Neue Sorgen um Frieden und Stabilität in Nordirland haben jetzt, zu Beginn der sommerlichen «Marschsaison», schwere Zusammenstösse zwischen Loyalisten und Polizei in Belfast ausgelöst. Dass ausserdem ein 16-jähriges katholisches Mädchen von einem Auto überfahren wurde, dessen Fahrer offenbar ein Mitglied des protestantischen Orangisten-Ordens war, hat auch in irisch-katholischen Stadtteilen Belfasts zu zornigen Reaktionen geführt. » | Von Peter Nonnenmacher, Korrespondent | Dienstag, 14. Juli 2015
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Tumulte flammen in Nordirland auf
Neue Sorgen um Frieden und Stabilität in Nordirland haben jetzt, zu Beginn der sommerlichen «Marschsaison», schwere Zusammenstösse zwischen Loyalisten und Polizei in Belfast ausgelöst. Dass ausserdem ein 16-jähriges katholisches Mädchen von einem Auto überfahren wurde, dessen Fahrer offenbar ein Mitglied des protestantischen Orangisten-Ordens war, hat auch in irisch-katholischen Stadtteilen Belfasts zu zornigen Reaktionen geführt. » | Von Peter Nonnenmacher, Korrespondent | Dienstag, 14. Juli 2015
Netanyahu Tells Obama: Iran Deal Threatens Israel's Security
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke Tuesday evening with US President Barack Obama, following the deal signed between world powers and Tehran over the latter's nuclear program.
Netanyahu used the opportunity to express Israel's concerns regarding the nuclear deal with Iran.
Warning the agreement threatened the State of Israel's security, Netanyahu stressed two central concerns.
First and foremost, he noted that it will still mean Iran can produce nuclear weapons at a future date - whether in 10-15 years' time when the deal's limitations expire, or by breaking its commitments before that time.
In addition, Netanyahu said, it will funnel hundreds of billions to the terror machine, and the Iranian war that threatens Israel and the entire world.
Earlier Tuesday, Prime Minister Netanyahu launched a fierce attack on the deal, calling it a "stunning, historic mistake" and stressing that Israel is not bound by it. » | Ari Soffer | Tuesday, July 14, 2015
'Historic Mistake' Israel Blasts Iran Nuclear Deal as 'Surrender by West to Axis of Evil'
Iran has always contended that its nuclear programme is peaceful, and after 17 days of gruelling talks with diplomats from the US, Russia, the UK, France, China and Germany in Vienna an agreement has at last been reached.
But Israel has condemned the deal as a "stunning historic mistake". The country's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the world was now a "much more dangerous place" and claimed that by removing sanctions, Iran will receive billions of dollars to support what he calls a worldwide terrorism network.
Mr Netanyahu said: "Iran will get a jackpot, a cash bonanza of hundreds of billions of dollars, which will enable it to continue to pursue its aggression and terror in the region and in the world.
"Iran is going to receive a sure path to nuclear weapons." » | Patrick Maguire, Alix Culbertson and Tom Batchelor | Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Iran Nuclear Talks: 'Historic' Agreement Struck
US President Barack Obama said that with the deal, "every pathway to a nuclear weapon is cut off" for Iran.
His Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, said it opened a "new chapter" in Iran's relations with the world.
Negotiations between Iran and six world powers - the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany - began in 2006.
The so-called P5+1 want Iran to scale back its sensitive nuclear activities to ensure that it cannot build a nuclear weapon.
Iran, which wants crippling international sanctions lifted, has always insisted that its nuclear work is peaceful.
There has been stiff resistance to a deal from conservatives both in Iran and the US. The US Congress has 60 days in which to consider the deal, though Mr Obama said he would veto any attempt to block it.
The Republican Speaker of the US House of Representatives, John Boehner, said the deal would only only "embolden" Tehran.
"Instead of stopping the spread of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, this deal is likely to fuel a nuclear arms race around the world," he added.
