Italy's first scarved woman runs for election

A scarved Muslim woman is running for local elections in central Italy despite the country's Islamophobic restrictions against women wearing hijab. Maymouna Abdel Qader is a political science graduate of the University of Perugia, and the daughter of Mohammed Abdel Qader, the Imam of Perugia. “I am running for this election because I am a Perugini. I have a lot to give this city,” Abdel Qader told Press TV reporter in Italy. “My religion has also brought me along this road. It is an example against the misconception that Islam limits you.” Maymouna, who is of Palestinian descent, is running for Perugia's communal council for Sinistra e Liberta coalition, which is made up of mainly socialist, anti-war, and secular parties. She is also one of the founders of the Young Italian Muslims association. The elections will take place this weekend on June 6th and 7th. Perugia is a city in central Italy with 160,000 inhabitants. It is home to the ancient Universita degli Studi, a center of learning for 700 years.

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Iran marks 20th anniversary of Imam's death

Millions of mourners gather at the final resting place of the late Imam Khomeini, Founder of the Islamic Republic to mark the 20th anniversary of his demise. Iranians from across the country traveled to the outskirts of the Iranian capital to be part of the commemoration ceremony at the mausoleum of the Founder of the Islamic Republic, the late Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeini. Sayyid Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (24 September 1902 - 3 June 1989) was the leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, culminating in 1979, which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. People gathered to uphold his call for supporting the oppressed and his efforts to end conflict among Muslims. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad participated in the event. Ayatollah Khamenei outlined the late Imam's role in the course of the Islamic Revolution and in awakening Muslim countries with a call to restore their Islamic identity. Political and military officials of the Islamic Republic, including the head of the Assembly of Experts, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, tookpart in the ceremonies. The anniversary of Imam Khomeini's demise will be commemorated in many other countries as well.

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WHO close to declaring swine flu pandemic?

The WHO has reported that some 19,273 individuals have been infected with A/H1N1 in 66 countries, adding that the declaration of a worldwide pandemic is not far away. Following the report of two more deaths in the US, WHO officials reported on Wednesday that the virus, still spreading rapidly across the globe, has claimed the lives of more than 117 individuals. The latest results released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that the new H1N1 virus has reached all 50 states and has infected over 1,078 new cases, bringing its total infection rate to 10,053, including 17 deaths. Australia's caseload increased by 204 to 501. Canada, on the other hand, identified 194 new cases, bringing its toll to 1,530 cases including three deaths. In Britain and Panama, the number of infected cases jumped by about 50 percent to 381 and 155, respectively. The total number of A/H1N1 infections in Japan rose to 396 after new cases were reported on Tuesday. Egyptian authorities also reported the country's first swine flu case, marking the spread of the virus to Africa. Saudi Arabia confirmed its first case of the H1N1 flu virus in a Filipino nurse, who had recently entered the country. Bulgaria and Nicaragua were the other countries to report their first cases on Wednesday. Country; Cases, Deaths United States of America; 10053, 17 Mexico; 5029, 97 Canada; 1530, 2 Australia; 501, 0 Japan; 385, 0 United Kingdom; 381, 0 Chile; 313, 0 Spain; 180, 0 Panama; 155, 0 Argentina; 131, 0 China; 69, 0 Costa Rica; 50, 1 El Salvador; 41, 0 Korea, Republic of; 41, 0 Peru; 40, 0 Ecuador; 39, 0 Italy; 30, 0 Germany; 28, 0 Hong Kong; 27, 0 France; 26, 0 Brazil; 20, 0 Colombia; 20, 0 Kuwait; 18, 0 Philippines; 16, 0 Uruguay; 15, 0 Guatemala; 14, 0 Belgium; 13, 0 Dominican Republic; 11, 0 Singapore; 11, 0 Switzerland; 10, 0 New Zealand; 10, 0 Sweden; 7, 0 Romania; 6, 0 Paraguay; 5, 0 Greece; 5, 0 Poland; 4, 0 Turkey; 4, 0 Cuba; 4, 0 Finland; 4, 0 Ireland; 4, 0 Norway; 4, 0 Netherlands; 4, 0 Bolivia; 3, 0 Lebanon; 3, 0 Venezuela; 3, 0 Vietnam; 3, 0 Russia; 3, 0 Portugal; 2, 0 Slovakia; 2, 0 Thailand; 2, 0 Honduras; 2, 0 Jamaica; 2, 0 Malaysia; 2, 0 Austria; 1, 0 Bahamas; 1, 0 Bahrain; 1, 0 Bulgaria; 1, 0 Cyprus; 1, 0 Czech Republic; 1, 0 Denmark; 1, 0 Egypt; 1, 0 Estonia; 1, 0 Hungary; 1, 0 Iceland; 1, 0 India; 1, 0 Nicaragua; 1, 0 Israel also reported 33 confirmed swine flu cases.

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Israel: 4th-most-dangerous place on Earth

According to a new Global Peace Index (GPI), Israel is currently considered the fourth-most-violent place in the world. The GPI, a report prepared for the Australia-based Institute for Economics and Peace in conjunction with the Economist Intelligence Unit, ranks 144 countries in a league table of peacefulness, the Guardian reported Wednesday. Iraq was ranked the most violent country in the world followed by Afghanistan and Somalia. Israel, which was dubbed the third-most-violent place last year, is even more dangerous than Sudan which is one step less-violent than Israel. New Zealand was named the most peaceful nation on Earth -- a title held by Iceland last year. The ranking is compiled considering twenty-three factors including political stability, risk of terrorism, murder rate, likelihood of violent demonstrations, respect for human rights, internal conflicts, arms imports and involvement in foreign wars. Afghanistan and Iraq are still considered as the most dangerous countries in the world despite the US' promise to bring peace and security to both countries. Quite interestingly the United States, which considers itself to be the champion of peace, only managed to rank 83 -- Sixteen places behind Cuba which is accuse by Washington of violating human rights. According to the report, this year's results shows that the economic crisis had made the world a little less peaceful. The authors of the report say that this "appears to reflect the intensification of violent conflict in some countries and the effects of both the rapidly rising food and fuel prices early in 2008 and the dramatic global economic downturn in the final quarter of the year." Ten most peaceful: 1- New Zealand 2- Denmark 3- Norway 4- Iceland 5- Austria 6- Sweden 7- Japan 8- Canada 9-Finland, Slovenia Ten most violent: 1- Iraq 2- Afghanistan 3- Somalia 4- Israel 5- Sudan 6- Democratic Republic of Congo 7- Chad 8- Pakistan 9- Russia 10- Zimbabwe

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