Waterloo ( 5-1 ) ..in Barcelona ..[ 1804 ]

              Barcelona 5 - Panathinaikos 1            

The meeting for the Champions League between Barcelona and Panathinaikos started with ..hopes when the  score became 0-1 however this lasted for only two minutes....

In the continuation Barcelona scored for 5 times non withstanding the penalty lost...

France bans burqa..[ 1803 ]

French senate approves burqa ban

By the CNN Wire Staff

September 14, 2010 -- Updated 1855 GMT (0255 HKT)

A woman wearing a niqab veil participates in a protest against a ban earlier this year in Tours, central France.

Paris, France (CNN) -- The French senate approved Tuesday a law banning any veils that cover the face -- including the burqa, the full-body covering worn by some Muslim women -- making France the first European country to plan such a measure.
The law passed by a vote of 246 to 1, with about 100 abstentions coming essentially from left-leaning politicians.
The legislation was overwhelmingly approved by the lower house of parliament in July and will go into effect next spring.
French people back the ban by a margin of more than four to one, the Pew Global Attitudes Project found in a survey earlier this year.
Some 82 percent of people polled approved of a ban, while 17 percent disapproved. That was the widest support the Washington-based think tank found in any of the five countries it surveyed.
Clear majorities also backed burqa bans in Germany, Britain and Spain, while two out of three Americans opposed it, the survey found.
A panel of French lawmakers recommended a ban last year, and lawmakers unanimously passed a non-binding resolution in May calling the full-face veil contrary to the laws of the nation.
"Given the damage it produces on those rules which allow the life in community, ensure the dignity of the person and equality between sexes, this practice, even if it is voluntary, cannot be tolerated in any public place," the French government said when it sent the measure to parliament in May.
The law imposes a fine of 150 euros ($190) and/or a citizenship course as punishment for wearing a face-covering veil. Forcing a woman to wear a niqab or a burqa will be punishable by a year in prison or a 15,000-euro ($19,000) fine, the government said, calling it "a new form of enslavement that the republic cannot accept on its soil."
The French Council of State has warned that the ban could be incompatible with international human rights laws and the country's own constitution. The council advises on laws, but the government is not required to follow its recommendations.
The ban pertains to the burqa, a full-body covering that includes a mesh over the face, and the niqab, a full-face veil that leaves an opening only for the eyes. The hijab, which covers the hair and neck but not the face, and the chador, which covers the body but not the face, apparently are not banned by the law.
However, a 2004 law in France bans the wearing or displaying of overt religious symbols in schools -- including the wearing of headscarves by schoolgirls.
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life estimates that France has about 3.5 million Muslims, or about 6 percent of the population.

France does not keep its own statistics on religious affiliation of the population, in keeping with its laws requiring the state to be strictly secular.

CNN's Saskya Vandoorne contributed to this report.

EU against France over Roma,,[ 1802 ]

EU may take legal action against France over Roma

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EU Commissioner Reding said her patience was wearing thin

EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding has urged the European Commission to take legal action against France over its deportations of Roma (Gypsies).

BBC  14 September 2010 Last updated at 16:21 GMT
Ms Reding called French actions a "disgrace". She deplored the fact that a leaked official memo contradicted assurances given to her by France.
France voiced "astonishment" in response to her statement on Tuesday.
It deported nearly 230 Roma on Tuesday alone, flying them to Romania from Paris and Marseille.

“Start Quote

This is not a minor offence... After 11 years of experience in the Commission, I even go further: this is a disgrace”

End Quote Viviane Reding EU Justice Commissioner

Nearly 160 were flown out of the French capital to Bucharest, and 69 out of Marseille, AFP news agency reports.

All had agreed to be repatriated in exchange for cash payments of about 330 euros ($423, £274) per adult and 100 euros per child.
More than 1,000 people have been deported to Romania and Bulgaria since late July, when President Nicolas Sarkozy linked illegal Roma camps to crimes such as prostitution and child exploitation.

Critics see the law-and-order crackdown as a way for Mr Sarkozy to boost his flagging popularity amid discontent over government cutbacks.

The BBC's Oana Lungescu in Brussels says Ms Reding's rebuke amounted to incredibly strong language from a European commissioner about a big member state.
EU disciplinary action against France could lead to substantial fines.

France denies that the expulsions target an ethnic group, saying they are done on a case-by-case basis. It also insists that most of them are voluntary.
 

Court case? Last week Euro MPs accused the Commission of failing to protect the Roma deported from France.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Ms Reding said she would propose legal proceedings by the Commission over France's treatment of the Roma and that a Commission decision would be taken within two weeks.

