Free Republic

Husband cut off wife’s ears, nose on Eid day by Abudlhadi Hairan December 23, 2007 Qalat: A man named Mumtaz in southern Zabul province of Afghanistan first shaved wife, Nazia’s head and then cut off her ears, and nose and damaged her teeth on the first day of Eid ul Adha, an Islamic ritual of sacrifice. Hospital sources in Qalat, center of Zabul, told this scribe by phone that Nazia, 17, was admitted on Wednesday (First day of Eid) evening and now she was in a critical condition due to the severe beating she has borne. Provincial Police Chief of...

In his new book, "The Conscience of a Liberal," New York Times columnist Paul Krugman makes a strong case for his belief that the political success of the Republican Party and the conservative movement over the past 40 years has resulted largely from their co-optation of Southern racists that were the base of the Democratic Party until its embrace of civil rights in the 1960s. A key piece of evidence for Mr. Krugman is that Ronald Reagan gave his first speech after accepting the Republican presidential nomination in 1980 near Philadelphia, Miss., where three civil rights workers were murdered in...

Maulvi beheads teenager student in Gujarat for Rs. 7,000 2007-12-19 Gujarat Global News Network, Vadodara In a gruesome incident a Maulvi beheaded his 15 year old student for recovering Rs.7,000 which the boy's father had taken from him. The maulvi (Islamic teacher) who was a friend of the victim's father stayed nearby and had given a loan of Rs.7, 000 to his friend. On not getting his money back the accused Narulhaq Abdulhaq Saiyad beheaded Abid Ali Saiyad and packed the head in a plastic bag and dumped it on the terrace of his house. According to the police Narulhaq...

Jailed teddy teacher: I feared I would be raped by Sudanese prison officers wanting to teach me a lesson By ANDREW WILKS - More by this author » 9th December 2007 The teacher imprisoned in the Sudan for naming a teddy bear Mohammed has told how she feared being raped by her guards during her incarceration. Gillian Gibbons, who was arrested when a school secretary complained to the authorities two months after the stuffed toy was named by pupils at Unity High School in Khartoum, said her greatest worry was that her guards would "teach the blaspheming white woman a...

Beaten by teacher, boy prepares for third surgery PTI Thursday, December 06, 2007 18:46 IST ISLAMABAD: A 13-year-old Pakistani boy who was beaten by his teacher for not completing his homework is preparing to undergo a third surgery. Mudassar Aslam, a Class IX student of Himayatul Islam High School in Hyderabad, has already undergone two major intestinal surgeries after his teacher beat him. Aslam was rushed to Liaquat University Hospital on November 21 after he complained of severe abdominal pain. His teacher, Buland Iqbal, trashed him with a stick after tying him up. The boy said, "I was beaten with...

“A good wife must live in fear” 05/07/2007 SAUDI ARABIA Women are forbidden to drive, to show their head and to speak in public, and to shake a man’s hand. On television, preachers incite husbands to beat their wives “for their own good”. Saudi journalists describe the countless prohibitions facing Muslim women in their country and appeal for a distinction between religious truths and social customs. Riyadh (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Without permission, women cannot even drive a car or change the colour of their clothes, and television preachers warn that women who shake a man’s hand are committing “adultery of the...

Mere suspicion of an illicit affair in Jordan often leads to "honour killings" Author: IRIN Published on Nov 26, 2007, 08:00 Women activists call for greater rights. A quarter of all women killed in Jordan for having an illicit relationship die merely because they were suspected of involvement in such a relationship, while only 15 per cent are killed after adultery is proven, a study by UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) has revealed. The study was unveiled on 25 November to mark the UN global campaign entitled Sixteen Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women, organised by UNIFEM....

Headline News Sunday, November 25, 2007 by Staff Writer Israeli-Arab men brutally rape 'dirty Jew' A group of young Israeli-Arab men recently attacked and raped two intoxicated Jewish teenage girls near the coastal city of Netanya, the Israeli police released for publication on Sunday. The shocking attack took place two weeks ago, when the six Arab men happened upon the two Jewish girls as they sat drinking late at night in a public square in Netanya. According to Ynet, the girls resisted the men's advances, but were soon after were compelled, either physically or due to their inebriated state, to...

Saudi lawyer in rape victim plea Story Highlights - Woman sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in jail under Islamic law - Judge more than doubled 19-year-old's sentence for speaking to the media - Woman's lawyer loses law license for speaking to Saudi-controlled media - Human rights group: Lawyer faces three-year suspension and disbarment (CNN) -- A Saudi Arabian human rights attorney is asking the government to allow him to represent a woman who was gang-raped -- and then sentenced to prison for speaking out about the case. The attorney, Abdulrahman al-Lahim, had his license revoked last week by...

Serbia: Muslim prosecutor arrested for using sex-slaves November 19, 2007 SERBIANNA Serbia's chief prosecutor has arrested regional vice prosecutor in the Muslim dominated region of Novi Pazar for misuse of office. The charge alleges that Senad Palamara is implicated in a human trafficking ring in Novi Pazar and was the "user" of sexual services of the trafficked women that were available in a JetSet night club in the Serbian city of Sombor. The indictment says that during period from December 2005 to July 2007 Palamara repeatedly had sex with a 25 year old Marija K who was forced into prostitution...

