Israel's supreme court has overturned jail terms given to a group of ultra-Orthodox Jewish mothers for disobeying a court order on school integration.
They had refused to let their daughters attend school with girls from a different Jewish background.
Last week, ultra-orthodox Jews staged one of the biggest protests against the state of Israel.
The women, who were sentenced to two weeks in jail, belong to a strictly observant Ashkenazi sect.
The Ashkenazi parents refused to send their children to school with Jewish Sephardi girls, citing religious grounds as the reason.
Sephardi families are of Middle Eastern or North African origin.
'Special circumstances'
The Ashkenazi parents, who are of European descent, want segregated classrooms because they say the Sephardi families are not religious enough.
The court has exempted 13 of the mothers from jail to care for their children and allowed nine to delay serving their sentences until their jailed husbands returned home.
"These are mothers in special circumstances and they have been allowed to stay at home," a justice official told the AFP news agency.
Some of the women were said to be pregnant or have children with special needs, reports said.
Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews had protested against the original court ruling that ordered the women to return their daughters to the Beit Yaakov girls' school in the West Bank settlement of Immanuel.
Dozens of the families' fathers were jailed for defying the school integration ruling.
The families at the centre of the legal battle come from a strictly observant sect of Hasidic Jews called Slonim, who have Ashkenazi lineage.
They have pulled their children out of the school saying the less observant students would be a bad influence on them.
The parents do not allow influences such as televisions and the internet in their homes.
Since i wasnt able to post my comment onto Keerthana's blog, I decided to post it onto my blog.
I was shocked and disgusted while viewing this video. The behaviour of Ken Fells was completely unacceptable. Teachers and staff are supposed to be role models for their students. Although as a principal, one might have more rights than the other staff members, it does not allow them to take part in such acts of abuse/violence. Principals are the leaders of the school who have to ensure that there is a safe learning environment for the students. However, Ken Fells had clearly shown a lack in leadership. As Nancy had stated, the school board only permits physical contact with a student for self-defense. I do not find a reason for Ken Fells to have had physical contact with Josh Boutilier for having his cell phone out during school hours, when he could have simply asked him to put it away. There is absolutely no justifiable reason as to why an administrative staff member has to respond to a situation in such manner As a result of Ken Fells’ misuse of supremecy and his defiance of the school policy, I believe that he should be punished severely for his actions.
URL for article ; http://keerthana-rajkumar.blogspot.com/2010/06/halifax-principal-wrestles-student-to.html
Since i wasnt able to post my comment onto Deanna's blog, i decided to post it onto my blog.
In agreement with Deanna, Nancy & Alex, I feel that the idea proposed by the city council of Calgary is an excellent start towards going green. By establishing the $2.30 tag for the additional bag of garbage, many citizens will realize the initial amount of garbage they contribute during the time span of a week.
As stated above, I strongly agree that this rule should be implemented to the whole of Canada. Not only would it decrease the issues of garbage removal, it would also make us more aware of the amount of garbage we get rid of, which possibly in the future can reduce levels of garbage disposal.
URL for article ; http://deannacivics.blogspot.com/2010/06/extra-garbage-pickup-to-cost-calgarians.html
India's Supreme Court has said the government must explain what it is doing to prevent "honour killings".
The court order came as it heard a petition which said the authorities had "failed to prevent killings of couples and individuals in the name of honour".
Over the weekend two more couples were murdered in suspected honour killings - one in the capital, Delhi, and another in neighbouring Haryana state.
At least 30 people have died in such killings in the past 18 months.
Activists say dozens of cases of intimidation and torture of young couples have been recorded in the same period.
'On the rise'
Taking note of the rise in "honour crimes", the Supreme Court demanded responses from the the federal government and state governments of Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
The court said it wanted them to explain what steps they had taken to protect young couples who are being threatened by their families and communities.
In a petition filed in the court, Delhi-based non-governmental organisation Shakti Vahini says cases of "honour killings" have been on the rise in India but the authorities have "remained mute spectators".
The group has been researching cases of "honour killings" in Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh for the past year.
It is now calling for a stringent law against "honour killings".
Most victims are believed to have brought "dishonour" upon the family, clan or community by marrying outside of the rigid caste system.
Over the weekend, two more cases of suspected "honour killings" were reported.
In Delhi's Ashok Vihar area, Kuldeep (26) and his wife Monica (23) were found murdered. Police said the couple married four years ago despite objections from their families.
In the village of Nimiliwali in Haryana, two teenage lovers were found dead in the house of the girl's uncle. Police said Monika (18) and Rinku (19) were tortured before they were killed.
They said they were looking for Monika's father, brother, uncle and cousins who were suspected to be behind the crime.
Last week, a teenage girl and her boyfriend were murdered in Delhi's Swaroop Nagar area.
Asha Saini and Yogesh Kumar, both 19, were beaten with metal rods and then electrocuted, police said. The girl's parents, uncle, aunt and a cousin have been arrested in connection with the murders.
In April, five Haryana men were sentenced to death and one jailed for life over the 2007 murder of a young couple, Manoj and Babli.
Village elders said they had violated local customs by marrying within the same sub-caste.
Animal rights activists in the Catalonia region of Spain are pushing for the government to ban the custom of bullfighting, due to what they call the unnecessary suffering of the animal.
More than 180,000 Spaniards have already signed a petition calling for a complete ban on the tradition, forcing a debate to the parliament of Catalonia.
If the measure is approved, Catalonia would become the first region in Spain, outside of the Canary Islands, to ban bullfighting.
"I'm against any form of animal cruelty," animal rights activist, Leonardo Anselmi told CNN.
"We should start thinking about our relationship with animals. Also, when we display it publicly as a spectacle, it not only takes away the dignity of all animals, but the dignity of our own society."
