Legalize prostitution: Liberal MP

Liberal Party member of parliament Camilla Lindberg has argued that Sweden should legalize prostitution and provide greater social security for practitioners of the "oldest profession". 

The controversial parliamentarian said she hoped her vocal stance would spark debate. Best known for her opposition to a high profile surveillance law, Lindberg said Swedish laws permitting the sale of sex but forbidding its purchase had failed to protect prostitutes. 

Speaking to local newspaper Borlänge Tidning, Lindberg said prostitutes should be given full access to Sweden's unemployment insurance and pension systems.

"Prostitution has existed for thousands of years. How can we help people living with this? They too are part of our society. People should be secure in society and feel that they belong," she told the newspaper. 

Lindberg said it had become taboo to question Sweden's prostitution laws.

"What one really wants to get at is trafficking, which is a completely different thing to prostitution. The two are often mixed up. One shouldn't confuse trafficking with a 40-year-old woman who has chosen to sell her body, or a 40-year-old man who has made that choice," she told Borlänge Tidning. 

Lindberg said she could conceive of prostitutes plying their trade in legal brothels, while stressing that the fight against sex trafficking remained vitally important.

TT/Paul O'Mahony

The Local SE

U.S. Army Europe Soldiers marching into history in Moscow

By Dave Melancon (U.S. Army Europe)

HEIDELBERG, Germany -- Soldiers of U.S. Army Europe's 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team will march into history during Russia's 65th Victory Day parade in Moscow, May 9.

USAREUR historians said the event marks the first time a serving, active-duty U.S. Army unit, carrying the American flag and representing the United States, will march in the parade.

The 75 Soldiers from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, based in Baumholder, Germany, will join military units from Russia, Great Britain, France, Poland and member nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States in the historic march through Moscow's Red Square. Company C took its place in the estimated 11,000-Soldier formation Tuesday night as part of the first dress rehearsal march.

A 45-piece band from U.S. Naval Forces Europe will also take part in Victory Day commemorative events.

The parade, which commemorates the 65th anniversary of the allies' victory over the Axis powers during World War II, is being called the largest since 1945.

More than 150 armored vehicles -- including historic Soviet T-34 tanks -- are also part of the event. The Russian air force will fly over Moscow with more than 127 combat aircraft.

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Russia's Minister of Defense, Anatoly Serdyukov, invited the United States military to take part in the parade.

"The participation of military units of the states of the anti-Hitler coalition in this event in Moscow will testify to the readiness to develop the relations between armed forces of our countries," Serdyukov wrote. He said the event is a symbol of a new partnership ready to take on new challenges and confront new threats, particularly the fight against international terrorism.

"We got a good company and we're ready to go to Russia," said Capt. Matthew Strand, C Company commander. "We're very excited. We have been working a lot during our gunnery during the last 30 days and we're ready to go to Moscow".

Strand said the company found time for drill and ceremony training during its gunnery and unit training at Grafenwöhr and Hohenfels, Germany in April. The company practiced marching and helped Soldiers obtain and tailor the Army dress blue uniforms the 75 troops will wear in the parade.

Strand said he hopes his Soldiers understand that they are part of a larger mission and that they are joining a formation of allied Soldiers to share in the victory in World War II and honor the sacrifices of all Soldiers and civilians during the conflict.

Maj. Alexander Peteryaev, a platoon leader in the Soviet Red Army, was killed in action near Smolensk in 1943. Today his grandson, 1st Lt. Ilya Ivanov, is the Company C executive officer.

Ivanov now calls Kima, Texas, his hometown. But he said the parade is a return to "familiar stomping grounds." The lieutenant emigrated with his family from Vladivostok, on Russia's far eastern coast between China and Japan, in 1996.

"This is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to wear this American uniform in Red Square and be a part of an event that commemorates and remembers the sacrifices of the Allies as we fought against the Nazi tyranny," he said.

Spc. Robert Ervin, an infantryman from Clarksville, Tenn., said his wife was concerned when he told her about the mission.

"She did not understand that Russia invited us," he said. "A lot of people are still in the dark about the relationship between our two countries. This is an experience that will bring us closer together".

"She feels alright about it now," he added. "She's excited to see her husband be part of this".

The infantryman said he plans to talk about music, food and free time activities with his Russian army counterparts. 

Along with his uniforms, Ervin said he is carrying eight 1st Armored Division uniform patches, about a dozen 170th Infantry Brigade unit patches and an assortment of rank insignia that he is hoping to trade for the Russian versions.

