Salmond's 'Friends in the Gulf'

Salmond seeks Middle East investors

Last updated 1 Nov 2011 - 2:25 am

First Minister Alex Salmond has said Scotland could offer attractive 'investment opportunities' to Gulf states
Scotland could offer attractive investment opportunities to its "friends in the Gulf", First Minister Alex Salmond has said.

Mr Salmond, on a five-day trip to Qatar and United Arab Emirates, will meet representatives from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority to discuss possible joint working between UAE and Scotland on infrastructure projects.

Scottish Enterprise chief executive Lena Wilson and other leading business figures will also be at the forthcoming meeting.

Speaking before it, Mr Salmond said leading figures in both Qatar and UAE had "expressed their confidence in Scotland's economic strategy".

The meeting with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, wholly owned by the Abu Dhabi government, is "an opportunity to talk in more detail about some of the unique opportunities Scotland can offer".

Mr Salmond went on: "Worldwide market forces make this an attractive time to invest in long-term, viable capital projects. I am confident that the Scottish Government's commitment to capital investment for long-term growth will make Scotland an attractive partner for our friends in the Gulf."

The talks come after the First Minister spent two days in Qatar where he discussed strengthening links with Scotland with Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, emir of Qatar, and Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al Thani, prime minister and foreign minister.

Mr Salmond said: "The economies of Qatar and the UAE continue to perform well as they seek to diversify. They share Scotland's commitment to sustainable capital investment which will secure the long-term future of our respective economies.

"In the current economic circumstances, capital investment must be a priority in both the public and private sector. Scotland offers many attractive business opportunities, particularly in renewables and infrastructure, which offer the prospects of good returns for substantial investors.

"Now is the time to invest, which is why I am visiting both Qatar and the UAE this week."

Source: The Herald

Pakistani Businessman Claims he Avoids Glasgow Airport

A BUSINESSMAN said he has stopped flying from Glasgow Airport because of the number of times he has been stopped and questioned by the police under powers designed to crack down on terrorism.

Mohammad Ashraf, chairman of wholesaler Bonanza, now flies from airports in England to avoid the “insult and embarrassment” of being pulled out of the queue and made to answer questions about his travel plans.

He said other members of the Asian business community had experienced similar “harassment” and were considering a similar boycott of the airport.

Police at Glasgow have come in for criticism for their use of Schedule Seven anti-terrorism powers, detailed in the Terrorism Act 2000, giving officers the right to stop and question airline passengers. It has been claimed officers use racial profiling when selecting people, overwhelmingly picking out travellers of Asian and Middle Eastern appearance.

Now Mr Ashraf has said he and his colleagues are fed up with being targeted and arrange to travel through airports where they are not singled out.

He said: “I’ve lost count of the times it has happened there, so I fly through Manchester or London when I have to travel internationally and I am never stopped at those airports.

“It’s hugely embarrassing and insulting when it happens. You are pulled to one side in front of everybody and asked all sorts of stupid and intrusive questions about where you have been and what you have been doing.”

Mr Ashraf, 51, was born in Pakistan and moved, aged two, to the UK with his family, describing himself as “bred in Scotland”.

He said passengers of European descent were not subject to the same scrutiny.

He added: “They ask all sorts of things about where I’ve been, what mosques I’ve been to and that kind of thing. Stuff that has no relevance to my business.

“There is no point in it. When my passport is scanned they should have my whole profile anyway, so there is no need for me to be constantly spoken to.”

During the summer, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill held a meeting in Glasgow with about 70 members of the Asian community to discuss their concerns about the way Schedule Seven powers were being used at travel hubs in Scotland.

He admitted there had been occasions when the powers had been used inappropriately, but said they were not deliberately used to target people because of their ethnicity.

But now members of his own party are questioning whether the police’s response is appropriate, with MSP Humza Yousaf calling for more effective targeting of the powers.

Mr Yousaf said: “The use of these powers at Glasgow Airport is clearly not intelligence-led, because the same people are being stopped time and time again. If people are being stopped eight or nine times then you would think something in the system would put an end to this.”

A Strathclyde Police spokesman said there were no formal complaints under investigation on the matter.

Assistant Chief Constable Colin McCashey added: “The threat from terrorism is very real. Schedule Seven of the Terrorism Act 2000 is a vital tool for tackling the threat.

