Amnesty International report highlights prejudices against Muslims

Muslims in several European countries face discrimination in daily life, the Amnesty International report says.

By Menekse Tokyay for Southeast European Times in Istanbul -- 30/04/12

The Amnesty International report urges European governments to overcome discriminative stereotypes and prejudices against their Muslim communities. [Amnesty International]

Amnesty International published a report titled "Choice and Prejudice: Discrimination against Muslims in Europe," explaining how Muslims in several European countries face discrimination in daily life, especially with employment and education.

The report urges European governments to overcome discriminative stereotypes and prejudices against their Muslim communities.

Although it covers Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, the report also criticises Turkey for discrimination in the education sphere on religious grounds.

"The strong secular tradition established in Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country, from the founding of the republic has resulted in restrictions on the wearing of specific

Kidnapped British Red Cross doctor found beheaded in Pakistan

The beheaded body of a kidnapped British doctor working for the International Committee of the Red Cross was found dumped by the roadside on Sunday in the southwestern Pakistan city of Quetta, police and Red Cross officials said.

Khalil Rasjed Dale, 60, was abducted by suspected militants on Jan. 5 while on his way home from work.

“The ICRC condemns in the strongest possible terms this barbaric act,” ICRC Director-General Yves Daccord said in a statement. “All of us at the ICRC and at the British Red Cross share the grief and outrage of Khalil’s family and friends.”

British Foreign

A Look Inside The First-Round NBA Matchups

Sure, basketball is a team sport, but NBA games are often won and lost by individual matchups. Here are five to watch in the first round of the playoffs.

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LeBron James vs. Carmelo Anthony

Anthony averaged 29.8 points in April for the New York Knicks, but that was largely against power forwards he had quickness advantages on. Now he has to deal with James, his longtime friend and Olympic teammate who held him to only two baskets in the fourth quarter of the Miami Heat's 93-85 victory at Madison Square Garden on April 15.

What they're saying: "Carmelo Anthony is the best scorer in the NBA, but LeBron James is arguably the best defender in the NBA. (James) can shut (Anthony) down to where he won't be getting 30 or 40 a game against LeBron." — TNT analyst Charles Barkley.

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Kevin Garnett vs. Josh Smith

Garnett is now playing center for the Boston Celtics, so technically Brandon Bass would line up against Smith. But Garnett is still one of the NBA's elite defenders and will need

NHL-size arena gets go ahead north of Toronto

The plans for a new arena in the Greater Toronto Area to compete with the Air Canada Centre took another step forward Thursday night when the Markham town council approved a financial partnership between its principals and the town.

Graeme Roustan, the chairman of Bauer Performance Sports Ltd., and prominent developer Rudy Bratty are the driving forces behind GTA Sports and Entertainment Ltd., the company which plans to build the 20,000-seat arena and surrounding development on land owned by Markham and Bratty along Highway 407 between Warden Avenue and Kennedy Road.

While Roustan’s group and Markham officials say the $325-million

Will Organic Food Fail to Feed the World?

NEW AGRICULTURE: In order to both feed more people and preserve the environment, new methods of farming will be needed. Image: © iStockphoto.com / Yin Yang

Supplemental Material Listen to this Podcast Audio Can Swine Flu Be Blamed on Industrial Farming? Listen to this Podcast Audio The Future of Farming

Food for hungry mouths, feed for animals headed to the slaughterhouse, fiber for clothing and even, in some cases, fuel for vehicles—all derive from global agriculture. As a result, in the world's temperate climes human agriculture has supplanted 70 percent of grasslands, 50 percent of savannas and 45 percent of temperate forests. Farming is also the leading cause of deforestation in the tropics and one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas

Social media shaping Serbia's elections

Outreach from political parties via social media has generated great interest, but critics question whether the connections between voters and office holders last beyond the election.

By Bojana Milovanovic for Southeast European Times in Belgrade -- 25/04/12

Serbia's most popular social network, Facebook, has become a significant election tool and a competitive political arena for candidates. [Reuters]

Social media networks have become a significant political battleground ahead of the May 6th local and presidential elections, and the main contenders in the tight election race -- the ruling Democratic Party and the opposition Serbian Progressive Party -- are making one last effort to attract voters via the internet.