Israel's government has also warned against an agreement. » | Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Look Who Just Pledged $32 Billion To Promote Islam And Sharia Law In America
Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a senior member of the Saudi royal family, announced that he will be giving away his entire $32 billion fortune to charity–but his past statements and commitment to promote Islam in the United States have raised red flags for some.
Alwaleed Philanthropies’ statement regarding the prince’s intentions indicates his donation would “help build bridges to foster cultural understanding.”
“Philanthropy is a personal responsibility, which I embarked upon more than three decades ago and is an intrinsic part of my Islamic faith. With this pledge, I am honoring my life-long commitment to what matters most – helping to build a more peaceful, equitable and sustainable world for generations to come,” says Prince Alwaleed. » | Randy DeSoto | Friday, July 10, 2015
Der Handschlag, der Putins riskanten Plan besiegelt
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| Neue Freunde: Wladimir Putin mit dem saudischen Prinzen Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud |
Was der russische Staatspräsident Wladimir Putin dem saudischen Prinzen Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud im Gespräch auf dem Wirtschaftsforum in St. Petersburg Mitte Juni konkret gesagt und vielleicht gar versprochen hat, wird man vermutlich noch lange nicht erfahren. Aber es muss eindrucksvoll gewesen sein.
Bis dahin nämlich waren die Scheichs äußerst skeptisch und zurückhaltend gewesen, wenn es darum ging, Geld in ein Land zu stecken, mit dem man nie sonderlich befreundet war und das zudem Hauptkonkurrent auf dem Weltölmarkt ist. Putin, der kühle Mann im Kreml, hat jedenfalls auf seine Art das Eis gebrochen. Und Saudi-Arabien hat zugesagt, zehn Milliarden Dollar (9,07 Milliarden Euro) in russische Investitionsprojekte fließen zu lassen.
Damit hatte kaum jemand gerechnet. In einer Zeit, in der russlanderfahrene Unternehmer eher das Weite suchen oder ihre Projekte zumindest auf Eis legen, plötzlich Beistand aus dem arabischen Raum? Und das vor dem Hintergrund, dass Russland der westlichen Welt seit über einem Jahr erklärt, aufgrund der Sanktionen vermehrt die wirtschaftliche Eigenständigkeit und Kontakt mit China und anderen ostasiatischen Staaten zu suchen. » | Von Eduard Steiner , Moskau Korrespondent | Montag, 13. Juli 2015
Pentagon Plan to Allow Transgender People to Serve in US Military
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| Defense Secretary Ash Carter |
The US military is finalising a plan to allow transgender people to serve openly in the armed forces it emerged on Monday night, ending what is seen as one of the last discriminatory barriers to active service.
The move would also offer recognition to the 15,000 transgender people who are thought to be currently serving in the military, many of whom keep their status a secret.
Ash Carter, the US defence secretary yesterday announced the plan to study "readiness implications of welcoming transgender persons to serve openly".
“We have transgender soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines - real, patriotic Americans - who I know are being hurt by an outdated, confusing, inconsistent approach that's contrary to our value of service and individual merit," he said.
"Transgender men and women in uniform have been there with us, even as they often had to serve in silence alongside their fellow comrades in arms."
The armed services are expected to have six months to assess the impact of the change before it is introduced.
During that period, transgender individuals would still not be able to join the military, but any decisions to force out those already serving would be referred to the Pentagon, the Associated Press reported. » | Barney Henderson, New York | Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Greek Protesters Set Fire to Syriza Flag
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| Avji Voutsina, protester burning Syriza flag |
Greece's small left-wing anti-capitalist Antarsya party and affiliated trade unions staged a rally on Monday night outside parliament in Athens against Greece's new bailout.
The party has said "the hours are critical" for those who favour left-wing policies.
One protester burnt Syriza's party flag outside parliament, saying that the leftist-led coalition government had reneged on its pre-election pledge to put an end to austerity. (+ video) » | Robert Midgley, and agencies | Monday, July 13, 2015
Monday, July 13, 2015
Isis Launches Russian-language Propaganda Channel
The militant group Islamic State has stepped up its Russian-language propaganda efforts, another sign it is becoming more powerful in the post-Soviet countries.