“The service is constantly monitoring the manner in which these powers are utilised to ensure this vital work is conducted in a sensitive and professional manner that minimises undue distress to innocent members of the public.”

A spokesman for Glasgow Airport said: “Schedule Seven checks are a police matter and we therefore cannot comment.

“However, Glasgow Airport has worked, and continues to work, closely with various local ethnic minority groups to help highlight and explain the procedures involved in the security screening process.”

Source: The Herald

Humza still at it. Apparently he feels so secure about his position in Scotland that he is now stepping up to do his bit for the Muslim cause in Britain as a whole. Here he is in the Muslim News agitating for "British Muslims" (sic).

Scottish Population Boom Driven by Third-World Immigration

SCOTLAND’S population is expected to reach six million within 50 years, sparking fears of a looming crisis in housing, care and social services.

Campaigners warned that the Scottish Government had not done enough to plan for the future after statisticians revised their estimate of the number of people currently living in Scotland and said the country’s population might have hit its highest ever level this year, surpassing the previous record of 5.24 million set 37 years ago.

With a boom in the number of people coming into the country and an increase in births, it is predicted that the population, which stood at 5.22 million in 2010, will jump to 5.49 million in 2020 and six million by 2055.

Source: The Herald

Christmas Snubbed by Scottish Government

The Scottish Government has come under fire for completely failing to mention Christmas in its “Winter Festivals” programme.

In an official news release the Government mentions St Andrew’s Day eleven times, Hogmanay five times and Burns Night several times. But Christmas is not mentioned at all.

But Bashir Mann, a prominent figure in Glasgow’s Muslim community, has criticised the omission of Christmas, saying: “This is political correctness gone mad.

Christian

“Why should we be offended? Scotland’s religious population is 98 per cent Christian. Why should they not be allowed to celebrate their biggest religious festival?

“If my neighbour is celebrating Christmas, then I should join him. That’s what my religion tells me.”

And John Deighan, parliamentary officer for the Roman Catholic Church of Scotland, described the omission as “disappointing and hurtful”.

Season

A press release to promote the “Winter Festivals” reads: “The season of celebrations to mark Scotland’s distinct culture, unique heritage and creativity runs from St Andrew’s Day on November 30 through Hogmanay to Burns Season at the end of January and will bring together lovers of all things Scottish from across the globe.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: “Christmas is a key celebration for families and communities.

“The Winter Festivals package includes events funded by the Scottish Government to help promote visitor attractions between St Andrew’s Day and Burns Night.”

Christmas

Earlier this month the daughter of Thomas the Tank Engine’s creator criticised “political correctness against Christian belief” after references to Christmas were left out of an episode.

In the offending episode, entitled Keeping Up With James, the trains compete to deliver presents to children but Christmas has been rebranded as “the winter holidays”.

Last year it emerged that more than three million school diaries with no reference to Christmas or Easter had been issued by the EU Commission.

The diaries did make reference to Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Chinese festivities, as well as Europe Day.

Christian Institute

Failed asylum seeker who has dodged deportation for a decade told he can stay... because he goes to the GYM

A failed asylum seeker who has dodged deportation from Britain for nearly a decade has been told he can stay – because he goes to the gym.

Amir Beheshti, 40, has been trying to get refugee status for seven years, but was repeatedly turned down by the courts, who ruled he would not suffer if he returned to his home country Iran.

But he has now told judges he has a private life that involves going for work-outs with his friends – which means his human rights would be violated if he was deported.

The controversial legal ruling by Scotland’s Court of Session means he will be allowed to continue living rent-free in his publicly funded flat and claiming a weekly allowance.

Earlier this month, a top Scottish judge issued a written decision in which he agreed the case should be referred back to Home Secretary Theresa May for fresh consideration.

This effectively means the threat of deportation has been removed and Beheshti is free to remain in Scotland indefinitely.

Lord Glennie’s judgment read: ‘He had integrated well within the Glasgow community, had a large network of friends, most of whom were Scottish, and socialised with those friends at the gymnasium, at five-a-side football, in coffee shops, at college, in the library and at their homes.

‘He went on to say that he made use of local facilities, such as the library and Glasgow leisure centres'.

