Well, Well, Well! Fancy That!
THE TELEGRAPH: A 13-year-old Croatian girl who fell into a coma woke up speaking fluent German.

The girl, from the southern town of Knin, had only just started studying German at school and had been reading German books and watching German TV to become better, but was by no means fluent, according to her parents.

Since waking up from her 24 hour coma however, she has been unable to speak Croatian, but is able to communicate perfectly in German.

Doctors at Split's KB Hospital claim that the case is so unusual, various experts have examined the girl as they try to find out what triggered the change. Croatian teenager wakes from coma speaking fluent German >>> | Monday, April 12, 2010

Al-Qaeda Trying to Secure Nuclear Weapons, Says Barack Obama
THE TELEGRAPH: Al-Qaeda is trying to secure material for nuclear weapons and would have "no compunction in using them", President Barack Obama warned, as he welcomed leaders for the largest gathering in the US since the Second World War.



The US president has set himself the mission of convincing fellow leaders from 45 nations that they faced the same threat and to establish a plan to secure every ounce of the world's nuclear weapons-grade fuel.

"The single biggest threat to US security, both short-term, medium-term and long-term, would be the possibility of a terrorist organisation obtaining a nuclear weapon," Mr Obama said.

"This is something that could change the security landscape in this country and around the world for years to come."

"If there was ever a detonation in New York City, or London, or Johannesburg, the ramifications economically, politically and from a security perspective would be devastating.

"We know that organisations like al-Qaeda are in the process of trying to secure nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction, and would have no compunction at using them."

Discussions at the two summit which ends on Tuesday are focusing on stocks of separated plutonium and enriched uranium which could be used by extremists to manufacture weapons.

They are part of an initiative by Mr Obama to eventually rid the world of nuclear weapons by controlling "loose nukes", reducing the US military's strategic dependence on nuclear arms and halting proliferation.

It was this vision that earned him the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize and accompanying criticism that he had done little to deserve the award. >>> Alex Spillius in Washington | Monday, April 12, 2010

US President Barack Obama's Body Language as He Greets World Leaders at the Nuclear Security Summit
To the gallery >>> | Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Somalia: Islamisten verbieten Musik im Radio
Somalische Milizionäre: Keine Musik, keine Filme, kein Fußball. Bild: Spiegel Online
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Somalische Rundfunksender dürfen keine Musik mehr spielen. Ein entsprechendes Verbot verkündeten die radikal-islamischen Milizen. Musik sei Sünde, begründeten sie. Aus Angst vor drakonischen Strafen befolgen fast alle Sender die Anordnung.

Mogadischu - Fast alle Radio-Stationen in Somalia haben ihr Musikprogramm eingestellt. Nur ein von der Übergansregierung in Mogadischu kontrollierter und ein Uno-Sender widersetzten sich am Dienstag noch dem Verbot. Die Islamisten in dem Land sind dafür bekannt, Anweisungen wie das Musikverbot mit brutaler Gewalt durchzusetzen und Zuwiderhandlungen beispielsweise mit Morden oder Amputationen zu bestrafen.

Man habe keine andere Wahl, als ihre Forderung umzusetzen, sagte Abdulahi Yasin Jama von der Rundfunkstation Tusmo am Dienstag. "Wir haben Angst vor möglichen Angriffen gegen den Sender", sagte Hassan Osman Abdi vom Rundfunksender "Radio Shabelle". Die Islamisten hätten mit der Schließung aller Radiosender gedroht, die sich dem Verbot widersetzten. Nur einige regierungstreue Sender spielen noch Musik.

"Wir erleben heute den offiziellen Zusammenbruch der unabhängigen Medien", klagte Mohamed Ibrahim vom nationalen Journalistenverband Somalias. Der Verband verurteile die Anordnung als "grobe Verletzung" der Meinungsfreiheit, sagte Ibrahim.

Die von der internationalen Gemeinschaft unterstützte Interimsregierung hat ihren Herrschaftsanspruch bislang nicht durchsetzen können und kämpft mit islamistischen Milizen um die Macht in Somalia. >>> ler/apn/dpa/AFP | Dienstag, 13. April 2010

Somali Radio Stations Bow to Islamist Ban on Music
Horn Afrik Radio presenters read the news at a studio in Mogadishu. Photograph: The Guardian
THE GUARDIAN: All but two stations in Mogadishu comply with order to cease broadcasts that militants say violate Islamic principles

A majority of radio stations in southern and central Somalia today stopped playing music and jingles, to comply with a ban by Islamist militants.

Hizbul Islam, one of the two main insurgent forces in Somalia, issued the order on 3 April, saying music broadcasts violated Islamic principles. It gave FM radio stations – the main form of news and entertainment in the country – 10 days to comply or be shut down.

Islamic groups have previously outlawed music in some areas under their control, along with beards, football, movies, women's beauty salons and bras. The latest ban on all tunes – including those used in commercials – appears to be the most widely applied yet, and indicative of the rebels' ability to instil fear.

In the capital, Mogadishu, where there are 16 FM radio stations, only the government-controlled Radio Mogadishu, which is protected by African Union peacekeepers, and the UN-funded Radio Bar-Kulan, whose studio is in Nairobi, resisted the order.

"I've listened to three of my regular stations today, and there's no music at all," said Abdulkadir Khalif, a Mogadishu resident. "There's not even a jingle."

Instead, some stations used birdsong or vehicle noises to introduce programmes. One of the broadcasters aired "a recording from a warzone" to signal the start of the news, as an ironic gesture, Khalif said. >>> Xan Rice | Tuesday, April 13, 2010

James Parker: Sex, Gay Rights and the Cross
TIMES ONLINE: Legislation for equal rights won't eradicate the suffering of homosexual men and women

Anyone who has endured years of teenage, and often adult, angst coming to terms with their homosexual attraction, as Alexandra Mankowitz recounted in The Times Online last Monday, cannot help but be deeply moved.

Like her, I too came out at 17, and felt incredible shame and abject loneliness trying to dodge the assumption of heterosexuality and the homophobic bullying that was ever present in the Northern mining community in which I grew up.

Unlike her, however, my parents had no gay friends. Nor were there any visible gay role models within spitting distance of the Watford Gap to offer a hand of hope or consolation in my time of despair and silent suffering.

I was raised in a Christian household and experienced only unconditional love, both before and after declaring my homosexual nature. Yet for many in the gay community, religions represent nothing other than bastions of division and rejection. For some time I too shared this belief, until I was presented with a fresh challenge.

My life calling, I wholeheartedly believed, was to challenge the leaders of religion that homosexuals should be treated with the same dignity and rights as everyone else. This was especially true of the Christian community in which I had been raised. The more senior the religious leader’s role, the more I rose to the challenge.

Along the journey of acrimonious engagement with different expressions of Christianity I came across some startling, dare I say life-changing, revelations. In short, I came to understand that some of the people and organisations that I had consistently learned to blame and finger-wag for my despair were in fact conduits of my discovering an equal standing with others. This in turn led to a deeper sense of self-acceptance and my despair metamorphosing into a rich hope.

The season of Lent, the 40-day period in the run up to Easter, has become a great gift to me and to many homosexual men and women I know. It is the season where we recognise that no one gets it right all the time, that everyone is in need of compassion and mercy, and that before God we all experience apartheid, sexual or otherwise, in some form or other. >>> James Parker | Friday, March 12, 2010

Thousands of Sikhs Return to the Fold on World Turban Day
TIMES ONLINE: Thousands of Sikh men, each with a unique work of art perched on his head, will take to the streets of India today. Their mission: to prove to the world that the turban is not old hat.

Scores of rallies, prayer vigils and tying competitions will mark World Turban Day, an event conceived amid concerns that young Sikhs are abandoning the most conspicuous emblem of their faith — six to eight metres of cloth wrapped around their heads — in favour of close-cropped Western-style hairdos.