 

France has dismantled many illegal Roma camps in recent weeks

The case would then go before the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, she said.
France is accused of violating EU law, which bans discrimination against any ethnic group or nationality.
"I am personally convinced that the Commission will have no choice but to initiate infringement proceedings against France," Ms Reding said.
"The role of the Commission as guardian of the treaties is made extremely difficult if we can no longer have confidence in the assurances given by two ministers in a formal meeting," she said.

"This is not a minor offence in a situation of this importance. After 11 years of experience in the Commission, I even go further: this is a disgrace," she said.

Recently French Immigration Minister Eric Besson and Minister for Europe Pierre Lellouche briefed Ms Reding on France's handling of the Roma issue.
On Monday the French press published a leaked French official memo suggesting the Roma had been specifically targeted by the authorities.
The memo contradicted assurances to EU officials from Mr Besson and Mr Lellouche that immigrants were being treated on a case-by-case basis.
The order, dated 5 August, was sent from the interior ministry to regional police chiefs.

 

A leaked circular called for 300 camps or illegal settlements to be cleared within three months

 

"Three hundred camps or illegal settlements must be cleared within three months, Roma camps are a priority," it said.
Mr Besson told France 2 television on Monday that he was "not aware of this circular".
Last week the European Parliament urged the French government to halt the deportations - a call rejected by Paris.
On Monday Mr Lellouche told the BBC he was "sick and tired" of the criticism directed at France over the Roma.
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero called Ms Reding's statement unhelpful on Tuesday.
"We don't think that with this type of statement, that we can improve the situation of the Roma, who are at the heart of our concerns and our action," he said.

Japan: The deployment of MV-22 Osprey aircraft..[ 1801 ]

Japan secretly negotiating with U.S. over deployment of MV-22 Osprey aircraft in Okinawa

The MV-22 Osprey vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (Photo taken from the United States Navy's official Web site)

 

(Mainichi Japan) September 14, 2010

Japan has apparently been secretly negotiating with the United States over the deployment of the MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft to an alternative facility for a key U.S. base in Okinawa Prefecture, despite its earlier denial of the deployment plan, it has emerged.

With deployment of the MV-22 Osprey vertical takeoff and landing aircraft in mind, the Japanese government had considered reviewing the environmental impact assessment of the relocation site of the U.S. Marine Corps' Air Station Futenma -- planned to be off the coast of the Henoko district of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture -- and reached a conclusion that it would need around six months of additional research.

Until recently, the Japanese government continued to deny that a plan existed to deploy the Osprey, but it had actually been working on the base relocation issue while discussing the deployment plan behind the scenes.

The environmental impact assessment of the plan -- in which Japan and the United States agreed in 2006 to use two runways in a V-shaped formation -- began in August 2007 under the Okinawa prefectural ordinance and is currently in its final phase, where an evaluation report will be compiled. For the assessment, the Japanese government had collected data by actually flying helicopters.

There is a possibility that local residents will be exposed to the louder noise of the Osprey than helicopters as the aircraft is expected to fly closer to land than previously assumed as it needs more space to hover. There have already been accusations from the Okinawan side that the assessment should be thoroughly reviewed.

However, under the prefectural ordinance and its enforcement regulations, there are two required conditions to review the assessment -- when the length of runways is increased by more than 20 percent and when the heliport area grows by more than 10 hectares. 

The Japanese government has determined that neither of the cases will apply to its base relocation plan even if there are changes in flight paths and aircraft.

Okinawa Prefectural Government officials are showing their reluctance to accept the Osprey deployment. Discussions on the relocation issue are expected to become more tangled as the faction of Nago Mayor Susumu Inamine -- who is against of the base relocation -- won a majority in the Sept. 12 city assembly election.

Click here for the original Japanese story

(Mainichi Japan) September 14, 2010

NASA Image of the Day, Seo 14th ..[ 1800 [

The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.

This Planet Smells Funny

Giant planet GJ 436b in the constellation Leo is missing something--and that something is swamp gas. To the surprise of astronomers who have been studying the Neptune-sized planet using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, GJ 436b has very little methane--an ingredient common to many planets in our own solar system. 

This artist's concept shows the unusual, methane-free world partially eclipsed by its star. Models of planetary atmospheres indicate that any world with the common mix of hydrogen, carbon and oxygen, and a temperature up to 1,000 Kelvin (1,340 degrees Fahrenheit) should have a large amount of methane and a small amount of carbon monoxide. 

But at about 800 Kelvin (or 980 degrees Fahrenheit), GJ 436b it does not. The finding demonstrates the diversity of exoplanets and the need for further study. 

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Τρίτη, 14 Σεπτέμβριος 2010 7:00:00 πμ