"There is a noticeable and sudden rise of interest in being present in social

12th Military Member Tied To Prostitution Scandal

The Secret Service prostitution scandal grew Monday to include a 12th member of the U.S. military as the Pentagon suspended the security clearances of all the military personnel who have been implicated. The Secret Service has also taken action against 12 of its employees.

Three Defense Department officials said the 12th military person involved was in Colombia in advance of President Barack Obama's arrival for the Summit of the Americas and was assigned to the White House Communications Agency, a military unit that provides secure communications for the president. The defense officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said he is an enlisted man. One of the officials said he is in the Army.

Another of the officials said the soldier has been relieved of his duties at the White House.

Meanwhile, the White House still faced fire Monday because of the prostitution scandal. It moved anew to keep itself at arm's length in two ways. Led by its top lawyer, the White House internally investigated and then ruled out misconduct by the White House staff members who helped arrange the president's trip ahead of his arrival in Colombia. Obama's chief spokesman, Jay Carney, sought to make clear that the "White House Communications Agency," which has now been implicated by the widening

Tirana opens museum wing depicting 'communist terror'

Thousands of people are flocking to an exhibit on arguably Albania's darkest chapter, the 46 years of Enver Hoxha's regime.

By Erl Murati for Southeast European Times in Tirana -- 23/04/12

The Tirana exhibit chronicles the events and evils perpetrated against the public under dictatorial rule. [Erl Murati/SETimes.]

"Set up prisons and concentration camps to imprison all those who were against us during the war." This was the urgent order that Albanian communist leader Enver Hoxha gave to partisan commander Dali Ndreu, on 17 November 1944, Tirana's liberation day. It was this order that established the foundations of the totalitarian regime in Albania, one of the cruelest in Europe. The commander who executed Hoxha's order was later shot himself, along with his pregnant

Downing Street visit for Football Agent Baljit

BRITISH Asian football agent Baljit Rihal rubbed shoulders with the Prime Minister as Downing Street celebrated the Sikh festival of Vaisakhi.

Blajit, also co-founder of the Asian Football Awards, was amongst a select list of prominent UK Sikhs invited by Prime Minister David Cameron to a Vaisakhi reception at 10 Downing Street.

Baljit earned his invitation by playing a prominent role in promoting young footballing talent from amongst the Asian community. By casting a light on the Asian communities participation with the sport, Baljit hopes to tackle the issues holding back many from reaching the top professional levels of the sport.

To this end Baljit co founded the Asian Football Awards, which this year held its inaugural awards ceremony at Wembley

Be a leading lady in one of spring's dramatic jackets

Alfred Hitchcock may have been the undisputed master of cinematic suspense, but he certainly made clear what he valued in a leading lady: an icy-cool, put-together exterior suggesting a buried, boiling passion. It’s an archetype that still resonates today.

Within the next year, we will see it on display in at least two movies about Hitchcock and his sharp, studied blondes: The Girl (a Sienna Miller vehicle about the director’s obsessive and often turbulent relationship with Tippi Hedren) and the laboriously titled (for now) Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, starring Anthony Hopkins and Scarlett Johansson.

Even the fashion scene is rife with references both direct and oblique to Hitchcock’s restrained ideal. Most prominently, nothing completes the sartorial picture as perfectly this spring as a prim, architectural coat or jacket. At Louis Vuitton, rounded shoulders on stiff yet voluminous silhouettes channel 1950s swing coats, while toppers from Jil Sander are meticulously tailored,

A Broken Sense of Self Underlies Eating Disorders (preview)

Image: Steve Niedorf Photography/Getty Images

In Brief

Difficulty with interoception—sensing your body’s internal state—plays a leading role in the development of anorexia, bulimia and body dysmorphic disorder. Those who lack a keen awareness of their own hunger, pain and body temperature seem to be easily swayed by the opinions of others. One way to shore up interoceptive awareness is to practice mindfulness, a mental mode characterized by attending fully to the present moment without elaboration or judgment.

Nell (not her real name) was shivering, but she did not realize she was cold. Only when a colleague pointed out her goose bumps

Weekly Unemployment Claims Dip

The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits dipped last week but remained higher than it's been in recent weeks. The rise in applications in the past two weeks could signal that the job market is slowing.

The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications declined 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 386,000. The previous week's data was revised up 8,000 to 388,000.

