Egypt’s Coptic Christians Celebrate First Post-Mubarak Christmas

THE GLOBE AND MAIL: Egypt’s Christians celebrated Saturday their first Christmas after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, amid tight security and a display of national unity to allay fears of the growing power of Islamists.

The Coptic Orthodox celebration follows an escalation in violence against the minority, an estimated 10 per cent of Egypt’s 85 million people, over the past year.

Many Christians blamed a series of street clashes, assaults on churches, and other attacks on radical Islamists who have become increasingly bold after Mr. Mubarak’s downfall.

Celebrations of Orthodox Christmas began with a late night Friday Mass at Cairo’s main cathedral, which was attended by prominent figures from across Egypt’s political spectrum. They included leaders of Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group whose associated political party has won nearly half the seats in parliament. » | Sarah El Deeb | The Associated Press | CAIRO | Saturday, January 07, 2012

THE GUARDIAN: Egypt's Coptic pope celebrates Christmas with call for unity: Figures from across political spectrum attend mass at Cairo's main Coptic cathedral amid fears of rising sectarian tension ¶ As Coptic Christians celebrated their first Christmas after the Egyptian revolution, their pope called for national unity amid fears that their community will suffer under Islamic majority rule. ¶ Copts, who use of a 13-month calendar dating back to pharaonic times, celebrated Christmas Day on Saturday. ¶ At the start of the festive celebrations in Egypt, prominent figures from across the political spectrum, including leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and members of the ruling military council, attended Friday night mass at Cairo's main Coptic cathedral. ¶ The Coptic pope, Shenouda III, commended their presence and appealed for national unity for "the sake of Egypt". ¶ He said: "For the first time in the history of the cathedral, it is packed with all types of Islamist leaders in Egypt. They all agree ... on the stability of this country, and in loving it and working for it, and to work with the Copts as one hand for the sake of Egypt." » | David Shariatmadari and Damien Pearse | Saturday, January 07, 2012

Royal Navy Sends Its Mightiest Ship to Take On the Iranian Show of Force in the Gulf
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Royal Navy's most formidable warship is being sent to the Gulf for its first mission as tensions rise in the strategically vital region, it can be disclosed.

Iran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, which served as the conduit for 17 millions barrels of oil every day last year.

Naval commanders believe the deployment of HMS Daring, a Type 45 destroyer, will send a significant message to the Iranians because of the firepower and world-beating technology carried by the warship.

Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, has publicly warned Iran that any blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would be "illegal and unsuccessful".

The Daily Telegraph understands that HMS Daring has been fitted with new technology that will give it the ability to shoot down any missile in Iran's armoury. The £1 billion destroyer, which will leave Portsmouth next Wednesday, also carries the world's most sophisticated naval radar, capable of tracking multiple incoming threats from missiles to fighter jets. » | Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent | Friday, January 06, 2012

Foreign Office Warns of Terrorism Risk in Kenya
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Foreign Office has warned of an increased risk of terrorism in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

The warning came as Kenya admitted the threat from Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab insurgents from neighbouring Somalia was not "totally neutralised."

Foreign Office officials said they believed there was a heightened threat of "terrorist attacks" in the Kenyan capital and that attacks "may be in the final stages of planning."

"Attacks could be indiscriminate and target Kenyan institutions as well as places where expatriates and foreign travellers gather, such as hotels, shopping centres and beaches. We strongly advise British Nationals to exercise extra vigilance and caution in public places and at public events," the FCO said in a statement. » | Friday, January 07, 2012

Cameron Set for New Row with Europe over Closer Harmonisation

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Cameron is facing a fresh row with France and Germany over plans to more closely integrate the European Union.

A draft treaty circulating in Brussels this weekend states that the 26 EU members states planning to sign a new fiscal treaty should be allowed to set their own policies for Europe’s single market.

The proposed treaty also stipulates that the key bodies of the union should be allowed to police tough new deficit rules – directly contradicting the British Prime Minister’s wishes.

Mr Cameron refused to sign the new treaty at a summit in Brussels in December, where he said it would be wrong for the group of 26 to use the European Council, European Court of Justice and other EU institutions to drive through and oversee closer harmonisation of tax and spending policies by governments.

It is understood changes were made to the draft treaty over the Christmas period in accordance with French wishes for “deeper integration in the internal market”. » | Robert Watts, Deputy Political Editor | Saturday, January 07, 2012

Countess of Wessex Criticised for Accepting Jewels from Bahrain

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Countess of Wessex has been criticised for accepting two sets of jewels from the royal family of Bahrain.

The countess, 46, was given the gifts during a recent official visit to the country.

She was given one set by Bahrain’s king and a second set by the country’s prime minister, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa.

Her husband, the earl, received a pen and a watch.

Critics said the countess should sell the gems and give the proceeds to political protesters in Bahrain.

Denis MacShane, a former Foreign Office minister, said: “Given the appalling suffering and repression of the Bahraini people, it would be a fitting gesture for the Countess of Wessex to auction these trinkets and distribute the proceeds to the victims of the regime.” » | Andy Bloxham | Friday, January 06, 2012

THE GUARDIAN: Countess of Wessex 'should return bloodstained' gems to Bahrain: Labour MP Denis MacShane and activist Peter Tatchell call on Sophie to return jewels after crackdown on democracy protests ¶ Gems accepted by the Countess of Wessex from Bahrain's royal family should be sold to benefit victims of the regime's crackdown on pro-democracy campaigners, according to a former foreign office minister. ¶ The countess received two suites of jewels as presents during a day-long visit to the Arab state in December, while her husband Prince Edward received a pen, a watch and a silk rug. » | Damien Pearse | Saturday, January 07, 2012

Stevie Wonder - I Just Called To Say I Love You

US Election 2012: Ann Romney's Welsh Connection
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Ann Romney's Welsh cakes on the US election campaign trail in Iowa offered a glimpse into her family's Celtic working class roots.

Amid the bleak concrete strip malls of the first stop on this year's US presidential election campaign trail, they were a delicious reminder of the green grass of home.

Welsh cakes, baked by Mitt Romney's wife Ann, were the talk of freezing Iowa last week among the campaign staff, supporters and journalists lucky enough to catch her eye.

As well as taming the hungry travelling circus around the Republican front-runner's campaign, they also offered a glimpse of the working-class British ancestry of the would-be First Lady of America.

She may now be one half of a glamorous multi-millionaire power couple, but Mrs Romney’s roots stretch back to the tiny mining village of Caerau, near Bridgend.

“I am a coal miner’s granddaughter,” Mrs Romney, 62, said at a campaign stop.

