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Pirates 'bring shame on Somalia'

Just ran across this story: .

I think they have it wrong - it is the world's shame that brought pirates to Somalia.

The Somali pirates at one point were honest do good hard working fishermen when major ship companies decided that it was ok to dump toxic waste off the shores of Somalia - and since Somalis had no functioning government (a situation which was also facilitated by the world at large), there was no one to stop the illegal dumping of waste.

Britain to change war crimes laws to allow senior Israeli government officials into the UK

Something that should have been posted about last week when it was announced.

Until now, former senior Israeli government officials have shied away from making public visits to the UK, and even last weeks visit by Tzipi Livni needed special consideration to be safely allowed into the UK :

The Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni has avoided the possibility of prosecution in a British court for war crimes after the Foreign Office declared that she enjoys temporary diplomatic immunity.

Muslim woman among one of three women to recieve Nobel peace prize in 2011

Three women have been jointly awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for their non-violent struggles for women's rights. Here are profiles of the three: Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee - an activist from Liberia, and Tawakul Karman, a Yemeni rights activist.

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Israel to kick out 30,000 bedouin arabs.

hile attention is focused on the Palestinian Authority’s UN recognition initiative, Israel is quietly taking hugely significant steps to transfer 30,000 Palestinian Bedouin in the Naqab (Negev) desert from their ancestral lands.

Recently, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, approved plans for another large-scale cleansing of the Bedouin community in the Naqab. The plan would “relocate” 30,000 of those who managed to remain on their land after more than two thirds of all Bedouin were uprooted during the establishment of Israel.

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Al-Qaida calls on Ahmadinejad to end 9/11 conspiracy theories

Terrorist organisation's magazine reportedly says it is 'ridiculous' for Iran's president to blame the attacks on the US government

Al-Qaida has sent a message to the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, asking him to stop spreading conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attacks.

Iranian media on Wednesday reported quotes from what appears to be an article published in the latest issue of the al-Qaida English language magazine, Inspire, which described Ahmadinejad's remarks over the 11 September attacks as "ridiculous".

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Saudi women get the vote! Takbeer!

Women in Saudi Arabia are to be given the right to vote and run in future municipal elections, King Abdullah has announced.

He said they would also have the right to be appointed to the consultative Shura Council.

The move was welcomed by activists who have called for greater rights for women in the kingdom, which enforces a strict version of Sunni Islamic law.

The changes will occur after municipal polls on Thursday, the king said.

King Abdullah announced the move in a speech at the opening of the new term of the Shura Council - the formal body advising the king, whose members are all appointed.

Palestinians go to the UN.

Mahmood Abbas has of the UN.

He went to the UN where I was certain he would bottle it and just try and defend his own.. stature.

Maybe this will be the first day of many where the Palesinias finally regain dignity.

But there are hurdles.

First this may not go through the security council - the US has been applying on members of the security council to reject the proposal, and if they dont, the US has vowed to veto the proposal.

Even agreement, it means very little if nothing changes on the ground.

But in the face of no hope, this is a great step at showing a peaceful way to the state.

Supernova explosion will be visible from UK

Astronomers say light from supernova of dying star 21m light years away can be seen with binoculars or telescope

An exploding star in a galaxy far from Earth should be visible from Britain soon after twilight this evening. Amateur astronomers will be able to observe the flicker of light from its violent death throes through a good pair of binoculars or a telescope, clear skies permitting.

The supernova – the nearest of its kind to be spotted in 40 years – lies in the Pinwheel galaxy, 21m light years from Earth.

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Shafilea Ahmed parents charged over suspected 'honour killing'

The parents of Shafilea Ahmed, the victim of a suspected "honour killing" almost eight years ago, have been charged with murder and appeared before magistrates on Wednesday.

Shafilea, 17, disappeared from her home town of Warrington, Cheshire, in September 2003.

Her badly decomposed remains were found in February 2004 on the banks of the River Kent in Cumbria, following a flood.

She had hoped to study law at university and become a solicitor. Her inquest heard that the most likely cause of death was strangulation or suffocation.

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