Beheshti’s claim, it said, was ‘based on Article 8 ECHR and, in particular, on the fact that he had, so he claimed, established a private life in the UK.

Beheshti was smuggled into Dover on a lorry in 2005.

‘If the occasional trip to the gym is enough to allow a failed asylum seeker to appeal his deportation, then taxpayers will wonder who can’t claim a right to stay'

In his asylum application he claimed his father’s pro-Jewish sympathies put him in danger in Iran – but it was rejected, as were two appeals.

Having travelled to Glasgow, where he lived with his sister for two years, he appealed to the Court of Session.

But in June 2009, Lord Osborne ruled he had consistently failed to provide any ‘credible’ evidence that he would personally face any persecution or disadvantage in Iran.

The decision marked the end of Beheshti’s rights of appeal.

Technically, he should then have been removed as an illegal immigrant, but no action to deport him was taken.

In February 2010, Beheshti wrote to UKBA, asking for ‘leave to remain’ based on Article 8 ECHR. When that was rejected, he launched another appeal to the Court of Session. This appeal was the one that led to him being allowed to stay.

Beheshti said recently that he ‘feels comfortable’ in Glasgow and does not have anybody left back in Iran.

Last night, his case - which has already cost the public purse tens of thousands of pounds - sparked outrage.

Emma Boon of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘If the occasional trip to the gym is enough to allow a failed asylum seeker to appeal his deportation, then taxpayers will wonder who can’t claim a right to stay.

‘He should have been deported when his case was initially rejected. It’s appalling that we are left picking up all of his bills when he should have been sent home years ago'.

A UK Border Agency (UKBA) spokesman said: ‘Too often, Article 8 [of the European Convention on Human Rights, guaranteeing the right to a private and family life] has been used to place the family rights of illegal migrants above the rights of the British public in seeing our immigration laws properly enforced, and that balance needs to be redressed.

‘The Government will change the immigration rules to reinforce the public interest in seeing those who have breached our immigration laws removed from this country.

‘We have been seeking to remove this individual, but we have been asked by the courts to look again at this case.

‘Where we do not believe someone has the right to stay in this country, we expect them to return home'.

Source: Daily Mail

Scotland's Many Faces

A CELEBRATION of how black people have enriched Scottish culture is being held at an East Lothian school as part of Black History Month.

Dubbed Scotland’s Many Faces, the event will include a photographic documentary, a talk by Sheila Asante, migration story curator at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and a performance by the Zawadi Alba Choir.

The event is being held today at Musselburgh Grammar School from 2pm.

Source: The Scotsman

Muslims Believe Black Magic Causes Mental Health Problems

Our old friend Humza reveals that many Muslims in Glasgow believe mental health problems are caused by black magic. It would be interesting to see some figures on the incidence of mental health problems in the Muslim population. There are strong statistical correlations between the practice of cousin marriage and various kinds of ill health.

A CITY politician has praised local mosques for taking the first step to combat difficult mental health issues in the community.

MSP Humza Yousaf said he secured agreement with a trio of Glasgow mosques that their imams would address the topic at Friday prayers last week, as part of Mental Health Week.
Within the Muslim community mental health problems can carry a heavy stigma, said Mr Yousaf, and the mosques requested they not be identified because it remains such a sensitive topic.

One in four people in Scotland will have a mental health problem at some point in their life, according to mental health charity SAMH.

Mr Yousaf said: “We all know the stigma surrounding those with a mental health issue in our society.

“However, the stigma related to those from within the black and minority ethnic (BME) community can be even worse.

“I’ve heard countless stories of families being completely ignorant of the different mental health conditions that exist.

“Many in the community turn to imams and elders instead of seeking proper medical advice.”

The SNP member added: “Many families believe that so-called ‘black magic’ or a perceived lack of faith is to blame, when the person suffering really needs medical attention.

“In addition, once diagnosed, many families decide to isolate the relative suffering due to concepts such as so-called ‘family honour’ and ‘shame’.

“I congratulate the imams and mosques who are taking this vital step in ridding stigma from our community.”

Shaykh Amer Jamil, an Islamic scholar and founder of the Solas Foundation in Glasgow, said: “Imams and religious scholars have an important role to play in tackling mental health stigma.”

The Glaswegian was unable to reach the mosques involved with Mr Yousaf for comment before going to press.

Source: The Glaswegian