“I feel I am just one foot away from where that mine was and how close we all are, all of us, to the sacrifices of our parents and grandparents who tried to make a better life for us.”

That grandfather, David Davies, emigrated to the US in the 1920s after being crushed in a mining accident. He did whatever work he could find to pay for his family to join him.

His wife, daughter and three sons – one of them 15-year-old Edward Roderick “Rod” Davies, future father of Mrs Romney – arrived in 1929, just as Wall Street crashed and the Great Depression struck. » | Raf Sanchez, Washington and Jon Swaine | Friday, January 06, 2012

Jamaica Vows to Drop Queen as Head of State

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Portia Simpson Miller, the new prime minister of Jamaica, has vowed to abandon the Queen as head of state and turn the country into a republic.

Mrs Simpson Miller made the pledge just weeks after it was announced that Prince Harry would visit the Caribbean nation later this year to mark the Queen's diamond jubilee.

The constitutional changes are not expected to disrupt his trip but may lead to a potentially embarrassing diplomatic situation where a representative of the monarchy visits Jamaica at the same time the government is working to sever its links to the crown.

Speaking at her inauguration on Thursday, Mrs Simpson Miller offered a fulsome tribute in English to the monarch, saying: "I love the Queen. She is a beautiful lady, and apart from being a beautiful lady, a wise lady and a wonderful lady."

However, she pointedly switched to Jamaican patois as she told the crowd of 10,000: "But I think the time has come." » | Raf Sanchez, Washington | Friday, January 06, 2012

Michelle Obama 'Raged Against Rahm Emmanuel and White House Advisors'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Michelle Obama clashed frequently with Rahm Emmanuel, her husband's White House chief of staff, as the pair vied for influence over the President, according to a new book.

The First Lady reportedly believed that Mr Emmanuel's willingness to cut backroom deals during the battle over health care reform was tainting Barack Obama's image as a new kind of American leader.

The Obamas paints a picture of a presidential inner circle divided between Mrs Obama's idealistic belief in what the administration could achieve and the grittier pragmatism of Mr Emmanuel.

The book, written by New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor, claims that the chief of staff refused to allow the president's wife into high-level morning meetings, leading a brooding Mrs Obama to berate other senior advisers by email.

She allegedly sent furious notes to Alyssa Mastromonaco, the president's director of scheduling, and to Valerie Jarrett, a Chicago friend who now serves as one President Obama's top advisors.

Ms Jarrett was said to remove the First Lady's name before circulating the emails widely within the West Wing. » | Raf Sanchez, Washington | Saturday, January 07, 2012

The Weekly Standard's Anti-gay Email Is Just One of a Disturbing Trend

THE GUARDIAN – NEWS BLOG: Frustrated American conservatives are exploiting gay paranoia to make up for a drought of ideas on how to fix the economy

Conservative magazine and website The Weekly Standard is under fire for sending a vituperative and deeply paranoid email to its thousands of subscribers, claiming that the "homosexual lobby" wants to indoctrinate American school students with a "perverted vision for a homosexual America".

The email, from the rightwing activist Eugene Delgaudio, rails against proposed legislation designed to protect young gay students from discrimination, saying it would "require schools to teach appalling homosexual acts".

The Standard has moved to distance itself from the email, sent as a sponsored mail-out by its marketing department, but the editor has declined opportunities to disavow the content.

Yet even in the charged atmosphere of cultural discourse in the United States, the language is extraordinary. Delguadio, renames the Student Non-Discrimination Act as the "Homosexual Classrooms Act" and says it would

• Require schools to teach appalling homosexual acts so "homosexual students" don't feel "singled out" during already explicit sex-ed classes;

• Spin impressionable students in a whirlwind of sexual confusion and misinformation, even peer pressure to "experiment" with the homosexual "lifestyle";

• Exempt homosexual students from punishment for propositioning, harassing, or even sexually assaulting their classmates, as part of their specially-protected right to "freedom of self-expression";

• Force private and even religious schools to teach a pro-homosexual curriculum and purge any reference to religion if a student claims it creates a "hostile learning environment" for homosexual students.

It goes on to say that the bill is "just the start" of a secret plan by gay campaigners. "In fact, it will set them up to ram through their entire perverted vision for a homosexual America." » | Posted by Matt Wells | Friday, January 06, 2012

Santorum Enjoys New Hampshire Poll Bump But Trails Far Behind Romney

THE GUARDIAN: WMUR poll shows Rick Santorum benefiting from Iowa success, but Mitt Romney remains favourite to win primary on 44%

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is enjoying a bump in the polls in New Hampshire as a result of his success in the Iowa caucuses.

A poll for WMUR, the New Hampshire affiliate of ABC, puts Santorum on 8%, up from only 1% when the last poll was taken in November. More signficantly, Santorum – as he did in Iowa – is enjoying a surge, and the poll figures taken in the two days after Iowa show even higher support for him, at 11%.

But Santorum is still well behind the frontrunner Mitt Romney, who is almost certain to add New Hampshire to his win in Iowa. He would then be heading to South Carolina for its 21 January primary with two victories behind him. » | Ewen MacAskill in Manchester, New Hampshire | Friday, January 06, 2012

Big Donors 'Buying Policy'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Wealthy donors appear to be buying Government policy by securing “preferential” access to ministers and senior politicians, the standards watchdog has warned.


Sir Christopher Kelly said the perceived influence of rich businessmen over politicians is undermining public trust in Westminster. He cited the Coalition’s planning reforms as an example of a policy that raised suspicions after The Daily Telegraph disclosed that property developers were paying thousands of pounds for access to senior Tories.

Such preferential treatment leads to increasing concerns that there is “no smoke without fire”, the chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.

“There is no doubt that significant donors do have preferential access to political decision makers,” he said. “The thought that anyone would give such a large sum of money to a party solely for altruistic reasons is quite a difficult one. The risk is policy being influenced in other, more subtle, ways because some people have access because they have given donations.

“There is a risk of it [influencing of policy by donors] happening and more importantly there is a public perception that it does happen.”

The comments by Sir Christopher amount to one of the most strident warnings yet that Britain’s political system is at risk of being corrupted by wealthy individuals. » | Christopher Hope, Senior Political Correspondent | Friday, January 06, 2012

Mehr Hinrichtungen in Saudi-Arabien
Uno-Menschenrechtskommission ist alamiert
NZZ ONLINE: Das Uno-Hochkommissariat für Menschenrechte in Genf hat sich besorgt über die im vergangenen Jahr deutlich angestiegene Zahl von vollstreckten Todesstrafen in Saudi-Arabien gezeigt.