“We are inviting Sikhs who have forsaken the turban to return to the fold,” said Jaswinder Singh of the Akaal Purkh Ki Fauj (Army of God), a Turban Pride movement. “This day is their chance to reconnect with our gurus.”

Sikh men — and some women — have worn turbans since 1699 when Guru Gobind Singh, the religion’s tenth master, prohibited them from cutting their hair. Every man was given the surname Singh — lion — and was required to wear a steel bangle, long cotton underwear, a sheathed sword and wooden comb.

In recent decades many Sikhs have preferred to blend into India’s Hindu-dominated society. Their turbans and beards are often confused with those of Islamist extremists and count against them when job hunting, young Sikhs say.

“People think I’m Taleban,” said Gagandeep Singh, 26, a founder member of the recently formed Sikh Turban Pride Organisation. “The prejudice is ridiculous: I’m not a terrorist, I’m on Facebook.”

Others trace the demise to 1984 when Indira Gandhi, the Indian Prime Minister and a Hindu, was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards. In the riots that came after people wearing turbans were attacked.

There are no official figures but Sikh leaders say that about half the community wear turbans, compared with 80 per cent to 90 per cent a few decades ago. The trend must be reversed, they believe, if Sikhism is to endure. >>> Rhys Blakely | Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Nukleargipfel: Welt ohne Atomwaffen – nicht mit Nicolas Sarkozy
WELT ONLINE: Frankreichs Präsident will nicht vollständig auf Atomwaffen verzichten. Sein Land habe bereits Nukleartests eingestellt und die Waffenanzahl reduziert. Mehr sei nicht zu machen, andernfalls könne die Sicherheit Frankreichs nicht garantiert werden. Sarkozy widerspricht damit einer Vision Barack Obamas.

Nicolas Sarkozy ist mit Barack Obama (r.) nicht einer Meinung. Bild: Welt Online
Der französische Präsident Nicolas Sarkozy hat den Atom-Abrüstungsideen seines US-Amtskollegen Barack Obama eine Absage erteilt. „Ich werde nicht auf die Atomwaffe verzichten, die die Sicherheit meines Landes garantiert“, sagte er am Rande des Nukleargipfels in Washington dem Sender CBS.

„Wir haben in Frankreich die Atomtests eingestellt und unsere Waffen um ein Drittel reduziert“, fügte er hinzu. Alles darüber hinaus würde die Sicherheit des Landes gefährden. Frankreich unterstütze grundsätzlich die Reduktion der Atomwaffen. „Aber wir behalten ein Minimum, um die Sicherheit zu garantieren“, bekräftigte er. >>> dpa/cn | Dienstag, 13. April 2010

Église Catholique : Pour le Vatican, "il y a une relation entre homosexualité et pédophilie"
"Beaucoup de psychologues, de psychiatres ont démontré (...) et m'ont dit récemment qu'il y a une relation entre homosexualité et pédophilie", a affirmé Mgr Bertone lors d'une visite officielle au Chili. Photo : Le Point
LE POINT: Le numéro deux du Vatican, le cardinal secrétaire d'État Tarcisio Bertone a une nouvelle fois récusé le lien entre les cas récents de pédophilie de la part du clergé et la question du célibat des prêtres, estimant plutôt que "le problème" est lié à l'homosexualité. "Nombre de psychologues et de psychiatres ont démontré qu'il n'y a pas de relation entre célibat et pédophilie, mais beaucoup d'autres ont démontré, et m'ont dit récemment qu'il y a une relation entre homosexualité et pédophilie", a affirmé Mgr Bertone lundi, lors d'une visite officielle à Santiago du Chili. "C'est la vérité, c'est le problème." "Cette pathologie touche toutes les catégories de gens, et les prêtres à un moindre degré si l'on regarde les pourcentages", a-t-il poursuivi. 



Les propos de Mgr Bertone ont provoqué l'ire d'associations de défense des droits des homosexuels. "Ni Bertone ni le Vatican n'ont l'autorité morale" pour offrir des leçons de sexualité, a déclaré Rolando Jimenez, président du mouvement pour l'intégration et la libération homosexuelle au Chili. Selon Jimenez, aucune étude ne peut étayer les propos du cardinal Bertone. "Il s'agit d'une stratégie perverse du Vatican qui cherche à fuir sa propre responsabilité [dans les affaires de pédophilie]", a-t-il poursuivi, avant de préciser que l'un des scandales majeurs de prêtre pédophile au Chili avait mis en cause un ecclésiastique qui avait également mis enceinte une adolescente. >>> Le Point.fr | Mardi 13 Avril 2010

Lien en relation avec l’article:

LE MONDE: Le numéro deux du Vatican lie pédophilie et homosexualité >>> LeMonde.fr avec AFP et Reuters | Lundi 12 Avril 2010

Top Cardinal, Tarcisio Bertone, Blames Paedophile Crisis on Homosexuals
TIMES ONLINE: The Holy See’s second-highest prelate after the Pope has blamed homosexuals for the paedophile crisis.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, said that the child rape scandal that is threatening the moral authority of the Roman Catholic Church worldwide is linked to homosexuality and not celibacy among priests.

Other Vatican clerics have sought to deflect criticism from the Catholic hierarchy by blaming the media, and one retired bishop was even reported earlier this week to have blamed the Jews.

Cardinal Bertone made the comments during a news conference on Monday in Chile, where one of the church’s highest-profile paedophile cases involves a priest having sex with young girls.

Cardinal Bertone said: “Many psychologists and psychiatrists have demonstrated that there is no relation between celibacy and paedophilia. But many others have demonstrated, I have been told recently, that there is a relation between homosexuality and paedophilia. That is true. That is the problem.”

Cardinal Bertone also said that the church had never impeded investigations of paedophilia by priests.

Chile’s gay rights advocates reacted with anger. “Neither Bertone nor the Vatican has the moral authority to give lessons on sexuality,” said Rolando Jiménez, president of the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation in Chile.

Mr Jimenez also said that no reputable study existed to support the cardinal’s claims. “This is a perverse strategy by the Vatican to shirk its own ethical and legal responsibility by making a spurious and disgusting connection,” he said.

At least one of the paedophile priests in the Chilean Church victimised young girls, including a teenager who became pregnant. >>> Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent, and Richard Owen in Rome | Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Big Business Wants Immigrants
MAIL ONLINE: The Tories were today forced to defend their manifesto before it was even launched after a stinging assault on immigration policy.

Just hours before David Cameron unveils his make-or-break election blueprint, plans to curb the number of migrants were savaged by business leaders.

London First, the City lobby group that represents many of London's biggest companies and banks, claims the move would threaten British competitiveness at a time when the economy is still in the early stages of recovery.

In a separate attack, the party had to defend itself against accusations it had played the 'race card' by pledging to reduce immigration to levels last seen in the mid-1990s.

Baroness Jo Valentine, London First's chief executive, said members feared the proposals had been put forward to 'appease the populist vote' with little thought for the longterm consequences.

'How we build our links with the Far East and the Bric (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies is absolutely fundamental to London's future,' she told The Financial Times.

'Irritating the Chinese and Indians would not be clever.' Tories forced to deny playing 'race card' amid business chiefs' stinging attack on immigration policy >>> James Chapman | Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Euphoria Over Greek Rescue Fades As First Cracks Appear
THE TELEGRAPH: Euphoria over a joint EU-IMF rescue deal for Greece worth €45bn (£39.8bn) has given way to caution after angry reactions in Germany and continued concerns among bond investors that any bail-out merely delays the day of reckoning.

