the bill is not expected to come up for debate before regional elections in
march
in france passed law banning headscarves and any other conspicuous
religious symbols in state schools after long running debate on how far it was
willing to go to accommodate islam in its strictly secular society
denmark the netherlands and austria are also studying measures to ban the full
veil
european stocks rally as us consumer confidence rises
london jan afp
european stocks rose on tuesday after some encouraging company results and
report showing higher than expected consumer confidence reading in the united
states the world biggest economy
london ftse index rose percent the paris cac gained percent
and the frankfurt dax advanced percent
the big winners in london were pharmaceutical giants with shares in
glaxosmithkline rising percent to pence
but mining companies lost ground on fears of lower demand from china bhp
billiton lost percent to pence and fresnillo was percent
bank shares also fell after president barack obama pledge last week to crack
down on the us banking sector lloyds dropped percent to pence
elsewhere in europe madrid ended the day up percent zurich rose
percent and milan inched up percent after an announcement by fiat of
temporary halt in production dragged the auto giant shares down percent
the modest rally came after germany siemens reported percent rise in net
income last quarter while net profits at swiss pharmaceutical group novartis in
jumped by percent on sales of its swine flu vaccine
on the downside however was data showing the british economy only scraped out
of record long recession in the fourth quarter with growth of percent and
fresh fears over possible credit tightening in china
whilst we may cheer the headline that we are out of recession the growth
figures are not all sweetness and light said odl securities analyst owen
ireland referring to the british gross domestic product gdp numbers
market bulls were hoping for strong growth in the fourth quarter the
percent growth figure may increase traders nervousness
meanwhile in washington key report from the conference board private
research firm showed its consumer confidence index rising to in january
from an upwardly revised in december well above analyst estimates
most economists had been expecting reading of
consumer confidence rose for the third consecutive month primarily the result
of an improvement in present day conditions said lynn franco director of the
conference board consumer research center
but franco cautioned that consumers short term outlook while moderately more
positive does not suggest any significant pickup in activity in the coming
months
consumer spending is the main driver behind the us and developed economies
generally
david jones chief market strategist at ig index london based financial
spread betting company said the rise was positive news for stock markets
wall street was also upbeat with the dow jones index rising percent and
the nasdaq up percent in afternoon trading after the report
rise in german business confidence for record th month in row during
january also gave stock markets greater cause for confidence
the closely watched ifo index survey of around firms in the key
manufacturing construction wholesaling and retail sectors climbed to
from december hitting its highest level since july
lingering concerns that beijing will move to tighten liquidity weighed on asian
stock markets earlier in the trading session however china last week reported
booming growth soaring inflation and record high bank lending
shanghai stocks closed down percent and tokyo shed percent
germany boosts afghan efforts ahead of conference
berlin jan afp
germany announced on tuesday more troops for afghanistan and doubling of
its development aid in move that it hopes will set the tone for this week
london conference on the war torn nation
unveiling development offensive and major boost to efforts to train the
afghan security forces chancellor angela merkel said soldiers would join
already in place and that reservists would be put on stand by
we have developed complete package for our future engagement which takes
it to new level namely new phase in handing responsibility to the afghan
government merkel said in berlin ahead of the arrival of afghan president
hamid karzai for talks
there can be no security without reconstruction but on the other hand there
can be no reconstruction without security
berlin stressed that it would begin this year to hand over responsibilities to
the afghan government this year and that it wanted its soldiers to start coming
home in target shared by us president barack obama
in the next four years we want to create the conditions to enable our military
presence to be wound down gradually we want to begin this year step by
step foreign minister guido westerwelle said
merkel noted however that the plans did not include setting fixed date for
the complete withdrawal of germany troops in the country currently based
mostly in the north
german troops currently form the third largest contingent in the strong
international force behind the united states and britain with the upper limit
capped at soldiers by parliament which would have to approve any
increase
berlin would provide million euros million dollars over five years to
million dollar international fund proposed by karzai to woo insurgents to
lay down their guns with the lure of jobs and money merkel said
in addition germany is almost doubling development aid to million euros
over with the aim of giving three quarters of northerners or three
million people access to work compared with percent at present
other goals include kilometres miles of roads giving half of the
population access to energy and clean drinking water up from percent now
and schools for percent of boys and girls versus quarter at present
merkel said that the increased focus on training which would be done by
german troops up from just at present would involve more contact with the
local population but that this did not mean more danger to troops
asked how germany new commitments would be received by the us administration
which is pressing its allies to back its surge of new soldiers this
year merkel said she had nothing to be ashamed of
obama has said he wants his surge to be matched by more troops from
other members of the nato military alliance swelling the foreign force to about
by the end of this year nine years into the mission
her comments came ahead of two day visit to berlin starting late tuesday by
karzai who is under pressure from his western backers to tackle rampant
corruption following his tainted re election on his way to london
earlier tuesday karzai met in turkey with president abdullah gul pakistani
president asif ali zardari and top officials from iran china tajikistan and
turkmenistan who backed his plans to offer incentives to taliban fighters
highlighting the security challenge suicide bomber struck near us military
base in kabul on tuesday wounding at least nine people
football palace face drop battle after administration
london jan afp
crystal palace were left facing point penalty after the english second
division side entered administration on tuesday
palace are currently ninth in the championship table but the points deduction
mandatory under football league rules designed to encourage sound financial
management of clubs would leave them in relegation battle
south london side palace have twice been late in paying their players this
season despite chairman simon jordan efforts to bring new investment into the
club
administrator brendon gulifoyle said tuesday this club has been in the