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose 5,500 to 374,750. That's the highest level in three months. But it still 9 percent lower than the level from September.

Applications have started to level off in recent weeks

Chinese Journalist: Bo Xilai Had History Of Bribes

China is gripped by a tale of murder, betrayal, flight and intrigue that threatens the stability of the entire nation. At its heart is the death of a 41-year-old British businessman in a hotel room in the city of Chongqing last fall. The scandal has brought down a high-flying Chinese politician, Chongqing's party secretary Bo Xilai, and his wife, with China's state-run media hinting at their corruption and abuse of power.

The death of an Englishman overseas has rarely had such fallout. In the British Parliament on Tuesday, Foreign Secretary William Hague referred to Neil Heywood's death, saying, "We are pursuing this extremely carefully, but vigorously."

To make sure he got promotions, Bo Xilai used all his powers as Dalian mayor to bribe other princelings.

- Chinese journalist Jiang Weiping

The U.S. also has been drawn in. The scandal first broke when Bo's former police chief, Wang Lijun, sought asylum at an American consulate in Chengdu, about 100 miles away from Chongqing, in early February. Hague confirmed Tuesday that Wang was bearing details about Heywood's suspicious death in November. Wang was refused asylum, and is now in Chinese custody.

Then last week, Beijing made a stunning official announcement on state-run television. Heywood, it said, had been murdered, and the prime suspect was the woman dubbed China's Jackie Kennedy: Gu Kailai, Bo's wife. She had been close with Heywood, but "they had conflict over economic interests, which had been intensified," according to the official statement.

Gu is being held by the judicial authorities under suspicion of murder.

So who was Neil Heywood? He had moved to China more than a decade ago, initially living in the northern city of Dalian at a time when Bo was mayor. Heywood had done some work for Hakluyt, the British intelligence company. He also forged ties with the Bo family, helping organize the education of Bo's son, Bo Guagua, who studied at the exclusive British boarding schools Papplewick and Harrow.

Kerry Brown, a China expert at the London think tank Chatham House, says he met Heywood several times over a decade.

Enlarge AP

British businessman Neil Heywood, seen in April 2011, was found dead in a hotel room in the Chinese city of Chongqing in November. An official announcement last week said Gu Kailai, the wife of Bo Xilai, is suspected of murder.

AP

British businessman Neil Heywood, seen in April 2011, was found dead in a hotel room in the Chinese city of Chongqing in November. An official announcement last week said Gu Kailai, the wife of Bo Xilai, is suspected of murder.

Fans proclaim innocence, blame police at first session of Egypt soccer deaths trial

Fans charged in Egypt's deadliest soccer riot declared their innocence in the first session of their trial Tuesday, directing their anger toward police, widely believed to have collaborated in the killing of 75 supporters of a rival team.

Nine senior officers, including six police generals and a colonel, are among the 73 people charged in the case. The officers were present in the courtroom, dressed in traditional white defendant outfits, but they were not held in the courtroom cage with the rest of those on trial.

If the police are convicted, it would further fuel widespread speculation that the country's much-despised Interior Ministry force allowed the bloody Feb. 1 attack on a fans of a soccer club with which they have a long antagonistic history.

Most of the defendants are fans of Al-Masry, the main sports club in the Mediterranean city

'Bubble Witch saga' game blows up on Facebook

European startup King.com has overtaken video-games giant Electronic Arts on Facebook, with almost 10 million people every day now playing its games that include Bubble Witch Saga on the social network.

The nine-year old company has experienced an explosion in popularity since launching on Facebook little over a year ago with its saga games, in which players move through a competitive landscape and pass their friends on the way.

The games appeal to a growing trend for players, more and more of them female, to play puzzle games with their friends in short bursts, especially as games are increasingly played on the move on phones or tablets to kill spare minutes.

Bubble Witch Saga, King.com's top Facebook game, now has more daily players than Zynga's hit game Farmville, in which players

Errani triumphant in Barcelona

Sara Errani claimed her second clay-court title of the season after easing to a 6-2 6-2 win over Dominika Cibulkova in the final of the Barcelona Open.

Both women had qualified with emphatic semi-final victories yesterday [Saturday], but with Cibulkova the third seed she entered the match as favourite.

