America's first Islamic tribunal based on Sharia law being operated in North Texas

America's first Islamic tribunal based on Sharia law is being operated in North Texas. The court, located in Irving, has availed itself to the community to arbitrate disputes between Muslims, such as divorce proceedings, business conflicts and other civil matters. "All our decisions point back to the Koran and Sunna … and what the prophet Mohammed left to us," Dr. Taher el-Badawi, Islamic Tribunal judge said. But the three men who operate the court state that they do not seek to override the existing courts or the US Constitution. "We are not here to invade the White House or invade Austin," Imam Moujahed Bakhach told reporters. "We are humble and want to settle a problem between Muslims." The Islamic judges state that their rulings are non-binding, and that they simply "give people the Islamic point of view—that's about it—and it's up to them to follow or not to follow." Criminal cases are not among the issues handled.

Obama's 'high horse': IS, the Crusades and moral equivalency

Behold the perils of invoking moral equivalency - even, or perhaps especially, when some of the events in question are separated by 800 years. During a speech Thursday at the National Prayer Breakfast, Obama leavened his condemnation of the Islamic State's recent atrocities with a word of warning to his fellow Christians who wish to conflate the militant group's actions with Islam as a whole. "Lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ," the president said. "In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ." Murderous extremism, he continued, "is not unique to one group or one religion. There is a tendency in us, a sinful tendency that can pervert and distort our faith." The comments prompted an angry reaction - bordering on apoplexy - from many on the right.

HSBC bank 'helped clients dodge millions in tax'

Global banking giant HSBC for years catered to a motley crew of weapons dealers, tax evaders, tin-pot dictators and celebrities, using its private Swiss arm to shield accounts worth more than $100 billion. Thousands of accounts from HSBC's private bank in Switzerland leaked by a whistleblower in 2007. Bankers helped clients evade tax and offered deals to help tax dodgers stay ahead of the law. HSBC admitted that some individuals took advantage of bank secrecy to hold undeclared accounts. But it said it has now "fundamentally changed". The documents, stolen in 2007 by a computer expert working for HSBC in Geneva, contain details of more than 100,000 clients from around the world. Offshore accounts are not illegal, but many people use them to hide cash from the tax authorities. And while tax avoidance is perfectly legal, deliberately hiding money to evade tax is not. The French authorities assessed the stolen data and concluded in 2013 that 99.8% of their citizens on the list were probably evading tax. The bank now faces criminal investigations in the US, France, Belgium and Argentina. HSBC said it is "co-operating with relevant authorities". But in the UK, where the bank is based, no such action has been taken.

Visit our new 'Magic Eye' page and boost your career

Migalhas International, with the support of executive search firms, brings the best career and professional development opportunities to its readers. We call this service the "Magic Eye". Click here to go to our special webpage and find your next lease on life.

• Crumbs

• Brief News

Greece needs loan, not bailout

Greece cannot service its huge debt and will seek a bridge loan rather than an extension of its bailout, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says. In an address to parliament, he also promised measures to cut bureaucratic spending and said his government would stick to all its pre-election pledges. The European Central Bank (ECB) said it would no longer accept Greek government bonds as collateral for lending money to commercial banks. EU officials have rejected his efforts to renegotiate Greece's bailout terms.

British radicalization 'alarming'

Britain's heir to the throne, Prince Charles, said that the extent to which young people in the UK are becoming radicalized is "alarming". "The frightening part is that people can be so radicalized either through contact with somebody else or through the internet, and the extraordinary amount of crazy stuff which is on the internet." He said: "What I have been trying to do all these years with the Prince's Trust is to find alternatives for adolescents and people at a young age, for constructive paths for them to channel their enthusiasm, their energy, that sense of wanting to take risks and adventure and aggression and all these things. But you have to channel them into constructive paths."

Judge strikes down Puerto Rico's debt restructuring law

Investors in billions of dollars of Puerto Rico bonds have secured a major legal victory, after a federal judge ruled that the commonwealth's recently enacted debt restructuring law was unconstitutional. In a decision on Friday night, Judge Francisco A. Besosa of the United States District Court in Puerto Rico said the Puerto Rico Public Corporation Debt Enforcement and Recovery Act was void and enjoined commonwealth officials from enforcing the law. The Recovery Act was passed by Puerto Rico lawmakers last summer to enable the commonwealth to revamp the debts and labor contracts of the island's struggling public corporations, including the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, which is known by its acronym, Prepa.

Mixed signals on Iran nuclear deal

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says he would rather see no deal on the country's nuclear program than one that undercuts Iranian interests. He would back an accord, but only if neither side got everything it wanted, he said. He also expressed reservations about the current plan of reaching an agreement in two stages, first on general issues and then on details. Iran would consider the deal unfavorable if sanctions were not lifted with immediate effect after a comprehensive accord Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has the power to overrule laws.

Banker named as new Petrobras chief

Aldemir Bendine, a leading banker, is the new chief executive of Brazil's scandal-hit oil giant Petrobras. He was not among the names touted for the job and will be seen as a safe choice for President Dilma Rousseff. She is worried about the impact the corruption case is having on both the country's economy and on her government. His appointment meant that the company would "remain largely bound to the government's needs. We see no major managerial improvement compared to the previous administration." Speculation ahead of the announcement sent Petrobras shares down 8% in Sao Paulo on Friday. It is alleged that contractors paid inflated prices for contracts with funds diverted to some Petrobras directors, and to the ruling Workers' Party and some of its allies. The Workers' Party has dismissed the claims as lies and said that it only accepted legal donations.

Canada to allow doctor-assisted suicide

Canada's Supreme Court has ruled that doctors may help patients who have severe and incurable medical conditions to die, overturning a 1993 ban. In a unanimous decision, the court said the law impinged on Canadians' rights. The case was brought by a civil rights group on behalf of two women, Kay Carter and Gloria Taylor, with degenerative diseases. Both have since died. The government now has a year to rewrite its law on assisted suicide. If it does not, the current law will be struck down.