spotlight for some months with creditors pressing for payments and players
anxious about their wages
our role now is to find buyer quickly to provide certainty for the employees
players and fans for the future we are hoping our appointment will be short
lived as we understand there are many interested buyers
palace have reported debts of around million poubds and were due in court
tomorrow to face winding up order from hm revenue and customs britain tax
collecting authority
despite financial problems that have meant neil warnock has been unable to field
full substitutes bench at times this season palace were only two points
outside of the play off places ahead of wednesday match against leaders
newcastle
but now the eagles face battle to avoid dropping into english football
third tier with the likes of highly rated teenage striker victor moses set to be
sold in bid to bring some much needed funds into selhurst park
the football league have yet to impose the point deduction as they have not
yet received formal confirmation from either palace or the administrators that
the club have entered administration but it is expected this will arrive with
officials within the next couple of days
us teen pregnancy rate up for first time since study
washington jan afp
the us teen pregnancy rate rose in for the first time in years an
report showed tuesday as experts speculated that the increase was due to
abstinence only sex education in schools
three percent more girls between the ages of and became pregnant in
than in four percent more gave birth and one percent more had abortions
the report by the guttmacher institute showed
three quarters of million women younger than or seven percent of the
age group became pregnant in the report said
that made for pregnancies for every to year old girls
compared to pregnancies per girls in the same age group in when
the us teen pregnancy rate reached its lowest point in more than years
the rise was deeply troubling and coincides with an increase in rigid
abstinence only until marriage programs which received major funding boosts
under the bush administration said guttmacher institute senior public policy
associate heather boonstra
this just shows once again that the investment that was put into abstinence
only programs has not paid off boonstra told afp
there strong body of evidence that these abstinence only programs simply do
not work they don help teens to either delay sex or increase contraceptive
use when they do become sexually active she said
the rise in teen pregnancies follows sharp decrease in the rate throughout the
which boonstra said was largely due to better use of contraceptives by
teens and leveling off in the early
smaller proportion of the fall in teen pregnancies in the was due to
less sexual activity among us teens she said
but in the early contraceptive use among us teens decreased and
certainly that is connected to this increase in teen pregnancy said boonstra
denmark to send more aid to haiti
copenhagen jan afp
denmark will send an additional four million euros in aid to haiti the minister
of development cooperation said tuesday
following meeting with leading danish non governmental organisations involved
in haiti minister ulla toernaes said priorities were finding shelter and
protecting some people and restoring water and sanitation systems
the additional aid raises denmark total aid to haiti to over million euros
million dollars following the earthquake on january that is feared to
have killed people
machu picchu mudslides kill five strand tourists
lima jan afp
flooding and mudslides near peru historic ruins of machu picchu have killed at
least five people and stranded tourists emergency services said tuesday
an operation to airlift the foreigners out of the southeastern disaster zone hit
was slowed because of bad weather after just were flown out be helicopter
germany boosts afghan efforts ahead of conference
berlin jan afp
germany announced on tuesday more troops for afghanistan and doubling of
its development aid in move that it hopes will set the tone for this week
london conference on the war torn nation
unveiling development offensive and major boost to efforts to train the
afghan security forces chancellor angela merkel said soldiers would join
already in place and that reservists would be put on stand by
we have developed complete package for our future engagement which takes
it to new level namely new phase in handing responsibility to the afghan
government merkel said in berlin ahead of the arrival of afghan president
hamid karzai for talks
there can be no security without reconstruction but on the other hand there
can be no reconstruction without security
berlin stressed that it would begin this year to hand over responsibilities to
the afghan government this year and that it wanted its soldiers to start coming
home in target shared by us president barack obama
in the next four years we want to create the conditions to enable our military
presence to be wound down gradually we want to begin this year step by
step foreign minister guido westerwelle said
merkel noted however that the plans did not include setting fixed date for
the complete withdrawal of germany troops in the country currently based
mostly in the north
german troops currently form the third largest contingent in the strong
international force behind the united states and britain with the upper limit
capped by parliament at soldiers
berlin would provide million euros million dollars over five years to
million dollar international fund proposed by karzai to woo insurgents to
lay down their guns with the lure of jobs and money merkel said
in addition germany is almost doubling development aid to million euros
over with the aim of giving three quarters of northerners or three
million people access to work compared with percent at present
other goals include kilometres miles of roads giving half of the
population access to energy and clean drinking water up from percent now
and schools for percent of boys and girls versus quarter at present
merkel said that the increased focus on training which would be done by
german troops up from just at present would involve more contact with the
local population but that this did not mean more danger to troops
asked how germany new commitments would be received by the us administration
which is pressing its allies to back its surge of new soldiers this
year merkel said she had nothing to be ashamed of
obama has said he wants his surge to be matched by more troops from
other members of the nato military alliance swelling the foreign force to about
by the end of this year nine years into the mission
her comments came ahead of two day visit to berlin starting late tuesday by
karzai who is under pressure from his western backers to tackle rampant
corruption following his tainted re election on his way to london
earlier tuesday karzai met in turkey with president abdullah gul pakistani
president asif ali zardari and top officials from iran china tajikistan and
turkmenistan who backed his plans to offer incentives to taliban fighters
highlighting the security challenge suicide bomber struck near us military
base in kabul on tuesday wounding at least nine people
nine of lithuanians critical of govt poll
vilnius jan afp
nine out of lithuanians think the centre right coalition government of their
recession hit state is doing bad job according to opinion survey in the
small baltic eu state
just nine percent said they approved the performance of prime minister andrius
kubilius administration while percent did not according to the survey by
