FRENCH BURQA BAN GOES INTO FORCE ON MONDAY

AAP APRIL 9 2011

AFP © Enlarge photo

French police will from Monday become the first officers in Europe empowered to intercept Muslim women wearing full-face veils and to threaten them with fines if they refuse to expose their faces.

While some other countries and territories have drawn up bans on the burqa and the niqab, France -- home to Europe's largest Muslim population -- will be the first to risk stirring social tensions by putting one into practice.

The law comes into effect at an already fraught moment in relations between the state and France's Muslim minority, with President Nicolas Sarkozy accused of stigmatising Islam to win back votes from a resurgent far right.

French officials estimate that only around 2,000 women, from a total Muslim population estimated at between four and six million, wear a niqab or a burqa, full-face veils that are traditional in parts of Arabia and South Asia.

But many Muslims and rights watchdogs accuse Sarkozy of targeting one of France's most vulnerable and isolated groups to signal to anti-immigration voters that he shares their fear that Islam is a threat to French culture.

Other critics worry the law may be hard to enforce, since it had to be drawn up without reference to religion to ban any kind of face covering in public and since police officers will not be allowed to remove women's head coverings.

Many supporters of the law have defended it as a measure not designed to harm Islam, but to support a woman's right to walk unveiled, although the text makes it clear that a woman can not choose herself to cover her face in public.

Under a ministerial directive, anyone refusing to lift his or her veil to submit to an identity check can be taken to a police station. There, officers must try to persuade them to remove the garment, and can threaten fines.

A woman who repeatedly insists on appearing veiled in public can be fined 150 euros ($A205) and ordered to attend re-education classes.

There are much more severe penalties for anyone found guilty of forcing someone else to hide his or her face "through threats, violence, constraint, abuse of authority or power for reason of their gender".

Clearly aimed at fathers, husbands or religious leaders who force women to wear face-veils, and applicable to offences committed in public or in private, the law imposes a fine of 30,000 euros and a year in jail.

Moves to impose the law began in June when an opposition Communist lawmaker demanded a parliamentary inquiry into whether the wearing of full-face veils was becoming more prevalent in French Muslim communities.

Sarkozy waited only a couple of days before weighing in, declaring the full-face veil was "not welcome" in France and branding it a symbol of "servitude" and not of religious observance.

France's main Muslim representative body, the CFCM, partially agreed with him, issuing a statement arguing that insisting upon a niqab or a burqa was an "extremist" reading of the Koran and not a "religious obligation".

But other groups claimed the government had seized on an issue that touches a tiny minority and used it to stigmatise the entire Muslim community, which has been accused of failing to integrate into French life.

Foreign extremists, including fugitive al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden used the ban to argue France is at war with Islam, and called for attacks.

It is hard to gauge the mood of the bulk of veil wearing French Muslim women, but two -- who gave their names as Aya and Umm Isra -- said they would not challenge the ban in the street.

But, they added, if they can't wear their niqabs they will likely go out far less often, suggesting the ban could create a hidden underclass.

Sarkozy and his party have refused to back down and, seeing their opinion poll scores dipping and those of the anti-Islam National Front growing, have vowed to start a broader debate on the place of Islam in France.

The centre-right president will seek re-election next year and a strong showing for the Front's leader Marine Le Pen in the first round could fatally wound his campaign and allow the left's candidate to sweep past to victory.

Belgium's parliament has approved a similar law, but has yet to enforce it. In the Netherlands far-right leaders have proposed a ban, and in Italy the right-wing Northern League is lobbying for a ban on the French model.

NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK SAYS BANK BASHING IS UNFAIR

AAP. On Thursday 16 December 2010, 14:22 EST

National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB) has described the political and public backlash against recent mortgage rate rises by the major banks as unjustified and unfair.

The bank also repeated its call for major banks to move their interest rates independently of moves by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

NAB chairman Michael Chaney told Wednesday's annual general meeting the bank's borrowing costs were higher due to tighter offshore wholesale funding markets and competition for deposits.

He repeated comments made earlier this week by NAB managing director Cameron Clyne that the RBA's cash rate movements had little bearing on the borrowing costs of the major banks.

"Such criticism is unjustified and unfair," Mr Chaney said of the backlash against the major banks.

"The fact is that the fundamental premise upon which bank bashing is based that Australia's banking sector is insufficiently competitive, and that it is less competitive than before the GFC - is false," Mr Chaney said.

"This is a fiercely competitive industry and one in which profit returns have fallen markedly since before the GFC."

Mr Clyne told the Senate committee inquiry into banking competition on Monday banks should change their variable mortgage interest rates independently of the RBA's cash rate movements.

Mr Chaney added to those comments on Thursday, saying "there have been a few out-of-synch moves and I suspect that is what you'll see a bit more of, going forward".

