Tuesday, September 25, 2012
UN chief demands international action to stop war in Syria
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanded international action to stop the war in Syria, telling a sombre gathering of world leaders Tuesday that the 18-month conflict had become "a regional calamity with global ramifications."
In his state of the world speech at the opening of the U.N. General Assembly's annual ministerial meeting, Ban said he was sounding the alarm about widespread insecurity and injustice, inequality and intolerance in many countries.
Putting the spotlight on Syria, the U.N. chief said "the international community should not look the other way as violence spirals out of control."
Ban said the Syrian conflict is a serious and growing threat to international peace and security that requires attention from the deeply divided U.N. Security Council.
Russia and China have vetoed three Western-backed resolutions aimed at pressuring Syrian President Bashar Assad to end the violence and enter negotiations on a political transition, leaving the U.N.'s most powerful body paralyzed in what some diplomats say is the worst crisis since the U.S.-Soviet standoff during the Cold War.
The secretary-general also expressed profound concern at continuing violence in Afghanistan and Congo, increasing unrest across west Africa's Sahel region where al-Qaida has made inroads, and the "dangerous impasse" between Israelis and Palestinians that may close the door on the two-state solution.
The "shrill war talk" by Israel in recent weeks, in response to its belief that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, "has been alarming," Ban said, and Tehran's rhetoric threatening Israel's existence is unacceptable.
"Any such attacks would be devastating," he said, reminding the 193 U.N. member states of the need for peaceful solutions and respect for international law.
"Leaders have a responsibility to use their voices to lower tensions instead of raising the temperature and volatility of the moment," he said.
Alluding to the recently circulated amateur video made in the U.S. which attacks Islam and denigrates the Prophet Muhammad, Ban said that "in recent days we have seen hate speech and violent responses that perpetuate a cycle of blind violence."
He lamented that in the world today "too often, divisions are exploited for short-term political gain" and "too many people are ready to take small flames of difference and turn them into a bonfire."
The secretary-general said it's time for responsible political and community leaders and ordinary citizens to speak out.
"The moderate majority should not be a silent majority," Ban said. "It must empower itself, and say to bigots and extremists alike: 'you do not speak for us.'"
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/chief+demands+international+action+stop+Syria+which+regional/7295556/story.html#ixzz27UYRYjEU
China's first aircraft carrier enters service
China's first aircraft carrier has entered into service, the defence ministry says.
The 300m (990ft) Liaoning - named after the province where it was refitted - is a refurbished Soviet ship purchased from Ukraine.
For now the carrier has no operational aircraft and will be used for training.
But China says the vessel, which has undergone extensive sea trials, will increase its capacity to defend state interests.
China's Premier Wen Jiabao said the ship would have "a mighty and deep significance". It would be "a cause for patriotic passion", he said at a ceremony attended by top Chinese leaders at Dalian Port.
The delivery of the aircraft carrier comes at a time when Japan and other countries in the region have expressed concern at China's growing naval strength.
China and Japan are embroiled in a row over disputed islands in the East China Sea.
Several South-east Asian nations are also at odds with China over overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea.
It also comes weeks ahead of a party congress expected to see the transition of power to a new generation of Chinese leaders.'Defend interests'
The Liaoning was formally handed over to the navy at a ceremony in Dalian, state-run Xinhua news agency said.
"Having the aircraft carrier enter the ranks will be of important significance in raising the overall fighting capacity of our nation's navy to a modern level," the defence ministry said in a statement.
The vessel will "increase [China's] capacity to defend, develop its capacity to co-operate on the high seas in dealing with non-traditional security threats and will be effective in defending the interests of state sovereignty, security and development", it added.
The BBC's Damian Grammaticas took a look at the new carrier in June
The official commissioning of the country's first aircraft carrier signals China's status as a rising power, says the BBC's Damian Grammaticas in Beijing.
The country's Communist leaders are spending billions modernising their armed forces so they can project military power far beyond China's borders.
But China does not yet have a fleet of aircraft or pilots ready for carrier operations. So the Liaoning will be used to test and train them, a task that will probably take several years, our correspondent adds.
The Liaoning, formerly known as the Varyag, was constructed in the 1980s for the Soviet navy but was never completed.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the Varyag sat in Ukraine's dockyards.
A Chinese company with links to China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) bought the ship just as Soviet warships were being cut for scrap.
It said it wanted to turn the Varyag into a floating casino in Macau and in 2001 the ship was towed to China.
The Chinese military confirmed in June 2011 that it was being refitted to serve as the nation's first aircraft carrier.
Analysts say it will take years to outfit the carrier with aircraft and make it fully operational. But Chinese officials say that the Liaoning advances the country's military modernisation.
"The development of aircraft carriers is an important part of China's national defence modernisation, in particular its naval forces, and this aircraft carrier is an essential stepping stone toward its own more advanced aircraft carriers in the future," China's Rear Admiral Yang Yi wrote in the state-run China Daily newspaper.
The carrier will be mostly used "for scientific research and training missions" so China could build "a more advanced aircraft carrier platform in the future", he added.
BBC
Muslims want permanent prayer rooms in high schools
They can have a prayer room and christians cannot read the bible at any site of the school!!!