"I will remember my first step into Red Square and knowing that I am one of the first 75 Americans taking that first step," he said. "This is the first time that Americans get to step on Russian soil for a Victory Day parade. This event may help us bond together with better understanding between our two peoples".

And to facilitate that bonding, Ervin said, he has trained himself beyond drill and ceremony practice.

"I am trying to learn basic greetings so I can prove myself a good guest," he said.

Ivanov said he has also been teaching his Soldiers about the country's history and sacrifice during World War II, known as the Great Patriotic War by Russians.

"They understand the magnitude and they see it from the Russian perspective better than they did a few weeks ago," Ivanov said. 

Between rehearsals, the C Company Soldiers will get a look at Russian culture during visits to important sites such as Moscow's art galleries, the Kremlin, St. Basil's Cathedral, a circus, and Lenin's tomb, he said.

"I hope they see a different side of Russia than they may have heard about from the scary stories from the Cold War era," Ivanov said. "The Russian people are open to friendship. They will see them as people and not as history told them they are".

U.S. Army

Professor devises Germany's World Cup-winning formula

A physics professor from Dortmund has devised a formula that explains why Germany will definitely win the football World Cup in South Africa this summer. 

"Whoever Joachim Löw takes with him, we will win the title this year, not only because a super-fit team will turn up on June 11," Professor Metin Tolan told the news agency DDP on Saturday. Tolan's total confidence is based on a formula he describes in his book The Physics of Football.

According to Tolan's analysis, Germany reached an average 3.7th place in previous World Cups. "On top of this, we always had a particularly strong team every four to five years," he added.

"According to my initial formula, we should have become world champions in 1970, 1986 and 2006, but in fact we became champions in 1974 and 1990." This led to Tolan's conclusion, "The mathematical formula of sine and cosine always predicts a World Cup victory four years too early. That is why winning the title this year is inevitable".

Tolan also had valuable advice for the German players in free-kick situations: "To achieve success - in other words, to score a goal – my calculations say the free-kick-takers must strike the ball at a point 70 percent from its centre. Most professionals achieve this through constant training," said the 44-year-old Stuttgart fan, who is donating the income from his book to physics scholarships at Dortmund's technical university.

The professor scoffed at recent surveys that predicted that Germany would not get beyond the quarter finals, pointing out that Jürgen Klinsmann's team in the 2006 World Cup were also heavily criticized before the tournament. Tolan said that those criticisms were more justified than those of the current team, but "the result was, we played a very good World Cup," he said.

Löw named a preliminary squad of 27 players on Thursday, four of whom must still be eliminated. 

DDP

The Local | Germany

Nepal's Maoists suspend general strike

By Gopal Sharma

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal's former Maoist rebels have suspended a general strike that had choked daily life in the impoverished Himalayan nation for the past week, but are maintaining pressure on the prime minister to resign.

The Maoists were under enormous public pressure to call off the strike that hit ordinary Nepalis badly and halted the supply of essential goods, including fuel and medicines, for six days without breaking the deadlock with the government.

Experts say the Maoists, who control 40 percent of seats in the 601-seat parliament, had been trying to apply pressure tactics to return to power a year after quitting in a row with the president.

Transport, businesses and schools had come to a standstill as the Maoists demanded Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal quit to clear the way for a unity government headed by the Maoists. The government has so far said it will not yield.

"We have suspended the general strike because of the difficulties faced by the people," Maoist chief Prachanda told reporters late on Friday after a party meeting.

Prime Minister Nepal said the Maoists' move would help both sides pursue "dialogue, consensus and cooperation" to find a solution to the stalemate and help a fragile peace process that ended 10 years of civil war.

"Without the consensus and unity among political parties it is not possible to complete the peace process and prepare a new constitution," Nepal said in a statement.

"For this, there is no alternative to coming to a consensus by setting aside unnecessary obstinacy".

A special constituent assembly has until May 28 to draft a constitution, the nascent republic's first, but analysts said the deadline was unlikely to be met.

Separately, a statement by the heads of European missions and the United States said the move by the Maoists would prove "a decisive step" towards a solution to political deadlock.

"They strongly urge all political parties to make renewed efforts to negotiate in good faith and make the necessary concessions to bring about a successful conclusion to the present crisis to the mutual benefit of all," it said.

But in a sign of possible further trouble, the Maoists said they would continue to block roads to the Singha Durbar office complex that houses the prime minister's office and other ministries to force the government out.