Thursday's meeting was told NAB would continue to achieve steady profit growth in the years ahead.

A gradual improvement was expected in NAB's troubled UK assets, while the board has had lengthy discussions of future growth strategies for Asia, Mr Chaney said.

"In due course we will have a significant presence there," he said of Asia, but added NAB was focused on "logical, incremental growth".

Mr Clyne said he was pleased with NAB's response to its recent technical glitch that delayed transactions and payments.

"We are now focused on delivering on our commitment to ensure those affected by the delays are not left out of pocket as a direct result," he said.

"In many cases, this has already started."

NAB's remuneration report, which reported that Mr Clyne received a package worth $5.6 million in the year to September 30, was overwhelmingly approved by shareholders.

NAB shares were up three cents at $24.48 at 1418 AEDT.

SHORTEN SAYS NO POLICY FOR ONLINE TAX

From AAP

On Wednesday 24 November 2010, 11:11 EST

The federal government is playing down reports it is considering applying GST on more imported goods in an attempt to help retailers struggling to compete against online shopping.

"There is no policy proposition about GST on online shopping," Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten told ABC Television on Wednesday.

Local retailers want the government to help them as the rising Aussie dollar entices shoppers to access online sites overseas for the GST-exempt purchases.

Imported goods worth less than $1000 are exempt from the 10 per cent tax.

However, Mr Shorten acknowledged the concerns of retailers.

"We'll have to work something out to see if it's administratively feasible," he said.

The opposition accused Mr Shorten of creating unnecessary uncertainty for local consumers and business in the lead-up to Christmas.

"Yesterday, he was considering imposing GST ... Today's he's not," opposition frontbencher Mathias Cormann said.

"Shorten tax policy doesn't even last from dinner last night to breakfast today."

Senator Cormann said the government always was looking for an opportunity to impose more taxes.

Current GST arrangements on online purchases from overseas did not need to be changed, he said.

US TOP OFFICIALS EXEMPT FROM SCREENING

From AAP

On Wednesday 24 November 2010, 11:10 EST

Cabinet secretaries, top congressional leaders and an exclusive group of senior US officials are exempt from toughened new airport screening procedures when they fly commercially with government-approved federal security details.

Aviation security officials would not name those who can skip the controversial screening, but other officials said those VIPs range from top officials like Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and FBI Director Robert Mueller to congressional leaders like incoming House Speaker John Boehner, who avoided security before a recent flight from Washington's Reagan National Airport.

The heightened new security procedures by the Transportation Security Administration, which involve either a scan by a full-body detector or an intimate personal pat-down, have spurred passenger outrage in the lead-up to the Thanksgiving holiday airport crush.

But while passengers have no choice but to submit to either the detector or what some complain is an intrusive pat-down, senior government officials can opt out if they fly accompanied by government security guards approved by the TSA.

"Government officials travelling with approved federal law enforcement security details are not required to undergo security screening," TSA spokesman Nicholas Kimball said, speaking about checkpoint security at airports. "TSA follows a specialised screening protocol for federal law enforcement officers and those under their control, which includes identity verification."

The TSA would not explain why it makes these exceptions. But many of the exempted government officials have gone through several levels of security clearances, including FBI background checks, and travel with armed law enforcement, eliminating the need for an additional layer of security at airports.

Armed law enforcement officials who travel commercially are also allowed to skip airport security after they fill out the proper paperwork at the airport.

A few politicians have called for investigations into the intimate pat-downs, and some refuse to go through the full-body imaging machines when they travel. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, who has blasted the procedures, avoids the scanners but goes through security and takes the pat-down if it's required, according to his spokeswoman Alisia Essig.

The TSA's administrator, John Pistole, is treated like any other traveller when he flies, waiting in security lines and walking through X-ray machines, including the full-body imagers, his spokesman said.

Even as he has led a publicity campaign in recent days to urge cooperation from air travellers, Pistole's agency is preparing for long lines at airports Wednesday, the busiest travel day of the year.

Security checks at some US airports could be slowed this year by a loosely organised campaign for travellers to opt out of going through the full-body imaging machine, a 10-second process. By opting out, travellers would be choosing to undergo a pat-down which can take up to four minutes.

This year's pat-downs are different from last year. The new version includes a rigorous screening that includes agents running their hands inside a passenger's legs and along the cheek of the buttocks as well as direct contact with the groin area.

The terrorist threat to commercial aviation, including a failed attack on a Detroit-bound jet last Christmas, prompted the Obama administration to develop a more invasive pat-down on air travellers.

The American Civil Liberties Union has received more than 600 complaints over three weeks from passengers who say they were subjected to humiliating pat-downs at US airports, and the pace is accelerating, according to ACLU legislative counsel Christopher Calabrese.