Das Uno-Hochkommissariat für Menschenrechte sei wegen des signifikanten Anstiegs der Anwendung der Todesstrafe in Saudi-Arabien alarmiert, sagte der Sprecher des Kommissariats, Rupert Colville, am Freitag vor Journalisten in Genf.

Noch beunruhigender als die hohe Zahl von Exekutionen sei aber die Tatsache, dass die jeweiligen Gerichtsprozesse von internationalen Standards weit entfernt seien. «Folter als Mittel, um ein Geständnis zu erzwingen, scheint eine breite Anwendung zu finden», kritisierte Colville. » | sda/afp | Freitag 06. Januar 2012

Mitt Romney Soars to Top of South Carolina Poll
THE BOSTON GLOBE: Mitt Romney has rocketed to an 18-point lead in South Carolina, according to a CNN poll released today.

South Carolina, the first southern state to hold a primary, could prove to be a crossroads for the Republican nomination process. Social conservatives and Tea Party activists hope to erect a roadblock against Romney, seeking to prevent the momentum he gained from his historic eight-vote victory in Iowa and his expected win in New Hampshire next Tuesday from transforming into an election juggernaut.

Voters head to the polls Saturday, Jan. 21.

South Carolina is more socially conservative than New Hampshire and could pose a problem for Romney. His more conservative rivals - including former senator Rick Santorum, Texas Governor Rick Perry, Texas Representative Ron Paul, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, have been campaigning there. Perry has skipped New Hampshire to muster his forces in South Carolina. » | Shira Schoenberg, Globe Correspondent | Friday, January 06, 2012

Santorum Compares Marriage Equality to Polygamy

ADVOCATE.COM: Santorum Vs. Students on His Slippery-Slope Logic » | Friday, January 06, 2012

Related »

ADVOCATE.COM: Santorum Says He's Barely Mentioned Gay Rights » | Michelle Garcia | Thursday, January 05, 2012

Persischer Golf: Die Ausgegrenzten
ZEIT ONLINE: Warum provoziert der Iran den Westen? Das Regime in Teheran hat Angst, aus gutem Grund: Es geht ums Überleben

Das Regime des Irans mag Unsicherheit streuen über seine wahren Absichten. Die Straße von Hormus, die Halsschlagader der Weltwirtschaft,für Öltanker sperren? Auf die Drohung folgte eine ganze Reihe von widersprüchlichen Stellungnahmen aus Teheran. Bluff oder nicht, eine Botschaft der gefährlichen Manöver am Golf ist klar: Noch mehr Sanktionen, noch mehr Gängelung durch den Westen wird sich die Islamische Republik nicht bieten lassen. Hinter der militärischen Protzerei steckt ein Land, das in die Enge getrieben ist. Jetzt, so sehen es seine Führer, ist der Zeitpunkt gekommen, Amerika und Europa das zurückzuzahlen, was sie dem Iran so viele Jahre über angetan haben.

Das Regime in Teheran hat Angst, aus gutem Grund. Seit der ehemalige US-Präsident George W. Bush den Iran in einer berüchtigten Rede vor dem Kongress im Januar 2002 zusammen mit Nordkorea und dem Irak Saddam Husseins auf die »Achse des Bösen« setzte, hat sich der Druck auf das Regime stetig erhöht. Die Sanktionen der UN zeigen Wirkung. Es geht mittlerweile um die Existenz der Islamischen Republik Iran. » | Von Ulrich Ladurner | Freitag 06. Januar 2012

Orthodox Christians in Turkey Dive into the Bosphorus
Jan. 6 - Greek Orthodox Christians brave the cold waters of the Bosphorus to compete for a wooden crucifix in a traditional Epiphany ceremony. Rough Cut.

US Expands Definition of Rape to Include Men
THE GUARDIAN: Obama administration broadens definition to include more forms of assault in first major update since 1927

The Obama administration on Friday broadened the definition of the crime of rape to include more forms of sexual assaults such as rape of men and oral or anal sex, the first major revision to the definition in more than 80 years.

The new definition will include any gender of the victim and attacker and also assaults in which a victim cannot give consent because the individual has been incapacitated by drugs or alcohol, is under the age of consent, or is mentally or physically incapable of consent, the justice department said.

"This long-awaited change to the definition of rape is a victory for women and men across the country whose suffering has gone unaccounted for over 80 years," vice president Joe Biden said in a statement. » | Reuters | Friday, January 06, 2012

France Proclaims 600th Anniversary of Joan of Arc
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: France will mark the reputed 600th anniversary of Joan of Arc with a visit by President Nicolas Sarkozy to her birthplace.

President Sarkozy will travel to Domremy, the village said to have been her birthplace, where he will unveil a plaque in the home where she is thought to have been born.

Mr Sarkozy will also visit Vaucouleurs, also in the Vosges mountains of eastern France, where Joan of Arc began her campaign to push the English out of France and put Charles VII on the throne.

Mr Sarkozy and far-right leader Marine Le Pen are battling over the mantle of the French patron saint Joan of Arc, a surprise player in the upcoming presidential election.

The two leaders are to stage rival celebrations of the 600th anniversary of the birth of the 15th-century Catholic martyr who has been appropriated by the far-right partly for her booting out of medieval English "immigrants".

The teenage peasant led the French army against the English after experiencing religious visions and was later burned at the stake, but her broad appeal to French of all political colours has ensured her immortality.

France is officially a secular state, but the story of Joan's struggle against the English and Burgundians on behalf of the French crown has often served as an inspiration in patriotic causes.

She is regularly wheeled out as a symbol of French unity, alongside such Gallic icons as general Charles de Gaulle or Vercingetorix, who defied the Romans like a real-life Asterix. » | Telegraph’s Foreign Staff | Friday, January 06, 2012

LE FIGARO: Sarkozy honore Jeanne d'Arc : Nicolas Sarkozy a célébré aujourd'hui la mémoire de Jeanne d'Arc érigée en symbole de la "résistance" de la France dans l'épreuve et de son "unité nationale" en dénonçant, à quelque cent jours de la présidentielle, "ceux qui voudraient s'en servir pour diviser". En s'invitant sur le terrain des exploits de la "pucelle d'Orléans", le chef de l'État se savait dans le collimateur de ses futurs rivaux électoraux, prêts à rouvrir son procès en détournement politique de l'Histoire, ouvert avec Jean Jaurès ou Guy Môquet. Surtout à la veille de l'hommage que le Front national doit rendre demain à celle qui a "bouté les Anglais hors de France". » | AFP | vendredi 06 janvier 2012

Adolf Hitler 'Nearly Drowned as a Child'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Adolf Hitler nearly drowned when he was four years-old but was saved by a local priest, historians have claimed.