Euphoria over Greek rescue fades as first cracks appear. Photo collage: The Telegraph
Greek borrowing costs have fallen from post-EMU highs last week but still remain at stress levels. The yield spread on 10-year bonds over German Bunds dropped by 45 basis points to 6.75pc on Monday.

"This is a short-run fix, not a long-run solution," said David Owen at Jefferies Fixed Income. "At the end of the day, Greece has to carry out monumental fiscal tightening even as it slides deeper into recession. They risk chasing their tale. [sic]"

Mohamed El-Erian, head of the US bond fund Pimco, doused hopes that his firm would soon step in to buy Greek debt, saying the rescue package at rates near 5pc does not address the underlying "solvency challenges" facing the country.

The German taxpayers' union accused Chancellor Angela Merkel of caving into pressure, saying Germany would be left on the hook for huge liabilities.

Christoph Steegmans, spokesman for the finance ministry in Berlin, insisted that "nothing had changed" as a result of the weekend pledge by eurozone states for €30bn of loans. Help is "not automatic" and cannot be activated if any state objects. "The fact that the fire extinguisher has been primed says absolutely nothing about the probability of a fire," he said.

Frank Schäffler, a Free Democrat finance expert in Mrs Merkel's coalition, said the rescue deal is "clearly a subsidy" and violates the EU summit deal in March. "We're on very thin ice legally," he said, hinting at likely court challenges.

Professor Ekkehard Wenger from Würzburg University said the aid for Greece is "another step on the slippery slope downwards. All rational economic rules are being thrown out of the window. This is a bottomless pit."

"In the short-term this may calm things but within 10 years the eurozone is not going to exist any longer in its current form," he told Handelsblatt. >>> Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | Monday, April 12, 2010

Thai Foreign Minister: ‘Thaksin Shinawatra Is a Terrorist’
TIMES ONLINE: Thailand’s Foreign Minister has described the former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, as a “bloody terrorist” who can be compared to Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler. The comments are likely to further inflame Mr Thaksin's Red Shirt supporters, who are engaged in a bloody stand-off with the Government.

Speaking on the fringes of the nuclear summit in Washington, Kasit Piromya denounced foreign governments, including Russia and Germany, as well as the Interpol police agency, for not co-operating in returning Mr Thaksin to Thailand, where he has been convicted in absentia for corruption.

“Everyone is washing their hands but he is a bloody terrorist,” Mr Kasit said. “There is this act of interference by third countries – how can the Russians allow him there for two days or the Germans before that? Everyone is playing naive, closing their eyes and so on, simply because he was once an elected leader.” >>> Richard Lloyd Parry, Bangkok | Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Smiling Could Help You Live Longer
THE TELEGRAPH: Smiling could add years to your life, according to researchers.

The wider you grin and the deeper your laughter lines, the more likely you are to have a long existence.

Broader smiles and wrinkles around your eyes point to a positive outlook on life which translates to better long-term health.

It has long been thought that a happy disposition can impact on life expectancy, and the recent study by experts at Wayne University in Michigan, America, seems to back this. >>> | Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Politizap - La rumeur sur le couple Sarkozy

Al-Qaeda Trying to Secure Nuclear Weapons, Says Barack Obama
THE TELEGRAPH: Al-Qaeda is trying to secure material for nuclear weapons and would have "no compunction in using them" *, President Barack Obama warned, as he welcomed leaders for the largest gathering in the US since the Second World War.

The US president has set himself the mission of convincing fellow leaders from 45 nations that they faced the same threat and to establish a plan to secure every ounce of the world's nuclear weapons-grade fuel.

"The single biggest threat to US security, both short-term, medium-term and long-term, would be the possibility of a terrorist organisation obtaining a nuclear weapon," Mr Obama said.

"This is something that could change the security landscape in this country and around the world for years to come."

"If there was ever a detonation in New York City, or London, or Johannesburg, the ramifications economically, politically and from a security perspective would be devastating.

"We know that organisations like al-Qaeda are in the process of trying to secure nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction, and would have no compunction at using them." >>> Alex Spillius in Washington | Monday, April 12, 2010

*So Obama does admit that the greatest threat, then, comes from Islamic terrorism. After all is said and done, it is ISLAM which poses the greatest threat to peace and security worldwide. – © Mark

Kyrgyzstan to Expel Former Leader

Landslide Kills Train Commuters in Italy

A Difficult Friendship with Obama: A Wall Separates Merkel and the Land of Her Dreams
A wall exists in relations between US President Barack Obama and Angela Merkel. Merkel constantly calls out across the wall. The response, if she's lucky enough to get one, isn't encouraging: Oh, I see ... Photo: Spiegel Online International
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Angela Merkel is traveling across America this week. It's a country she loves, but the German chancellor is still having trouble connecting with Barack Obama. Her political style couldn't be any more different from that of the US president. She's fighting to prevent the US from disregarding or dominating the Europeans.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is traveling around the United States this week. She loves the country, but she has a few problems with its president, Barack Obama. Her political style is vastly different from that of the US president, but she also has something else to contend with: Washington's disregard for and attempts to dominate Europeans.

When Merkel is no longer Germany's chancellor, she will fly to America. She will land in California, rent a car, drive to the beach and gaze out at the Pacific Ocean. That, at least, was her plan in 1990, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and she still clings to that vision: America, the Pacific and a long road trip across the entire country.

Merkel is in the United States this week, as chancellor, and she will hardly be in a position to satisfy her wanderlust. But at least she'll see the Pacific, when she visits Los Angeles and San Francisco after spending time in Washington.

She is traveling to a country whose stunningly beautiful aspects hold an almost childlike fascination for Merkel, but whose political realities represent a cause for concern. During her visit, she will encounter representatives of opposing camps in the country's deeply divided political landscape. In Los Angeles and San Francisco, Merkel will meet with protagonists of the American dream, including California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, filmmakers at Warner Brothers and some of the Silicon Valley's best and brightest. Tensions with Obama, But No Open Quarrels >>> Dirk Kurbjuweit | Monday, April 12, 2010

An Aid Package in the Billions: Merkel's Bluff Called in Poker over Greece
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at an EU summit in Brussels on March 25. Photograph: Spiegel Online International
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: The European Union has hammered out a rescue plan for Greece. If Greece goes belly up, Germany will have to fork over 8 billion euros to the relief effort. The government doesn't want to hear about having "buckled." But there's no doubt that Angela Merkel's days as "Madame Non" are behind her.

Christopher Steegmans, spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel, decided that the best defense would be to go on the offensive. In a press conference held in Berlin on Monday, he declared that the state of the European Union's decision on whether to help Greece was "unchanged" -- lest anyone have a chance to claim the opposite beforehand. As he described it, discussions about the proposed €30 billion ($40.8 billion) rescue package for the crisis-plagued county were only about "hammering out technical details" but the time for talking about last resorts had yet to arrive. "The fact that the fire extinguisher is on the wall," he stated, "says absolutely nothing about the likelihood of its being used."

In other words: There's no reason to get excited. There's nothing to see here. Go on about your business, please.

But something about his hasty and unprompted justification elicited the feeling that something just wasn't right. Hadn't something happened? Hadn't Angela Merkel earned the moniker of "Madame Non" just a few weeks ago among EU heads of state and governments for being such a hard-nosed negotiator and blocking all moves to quickly provide the cash-strapped Greeks with some financial shots in the arm? And hasn't the conversation suddenly turned to very concrete sums running into the billions of euros that Berlin can use to give Athens a hand? 'Buckled?' >>> Philipp Wittrock | Monday, April 12, 2010

A 78 ans, elle épouse un homme de 49 ans
Photo : Gala.fr
GALA.fr: Amoureuse. Liz Taylor est amoureuse, et elle pourrait bientôt se faire passer la corde au cou par un homme de presque 30 ans son cadet, Jason Winters.