However, many Spaniards have voiced their opposition to the ban, saying that the age-old tradition is something that needs to be preserved.
Luis Corrales is the president of the "Platform for the Defence of Bullfighting" - an organization arguing for the continuation of the blood sport.
"I definitely support bullfighting," Corrales said.
"I say yes to it, and want to emphasize the importance of having freedom of speech and freedom of choice."
In 2007, Spain's public television dropped live bullfighting from its schedule, reportedly because it was too bloody for children.
And last year, in southern Spain, a Gallup poll found that three-quarters of those surveyed oppose bullfighting although only half of that total wanted a complete ban.
Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- The death toll from Friday's attacks on a religious minority in Lahore has risen to 98, officials said Saturday.
The strikes with bombs and firearms took place at two mosques in Lahore belonging to the Ahmadi religious group, police and rescue officials said.
At the Baitul Noor place of worship in the Model Town region, two attackers on motorbikes fired at the entrance of the building and tossed hand grenades, a rescue official told CNN. Police said one of the attackers was critically injured. The other, clad in a suicide jacket, was detained.
At a mosque in the Garhi Shahu neighborhood, one witness told CNN he saw two attackers armed with AK-47s, and another witness said he saw at least four gunmen. Sajjad Bhutta, the senior official, said the heads of three suicide bombers were discovered there.
Bhutta said more than 70 people were injured in the violence.
Ahmadis regard themselves as Muslim. But the government says they aren't, and many Muslim extremists have targeted them. Sunni and Shiite Muslims do not regard followers of the religion as Muslims because they do not regard Mohammed as the last prophet sent by God.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, a non-governmental organization, deplored the attacks and said it has warned the Punjab provincial government about threats to the Ahmadi community center in Model Town for more than a year. Lahore is the capital of Punjab province.
"An HRCP delegation had held meetings with Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif to apprise him of the situation and had demanded enhanced security measures to protect the vulnerable minority and its worship places. HRCP is of the view that though the Punjab government apparently took some steps to bolster the security ... they were not enough to face the well-coordinated and well-planned terrorist attack as witnessed on Friday," it said.
It urged the government "to provide foolproof security and protection to the Ahmadi community."
The movement was founded in 1889. Its followers believe that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) was sent by God as a prophet "to end religious wars, condemn bloodshed and reinstitute morality, justice and peace," the worldwide Ahmadi group says.
The group, which is thought to number between 3 million and 4 million people in the country, endures "the most severe legal restrictions and officially sanctioned discrimination" among Pakistan's religious minorities, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
The religious freedom commission, an independent, bipartisan U.S. government body, said in its latest annual report that "Ahmadis may not call their places of worship 'mosques,' worship in non-Ahmadi mosques or public prayer rooms which are otherwise open to all Muslims, perform the Muslim call to prayer, use the traditional Islamic greeting in public, publicly quote from the Koran, or display the basic affirmation of the Muslim faith."
The agency says it's illegal for the group to preach publicly, pursue converts or pass out religious material, and adherents are restricted from holding public conferences and traveling to Saudi Arabia for the hajj pilgrimage.
While the greatest number of its followers are in Pakistan and India, it has a presence in many European countries, such as Britain, where the religion's fifth and current spiritual head, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, resides.
Rome, Italy (CNN) -- A woman in Italy has been fined €500 ($653) for wearing a veil that covered a large part of her face, in violation of a local ordinance, an official in Novara, Italy, said Tuesday.
The woman, a native of Tunisia who lives in northeastern Italy, was wearing a niqab, a veil favored by ultra-religious Muslim women that covers the whole face but leaves an opening for the eyes. A police officer asked her to identify herself but she and her husband declined to remove the niqab, said Mauro Frazinelli, a city official in Novara.
The city has an ordinance preventing people from wearing clothes that cover the face and full body. The fine marked the first time the ordinance was enforced, Frazinelli said.
The incident happened Saturday when the woman, who was not named, was standing in line outside a post office with her husband, also a Tunisian native, Frazinelli said.
When the couple refused to remove the niqab, the policeman called over a female officer, who was allowed to see the woman's face and verify her identity, Frazinelli said.
The woman was fined €500 Monday, he said.
Both the husband and wife are legal immigrants and had proper documentation, he said. The husband, 36, is a construction worker and the wife is in her 20s, he said.
Under a 1975 national anti-terrorism law, Italy prohibits the covering of one's face in public places.
In January of this year, Novara Mayor Massimo Giordano and the city council passed an ordinance prohibiting the wearing of clothes that fully hide the face of either men or women. The ordinance does not specifically name traditional Muslim garments such as the niqab or the burqa -- which completely covers the face and body -- nor does it mention Islam.
The ordinance applies only to the city of Novara, which has a population of about 100,000, out of which 8 percent are immigrants. Franzinelli said he estimates that about 4,000 to 5,000 Muslims live in Novara, and that most female Muslims either wear a veil, which covers the hair, or no head covering.
It is rare, he said, to see a woman wearing a niqab or burqa.
The mayor was prompted to push the ordinance after he saw children become frightened when a woman wearing a burqa went to their elementary school, Franzinelli said.
Giordano said of the ordinance, "It is the only way to favor integration."
Belgium's chamber of deputies last week passed a measure banning face coverings for women, which must still be approved by the senate and king before becoming law.
France is also mulling legislation that would ban face and head coverings for women.
Hello everyone :)
My name is Siv, and welcome to my civics blog !
On this blog, you will find a variety of online newspaper articles related to world politics. Underneath each article will be a comment by myself and/or my fellow classmates, regarding our views towards the content in the articles.
On the sidebar to your right, is a list of some of my classmate's blogs(which are similar to mine), which i have also commented on.