Newspaper clippings have emerged detailing how a child – who experts believe was Adolf Hitler – was rescued from the River Passau, Germany, in January 1894.

The infant is not named in the article, which was uncovered in a German archive, but it matches a story recounted by priest Max Tremmel in 1980. He said his predecessor Johann Kuehberger told him he had rescued Hitler when the Nazi leader was a child. Residents of Passau, where Hitler grew up, also claimed the priest's story was true.

The account of the incident remained uncorroborated until recently when the article emerged. » | Amy Willis | Friday, January 06, 2012

WOCHENBLATT: Was wäre, wenn Hitler 1894 in Passau ertrunken wäre? : Als vierjähriger Junge wohnte Hitler in der Kapuzinerstraße in der Innstadt. Im gleichen Haus wohnte der spätere Passauer Domkapellmeister Johann Kühberger, der viele Jahre später seinem Nachfolger Max Tremmel berichtet haben soll, dass er als Junge den kleinen Adolf vor dem Ertrinken im Inn gerettet habe. » | Mittwoch 04. Januar 2012

Rome Turning into 'Wild West' of Violent Crime
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The murder of an immigrant bar owner and his nine-month old baby girl during a botched robbery has shocked Rome, prompting warnings that the city of La Dolce Vita is turning into a "Wild West" of violent crime.

Zeng Zhou, 31, a Chinese immigrant, and his baby daughter, Joy, were killed by the same bullet when two thieves demanded the takings from the bar he ran in the capital's grimy Tor Pignattara district on Wednesday night.

The bullet passed through the baby's head and then struck her father in the heart, killing both of them instantly.

His 27-year-old wife, Zeng Lia, was stabbed in the attack and is being treated in hospital.
She told police that one of the gunmen had yelled "I'll kill you like a dog" at her husband when he refused to hand over thousands of euros in cash.

The double murder was the 36th killing in the city in the past 12 months – up from 25 in 2010.

The killings were "an offence to the Eternal City" and risked turning the Italian capital into "an immense favela where shoot-outs happen as they did in the Wild West," said La Stampa, one of the country's most respected daily newspapers. "In one year, Rome seems to have spun out of control."

The violence has spread from the graffiti-clad sink estates on the outskirts of the city to the tourist-friendly piazzas and cobbled streets of the centre. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Friday, January 06, 2012

Rick Santorum Enters Bill O'Reilly's ‘No Spin Zone’

British Skiers Stranded in Zermatt
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Hundreds of British holidaymakers have been left stranded in Zermatt after an avalanche prevented travel in or out of the Swiss ski resort.

Snow has covered the road and rail routes in and out of the village, and continued heavy snow and high winds has meant helicopters have been unable to take off or land.

The resort has been cut-off since about 1.30pm on Thursday after more than a metre of snow fell in less than 24 hours. The surrounding mountains have also been closed to skiers.

A spokesperson for Zermatt Tourism said rail staff had been unable to dig out the train tracks, the main route into the resort, and the situation would be assessed again at 11.15am today. » | Oliver Smith and Caroline Shearing | Friday, January 06, 2012

NZZ ONLINE: Wetterbericht für die Schweiz: Nachts teils klar, am Samstag wieder Niederschlag – Allgemeine Lage: Die Schweiz liegt zwischen einem kräftigen Hoch mit Zentrum über dem nahen Atlantik und einer Tiefdruckzone über Skandinavien. Zwischen diesen Druckzentren herrscht weiterhin eine starke bis stürmische, direkt auf die Alpen gerichtete Nord- bis Nordwestströmung. Darin eingelagert erreicht am Samstag ein nächstes, okkludierendes Frontensystem die Schweiz. » | Freitag 06. Januar 2012

Wulff will Telefon-Anruf nicht freigeben
REUTERS DEUTSCHLAND: Berlin - Bundespräsident Christian Wulff hat sich in seiner Kredit- und Medienaffäre in neue Bedrängnis gebracht.

Das Staatsoberhaupt lehnte am Donnerstag die Veröffentlichung seines Telefon-Anrufs bei der "Bild"-Chefredaktion ab. Dies hatte die Zeitung erbeten, um ihre Darstellung zu belegen, dass das Staatsoberhaupt eine Berichterstattung über seinen 500.000-Euro-Kredit verhindern wollte. Wulff hatte hingegen am Mittwochabend in einem Fernseh-Interview erklärt, er habe nur um einen Tag Aufschub für die Veröffentlichung gebeten. Die SPD warf Wulff prompt vor, er tue nichts, um die Vorwürfe gegen ihn zu entkräften. "Ob er gelogen hat oder nicht, kann nur eine Veröffentlichung der Mailbox beweisen", erklärte der Parlamentarische Geschäftsführer der SPD, Thomas Oppermann.

Die Mehrheit der Deutschen überzeugte Wulff laut ARD-DeutschlandTrend durch das Interview nicht. Die meisten Befragten wollen ihm aber eine zweite Chance geben und als Staatsoberhaupt behalten. Eine Blitzumfrage am Donnerstag ergab, dass 61 Prozent Wulffs Auftreten nicht überzeugend fanden und nur 30 Prozent überzeugend. Dennoch sind 60 Prozent der Meinung, dass Wulff eine zweite Chance verdient habe. 36 Prozent teilen diese Ansicht nicht. Das schlägt sich auch in der Frage nach einem Rücktritt nieder: 56 Prozent wollen, dass Wulff im Amt bleibt - neun Punkte mehr als am Mittwoch vor dem Interview. Dagegen sind 41 Prozent der Befragten der Meinung, dass Wulff zurücktreten sollte. Am Mittwoch waren es noch 50 Prozent. » | Reuters | Freitag 06. Januar 2012

REUTERS DEUTSCHLAND: Wulff sieht sich neuen Vorwürfen ausgesetzt: Berlin - Während Bundespräsident Christian Wulff mit dem Empfang der Sternsinger am Freitag Routine demonstriert hat, schwelt die Debatte über seine Zukunft weiter. » | Reuters | Freitag 06. Januar 2012

FOCUS ONLINE: Bettina Wulff lässt sich von Luxus-Labels einkleiden: Die Kanzlerin sagt Nein, wenn ihr Modehersteller Kleider für öffentliche Anlässe anbieten. Offener reagiert Präsidenten-Gattin Bettina Wulff nach FOCUS-Informationen auf solche Angebote. » | flf | Freitag 06. Januar 2012

Turkish Ex-army Chief in Jail over Anti-government Plot

REUTERS: Former Turkish armed forces chief General Ilker Basbug spent his first night behind bars on Friday, charged with trying to overthrow the government in an unprecedented development likely to exacerbate tensions with the military.

Basbug, who retired in 2010, is the highest-ranking officer to be caught up in the so-called Ergenekon case, a long-running crackdown on EU candidate Turkey's once all-powerful military and secularist establishment.

The former general was taken from an Istanbul courthouse in the early hours of Friday for a health check before being transported in a police convoy to Silivri prison, some 80 km (50 miles) west of the city, where hundreds of defendants in the Ergenekon case are being tried in a specially-built courtroom.

"The Republic of Turkey's 26th general chief of staff has been remanded in custody for forming and directing a terrorist group. I leave it to the great Turkish nation to judge," Basbug said as he was lead from the courtroom.

The decision to send Basbug to jail came hours after prominent Turkish journalists on trial over alleged ties to the ultra-nationalist Ergenekon network said the charges against them were "a massacre of justice."

Ergenekon is accused by prosecutors of being behind multiple conspiracies against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party government, and several hundred suspects, including retired senior military officers, academics, lawyers and journalists, have been detained in cases related to the network. » | Daren Butler and Can Sezer | ISTANBUL | Friday, January 06, 2012

Rick Santorum Endorses Muslim Profiling
CBS NEWS: In a discussion over balancing national security and privacy, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said Tuesday he would endorse profiling, specifically of Muslims and young men, in order to enhance security at airports.

"We should be trying to find the bomber, not the bomb," the former Pennsylvania senator said at the CNN debate, explaining his support for profiling. He cited the use of profiling in Israel as an example of how it would work.

Asked to explain by debate moderator CNN's Wolf Blitzer who would be profiled, Santorum said, "The folks who are most likely to be committing these crimes."

"Obviously, Muslims would be someone you'd look at," he said, adding that "the radical Muslims are the people that are committing these crimes, by and large, as well as younger males. » | Stephanie Condon | Tuesday, November 22, 2012

Santorum Wants to Impose 'Judeo-Christian Sharia'
CNN OPINION: There are two Rick Santorums: The first one I might not agree with, but the second one truly scares me.

"Santorum One" pushes for less government regulation for corporations and shrinking the federal government. You may or may not agree with these positions, but they are both mainstream conservative fare.

Then there's "Santorum Two." This Santorum wants to impose conservative Christian law upon America. Am I being hyperbolic or overly dramatic with this statement? I wish I were, but I'm not.

Plainly put, Rick Santorum wants to convert our current legal system into one that requires our laws to be in agreement with religious law, not unlike what the Taliban want to do in Afghanistan.

Santorum is not hiding this. The only reason you may not be aware of it is because up until his recent surge in the polls, the media were ignoring him. However, "Santorum Two" was out there telling anyone who would listen.

He told a crowd at a November campaign stop in Iowa in no uncertain terms, "our civil laws have to comport with a higher law: God's law." » | Dean Obeidallah, Special to CNN | Thursday, January 05, 2012

Rick Santorum Compares Same-sex Marriage to Polygamy, in Spirited Exchange at N.H. College
THE WASHINGTON POST: DURHAM, N.H. - Rick Santorum took on a restive audience Thursday night over the issue of same-sex marriage, which the former Pennsylvania senator vociferously opposes.

Asked by a college student why he opposed the right of same-sex couples to wed, he responded that there was no compelling reason to allow it and suggested that it was akin to legalizing polygamy.

“So, everybody has the right to be happy?” he said. “So, if you’re not happy unless you’re married to five other people, is that OK?”

Santorum’s logic provoked an outcry from the audience, which was made up primarily of local college students but also a number of local conservative voters who were there to support the surging presidential candidate.

It was the first such confrontation over Santorum’s well-documented opposition to gay rights and gay marriage since his surprisingly strong finish in the Iowa caucuses, but it probably won’t be the last. New Hampshire has allowed same-sex marriage since 2010, and voters who were unaware of Santorum’s stance on the issues are likely to hear a great deal about them now that he is emerging as the Christian conservative standard-bearer in the race.

The grilling began almost immediately after Santorum concluded his opening remarks at an event sponsored by the New England College. Student after student challenged him on his stance, especially in light of his earlier remarks about the founding principle that all men were created equal. » | Sandhya Somashekhar | Thursday, January 05, 2012

Michael Bublé: Hollywood (Official Video)

Barack Obama Sets Out Plans for Leaner Military in Historic Strategy Shift

THE GUARDIAN: President says armed forces will move away from large-scale ground warfare and focus more on China in wake of budget cuts

President Obama has unveiled plans for America's military future, outlining a historic shift towards a smaller and leaner force that will focus on China and move away from large-scale ground warfare that has dominated the post-9/11 era.

Obama became the first president to announce a strategy change directly from inside the Pentagon – a theatrical gesture designed to underline the significance of the shift. Mindful of the dangers of displaying any weakness over national security in an election year, Obama said he was determined to maintain US military supremacy around the world, but he admitted that the review involved a move to "smaller conventional ground forces" and the removal of "outdated cold war-era systems".

The immediate incentive for the change in tack, set out in a Pentagon strategy paper, is the fiscal crisis and the Congress-led drive for spending cuts. Currently, the Pentagon is under orders to slash $487bn from the resources it had expected to receive over the next 10 years, and those cuts could rise to close to $1tn if Congress fails to reach agreement on alternative reductions by January next year. » | Ed Pilkington in New York | Thursday, January 05, 2012

Un timbre dédié à la pose de la première de La Grande Mosquée de Paris
lePARISIEN.fr: Erigée entre 1922 et 1926, la Grande Mosquée de Paris, située dans le 5e arrondissement, célèbre cette année les 90 ans de l'amorce de sa construction. Pour marquer cet anniversaire, La Poste émet un timbre à 0,60€. Il sera disponible dès le 11 février prochain.

Inaugurée en 1926 pour rendre hommage aux milliers de musulmans morts pour la France, la Grande Mosquée de Paris a commencé à être construite dès 1922. » | Relaxnews | Tuesday, January 03, 2012

The Iron Lady, Review
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Meryl Streep's performance in The Iron Lady is astonishing, writes Robbie Collin.


