Russian Ambassadors 'Joked about Annexing Scotland'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A leaked recording purporting to be of envoys joking about adding Scotland, Alaska and Venice to Russia's conquest of Crimea is the latest salvo in the war of dirty tricks over Ukraine

The war of dirty tricks over the Ukraine crisis escalated on Friday with the leak of a conversation purporting to be of two Russian ambassadors joking about adding Scotland, Alaska, and Venice to Russia’s conquest of Crimea.

The expletive ridden conversation posted on Youtube features two voices said to be Igor Chubarov, the ambassador to Eritrea, and Sergei Bakharev, the ambassador to Zimbabwe and Malawi.

The voice labelled as Mr Chubarov’s congratulates Mr Bakharev on persuading Zimbabwe to back Russia’s position on Crimea at the UN, and goes on to joke about telling a European diplomat about future conquests.

“We’ve got Crimea, but that’s not ----ing all, folks. In the future we’ll take you ----ing Catalonia, Venice, as well as Scotland and Alaska,” the voice says.

The pair go on to add Miami and London to their hit list, noting that "Miamiland' is ----ing 95 percent Russian citizens." » | Roland Oliphant, Moscow and Tony Paterson, Berlin | Friday, April 04, 2014

Russians Petition for Return of Alaska »

Independence from Rome! Venice Floating Away Unnoticed as Crimea Steals Show

While the Crimean referendum tops world media headlines, an attempt at secession is going on in Veneto, Italy, with its major city Venice. But as it is being virtually ignored by media, people in Europe are hardly aware of what's happening next door.

Venice At War Over Islamic Heritage

Grand Canal, Venice

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Venice unveils controversial plans to build an Islamic museum

Centuries after providing a massive armada for the crusades against the Saracens and battling the Ottomans, a fight has broken out in Venice over plans to build a museum of Islamic art on the banks of the Grand Canal.

The initiative was announced by Enrico Letta, the prime minister of Italy, during a diplomatic and trade visit to Qatar.

Speaking in Doha, Mr Letta said his government had "made a commitment to explore the opportunity to build an Islamic museum in Venice on the Grand Canal".

But the plan was immediately attacked by the separatist Northern League, which counts the Veneto, the region around Venice, as one of its strongholds.

Luca Zaia, the governor of the region and a senior member of the League, said he found it hard to believe that the government in Rome had “money to throw at an Islamic museum” when Venice had so many other problems, with its cultural heritage under threat from rising sea levels and the crushing weight of mass tourism. The museum would be “a waste of resources”, he said.

“I’m amazed that with all the problems that Italy has, from sky-high unemployment to businesses closing down because of excessive taxes and the worst economic crisis since the Second World War, that they could even think of putting money into a new, useless museum. “Is this really the priority?”

Massimo Bitonci, a senator in the anti-immigration party, said: “We don’t want any Islamic museum in Venice. Letta would do better to focus on the economic crisis instead of thinking (of ways) to spread Islam.” » | Nick Squires, Rome | Tuesday, February 04, 2014

Half of Venice Under Water
After days of rain, water in Venice rises to a height of 55 inches above sea level, flooding many shops and buildings.

Mass Rally in Venice to Call for Independence from Italy

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A mass rally to be held in Venice on Saturday will call for independence from Italy, two centuries after Napoleonic forces brought to an end the 1,000-year Venetian Republic.

Indipendenza Veneta, a pro-independence political movement, says it expects several thousand people to turn up for the rally in the centre of the lagoon city.

It has drawn inspiration from the examples of Scotland and Catalonia, saying more and more regions in Europe are seeking independence from central government control.

Activists dream of carving out a new country in north-eastern Italy which would comprise Venice, the surrounding region of Veneto and parts of the regions of Lombardy, Trentino and Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

It would roughly conform to the historic boundaries of the Venetian Republic, once a prosperous trading power, and would encompass about five million people.

Recent surveys show widespread support for independence among Venetians, who want the issue put to a referendum. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Friday, October 05, 2012