On Friday, about 25,000 people marched in the capital, Kathmandu, pressing the Maoists to end the strike and find a solution to the stalemate with other parties through dialogue.

The Maoists headed a government two years ago but quit last year after the president refused to sack the country's army chief. They have since been protesting against the government.

The standoff has delayed the integration and rehabilitation of more than 19,000 former Maoist fighters, a key part of the 2006 peace deal that ended a decade-long civil war.

In a sign that the political standoff was likely to continue, the United Nations is planning to extend its peace mission in Nepal for another four months.

Editing by Matthias Williams and Sugita Katyal

Reuters India

ICC says Kenya probe a lesson for future polls in Africa

By Wangui Kanina

NAIROBI (Reuters) - An International Criminal Court investigation into crimes against humanity in post-election violence in Kenya in 2007-2008 should serve as a warning to other African states, the ICC chief prosecutor said on Saturday.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo is in Kenya to speak to victims of the ethnic clashes which erupted following a disputed presidential election, starting a process which could see influential politicians and businessmen from Kenya going to The Hague.

ICC judges have authorised Moreno-Ocampo to investigate the masterminds of the 2007-2008 unrest in which authorities have said more than 1,200 people were killed, several hundreds raped and more than 350,000 forcibly displaced.

"I think it's important to investigate these crimes to ensure Kenya has a peaceful election in 2012. I would say that in the next year and a half, there may be 15 elections in Africa and we have to be sure these elections are peaceful," he said.

"Kenya will send the signal to all these countries that (if) you commit crimes (against humanity) you can go to The Hague," he told a news conference.

Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda are some of the countries due to hold elections in the next two years.

Investigations are expected to last up to seven months and the trials to start in 2012.

VICTIMS' HOPES

Kenya had promised to deal with the masterminds. But numerous attempts to kick-start the process floundered and many Kenyans doubt powerful individuals will be arrested and charged because of widespread impunity among politicians.

Moreno-Ocampo said he was in the country for five days to speak to victims of the bloodshed, church leaders, tribal leaders and local authorities, but would not be taking any statements just yet.

He said he has had full cooperation from the government and promises of more, including in arrests when needed.

He also said he was willing to speak to anyone who believed they had been identified as suspects on a list of 20 names he had previously submitted to the court.

"The investigation is just starting and we are collecting evidence and we have no one yet, suspect wise. We came back to listen to the victims, I have to represent them. I have to present the crimes they suffered to the judges," he added.

He said he would speak to about 30 victims, and urged the government to provide security for witnesses.

Some Kenyans who lost their loved ones and property had high expectations of the chief prosecutor.

"The government seems to have forgotten us but we hope (Moreno-) Ocampo will make true his promise and arrest the people responsible for our sufferings," said Beatrice Nyokabi, who still lives in a camp for the internally displaced.

Peter Otieno, who lost all his possessions during the violence in the Rift Valley town of Naivasha, said he was willing to meet Moreno-Ocampo.

"We have had sleepless nights and we now have hope that the people responsible for our suffering will be brought to book," he told Reuters.

Reuters Africa

Harrods sold for £1.5bn as Mohamed Al Fayed retires

Qatari royal family buys the iconic London department store, ending months of speculation and takeover rumours

Ruth Sunderland

Harrods, the world famous department store in Knightsbridge, London has been sold by the mercurial Mohamed Al Fayed to Middle Eastern investors for around £1.5bn.

The sale to the Qatari royal family's Qatar Holding group was confirmed today after months of on-off negotiations brokered by the leading City banker Ken Costa, the chairman of Lazard International.

The deal was signed by Fayed and Qatar Holding's chief executive, Ahmad Al-Sayed, at the Qatari embassy in Mayfair, bringing to an end months of speculation in the City about the future of the luxury emporium.

After 25 years as owner, Fayed, 77, who also owns Fulham football club, has relinquished all of his financial interest in the store, which is held through a family trust based in the tax haven of Bermuda.

A statement from Lazard said Fayed was retiring "to spend more time with his children and grandchildren" but will take on the role of honorary chairman following the sale. The Qataris intend to retain the services of the current managing director, Michael Ward, and his team.

Qatar Holding is interested in developing Harrods' potential as a global luxury brand name and expanding worldwide sales over the internet. "This kind of asset only comes once in a lifetime," said one source close to the deal. It is a trophy asset of immense value and prestige".

Sayed said: "It is a privilege for us to acquire Harrods ... This acquisition further expands our global portfolio of world-leading companies".

