• Michael Haneke’s film “The White Ribbon,” which scooped the top prize at Cannes last year, would seem an early favorite. The German film focuses on the adolescence of young children in a village in Northern Germany on the outbreak of the First World War.

• The Peruvian film “The Milk of Sorrow” explores abuses inflicted on Peruvian women during the ascendancy of the Maoist Shining Path guerrilla movement. The title refers to the belief that the trauma inflicted upon mothers was passed onto their children through their milk, creating a legacy of psychological damage.

• The Argentine dramatic thriller “The Secret in their Eyes” follows a federal justice agent as he becomes entangled in an investigation into the murder of a young woman in 1970s Buenos Aires.

• The French film “A Prophet” follows a young French Muslim man who is sentenced to six years imprisonment in a jail dominated by the Corsican mafia. The new inmate has to quickly toughen himself up to survive in this dangerous world.

• The Israeli film “Ajami” is about life in a mixed Jewish-Arab neighborhood in the Mediterranean city of Jaffa. The film was co-directed by an Israeli Arab and an Israeli Jew and weaves together multiple perspectives.

• Read more about “Ajami” in our post Israeli Cinema: Growing Up.
• Explore the global film industry here Nigeria’s Nollywood produces more films than U.S.
• Check out our extended coverage page, The Politics of Pop Culture.

A woman wearing the niqab. Photo: Flickr user Ranoush

A French parliamentary panel recommended today that France impose a ban on wearing the full face veil in public — which includes buses, subways and hospitals.

Under the proposal, women would have to show their faces when entering a facility and then remain uncovered.

A member of the panel said he anticipated that the ban would take effect by the end of the year — but would not apply to wearing the veil on the street or in private.

France has approximately 2.5 million Muslim women, but a tiny fraction wear the niqab.

As Western European countries try to assimilate their Muslim populations, is banning the veil in public the right thing to do?

Tell us what you think in the comments section below. Please be respectful and on-point. Malicious or offensive comments will be deleted, and repeat offenders will be banned.

Manuel Noriega’s mug shot.

Twenty years ago this week, at the culmination of the U.S. invasion of Panama, General Manuel Antonio Noriega was seized and taken in shackles to Miami. Eventually, the Panamanian strongman was convicted on federal drug conspiracy charges for supporting the Medellin cocaine cartel’s shipments to the U.S.

Noriega, 75, has served his sentence and is still jailed in Miami, awaiting a U.S. Supreme Court decision on a possible extradition to France.

From today’s vantage point, after a failed war on drugs and the unjustified invasion of Iraq, Noriega, no saint, seems a minor character in a larger game. Panama, along with the Grenada invasion before it,
was a practice run for manipulating the news, selling military action to the public and promoting future military adventures.

Then-President George H.W. Bush justified the U.S. invasion of Panama in various questionable ways, including the charge that Noriega had subverted democracy by faking the 1989 elections — which was true. [Noriega learned all about political forgery from his former American intelligence community teachers, who had pushed through fraudulent elections in Panama five years earlier.]

Bush also claimed that Panama under Noriega represented a threat to American security, that Noriega had declared war on the United States and that Noriega had threatened to block the Panama Canal. These were charges with scant evidence, at best. They emanated from the mouths of U.S. officials — a number of whom would go on to have a role in the U.S. invasion of Iraq, including Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, Elliot Abrams and Richard Perle.

The real reason for the decision to invade Panama lies closer to events surrounding the U.S. war in Central America. Noriega, once a U.S. Intelligence asset, had refused to play ball with the Reagan and Bush administrations by offering little assistance in the counterinsurgency against Nicaragua’s Sandinistas. He also neglected to support El Salvador’s right-wing military.

The drug conviction against Noriega was accomplished with the use of two dozen convicted drug dealers, who were freed from jail under plea bargains in return for testifying against Noriega, with whom they had never had any contact.

Placard next to the gate at Manuel Noriega’s house in Panama City. Photo: Flickr user ChuckHolton

Seen now in the light of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the Panama invasion and Noriega prosecution make more sense. Noriega and Saddam Hussein were U.S. assets and clients, who fell from grace when their usefulness expired. Once the unsavory leaders had been suitably demonized, policymakers went about molding reality to the charges unleashed against them.

In the case of Panama, Noriega supposedly was shipping cocaine to our shores. That rarely, if ever, happened — though all the while, cocaine was entering the United States through Central America and Mexico.

Meanwhile, Saddam Hussein became the falsified apostle of mass destruction, allegedly seeking uranium supplies he already had and couldn’t use. [See my introduction and afterward to Noriega's political memoir. America's Prisoner, and my book, The Italian Letter, written with Knut Royce, about the Iraq War, focusing on yellow cake and weapons of mass destruction.]