“One of the great problems of our age is that we’re governed by people who care more about feelings than they do about thoughts and ideas,” says Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. “Now, thoughts and ideas – that’s what interests me.” It’s a pivotal line in director Phyllida Lloyd and screenwriter Abi Morgan’s absorbing, exhilarating biopic of the United Kingdom’s only female prime minister, but the film itself doesn’t agree. The Iron Lady does not pick over thoughts and ideas for an hour and 45 minutes: Lloyd and Morgan are fascinated by who their subject was and is, and rather less by what she stood, and continues to stand for. Personality politics might have been anathema to Margaret Thatcher MP, but this film is propelled by the sheer power of her presence. Read on and comment » | Robbie Collin | Thursday, January 05, 2012

Egypt’s Salafi Surge

FOREIGN POLICY: These guys make the Muslim Brotherhood look like latte liberals.

MANSOURA, Egypt — It's the morning of the third and final round of Egypt's parliamentary elections and Ammar Fayed, an activist for the Muslim Brotherhood's political party, is nervous as hell.

The 28-year-old marketing manager, who sits on the executive board of the youth branch of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) in the governorate of Dakahlia, sports a tiny FJP pin on the lapel of his gray blazer and a thumb stained blue from voting. He explains the situation: Thirty-six seats are up for grabs in this province in the fertile Nile Delta. The conservative region is in the Brotherhood's heartland -- it should have been a cakewalk.

There's just one problem, Fayed admits: "We made a fundamental miscalculation."

The Brotherhood has found itself outflanked on the right by the Salafi al-Nour Party, which has challenged the movement's religious credentials and gained a surprising degree of traction in the process. The Salafis appear poised to claim between 25 and 30 percent of the vote, though the Brotherhood could still win an outright majority and will certainly become the largest party in the new parliament.

Who could have predicted that the Salafis -- adherents to a fundamentalist version of Islam that until Egypt's revolution eschewed politics as un-Islamic -- would morph into an electoral powerhouse? Even the Brotherhood, whose vote-counting abilities would impress the likes of Karl Rove, never saw it coming, and the Salafis' success threatens to upend the movement's carefully laid plans for dominating Egypt's post-revolutionary political scene. » | Sarah A. Topol | Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Iran Clamps Down on Internet Use

THE GUARDIAN: Restrictions on cybercafes and plans to launch national internet prompt fears users could be cut off from world wide web

Iran is clamping down heavily on web users before parliamentary elections in March with draconian rules on cybercafes and preparations to launch a national internet.

Tests for a countrywide network aimed at substituting services run through the world wide web have been carried out by Iran's ministry of information and communication technology, according to a newspaper report. The move has prompted fears among its online community that Iran intends to withdraw from the global internet.

The police this week imposed tighter regulations on internet cafes. Cafe owners have been given a two-week ultimatum to adopt rules requiring them to check the identity cards of their customers before providing services.

"Internet cafes are required to write down the forename, surname, name of the father, national identification number, postcode and telephone number of each customer," said an Iranian police statement, according to the news website Tabnak.

"Besides the personal information, they must maintain other information of the customer such as the date and the time of using the internet and the IP address, and the addresses of the websites visited. They should keep these informations for each individuals for at least six months."

In recent weeks, users in Iran have complained of a significant reduction in internet speed, reported the reformist newspaper, Roozegar, which has recently resumed publication after months of closure. The newspaper said it appeared to be the result of testing the national internet. » | Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Thursday, January 05, 2012

Hosni Mubarak: Egypt Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty
BBC: Prosecutors at the trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak have demanded he be given the death penalty.

Mr Mubarak is being tried in Cairo on charges of ordering the killing of protesters during unrest which led to his overthrow in February.

"The law foresees the death penalty for premeditated murder," prosecutor Mustafa Khater said, AFP reports.

The demand also applies for former Interior Minister Habib el-Adly and six other former security chiefs.

Mr Mubarak's two sons, one-time heir apparent Gamal and Alaa, face corruption charges in the same trial.

"How could the president of the republic not be aware of the demonstrations that broke out on January 25th?", chief prosecutor Mustafa Suleiman asked, according to AFP.

Mr Suleiman went on to argue that the then interior minister Habib el-Adly, who is also on trial, could "not have given the order to fire on demonstrators without having been instructed to do so by Mubarak." » | Thursday, January 05, 2012

Maldives President Orders All Spas to Be Reopened

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The president of the Maldives has ordered the country's upscale resorts to reopen their spas pending a Supreme Court decision on whether they violate Islam – just days after they were shut under pressure from protesters.

The court decision could be critical to the tourism-dependent island nation's economic future.

"The government has decided we will open all spas and give all the services to tourists which we have been giving before," said President Mohammed Nasheed.

"The tour operators were very worried" about the closure, he said.

Last week, authorities ordered all spas to close following a protest in the capital on Dec 23 in which thousands of people called for a halt to "anti-Islamic" activities including spas.

The protesters also demanded that authorities halt the sale of alcohol on islands inhabited by local people, stop plans to allow direct flights from Israel, and demolish statues given by other countries to commemorate a South Asian summit in November which they saw as idols. Read on and comment » | Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Ed Miliband 'Has No Strategy as Leader’

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Ed Miliband has shown “no strategy, no narrative and little energy” as Labour leader and failed to “break through” with voters, one of his closest political allies has said.

Lord Glasman, a political theorist who has advised Mr Miliband, passed a damning verdict on his performance as Labour leader, saying he is losing the argument with the Coalition on the economy.

The peer said Labour was in thrall to “old faces” from Gordon Brown’s era committed to the former prime minister’s economic policies.

“On the face of it, these look like bad times for Labour and for Ed Miliband’s leadership,” Lord Glasman said. “There seems to be no strategy, no narrative and little energy. » | James Kirkup, Deputy Political Editor | Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Argentine President Cristina Kirchner's Cancer Operation 'Successful'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has been successfully operated on for thyroid cancer.

Presidential spokesman Alfredo Scoccimarro said that Mrs Kirchner was recovering well after her three-and-a-half hour operation.

“The surgery on President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was carried out without any complication,” he said, adding that she will remain in hospital for about 72 hours.

The government last week announced her diagnosis of papillary carcinoma, detected during a routine medical checkup just before Christmas.

Tests suggested it had not spread beyond her thyroid, so the condition should be curable without chemotherapy, doctors said. They added that the 58-year-old president has a better than 90 per cent chance of recovery. » | Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Allow Assisted Suicide for Those with Less Than a Year to Live

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Doctors should be allowed to help terminally ill patients kill themselves – but only if they have less than a year to live, under proposals published in a major report today.

The independent Commission on Assisted Dying, whose members include several prominent peers and medics, wants GPs to be able to prescribe lethal doses of medication for dying people to take themselves.