Daughter's pregnancy signs raised suspicion 20 Nov 2007, Pinak Priya Bhattacharya,TNN JALPAIGURI: A 36-year-old man who married his teenage daughter, apparently after convincing his wife that he was carrying out divine instructions, kept the event under wraps for more than six months. Until, his 15-year-old daughter began showing signs of pregnancy. Villagers of Kasiajhora found out about Afazuddin Ali's wedding when one of them found the girl showing pregnancy's swelling signs. The sordid drama of what happened, however, unfolded on Monday when Ali was produced in court. When Ali, a daily labourer who has three daughters and two sons moved...

Surfer's Baja tale is warning to others Camping trip ended in robbery, assault By Terry Rodgers UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER November 19, 2007 Pat Weber didn't plan on being part of a crime trend that has generated worldwide buzz this past week, but he didn't have much choice. The Encinitas resident and surfing instructor got lost on a dirt road in Baja California last month while looking for a surfing spot called Cuatro Casas. He and his girlfriend decided to park for the night on a bluff overlooking the ocean. Just after sundown, two men wearing ski masks approached Weber's motor...

Yahoo to pay Chinese families It settles with relatives of journalists jailed for dissent after it revealed their names to police. By Alex Pham Los Angeles Times Staff Writer November 14, 2007 A week after lawmakers shamed its executives as moral "pygmies," Yahoo Inc. on Tuesday reached an out-of-court settlement with the families of two Chinese journalists thrown into jail for dissidence after the company disclosed their identities to local police. Yahoo promised to pay the families' legal bills and to create a fund to "provide support to other political dissidents and their families," but the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company wouldn't...

Teheran cracks down on “moral vices” The death of a girl, arrested by Iranian police because she was in the company of a male friend, is declared a “suicide”. Iran’s Supreme Leader approves the list of “vices” to be fought, among them makeup and hats. Teheran (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Iran’s government daily’s today published a list of moral vices which police are called to counter, among them make up and hats in the place of veils. The officers added that they are also bent on cracking down on “decadent” films, drugs and alcohol. This is the latest move in a ferocious...

Activists Already Planning RNC Disruptions MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ― Shrouded in black, with a bandanna masking her face, the self-proclaimed anarchist slips into her combat boots and dashes through town, tossing a Molotov cocktail here, launching a bowling ball there. The YouTube video is more parody than threat: The flaming cocktail ignites a charcoal grill, and the bowling ball knocks down pins instead of crashing through a Navy recruiting office window. But as the video fades to black, the message onscreen is clear: "We're getting ready. What are you doing?" With less than 10 months to go before the Republican National...

Monday, November 12, 2007 Terror Teaser..."Babes of FARC" Heat Up Colombian Jungle Terror group hopes "Babes of FARC" wins over sympathizers. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) posted "Babes of FARC" photos to promote their communist revolutionary cause. The Colombian FARC terrorists released their calendar for 2007-2008.

Wasilla women indicted on Halloween theft charges HALLOWEEN CRIME: Eight children who were robbed testify. By ANDREW WELLNER PALMER -- Eight children whose candy was taken from them at gunpoint by two women on Halloween in Talkeetna, according to Alaska State Troopers, testified Thursday before a grand jury. Two women -- Kendra Grace Butts, 18, and Amber Marie Martin, 20, both of Wasilla -- were indicted Friday on seven counts of robbery, one of attempted robbery and eight of assault. If convicted, they face a maximum of 180 years each in prison. The minimum sentence for robbery with a gun...

11/09/2007 PAKISTAN Another attack on the giant Buddha of Swat In the valley of Swat, north western Pakistan, Islamic militants have launched a second attack in less than a month on the gigantic sacred statue. The head, shoulders and feet have been destroyed while the militants threaten a third and final attack. Islamabad (AsiaNews) – A group of Islamic militants have attacked for the second time in less than a month the giant Buddha carved in the rocks of Swat Valley, in north western Pakistan. Despite the many requests for greater protection, the government has failed to intervene in any...

Remembering Kristallnacht, the 'Night of Broken Glass' By Hilda Pierce November 9, 2007 Crystal Night is a beautiful name for an evil event that took place in Austria and Germany on the night of Nov. 9, 1938. It was orchestrated on the orders of Adolph Hitler's minister of propaganda, Josef Goebbels. Adolf Eichmann also had a part in organizing the “Night of Broken Glass,” the night of burning synagogues, smashing windows of Jewish stores, looting, killing or torturing Jews on the streets and in their homes, 69 years ago today. It is a historical date because it was also the...

Dispute rages over al-Durrah footage By Martin Patience BBC News, Jerusalem They were images broadcast all over the world. The TV footage of a young Palestinian boy, Muhammad al-Durrah, and his father cowering in front of a wall as Israeli forces and Palestinians exchanged gunfire at a crossroads in Gaza. The 12-year-old Muhammad was killed during the incident in September 2000. For Palestinians and many people around the world, the death - coming in the early weeks of the second Palestinian uprising - became a symbol of the brutality of the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza....