Here is an interesting follow-up to my recent article on Christians in Algeria, and the specific case of Habiba Kouider, prosecuted for carrying Bibles in her handbag. The news of her trial has received world-wide attention, since the US State Department has mentioned it in its on-line report on Algeria. Not surprisingly the French authorities are also well aware of the event. Secretary of State for Human Rights, Rama Yade, has made some comments on the case as reported by the Catholic newspaper La Croix:

George Handlery on the week that was. Dutch insensitivity and Swiss cruelty. Rephrase the non-proliferation treaty to fit Iran. Ahmadinedjad finds the enemy lurking in the dark. Some find the courage to ignore the Dalai Lama. Does not voting for Obama make one a racist?
 
1. The Dutch are not exactly noted for their persecutions. A posting reports that now they are introducing a test for immigrants to be applied abroad. It is to assess whether the candidates have the ability to fit into Dutch society. A reader responded with the question why non-developed countries do not administer similar tests. These could be used to determine which foreign experts and specialist willing to relocate might fit local culture. The answer is simple. Those that are carriers of skills are needed where they are invited to become active. The bearers of know-how are asked to enter places that need the societal contribution they can make. Analogously, patients do not ask their surgeons to take a history quiz before they operate.

On Friday evening (today), riots broke out in the streets of Brussels between Moroccan youths and supporters of football club RSC Anderlecht. On Thursday evening, a blog had called for attacks on the "white" supporters of the club, and "to burn pubs, houses and cars."

A quote from The Sheffield Telegraph, 20 May 2008

A sex swap instructor at an all-female driving school was left devastated when the Sheffield husband of one of her pupils threatened to sue her firm – for sending a man to teach his Muslim wife.

Emma Sherdley – formerly a married dad of two called Andrew but now legally a woman – […] has a birth certificate and a "gender recognition certificate" to prove her legal status as a woman […]. She is being backed by her boss, Laugh n Pass owner Joanne Dixon, who says the man had called her to accuse the firm of sending a man disguised as a woman because he was a Muslim. […]

A quote from News24.com, 20 May 2008

The United Nations will send nearly a quarter of a million condoms into cyclone-hit Myanmar to help needy survivors with no access to contraceptives, a UN official says. So far, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) said it had sent 72 800 condoms to survivors struggling to maintain their family planning after the storm hit in early May. […] Cyclone Nargis left at least 133 000 people dead and missing

A quote from Der Spiegel, 22 May 2008

Ahmad O. stabbed his sister more than 20 times because the 16-year-old girl didn't live her life according to his values. Women's rights advocate Seyran Ates is now calling for German society to intensify its efforts to stop honor killings. […] [Morsal O.] was murdered on Friday, May 9. Her 23-year-old brother Ahmad, with the help of a cousin, lured her to a parking lot near a subway station in the German port city of Hamburg under a false pretense and stabbed her 20 times with a knife. […]

According to the latest poll, 35% of voters in the Republic of Ireland intend to vote “Yes” to the Lisbon treaty on 12 June, while 18% intend to vote “No.” 47% say they do not know which way they will vote. A poll conducted in January showed that 24% were in favour of the treaty, 10% against, with 64% undecided. An unscientific poll on the web site of a leading Irish daily newspaper revealed that 88% of those who expressed a view online said they felt under-informed about the content of what they were being asked to vote on.

A quote from The Jerusalem Post, 21 May 2008

The French Court of Appeals on Wednesday found in favor of Jewish activist Philippe Karsenty, overturning a lower court decision that he had libeled France 2 and its Jerusalem correspondent Charles Enderlin when he accused them of knowingly misleading the watching world about the death of the Palestinian child Muhammad al-Dura in the Gaza Strip in 2000.

A quote from the press agency AnsaMed, 21 May 2008

For the first time in Algeria a trial against an Algerian woman converted to Christianity was launched yesterday in Tiaret (400 km west of Algiers). The woman was accused of having “practised a non-Muslim prayer without authorisation”. In fact, the girl was not arrested while praying, but on a bus and because of some gospels that she had with her. […] According to the daily [El Watan], Habiba, under 30 and converted to Christianity for four years, would not renounce her religion just to avoid the court. […] “Did they make you drink from the water which will carry you straight to paradise?”, the judge in court asked yesterday.

A quote from The Local [Sweden], 21 May 2008

Two people have been taken into custody on suspicions of preparing acts of sabotage at the Oskarshamn nuclear plant on Wednesday morning, according to police and plant operators, reports the Kvällsposten newspaper. [...] “The explosive material has been taken care of by ... police and apparently it is highly explosive, probably TATP," [Sven-Erik Karlsson of the Kalmar county police] said. TATP is relatively easy to make and has surfaced in a number of recent terrorism investigations, including bombings in the Middle East and the London bombings in July 2005. […] Swedish Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren said Wednesday’s security scare was a wakeup call. “This reminds us of how vulnerable nuclear power can be to sabotage attempts and other human failures,” he told the regional daily Kvällsposten’s website.