As for Noriega’s fate, it seems unlikely that the U.S. Supreme Court will set him free to return to Panama, as he and the Panamanian government want. The French extradition request for Noriega was little more than an effort by President Nicolas Sarkozy to mend fences at the time with President George W. Bush after France declined support for the Iraq invasion.

The Panama invasion was front-page news for a short while 20 years ago, but it was relegated to the back pages by the first Gulf War less than a year later, and by the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.

There were great differences between the use of force in Panama and the forays into the Middle East. No oil was at stake in Panama, no insurgency developed in the aftermath of that invasion and the loss of life was
relatively low –- 25 American soldiers and an unknown number of Panamanians (estimates range from the hundreds to several thousand.)

But I always recall a comment by a Human Rights Watch official which can be applied to Iraq just as well. “It’s not a question of how many people died, but of why anyone died at all.”

- Peter Eisner

JAPAN: The United States and Japan must “find ways to renew and refresh the alliance for the 21st century,” said President Barack Obama in Tokyo on Friday. He agreed to reopen talks on the contentious issue of the relocation of a U.S. airbase in the island of Okinawa.

CHINA: The general consensus at today’s APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) meeting was that the balance of global growth is shifting towards Asia, with China, India and to some extent Indonesia leading the recovery from the global economic recession.

SUDAN: Eleven people were recently killed in tribal clashes in South Sudan’s Jonglei state. Clashes among rival ethnic groups often erupt over issues of cattle rustling and natural resources. Over 2,000 people have died and 250,000 been displaced in South Sudan since January.

SOMALIA: Twelve Somalis were arrested on Thursday on suspicion of piracy by the French navy. The suspects were captured 650 miles off the coat of Somalia.

Europe has officially emerged from the worldwide economic recession. The European Union expanded by 0.2 percent in the third quarter.

SWITZERLAND: Google Inc. is headed to court over charges of violating Switzerland’s personal privacy laws though the use of its Street View application. The application — which allows users to see a 360-degree view of a street-level location– is being criticized for identifying people without their knowledge.

VATICAN: A four-day symposium to bring the Vatican into the digital age began on Thursday. Officials and bishops are being trained on internet tools such as Facebook, Wikipedia, and Google.

RUSSIA AND CIS:

Russian President Medvedev will meet with US President Obama on Sunday on the sidelines of the APEC meeting in Singapore. On the agenda: a new arms reduction deal and the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs.

The diaries of a British journalist who was one of the first to write about the 1932-33 famine in Ukraine will go on display to the public for the first time in London tomorrow.

Three people have been killed in a blast in a cemetery in the southern republic of Dagestan. The victims had come to pay tribute to police officer Abdumalik Magomedov, who had been killed last year.

Russia’s police scandal is widening. Two more policemen have posted appeals to President Medvedev on YouTube speaking out against abuse and corruption in the country’s police force: Mikhail Yevsev, who alleges police fabricated cases against innocent citizens, and Gregory Chekalin.

Lake Titicaca in Bolivia Photo: flickr user: Swiatoslaw Wojtkowiak

BOLIVIA: Evaporation due to global warming has caused the Lake Titicaca in Bolivia to be at its lowest level since 1949.

MEXICO: Mexican President Felipe Calderon says he rejects a proposal by business leaders in the border town of Ciudad Juarez for U.N. peacekeepers to enter the town and quell drug-related violence.

CHILE: Michelle Bachelet, the Chilean president, said that there are signs that the economies of Latin America are turning the corner after the global recession.

EL SALVADOR: Aid agencies say that as many as 10,000 people may need food assistance in the Central American country after massive floods which left at least 140 people dead and destroyed acres of crops.

PAKISTAN: A suicide bomber today attacked the northwestern regional headquarters of the Pakistani intelligence agency killing more than 17 people and wounding many more.

TURKEY: A Turkish diplomatic source has said that the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog (IAEA) revealed the details of a proposal suggesting Turkey as a third-country destination for transport of Iran’s enriched uranium. On another front, the Turkish government announced new details today of its plan to reconcile with its minority Kurds in hope of ending an insurgency that has dragged on for 25 years.

SYRIA: Syrian President Bashar al-Asad, in France to meet with President Nicolas Sarkozy, says Syria wants peace with Israel but questions Israel’s commitment to the process.  The visit comes after talks between Sarkozy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

ISRAEL:Israeli army officials said today that Israeli troops killed one Palestinian and wounded four others along the Gaza border in what the military described as an attempted bomb attack.

