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Former Mubarak PM, Muslim Brotherhood candidate to face off in second round

Ahmed Shafiq, who served as premier under ousted leader Hosni Mubarak, will face off against the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Mursi in Egypt's June 16-17 presidential run-off, the official MENA news agency reports.

Latest update: 17/05/2010

- France - Islamic veil - law

French ban of the full veil on the ropes?

It's a controversial topic that has sparked heated debates in France ...but now the viability of a French law banning the full Islamic veil is being called into question.

FOCUS

23/05/2012 - CANADA

Students in Quebec march against tuition fee hike

Student protests in the Canadian province of Quebec are now into their fourth month. Hundreds were arrested at marches to mark 100 days since the protests began. Students are demonstrating against an 80% rise in tuition fees in Quebec, the Canadian province that has until now enjoyed the country's lowest rates for higher education.

23/05/2012 - EGYPT

Egyptians head to the polls

Egyptians go to the polls in the country's first truly contested presidential election on Wednesday. With an array of candidates to choose from, voters will decide who's the best man to lead them through the last phase of the country's troubled democratic transition that began with Egypt's revolution in January last year. Cairo correspondents Kathryn Stapley and Sonia Dridi talked to some of the activists whose protests in Tahrir Square changed the course of Egypt's history.

22/05/2012 - EGYPT

A troubling time for Egypt's Coptic Christians

Egyptians go to the polls tomorrow to vote for a new president for the first time since Hosni Mubarak was ousted during the revolution last year. Two of the front-runners in the presidential race with a realistic chance of winning are devout Islamists, which is troubling for Egypt's Coptic Christians. They are Egypt's largest religious minority and many of them don't think any of the candidates are capable of protecting them from the religious violence that has been steadily increasing.

22/05/2012 - WEST BANK

'The Battle of the Empty Stomachs'

Palestinians nicknamed it "the battle of the empty stomachs". For weeks, 1,600 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails refused food and drink in what became the longest ever mass hunger strike. Israel finally capitulated and a deal was reached, allowing those in isolation back onto the general wards, and visas for those family members wishing to visit from Gaza. In exchange, prisoners agreed not to carry out "security activities" such as recruiting for terrorist missions.

21/05/2012 - SERBIA

Serbia's new president - nationalist or not?

Serbia has elected a new president - and it's not the one that most people were expecting. Tomislav Nikolic has unseated Boris Tadic, the man in power since 2004. Observers are worried about the new head of state, who used to be part of the ultra-nationalist Radical Party. He once said he would prefer to be allied with Russia than join the EU, but he has since toned down the rhetoric, saying he will take Serbia to Europe after all.

Comments (1)

full veil

by Anonyme - 18/05/2010 - 07:56

Should we allow the wearing of the full veil as a sort of human right? and what about the other parties human rights, such as to feel secured and to know who am I talking to? Isn't that an aspect of human rights also from the point of view of the one who is not covered and have to deal with unknown identity everywhere? where is my right in clear communication? My right in knowing who I am talking to in the market for example or in the bus? My right in being in a healthy natural social environment not handicapped by increasing the gap between the 2 elements of the society ; the man and the woman, and distorting the ease of communication in the community as well as tinging it with a hideous suspicious feeling that will creep gradually to affect all life aspects.

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