The report, published today, calls for the “inadequate and incoherent” law against assisted suicide to be scrapped following a series of high profile cases where patients have used the Dignitas suicide clinic to take their own lives.

Although helping someone to die is punishable by up to 14 years’ imprisonment and police still investigate all cases, there have been no prosecutions since landmark guidelines were set out almost two years ago.

The Commission says the situation is “very distressing” for families, “uncertain” for health workers and place a “deeply challenging burden” on police and prosecutors.

Under its plans, doctors would be allowed to prescribe drugs to end the lives of terminally ill patients who have fewer than 12 months to live provided they are judged to have the mental capacity and clear desire to die.

If implemented, it could mean more than 1,000 people a year being helped to die in England and Wales. » | Martin Beckford, Social Affairs Editor | Thursday, January 05, 2012

Norway Killer Anders Behring Breivik 'Is Not Psychotic'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Prison psychiatrists in Norway have ruled that mass killer Anders Behring Breivik is not psychotic and has not been put on medication, contradicting earlier reports of insanity.

The original finding by two court-appointed psychiatrists has been fiercely debated by mental health experts and several lawyers representing the victims of the massacre. Families of the victims have demanded the Oslo District Court order a second evaluation. Breivik has confessed to the murder of 77 people in July. In November he was declared insane.

However, despite the psychiatrists views, prosecutor Svein Holden in a letter to the court said he would not seek another evaluation.

Breivik has recently been given access to media in prison and could try to manipulate new experts in ways that would be favourable to him, he said.

Prosecutors say they would rather let experts testify at the forthcoming trial. » | Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Mahomet: Nouvel Obs interdit au Maroc
LE FIGARO: Le Maroc a bloqué la distribution de l'hebdomadaire français Le Nouvel Observateur qui a publié un dossier sur le monde arabe comportant notamment une représentation du visage du prophète Mahomet, proscrite par la tradition musulmane. Cette décision intervient quelques jours après l'interdiction de l'hebdomadaire français l'Express, qui avait publié un dossier de 95 pages sur l'islam, dans lequel le visage du prophète Mohamet était également reproduit. » | AFP | mercredi 04 janvier 2012

HT: Islam versus Europe »

L’EXPRESS: Mahomet: interdiction de l'hebdomadaire français le Nouvel Observateur au Maroc – RABAT - Le Maroc a bloqué la distribution de l'hebdomadaire français Le Nouvel Observateur qui a publié un dossier sur le monde arabe comportant notamment une représentation du visage du prophète Mahomet, proscrite par la tradition musulmane, a-t-on appris mercredi auprès des autorités. » | AFP | mercredi 04 janvier 2012

Sarkozy Outrage at Hollande's 'Nasty Piece of Work' Jibe
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: President Nicolas Sarkozy's party allies demanded a public apology from his main electoral opponent after he reportedly branded him a "nasty piece of work".

Francois Hollande, the opposition Socialist candidate currently on course to beat Mr Sarkozy in April's election, allegedly called the president a "sale mec", which roughly translates as a "nasty piece of work".

He made the remark in a supposedly off-the-record briefing for reporters on Tuesday, but a truncated version of his jibe was revealed in the daily Le Parisien.

Although dismissed as being taken out of context by the Socialist camp, a cohort of outraged Sarkozy allies seized on the "insult".

Dominique Dord, treasurer of Sarkozy's UMP party, described the reported comment as "revolting" and said that Mr Hollande should pull out of the presidential race, little more than 100 days before the election.

"We are all deeply shocked," said the head of Sarkozy's UMP party, Jean-Francois Cope.

"This is not the standard expected of a presidential candidate," said government minister Nadine Morano, one of many other UMP party members to pounce on the reported comment. "I demand a public apology."

Le Parisien reported the term as an insult, but others present at the lunch said it was not a direct attack but part of an imagined dialogue in which Mr Hollande played Mr Sarkozy. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Mitt Romney on Caucus Night

Mitt Romney: Mister Glückskind

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Mitt Romney hat die Vorwahlen in Iowa nur hauchdünn gewonnen, doch die Präsidentschafts-Kandidatur der Republikaner ist ihm wohl kaum noch zu nehmen. Er profitiert von der Schwäche seiner Rivalen - genau das könnte ihm beim Kampf gegen ein anderes politisches Glückskind schaden: Barack Obama.

Amerikaner glauben, dass jeder Mensch seines Glückes Schmied ist. Aber ihre Präsidenten sind manchmal einfach Glückskinder. Barack Obama, ein relativ unerfahrener Ex-Sozialarbeiter, Hochschullehrer und Senator, gewann die Wahl 2008 nur dank einer Trias glücklicher Zufälle: Parteirivalin Hillary Clinton unterschätzte den jungen Parteifreund, Amerikaner ersehnten nach den Bush-Jahren "Change" - und Republikaner-Gegner John McCain entpuppte sich als sehr schwacher Wahlkämpfer.

Obamas Aufstieg begann im Schnee von Iowa, und jetzt ist dort erneut ein politisches Glückskind zu bestaunen: Mitt Romney, Sieger der republikanischen Vorwahlen in dem winzigen Agrarstaat. Dabei hat Romney die Abstimmung nicht einmal deutlich gewonnen, hauchdünn landete er am Dienstagabend vor seinem Parteifreund Rick Santorum, einem Liebling der religiösen Rechten.

Dennoch wird Romney wohl bald schon Obamas offizieller Herausforderer, weil er bestens präpariert die kommenden Abstimmungen in South Carolina und Florida angeht - ganz anders als Santorum, der bislang fast ausschließlich in Iowa um Stimmen buhlte. Anders auch als der Drittplatzierte Ron Paul, ein Idol der Jungen und der Radikalen, der Amerika keine Kriege mehr führen lassen möchte und die US-Notenbank abschaffen will.

Romney, der Ex-Gouverneur von Massachusetts, hat auf seinen Krönungsmoment lange hingearbeitet, er ist seit einem halben Jahrzehnt professioneller Präsidentschaftskandidat. Er ist auch ein besserer Bewerber als bei seinem ersten Anlauf 2008. Damals erschien er vielen Wählern noch wie ein Polit-Roboter.

Aber Romney ist vor allem ein Glückskind, und ihm helfen wie Obama drei glückliche Umstände: Weiter lesen und einen Kommentar schreiben » | Ein Kommentar von Gregor Peter Schmitz, Des Moines | Mittwoch 04. Januar 2012

Frankreich errichtet ersten Friedhof für Muslime

WELT ONLINE: In Straßburg entsteht derzeit ein städtischer Friedhof für Muslime. Für den Friedhof hat die Stadt rund 800.000 Euro bereitgestellt.