On les voyait fouler les tapis rouge ensemble depuis de nombreuses années, (comme sur notre photo, au gala Macy’s Passport, en septembre 2008), ils sont désormais fiancés. Elizabeth Taylor, 78 ans, et Jason Winters, 49 ans, semblent prêts pour l’autel. Ce serait le neuvième mariage de l’actrice. >>> | Lundi 12 Avril 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Elizabeth Taylor denies ninth wedding rumours: Dame Elizabeth Taylor has denied that she is getting married for the ninth time. >>> | Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Russia's Bitter Harvest
LOS ANGELES TIMES: As the Moscow bombings remind, the simmering insurgency and brutal crackdown in the Caucasus have left a landscape of damaged women, some all too ready to spread their pain to Russia's heartland.

Mariyam Sharipova, one of the two women who carried out the attack in Moscow, is seen in a photo on the cellphone of her mother, Patimat Magomedova. (April 12, 2010) Photograph: Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Balakhani, Russia
The last time Patimat Magomedova saw her daughter, she was puttering around the house, manicuring her nails and using henna to dye her hair bright red.

It's high time we take care of the garden, the mother remembers Mariyam Sharipova saying that Friday. Let's plant raspberries, cucumbers, greens. And we have to do something about the kitchen, maybe get some pretty new dishes.

By evening, the young woman had vanished from the house in this remote mountain village in the Russian republic of Dagestan. Magomedova didn't see her daughter's face again until somebody showed her a photograph of a decapitated head. At that moment, she said, "I knew there was no mistake."

Sharipova, 27, had traveled a thousand miles to Moscow and climbed onto a crowded subway train at rush hour with an explosives-packed belt strapped around her waist. She was accompanied by a 17-year-old girl, also from Dagestan, who blew herself up at another station.

In the Russian news media, the women were immediately dubbed "black widows." Their assault on the subway was taken as proof that the country had been shuttled back to the fearsome days when hollow-eyed female militants stalked Moscow and other cities far from the wars where their men fought Russian forces.

The subway bombings also sent ripples of unease across the turbulent, mostly Muslim republics strung along Russia's southern edge. There was angst over the slaying of civilians and fear of retaliation.

But it came as slim surprise that women were ready to die. This, after all, is a landscape of damaged women, grieving losses they dare not dwell upon.

The closer you get to the fighting in the Caucasus, the murkier it appears. The violence in Dagestan, and in neighboring Chechnya and Ingushetia, is not easy to classify -- it's a mix of rebels who want independence from Russia, Islamist extremists bent on waging jihad, local clan and gang warfare and sectarian strife.

And as the fighting intensifies, it is the men who disappear. Masked agents pound on the door and cart them off for questioning. They come back beaten, or not at all. Sometimes the men are rebels; other times, their affiliations are bafflingly vague.

It's the women who are left behind, their status and material comforts tangled up in the choices of their fathers, sons and husbands.

Sharipova lived in a spacious, gated house with grape trellises and dizzying views up the mountainsides. Her mother teaches biology; her father is a self-described "patriot of the motherland" who teaches Russian literature.

She was a serious young woman who studied mathematics, psychology and computers. She was also a homebody who, in the words of her mother, "didn't mix well." When not working as the deputy principal of the village school, she busied herself with home improvement projects, cooked pilaf and fussed over clothes.

The fighting crept into the village. Security forces periodically staged "cleanup operations," swarming Balakhani with armored personnel carriers, helicopters and legions of ground troops, cutting off access to the mosque and searching house by house for signs of rebels. >>> Megan K. Stack | Monday, April 12, 2010

Le numéro deux du Vatican lie pédophilie et homosexualité
LE MONDE: Les scandales de pédophilie qui secouent l'Eglise catholique sont liés à l'homosexualité, pas au célibat des prêtres, a déclaré, lundi 12 avril, le secrétaire d'Etat du Vatican, le cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

"De nombreux psychologues et psychiatres ont démontré qu'il n'y avait aucun lien entre le célibat et la pédophilie et beaucoup d'autres, m'a-t-on dit récemment, qu'il y avait une relation entre l'homosexualité et la pédophilie", a dit le numéro deux du Vatican lors d'une conférence de presse à Santiago, au Chili, où il est en visite. "Cette pathologie touche toutes les catégories de gens, et les prêtres à un moindre degré si l'on regarde les pourcentages", a-t-il poursuivi. >>> LeMonde.fr avec AFP et Reuters | Lundi 12 Avril 2010

Holocaust Remembrance Honors Gay Victims
Photograph: Advocate.com
ADVOCATE.COM: On Sunday, which marked the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, a program of events in Gainesville, Fla. honored gay victims of Nazi persecution. 



Coordinators at B'nai Israel Jewish Center honored gay Holocaust victims as a reminder of the sinister forces that underlie all hate, including recent crimes in the community, according to The Gainesville Sun. 



"Recent homophobic events in the city and the efforts to introduce bigotry and intolerance into the mayor's race showed us that this was a poignant time for us to introduce this topic," Holocaust Memorial Program committee member Phillip
Schwartz told the Sun. Read on and comment >>> Julie Bolcer | Monday, April 12, 2010

Holocaust Memorial Day 2010: "The Legacy of Hope"

Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day 2010
ISRAEL MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: "Take heed... lest you forget the things your eyes have seen... and tell them to your children, and their children after them"
(Deut. 4:9)

Yad Vashem - The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah in Hebrew) is a national day of commemoration in Israel, on which the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust are memorialized. It is a solemn day, beginning at sunset on the 27th of the month of Nisan and ending the following evening, according to the traditional Jewish custom of marking a day. Places of entertainment are closed and memorial ceremonies are held throughout the country.

The central ceremonies, in the evening and the following morning, are held at Yad Vashem and are broadcast on the television. Marking the start of the day - in the presence of the President of the State of Israel and the Prime Minister, dignitaries, survivors, children of survivors and their families, gather together with the general public to take part in the memorial ceremony at Yad Vashem in which six torches, representing the six million murdered Jews, are lit.

The following morning, the ceremony at Yad Vashem begins with the sounding of a siren for two minutes throughout the entire country. For the duration of the sounding, work is halted, people walking in the streets stop, cars pull off to the side of the road and everybody stands at silent attention in reverence to the victims of the Holocaust. Afterward, the focus of the ceremony at Yad Vashem is the laying of wreaths at the foot of the six torches, by dignitaries and the representatives of survivor groups and institutions. Other sites of remembrance in Israel, such as the Ghetto Fighters' Kibbutz and Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, also host memorial ceremonies, as do schools, military bases, municipalities and places of work. >>> | Monday, April 12, 2010

'Cure' Is Found for Skin Cancer, Claim Scientists
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Scientists believe that they have found a cure for skin cancer.

A vaccine being tested in the UK has helped been shown to help some patients fully recover from melanoma, even in its advanced stages.

It attacks tumour cells, leaving healthy cells undamaged and carries agents that boost the body's response to skin cancer.

Dr Howard Kaufman, of Chicago's Rush University Medical Centre, said: "Our study shows we may have a cure for some advanced melanoma patients and a drug which has real benefits for others.

"This will save thousands of lives a year."

Over the past 25 years, rates of melanoma in Britain have risen faster than any other common cancer and 2,000 die from the disease every year. >>> | Sunday, April 11, 2010

PC Alert! Council Considers Banning Word 'Obesity'* to Avoid Offending Overweight Children
THE TELEGRAPH: A council is considering banning the word “obesity” from its health campaigns for fear of offending overweight children.

Liverpool City Council believes the expression could stigmatise youngsters and wants to replace it with the phrase “unhealthy weight”.

If the idea goes ahead, the words “obese” and "obesity" would be dropped from all schemes and strategies aimed at improving children’s diets and health.