The deal comes despite denials from Fayed as recently as March that the London landmark store was for sale. Harrods has, however, repeatedly been the subject of takeover rumours. In 2002 John Ritblat, the then-chairman of British Land, offered to buy Harrods from Fayed and lease it back to him. It has also been linked to Dickson Poon, the owner of the rival Knightsbridge luxury shop Harvey Nichols.

It is not clear whether Qatar Holding approached Fayed or the other way around, but it is thought Fayed had hoped to get around £2bn from the sale.

Trade at Harrods has defied the recession as rich tourists have flocked to the capital, attracted by the weakness of the pound, which makes British goods cheaper for overseas buyers. Sales hit a record £752m in the year to January 2009, the latest figures available. Profits dropped 15% to £50.3m but that was largely due to a refurbishment programme, including £2.5m of repairs to the distinctive terracotta facade, which is listed by English Heritage.

Ken Costa said Fayed wanted to ensure that a new owner, only the fifth since the store opened in 1840, would carry on its tradition and legacy. "Qatar Holding was specifically chosen by the trust as they had both the vision and financial capacity to support the long term successful growth of Harrods".

The Harrods purchase adds to the tiny emirate of Qatar's already extensive portfolio in the UK. Unlike its brash neighbour Dubai, Qatar has escaped the worst ravages of the credit crunch thanks to its natural gas resources. Its emir, Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, is keen to use its oil and gas wealth to diversify the economy.

Dr Hussain Ali Al-Abdulla, the vice-chairman of Qatar Holding, said: "Our latest acquisition is truly magnificent. Such a rare opportunity does not arise every day and today we celebrate this landmark transaction".

Qatari investments in Britain include stakes in Barclays Bank, the London Stock Exchange, J Sainsbury PLC, Songbird Estates, which controls the Canary Wharf Group, and the troubled care home group Four Seasons.

Qatari sovereign wealth funds control assets estimated at more than $60bn. Elsewhere in Europe they hold stakes in the Swiss bank Credit Suisse and the luxury car brand Porsche, which is being merged with its fellow German car maker Volkswagen.

Investment activity by the Qataris is likely to step up a gear following the emir's recent appointment of the top US dealmaker Anthony Armstrong from Credit Suisse. He now runs an acquisitions department for Qatar Holding. The UK is seen as a prime target thanks to our lack of restrictions on overseas bidders, though the takeover of Cadbury by US conglomerate Kraft has led to calls for curbs.

The Guardian

Age, gender could tip balance in high court pick

By MARK SHERMAN (AP)

WASHINGTON — The most important number in President Barack Obama's consideration of a Supreme Court nominee may be 50.

That's the age of Solicitor General Elena Kagan, who hit the half-century mark in late April. If Obama nominates Kagan to the high court, her age could be the decisive factor.

Kagan is the youngest, by nearly seven years, of the four people the president is known to have interviewed to succeed retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. She would be the youngest nominee by a Democratic president since 1962, when President John F. Kennedy chose 44-year-old Byron White.

Age is one of many considerations before Obama as he closes in on filling the vacancy that will be created by Stevens' retirement this summer. The president could announce his pick any day.

One reason that age could be important is that this appointment is unlikely to immediately affect the court's balance of power. There was a shift when President George W. Bush chose appeals court judge Samuel Alito to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a moderate whose vote often made the difference in ideologically charged cases. Alito is now considered to be one of the more conservative justices.

This time around, Obama is certain to name a left-of-center successor to Stevens, the court's leading liberal. Finding a younger justice, who theoretically would serve longer, could enhance Obama's legacy.

Picking younger justices has been a hallmark of recent Republican presidents. The current chief justice, John Roberts, was 50 when Bush nominated him and Clarence Thomas, chosen by Bush's father, was 43. Other than Alito, who was 55, every GOP-nominated justice back to O'Connor was 50 or 51.

The White House has given every indication that it will follow the same strategy that worked last year when appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor easily won confirmation. Rather than nominate someone largely because of an ability to make it through the Senate, Obama chose someone he wanted. Sotomayor's powerful personal story carried the day.

Obama has mainly avoided choosing liberal stalwarts for the bench so far. He may again avoid a major confirmation fight by opting for a candidate with a track record of moderation and a reputation for working well with conservatives.

Or he could go for broke in a Senate where Democrats control 59 votes: a nominee with a clear liberal voice, who might elate Obama's political base, but force him to use some political muscle to win confirmation.

Associated Press