An American Jewish group criticized Hezbollah for removing the “Diary of Anne Frank” from textbooks in a private school in Beirut.

AFGHANISTAN: The Taliban claimed responsibility on Friday for a suicide bombing attack near US military base outside the Afghan capital Kabul. The attack target was a NATO convoy.

In light of the highly-publicized murder of a pregnant Egyptian woman in Germany, Gustin discusses Muslim immigration in France, Germany and the United Kingdom with Daljit Dhaliwal.

Khan explains how 40 million people are uprooted from their homes in Africa, Asia and South America and the root causes of their dispossession.

Two weeks ago, the French government shut down a Calais camp that housed thousands of illegal migrants hoping to deter human smuggling. Al Jazeera English’s Hamish MacDonald reports that many of the migrants remain in Calais with their lives in a state of limbo.

Roman Polanski.

In Switzerland, the lawyer for film director Roman Polanski said Monday he will fight American attempts to extradite Polanski to the United States in a sex case that goes back more than 30 years.

The 76-year-old director was arrested Saturday on arrival in Zurich to receive a lifetime achievement award from a film festival. Polanski pleaded guilty in California to having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977, but then fled to France before his sentencing. French officials have expressed astonishment over the arrest, one calling it a “bit sinister.”

Should Roman Polanski be extradited to the U.S. to face sentencing in a case that is now more than three decades old?

Tell us what you think in the comments section below. Please remember to be respectful and on-point in your comments. Malicious or offensive comments will be deleted and repeat offenders will be banned.

Worldfocus producer Mohammad Al-Kassim blogs about Friday’s revelations on Iran.

The news that Iran was building a “semi-industrial enrichment fuel facility” dominated the international headlines today. Here is how the news was covered in some Middle Eastern media outlets.

Iran’s Press TV, a government-funded news channel, broke into its regularly scheduled programming to feature the press conference held by U.S. President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The 24-hour channel, which is based in Tehran and broadcasts in English, targets viewers outside Iran.

As she was talking to a correspondent in Vienna, Press TV anchor Nargess Moballeghi noted British PM Gordon Brown’s comment that “the most urgent challenge in the world we face today is Iran.” Ms. Moballeghi told her colleague that this statement was completely opposite a statement made by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who said that it was “climate change.”

On Alalam Web site, a government-funded 24-hour news channel airing in Arabic from Tehran, the top story was same as its sister channel, Press TV. The news article on Alalam was short, quoting Iran’s top nuclear program official who said there is nothing secret about Iran’s nuclear site and that the IAEA is aware of its existence, adding that Iran has the right to have a peaceful nuclear program.

On Al Arabiya, the all-news channel based in Dubai, the news of Iran’s secret nuclear sites overshadowed the rest of the day’s news. Al Arabiya has been very critical in its coverage of Iran’s presidential election.

In general, the channel — which is funded by Saudi money — is critical of Iran’s influence in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia feels that Iran is treading on its territory as the natural leader in the Muslim world.

Al Jazeera Arabic also joined in the coverage of the breaking news with the press conference from Pittsburg, PA. The headline of the story on its Web site read, “World powers pressure Iran,” and the story reported the views of both sides, adding the position of Russia and China. The news article also quoted the Iranian student’s news agency for Iran’s official statement.

Al Jazeera is funded by the government of Qatar and is generally viewed by the Iranian government as relatively biased against Iran.

People in the West assume that because Iran is a Muslim country, it must be friends with many counties in the region. On the contrary, Iran’s neighbors are equally opposed to it obtaining a nuclear program and weapons as the West is. The so-called moderate Arab states –Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan — are quietly calling to disarm Iran nuclear program. Watching these media outlets, one cannot help but notice that the coverage is a reflection of this position.

- Mohammad Al-Kassim

A French Muslim woman wears a niqab in Paris.

Six years ago, I was looking for an apartment in the French capital. Searching for the 5-A buzzer, an American friend and I came across an old French man who thought we were trespassing.

“Vous allez faire un kamikaze?” he shouted, wondering whether we were about to blow up his building.

“Avez-vous un tapis de priere?” he asked in a southern French accent, assuming that we were Moroccans who carry prayer rugs.

We responded that we were just American students, despite our relatively swarthy complexions, and then he proceeded with an extremist anti-Arab rant.

This was my first exposure to virulent French racism and cultural insensitivity. His tirade echoed the xenophobia of the far-right Front National party, which had received 17 percent of the vote in France’s 2002 presidential election.

Today, France is still wracked by intolerance and Islamophobia, despite a long tradition of democracy and dissent. As France struggles to integrate second-generation North Africans who are largely clustered in poor neighborhoods on the outskirts of cities, the Islamic dress controversy continues to rage.