OTTAWA - While Ottawa high schools profess to offer prayer rooms for Muslim students, an Islamic leader says they don’t have a permanent space and are often relegated to small classrooms, if they can get space at all.
Washim Ahmed is the Islamic director of Carleton University’s Muslim Students’ Association and he leads a prayer service at more than half a dozen public high schools in Ottawa on Fridays.
But he said none of the schools have permanent prayer rooms, and they’re often shuffled between classrooms or the gym, depending on what’s available.
Sometimes, he said there simply isn’t a room they can use.
“That’s highly problematic because (students) don’t have any security knowing whether they’re getting the rooms or not,” Ahmed said. “If there’s a room available, they’ll get it, otherwise they don’t.”
A school in London, Ont., opened their first permanent prayer room earlier this week.
But the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board said they always offer a multi-faith prayer room when students ask for one.
There’s a demand for rooms at around 60% to 70% of their schools.
“They are only accessible during non-instruction time and are supervised by staff,” said Walter Piovesan, the board’s associate director of education.
He added none of the schools have permanent prayer rooms.
“While there may be no dedicated room, there is a duty to accommodate under the Ontario Charter of Human Rights,” he said.
But Ahmed argued the system is often disorganized, and Muslim students have to make arrangements each week to reserve a room.
“It’s happened in a couple of schools where I went to lead the prayer and I couldn’t find a prayer spot,” he said. “It’s not organized, it’s just random.”
The Catholic board said they offer quiet prayer space for any group upon request.
Muslims are obligated to say five prayers per day at very specific times, culminating in the most important prayer, the Jumu’ah, on Friday shortly after noon.
Carleton student Maged Arab, 23, said without a permanent prayer room, Muslims have to either find a quiet place at school or else cram in all five of their daily prayers into their evenings.
“Thankfully, if there’s no prayer room, you’re excused and you can catch up on all the prayers when you get home from school,” he said.
But Abdulaziz Dahir, 27, went to Sir Robert Borden High School and was thankful to be able to take part in the Friday prayer in one of the school’s English classes.
“Looking back now, we would have wanted more time to pray at school but back then we were just happy to have a room at all,” he said.
He added he understands it’s tough to find space for a permanent prayer room.
Ahmed wants to see more co-operation between religious groups and school boards to help fund permanent multi-faith prayer rooms in Ottawa schools.
Public high schools offering Friday prayer:
Hillcrest High School: 30 to 40 students
Richmond Hill High School: 15 to 20 students
Bell high School: 100 to 150 students
John McCrae High School: 30 to 40 students
Toronto Sun
OTTAWA - While Ottawa high schools profess to offer prayer rooms for Muslim students, an Islamic leader says they don’t have a permanent space and are often relegated to small classrooms, if they can get space at all.
Washim Ahmed is the Islamic director of Carleton University’s Muslim Students’ Association and he leads a prayer service at more than half a dozen public high schools in Ottawa on Fridays.
But he said none of the schools have permanent prayer rooms, and they’re often shuffled between classrooms or the gym, depending on what’s available.
Sometimes, he said there simply isn’t a room they can use.
“That’s highly problematic because (students) don’t have any security knowing whether they’re getting the rooms or not,” Ahmed said. “If there’s a room available, they’ll get it, otherwise they don’t.”
A school in London, Ont., opened their first permanent prayer room earlier this week.
But the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board said they always offer a multi-faith prayer room when students ask for one.
There’s a demand for rooms at around 60% to 70% of their schools.
“They are only accessible during non-instruction time and are supervised by staff,” said Walter Piovesan, the board’s associate director of education.
He added none of the schools have permanent prayer rooms.
“While there may be no dedicated room, there is a duty to accommodate under the Ontario Charter of Human Rights,” he said.
But Ahmed argued the system is often disorganized, and Muslim students have to make arrangements each week to reserve a room.
“It’s happened in a couple of schools where I went to lead the prayer and I couldn’t find a prayer spot,” he said. “It’s not organized, it’s just random.”
The Catholic board said they offer quiet prayer space for any group upon request.
Muslims are obligated to say five prayers per day at very specific times, culminating in the most important prayer, the Jumu’ah, on Friday shortly after noon.
Carleton student Maged Arab, 23, said without a permanent prayer room, Muslims have to either find a quiet place at school or else cram in all five of their daily prayers into their evenings.
“Thankfully, if there’s no prayer room, you’re excused and you can catch up on all the prayers when you get home from school,” he said.
But Abdulaziz Dahir, 27, went to Sir Robert Borden High School and was thankful to be able to take part in the Friday prayer in one of the school’s English classes.
“Looking back now, we would have wanted more time to pray at school but back then we were just happy to have a room at all,” he said.
He added he understands it’s tough to find space for a permanent prayer room.
Ahmed wants to see more co-operation between religious groups and school boards to help fund permanent multi-faith prayer rooms in Ottawa schools.
Public high schools offering Friday prayer:
Hillcrest High School: 30 to 40 students
Richmond Hill High School: 15 to 20 students
Bell high School: 100 to 150 students
John McCrae High School: 30 to 40 students
Toronto Sun
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