However, the plans have been opposed by anti-obesity campaigners who are concerned the new term could lead to the issue being trivialised.

Tam Fry, chair of the obesity prevention charity the Child Growth Foundation, said: “If you’re obese you’re obese. >>> Murray Wardrop | Monday, April 12, 2010

*Okay, Mr Councillor! Just call them ugly fat instead! That should do the trick. Fat, after all, is fat! – © Mark

Hongrie : Large victoire de la droite aux législatives
Partisans de la Fidesz, le parti de Viktor Orban. Photo : Le Temps
LE TEMPS: Le pays bascule à droite et le grand gagnant du 1er tour des législatives hier est l’ancien premier ministre Viktor Orban, avec 53% des voix. En hausse avec plus de 16% des voix , l’extrême-droite entre au Parlement, talonnant désormais les socialistes

Le parti d’opposition de droite Fidesz a remporté une écrasante victoire dès le premier tour des élections législatives dimanche en Hongrie, tandis que l’extrême droite a réussi une percée et fait son entrée au Parlement.

Sur la base de 99% des bulletins de vote dépouillés par le Bureau national électoral (OVI), le Fidesz totalise 52,77% des suffrages et est déjà assuré de détenir au moins 206 sièges sur les 386 du parlement monocaméral. Le premier tour de scrutin a permis de répartir un total de 265 sièges entre les quatre partis représentés.

Il faudra cependant attendre le deuxième tour le 25 avril pour savoir si le Fidesz disposera de la majorité des deux tiers dans la nouvelle assemblée, ce qui lui permettrait de réviser la Constitution.

Son charismatique dirigeant, l’ex-Premier ministre Viktor Orban, âgé de 46 ans, a ainsi réussi à prendre sa revanche sur les socialistes et à mettre un terme à son purgatoire de huit années dans l’opposition.

«Les Hongrois ont choisi l’union, la sécurité et l’ordre, ils ont voté pour la Hongrie, pour l’avenir», a-t-il lancé sous les applaudissement de plusieurs centaines de ses fidèles dans le centre de Budapest dimanche soir. «Aujourd’hui les Hongrois ont vaincu le désespoir» a-t-il ajouté, tout en reconnaissant qu’il était conscient de «l’immense défi auquel (il allait) devoir faire face». >>> AFP | Lundi 12 Avril 2010

Canada: la loi anti-tabac bénéfique contre les maladies respiratoires
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: ÉTUDE | Une recherche publiée lundi aux Etats-Unis montre que les hospitalisations ont fortement baissé à Toronto suite à l'entrée en vigueur d’une loi anti-tabac en 2001 au Canada.

Les hospitalisations à Toronto pour des problèmes cardiovasculaires et respiratoires ont baissé respectivement de 39% et 33% depuis l’entrée en vigueur d’une loi anti-tabac en 2001 au Canada, selon une recherche parue lundi aux Etats-Unis.

Cette étude a été menée durant dix ans sur une base étendue de population dans ce centre urbain pour mesurer les effets de l’interdiction de fumer dans les restaurants.

"Des recherches mesurant précisément l’impact d’une loi anti-tabac sur les maladies cardiovasculaires et respiratoires pourraient avoir un énorme impact sur la santé publique étant donné que les maladies résultant du tabagisme pourraient faire un milliard de morts au XXIe siècle dans le monde", écrit le Dr. Alisa Naiman, de l’Université de Toronto et un des coauteurs de ces travaux qui paraissent dans le Journal of the Canadian Medical Association, et également publiés aux Etats-Unis. >>> AFP | Lundi 12 Avril 2010

Genfer Gericht gibt Ghadhafi Recht – kommt Bewegung in Fall Göldi?
TAGES ANZEIGER: Die Zeitung «Tribune de Genève» hätte die Polizeifotos des Sohns des libyschen Staatschefs nicht publizieren dürfen, befand der Richter. Das Urteil ist für Amnesty International «ein wichtiger Schritt».

Laut dem erstinstanzlichen Urteil sei die Persönlichkeit von Hannibal Ghadhafi durch die Publikation der Polizeifotos durch die «Tribune de Genève» verletzt worden, sagte Marc Hassberger, Anwalt der Genfer Tageszeitung. Der Anwalt hatte das Urteil am Montag erhalten. Laut Hassberger sei der Richter zum Schluss gekommen, die Zeitung habe mit der Publikation die verschiedenen Interessen falsch gewichtet.

Der Richter verurteilte die Zeitung deshalb dazu, das Urteil zu publizieren - sowohl in ihrer Printausgabe wie auch auf der Internetseite. Das Urteil publizieren muss auch der Kanton Genf. Drei Viertel der dadurch entstehenden Kosten gehen zulasten des Kantons, erklärte Hassberger. Der Rest müsse die Zeitung übernehmen. Kein Schmerzensgeld für Ghadhafi >>> vin/sda | Montag, 12. April 2010

Jobbik-Politikerin Morvai: "Ungarn muss notfalls aus der EU austreten"
WELT ONLINE: Die rechtsextreme Jobbik hat es erstmals ins ungarische Parlament geschafft. Auf WELT ONLINE erklärt deren Europa-Abgeordnete Krisztina Morvai, inwiefern sie die EU für undemokratisch hält, wie sie über Juden und Roma denkt und was ihre Partei mit der neu gewonnenen Macht in Ungarn anfangen will.

Krisztina Morvai sitzt im Europaparlament, ist aber EU-kritisch. Bild: Welt Online
Wenn die rechtsextreme Jobbik (Die Besseren) ihre gut besuchten Versammlungen abhält, dann weht ein Hauch von Zwischenkriegsmitteleuropa mit seinen Freikorps und Bürgerwehren durch den Saal. Als Partei gegründet wurde die Jobbik im Jahr 2003. Die Gründung der Ungarischen Garde und die Hassrhetorik gegen die angeblich „kriminellen Zigeuner“ beschleunigten den Aufstieg der Jobbik, deren bittere Ressentiments sich auch gegen Juden und Homosexuelle richten. Mit 16,7 Prozent zieht die Partei nun erstmals ins Parlament ein. >>> Von Thomas Roser | Montag, 12. April 2010

Espagne: le juge Garzon fait appel
LE FIGARO: Le juge espagnol Baltasar Garzon a fait appel aujourd'hui de la décision d'un juge du Tribunal suprême de le déférer en justice pour avoir voulu enquêter sur les disparus de la guerre civile espagnole et de la dictature franquiste en ignorant une loi d'amnistie générale, a annoncé son avocat. >>> AFP | Samedi 10 Avril 2010

ZEIT ONLINE: Spanien – Solidarität für Baltasar Garzón: Arrogant, stur, unbestechlich – der spanische "Superrichter" und Kämpfer für Menschenrechte hat viele Feinde in aller Welt. Sie wollen ihn jetzt zum Schweigen bringen. >>> Von Werner A. Perger | Montag, 12. April 2010

Religious Tolerance Has Put a Fatwa On Our Moral Nerve
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Religious freedom has turned out to be a mixed blessing. The idea was once an article of faith with me, irreligious though I am. But my faith is beginning to weaken. Religion has turned out to be different from what tolerant people of my monocultural childhood understood by it — a system of private belief and devotion that did not intrude into the public space except through charity and uncontroversial good works.

Now, by contrast, religion is constantly claiming attention in the public space and demanding special treatment. It is also abused in the name of divisive identity politics. All this makes even the most tolerant liberal think twice about freedom of religious expression.

Last week’s case of the self-styled “crucified” nurse is a perfect example of the problem. Shirley Chaplin, an experienced ward sister and devout Christian, discovered at an employment tribunal that — despite the support of seven bishops and a mention in the Easter sermon of the Archbishop of Canterbury — she had lost her battle to be allowed to wear a crucifix at work in the wards of the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital. Her crucifix is on a long chain and although she has worn it at work for many years, a recent hospital risk assessment found that it breached health and safety rules. This decision was upheld by the employment tribunal.