In July, a report by French newspaper Le Monde revealed that just 367 women wear the full Islamic veil in France. The figure makes French President Nicholas Sarkozy seem heavy-handed in his recent declaration that the niqab was “not welcome.” This piece of hard evidence, supplied by data from two domestic intelligence agencies, makes it unlikely that the center-right Sarkozy would pursue an absolute ban. The hyperactive leader is known for his pragmatism, and he doesn’t want to appear too extremist.

The report comes amid a French legislative commission’s investigation on the use of the full veil in public places. The panel seeks to address the style’s popularity, and it will make a recommendation about the usefulness of a ban.

But there is linguistic confusion about the full veil. The Islamic article of clothing in question is actually the niqab (originally from Saudi Arabia), rather than the burka (popular in Afghanistan). An explanatory diagram in Le Point shows the differences between the three primary types of Muslim veil.

An Egyptian woman in Alexandria wearing a Burqini.

The evolution of conservative Islamic fashion does not stop there. In mid-August controversy erupted at a Paris pool surrounding the “burqini,” a bathing suit designed by Australian company Ahiida to uphold the modesty of Muslim women.

An editorial accompanying the niqab statistic in left-leaning Le Monde criticized the need to “legislate for an exception” and further stigmatize French Islam. Declaring the niqab to be a phénomène ultraminoritaire (very rare phenomenon), the editorial recognizes that the several hundred women who wear the niqab are not sufficiently integrated into French culture.

The French are fierce defenders of their secular republic and will defend women’s rights against fundamentalist religious customs such as the veil. But there are disagreements about whether it would be helpful to legislate religious expression in the public sphere.

“We cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity,” said the French president in June, frustrating many cultural commentators such as a blogger at “Moor Next Door“:

The trouble the French may want to worry about is not the burqa as it is worn in France today, but that such a ban, as the headscarf ban has done, will make the garment a greater symbol of Muslim identity and sign of cultural defiance. France has done a good job at finding ways of alienating racial and religious minorities. Indeed, among Western nations it is a leader in this field. This is a quality that does little to further the assimilationist cause the French so actively pursue.

The Le Monde report indeed suggests that most of the 367 women in question are under 30 and wear the niqab to make an explicit political point to defy French society — and in some cases, rebel against their own families. The vast majority of French Muslims reject the full body veils, according to the French intelligence reports. Moreover, according to the French Council of Muslim Worship, wearing the niqab is a personal, cultural choice.

But, unlike the U.S., France values secularism even more than the right to free expression of religion. A “burka ban” would never pass muster in the U.S. But French politicians insist that they will not fight a second battle to separate church from the French state. The first church-state battle was with the Catholic church, from which the government legally separated in 1905.

In 2004, France received much criticism after banning the headscarf in public schools. The law was one of many factors that led to more than a month of civil unrest by minority youths across France in November 2005.

France has Europe’s largest Muslim population, estimated around 5 million. But France does not keep official statistics on race or religion, so this figure could easily be much higher. Regardless, just one in every 90,000 French women wear the full-body veil. And apparently one-quarter of them are converts to Islam.

One French Muslim organization that has been discouraging women to wear the full veil is Ni Putes Ni Soumises (Neither Whores Nor Submissives). Founded by Fadela Amara, a liberal Muslim woman of North African origin, the group promotes a modern combination of Islam and feminism.

Amara, now a minister in Prime Minister Francois Fillon’s right-leaning government, has become far more popular among politicians than among folks in la banlieue (working-class suburbs). Amara told Le Parisien last year:

The burka is a prison, it’s a straitjacket…It is not a religious insignia but the insignia of a totalitarian political project that advocates inequality between the sexes and which is totally devoid of democracy.

- Ben Piven

Photos courtesy of Flickr users I.Diabate and Giorgio Montersino under a Creative Commons license.

But despite a turnaround for those countries, much of Europe is still mired in recession.

Roben Farzad, a senior writer for BusinessWeek, joins Martin Savidge to discuss how fast the world economy is rebounding and to analyze what it will mean for the United States.

Marcus Mabry, the international business editor of The New York Times, joins Martin Savidge to analyze the deepening economic downturn and provide a look at what comes next in the European recession.

Reginald Dale, a senior fellow in the Europe program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, joins Martin Savidge to discuss this divide, the popularity of President Obama verus Candidate Obama in Western Europe and whether Russia will respond to President Obama’s pledge to ”reset” its relationship with  Russia.

The U.S. abstained from voting as it waited for the results of talks between Hamas and Israel mediated by Egypt.