However, Errani, seeded seventh, dominated throughout. The Italian world number 33 broke her opponent three times in each set after Cibulkova's serve deserted her.

World number 17 Cibulkova contributed to her own downfall, producing seven double faults and winning only 38% of the points.

For Errani, victory meant she added to

In Kent, murder, miracles and a Michelin-starred pub

In Kent County, it seems, all roads lead to Thomas Becket. My road began in London, at St. Pancras station, with Becket meant to be a detour en route to a Michelin-starred meal. But no lover of Western history and politics could stay away Canterbury Cathedral, from the chance to walk on the very spot that was once slick with the blood of the man who fought to keep the church out of the manoeuvring grasp of King Henry II. This detour was the perfect appetizer for, as I would soon find out, without Becket's murder, the restaurant I'd heard such accolades about simply wouldn't be.

It's just over an hour on the high-speed train to Canterbury West, where I had planned to take a guided tour of the famous cathedral. At Canterbury – this, not Westminster, is the Mother Church

Mica targets next generation shoppers with new look website

The Mica co-operative group has just gone live with brand new upgrade, featuring additional supplier resources alongside a contemporary new look for consumers.

The new look website is currently live, and Mica says there is more to come

A dynamic store-finder is one of the key features of the new site, improving marketing opportunities for Mica members. Users can now search for their nearest Mica store using a map tool, as well as being able to search for their local store by name and town and follow links to the member's website.

Mica ceo Steve Ball told DIY Week: "We're

US World Bank candidate tells board of directors he is not afraid of ‘challenging orthodoxies’

Jim Yong Kim promises rigor and objectivity

In a two and a half page address made public by the Treasury Department, Kim outlined the reasons why he believed his training as a public health expert and former president of Dartmouth College equipped him with the skills needed to take over the World Bank in June when current president Robert Zoellick steps down.

“You would find in me someone who asks hard questions about the status quo and is not

Fears Of Organ Failure For Hunger Strike Prisoner

In Bahrain, demonstrators are demanding the release of imprisoned activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja. He has been on hunger strike for more than two months and his family now fears for his health. Guest host Viviana Hurtado speaks with his daughter, Zainab al-Khawaja and Middle East expert, Joshua Landis.

Source: NPR : National Public Radio

Uruguay will enjoy “positive discrimination” in bilateral trade with Argentina

Cristina Fernandez and president Mujica at the Olivos residence for another round of talks

Following the unexpected trip to Buenos Aires by President Mujica following the usual Monday ministerial cabinet meeting, sources said that the measures will be implemented “in the framework of Mercosur, in the framework of procedures for asymmetries with small countries, and as an element of positive discrimination which means a preference for the Uruguayan economy in the measures imposed by Argentina”.

Deputy Economy

A Periodic Stress Meter

Image: © iStockphoto/PhaticPhotography

Supplemental Material Overview Everyday Stress Can Shut Down the Brain's Chief Command Center

Overwhelming stress cripples. Neuroscientists have begun to learn that even acute, everyday stress can turn off the brain’s command-and-control center, the prefrontal cortex. Without our  mental executive, we feel helpless and out of control.

The more we learn about stress, the more we realize that monitoring stress and taking steps to keep it under control is an important preventive health measure. Three Yale researchers—Amy Arnsten, Carolyn M. Mazure and Rajita Sinha—recount the state of stress science in the April issue with their article, “This Is Your Brain In Meltdown.” Follow up on your reading with this self-assessment test compiled by Sinha,  a gauge of  both perceived stress and physical signs of tension.

Perceived Stress:

Indicate with a check how often

Jays' Arencibia gets an early season break

He’s only 26, but even the legs of J.P. Arencibia have their limits.

With that in mind, along with looking ahead to the regular season home-opening series next week against the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Farrell has opted to rest his catcher for Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Indians.

Instead, Jeff Mathis will make his first appearance behind the plate for the team that obtained him in a trade during the off-season.

It will allow Arencibia to rest up a bit after he caught the first two Toronto games of the Cleveland series -- a 16-inning

US main ground beef processor files for bankruptcy following hamburger’ ‘pink slime’ controversy

Pink slime or ammonia hydroxide allegedly is used to kill pathogens in ground beef

Meat processors have faced a backlash over the use of an ammonia-hydroxide-treated beef filler they call “finely textured beef.” Food activists have campaigned to have it banned arguing the product was unappetizing, but supporters say the product is safe to eat.