“I don’t use the word crucified lightly,” said Chaplin, “but in one sense I have been crucified by the system. Every Christian at work will now be afraid to mention their beliefs.” What on earth can she mean? The reverse is the truth. The hospital suggested to her as a compromise that she might indeed wear her crucifix openly at work, but pinned to her uniform rather than on a chain — rather as nurses wear watches pinned to their frontage for reasons of hygiene — thus publicly displaying her beliefs at all times.

One can, however, sympathise with something else she feels. Commenting that Muslim hospital staff have been allowed to continue wearing head coverings, she said that “Muslims do not seem to face the same rigorous application of NHS rules”. There’s certainly some truth in that.

At the end of March it emerged that female Muslim doctors and nurses are indeed to have special treatment on National Health Service wards. Non-Muslim staff in direct contact with patients must keep their arms bare to the elbow for important hygiene reasons — to make sure their sleeves do not become contaminated and so they can wash their hands thoroughly on ward rounds.

Their Muslim female counterparts, however, have been given a special dispensation by the Department of Health. Because some Muslims consider nudity of the female forearm to be immodest, Muslim doctors and nurses are to be issued with disposable sleeves, elasticated at wrist and elbow, to cover up the erogenous zone that lies between. This is absurd, unfair, wasteful and yet another example, as Chaplin and her episcopal supporters (and I) all feel, of the bias in favour of a vociferous religious minority. >>> Minette Marrin | Sunday, April 11, 2010

Euro Rallies On €30 Billion Greek Rescue
TIMES ONLINE: The euro surged to a one-month high and stock markets in Europe and Asia rallied today as traders welcomed a €30 billion (£26.5 billion) loans package for Greece, agreed by the currency's member countries to help the country tackle its debt crisis.

The euro surged to $1.3691 against the dollar, its highest level since mid-March, although concerns about the long-term nature of Greece's debt burden and worries about how the loans package would be implemented limited its gains.

The euro later dropped to $1.3574. Having fallen off sharply last week, it closed in New York on Friday at $1.3497.

"The euro is firmer as traders took heart from the Sunday announcement of the aid package for Greece,” said Daisuke Karakama, a currency analyst at Mizuho Corporate Bank. >>> Miles Costello, David Charter, Brussels | Monday, April 12, 2010

Nation Falls Silent as Grieving Poles Mark the Passing of Lech Kaczynski
TIMES ONLINE: Lech Kaczynski, the late President of Poland, returned home yesterday to a country struck dumb with grief and confusion.

The air crash that wiped out the head of state, the chief of the general staff, the chairman of the security services, the central bank governor and Solidarity heroes has left Poland reeling, unsteady and uncertain.

As the red and white Polish flag on the President’s casket flapped in the wind, the honour guard at Warsaw airport struck up the National Anthem. The president’s ashen-faced twin brother Jaroslaw, the Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, and parliamentarians fortunate enough not to have been on the doomed presidential plane, moved their lips to the words of the anthem: Poland has yet to perish/As long as we still live/That which foreign force has seized/We at sabre point shall retrieve.

Then, the casket made its way in a hearse through the streets of the silent capital. Tens of thousands lined the route, rushing in front of the police escort to place carnations on the road, snatching off their hats, dropping to their knees.

The only noise: the revving of hundreds of civilian motorbike riders, waving the national flag, who had decided spontaneously to follow the cortege, like seagulls in the wake of a ferryboat.

“It’s a group trauma,” said a catering entrepreneur, Kaja Burakiewicz, “we’re still struggling to understand.” >>> Roger Boyes, Warsaw | Monday, April 12, 2010

Robert Harris on The Ghost

Senegal: Renaissance or Hubris?

Virtual Obsession Leads to Baby’s Death

Les doutes de la France sur les visions de la Maison-Blanche
LE FIGARO: Si officiellement, la France applaudit aux initiatives de désarmement nucléaire de Barack Obama, elle s'estime par ailleurs «hors concours» en matière de désarmement stratégique.

Officiellement, Paris applaudit aux initiatives de désarmement nucléaire de Barack Obama. À l'Élysée, on considère que le président américain a «raison de vouloir avancer sur tous les fronts». «Dans cet immense chantier, nous sommes à côté de lui», souligne-t-on.

En apparence, ce «chantier» lancé à Prague il y a un an par le nouveau président américain, qui rêve d'un monde débarrassé des armes nucléaires, avance à pas de géant. Russes et Américains ont enfin trouvé un accord pour renouveler le traité de désarmement stratégique Start, enclenchant ainsi une normalisation de leurs relations; la nouvelle posture nucléaire américaine (NPR) a réduit le rôle de la dissuasion; les experts en communication de la Maison-Blanche ont réussi à faire du sommet de Washington une réussite avant même qu'il ne commence… Bref, tout va bien dans le meilleur des mondes.

La réalité est en fait un peu différente. Les visions, d'abord. Celle d'Obama, même si elle s'inscrit dans un projet à très long terme, suscite parfois la controverse, des deux côtés de l'Atlantique. Dans un contexte général de prolifération, quotidiennement alimenté par l'Iran et la Corée du Nord, beaucoup estiment qu'il serait dangereux que les grandes puissances nucléaires baissent trop vite la garde. La France, qui a déjà largement diminué la taille de sa dissuasion pour la maintenir au strict niveau de suffisance, et qui considère qu'elle est la garantie ultime de sa sécurité et de son indépendance, s'estime par ailleurs «hors concours» en matière de désarmement stratégique. >>> Par Isabelle Lasserre | Dimanche 11 Avril 2010

Police Investigate Homosexual Link in Terreblanche Killing
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: South African police are investigating whether there was a link between homosexual sex and the murder of far-Right leader Eugene Terreblanche at him farm.

Police had earlier said a pay dispute led to the killing of Eugene Terreblanche. Photograph: The Telegraph
Puna Moroko, the lawyer for Chris Mahlangu, 28, the elder of two people accused of the killing, said that "something shocking happened on that day".

A police spokesman confirmed that was among possibilities being investigated. Police had earlier said a pay dispute had led to the killing of Mr Terreblanche, on the political margins since his efforts to preserve apartheid in the early 1990s.

"We are not going to focus on one thing," said Musa Zondi of the Hawks investigative unit, adding that a sexual link was among the many accusations being made over the case.

"We will investigate all pertinent facts that have a bearing on the matter," he said.

General Jan Mabula, head of the Hawks in the North West Province, said the suspects' clothes were to be examined as part of checks into whether there was a sexual link. >>> Sebastien Berger In Johannesburg | Sunday, April 11, 2010

Christopher Cazenove: Septicaemia, a Deadly Bacteria in our Midst
THE TELEGRAPH: The sudden death of 'Dynasty' actor Christopher Cazenove has put septicaemia back in the news.

Christopher Cazenove with Dynasty co-stars. Photo: The Telegraph
The death of former Dynasty star Christopher Cazenove from septicaemia last week is a reminder that, despite advances in medical treatment and standards of hygiene, septicaemia or blood poisoning – a common cause of death in childbirth until the mid-1930s – remains a fast-acting and extremely dangerous condition.

The 66-year-old actor contracted the infection at the end of February after complaining of migraines during a business trip to California. On his return to the UK, he was treated at St Thomas's Hospital, in London, where he died on April 7.

Septicaemia occurs as a result of bacteraemia, the proliferation of bacteria in the bloodstream. In many cases, the source of the infection is never clear but it may be due to a wound, internal bleeding after an accident, or it can arise from an infection within the body, in the intestines or urinary tract, for example.