Erstmals in Frankreich erhalten die Muslime einen eigenen städtischen Friedhof. Der Friedhof, der in Straßburg entsteht, werde im Laufe des Januars offiziell eröffnet, sagte die zuständige stellvertretende Bürgermeisterin Anne-Pernelle Richardot.

Das Gelände ist einen Hektar groß und bietet Platz für rund tausend Gräber. Eine kleine Halle am Eingang soll den vorgeschriebenen rituellen Waschungen dienen. Rund 800.000 Euro bereitgestellt » | AFP/mcz | Mittwoch 04. Januar 2012

Hasstirade aus Nordkorea: "Südkoreas Präsident ist ein faschistischer Irrer"

WELT ONLINE: Nordkorea schimpft: Der südkoreanische Präsident Lee Myung-bak sei ein "proamerikanischer faschistischer Irrer", weil er seine Truppen in Alarmbereitschaft versetzt hat.

Nordkorea hat den südkoreanischen Präsidenten Lee Myung-bak als "proamerikanischen faschistischen Irren" und "Häuptling der Übel" bezeichnet.

Grund dafür ist die Entscheidung Lees, die südkoreanischen Truppen nach dem Tod des langjährigen nordkoreanischen Machthabers Kim Jong-il in höchste Alarmbereitschaft zu versetzen.

Die nordkoreanischen Streitkräfte würden Südkorea dazu zwingen, einen Preis für die Aktion zu zahlen, hieß es in einer Erklärung des Komitees für die friedliche Wiedervereinigung Koreas, die von der amtlichen Nachrichtenagentur KCNA verbreitet wurde.

Seit Lee nach seinem Amtsantritt 2008 die bedingungslosen Hilfslieferungen an den verarmten Norden einstellte, ist er immer wieder Ziel scharfer Kritik der nordkoreanischen Behörden gewesen, [sic] » | dapd/dpa/mcz | Mittwoch 04. Januar 2012

Michele Bachmann Drops Out of GOP Race
CBS NEWS: WEST DES MOINES, Iowa -- In the wake of a disappointing finish in Tuesday's Iowa caucuses, Rep. Michele Bachmann announced Wednesday that she is suspending her campaign for president.

"Last night, the people of Iowa spoke with a very clear voice, and so I have decided to stand aside," she said at a hastily-arranged news conference here.

"I have no regrets," she added. "None whatsoever. We never compromised our principles." She said she "looks forward to the next chapter in God's plan."

Bachmann did not endorse another candidate.

Bachmann, a third-term Minnesota congressman and the founder of the Tea Party caucus in the House, won the support of just five percent of Iowa Republican caucus-goers Tuesday. She finished in sixth place in the caucuses, which was essentially last place among the major contenders, since Jon Huntsman did not contest the state. » | Brian Montopoli | Wednesday, January 04, 2012

'Destroying Democracy': Hungarians Protest Controversial New Constitution

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Tens of thousands of Hungarians took to the streets of Budapest on Monday night to protest the country's new constitution, which took effect on Jan. 1. The document, in combination with other recent laws, severely curtails the independence of the country's central bank and courts. Religious rights have also been slashed.

"Viktor Orban. Dictator!" read one sign. "Enough!" screamed another. "Hey Europe, sorry about my prime minister," said a third. And there were hundreds more on Monday night in Budapest as tens of thousands of people gathered in front of the city's famous opera house to protest against the country's controversial new constitution, which went into effect on Jan. 1.

"The prime minister took an oath to defend the constitution, but instead he overthrew it," said Laszlo Majtenyi, the former head of the country's media authority, at the rally. "Tonight, the Opera is the home of hypocrisy and the street the home of constitutional virtues."

The crowd gathered outside as inside Prime Minister Viktor Orban and other leading government officials celebrated the new Basic Law inside the opera. Hungarian President Pal Schmitt defended the document, saying that his countrymen should be proud of it. "The constitution was born of a wide consultation, building on national and European values," he said in a speech at the celebration. "Our Basic Law defines the family, order, the home, work and health as the most important, shared scale of values."

The passage of the new constitution marks the crowning achievement of Orban's center-right Fidesz party, 18 months into its rule. The party won 53 percent of the vote in the spring of 2010, resulting in 68 percent of the seats in parliament, enough to radically change Hungary's legal landscape. Since then, according to Kim Lane Scheppele, director of Princeton University's Program in Law and Public Affairs and a long-time observer of Hungary, Fidesz has passed 359 laws. » | cgh -- with wire reports | Tuesday, January 03, 2012

German President Urged to Resign over Threats to Newspaper Editor

THE GUARDIAN: Christian Wulff under pressure over warning to Bild editor about 'judicial consequences' of printing story about his finances

Germany's president, Christian Wulff, is facing growing pressure to stand down following damaging revelations that he tried to browbeat the editor of the country's top tabloid to kill an unflattering story about him.

Germany's press were united in their condemnation of Wulff after it emerged on Monday that he had threatened the editor of Bild, Kai Diekmann.

In a furious voicemail message, Wulff told Diekmann there would be "war" unless he spiked an article on the president's personal finances.

Wulff, a key ally of Angela Merkel, the chancellor, and a Christian Democrat like her, accepted a large private loan from the wife of a wealthy businessman.

Although the arrangement was made before Wulff became president in 2010, it has fuelled claims that he lacks the personal judgment needed for the job.

In December Bild discovered that Wulff had taken a €500,000 (£420,000) loan from the wife of a close friend, Egon Geerkens, at an interest rate of 4% – 1% below the usual bank rate.

After discovering Bild was about to publish, Wulff tried unsuccessfully to reach Diekmann, who was away on a trip. He then left him a long, haranguing message, threatening "judicial consequences" and a "definitive breach" in relations with Bild's publishing group, Axel Springer. Two days later Wulff phoned back from a tour in the Gulf to apologise. Wulff, who took over the largely ceremonial role in June 2010, faced further embarrassing questions about his behaviour when another Springer newspaper, the Welt am Sonntag, revealed he had summoned one of its veteran reporters to a dressing down at his presidential residence. Wulff had taken umbrage at a forthcoming interview with his little-known half-sister.

The influential FT Deutschland newspaper called on Wulff to resign. The Süddeutsche newspaper described his dealings with the media as "naive and brazen", observing coldly: "The office is obviously too big for Wulff." » | Luke Harding | Tuesday, January 03, 2012

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