Free Republic

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has a record that is the envy of conservative leaders around the world. Recently elected to a fourth term (with an enhanced majority, to boot), he has charted a distinctive and largely successful course for Australia's international relations over the past decade. As the Harper government begins to formulate its own approach to foreign policy, Mr. Howard arrives in Ottawa at an opportune moment. Under Mr. Howard's leadership, Australia's ties with the United States have warmed considerably, stemming in large part from Canberra's staunch support for U.S.-led anti-terrorism initiatives and the invasion of Iraq. Mr....

Malaysian City Imposes Islamic Dress Code On Women Malaysian women in Islamic dress By Kazi Mahmood, IOL Southeast Asia Correspondent KUALA LUMPUR, January 10 (IslamOnline.net) - The Malaysian city of Kuala Terengganu, in the northern state of Terengganu where the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) is in power, has imposed its own dress code for non-Muslim women working in the private sector, creating havoc in some quarters of the largely Muslim country. On Saturday, January 10, the PAS defended the Terengganu government’s imposition of a dress code for women workers, saying that provocative dressing by women has “a very close...

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Seven men involved in the Bali bombings have had their jail sentences reduced by 15 days in an annual Indonesian tradition honoring the Islamic holiday of Eid-al-Fitr, authorities said Tuesday. Meanwhile, jailed Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir was barred from giving a speech by prison officials in which he planned to accuse the United States, Christians and Jews of destroying Islam. Bashir accused Australia of forcing the government to cancel the speech but prison authorities insisted the 65-year-old cleric was sick. An Australian embassy spokesman called Bashir's allegations "ludicrous" and said it had nothing to do with...