"Septicaemia occurs when toxins produced by bacteria in the bloodstream hyper-stimulate the patient's immune system," explains infections expert Prof Mark Enright, formerly of Imperial College London. "Your body is trying to fight the infection by pumping more blood around, so you get far too hot, which can lead to organ failure."

Any type of bacterium can cause septicaemia, but the most common types of infection are streptococcal, staphylococcal – which includes the hospital superbug MRSA* – and meningococcal. Sometimes there is an obvious site of infection such as a wound or laceration, but not always.

"In 40 per cent of septicaemia cases, there is no obvious site of entry," says George Griffin, Professor of Infectious Diseases at St George's Hospital, University of London. "The infection generally progresses quickly, and early symptoms are usually low blood pressure, altered consciousness and high fever, sometimes accompanied by chills." >>> Tammy Cohen | Monday, April 12, 2010

*THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Muslim staff escape NHS hygiene rule: Muslim doctors and nurses are to be allowed to opt out of strict hygiene rules introduced by the NHS to restrict the spread of hospital superbugs. >>> | Sunday, April 11, 2010

Bishop 'Blames Jews' for Criticism of Catholic Church Record on Abuse
THE GUARDIAN: A furious transatlantic row has erupted over quotes that were attributed to a retired Italian bishop, which suggested that Jews were behind the current criticism of the Catholic church's record on tackling clerical sex abuse.

A website quoted Giacomo Babini, the emeritus bishop of Grosseto, as saying he believed a "Zionist attack" was behind the criticism, considering how "powerful and refined" the criticism is.

The comments, which have been denied by the bishop, follow a series of statements from Catholic churchmen alleging the existence of plots to weaken the church and Pope Benedict XVI.

Allegedly speaking to the Catholic website Pontifex, Babini, 81, was quoted as saying: "They do not want the church, they are its natural enemies. Deep down, historically speaking, the Jews are God killers."

The interview was spotted on Friday by the American Jewish Committee, which said Babini was using "slanderous stereotypes, which sadly evoke the worst Christian and Nazi propaganda prior to world war two" [sic].

On its website, the American Jewish Group Committee quoted bishop Vincenzo Paglia, an official at the Italian Bishops' Conference, as saying Babini's remarks were "entirely contrary to the official line and mainstream thought of the Catholic church". >>> Tom Kington, Rome | Sunday, April 11, 2010

Hungary's Opposition Wins First Round of Voting
Hungarian women in traditional costume leave a voting booth in Mezokovesd during Sunday's elections. Photograph: The Wall Street Journal
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: BUDAPEST—Hungary's center-right opposition party Fidesz garnered 52.8% of the vote in Sunday's first round of parliamentary elections, while all other parties gained considerably less support, the country's national election office OVI said after processing 99% of the votes.

The ruling minority Socialist Party gained 19.3% of the votes, while the extremist right-wing party Jobbik received 16.7% and green party LMP got 7.4%. No other party crossed the 5% threshold of voter support to get into Parliament.

Both Jobbik and the LMP will make it to Parliament for the first time. Considerable support for Jobbik, known for its anti-Semitic and anti-Roma statements, could be a concern because it could hinder economic reforms.

The final results from the first round are still due. The second round of the elections is scheduled for April 25.

If Fidesz prevails, the new government's stance on fiscal policy and structural reforms will be crucial for investor sentiment toward Hungary, the first European Union country that secured International Monetary Fund support amid the global financial crisis. >>> Margit Feher | Monday, April 12, 2010

Hungary Far Right Needles Fidesz
THE NEW YORK TIMES: BUDAPEST - Hungary's Fidesz, which scored a sweeping victory at Sunday's election, said on Monday it would focus on creating jobs while the far-right Jobbik promised "spectacular" politics to clamp down on "Gypsy crime."

The leader of Jobbik, which bagged one in every six votes to win nearly as many seats as the punished ruling Socialists in Hungary's swing to the right, said it would not be invisible in the next parliament with its new-found clout.

The expectation on Fidesz to act quickly to put Hungary on the path to sustainable growth after near financial collapse will be huge, and investors are wary about whether Jobbik will try to hamper reforms. >>> Reuters | Monday, April 12, 2010

Across Europe, Support for Populist Parties Is On the Rise
DEUTSCHE WELLE: In recent months, extreme right-wing and populist parties have won significant gains in regional and parliamentary elections in Europe. For them, times of crisis are a boon.

As Europe grows together, expanding its visa-free zone toward Iceland and the Ukrainian border, many citizens are beginning to see themselves firstly as Europeans rather than as citizens of their individual countries.

But not everyone supports the breaking down of national barriers. In recent months, xenophobic and right-wing parties have made spectacular political gains across Europe.

In Hungary on Sunday, the far-right Jobbik party won well over 16 percent of votes in parliamentary elections, marking the first entry of an openly right-wing extremist party into parliament. With the country hard-hit by recession, Jobbik capitalized on rising nationalism and a resurgence of anti-Semitism and anti-Gypsy sentiment to win votes.

Jobbik's rise echoes that of France's right-wing Front National party, Italy's xenophobic Northern League and the Netherland's conservative Party for Freedom, which all saw dramatic gains in recent elections.

Although right-wing ideology takes different forms across Europe, it shares a common strategy: exploiting the fears of voters in times of crisis. Right-wing populists focus on their followers' discontent, says Wolfgang Kapust of German public broadcaster WDR.

"They offer easy answers to complicated problems: the economic situation, unemployment or social insecurity," said Kapust. "Above all, they want to get rid of, deport or 'send home' foreigners and 'the others.' " >>> | Monday, April 12, 2010

Markanter Rechtsrutsch: Weist Ungarns Wahlsieger die Rechtsextremen endlich in die Schranken?
NZZ ONLINE – Kommentar: Die ungarischen Parlamentswahlen haben die politische Landschaft des Landes umgepflügt. Die rechtskonservativen Jungdemokraten (Fidesz) unter Viktor Orban triumphieren. Die Sozialisten, die in den letzten acht Jahren regiert haben, erleiden eine Schlappe. Sie haben die Quittung für Misswirtschaft und Korruption erhalten. Ungarn, einst Spitzenreiter bei der Transformation in Ostmitteleuropa, ist zum Bittsteller geworden. Im Herbst 2008 stand das Land am Rande des Staatsbankrotts und konnte nur mit Hilfe des Internationalen Währungsfonds vor dem Absturz bewahrt werden. Hinzu kommt die Langzeitwirkung der sogenannten Lügenrede des damaligen Regierungschefs Gyurcsany. Dieser hatte nach dem Wahlsieg von 2006 hinter verschlossenen Türen erklärt, die Sozialisten hätten gelogen, um die Wahlen zu gewinnen. >>> C. Sr. | Montag, 12. April 2010

Mass Held in Honor of Polish President

Hungary Elections: First Step to Power for Far-Right Since Nazi Era
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The far-Right is poised to take parliamentary seats for the first time since the Second World War, in Hungary's national elections.

Jobbik Rally Dunakeszi Hungary. Vona Gabor addresses suporters. Photograph: The Telegraph
Fidesz, Hungary's centre-right party, is expected to sweep out the unpopular Socialist government and Jobbik, a far-right party is predicted to take second place after Sunday's elections.

Hungary's largest Jewish organisation warned that the vote was "the first occasion that a movement pursuing openly anti-Semitic policies" has taken a step to power since the Nazi era.

Hungary's election gains for Jobbik follow a upsurge in support for the far-Right across Europe.

Last month, French regional elections, dominated by debates over immigration, saw electoral revival for the National Front. In June, Dutch elections could propel Geert Wilders, whose anti-Islamic, hard-right Freedom Party leads the polls, into power.

Amid rising unemployment, Hungary was the first European Union country to turn to the International Monetary Fund for an £18 billion bailout last year.

