World News

[galiraju]

[b] In France, Deportation Of Teenage Girl Ignites Fierce Debate[/b]

A 15-year-old schoolgirl is at the center of an emotional debate in France over the country's immigration policies.
Leonarda Dibrani was taken away by police during a field trip with her school class last week and deported along with her parents and five siblings to Kosovo. Many French are outraged at the way she was seized. And whether the deportation was legal or not, many say the action runs contrary to French human rights values.

Thousands of high school students took to the streets of Paris and other French cities for a second day Friday to demand that Leonarda be allowed to return to France.

French media are reporting that the Dibrani family came illegally to France from Kosovo about five years ago because they are Roma, sometimes referred to as Gypsies, and faced discrimination and few opportunities there.

"I was so ashamed," she says of being taken away by police in front of her classmates. "Everyone was asking me what I'd done. I was crying. This isn't my home here [in Kosovo]. My home is in France. I'm scared to go out here, and I don't even speak the language."

Under fire, Prime Minister Jean Marc Ayrault ordered an investigation into the incident. Speaking to Parliament, he said, "If children's rights or human rights were violated, Leonarda and her family will be welcomed back to France."

The case has echoes of the debate in the U.S. over immigration and the status of those who came to the country illegally as children and have little or no connection to the land of their birth. (story at npr)

[b] India Arrests Crew Of U.S. Ship For Carrying Weapons[/b]

The crew of a U.S.-owned ship has been arrested at a port in India for allegedly trying to enter territorial waters illegally carrying what's been described as a "huge cache" of weapons.

The 35 crew members on MV Seaman Guard Ohio, owned by Washington, D.C.-based AdvanFort, were detained on Saturday by the Indian Coast Guard. The vessel is currently at anchor in the port of Tuticorin in the southeastern state of Tamil Nadu.

, the company said the crew of British, Estonian, Ukrainian and Indian nationals had been hoping to "take on fuel and escape the effects of [cyclone] Phailin."

On Thursday, the ship owner issued (pdf), citing "continued confusion" in the media over the incident. It said it had received a certificate from Indian maritime authorities that cleared the vessel and its crew.

Reports indicate:
The clearance certificate was provided a month ago when the vessel had no arms & ammunition on board.

[b] Egypt's Crackdown On Islamists Spreads To Mosques, Charities[/b]

Since the military coup on July 3 that removed Morsi, the authorities have been systematically trying to break the Brotherhood and reclaim control of the country. The crackdown, which began with the group's leaders and rank-and-file, has now spread to mosques and charitable organizations.

Using its vast social network, the Brotherhood dominated elections after Egypt's 2011 uprising. Mosques and charities were major parts of that network, but those outlets are closing for the Brotherhood.

"All of these charities that are either controlled by members of the Muslim Brotherhood or affiliated loosely with the Muslim Brotherhood are now seen as a potential space for organizing politically by the authorities," says Heba Morayef, Egypt director for Human Rights Watch. "I think that's why they want to go after them and control them." (see npr)

[madhu_]

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[sivasriram]

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madhu came

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