The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said recently that 2,000 Russian nationals are currently fighting in Syria or Iraq. In June, the country’s security council chief, Nikolai Patrushev, said that there was “no possibility” of stemming the tide of fighters.
Though Russian-speaking Islamic State (Isis) militants have put out their own messages for some time, in recent weeks a new Russian-language wing, Furat Media, has emerged, with Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr accounts broadcasting under a river-themed logo.
It was through Furat that the militant group declared the establishment of a province in the North Caucasus, inside the Russian Federation itself. The propaganda wing also issued a professionally produced video, Unity Of The Mujahideen Of The Caucasus, which included interviews with Russian-speaking militants in Iraq and Syria. Dozens more are easily available for download from their site.
Previous Russian-language output had been piecemeal, with most videos either without subtitles or arriving after the Arabic versions were broadcast. Much was produced from outside of Isis-controlled territory. » | Joanna Paraszczuk for RFE/RL, part of the Guardian New East network | Monday, July 13, 2015
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Ku Klux Klan Still Thriving against Backdrop of US Racial Tensions
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| Klansmen and Klanswomen from several US states set fire to a cross in St Louis, Missouri |
The Ku Klux Klan is flourishing and exploiting racial tension in America, according to a new behind the scenes documentary.
With race relations still on a knife edge in some parts of the country following the deaths of African Americans at police hands, the white supremacist group is unashamedly promoting more hatred. » | David Millward, US Correspondent | Sunday, July 12, 2015
By Day, at Heart of Counter-terror Policing. And by Night, Preacher of Extremism
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| Abdullah al Andalusi |
The Government watchdog which inspects police forces’ readiness for terrorism admitted that it employed one of Britain’s most notorious Islamic extremists.
For almost two years Abdullah al Andalusi, led a double life, the Telegraph can reveal.
By night, he taught that the terror group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) was “no different to Western armies,” said that “kaffirs,” non-Muslims, would be “punished in hell” and claimed that the British government wanted to destroy Islam.
By day, using a different name, he went to work for the same British government at the London offices of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), the official regulator of all 44 forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The disclosures will be intensely embarrassing [sic] to the Prime Minister, David Cameron, who has criticised parts of Britain’s Muslim communities for “quietly condoning” Islamist extremism.
HMIC’s staff, who number less than 150, are given privileged access to highly sensitive and classified police and intelligence information to carry out their inspections. » | Andrew Gilligan | Sunday, July 12, 2015
Greece Nears Euro Exit as Bailout Talks Break Up without Agreement
Greece’s final attempt to avoid being kicked out of the euro by securing a new three-year bailout worth up to €80bn ran into a wall of resistance from the eurozone’s fiscal hawks on Saturday.
Finland rejected any more funding for the country and Germany called for Greece to be turfed out of the currency bloc for at least five years.
The last-chance talks between the 19 eurozone finance ministers in Brussels ended at midnight, as they struggled to draft a policy paper for national leaders at yet another emergency summit on Sunday that was billed as the decisive meeting.
With Greece on the edge of financial and social implosion, eurozone finance ministers met to decide on the country’s fate and on what to do about its debt crisis, after experts from the troika of creditors said that new fiscal rigour proposals from Athens were good enough to form “the basis for negotiations”.
But the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, dismissed that view, supported by a number of northern and eastern European states. “These proposals cannot build the basis for a completely new, three-year [bailout] programme, as requested by Greece,” said a German finance ministry paper. It called for Greece to be expelled from the eurozone for a minimum of five years and demanded that the Greek government transfer €50bn of state assets to an outside agency for sell-off. » | Ian Traynor in Brussels | Saturday, July 11, 2015
24 Hours to Save the Euro: Germany Prepares for a 'Temporary' Greek Exit as Euro Project on the Brink of Collapse
The German government has begun preparations for Greece to be ejected from the eurozone, as the European Union faces 24 hours to rescue the single currency project from the brink of collapse.
Nine hours of acrimonious talks on Saturday night, saw finance ministers fail break the deadlock with Greece over a new bail-out package, accusing Athens of destroying their trust. It leaves the future of the eurozone in tatters only 15 years after its inception.
