The Malaysian Insider

GENEVA, Nov 21 — Four years after cartoons of Prophet Muhammad set off violent protests across the Muslim world, Islamic nations are mounting a campaign for an international treaty to protect religious symbols and beliefs from mockery — essentially a ban on blasphemy that would put them on a collision course with free speech laws in the West.

Algeria and Pakistan are believed to be taking the lead in lobbying to eventually bring the proposal to a vote in the United Nations General Assembly.

If ratified in countries that enshrine freedom of expression as a fundamental right, such a treaty would require them to limit free speech if it risks seriously offending religious believers. The process, though, will take years and no showdown is imminent.

JAKARTA, Nov 21 — Even as three scandals rage across Indonesia and tarnish the government’s efforts to root out graft, there is one positive takeaway from the mess: Indonesia’s civil society and media are free, open and thriving.

In the months since the scandals erupted, the print media — in front-page articles and editorials — had taken a strong stance against the alleged unsavoury actions of the police and courts.

The media had also admonished President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s administration for being slow to take action against them.

IDAHO, Nov 21 - Singapore’s already-strong friendship with the United States has reached another milestone with the opening of a new long-term defence training detachment in the American state of Idaho.

The detachment — the country’s fourth in the US — will enable Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) personnel to carry out training on its newest F-15 fighter jet in the wide open spaces of the American Northwest.

Under an agreement, 12 RSAF F-15SG fighter jets will be based at the vast Mountain Home Air Force Base, which has an airspace of more than 19,000 sq km — six times the size of Singapore’s.

WASHINGTON, Nov 21 — President Barack Obama’s job approval rating has dropped below 50 per cent in a second major poll in an indication he is suffering from the long healthcare debate and weakness in the economy, Gallup said yesterday.

Gallup said 49 per cent of Americans approved of Obama’s job performance. A survey by Quinnipiac University on Wednesday had a similar finding, putting him at 48 per cent support.

It was the first time he had fallen below majority support in those two polls. He had been polling in the low 50s for months after taking office in January with an approval rating just under 70 per cent.

HAVANA, Nov 21 — There were hugs and handshakes all around yesterday as teams of older US and Cuban softball players ended a “friendship” tournament they hope will set an example for their respective governments.

They said who won or lost was less important than the fact that for five days in Havana, Americans and Cubans played a game they both loved and in the process found they were not enemies as they had long been led to believe.

“Now I know a lot of people in Cuba. They don’t have horns,” said catcher Alan Bresnick, a 71-year-old former corporate executive from Boston.