AFA is one of the largest ground beef processors in the United States and produces more than 500 million pounds of ground

Christians mark Good Friday in the Holy Land

Roman Catholics and Protestants in the Holy Land commemorated the crucifixion of Jesus Christ Friday in prayers and processions through Jerusalem's Old City.

In the town of Beit Jala, adjacent to Bethlehem, Palestinian Catholics re-enacted Jesus' stations of the cross in their olive groves and vineyards. Father Ibrahim Shomali led the Good Friday procession in Arabic, wearing a white tunic and purple clerical shawl. Dozens of believers followed him, bearing Palestinian flags and olivewood crosses.

Several dozen Palestinian Christians conducted prayers on their farmlands this year, which sits between two Israeli settlements and along the route of Israel's planned separation

Everything makes me cry - is that weird?

The question: Everything makes me cry: corny movies, sad books, even greeting cards. Am I weird?

The answer: Last time I checked, “weird” was not a category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders … so being overly emotional is likely not a symptom of that.

But in all seriousness, being easily brought to tears can be reflective of a number of things.

First, it is important to appreciate that there are tremendous individual differences in our baseline levels of sensitivity, in the types of triggers that lead us to have emotional responses and in how those responses manifest outwardly (tears, anger, avoidance and so

Notch unveils Elite-inspired 0x10c

Notch has yet to release any screenshots of 0x10c, so here's a picture of spiritual predecessor Frontier: Elite II to be going on with.

Minecraft developer Markus 'Notch' Persson has revealed the first details of his next game, an Elite-inspired space trading game currently being developed under the name 0x10c.

Notch had previously provided details of the game as part of his April Fool's gag, in which he claimed to be failing to learn from his previous legal tussles with the launch of a spacefaring simulation dubbed Mars Effect.

Obviously, the title was a joke

Unasur delivers statement supporting Argentina’s Falklands claim to Ban-ki-moon

Maria Emma Mejia, Unasur secretary general

The symbolic gesture from the Union of South American Nations coincides with the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the war between Argentina and Britain, when Argentine forces invaded the Falklands 2 April, and also with a strong diplomatic offensive from the government of President Cristina Fernandez to try and convince the UK to discuss the issue of the Islands sovereignty following on UN resolutions.

According to an official release from the

Unasur delivers statement supporting Argentina’s Falklands claim to Ban-ki-moon

Maria Emma Mejia, Unasur secretary general

The symbolic gesture from the Union of South American Nations coincides with the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the war between Argentina and Britain, when Argentine forces invaded the Falklands 2 April, and also with a strong diplomatic offensive from the government of President Cristina Fernandez to try and convince the UK to discuss the issue of the Islands sovereignty following on UN resolutions.

According to an official release from the

Arrests increase on the border as Serbia's election nears

The Serb gendarmerie arrested two Kosovo police officers on Saturday, the same day that four Serbian police officers arrested in February by Kosovo police were released.

By Linda Karadaku for Southeast European Times in Pristina -- 02/04/12

Serbian forces arrest two armed police officers from Kosovo near the Merdare border crossing point between Kosovo and Serbia on Saturday (March 31st). [Reuters]

Tensions on the Kosovo-Serbia border are increasing as Serbia's May 6th election approaches.

Two Kosovo policemen, Shukri Binaku and Sami Beqiri, were arrested on Saturday (March 31st) by the Serb gendarmerie at the Merdare border crossing. Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said "the incursion of the two KPS [Kosovo Police] members constituted a drastic violation of the Military Technical Agreement signed in Kumanovo in 1999," B92 reported.

"What are they doing in the territory of central Serbia and what agreement does that fall under?" Dacic

Three players (and the tax man) share largest lottery jackpot in US history

Winners could receive either a one-time payment of their share or take it in 26 annual instalment payments.

A pre-dawn call alerted Denise Metzger, manager of a Motomart convenience store, to news from lottery officials that her store had sold a winning ticket in the tiny farming community of Red Bud in southern Illinois, with less than 4,000 residents, about 30 miles southeast of St. Louis.

“I screamed, I woke my husband up,” said Metzger, whose retail outlet will