In a weekend billed as Europe’s last chance to save the monetary union, ministers will now reconvene on Saturday [?] morning ahead of an EU leaders' summit later in the evening, to thrash out an agreement or decide to eject Greece from the eurozone.
Should no deal be forthcoming, the German government has made preparations to negotiate a temporary five-year euro exit, providing Greece with humanitarian aid while it makes the transition.
An incendiary plan drafted by Berlin's finance ministry, with the backing of Angela Merkel, laid out two stark options for Greece: either the government submits to drastic measures such as placing €50bn of its assets in a trust fund to pay off its debts, and have Brussels take over its public administration, or agree to a "time-out" solution where it would be expelled from the eurozone. » | Mehreen Khan | Saturday, July 11, 2015
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Replace Queen with a Socialist, Say Scots
The £842million facility, formerly known as the South Glasgow University Hospital, was named after the 89-year-old monarch when she officially opened it with Prince Philip, 94, earlier this month.
Now campaigners are calling for the name to be reversed, claiming calling it the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital was “an affront to democracy”.
Instead, they suggest it could be named after Mary Barbour, a firebrand socialist active in the early 20th century and one of the city’s first woman councillors.
The criticism is in contrast to the cheering flag waving crowds that greeted the Queen and the Duke. About 300 guests also attended the official opening on July 3.
The online petition, launched by Glaswegian John Beattie, says: “We call on the Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board to change the name of the new South Glasgow hospital.
“Considering the fundamental principle of monarchy is superiority of the monarch and their family over everyone else in society, we feel the naming of a public building after such a person is unacceptable.”
The petition had last night attracted 10,364 signatures, with some calling for the hospital to be named after Mary Barbour who organised a rent strike in 1915.
Mr Beattie, a bioethics student at the University of West Scotland, said: “We are a modern dynamic city, why should we be naming this public building after monarchy when there are more worthy people? Read on and comment » | Camilla Tominey | Saturday, July 11, 2015
Earth Heading for 'Mini Ice Age' within 15 Years
The earth is 15 years from a "mini ice-age" that will cause bitterly cold winters during which rivers such as the Thames freeze over, scientists have predicted.
Solar researchers at the University of Northumbria have created a new model of the sun's activity which they claim produces "unprecedentedly accurate predictions".
They said fluid movements within the sun, which are thought to create 11-year cycles in the weather, will converge in such a way that temperatures will fall dramatically in the 2030s.
Solar activity will fall by 60 per cent as two waves of fluid "effectively cancel each other out", according to Prof Valentina Zharkova.
In a presentation to the National Astronomy Meeting in Llandudno, she said the result would be similar to freezing conditions of the late 17th century. Read on and comment » | Dan Hyde | Saturday, July 11, 2015
Islamic State 'Behind Blast' at Italian Consulate in Cairo
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| The consulate was closed at the time of the attack |
At least one person died and several people were injured when a car bomb went off at the building.
A tweet from a Twitter account linked to IS said Muslims should stay away from sites like the consulate, as they are "legitimate targets" for strikes.
Policemen and civilians were among the injured, the health ministry said.
The main entrance of the building was almost totally destroyed, windows were shattered and the building was flooded after water-pipes ruptured.
"Italy will not let itself be intimidated," the country's foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni said in a tweet, adding that there had been no Italian casualties.
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi spoke to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi after the attack and promised the two countries would stand together "in the fight against terrorism and fanaticism". (+ BBC video) » | Saturday, June 11, 2015
Friday, July 10, 2015
Prince Philip Swears at Photographer: 'Just Take the F------g Picture!'
Prince Philip's outburst came as he was joined by Prince Edward and Prince William at a reception with Battle of Britain veterans on Friday.
Clearly frustrated while waiting for a photograph to be taken, he was caught on camera ordering the photographer to "just take the f-----g picture!"
The reception marked the 75th anniversary of the start of the Battle of Britain. (+ video) » Telegraph video | Friday, July 10, 2015
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