Jobbik has risen by using Hungary's deep economic crisis to revive traditional Hungarian scape-goating of Jewish and gypsy, or Roma, communities for joblessness and poverty.

It has close links with the Magyar Garda or Hungarian Guard, a banned paramilitary group with insignia modelled on the Arrow Cross of Hungary's wartime Nazis.

Gabor Vona, Jobbik's 31-year old leader, has vowed to be sworn in as an MP wearing the banned uniform. "I will keep my promise to go into parliament on the first day in a Garda vest," he said.

The Guards, founded by Mr Vona, have polarised Hungary by staging a series of marches against "gypsy crime" through small countryside towns and villages with large Roma communities. An unprecedented series of Roma killings in 2008 and 2009 claimed six lives in several villages. >>> Bruno Waterfield, in Brussels | Sunday, April 11, 2010

Machtwechsel: Ungarn gleitet nach rechts ab
20MINUTEN.ch: Bei der Parlamentswahl in Ungarn hat die konservative Fidesz-Partei des ehemaligen Ministerpräsidenten Viktor Orban einen klaren Sieg errungen. Damit steht das wirtschaftlich angeschlagene EU- Mitgliedsland vor einem Rechtsruck.

Die Rechte hat in Ungarn am Sonntag die Parlamentswahlen nach Umfragen klar für sich entschieden. Den grossen Meinungsforschungsinstituten des Landes zufolge stimmten 54 bis 57 Prozent der Wähler für den rechts-konservativen Bund Junger Demokraten (FIDESZ). Damit kommt es wohl zum Regierungswechsel.

Auch die rechtsextreme Jobbik (Die Besseren) dürfte mit 15 bis 17 Prozent erstmals ins Parlament einziehen. Dagegen kam die regierende Ungarische Sozialistische Partei (MSZP) den Umfragen zufolge nur auf 19 bis 20 Prozent der Stimmen.

Die links-ökologische Partei «Politik kann anders sein» (LMP) dürfte mit 5,5 bis 6 Prozent erstmals den Sprung in die Volksvertretung geschafft haben.

Offizielle Ergebnisse wurden nicht mitgeteilt, da einige Wahllokale länger geöffnet bleiben mussten. Die FIDESZ-Partei erklärte, die Wahlleitung überschreite ihre Kompetenzen und müsse zurücktreten.

In mehreren Bezirken hatten sich lange Schlangen vor den Wahllokalen gebildet. Deshalb war dort die Stimmabgabe auch noch nach der offiziellen Schliessung um 19.00 Uhr möglich. Wie die Landeswahlkommission (OVB) in Budapest mitteilte, war jedoch nicht erhöhtes Wähleraufkommen Grund für die Warteschlangen, vielmehr hätten administrative Unzulänglichkeiten dazu geführt. Wohl absolute Mehrheit für FIDESZ >>> sda | Sonntag, 11. April 2010

La Hongrie s'apprête à basculer à droite
LE MONDE: La Hongrie, qui exercera au premier semestre 2011 la présidence de l'Union européenne, se prépare à un bouleversement de son paysage politique lors des élections législatives des 11 et 25 avril. Tous les instituts de sondage prédisent une majorité absolue, peut-être même des deux tiers, à la principale force de l'opposition de droite, le Fidesz, de l'ancien premier ministre Viktor Orban.

L'autre enjeu de ce scrutin législatif, le sixième depuis la fin du communisme il y a vingt ans, sera de confirmer ou non la poussée du parti d'extrême droite Jobbik, qui a capté d'emblée près de 15 % des voix aux élections européennes en 2009, déjouant alors tous les pronostics. Sur sa lancée, le parti de Gabor Vona et de Krisztina Morvai, ses deux figures de proue, s'est donné pour objectif de décrocher la deuxième place au Parlement, devant MSZP, le Parti socialiste hongrois. Au pouvoir depuis 2002, ce dernier est usé par des affaires de corruption qui ont écœuré l'opinion publiqu, et par la politique de rigueur budgétaire qu'ils ont dû se résoudre à mener, avec le secours du Fonds monétaire international, pour sauver le pays de la banqueroute. Mais il semble que le Jobbik (son nom joue à la fois sur l'idée de "droite" et de "meilleur") a visé trop haut, et devra se contenter de la troisième place. >>> Joëlle Stolz | Dimanche 11 Avril 2010

WIKI: Gábor Vona >>>

Far-right Party Jobbik On Course for Breakthrough in Hungarian Elections
The Vencel family display their support of the Hungarian Hussar Unit at the poll. Photograph: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: A far-right party whose candidates have voiced anti-Semitic and anti-Gypsy rhetoric was on course for a breakthrough in Hungarian elections amid predictions that it could even beat the governing socialists into third place.

Jobbik, which maintains a uniformed wing that marches in military formation, was set last night to win its first parliamentary seats against the backdrop of anti-Government resentment and an economic downturn.

Opinion polls yesterday predicted a landslide victory for the opposition centre-right Fidesz party, which last ruled between 1998 and 2002.

It has promised to create a million jobs over the next decade, stamp out corruption and revamp the Byzantine tax system in a country where unemployment is 11 per cent. Harsh austerity measures have also been implemented under the terms of an IMF loan of €20 billion (£17.5 billion) in 2008.

However, there are fears that a strong showing by Jobbik, one of a number of far-right groups making gains in Europe, could weaken investor confidence and deepen the country’s crisis, which may account for a stream of recent stories attacking the party.

The Jobbik spokesman Andras Kiraly resigned after pictures of him at the Toronto Gay Pride parade appeared on the internet, and a female member of the Magyar Garda, the party’s uniformed organisation, was revealed to have starred in a lesbian pornographic film. >>> Adam LeBor, Budapest | Monday, April 12, 2010

The power of Oprah
THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: Virtually no television network has shown interest in Kitty Kelley's new biography of the chat-show host

She has built her fame and considerable fortune by baring her soul to a nation of telly addicts on an almost daily basis. But despite her carefully cultivated "woman of the people" image, Oprah Winfrey takes an exceedingly dim view of any outsiders impertinent enough to wonder what really makes her tick.

That, at least, is the verdict of the celebrity biographer Kitty Kelley, one of the book industry's foremost scandalmongers, who claims the magisterial chat-show host's personal privacy is protected by a brand of media censorship so far reaching that it might have turned Senator McCarthy green with envy.

Ms Kelley, who has previously taken a typewriter-shaped hatchet to the lives of such luminaries as Nancy Reagan, Frank Sinatra, and the British Royal Family, will tomorrow publish an unauthorised biography of Winfrey, which is expected to delve into her abusive childhood and somewhat mysterious sex life.

The eagerly awaited tome will have a print run of 500,000, and sufficient buzz already to be in the top 25 of Amazon's sales charts. Yet in contrast to almost every other biography of Ms Kelley's career (many of which have been number one bestsellers) the launch of Oprah has attracted virtually no interest from major TV channels.

Every US network – with the exception of NBC, which will have her on Monday's Today show – is reported to have decided, after some consideration, not to feature the author in its programmes. The management of ABC allegedly slapped a formal ban on her appearing on its airwaves.

In an interview this week, Kelley blamed the blackballing on a collective paranoia across the industry about upsetting Winfrey, who remains one of the most powerful individuals in broadcasting and exerts a mysterious hold over prominent talk show hosts who have refused to have anything to do with the new book.

"We have already been told by Barbara Walters' producer 'no, you cannot be on The View. I cannot disrupt my relationship with Oprah'," Kelley revealed to The New York Times last week. "Joy Behar, the same thing. Charlie Rose; Larry King said 'I will not do it, it might upset Oprah'. Even David Letterman." >>> Guy Adams | Sunday, April 11, 2010

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