Countries like France and Turkey are also involved in trying to mediate an end to the conflict.

Robert Pastor, a professor at American University and senior advisor to the Carter Center on conflict resolution in the Middle East, joins Martin Savidge to discuss diplomatic efforts by the United Nations and others to end fighting in Gaza. They discuss the rejection of the cease-fire resolution, communication with Hamas and the level of American influence in the region.

A policeman watches an anti-Israel protest in London.

The fighting in Gaza has sent thousands of protesters into streets around the world.

In the Palestinian-controlled West Bank, children joined marchers waving flags and banners on Wednesday supporting the Palestinians in Gaza. In Lebanon, a crowd in Beirut cheered calls to back Hamas and to be ready for more Israeli attacks on Arab countries.

Hundreds of Palestinians in Argentina marched to the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires demanding that Israel withdraw from Gaza, while in Turkey, protesters gathered outside a basketball game scheduled between an Israeli and a Turkish team — forcing riot police to protect the Israeli team members as they fled before the game could be played.

A blogger at “My Random Compulsion” writes from Nablus, a town in the West Bank, about marching in protests there.

Blogger “Yohay” writes about an anti-war demonstration in Tel Aviv and posts pictures.

Blogger “Rayyan” describes anti-Israel demonstrations in London, which marched across the city to the Israeli embassy. Another blogger, ”Sunny” of The Guardian’s “Comment is Free” blog, writes that he attended the same demonstration but was troubled by the religious overtones and other aspects of the march.

Anti-Israel protests in Paris turned violent, and the “ParisDailyPhoto” blog posts images of the resulting damage.

The “Islam in Europe” blog provides an overview of protests across Europe, including some in Germany, Finland and Greece.

In Iraq, a mass rally against the Israeli offensive turned deadly when a suicide bomber blew himself up near the protest.

Blogger “Pamela” writes that a pro-Israel rally in New York City drew wide support.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Joe Cross under a Creative Commons license.

On the diplomatic front, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met with French leaders in Paris for talks on the crisis. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is scheduled to travel to the region next week, part of mounting international pressure to bring an end to the violence, which has generated protest around the world. 

Israel says it will not consider a truce without international monitors and that it is prepared to launch a ground invasion in Gaza. 

Robert Pastor, a professor at American University and senior advisor to the Carter Center on conflict resolution in the Middle East, joins Martin Savidge to discuss his recent meeting with Israeli and Hamas leaders, prospects for a new truce before an Israeli ground assault begins and potential options for U.S. President-elect Obama and Secretary of State-designate Clinton.

The U.N. marked the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Dec. 10. Photo: United Nations

Sixty-six of the 192 United Nations member countries signed a nonbinding declaration to decriminalize homosexuality. It was the first time that the issue of gay and lesbian rights has been considered by the U.N. General Assembly.

Another 60 nations supported a rival statement introduced by Syria. 

The U.S. refused to sign the declaration – the only major Western nation to do so. Spokespeople expressed concern about confusing federal and state jurisdiction on laws relating to sexual orientation.

Armenian blogger “Artmika” calls his country’s support of the decriminalization declaration “historic,” writing that it is the first time Armenia has set such an example.

Michael Jones of the “Gay Rights” blog writes that the U.S. should show leadership on the issue, although the fact that the resolution is nonbinding limits its importance. 

France did not have sufficient support for an official resolution, so instead put forth the nonbinding declaration (co-sponsored by the Netherlands). All 27 European Union members supported the decriminalization declaration.

Kate Sheill of Amnesty International writes that even Syria’s statement of rejection, which “deplore[d] all forms of stereotyping” while arguing that domestic laws should be followed, reflected a greater degree of non-discrimination than has previously been seen. 

Blogger William Crawley of the BBC writes about the Vatican’s opposition to the declaration. The Vatican has voiced support of gay decriminalization but argues that the declaration goes too far. 

The “Leaning Straight Up” blog writes that media reports unfairly single out Muslim opposition to the declaration.

International finance expert Roben Farzad of BusinessWeek evaluates these plans and considers the future of the American automotive industry.

The cancellation stems from Chinese anger about French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s decision to meet next week with Tibet’s exiled leader, the Dalai Lama.

For its part, Tibet’s government-in-exile has been debating its approach to dealing with China and has agreed to stop sending representatives to negotiate with the Chinese.

Robert Barnett, a professor of modern Tibetan studies at Columbia University, joins Martin Savidge to discuss China’s attitude toward Tibetan autonomy, Tibetan support for the Dalai Lama and China’s public image. They also discuss the U.S. position on Tibet.